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

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NXT
Date: March 6, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, William Regal

It’s a new era here in NXT as the shows now air on Thursday as well as on the WWE Network. Last week was NXT Arrival with a classic between Cesaro and Zayn and Adrian Neville FINALLY ending Bo Dallas’ title reign. It should be interesting to see if WWE will allow NXT be themselves again as that could be great news for them. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of NXT Arrival and Neville winning the title.

Adrian Neville vs. Camacho

Non-title. Neville offers a handshake but gets kicked in the ribs instead. The champion puts on an armbar but Camacho comes back with forearms to the head and chops in the corner. A powerslam gets two on Adrian but he comes back with kicks to the leg and head. Neville puts him down with a middle rope dropkick and the Red Arrow is good for the pin at 2:51.

Adrian says he can’t believe what he did last week and he can’t wait to go around the world doing what he loves. Last week was the most amazing moment of his life, but the most important thing is this title on his shoulder. It’s a message that anything is possible because he’s not your typical champion. He looks like an elf man, he’s from a small town that no one has heard of, and the ACCENT. “Renee, can you even understand me?” However, the most important thing about last wee is NO MORE BO.

This brings out a serious looking Bo Dallas who says Neville did something no one else could do, but he didn’t get a pin. Adrian climbed a ladder like a father cleaning out his gutters. He’ll be cashing in his rematch clause very soon, and when he does it’ll be Bo Time. The cheesy thumbs up makes this even better.

Last week Emma said she underestimated Paige but she’ll be a champion someday. Ric Flair comes in and says the next champion will be his daughter. Charlotte comes in and offers a condescending shoulder to cry on and Emma leaves. Charlotte was taller than her dad.

Last week Paige said she never doubted that she would win last week and welcomes all challengers for her title. Flair and Charlotte come up again and accept the challenge. The girls introduce themselves to each other and Charlotte talks down to Paige again.

Emma vs. Charlotte

Renee sits in on commentary and does the Emma dance off camera. Charlotte misses a clothesline in the corner to start and Emma takes her down with a wristlock. A dancing rollup gets two on Charlotte and she stops a charging Charlotte with a boot in the corner. Emma gets two rollups for two each but Charlotte grabs her ankle. Emma buys into it and gets caught with the flip over faceplant for the pin at 3:17.

Rating: D. Charlotte clearly needs ring time and the wrestling here was as basic as you can get. That faceplant is a good move for Charlotte though and the ankle injury was something we haven’t seen in awhile. It’s also better to have Charlotte with Sasha Banks instead of her dad so she doesn’t get overshadowed.

Sami says what Cesaro said to him was personal and he got everything he wanted out of that match.

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Corey Graves

Before the match Graves goes on a rant about how he’s stuck in NXT facing people who think they’re WWE superstars. He’s tired about hearing people talking about Sami Zayn, because Sami never wins any matches. Apparently all you need is heart to get chance after chance against people you can never beat. Corey could beat Cesaro in just one match but instead he’s stuck fighting the irrelevant Yoshi Tatsu. Graves immediately heads to the floor and says forget this but Yoshi goes after him at a seven count. Corey clotheslines him down and sends Tatsu into the steps before sliding back in for a countout at 1:38.

Post match Graves puts Tatsu in Lucky 13 until Sami makes the save. Sami says he’s up for a match if Sami wants it and why not do it tonight?

We look at an Adam Rose (Leo Kruger’s new rock star character) party from last night which looks like an actual party instead of eight people standing in pre-planned positions. Rose is on a couch with two women next to him and says his in ring debut will be of Jurassic proportions. The fans are called the Rosebuds. This was a very solid segment as it felt like an actual character instead of something planned out step by step. Also Kruger’s British voice worked very well and sounded almost nothing like his old voice.

Clip of Rusev cleaning house last week.

Xavier Woods wants a piece of Rusev.

Rusev speaks Bulgarian and accepts Woods’ challenge for next week.

Adam Rose vs. Wesley Blake

The people from the party, all in costumes, are at the entrance and carry Rose to the ring in a very cool entrance. The fans instantly think that was awesome and they’re right. Tensai is on commentary now for some reason. Rose rolls around the ring over and over to frustrate Blake and scores with a hard chop. He lays on the ropes and starts rocking back and forth until Blake comes over and gets kicked in the chest.

Blake slaps him in the face so Rose jumps up and down and tackles Wesley down before driving MMA style elbows to the face. A spinebuster draws Rose chants and the Slice clothesline gets the pin at 2:24. Rose is a VERY fun character and the crowd had a blast with him. The party comes back to celebrate.

Sami Zayn vs. Corey Graves

The announcers even throw in that this match was made by JBL. Graves hammers away with elbows to the back of the head before putting on a headlock. Sami comes back by flipping Corey to the floor but has to bail out on a big flip dive. He flips back into the ring into the splits to draw an OLE chant. Corey snaps Sami’s throat across the top rope for two and we take a break.

Back with Sami fighting out of a chinlock but getting punched in the corner. Lucky 13 is countered but it’s right back to the chinlock. Zayn starts fighting up again but gets caught in a belly to back suplex for two. It’s chinlock #3 but Sami quickly escapes and backdrops Corey down, only to get caught in a fireman’s carry into a backbreaker for two.

Zayn kicks his way out of the corner and gets two off a high cross body. He charges into a boot in the corner but comes back with the Blue Thunder Bomb for two more. Corey shoulders the knee but Lucky 13 is countered into a small package for another near fall. Graves loads up another backbreaker but gets countered into a second small package for the pin at 9:48 shown of 13:18.

Rating: B-. This was probably Corey’s best match ever which doesn’t surprise me given who he was facing. Sami looked good out there too as he toned it down a bit from last week but still held up. Good match here and it also gets Sami back into the win column where he needs to be.

Overall Rating: B. Now this is the NXT I know and love. No HHH, no WWE style matchmaking, good action and a totally over the top character. Rose stole the show here and is one of the most entertaining characters I’ve seen in years. Much like Breeze he buys into the character and nails it rather than coming off like he’s an actor playing a part.

Results

Adrian Neville b. Camacho – Red Arrow

Charlotte b. Emma – Flip over faceplant

Corey Graves b. Yoshi Tatsu via countout

Adam Rose b. Wesley Blake – Slice

Sami Zayn b. Corey Graves – Small package

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NXT Arrival
Date: February 27, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, William Regal

It’s the biggest night in the history of NXT as we are LIVE, I believe for the first time in modern NXT. This is the first live wrestling airing on the WWE Network so it should be a good test of the technology. The main events are Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro in a rematch of the match of the year and Bo Dallas defending his NXT Championship against Adrian Neville in a ladder match. Also of note: this will be partially going head to head with Impact Wrestling tonight and going forward. Let’s get to it.

HHH opens us up to what sounds like the Natural Disasters’ old music.

We get a new intro with shots of a lot of the wrestlers, including helpful name graphics for new fans.

Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro

One fall to a finish in a rematch from the NXT match of the year in 2013. Sami has been fighting a knee injury lately. The video is holding up perfectly well so far and they’ve fancied the arena up a bit for the special show. Cesaro shoves Sami down a few times to start as the fans aren’t sure who they like better. Sami takes him down in a front facelock but Cesaro counters his hurricanrana attempt into the Swing, only to have Sami kick him away. Cesaro bails to the floor and gets caught by a nice flip dive. The fans think this is awesome.

Back in and Sami tries a high cross body but dives into a tilt-a-whirl slam for a close two count. They head outside again with Cesaro in full control and choking across the barricade. Cesaro takes him back inside so he can throw Sami outside again and ram him into the barricade. Into the ring again for a two count but Cesaro throws him outside one more time. Cesaro goes after the leg but gets pulled face first into the post for his troubles.

Sami goes outside and tries to dive through the ropes around the post (as in he starts on the floor, dives over two ropes in the corner and lands on the floor) like he did in the first match but dives into an uppercut instead. Now the leg is wrapped around the post and Cesaro stomps away in the corner before cranking on the knee even more. A knee drop to Sami’s bad knee gets two and Cesaro stalks Zayn to mess with his head.

Cesaro takes him down with a dragon screw leg whip and it’s off to another leg lock. We get a WE THE PEOPLE from Cesaro but the fans counter with an OLE chant. Another leg whip puts Sami down and he misses an enziguri, setting up a half crab from Cesaro. Sami finally gets the ropes and sends Cesaro outside, only to have his slingshot dive caught in another tilt-a-whirl slam on the ramp. Sami BARELY beats the count in at nine and grabs an exploder suplex to send Cesaro into the corner.

Sami grabs a Blue Thunder Bomb out of nowhere for two followed followed by a Koji Clutch of all things. Cesaro powers out of it and rolls around into an old Brock Lock (Cesaro bends the knee around his neck) but Zayn dives for the bottom rope. The Swing is countered into a rollup for two but Cesaro gets it on the second try. Only ten revolutions this time though and a running uppercut gets two but Sami reverses into a crucifix for two of his own.

A HARD double stomp gets two on Sami but he’s still able to block the suplex from the apron. He kicks Cesaro in the head with the good leg and sits him on the top rope, but Cesaro tries to counter the hurricanrana into a Riccola Bomb, only to have Sami counter THAT into the hurricanrana. The running kick in the corner gets a VERY close two on Cesaro and both guys are spent.

It’s Cesaro up first and he drops Sami with a stiff uppercut. A second one has Cesaro telling Sami to stay down as even Regal is calling this uncomfortable. There’s a THIRD uppercut and Sami looks dead. Sami somehow gets up and it turns into a slugout until Zayn grabs a suplex out of nowhere. He tries to get a running start but Cesaro stops him with a boot to the face.

The Neutralizer is countered into a hurricanrana for two and a sunset bomb gets the same. Swiss Death only gets one with Sami shooting up to scare Cesaro half to death. Cesaro goes BEAST MODE and takes Sami’s head off with a discus uppercut before a jumping Neutralizer is good for the pin at 23:38.

Rating: A. Good grief I’m exhausted already. This was a heck of a wrestling match with two guys beating the tar out of each other for the better part of half an hour. Cesaro winning makes the most sense due to how hard he’s been pushed on WWE recently, but it’s clear that Zayn is ready for the WWE. Granted he has been for about six months now. Great match and worth checking out if you want to see a fight that makes the people care.

Cesaro celebrates as Zayn remembers what planet he’s on. Sami looks up at him and Cesaro pulls him up for a hug and a big cheer from the crowd.

Video on Mojo Rawley. He doesn’t get hyped. He STAYS hyped.

CJ Parker vs. Mojo Rawley

Parker has recently turned heel, blaming everyone for not cheering him when he’s just trying to make the world a better place to live. Parker tries to use his speed against the much stronger Rawley but gets caught in a big backdrop for two. Mojo gets caught with some shots to the ribs and Parker puts on his mean face to stomp away in the corner. It’s amazing how the place just dies when Parker is out there. Rawley shrugs off a bunch of left hands in the corner and hits a splash, followed by a seated senton (Hyperdrive) for the pin at 3:27.

Rating: D+. This was a glorified squash and they couldn’t have picked a better person to take the loss. This was treated as a huge win for Rawley who has a lot of potential bu spends too much of his matches on defense. Parker just isn’t working but the heel turn is far beter for him. He’ll be better when he gets to cut some eco-friendly promos.

Video on Emma, who is very bubbly.

Video on Ascension, who have dominated the tag division for months now. They’re kind of like a goth Demolition.

NXT Tag Titles: Ascension vs. ???

There’s an open challenge from Ascension tonight and their opponents are…….TOO COOL??? That’s a rather bizarre choice to put it mildly. Viktor slaps Sexay down to start and doesn’t approve of the dancing. Off to Konor for a hard legdrop and even harder shoulder blocks. Viktor slams Sexay down and puts on a chinlock before driving in elbows. I think the fans say they want water and then gum. Sexay finally fights up and makes the hot tag to Scotty whose offense has very little effect. He gets the bulldog and loads up the Worm, only to have Viktor pop up and run him over. Fall of Man ends Scotty at 6:40.

Rating: D. This was WAY too long and Too Cool was the totally wrong choice for the challengers here. They’re a fun team who had a month long title reign FOURTEEN YEARS AGO. This is the problem with nostalgia: it’s fun to push every now and then, but when it’s pushed over teams that deserve the shots more, you’ve got a problem.

Video on Paige, who won the first NXT Womens Title last year but hasn’t been around in a long time. The idea is she’s the anti-Diva, meaning she dresses in black and is more about attitude than looks, even though she’s rather pretty.

Womens Title: Emma vs. Paige

Before the match though, here’s Stephanie McMahon because what would we do without her? The fans tell her that she’s still got it but she says she never lost it. I can’t argue that actually. She says this is the future and adds nothing at all for the most part. Emma has been #1 contender for SIX MONTHS but is just now getting her shot. That’s even worse when you consider Paige has been champion for about seven and a half months. Both girls are popular but they don’t like each other.

Paige gets right in her face but Emma takes her down and its a fight early. Emma gets kicked in the ribs but she reverses the Paige Turner into a backslide for two. They fight over a backslide but Paige counters a slingshot into a cradle for two. Paige slams her down and puts on a hard chinlock. Back up and Emma tries a rollup but gets taken into the corner for some hard elbows to the face.

Emma counters a kick and hooks the slingshot but Paige breaks up the Emma Lock. Paige heads to the apron and fires off knees to the chest, only to miss a charge in the corner. The Dilemma sets up the Emma Sandwich (running crossbody to a seated Paige in the corner) for two. Emma cranks on Paige’s arms with her feet in the champ’s back and Paige is in big trouble. Paige gets flipped down onto her face but avoids a charge in the corner.

Emma sends her face first into the buckle but has to fight out of a superplex. A sunset flip into a sitout bomb (fans: “BETTER THAN BATISTA!”) gets two on the champion and both girls are spent. Emma tells her to give up but gets slapped in the face, setting up the Paige Turner for a VERY close two. Paige is stunned but puts on something like an Edgecator (Scorpion Deathlock without stepping over) before grabbing a double chickenwing AT THE SAME TIME and lifting Emma up. There’s no way Emma is getting out of that so she taps at 12:55. SICK looking hold.

Rating: B-. I can’t get over that hold at the end. I also can’t get over Paige actually keeping the title here as she’s been the only champion and you would think they would give the belt to the new sweetheart on Raw. That being said, Paige looked AWESOME out there and will likely in WWE very soon.

They hug it out as well, even though Emma looks mad.

Video on Adrian Neville, talking about his love of adrenaline rushes.

Video on NXT.

Xavier Woods vs. Tyler Breeze

No match as Alexander Rusev runs in to massacre both guys. The video crashed but through refreshing I see Rusev holding Woods in the Accolade while Lana talks trash for him.

Video on Bo Dallas.

We recap Neville vs. Dallas. Bo has been champion for about seven months and only held the title from Neville through interference. Tonight it’s a ladder match for the big blowoff.

NXT Title: Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville

Remember it’s a ladder match so here’s Shawn Michaels to introduce the festivities. The fans chant ONE MORE MATCH and he says he hears that a lot. He’s happy being fat and out of shape though so it’s not likely. The fans chant H-B-Shizzle and Shawn wants that on a shirt. Fans: “YES! YES! YES!” Shawn says they’re throwing him off because he doesn’t have to do this that often. He has insight on ladder matches, and if you’d like to know it, you can go out and buy his Mr. Wrestlemania DVD because he’s got two kids to put through college. He says this is about stepping into greatness and we’re ready to go.

Bo immediately goes for the ladder but Neville makes a save and kicks him into the corner. A quick missile dropkick looks to set up the Red Arrow (corkscrew shooting star) but Bo rolls away before Adrian can jump. Bo grabs the arm and the girls scream before he ties Neville’s leg into the ropes. The champion goes for a ladder but Adrian hits a baseball slide to send the ladder into him. A nice plancha puts Dallas down and the ladder goes into the ring.

Bo keeps Adrian from getting inside and sends him spine first into the steps to take over. He loads up a ladder but Adrian ducks the shot and backdrops Dallas onto the ramp. Neville goes up the ladder but Bo throws another ladder at him to take Adrian down. Bo sets up the ladder over Neville but Adrian is able to push it up and kick Dallas down in a nice power display. Now it’s Bo shoving a ladder down to send Adrian crashing and both guys are in trouble.

They both try to pick up the same ladder but Bo drives it into Adrian’s ribs in the corner. Bo tries to catapult Neville into the ladder but Adrian escapes and takes him down with a tornado DDT. They ram heads and go down, but a ladder falls and hits Adrian square in the head in a SICK looking collision. Dallas hammers away in the corner but can’t bulldog Adrian down onto a ladder.

The champ gets sent into a ladder wedged in the corner and Neville kicks him in the face. He goes up for the Red Arrow but Dallas pops up and shoves Adrian down to the floor. Bo goes for the belt but Neville springboards over him in a Shelton Benjamin style move. The ladder goes down but they land on their feet with Bo buckle bombing him into a ladder. Adrian kicks a ladder back into Bo and slams him onto the same ladder, setting up the Red Arrow to crush Bo against the steel. Dallas rolls to the floor and Neville goes up to grab the title at 15:46.

Rating: B. It wasn’t a classic and there have been better ladder matches but my goodness this rocked. There was almost no doubt that the title was changing and Dallas’ way too long reign was ending at this show but it was hardly a bad way to get there. Neville doesn’t come off like a long term solution on top but he’s a good choice to win the belt on this huge show.

A long celebration ends the show with John Cena applauding from the crowd.

Overall Rating: A-. This is exaclty what this show needed to be with every big match delivering more than well enough. Apparently there were some stream issues for the main event but mine was working perfectly fine so maybe I was just lucky. The opener is an instant classic and the title win made it something historic so this worked all around. The crowd was having a blast and it was the fun kind of show that NXT can pull off like no other. Hopefully they don’t have WWE invading it every week and we can get back to normal. Great show either way and well worth checking out.

Results

Cesaro b. Sami Zayn – Neutralizer

Mojo Rawley b. CJ Parker – Hyperdrive

Ascension b. Too Cool – Fall of Man to Hotty

Paige b. Emma – Scorpion Cross Lock

Adrian Neville b. Bo Dallas – Neville pulled down the title

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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Since my other option today is Larry Sweeny, I’ll get with the times and go with Cesaro.

Cesaro got his start in 2003 as Claudio Castagnoli but since he’s got a lot of stuff to get to, we’ll be jumping to ROH in 2009. Claudio was an entrant in the 2009 Survival of the Fittest tournament, where six wrestlers win qualifying matches before advancing to the finals later that night.

Survival of the Fittest Qualifying Match: Petey Williams vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Claudio is freaking RIPPED. He’s announced as being VERY EUROPEAN. I love that. Williams is still doing the dumb Maple Leaf Muscle thing that got him nowhere in TNA but whatever. Claudio was trained by Honky Tonk Man. Oh dear help him. The visual here is really funny as Claudio is 6’5 and Williams is 5’7, so it’s really weird looking.

I love all the little jokes we’re getting here to old wrestlers and move names that you don’t get elsewhere. They’re doing a lot of mat stuff here but it’s actually good so I can’t complain at all. Claudio is the heel here but he’s ridiculously popular so it means nothing at all. Petey gets to use some of his highflying stuff that wasn’t allowed in TNA because he had to work slow to not show Steiner up.

He hits a jumping over the top rope thing into a Codebreaker. Nice but it’s just two. Claudio does a move called the UFO, which is a rack but he spins in a circle really fast, at one point letting his arms go and then just throws Petey to the mat. Again though it’s just two, which makes it seem far less impressive.

A Canadian uses a Russian Legsweep onto a Swiss man into an Oklahoma Roll. I love wrestling. Claudio grabs the referee to avoid a Canadian Destroyer and hits a low blow and a European uppercut to end it.

Rating: C+. Not bad but not great either. Petey got to show off a whole lot and that’s something you don’t get to see from him that often. Also here you didn’t have the whole big man vs. little man formula nonsense going on and they got to play off of each other a bit. Again, very nice for a change.

Survival of the Fittest Finals: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Hero vs. Delirious vs. Roderick Strong vs. Colt Cabana vs. Tyler Black

Now for those of you that haven’t heard of Delirious, this guy is freaking INSANE. He babbles incoherently and has been known to wrestle matches in slow motion. What does that tell you? Oh and he’s awesome in the ring by the way. He and Punk had an AWESOME match in I think IWA-MS that got me into both guys. The cool thing about this for me is I legitimately don’t know who is going to win.

Most of the time I know the results but here I’m completely blank on them. Black sells the injury to his neck from earlier on the way in which is nice. I hope there are tags in this. Claudio and Hero used to be in a team that dominated indy tag wrestling for awhile called the Kings of Wrestling and Delirious and Black were in the Age of the Fall together. Ah good it is tagging.

Delirious, Strong and Hero have all won. Black and Delirious start, and my money is on Black to win it. They start with a lot of technical stuff before Cabana comes in for Black. Let the comedy begins. Black is criticized for never being able to win the big one, which is a common criticism that there was for ROH. I’m not going to list off all the tags as they’re going rather fast.

We get Castagnoli vs. Hero, which is a battle of the skyscrapers in ROH as both guys are 6’5, which is enormous in this company. A thing I like about indy wrestling is you can use other stuff than signature moves in a match. For example, they trade full nelsons. That move makes sense, but in WWE no one but Masters can use it. See what I mean?

Now I don’t mean everyone uses the FU or the Pedigree, but a transitional move like the spinebuster shouldn’t be only reserved for HHH and two other guys. In a WEIRD looking spot, both guys interlock their legs and then wind up standing on their heads. They shake hands while in this position. That’s rather…uh…yeah. It’s Black and Claudio now as we’re definitely in for the long haul here.

Everyone is still in at this point. Prazak is in love with Hero I think. He refuses to shut up about how awesome he is. In a PAINFUL looking spot Claudio spins Black around by the hair. That has to hurt something fierce. In a great sequence that gets the crowd going, Delirious drills Claudio with about 10 clotheslines in the corner before Hero saves him. Cabana comes in and we get a mini tag match.

The Kings of Wrestling are thrown to the floor and get stereo suicide dives, but then Strong and Black get in and launch themselves over the top rope at both guys. Very awesome and fast paced spot. It’s Delirious vs. Claudio now and the crazy masked man is in trouble. In a movie I haven’t seen before, Claudio uses a hip toss from the second rope. That’s different if nothing else.

I like Hero’s facial expressions. Delirious goes for a backslide on Claudio but Hero knocks the European’s head off with the elbow, allowing Delirious to get the backslide and the pin. Immediately as in less than 5 seconds later, he rolls up Cabana and we’re down to four. I’ll give this match this much: it’s not boring.

After an elbow from Hero he covers Delirious and the referee does that same thing he did earlier on with the count stopping at two even though the kickout hasn’t happened yet. We hit a mess and Strong hits a big kick into the chest of Delirious to put him out. Immediately after he kicks out of the elbow from Hero and a Liger Bomb.

We have Strong, Hero and Black left in case you weren’t sure. If I remember right Strong is known as the Messiah of the Backbreaker, as he uses a ton of them. That’s unique if nothing else. Hero and Black just pound the tar out of each other with forearms. And there goes Hero to a move called God’s Last Gift. Think of a Perfectplex but instead it’s a really compact DDT where he just hooks the legs into a small package for the pin. I like that.

So it’s Strong vs. Black for the title. Works for me. Black gets a NICE flying elbow from the top for two. They’re cranking up the speed here and I’m digging this. Strong hits a bunch of backbreakers and then we hit the Strong Hold: a Boston Crab. That’s psychology, even though Black has a bad neck. It’s passable though as his finisher is a back submission.

Strong gets knocked into the crowd and Black goes up with a flying clothesline into about the third row. I love the shot of the fans just moving backwards for them. I like that for some reason. I love Black’s springboards. He doesn’t use a bunch flips or anything but just launches himself at Strong. We’re back in the Strong Hold and the fans chant tap. Somehow he kicks out and then Black hits his two finishers for two.

This is great stuff here. Strong gets the loudest kick to the back of Black’s head that I’ve ever heard. Fans are WAY into this. Strong just goes insane on Black with knee shots and an AWESOME kick to the head for TWO. The kicking out is getting to be a bit much here. I get the survival thing, but this is getting to be a bit much. Ok yeah three straight superkicks gets two.

The fourth gets it but Strong kicked out anyway, so the fans boo the finish. That’s never good. Black wins and then gets on the mic and says thank you to Strong in a cool moment. He then says that Cornette was wrong. These guys aren’t the future, but the future is now, and Strong deserves a rematch to end the show.

Rating: A-. This was about 45 minutes long and awesome throughout. The fans were way into it and by the end I was buying into it also. The key thing for me was that all 6 guys looked like potential winners and while based on the way Black had been built up throughout the night it was kind of clear he would win, it was never a lock, which makes the match instantly better. Very fun stuff here and while I usually don’t like multi-man matches, this was an exception, which is saying a lot for me.

Around this time, Claudio was also teaming up with Chris Hero and dominating the indy scene. They held the CZW, Chikara and ROH Tag Titles at the same time. After splitting up in 2007, the pair reunited in late 2009 and became ROH Tag Team Champions again. Here’s a defense from Death Before Dishonor VII.

Tag Titles: Briscoe Brothers vs. Kings of Wrestling

This should be awesome. It’s kind of weird watching the Kings as they’re both about 6’5 which means they tower over the vast majority of the roster. Hero and Claudio cut promos saying they appreciate the Briscoes not being allowed to be here, so of course they hit the ring and it’s on. No DQ here which is a surprise I think. Big dive by one of the Brothers takes out the Kings. I’ve never been able to remember which is which so bear with me.

Why do they have to tag in and out? If you can’t get disqualified then what’s stopping them? Hero starts and it’s been one sided the whole way so far. Claudio is finally up in his corner after getting his teeth kicked in. The challengers get after Shane Hagadorn and I think you know this isn’t going to work. Claudio is busted open already. Someone that’s either a young boy or an adult woman shouts that Hero is a pussy. I hope it was a girl.

Everything breaks down early and Mark Briscoe is busted open pretty well. Ok now I can tell one from the other. Oh man Mark is busted BAD. The heels have taken over here and we get a gay chant against Hero. Nice double cross body and there’s the hot tag to Jay. He drives Hero’s head into the buckle about 25 times and now he’s busted open. O’Connor Roll gets two but Hagadorn pelts Jay with a chair to put him on the floor. Hagadorn is the Kings’ manager if I forgot to mention that earlier.

Jay is busted open too now. Hero ties Jay to the post with the tag rope Total bloodbath here but they said that at the previous show they had a long technical match so this is far more acceptable. Doomsday Device but with a European Uppercut gets two on Mark. The referee gets a knife from somewhere and cuts Jay free. A Roaring Elbow (Hero’s finisher) gets two.

Jay gets a freaking fire extinguisher of all things and the Kings are in trouble. Table is brought in as Claudio’s cut is more or less closed. The heels are thrown into the table but it doesn’t break. Double team neckbreaker/powerbomb gets no cover. Claudio counters a slam through the table but the Briscoes tackle him into it where his shoulder goes through the edge of it in a painful looking spot.

Doomsday Device to Shane and the Briscoes are standing tall. Hero pops up with his loaded elbow pad and drills Jay with it for TWO and a big pop. We get more gay slurs at Hero with people saying SCREW YOU Hero. If he’s gay as you say you are, wouldn’t he enjoy that in theory? In an AWESOME looking finish, Castagnoli gets a giant swing and the pad is put on Hero’s foot which he kicks Jay in the head with for the pin.

Rating: B. This was supposed to be a big fight and that’s exactly what it was. All kinds of blood (Mark’s face was COVERED), very good violence, the SICK ending and the whole thing going nearly 20 minutes worked very well. They had a technical match already so this is the next logical step. I’m fine with violence like this when it fits the story, which it did here due to the Kings attacking their dad. Very fun match that was exactly what it was supposed to be.

Claudio was also appearing in Chikara in a stable called BDK, which was something resembling a Norse mythology stable and involved mind control, robots, and squashing insects (and this was before Chikara went insane). Claudio and a wrestler named Ares were the Chikara Tag Team Champions and defended them at Eye to Eye.

Campeonatos de Parejas: Claudio Castagnoli/Ares vs. 3.0

3.0 is comprised of Scott “Jagged” Parker/Shane Matthews. Wow I’m sick of that song that BDK (Claudio/Ares, the champions) comes out to. This is 2/3 falls as are all title shots. The challengers come out second but Delirious runs out and beats them up pre-match. Ok Shane is in the red. Ares gets a Tiger Bomb and the first fall is over 4 seconds after the bell rings.

Claudio beats up Shane on the floor but then chokes Parker with the streamers than earlier. He is freaking ripped. Delirious is on the floor with them. Apparently Ares is the leader of the stable. There’s a guy in a Nexus shirt in one of the closest seats to the entrance who is kind of distracting. Modified powerslam by Ares gets two. This is totally one sided so far.

Bearhug by Claudio to Parker who fights out. And never mind as he’s in the hold again already. Another powerslam gets two and it’s off to Ares again. There’s some heel miscommunication though and Parker rolls up Claudio for the second fall and we’re all tied up! The fans are stunned as that’s the first time the BDK has ever given up a single fall as champions.

Double chokeslam kills Parker for two. The locker room empties to watch this now. The BDK picks up Parker and rams him into the mat multiple times in a cool looking move. Swanton by Ares gets two. Riccola Bomb is reversed by a rana and it’s finally the hot tag to Matthews. Spinebuster to Ares and Claudio gets sent to the floor.

Matthews goes up and hits an elbow drop for two on Ares. So these guys are supposed to be awesome and one tiny man is beating them both up at the same time. Got it. Eh that’s normal in wrestling though, so according to most wrestling fans that means it’s ok. Back to Claudio and Parker. Parker gets a Codebreaker and takes out Claudio on the floor. Matthews gets a powerbomb for two on Ares.

Spinning belly to back by Ares to counter a bulldog. European Uppercut gets two as does the Riccola (arm trap powerbomb) Bomb. The fans chant for 3.0 as apparently a B average works. Small package to Claudio gets two. Instead Claudio realizes he’s huge and puts on an Inverted Chikara Special (half crab with an arm trap that looks awesome). Parker kicks him in the head but since this is an indy company it’s no sold and there’s the tap out to end it.

Rating: B-. Good stuff here and I kind of like the whole quick first fall and then the rest of the match. They got me into the match in the end which is the whole point here. The locker room emptying out was cool as it shows that EVERYONE wants BDK to lose. This was a fun match and solid for the main event.

We’ll look at one of Claudio’s last ROH matches as he and Hero teamed up to defend their Tag Titles against Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team one more time. Ignore that they had already signed with WWE.

Tag Titles: Kings of Wrestling vs. Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team

Each time someone comes to the ring they get streamers thrown at them. It’s annoying but I guess it’s something to get used to. The Kings are Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli. The champs (Haas/Benjamin) took the belts from them after the Kings held them forever. This is the first match in 24 minutes, meaning 40% of this show had zero wrestling on it due to highlight packages. That would be like 48 minutes without wrestling on Raw. Oh wait WE HAVE A COMMERCIAL BEFORE THE BELL.

There’s the bell and it’s been 27 minutes since the last match ended, or 54 minutes in Raw time. Haas vs. Hero to start us off. How did a guy like Haas get Jackie Gayda? Off to Nigel quickly so maybe he started and I wasn’t paying enough attention. Haas counters a few hip tosses and takes Claudio down with arm drags. This is match #4 in their series and the champs are 2-1 so far.

Blind tag brings in Benjamin and he hits a top rope clothesline to take over. Off to hero who gets caught in a small package for two. Hero sells a lot and things start to break down. Benjamin can’t hit the dragon whip and the Kings take over with nefarious means. Benjamin is thrown outside and Hero hits a baseball slide to take him out again. We take a break and come back with Claudio holding a headlock and hitting a powerslam for two.

Benjamin tries the tag and hits Dragon Whip this time but Hero pulls Haas off the apron. Charlie comes in and lets Hero hit an elbow to the back of the head for two. Off to Hero (Claudio got the two) and Hero hits a senton backsplash for two. Benjamin counters a double suplex into a double neckbreaker and there’s a leaping hot tag. Roaring Elbow by Hero is countered into a German and Claudio takes a T-Bone for two.

A rana and a big boot gets the same. Haas gets taken down and another elbow called the KTFO (you figure it out) gets two for Hero. Was there a tag there? The third spinning forearm/elbow (WE GET IT ALREADY) sets up a giant swing by Claudio as we go back to the 70s. The Kings set for their finisher (KRS 1) but it’s broken up by Benjamin. A hot shot sets up the thing where Shelton jumps over Charlie to land on the other dude’s back and a Hart Attack ends this at 16:48.

Rating: B-. Not bad here but dude, this was the best they could do? This is supposed to be the big and epic tag team division that is the best in the world? It’s not bad but it’s certainly not a classic or anything at all. I’ve definitely seen better stuff on Raw or Smackdown this year. I saw a match live that was better than this and I can’t even remember who were partnering with Orton and Christian.

Claudio would move to the WWE and FCW and change his name to Antonio Cesaro. He would debut on FCW TV on October 23, 2011.

Antonio Cesaro vs. Mike Dalton

Dalton is currently known as Tyler Breeze. Cesaro comes out to what was Dean Malenko’s theme music in 2002. Dalton is easily shoved into the corner and Cesaro locks him in a cravate before taking him to the mat. Dalton comes back with a quickly broken hammerlock but runs into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. We hit the chinlock from Cesaro for several moments before Mike comes up for his jobber comeback. Cesaro throws him into the air for Swiss Death and a WICKED powerbomb is good for the pin.

Rating: D+. Total squash here with Cesaro looking awesome. The powerbomb (Riccola Bomb for you indy people) was a great finisher against smaller guys but the switch to the Neutralizer worked better when not everyone was a tiny guy by comparison. Swiss Death looked great as well and this was total domination.

Cesaro would debut on WWE TV in April of 2002 and challenge Santino Marella for the US Title on the preshow of Summerslam 2012.

Pre-Show: US Title: Antonio Cesaro vs. Santino Marella

This is one of those ideas that was brought back after far too many years off. Santino is defending and Cesaro has his HORRID dance music here. He also has Aksana who isn’t horrid at all, other than in the ring of course. Cesaro’s word of the day in five languages: greatness. Santino does the power walk to the ring and is as goofy as ever. Cesaro takes it to the mat but Santino actually spins out for two.

A judo throw puts Cesaro down before Santino power walks out of an Irish whip. Must resist country jokes. Santino avoids a charge in the corner and loads up the Cobra but Cesaro takes his head off from behind. The Cobra goes to the floor and Aksana throws it away. Off to a reverse chinlock with Cesaro pulling on Marella’s ears to keep him away from the Cobra. IT’S A FREAKING SOCK! I know Foley used one too but it didn’t seem to have magical powers.

Santino kicks Cesaro away but still can’t get the sock. The gutwrench suplex gets no cover from the challenger, as he would rather rip the Cobra to shreds. Santino pounds away but misses the headbutt. He counters the Neutralizer and pulls out another Cobra, proving THAT IT’S JUST A FREAKING SOCK! Aksana gets on the apron and the Cobra wants her, allowing Cesaro to hit the Neutralizer for the pin and the title.

Rating: D+. IT’S A FREAKING SOCK! Match was ok but the majority of the five minutes were spent on Santino trying to put a sock on his hand so he can use a neck attack taught to him by John Lovitz. I know he’s a comedy character but there’s a point where it’s stupid rather than funny. Santino half crossed that line years ago.

Soon after this Cesaro would be featured at the 2012 Tribute to the Troops in a match that would make Hulk Hogan proud.

John Cena vs. Antonio Cesaro

Cesaro doesn’t even get an entrance. That should tell you where we’re going here. The Muppets introduce Cena, which is completely awesome. Cena pounds him down to start but Cesaro throws him into the corner to take over. They head to the floor with Cena being rammed into the steps. Back in and the gutwrench suplex gets two and here’s the comeback. Cena shrugs off everything Cesaro did, hits the Five Moves of Doom and wins with the AA at 5:23.

Rating: C. If you don’t get why this match happened the way it does, go watch a test pattern. That’s more on your intelligence level.

Cesaro would head back to NXT from time to time and enter into a feud with Sami Zayn in August of 2013. This led to a 2/3 falls match that speaks for itself.

Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro

They have a lot of time to work with here and it’s 2/3 falls. Zayn debuted a few months ago and beat Cesaro in Sami’s second match of the night. Cesaro won the rematch so tonight’s the rubber match. Zayn dives over the top to take out Cesaro during his entrance before the bell. Back inside and Sami hits a spinwheel kick for the first fall six seconds after the bell. Cesaro is clotheslined to the floor and sent into the steps as we’re not even a minute into the match.

They slug it out on the floor before Zayn gets two off another spinwheel kick. Zayn pounds away in the corner but can’t get a sunset flip. Cesaro can’t hit a double stomp so Sami goes to the middle rope and jumps from there to the top for a high cross body for two. Cesaro throws him into the air to drop Sami face first on the buckle for two before pounding away at Sami’s head. We hit the standing chinlock for a bit before Cesaro blocks a kick to the ribs and pulls Sami up into a powerbomb for two.

Back to the chinlock but Zayn jawbreaks his way out. A hard clothesline and the running stomp to the chest gets two for Cesaro. Back up and Zayn fires off forearms to the chest but gets caught in a backdrop, allowing Cesaro to rain down right hands. Another double stomp sets up the gutwrench suplex but Sami counters into a sunset flip for two. A running hurricanrana gets the same but Cesaro comes back with a bridging capture suplex for two.

Back from a break with with Cesaro putting on the standing chinlock for the third time. Zayn gets two off a rollup and hits a quick dropkick to put Antonio down. He charges right back into the chinlock though and Cesaro spins him around before taking it to the mat. Zayn actually taps out at about 9:00 shown, making it one fall apiece.

Sami rolls to the apron but Antonio pulls him back in with a superplex from the apron. That’s SCARY strength but it’s only good for two. Zayn grabs a quick rollup for two but gets caught in the chinlock again. That’s rolled up for two followed by Cesaro charging into a boot in the corner. The fans think this is awesome and I can’t say I disagree. Sami gets a VERY close two off a sunset flip after crawling up Cesaro’s body.

Cesaro bails to the floor so Sami heads outside as well before getting a running charge and diving between the ropes into a tornado DDT on the floor. Cesaro dives back in at nine and Sami gets two. Zayn tries to climb the corner for another tornado DDT but Cesaro catches him in midair, lifts him into a gorilla press and drops him down into Swiss Death. Antonio immediately picks up Sami and puts him down with the Neutralizer for the pin and the third fall at 15:38 shown of 18:38.

Rating: A-. Yeah it’s great. The third fall picked WAY up after a solid second fall. I’m not sure I get the idea of having Zayn win the first fall in a few seconds but it was definitely a face way to start the match. Either way, both guys looked great here and the match worked incredibly well with Cesaro looking like a beast at the end. Why he’s in a jobber tag team and not being pushed as a top heel in WWE is beyond me. Check this match out if you have the chance.

We’ll look at one more match from NXT in December of 2013 with Cesaro facing William Regal in a match over respect that had been built up for months.

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.

We’ll close it out with Cesaro’s biggest win to date which is more recent than I like to get but you can’t pass up something like this for him.

Cesaro vs. Randy Orton

In the sitdown interview of the week, HHH said he thinks Cesaro might be the wildcard in the Chamber. Cesaro chases Orton to the floor to start but doesn’t go after him. They do the same thing again before Cesaro takes him to the mat and hits the gutwrench for two. A running European uppercut in the corner gets two more and they both head outside. Orton reverses a whip into the barricade and clotheslines Cesar as we take a break.

Back with Orton ramming Cesaro into the announce table and taking him inside for a chinlock. The fans chant WE THE PEOPLE and Cesaro fights out, only to lose a fist fight and get elbowed to the mat. Cesaro rolls outside and catches Orton with a big clothesline of his own and counters the Elevated DDT into the Swing. Randy can barely get to his feet but is able to backdrop out of the Neutralizer. Cesaro lands on his feet but runs into the powerslam for two.

Now the Elevated DDT connects and Orton points to the sign to make this serious. He spends too much time walking around though and it’s Swiss Death for two. They head to the corner where Orton tries a superplex but Cesaro counters into a sunset bomb. A discus uppercut sets up the Neutralizer for the completely clean pin at 12:44.

Rating: B-. Well you can’t give much more of a rub than that. However I’d be much happier with this if Kofi Kingston hadn’t gotten the same kind of a win just a month ago. Cesaro is a guy that could be world championship material with a good push (meaning getting away from Swagger) but I have a feeling this is just for the Chamber and then it’s back to nothing for not-Antonio.

Cesaro is one of the most perfect combinations of look, power, skill and ability that you’ll ever find. He’s one of the strongest men in wrestling and has wrestled everywhere in the world with success. I’m hoping that his current push results in an extended main event run for him as he could be one of the biggest international stars WWE has had in years.

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NXT
Date: February 19, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Tensai

It’s the go home show for Arrival, meaning I wouldn’t expect much of interest tonight. The main stories are Neville vs. Dallas for the NXT Title in a ladder match and Cesaro vs. Zayn in a 2/3 falls match because HHH wanted it to happen. Hopefully the boss isn’t around to impose his will on a promotion that doesn’t need him at all. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home.

Paul Heyman, Bret Hart and Diesel will be doing an NXT Kickoff show on the Network next week.

Ascension vs. Mike Lebosca/Casey Marion

Non-title. Viktor runs over Mike to start and gets two off a hard clothesline. Off to Konnor for a double powerbomb and the Fall of Man is good for the pin on Marion at 1:21.

Tyler Breeze is officially in the building.

Summer Rae vs. Emma

Bayley plays Lodi with Emma’s signs as the bubbles fill the entrance. Tensai: “BUBBLES AND HUGS! BUBBLES AND HUGS!” Summer can’t rip up the sign and Emma gets a quick two count off a rollup. Off to an armbar on Summer but she has to kick out of a dancing sunset flip. Emma gets knocked off the apron to the floor before it’s off to Rae for an armbar of her own. We get some choking with those long legs, drawing an ultra rare boring chant. Emma gets caught in a bodyscissors and we take a break.

Back with Summer getting two off something we didn’t see before she does her stretching choke on the apron. Rae gets frustrated and hammers away for two before we hit the chinlock. Emma fights up and hooks the Dilemma for a few seconds followed by the cross body in the corner. Sasha Banks gets in a quick slap to give Summer a two count but it’s the Emma Lock for the submission at 7:14 shown of 10:44.

Rating: D. The match was really boring as they were clearly just filling time for the most part. Instead of going over this boring mess, let’s look at why Emma is bombing on Raw. It’s really simple: they’re not playing to her strengths at all. Instead of being the goofy dancer that we can laugh with at stuff like fighting to be able to skin the cat before the matches and the bubbles, she’s second banana to one of the most annoying characters in the company. Santino has his fans, but he’s one of those guys that people either love or hate and it’s alienating a big chunk of the audience. Let Emma be herself and she’ll get over.

On top of that look at how she dresses on both shows. On Raw she wears a white t-shirt and black pants. She looks good enough in the outfit, but here she’s in shorts and looks like she got caught in a confetti explosion. Emma may not be the hottest Diva on the roster, but wearing more clothes hardly ever gets a female wrestler over. Let her look fun and people will have fun with her.

Tyler Breeze is NOT cool with Adrian Neville being the face of NXT.

Before the break we got an Elimination Chamber ad. When we come back, we get a video on Elimination Chamber. You can see the yellow and black turning red before your eyes.

We get a sitdown interview with Zayn and Cesaro. Sami congratulates Cesaro on getting into the Elimination Chamber but Cesaro cuts him off and says he’ll win. Renee stops them both and explains the rules of the interview (seriously): if Sami touches Cesaro, he loses any future chances at the NXT Title. If Cesaro touches Sami, he’s out of the Chamber.

Sami is asked about being medically cleared but Cesaro cuts him off again, saying it’s his Achilles. Cesaro cuts him off again so Sami gets to his feet and says he knows what’s going on. This is already behind personal and it’s on to being professional. Sami takes his profession personally and after February 27, Cesaro won’t have anything left to say.

Emma is asked about the BFFs but would rather talk about her sign and title shot next week. She’ll say something to Paige’s face next week.

Adrian Neville vs. Tyler Breeze

Feeling out process to start until Breeze stomps him down in the corner and scores with a running dropkick. Before he follows up though, time for a quick picture. Neville comes back with kicks to the ribs and a ram into the buckle as Tensai talks about ladder matches, name dropping Jeff Hardy and the Dudley Boys. A running uppercut in the corner puts Breeze down but Neville walks around instead of covering. Breeze misses a dropkick and gets kicked to the floor, setting up a big dive as we take a break.

Back with another Elimination Chamber ad because that’s why this show exists. Adrian gets two off a top rope dropkick and picks Breeze up for a nice sitout powerbomb for two. In one of the few nice sequences of the night, Neville loads up a springboard dive but stops on the top as Breeze tries to dropkick him out of the air but Neville hasn’t even jumped yet. Breeze pops up and scores with a superkick to put both guys down. The Beauty Shot misses and a kick in the corner sets up the Red Arrow for the pin by Neville at 8:25 shown of 11:25.

Rating: C. The match was fine and that fake out spot by Neville was a nice touch. There’s nothing wrong with giving Neville a win to set up the ladder match, but unfortunately it comes at the end of a very boring show. Breeze needs to add something new to his act because the appeal is starting to wear off.

Post match Neville grabs the mic but Bo Dallas’ music cuts him off. Bo congratulates Neville on his climb up the ladder of success. “Look what I did there. Ladder?” Adrian has gone as far as he can though because the title reign isn’t ending next week. Neville has finally figured Bo out: he’s scared of Adrian but doesn’t hate him. Adrian is going to win the title next week but right now he’ll let Bo have a free shot. Bo takes off his jacket and walks away to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. I always knew this day would come but I’ve been dreading it the entire time. NXT is officially a Raw clone which takes away all of its appeal. It used to be this fun underground show that offered a retreat from WWE and gave you some old school wrestling fun. Now it’s sitdown interviews and the Face of NXT and Deus Ex Helmsley coming out and taking five minutes to make a match instead of it just being made before the show. This show is becoming less and less fun every week and I get more and more worried about what we’ll be seeing after Arrival. The show is definitely not a lost cause, but I’m scared.

Results

Ascension b. Mike Lebosca/Casey Marion – Fall of Man to Marion

Emma b. Summer Rae – Emma Lock

Adrian Neville b. Tyler Breeze – Red Arrow

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NXT
Date: February 12, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Alex Riley, William Regal, Renee Young

The big story at the moment is the build to the February 27 supershow, but the problem with that is the main show taking over NXT more and more every week. HHH’s cameos are becoming a regular thing as JBL as GM is rapidly being forgotten. I always knew that once NXT stopped being its own thing it would stop being as fun and that’s slowly starting to happen. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home.

Natalya/Bayley/Emma vs. BFF’s

It’s Alicia Fox/Summer Rae/Sasha Banks here and Emma vs. Paige is official for NXT Arrival on the 27^th. Emma takes Summer down to start before it’s off to Natalya vs. Sasha as the Canadian counters Banks’ wristlock into a quick suplex for two. Bayley comes in for a snapmare and slam but Fox gets the tag and dropkicks her down for two as we take a break.

Back with Summer holding Bayley in a seated full nelson before getting rolled up for two. Riley spends most of the match talking about his crush on Emma. Off to Banks for a front facelock as Renee asks Regal what he’s doing for Valentine’s Day. Regal: “Whatever you like my dear.” Fox gets two off a northern lights suplex with that nice bridge before we hit the chinlock on Bayley.

Back to Summer for some stretching and choking on the apron until Bayley finally counters a suplex to get a breather. The hot tag brings in Emma who cleans house until Alicia kicks her in the face. Sasha, Summer and Charlotte walk out on Alicia, allowing Emma to hook the Emma Lock for the submission from Fox at 7:28 shown of 10:58.

Rating: C-. There’s something about these Divas that you just don’t get with the WWE Divas. These girls are…..what’s the word I’m looking for…..oh yeah: competent. The match on Raw was absolutely dreadful and while this wasn’t great, it certainly wasn’t a chore to sit through and felt much more fun than the Bellas being all serious and wanting to be taken seriously while clearly being there as eye candy and due to who they’re sleeping with.

Aiden English vs. Colin Cassady

English’s song tonight is about how he’s the one in the ring while the fans watch. Cassady takes him into the corner to start and gets two off a slam. English comes back with a running neckbreaker and some hard forearms to the chest for two of his own. A reverse neckbreaker gets the same but Cass is all fired up now. He spells out SAWFT before blasting English in the back with a forearm, only to have English kick him in the knee and finish with the Director’s Cut at 1:23.

Here’s Sami Zayn to ask Cesaro for another 2/3 falls match in the ring as Cesaro requested. Sami isn’t proud of how many times he’s watched that match and noticed every mistake he’s made. His career has always been about moving forward but for the first time he can’t do it. Even after watching the footage as many times as he has, he can’t figure out the final mistake that cost him the match.

This brings out Cesaro who says this is starting to sound pathetic. Cesaro says there was no one moment in that match that cost Zayn because Antonio is just better. Zayn can look at that one match as a crystal http://findviagra.com ball for his entire career: coming up just a hair short. Sami says the two of them go back for years around the world and he respects Cesaro for everything he’s accomplished.

Cesaro is here because he’s a true competitor who will fight anyone anywhere, except for Sami. Zayn would like a reason why but Cesaro avoids the question by asking how many times he has to beat Sami to get the point across. Zayn thinks Antonio is afraid because they bring out the best in each other and Cesaro can’t beat him at his best. Anotnio asks Sami about his knee and Zayn isn’t comfortable answering. Cesaro agrees to one last match if there are no excuses when Sami loses.

Zayn agrees to the terms and the fans want a pinkie promise. Sami holds out his pinkie and Cesaro does the same, only to say it’s still no and kick Zayn in the knee. This brings out HHH BECAUSE WE JUST CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT HIM! HHH says the fans want the match so it’s on for Arrival. Heaven forbid Sami gets to come back and make Cesaro want to have the match, because we’ve got HHH on ANOTHER being the nice boss for this week.

CJ Parker vs. Tye Dillinger

Parker still looks like an idiot dancing around like he does. Dillinger takes him down with a front facelock and the fans chant purple power, apparently impressed by Dillnger’s trunks. CJ comes back with an airplane spin and the Third Eye for the pin at 1:20.

Post match Parker asks why people hate him. He reduces, reuses and recycles and even drives a car getting 40 miles a gallon. Parker should be booing us for melting his ice caps and spilling oil on his planet. The NXT fans are destroying the Earth because they don’t love anyone or anything. From this moment forward, he doesn’t love us either. I can’t say I’ve ever seen an environmentalist in wrestling so at least it’s new and thankfully we don’t have to sit through Parker as a face anymore.

Wyatt Family vs. Jason Jordan/Marcus Louis

Even Bray is here for this one. Harper takes Louis into the corner with stomps to the ribs before it’s off to Rowan for a fallaway slam and a splash before the discus lariat from Harper gets the pin in 59 seconds.

Jordan gets Sister Abigail. Bray talks about grown men trembling at the sound of the Family’s footsteps. They have conquered this world but haven’t forgotten where they came from. Follow the buzzards.

Overall Rating: C. They’re clearly just running on fumes until they get to Arrival, but at least we have HHH to carry us there! This was basically a throwaway show with only the Sami vs. Cesaro showdown being worth watching. I’m hoping they just forget about this show once Arrival is over and let it get back to being the awesome show it used to be.

Results

Emma/Bayley/Natalya b. BFF’s – Emma Lock to Fox

Aiden English b. Colin Cassady – Director’s Cut

CJ Parker b. Tye Dillinger – Third Eye

Wyatt Family b. Jason Jordan/Marcus Louis – Discus lariat to Louis

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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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Part one of a double shot today as I forgot to put anything up yesterday.

Rookie of the year is a tricky award in wrestling.  What do you classify as a rookie?  Bray Wyatt debuted in WWE in 2013, but Husky Harris was around years ago.  There’s little argument that Shield has been a force in WWE, but they had one match in 2012.  It’s hard to come up with official criteria, but for the sake of these we’ll go with any new character in 2013.  I’ll leave Shield off because they’ll win enough this year.  Based on that, there are a lot of nominees this year.

A few honorable mentions:

Sami Zayn.  If you watch NXT, you get this one immediately.  Sami Zayn is the former El Generico and is currently chasing Bo Dallas’ NXT Title.  He is about as perfect an underdog as you can ask for and has put on some outstanding matches against guys like Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger.  He’s going to move up to WWE one day and will fit like a glove.

Ethan Carter III. He’s the Rick Rude of modern wrestling.  Now before you old school fans jump down my throat, think about this for a minute.  Rude was a glorified comedy wrestler in the WWF but once he jumped to WCW, he became a killer and the top heel in the company for over a year.  Carter was as goofy as you could ask a wrestler to be in WWE but he jumped over to TNA and is now playing a solid heel.  The guy is going to be a big deal in TNA and is a rare instance of TNA getting a good steal from WWE.

Now for some actual nominees.

Wyatt Family.  These guys are CREEPY.  If you watch Survivor Series 1990, the crowd goes silent for Undertaker’s debut.  Not because they’re bored, but because they have no idea what to make of the guy in front of them.  That’s the vibe I get from these guys.  Wyatt is so perfect for the character it’s unreal as well as a good sign.  Instead of lettting him be Husky Harris and having him lose for a year before cutting him, they realized the talent that was there and found something that fit him perfectly.

However, he might not have the most potential out of all of them.  I dig Luke Harper more and more every time he’s out there.  That discus clothesline of his is AWESOME and looks like it could take anyone out.  The look in his eyes is just disturbing and he’s got a great finisher to top it off.  What more can you ask for from a guy?  He’s got a future once the Family breaks up and the gimmick change is so easy too.

Now for the winner: Big E. Langston.  This guy is actually a rookie by WWE’s standards and looks like he’s going to be a big deal for a long time.  He’s been treated like a monster (save for that stupid loss to Del Rio) and is already in the main event scene.  They’re actually protecting this guy and he has the promo skills to back it up.  Considering he only started wrestling about four years ago and is just 27 years old, that’s remarkable.

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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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