Things have been oddly dull in NXT lately but we’ve got a #1 contenders tournament starting up tonight whichs hould liven things up a bit. If nothing else there’s going to be a new set of challengers for the Ascension, which is exactly what the division needs. We might even get some Vaudevillains tonight. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Tournament First Round: Tye Dillinger/Jason Jordan vs. Colin Cassady/Enzo Amore

HUGE pop for Enzo and Cass. Dillinger grabs a wristlock on Cass to start and is quickly sent to the corner by the throat. Cass: “How YOU doin?” Jordan comes in with a belly to back suplex for two and the pretty boys take over on Big Cass. We hit a reverse chinlock from Jordan as the fans are wanting Enzo.

Cass gets caught in a top wristlock from Tye but Cass blocks a stomp. The hot tag brings in Amore who gets his head superkicked into the third row. Tye doesn’t cover for some reason though and brings Jordan back in. Cass dives into the corner to block a charge aimed at at Enzo, followed by a big boot to Jordan’s face, giving Enzo the pin at 5:23.

Rating: D+. Did the pretty boys turn heel and no one told me? They certainly were wrestling like heels in this one and it really didn’t work for them. Cass and Amore are a solid oddball tag team though and Cass is finding his niche as the guy who gets the hot tag and cleans house.

We see the tournament brackets.

Amore/Cassady

Mojo Rawley/Bull Dempsey
Vaudevillains

Sami Zayn/???
Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel

Sin Cara/Kalisto
Wesley Blake/Buddy Murphy

Sami Zayn is in the back and says his assigned tag partner isn’t medically cleared (no name is given) when Gabriel and Kidd come in to remind him of the time Kidd walked out on Sami in a tag match against Ascension. Zayn offers to beat them both tonight when Adam Rose comes up and offers to be Sami’s partner. The fact that Sami is wearing an Axl Rose shirt is purely a coincidence I’m sure. Sami sucks Rose’s lollipop.

CJ Parker vs. Xavier Woods

Parker says that the signs he carries are a social movement. Woods is in his traditional clothes and hasn’t put on the white suit yet. It’s a brawl to start and a clothesline puts Parker on the floor. Back in and Parker avoids a charge, sending Woods shoulder first into the post. We come back from a quick break with Parker getting two off a senton backsplash.

A running double knee in the corner sets up a top rope ax handle for two on Woods. We hit the chinlock on Xavier but he blocks a second backsplash with some knees. Woods comes back with some strikes and a high cross body. A running low Downward Spiral gets two on Parker and the Honor Roll clothesline gets the same.

Woods goes to the top rope and walks down a bit before diving four fifths of the way across the ring for a splash. Parker was so far across the ring that he could have put his foot on the opposite ropes. For some reason that only gets two and Parker comes back with a kind of Death Valley Driver for the pin at 8:12.

Rating: C+. I can’t believe it but there are a few things to talk about here. First and foremost, why would you have Woods bust out a big move like that and have it only get two? It looked awesome but instead the match ends a few seconds later. Second, why did the announcers keep calling it an elbow? This isn’t one that you can really call anything other than a splash but Riley insisted it was an elbow. The match was good, but at the end of the day I have no interest in either of these guys.

Tyler Breeze is going to cash in his title shot against Adrian Neville. No date is specified but this sounded like an announcement.

Bayley vs. Eva Marie

Eva comes out on a podium like a sculpture. Makes sense for her. Cue the You Can’t Wrestle chants as they circle each other to start. We get the far better “BAYLEY’S GONNA HUG YOU” chant a few seconds later as Bayley takes Eva down to the mat and rides her for a bit before they roll around for some cradles. Eva gets two off a snap suplex but Bayley takes her down and hammers away. A running elbow in the corner sets up the Belly To Bayley for the pin on Eva at 3:18.

Rating: D. Eva looks good in the outfits but it’s clear that she isn’t anything in the ring. Like, she’s making Nikki Bella look like a master right now. To be fair though, ring time is the only thing that’s going to help her at this point so even a quick match like this one is going to help her.

Tag Team Tournament First Round: Sami Zayn/Adam Rose vs. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel

Even the announcers dance during Rose’s entrance in a funny bit. Kidd grabs a headlock on Sami to start but Zayn comes back with some very fast armdrags. Rose comes in for a staredown with Kidd and a little spank to Tyson. Kidd heads outside for a meeting with Gabriel, earning Justin a spank of his own. Things finally get serious as Rose gets beaten down in the corner.

Gabriel kicks him in the back for two but Rose comes back with a spinebuster for a near fall of his own. Kidd helps put Rose in the Tree of Woe for a stomping and we take a break. Back with Kidd holding a chinlock on Rose and tagging in Justin to stomp away. The double teaming continues, including a low dropkick from Gabriel for two.

A belly to back suplex gets the same but Kidd’s springboard elbow drop hits knees. I still think that would do more damage to Rose than Tyson but whatever. The hot tag brings in Sami to clean house, including the big flip dive to take out both villains. Rose goes up and hits a flip dive of his own. Back in and the Helluva Kick nails Gabriel for the pin at 9:48.

Rating: C-. That was….long. It was a lot of Rose getting beaten on before we hit the tag to Sami for the interesting part. Zayn really needs to get back to the underdog blood feuds that made him so popular here in NXT, but that might be where they’re going with him in the tournament.

Overall Rating: D+. What the heck has happened to NXT? They went from the can’t miss show of the week to a pretty dull hour of TV. Having so much time between the big shows is killing it as Breeze has been #1 contender for ten weeks now and we still haven’t heard a date for his title shot. The matches were mostly decent but the stories just aren’t doing it for me as it’s basically Neville waiting for Breeze and Ascension beating up everyone in sight while laughing at the pathetic challengers. This show needs a shot in the arm, but all the stars they have waiting to debut could be the answer they need.

Results
Colin Cassady/Enzo Amore b. Jason Jordan/Tye Dillinger – Amore pinned Jordan after a big boot from Cassady
CJ Parker b. Xavier Woods – Death Valley Driver
Bayley b. Eva Marie – Belly To Bayley
Adam Rose/Sami Zayn b. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel – Helluva Kick to Gabriel

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The UK gets the Network at some point in October.

Over 170 countries and territories get it on August 12, including Canada, Australia, Spain and Mexico among many others.

There’s good stuff in the report, but the number of buys still isn’t great. International will help A LOT though. THere’s also an offer of one month for $19.99, which will come off as a great deal for people wanting a pay per view and nothing more. THis could be far worse.

– The WWE released their 2014 Q2 earnings reports today, and in that report they announced that the WWE Network is up to 700,000 subscribers. This is up from the 667,00 announced the day after WrestleMania. It is also far below the 850,000 figure that most analysts felt that the company should be at, especially with WWE stating that they want to hit the 1 million subscriber mark in the US by the end of 2014. Some notes from the financials on the Network…

Customer Engagement: Viewer data indicates that, on average, 91% of subscribers access the network at least once per week and use 2.5 devices to consume network content. Moreover, consumer research indicates that 90% of subscribers are satisfied with WWE Network (with 51% extremely satisfied and 39% somewhat satisfied).

International Availability: The Company plans to make the U.S. version of WWE Network available on an over-the-top basis starting August 12th in over 170 countries and territories, including Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mexico, Spain and the Nordics, among others. The network is expected to be live in the U.K. by October 2014. Plans for the network in Italy, UAE, Germany, Japan, India, China, Thailand and Malaysia will be communicated at a later date.

Canada: The Company has entered into a new 10-year partnership with Rogers Communications, a leading media enterprise in Canada, under a landmark television programming and WWE Network agreement. The partnership facilitates the launch of WWE Network as a traditional a-la-carte Pay-TV channel in Rogers’ cable systems with a preview beginning August 12 and thereafter through other Pay-TV providers outside Rogers’ footprint. The partnership also renews Rogers’ license of the Raw and SmackDown television programs, and grants Rogers distribution rights to the Company’s pay-per-views.

Consumer Marketing: To enhance awareness, additional marketing investment is planned around the popular SummerSlam pay-per-view event in August. The Company will also introduce new payment plans in August, including a $19.99 monthly plan (with no commitment) and an upfront one-time payment option for its existing $9.99 per month offering (with six month commitment).

Other Developments: Content coming to WWE Network includes The Monday Night War and WWE Rivalries, the most recent addition to the network’s program schedule, both of which provide a documentary-style look at some of the greatest moments in WWE history. Expanding current distribution, WWE Network is launching on several smart TVs and Blu-ray players in mid-August. The Company also plans to deliver a new “resume play” feature later this year.

– George Barrios, Chief Strategy & Financial Officer had the following to say about the future of the Network…

“As we expanded WWE Network to 700,000 subscribers, our earnings performance surpassed our guidance, which targeted a Net loss ranging from $15 million to $18 million. Our key metrics continued to show strength as average North American attendance increased 11%, representing the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth. Raw and SmackDown TV ratings increased 5% and 3%, respectively, marking SmackDown’s 7th quarter of growth among the past 8 quarters. We identified efficiencies across WWE, which include a 7% reduction in staff, and improved our 2015 OIBDA outlook by $30 million. We developed plans to make WWE Network available in over 170 countries, and entered a 10-year deal that provides for the WWE Network launch as a traditional a-la-carte Pay-TV channel in Canada and renews our television licensing agreement for Raw and SmackDown. The progress in our strategic initiatives reinforces our view that successful execution of our WWE Network strategy can generate meaningful economic returns.”
Read more at http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/330556#ueZCGt88VbQrckCc.99

Regarding the WWE Network.

As usual with NXT, there are a few matches already set for this week. Tonight we’re getting Summer Rae vs. Charlotte for the Women’s Title to likely blow off the BFFs once and for all as well as Kalisto finding a partner to help him fight off the Vaudevillains. That’s one of the things I like best about NXT: they don’t have to start from scratch every week and it saves them so much time. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the collapse of the BFFs and Charlotte’s rise to the Women’s Title.

Opening sequence.

Ascension vs. ???/???

Viktor destroys Jobber #1 to start and throws him into Jobber #2 in the corner. Konnor comes in and Jobber #2’s chop just ticks him off. Jobber #2 gets destroyed for a bit and Fall of Man ends Jobber #2 at 2:37.

Tyler Breeze vs. Mojo Rawley

Beauty Shot ends this at 30 seconds in the only move of the match. So much for Rawley.

Women’s Title: Summer Rae vs. Charlotte

Charlotte is defending. Heaven help me but Summer’s theme song is growing on me. They get in each others’ faces to start before Charlotte shoves Summer down. She mocks Summer’s dancing and we go into the catfight. Charlotte takes over with some knees to the back and a Figure Four Neck Lock. We take a break and come back with Summer in the same hold and shouting about her beautiful face.

Charlotte flips her forward but gets sent to the floor to give Summer control. She slams Charlotte face first into the mat for two and puts on a bodyscissors. We get the very rare BORING chant in NXT as Charlotte gets caught in a half crab. Charlotte bites her way out and now the fans are doing the wave. A double clothesline puts both girls down but it’s Charlotte up first and taking control. She grabs a quick Bow Down to the Queen to retain at 9:50.

Rating: D+. Summer is no Natalya for sure. This was a really dull match and thankfully they kept this a lot shorter than the Takeover match. Both girls are almost all character, but it’s nice to see them trying to have a match instead of doing the stupid catfight stuff. Summer needs a lot more work though.

Video on Alexa Bliss.

Sin Cara/Kalisto vs. Vaudevillains

Not a huge surprise but it’s the right choice for a partner. English and Kalisto get things going with the masked man taking him down in a headlock. Off to Sin Cara for a loud chop and a cross body into a series of right hands to the head. Aiden dropkicks a springboard cross body out of the air for two and it’s off to Gotch. Renee: “Gotch isn’t allowed in England for trying to capture the Loch Ness Monster but getting Giant Haystacks.”

Gotch hammers away and gets two off a sunset flip before it’s back to English for a hard stomping. English gets caught in an armdrag into a powerbomb and it’s off to Kalisto to speed things up. Everything breaks down and Sin dives out onto English and Kalisto hits a standing Sliced Bread #2 for the pin on Gotch at 6:00.

Rating: C-. This was fine and the match made the new team look good. The Vaudevillains are going to be over because of how zany they are and a loss really doesn’t hurt them all that much. Also adding in a new face team that could eventually challenge the Ascension is a good thing.

Rusev vs. Adrian Neville

Non-title. Lana does her thing and talks about America’s obsessions with stars before the match. Rusev even speaks some English and talks about being the super athlete. Neville moves around as much as he can to start but gets caught in the corner and the beating begins.

The champion gets up some boots in the corner to stop a charge but the rest of his kicks don’t have much of an effect. Rusev grabs the leg and gets choked in the air. Neville comes back with a springboard missile dropkick. Tyler Breeze comes out for a distraction though and Rusev runs Neville over. Adrian escapes the fall away slam and nails a big kick. He loads up the Red Arrow but Breeze shoves him off for the DQ at 4:02.

Rating: D+. This was an angle instead of a match. They’ve done a REALLY good job at making Neville look like a superhero in the NXT Arena though and that’s going to make his title loss look like a big deal. Breeze is still a really good choice for #1 contender and I’m actually buying him as a possible champion.

Rusev puts him in the Accolade and makes Neville tap after the bell.

Overall Rating: C-. Not a very good episode this week as it felt like a placeholder. It’s still very acceptable for an hour long show but it wasn’t very entertaining. I’m glad Rusev didn’t beat Neville and it’s nice to see him coming off as a treat for the fans. Breeze vs. Neville is going to be a clash when it finally happens.

Results
Ascension b. ???/??? – Fall of Man to ???
Tyler Breeze b. Mojo Rawley – Beauty Shot
Charlotte b. Summer Rae – Bow Down to the Queen
Sin Cara/Kalisto b. Vaudevillains – Standing Sliced Bread #2 to Gotch
Adrian Neville b. Rusev via DQ when Tyler Breeze interfered

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We have a new big bad coming out of last week as Tyson Kidd allowed his wife to be shoved off the apron in order to finally get a big win in NXT. Kidd thriving is another problem for NXT Champion Adrian Neville to deal with as he now has Kidd and Gabriel coming after him as well as #1 contender Tyler Breeze looming. Let’s get to it.

Opening video.

Vaudevillains vs. Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady

English cranks on Amore’s arm to start while shouting a little song. Enzo drags him over to the corner for the tag to Big Cass, who gets to pound on Gotch’s back. This brings out the Legionnaires, and since it’s a WWE product, Colin can’t handle seeing people in the same arena gets gets rolled up for the pin at 2:25.

The Ascension wants more competition.

We recap the breakup of the BFF’s and Summer earning a shot at Charlotte. The match is next week.

CJ Parker vs. Xavier Woods

Woods cranks on the arm to start as the announcers talk about Parker’s attempts to better the world. A headscissors puts Parker down but CJ whips him face first into the ropes for a unique reversal. Byron Saxton compares Parker to Oprah and Ronald Reagan, earning disdain from his fellow announcers. Parker puts on a chinlock but Woods quickly fights out with chops. Woods comes back with a DDT off the ropes for two but he misses a charge in the corner and gets rolled up with Parker grabbing the ropes for the pin at 2:00.

Sami Zayn says we’re seeing the real Tyson Kidd who is really insecure over his wife’s success. This jealousy is just making Kidd look bad.

Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks

Bliss takes over with some forearms to start but gets taken down into a cravate. It doesn’t last long though as Bliss fights up, only to miss a flip out of the corner. Banks takes her down with a backstabber and flips Alexa over for a crossface without the arm trap for the submission at 2:52.

Tyler Breeze is asked when he’ll be facing that uggo Adrian Neville. He talks about everyone rushing nowadays and how he won’t be rushing to face Adrian after his hand modeling injury. The contract is being drawn up, but until then, here’s his music video again.

We recap Tyson Kidd being evil last week.

Kidd says there’s nothing to his actions and he isn’t jealous of his wife.

Adam Rose vs. Jason Jordan

Jordan says his partner Tye Dillinger is injured but was last seen partying with the Rosebuds. Rose dances around and takes him down with a headlock. Jordan fights up and nails a clothesline to take over before slapping on a chinlock. Rose will have none of that and hits the CHOO CHOO Bronco Buster followed by the Party Foul for the pin at 3:18.

Rating: D+. The match was nothing more than a treat for the live crowd. Rose is great in a small atmosphere like this but he’s going to need a lot more to make it on the main roster. That’s the problem with a character like him: he’s really good at promos and vignettes, but the in ring stuff just isn’t there.

Kalisto says he and El Local parted ways but the Vaudevillains interrupt. They mock the masked man but he promises to find a new partner to face them next week. The Vaudevillains contemplate this with a hearty chin rub.

Tyson Kidd vs. Sami Zayn

Tyson hides in the corner to start before heading to the floor for more stalling. Back in and Tyson slides right back to the floor after minimal contact. Kidd gets in again and is sent to the corner for the Helluva Kick but he bails to the floor again. Kidd sends him to the floor and hits a nice dive off the apron to put both guys down on the ramp as we take a break. Back with Kidd putting on a chinlock before putting Sami in the Tree of Woe for a running dropkick to the face.

Sami fights back with elbows to the face and a dropkick to send Kidd outside. The slingshot moonsault puts Tyson down again and Zayn is all fired up. Back inside and the top rope cross body gets two on Kidd but the Blue Thunder Bomb is countered into a German suplex for two. Kidd’s top rope elbow hits knee though and the Blue Thunder Bomb connects for two. The Blockbuster gets two on Sami and he gets caught in the Sharpshooter. Kidd gets it full on in the middle but Zayn is still able to crawl over to the ropes. Tyson goes up but dives into the Koji Clutch for the submission at 10:50 shown of 14:20.

Rating: B-. Did you expect anything but a good match from these two? It’s so strange to see Sami getting back to back wins and have him on a winning streak but it’s nice to see. Kidd’s heel turn is good but he needs to get a big win out of it at some point. Thankfully it wasn’t at Sami’s expense again.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event was good but the rest of the show was almost all too short to rate. NXT is on another roll at this point and getting better every week. The main event scene is solid and it seems like Breeze’s title shot is coming down the road. They’re making that a huge deal and it’s likely main eventing the next big show.

Results
Vaudevillains b. Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady – Rollup to Cassady
CJ Parker b. Xavier Woods – Rollup while holding the ropes
Sasha Banks b. Alexa Bliss – Crossface
Adam Rose b. Jason Jordan – Party Foul
Sami Zayn b. Tyson Kidd – Koji Clutch

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This is another show that has been built up for a few weeks and there’s a good chance we get the payoff tonight. Coming off last week, we should be coming up on Sami Zayn/Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel. The match isn’t going to be a masterpiece or anything, but it’s going to be a well done match with a lot of high flying entertainment. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.
Bayley vs. Summer Rae

The winner gets a shot against Charlotte at some point in the future. Summer sends her into the corner to start but Bayley takes her down with a drop toehold and puts on an armbar. Bayley spins around on Summer’s back and Rae bails to the floor. Back in quickly and Summer nails a kick to Bayley’s ribs for one. Summer pulls on the arms with her feet on Bayley’s shoulders as Charlotte is watching from the back.

The referee breaks up a hair pull and Bayley flips Summer over, only to have her head rammed into the mat. Bayley comes back with a suplex, drawing a BAYLEY’S GONNA HUG YOU chant from the crowd. A spear and suplex get two on Rae but she kicks Bayley in the face for two of her own. Bayley comes back with a top rope elbow to the jaw but Summer counters the Belly to Bayley into the Summer Crush (standing legdrop) for the pin at 5:23.

Rating: C-. Nothing special here but Summer vs. Charlotte is going to be a solid match that belongs on a big stage. Summer isn’t great in the rings but she looks good and has the attitude that a Diva needs. Bayley needs to stay in NXT as long as she can so WWE can’t ruin her on the main roster.

Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville are banged up but they’re coming for Gabriel and Kidd.

Justin Gabriel is with Tyson Kidd and says he’s not going to be a loser anymore. He started in NXT and now somehow he’s back. There’s talent here, but it’s not on his level. Tyson was right and it took one more loss to prove him right. Sometimes in life, you have to break some rules.

Tyler Breeze has entered the building.

Sin Cara vs. Wesley Blake

Some quick rollups get two on Blake and a clothesline sends him to the floor, setting up a suicide dive. Back in and Blake takes him down by the arm for two before hooking an armbar. Cara comes up with a jawbreaker followed by a springboard headbutt. A springboard cross body gets two and a kick to the head sets up the Swanton Bomb for the pin at 3:32.

Rating: C-. Just a squash here but Sin Cara looked fine. He could use a few nice wins down in NXT, even though it isn’t going to mean much for him in WWE. The original Sin Cara’s run was just so bad that even the new performer can’t do much with the character anymore. Still though, not bad.

Tyson Kidd and Natalya get in an argument over his recent actions. He tells Natalya to not come to the ring with him tonight.

Summer thinks she and Sasha should stay friends but Banks doesn’t seem interested.

CJ Parker calls out Xavier Woods to talk about what happened last week. Parker apologizes but Woods doesn’t seem to accept. CJ offers peace before laying Woods out from behind.

The Vaudevillains talk about becoming the next Tag Team Champions and share an awesome laugh.

Video on the Ascension for the fans that are watching on the free preview.

Bull Dempsey vs. Angelo Dawkins

A quick armbar takes Dawkins down and he makes the mistake of trying a sunset flip. The much bigger Dempsey sits on his chest and hammers away with headbutts and elbow drops. Dempsey chokes a lot and shrugs off a quick comeback attempt, setting up the Bulldozer powerslam for the pin at 2:55.

Dempsey says he isn’t quitting until he’s NXT Champion.

Zayn and Neville are ready.

Sami Zayn/Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel

Natalya is here with Kidd despite the argument earlier. Kidd and Neville get things going as the announcers plug the Network. Off to Sami who cranks on the arm before it’s back to the champion for more of the same. Zayn drops to the mat and Neville gets on his back for a corkscrew splash. Albert: “Rich can I try that off your back?” Renee: “I’ll give you a dollar if you do!” Neville hits a middle rope cross body for two before it’s off to Zayn for some chops. Justin offers a distraction and Tyson sends Zayn to the floor as we take a break.

Back almost immediately with Gabriel putting on a double chicken wing. That goes nowhere so Sami gets tied in the Tree of Woe, only to have Justin nail him from the apron. A double kick to the head gets two on Zayn and Tyson puts on a front facelock. Sami is in trouble but finally throws Kidd off and dives over for the hot tag. A standing moonsault gets two on Gabriel and a sitout powerbomb gets the same.

Adrian levels Kidd for two and the fans want Nattie. Justin’s distraction prevents the Red Arrow and Kidd knocks Adrian off the ropes for the springboard elbow and two. Sami sends Justin outside but makes a blind tag, setting up a big high cross body for two as Adrian dives onto Gabriel. I thought that was it. Tyson grabs Sami’s face but gets backdropped to the floor. Sami is left alone for the BIG flip dive to take out all three other guys. Kidd claims a knee injury but it’s a fake. Sami punches him in the jaw but it knocks Natalya to the floor as well. Tyson fakes going to check on her and grabs a quick rollup for the pin at 10:35.

Rating: B. Take four guys and let them fly around the ring for eleven minutes and freak the crowd out. It’s an idea that has worked since professional wrestling began and it’s always going to work. The match was the usual solid stuff and Kidd looks like the most evil guy in all of NXT. Well done.

Kidd leaves with Gabriel.

Overall Rating: B. If the idea tonight was to get people to want to buy the Network to see NXT, they did a great job. You got some WWE names, some good matches, angle advancement, and a sense of “why am I not watching this?”. That’s the point of a show like this and it worked like a charm. Good stuff and a good regular episode too.

Results
Charlotte b. Bayley – Summer Crush
Sin Cara b. Wesley Blake – Swanton Bomb
Bull Dempsey b. Angelo Dawkins – Bulldozer
Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel b. Sami Zayn/Adrian Neville – Rollup to Zayn

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One of the people talking about Brock coming back was Punk, and the first thought in my head was that Punk would know how awesome Brock is as Punk fought him at Summerslam. The same is true of Cena. Then I heard the year 2012 and I wondered how it could have been that long. Then I thought “oh yeah. He had that year long feud with HHH.”

The trilogy between HHH and Brock Lesnar might have been the least interesting big match trilogy of all time. It’s just totally forgettable and left no impact at all. It’s sandwiched between the match of the year in 2012 and the match of the year in 2013 and means nothing, all things considered. The match headlined Summerslam, was the second main event at Wrestlemania XXIX and headlined Extreme Rules. That REALLY should be something memorable but there’s just nothing there. I remember Brock vs. Big Show better than I remember the HHH feud, and I literally couldn’t remember Brock vs. Big Show two days after it happened.

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NXT is coming in off a bad show which isn’t something I have to say all that often. Last week’s show was pretty boring with Tyler Breeze having one of the least interesting matches I’ve ever seen from the promotion and the main event being an angle instead of a match. Things down here have a habit of turning around quickly though so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

T. Perkins/Matt Sugarman vs. Vaudevillians

The Vaudevillians are introduced at a combined height of 12’7. Renee says Sugarman is a Bastion Booger fan because that’s how awesome she is. Gotch takes Sugarman down with an armbar before putting on a headscissors so he can do clap pushups. A slam puts Sugerman down and the top rope Swanton (That’s A Wrap) from English gets the pin at 2:45.

We recap the main event from last week. Zayn says Tyson is a weird kind of cat because he never learned how to lose. They’ll be hearing from each other again.

Xavier Woods vs. Bull Dempsey

CJ Parker’s crusade in the crowd continues. Dempsey gets a full entrance and has a theme song with the word BULL being shouted over and over. Dempsey grabs a headlock to start and hammers Woods down with pure power. A headbutt gets two before Dempsey just drills Woods with forearms to the chest. Dempsey is in a short singlet, earning him a PUT SOME PANTS ON chant from the lively crowd. Woods fights out of a chinlock with a jawbreaker but jumps into a right hand to the face. A sitout slam (the Bulldozer) gets Bull the pin at 4:40.

Rating: D+. Total squash here and Dempsey looked good the whole way. There’s nothing wrong with a powerful brute like this and the match worked well. His music is really catchy too and was stuck in my head the entire time. That’s a good sign as it’s just his name over and over, set to music.

Bull says the children have run NXT for too long and he’s the last of a dying breed.

Summer Rae vs. Becky Lynch

Becky is an Irish redhead in green. The fans chant for her to start and Lynch does a jig. Becky takes her down with an armbar but she gets kicked in the face for two. Charlotte tries to interfere but Summer shouts that it’s her match, allowing Lynch to get a VERY close two off a rollup. Lynch hits three straight legdrops for two followed by a capture suplex for the pin at 2:59.

Sawyer Fulton vs. Colin Cassady

They circle each other for a bit as the announcers hype Cassady up as a future NXT Champion. Fulton shoves Cassady to start but walks into a big boot and the S-A-W-F-T Elbow gets the pin at 1:26.

The Legionnaires come out to go after Colin but Enzo Amore runs out for the save. Catchphrases are spoken.

Adrian Neville vs. Rob Van Dam

Tyler Breeze is on commentary. Non-title and set up as RVD wanted to face the best NXT had to offer. Neville takes over with a headscissors on the mat and an armdrag sends Van Dam out to the floor. Back in and a rollup gets two for Adrian as Renee says Van Dam is Neville’s idol. Van Dam kicks Adrian to the floor and nails a shot off the apron to put both guys down. Adrian is back up first for a big moonsault to take Rob down again.

We take a break and come back with Adrian holding a front facelock but getting caught in an atomic drop. Renee asks Tyler about a potential full length album but Breeze says his one hit will last for awhile. Van Dam kicks Neville in the face and does it again in the corner. Neville’s sunset flip is countered for two and he gets tied up in the Tree of Woe. A running kick to the ribs has Neville in even more trouble but he escapes a German suplex.

Adrian’s springboard clothesline gets two on Van Dam but he comes back with a jawbreaker. The split legged moonsault only hits mat and a small package gets two for the champion. Van Dam throws Adrian into the air for a kick to the chest to take over again. The Five Star misses though and Neville comes back with a running DDT, followed by the Red Arrow for the pin at 13:56 shown of 16:26.

Rating: C+. There was a nice story here with Neville knowing Van Dam so well due to being a fan for so many years. I’m not the biggest Van Dam fan in the world but it’s nice to see him putting people over clean like this. I expected Van Dam to get the pin so this was a very nice surprise.

They shake hands post match and the announcers don’t treat this like a big upset.

Overall Rating: C+. And of course NXT bounces back with a good show this week. This was about bringing in some new stars and giving some new people pushes, which is necessary when WWE brings people up so often. Neville is reaching a point where losing the title is going to be a big deal and that’s a very good thing. Solid show this week.

Results
Vaudevillians b. T. Perkins/Matt Sugarman – That’s A Wrap to Sugerman
Bull Dempsey b. Xavier Woods – Bulldozer
Becky Lynch b. Summer Rae – Capture suplex
Colin Cassady b. Sawyer Fulton – S-A-W-F-T Elbow
Adrian Neville b. Rob Van Dam – Red Arrow

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