He won the tournament today and gets the spot.  I can’t tell you how THRILLED I am by this.

NXT
Date: January 23, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Tony Dawson

On the 29^th anniversary of the birth of modern wrestling, we’re back in Florida for more NXT. After last week’s transitional show we should be ready for something new tonight. Odds are Langston is going to get his next challenger tonight which should be interesting as he has no one else to fight at the moment. Let’s get to it.

Shawn Michaels is in the ring to open the show. Fans: “HBK! HBK! HBK!” Shawn: “Aw come on.” The fans quiet down. Shawn: “No don’t stop!” Anyway, Shawn is here and he’s got two belts which are apparently the new NXT Tag Team Championships. Shawn says that there’s a tournament starting tonight and the winners will be the stars of the future. He says that as a former tag team champion he knows what kind of a springboard these belts can be. Nice little cameo here that didn’t take up much time at all and made things feel special.

Opening video.

NXT Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Wyatt Family vs. Yoshi Tatsu/Percy Watson

It’s Harper/Rowan here. Watson and Rowan start things off with Watson jumping WAY over Rowan’s head in a leap frog and taking him down with a leg lariat. Off to Tatsu as Regal gives us an idea of the mentality behind being in a tag team. Rowan chops Tatsu into the corner and it’s off to Harper to pound away in the corner.

Luke puts on a chinlock and circles around the ring at the same time to keep Yoshi disoriented. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. A jawbreaker finally gets Tatsu out of trouble but it’s off to Rowan to slam him down for two. Rowan cranks on the neck for a bit and here’s Harper again, but he lets Yoshi crawl over and bring in Watson. Everything breaks down and Harper takes Watson’s head off with a clothesline for the pin at 4:55.

Rating: C. This was just a squash but the Wyatt Family has a great presence to them. There’s something disturbing to them where they’re just a bit off and that’s a great characteristic to have. At this point Wyatt doesn’t even need to be in the ring which is good as I think he’s still recovering from his injury. The Family is doing fine just being creepy right now but them getting some gold would be nice.

Dusty is with Derrick Bateman and Alex Riley and offers them a tournament match against Kruger and Ohno. Corey Graves comes up to complain about not getting an NXT Title rematch and not being in the tournament. Riley gets in his face and Bateman hums a circus tune. The tag team leaves and Dusty makes it Graves vs. his former partner Jake Carter tonight. Graves says tell Carter that Carter is in his path to the title.

Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox

Alicia makes fun of Sasha for being tiny and having the nickname of Small Package. Fox sends her into the ropes but walks into a headscissors to take her down. Sasha sends her to the apron but gets popped in the face for two. A bridging northern lights suplex (called a fisherman’s suplex in a rare mistake by Regal) gets two for Fox and we hit the chinlock. Sasha comes back with a monkey flip and an armdrag out of the corner, only to be caught in a wheelbarrow front slam for no cover. Fox picks her up for a slam but it’s the Ricky Steamboat/Randy Savage small package pin for Banks at 3:23.

Rating: C-. This was too short to mean much but at least Banks looks good and got to show off a bit here. The Divas are nowhere near as irritating here as they are on the main shows as they’re actually treated somewhat seriously on NXT. Decent stuff here and Banks got to look good despite being a tiny little thing.

Video on Paige who is here to be a champion.

Some new blonde interviewer asks Aksana about her match next week with Paige. Aksana accuses Paige of stealing her look and says 2013 is her year.

Conor O’Brien says he’s the true Ascension and he will rise.

Corey Graves vs. Jake Carter

Graves seems to get a face pop on his way to the ring. Carter grabs a headlock to start but gets shoved into the corner. That goes nowhere for Graves as Jake pounds away in the corner and the middle of the ring. Corey comes back with a suplex and into an arm trap chinlock which Regal says can be called a Gator Hold. Carter fight up and hits a clothesline for two but gets sent into the corner and chop blocked down. The 13^th Step leg lock ends Carter at 3:09.

Rating: C-. Another just ok match here as Graves gets to run over Carter and remind us that he exists after the title match from a few weeks ago. Graves got a good reaction and definitely has a unique look which will be nothing but good for him. Carter on the other hand looked pretty generic out there and didn’t appear to get any of his dad’s good qualities.

Post match Graves says that he’s been screwed out of a rematch for the title and kept out of the title tournament because he’s an “outcast”. As the savior of misbehavior (terrible name) he’s declaring anarchy on NXT. Oh and if Riley sees him, stay down.

NXT Tag Team Title Tournament: 3MB vs. Oliver Grey/Adrian Neville

It’s Slater and McIntyre here. We start with Drew vs. Neville with Drew taking him down to the mat with ease. Off to a chinlock by McIntyre which is eventually countered by a headscissors but Drew is able to tag in Slater. Heath immediately lets Neville backflip out of a hold and bring in Grey for the first time. Off to an armbar on Slater followed by a dropkick to send Slater to the outside.

The Brits cause some heel miscommunication before Neville dives on McIntyre on the floor. We take a break and come back with Drew getting two on Grey. A clothesline gets two on Grey and it’s back to Slater for a superkick for two of his own. Slater hooks a chinlock as we hear about Grey being a lumberjack. Oliver quickly escapes and brings in Adrian who starts flipping around as fast as he can. After kicking Slater in the face, the now legal McIntyre gets caught with that corkscrew shooting star for the pin by Neville at 6:26 shown of 9:56.

Rating: C+. This was a basic formula match but Neville got to show off a lot more than he had did last week. That big shooting star is a great finisher and looks awesome but we haven’t seen yet if he can pull off the other stuff that it takes to fill out a match. Decent little tag match here as Grey and Neville look good as a fast little team.

Big E. Langston vs. Axl Keegan

Non-title here. I love the look of glee on Langston’s face during his entrance and the kind of dance he does with the powder on his hands. We hear about Langston’s association with Ziggler but the fans don’t seem to mind at all. Langston literally runs him over and wins with the Big Ending at 56 seconds.

Langston loads up the second Big Ending when Conor O’Brien pops up on screen. He says that in two weeks there will be an awakening. Langston should be there so O’Brien can show him what he thinks of the five count. After an evil laugh from Conor, Big E. hits the Big Ending anyway. A third Big Ending and another five count end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This wasn’t their strongest show but they set a lot of stuff up tonight. We’ve got some new titles in play and the start of what could be a decent tournament to earn them. Also O’Brien is back and Langston has his first challenger for the title. Sometimes you have to have a slower show to set up something down the line and that’s what happened here. Not bad at all but nothing to see in the matches department.

Results

Wyatt Family b. Yoshi Tatsu/Percy Watson – Clothesline to Watson

Sasha Banks b. Alicia Fox – Small Package

Corey Graves b. Jake Carter – 13^th Step

Oliver Grey/Adrian Neville b. 3MB – Corkscrew Shooting Star Press to McIntyre

Big E. Langston b. Axl Keegan – Big Ending

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: January 18, 2012
Location: Thomas and Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Josh Matthews

It’s the 100th episode of this accursed show and we’re in Vegas for a wedding. Naturally it’ll be here in the arena in front of an audience because that’s how wrestling works. Also we’re going to have Titus vs. Young for like the 9th time because that’s all we can do on this season. Something big has to happen tonight right? Let’s get to it.

The opening video is a recap of the wedding thing and the love triangle.

Theme song. This is the closest thing to an NXT Supershow we’ll ever have anymore I think.

Cole is on commentary tonight. Oh boy. I think this is just a one night return.

Titus O’Neil vs. Darren Young

No DQ match. Young runs to the floor for a bit but back in the ring he gets run over by an elbow. Backbreaker gets two for Titus. Darren gets thrown to the floor an DO THE DOG BARK! A slam of some sort on the floor puts Darren down but he manages a neckbreaker on the apron to take Titus down and we take a break. Back with Darren getting two off something we missed.

Belly to back gets two. Off to a cravate and Young sends him into the corner. The gutbuster gets two. The No DQ aspect of this has meant nothing so far. Young sets for another gutbuster but since he used that already and isn’t a main event guy, Titus counters and sends him in for the Clash of the Titus and the pin at 5:57.

Rating: D. What in the world was the point of the No DQ rule? This was nothing special at all, which is probably due to Young being worthless on almost all counts. Titus is ok but there’s nothing left for him to do here. Hopefully this is the end of this feud because it’s gone on way too long.

Titus gets on the mic afterwards and says he wants to thank the fans. He wants to thank them for absolutely nothing. Titus goes on a rant about how he’s sick of doing everything for 46 weeks and getting stuck with a leprechaun for nothing. He’s the star of this show and the star of every show the WWE has to offer. Cole’s heckling kills this for a bit because he laughs instead of acting like this is something special. Thanks for nothing and now he’ll be making it a win for himself. Cole makes fun of him again, totally diminishing the shock value of the turn.

Heath Slater vs. Percy Watson

Watson takes over with a dropkick to start. Cole lists off his various accomplishments as Slater takes over. Cole asks about the Redemption Points thing and Josh isn’t sure how they work either. Slater takes over and there’s nothing interesting going on here. Josh and Cole argue about Lynyrd Skynyrd and Watson starts his comeback. He jumps around a lot but the fans seem more interested in Slater than Watson. Spinning splash gets two. Persecution ends this at 3:41.

Rating: D. Boring match again and we’re told that this was a rookie upsetting a Superstar. That’s so cute: they think people still care about something like that. Also, Slater qualifies as a Superstar? Isn’t that like 20 losses in a row for him? Boring match and the crowd shockingly didn’t care.

Maxine yells at the Usos. Jey sneezes on her dress.

Maxine yells at more people when Curtis shows up and says calm down. She goes off ranting and Kaitlyn comes up. Curtis hits on her and gets called creepy.

Yoshi Tatsu/Trent Barreta vs. Tyler Reks/Curt Hawkins

This match AGAIN? Wait why am I surprised by that? Trent vs. Curt starts us off but it’s off to Reks quickly. Yoshi jumps in with a top rope chop for two. Was there a tag that I missed? Josh brings up Cole not talking about Superstars enough. Cole says look what he did for Bryan and Hawkins gets two. Cole also says he had a role in keeping the title on Miz. Powerslam gets two for Reks.

Cole blasts the hypocrisy of people praising Bryan’s cash-in but blasting people like Edge. Double tag brings in Trent and Reks as this match is very forgettable. Running boot gets two for Trent. Cole says none of these guys are part of the competition which is true. I love Cole pointing out stupid stuff on here. Whisper in the Wind gets two for Barreta and everything breaks down. Reks loads up Barreta onto a shoulder like for a powerbomb but spins to the side into a DDT and the pin at 5:39.

Rating: D. I know I’ve used that every time but it’s been the case every time: the matches are ok but they’re nothing I’m going to remember after about five minutes. These are almost all matches we’ve seen before and there isn’t much of a reason to want to see them again. Boring stuff here, but it is interesting that there’s a tag division on NXT alone but the two biggest wrestling companies in the country can barely find a pair of teams for a PPV title defense.

Raw ReBound. Ace’s eruption is still pretty good.

The wedding set is built in the ring. Elvis is performing the ceremony. And it’s Striker as Elvis. He’s been ordained for a full five minutes. The fans aren’t impressed by his accent at all. Curtis is brought out who is in a leather jacket and a tuxedo t-shirt. There’s some guy with him who looks a little drunks. Maxine comes out and to be fair, she does look good in the dress. She yells about the drunk guy (Chad, who says he was promised a chance to meet Hillbilly Jim) but shuts up eventually.

We get to the vows and Curtis says yes. She says yes also but we get to the objection part and the crowd pops in expectation. You would think Bateman would come out there but actually Striker takes off the glasses (it was obvious it was him and not meant to be a secret I don’t think) and says “Really? No one here objects to this?” Funny line. Bateman finally comes out for the big overly dramatic objection and actually rocking a suit.

He says he didn’t send the e-mail, but Curtis did. Bateman shows us footage of Curtis stealing an iPad and sending the e-mail. It took him about 4 seconds to send an e-mail that took 20 seconds to read but whatever. Maxine freaks and Curtis says he wants Maxine to come with him to the top. She slaps him and the brawl between the guys breaks out. Bateman hits his finisher on Curtis and walks off. Maxine says wait and slaps Bateman then kisses him. And that’s it. No seriously, that’s the end of the show.

Overall Rating: F. I can’t believe that they actually ended like that. I come into NXT with no expectations at all anymore and somehow this came off as a disappointment. I think it might be that I’m trying to avoid yelling about how we just wasted 10 or so weeks going around in a circle to get back to Bateman and Maxine being together but I’m not quite sure. Where in the world do they go from here? I’m not sure, but I’ll bet it takes at least 2 months to do it. Just WOW.

Results
Titus O’Neal b. Darren Young – Clash of the Titus
Percy Watson b. Heath Slater – Persecution
Tyler Reks/Curt Hawkins b. Trent Barreta/Yoshi Tatsu

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: January 16, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Tony Dawson

We’re officially in the Langston Era here and if my memory is right, this was filmed recently which means we’re actually going to be closer to being caught up with the current WWE product. It’s hard to say what to expect here but the word seems to be that something big is going to be announced soon. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s main event and the title change.

Welcome Home.

Adrian Neville vs. Sakamoto

Neville is formerly known as Pac. Interestingly enough a guy on the forums that I run used to backyard wrestle with him. Sakamoto is in way better shape than you would expect him to be given the robe he always wore. Neville is apparently an amazing high flier and he spins out of a wristlock and grabs a headlock to start. A headscissors puts Sakamoto down and Adrian flips back to his feet. The fans dig him so far.

Sakamoto gets a boot up in the corner and hooks a chinlock to take over for a little bit. Make that a decent bit as the chinlock continues. Adrian suplexes out of the hold and flips forward a few more times before hitting an enziguri to stagger Sakamoto. Neville goes up and hits a HUGE corkscrew shooting star for the pin at 3:25.

Rating: C-. The ending was great but until then, Neville didn’t really show off a ton of flying otherwise. It’s a very flashy looking move and the rest of his stuff looked fine so I can’t say it’s a bad debut or anything. Sakamoto has some potential in him too now that he’s away form the black hole known as Tensai. The match was pretty dull until the ending though.

Leo Kruger vs. Trent Barreta

Ohno sits in on commentary. This is as a result of Trent getting beaten up and injured by Kruger a month ago. Trent takes over with a fast clothesline and a knee drop for two. A bridging northern lights suplex gets two for Barreta and it’s off to a headlock. That goes nowhere as Kruger fights up and hits a hard knee to the ribs to take over. Trent gets draped ribs first over the top rope for two as we take a break.

Back with Kruger working over the ribs with a knee drop and a half crab. A gutbuster gets two for Leo as Kassius and Regal continue to argue. Regal threatens Ohno so Kassius acts as if nothing has ever been wrong between them. Kruger misses a charge in the corner so Trent comes back with chops and a clothesline. The running jumping elbow in the corner puts Leo down again and a missile dropkick gets two for Trent.

The tornado DDT is countered into another half crab with a knee in the back but Trent finally makes a rope. An enziguri sends Kruger down to the floor, followed by a BIG flip dive from Trent to take him down again. Kassius runs down and decks Trent though, allowing for Kruger to hit the Kruger End back inside for the pin at 7:53 shown of 11:23.

Rating: C+. Why Barreta is released while Ohno gets to keep a job is beyond me. Trent continues to be as smooth as ever in the ring and Kruger is starting to get things working well too. I’d assume we were supposed to get a tag match out of this but with Barreta being released that isn’t very likely.

A second referee informs the first one of Ohno’s interference and the decision is reversed.

Here’s the NEW NXT Champion Big E. Langston with something to say. He welcomes us to the Era of Five but here’s Camacho to interrupt him. Hasn’t Langston already beaten this guy? A referee comes out and we get a match which I think is non-title.

Camacho vs. Big E. Langston

Camacho pounds away in the corner to start but Langston no sells it and clotheslines Camacho down. The Big Ending finishes Camacho in 1:15.

Langston does his usual stuff post match. This takes longer than the match itself.

Damien Sandow/Antonio Cesaro vs. Justin Gabriel/Tyson Kidd

Before the match, Sandow says that the people here will learn to appreciate him. Sandow and Kidd start things off but it’s quickly off to Justin. Damien gets his arm cranked on a bit so it’s off to Cesaro. Gabriel dropkicks him to the floor and we take a break. Back with Justin getting two off a sunset flip on Sandow. He cranks on Damien’s arm and messes with his hair to really get on Sandow’s nerves.

Off to Cesaro for a hard headlock for a few seconds before Gabriel fights back with chops and right hands. Cesaro elbows him down before it’s back to Sandow for some knee drops. The Wind-Up Elbow gets two and it’s back to Antonio. Off to a front facelock before Justin fights up and backdrops Cesaro to the floor. That’s about the extent of his offense though as Cesaro comes back in with the gutwrench suplex for two.

Back to the chinlock but Gabriel escapes for the third time, with this one being followed by a hot tag to Tyson. Everything breaks down as Sandow comes in again with Damien getting two off a rollup. Back to Gabriel as Kidd dives onto Cesaro. A Lionsault and the springboard elbow to Sandow get the clean pin at 8:00 shown of 11:30.

Rating: C+. Basic tag match here with the smaller guys getting to hang with the more established guys with no real problems at all. Unfortunately Kidd is gone for the next eight months or so due to destroying his knee. Cesaro again gets to look strong here by not getting pinned, which is a nice touch from WWE.

Overall Rating: B-. Another good show tonight as we transition to the next stretch of shows. Langston gets to close out an old issue he had while at the same time getting to look dominant over a WWE guy. This wasn’t a blow away show or anything and unfortunately two guys here aren’t going to be around for a very long time anymore after this show. Good show here with no time wasted, which is the standard procedure on NXT.

Results

Adrian Neville b. Sakamoto – Corkscrew Shooting Star Press

Trent Barreta b. Leo Kruger via disqualification when Kassius Ohno interfered

Big E. Langston b. Camacho – Big Ending

Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel b. Antonio Cesaro/Damien Sandow – Springboard Elbow Drop to Sandow

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: January 9, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Rega, Tom Phillips

The main story tonight is Seth Rollins of the Shield defending the title against Big E. Langston, the unstoppable monster that seemed to scare the Shield away last week. That’s the kind of basic yet logical storytelling you don’t get on the main shows anymore. It should be interesting to see where they go with this, especially with Langston playing a heel on Raw now. Let’s get to it.

The opening video recaps the title match. It’s No DQ tonight apparently.

Yoshi Tatsu/Percy Watson vs. Wyatt Family

We get to hear Bray cut one of his awesome promos, talking about how he’ll bite the head off a snake just to taste its poisons. He tells his family to make him proud and the visual of the three of them together is pretty awesome looking. The Family is Erick Rowan and Luke Harper in case you’ve forgotten. Wyatt sits down in his rocking chair on the stage and we’re ready go to.

Yoshi and Harper start but Luke beats him down very quickly and brings in Rowan. Off to Watson who fires off some clotheslines and a dropkick to knock Erick to a knee. That’s about the extent of his luck though as Erick chokes away and Harper cheats a bit as well. Back to Harper who pounds away on Watson’s back and tags in Rowan for a neck crank.

Percy finally fights out and tags out to Tatsu for the comeback. Yoshi fires off kicks and chops to Harper and a Shining Wizard for two. Harper drills Watson again but gets kicked in the head by Tatsu. Yoshi misses a top rope spinwheel kick and a discus lariat gets the pin for Harper at 4:12.

Rating: C-. Just an extended squash here but the Wyatt Family plays these characters so well that it’s hard to not enjoy these matches. Watson and Tatsu seemed to have some potential back in the day but now they’re the jobbiest jobbers that ever lived. Ok maybe that’s a bit extreme but they’re lucky to even get spots like these.

Emma vs. Paige

Emma is Australian and dances a lot. Paige gets a HUGE pop, easily the loudest I’ve heard for a Diva in years. A Paige chant starts things up and Emma gets thrown down by the hair. Emma comes back with a low dropkick for a delayed two as Regal sings Paige’s praises. The dropkick might have hurt Paige’s knee and thankfully Emma works it over a bit. Back to the dancing as Regal continues to be confused by it. Off to a half crab which makes sense as Emma is a Lance Storm student. Paige kicks away and hits the Paige Turner out of nowhere for the pin at 2:42. Her popularity continues to impress me.

Epico/Primo vs. Michael McGillicutty/Bo Dallas

Set it up last week, pay it off this week. Michael saved Bo last week from a double beatdown in case you’re new around here. McGillicutty and Primo start things off and it’s a quick standoff. The fans want Rosa who is absent tonight. Michael easily takes it to the mat and cranks on a headlock. Primo fights out and tags in Epico who immediately gets put in a headlock of his own. Back to Primo and he gets headlocked down as well. Primo fights up and is almost immediately puts in a third headlock. Well you can’t say they’re inconsistent.

Regal says that Bo and Michael could become “one of the greatest tag teams of all time.” I know I ask for less realism in wrestling but that’s a stretch even for me. We take a break and come back with Dallas holding Epico in a chinlock. Dallas pounds away in the corner but Epico finally escapes and gets Bo in trouble in the corner. Primo hits a running crotch attack to Dallas in a 619 position for two before it’s off to Epico for a chinlock.

Dallas fights out but gets rammed right back into the heel corner for more of the beating he’s taking. The cousins hit a Russian legsweep/spinning leg sweep (Saturn’s half of Total Elimination) for no cover before it’s back to Epico for more stomping. Primo accidentally dropkicks his cousin and there’s the hot tag to McGillicutty. A lariat and Saito Suplex put Primo down as everything breaks down. In the confusion, Primo hits a Backstabber on McGillicutty for the pin at 9:48 shown of 13:18.

Rating: C-. Again not a great match but it certainly wasn’t that bad. McGillicutty continues to be a guy that should be getting bigger spots than he’s in at the moment, but as long as his name is Michael McGillicutty, that’s simply not going to happen. I don’t get the need to have him pinned here, especially given how much Regal puts him over on commentary.

NXT Title: Seth Rollins vs. Big E. Langston

No DQ and Rollins is defending. Rollins doesn’t have music yet. After the big match intros we’re ready to go. Langston grabs a kick and shoves Rollins down to start, freaking Seth out. The champion grabs a front facelock and gets shoved into the corner for some shoulder blocks. Langston misses a charge into the corner and hits the post, but immediately comes back with a gorilla press to send Rollins to the floor.

Langston goes after him but here are Reigns and Ambrose for the triple beatdown. Big E. gets sent into the steps as we take a break. Back with both guys in the ring again with Rollins firing off kicks to the ribs. Rollins hooks a triangle choke but Langston fights up and hits an electric chair drop to escape. The crowd is ENTIRELY behind Langston here as he fires off clotheslines. A double clothesline takes down Ambrose and Reigns but they run in again to break up the Big Ending.

Some guys from the locker room come out to try to stop the non-champions of the Shield but are quickly dispatched. Eventually about 15 guys come out and FINALLY clear them out, leaving it one on one. Rollins hits the standing Sliced Bread for two and the kickout scares him to death. He loads it up again, but Langston catches him on his shoulder and the Big Ending gives Langston the title at 6:38 shown of 10:08.

Rating: C+. The match itself wasn’t much, but the run-ins were handled perfectly, making this feel like a huge moment and a nearly Attitude Era style main event. I also really like the idea of not having Langston beat up the Shield on his own as it keeps things a bit more realistic given how strong Shield has been pushed. Not a great match, but really good booking of a title change.

The locker room comes to the ring to celebrate with Langston.

Overall Rating: B-. This is one of those shows where the earlier stuff wasn’t that great, but at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter. This was all about Langston winning the title and they pulled that part off quite well. I’m pretty sure this was the last episode in this batch of tapings, so starting next week we should be able to see where things are headed. Good show this week, as usual.

Results

Wyatt Family b. Yoshi Tatsu/Percy Watson – Discus Lariat to Tatsu

Paige b. Emma – Paige Turner

Primo/Epico b. Michael McGillicutty/Bo Dallas – Backstabber to McGillicutty

Big E. Langston b. Seth Rollins – Big Ending

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 26, 2012
Host: Tony Dawson

Back to Florida and we’ve got a new challenger for Rollins in the form of Corey Graves. That’s by far the biggest thing that happened last week as the main event was Big Show squashing Bo Dallas for no apparent reason. The shows have been solid lately and hopefully they close out 2012 with another good one. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home…..to a year in review show. Apparently this is going to be highlights from the season, so I’ll be cutting and pasting a lot here. Note that the full matches likely won’t be shown but I’ll be posting the full review from the match.

From August 29:

NXT Championship: Jinder Mahal vs. Seth Rollins

They have a ton of time for this. Fink may be fat and older now (he’s only 62 so he’s hardly ancient), but that voice is still perfect. Mahal won’t shake Dusty’s hand before the match. Rollins tries to take him to the mat to start but Mahal gets back up quickly. A dropkick puts Mahal down again and Rollins hits a hard chop. Mahal gets sent to the floor but he avoids a dive and sends Rollins face first into the apron. A suplex onto the ramp has Rollins in trouble and we head back in.

We take a break and come back with Rollins in even more trouble. Mahal stomps him down and hits a backbreaker to start setting up the camel clutch. Rollins gets choked against the ropes and the fans are behind Rollins now. He tries a comeback but gets kneed in the face by Mahal to take him back down. The camel clutch is escaped so Mahal pounds him in the back again. An enziguri out of nowhere puts Mahal down and Rollins punches Jinder down.

Mahal goes up for another knee but Rollins knocks him off the top and out to the floor. Rollins hits a HUGE dive to the floor and both guys are down. Back in and Seth goes up again, only to get crotched and superplexed from the top. We take another break and come back with the two of them slugging it out. Mahal might have a bad knee but he pulls off a sitout slam for two. A full nelson slam is countered and Rollins goes to the apron.

Seth hits an enziguri to the head and a running knee for two. The near falls are getting closer and closer here. A running forearm in the corner staggers Mahal but he manages to drop Rollins face first into the buckle. The low superkick (I think he calls it Avada Kadavra, making Rollins awesome) gets two. Phoenix Splash (moonsault into a 450) misses and Mahal hits the full nelson slam for two. Rollins gets to the rope before the clutch can go on and Rollins rolls him up for two. Rollins comes back with the buckle bomb and the Blackout out of nowhere for the pin and the title at 14:24 shown of 21:24.

Rating: B. I’m still not wild on Rollins’ in ring work but the fans are into him and he’s not dull. He also needs a new finisher as the Blackout looks pretty forced to put it mildly. As for the match though, they did a great job of building both guys up as unbeatable and then having them go at it. The match was very good as far as making you wonder who was going to win and it turned into a good back and forth fight at the end. Not a masterpiece or anything, but for the first NXT Championship, this was more than acceptable.

We get some clips of the rematch. This segues into clips from Raw of the Shield.

We get some highlights of various stars from NXT, such as Richie Steamboat, Bo Dallas, CJ Parker, Audrey Marie, Big E. Langston and Bray Wyatt (gets by far the most time).

From July 11:

Aiden English vs. Bray Wyatt

Wyatt talks on the way to the ring, calling himself the angel in the dirt and singing Time is on My Side by the Rolling Stones. Wyatt pounds him down and sends English to the floor and into the barricade. Back in and Wyatt rolls around on the apron before splashing English in the corner. Wyatt dances with English a bit (literally) before hitting a rolling Downward Spiral for the pin at 1:48. Awesome debut here and a good transition from promos to in ring work which was what I was worried about from Wyatt.

Bray Wyatt talks about how it’s a new year for your loved ones to betray you in his name.

We get an exclusive match tonight between Kane and Rhodes.

Video on Kassius Ohno. I still don’t care. He talks about inflicting pain on people and we get a recap of his attacks on various people with Regal making the save.

Ohno says a new year is coming and that the year of 13 will be a year for pain.

Punk talks about telling Rollins to beat respect out of people and somehow that evolved into the Shield. The future is here in NXT and he hopes people are taking notice.

Video on Langston and the FIVE count.

From November 28:

Camacho vs. Big E. Langston

This is a match for the $5000 bounty that Vickie has put on Langston’s head. Camacho tries to pound on him but Langston keeps shoving him away. A shot out of the corner puts Big E. down but Camacho slaps him like an idiot. The Big Ending (falling slam) ends Camacho at 2:06.

Langston demands the five count and you don’t tell a man like that no. Camacho gets two more Big Endings for good measure.

We get a clip of Langston debuting on Raw. Ok, now the question is are they going to reference this on NXT starting next week? They’re making it clear what’s going on in the main world, so they can’t (and by can’t I mean will but shouldn’t) ignore it from now on.

Langston says he attacked Cena because he was helping his friend. His business here on NXT is to become NXT Champion. His New Year’s Resolution is to do just that. Unfortunately his manic style is gone now and he sounds all serious.

Video on various people in NXT that we haven’t covered yet, including Kruger and Paige.

It’s Rollins defending against Graves next week.

We get a clip from Main Event of Kane injuring Cody’s shoulder.

Kane vs. Cody Rhodes

This is from July but it’s never before seen. Cody immediately bails to the floor and stalls. Back in and Cody pounds away in the corner, only to be pounded right back down. Kane hits the low dropkick for two and Cody heads to the floor. Rhodes gets beaten up on the stage and aisle before we head back to the ring. Kane misses the clothesline and Cody escapes the chokeslam before sending Kane into the corner.

Cody goes after the knee as we get into a more standard match here. We take a break (complete with a John Cena loves NXT promo) and come back with the announcers talking about a HUGE leap from Cody. We don’t get to see it of course, but here’s a sidewalk slam from Kane for two instead. The top rope clothesline hits but Cody grabs the rope to avoid a chokeslam. There’s the Disaster Kick for two but Cross Rhodes is countered into a chokeslam for the pin at 7:00 shown.

Rating: D+. This was pretty lame. Neither team was formed yet so there’s only so much to care about from these guys. Cody had a pretty awful year after showing amazing potential in 2011 while Kane resurrected his career for about the 12^th time with the comedy team. This match didn’t show much of either though and it was a dull match as a result.

Todd is talking about the upcoming year when Shield cuts into the feed. Rollins talks about being NXT Champion for months but never getting the call from WWE. Ambrose talks about how the WWE is ill and suffering from lies and corruption. The real world has enough injustice in it already and that’s not how WWE is supposed to be. Rollins understands why Corey Graves did what he did but next time, Graves is leaving on a stretcher. Ambrose says they’re the best. Reigns gets in a great line of “NXT is our house and while we may come and go as we please, we’ll always collect the rent.” The Shield is here next week.

Overall Rating: B+. What a great show. This was designed to recap everything that happened in NXT so far and I don’t think they missed a thing. Everyone got at least a soundbyte or a video about them and we got some matches on top of it. The feature match holds this back because it’s just not that good, but it’s nice to see them acknowledging what’s going on at Raw and hopefully incorporating that into NXT. Good stuff here that reminded me what I love about NXT.

Results

Kane b. Cody Rhodes – Chokeslam

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: December 19, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Tony Dawson

We’re into the new cycle of NXT now, but the problem continues to be the gap between the current WWE product and the current NXT product. It’s a bit off putting to have the Shield version of Rollins on Raw and this version of him on NXT. It looks like we’re moving towards Rollins vs. Graves in the main event scene around here. Oh and Big Show vs. Bo Dallas is tonight. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is all about Dallas vs. Big Show.

Welcome Home.

Primo/Epico vs. Usos

Jimmy starts with Primo and we quickly hit the mat. There’s an armdrag to put Primo down but Primo comes back with a hammerlock. Primo rolls away from an arm hold by Jimmy and we’ve got a standoff. Rosa gives Primo a quick kiss which earns him an elbow to the face. Back to the armbar and here’s Jey for the first time. Epico comes in as well and immediately puts on a chinlock which doesn’t last long either. This is a back and forth match so far but no one has any kind of long term advantage.

The Usos load up the Superfly Splash but Primo bails to the floor for a breather. Jey is all cool with that and hits a HUGE dive to take out the cousins. We take a break and come back with Epico holding a chinlock on Jey. Epico rolls some belly to back suplexes for two. Primo gets the same off a dropkick as the fans want Carlito. Jey avoids a dropkick in the corner and gets Primo caught in the Tree of Woe for a few seconds.

Hot tag brings in Jimmy but the referee didn’t see it. Nice touch. Jey counters a whip into the corner and hits a big backdrop to give himself a breather. There’s the real hot tag to Jimmy and a Bubba Bomb takes Primo down. The running Umaga attack in the corner sets up a Samoan Drop for two. Everything breaks down and a Jimmy superkick sets up the Superfly Splash to Epico for the pin at 8:28 shown of 11:58.

Rating: C+. They stuck with the formula here and it worked really well. The Usos are so talented and smooth together out there but they can barely ever get on TV. The few times recently where they were on television, they got the biggest reactions of the match. Interesting how that works. Anyway, good stuff here and a nice opener.

Post match the lights go out and it’s Ascension (complete with recently released Kenneth Cameron) on the screen, telling the Usos that the war is far from over.

Camacho/Aiden English vs. Big E. Langston

Camacho can pick anyone to fight Langston with him and he picks this jobber? English has to start and is immediately pounded down by knees in the ribs and a running clothesline. Langston drags English over to Camacho and extends English’s hand for a tag but Camacho bails. Big Ending ends English at 1:12.

Post match there’s another Big Ending and the FIVE, then does both of them again. The reactions for the FIVE thing are tremendous.

Percy Watson vs. Kassius Ohno

Watson speeds things up to start and pounds on Ohno’s back to start. Ohno comes back with a suplex and a corner splash followed by some high energy stomps/knees to the head. Off to a dragon sleeper by Kassius followed by some choking on the top rope. They chop it out a bit but Ohno charges into an elbow to the face. Percy makes his comeback but the Persecution is blocked. Ohno Blade (or whatever he’s calling that elbow now) knocks Watson out cold at 5:23.

Rating: D. I am so bored with Ohno. The guy is talented but he’s got NOTHING going for him at all. He’s a bad guy who likes to strike people, but his attitude is all wrong for it. There’s nothing to dislike about him and that makes him a weak heel. He’s just kind of there and has his time every week. Watson continues to be nothing.

Ohno shouts at Regal post match.

Here’s Seth Rollins for a chat with JR. Seth says he’s here for anyone that wants to fight him and he’s not hard to find. Corey Graves jumps Rollins from behind and puts him in the 13^th Step leg lock. Graves talks about how his tattoos all tell a story and now he wants the Title. He says Rollins feeds off the fans and he’ll see Seth in his nightmares. Not bad here but calling himself the Savior of Misbehavior isn’t going to get him over.

Cena tells us to watch the NXT Year In Review show next week.

Bo Dallas vs. Big Show

Non-title I’d assume. This is about what you would expect to start: Dallas goes nuts with strikes and is easily shoved away. The beating goes on for awhile until Dallas gets on his back and chokes away. Show falls back on him to break the hold but misses an elbow. Dallas escapes the chokeslam but a bulldog is countered with a basic slam. WMD ends this at 4:53.

Rating: D. What in the world were you expecting here? It’s a tiny minor league guy against a massive world champion. I have no idea why they picked Show here because it doesn’t do Dallas any good and the match sucked as a result. I don’t get this one at all, as there are a ton of guys you could bring in to beat Dallas but get a better match out of him at the same time. Odd choice here.

Overall Rating: C. This didn’t work all that well for me. It wasn’t a bad show or anything, but this didn’t really advance anything. The only storyline stuff we got was Ascension vs. Usos which we’ve done before and Ohno staring at Regal. Oh and Graves vs. Rollins, but we already knew that was coming. Not much to see here but it wasn’t terrible or anything.

Results

Usos b. Epico/Primo – Superfly Splash to Epico

Big E. Langston b. Camacho/Aiden English – Big Ending to English

Kassius Ohno b. Percy Watson – Ohno Blade

Big Show b. Bo Dallas – WMD

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: December 13, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, William Regal

It’s finally time for Mahal vs. Rollins II, which is annoying as things have changed a lot since this was filmed. Anyway, the match last time was fine but I wish there was more of a reason for these two to be fighting instead of just over the title. All we’ve really heard is “I’m the champion” and “I want the title.” That’s not exactly enough to hook fans with a guy treated as a jobber in WWE vs. a member of a team whose gimmick doesn’t exist in NXT yet. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the title situation and Mahal attacking Rollins recently.

Paige vs. Sasha Banks

Apparently Banks is debuting here and has been in the New England indies for a few years. I really have an issue with two people in a match being younger than me. It makes me feel old watching this. Banks isn’t bad looking but Paige is WAY over with the fans here. Paige takes Banks to the mat with a headscissors and rolls her around with it in a move I haven’t seen before.

Sasha nips up to escape and hits a Sin Cara armdrag out of the corner for two. Paige goes into banshee mode with her screaming and the fans go NUTS. A fisherman’s suplex gets two for Paige and it’s off to a double chickenwing. Sasha escapes with a pair of rollups for two but Paige hits that snap Angle Slam kind of move called the Paige Turner for the pin at 4:03.

Rating: C. Nothing too bad here as Paige continues to impress. She’s clearly very comfortable in the ring and can do whatever is needed of her. Her looks are just a bonus at this point, but unfortunately she likely would get messed up on the main roster because of her pale skin color. Anyway, decent match here and Sasha looked decent enough.

Roman Reigns brags about the size of his watch but gets a phone call and leaves.

We recap the end of last week’s show where Regal saved Kidd from Kruger and Ohno.

Ohno and Kruger are gunning for Steamboat, Kidd and Barretta. Kruger’s voice is pretty awesome here. Oh and if Regal gets involved in their business again, Regal can join them in the ICU.

Oliver Grey vs. ???

Before the match, we get another awesome Bray Wyatt promo about love and power. Wyatt brings out his son, who is a big bald guy with an awesome beard whose name I couldn’t understand. The guy is big and muscular and he kicks Grey in the face to start. He looks like he’s in green prison garb for lack of a better description. Wyatt is sitting in a rocking chair on the stage. The guy slams Grey down and puts on a bearhug where he whips Grey from side to side. A big side slam ends Grey at 2:00.

Post match Wyatt says the man’s name is Rowan and says to follow the buzzards.

Here’s Commissioner Dusty Rhodes to hype up the main event. However, he also wants to talk about Vickie Guerrero. Vickie is welcome here any time, but there are no bounties allowed in NXT unless it’s run by Dusty. The bounty is officially revoked and here’s Camacho to protest. He calls Dusty jefe (boss) and Dusty says it’s either General Commissioner or…..Camacho: “El Capitan?” Dusty: “I LOVE THAT!” Camacho says the bounty has to be on because he has to get Hunico out of Mexico. If Dusty doesn’t reinstate the bounty then Camacho is going to reinstate it on Dusty.

This brings out Big E. Langston, and Dusty makes a handicap match with Camacho and whoever he picks against Langston. Big E. is cool with that. Again: Dusty isn’t out here long and he makes something happen while advancing a storyline. Dusty was there about four minutes, which is the longest time he’s been on camera yet on this show.

Big Show is answering Bo Dallas’ challenge. He says that he’s going to knock out Dallas so that Dallas never makes it to the main shows. That’s next week as well.

NXT Title: Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal

Mahal is now in 3MB, which is annoying as all the promos and videos tonight have had Mahal in his old attire. After some big match intros we’re ready to go. Mahal immediately heads to the floor for a few seconds to mess with Rollins’ head. Back in and the champion (Rollins) goes for Mahal’s arm, sending him to the ropes for more stalling. Rollins hooks a headlock which goes nowhere so Seth peppers him with forearms.

They head to the floor and Rollins hits a HARD chop. Back in and Seth hits some kicks as Mahal is in trouble. Jinder sends him to the apron and shoves Seth off the ropes to finally take over. We take a break and come back with Mahal choking in the corner. A suplex on the floor gets two for Mahal and it’s off to a double arm hold. That doesn’t last long so a backbreaker gets another two count, as does a knee to the face.

We hit a quick chinlock but Rollins fights out with some shots to the ribs and a backdrop. Seth tries to go up top but is almost immediately crotched. A clothesline gets two for Jinder and it’s back to the chinlock as we take another break. Back with Rollins in a reverse chinlock which is transitioned into a regular version. Rollins fights up and hits a big enziguri to put both guys down.

Back up and Seth dropkicks Mahal down and fires off right hands on the mat. They slug it out until Mahal gets clotheslined to the floor. Rollins hits a suicide dive and Mahal is in trouble. Back in and Seth hits a springboard knee to the side of the head for two. Seth puts him on the top and kicks Mahal in the head, but his super rana is countered into a sunset flip for two.

Jinder comes back again with a sitout slam for two but jumps into a dropkick/knee to the ribs from Seth. This is a very back and forth match. Rollins misses a splash in the corner and Jinder pounds away. Seth counters out of it and hits the running buckle bomb on the opposite corner. The full nelson slam is escaped so Mahal hits a knee to the back of the head and hooks the camel clutch. Seth immediately gets to the rope and comes back with the low superkick (Avada Kedavra) and the standing Sliced Bread (Skywalker) for the pin to retain at 15:20 shown of 22:20.

Rating: B. No complaints here as these two have some solid chemistry together. Thankfully this wasn’t a comedy match for Mahal and he was just in different attire instead of being completely goofy. Rollins winning these come from behind matches is the perfect way to build up a guy like him and the match worked very well overall. Good stuff, especially for a TV match.

Corey Graves gets in Rollins’ face to end the show with a sarcastic clap.

Overall Rating: A. Good match, decent Divas match, good character stuff with Wyatt and Rowan, setting up the next title feud, promo addressing the end of last week’s show and two big matches announced for next week. What else could you possibly want in a one hour wrestling show?

Results

Paige b. Sasha Banks – Paige Turner

Rowan b. Oliver Grey – Side Slam

Seth Rollins b. Jinder Mahal – Skywalker

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