I’m sure you’ve heard of at least two of them.

Oliver Grey – He came back from a long time off due to a knee injury and got squashed by Camacho.  The writing was on the wall here.

Mason Ryan – The guy just never got better.  Somehow he was considered to replace Reigns in the Shield.

Shaul Guerrero – She was gone earlier and didn’t do anything once she came back.

Danny Burch – Not a bad jobber but little more.

No word on if there are more coming but I’ll keep you posted of course.

NXT
Date: April 24, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jason Albert, Alex Riley, Rich Brennan

We’re getting closer to the next live special which has been announced for the end of May. That makes me think we’re going to get done with Brodus challenging Adrian for the title soon as he feels like little more than a placeholder challenger. Other than that it’s hard to see what’s coming as NXT jumps around a lot. We should be getting Sami vs. Graves soon though. Let’s get to it.

We open with Paige in the back with both titles. She runs into NXT GM JBL though and he has to strip her of the NXT Women’s Title because of the schedule that comes with being Divas Champion. Paige protests but JBL has already set up a tournament for the title. He says hopefully someone will be able to step up and reach her level and that’s enough for her to hand the title over.

Opening sequence.

Alexander Rusev vs. Travis Tyler

Tyler hits a quick dropkick and is promptly run over with a clothesline. The knees to the back set up a fall away slam (looked more like a Samoan drop) and some hard elbows to the chest are good for two. Rusev hits his slam and wins with the Accolade in 1:35.

We go backstage as Adam Rose’s party brings him in for an interview. Rose thinks Camacho is boring and would love to fight him anytime. The party dances and shouts that they’re Rosebuds.

BFFs vs. Emma/Paige

Paige is a mystery partner and her entrance is cut for some reason. Emma runs over Sasha to start before it’s off to Charlotte who takes a monkey flip for two. A double suplex gets two more on Charlotte but she cranks on the ankle to take over. Paige throws Charlotte down by the hair and brings Emma in again but Charlotte flips out of another monkey flip. Sasha comes in off a blind tag and runs Emma down to take over.

Back to Charlotte for a figure four neck lock, complete with a forward roll to slam Emma down onto the mat. Emma avoids an elbow drop and it’s a double tag to Paige and Banks. The champ cleans house and hits a running dropkick until Charlotte takes out the knee. Everything breaks down and Charlotte hits her flipping faceplant for the pin at 5:54.

Rating: C-. Not a bad match here but I don’t get why you need Paige to get pinned when she’s already been stripped of the title. This would seem to point to Charlotte as the next champion. That’s fine in theory, but wouldn’t it make more sense to have her beat Paige with Sasha’s help if they’re ok with Paige getting pinned?

Tyson Kidd vs. Mason Ryan

The Better Than Batista chants begin as Mason shoves Kidd away with ease. Mason doesn’t seem to be a heel here. Kidd kicks away at the legs to little effect as Ryan slams him down. A legdrop gets two on Kidd but he takes out the knees again to take over. Off to a front facelock until Mason powers up and hits a Warrior press slam drop for two. Mason charges into a boot in the corner though and the Blockbuster gives Tyson the pin at 3:19.

Rating: C-. It’s just a power vs. speed match but Kidd is fun to watch and Mason did a decent enough job as a guy for Kidd to bounce off of. I’ve always liked the Blockbuster as a finisher and it’s a good move for a guy that can pull off a good flip like Kidd. This was more entertaining than I was expecting.

Tyson says this is his rebirth and says he’ll brawl when people want to fight and soar when people want to fly. NXT is the opportunity people have been wanting and he’s taking his shot.

Tyler Breeze vs. Angelo Dawkins

Dawkins looks like JTG but also has headphones and a backpack. He also dances a lot because that’s what wrestlers do anymore. Dawkins is a former amateur wrestling champion and takes Breeze down with a quick rollup for two but Breeze slaps on a chinlock to take over. Some right hands set up the Beauty Shot and Tyler gets the pin at 2:00.

We look at Brodus Clay jumping Adrian Neville in the back after their match last week and knocking out some of his teeth.

Corey Graves/Ascension vs. Usos/Sami Zayn

Jimmy uppercuts Viktor down to start before it’s off to Zayn vs. Graves. Corey circles around but tags off to Konnor instead of getting involved. It’s back to Graves almost immediately and the brawl is on again. Viktor sneaks back in off a blind tag and kicks Sami’s knee to take over. Sami drags him back into the corner though and Jey comes in with some chops.

A pair of elbows get two on Viktor and he makes the mistake of ramming their heads together. It sends the Usos into a dance sequence and a double right hand drops Viktor again. Sami comes back in with a top rope shot to the shoulder and it’s OLE time. Jey drops an elbow to the arm but allows the tag to Konnor who nails the flapjack as we take a break.

Back with Konnor running Jey over again and getting two off a hard elbow to the face. We hit the chinlock until Graves comes in with a gordbuster for two. Off to another chinlock into a front facelock with Graves driving Jey into the corner for a tag off to Viktor. Jey and Viktor trade chops with the power guy getting the better of it for two. Back to the chinlock for a bit until Jey slams him down but Konnor breaks up the tag attempt. Jey finally escapes and brings in Jimmy to clean house as everything breaks down.

Jimmy kicks Graves in the face and Sami gets two off a top rope cross body. The running boot in the corner is countered but the Blue Thunder Bomb is good for two. A double clothesline puts the Ascension on the floor and there’s the boot in the corner to Graves. Sami and Jimmy dive on Ascension as Jey hits the Superfly Splash for the pin on Graves at 12:30 shown of 16:00.

Rating: B-. I liked this one quite a bit with Sami FINALLY getting a win that means something, even though he didn’t get the pin. I also like that they didn’t have the Ascension take the fall which leaves a door open for Ascension vs. Usos down the line. Good stuff here and hopefully this ends Sami vs. Corey.

Overall Rating: C+. This felt like a bigger show than it was with the main event being a highlight. We’re setting up Neville vs. Clay II, a tournament, a new guy looking good in Tyson Kidd and wrapping up Sami vs. Graves. That’s quite a good piece of work for under fifty three minutes, which is where NXT gets to shine. Fun and solid show this week that felt like the NXT of old.

Results
Alexander Rusev b. Travis Tyler – Accolade
BFFs b. Paige/Emma – Flipping faceplant to Paige
Tyson Kidd b. Mason Ryan – Blockbuster
Tyler Breeze b. Angelo Dawkins – Beauty Shot
Usos/Sami Zayn b. Corey Graves/Ascension – Superfly Splash to Graves

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NXT
Date: April 17, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Renee Young, William Regal, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

The main story at the moment is Brodus Clay wanting a piece of the NXT Title and going after Adrian Neville to get there. Other than that we’re looking forward to seeing Sami Zayn get his hands on Corey Graves after Graves injured him a few weeks back. The Divas division is also getting more and more awesome so let’s get to it.

Colin Cassady vs. Aiden English

English kicks him in the ribs to start as Regal is already sucking up to Aiden. Big Cass hammers away as we hear about Aiden declaring himself an upper echelon talent in NXT. The SAWFT Boot to the face gets two but Aiden just hammers him down to take over again. A hard elbow to the head keeps Cass in trouble as Regal talks about how to throw the hardest punches. The Director’s Cut is countered but Cass’ spinning Rock Bottom is countered into a rollup with a handful of trunks for the pin at 4:10.

Rating: D+. English winning is always a good thing as he’s ready to move up the ladder in NXT. I’m not saying he’s ready for the main roster but English would be a great opponent for Neville once he’s done with Brodus. The singing gimmick is just about perfect though and that’s the important part.

Tyler Breeze has Devin read his names off a phone. He has nothing to say and just wanted her to read so he could make a gorgeous cameo. Awesome indeed.

We look at Paige winning the Divas Title on Raw.

Paige, holding both belts, doesn’t buy the other Divas’ congratulations on Raw. She’s also ready for the BFFs here in NXT. Paige has studied every Diva on both rosters and will never get comfortable. This is the most she’s ever talked and it wasn’t half bad.

Camacho vs. Oliver Grey

This is Grey’s return match after being gone forever with a knee injury. The fans chant KING HAKU at Camacho (Haku’s son) in a cool moment. A dropkick and wristlock give Oliver early control but Camacho runs him over with a hard elbow. Some forearms to the back set up a Samoan drop for the pin on Grey at 2:00. This was just a squash, but to be fair did anyone care that Grey was back anyway?

Bo Dallas says his fans are law abiding citizens so they didn’t do anything illegal last week. However the Bo Dallas Hotline is running wild so he knows the Bo Lievers will never stop Bo Lieving in him to get the NXT Title back.

Ascension vs. Wesley Blake/Cal Bishop

Blake tries some shots to the ribs but Konnor just ENDS him with a clothesline. A shoulder does the same and it’s off to Viktor for some HARD chops on the floor. Back in and Konnor stomps away in the corner before the Fall of Man ends Blake at 2:19. Can we please move them to WWE, because they’re basically Paige with slightly worse legs.

Charlotte talks over Sasha in the back and takes over the BFFs.

CJ Parker vs. Great Khali

Before the match, Parker says he can’t sleep at night because he’s wondering what this planet would be like without the NXT Universe. There would be no litter in his street or animals in his zoos. Parker wants to know how people can boo a man that wants to change the world for the better but Khali’s music cuts him off. They trade chops to start and I believe you can guess who wins.

We get the loud chops in the corner and a clothesline puts Parker on the floor. Back in and Parker gets in a shot to the knee to take over, drawing what might be the greatest chant in history. Parker: “I JUST WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD!” Fans: “GLOBAL WARMING! GLOBAL WARMING!” Khali fights back and the Plunge is good for the pin at 2:33. The fans’ hatred of Parker is glorious.

Emma might have a partner to face the BFFs next week.

Sami Zayn insists that he’s fine and says he’ll be taking care of Graves soon.

Jason Jordan/Tye Dillinger vs. Baron Corbin/Sawyer Fulton

Jordan and Dillinger get an entrance and have similar trunks. I’ll take it over the random pairings we usually get around here. The good guys use some decent double teaming on Corbin for two before it’s Dillinger with some hard chops in the corner. Corbin comes back with a hard clothesline of his own before it’s off to Fulton for some elbow drops for two. A suplex gets the same but Corbin goes to the middle rope, only to save himself from diving into Tye’s boot. Baron misses an elbow drop though and it’s hot tag to Jordan. House is cleaned and the MNM Snapshot is good for the pin on Baron at 4:27.

Rating: C-. Standard speed vs. power formula match here so it was really hard to screw up. Jordan and Dillinger aren’t anything special but they’re something new so points for trying at least. The Snapshot is a good finisher to bring back as well and makes for a good double team move. Nice little match here to debut the team.

Adrian Neville vs. Brodus Clay

Non-title. Adrian goes right at him and fires off kicks to the legs. Renee: “I’d run around him like Mario around Koopa!” A sleeper doesn’t get Neville anywhere and he dives into a release fisherman’s suplex for two. Brodus goes old school with a heart punch for two and we hit the nerve hold.

We also get the second and third versions of the hold before Neville fights out of a powerbomb attempt. Some kicks to the head have no effect on Brodus but an AJ Styles springboard forearm put him down. Neville rolls through a 450 but Brodus runs him over with a headbutt. They head outside where Clay misses a splash off the steps, allowing Neville to get a quick countout win at 6:23.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here but the ending leaves the door open for future matches. However, I’m not sure why we need a second match as the first one would have been a good enough win for Neville. The match not being for the title fits what Adrian said and we’ll likely get an attack from Clay to set up a rematch.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was moving out there and it worked far better than the previous few episodes. A few things are set up for the next few weeks and we had some decent matches to get there. I like the idea of fast matches instead of long drawn out ones for a change as it’s a breath of fresh air. Nice show this week and again I have hopes for NXT’s future.

Results
Aiden English b. Colin Cassady – Rollup
Camacho b. Oliver Grey – Samoan drop
Ascension b. Wesley Blake/Cal Bishop – Fall of Man to Blake
Great Khali b. CJ Parker – Punjabi Plunge
Jason Jordan/Tye Dillinger b. Baron Corbin/Sawyer Fulton
Adrian Neville b. Brodus Clay via countout

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NXT
Date: April 10, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jason Albert, Rich Bocchini, Alex Riley

There aren’t a ton of stories coming into tonight but the main event out of last week was Sami Zayn vs. Corey Graves being stopped to to Sami’s head injuries. Other than that we also might be building to Neville vs. Clay in the future which isn’t the worst idea for a first new opponent for Adrian. Let’s get to it.

We open with an In Memory graphic for Warrior.

There’s a new commentator named Rich Bocchini tonight. No idea if he’s a permanent replacement for Phillips or not.

Adam Rose vs. Danny Burch

The fans think the party entrance was awesome. Rose prances around the ring to start but gets knocked into the ropes. He leans back and keeps lifting his feet to stop the charging Danny before running him over with some shoulders. Rose cranks on the arm but gets dropped by a single right hand. Adam comes right back with something resembling a Bronco Buster and more prancing, followed by a middle rope elbow for the pin at 2:54. Albert dances post match.

We look back at Sami Zayn being injured last week. The referee says he was doing the responsible thing and stopped the match for Sami’s safety.

Corey Graves says that was just the beginning.

Sasha Banks vs. Bayley

Banks runs her over a few times for two each but Bayley comes back with rollups of her own. Sasha just goes off on her and hammers away before pounding on the back of Bayley’s head. She chokes away in the corner and stomps on Bayley for two. We hit a double arm choke for a bit but Bayley fights up and comes back with some forearms. A running clothesline sets up a middle rope elbow to the jaw for no cover. Sasha tries to fight back but walks into the Belly to Bayley for the pin at 3:12.

Rating: D+. Not much to see here but the hugging obsession is almost impossible to not like. Sasha has charisma but there’s only so much she can do if she keeps losing like this. That being said, both of these girls are almost ready for the main roster. They’re not at Paige’s level, but most of the Divas in WWE aren’t either.

Sylvester LeFort vs. Mojo Rawley

Rawley crushes him in the corner to start and hits a Rear View followed by Hyperdrive for the pin at 47 seconds. Now THIS is what Rawley should be doing.

Post match Brodus Clay comes out to powerbomb and splash LeFort. “Better than Batista!” Clay still wants Neville and thinks he’s earned a shot. He calls out Adrian again and here’s the champion to call Brodus out on his whining. They stare each other down but Brodus walks out.

Oliver Grey is back but Camacho cuts off his promo. He doesn’t like Adam Rose wanting to party all the time but Oliver cuts him off as well. Oliver wants a match against Camacho next week and it’s on.

We look at the NXT guys at Axxess.

Khali is here and gets a hug from Bayley. CJ Parker comes up and is really hoping Khali recycles. Khali shouts in Punjabi but Bayley translates: the big man wants a match next week.

Here’s Bo Dallas for a big announcement. He’s seen what the YES Movement has done so it’s time for the BO Movement to occupy NXT. The fans literally turn their backs on him and Dallas freaks out. “I GAVE YOU COOKIES!” He goes to ringside to yell before heading back in and falling to his knees in tears, saying this makes no sense. I could get behind a Bo Dallas that loses his mind.

We take a quick break to say Don’t Try This At Home and come back with Bo’s meltdown continuing. The fans want NO MORE BO and he weakly tries to turn it into Let’s Go Bo. Now it’s a Bo-Tista chant until JBL makes a rare appearance with a huge grin on his face. “Bo, your movement doesn’t have enough people to occupy a see saw.” He makes a match right now.

Justin Gabriel vs. Bo Dallas

They circle each other to start until Justin nails a few cross bodies. A rollup gets a close two and Dallas bails to the floor. The fans want cookies as Dallas comes back in with a headlock. Justin fights up and sends Bo back to the floor again but gets knocked off the top rope. A suplex sets up a cravate from Bo and he sends Justin hard into the corner.

Dallas levels him with a clothesline but gets sent into the corner as well to put both guys down. Gabriel fires off a series of hard strikes and gets two off a springboard cross body. Bo reverses a tilt-a-whirl slam into a reverse DDT for a close two and both guys are winded. A hard kick to the back puts Bo down but he avoids a top rope Lionsault. Justin comes right back with a small package for two but walks into a double arm DDT for the pin at 10:00.

Rating: C. Not bad at all here as Bo is finally getting some character development that he’s been needing after losing the title. That character can only be taken so far and the meltdown was the logical progression for his character. Gabriel was his usual strong hand in the ring here and looked good flying through the air.

Overall Rating: C+. This was more like it as the show set up two matches for next week plus a title program with Adrian’s first challenger. Dallas going nuts was a great addition and the main roster guys’ appearances continue to be used properly. I liked this show a lot as it felt like an old school NXT show.

Results

Adam Rose b. Danny Burch – Middle rope elbow

Bayley b. Sasha Banks – Belly to Bayley

Mojo Rawley b. Sylvester LeFort – Hyperdrive

Bo Dallas b. Justin Gabriel – Double arm DDT

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I took in Axxess earlier today after having wanted to go for the last 14 years or so. There was a lot of good stuff but some of the things could have been done better. I took a ton of pictures which I’ll post when I get back home and get to my camera cord. There were some VERY nice surprises there though and I met some people who weren’t advertised.

My session started at 1pm and ran for four hours. I got there about 50 minutes early and there were already hundreds of people in line. The line moved FAST though and I was in maybe three minutes after 1. This brings the first major problem: it’s a crap shoot as to who is at which booth. You can find out on the WWE App, but NO ONE TELLS YOU THIS. Even the staff didn’t know what was going on.

Anyway I got in the second line I saw which had a big WWE 2K14 sign behind it. I passed on the Scooby Doo booth which had Santino Marella as the guest. I asked one of the people next to me who the guest was and then I see none other than Dolph Ziggler (in an NWO shirt for some reason) take the stage.

Despite having maybe 50 people in front of us, it took an hour and fifteen minutes to get through the line. This was partially due to Ziggler stopping to talk to the disabled/handicapped people in a separate line (nothing wrong with that and something that happened all day long). The other reason was Dolph doing a TWENTY MINUTE INTERVIEW while we waited in line. The cool thing about this: I might be on Wrestlemania Today on the Network. The camera pans over his line and I was at the front at the time. Ziggler was very nice and kept eating Pizza Rolls (sponsor) between meeting fans. He shook my hand and posed for a picture while signing the back of my Axxess map.

After that and with ¼ of my time gone, I ran over to the NXT booth to try for Dusty Rhodes. On the way I saw about five seconds of Ascension vs. Jason Jordan/??? for the NXT Tag Team Titles. While I was in line for the NXT booth I could hear Paige retaining the Women’s Title over Charlotte and the start of a Sami Zayn match against I believe Corey Graves.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to see Dusty as the first two hour session was already up and a new set of guests came in during the second hour. To Axxess’s credit, they told us we wouldn’t get to the front of the line with nearly half an hour to go. While in line I was given a little NXT gift bag with some very nice trading cards made by Topps (big company in the trading card industry if you’re not familiar), an NXT poster with the roster on the front and mini bios on the back and a bag which came in handy for carrying all my stuff around.

While I was in line, Bob Backlund of all people came casually walking behind me and went behind a curtain. I waved at him and got one in return but he was too far away for a picture or autograph. You could hear him giving one of his ranting promos in the NXT ring while I was in line.

Since the NXT thing wasn’t happening, I ran over to the legends booth to find…..Lanny Poffo and the Wild Samoans. Not exactly a thrilling lineup but Lanny is from Lexington, Kentucky so I got to chat with him for a few moments about that. However, I didn’t get their autographs because the lineup changed again. In their place, and with me fifth in line: Paul Orndorff and RICKY STEAMBOAT. Orndorff looks great all things considered but he’s grown a mustache that would make Hulk Hogan jealous. Both guys were serious but friendly with Steamboat hyping up the crowd while they changed places.

The interesting thing here was the cast of people walking around from an entrance in the back to their booths. From there I saw Eva Marie, the Funkadactyls (all being filmed for Total Divas), Darren Young, Norman Smiley, Damien Sandow and Mick Foley, with a bad limp. Backlund walked right back into the crowd while this was going on as well. He has that goofy look on his face the entire time as well.

After that I walked around to look at some exhibits and to try and find the shortest line. I came across the Legends House booth and saw Hacksaw Jim Duggan signing on a Legends House set. The line took awhile as there was a professional photographer who gave you a card where you could access your pictures online for free. This would have been a great thing to do all over the place instead of just with Legends House but whatever.

This was a very efficiently run booth as I got through the line in about 40 minutes and got to chat with Duggan. I was wearing a Cleveland Indians shirt and he asked if I was from Ohio. I said I saw him wrestle in Lexington about twenty two years earlier and he said I go way back. He asked if it was my first Wrestlemania (it is) and he said once I go I’ll never want to miss another one. Very nice guy, as was everyone else.

Something interesting about the Duggan booth is while he was getting up to go meet the handicapped people, he would always start a USA chant or get us all to shout HOOO before he went down to meet the people. You can see the old guys know how to keep a crowd going instead of just focusing on the people in front of them. It’s a dying art but it worked well here.

After that I was running low on time and started to head to the 30 Years of Wrestlemania exhibit but opted for Undertaker’s Graveyard. It’s a cool concept with a bunch of Undertaker stuff and a tombstone with the Wrestlemania logo, date and name of the opponent engraved. There’s also a cased urn, a bunch of caskets, and an open grave with a tombstone for Wrestlemania 30 minus a name. I wanted to hit the 30 Years thing though so I cut out in the middle. The biggest problem here: it’s right next to the Superstar entrance booth so when the organ music was restarting, you could hear LET’S LIGHT IT UP!

So I run back over to 30 Years of Wrestlemania with fifteen minutes to go….and it’s closed. Like EVERYTHING ELSE. The idea is to get the fans out in time for the next batch to come in, but it’s cutting off a part of the time the people paid for. Why they can’t just have a 30 minute buffer in between is beyond me, but a lot of people were annoyed as the exhibits would take about ten minutes to get through and there was plenty of time to go. I don’t blame the guards as they had orders, but that’s stupid planning. I walked through the store (you have to as you leave) but the stuff was your usual overpriced weekend event stuff. They had a TON of merchandise though.

Overall it was fun and I’d definitely go again, but man alive were there some issues with how it was set up. For one thing, have a sign up that says who is going to be at your booths later in the day rather than just making it a guessing game. Also, and I’m not sure how you go about doing this, they need to cut down the wait time. Spending an hour to get one signature is eating up too much time. I would think maybe having everyone in a line and you can meet them and then go to booths, but it would get REALLY annoying standing there while everyone got pictures etc. It’s more than worth the $50 to get in and see everything and meet people like Steamboat and Duggan though.

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NXT
Date: April 3, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, William Regal, Byron Saxton

The big story coming into tonight is the injury to Sami Zayn at the hands of Corey Graves. Other than that there isn’t much going on in NXT at the moment, but thankfully that’s a problem they can solve very quickly. We need a new challenger for Adrian Neville as well. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Emma vs. Sasha Banks

The Aussie grabs a headlock to start before dropping down next to Sasha who is already on the mat. It’s funny you see. A slam gets one on Sasha but Emma misses a charge into the corner. The fans tell Sasha that she’s rachet, whatever that means. Thankfully Renee Young speaks Full Sail and tells us that it’s not nice. Sasha misses a legdrop and gets caught in the Dilemma followed by the Emma Sandwich. It’s hard to not smile at that one. Charlotte gets on the apron for a distraction but Sasha accidentally knocks Emma into her, setting up the Emma Lock for the submission at 3:52. Renee: “GOOD TRUMPS EVIL!”

Rating: D+. The match wasn’t terrible but the important thing here is basic the NXT Divas are treated and how well that works. Emma is innocent, the BFFs are evil, Paige is the tough chick that destroys everyone, Natalya is the veteran. That’s very simple but it’s far better than the WWE Divas, who don’t have characters at all for the most part.

Video on Mojo Rawley.

John Vandal/Jack Hurley vs. Ascension

Non-title. Viktor runs over Hurley to start and throws him into Vandal to knock both guys to the floor. Back in and it’s off to Konor to destroy Vandal with some hard slams. Fans: “ONE MORE TIME!” A running splash crushes Vandal and the Fall of Man is good for the pin at 1:55. Can we get some challengers already?

Tyler Breeze has entered the building.

Xavier Woods vs. Brodus Clay

Brodus has new music and is all thuggish now, which fits him far better than the funk stuff. Xavier hits a quick dropkick to start and kicks Brodus down to the mat. Not that it matters as Brodus pops back up and hits a quick t-bone suplex to take over. Brodus even busts out an old school Heart Punch and another suplex for two. We hit the nerve hold for a few moments before Woods fights back with chops and kicks to the head. A Shining Wizard gets two for Xavier but Clay shrugs it off and drills Woods with a powerbomb (“BETTER THAN BATISTA!”, setting up a middle rope splash for the pin on Woods at 3:09.

Rating: D+. The gimmick change was long overdue for Brodus and I’m always happy seeing Xavier Woods get squashed. I don’t think this is going to mean much in WWE, but it’s nice for something around here. Woods continues to be nothing at all, even though he seems like a nice guy.

Post match Brodus says WWE has taken everything from him but now he’s doing the taking. His first target is the NXT Championship.

Adrian Neville says Brodus wants to just come in here and take the title before heading back to WWE. That’s not happening around here though because this is the future of wrestling. Brodus has to earn his shot and once he does, Adrian will be right here waiting.

Tyler Breeze vs. Yoshi Tatsu

Breeze is wearing Guatemalan Alpaca boots made by a hunchback hermit. He hammers away on Yoshi to start and kicks him in the back for an early two. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Tyler takes his head off with a forearm. The Beauty Shot is good for the pin at 1:43.

Sami Zayn feels fine going into the main event tonight and he’s been medically cleared. The only person that has anything to fear tonight is Corey Graves.

Graves tells a story about an underdog going into the woods and getting caught in a bear trap. The wolves came out and devoured him, just like Corey will do to Zayn tonight.

Video on Paige.

Paige says she’s coming for Charlotte next because the BFFs stole her moment at Arrival.

Corey Graves vs. Sami Zayn

Graves hides in the ropes to start and then bails to the floor. Sami finally follows him out and hammers away before throwing Graves back inside, only to knock him outside again with a hard clothesline. The big flip dive takes Graves out but he takes over with a hard knee to the head as we take a break. Back with Corey grabbing a chinlock and hammering Sami’s head into the corner.

Sami is all shaken as he swings at air and Graves takes him back down into another chinlock. The referee checks on Sami before Graves pounds at his head even more. Off to chinlock #3 which the fans say they love. Zayn gets up again and grabs a rollup for two, only to get caught in a wheelbarrow facebuster. A backbreaker gets two for Graves but he charges into an exploder suplex into the corner.

The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two more and Sami is a bit frustrated. Graves counters the running kick into the corner and they ram heads to put both guys down. Sami tries to go up top but can’t get his balance. Regal wants the match stopped and Graves gets in another shot to the head. Lucky 13 goes on and the referee stops it at 15:55 shown of 19:25.

Rating: C+. The match was good enough but why does Zayn have to lose almost every big match he’s in? Graves doesn’t do much for me either but they made the match work pretty well. Can we get Sami onto the main roster or at least a definitive win to end a feud for once though? I think he’s earned it by this point.

Sami yells at the referee to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Not a bad show here and most importantly it set up stuff for the future. That’s a big lesson WWE could take from these guys. Instead of having the matches set up the night of the show, get them ready the previous week so you don’t have to waste time on establishing the stories for later in the night.

Results

Emma b. Sasha Banks – Emma Lock

Ascension b. John Vandal/Jack Hurley – Fall of Man to Vandal

Brodus Clay b. Xavier Woods – Middle rope splash

Tyler Breeze b. Yoshi Tatsu – Beauty Shot

Corey Graves b. Sami Zayn via referee stoppage\

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Clash of the Champions at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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I’m in the Magnolia State for the first time ever and chilling in a hotel room after putting in over 500 miles today.  I’m about 3 hours and 15 minutes out of New Orleans and will hopefully be there in time for the Wrestlemania Superstore opening tomorrow afternoon for a meeting with Captain Charisma himself.  After that it’s off to Supercard of Honor VIII for my first live Ring of Honor show.

The regular reviews will be a bit slower this week due to my traveling so please bear with me.  I’m hoping to have Impact up tonight and if I have time I’ll do NXT tomorrow.  Smackdown I’m not sure on but it’s going to be the Wrestlemania special anyway.

Sorry for the delays but hang in there because I’ll have a lot of live reports coming up all weekend plus Monday.

KB

NXT
Date: March 27, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jason Albert, Tom Phillips, Alex Riley

Tonight is another of those big shows for NXT called Vengeance. The idea here is a bunch of long standing feuds or rematches, such as Neville vs. Dallas II in the main event. Other than that we have Parker vs. Rawley, Natayla vs. Charlotte and Breeze vs. Woods. NXT knows how to put on the big shows like this so hopefully they continue the trend here. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Arrival where Neville won the NXT Title in a ladder match and Bo Dallas challenging for a rematch.

Opening sequence.

CJ Parker vs. Mojo Rawley

Parker is angry at Rawley for polluting the planet, even though there’s no evidence of him doing so. A kick to the head puts Mojo down and Parker hammers away in the corner before shouting a lot. Rawley comes back with right hands but misses a splash, giving CJ a two count. More left hands in the corner have Rawley in trouble but Parker stops to show a peace sign. Mojo chases him across the ring and nails a splash in the other corner and Hyperdrive is good for the pin at 3:22.

Rating: D+. Not much to this one but at least Rawley made a quick comeback and destroyed Parker in relatively short order. Parker isn’t the kind of guy who can be a physical threat to Rawley and thankfully he was treated like nothing in the match here. The heel character is a good idea but Parker just isn’t that good.

Parker freaks out post match.

We look back at Corey Graves attacking Sami Zayn last week and see Sami getting a concussion test.

Tyler Breeze vs. Xavier Woods

Woods looks ticked off coming to the ring. Feeling out process to start until Woods grabs a headlock and takes Breeze down with a headscissors. A catapult sends Breeze into the corner for two but he nails Woods with a forearm for two of his own. Woods gets all fired up but Tyler avoids the Honor Roll. He tries snake eyes on Tyler but Breeze escapes and hits the Beauty Shot for the pin at 3:53.

Rating: D+. This didn’t work for me either as Breeze isn’t much to see in the ring. Woods isn’t much better though as he just doesn’t work all that well in the ring. Yeah he’s a smart guy but that doesn’t make him anything special in the ring. I don’t see much of a future on the main roster for either of these guys but Breeze is entertaining.

Bo Dallas says he’ll get the title back tonight because it’s a wrestling match instead of climbing monkey bars.

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Corey Graves

This is a rematch from a few weeks ago when Graves attacked Tatsu before the bell and got an easy pin. Yoshi hammers away in the corner to start and nails a LOUD chop. A quick cross body gets two on Corey but he goes after Tatsu’s knee to take over. He cranks on a hold before kicking the knee out one more time. Lucky 13 makes Yoshi tap at 3:10.

Rating: D+. This was barely long enough to rate as it was nothing more than a squash. I’m not sure what happened to Tatsu as he wasn’t great but he’s better than being a barely seen jobber on NXT. Graves still doesn’t blow my skirt up. I know he’s very popular but I just don’t get the huge appeal.

Corey tells Sami to stay down.

Natalya vs. Charlotte

Charlotte has Sasha Banks with her but Natalya one ups her with Bret Hart. They hit the mat to start but neither girl can gain control. Natalya grabs an armbar but gets countered into a headscissors. Rene Young isn’t sure how to describe her meeting Bret Hart but Natalya destroys Charlotte with a dropkick to bail her out.

Charlotte is flipped into the corner but clotheslines Natalya down to take over. She goes after Natalya’s knee by kicking it in the corner and crushing it against the mat. Natayla escapes a leg lock and goes for the Sharpshooter but Charlotte is in the ropes. Another attempt works but Sasha comes in for the DQ at 5:04.

Rating: C-. Charlotte is getting better in the ring but this didn’t have the time to go anywhere. That’s been a running trend tonight and I’m not really caring for it. Charlotte isn’t her dad out there but she’s very athletic and can do her gymnastics stuff well enough. That makes me wonder why she’s going for the mat work instead. Hopefully they’re not just going to try and make her like her dad.

Neville says it’s not a ladder match tonight but he has the momentum and the title, so nothing changes tonight.

NXT Title: Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville

Neville is defending. Bo tries some fast pins but Neville gets out, sending Dallas running to the corner. Dallas whips Neville across the ring but the champion flips forward and hits a middle rope dropkick. Bo heads outside but Neville takes him down with a BIG dive. Neville loads up another dive but gets shoved to the floor to give Bo an opening. A hard clothesline drops Neville again and Bo takes him inside for some knee drops.

We take a break and come back with Dallas nailing another clothesline for two. Frustration sets in off the kickouts but he’s able to sit down to block a sunset flip. The referee catches Bo holding the ropes though and Neville pulls him down for two. Neville escapes an Impaler DDT and hits a HUGE springboard forearm for two. They trade hard shots to the face and the referee is nearly bumped.

Bo gets two off a rollup but an enziguri from the apron sets up the Red Arrow. The splash hits knees though and both guys are down. Dallas is up first and tries his DDT but has to avoid a hard charge into the corner. The champ gets a kick to Dallas’ head though and a reverse 450 (as in his back was to the ring and he threw his feet into the air before flipping over and landing on Dallas) retains at 12:50.

Rating: C+. Good but not great match here with both guys looking more above average than good. Dallas just doesn’t have the spark anymore after losing the title, but that was bound to happen when his magic was broken. It’s a good match and by far the best of the night but that didn’t save the rest of the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The show wasn’t terrible overall but it really didn’t do much for me. This felt like a show without much effort put into the creative process and they even admitted that it was comprised of mostly rematches. Neville vs. Dallas didn’t feel exciting at all here and while it was ok, it really didn’t make me care to see much more of Adrian. This was one of their worst shows in awhile, but hopefully things pick up next week. Unlike other promotions though, I fully believe NXT can do it.

Results

Mojo Rawley b. CJ Parker – Hyperdrive

Tyler Breeze b. Xavier Woods – Beauty Shot

Corey Graves b. Yoshi Tatsu – Lucky 13

Natalya b. Charlotte via DQ when Sasha Banks interfered

Adrian Neville b. Bo Dallas – Reverse 450

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Clash of the Champions at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

NXT
Date: March 20, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Todd Phillips, Byron Saxton

Things have been looking up in Florida over the last few weeks after a few down weeks leading up to Arrival. The big story at the moment is Bo Dallas wanting his title back from Adrian Neville and the title match takes place next week. Other than that we’ve got the Divas arguing as usual, likely leading up to a good match or two. Let’s get to it.

This week’s show was available early so it looks like it’s going to be a week by week thing.

Mojo Rawley vs. Bull Dempsey

Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots is here and in a Mojo shirt. Dempsey hammers away in the corner and slams Mojo down. A knee drop gets two and we hit the chinlock complete with forearms to the chest. Rawley throws him into the air for a big crash and drives Bull into the corner with a three point stance. Some splashes in the corner set up Hyperdrive to pin Bull at 2:24. Dempsey got in too much offense but at least it wasn’t as long this time.

Sheamus is in action tonight.

CJ Parker doesn’t like Mojo Rawley because he’s hyped up on fast food and probably throws his trash out of the window. They meet next week.

Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn

No match as Corey Graves jumps Sami while Zayn is high fiving a little girl. Sami gets sent head first into the post and the trainer comes out to check for a concussion.

Sheamus says it feels magical to be back in NXT but Aiden English interrupts in song. He says he’s using NXT as a stepping stone to the brighter lights of Broadway. Sheamus says it’s funny that Aiden said stones because it’s clear Aiden’s stones haven’t dropped yet. That can be fixed tonight because Sheamus will talk to JBL and get a match made between the two of them.

Adam Rose vs. Camacho

Renee Young jumps in on commentary and asks why she isn’t in the party. She dances a bit in one of the few things you’ll see her do outside of hold a microphone and smile a lot. Regal offers to take her to one of Rose’s parties but she says she might ask for Rose’s autograph and be too fangirlish. Rose, for lack of a better term, prances around the ring before Camacho grabs his arm. The fans think Rose is awesome and he rolls away from Camacho in appreciation.

Rose leans into the ropes and rocks his feet into the air to stop Camacho in his tracks. Camacho didn’t hit the feet but he’s not sure what to do with Rose. He takes Rose into the corner and chops away, drawing a PARTY POOPER chant. Hey Raw crowds: take notes from NXT on how to be amusing. Rose gets caught in a chinlock and then sent into the corner so Camacho does the prance. Adam is MAD and jumps on Camacho with right hands to the head. He nails a spinebuster and gyrates in the corner (Renee: “That’s a very erotic warmup.”) before the Slice (complete with a CHOO CHOO!) gets the pin at 5:00.

Rating: C+. The match wasn’t much but man alive is Rose fun to watch. He’s so over the top and into his character that it’s impossible to not watch him. It’s also interesting to see that little bit of Jim Morrison in there where every woman wants him, including Renee. He’s a great example of a guy just finding the right gimmick and running with it.

Bayley vs. Sasha Banks

Natalya and Charlotte are the seconds here. Bayley dances around to start as Byron Saxton goes into some bizarre metaphor about stealing chicken and rice. Regal: “I have no idea what you just said.” Bayley runs Sasha down and steals her sunglasses. Phillips: “Hug Life?” She sits on Sasha’s back and crosses her arms as Banks freaks out.

Back up and Bayley charges into a boot in the corner as Sasha takes over. She stomps Bayley down and puts on a chinlock for about five seconds. Sasha throws her outside but Natalya prevents any shenanigans from Charlotte. The distraction from Natalya lets Bayley get a rollup pin at 4:33.

Rating: D. This was a comedy match at first and much more about the characters than the action. It was entertaining at times but after seeing Emma and Paige beat the fire out of each other I need a little more than Sasha just stomping on Bayley for two minutes and a rollup finish.

Aiden English vs. Sheamus

This week’s song is about being in the center ring of NXT before going to the WWE. Sheamus gets a great reaction before the match but Aiden says he built this theater. He’s going to use this company to make his way to Broadway but Sheamus doesn’t think he’ll make it there. Sheamus sings us an Irish song and the fans are WAY into it until English jumps him. Sheamus says ring the bell and the chase is on. Aiden catches him coming in and stomps away but Sheamus sends him into the corner and hits the forearms to the chest.

The Brogue Kick misses with English bailing to the floor as we take a break. Back with both guys on the floor and Sheamus throwing English into the barricade. Aiden tries to run but manages to send Sheamus face first into the steps. A clothesline puts Sheamus down and they head inside for a chinlock.

Regal alters English’s character a bit by saying Broadway means the top of the WWE. He finally admits he has a man crush on English as Sheamus slugs back from his knees. Sheamus pulls himself to the top rope but Aiden slams him down into a neckbreaker (nice move) for two. Back to the chinlock and Sheamus is in trouble. Sheamus powers to his feet and throws English down. A few shoulder blocks set up the Brogue Kick for the pin at 7:44.

Rating: C. Not much to this one here but letting an up and comer like English get in some offense on a big star is always a good thing. On top of that the fans got to see one of the top guys in the company so everyone wins. Of course you can’t have Sheamus get in any serious danger here but it was far from a squash.

Sheamus brings a kid over the barricade and has him do the Sheamus pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a very laid back and fun show and there’s nothing wrong with that. Nothing of note happened but you had Mojo, Rose, Bayley and Sheamus to fire up the crowd. That’s the great thing about NXT: they can just take a week off like this but still have an entertaining show. Good stuff here and it flew by.

Results

Mojo Rawley b. Bull Dempsey – Hyperdrive

Adam Rose b. Camacho – Slice

Bayley b. Sasha Banks – Rollup

Sheamus b. Aiden English – Brogue Kick

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Summerslam at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

NXT
Date: March 13, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Jason Albert, Alex Riley

We’re coming off a good episode last week with the debut of Adam Rose and the first appearance of Adrian Neville as the NXT Champion. He and Bo Dallas aren’t done yet though as Dallas has promised to cash in his rematch clause in the near future. The only announced match for tonight is Xavier Woods vs. Alexander Rusev. Let’s get to it.

The opening video sets up Rusev vs. Woods and talks about Dallas vs. Neville II coming soon.

Theme song.

Jason Albert is Tensai under a less bizarre name.

Paige vs. Sasha Banks

Non-title. Sasha steals Paige’s t-shirt and yells a lot before a brawl breaks out. Paige throws her down by the hair before beating Sasha with the shirt. She gets to throw it out to the crowd and sends Sasha into the corner. Sasha comes back with a hard whip of her own and chokes away at the champ. We hit a chinlock from Sasha followed by a snapmare into another chinlock with a knee in the back. Paige fights up and takes Sasha into a corner for some elbows. Sasha is sent to the mat and that scorpion cross lock gets the submission at 5:05.

Rating: C. The match wasn’t bad but the majority of the match was spent in that chinlock. That cross lock is just ridiculous looking (in a good way) and it’s a step above the Paige Turner. The problem at the moment though is Paige has cleaned out the division and there’s nothing left for her to do at the moment.

Post match Charlotte goes after Paige but Natalya makes the save.

We look at Corey Graves vs. Sami Zayn from last week.

Sami says he silenced Corey last week and if Corey wants some more, he isn’t hard to find.

Stills of Mojo Rawley destroying CJ Parker at Arrival.

Rawley is of course hyped in the back and says Arrival was just the start.

Ascension vs. Travis Tyler/Cal Bishop

Non-title again. Konor runs over both guys to start and hits a pair of HARD shoulders to crush Tyler. Viktor comes in and fires off hard chops in the corner followed by a backdrop for no cover. Viktor is sent to the apron and it’s off to Bishop who works on the arm in the corner but gets his head taken off by a hard uppercut. Back to Konor who brings Tyler in for fun. The dominance continues and a running splash nearly ends Tyler. Viktor comes back in and the champions start making fast tags. A top rope knee from Viktor (the Guillotine) sets up the Fall of Man for the pin on Tyler at 3:23.

Rating: D+. Total and complete dominance here as you would expect. Much like Paige, Ascension has cleaned out the division and they need someone else to fight. Either that or send some WWE guys down there to give them some important wins. Ascension continues to look awesome but they need something new to do.

Mason Ryan vs. Wesley Blake

The BETTER THAN BATISTA chants begin already. Ryan counters a quick sleeper attempt and drives a hard knee into Blake’s ribs. Ryan cranks on the arm but gets caught by a forearm and some right hands in the corner. Blake isn’t looking bad but Ryan takes over with kicks to the ribs. Ryan misses a charge into the post and Blake works on the arm for a few moments, only to run into a spinebuster for the pin at 5:12.

Rating: D+. This was just a squash for the most part but at least the ending looked good. Mason Ryan has been around forever but he just isn’t getting any better. I can’t imagine them putting him in the Shield as was the rumor a few months back, but stranger things have happened in WWE.

Bayley is very excited to be on the WWE Network. She got to meet Bret Hart recently but the BFFs come in to make fun of her. Bayley steals the head on a stick and imitates both of them, saying that Sasha smells like cheese. Violence is implied but Natalya comes in. The BFFs say Natayla hasn’t been champion in forever and is only known for drunk dialing her boss on a reality show. Natalya talks about her uncle beating Charlotte’s dad for the title and Flair leaving the company as a result (it was more like two and a half months later but that’s WWE history for you). The BFFs leave.

Alexander Rusev vs. Xavier Woods

Tyler Breeze comes out before Rusev and asks if he can have the chance to get revenge tonight. Lane comes out to do Rusev’s entrance and freak Rusev and Woods out. Breeze lays out Woods from behind and Rusev stalks to the ring. Woods says we can go and the bell rings, allowing Rusev to pick him apart with ease. The beating is nice and slow until Woods gets in a few kicks to the legs. He gets caught in a backdrop though and a spinebuster sets up the Accolade for the submission at 2:30.

Sheamus will be here next week.

Adrian Neville is about to talk about his rematch with Bo Dallas in two weeks when Bo comes in and says the nightmare ends two weeks. The Bo-Lievers have been the wind bo-neath his wings through this trying time. The fans are sick of Adrian and his flips and big ears. Adrian slaps him and they breathe heavily for a bit.

Colin Cassady vs. Bo Dallas

Colin shoves him down to start but Bo grabs a headlock to take over. Cassady easily shoves him away and dares him to try again. Bo charges into a slam and Cass drops some elbows, sending Bo running to the floor. Back in and Dallas tries another headlock, this time using a pull of the hair. A hard shoulder block sends Bo back outside and we take a break. Back with Bo in trouble but snapping Cass’ throat across the top rope to take over. He hammers away on Colin’s back and throws on a cravate to slow things down.

Colin fights up and buries some right hands in Dallas’ ribs to take get a breather. Bo drops him right back down with a running clothesline for two before hammering away. The fans chant Bo-Ring and Dallas has the biggest grin on his face. A running elbow to the head gets two and Dallas is getting frustrated. Bo misses a charge into the corner and Colin hammers away before doing the SAWFT Forearm. A BIG boot to the head gets two and Dallas is knocked silly. Bo gets in a quick shot to the throat though and an inverted DDT is enough for the pin at 12:25.

Rating: C+. Nice match here as Colin is getting better and better in the ring every week. He still needs Enzo out there to really make things work though. Dallas had some intensity out there that he’s been lacking in the last few months so maybe losing the title is a good thing for him. I don’t see this gimmick lasting long for him though.

Overall Rating: B-. Not quite as good as last week but it was still the normal NXT before the WWE interfered so my hope is getting stronger every week. The matches were all good and the stories are still basic but solid. Throw in some over the top characters next week and it’s the perfect balance.

Results

Paige b. Sasha Banks – Scorpion cross lock

Ascension b. Travis Tyler/Cal Bishop – Fall of Man to Tyler

Mason Ryan b. Wesley Blake – Spinebuster

Alexander Rusev b. Xavier Woods – Accolade

Bo Dallas b. Colin Cassady – Inverted DDT

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Summerslam at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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