NXT
Date: November 28, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, Jim Ross, Tom Phillips

Back to the Florida guys this week as we approach the title match between Rollins and Mahal. We’re also getting towards the point where this show will catch up to WWE and we’ll see Mahal as a leather clad rocker and potentially Rollins as a guy in a police themed gimmick. Other than that we’ve still got Langston vs. Vickie’s guys for the bounty. Let’s get to it.

We open with Bryan, saying that he’s coming back to the place where it all started for him. Since he was here, he became world champion, started a successful line of t-shirts and now HE IS THE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS! Tonight he demands that no one say YES and that no one call him a goatface. He also says that Kane, who is standing next to him, must stay out of his way. Kane says HE is the tag team champions and for Bryan to stay out of his way. You know where this is going. Bryan lets out the biggest NO ever but Kane says yes to counter.

Theme song.

Trent Barreta vs. Leo Kruger

Trent has banged up ribs due to the presumed attack by Kruger last week. He takes Kruger down with some running shots to the head to start, but the ribs keep him from being able to follow up. Leo sends the ribs into the corner and rips off the tape. A knee drop keeps Trent down and Kruger goes after the ribs. Off to an abdominal stretch as the tape is rapidly disappearing from Barreta’s ribs.

Kruger goes up to the middle rope but jumps into a dropkick for two. Trent keeps hitting moves but he has to stop to breathe after every single one. The running elbow in the corner staggers Kruger but a release flapjack stops the momentum cold. The Kruger End (neckbreaker into a cutter) gets the pin on Trent at 4:39.

Rating: C-. The match makes sense from a logic and psychology standpoint which I like, but it wasn’t exactly an interesting match due to all of the slowing down. Trent is a guy who will go out there and give you a good match most of the time, but he wasn’t able to be himself here. Odds are we’ll get another match soon when Trent is healthy.

Xavier Woods vs. Memo Montenegro

Woods is billed as being from Angel Grove, California. Isn’t that where the Power Rangers were from in the first few seasons? Woods likes to dance apparently and also is good in hip hop kido. JR doesn’t care for whatever that is but likes headlocks. The voice Ross uses when saying that was hilarious. Woods continues to control with the headlock as JR continues to sound like he cannot stand Woods’ gimmick. Memo misses a clothesline and a dropkick puts him down. In a stupid/AWESOME ending, Woods shouts that IT’S MORPHING TIME (awesome) and hits a rolling clothesline for the pin at 2:14.

Wait a second. During the match, Dawson said that Woods was trained by Zack Taylor in Hip Hop Kido. A quick Wikipedia search shows that Taylor was the name of the original Black Power Ranger and his fighting style was in fact Hop Hop Kido. I take what I said earlier back. Woods is AWESOME!

Audrey Marie vs. Emma

Emma is from Australia and Audrey is officially a cowgirl. A dropkick puts Emma down quickly and Audrey hooks a “unique submission” according to Tom. JR: “It’s called a bodyscissors Tom.” That gets a few rollups for two on Emma and it’s off to a move I’ve heard called a Tumbleweed for more twos. JR continues to be funny because he’s annoyed and/or bored, saying that he feels sorry for these girls because neither has a last name. Tom calls a cross body a giant play to annoy JR even more. After a backslide gets two for Emma, Audrey finishes her with a Catatonic (spinning Rock Bottom) at 2:40.

Roman Reigns has issued a press release, saying that he doesn’t want to give an interview right now. He has meetings with his “team” to determine various endorsements because he’s a blue chipper, but he’ll participate in this interview at a later date. Ok that’s pretty awesome.

Here’s Michael Cole to moderate a face to face meeting between Rollins and Mahal. Cole’s music sounds like it’s being sung by a bad Frank Sinatra impersonator and is called Never Thought My Life Could Be This Good. It sounds like it’s describing a scene from Leave It To Beaver, talking about having a mowed lawn and a picket fence. It’s kind of catchy actually.

Anyway he brings out Rollins and Mahal for the face to face confrontation. Mahal says what he did last week wasn’t an attack. Rollins says it was the action of a desperate man, because Mahal knows he can’t beat Rollins one on one. Mahal talks about how it’s his birthright (his destiny if you will) to be a champion. Rollins talks about being a man of the people and sharing a mind and a spirit. Rollins says he’s better than Mahal because he has the heart of a champion. Mahal goes on a rant about prejudice and attacks Rollins, putting him in the camel clutch.

Tag Titles: Michael McGillicutty/Johnny Curtis vs. HELL NO

Curtis is already dancing and is apparently a stripper now. Oh joy. Apparently THIS is Johnny’s cash in for winning NXT Season 4. Wow they actually remembered that. Points for continuity! Bryan and Kane argue before the match, which starts with McGillicutty vs. Bryan. Michael takes him down to start and Bryan pretends to tag Kane, just to tease him a bit. Now be nice to that monster.

Kane tags himself in and clotheslines McGillicutty to the floor, only to have Bryan tag himself back in. The challengers take over with some double teaming and Goatface plays Ricky Morton. Curtis puts on a bow and arrow submission hold before it’s back to McGillicutty for some shots to the ribs. Johnny hooks a chinlock for a bit before a double clothesline puts both guys down. Hot tag brings in Kane and house is cleaned. Bryan tags himself in again and the champions argue. McGillicutty gets two off a rollup as everything breaks down. A chokeslam puts Curtis down as the NO Lock submits McGillicutty at 7:05.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here as the whole match was just killing time until McGillicutty and Curtis realized they were McGillicutty and Curtis. Why in the world Curtis is getting repackaged and put on the main roster instead of McGillicutty is beyond me, but it might be because Michael is talented and might get over, and we wouldn’t want that.

The champs hug it out to close the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This wasn’t their best show. The Power Rangers thing is a great geek out moment, but the rest of this show doesn’t work for me. The main guys other than Rollins weren’t here and they were clearly missed. I can’t complain about seeing Audrey Marie on my screen, but JR being belligerent is sad to hear. He just doesn’t care anymore and that’s very clear. Not a terrible show, but their worst in months.

Results

Leo Kruger b. Trent Barreta – Kruger End

Xavier Woods b. Memo Montenegro – Rolling Clothesline

Audrey Marie b. Emma – Spinning Rock Bottom

HELL NO b. Michael McGillicutty/Johnny Curtis – NO Lock to McGillicutty

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: November 21, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, Jim Ross

After last week not a lot has changed, as we’re still moving towards Mahal vs. Rollins II for the title. On top of that we’ve got Vickie continuing to have her bounty on Langston who is rapidly becoming one of my favorite people on this show. NXT has been the best wrestling show on TV for months now and hopefully that remains the case here tonight. Let’s get to it.

Earlier today, Kassius Ohno didn’t want to talk about Trent Barreta. He has a premonition about ending Trent’s career tonight like he did to Richie Steamboat.

Paige vs. Alicia Fox

Feeling out process to start of course before Paige takes over with a Japanese armdrag. Fox lands on her feet out of a monkey flip as the fans are WAY behind Paige. Alicia mostly botches what I think was supposed to be a suplex but it looked more like a slam. A northern lights suplex gets two on Paige and it’s off to a bow and arrow hold. Paige finally makes a rope and gets two off a cross body. A sunset flip out of the corner gets the same for Fox but she walks into the Paige Turner (kind of a snap Angle Slam but Paige never lifted her off the mat) for the pin at 4:52.

Rating: D+. Fox just isn’t that good. She’s very sloppy when she’s on offense and has been for years now. Paige is one of those girls that could be very good when she gets some more experience and the fans love her. On top of that, she’s 20 years old. That’s very impressive when you consider how good she is already.

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 go to the back and Trent Barreta is down and in pain. Leo Kruger can be seen out of range smiling evily.

Post break we’re told Trent isn’t cleared for the main event yet.

Bronson vs. Nick Rogers

SWEET! Bronson is back! He shoves Rogers into the corner and completely no sells all of the shots from Nick. Bronson goes after the leg before hitting a crossface to the head. A lot of stomps and knees keep Rogers down as Bronson works on the leg. An STO sets up that kind of inverted Figure Four from Bronson for the tap out at 1:49. I love this guy.

Here’s Bray Wyatt who says all of the little lambs should fear him. Tonight he’s giving our lives purpose for the first time ever. He sits down in a rocking chair as Luke Harper comes out for his match.

Luke Harper vs. Mike Dalton

Harper looks like he looked as Brodie Lee in the indies. The fans chant for Ziggler who Dalton does look a bit like. Harper pounds away as Wyatt sits in the rocking chair. Dalton gets thrown around a lot as Harper keeps looking at Wyatt. A BIG spinning Boss Man Slam completes the squash at 2:41. Harper won in case you’re a rather dense person that needs everything explained to them.

Harper gets on his knees in front of Wyatt. Bray says he’s been around for 2000 years and says that once he decides it’s time to start hurting people, there will be no one left.

Earlier today, Mahal attacked Rollins in the back but Seth beat him down.

The Raw ReBound recaps (shocking) the end of the show.

Kassius Ohno vs. Trent Barreta

There’s a lot of time left in the show for this. Ohno says that there’s no opponent for him tonight because Trent is injured. Ohno demands that the referee count to ten and declare him the winner, but here’s Dusty Rhodes with something to say. He says that he knows Ohno had something to do with Trent’s attack and he’s got a replacement. Total time between Dusty appearing and the replacement’s music hitting: sixty seconds.

Kassius Ohno vs. Richie Steamboat

Richie starts fast and beats Ohno into the corner and hits a quick cross body for a two count. Steamboat pounds away in the corner and sends Kassius to the apron. Ohno skins the cat but Richie clotheslines him to the floor. It’s almost like Richie has insight into that move. A big dive to the floor takes Ohno out and we take a break.

Back with Richie holding a chinlock on Ohno until Kassius makes it to the rope. A low dropkick to the head puts Steamboat down and it’s cravate time. Ohno pounds him in the head some more for a pair of two counts and it’s back to the cravate. Steamboat fights up and gets a pair of quick rollups for two. Ohno comes back with a kind of lifting Downward Spiral for two of his own as this keeps going back and forth.

Steamboat fires off a bunch of chops to the chest and head to slow Kassius down before they head to the corner. Richie comes off the top but dives into a headbutt from Ohno to put both guys down again. In a bit of a strange ending, Ohno hits a running clothesline in the corner but as he goes to throw Steamboat to the floor, Steamboat rolls him up for two and hits the Slingblade (swing around neckbreaker) for the pin at 10:28 shown of 13:58.

Rating: C-. Sudden ending aside, this wasn’t an incredibly good match. I know Ohno is considered a great talent, but I really don’t see the appeal of him from what I’ve seen in FCW. He’s not bad but if I didn’t know he had been such a big deal in the indies, I wouldn’t have much interest in him at all. Steamboat is pretty generic as well with nothing interesting going on about him. Not a bad match but it was bland, like most of their matches so far.

Overall Rating: C+. This was another solid episode of NXT. There’s an energy to this show that you don’t get on any other wrestling series at the moment which makes it the most fun show going. It’s a combination of them using their time efficiently as well as having interesting characters who are all treated as big deals rather than there being a clear hierarchy like Raw or Impact have. Also the title match isn’t the focus at all but the other guys are built up well enough that it can be overlooked, which says a lot about the rest of the show.

Results

Paige b. Alicia Fox – Paige Turner

Big E. Langston b. Camacho – Big Ending

Bronson b. Nick Rogers – Inverted Figure Four

Luke Harper b. Mike Dalton – Spinning Boss Man Slam

Richie Steamboat b. Kassius Ohno – Slingblade

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 24, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tony Luftman, William Regal

Back to NXT again and it’s still the same feuds we’ve had for the last few weeks if not months. They need to add in some new ones soon because this is starting to wear a bit thin. The feuds aren’t to the point yet where they’re stale or anything, but they’re inching towards that being the case. Hopefully things can be adjusted tonight. Let’s get to it.

Earlier today Heath Slater came in to see Dusty Rhodes. Slater wants a title shot against Rollins but Big Dust says you have to earn the shot. Vickie comes in to interrupt. Oh sweet goodness she’s on THIS SHOW TOO??? She wants to recruit Slater but Dusty says that Slater can have a title shot if he wins tonight. I have no idea why Vickie was here at all.

Theme song.

Brodus Clay vs. Camacho

Brodus gets the full entrance here and has his old hat because his burial hasn’t happened in NXT time yet. There’s a new commentator with Regal now and he’s got a good voice. The ring announcer sounds like Matt Striker. Brodus shoves him down and dances a bit before suplexing Camacho down.

Brodus punches away a few times in the corner but gets his knee taken out. A dropkick puts Clay down and it’s off to a nerve hold. Clay fights up but gets caught in a Samoan Drop. Camacho heads to the floor and glares at the Funkadactyls which gets him nowhere. Back in and Camacho jumps into the headbutt followed by the suplex and splash for the pin at 3:53.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here but for the life of me I don’t get the idea of depushing a guy like Brodus. He’s a guaranteed pop to open a show but he gets to lose to a guy like Slater on Smackdown? Oh well, the guy only got over on a stupid gimmick and the company did nothing with him so it must be Brodus’ fault right?

Kassius Ohno vs. Trent Barreta

Trent takes him down and cranks on the arm as things speed up. A fast rollup gets two on Ohno and things stay fast. Ohno throws him to the mat and hits an elbow in the corner, only to have Trent clothesline him out to the floor. A BIG dive takes Ohno out but as they get back up Kassius sends him into the apron to take over again. A knee to the back of the head gets two and it’s off to the cravate.

After the hold is cranked on for a bit, Ohno kicks him in the head and puts the hold right back on. Riveting stuff. We actually hear the name Misawa on WWE TV as Regal talks about Ohno revering Misawa in Japan. Trent comes back with a slap to the face for two and sends Kassius to the corner.

Barreta charges at the ropes and jumps onto the middle one, launching himself sideways into an elbow in the corner. I’m not sure what was supposed to happen as the elbow looked like it hit but Ohno was fine and Trent went down. Maybe Trent hit his head? Anyway, Ohno pounds away some more but here’s Richie Steamboat with a towel. He throws it into Ohno’s face, allowing Trent to hit his running knee to the face for the pin at 6:50.

Rating: C. As usual, Trent is fun to watch and I fail to see what the appeal is of Ohno, especially in this character. I guess he likes to be violent and physical but that’s not really much of a character, especially given what Ohno is capable of. Also his name being Kassius Ohno doesn’t help him much either. This was a nice job of furthering the Steamboat Ohno feud I guess, but it needs to wrap up or have them fight soon.

Layla/Alicia Fox vs. Audrey Marie/Paige

Alicia vs. Paige gets us going and Paige hits a quick dropkick. Alicia hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two and a double tag brings in Layla vs. Audrey, who is looking quite good in white here. After Layla dances a bit, she takes Audrey down with a rollup for two. Layla hits a quick kick to the face for two and a kick to the head gets two as well. Regal points out how rare it is to see two British women wrestling in WWE.

Back to Alicia who hits a northern lights suplex for two but Audrey grabs a quick rollup. The kickout sends her into the corner for the tag to Paige in a nice spot. Paige comes charging at the freshly tagged in Layla who clotheslines her down for no cover. Paige picks Layla up for that fisherman’s DDT of hers but Audrey tags herself in. Paige and Audrey get in an argument and Layla rolls Audrey up for the pin at 5:03.

Rating: C. It’s amazing what happens when they treat the Divas like something serious instead of a joke. The match wasn’t great or anything like that but it was more entertaining than most of what you get on Raw anymore. Layla is still pretty annoying, but Paige and Audrey are a breath of fresh air in the division. This isn’t as good as the match from I think last week with the girls, but it was still solid.

Video on the tour of Egypt.

Bronson vs. Lincoln Brodrick

Bronson is a guy in a hoodie who resembles Boris Zhukov and/or Ivan Koloff. Brodrick (that’s how it’s spelled in the graphic) is a musclehead who looks familiar but I can’t place him. Ah apparently he wrestled under the name Marcus Anthony (his real name and a great wrestling name) in OVW for awhile.

Bronson immediately puts on a front facelock and takes Lincoln to the mat. A hard clothesline takes Lincoln down and a leg trip does the same before it’s off to a freaky looking leg lock to make Lincoln tap at 1:08. The best way I can describe the hold is like a Figure Four but with Bronson’s legs sticking up instead of going down under Lincoln. Bronson looked awesome here.

Ohno throws a fit in the back.

Here’s Antonio Cesaro with something to say. He says that he’s the champion of everyone here because he’s the champion of all America. Cesaro asks us to stand for the national anthem but most people don’t seem interested. Instead here’s Tyson Kidd to interrupt him. Tyson makes fun of Cesaro’s man purse (Cesaro: “IT’S NOT A PURSE!!!”) and says he wants a title shot right here. Cesaro goes off in some other language, but Kidd says he’s got something universal. He slaps Cesaro and the champion bails to the floor.

Heath Slater vs. Seth Rollins

Non-title here and Vickie is managing Slater, presumably as a tryout. I’m assume this is from before the 3MB. JR has replaced that Tony guy on commentary. Slater shoulderblocks him down to start and a headlock takeover does the same. Rollins comes back with a chop and Slater bails to the ropes. Rollins works over the arm and while holding a wristlock, plays air guitar with it in a funny bit.

Slater heads to the floor and slows things down a bit. A baseball slide puts Slater on his back in the aisle and Vickie yells at Heath to win. We take a break and come back with both guys hitting cross bodies at the same time back in the ring. They slug it out for some boo/yay time from the audience before Rollins takes over with a dropkick.

An enziguri from the apron staggers Slater and Heath is backdropped to the floor. There’s a suicide dive to take Slater out and Heath is reeling. Back in a springboard I think knee to Slater’s head gets two but Rollins walks into that falling Cutter for two for Heath. Rollins kicks Heath in the head and hits a standing Sliced Bread #2 for the pin at 6:46 shown of 7:16.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t bad but it never got to the level that you would expect from Rollins. The problem here is that Rollins is a bigger deal than Slater, who is arguably the king of jobbers in the WWE. For Rollins, this wasn’t much of a challenge and the match wasn’t really much to get excited about.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked this show a lot with the main event being the weakest part. Bronson is a guy that I’m interested in as he looks tough and dominated in his first match. On top of that the more Trent Barreta I see the happier I am. This episode was a nice surprise as things were starting to get a bit stale with the long running stories.

Bringing in a new character helps, as does bringing in the main roster people to put the NXT guys over. Oh and the new announcer isn’t bad. He sounds like someone with a lot of announcing experience but not necessarily in wrestling. Regal had to tell him of a lot of names of moves and the new guy didn’t sound entirely sure who the wrestlers were. For a debut though, he sounded fine and didn’t make any mistakes that I heard.

Results

Brodus Clay b. Camacho – Splash

Trent Barreta b. Kassius Ohno – Running Knee to the Face

Layla/Alicia Fox b. Paige/Audrey Marie – Rollup to Marie

Bronson b. Lincoln Brodrick – Inverted Figure Four

Seth Rollins b. Heath Slater – Standing Sliced Bread #2

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: October 17, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, William Regal

Things have kind of reset after last week and now we need a new challenger for Rollins and the NXT Title. Other than that we had Punk here last week who really didn’t do all that much. The good thing about last week’s episode was that the show stood alone but it had some great stuff on it. Hopefully that keeps up tonight. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s main event with Rollins successfully defending against McGillicutty.

Alex Riley vs. Jinder Mahal

This is before the 3MB phase began for Mahal and is apparently the first time he’s been on NXT since he lost in the title tournament final. Feeling out process to start with Mahal working over the arm. Riley does exactly the same as the first minute is pretty even. They mix things up with a headlock and Riley dropkicks him down with one foot to the stomach and one to the chest.

A middle rope shoulder gets two for Alex as Regal is talking about his family singing in the bathroom. You certainly can’t say he lets things stay dull. Mahal drives knees into the chest for two and it’s off to a chinlock. Out of absolutely nowhere, Riley grabs a rollup and gets the big upset at 3:50.

Rating: C+. I like Riley and for the life of me I don’t get why the guy can’t get on TV more often. Even when he’s jobbing, the guy gets at least a small reaction which is more than you can say for a lot of people. I was really surprised to see him win here, as Mahal was the top heel on NXT just a few weeks ago. More Riley is fine with me.

Post match Mahal beats up Riley and puts him in the camel clutch.

Jake Carter vs. Trent Barretta

This was set up in a backstage segment last week. Regal talks about Vader training Carter (his son) since he was a kid and now it’s paying off apparently. Trent takes him to the mat with a headlock to start but Carter shoves him off and pounds away in the corner to take over. If there is ever a guy who you wouldn’t associate with his father based on his look and gimmick, Carter would be near the top of such a list. Jake hooks a chinlock but gets suplexed down by Trent.

An enziguri puts Carter down again and the fans are behind Trent. Not that it works that well as Carter takes his head off with a clothesline but the fans were indeed behind him. Carter loads up a belly to back superplex but gets knocked to the mat. A Whisper in the Wind gets two for Trent but he walks into a belly to belly overhead suplex for two. Another suplex is escaped and Trent hits a running boot/knee to the face for the pin at 6:28.

Rating: C+. This was another good match with a guy that I like who isn’t on TV enough. Trent is a guy who seems like he’s having a great time out there and looks incredibly smooth at the same time. Carter isn’t quite clicking for me but he certainly isn’t terrible. I think being Vader’s son hurts him a bit because you expect someone similar to Vader, but he’s got a long way to go to get that close to Vader’s level.

Here’s Sandow who says George Washington would be ashamed of everyone here. He thinks the fans boo him because they know he’s right.

Damien Sandow vs. Brandon Traven

I think I got the jobber’s last name right. Damien takes it to the mat to start and they trade some basic holds. Sandow misses a clothesline but runs to the corner to avoid a right hand. Damien takes it back to the mat and works on a headlock before stomping away a bit. Traven misses a dropkick and Sandow snaps, punching Traven down and raking his face with a knee. Off to a chinlock followed by some knees to the chest and then right back to the chinlock by Sandow. Traven gets in some jobber offense but misses a knee drop. The wind up elbow and the Terminus neckbreaker get the pin at 6:07.

Rating: C. This was just a squash and that’s all it should have been. Sandow is a guy who has a lot of upside and while his in ring stuff isn’t great, it’s good enough to get by when you have a solid gimmick like he’s got. The more I see of his singles stuff, the less I care for the Rhodes Scholars team, as Sandow is more than entertaining on his own.

Ascension/Kassius Ohno vs. Richie Steamboat/Usos

Main event time. Steamboat charges at the ring to get at Ohno and we take a break during the brawl. We come back with Cameron controlling Steamboat before tagging in to Ohno. Steamboat starts his comeback and Ohno immediately runs away. It’s off to O’Brien vs. Jey and O’Brien can’t hurt Jey head. I miss racial stereotypes in wrestling. Conor takes him down into a bodyscissors instead to take over.

Jey gets put in a chinlock as we take a break. Back with Conor kicking Jey in the head from the apron and Cameron dropping an elbow for two. Off to Ohno who stomps away in the corner for two. We hit the cravate and then a front facelock and Jey crawls for the corner, only to get dragged back to the wrong part of town. Back to Conor for more beating but Jey grabs a quick kind of Angle Slam move into a rollup for two.

Cameron comes in and gets caught in a backslide for two but Jey still can’t make the tag. This is quite a beatdown. JR says most people would have folded their tent by now, which launches Regal into stories of his carnival days. Back to Ohno but Jey punches his way to the corner for the hot tag to Steamboat. Richie destroys Kassius as everything breaks down. The Usos hit stereo dives onto Ascension on the floor but Ohno hits the spinning forearm (called OBE, or One Behind the Ear) for the pin at 10:16 shown of 12:46.

Rating: C-. This one missed for me. I don’t know if it’s because I really don’t like Ohno or if it’s something else, but I had problems making myself care about this. Ascension and the Usos continue to be entertaining, but I’m having a really hard time making myself care about Steamboat vs. Ohno. That elbow to the head looked even worse than usual today.

Overall Rating: B. This was another good show although not as good as last week. NXT is 45 minutes of pretty good wrestling with almost no stupid stuff at all. The main event was probably the weakest of all the matches and it certainly wasn’t bad. The one thing NXT is very good at is mixing things up from week to week. It keeps things on the show from getting worn out and stale, which is one of WWE’s biggest problems anymore.

Results

Alex Riley b. Jinder Mahal – Rollup

Trent Barretta b. Jake Carter – Running knee to the face

Damien Sandow b. Brandon Traven – Terminus

Ascension/Kassius Ohno b. Usos/Richie Steamboat – OBE to Steamboat

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

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: October 3, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, William Regal

Back for another show as this show has been in a bit of a rut lately. Last week’s main event of Steamboat vs. Ohno is probably the main story on the show right now but other than that there isn’t much going on. We should be setting up another opponent for Rollins soon enough which is something we need in the near future. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s main event and the post match attack.

Earlier today Ohno was getting into the building when Richie Steamboat jumped him.

Welcome Home. Where do these people go that they have to be welcomed home every week? In case this makes no sense to you, the theme song is Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria.

Drew McIntyre vs. Richie Steamboat

Feeling out process to start with Drew shoulder blocking Richie down. Steamboat comes back with forearms and right hands as he seems to be abandoning his usual style here. Drew catches Steamboat with a kick to the ribs as Steamboat tries to jump over him in the corner. That gets two and McIntyre takes over before hooking something like a seated abdominal stretch.

Drew knocks him to the apron where Steamboat gets two off a sunset flip. Back inside McIntyre hits a release Wasteland with Steamboat landing on his face. Drew loads it up again but Richie tries to counter it into a hurricanrana, only to botch it by falling off McIntyre’s head. Steamboat starts firing off elbows but here’s Ohno for a distraction. Richie turns around and walks into a shot to the head and the Futureshock DDT for the pin at 4:25.

Rating: C. This was more about the angle but building up McIntyre with a win is a good idea. The guy has potential but he’s fallen so far in the last few years that he’s having to start all over again. As for Steamboat, this is a good story for him as he’s getting to show some emotion and I’m not complaining about what I see. Being boring was the biggest knock on him so seeing some good emotion out of him is a good sign.

Big E. Langston vs. Aiden English

The place starts chanting 5 as Langston comes in. English pounds away and gets beaten down for trying to fight. A running clothesline takes Aiden down and there go Langston’s straps. The falling slam kills English and gets the five count at 1:14.

Langston hits the finisher again post match for another five count to a big reaction. The fans seem to love this guy. Langston’s face looks a bit like Monty Brown’s when you can’t see his hair. He hits another falling slam on Aiden for fun.

Steamboat is looking for Ohno in the back but only finds Michael McGillicutty who hasn’t seen Ohno.

CM Punk is here next week.

Here’s McGillicutty with something to say. Apparently he gets a title match next week. McGillicutty says it’s going to be Rollins’ first and last title defense. He calls Rollins out to the ring and gets what he asks for. Well partially as Rollins stops on the stage. Rollins talks about how much McGillicutty talks, including calling Rollins a paper champion. Rollins thinks that shows a lack of respect and holds up the title, which means the respect is real. He’s earned everything he has and didn’t have a path laid out for him since birth. Rollins wants to fight now but McGillicutty says on his own terms.

Gabriel and Kidd are ready for Ascension later tonight. This was earlier today and as they’re talking, Ascension’s entrance starts and they pop up on the screen but don’t say anything.

Percy Watson vs. Kassius Ohno

Steamboat jumps Ohno on the stage during Ohno’s entrance. Ohno says he’s good to go and goes off on Percy quickly. Watson speeds things up and leg lariats Ohno down. Ohno comes back with something like a neckbreaker (Ohno was standing behind Watson and facing him so it was hard to tell what he was doing) but Watson dropkicks him down. The spinning Heisman splash gets two but Ohno blocks the Persecution. A knee in the corner stops Watson and the spinning elbow gets the pin for Ohno at 3:20.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here as usual with Watson matches. The guy isn’t bad at all but man alive there’s nothing to care about with him. Ohno’s matches are still nothing interesting but this was better than his usual stuff. I think it’s the elbow finisher that holds him back more than anything, especially given what we know he’s capable of.

Ascension vs. Justin Gabriel/Tyson Kidd

Kidd and Cameron start us off but Gabriel tags himself in and the smaller guys double team Cameron with a double hip toss and a pair of kicks. A release German throw (not really a suplex) takes Gabriel down and we take a break. Back with O’Brien hammering on Gabriel until Justin rolls around O’Brien and tags out.

Tyson kicks him in the head and hits a springboard missile dropkick for two. O’Brien is sent to the floor where he blocks a baseball slide and slams Kidd onto the floor to take over. Back inside and Ascension takes turns stomping away. That style of rapid fire stomping and pounding is reminiscent of Demolition and there’s nothing bad about that. Cameron puts on a body scissors with a chinlock and O’Brien follows up with a body scissors of his own.

Kidd starts fighting back but Conor tags out immediately to make sure Tyson can’t escape. You can almost hear JR beaming as he talks about the tag team continuity of Ascension. Kidd avoids a charge from O’Brien and side steps Cameron, which lets Kidd make the hot tag to Gabriel. Justin takes Cameron down and immediately tries the 450 but crashes and burns. With Tyson down on the floor, Ascension hits the running Total Elimination (called the Fall of Man) for the pin on Gabriel at 8:20 shown of 11:50.

Rating: B-. This was a solid tag match although the ending felt abrupt. I really like Ascension’s stuff as they have the look and aggressive style that makes them feel like they could dominate anyone. When you combine that with an awesome finisher and a great entrance, what more could you want? Kidd and Gabriel were their usual good selves.

Overall Rating: B. I liked this show better than most recent episodes. We got a lot of stuff from this one with a good main event, a continuation of the main angle for the show and some stuff set up for next week. This is what NXT is good at doing: offering an old fashioned hour long wrestling show and they did that again here. Good show and I enjoyed it.

Results

Drew McIntyre b. Richie Steamboat – Futureshock DDT

Big E. Langston b. Aiden English – Falling Slam

Kassius Ohno b. Percy Watson – Spinning Elbow

Ascension b. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel – Fall of Man to Gabriel

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NXT
Date: September 26, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, William Regal

Back to Florida for another NXT today. The main story now is Ohno vs. Steamboat which has been building up for a few weeks now. Other than that we have the Usos vs. Ascension in the main tag feud which may wind up being for a spot on the main rosters, which the Usos already have. Hopefully NXT can get its spark back tonight. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Ohno attacking Richie Steamboat a few weeks back as well as the events of last week with the sparring session where Ohno destroyed a jobber until Steamboat made the save.

Michael McGillicutty vs. Bo Dallas

Regal tells a cool story about Dallas’ grandfather (Blackjack Mulligan) and McGillicutty’s grandfather (Larry Hennig) fighting each other decades ago. Dallas starts by tossing Michael into the air for a crash landing to take over. Some clotheslines in the corner have McGillicutty in even more trouble and an elbow knocks him to the floor. Dallas pounds away even more on the outside and they barely beat the count back in.

The referee tries to pull Dallas off of McGillicutty allowing the man that should be called Joe Hennig to get in a right hand and send Dallas’ shoulder into the post as we take a break. Back with McGillicutty pounding away on Dallas’ head and putting on a hammerlock. The fans chant YOU TAPPED OUT at one of the guys. I can’t tell which because I don’t remember either of these guys tapping out recently. Did Dallas tap out to Mahal in the tournament? That’s a long time ago to reference something if he did.

Dallas comes back in off the apron with a sunset flip for two but McGillicutty takes out the arm again to take over. Dallas comes back with some clotheslines and a bulldog with the bar arm for no cover. He loads up something but McGillicutty drops to the mat to keep Dallas from trying it. Dallas walks into a forearm and the McGillicutter gets the pin at 8:12 shown of 11:42.

Rating: C+. The more I see of McGillicutty the more I like him and the more I can’t stand his name. I ask this a lot but are they really this afraid of him going to TNA and taking the company by storm as Joe Hennig? The guy gets better and better every week but his name makes him sound like a clown. Dallas is a guy who has energy but he doesn’t seem to have a lot of potential in him if that makes sense.

Video on Paige.

Raw ReBound.

Jake Carter vs. Leo Kruger

Kruger crouches in the corner before charging straight at Carter and stomping away in the corner. He sends Carter to the floor and stalks him before stomping even more back inside. I’m digging Kruger as the psycho big game hunter. He puts on a very modified STF and pulls on Carter’s hair and ears. A middle rope shoulder gets two for Leo and Carter comes back with some basic offense. He pounds away in the corner but misses a splash, letting Kruger hit his twisting cutter, apparently called Kruger’s End, for the pin at 3:56.

Rating: C-. Not as entertaining here as it was much more of a squash than anything else. Kruger’s new gimmick where he used to be a big game hunter in Africa and is now insane is much better than being all proud and rich or whatever he was when NXT got started. Kruger looked good here but that’s about it.

Ryback vs. Francis Rene Dorian/Aiden English

Ryback’s singlet is torn partially in the opening of the match. Other than that it’s the usual destruction with the high powered offense from Ryback. English gets powerbombed, Dorian gets killed with the clothesline, and it’s a double Shell Shock for the pin at 2:27.

Kassius Ohno vs. Richie Steamboat

JR jumps in on commentary as he does with most main events on this show. Feeling out process to start until Steamboat hits a cross body and some shoulders for two each. A backdrop puts Kassius down and it’s off to a chinlock from Richie. Ohno fights up and sends Richie out to the apron and then into the buckle, knocking him to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Ohno holding a cravate across the ropes which gets two. They chop it out in the corner and it goes to a standoff. Ohno charges at Steamboat but Richie takes over with some forearms to the head. Ohno rolls through a middle rope cross body for two and hits a top rope dropkick for two. A big boot puts Richie down for two but he snaps off a superkick for two of his own. Steamboat misses a moonsault and Ohno pounds away in the corner but misses the knockout elbow, allowing Richie to small package him (fitting given his father) for the pin at 8:42 shown of 12:12.

Rating: C+. Another solid match here as this was about finding a way to beat the other guy, which is a good dynamic. The idea of the wrestler vs. the striker worked well here as you had Ohno looking for ways to hurt Steamboat, only to get caught and rolled up for a pin, which is a fine story for a match like this.

Ohno lays out Steamboat with the forearm post match and hooks that arm trap reverse cravate hold of his until referees pull him off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was more like the NXT that got me fired up to watch the show every week. The idea of bringing in a name like Ryback every week is fine and it makes the fans feel like they’re getting a special treat. On top of that we got a good showing from some future stars tonight and the first real match between Ohno and Steamboat. This was a fun show overall and one of the better ones they’ve had in weeks. Also, keeping Rollins off TV for a few weeks at a time is a good idea as it makes his appearances feel special as well as allowing other names to be built up as potential challengers for the title.

Results

Michael McGillicutty b. Bo Dallas – McGillicutter

Leo Kruger b. Jake Carter – Kruger’s End

Ryback b. Francis Rene Dorian/Aiden English – Shell Shock

Richie Steamboat b. Kassius Ohno – Small Package

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews