NXT
Date: April 11, 2012
Location: Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia
Commentators: William Regal, Josh Matthews

It’s that time of the week again. After last week’s disappointing ending to the Who Stole Striker story, it’s time for more Regal vs. Hawkins/Reks, because that hasn’t been done to death yet around here. We’ll also see Maxine trying to get her hooks into Regal, which is probably an idea they came up with in FCW and are using here. Let’s get to it.

Percy Watson vs. Johnny Curtis

Maxine comes out with Curtis and Watson isn’t pleased. He thought they weren’t together anymore but Regal cuts off his complaints and tells Maxine to stay away from the ring. Maxine sits next to Regal and he can’t speak as well all of a sudden. Watson speeds things up after a slow start with a one footed dropkick where he lands on his feet. That was pretty cool. They fight over a top wristlock and Watson takes over with an atomic drop and a legdrop for two.

Maxine is whispering into Regal’s ear as Curtis takes over with right hands. He sends Percy’s shoulder into the corner and out to the floor as we take a break. Regal is now off commentary and talking to Maxine. Curtis controls with a wristlock but Watson comes back and rams some shoulders into Curtis’ ribs. Regal is frustrated that he isn’t focused on his job as Curtis hits a cool move by dropping a leg on the arm of a standing Watson for two.

Back to the arm hold and Watson can’t break out of it. Elbow to the arm gets two. Josh doesn’t seem to get what’s wrong with Regal. Regal tries to focus and talks about Curtis a bit but still isn’t all there. I’d assume this is connected to whatever the list of stuff Regal is into that Maxine and Curtis were supposed to get their hands on last week or the week before. Watson starts his comeback with his usual strikes and the dropkicks as Regal leaves with Maxine. Belly to belly puts Curtis down and Watson is distracted by Regal leaving, allowing Curtis to roll him up for the pin at 8:13.

Rating: C-. This was ok but Curtis is just such an uninteresting character, as is Watson. Watson’s character basically is that he’s an athlete while Curtis is weird. The weird part is fine when he’s talking, but in the ring it doesn’t really do anything at all. The match was more about Regal and Maxine, which is ok because it gives us some intrigue. He looked distracted when they left so something is up.

Hawkins and Reks talk to Maxine in the back who is minus Regal now. She talks to them and asks if they did that thing. Reks isn’t sure what they she means but apparently Regal is going to be talking to them soon. She doesn’t get Striker back until they know she didn’t screw them over. Why does she want Striker back? They leave and Maxine pretends to cry when Bateman and Kaitlyn pop up. Maxine cries on Bateman’s shoulder and asks for help with Reks/Hawkins. He says he’ll do it because she’s the worst thing that ever happened to him. He and Kaitlyn leave and Maxine smiles. This is a confusing story.

Tamina comes out of a dressing room and runs into Titus. She yells at him for leaving Young last week but Titus has a peace offering: a coconut tree. She seems legitimately pleased and kisses him on the cheek. Tamina walks off and runs into Young who doesn’t seem happy with Titus giving her a gift. Young walks up to Titus and Titus says he was just proving he was better than Young again. Titus leaves and Young is mad.

Back to Kaitlyn and Bateman with the one with better legs saying that she misses the old days of NXT. Bateman disagrees but they hear screams from a closet. They open it up to find Striker bound and gagged holding Hawkins’ cane. Bateman wants to get him to the doctor but Striker says he’ll handle this. He leaves while Bateman and Kaitlyn shrug.

Raw ReBound is about Cena and Lesnar.

Regal comes up to Reks and Hawkins, saying he’s underestimated them. He squeezes their necks and wants to know where Striker is. They don’t know and Regal says if anything is wrong with Striker, there will be serious consequences. Regal leaves and they go to find Striker. They open the closet and find that he’s gone. Are we supposed to believe that a guy that was kidnapped in whatever city has been in the same closet for a month now? Anyway Maxine comes with Curtis to laugh at them.

Michael McGillicutty vs. Tyson Kidd

Regal is back on commentary and is all messed up still. We get a quick recap which is based around Kidd not being a Hart and this is the rubber match in the feud. Regal seems back into it once the bell rings. Kidd works on the arm to start and arm drags him to a stalemate. He keeps making McGillicutty miss by using his speed, including sliding between his legs to clothesline him to the floor. Kidd dives over the top but crotches himself on the ring skirt. McGillicutty sends him onto the announce table as we take a break.

Back with McGillicutty holding a chinlock as Regal talks about leopards. Kidd gets up quickly but a shot to the back of the head puts him right back down. As he did earlier, Kidd speeds things up and has better success. An armdrag puts McGillicutty down and then fires off the strikes. A dropkick to the side of the head gets two. A Sharpshooter is countered but Kidd comes back with a Blockbuster for two. I could go for seeing that move becoming someone’s finisher again. Kidd kicks him in the head and tries his springboard cross body but Michael dropkicks him out of the air for two.

McGillicutter is countered into a backslide for two. Saito Suplex puts Kidd down and McGillicutty hooks a Sharpshooter on Kidd. Tyson makes the rope so McGillicutty tries the PerfectPlex, which should have been his finisher since the day he debuted. Kidd reverses it though and sets for the Sharpshooter. Instead of that though, he puts his foot above McGillicutty’s shoulder and leans forward, wrapping his feet around Michael’s head and pulling back on his arm as he leans back. It’s like a triangle choke but with their legs intertwined and it gets the tap out at 9:24.

Rating: B. This was an entertaining match with a cool finish as Kidd goes up a level to beat McGillicutty. Regal talks about Kidd doing submission training with Bret every day off he has which plays into this as well. This was a very solid ending to this feud and hopefully Kidd can get actual TV time soon instead of being the best wrestler on NXT.

Overall Rating: C+. I certainly got my wish about this show: Tonight’s episode was certainly not boring. I’m not completely sure it made sense, but it definitely was not boring. However, we got a very good main event (by NXT standards) and some plot twists that have me wondering what’s coming next. That alone is good enough to make this a good show and I’m curious as to where this is going.

Results
Johnny Curtis b. Percy Watson – Rollup
Tyson Kidd b. Michael McGillicutty – Leg Trap Triangle Choke

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NXT
Date: April 4, 2012
Location: Orlando Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, William Regal

We’re done with Wrestlemania now and NXT is still going. Tonight we’re supposed to find out what happened to Striker as I think we’ll get the list of demands from the kidnapper. I would complain about Striker being on the Wrestlemania pre-show doing commentary, but I don’t think enough people know about the angle going on here anyway. Let’s get to it.

Tyler Reks vs. Percy Watson

Reks and Regal have been having a Twitter war and Regal apologizes because it’s been bullying on his part for how dominant he’s been in it. Reks takes him to the mat but Watson wrestles out of it. A one footed dropkick sets up an armdrag to send Reks to the outside. We actually get a Percy Watson chant. Back inside Tyler pounds him down and stomps Watson in the corner.

Reks keeps him down with knees and chinlocks. This match is going by quickly but I can barely remember anything about it. I don’t know what it is about Reks but he’s very forgettable. Watson gets his feet up in the corner to stop Tyler’s offense, allowing Josh to say that Percy is building momentum. Watson uses those good jumping abilities for some clotheslines but won’t cover. It doesn’t really matter though as he rolls up Reks out of a backdrop for the pin at 6:09.

Rating: D+. I have no idea what they’re going for with Watson as he’s been having the same match for months now. I think they’re trying to push him as a Shelton Benjamin type incredible athlete but it’s only kind of working. Watson needs a story to keep people interested in him, and that’s not going to happen here because his name isn’t Derrick Bateman.

Reks and Hawkins get ready to beat up Watson but Regal says cool it. If they attack Percy, they’ll be suspended for six weeks.

McGillicutty comes up to Natalya in the back and says if he beats Bateman tonight, he gets a rematch with Kidd. He hits on her and Natalya cuts him off. This goes nowhere but at least there’s no Natalya “comedy”.

Natalya vs. Kaitlyn

New music for Kaitlyn and Kidd is on commentary. Nattie takes her down and Kidd says there’s nothing going on with them. Bridging rollup gets two for Natalya. I think Natalya is a face here but I really have no idea. Kidd admits that he isn’t a Hart, which ticked him off when McGillicutty rubbed it in his face weeks ago. Natalya works on the arm and uses more holds on whatever part of the body she picks. Kaitlyn’s first offense is a cross body but Natalya laughs it off and the Sharpshooter gets the submission at 3:30.

Rating: C-. This was a squash for Natalya as she picked apart Kaitlyn with ease. I’m so glad they’ve dropped that idiotic gimmick she’s been using for the last few months as she’s very talented and can make even someone like Kaitlyn look good. I’m still not sure if she’s a face or a heel though, but I doubt WWE has put any thought into it either.

Young says he doesn’t need Titus’ help with Tamina. He’s gotten her a coconut tree. Tamina and Alicia come up and Young hits on her with some really corny lines and she walks off. Young: “Tamina where you going? I’ve got reservations at McDonalds!” That’s the first funny thing Young has said in almost three years.

Titus O’Neil/Darren Young vs. Usos

Young and Jimmy start things off with Young grabbing a headlock. Jimmy speeds things up and Young tags out. Titus kicks Jimmy’s head off in a great looking shot. Back to Young for about two seconds before O’Neil comes back. They tag again and then a fourth time in the span of about fifteen seconds.

A fifth tag results in a belly to back suplex by Young for two, followed by a chinlock. Jimmy gets up and comes back with a powerslam and there’s the tag to jey. Titus comes in as well and everything breaks down. O’Neil yells at Young and walks into the Samoan Drop and Jey hits the Superfly Splash (cross body according to Josh) for the pin at 4:20.

Rating: C. Pretty good fast paced match here and hopefully this wraps up the Tamina/Young story because stories like that one are so repetitive on this show that they lose any interest at all. Hopefully the Usos get another tag title match soon and maybe even get the belts as they’ve got nothing left to do here.

Raw ReBound is all about Lesnar’s return.

Bateman and Percy tell Kaitlyn they still think she’s awesome. Maxine pops up on her phone shouting about needing something. She’s eating a doughnut when Curtis comes up. Everyone else leaves and Curtis says he’s got a message from the kidnappers, saying meet us in the basement. Bateman is still there apparently and says this is getting weird. Curtis: “That’s my line.” Bateman: “That was my fiance.” Maxine and Curtis leave when Kidd comes up to talk to Bateman. He wants Bateman to be ready for his match tonight. Not much to say by Kidd but I’m liking these rapid fire backstage scenes.

Curtis and Maxine are in the basement/boiler room when Reks and Hawkins pop up and Reks chokes out Curtis. Hawkins: “Reks and I are the kidnappers.” They did this to get Regal off their backs and they’ll frame Maxine/Curtis if they don’t get Regal off Hawkins/Reks’ backs. They leave and Curtis says it gets real weird next week. Dang it they had a good story going and they use it on the same people AGAIN.

Derrick Bateman vs. Michael McGillicutty

They exchange chops to start and then they exchange harder chops. Regal talks about Maxine’s mother coming up to accuse him of having an affair with Maxine at Wrestlemania. There’s no followup there. It just happened apparently. Bateman sends him to the floor and hits a flip dive from the apron to the floor as we take a break. Back with Bateman still in control.

McGillicutty gets in a knee to the ribs and takes over. Off to a chinlock which Derrick breaks, only to be sent into the ropes again. Dropkick gets two. We get the sequel to the chinlock but Bateman breaks it up again. A Russian legsweep sends the back of Michael’s head into the middle buckle and both guys are dazed. Now Bateman goes after the knee and hits a move that I don’t think would really hurt.

He gets McGillicutty in a DDT position but shoved McGillicutty forward. I think it was supposed to slam Michael’s head into the mat but it didn’t come close. There wasn’t a cover so it doesn’t matter but it was really different. Bateman hits the flipping neckbreaker that Morrison used to use for two. He really likes those falling forward moves. Derrick goes up but misses a top rope crossbody. McGillicutty tries a Sharpshooter but Bateman breaks it up. It doesn’t really matte though as the McGillicutter gets the pin at 8:30, earning McGillicutty a rematch with Kidd.

Rating: C. This was ok but I think it was more lengthy than good. I really don’t like Bateman’s in ring style as he uses some very weak looking moves such as the falling bulldog and that ridiculous looking reverse DDT. The match was ok and it sets up another step in the McGillicutty vs. Kidd feud which is good, but at the end of the day it’s another respect feud.

Overall Rating: C. This show had some ok stuff on it as far as the in ring parts, but I’m really disappointed in the culmination of the Striker kidnapping thing. Hawkins and Reks are so uninteresting as heels because their story has basically been this: they whine, Regal does something, they whine some more, Regal does something else. Nothing ever changes from that and it gets really boring really fast. And that’s what we get after a few promising weeks. I can’t say I’m surprised though, because this is the land of broken hopes.

Results
Percy Watson b. Tyler Reks – Rollup
Natalya b. Kaitlyn – Sharpshooter
Usos b. Darren Young/Titus O’Neil – Superfly Splash to O’Neil
Michael McGillicutty b. Derrick Bateman – McGillicutter

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NXT
Date: March 28, 2012
Location: Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Josh Matthews, William Regal

Who would have thought that when we started this season that it would run through Wrestlemania 28? That’s the point we’re going to reach unless there’s some divine intervention and this season ends after today. Now the good thing is they have an angle that has a mystery to it after last week with Striker disappearing. Let’s get to it.

Hunico vs. Derrick Bateman

Bateman controls to start but gets backdropped into the corner as Hunico takes over. Elbow drop gets two. Oh make that one. Regal explains why Camacho hangs out with Hunico, which is apparently due to a gang attack that Hunico bailed him out of, resulting in a stab wound which is why Hunico wears a shirt in the ring. See how easy a story that was to explain?

Bateman gets beaten down for awhile until he comes back with a cross body. Hunico hits one at the same time though and both guys are down as we take a break. Back with Hunico chopping and pounding on Bateman. His shirt is torn now too. Hunico goes up but jumps into a dropkick as Bateman gets a breather. He launches Hunico over his head and into the buckle chest first.

Hunico pounds down on him again as Regal is talking about WCW. He seems to think it was funny and I can’t say I argue. Bateman tries to suplex Hunico in from the apron but Hunico falls on top. Bateman rolls through for two but stops to go after Camacho. The distraction allows Hunico to hit his modified Angle Slam (it’s the Angle Slam but he hooks the other guy’s head, almost like a torture rack) for the pin at 7:00.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t really all that into this. I’ve been liking Hunico more lately but this was a miss for him. Granted that could be because Bateman is a waste of time and space but maybe that’s just me. Nothing that great here as they went back and forth, but there wasn’t much selling in between.

Video on Rock vs. Cena from Once In A Lifetime, which wasn’t bad.

Video on HHH vs. Taker, which I think is the same one from Raw.

Video on Punk vs. Jericho, which I don’t think has aired before. It’s about Punk’s rise to the top of WWE over the years and then shows Jericho exposing Punk’s family history.

Maxine is on a phone and wants a list next week. Curtis comes up and apparently the list is about Regal, who is into some freaky stuff. This is news? Maxine gets off the phone and Curtis says that the company has been trying to keep Striker’s whereabouts on the DL. It happened on NXT. How much more DL can you get?

Maxine yells at him because Curtis hasn’t found out anything about Striker. Watson and Riley pop up and Watson yells at her for taking the spotlight during his match by rubbing Regal’s feet. Maxine asks how mad Watson is at her in a strange bit. They go down the hall and run into Natalya and Kidd. They’re talking about the economy. Ok then. The walk continues and they run into Gabriel. I think they’re looking for who stole Striker.

Now they run into Titus and leave, but the camera stays on Titus. Young comes in with a flower pot which Young says is for Tamina. O’Neil says take her to McDonalds. Young says he lies, cheats and steals in the ring but he can’t do that with Tamina. I’m not the biggest Eddie fan ever, but NO WAY does Young deserve to be able to say that.

Curtis and Maxine pop up again and accuse Titus of the kidnapping (they haven’t actually said those words yet, but rather “it was you” every time). Titus tries to kiss her for some reason but Curtis pulls her away. Young and O’Neil leave and Maxine gets a text. The kidnappers say that after Mania, she’ll give them what they want and they’ll get Striker back. LONG backstage segment here but it covered a few things which is good.

Video on the Divas tag, I think from Extra. I have no issue looking at Maria Menunos.

Titus O’Neil vs. Jey Uso

Young and Jimmy Uso are on commentary. So I’m assuming we’re not going to talk about the Striker stuff on commentary are we? Josh points out that the Usos aren’t that successful when they’re in singles action. Jimmy says that’s true, because they’re a team. Simple yet true. This is your usual power vs. speed match with Titus controlling early but Jey taking him down. He goes up but Titus rolls to the floor before the jump and we go to a break.

Back with Titus hammering on him, using the clubbing forearms. Jey gets in a shot and comes off the top with a cross body for two. Titus runs him over with another clothesline for two. Off to a chinlock to eat up some time as Jey comes up with exactly the same kind of offense you would expect from him. The Umaga attack hits in the corner as does the Samoan Drop. The Superfly Splash hits knees though and the Clash of the Titus ends this at 6:22.

Rating: C-. I wish I could care about this feud, but it’s just not happening. The problem in modern WWE for guys like the Usos is that the tag titles are never defended and the champions are basically jobbers when you need to get bigger names over as singles guys. Titus is a heel now but he’s the same guy he’s always been, just with a sneer now. Nothing match but technically it was fine.

Tamina comes out to check on Jey and glares at Young for some reason.

Overall Rating: D. The problem here is that this show was a commercial for Mania with a backstage segment and about 15 minutes of wrestling to fill in some gaps. That’s totally understandable as well as no one is going to care about anything with four days before the biggest show of the year. Not a good show or anything, but this had zero expectations coming in so it’s fine.

Results
Hunico b. Derrick Bateman – Spinning Torture Rack Slam
Titus O’Neil b. Jey Uso – Clash of the Titus

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NXT
Date: March 21, 2012
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: William Regal, Josh Matthews

Back to NXT Land with another episode. I barely remember anything about last week’s show and that can’t be a good sign. I believe Kaitlyn and Bateman finally hooked up, much to Maxine’s dismay. I’ve basically given up on the idea of Regal doing anything to change the show around, putting the GM change into the column that most of this show would fall under: totally pointless. Let’s get to it.

The opening video that they’ve added the last few weeks is actually pretty good.

Striker is in the ring to open the show and talks about how Regal has made four matches with McGillicutty vs. Kidd capping it off.

Curt Hawkins vs. Justin Gabriel

Justin chops him into the corner to start but misses what looked to be a springboard clothesline. Hawkins takes over after the crash, getting two off a slam. Off to a chinlock which implies this is going to be a very short match. Justin comes back with a jumping back kick off the middle rope, setting up a quick 450 for the pin at 2:23. Not a bad match and not quite a squash, but if Hawkins is going to be one of the top heels on this show he really needs to be fixed up a lot.

Bateman and Kaitlyn hold hands are in the back and are all happy. Tamina comes up to talk about how termites mate for life. She wants to find her termite. Bateman and Kaitlyn leave so Young and Titus come up to hit on her. They make fun of the Usos and Darren starts to ask her out. The Usos come up and Tamina isn’t happy with them I don’t think. So JTG is just gone I’m guessing? I can’t complain about that. There’s a singles match later and the Usos leave her with the two of them.

Darren Young vs. Jimmy Uso

Jey sits in on commentary. Jimmy starts off with chops in the corner and knocks Young to the floor. Back inside and they slug it out and Jimmy is sent to the floor. Jey really isn’t that great on commentary. We take a break with Jimmy on the floor and come back with Young pounding away from a mounted position. Jimmy manages to send him into the corner but he charges into two boots. Regal talks about his brother being in the biology department at Oxford University. Apparently he’s in a jar and has two heads.

Off to a chinlock by Young as the fans are behind the Usos. The fans always seem to react to them, unlike the tag champions where no one seems to care. That being said, I’d be stunned if the Usos get a title run in the next four months. Jimmy makes his comeback and takes Young down out of the corner. Jey gets off commentary to lead cheers. Jimmy comes back with a Samoan drop and some dancing, followed by the Umaga hip attack in the corner for two. He goes up but Darren gets in some forearms and rams Jimmy shoulder first into the post. The double knee gutbuster gets the pin at 6:25.

Rating: C. This was ok, but as usual the problem with Young is how boring he is. The No Days Off sounds like something a face would call himself. Wouldn’t a heel be about finding a shortcut to winning instead of working hard? Either way, nothing significant to see here other than the Usos losing again to people far less interesting than them.

Titus brags to Tamina in the back.

Josh Matthews gets a message on his phone that his car has been stolen and goes to look into it.

We cut to the back where Curtis and Maxine talk about how they faked the message in an effort to get Matthews off commentary, so that Maxine can get on commentary with Regal and talk her way off this show. Insert your THIS IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF A CAMERA line here. Curtis pulls out a chloroform soaked rag (Maxine: WHY DO YOU HAVE CHLOROFORM??? Curtis: Why don’t I have chloroform?) and knocks out…..Striker. They throw him in a crate and Maxine seems ok with it. Fox comes up after Maxine leaves and is disgusted by Curtis in a totally pointless scene.

Here’s Maxine coming out for commentary. She comes out with a box of gifts: oils and lotions etc.

Percy Watson vs. Tyler Reks

Maxine is flirting with Regal and probably will be for the rest of the show. Watson tries to get the crowd clapping and it works for about three seconds. Maxine is massaging Regal’s feet as Watson takes over and sends Reks to the floor. Reks yells at Watson as Watson dives over the top to take out Reks. We take a break to tell you to check out WWE’s new website which you have to be on if you’re watching this show in America, and come back with Reks in control.

Regal talks about I think his brother being a professional doughnut stealer. Reks works over the arm and Regal compliments Maxine on her foot massaging abilities. Watson comes back by ramming Reks into the corner. Maxine is rubbing Regal’s scalp as Watson hits a dropkick. Heisman gets two. A top rope cross body is rolled through for two for Reks. Persecution ends this at 6:24.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t into this one and again it’s the lack of any reason to care about Watson or Reks. Reks is a boring heel and Watson is a face that we have no real reason to care about. Both guys are ok in the ring but there’s nothing that makes me want to care about them. I wonder if they’re hoping that it’s just because they’re on NXT and the fans (all 15 of them) would be familiar with them and care about them. I’ve never missed an episode and it isn’t working for me.

Matthews is back on commentary.

Raw ReBound thankfully doesn’t recap the whole closing segment of Raw. I couldn’t sit through that again.

Curtis opens the crate in the back but Striker is gone. Maxine comes up and says let him out but Curtis won’t let her open it. Maxine: “You killed him didn’t you?” He opens the crate and there’s a note saying “we know what you did, we have Striker, we’ll come to you with demands.” Bateman and Kaitlyn pop up and Maxine accuses them of having something to do with it. They leave and Maxine knocks him into the crate. So we have someone using chloroform and an apparent kidnapping. Do the words CALL THE COPS mean anything around here?

We recap McGillicutty vs. Kidd which is being treated like a huge match. It wasn’t that great of a match in the first place but for NXT, this is a well built feud. McGillicutty beat him, Kidd wanted a rematch, McGillicutty said no, they yelled at each other and McGillicutty said yes.

Michael McGillicutty vs. Tyson Kidd

Kidd starts off with two dropkicks and headscissors McGillicutty to the floor. He hits a slow motion rana to send McGillicutty into the barricade and we take a break. Back in the ring with McGillicutty ducking his head so Kidd can break the momentum with a kick. Kidd misses a charge though and crashes into the ropes and out to the floor. McGillicutty rams him into the table which gets two in the ring.

Off to a chinlock as Regal says these two will be huge stars over the next twenty years. Kidd grabs a quick rollup for two but a clothesline takes him right back down. McGillicutty shouts that Kidd isn’t a Hart and it’s off to a chinlock again. Kidd comes back with some kicks and a dropkick to the side of the head for two. A dropkick to the ribs puts McGillicutty into 619 position but on the bottom rope.

Kidd hits a slingshot legdrop to the back of McGillicutty’s head for two. Michael comes back with a Saito Suplex for two and Kidd is in trouble. Kidd tries an O’Connor Roll but it gets reversed for two. McGillicutty reverses the reversal into a rollup for two. Kidd takes Snake Eyes into the corner but avoids the McGillicutter. Sharpshooter is countered as Kidd is kicked to the apron but he comes back in with a slingshot reverse victory roll (best way I can describe it) for the pin at 8:17.

Rating: B-. Good match and I get that they’re going for a big showdown here, but at the same time it wasn’t able to reach the level they were going for. A big part of that is due to McGillicutty not being all that great, and the build to the rematch being pretty rushed. Also, the first match wasn’t anything incredible so I don’t think people were really begging for a rematch.

McGillicutty says Kidd is going to regret that and he’ll go after Kidd where it hurts the most: his heart.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a more interesting show than usual and I think a lot of that is due to the focus being off Bateman. He had more or less been the star of the show for awhile and that wasn’t doing anything for anyone. An actual story with Striker being kidnapped is interesting at least, although it’ll probably wind up being disappointed. That and some pretty good matches made this a good show.

Results
Justin Gabriel b. Curt Hawkins – 450 Splash
Darren Young b. Jimmy Uso – Double Knee Gutbuster
Percy Watson b. Tyler Reks – Persecution
Tyson Kidd b. Michael McGillicutty – Slingshot Rollup

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NXT
Date: March 14, 2012
Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Josh Matthews, William Regal

With this show, half of NXT has been in this season. I can’t believe that. I mean, it feels like we’ve been at that point for years and years. Anyway, Regal is in his second week in power now and hopefully something changes because last week was the same thing as we’ve always had. Tonight’s big match is a mixed tag with Bateman/Kaitlyn vs. Maxine/Curtis. Let’s get to it.

Striker and Regal are in the ring to open the show. Regal is the Official Match Coordinator. Tonight is all tag matches.

Titus O’Neil/Darren Young vs. Usos

The heels make fun of the Siva Tao on their way to the ring. Titus gets beaten down in the corner almost immediately. The Usos double team and use some nice coordination for a corner splash for two on O’Neil. Darren comes in and walks into an uppercut from Jey. Young gets launched over the top in the corner and Jimmy hits a cross body off the apron. Jey takes out Titus and we’re almost in squash territory here.

We take a break and come back with Jimmy and Darren slugging it out, won by Darren. Back to Titus who rams Jimmy into the corner and it’s right back to Darren. The heels double team well enough to send Jimmy into the apron and out to the floor. The beating continues for awhile until Jimmy gets something like a superkick up in the corner to take Young down. There’s the double tag to bring in Titus and Jey. The place erupted for the tag and then just kind of stopped caring. They’ve been hot so far though. Samoan Drop takes down Titus and the Superfly Splash gets the pin at 8:05.

Rating: C. Not bad and I’m sure it won’t lead anywhere for the Usos. They’ve been dominant on this show forever but can’t get a title run because we need to see Kofi and whatever partner he has this week beat the champions but not be able to get the titles. The match was fine though.

Percy Watson and Alex Riley talk about basketball in the back. They have a tag match later tonight. Reks and Hawkins come in and Regal pops up (this was earlier in the day apparently) to make the tag match. If Reks/Hawkins lose, they’re doing Regal’s laundry.

Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks vs. Alex Riley/Percy Watson

Watson starts with Reks but gets caught in the wrong corner. The double teaming allows Reks to take over and Watson is in trouble early. A knee drop gets two. Off to Hawkins and the chinlock. This is a really dull match. Unlike the previous one which built up a hot tag, this has been Reks and Hawkins in control from the star with nothing interesting at all. Watson comes back with a belly to belly throw and there’s the tag to Riley with no pop from the crowd this time. Riley is now the Rare Breed. Oh boy. Riley takes Hawkins down but a distraction from Reks allows Hawkins to slam him off and hit a top rope elbow for the pin at 5:05.

Rating: D. Like I said during the match, this wasn’t interesting at all. Reks and Hawkins are the villains of the show I guess but they’re not doing anything interesting. Granted that’s probably because they lose half of the time and haven’t done anything but be annoying so far. Hopefully Riley and Watson don’t team together that often as they’re not that interesting.

Maxine is leaving a note for Striker when Kaitlyn runs in and rams into her. She’s playing tag with Bateman apparently. Someone canceled Kaitlyn’s flight again but Maxine says she doesn’t know anything about that. Bateman comes in as does Curtis who apparently wants a fourway. In the ring that is. Apparently there really was a game of tag going on.

Here’s Michael McGillicutty in street clothes. On the way to the ring we see a recap of his feud with Kidd. McGillicutty gets on the fans for being pathetic and demands respect. Kidd talking about hanging out with Bret Hart is lame too. No rematch either. Here’s Tyson to talk about how he’s been with the Harts since he was 16. McGillicutty says that no matter what he does, Kidd will never be a Hart. Kidd hits him with the mic and they go to the floor. Tyson tries for a Sharpshooter but Michael runs away. McGillicutty agrees to the rematch.

Raw ReBound makes sure the main event isn’t that long.

Kaitlyn/Derrick Bateman vs. Maxine/Johnny Curtis

Regal says Bateman was raised by nuns. No joke there, just a statement of fact. The girls start and Maxine gets taken down a lot. Apparently that was Regal’s office they were in rather than Striker’s. Maxine is frustrated and we take a break. Back with the guys in there and Curtis taking him to the mat by the leg. Curtis keeps looking at Kaitlyn and dancing for her which results in a Bateman rollup for two. Regal works in an Exotic Adrian Street reference for you old time fans. Kaitlyn slaps Curtis and the falling bulldog gets the pin at 3:32. Since a good bit of that was on a commercial no rating, but this was nothing.

Kaitlyn hugs Bateman’s mom as she leaves.

Bateman says that Maxine can go with whomever she wants, be it Curtis or Regal. Regal: “Wait what?” Bateman says tag, you’re it to Kaitlyn and kisses her to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. So that’s NXT for the week. It ran about 45 minutes, there were three tag matches which weren’t very good, there’s a new couple which we pretty much knew would happen and I won’t think about this show again until next week. That’s all NXT is anymore: 45 minutes of subpar wrestling that I don’t think about after I watch it. Why is this just now a revelation?

Results
Usos b. Titus O’Neil/Darren Young – Superfly Splash to O’Neil
Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks b. Alex Riley/Percy Watson – Top Rope Elbow to Watson
Derrick Bateman/Kaitlyn b. Maxine/Johnny Curtis – Sweetness to Curtis

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NXT
Date: March 7, 2012
Location: Mohegan Sun Casion, Uncasville, Connecticut
Commentators: Josh Matthews, William Regal

This is the real anniversary show as the season debuted on March 8, but as you know something like counting eludes WWE. Anyway, Regal is now in charge as the boss and Striker will continue on as host. The only confirmed match is Titus vs. Watson, which is a match we’ve seen and means that another character’s story is going around in circles. Let’s get to it.

We open with Striker in the ring to remind us that Regal has chosen the matches tonight. Regal gets in the ring to talk about tonight’s show. He confirms the main event we already knew and here’s Maxine. She keeps flirting with him and says she’s looking forward to working underneath him. However Teddy makes Aksana vs….oh sorry wrong show. Anyway it’s Maxine vs. Tamina next.

Maxine vs. Tamina Snuka

Maxine grabs what appears to be an octopus hold but Tamina drops back into a rollup. Tamina chases Maxine to the floor as Josh quotes Spider-Man. Regal goes into another long rant/song/poem that I don’t recognize. He got stuck halfway through it which is understandable. Anyway, Maxine misses a charge and the Samoan Drop sets up the Superfly Splash for the pin at 3:00. Usual Divas match but a bit longer and not as annoying.

Here are Hawkins and Reks with something to say. Hawkins says he should have been made in charge of NXT but it’s Regal instead. Reks says that Regal hasn’t done anything and since he can’t get it done in the ring anymore (just like Striker), they run their mouths and make matches. Regal says if they want to get back in the ring next week, he’s got a job for them. He pulls out some brooms and says that after how they’ve treated the roster, they’ll be whatever Regal wants them to be. Either do it, or they won’t be getting matches. The fans chant at him to do the job. Hasn’t he been doing that for years?

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Johnny Curtis

Yoshi sends him to the floor to start and we take a break with Curtis down on the outside. Back with Yoshi controlling in the ring. They go to the mat and Curtis takes over on the arm. Back up and Curtis suplexes him for two. Josh thinks Maxine likes Regal, because most people in this company don’t get women that are evil anymore. They slug it out to give Curtis a small advantage, but Yoshi avoids a charge and chops away. A hard kick to the chest gets two. A big kick misses and Curtis rams Yoshi’s arm into the buckle. They go to the corner where nothing happens, so Curtis hits a Falcon’s Arrow for the pin at 6:17.

Rating: C-. Not a bad match but Curtis continues to reach new levels of uninteresting. Regal graded Curtis’ performance as an A. I’m not sure I’d agree with that, as Curtis isn’t anything of note in the ring or on the mic. Naturally that makes him perfect to keep on TV right?

Speaking of things that aren’t perfect, McGillicutty is looking at the tape of his win over Kidd last week with Striker. He’s watched it multiple times and Kidd comes up. Kidd has been tweeting his rematch requests and tells McGillicutty to man up. Michael goes after him but takes a knee to the ribs to stop him.

Curtis rubs lotion on himself when Maxine comes up. She says she hates him but play along. Maxine kisses his ear when Bateman comes in. He wants to know where Kaitlyn is but they won’t tell him. There’s a mixed tag next week. Bateman is left alone when Curtis/Reks come up. Bateman leaves so Percy comes up to make unfunny janitor jokes.

Raw ReBound.

Jey Uso vs. Darren Young

All hail the new regime? Jimmy sits in on commentary. Jey controls early on but Young takes over with a powerslam. Backbreaker sets up the slingshot into the bottom rope for two. There’s a body scissors and then Young really gets the crowd going with a reverse chinlock. Jimmy talks about how Samoans love to eat because it’s how their culture celebrates. Regal wants to know if it winds up being a big Samoan fight and of course it does. See, FINALLY someone gets their racial stereotypes right. Jey makes his comeback but the running hip attack misses and Young rolls him up for the pin at 4:41.

Rating: D+. I would love an explanation from a higher up in the WWE as to what they see in Darren Young. There’s nothing about him that makes me want to watch him. His matches aren’t anything of note, his talking basically consists of the same thing 80% of heels say today, and his look is nothing we haven’t seen on a bunch of others. I don’t get it at all.

Percy Watson vs. Titus O’Neil

Percy speeds things up to start but he tries to jump over Titus in the corner but lands on a boot. Titus yells about how he knows the rules and controls with power. Off to an abdominal stretch and then a chinlock. Watson makes his comeback with his usual stuff. The dropkick and backdrop set up the Heisman for two. Clash of the Titus is countered into the Persecution for the pin at 5:13.

Rating: D+. As you could say with all of the matches tonight, it’s not bad but who cares? Josh certainly didn’t. This is the first loss for Titus since his change in attitude and Josh sounded like he was watching an old rerun of Cheers. This is another feud that has lost whatever story it had, so why should I care?

Hawkins and Reks clear the ring and tell Regal that they’re just getting started. Regal is mad to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. How foolish I was to think that something was actually going to change on this show. Regal has done nothing but take the place of Striker. We still have the same boring stories and nothing ever changes. Would a big named guest star once in awhile kill them? They have a huge roster and it wouldn’t hurt to have someone pop in, say they’re fans of NXT and have a match would it? Apparently so, because this show is the ugly step child of WWE. Another bad show, which I really should have expected.

Results
Tamina Snuka b. Maxine – Superfly Splash
Johnny Curtis b. Yoshi Tatsu – Falcon’s Arrow
Darren Young b. Jey Uso – Rollup
Percy Watson b. Titus O’Neil – Persecution

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NXT
Date: February 29, 2012
Location: Key Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Josh Matthews, William Regal

It’s the one year anniversary show, despite the season not being on the air for a year yet but again, counting is probably too complicated for WWE. Striker has promised us a major announcement tonight which probably won’t wind up meaning much of anything because this is NXT, the land of crushed and broken dreams. Let’s get to it.

Alex Riley/Percy Watson vs. Darren Young/Titus O’Neil

Titus starts with Riley and the beating begins. Riley gets in a dropkick and it’s off to Young. Alex takes him down but goes up and is kicked down to give Young the advantage. Things slow down a lot with Titus taking over and saying that he has five. Riley tries to dive for a tag but Titus carries him back to the corner to bring in Young again.

Atomic drop gets two and it’s off to a chinlock with a body scissors. Riley manages to get a kick into the face of a bent over Young and tags in Watson. Watson speeds things up and hits the Heisman Splash for two. Watson goes after Titus though and walks into the double knee gutbuster from Young for the pin at 5:46.

Rating: D+. Technically this was fine but this feud has been going on forever. While they’ve done a good job of having it evolve over the months with logical step after logical step, it’s still not an interesting feud. Again, this would be so much better if they had something to fight for other than just pride.

Titus says Percy gets his rematch next week.

Back from a break and we have Alicia, Kaitlyn and Justin Gabriel in the ring in chairs. It’s supposed to be Bateman vs. Slater at this point. Apparently this is an intervention. Oh dear. They’re intervening about 5’5 of pure evil. Bateman: “You mean Trent Barretta?” They talk about how crazy Maxine is and how she beats up random rew members and makes everyone miserable. Kaitlyn set this up. This is being booed out of the building.

We get a highlight package of Maxine and Bateman’s relationship, including the whole engagement and the Johnny Curtis stuff. Bateman says she’s a lot better at home and he doesn’t want to die alone. Kaitlyn says that constantly getting slapped in the face is weird, not love. He asks Kaitlyn what love is then, so she bends him back and kisses him. Maxine runs out and gets in a fight with Kaitlyn which is quickly broken up. Maxine beats on Bateman and the girls are in the main event tonight.

Tyson and Natalya run into each other in the back. McGillicutty comes up and says something smells around here but it’s not Natalya. They’re up next.

Michael McGillicutty vs. Tyson Kidd

They go tot he mat and Michael controls with a quick headlock. Regal talks about Tiger Mask as Tyson hooks a hammerlock. Michael works on the wrist but Kidd reverses into a cradle for two. McGillicutty sends him into the corner and out to the floor for the first big advantage. Off to a chinlock with McGillicutty having a way too excited look on his face. Back up and Kidd gets up a boot in the corner and they clothesline each other.

Kidd starts firing off some hard strikes and a jumping spin kick gets two. Rolling cradle gets two. Kidd goes up but gets crotched. He knocks McGillicutty off and hits a moonsault press for two. Kidd loads up the Sharpshooter but McGillicutty kicks him away and the McGillicutter gets the pin at 6:22. McGillicutty’s face looks like it belongs in a Will Ferrell movie.

Rating: C. Why did that just happen? They’ve been pushing Kidd very strong the last few weeks and now he loses clean to Michael McGillicutty? For what? Was Kidd getting too over or something? I really don’t get this, especially after the last few weeks where they’ve had Kidd being Bret-esque with the Sharpshooter combinations. Then again it’s NXT so it’s not like anyone is paying attention.

Raw ReBound is about Rock and Cena of course.

Maxine is freaking out in the back and runs into Aksana. Maxine says everyone is plotting against her and she thinks even Aksana is in on it. Anyone that crosses Maxine will regret it.

Striker is in the ring for his major announcement, drawing a Regal chant. He talks about all the ring announcers and commentators and the thirty new superstars they’ve added. He does know that NXT has been around two years and that this season has been a year right? However there’s only been one host. He’s got this job because he loves this stuff. NXT was supposed to be about exposing the unseen because the guys in that locker room are carrying the business into the future. Yep the business is dead.

Anyway, lately NXT has been missing its point and that’s because of Striker. Tonight that changes….and here are Hawkins and Reks to interrupt. They have a surprise for Striker and they pull out chairs and drinks because they want to see this. Striker finally yells at Curt to shut up. He tells Hawkins to come try him if he wants to. Someone with veteran experience needs to take over. Someone that has worked his entire career so that Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks can be called wrestlers. Striker will still be host but the matchmaker is now Sir William Regal.

Regal gets in the ring and says that there are going to be some new people coming to NXT to face Hawkins and Reks. As for them, why are they wearing sunglasses inside? This is the beginning of the new NXT and their first surprise is next week.

Kaitlyn vs. Maxine

Bateman and Curtis are on commentary for this. Curtis rubs lotion on his chest. He says that Maxine is in his back pocket for whenever he wants to pull her out. Brawl to start and Regal says he’s very open to bribes. Kaitlyn books a body scissors for a bit but Maxine takes over with basic stuff. A running double ax gets two. Maxine beats on her a little more until Kaitlyn hits a Bubba Bomb and a rollup for the pin at 3:21.

Rating: D. As usual this was boring. These girls hate each other but always have coherent wrestling matches instead of wild brawls. That’s one of those wrestling things I’ve never quite gotten. Anyway, dull match and the ending came out of nowhere. It is nice to see something other than a mat slam of some sort for a new finisher though.

Maxine gets in Regal’s face and says she looks forward to working closely with him.

Overall Rating: C-. I wasn’t all that thrilled with this show but it wasn’t terrible. Regal taking over could be a good thing but if he just does the same things Striker did, this isn’t going anywhere. I’ve been saying it for months but this show is desperately in need of some fresh blood or at least some fresh faces. Also, end the whole Bateman/Curtis/Maxine stuff. It’s been going on for months now and it’s still going around in circles. Not a bad show tonight but this glimmer of hope needs to go somewhere.

Results
Darren Young/Titus O’Neil b. Alex Riley/Percy Watson – Double Knee Gutbuster To Watson
Michael McGillicutty b. Tyson Kidd – McGillicutter
Kaitlyn b. Maxine – Bubba Bomb

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NXT
Date: February 22, 2012
Location: BMO Harris Bank Center, Rockford, Illinois
Commentators: Josh Matthews, William Regal

This show still isn’t up on WWE.com and I had to find it on Youtube. Apparently if you watch it on here, they cut out all the commercials and the show is about 12 minutes shorter. I think I could get used to this. Anyway this is the 51st episode of this season, making next week a milestone in its own right. Let’s get to it.

We open with Striker in the ring but he’s quickly cut off by Hawkins and Reks. Let me guess: they want more time. Hawkins has the Obama shirt on still and complains about being put in an impromptu match last week. Tyson Kidd comes out to interrupt and talks about how the fans want to see high impact fast paced offense. Reks and Hawkins can’t even get into the main event properly. Reks says the two of them are the future. Striker has authority back apparently and here’s a match.

Tyson Kidd vs. Tyler Reks

Reks takes him to the mat and grabs the wrist. Hawkins tries to cheat and is thrown out. Kidd dives on both of them and we take a break. Back with Kidd missing a charge into the corner and off to a double underhook. The match just dies with Reks in control. He ducks his head and Kidd gets a kick to the face to get some momentum. He loads up a sunset flip but winds up backdropping Reks to the floor. A running knee from the apron puts Reks down again. Springboard missile dropkick gets two.

Reks comes back and hits a reverse fallaway slam for two. Tyler goes up top but Kidd runs up to try a superplex. Kidd gets knocked off but he hits a kick to slow Reks down. Tyson goes up again but gets caught in a fireman’s carry while Reks is on the ropes. He drops Kidd ribs first onto the buckle for two. In another homage to Bret, Reks drops a leg between Kidd’s legs but Tyson grabs the foot ala Summerslam 1991. He pulls Reks into the Sharpshooter for the tap out at 8:36 shown.

Rating: C+. Quick summary of this match: Reks boring, Kidd good. The problem is that Kidd isn’t going to get a serious push on either show because he’s too small and there isn’t room for him on Raw or Smackdown. I’m all for him getting a push though, especially if he’s getting time like he has for the last two weeks. Reks is just bad though.

Maxine yells at Bateman who is wearing an American Psycho t-shirt. She’s going to find a way off this show. Maxine walks off and Bateman runs into Kaitlyn. Bateman wants to have fun and go win the Intercontinental Title. Please, give me another Godfather reign before that. They have an awkward moment where they’re friends that accidentally flirt. Bateman leaves and Curtis comes in to be creepy. She knees him in the groin and leaves. Good grief get some better actors please.

Striker is playing the guitar when Kaitlyn comes in. She thinks he’s doing a great job and would like a rematch with Maxine. Maxine comes in and they act all catty with each other. Maxine wants to get out of NXT because she can’t be around Kaitlyn anymore. I think the end result is the rematch Kaitlyn wanted.

We get hopefully the only Raw recap video on here: Eve’s saga with Cena.

Kidd is on the phone with someone that needs to get back on NXT. Apparently it’s Barretta. McGillicutty comes in and says he drove six hours to get here and he doesn’t have a match. He talks to Kidd and says that Kidd will never be one of them because he’s not a second generation guy. A match is made for next week.

Titus O’Neil vs. Alex Riley

Young is on commentary here. Titus clotheslines him down and starts a Let’s Go A-Ri chant. Riley gets up and O’Neil bails for a bit. He ducks his head though and Riley is sent to the floor. Percy comes out to stop Young from interfering. Riley is rammed into the table and we take a break. Back with Riley in a chinlock as Watson and Young get in an argument. Riley makes his comeback but when he tries ten punches in the corner, Titus powerbombs him out and puts his feet on the ropes for the pin at 4:56 shown.

Rating: C-. Better match here for the most part and I’m starting to buy O’Neil as a heel. However, I’d like to see him use his power more. I’m not saying make him the bald Mark Henry, but use it some. Being the guy who acts the same way but cheats to win instead of doing it through sheer skill is a nice change of pace though.

Striker pops up on screen and says next week is the one year anniversary of NXT. Actually it’s the 52nd episode so the anniversary would be the next week but WWE has never been good at complicated things like calendars. Next week there’s going to be a huge announcement that will effect everyone on NXT. I won’t hold my breath on that.

Don’t be a bully! That ends the show.

Overall Rating: C. Well despite Regal not having power anymore, I’m somewhat intrigued by what might be coming from this announcement. There are a bunch of things that could make NXT a lot more interesting, from an NXT Championship to some new faces to someone actually being eliminated to ANYTHING to fight for other than pride. Good show this week as things seem to be shaking up a little bit.

Results
Tyson Kidd b. Tyler Reks – Sharpshooter
Titus O’Neil b. Alex Riley – Pinned Riley after a powerbomb with his feet on the ropes

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NXT
Date: February 15, 2012
Location: Save Mart Center, Fresno, California
Commentators: Josh Matthews, William Regal

Fifty shows. We’ve somehow hit FIFTY shows. There have been 104 shows in the history of NXT and nearly half of them have been in this season. Anyway, nothing of note has been happening lately as the rookies (can you be classified as a rookie in your second year on the show?) have been losing more lately other than Titus. Oh and Hawkins/Reks beat up Striker last week. Let’s get to it.

Here are Hawkins and Reks to open the show. Hawkins says it should have been their moment but instead it wasn’t. Reks says they should be on the main shows instead of begging for matches here. Hawkins runs down Striker and wants to know what a host does around here. The NXT roster is full of talented superstars so it needs change. He pulls back his vest and reveals an Obama style shirt.

Here’s Striker who says this is all ridiculous. He’s given everyone a chance to shine. Hawkins says come here and say that but Striker says he isn’t as stupid as Hawkins looks. Striker has called an old friend to help him. Call him a substitute if you will. And it’s Regal. Regal is now in charge of things, at least for tonight. Hawkins has a match right now and Reks is banned from ringside. Reks: “Why me?” Regal: “I don’t like you you scruffy thing. Go and have a bath or something.”

Curt Hawkins vs. Tyson Kidd

Awesome sequence to start as Hawkins throws him over the top but Kidd skins the cat. Hawkins slides under him and Kidd teases a dive. He lands on the apron and runs to the post, jumps around it and catches Hawkins in a hurricanrana. That looked great. Kidd is looking more muscular now. Hawkins rams him into the apron and we take a break.

Back with Hawkins getting two off a suplex. Hawkins is wrestling in the shirt which is a better look for him. Hawkins works on a chinlock which is broken pretty quickly. Kidd fires off some kicks and sends Hawkins to the outside. Tyson hits a slingshot dropkick and a running knee smash off the apron which gets two back inside. Hawkins counters what looked like a suplex into an inverted DDT for two.

Kidd goes to the apron and tries a sunset flip but spins in mid-air to land in a reverse victory roll for two. He tries a Rocker Dropper but Hawkins suplexes out of it which also gets two. We go to the corner and Kidd fights out of a superplex attempt. In a great and subtle move, Kidd uses a victory roll (ala Bret, who Regal said Kidd had been training with) into the Sharpshooter for the submission at 7:37.

Rating: B. I really liked this match and it was very entertaining. When you give young and talented guys some time, this is what you can get. I loved the victory roll part at the end with the Bret nod, which is a fine lesson in what an announcer can do. Regal set that up and the ending to the match paid it off. Perfect.

Titus O’Neil vs. Yoshi Tatsu

The way the announcers are talking, Regal is permanent boss. The power controls to start this power vs. speed match. Titus yells at Yoshi that no one cares about Yoshi because it’s all about Titus. Yoshi takes more punishment but avoids a charge in the corner and fires off some kicks. A running knee to the chest gets two. Not that it matters as Titus hits him in the back and a very good Clash of the Titus gets the pin at 3:22.

Rating: C. This was Titus’ best performance as a heel so far. The Clash looked great and he had some mannerisms that would make you believe he was a jerk instead of the same guy but frowning like he’s been for the last few weeks. I could get into the idea of Regal sending guy after guy to fight him until it’s Regal himself in a big match.

Titus yells at Regal that he wants competition in the form of Alex Riley. Here’s Riley who says he’ll come say it to Titus’ face. Alex says let’s do it right now and Titus rolls to the floor to escape.

Alicia and Kaitlyn want Bateman and Maxine to break up. Kaitlyn insists they’re just friends. Curtis comes up to hit on them. A guy with flowers and candy comes up after the girls leave saying he’s looking for Bateman. Curtis says that’s him and there’s a card for Maxine. He says it’s like stealing candy from a Bateman.

Percy Watson vs. Michael McGillicutty

McGillicutty has a big beard now. Michael takes him to the mat to start but Percy nips up. I don’t think the crowd knows who Michael is. Whoever he is he hooks a quick chinlock and Percy is in trouble. Percy comes back with a modified version of the spinning DDT Rock did when he was Rocky Maivia. A dropkick and clothesline put Michael down but the Heisman lands on knees. Not that it matters as Persecution ends this at 4:02.

Rating: D+. The announcers build this up as some huge victory but both of these guys lost on their season of NXT. To be fair though, McGillicutty has had some success in the WWE while Watson has been on NXT the entire time. Not a terrible match but Watson needs something to do other than just being athletic.

Maxine finds a box of chocolates addressed to Kaitlyn and signed by Derrick. She isn’t happy.

Raw ReBound is about Cena/Kane/Ryder.

Kaitlyn is on commentary for this.

Derrick Bateman/Justin Gabriel vs. Heath Slater/Johnny Curtis

Kaitlyn says that she and Bateman watch Full House together. Justin and Curtis start off and Curtis is kicked to the outside. Bateman dives on Curtis and we take a break. Back with Slater working on Justin’s knees. Apparently Curtis has been asking Regal if he was breastfed. Ok then. Curtis works over the knees as Regal hits on Kaitlyn. Justin gets two off a quick rollup. There’s the hot tag to Bateman and he cleans house. Everything breaks down and the falling bulldog (the Sweet Meat Sizzler according to Kaitlyn) gets the pin on Slater at 5:37.

Rating: D. Very uninteresting match here and that’s the problem with the main event stuff (if you can call it that) on this show: it’s BORING. Bateman and Curtis have a good story going with Maxine and Kaitlyn but they’re so terribly uninteresting and bad at acting that there’s nothing that makes me care about this at all. That’s a big problem, or at least it would be if more than 5 people watched this show.

Post match Maxine comes out and hits Kaitlyn with the chocolates. She rams Kaitlyn into the barricade and Bateman tries to stop her so she shoves him too. Bateman carries Maxine out as Curtis smiles.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a good episode for the most part. With the new directions the show has been going in there’s an improvement and that’s helped a lot. However as I said above, Bateman and Curtis are less interesting than dried paint. When you have hot women fighting and you can’t make the guys they’re fighting over interesting, there’s something wrong with them. Good ideas, not the best execution this week.

Results
Tyson Kidd b. Curt Hawkins – Sharpshooter
Titus O’Neil b. Yoshi Tatsu – Clash of the Titus
Percy Watson b. Michael McGillicutty – Persecution
Derrick Bateman/Justin Gabriel b. Heath Slater/Johnny Curtis – Sweet Meat Sizzler to Slater

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NXT
Date: February 8, 2012
Location: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Commentators: William Regal, Josh Matthews

Here we are again. I really don’t know what to talk about here other than Young and Titus seem to have formed a new alliance after hating each other for so long. I don’t know how well Titus’ heel turn is going yet because he doesn’t have anything to gain. I’m sure nothing will change here because that’s how this show works. We’re at a month away from this being running for a year. Let’s get to it.

We are Wild And Young and feel the need to sing about it.

Striker opens the show and tells us that there are four matches tonight, including the Usos vs. Hawkins/Reks. You know, to freshen things up a bit.

Derrick Bateman vs. Heath Slater

Bateman takes over to start but misses a corner charge. Regal talks about punching a homeless man as Slater punches him down. A leg lariat puts Bateman down and it’s off to a chinlock. Bateman fights up and hits something like a modified STO for two. A flip neckbreaker like the one John Morrison used to use gets the same. Slater pops up and hits his running spinning sleeper drop for the pin at 3:27. That needs a bad name.

Rating: D. This didn’t click at all for me as there was a severe lack of selling. Granted at the same time it’s Heath Slater vs. Derrick Bateman in a match that runs three and a half minutes so how good was it possibly going to be? Bateman’s stock somehow manages to fall even further, which I didn’t think was possible.

Percy Watson vs. Darren Young

Titus is on commentary. Percy starts out fast and takes him down where he stomps away on the ribs. They go to the floor and Percy gets caught in the ring skirt. Back in a swinging neckbreaker gets two for Darren and it’s off to a body scissors. Titus goes on a rant about how no one has done anything for him so he’s controlling his own destiny. Young charges at Watson in the corner but Percy moves, sending Young chest first into the buckle. The Heisman (spinning splash) gets two and the Persecution gets the pin at 4:24.

Rating: D+. Better match but it still wasn’t anything great. This was more about furthering Percy vs. Titus post match which is a much more interesting feud. Titus turning is fine, but like I’ve said many times, it doesn’t mean anything without there being something for him to win. At least it wasn’t Slater though.

Titus gets in the ring and tells Percy that when Titus attacks him, Percy will know it.

Johnny Curtis hits on Kaitlyn and implies that Bateman has a crush on her.

Trent Barretta vs. Tyson Kidd

Yes please. They run the ropes a bit with Kidd hitting an elbow to the face to take over. Trent knocks him off the apron and they head to the floor. Whisper in the Wind off the barricade takes Kidd down but he goes down as well. Back in the ring Kidd comes off the top but jumps into a dropkick which gets two for Trent. Kidd charges in the corner but Trent gets up two knees to take him down.

He tries what looks like a one legged Codebreaker but Kidd counters into a Sharpshooter attempt. That’s countered as well but Kidd kicks his head off and a release German gets two. These kickouts and counters are getting good. Trent gets in a shot to take Kidd down and heads up. A missile dropkick gets two and Barretta is getting frustrated. They go into a pinfall reversal sequence and Kidd hooks him into a sunset flip for the pin at 5:22.

Rating: C+. These guys are very fun at what they do but they’re stuck here on NXT so that we can see guys like Jinder Mahal on Smackdown. Kidd used to be my favorite guy on this show and I wish he’d get more time to showcase his stuff because he really is fun to watch when he gets more than a few minutes.

Kidd helps Trent up post match which is a different style for him.

Kaitlyn goes up to Bateman in the back and Maxine comes in to yell about the loss earlier. There’s a match set up. Curtis can be seen watching in the back as the girls argue.

Kaitlyn vs. Maxine

Regal goes into a LONG rant which almost has to be a song lyric or a poem. He literally talks for 34 seconds and says that’s what Maxine said. It ended with what sounded like “shoplifters of the world unite.” From what I can find that’s a song by The Smiths. Kaitlyn drops a leg and Regal says her legs could crack walnuts for him at Christmas. Maxine hooks a dragon sleeper to slow things down. Kaitlyn comes back with some knees and the worst cross body ever, due to a lack of jumping. Maxine wins with a crucifix at 2:59. This was your usual NXT Divas match.

Video on the Chamber which I think is the same one from Raw.

Trent is getting out of his gear in the back when Kidd comes up and says Trent has earned his respect. Kidd proposes a tag team and asks Trent to think about it. Can we please get an NXT Tag Title already? In this case there actually is a division for it.

Usos vs. Tyler Reks/Curt Hawkins

Curt and let’s say Jey start us off. Hawkins takes him down a few times but walks into a northern lights for two. Off to Jimmy vs. Reks as the Usos do their “I say Us, you say O” thing which gets a reaction as it always does. Hawkins is sent to the floor and the Usos double team to dive onto Hawkins. Reks and Hawkins use a nice misdirection move to get a boot to Jey’s head and we take a break.

Back with Reks hooking Jey in a chinlock and then hitting a boot for two. Back to Hawkins and things slow way down. Reks and Hawkins are very uninteresting in the ring and they slow matches down so much when they’re in there. Reks and Hawkins double team even more but Jey blocks a charge in the corner with a boot.

Hawkins gets Reks back in again though and Jey gets pounded on even more. The heels tag again and it’s back to Curt for a chinlock. Jey takes him down and brings in Jimmy. Everything breaks down and Jimmy escapes the spinning Rack neckbreaker. He gets shoved into a cane shot by Hawkins and Reks gets a rollup pin at 7:29.

Rating: C. The problem with this is the same as the problem with most of the feuds on this show: we’ve seen it so many times that there’s no point in watching them anymore. This might have been the first time that Reks and Hawkins have beaten them, but does it really matter after they’ve lost about four or five times in a row?

Striker runs out to report the cane shot (why doesn’t this happen more often?) and Hawkins drops him with a right hand.

Overall Rating: B-. This show flew by and in a good way. A lot of new stories were started tonight and it was like there was a brand new writer for it, which shakes thing up a lot which is what this show has needed for a very long time. I’m actually looking forward to this show now because there’s something new to see, which is the best thing that could have happened on NXT.

Results
Heath Slater b. Derrick Bateman – Spinning Sleeper Mat Slam
Percy Watson b. Darren Young – Persecution
Tyson Kidd b. Trent Barretta – Sunset flip
Maxine b. Kaitlyn – Crucifix
Tyler Reks/Curt Hawkins b. The Usos – Rollup to Jimmy after a cane shot from Hawkins

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