NXT
Date: January 8, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Alex Riley

The main story coming into tonight is the Tag Team Title match with Hunico and Camacho finally getting to challenge Ascension for the belts. It continues to amaze me how NXT can take any match and make it feel like it’s a big deal whereas every other promotion has one or two stories on top and that’s it. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home.

Summer Rae vs. Bayley

This fight is over Summer snapping Bayley’s headband a few weeks ago. Bayley has Natalya to counter Sasha Banks. Summer offers Bayley a hug but Bayley rips off Summer’s tiara and gets two off a sunset flip. Bayley sends Summer crawling into the corner, only to have Bayley get rammed face first into the buckle.

A spinning face plant gets two for Summer before she chokes Bayley across the ropes and stretches at the same time. We hit a cross arm choke on Bayley but she fights up and hits a jumping back elbow to the jaw for two. The same move from the middle rope gets two more on Summer before the Belly to Bayley is enough to pin Rae at 3:54.

Rating: C-. The match was pretty decent by NXT standards and Bayley continues to be too adorable for words. Every single week this promotion proves that characters can get over if they’re given the time and Bayley is a good example of that. Her character is a super fan obsessed with hugs yet she’s over. Think about that for a minute.

Xavier Woods is here and doesn’t mind that Kane is looking for him.

Colin Cassady vs. Aiden English

Cassady goes right at English in the corner with knees, followed by forearms to the back while spelling S-A-W-F-T. English avoids a charge in the corner and follows up with forearms to the chest and a chinlock. Big Cass fights up and backdrops English to speed things up. A SAWFT elbow drop gets two but English gets in a kick to the knee to slow Cass down, followed by the Director’s Cut for the pin at 2:33. Energetic while it lasted.

Adrian Neville gets a phone call from Tyler Breeze who is standing two feet away. Tyler says this way he can talk to Adrian and not have his eyeballs melt out of his face because of Adrian’s ugly face. They get in an argument over Breeze costing Neville the NXT Title match against Bo Dallas before Tyler implies he wants the title. A match is made for next week.

Xavier Woods vs. ???

Kane comes out to bring up Woods’ petition to bring Big Show back to WWE. That’s still a thing? Tonight it’s time to Woods to be punished by his opponent, Alexander Rusev. Woods tries some forearms to start but runs into a Samoan drop for two. Rusev puts on a nerve hold before dropping elbow after elbow for two. Kane walks around ringside in his suit and glasses, making him look even more creepy than usual. Woods fights back with forearms and a dropkick but Rusev shrugs off the Honor Roll and runs over Woods, setting up the Accolade for the win at 1:55.

Kofi Kingston wants more of Alexander Rusev.

Tyson Kidd vs. Baron Corbin

The much bigger Corbin runs Kidd over to start before forearming him in the face for two. He throws Kidd into the corner and takes him down with another shoulder block for two. A knee staggers Kidd again but he sends Corbin into the middle buckle and slows him down with a dropkick. Another dropkick gets two and a slingshot legdrop to the back of the head sets up a Blockbuster for the pin at 3:09.

Rating: C. This was basically a Corbin squash until the last 45 seconds though. I like the Blockbuster for Kidd as a finisher as it’s something that could take down bigger guys while also being something he could make look convincing despite his size. Corbin came off looking good here too and has a good look to back it up.

Tag Titles: Hunico/Camacho vs. Ascension

Ascension is defending and this is a tornado match, meaning there are no tags, countouts or disqualifications. It’s a brawl to start as it should be with the challengers taking over in the corner. Hunico chops Viktor as the fans want tables. Konnor fights back against Camacho and stomps him down into the corner but Hunico trips up Viktor, allowing Camacho to drop a leg for two.

We take a break and come back with Camacho ramming Konnor face first into the bicycles Hunico and Camacho rode in on. Back inside with Hunico and Camacho raining down right hands in the corner, only to have the champions come out with stereo powerbombs for two each. Hunico is rammed into the bicycle again before Konnor gets two on Camacho with the flapjack. The champions stomp away and Viktor gets two on Hunico via a suplex.

Camacho backdrops Hunico to the apron so Hunico can come in with a cross body to take the champions down and things kick up a notch. Two dropkicks put Ascension down again and a Hunico moonsault gets two on both champions. The Swanton gets two on Konnor but Viktor makes a quick save. Camacho tries a suicide dive to take out Viktor but dives into a forearm. Konnor jumps Hunico from behind and the Fall of Man retains the titles at 8:38 shown of 12:08.

Rating: B. I liked this more than I thought I would with Camacho and Hunico complimenting each other very well. This was in the vein of Demolition against the Hart Foundation with the pure power vs. power and speed. It’s going to be a shame when Ascension gets to the main roster and JBL and Cole spend their entire matches making fun of them.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a show to hold the place for NXT before we get to the new taping cycle and a fresh batch of matches. Thankfully that didn’t make this a boring show as the matches worked for the most part and we have some stuff set up for next week. This show also makes me want to see the Royal Rumble to see which NXT guys can get a cameo in the big match.

Results

Bayley b. Summer Rae – Belly to Bayley

Aiden English b. Colin Cassady – Director’s Cut

Alexander Rusev b. Xavier Woods – Accolade

Tyson Kidd b. Baron Corbin – Blockbuster

Ascension b. Hunico/Camacho – Fall of Man to Hunico

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NXT
Date: January 1, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Tom Phillips, Alex Riley

Happy New Year everyone. I’m not sure if it’s a new year in NXT or not because this show was probably taped back in November or so. We have a main event already set for tonight with Leo Kruger vs. Sami Zayn in a 2/3 falls match which is becoming the signature main event of the promotion. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home.

Byron Saxton is in the middle of the ring to let us know that Tyler Breeze is in the building.

Lana introduces Alexander Rusev and is given the WHAT treatment.

Alexander Rusev vs. Kofi Kingston

Rusev pounds Kofi into the corner as Regal chides Phillips about not being able to talk to Rusev. “If he could talk to you, he wouldn’t need a translator. Fine money spent on your college education.” Kofi is lifted into the air so Rusev can drive knees into his ribs. A Samoan drop gets two on Kofi and a hard shoulder block gets the same.

Alexander misses a running splash and gets dropkicked down. The Boom Drop connects but Rusev heads to the corner so Kofi can’t try Trouble in Paradise. Instead he hits a cross body off the top (good one too despite Kofi slipping on the ropes) for two but a Lana distraction lets Rusev slam Kofi off the top. The Accolade gets the big upset submission from Kofi at 3:52.

Rating: C. Rusev didn’t look great in there but he got a win over a legitimate main roster guy. There’s definitely a future for this guy in the big leagues and he could be something special in the vein of Umaga. Kingston continues to be the same guy he’s been for years and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Sylvester LeFort is holding open auditions to replace the injured Scott Dawson. Bull Dempsey comes up but is told he’s too fat. LeFort says he needs someone bigger than life when Mason Ryan pops up behind him. Ryan hasn’t heard about an audition but LeFort promises him lots of money and holds up a one dollar bill. Mason grabs him by the beard and shoves it in LeFort’s mouth.

Natalya vs. Emma

#1 contenders match. Emma takes her down with a headscissors but Natalya reverses into a headlock. Off to an armbar by Nattie and a fireman’s carry slam gets two. Emma gets two on a rollup and strikes a pose, only to be rammed into the corner. She counters into a quick Dilemma (Tarantula) but after the break Natalya takes her head off with a discus lariat for two. Emma gets caught in an abdominal stretch complete with her leg being lifted off the mat.

In an awesome hold, Natalya gets Emma face down on the mat, ties their legs together and grabs her arms. They turn over and Natalya lays on her back while raising her legs up to put Emma in something like a Tree of Woe on the mat. That looks awesome but Emma gets her arms free. Emma counters the Sharpshooter into a small package for two before putting on the Emma Lock (Indian Deathlock with a bridge into a crossface) for the win at 4:35.

Rating: C+. Again, it saddens me that Emma is stuck down here while we have to watch Divas like Aksana, the Bellas, Eva Marie and Rosa Mendes on Raw for the simple reason of they were either there first or some attempted cross promotion with a reality show. This was solid wrestling with good looking women which could work if actually presented on Raw.

Natalya raises Emma’s hand because she got beat fairly.

It’s time for a sing off between Aiden English and Colin Cassidy. Apparently Regal and English had a cup of tea together with a dwarf named Peter who loves baking flatbread, and it’s so adorable listening to the pitter patter of tiny Pete. Thankfully Big Cass comes out before anything else can be said. Aiden starts by singing some Italian opera and is good as always. Colin sings about Aiden’s voice: “You sound like you coughed, but you’re just S-A-W-F-T”. Audience: “SAWFT!”

Colin has a surprisingly nice voice and wins in a landslide but Aiden wants another round. Aiden sings about how he can’t stand Cassidy and Colin sings about how much English sucks to the tune of My Girl, complete with the BEST AUDIENCE EVER doing the backing vocals. English of course snaps and takes out Colin’s knee. This was very entertaining and didn’t beat you over the head with the joke like they do on Raw. That’s such a huge difference and it makes these segments so much easier to sit through.

Tyler Breeze vs. Mason Ryan

The fans go nuts for Breeze’s entrance. Tyler is now the Prince of Pretty because he’s just that awesome. LeFort comes to ringside to distract Ryan, allowing Tyler to get an early advantage. Mason slides to the floor and blasts LeFort, only to go back in for the Beauty Shot and the pin at 1:18.

Hunico/Camacho vs. Ascension in a tornado match next week.

Tyler Breeze has left the building.

Sami Zayn vs. Leo Kruger

2/3 falls. Sami signs an autograph on the way to the ring which is a really easy way to get over with a crowd but no one does it. Kruger throws him to the floor to start and pounds on Zayn’s back before throwing him back inside. A European uppercut sends Zayn right back to the floor and Kruger rams him back first into the apron. Back in and some more European uppercuts have Sami on shaky knees. That’s fine with Zayn though as he hits a quick exploder suplex into the corner before connecting with the running boot in the corner for the pin at 2:53.

We take a break and come back with Leo breaking up a superplex attempt and shoving Sami out to the floor for a nine count. Zayn is just so good at building sympathy by holding his ribs and looking like he’s fighting for every step. Back in and Kruger snaps off a DDT for a close two. Leo fires off right hands but Sami gets all fired up, only to be uppercutted right back down. Sami comes back with a clothesline and leg lariat to set up the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Zayn goes to the apron but gets draped over the top ropes to injure the ribs again. Somehow that’s only good for two so Kruger loads up a superplex.

Sami shoves him off and tries a cross body but lands on the ribs again. With Zayn in agony and holding his ribs, Kruger grabs his arm for the GC3. Since his arm is fine, Sami fights to the ropes and doesn’t tap out. Sami tries to beat some psychology into him but walks into a big spinebuster for no cover. Instead he tries the Slice but gets caught in a downward spiral followed by a Koji Clutch of all things to give Sami the second fall and the win at 10:28 shown of 13:58.

Rating: C+. If you want an example of something that ticks me off in wrestling, this is it. Kruger’s finishing moves may be the clothesline and the arm lock but they make no sense here. Sami spent over twelve minutes setting up that rib injury and Leo just ignores it because that’s not what his offense focuses on. Leo looked fine other than that and the moves he used were all done well, but that lack of common sense hurt him. This was also a pretty resounding defeat and makes it clear why he was repackaged. It’s also nice to see Sami get a big win and look dominant in the process.

Overall Rating: B. This was the fun show that I’ve grown accustomed to. The matches were all at least good, the singing bit was funny and we have a big match next week. This show is a very tightly run ship and you never have to ask what they’re thinking with their booking. I’m so used to being surprised when WWE or TNA gets something right and it’s the complete opposite here. Another fun show with a great crowd.

Results

Alexander Rusev b. Kofi Kingston – Accolade

Emma b. Natalya – Emma Lock

Tyler Breeze b. Mason Ryan – Beauty Shot

Sami Zayn b. Leo Kruger – Koji Clutch

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NXT
Date: December 25, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Host: Renee Young

It’s Christmas time in NXT and since this is a sane promotion, tonight is a year in review show, plus Cesaro vs. Regal. This should be entertaining as usual given how good NXT has been over the last year. It’s always fun to see where guys on the main roster got started and several guys on the main shows today were in NXT earlier this year. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home.

The arena is empty and Renee Young is our host.

First up: a look at the opening of the WWE Performance Center.

We get packages on all the people that have gone from NXT to the main rosters: the Wyatts, Shield, Fandango, Xavier Woods, Damien Sandow, Antonio Cesaro and Big E. Langston. Ignore that Cesaro, Fandango and I beliee Sandow were in WWE before they came to NXT.

Langston talks about the previous year has been a whirlwind and he couldn’t have done it without the maniacal five count fans. This is just the beginning.

Cesaro says that William Regal is the only technical wrestler he’s ever respected. Regal’s evilness was an inspiration for Cesaro and he wouldn’t have a job here without William. However, Regal knew this day was coming: the day when one of them had to go. The younger, stronger and better man gets to stay, and that’s Cesaro.

Video on the first NXT Tag Title match with British Ambition beating the Wyatts.

Video on Emma vs. Paige for the first Women’s Title.

Paige, who towers over interviewer Devon Taylor, thinks Emma is just a dancer. However, she now has Paige’s respect because Emma has shown she can move in the ring. Paige insists she’s a wrestler and promises to come for the Divas, including AJ.

Bo Dallas knows we want to hear about his rise to the title but we need to hear how important it is to Bo-Lieve. We get a clip of him beating Langston to prove the power of the Bo-Lievers.

The Wyatts talk about how they stand for a cause. Their crusades began in a place called NXT and whether it’s there or up in WWE, their message is simple: down with the machine.

Here’s a package on the future of NXT: Aiden English, Mojo Rawley, Bayley, Tyler Breeze, Alexander Rusev, Sasha Banks, Corey Graves and of course Sami Zayn.

Video on all of the WWE stars who have made cameos here in NXT.

William Regal has been considering his legacy. He’s a vicious fighter and a unique entertainer but he never became World Heavyweight Champion. That’s his fault though because he has a tendency to get in trouble. He’s always been a world class technical wrestler, and that’s where Antonio Cesaro comes in. Cesaro is ten times the wrestler that Regal has ever been and Cesaro wants to prove it. The only chance Regal has tonight is a miracle and that’s not coming to someone like himself. Regal is going to give this every bit of evil he has and hopes that’s enough. This was an old school wrestling promo and it was awesome.

Young is about to introduce the match of the year but Shield hijacks the signal to talk about how dominant of a year they’ve had. They’ve destroyed everyone from Undertaker to Rock to Undertaker to John Cena, but that was after they built NXT. All those guys that are coming up through NXT need to be worried because Shield is waiting on them in WWE.

Back to Young who introduces the only match that could have been match of the year in NXT: Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro 2/3 falls. Cesaro going into beast mode to get the wind is still amazing and makes me even sadder every time I see him jobbing to Los Matadores.

Sami talks about what an honor it is to be part of the match of the year but now his focus is on becoming NXT Champion. There’s a roadblock in his way named Leo Kruger and this talk about 2/3 falls has gotten him thinking. Next week: Kruger vs. Zayn 2/3 falls. Even on a review show they set up something for next week. Can this show do anything wrong?

Antonio Cesaro vs. William Regal

The Fink is doing entrances, which gives me an answer to the question I just asked. The disgusted yet also terrified look on Regal’s face is perfect. Cesaro cranks on the arm to start and Regal can’t counter. Antonio takes him to the mat but Regal nips up to draw a gasp from the crowd. Cesaro stays on the hold and takes Regal down again but there’s another nip up. “You still got it!”

Regal takes Cesaro down to his knees but still can’t get away from the wrist control as we take a break. Back with Cesaro still on the arm and jumping onto a standing Regal’s shoulders (basically putting himself in a fireman’s carry) to apply even more pressure. Regal flips him down into an armbar but Cesaro nips up just like Regal did earlier. William takes him down by the other arm but Cesaro powers up into a test of strength.

Cesaro easily powers Regal down but the Englishman counters into a cross arm choke. He leans backwards to put Cesaro over his knees while still choking, only to be flipped forward to escape. Back to the test of strength before Regal counters a front facelock into a dragon sleeper. Cesaro flips him forward in a kind of reverse suplex for two but Regal gets him down into the corner and does his “distract the referee while kicking the opponent in the face” spot.

Antonio chop blocks Regal down and rams the bad knee into the apron a few times as we take another break. Back with Cesaro holding a leg lock but Regal keeps fighting back with kicks to the head. Cesaro keeps control by cranking on the knee even more and taking off Regal’s knee brace. The knee is bent around Cesaro’s neck in an old Brock Lock but Regal counters into a rollup and backslide for two each. Cesaro hits a series of ten uppercuts to knock Regal silly, setting up the Cesaro Swing.

After some trash talk Antonio loads up the Neutralizer but Regal backdrops his way out. He drops a knee on Cesaro’s arm to take away the Neutralizer. Regal goes after the arm with everything he’s got and hits an overhead suplex for two. The knee is too damaged for the knee trembler though and Cesaro comes back with a headbutt. Regal is fine with that and headbutts Cesaro right back before loading up a double underhook suplex. Cesaro backdrops Regal but can’t break the grip.

Regal takes him to the mat again and tries the Regal Stretch but Cesaro makes the rope. A forearm from the good arm lays Regal out and a double stomp to the back of the head has the referee checking him. Cesaro looks down at Regal before picking up his limp body. He sets up the Neutralizer but thinks twice about it and lets Regal fall back to the mat. Regal tries to pull himself up so Cesaro puts on the Neutralizer. He looks down at Regal’s unconscious body and looks disgusted after pinning Regal at 16:00 shown of 24:00.

Rating: A. I loved this for a lot of reasons. First of all, the technical stuff at the beginning was excellent with two old school craftsmen doing their jobs as well as anyone can. It’s wrestling in its purest form and when you have guys who can work that style it’s as entertaining as you can get. Then there’s the excellent storytelling with Regal trying every trick he knew but not being able to stop Cesaro’s raw power. The ending with Cesaro not wanting to hurt Regal anymore but giving in to his natural instincts of winning at any cost was great stuff. I loved this match and continue to wait for Cesaro to be taken seriously in WWE.

Regal is taken out by referees but Cesaro goes after him and extends a hand. Regal stares him down and shakes hands as we go off the air.

Overall Rating: A+. An amazing match and clips of all kinds of awesome stuff from the undisputed best wrestling show going today make this the best hour of wrestling I’ve seen in a long time. Even when they’re talking about a match that happened months ago they tie in a match next week to give us a reason to keep watching. This show can do no wrong at this point and somehow keeps getting better.

Results

Antonio Cesaro b. William Regal – Neutralizer

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NXT
Date: December 20, 2011
Location: Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Matt Striker

We’re at the next to last show of the year on this season and it’s becoming pretty clear this is going to go on to the beginning of the WWE Network. Therefore, there’s almost no point to paying attention to this show. However, if I was going with that philosophy I would have been out of here months ago. Let’s get to it.

This 4pm thing is ridiculous. It’s 6:40 and I’ve been checking on things every 20 minutes or so and it’s just now up.

Here’s Bateman to open things up. During Bateman’s entrance we recap the Percy Watson show from last week. He says he’s here to win and win back the Courtney to his Kurt and the Bonnie to his Clyde (aren’t both of those men dead?). Striker says they have to work together and be partners here. Curtis shows us a still of him kissing Maxine and then offers a handshake.

Usos vs. Derrick Bateman/Johnny Curtis

The Siva Tao makes me want to invade a small country. Bateman starts and the brothers take turns beating on him. Once he finally gets a bit of a break though, Curtis tags himself in. It doesn’t go very well for him either though as the Samoans hammer away. Curtis gets a hard clothesline for two and the fans aren’t really interested. He goes over to tag in Bateman but Derrick walks away. It doesn’t take long for the Superfly Splash from Jimmy to get the pin at 3:37.

Rating: D. The match was pretty much nothing but that was the point. The Usos are light years better than everyone and that’s been obvious for months, so I’m getting tired of seeing them wasted in stuff like this. Curtis is about as uninteresting as anyone I’ve seen in years, but it’s just NXT so it’s not so bad.

Trent Barretta asks Yoshi to watch his back against Hawkins tonight since Reks will be out there. Yoshi says sure but after Trent leaves, Yoshi gets jumped by Hawkins/Reks and locked in a utility closet.

Curt Hawkins vs. Trent Barretta

Striker goes on a rant against Hawkins and Reks for making fun of legends on their Youtube show. If he doesn’t like them, why does he keep booking them on NXT if he has matchmaking abilities? Hawkins takes over to start and hits a slam for two. Hawkins keeps beating on him and heads to the floor to yell at Striker who yells right back. Trent fights back and the fans are SILENT. A running knee gets two for Trent. He goes up but has to kick Reks down, allowing Hawkins to finish Trent with a move that starts as a reverse neckbreaker, but he spins forward to slam Trent’s face into the mat for the pin at 4:45.

Rating: D+. I like Barretta but he couldn’t overcome the boredom of the crowd here. Nothing special at all but I guess it sets up drama between Yoshi and Trent which is the latest place they’re going here that has nothing to do with NXT but they have to fill in an hour either way. Also, who comes up with these dull finishers? All these face slam moves are getting old.

Kaitlyn vs. Maxine

Maxine’s outfits really aren’t PG. Kaitlyn dominates to start and shows off her range of offense, going big with a legdrop. Maxine fights back and chokes away. This is the usual boring stuff from the Divas. Maxine hits her in the chest and hooks a standing guillotine choke. Kaitlyn fires off some but Maxine keeps beating her down. Cue Bateman who says he’s been looking everywhere for Maxine. The distraction lets Kaitlyn roll her up at 3:03.

Rating: D. Other than the chest strike thing, this was rather dull. Somehow this was WAY better than the Raw and Smackdown Divas who are just awful at this point. It’s amazing what happens when they’re down in FCW with trainers and get to actually practice a bit isn’t it? This was nothing special though.

Bateman begs forgiveness and sings the Righteous Brothers’ You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling but gets blasted by Curtis. Maxine walks out on both of them.

Percy Watson vs. Tyson Kidd

Good to see Kidd back on the show though. Percy starts off with his power game and he hammers Tyson into the corner. The referee tells him to get out of there and Percy actually says yes sir. Very nice to see some manners. Just because you’re in combat and trying to get a full time job, there’s no excuse for rudeness. Kidd takes over and uses his feet to take over. Off to a dragon sleeper which Percy escapes pretty easily. He fires off some dropkicks and adds a belly to belly for two. They go to the corner and Percy gets guillotined on the top rope. That and a springboard elbow drop are enough for Tyson to pin him at 4:03.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t bad and it’s nice to see Tyson back on screen. He would have been the prime candidate for an NXT Title if they’d ever just get to one. Either way, this was fine for power vs. speed and that’s all it needed to be. Watson is kind of floundering and I think a heel turn might be in the cards for him.

Same video on the Tribute to the Troops from Monday.

Bateman and Curtis almost get into a fight in Striker’s office so he makes a match between them for next week.

Titus O’Neil vs. JTG

Darren Young is on commentary and his arm is in a sling. Titus uses the power game to start (common theme tonight) as Young says that he’s better than anyone on Raw or Smackdown. Titus throws JTG to the floor and barks. He gets crotched on the ring skirt though and JTG takes over. To the chinlock! Titus powers out of it and hammers away, hitting a powerslam for two. Clash of the Titus ends this at 3:55.

Rating: D. Not much here but it wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t particularly good hence the grade, but the point of this was to have Titus look dominant before the post match shenanigans with Young happened. JTG just doesn’t work as a heel because of his size and that he’s more annoying than menacing.

Post match Darren stares Titus down as JTG trips Titus up. Darren rips off his sling as his arm is fine. The post match beatdown ensues.

Overall Rating: D+. You know, this show has potential. They got it back to being like an old school territorial show and I can live with that. If there was a title on this show and you keep in mind that the stakes are as low as you can have while still having stakes, you can enjoy this show. Not a terrible show and if they can keep this style, I could see this show becoming almost ok.

Results
Usos b. Derrick Bateman/Johnny Curtis – Superfly Splash to Curtis
Curt Hawkins b. Trent Barretta – Neckbreaker into a face slam
Kaitlyn b. Maxine – Rollup
Tyson Kidd b. Percy Watson – Springboard Elbow Drop
Titus O’Neil b. JTG – Clash of the Titus

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NXT
Date: December 18, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Tensai

Tonight is the 200^th episode celebration and believe it or not, that’s actually an accurate count for a change, assuming you consider this the same show as the original competition show. The main stories tonight are an appearance by HHH and an NXT Title defense with Bo Dallas defending against Adrian Neville in a lumberjack match. NXT has a good history of making their big shows work so this has good potential tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here’s HHH to open the show instead of Welcome Home. The boss says he loves hearing those NXT chants. We’re here to celebrate the 200^th episode of NXT which has seen people like Damien Sandow, Shield and the Wyatt come through here. The fans chant FIVE and HHH adds Big E. Langston to the list. With the new Performance Center, the next two hundred episodes are going to be even better. HHH tells the fans to give themselves a standing ovation because this is their house. The question now: are we ready?

Welcome Home.

Sami Zayn/Tyson Kidd vs. Leo Kruger/Antonio Cesaro

Leo’s Real American trials continue. The bell rings twice for some reason before Kruger knees Kidd in the ribs to start. Tyson comes right back with an armdrag into an armbar Sami gets the tag and Kruger runs straight to the corner for the tag to Cesaro. The fans immediately chant MATCH OF THE YEAR until Cesaro grabs a top wristlock. Sami shoves him into the corner but the referee pulls him down because he loves AMERICA.

Kidd comes in with a quick rollup for two but Cesaro catches his cross body in mid air and puts Tyson down with a backbreaker. We take a break and come back with Kidd fighting out of the heel corner and getting two off a rollup on Kruger. Leo stops the hot tag with a spinebuster for two of his own though and it’s back to Cesaro. The gutwrench suplex gets two and we hit a quickly broken chinlock. Cesaro kicks Sami off the apron to give Leo a two count and a chinlock of his own.

Back up and Tyson low bridges Kruger to the floor and avoids a charging Cesaro in the corner. Sami finally comes in off the hot tag to clean house and gets two on Leo off a high cross body. The Slice is countered into a sitout powerbomb for two but Cesaro makes the save. Kidd dives on Cesaro and Sami hits a running boot in the corner to pin Kruger at 8:17 shown of 11:47.

Rating: B-. Did you really expect anything other than a good match here? Sami getting a pin on Kruger is a good thing as he’s been losing way too often lately. Kidd and Cesaro could have some awesome matches if given the time, which keeps my head shaking at how Cesaro is used on the main shows.

Emma does her dance in the back and nearly pokes Natalya in the eye. Natalya gets annoyed and Emma accuses her of going Hollywood and forgetting the little people down here in NXT. Natalya says Emma got her title shot through a dance off so she has no room to talk. Emma says wrestling brought her to the dance so Natalya offers to let Emma tango into the Sharpshooter. A #1 contenders match is made and both girls walk off.

We get a clip from the first episode of NXT. Daniel Bryan used to be even smaller than he is today. That match with Jericho he had on the first show was great stuff.

There was a special meet and greet for the first 200 people at the taping. That’s a cool idea.

Sasha Banks vs. Paige

Non-title. Sasha slaps Paige into the corner to start before slamming her face first into the mat. Paige gets stomped in the corner and Banks throws in a mockery of Paige’s scream. Off to a chinlock with a bodyscissors on Paige until the champion fights up and wristdrags Sasha off the top. Summer tries to get involved but Banks accidentally kicks her in the chest, setting up the Paige Turner for the pin on Sasha at 3:38.

Rating: D+. Paige was on defense for most of this match and it didn’t work very well. She’s still miles ahead of most of the girls on Raw or Smackdown though, meaning she isn’t going to see a main show for a long time. After all, she’s not even dating one of the top guys in the company so why would the fans want to see her?

Enzo Amore (YES!) and Colin Cassady are talking lawsuits against a parking lot without handicap accessibility (Enzo is in a wheelchair due to a leg injury) when Aiden English interrupts. Enzo says Colin can out sing Aiden and an argument over the meaning of the word moi. A singing competition is set between English and Big Cass. English: “Mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi.” Cass: “Sa-sa-sa-sa-sa-SAWFT!”

Ascension vs. ???

This is the open challenge for a non-title match. The opponents are the American Pitbulls: Derrick Billington (originally John Cahill) and John Cahill (originally Eric Philbin), more famously known as Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards respectively. Thankfully their new names aren’t horrible. The fans are entirely behind the Pitbulls and actually don’t call them the Wolves. Billington grabs a wristlock on Viktor to start before it’s off to Cahill for more arm cranking. Ascension drags him into the corner and brings in Konnor but the Pitbulls take him down with a double Japanese armdrag.

Viktor is sent to the floor but Konnor takes Cahill’s head off. We get a mild Davey Richards chant as Ascension takes turns destroying Billington. Derrick backflips out of a suplex and kicks Viktor in the chest to make the tag to Cahill. A running knee to Victor’s chest gets two as everything breaks down. The champions are sent to the floor for stereo dives by the Pitbulls for a near fall. Billington goes up and howls before hitting a flying headbutt for two. Viktor will have none of that though and blasts Cahill in the head, setting up Fall of Man for the pin at 4:22.

Rating: C+. This could have been a lot worse. First and foremost, this was not a squash. The Pitbulls got in a good amount of offense and got a near fall towards the end. I’m not a fan of Richards at all and Edwards is only tolerable (I’m not big on indy wrestling at all for the most part) but they deserve jobs after this match, or at least more appearances.

Hunico and Camacho come out to talk trash so Ascension beats up Cahill a little more.

Kofi Kingston is rocking a suit and is happy to be here. Lana comes up to speak some Bulgarian before challenging Kofi to a match with Alexander Rusev for next week. One minor note here that makes NXT that much better: Kofi was shown as part of the meet and greet earlier so he has an actual reason for being here tonight instead of just showing up because the script called for him to.

Next week is a year in review special plus Regal vs. Cesaro.

NXT Title: Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville

This is a lumberjack match with Dallas defending. As a special treat, THE FINK does the announcing. The fans think Breeze is gorgeous before shifting to a Let’s Go Neville chant. Dallas has some awesomely evil pure white gear this week. Bo is quickly sent to the floor but runs back inside to avoid the lumberjacks. A rollup gets two for Neville but Dallas sends him outside. Breeze gets in Adrian’s face and earns a slap, sending the crowd into a quick freazy.

We take a break (including another NXT moment with Rollins becoming the first NXT Champion) and come back with Neville taking Dallas down for some kicks to the chest. Dallas gets in a shot to the ribs and drops some knees for two. Tyler Breeze is seated next to the barricade and looks livid. A cravate keeps Neville on the mat and a kick to the head gets two. The fans chant DROP THE TITLE as Bo drives elbows into Neville’s head. A hard clothesline flips Neville inside out for two and Dallas is frustrated.

Adrian escapes the bulldog out of the corner and scores with a running forearm. Some kicks get two on Bo and an enziguri sets up a standing shooting star for two. The fans threaten to riot if Bo wins but the champion bails to the floor before the Red Arrow launches. All of the lumberjacks stop him so Adrian dives on EVERYBODY in a great visual. Back in and Adrian loads up the Red Arrow but Breeze pulls Dallas out of the way, giving Bo the pin at 9:50 shown of 11:50.

Rating: C+. I like the story here as it keeps the belt on Dallas and sets up Breeze vs. Adrian down the line. Again, it’s the difference between booking and writing with the former almost always being better. The pop when Dallas finally loses is going to be nothing short of unholy.

Overall Rating: B. Another great show here with everything fitting perfectly and putting together an entertaining hour. As usual, NXT knows how to build to a big show and then actually deliver on the payoff, which is more than you get from any major wrestling show at the moment. Good stuff.

Results

Sami Zayn/Tyson Kidd b. Leo Kruger/Antonio Cesaro – Running big boot to Kruger

Paige b. Sasha Banks – Paige Turner

Ascension b. American Pitbulls – Ascension

Bo Dallas b. Adrian Neville – Pin after a missed Red Arrow

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NXT
Date: December 14, 2010
Location: Cajundome, Lafayette, Louisiana
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Todd Grisham

It’s week 2 of NXT and things are looking good so far. Last week was a good start so hopefully that continues here. I’d like to see more of their characters come out this time though which isn’t something we got to see much of on the season premiere. It’s weird to be getting ready for NXT and to have a positive outlook on it. Let’s get to it.

We open as always, with Striker bringing out the rookies. We’re opening with a karaoke challenge. I already don’t like this. There are six envelopes with wrestlers’ theme songs that they have to sing. O’Brian gets Sheamus and we FINALLY get the official words to Sheamus’ song. Surprisingly it doesn’t say Lobster Head. His voice is all nasal and this is just awful.

Bateman gets Miz. He’s not bad but the pacing is all off. He throws in a shoutout to the college football team which is smart.

Novak gets a pop as he comes up for some reason. He gets Dolph Ziggler, who happens to be his pro. Novak sounds really quite drunk. He more or less just says the words which might be the best course of action.

Clay, the white Viscera, goes third with Cody Rhodes’ song….and doesn’t do half bad. It’s more talking but there was a little flair to it. Best so far.

Curtis gets Orton and gets down in the slither pose. I know nothing about music and I’m not sure if this worked or not. Imagine a guy trying to sing like James Hetfield without having talent and singing Orton’s song and that’s about it.

Saxton is last and draws Shawn Michaels whose name gets a bigger pop than anything else so far. He messes up one of the most famous lyrics in wrestling history. How is that possible? He does dance a bit which helps somewhat. Saxton wins which I guess is the best choice as he was definitely trying.

Masters/Saxton vs. DiBiase/Clay up next.

Profile on Novak who says he used to play every spots, including football. They had a motto on the team: DTD – Determined to Dominate. He says he’s destined to dominate. That’s a good line. Novak says he’s the most like Jack Swagger on the roster and that you have to look out for #1, and that’s him. Kind of a generic promo/character but he sold it quite well.

Chris Masters/Byron Saxton vs. Ted DiBiase/Brodus Clay

See I told you it was up next. You didn’t think I’d lie to you did you? Josh talks about having dinner with Brodus recently and that he’s a fascinating person. He actually comes off as that which is good. The rookies start us off. Clay shoves him around with ease so here’s Masters instead.

After a little back and forth stuff Ted comes in and we actually take a break on NXT. Back with Ted holding a chinlock on Masters. I like this Brodus guy. Masters fights out of the corner but walks into a dropkick from Ted for two. In a funny bit Masters brings in Saxton and in a Shawn Stasiak like moment he charges and is taken down immediately.

Clay hits a huge spinebuster but tags DiBiase back in. A kneedrop misses and Saxton is able to get out and it’s pro on pro again. Another spinebuster, this time from Masters, hits DiBiase as does an accidentally shot from Clay. Masters calls for the Masterlock but Saxton gets a quick tag and walks into Dream Street to end it at approximately 7:00.

Rating: C-. Not a great match or anything but it did its job with Clay looking good for a big man and Saxton getting a bit of character development as being a headstrong guy that isn’t as good as he thinks he is. This worked ok though and wasn’t a bad match at all.

We go to the back where Bateman is warming up when Bryan comes in. He says that Bateman has a match tonight so Bryan is going to teach him a hold. It’s a heel hook which Bryan demonstrates step by step (Hey kids! Pay attention as the United States Champion shows you a basic way to snap someone’s ankle in three easy steps!) how to do it and tells Bateman to do it now. Bateman goes insane and shouts about how he’s doing submission wrestling while Bryan is telling him what to do. In order to get Bateman to chill, Bryan KICKS HIM IN THE FACE! I told you that was the best solution to a lot of problems! Funny segment.

Obstacle Course time, but this time it’s for TWO immunity points. Novak goes first and does relatively well until he gets to the push-ups where he has to start over. He sets the time to beat at 37.9 seconds.

Saxton goes second and is a jerk to Striker. I guess he’s not all bad. Saxton falls going over the hurdles and slams his head. He can’t do push-ups either and goes over a minute.

O’Brian is third but messes up on the wall/hurdle as well. He can’t do the balance beam that well and winds up getting 42.7.

Bateman is fourth and the referees are REALLY anal about these push-ups. Bateman manages to break the time at 35.7.

Curtis says he’s feeling very gazelle-like and breaks the time but the referees say he messed up on the balance beam so it’s a disqualification.

Brodus Clay is last and literally throws the walls out of his way. Naturally he’s disqualified though.

Curtis gets another chance to a chorus of boos. He destroys the time at 31.4 seconds.

Profile on Curtis who talks about dabbling in a lot of stuff. He and a friend of his trained in a ring in the woods apparently and the friend was killed in a car wreck so he has dog tags on his tights because of it. That’s a cool story.

Raw Rebounds wastes some time.

Jacob Novak hits on Vickie for some reason. Ziggler comes in and asks Vickie to leave. He’s not happy and more or less says hands off. Is there a reason why Vickie is going to be a focal point of a storyline on this show in back to back seasons?

Ad for the 50 Greatest Superstars DVD which might be worth looking at.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Derrick Bateman

This should be short in theory. Alberto asks Ricardo to take out Bateman. Del Rio dominates early on as you would expect him to. The fans aren’t exactly thrilled by this match to put it mildly. Bateman makes a brief comeback and gets a modified neckbreaker. Think the Moonlight Drive that Morrison used back on ECW. Cross Armbreaker ends it in about 3:20. Not much more than a squash.

Rating: C. Really hard to grade this as it’s barely a competitive match. They tend to have one of these a season and I’m not entirely sure I get the point to them. Del Rio has a major match on the PPV so why would we believe that Bateman stands a chance against him? Also, why not have a rookie against Bateman? Either way it wasn’t bad but it was rather short.

Overall Rating: B. Another good episode this week as things continue to look up for this season. We got some character development, two challenges that went by pretty fast and two matches. That’s pretty good for a little under an hour I’d say, especially considering a 3-4 minute Raw Recap plus commercials. I’m liking this 6 man set of rookies as it’s definitely more workable. Nothing bad at all here and some decent stuff make this a solid outing for the second episode of the season. Good show.

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NXT
Date: December 11, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, William Regal, Alex Riley

Last week’s show saw the main event angle continue as Adrian Neville beat Bo Dallas by countout. I could see this setting up a big time triple threat if Sami’s feud with Leo Kruger doesn’t last all that long. Other than that we’re likely to find out who Emma’s mystery partner is in her battle against the BFF’s. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home.

Tag Titles: Hunico/Camacho vs. Ascension

Hunico and Camacho are challenging. Viktor and Camacho get things going and Rick rips Camacho’s shirt off to chop the skin off his chest. Camacho rolls through a backdrop into a rollup before avoiding a Viktor elbow drop to pound the champion down. Off to Hunico for a dropkick in the corner and a quickly broken chinlock but Viktor comes back with a knee to the face for two.

Back from a break with Konnor holding Hunico in a headlock on the mat. Regal brings up the point that every tag team to have faced Ascension have broken up, possibly because they know there’s no chance of taking the titles. Viktor comes in for a backbreaker before tagging out to Konnor for some hard stomping in the corner. Back to the chinlock for a bit before Viktor hits another backbreaker and puts on a chinlock of his own.

Hunico fights up and grabs a rollup but lifts Viktor up into a powerbomb instead of covering. The double tag brings in Camacho to run over Konnor and get a two count off a legdrop. Konnor clotheslines him down as Viktor pulls Hunico off the apron, injuring Hunico’s knee in the process. The Fall of Man to Camacho is enough to retain the titles at 8:40 shown of 12:10.

Rating: C. Not bad here but Hunico and Camacho were just quick challengers. There’s really no one left for Ascension to beat in NXT but they would die on the main roster. The skills are there, but can you imagine Cole trying to talk about these guys? They would be buried by the commentary so badly that they’d be lucky to get a win over Los Matadores.

Alexander Rusev vs. Kassius Ohno

Lana introduces Rusev who looks more and more awesome every time he’s out there. This is a result of Ohno beating Rusev’s time in the Beat the Clock Challenge a few weeks back. Rusev takes him into the corner to start and drops Ohno with a single right hand. He lifts Kassius up for a slam before driving knees into his ribs in midair.

Ohno gets slammed down for two and Alexander stays on the back and ribs. We hit the bearhug for a bit before another forearm to the back puts Ohno down. Ohno gets a forearm to the face to set up a small package for two. That’s the extent of his offense as Rusev runs him over and the Accolade ends Ohno at 3:05.

Rating: D. Total and complete squash here as Ohno leaves the company looking like a jobber. He never clicked in this company at all but at least his comments after leaving have been nothing but positive. Rusev has a spot waiting on him on the main roster once they finally make the call and he’ll take a lot of people apart.

Rusev won’t let go of the hold until Lana talks him out of it.

Natalya runs into a nervous Bayley. Apparently Natalya is going to be in Bayley’s corner which means it’s hug time.

We look back at Cesaro attacking Byron Saxton last week. Regal says if Cesaro has a problem with him, don’t take it out on anyone else.

Natalya/Bayley vs. BFF’s

Sasha and Bayley get things going with no Charlotte in sight. Bayley takes her down and slams Sasha’s face into the mat before it’s off to Natalya for a double suplex. Summer comes in and is immediately taken down with a drop toehold before it’s back to Bayley. Rae dives back to the corner for a tag to Sasha who is taken down just as quickly.

The BFF’s finally double team Bayley to take over with Summer choking her in the corner. Sasha slams her down for two but Bayley counters an Irish whip, allowing for the hot (?) tag to Natalya. A discus lariat to Banks looks to set up the Sharpshooter but Sasha makes the save. Back to Bayley who knocks Summer off the apron but walks into a double arm trap neckbreaker from Sasha (Bankrupt) for the pin at 3:30.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but the story still has somewhere to go until the showdown between Bayley and Charlotte. The BFF’s are better on the mic as Laycool II but they aren’t terrible in the ring at all, especially when they keep it in shorter matches like this one. Natalya could have been any main roster Diva for the sake of this match.

Summer can’t help from talking trash as she leaves like a good stuck up heel should.

Leo Kruger says he’s on a task to become a Real American and it means he has to hurt Sami Zayn to do it.

Scott Dawson vs. Mojo Rawley

This is Dawson’s return after an injury. Rawley takes him into the corner to start but gets punched backwards with ease. Dawson puts on a quick chinlock before driving elbows into Rawley’s head. Back up and Dawson misses a charge into the corner, setting up a Mojo splash in the corner and an Earthquake for the pin at 2:50. Mojo needs to be squashing people instead of getting beaten up until the last 45 seconds of a match.

Post match Dawson lays out Rawley. Again, this should not happen.

Next week is the 200^th episode, featuring an open challenge from Ascension and Dallas defending against Neville in a lumberjack match. HHH will be here too, which means a big announcement.

Leo Kruger vs. Sami Zayn

Sami charges at Kruger but can’t hang in a fist fight. Kruger catches him in a wicked spinebuster for two and Zayn bails to the floor, only to get more of a beating on the outside. Leo throws Sami into the barricade and slams him down onto the concrete as this is one sided so far. Back in for a cravate from Kruger before Sami comes back with a dropkick. They head outside again with Sami hitting some HARD chops. They head back inside with Zayn getting two off a high cross body but Leo crotches him down to break up the tornado DDT. The Slice ends Sami at 4:11.

Rating: D+. Sami continues to lose every big match he has and it’s getting annoying. I know he’s awesome at being the guy that just keeps fighting but he needs to actually win something in the near future. A win over Kruger would be fine, especially if it’s in a long match which Sami is capable of pulling off. The fans are still with him but it’s only going to last so long.

Sami clotheslines him to the floor and hits a big flip dive to extend the feud.

Overall Rating: D+. This show didn’t do it for me. It’s a lot of squashes and short matches other than the tag titles and most of the matches are building up to another show. It wasn’t terrible as NXT isn’t capable of having a horrid show, but they need a good showing next week to make up for this one.

Results

Ascension b. Hunico/Camacho – Fall of Man to Camacho

Alexander Rusev b. Kassius Ohno – Accolade

BFF’s b. Bayley/Natalya – Bankrupt to Bayley

Mojo Rawley b. Scott Dawson – Earthquake

Leo Kruger b. Sami Zayn – Slice

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NXT
Date: December 4, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Renee Young, Alex Riley

Tonight is one of their bigger shows as we have Dallas vs. Neville for the title, Natalya challenging Paige for the Women’s Title and possible Rega vs. Cesaro or at least some development for the feud. NXT has been able to pull off the big shows quite well in the past so hopefully they keep that streak going tonight. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home.

Women’s Title: Natalya vs. Paige

Paige is defending. This is a result of Natalya being all whiny on Total Divas and Paige accusing her of going Hollywood. We get a rough handshake before Paige takes her down with a headlock. Natalya grabs the leg to counter but Paige reverses into a wristlock. Natalya rolls through into one of her own but Paige breaks it up with a headbutt. They trade rollups for two each before Paige catches Natalya’s kick to the ribs.

Natalya rolls through into a leg lock on the mat as the chain wrestling continues. Off to a headlock on the mat by Natalya but Paige gets to the ropes before the Sharpshooter goes on. Back from a break with Paige stomping away in the corner. Apparently Natalya tried to get in a cheap shot during another handshake during the break which set Paige off.

Paige puts on an abdominal stretch but is reversed into the same hold by Natalya. The blonde enhances it a bit by lifting Paige’s leg up for more pressure. Saxton: “Natalya putting some more twerk on Paige.” Paige fights out but gets leg dragged to the mat. Natalya stomps away but Paige fights up, only to have both girls try cross bodies at the same time to give us a stalemate.

Natalya is all fired up now and gets two off a snap suplex and a hard slam. Now it’s Sharpshooter time but Paige crawls over to the corner and through Natalya’s legs, sending Natalya head first into the buckle. Natalya goes for the legs again but Paige counters into the Paige Turner for the pin at 10:16 shown of 13:46.

Rating: B-. The fact that Paige isn’t on Raw is becoming more and more of a crime every day. The girl is good looking, young and can go in the ring but for some reason (allegedly age, even though JoJo is a year and a half younger than Paige) she’s stuck here while we get True Divas vs. Total Divas. The match was what we’ve come to expect from the Divas and the chain wrestling was a very nice treat.

Cesaro imitates Regal, telling him not to stick his nose into Cesaro’s business. Kruger comes in and says Cesaro took him to a place he hadn’t been in a long time. Cesaro: “A shower?” Kruger thinks he can be a Real American and Cesaro says he’ll talk to Zeb if Kruger does him a favor. It’s something related to Sami Zayn, who faces Kruger tonight.

Aiden English vs. ???

The jobber isn’t named so we get the LET’S GO THIS GUY chant. Renee talks about all the organizations Aiden is a part of, including various mime and opera groups. I love little details like that which enhance a character far better than saying the same stuff over and over again. Imagine that: making stuff up to make a character better. Total squash with English throwing the jobber around and ending him with the Director’s Cut at 1:18.

The fans chant for and receive an encore. The ring is filled with roses after English finishes in a nice touch.

Here’s Cesaro in a suit to apologize to Byron Saxton for what happened last week. We get a clip of Regal saving Saxton last week before Saxton comes up onto the stage to talk to Cesaro. They shake hands and Cesaro invites Byron to do the Real Americans pledge but Saxton isn’t too thrilled. Cesaro grabs him by the neck and slaps Saxton down before fixing his suit. No Regal.

Sami says last week was tough but if anyone is going to take the title from Bo, he’s glad it’s Adrian. Either way, he’ll get it eventually. Leo Kruger jumps him from behind to set up their match.

Tyson Kidd vs. Leo Kruger

Didn’t they say Kruger was facing Zayn tonight? Either way, this was set up when Kruger kicked Kidd’s crutches out back in February. Tyson stomps him down in the corner to start and a belly to back suplex gets two. Renee enjoys looking at Kidd’s toned body as Kruger takes him down into the corner and chokes with his boot before hitting a kind of Stunner onto the recently repaired knee. We take a break and come back with Kruger still on the knee and even putting on the Sharpshooter. Kidd is in trouble but Sami Zayn comes out for a distraction, allowing Kidd to get a rollup for the pin at 4:46 shown of 8:16.

Rating: D+. This needed a break? The match was nothing to see as it was supposed to be about revenge but I need more than a rollup for revenge. To be fair though this was hardly a feud and was really just tying up a loose end from February. It also sets up Zayn vs. Kruger even more so good booking but bad action.

Camacho and Hunico want the tag titles.

NXT Title: Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville

Neville quickly takes him down to start for two but Dallas bails to the corner. A cross body out of the corner gets the same and Dallas heads outside for another breather. Back in and Dallas takes off a buckle pad behind the referee’s back before taking Neville’s head off with a forearm for two. We hit the cravate from the champion before a corner clothesline and the bulldog gets two on Adrian.

Dallas drives some knees into the head for two more but misses a middle rope knee drop to give Neville a breather. Some running forearms to Dallas’ head have him in trouble and a big shot sends Dallas out to the floor. A huge Asai Moonsault takes Dallas out but he kicks out at two. Adrian loads up the Red Arrow but Bo bails to the floor before it can launch. Instead it’s a cross body to the outside to crush Dallas again but only Neville beats the count back in for the countout at 7:38.

Rating: C. The match was decent while it lasted but the ending was just a way to extend the feud. To be fair though this match wasn’t built up nearly as well as the Zayn vs. Dallas match so it’s not as much of a drop. This could be leading to Dallas vs. Neville vs. Zayn which could be very entertaining if given a good amount of time. Not a great match here but it did its job.

The announcers talk about Dallas being champion for nearly 200 days to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a middle of the road show for NXT but it was still entertaining. It set up some stuff for the future which continues to be one of NXT’s strong suits, but it didn’t give us anything we really needed to see tonight. The fact that this was a show to get us to the next show and was still entertaining is a really good sign though. The future is bright for these guys.

Results

Paige b. Natalya – Paige Turner

Aiden English b. ??? – Director’s Cut

Tyson Kidd b. Leo Kruger – Rollup

Adrian Neville b. Bo Dallas via countout

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NXT
Date: November 30, 2011
Location: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Matt Striker

Time for another week of this. We’re almost in December of a show that started in early March. We’re also approaching the wedding of Maxine and Bateman, which I think is scheduled for late January. This show really is going to last an entire year isn’t it? I was kidding when I suggested that at first. I guess we’re supposed to ignore that all three guys have appeared on Smackdown in the past few weeks right? Let’s get to it.

The song saying that they have just begun scares me.

No Regal this week???

The main event is a triple threat with the rookies and the winner gets a match on Smackdown.

Tyler Reks vs. Percy Watson

Watson has an annoying spoken part before his song now. I’m sorry but he really isn’t on the level that he deserves that yet. Hawkins sits in on commentary. Fast paced start with Watson flying around the place but he walks into a Downward Spiral into the middle buckle for two. Striker says that the money here is way better in the NFL. If my math is right, the minimum salary in the NFL is about a quarter million dollars a year. Methinks Matt is lying.

Watson starts his comeback and hammers away. The fans actually seem to care for him here as a cross body gets two. Hawkins gets up and plays ugly cheerleader, allowing Reks to get in a shot to break the momentum again. Reks goes up for what appears to be a double axe off the top but jumps into a dropkick for the pin at 3:20.

Rating: C-. Just a match here for the most part. It wasn’t bad or anything but it’s kind of hard to get interested in a match like this where there’s no reason at all to see them fight. They’re not fighting for anything but pride so it doesn’t really add up to anything. Watson is fun to watch when he jumps though.

Curtis is hitting on Kaitlyn when Maxine comes up. He has good taste. Kaitlyn is invited back to his bus which Maxine says doesn’t exist. Kaitlyn leaves and Maxine yells because that’s insulting to her to go from Maxine to someone like Kaitlyn. Maxine talks to Curtis and they’re about to kiss but he kisses his fingers and puts them to her lips. She isn’t happy. He leaves and Bateman comes up so she kisses him hard…..with his mother next to him. Bateman leaves and Mama Bateman threatens her with violence if she hurts Bateman.

Yoshi Tatsu/Trent Barretta vs. Tyson Kidd/Johnny Curtis

We get a High Fliers reference from Striker, who swears some people know who he’s talking about. Tatsu vs. Curtis gets us going and there isn’t much going on so they both tag out. Trent winds up in the corner as the announcers aren’t all that interested in the match. Kidd gets two off a kick to the head and hooks in a chinlock. They go up to the corner and Trent mostly misses what we would kind of call a Whisper in the Wind. That sets up the hot tag to Tatsu who beats up ever heel in sight. He tries to fire up the crowd and it doesn’t work at all. The top rope spinwheel kick misses and Curtis hits a sitout brainbuster for the pin at 4:30.

Rating: D. Just dull again here as Curtis is as uninteresting of a guy as I’ve seen in years. A sitout brainbuster isn’t an interesting move at all and that fits perfectly. At least with the diving legdrop it looked ok. Nothing to see here and for the life of me I don’t get why he keeps a job, especially with some of the other people they could put on this show.

We get the entire Piper’s Pit from Monday. It still doesn’t quite work as the fans didn’t boo Cena. It eats up about 10 minutes though which is ten minutes of NXT stuff I don’t have to watch.

Maxine vs. Alicia Fox

Matthews asks Striker to compare the offensive styles here….and somehow he does it. For the life of me I don’t get why the Divas are on TV all the time. Alicia uses a lot of moves involving her flexibility which get her nowhere. Bateman and Mama Bateman come out to watch. Maxine sees them and panics a bit, allowing Alicia to hit the Axe Kick for the win at 2:24.

Derrick Bateman vs. Titus O’Neil vs. Darren Young

Young waits on the floor as Titus beats Bateman up. He slides in and chops away (WOO) so Titus pounds him down also. Young continues his Flair impersonation and is slammed off the top for two. After a break for a bad Cena movie, the heels are double teaming Titus. As is custom, they get in a fight of their own, allowing Titus to fight back. Young hits a clothesline for two on O’Neil.

The heels fight a bit more and I’m trying to care. I mean I really am trying, but it’s just not going to happen at all. Bateman goes up and gets crotched and it’s a TOWER OF DOOM!!! They actually call it that and it’s a wicked one too. Titus can’t get the pin on Young so he grabs the rope like Batista and yells a lot. Young and O’Neil fight to the apron and Young takes him down with a neckbreaker. Bateman grabs O’Neil as he comes back in for the pin at 8:49.

Rating: C-. Pretty dull stuff here and my goodness why would it be Bateman? I mean, it couldn’t be clearer that O’Neil is the class of this group but instead their answer is try to make it seem like a competition. I don’t know who thinks this is interesting to watch, but it’s really not working at all. Boring match to end a boring show.

Post match Bateman wants Maxine to come out but he gets JTG and Tamina instead. They say she left with Curtis. Oh joy.

Overall Rating: D. It was an hour long and it was the Derrick Bateman Show tonight. I have no idea why they’re choosing to push him but that’s all they seem to think is the right idea. Titus is a guy that could be an interesting character on one of the big shows but it just isn’t happening here. Bad show.

Results
Percy Watson b. Tyler Reks – Dropkick
Tyson Kidd/Johnny Curtis b. Yoshi Tatsu/Trent Barretta – Sitout Brainbuster to Tatsu
Alicia Fox b. Maxine – Axe Kick
Derrick Bateman b. Titus O’Neil and Darren Young – Pinned O’Neil after a neckbreaker from Young

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I picked this up from Terry Funk on Austin’s podcast (fascinating listen if you have an hour and a half to spare).Terry talked about making guys look good and why it’s important: “If you make them look bad when they beat you, it doesn’t mean anything when you beat them.”

Look at NXT again for an example.  Sami Zayn has lost almost every big match he’s had there, but he looks good in those losses.  As a result, he’s still the most over guy in the promotion.  Now look at someone like Damien Sandow, who has looked like a putz in most of his losses.  How important is he at the moment?