NXT
Date: March 6, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, William Regal

We’re back in Florida for more NXT where the Shield made their presence known again last week, breaking up a #1 contender’s match between Conor O’Brian and Corey Graves after presumably attacking Bo Dallas. Other than that we had the Wyatt Family get even stronger than usual by having Bray himself get in the ring for some destruction. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Commissioner Dusty Rhodes to open things up. He announces the main event for tonight as Graves vs. O’Brian vs. Dallas for the next shot at the title with extra security to keep the Shield from interfering.

Welcome Home.

Adrian Neville/Oliver Grey vs. Judas Devlin/Scott Dawson

Neville and Grey are tag champions but this is non-title. There’s no Grey though and Neville doesn’t know where he is. He was here earlier but somewhere in between there he disappeared. Neville agrees to fight them on his own and starts against Dawson. A quick arm wringer puts Dawson down and it’s off to an armbar. It’s off to Judas who is a big tattooed man with long hair. Judas doesn’t do much of note before it’s back to Dawson.

Devlin comes back in for a chinlock as the numbers game is starting to catch up with Neville. As the hold is on, the Wyatt Family drags Grey out to the stage. Grey is barely conscious and is reaching towards the ring. Neville fights out of the hold but is distracted by Grey, allowing the team to take over again. Dawson puts Adrian on the top but gets knocked down, allowing Neville to hit the corkscrew shooting star press for the pin at 3:21.

Rating: D+. Not much to see here but it’s about the story rather than the match. The Wyatt Family wanting revenge for losing in the title match is the right idea and it sets up a good dynamic of the much smaller champions having to fight the monsters with an even bigger disadvantage. That shooting star is absolutely stunning too.

Neville checks on his partner post match.

Leo Kruger vs. Yoshi Tatsu

The fans cheer for Yoshi as I’m guessing they meant to go to the Nintendo convention instead of this show. Kruger grabs a headlock to start but gets caught in an atomic drop followed by a second one for good measure. Kruger comes back by sending Yoshi’s shoulder into the buckle before cranking on the arm on the mat. Yoshi finally makes a rope and fights up but a shot to the arm stops him cold. Kruger hits a big clothesline and finishes Tatsu with a seated armbar at 2:59. Total squash.

Sasha Banks/Cameron/Naomi vs. Audrey Marie/Alicia Fox/Aksana

Cameron and Naomi dance a lot before the match. Fox and Banks start things off with Sasha taking over with a headscissors. Off to Aksana who has just as much luck as her partner before it’s off to Cameron. Oh wait we need a dance break. Back to the wrestling now with Audrey getting in a kick to Cameron’s back from the apron to take over. Aksana puts her in the corner and does that crawl of hers, only to get caught by a cross body for two by Cameron.

Back to Fox who gets a quick one count off a northern lights suplex. Off to Audrey now who hooks a body scissors which only lasts for a few seconds before Cameron can tag off to Naomi. Things speed up as Naomi hits a flying clothesline to Audrey and an enziguri for two on Aksana. A leg lariat is enough to pin Audrey at 4:25.

Rating: C-. As usual, the Divas of NXT are far more interesting and talented than those of Raw and Smackdown. Cameron isn’t much in the ring but Naomi has good athleticism and energy. Unfortunately here the focus was on the main show girls instead of the more talented NXT girls because they’re the “stars”.

Bo Dallas talks about how his career is skyrocketing right now due to winning the NXT Tournament and beating Wade Barrett on Raw. Bray Wyatt comes up and talks about laying out Dallas a few weeks ago. If Dallas had accepted Wyatt’s offer to join the Family, he would have been protected against the Shield last week. Bo says stay away from him because he isn’t interested. Wyatt calls him a foolish young man.

Alberto Del Rio will be here next week.

Summer Rae insists on being called the First Lady of NXT and insists on the interviewer introducing her again. Rae talks about putting Paige on the shelf for good and taking away her popularity. If Rebecca, the interviewer, ever introduces her improperly again, she’ll be taken out like trash.

Shield reassures us that they’re still here to shield us from injustice. The injustice from last week was O’Brian, Dallas and Graves believing they deserved a title shot. Ambrose talks about putting a crack in the foundation of WWE. They’ve done it on Raw and Smackdown so it’s time to do it here on NXT. It should be Rollins getting the title shot, not any of those three.

Corey Graves vs. Conor O’Brian vs. Bo Dallas

The winner gets the title shot at Langston at some point in the future. O’Brian runs over Dallas to start and Graves stomps away. Conor doesn’t seem interested in helping him so instead he beats up Corey for a bit. Graves manages to send him to the floor and puts Bo in a chinlock as we take a break. Back with Dallas sending Graves to the floor but as he follows, Conor pops up to clothesline Dallas down. With Conor on the apron, Corey fires some shoulder to his ribs. That gets him nowhere though as O’Brian knocks him away and gets two off a top rope clothesline.

Dallas is back in now but O’Brian keeps full control of the match. Conor wraps his legs around Graves’ head for a neck crank, getting two as a result. The attention shifts to Dallas now with O’Brian throwing him into Graves in the corner which gets another two count. Graves gets a boot up in the corner to stagger O’Brian, allowing Dallas and Corey to double team Conor with a double suplex.

The alliance is short lived though as they start fighting each other again, resulting in a belly to back suplex by Bo. Dallas pounds away in the corner but stops when he sees Bray Wyatt on the apron. We take another break and come back with Graves pounding away on both guys. A gordbuster gets two on Bo and there’s a half crab for good measure. Conor breaks it up but Graves beats him down as a result. Dallas is sent to the apron but goes up and gets crotched right back down. Corey loads up a superplex but O’Brian pulls him off the ropes and slams him face first into the mat.

Bo hits a quick missile dropkick on Conor for two as Bray is coming closer to the ring. O’Brian is sent face first into the buckle and has Dallas use his body as a springboard for a tornado bulldog on Graves, getting two. A DDT gets two on O’Brian but Graves kicks out Dallas’ leg. There’s the 13^th Step leg lock on Bo but O’Brian comes in and puts Corey in a Koji Clutch to break the hold.

Bo breaks up that hold and is all fired up now. O’Brian is dropkicked to the floor and the belly to belly puts Graves down, but Wyatt pulls Corey to the floor. Bo breaks his concentration and yells at Wyatt, allowing O’Brian to hit him with a full nelson slam for the pin at 12:11 shown of 19:11.

Rating: B. Good stuff here as they had a lot of time to work with. Wyatt and Dallas building their story was a good idea and it makes the most sense to have O’Brian win, as he and Langston have unfinished business to get to. This was a solid main event and it sets up more for future shows, so what else can you ask of it?

Overall Rating: B. There was a lot of angle advancement here with a good match to top it off. The Wyatt Family getting a renewed push is a good thing to see and hopefully we’ll get some more of the awesome promos to back it up. NXT continues to be an entertaining week to week show as they make you want to come back for more. So few shows get that concept anymore and it’s nice to see for a change.

Results

Adrian Neville b. Scott Dawson/Judas Devlin – Corkscrew Shooting Star Press to Dawson

Leo Kruger b. Yoshi Tatsu – Seated Armbar

Sasha Banks/Cameron/Naomi b. Audrey Marie/Alicia Fox/Aksana – Leg lariat to Marie

Conor O’Brian b. Bo Dallas and Corey Graves – Full Nelson Slam to Dallas

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: February 27, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Tony Dawson

Back for another week here and we now have a new challenger for Langston in the form of Corey Graves. This is a good idea as Graves never got to have his title match due to the Shield interfering the first time. Other than that the main focus has actually been on the Divas division which works far better here than it does in WWE. Let’s get to it.

We open with Bo Dallas in the back with Dusty Rhodes, the NXT GM. Corey Graves comes in, carrying the NXT Title belt that he stole last week. Dusty talks about earning things, like Bo earned his spot in the Royal Rumble by winning a tournament. Tonight it’s Graves vs. Dallas vs. Conor O’Brian for the #1 contender’s spot.

Opening sequence.

Justin Gabriel vs. Leo Kruger

Justin has Tyson Kidd with him and this is fallout from last week where Kruger tried to attack the injured Kidd, only to have Gabriel make the save. We hear a brief history of the two guys as they were both trained in South Africa. Gabriel avoids a shot in the corner and chops away at Kruger’s chest before they circle each other some more. Another chop staggers Leo and we head to the mat with Justin holding a headlock.

This hold stays on for a good while as two minutes later it’s finally broken up. Gabriel comes right back with an arm trap headscissors for a bit before it’s right back to the headlock. Now it’s Kruger with his own headlock but Justin comes back with a headscissors to send Leo to the outside. We take a break and come back with Leo running over Justin with a shoulder block. A spinebuster puts Justin down for two before Kruger sends him shoulder first into the post for two.

Leo cranks on the arm for a bit before Justin fights back via kicks to the chest. A DDT on the arm puts Justin right back down for two and it’s back to the arm. Back to the armbar for a few minutes until Gabriel escapes via a snapmare. A nice series of kicks takes Kruger down as does a discus forearm. Gabriel hits a splash in the corner followed by a springboard cross body for two.

Justin goes up again, only to have Kruger knock him off the top and snap the bad arm down over the top rope. A BIG running clothesline takes Justin’s head off but somehow only gets two. Leo tries a superplex, only to be countered into a sunset bomb off the top. The 450 finally hits (with Gabriel selling the arm even while covering) for the pin on Kruger at 11:03 shown of 13:33.

Rating: B-. This was a very entertaining match that came out of almost nowhere. They were going back and forth the entire time and the arm stuff was a nice touch. It loses some significant points because of how long they spent in that headlock, but other than that I have very few complaints here. This was one of the better matches I’ve seen in a long time on NXT.

Post match Kruger hits Gabriel with Kidd’s crutch.

Aksana vs. Emma

Emma dances (badly) to the ring and tries to skin the cat to get into the ring but can’t quite get over the ropes. Aksana whips her into the corner to start and crawls over to Emma, only to have the Aussie (Emma) head to the apron. She kicks the ropes and seems to trip down to the floor. So is she a klutz?

Back in and a hair drag puts Aksana down so Emma can mock the crawling thing that Aksana does. Aksana comes back with a slam and drops an elbow for two. Emma pulls her down by the hair again and puts on a cravate for good measure. Aksana counters what appears to be a dancing suplex and hits a spinebuster for the pin at 4:39.

Rating: D+. What does it say for your career when you’re jobbing to Aksana? This was a step up for Aksana but she’s still not very good. Emma has only been around a few times on NXT and the dancing bit is only going to carry her so far, especially given how many other dancing characters there are in WWE at this time.

We cut to the back where Bo Dallas is unconscious.

Corey Graves vs. Conor O’Brian

There’s no Dallas in sight at the moment so I guess this is one on one now. The winner gets a shot at Langston. Graves goes for a leg to start and is easily shoved away. Another attempt gets the same result before O’Brian runs him over a few times with some hard shoulders. Off to a headlock on the mat by Conor which shifts into a nerve hold. We take a break and come back with Graves being backdropped over the top and out to the floor.

Back in and O’Brian keeps up the punishment as he stops a comeback attempt cold. Graves is sent to the floor and gets a breather, allowing him to wrap Conor’s leg around the post a few times. Back inside and Corey cranks on the leg with a leg lock before cannonballing down onto it. Off to another leg lock which transitions into a kind of modified Texas Cloverleaf, only with Graves laying on his side and cranking back on the legs instead of sitting on the back.

We take another break and come back with both guys on the floor again. Graves punches away at the limping O’Brian before getting two back inside. Back to another leg lock but O’Brian rips at his face to break the hold. They slug it out with O’Brian taking over and hitting a flapjack….and there go the lights. The lights come back on and the Shield is here for a no contest at approximately 9:30 shown of 14:30.

Rating: C+. While still good, this wasn’t as good as the first match. Graves going for the knee was the right move as his finish is a leg lock. Why is that such a complicated idea for so many people to grasp anymore? The finish probably ties into the Dallas attack which is fine, and it’s nice to see Shield still around here. If nothing else they have unfinished business around the NXT Title.

Graves takes the TripleBomb as the fans chant for Shield. Ambrose says Shield isn’t done with NXT. Rollins promises that things will get better, but first they have to get worse.

Overall Rating: B. This show is the most continuously entertaining hour of wrestling every single week. We had two solid matches here, a not terrible Divas match, and a run-in by the top heel group of the main roster. Oh and Dallas was attacked, which may or may not be because of the Shield. This was a solid show and very entertaining for an hour of wrestling. Good stuff.

Results

Justin Gabriel b. Leo Kruger – 450 Splash

Aksana b. Emma – Spinebuster

Corey Graves vs. Conor O’Brian went to a no contest when Shield interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: January 30, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Tony Dawson

This is the second week of the tag team title tournament and my guess is we’ll get two more first round matches tonight. Other than that we’ve got Conor O’Brien challenging Langston for the title next week which should be interesting given that we haven’t seen Conor since Cameron was released. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the announcement of the title tournament and the first two matches. For the first time we get to see the full brackets:

Wyatt Family

Bo Dallas/Michael McGillicutty

Primo/Epico

Alex Riley/Derrick Bateman

Leo Kruger/Kassius Ohno

Oliver Grey/Adrian Neville

Welcome Home.

NXT Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Alex Riley/Derrick Bateman vs. Kassius Ohno/Leo Kruger

Bateman and Kruger get us going with a kneeling staredown. The fans are behind Bateman despite him not being seen in months. They fight over some basic holds to start before it’s off to Riley. Kruger hides in the corner before bringing in Ohno. Kassius doesn’t seem impressed so Riley takes him down with an armdrag into an armbar. Riley hits a big dropkick as Regal talks about why wrestlers drop down (“They don’t want to get hit.”).

Back to Derrick who knocks Kassius to the floor and we take a break. We come back to see Kruger in a Bateman armbar followed by Bateman pounding away in the corner. A running knee in the corner misses Kruger though and that’s the knee that kept him out for four months. Back to Ohno who cranks on the knee a bit before Kruger comes in to do the same.

Kassius is looking at Regal as Leo tags him in. Kind of odd as Regal hasn’t done anything to Ohno in a few weeks but whatever. Anyway Ohno comes in and puts on another leg lock before tagging back to Kruger. Leo hooks a kneeling half crab and a Robinsdale Crunch before bringing Ohno back in for a spinning toe hold. I like how they’re mixing the holds and moves up instead of using the same ones over and over again. It’s so boring when people do that.

Bateman kicks Ohno away and makes the hot tag to Riley. Things speed up and Riley hits a spinebuster and falling forward DDT out of the corner for two. Everything breaks down and Ohno hits a big boot on Riley to set up what looks like an arm trap cravate for the tap out at 10:51 shown of 14:21.

Rating: B-. This was the tag team formula and it worked very well. I like Ohno better as a vicious killer rather than the usual guy he’s been where he feigns respect for everyone else. Kruger didn’t get to show off a lot here which is somewhat disappointing but at least we got to see some Alex Riley. This was a lot better than I was expecting.

Mason Ryan vs. Sakamoto

There’s a name we haven’t seen in a long time. Ryan is still a musclehead but he’s a big less cut up now which might be a good thing for him. Sakamoto tries to hide in the corner but gets thrown across the ring by the throat. A cross body is caught in a backbreaker and fallaway slam by Ryan before it’s time for a trapezius hold. That doesn’t last long so Mason ends him with a Jackhammer at 2:19. The fans call Ryan boring and I can’t say I disagree. He’s just a power guy who uses power moves and that’s it.

Aksana vs. Paige

Aksana takes over to start and shows off some “power” before crawling around on the mat. With a boot in Paige’s back Aksana pulls on her limbs for a bit but here’s Paige’s comeback. She pounds away on Aksana a bit before hooking a kneeling Sharpshooter with her knee in Aksana’s back for the tap out at 2:59. Paige continues to impress.

Post match Summer Rae runs in and jumps Paige from behind.

Sasha Banks is very excited about winning last week. She thinks the sky is the limit but here’s a delivery guy with a letter. Apparently Sasha has a secret admirer.

NXT Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Primo/Epico vs. Michael McGillicutty/Bo Dallas

Epico has his hair down here which makes him a lot easier to distinguish from his partner. Primo and Dallas start things off with Primo being shoved into the corner. Dallas sends him to the outside before it’s off to Epico. The cousins take over but almost as soon as Primo comes back in, Dallas is able to regain control. An atomic drop gets two and it’s off to McGillicutty. A double back elbow gets two as does a backbreaker by McGillicutty.

Back to Dallas for a pretty sweet back and forth double teaming sequence (starting with a Dallas right, a McGillicutty knee lift and a Dallas clothesline) for two. Michael counters an Epico dropkick to send him to the outside. We take a break and come back with Michael hitting a running dropkick but having to beat up the illegal Primo, allowing Epico to dropkick McGillicutty to the floor.

Back in an Epico hits a slingshot hilo for two on Michael as Rosa gyrates a bit. Primo hooks a chinlock with a bodyscissors for a bit before it’s back to Epico. He hooks another chinlock on Michael but McGillicutty fights up and they collide. The double tag brings in Dallas and Primo with Bo hitting an awkward looking kneedrop for two. Epico breaks up a pin attempt off a tornado bulldog from Dallas. Primo and Dallas are left in the ring and an arm trap DDT gets a close two on Bo. Primo loads up something but charges into the belly to belly suplex for the pin at 10:25 shown of 13:55.

Rating: C+. Another pretty decent tag match here but not as good overall as the first one. I like the belly to belly far better as Dallas’ finisher than the spear. Dallas’ size isn’t a big enough guy to make that move look effective but with something like the belly to belly it’s more believable. This was another good match and a good way to close the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Two good matches and some angel advancement make for a solid show this week. I’m surprised we didn’t get at least a promo about the title match next week but that wasn’t the focus of tonight’s show. This show continues to be the highlight of my week as it’s so nice to have a show you know is going to be ok at worst. I can’t remember the last time they had a truly bad episode which is almost impossible to be able to say in wrestling.

Results

Leo Kruger/Kassius Ohno b. Alex Riley/Derrick Bateman – Arm trap cravate to Riley

Mason Ryan b. Sakamoto – Jackhammer

Paige b. Aksana – Kneeling Sharpshooter

Bo Dallas/Michael McGillicutty b. Primo/Epico – Belly to belly suplex to Primo

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

USWA Wrestling Challenge
Date: January 27, 1990
Location: Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Marc Lowrance, Terrance Garvin, Jerry Lawler

Here’s the final show I have for these guys at the moment. We’ve jumped ahead another three weeks so hopefully we get something a little newer here. Also am I missing something or has there been no Lawler in a long time? Anyway this show can’t get much more boring so let’s get to it.

As usual we open with a clip from last week where Adams/Funk beat up Braddock/Chu-Hi but Tojo came in for the DQ. Adams came back with a superkick to take out Chi-Hi and that’s it.

Some chick sings America the Beautiful.

Chris Adams vs. Texas Battleship

No idea who Battleship is but he’s good sized. The fans chant Superkick and they circle each other a lot. Battleship is sent to the floor and Adams hits a suicide dive to take him out. Back in a top rope superkick ends this quick.

Here’s Lawler who is defending against JYD next week. Lowrance wants to know when Kerry gets his title shot as well. Lawler runs down all of Texas and says that he’ll be champion as long as he wants. As for JYD, he may have brought himself up from the gutter but he’s getting homesick. JYD has become a religious man lately since he’s been praying for something to happen to keep him from having to face Lawler. As for Lowrance, the people aren’t clapping for him. They’re slapping their heads to stay awake. Lawler is going to sit in on commentary.

Texas Title: Chris Youngblood vs. Kerry Von Erich

Well Lawler is certainly better than Garvin. Lawler wants to know how Kerry can call himself a Modern Day Warrior when he’s a washed up has been. Kerry is defending of course. He wants Lawler gone for his match but Jerry is allowed to stay. Lawler leaves on his own so he can watch Youngblood take the title. Kerry punches Chris to the floor to start and grabs a quick Claw but Youngblood bails.

We take a break and come back with Youngblood chopping in the corner. There’s a guitar on a pole match coming up. Holy Russo Batman! Youngblood hooks a wristlock but Kerry comes back with a discus punch to tie Youngblood up in the ropes. Chris tries to leave so they fight on the floor with Kerry’s face going into the post. Kerry takes a chair to the back but it’s not a DQ. Kerry tries the discus punch but he hits the post.

Youngblood works over the hand now. He’s a Medicine Man if I didn’t mention that. Back inside and it’s time for an abdominal stretch. You know, after Kerry punched a steel post. Kerry escapes and loads up the Claw but Youngblood blocks it. Kerry settles for the Stomach Claw instead but Youngblood punches out of it and we head back to the floor. Back in the ring the discus punch hits again as does a piledriver. Youngblood is up way too fast so Kerry rolls him up for the pin.

Rating: C-. This match was nothing great but WOW what a breath of fresh air this was to have someone out there that was capable of showing some energy instead of just standing around and moving very slowly. Kerry may have been drugged out of his mind most matches but he could get a crowd going and that’s more than most people lately have been able to say.

We recap Jarrett vs. Travis. Apparently Travis has been dressing up in an Elvis jumpsuit and hitting people with a guitar. The solution: a guitar on a pole match. We also get a quick video on Jarrett.

Billy Joe Travis vs. Jeff Jarrett

Lawler comes back to do commentary. Jarrett jumps Travis as soon as he gets in and they head to the floor. It’s so weird hearing the voice of Raw on here. Back in the ring and Jarrett whacks him with a chair. Billy for the pole but Jarrett gets a great right hand to stop him. After saying the word superplex, Jeff hits one to take Billy down. Jarrett DDTs Travis on the table which doesn’t move an inch. There’s a piledriver on the floor and partially onto a chair. We take a break and come back with Jarrett tombstoning Travis and getting the guitar. That’s what you have to do to win. Ok then.

Rating: C+. This was basically a Jarrett squash. That being said, it was entertaining because the idea was to have Travis be the Honky Tonk Man character, as in the guy that everyone can beat but he keeps eluding them. Once you get someone in there that gets their hands on him and tears him apart, he doesn’t stand a chance. This was part of the blowoff for that and it worked pretty well.

Post match Lawler comes in the ring and beats down Jeff. Out to the floor and Jeff goes into the post. Lawler hits Jarrett with the guitar, breaking it after about three shots. Kerry Von Erich makes the save. Lawler sells his punches incredibly well. The numbers catch up with Kerry and Lawler gets in some shots with the handle of the guitar. Jarrett makes the save with a chair.

Overall Rating: C. See now THIS is more like it. It’s not a great show or anything but there was actual energy in these matches. Jarrett looked like a big deal, Kerry was his usual self with firing up the crowd, Adams was good for getting the people going and Lawler is his usual heat generating machine. I want to see Lawler vs. Von Erich now and I’d assume there’s a tag match coming with those four. If I find any more of these shows I’ll throw them up as this one would have made me keep watching.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: January 2, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, William Regal

We’re back to a regular show this week after last week’s pretty awesome year in review show. The main change is that the Shield has now been acknowledged in NXT, which is kind of strange as Ambrose never appeared on this show that I remember. Anyway, it’s nice to see things caught up even a little bit as we’ve now hit Survivor Series. Skipping a week or so wouldn’t really be that big of a deal would it? Let’s get to it.

Before anything else has time to happen, the Shield is beating down some guys who we didn’t even get to see. The bell was ringing as Coheed and Cambria were wrapping up the theme song. Dusty pops up on stage and says that’s enough. Ambrose says that’s just a small taste of what they’re capable of. It’s all in the name of justice and righting wrongs. Rollins says they’re taking over NXT just like they did with Raw and Smackdown. Dusty says that Rollins is defending the title against Corey Graves tonight. Rollins says ok but be careful what you wish for. Reigns says this is their house and Dusty is paying rent.

Bo Dallas vs. Epico

The fans want the absent Rosa and I can’t say I blame them. Dallas runs him over to start and grabs a headlock, only to nearly fall to the floor as Epico sends him into the ropes. A knee to Dallas’ ribs takes him down and a slingshot hilo gets two. Epico hooks a body scissors followed by a backbreaker with Dallas being bent over the knee. A dropkick from Epico sends Dallas into the most overblown fall this side of a Curt Hennig match and gets two. He spun in about a circle and a half from a standard dropkick. Dallas shrugs off right hands and starts to smile. A belly to belly suplex to Epico sets up the spear for the pin at 5:06.

Rating: C-. I try to get into Bo Dallas matches but I just do not care for the guy. He certainly isn’t terrible and I don’t groan when he has a match, but man alive I just do not care when he’s in the ring. Part of it is the spear as a finisher. I can’t stand it when small guys use the spear as it never looks right. It drove me crazy when Christian would use it because as a power move, it wouldn’t do much damage using wrestling logic. Anyway, not a terrible match or anything here and the fans are into Dallas.

Post match the cousins circle Dallas until McGillicutty makes the save, likely setting up a tag match.

Sasha Banks vs. Tamina Snuka

Tamina pounds her down as Regal talks about how she’s a second generation athlete. The interesting part: he DOESN’T say whose daughter she is! After an abdominal stretch from Tamina, Sasha makes a comeback with chops and a monkey flip followed by a victory roll for one. Dawson reminds us who Tamina’s papa is as she hits a Samoan Drop and Superfly Splash for the pin at 2:49. Total squash.

Kassius Ohno/Leo Kruger vs. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel

For some reason I never put it together that Gabriel and Kruger are both from South Africa. The non-South Africans start things off and trade a few go behinds until it’s off to Gabriel so things can speed up. Ohno hits a knee/kick to the face and brings in Kruger to face the almost immediately tagged Kidd. International Airstrike (were they ever officially called that?) hit some MCMG style double team moves to torment Kruger, with most of the moves being based around kicks to the face.

We get a breather as Kidd hooks a quick armbar but changes over to a Sharpshooter attempt instead. Kruger heads to the floor along with Ohno and it’s time to unleash the dives. Kidd takes out Kruger after Gabriel dives on Ohno and we take a break. Back with IA hitting stereo kicks to Kruger’s chest/back for two for Tyson. An Ohno distraction lets Kruger hit a spinebuster on Kidd to take over.

Ohno comes in with a standing backsplash for two and it’s off to a modified cravate to crank on Kidd’s neck a bit. Back to Leo for a snap suplex for two followed by some elbows. Kassius shouts that Leo is an animal. So should he want to hunt himself? Kruger drops knees on Tyson’s ribs and hooks a quick chinlock before Ohno comes back in. Kidd dives to the corner and makes the hot tag, allowing Gabriel to speed things WAY up. After diving on Ohno, a blue thunder bomb gets two on Kruger. Everything breaks down as the South Africans trade rollups. Leo hits the Kruger End for the pin at 8:13 shown of 11:43.

Rating: C+. Good tag match here, although I don’t think Dawson is accurate when he calls this a career defining win. I like Kruger more every time I see him aside from his finisher and the big game hunter thing is working for him. Kidd and Gabriel were their usual awesome selves here. That leaves Ohno, who I still do not get the appeal of at all. I know he’s talented, but this just isn’t working for me at all.

NXT Title: Seth Rollins vs. Corey Graves

Something tells me Graves isn’t really the favorite here. They slug it out to start with Graves taking over, getting two each off a small package and backslide. He goes for the leg lock but Seth makes a rope. Meaning it can only be regular leg work for now. Rollins gets an elbow up to slow things down and a running knee to the chest gets two. Off to a headscissors hold by the champion followed by a forearm to the face to keep Graves down. Rollins starts getting fired up but Graves takes the knee out and puts on the 13^th Step….and here’s the Shield for the DQ at 4:43.

Rating: C. This was starting to get good but how much can you do with just five minutes? They were in a weird spot here as Graves was a heel coming in but had to play the face here out of necessity. I’m thinking this is the end of this pairing though as the Shield debut changed everything about Rollins, so him fighting a heel doesn’t make a ton of sense. Still though, decent match while it lasted.

Dusty sends some jobbers out to try to stop the Shield but they have no luck. We get up to about eight guys in there and they still can’t get Shield out of there. Bo Dallas gets stuck in there alone and takes the Triple Bomb. Now in a good wrestling company, this is where the top face of the company would come to the ring for a BIG showdown. Thankfully NXT is a good wrestling company so here’s Big E. Langston and the place goes nuts. Despite being up 3-1, the Shield bails. Dusty makes Langston vs. Rollins next week for the title.

Overall Rating: B-. As usual, NXT continues to be the textbook example of what you can get from a basic, by the book wrestling company. There’s nothing going on here that is over the top or ridiculous or trying to swerve the fans, and yet it’s the show I enjoy watching the most all week. The matches are still fresh, although to be fair they only have an hour a week to fill vs. WWE’s five plus. Anyway, good stuff here and I’m fired up for next week’s showdown.

Results

Bo Dallas b. Epico – Spear

Tamina Snuka b. Sasha Banks – Superfly Splash

Leo Kruger/Kassius Ohno b. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel – Kruger End

Corey Graves b. Seth Rollins via Dqq when the Shield interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: December 5, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, William Regal

This might be the week where Mahal finally gets the title shot that he earned weeks ago. It’ll be nice if they’ve finally caught up with Raw and he’s in the Band rather than being his usual self. Other than that hopefully we’ll have a better show than last week, which was probably the worst show they’ve had in this season. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Michael McGillicutty vs. Antonio Cesaro

Heel vs. heel? Or was there a McGillicutty face turn that I completely missed? This is non-title I believe. They head to the mat to start and Dawson talks about how McGillicutty wants to complete the first father/son pair to hold the US Title. I’m pretty sure Dusty and Dustin already did that but. Anyway, Cesaro chops away and goes to the stomach to take over. Apparently we’re just ignoring Dustin as we hear about Dusty winning the US Title as well.

The fans are firmly behind McGillicutty with a pair of chants for him. Cesaro turns that to a big gasp instead with a double stomp to the ribs. There’s a body vice to stay on the ribs but McGillicutty comes back with a sunset flip for two. Cesaro gets the same off a clothesline, followed by the gutwrench suplex for two more. Back to the body vice but Michael GOES OFF on Cesaro, pounding him into the corner and hitting a clothesline to take over. Cesaro comes back with a classic thumb to the eye and the European Uppercut to set up the Neutralizer for the pin at 6:00.

Rating: C-. The match was pretty dull, but McGillicutty showed a lot of fire here. That comeback with punches into the corner was a cool moment and it’s clear that McGillicutty could be an excellent face. Well, if you change his name to the one he should have had for like three years now.

Axl Keegan vs. Bo Dallas

This is Keegan’s debut. Dallas takes the bigger guy to the mat to start but goes face first into the middle buckle. A slam gets two for Keegan and it’s off to the neck crank. Dallas makes his comeback with a bunch of forearms and clotheslines followed by the spear for the pin at 2:47. Dallas still does nothing for me.

Dallas says he’s lost a bit lately but he gives the pain the respect it deserves. He issues an open challenge to anyone in the WWE to come and face him, no matter how big a name they are.

The Raw ReBound is the end of the show with the lie detector segment and Ryback standing tall.

Corey Graves vs. Yoshi Tatsu

Graves jumps Tatsu in the aisle and has a big advantage to start. He goes for Yoshi’s leg and beats on that for awhile, kicking it in the corner and bending it around the ropes. There’s a leg crank as the fans think Corey is awesome. Yoshi fights up and hits some backdrops followed by his kicks but Graves stops him dead with a knee crusher. Graves hooks that reverse figure four of his, apparently called the 13^th Step for the pin at 2:59. Just a squash.

Gavid Reid vs. Roman Reigns

Oh come on. We’re supposed to care about a guy named GAVID? Reigns stomps him down in the corner and shouts a lot. Reigns puts on a cravate and asks the fans what his name is. A clothesline puts Reid down and that belly to back slam gets the pin at 2:09.

Reigns yells at ring announcer Byron Saxton and tells him to get out.

Tyson Kidd says he’s ready for Leo Kruger and says if that’s what he has to go through to get to the NXT Title, so be it. Kassius Ohno comes in to make fun of Kidd, so Kidd quotes Albert Einstein. Ok then.

Rollins vs. Mahal is next week.

Tyson Kidd vs. Leo Kruger

Kruger stares in the corner while the fans chant for Kidd. We quickly hit the mat but Kruger makes the rope. Kidd speeds around and has Kruger frustrated very quickly. Off to a headlock on the mat by Tyson as we take a break. Back with Kruger holding a full nelson but Kidd fights out. A cross body misses Leo though and Kidd crashes to the floor. Back in and Leo stomps away very slowly, which is appropriate for him.

Kruger keeps pounding away and hooks the full nelson again which even Regal calls an unusual move. Tyson tries to stomp on the foot to escape but Leo pounds him down with ease. Here come the kicks from Kidd for the real comeback including one from the apron. A springboard elbow hits Kruger’s knee, which again hurts Kidd more than Kruger. Kruger pounds away some more and goes up, only to be armdragged off the top. After a kick to the face from the apron, the Dungeon Lock gets the tap out from Kruger at 9:05 shown of 12:35.

Rating: C+. Is Kidd capable of having a bad match if he gets more than five minutes? The match was nothing great, but Kidd looks so smooth out there every time he’s in the ring. Decent main event here, as I continue to wonder how much I like Kruger’s character. I like the facials he gives, but I’m not sure how far a human big game hunter can go.

Post match Kassius Ohno comes in for the double beatdown until William Regal of all people comes out and pulls Kidd away.

Overall Rating: C+. This was an episode where we got to see a lot of people, mostly in squash matches. NXT is still a place where that can work, as most of the matches were short and therefore still got to see a lot of people. That’s good when you just have an hour a week. Not a great show or anything, but it was an entertaining hour of TV and I want to see more of it, which is a good thing.

Results

Antonio Cesaro b. Michael McGillicutty – Neutralizer

Bo Dallas b. Axl Keegan – Spear

Corey Graves b. Yoshi Tatsu – 13^th Step

Roman Reigns b. Gavid Reid – Spinning Belly to Back Slam

Tyson Kidd b. Leo Kruger – Dungeon Lock

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: November 14, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Luftman

We have a world title match scheduled now and we have to get to that match, which may be tonight. They weren’t really clear when the match would be going on but tonight would be a bit soon I’d think. Other than that we’ve got Vickie holding a bounty over Big E. Langston’s head, which is good as he needs a story of some kind. I’ve been loving NXT for the last few weeks so hopefully it stays this good. Let’s get to it.

Mahal is in the back to open the show and talks about how awesome he is. Bo Dallas is called a nobody and comes up to challenge Mahal to a fight. Dallas says since he’s so easy to beat, put up the title shot. Mahal: “Why would I do that?” Dallas: “Why not?” Apparently it’s on and the title match isn’t tonight.

Ascension vs. Yoshi Tatsu/Percy Watson

This would be a good place for Tatsu to remind people what he’s capable of. Cameron and Watson start things off but it’s quickly off to a now nearly bald O’Brien. Ascension does their very fast tagging with the quick striking offense ala Demolition. Conor puts on a hard headlock to keep Watson down even longer. Watson finally escapes and it’s off to Tatsu vs. Cameron as things speed up. Ascension turns up the awesome and hits the Fall of Man (Total Elimination) for the pin on Tatsu at 2:54. Total squash and Ascension looked great.

Aksana and Layla have one of those stupid Divas moments in the back about Layla’s hair looking bad.

Corey Graves vs. Oliver Gray

They fight over an arm hold to start as we hear about Gray being a former lumberjack. So he made his living filling in a spot around the ring for a match no one wanted to see? How do I get that job? Graves works on the knee as the fans cheer for him, despite him seeming to be a heel. JR gets Tony’s name wrong (Tom) as Graves stays on the knee. Off to an Indian Deathlock by Graves as we go back to the 1970s. Graves hooks a cool looking rolling leg lock for the tap out at 4:13.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here but Graves looked good which is what NXT has been good at lately. They’ve built up a few guys and it’s hard to say who is better than whom. In something I can’t say about WWE or TNA at the moment, I buy this show as having a chance at not screwing this up. Good squash here.

Video on Big E. Langston

Here’s Langston for a special interview. SWEET this should be good. He talks about how he’s worried about Vickie’s bounty. Worried for the other people that is, because the E stands for their end. Langston has five reasons why he’s awesome but Camacho jumps him from behind. He hits Langston once then holds up five fingers.

Layla vs. Aksana

A quick rollup gets two for the British chick (Layla) but Aksana MESSES WITH THE HAIR!!! Aksana puts her down and crawls along the apron for no apparent reason. A baseball slide puts Aksana on the floor and a few rollups get two each for Layla. Layla gets pulled off the middle rope and pounded on a bit and it’s off to a triangle choke from Aksana. That goes nowhere so they get into a modified catfight. Aksana takes over and does the slow sexy crawl again which lets Layla make her comeback with clotheslines (arms to the chest according to Tony. He’s trying at least) and a high kick for the pin for Layla at 5:21.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t horrible but at the end of the day, Aksana just isn’t that good. Layla is one of the fun Divas and there’s nothing wrong with that at all, but it kind of limits where she can go. Aksana tries out there and there’s nothing bad about that sexy crawl, but the whole idea of them fighting over hair and then having a not very good match isn’t going to help shake the stigma this division has.

We go to a field with Bray Wyatt, talking about how he’s a monster and he’s never told us a lie. He’s been around for centuries and has been worshiped by every civilization and if you want to find the sign of him, follow the buzzards in the sky. I have no idea what he’s talking about, but the delivery is so awesome it’s hard not to stop and watch him, which is what promos are supposed to be about.

Roman Reigns vs. Chase Donovan

Reigns throws him into the corner to start and hooks a cravate. JR calls Reigns the LeBron James of the WWE. That’s a bit of a stretch I’d think but JR hasn’t cared in years so why should I? A spinebuster puts Donovan down and it’s off to a nerve hold. Reigns lets that go, roars a lot, and hits the belly to back slam for the pin at 2:41.

Reigns makes Byron Saxton announce him as the Thoroughbred Roman Reigns twice because he wasn’t happy with just being announced as the winner.

Jinder Mahal vs. Bo Dallas

The winner gets the shot at Rollins. Feeling out process is won by Mahal and it’s off to a top wristlock. Dallas hooks a headlock and they slow things down a lot. They’re using the formula usually reserved for the long and big matches even though there isn’t a ton of time left here. Dallas sends Mahal into the corner but misses a dropkick. Mahal’s camel clutch doesn’t work so Jinder hits the floor as we hit a break.

Back with Dallas hammering away in the corner but getting caught by a running knee in the face for two. Off to a double arm trap hold by Mahal which goes on for a good while until Dallas flips him over for two. Backslide gets two for Dallas so Mahal kicks him in the head a few times. A knee to the ribs gets two and Dallas is in trouble. Dallas gets knocked to the apron but he comes back with a kick to the head and a slingshot clothesline for two. Dallas misses a charge into the buckle and there’s the camel clutch for the tap at 9:03 shown of 12:33.

Rating: C. This wasn’t that interesting of a match. They started off slowly and usually once the break is over, things would pick up but in this case it never got into a higher gear. Dallas is a guy that gets a good reaction but he just isn’t that good in the ring. Mahal isn’t bad as a heel but he doesn’t really have much of a character other than he’s Indian and rich. Granted this is before 3MB started so that’s a moot point.

Mahal attacks Dallas post match but Rollins makes the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was one of those shows that only kind of worked. The stuff on it that was good was good but the stuff on it that was dull was quite dull. The main event didn’t work that well at all but they had to have something to fill in the time before the title match. I liked Graves and the Ascension stuff and the Wyatt promo as well, but I’m not sold yet on Reigns. The character development here is light years ahead of WWE and TNA at the moment though.

Results

Ascension b. Yoshi Tatsu/Percy Watson – Fall of Man to Tatsu

Corey Graves b. Oliver Gray – Rolling Leg Lock

Layla b. Aksana – High Kick

Roman Reigns b. Chase Donovan – Belly to Back Slam

Jinder Mahal b. Bo Dallas – Camel Clutch

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: November 8, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Tony Luftman, Byron Saxton

Tonight the focus of the show is on the fourway between Mahal, Dallas, Gabriel and McIntyre with the winner getting a shot at the NXT Title I believe next week. However that’s not the most interesting thing we might see tonight. More importantly: will Big E. Langston get to talk about the number five anymore? That’s what I want to hear more than anything else. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the announcement of the fourway last week.

Theme song.

Kassius Ohno vs. Trent Barreta

This is a rematch from two weeks ago where Richie Steamboat cost Ohno the match. Trent chops away to start and Kassius hides on the apron. Barreta tries a sunset powerbomb to the floor but Ohno kicks him in the head to escape. Back in and it’s a dragon sleeper by Ohno which is treated like any other hold here. Regal says Trent enjoys pain because it makes him feel alive. Well I guess it would.

Trent’s enziguri is blocked and Ohno gets two off a rollup. Barreta gets the same off a tornado DDT and Ohno is staggered. They trade elbows before Kassius kicks Trent in the face for two. Kassius puts Trent on top, only to be shoved off and caught by a missile dropkick. Trent loads up the running knee but Kassius ducks to the floor. Back in and the spinning elbow to the head gets the pin for Kassius at 6:08.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure what it was but this didn’t work too well. The chemistry didn’t work here as it was like they were just trading moves while building to nothing. It wasn’t terrible or even bad but it felt more like a collection of spots instead of a flowing match if that makes any sense.

Post match Trent ducks another elbow and dropkicks Ohno.

Cory Graves talks about how his tattoos tell his story and says come and read them.

Big E. Langston vs. Memo Montenegro

Langston starts a FIVE chant before shoving Memo down to the mat. A big clothesline kills Memo and the slam drop gets the pin for Langston at 1:00.

Langston does the drop again and counts five himself to a big pop. It’s remarkable how such a simple idea can get so over. The fans DEMAND he does it again but they get Vickie on the screen instead. She’s issues a five thousand dollar bounty on him and promises to laugh last. Langston is annoyed and goes to drop Memo again, but some guy named Chad Baxter jumps Langston. You can figure out what comes next yourselves.

Jason Jordan is in the ring for a match but HE’S BACK!!! AND HE’S GOT A MIC! Bray Wyatt I mean, as in the former Husky Harris who is now doing a freaky gimmick that seems to be inspired by the villain from Cape Fear. He says that he’s back with his wings healed, then he says something in some other language. Wyatt talks about taking us to the top of a mountain so we can watch everything turn to ash and then fly away. Jordan wants to fight right now but Wyatt says he’s a monster that is never alone. An even scarier looking guy comes to the ring to fight Jordan for him.

??? vs. Jason Jordan

The guy who isn’t named yet is played by former indy guy Brodie Lee, a pretty tall guy who I think had a truck driver gimmick. Regal thinks Lee (who isn’t named here mind you but it’s the only think I know to call him) just came out of a swamp. He kills Jordan with HARD punches and a big clothesline gets two. Lee misses a big boot in the corner so Jordan goes for the knee. That goes well for about eight seconds before Lee DESTROYS him with a Boss Man Slam for the pin at 2:18.

Wyatt says that this is the first son of the Wyatt Family and his name is Luke Harper. This was awesome.

Roman Reigns comes out for an interview but says he doesn’t need Saxton for this. Reigns says he’s sure people are doing better now that Saxton is gone and he’s here. He says that when you’re the man like he is, all you have to do is get up. Whether you’re with him or against him, it’s irrelevant because everyone wants to be Roman Reigns. What he said was fine, but he sounded scared to be talking. He’s got to work on that for a gimmick like this.

Justin Gabriel vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Bo Dallas

The winner gets a title shot at some point in the future and this is under elimination rules with no tagging. Drew and Gabriel fight in one corner while Dallas and Mahal do so in another. The heels both get knocked to the floor and Dallas hits a baseball slide to take McIntyre out. Gabriel dives onto all three guys as we take a break. Back with Mahal suplexing Dallas for two. Jinder and Drew tease a fight but instead they both stomp on Dallas.

McIntyre kicks Mahal down as the South African cross bodies the Scotsman who kicked the Indian in the head after beating up the American. JR’s words, not mine. Gabriel hits an STO on Dallas and knocks him to the floor. A spinning sitout powerbomb puts Mahal down and there’s the 450, but Gabriel hurt himself in the process. Drew dumps Justin to the floor but Dallas spears McIntyre down for the elimination. He also spears a diving Gabriel out of the air and we’re down to one on one with Dallas vs. Mahal.

We take another break and come back with Dallas knocking Mahal down and screaming a lot. We head to the floor and Dallas gets sent into the steps to give Mahal control. The title match is indeed next week. Mahal drops a bunch of knees for two which frustrates him. A jumping knee to the head gets the same result, as does a full nelson slam. Dallas breaks up what appeared to be a Rock Bottom and hits a powerslam to put Mahal down. The spear misses though and the camel clutch gives Mahal the win at 8:26 shown of 15:26.

Rating: B-. This was pretty entertaining and while I’m not crazy about Mahal getting another shot, it’s only his second so it hasn’t been driven into the ground yet. Having four guys in there was a fine idea and they didn’t feel like they were just filling in spots, which is a good thing. Fine main event here and it sets up something later, which is even more important.

Post match Dallas is put in the Clutch again but Rollins makes the save. Seth gets beaten down too and a staredown between he and Mahal ends the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was an awesome show overall with the highlight being the return of Wyatt, who might have the best gimmick in wrestling today. The cool part about that is you can’t really put your finger on what it is, which is what makes monsters creepy. They’re unknown, which can be quite frightening. I’m digging NXT a lot right now as it comes off like a full on promotion where the gimmicks don’t overlap and you really don’t know if one person could beat another. That’s never the case in WWE where it’s easy to tell who is going to win most matches and feuds. Great show this week.

Results

Kassius Ohno b. Trent Barreta – OBE

Big E. Langston b. Memo Montenegro – Slam Drop

Luke Harper b. Jason Jordan – Spinning Boss Man Slam

Jinder Mahal b. Justin Gabriel, Bo Dallas and Drew McIntyre – Camel clutch to Dallas

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: October 31, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Tony Luftman

It’s Halloween and we’re coming off a pretty good show last week. I’m hoping to see more of that Bronson guy as his debut last week impressed me. Other than that I’m hoping we don’t see more of Slater vs. Rollins as the match last week wasn’t anything interesting. We should be getting close to the time when Bray Wyatt comes back too. Let’s get to it.

Usos vs. Johnny Curtis/Michael McGillicutty

There’s a different ring announcer this week who doesn’t sound very confident in her abilities. I don’t know why the Usos can’t get on the main shows. They’ve got experience and a decent enough gimmick, so why can’t they get a spot? Curtis seems to want to pose instead of get ready and McGillicutty is getting annoyed at him before the bell. McGillicutty and Jey start things off with Jey no selling a smash into the buckle. It’s nice to see some stereotypes being followed in modern times.

Off to Curtis who starts dancing. Jey punches him in the face and brings in Jimmy to work on the arm. McGillicutty breaks up an O’Connor Roll before yelling at Curtis some more about messing around. Off to Curtis for a double clothesline to the back of Jimmy’s head which gets two. It might have been three if Johnny wasn’t gyrating while covering. Back to McGillicutty who whips Jimmy into the corner but misses a splash. There’s the hot tag to Jey who cleans house and hits a Bubba Bomb on Michael, followed by a Samoan Drop. Jimmy finishes McGillicutty with a Superfly Splash at 4:17.

Rating: C-. I like three of the people in this match and I like that they’re trying something with Curtis, but the guy just isn’t that good or interesting at all. I’ve heard they’re giving him a new gimmick on the main shows which at least shows that they’re trying, but I’m not a fan of the guy at all.

As the Usos are celebrating, Ascension appears near the top of the arena for a staredown.

Xavier Woods vs. Leo Kruger

You might remember Woods as Consequences Creed from TNA. Apparently he and Regal are both big fans of funk music and they trade 8-tracks. Woods takes over with a headlock but Kruger counters with a backbreaker. Kruger pounds on the back for a bit and gets two off a suplex.

Off to a bearhug and Woods is in trouble. Woods starts pounding out of it so Kruger belly to belly suplexes him down. Xavier finally escapes and gets in some shots to the head followed by a clothesline (the new commentator calls it an explosive athletic move. He doesn’t know many move names but he’s good at the delivery). Woods misses a missile dropkick and Kruger hits that spinning face first mat slam of his for the pin at 4:00.

Rating: D+. This was just a step above a squash which is ok. One of the major advantages NXT has over WWE at this point is that they can throw out new guys like Woods all the time who know what they’re doing and can do jobs like this one. It’s much better than how WWE has big names facing big names all the time and one has to lose or we get a screwy finish. They’ve got something decent with Kruger but he needs to do something instead of constantly squashing people.

Video on Big E. Langston.

Langston is in the arena and Saxton asks him about the five count. Langston talks about how much he loves the number five. He has five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot. People also have a high and low five…..and here’s Vickie. Dang I was wanting to see where he was going with that. No seriously, how much further could he go with that?

Anyway Vickie says she’s here to recruit and someone has caught her eye. She offers her services to Vickie. Fans: “JUST SAY NO!” Langston says he has what she needs and throws powder on her. This was bizarre, primarily due to Langston’s voice. He has an odd speaking pattern where he sounds like he’s trailing off and then gets a burst of energy before going back down again.

Here’s Jinder Mahal with something to say. He says he’s the modern day maharajah but doesn’t have his crown jewel. Being a champion is his birthright and it’s also his right to have a rematch with Seth Rollins. Mahal demands Dusty Rhodes come out and present him with his rematch.

Instead he gets Justin Gabriel who says that Jinder should get in the back of the line. Mahal says that Justin lost in the first round, so Justin polls the audience. After the fans pick Gabriel, here’s Drew McIntyre who says it’s reality check time. He says it should be his shot because he’s the only person that has a victory over Seth Rollins. Now here’s Bo Dallas who says all of these guys have had their shot at Rollins, so it’s time to give someone new a chance. Dusty comes out and says it’ll be a fourway next week with the winner getting the shot.

Roman Reigns vs. CJ Parker

Reigns used to be Leakee in FCW. He’s a member of the Anoa’i family and is the son of Sika and the brother of Rosey. The announcers pound in the fact that Reigns has the IT factor and that we’ll be talking about this debut for years to come. Reigns catches Parker’s crossbody and pounds on the arm and shoulder. A DDT on the arm puts Parker down and Reigns cranks away on it some more. Parker fires away some elbows to escape but a side kick misses and Reigns slugs him down again.

A belly to back suplex by Reigns is countered into a cross body by Parker for two. Parker hits some knees in the corner but gets caught by a flying forearm. Reigns kind of roars and hits a belly to back slam for the pin at 3:43. Think Cena’s Protoplex (the spinning slam he sets up the Shuffle with) but instead of spinning the other guy around, Reigns drives the down with his hand.

Rating: D+. The commentary is over the top but Reigns looked fine here. He’s got a good look and a good physique and his in ring abilities were fine. The match was just a squash though with Parker getting in a few shots here and there. Much like everyone else, it’s too early to say what Reigns has without giving him a more serious challenge.

US Title: Tyson Kidd vs. Antonio Cesaro

Cesaro is defending. They immediately head to the mat with Cesaro holding a front facelock to control. He switches over to a test of strength grip but Kidd bridges off the mat. Cesaro jumps on him to break the bridge, but Kidd bridges up with Cesaro on top of him. Kidd grabs a rollup for two and what looks like a heel hook for a bit but Cesaro makes the rope.

Tyson grabs another pair of rollups for two each and they trade near falls in a very good pinfall reversal sequence, ending with Kidd holding an armbar as we take a break. Back with Cesaro putting on a bearhug as Kidd is in trouble. Kidd fights out of it and backdrops his way out of the Neutralizer before hitting a low dropkick to put the champ down. Kidd starts firing off kicks before hitting a slingshot reverse rollup for two.

Cesaro sends him back to the apron where Kidd hits an enziguri and a slingshot rana for two. A legdrop to the back of Cesaro’s head puts the champion on the floor. Kidd hits a kick from the apron and a springboard elbow back inside for two more. Tyson tries for the Sharpshooter but Cesaro kicks him away. The uppercut hits Kidd and the Neutralizer gets the pin at 7:10 shown of 10:40.

Rating: B-. This is what guys like Cesaro and Kidd, as in guys not trained by FCW, are great at: having flashy matches that aren’t like the same style that you so often get in WWE anymore. Cesaro is definitely a great overall package and Kidd has more than enough skill to get over his size limitations. Good match here and I’d like to see more of Kidd on WWE TV.

Cesaro celebrates and JR plugs the fourway next week to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. NXT is starting to click again as they’re back to having solid wrestling throughout the show and pretty much no time being wasted. We’re also moving towards the next challenger for the title which is treated as a big deal, which it should be. NXT continues to be a solid wrestling show and pretty easily the best one going today.

Results

Usos b. Michael McGillicutty/Johnny Curtis – Superfly Splash to McGillicutty

Leo Kruger b. Xavier Woods – Spinning Face First Mat Slam

Roman Reigns b. CJ Parker – Belly to Back Mat Slam

Antonio Cesaro b. Tyson Kidd – Neutralizer

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: October 10, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, William Regal

After last week there isn’t much to go on for this show. The main feud continues to be Ohno vs. Steamboat which can only go on so much longer before it starts getting dull. Far more importantly than that though, the WWE Champion CM Punk is here tonight to do whatever he wants. That’s a cool bonus for the fans. Let’s get to it.

Punk talks about how he’s here to see Rollins get respect. He says it’s Rollins’ first main event title defense. Didn’t he have that against Rick Victor already or was that non-title?

Johnny Curtis vs. Bo Dallas

Dallas takes him into the corner to start and hits some standing clotheslines for two. Curtis elbows him down a few times for two and hits a suplex for the same. We hit the chinlock which doesn’t last long so Curtis goes up. A top rope knee drop misses and Dallas starts his comeback. Some forearms set up a belly to belly suplex for no cover but a spear gets the pin on Curtis at 4:05.

Rating: D+. This was really dull stuff and the crowd barely reacted to it at all. Neither of these guys show me anything at all that makes me interested in what they’re doing. They have no character traits beyond Dallas likes to compete and Curtis is weird, which he hasn’t actually been in months. Nothing to see here.

Paige/Audrey Marie vs. Alicia Fox/Kaitlyn

No entrances for anyone. Paige and Kaitlyn start things off Feeling out process to start with Paige taking over on the arm. Off to the rather good looking Marie who keeps up the work on the arm. Kaitlyn works on the arm as well but Alicia makes a blind tag to surprise Marie. The fans want Paige but have to stick with Audrey for a bit longer.

The girls do some very nice looking gymnastics before Audrey pulls off what can best be described as an armdrag while Alicia was laying on the mat. Regal says it’s called a Winnick (not sure if that’s spelled right) Throw and freaks out because he hasn’t seen it in years. I’ve never seen it either but it was cool looking. Off to Kaitlyn who picks up Audrey and drops her on her face for two.

Back to Alicia who pounds away on Marie and hooks a chinlock. Back to Kaitlyn for a body scissors as Regal talks about how good the girls look. Kaitlyn shifts over to a full nelson with her legs but has to break it when Marie turns it into a cover. There’s the hot tag to Paige who goes nuts and cleans house but her cradle DDT is broken up by Fox. A dropkick gets one on Alicia and everything breaks down. Paige hooks an O’Connor Roll on Alicia for the pin at 6:20.

Rating: B-. That’s likely high but I was blown away by this. This is one of the best Divas matches I’ve seen in years and a lot of that is due to Audrey. She looked awesome out there with stuff I hadn’t seen before and the execution was really good. The WWE girls looked good too as they didn’t seem like they were having to think through every single thing they did out there. I was very impressed.

Some guy I don’t recognize hits on some chick. It doesn’t go well for him and Trent Barretta comes up to laugh at him. This sets up a match next week. Apparently that’s Jake Carter.

Rollins talks about being champion when Punk pops up. He says just holding the title won’t get Rollins respect and tonight, Seth needs to beat the respect out of McGillicutty.

Leo Kruger vs. Dante Dash

Kruger is still insane. He’s growing on me every time I see him. After crouching in the corner to start, Leo charges out of the corner to forearm Dash in the head. Off to a chinlock which turns into a beard pull. Leo suplexes him down and keeps pulling on his own hair. That falling neckbreaker/cutter thing from Kruger gets the pin at 2:23.

Post match Kruger gets a blue spotlight and says something in a different language before saying he’ll finish his prey quickly. His voice is awesome.

McGillicutty doesn’t get the obsession with respect. He’s coming after Punk for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship (that’ll likely be a fine) after he beats Rollins.

NXT Title: Seth Rollins vs. Michael McGillicutty

Rollins is defending and they have a ton of time to work with here. Punk comes out to do commentary and gets a big reaction. Before the match starts though, Punk has something to say. He’s here to take a closer look and he says good luck. That’s all he has to say which is a surprise. After big match intros we’re ready to go.

Feeling out process to start as Punk asks the other announcers for their picks. Regal isn’t a betting man (he called Gamblers Anonymous yesterday and they gave him 5-1 odds he wouldn’t come to a meeting) and can’t pick (Punk: “That’s very Switzerland of you”) and Ross picks Rollins to keep the title until someone beats him for it. You can’t buy this kind of expertise people.

McGillicutty avoids the Blackout and we take a break. Back with Michael stomping away in the corner but Rollins takes him down with a headlock takeover. Michael grabs one of his own but gets dropkicked down twice in a row. McGillicutty throws him over the top and to the floor as this is a very back and forth match. Back in and Seth tries to go up top, only to get crotched and put in the Tree of Woe.

A hard whip into the corner gets one for McGillicutty and we take another break. Back with Rollins jumping off the top and over McGillicutty before dropkicking Michael down. A clothesline puts McGillicutty on the floor and a suicide dive from Rollins takes him down. Back in and Rollins tries a springboard clothesline but Michael dropkicks him out of the air for two.

Rollins hits an enziguri but misses the Blackout and a high kick before McGillicutty hits a Saito Suplex for two. McGillicutty loads up a Perfectplex but gets small packaged for two. A clothesline takes Rollins down for another two and Michael is getting frustrated. Rollins gets back up and avoids the McGillicutter before hitting Sliced Bread #2 for the pin at 11:20 shown of 15:50.

Rating: B-. This started slow but after the break it turned into the usual good stuff I’ve grown to expect from McGillicutty. Rollins winning with something other than the Blackout is a good thing as that move is similar to the 619 in that there are only so many plausible ways you can set it up. Good main event here that shows that Rollins can win more than one way.

Punk applauds Rollins to end the show. Punk was pretty much neutral tonight.

Overall Rating: B+. There was almost nothing missing from this show. We had a shockingly good tag match, a good main event, a squash and a great promo to follow it and an appearance from one of the biggest stars in the WWE. Good show here and I really enjoyed it the entire way through.

Results

Bo Dallas b. Johnny Curtis – Spear

Audrey Marie/Paige b. Alicia Fox/Kaitlyn – O’Connor Roll to Fox

Leo Kruger b. Dante Dash – Face First Mat Slam

Seth Rollins b. Michael McGillicutty – Sliced Bread #2

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