NXT
Date: March 27, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, William Regal, Jim Ross

After last week’s Wyatt Family heavy show, the odds are that we’ll be seeing something new this week. That’s one of the good things about NXT: they keep things fresh every week while still keeping something from the previous week going. Granted it helped to have only an hour per week to fill in. Let’s get to it.

We open with the I’m Coming Home video for Mania.

Welcome Home.

The idea tonight is a Road to Wrestlemania special. We even have The Fink doing the announcing. Nothing wrong with that.

Divas Title: Natalya vs. Katilyn

Kaitlyn grabs a go-behind to start but Natalya takes it to the mat to crank on the leg a bit. Tonight’s main event is Orton vs. Sandow. That doesn’t like like a very NXT kind of show. Natalya shoves her down but gets caught in a jackknife cover for two. We get the always cool looking bridge up into a backslide for two on Kaitlyn followed by a failed Sharpshooter attempt.

Natalya misses a discus lariat but settles for a snap suplex for two. Off to an abdominal stretch by Natalya and we take a break. Back with Kaitlyn reversing into a bad abdominal stretch of her own. After that gets reversed, Kaitlyn runs over Natalya and hits the fireman’s carry gutbuster for two. Natalya comes back with a quick Sharpshooter out of nowhere but Kaitlyn powers out of it. Back up and the spear out of nowhere ends Natalya at around 7:00.

Rating: D. This match shows how big the difference is between the NXT Divas and the WWE Divas. This was the same plodding and boring Divas match I’ve seen a hundred times in the last few years on the main shows. There was nothing to see here at all and the match was several rungs below what the NXT girls usually do.

Alberto Del Rio says he’s ready for Swagger and “the guy from Jumanji”. Del Rio says he was born in Mexico but made in America.

Brodus Clay vs. El Local

Local is Ricardo Rodriquez under a mask. Brodus easily throws him around to start and even gets two off a jackknife cover. Local goes after the knee in a smart move but can only get two. Brodus has enough of the selling and runs over Local before suplexing him down. A splash in the corner sets up a regular splash for the pin at 2:00. Literally a squash but Local got in a few shots.

The Raw ReBound is about Punk and Undertaker, which is short in the first place so you know the recap is quick.

Shield says they’ll be fighting and winning for justice on Wrestlemania Sunday. They talk about starting a new revolution after winning.

Cena talks about Wrestlemania and how big of a deal it is. Last year he had to win but failed, so now the pressure is on Rock. It’s Rock’s first title defense (second but whatever) and it might be the first time that Rock fails at something in his life. In about two minutes here, Cena said April 7 eight times.

We go to the announcers and Kassius Ohno appears and destroys Regal.

Randy Orton vs. Damien Sandow

Orton grabs a headlock to start but Sandow grabs one of his own. A back elbow to the face puts Sandow down and there’s a stomp to the face. Damien comes back with some shots in the corner but Orton hits the Thesz Press to take over again. Sandow bails to the floor and gets taken down by a clothesline as we take a break. Back with Orton stomping away but Damien comes back with a quick elbow and some stomps of his own.

The Elevated DDT is countered and we head to the floor where Orton is sent into the steps. Off to the chinlock back inside followed by the Russian legsweep and the Wind-Up Elbow for two. Orton fights back with right hands and a superplex for a delayed two. The powerslam puts Damien down but he gets a boot up in the corner followed by a neckbreaker for two. Randy comes right back with the Elevated DDT and the RKO finishes at 9:30 shown of 12:00.

Rating: C-. This was the same dull match you would see between these two at any given Raw or Smackdown or even a house show. Sandow got in his usual stuff and Orton shrugged it off as you would expect it to. Nothing to see here but I guess for an NXT main event this was ok enough.

Overall Rating: D. Bad to boring matches, a single bit of angle advancement, and a bunch of talk about Wrestlemania which we get on Raw and Smackdown every single week. This is FAR less interesting than what we get during the regular shows and for once, this show was a chore to sit through. Bad show this week and that’s because it was full of the main roster guys.

Results

Kaitlyn b. Natalya – Spear

Brodus Clay b. El Local – Splash

Randy Orton b. Damien Sandow – RKO

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: March 20, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, William Regal

Last week’s show was about building for the future, so hopefully we get what the stuff that was being built to this week. The main stories are the Wyatt Family vs. Bo Dallas and the tag champions and Langston vs. O’Brian which should be a good match when we get around to it. I love how they make us wait around here. It’s like the old days when they didn’t have PPVs every month to build to and things can flow more naturally. Let’s get to it.

The opening video recaps the Family vs. Neville and Gray and sets up Neville vs. Family member Luke Harper tonight.

Justin Gabriel vs. Leo Kruger

This was set up by a Gabriel challenge last week. Feeling out process to start with both guys shoving the other into the corner. Kruger gets the first control with a headlock before Gabriel grabs one of his own. Back up and Kruger shoves him down before driving an elbow into Gabriel’s neck. We take a break and come back with Leo still in control, this time via a hammerlock.

Justin fights up for a few seconds but is driven right back down by the hammerlock. He escapes again but they ram heads to put both guys down. Back up and they slug it out by exchanging forearms until Gabriel takes over with a series of right hands. A big spinebuster gets two for Kruger but as he goes for an arm hold of some kind, Gabriel suplexes him down to get a breather.

Gabriel goes to the middle rope for a kind of jumping mule kick for two followed by a HARD kick to the chest. Justin is consistently selling the arm work from earlier which is a very nice thing to see. A big spinning kick to the head of a kneeling Kruger gets another two count as does a sunset flip.

Gabriel plants him down but Leo rolls away before the 450 can be launched. Kruger goes old school villain with a thumb to the eye before draping the bad arm over the top rope. A seated armbar has Gabriel in trouble but somehow he crawls over to the ropes. Kruger hits a kind of Stroke onto the arm before putting the armbar back on and that’s good enough for the tap at 9:56 shown of 13:26.

Rating: B. I really liked this match as they had a great story going out there. Gabriel sold the arm the entire way through the match which was really nice to see. Kruger continues to impress me and having him as a crazy man who was driven over the edge by his time in the South African militia is a fine character. Good stuff here.

Audrey Marie says it’s always the calmest before the storm because Sasha knows Audrey is gunning for her.

We recap the ending segment from Raw.

William Regal is in the ring with something to say. He calls out Kassius Ohno who comes out in a shirt which says fighting spirit. Regal says whatever their issue is, it isn’t worth it because Ohno doesn’t want to end up like Regal is. William offers an apology and a handshake but Ohno won’t shake it. Ohno talks about growing up idolizing Regal and traveling with CM Punk to attend a camp Regal held to learn from him. During Kassius’ time in Europe, Regal was a mentor to him and made sure the right people saw Ohno’s footage which was his foot in the door to the WWE.

Now though, Regal is on the downside of his career and it’s not a career that Kassius wants. Ohno wants to know what Regal has accomplished in this industry because he used to be an amazing villain, but now he tries to laugh with the people, but the people are really laughing at him. All anyone is going to remember is Regal bending down to kiss Vince, and that’s enough for Regal to shove Ohno down.

We look at Punk and Undertaker’s segment from Raw.

Bayley vs. Paige

Bayley is some new chick here apparently. Paige easily throws her down to start and gets a rollup for two. Off to an armbar by Bayley for a minute or so before Paige fights up and screams a lot. Paige whips her into the corner and trips her down so a kneeling Texas Cloverleaf can make Bayley submit at 2:23.

Post match Summer Rae runs out to the ring but Paige stares at her to send Summer backpedaling.

Adrian Neville vs. Luke Harper

We finally learn something new about the Family: Harper is from Rochester, New York. Harper lands a STIFF right hand to take over early but Neville charges right at him, only to be dropped with a hot shot for two. We take an early break and come back with Harper headbutting Neville down and crawling on the mat to hook a chinlock. A kick to the head and an elbow drop get two for Luke and it’s off to an over the shoulder backbreaker.

Harper clotheslines Adrian’s head off and gets five straight two counts. Luke looks to Wyatt for inspiration, allowing Neville to fire off some forearms to get himself a breather. A running forearm staggers Harper and a kick to the head from the apron staggers him a bit more. There’s a missile dropkick for two but Neville has to dive on Erick Rowan who was approaching the ring. Harper heads outside as well and there’s a top rope Asai Moonsault to take him down as well. Back in and a spinning DDT puts Luke down but Wyatt himself distracts Neville, allowing Harper to hit a discus lariat for the pin at 7:33 shown of 11:03.

Rating: C+. I was digging this match with the David vs. Goliath formula working the entire way through. The ending is good too as Harper winning gives the Family a reason to get another shot at the titles but Neville only lost because he was at a 3-1 disadvantage. Good match here and a solid main event.

Post match Oliver Gray comes out to save his partner which makes you wonder where he was during the match. Bo Dallas comes out to make it 3-3 and the Wyatt Family is cleared out to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. NXT just works. The matches are good, the promos are good, the stories are interesting, the show never drags, the commentators actually talk about what is going on in the NXT world and I want to see what happens next. What more can you possibly ask for than that? The main event sets up a nice six man tag and we have the title match to look forward to also. Another good show this week.

Results

Leo Kruger b. Justin Gabriel – Seated Armbar

Paige b. Bayley – Kneeling Texas Cloverleaf

Luke Harper b. Adrian Neville – Discus Lariat

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: March 13, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, William Regal

We have a #1 contender now with O’Brian winning the triple threat last week. On top of that we had a lot of storyline development as Bo Dallas seems to be going to war against the Wyatt Family. Last week was all about setting up the future shows which should make for some entertaining TV today. Let’s get to it.

Kassius Ohno vs. Derrick Bateman

Regal on Bateman: “If brains were elastic he wouldn’t have enough to make a frog’s jockstrap.” Bateman quickly takes him down with an armdrag before hooking an armbar. Apparently Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo are here tonight. Bateman chops away as Regal is very focued on Ohno here. This is Derrick’s return from a knee injury. Ohno is sent into the corner and slammed down for two. Almost all Bateman in the early going.

Kassius is sent to the apron where he hits a cravate Stunner onto the top rope. A running boot to Bateman’s jaw puts him down and Ohno drops a pair of sentons for two. Back to the cravate on Bateman but Derrick makes his comeback with some clotheslines and shots to the face. He loads up the falling bulldog but Ohno shoves him off because it’s too stupid of a move to sell. Kassius kicks him in the face for the pin at 4:20.

Rating: D+. Neither of these guys are anything of note and the fans weren’t impressed either. Bateman is back from an injury but this everyman gimmick does nothing for me. I still don’t get the appeal of Ohno, at least not in this gimmick. As best I can tell he’s supposed to be a ruthless striker but his signature move is a cravate. His character isn’t working for me and doesn’t seem to be for the crowd either.

Post match Ohno puts Bateman in an STF with a cravate headlock until Regal makes the save. These two need to fight already.

Bo Dallas says Bray Wyatt has his attention after Wyatt cost him both the tag team and NXT Titles.

Regal apologizes for what he did.

Emma vs. Summer Rae

Emma is the bad dancing klutz. A quick rollup gets two for Emma and Rae is frustrated. Wait, dance time. Rae is knocked into the corner for a cross body but she comes back with a snapmare to send Emma’s leg into the ropes. We’re told it’s Dallas vs. Wyatt later tonight as Summer stays on the leg. Summer goes VERY old school with an Indian Deathlock (the version with both girls on their backs) before choking Emma with her long legs. Back up and a dropkick puts Emma down before Rae does Paige’s scream. Emma comes back with a clothesline for two, only to be caught by a bad spinwheel kick to give Rae the pin at 3:51.

Rating: D+. Summer looks good in the outfits and has a lot of Maryse in her with the blonde bombshell look, but her stuff in the ring isn’t all that great. She’s a good enough antagonist though and beating up a goofy character like Emma here was a decent enough idea. They’re just waiting on Paige to come back for the revenge though.

Apparently that revenge is right now because here’s Paige to chase off Summer. The place went NUTS for Paige.

We recap Oliver Grey being laid out by the Wyatt Family last week.

Adrian Neville issues an open challenge to any member of the Family for next week.

Big E. Langston says that last week Conor O’Brian defeated two men to earn his title shot. However, this is Langston’s first defense, so he’s going to make sure it’s dominant, destructive and delicious.

Bray Wyatt vs. Bo Dallas

Wyatt talks about how in his world there are no distractions and no communication. The women take care of the young and the men aren’t afraid to make the ultimate sacrifice to protect what is theirs. He wants to know how far Dallas is willing to go to get what he wants. Wyatt takes him into the corner but then hides from a right hand. Bray starts to laugh at Dallas (his real life younger brother if you’re not familiar with your family trees) before hooking a headlock.

Dallas tries a headlock of his own but Wyatt hits a hard cross body for two. We take a break and come back with Dallas in a chinlock. Back up and Bo is whipped hard into the corner and a slam gets two for Bray. In a unique submission hold, Wyatt sits on Dallas’ ribs and pulls back on his head in a kind of reverse camel clutch. Dallas gets up again and tries a sunset flip but Bray drops down, only to hit the mat. The look on his face from missing is great as he looks like he was shot.

Bo starts his comeback with a forearm but gets caught in a big release Rock Bottom for two. A big splash in the corner crushes Bo and it’s time to dance with Dallas’ limp body. He dances a bit too long though and it allows Dallas to come out of it with a belly to belly suplex for the pin at 6:21 shown of 9:51.

Rating: C. This wasn’t much and I’m not sure on having Wyatt lose in I believe his third singles match. Dallas has flashes of good stuff but for the most part he still doesn’t do much for me. I like the belly to belly FAR better for him than the spear though, as a guy that size has no business using the same move that Goldberg or Roman Reigns uses.

Post match here’s the Wyatt Family to destroy Dallas as Wyatt laughs. Dallas makes a comeback and beats them both up, only to be caught in Bray’s Downward Spiral.

Justin Gabriel says he’s heard of Leo Kruger before. Back when Gabriel lived in South Africa he heard of Kruger being in the South African militia and apparently it messed with his head. Gabriel wants a match with Leo next week.

Here are Ricardo and Alberto to a very nice ovation. Del Rio does his old bit of “My name is Alberto Del Rio” which draws a small SI chant. He says he’s the new world champion here so this must be an old show. Del Rio talks about how there’s a lot of talent in the back and someone back there will be WWE or World Heavyweight Champion someday. Instead of a new superstar though, here’s Antonio Cesaro to challenge Del Rio to a champion vs. champion match. This brings out Dusty Rhodes who says that the Swedish guy in the ring doesn’t make matches. Cesaro can have a champion vs. champion match, but against this guy.

Big E. Langston vs. Antonio Cesaro

Non-title here. Langston shoves him down and we’re ready to go. We take a break before there’s any contact (why not just have the bell after the break? Is it really that hard?) and come back with Langston easily breaking a wristlock. A lifting wristlock has Antonio in trouble as Big E. is easily throwing him around. Langston LAUNCHES him across the ring with a beal but Cesaro comes back with the European uppercuts and a knee lift for one.

Off to a kind of cobra clutch on Big E. but the NXT Champion easily fights up. Cesaro goes up top and dries Langston down with a knee before hitting his really impressive gutwrench suplex for two. Cesaro hooks a sleeper but Langston easily fights out of it and clotheslines Cesaro down. Five knees to Cesaro’s ribs have him in trouble and Big E. runs him over, but here’s Corey Graves for the DQ at 5:23 shown of 8:53.

Rating: C. The match was ok and at the end of the day, it’s a good move to not have Cesaro lose clean here. I get that it’s just NXT, but you don’t want to have the US Champion losing in less than ten minutes like that. Granted it never stops them on Raw but that’s besides the point. I hope we don’t get a triple threat with Langston defending against Graves and O’Brian, but it seems to be the only way to get the title off of Langston without hurting him.

Graves is run over post match but here’s O’Brian to pound on Big E. Corey helps O’Brian and Langston is laid out to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This is NXT’s bread and butter: week to week booking that makes you want to come back and see where all this stuff is going. We got some matches that were set up last week as well as some stuff that was set up for next week. That’s very efficient and far better than what we get on the main shows. This show is still a treat to watch and I’m genuinely interested in where the stories are going. That’s good stuff.

Results

Kassius Ohno b. Derrick Bateman – Big Boot

Summer Rae b. Emma – Spinwheel Kick

Bo Dallas b. Bray Wyatt – Belly to belly suplex

Big E. Langston b. Antonio Cesaro via DQ when Corey Graves interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: March 6, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, William Regal

We’re back in Florida for more NXT where the Shield made their presence known again last week, breaking up a #1 contender’s match between Conor O’Brian and Corey Graves after presumably attacking Bo Dallas. Other than that we had the Wyatt Family get even stronger than usual by having Bray himself get in the ring for some destruction. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Commissioner Dusty Rhodes to open things up. He announces the main event for tonight as Graves vs. O’Brian vs. Dallas for the next shot at the title with extra security to keep the Shield from interfering.

Welcome Home.

Adrian Neville/Oliver Grey vs. Judas Devlin/Scott Dawson

Neville and Grey are tag champions but this is non-title. There’s no Grey though and Neville doesn’t know where he is. He was here earlier but somewhere in between there he disappeared. Neville agrees to fight them on his own and starts against Dawson. A quick arm wringer puts Dawson down and it’s off to an armbar. It’s off to Judas who is a big tattooed man with long hair. Judas doesn’t do much of note before it’s back to Dawson.

Devlin comes back in for a chinlock as the numbers game is starting to catch up with Neville. As the hold is on, the Wyatt Family drags Grey out to the stage. Grey is barely conscious and is reaching towards the ring. Neville fights out of the hold but is distracted by Grey, allowing the team to take over again. Dawson puts Adrian on the top but gets knocked down, allowing Neville to hit the corkscrew shooting star press for the pin at 3:21.

Rating: D+. Not much to see here but it’s about the story rather than the match. The Wyatt Family wanting revenge for losing in the title match is the right idea and it sets up a good dynamic of the much smaller champions having to fight the monsters with an even bigger disadvantage. That shooting star is absolutely stunning too.

Neville checks on his partner post match.

Leo Kruger vs. Yoshi Tatsu

The fans cheer for Yoshi as I’m guessing they meant to go to the Nintendo convention instead of this show. Kruger grabs a headlock to start but gets caught in an atomic drop followed by a second one for good measure. Kruger comes back by sending Yoshi’s shoulder into the buckle before cranking on the arm on the mat. Yoshi finally makes a rope and fights up but a shot to the arm stops him cold. Kruger hits a big clothesline and finishes Tatsu with a seated armbar at 2:59. Total squash.

Sasha Banks/Cameron/Naomi vs. Audrey Marie/Alicia Fox/Aksana

Cameron and Naomi dance a lot before the match. Fox and Banks start things off with Sasha taking over with a headscissors. Off to Aksana who has just as much luck as her partner before it’s off to Cameron. Oh wait we need a dance break. Back to the wrestling now with Audrey getting in a kick to Cameron’s back from the apron to take over. Aksana puts her in the corner and does that crawl of hers, only to get caught by a cross body for two by Cameron.

Back to Fox who gets a quick one count off a northern lights suplex. Off to Audrey now who hooks a body scissors which only lasts for a few seconds before Cameron can tag off to Naomi. Things speed up as Naomi hits a flying clothesline to Audrey and an enziguri for two on Aksana. A leg lariat is enough to pin Audrey at 4:25.

Rating: C-. As usual, the Divas of NXT are far more interesting and talented than those of Raw and Smackdown. Cameron isn’t much in the ring but Naomi has good athleticism and energy. Unfortunately here the focus was on the main show girls instead of the more talented NXT girls because they’re the “stars”.

Bo Dallas talks about how his career is skyrocketing right now due to winning the NXT Tournament and beating Wade Barrett on Raw. Bray Wyatt comes up and talks about laying out Dallas a few weeks ago. If Dallas had accepted Wyatt’s offer to join the Family, he would have been protected against the Shield last week. Bo says stay away from him because he isn’t interested. Wyatt calls him a foolish young man.

Alberto Del Rio will be here next week.

Summer Rae insists on being called the First Lady of NXT and insists on the interviewer introducing her again. Rae talks about putting Paige on the shelf for good and taking away her popularity. If Rebecca, the interviewer, ever introduces her improperly again, she’ll be taken out like trash.

Shield reassures us that they’re still here to shield us from injustice. The injustice from last week was O’Brian, Dallas and Graves believing they deserved a title shot. Ambrose talks about putting a crack in the foundation of WWE. They’ve done it on Raw and Smackdown so it’s time to do it here on NXT. It should be Rollins getting the title shot, not any of those three.

Corey Graves vs. Conor O’Brian vs. Bo Dallas

The winner gets the title shot at Langston at some point in the future. O’Brian runs over Dallas to start and Graves stomps away. Conor doesn’t seem interested in helping him so instead he beats up Corey for a bit. Graves manages to send him to the floor and puts Bo in a chinlock as we take a break. Back with Dallas sending Graves to the floor but as he follows, Conor pops up to clothesline Dallas down. With Conor on the apron, Corey fires some shoulder to his ribs. That gets him nowhere though as O’Brian knocks him away and gets two off a top rope clothesline.

Dallas is back in now but O’Brian keeps full control of the match. Conor wraps his legs around Graves’ head for a neck crank, getting two as a result. The attention shifts to Dallas now with O’Brian throwing him into Graves in the corner which gets another two count. Graves gets a boot up in the corner to stagger O’Brian, allowing Dallas and Corey to double team Conor with a double suplex.

The alliance is short lived though as they start fighting each other again, resulting in a belly to back suplex by Bo. Dallas pounds away in the corner but stops when he sees Bray Wyatt on the apron. We take another break and come back with Graves pounding away on both guys. A gordbuster gets two on Bo and there’s a half crab for good measure. Conor breaks it up but Graves beats him down as a result. Dallas is sent to the apron but goes up and gets crotched right back down. Corey loads up a superplex but O’Brian pulls him off the ropes and slams him face first into the mat.

Bo hits a quick missile dropkick on Conor for two as Bray is coming closer to the ring. O’Brian is sent face first into the buckle and has Dallas use his body as a springboard for a tornado bulldog on Graves, getting two. A DDT gets two on O’Brian but Graves kicks out Dallas’ leg. There’s the 13^th Step leg lock on Bo but O’Brian comes in and puts Corey in a Koji Clutch to break the hold.

Bo breaks up that hold and is all fired up now. O’Brian is dropkicked to the floor and the belly to belly puts Graves down, but Wyatt pulls Corey to the floor. Bo breaks his concentration and yells at Wyatt, allowing O’Brian to hit him with a full nelson slam for the pin at 12:11 shown of 19:11.

Rating: B. Good stuff here as they had a lot of time to work with. Wyatt and Dallas building their story was a good idea and it makes the most sense to have O’Brian win, as he and Langston have unfinished business to get to. This was a solid main event and it sets up more for future shows, so what else can you ask of it?

Overall Rating: B. There was a lot of angle advancement here with a good match to top it off. The Wyatt Family getting a renewed push is a good thing to see and hopefully we’ll get some more of the awesome promos to back it up. NXT continues to be an entertaining week to week show as they make you want to come back for more. So few shows get that concept anymore and it’s nice to see for a change.

Results

Adrian Neville b. Scott Dawson/Judas Devlin – Corkscrew Shooting Star Press to Dawson

Leo Kruger b. Yoshi Tatsu – Seated Armbar

Sasha Banks/Cameron/Naomi b. Audrey Marie/Alicia Fox/Aksana – Leg lariat to Marie

Conor O’Brian b. Bo Dallas and Corey Graves – Full Nelson Slam to Dallas

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: February 27, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Tony Dawson

Back for another week here and we now have a new challenger for Langston in the form of Corey Graves. This is a good idea as Graves never got to have his title match due to the Shield interfering the first time. Other than that the main focus has actually been on the Divas division which works far better here than it does in WWE. Let’s get to it.

We open with Bo Dallas in the back with Dusty Rhodes, the NXT GM. Corey Graves comes in, carrying the NXT Title belt that he stole last week. Dusty talks about earning things, like Bo earned his spot in the Royal Rumble by winning a tournament. Tonight it’s Graves vs. Dallas vs. Conor O’Brian for the #1 contender’s spot.

Opening sequence.

Justin Gabriel vs. Leo Kruger

Justin has Tyson Kidd with him and this is fallout from last week where Kruger tried to attack the injured Kidd, only to have Gabriel make the save. We hear a brief history of the two guys as they were both trained in South Africa. Gabriel avoids a shot in the corner and chops away at Kruger’s chest before they circle each other some more. Another chop staggers Leo and we head to the mat with Justin holding a headlock.

This hold stays on for a good while as two minutes later it’s finally broken up. Gabriel comes right back with an arm trap headscissors for a bit before it’s right back to the headlock. Now it’s Kruger with his own headlock but Justin comes back with a headscissors to send Leo to the outside. We take a break and come back with Leo running over Justin with a shoulder block. A spinebuster puts Justin down for two before Kruger sends him shoulder first into the post for two.

Leo cranks on the arm for a bit before Justin fights back via kicks to the chest. A DDT on the arm puts Justin right back down for two and it’s back to the arm. Back to the armbar for a few minutes until Gabriel escapes via a snapmare. A nice series of kicks takes Kruger down as does a discus forearm. Gabriel hits a splash in the corner followed by a springboard cross body for two.

Justin goes up again, only to have Kruger knock him off the top and snap the bad arm down over the top rope. A BIG running clothesline takes Justin’s head off but somehow only gets two. Leo tries a superplex, only to be countered into a sunset bomb off the top. The 450 finally hits (with Gabriel selling the arm even while covering) for the pin on Kruger at 11:03 shown of 13:33.

Rating: B-. This was a very entertaining match that came out of almost nowhere. They were going back and forth the entire time and the arm stuff was a nice touch. It loses some significant points because of how long they spent in that headlock, but other than that I have very few complaints here. This was one of the better matches I’ve seen in a long time on NXT.

Post match Kruger hits Gabriel with Kidd’s crutch.

Aksana vs. Emma

Emma dances (badly) to the ring and tries to skin the cat to get into the ring but can’t quite get over the ropes. Aksana whips her into the corner to start and crawls over to Emma, only to have the Aussie (Emma) head to the apron. She kicks the ropes and seems to trip down to the floor. So is she a klutz?

Back in and a hair drag puts Aksana down so Emma can mock the crawling thing that Aksana does. Aksana comes back with a slam and drops an elbow for two. Emma pulls her down by the hair again and puts on a cravate for good measure. Aksana counters what appears to be a dancing suplex and hits a spinebuster for the pin at 4:39.

Rating: D+. What does it say for your career when you’re jobbing to Aksana? This was a step up for Aksana but she’s still not very good. Emma has only been around a few times on NXT and the dancing bit is only going to carry her so far, especially given how many other dancing characters there are in WWE at this time.

We cut to the back where Bo Dallas is unconscious.

Corey Graves vs. Conor O’Brian

There’s no Dallas in sight at the moment so I guess this is one on one now. The winner gets a shot at Langston. Graves goes for a leg to start and is easily shoved away. Another attempt gets the same result before O’Brian runs him over a few times with some hard shoulders. Off to a headlock on the mat by Conor which shifts into a nerve hold. We take a break and come back with Graves being backdropped over the top and out to the floor.

Back in and O’Brian keeps up the punishment as he stops a comeback attempt cold. Graves is sent to the floor and gets a breather, allowing him to wrap Conor’s leg around the post a few times. Back inside and Corey cranks on the leg with a leg lock before cannonballing down onto it. Off to another leg lock which transitions into a kind of modified Texas Cloverleaf, only with Graves laying on his side and cranking back on the legs instead of sitting on the back.

We take another break and come back with both guys on the floor again. Graves punches away at the limping O’Brian before getting two back inside. Back to another leg lock but O’Brian rips at his face to break the hold. They slug it out with O’Brian taking over and hitting a flapjack….and there go the lights. The lights come back on and the Shield is here for a no contest at approximately 9:30 shown of 14:30.

Rating: C+. While still good, this wasn’t as good as the first match. Graves going for the knee was the right move as his finish is a leg lock. Why is that such a complicated idea for so many people to grasp anymore? The finish probably ties into the Dallas attack which is fine, and it’s nice to see Shield still around here. If nothing else they have unfinished business around the NXT Title.

Graves takes the TripleBomb as the fans chant for Shield. Ambrose says Shield isn’t done with NXT. Rollins promises that things will get better, but first they have to get worse.

Overall Rating: B. This show is the most continuously entertaining hour of wrestling every single week. We had two solid matches here, a not terrible Divas match, and a run-in by the top heel group of the main roster. Oh and Dallas was attacked, which may or may not be because of the Shield. This was a solid show and very entertaining for an hour of wrestling. Good stuff.

Results

Justin Gabriel b. Leo Kruger – 450 Splash

Aksana b. Emma – Spinebuster

Corey Graves vs. Conor O’Brian went to a no contest when Shield interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: February 20, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, William Regal

We’re back in Florida and we finally have some tag team champions in the form of Neville and Grey. The main story for tonight is the title match between Conor O’Brian and Big E. Langston which has been built up for weeks. Also I believe we find out who Sasha Banks’ secret admirer is, which would have been better suited for last week around Valentine’s Day but it’s not too far off. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the title win last week.

Opening sequence.

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Bray Wyatt

This is a good idea as the Wyatt Family lost last week, so having Wyatt himself get in the ring, I believe for the second time on NXT, is a way to redeem the Family. Wyatt no sells everything and throws Tatsu down with a wicked release Rock Bottom. A BIG running splash crushes Tatsu in the corner and a fast spinning Downward Spiral gets the pin at 1:37. Total squash.

Wyatt tells his family to get in the ring. He shows them a clip of the ending of the title match last week and blames Harper for the loss. He tells Rowan to hit Harper for it so Rowan smacks him in the face. Wyatt tells Harper to hit Rowan for having to carry Rowan. He says fight it out then tells them to stop because he’s proud of them. These three are still very creepy and it’s rather awesome.

Here’s Sasha Banks in the back and she’s excited about meeting the admirer. Another note is delivered and some brunette chick jumps Sasha. She (no name given but it might be Audrey Marie) beats Sasha down and says get out of NXT.

I’m Coming Home Wrestlemania video.

El Local vs. Xavier Woods

Local is Ricardo Rodriguez under a mask. They’ve taken away the Angel Grove part of Woods’ character, making him far less interesting already. Phillips says that Woods looks like Steve Urkel if he spent five days at the gym. Phillips wasn’t a fan of that show was he? The fans chant Power Rangers at Woods as he hits a leg sweep for two. Local hits a kick to the back of the head for two and stomps away in the corner.

A running low enziguri gets two more as Phillips declares Local to be portly. Local hooks a chinlock to no avail but he sends Woods into the corner for two. Back to el chinlock followed by another hard kick to the back of Woods’ head for two. There’s chinlock #3 as the fans are still staying with Xavier. Woods fights up and hits a flying headscissors to take over. A missile dropkick gets two so Woods takes him to the corner and a tornado DDT gets the pin at 4:40.

Rating: D. Remember how much fun Woods was before? Forget all that. Now he’s just a guy with an afro that dances a lot and has nothing interesting about him at all. The Power Rangers thing at least appealed to the nerds in the audience and had some nostalgia for people in their mid-20s, but this version of him is as dull as his name sounds.

The doctor says Paige’s shoulder is messed up but she’s improving.

Apparently O’Brian vs. Langston is NOT for the title. We’ve spent this much time hearing O’Brian talking about the title and building up the match and it’s NOT for the belt? Why in the world not?

Audrey Marie vs. Sasha Banks

Banks turns it into a brawl to start but Audrey pulls her by the hair to take over. Off to a half nelson on Banks which transfers into a chinlock and then a bow and arrow. Sasha comes back with a headscissors and a dropkick to the……uh…….Regal: “Sternum.” Phillips: “Yeah sternum.” Marie shrugs it off and hits a wheelbarrow facebuster (apparently called the Photo Finish) for the pin at 2:05. Short and ok.

Summer Rae isn’t concerned about Paige. She is however concerned with the nail she broke during the fight. Rae declares herself the first lady of NXT. It’s amazing how much more interesting the Divas are here when they’re treated even somewhat seriously.

New Orleans is hosting Wrestlemania XXX. I can’t wait.

Here’s the injured Tyson Kidd to update us on his condition. Kidd says he doesn’t know when he’ll be back but guarantees that he will be someday. Phillips asks Kidd about Punk calling Kidd an unappreciated workhorse. Kidd says he’s flattered and says that being a workhorse is a way of life, not something you learn. This brings out Leo Kruger who says Kidd looks like a wounded animal: weak and vulnerable. Leo kicks the crutch away but Justin Gabriel runs in for the save before anything bad can happen.

Conor O’Brian vs. Big E. Langston

Non-title for no apparent reason. The fans fire up Langston to start and they lock up. That goes to a standoff so they head to opposite corners and charge into another lockup. Langston charges into an elbow to stagger him and Conor pounds away in the corner. Langston punches back and clotheslines O’Brian to the floor as we take a break. Back with the champion going shoulder first into a post and O’Brian yelling a lot.

Off to an arm trap chinlock by O’Brian but a FIVE chant brings Langston back to life. Conor takes him back down with a full nelson slam for two and it’s the return of the chinlock. Langston fights up again and hits some knee lifts to the ribs before a slugout ensues. They brawl in the corner until the referee tries to break it up. That doesn’t work either so he throws it out at 6:34 shown of 10:04.

Rating: C+. The match wasn’t that exciting but it did a great job at setting up a rematch down the line. O’Brian looked like he could easily hang with someone like Langston which was the biggest concern about him getting this show. This was a good old fashioned power brawl which is one of the hard to screw up formulas. Good stuff here.

Post match Corey Graves jumps Langston from behind to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. As is the case week in and week out with NXT, they can bring in a different batch of people every week and the stories stay consistently strong. Here we had some of the same names that we saw last week but there were also different names brought in to keep things fresh. That’s really impressive booking and it keeps the show from getting stale. Another good effort here as NXT stays strong.

Results

Bray Wyatt b. Yoshi Tatsu – Spinning Downward Spiral

Xavier Woods b. El Local – Tornado DDT

Audrey Marie b. Sasha Banks – Photo Finish

Big E. Langston vs. Conor O’Brian went to a double DQ when they wouldn’t stop brawling

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: February 6, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, William Regal

We’re on I think the semi-finals of the tag title tournament this week as well as Conor vs. Langston if I remember correctly. Other than that there isn’t much going on here, as most of the show is based around the tag titles at this point. The show has been pretty awesome lately though so I can’t say I’m complaining. Let’s get to it.

I was right about the semi-finals being tonight. Both matches go down on this show.

Welcome Home.

NXT Tag Team Title Tournament Semi-Finals: Kassius Ohno/Leo Kruger vs. Olivery Grey/Adrian Neville

The winner of this gets the winner of the Wyatt Family vs. McGillicutty/Dallas. Grey vs. Kassius get things going and nothing happens there so here’s Kruger instead. Grey takes him down to the mat via a headlock as we’re in a very slow stage still. Kruger fights up and is immediately taken down again via the headlock. The British guys hit a double elbow on Kruger for two and Neville hooks a chinlock.

Off to Kassius and Adrian fires off some kicks to the legs to slow him down immediately. Back to Grey for some arm work and Adrian does the same. Grey hooks an armbar and Ohno is in trouble again. Kruger gets the tag and pounds away on Oliver as we take a break. Back with Ohno holding Grey in a chinlock and a backbreaker from Kruger for two. We go old school with an abdominal stretch from both heels and then a second from both guys.

Ohno stays in and works over the ribs with a backsplash for two. There’s a reverse chinlock by Kassius but Oliver fights out of it and decks both heels with forearms. Kruger breaks up the tag attempt though and pounds Grey down for two. Off to a cravate which continues to be very popular in WWE anymore. Grey comes back with a few rollups for two and there’s the hot tag to Adrian.

Things speed up and Neville starts flipping around a lot. Kassius kicks Adrian’s head off to send him to the outside but stops to yell at Regal. Adrian hits a flip dive to the floor to take Ohno’s head off and it’s the corkscrew shooting star press to send the British guys to the finals at 14:02 shown of 17:32.

Rating: C+. This was good stuff for most part with the tag team formula being played quite well. At this point you can figure out the ending to the other final pretty easily but that’s par for the course for a tournament. Ohno continues to not be anything of note and unfortunately Kruger didn’t get to do anything here either, which is a shame.

Summer Rae complains about being pretty and never getting praised while Paige is ugly and is treated huge. Apparently Summer School is always in session.

Conor O’Brien vs. Mike Dalton

Dalton fires off kicks to start but Conor easily powers him down. A one man flapjack puts Dalton down and a legdrop ends this in 1:06.

O’Brien demands a five count which brings out Langston for a Big Ending on Dalton.

Paige says she’ll take care of Summer herself despite Dusty’s wishes otherwise. Sasha Banks comes in and talks about her secret admirer.

Video on the NXT Tournament for a spot in the Rumble. Here are the brackets (I think):

Corey Graves

Adrian Neville

Leo Kruger

Xavier Woods

Bo Dallas

Luke Harper

Oliver Grey

Conor O’Brien

The semis were Kruger over Neville and Dallas over O’Brien with Dallas beating Kruger to win the tournament and the spot in the Rumble.

Bray Wyatt comes in to see Bo Dallas and says his fifteen minutes of fame are up. Dallas says time might be up on the Wyatt Family. It’s so hard to believe that these two are brothers.

NXT Tag Team Title Tourmanet Semi-Finals: Michael McGillicutty/Bo Dallas vs. Wyatt Family

It’s Rowan/Harper here again. Harper and McGillicutty start things off and Michael fighting off the big man as well as possible. Dallas comes in and gets taken down by pure Wyatt power. We take a break and come back with the monsters continuing to work over Dallas in the corner. Dallas manages to slip away to Michaels for the hot tag and things speed up again. He throws Rowan around with suplexes but Bray Wyatt distracts him. That earns the leader an ejection but the referee misses McGillicutty rolling up Rowan. Harper kicks him in the face for the pin and the spot in the finals at 4:08 shown of 7:38.

Rating: D+. This didn’t have the time to go anywhere. McGillicutty needs to get away from tag teams along with getting away from that stupid name. He has the look, he has the timing and he has the skill, but he’s stuck in a stupid tag team that isn’t even winning the minor league title. Nothing to see here and the winners were obvious after the earlier match.

Bray offers Dallas a spot in the Family but when Bo declines, Bray beats him down. He says this is only the beginning to end the show. The look on Wyatt’s face was great.

Overall Rating: B. This was a theme show in a way but it was a very fun one. You had the tournament set up as well as the other title match set up, which makes this more like a go home show for the NXT equivalent of a PPV. That’s a rather cool thing to see as NXT is a completely independent promotion right now that works on its own schedule. Good stuff here, as usual.

Results

Adrian Neville/Oliver Grey b. Kassius Ohno/Leo Kruger – Corkscrew Shooting Star Press to Ohno

Conor O’Brien b. Mike Dalton – Legdrop

Wyatt Family b. Bo Dallas/Michael McGillicutty – Big boot to McGillicutty

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and check out my ebook of 1998 Raw Reviews on Amazon (search 1998 Monday Night Raw)

NXT
Date: January 30, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Tony Dawson

This is the second week of the tag team title tournament and my guess is we’ll get two more first round matches tonight. Other than that we’ve got Conor O’Brien challenging Langston for the title next week which should be interesting given that we haven’t seen Conor since Cameron was released. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the announcement of the title tournament and the first two matches. For the first time we get to see the full brackets:

Wyatt Family

Bo Dallas/Michael McGillicutty

Primo/Epico

Alex Riley/Derrick Bateman

Leo Kruger/Kassius Ohno

Oliver Grey/Adrian Neville

Welcome Home.

NXT Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Alex Riley/Derrick Bateman vs. Kassius Ohno/Leo Kruger

Bateman and Kruger get us going with a kneeling staredown. The fans are behind Bateman despite him not being seen in months. They fight over some basic holds to start before it’s off to Riley. Kruger hides in the corner before bringing in Ohno. Kassius doesn’t seem impressed so Riley takes him down with an armdrag into an armbar. Riley hits a big dropkick as Regal talks about why wrestlers drop down (“They don’t want to get hit.”).

Back to Derrick who knocks Kassius to the floor and we take a break. We come back to see Kruger in a Bateman armbar followed by Bateman pounding away in the corner. A running knee in the corner misses Kruger though and that’s the knee that kept him out for four months. Back to Ohno who cranks on the knee a bit before Kruger comes in to do the same.

Kassius is looking at Regal as Leo tags him in. Kind of odd as Regal hasn’t done anything to Ohno in a few weeks but whatever. Anyway Ohno comes in and puts on another leg lock before tagging back to Kruger. Leo hooks a kneeling half crab and a Robinsdale Crunch before bringing Ohno back in for a spinning toe hold. I like how they’re mixing the holds and moves up instead of using the same ones over and over again. It’s so boring when people do that.

Bateman kicks Ohno away and makes the hot tag to Riley. Things speed up and Riley hits a spinebuster and falling forward DDT out of the corner for two. Everything breaks down and Ohno hits a big boot on Riley to set up what looks like an arm trap cravate for the tap out at 10:51 shown of 14:21.

Rating: B-. This was the tag team formula and it worked very well. I like Ohno better as a vicious killer rather than the usual guy he’s been where he feigns respect for everyone else. Kruger didn’t get to show off a lot here which is somewhat disappointing but at least we got to see some Alex Riley. This was a lot better than I was expecting.

Mason Ryan vs. Sakamoto

There’s a name we haven’t seen in a long time. Ryan is still a musclehead but he’s a big less cut up now which might be a good thing for him. Sakamoto tries to hide in the corner but gets thrown across the ring by the throat. A cross body is caught in a backbreaker and fallaway slam by Ryan before it’s time for a trapezius hold. That doesn’t last long so Mason ends him with a Jackhammer at 2:19. The fans call Ryan boring and I can’t say I disagree. He’s just a power guy who uses power moves and that’s it.

Aksana vs. Paige

Aksana takes over to start and shows off some “power” before crawling around on the mat. With a boot in Paige’s back Aksana pulls on her limbs for a bit but here’s Paige’s comeback. She pounds away on Aksana a bit before hooking a kneeling Sharpshooter with her knee in Aksana’s back for the tap out at 2:59. Paige continues to impress.

Post match Summer Rae runs in and jumps Paige from behind.

Sasha Banks is very excited about winning last week. She thinks the sky is the limit but here’s a delivery guy with a letter. Apparently Sasha has a secret admirer.

NXT Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Primo/Epico vs. Michael McGillicutty/Bo Dallas

Epico has his hair down here which makes him a lot easier to distinguish from his partner. Primo and Dallas start things off with Primo being shoved into the corner. Dallas sends him to the outside before it’s off to Epico. The cousins take over but almost as soon as Primo comes back in, Dallas is able to regain control. An atomic drop gets two and it’s off to McGillicutty. A double back elbow gets two as does a backbreaker by McGillicutty.

Back to Dallas for a pretty sweet back and forth double teaming sequence (starting with a Dallas right, a McGillicutty knee lift and a Dallas clothesline) for two. Michael counters an Epico dropkick to send him to the outside. We take a break and come back with Michael hitting a running dropkick but having to beat up the illegal Primo, allowing Epico to dropkick McGillicutty to the floor.

Back in an Epico hits a slingshot hilo for two on Michael as Rosa gyrates a bit. Primo hooks a chinlock with a bodyscissors for a bit before it’s back to Epico. He hooks another chinlock on Michael but McGillicutty fights up and they collide. The double tag brings in Dallas and Primo with Bo hitting an awkward looking kneedrop for two. Epico breaks up a pin attempt off a tornado bulldog from Dallas. Primo and Dallas are left in the ring and an arm trap DDT gets a close two on Bo. Primo loads up something but charges into the belly to belly suplex for the pin at 10:25 shown of 13:55.

Rating: C+. Another pretty decent tag match here but not as good overall as the first one. I like the belly to belly far better as Dallas’ finisher than the spear. Dallas’ size isn’t a big enough guy to make that move look effective but with something like the belly to belly it’s more believable. This was another good match and a good way to close the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Two good matches and some angel advancement make for a solid show this week. I’m surprised we didn’t get at least a promo about the title match next week but that wasn’t the focus of tonight’s show. This show continues to be the highlight of my week as it’s so nice to have a show you know is going to be ok at worst. I can’t remember the last time they had a truly bad episode which is almost impossible to be able to say in wrestling.

Results

Leo Kruger/Kassius Ohno b. Alex Riley/Derrick Bateman – Arm trap cravate to Riley

Mason Ryan b. Sakamoto – Jackhammer

Paige b. Aksana – Kneeling Sharpshooter

Bo Dallas/Michael McGillicutty b. Primo/Epico – Belly to belly suplex to Primo

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: January 23, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Tony Dawson

On the 29^th anniversary of the birth of modern wrestling, we’re back in Florida for more NXT. After last week’s transitional show we should be ready for something new tonight. Odds are Langston is going to get his next challenger tonight which should be interesting as he has no one else to fight at the moment. Let’s get to it.

Shawn Michaels is in the ring to open the show. Fans: “HBK! HBK! HBK!” Shawn: “Aw come on.” The fans quiet down. Shawn: “No don’t stop!” Anyway, Shawn is here and he’s got two belts which are apparently the new NXT Tag Team Championships. Shawn says that there’s a tournament starting tonight and the winners will be the stars of the future. He says that as a former tag team champion he knows what kind of a springboard these belts can be. Nice little cameo here that didn’t take up much time at all and made things feel special.

Opening video.

NXT Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Wyatt Family vs. Yoshi Tatsu/Percy Watson

It’s Harper/Rowan here. Watson and Rowan start things off with Watson jumping WAY over Rowan’s head in a leap frog and taking him down with a leg lariat. Off to Tatsu as Regal gives us an idea of the mentality behind being in a tag team. Rowan chops Tatsu into the corner and it’s off to Harper to pound away in the corner.

Luke puts on a chinlock and circles around the ring at the same time to keep Yoshi disoriented. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. A jawbreaker finally gets Tatsu out of trouble but it’s off to Rowan to slam him down for two. Rowan cranks on the neck for a bit and here’s Harper again, but he lets Yoshi crawl over and bring in Watson. Everything breaks down and Harper takes Watson’s head off with a clothesline for the pin at 4:55.

Rating: C. This was just a squash but the Wyatt Family has a great presence to them. There’s something disturbing to them where they’re just a bit off and that’s a great characteristic to have. At this point Wyatt doesn’t even need to be in the ring which is good as I think he’s still recovering from his injury. The Family is doing fine just being creepy right now but them getting some gold would be nice.

Dusty is with Derrick Bateman and Alex Riley and offers them a tournament match against Kruger and Ohno. Corey Graves comes up to complain about not getting an NXT Title rematch and not being in the tournament. Riley gets in his face and Bateman hums a circus tune. The tag team leaves and Dusty makes it Graves vs. his former partner Jake Carter tonight. Graves says tell Carter that Carter is in his path to the title.

Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox

Alicia makes fun of Sasha for being tiny and having the nickname of Small Package. Fox sends her into the ropes but walks into a headscissors to take her down. Sasha sends her to the apron but gets popped in the face for two. A bridging northern lights suplex (called a fisherman’s suplex in a rare mistake by Regal) gets two for Fox and we hit the chinlock. Sasha comes back with a monkey flip and an armdrag out of the corner, only to be caught in a wheelbarrow front slam for no cover. Fox picks her up for a slam but it’s the Ricky Steamboat/Randy Savage small package pin for Banks at 3:23.

Rating: C-. This was too short to mean much but at least Banks looks good and got to show off a bit here. The Divas are nowhere near as irritating here as they are on the main shows as they’re actually treated somewhat seriously on NXT. Decent stuff here and Banks got to look good despite being a tiny little thing.

Video on Paige who is here to be a champion.

Some new blonde interviewer asks Aksana about her match next week with Paige. Aksana accuses Paige of stealing her look and says 2013 is her year.

Conor O’Brien says he’s the true Ascension and he will rise.

Corey Graves vs. Jake Carter

Graves seems to get a face pop on his way to the ring. Carter grabs a headlock to start but gets shoved into the corner. That goes nowhere for Graves as Jake pounds away in the corner and the middle of the ring. Corey comes back with a suplex and into an arm trap chinlock which Regal says can be called a Gator Hold. Carter fight up and hits a clothesline for two but gets sent into the corner and chop blocked down. The 13^th Step leg lock ends Carter at 3:09.

Rating: C-. Another just ok match here as Graves gets to run over Carter and remind us that he exists after the title match from a few weeks ago. Graves got a good reaction and definitely has a unique look which will be nothing but good for him. Carter on the other hand looked pretty generic out there and didn’t appear to get any of his dad’s good qualities.

Post match Graves says that he’s been screwed out of a rematch for the title and kept out of the title tournament because he’s an “outcast”. As the savior of misbehavior (terrible name) he’s declaring anarchy on NXT. Oh and if Riley sees him, stay down.

NXT Tag Team Title Tournament: 3MB vs. Oliver Grey/Adrian Neville

It’s Slater and McIntyre here. We start with Drew vs. Neville with Drew taking him down to the mat with ease. Off to a chinlock by McIntyre which is eventually countered by a headscissors but Drew is able to tag in Slater. Heath immediately lets Neville backflip out of a hold and bring in Grey for the first time. Off to an armbar on Slater followed by a dropkick to send Slater to the outside.

The Brits cause some heel miscommunication before Neville dives on McIntyre on the floor. We take a break and come back with Drew getting two on Grey. A clothesline gets two on Grey and it’s back to Slater for a superkick for two of his own. Slater hooks a chinlock as we hear about Grey being a lumberjack. Oliver quickly escapes and brings in Adrian who starts flipping around as fast as he can. After kicking Slater in the face, the now legal McIntyre gets caught with that corkscrew shooting star for the pin by Neville at 6:26 shown of 9:56.

Rating: C+. This was a basic formula match but Neville got to show off a lot more than he had did last week. That big shooting star is a great finisher and looks awesome but we haven’t seen yet if he can pull off the other stuff that it takes to fill out a match. Decent little tag match here as Grey and Neville look good as a fast little team.

Big E. Langston vs. Axl Keegan

Non-title here. I love the look of glee on Langston’s face during his entrance and the kind of dance he does with the powder on his hands. We hear about Langston’s association with Ziggler but the fans don’t seem to mind at all. Langston literally runs him over and wins with the Big Ending at 56 seconds.

Langston loads up the second Big Ending when Conor O’Brien pops up on screen. He says that in two weeks there will be an awakening. Langston should be there so O’Brien can show him what he thinks of the five count. After an evil laugh from Conor, Big E. hits the Big Ending anyway. A third Big Ending and another five count end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This wasn’t their strongest show but they set a lot of stuff up tonight. We’ve got some new titles in play and the start of what could be a decent tournament to earn them. Also O’Brien is back and Langston has his first challenger for the title. Sometimes you have to have a slower show to set up something down the line and that’s what happened here. Not bad at all but nothing to see in the matches department.

Results

Wyatt Family b. Yoshi Tatsu/Percy Watson – Clothesline to Watson

Sasha Banks b. Alicia Fox – Small Package

Corey Graves b. Jake Carter – 13^th Step

Oliver Grey/Adrian Neville b. 3MB – Corkscrew Shooting Star Press to McIntyre

Big E. Langston b. Axl Keegan – Big Ending

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: January 16, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Tony Dawson

We’re officially in the Langston Era here and if my memory is right, this was filmed recently which means we’re actually going to be closer to being caught up with the current WWE product. It’s hard to say what to expect here but the word seems to be that something big is going to be announced soon. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s main event and the title change.

Welcome Home.

Adrian Neville vs. Sakamoto

Neville is formerly known as Pac. Interestingly enough a guy on the forums that I run used to backyard wrestle with him. Sakamoto is in way better shape than you would expect him to be given the robe he always wore. Neville is apparently an amazing high flier and he spins out of a wristlock and grabs a headlock to start. A headscissors puts Sakamoto down and Adrian flips back to his feet. The fans dig him so far.

Sakamoto gets a boot up in the corner and hooks a chinlock to take over for a little bit. Make that a decent bit as the chinlock continues. Adrian suplexes out of the hold and flips forward a few more times before hitting an enziguri to stagger Sakamoto. Neville goes up and hits a HUGE corkscrew shooting star for the pin at 3:25.

Rating: C-. The ending was great but until then, Neville didn’t really show off a ton of flying otherwise. It’s a very flashy looking move and the rest of his stuff looked fine so I can’t say it’s a bad debut or anything. Sakamoto has some potential in him too now that he’s away form the black hole known as Tensai. The match was pretty dull until the ending though.

Leo Kruger vs. Trent Barreta

Ohno sits in on commentary. This is as a result of Trent getting beaten up and injured by Kruger a month ago. Trent takes over with a fast clothesline and a knee drop for two. A bridging northern lights suplex gets two for Barreta and it’s off to a headlock. That goes nowhere as Kruger fights up and hits a hard knee to the ribs to take over. Trent gets draped ribs first over the top rope for two as we take a break.

Back with Kruger working over the ribs with a knee drop and a half crab. A gutbuster gets two for Leo as Kassius and Regal continue to argue. Regal threatens Ohno so Kassius acts as if nothing has ever been wrong between them. Kruger misses a charge in the corner so Trent comes back with chops and a clothesline. The running jumping elbow in the corner puts Leo down again and a missile dropkick gets two for Trent.

The tornado DDT is countered into another half crab with a knee in the back but Trent finally makes a rope. An enziguri sends Kruger down to the floor, followed by a BIG flip dive from Trent to take him down again. Kassius runs down and decks Trent though, allowing for Kruger to hit the Kruger End back inside for the pin at 7:53 shown of 11:23.

Rating: C+. Why Barreta is released while Ohno gets to keep a job is beyond me. Trent continues to be as smooth as ever in the ring and Kruger is starting to get things working well too. I’d assume we were supposed to get a tag match out of this but with Barreta being released that isn’t very likely.

A second referee informs the first one of Ohno’s interference and the decision is reversed.

Here’s the NEW NXT Champion Big E. Langston with something to say. He welcomes us to the Era of Five but here’s Camacho to interrupt him. Hasn’t Langston already beaten this guy? A referee comes out and we get a match which I think is non-title.

Camacho vs. Big E. Langston

Camacho pounds away in the corner to start but Langston no sells it and clotheslines Camacho down. The Big Ending finishes Camacho in 1:15.

Langston does his usual stuff post match. This takes longer than the match itself.

Damien Sandow/Antonio Cesaro vs. Justin Gabriel/Tyson Kidd

Before the match, Sandow says that the people here will learn to appreciate him. Sandow and Kidd start things off but it’s quickly off to Justin. Damien gets his arm cranked on a bit so it’s off to Cesaro. Gabriel dropkicks him to the floor and we take a break. Back with Justin getting two off a sunset flip on Sandow. He cranks on Damien’s arm and messes with his hair to really get on Sandow’s nerves.

Off to Cesaro for a hard headlock for a few seconds before Gabriel fights back with chops and right hands. Cesaro elbows him down before it’s back to Sandow for some knee drops. The Wind-Up Elbow gets two and it’s back to Antonio. Off to a front facelock before Justin fights up and backdrops Cesaro to the floor. That’s about the extent of his offense though as Cesaro comes back in with the gutwrench suplex for two.

Back to the chinlock but Gabriel escapes for the third time, with this one being followed by a hot tag to Tyson. Everything breaks down as Sandow comes in again with Damien getting two off a rollup. Back to Gabriel as Kidd dives onto Cesaro. A Lionsault and the springboard elbow to Sandow get the clean pin at 8:00 shown of 11:30.

Rating: C+. Basic tag match here with the smaller guys getting to hang with the more established guys with no real problems at all. Unfortunately Kidd is gone for the next eight months or so due to destroying his knee. Cesaro again gets to look strong here by not getting pinned, which is a nice touch from WWE.

Overall Rating: B-. Another good show tonight as we transition to the next stretch of shows. Langston gets to close out an old issue he had while at the same time getting to look dominant over a WWE guy. This wasn’t a blow away show or anything and unfortunately two guys here aren’t going to be around for a very long time anymore after this show. Good show here with no time wasted, which is the standard procedure on NXT.

Results

Adrian Neville b. Sakamoto – Corkscrew Shooting Star Press

Trent Barreta b. Leo Kruger via disqualification when Kassius Ohno interfered

Big E. Langston b. Camacho – Big Ending

Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel b. Antonio Cesaro/Damien Sandow – Springboard Elbow Drop to Sandow

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