NXT
Date: July 3, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, William Regal

It’s another big week on NXT as the Wyatt Family now has William Regal to deal with in addition to Graves and Ohno. On the singles side we have Leo Kruger looking like the first challenger for Bo Dallas, which is an odd choice as Dallas seems to be ready for a heel turn but he’s facing a heel in Leo. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Bo Dallas in the back for an interview. Renee asks him about Leo Kruger coming out and holding up the title after Dallas’ match last week. Dallas says the Bo-lievers (Renee: “Bo-lievers?” Dallas: “Yes the Bo-lievers.”) will be behind him against anyone. He brags about meeting Bret Hart at Wrestlemania and having a match at Wrestlemania Axxess, which he earned just like when he beat Big E. Langston.

Antonio Cesaro comes in and says Dallas hasn’t earned anything. Tonight he’ll take Dallas’ title in the name of We The People. Dallas introduces Cesaro to Renee, calling him the most insignificant US Champion in WWE history. Dallas was acting much more heelish here and it helped him a lot.

NXT Women’s Title Tournament Semi-Finals: Alicia Fox vs. Paige

Fox takes it to the mat in a headscissors with her long legs but Paige counters into a headlock. Fox pulls her down by the hair and immediately bails to the floor. Back in and Paige fires off rapid fire elbows in the corner but Fox sweeps her legs out and gets two off a northern lights suplex. Off to a chinlock with a knee in Paige’s back but she escapes with a jawbreaker. Paige throws her around by the hair and hits a knee to the face, only to walk into a dropkick for two. Not that it matters though as Paige kicks her in the ribs and hits the Paige Turner to send her to the finals at 4:44.

Rating: C-. This was much better for Paige than the match against Snuka a few weeks back as Paige looked competitive against a former Divas Champion. Fox is good in a role like this as she’s been around for awhile and is a name in the division (granted not a huge one) so a win like this makes Paige look better. You can only dominate the other NXT girls for so long before it stops meaning anything.

Andy Baker vs. Conor O’Brien

O’Brien now has Rick Victor with him as Kenneth Cameron’s replacement. Conor runs Baker over and shouts YOU’RE DEAD. Baker tries to fight back with some shots to the ribs but a flapjack and a legdrop from O’Brien are enough for the pin at 1:00.

Kassius Ohno was injured by the Wyatt Family last week and can’t compete for the tag titles. Corey Graves and Adrian Neville ask William Regal to join them.

Scott Dawson vs. Xavier Woods

The fans chant for Woods but Dawson kicks him in the ribs to take over. Woods comes back with a quick dropkick for a one count and it’s off to an armbar on Dawson. Scott backdrops him over the top, sending Woods face first into the apron. The fans are all over Dawson as he elbows Xavier in the face and drops a leg for two. We hit the chinlock for a few seconds but Woods fights up, hits the Honor Roll (front flip clothesline) and Lost in the Woods is good for the pin at 4:11.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t much to see but I’m glad Dawson isn’t on a winning streak anymore. Woods continues to be so high energy that it’s hard not to notice him. His antics are funny enough and having a nostalgia character is a good way to get your foot in the door. The match didn’t have long enough to go anywhere but it was hard hitting and energetic enough to not suck.

Bray Wyatt talks about people judging him for the way he looks. He’s a wolf and sheep’s clothing and if you knew what was behind his eyes, you would know why people are scared of him.

Enzo Amore vs. Mason Ryan

Enzo continues to be incredibly annoying and therefore a great new heel. He has 7’0 Colin Cassady with him…..and the match is over in 12 seconds with a single right hand from Ryan. Best part of the match is a line from Regal: “Is Amore the love child of DDP?”

Amore wants Ryan to fight Cassady RIGHT NOW.

Mason Ryan vs. Colin Cassady

Ryan throws him around and ends Cassady in 33 seconds with a cobra clutch slam.

NXT Title: Bo Dallas vs. Antonio Cesaro

The fans don’t care for Cesaro but they can’t stand Dallas. Cesaro is even cheered a bit during the big match intros. There’s a WE THE PEOPLE chant as Cesaro and Dallas feel each other out. Dawson: “What does it mean if Cesaro can beat Dallas tonight?” Regal: “That he’ll be the champion.” Cesaro cranks on the arm and the fans are have a “Let’s go Bo” and “No more Bo” dueling chant going between the women and men.

A shoulder block gets two for Cesaro as Dawson has to explain who Tim Tebow is to Regal. Cesaro sends Dallas to the floor as we take a break. Back with Cesaro holding a chinlock as Leo Kruger is standing on the ramp. A kick to the back keeps Dallas down and the fans ask Cesaro to do it again. He loads the kick up but drops down into another chinlock to tease the people.

Dallas fights up again and pounds away in the corner before getting two off a bulldog. Cesaro’s slam is countered into a reverse DDT for two more but the corner climbing bulldog is blocked. Cesaro puts him on the top for a gutwrench superplex for a very close two. A middle rope knee drop gets two on the champion and it’s off to the swinging chinlock.

Dallas rolls the chinlock over into a cradle for two but Cesaro comes back with a fallaway slam for two more. Cesaro goes up top but Dallas runs the corner for a butterfly superplex to put both guys down again. Antonio is sent into Kruger to knock Leo off the apron, allowing Dallas to hit the belly to belly to retain at 10:15 shown of 12:45.

Rating: C+. Very interesting crowd reactions aside, this match really took off in the last three minutes or so. Kruger interfering sets up some interesting dynamics down the line and gives Dallas an extra challenger to face. They’ll need to move forward with that heel turn soon, because the fans were cheering for the protege of a white supremacist over the young face champion.

Post match Kruger lays out Dallas but Cesaro knocks Kruger to the floor. Cesaro pounds on Dallas until Kruger gets back in for a staredown. They double team Dallas until Sami Zayn comes in for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show had a lot of filler, but the main event was solid and it sets up a very interesting four way feud for the title. Zayn is fitting right into this show and WWE sending big names down to Florida can only help things out. This was a good sign for the future and was an entertaining hour of wrestling.

Results

Paige b. Alicia Fox – Paige Turner

Conor O’Brien b. Andy Baker – Legdrop

Xavier Woods b. Scott Dawson – Lost in the Woods

Mason Ryan b. Enzo Amore – Right Hand

Mason Ryan b. Colin Cassady – Cobra Clutch

Bo Dallas b. Antonio Cesaro – Belly to belly suplex

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews,  pick up my book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon for just $4 at:

NXT
Date: June 26, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Tom Phillips

The focus shifts back to the titles tonight as Bo Dallas and Big E. Langston both return to the NXT Arena after their title match two weeks ago. We also have Dawson’Dylan vs. Ohno/Graves for a future title shot against the Wyatt Family. This is a pretty stacked show by NXT standards so let’s get to it.

Big E. Langston vs. Aiden English

Langston slams him down twice and the Big Ending finishes English in 42 seconds.

Another Big Ending is good for the five count. Langston goes to leave but comes back in and hits a third Big Ending for a second five count.

Emma is blowing bubbles in the back and says her plan for the match tonight is to win. She says Renee can’t have her bubbles but can hold them while Emma has her match.

NXT Women’s Title Tournament First Round: Emma vs. Aksana

Aksana takes her to the mat to start and gets two off a backbreaker. Emma avoids a charge in the corner and slides into a sunset flip for two. Aksana works on the arm but the match turns into a catfight with neither being able to take over. Off to a headscissors on Emma before Aksana takes her into the corner for some gyrating. Emma kicks her to the mat and hooks a bridging Indian deathlock called the Dilemma for the tap out at 3:38.

Rating: D. Aksana looks great in her outfits but the girl is a disaster in the ring. Thankfully they don’t treat her like anything serious and she’s just there to fill in a spot when needed. Emma continues to be entertaining by being so goofy that it’s hard not to chuckle at her. She’s getting better and better in the ring as well.

Emma brings some kids in the ring to dance with her.

Leo Kruger is hard to understand. Everything changes next.

Dante Dash vs. Leo Kruger

Dash takes him to the corner to start as we hear about Kruger being a mercenary. Leo pulls him down to the mat and drives some knees into Dash’s shoulder to take over. Back up and Kruger bends Dash’s arm over the shoulder before sending him into the post. The shoulder goes into the post again and a big clothesline puts Dash down. Kruger’s GC3 (seated arm/triceps pull) gets the submission at 2:46. Squash.

The Ascension will rise. Again.

Mickey Keegan vs. Bo Dallas

Dallas takes him down with an armdrag for two as the crowd is SILENT. A pair of atomic drops and a dropkick put Keegan down again and some forearms set up a climbing the corner bulldog. Dallas hits the belly to belly for the pin at 1:47. The fans do not care at all.

Post match Leo Kruger comes in and lays out Keegan before reaching for the title.

Kassius Ohno/Corey Graves vs. Scott Dawson/Garrett Dylan

The winners get a shot at the Wyatt Family at some point to be announced. Ohno starts with Dawson with Kassius cranking on the arm. Off to Graves for more arm cranking before Ohno takes him down with a headlock. Graves comes back in to work on the arm as Phillips inaccurately says the Wyatt Family is undefeated as a tag team. Dawson finally escapes and takes Graves down to bring in Dylan for a neckbreaker for two.

We take a break and come back with Graves still in trouble as Dawson and Dylan continue to cut the ring in half. Dylan hooks a chinlock before a clothesline gets two for Dawson. A jawbreaker gets Graves out of trouble and it’s back to Ohno to clean the lower half of the house. A kind of spinning release suplex gets two for Kassius but Dylan makes a blind tag and the trailer boys hit Southern Pride for two. Now it’s Ohno in trouble with Dawson getting two off another clothesline.

Dylan comes in to crank on the neck as Regal actually acknowledges a YOU CAN’T WRESTLE chant. Ohno fights up but can’t make the tag after sunset flipping Dylan. An elbow to the jaw is enough for the tag to Graves and the fans aren’t all that interested. A knee to the face gets two for Graves as everything breaks down. Corey ties Garrett’s legs up in the ropes to pound away even more before getting two off a fireman’s carry into a backbreaker. Dawson and Ohno go to the floor as Graves takes out Dylan’s leg and the Lucky 13 leg lock gets the submission at 9:34 shown of 13:04.

Rating: C-. The match wasn’t terrible but like the live crowd I couldn’t get into it. Given the story going on with the Wyatt Family the ending was never in doubt whatsoever which makes the match less interesting to sit through. Add in the fact that Dawson and Dylan are a black hole of charisma and this was long and not very interesting.

Post match the Wyatt Family hits the ring to beat down their #1 contenders but Adrian Neville comes out for the save. He loads up the Red Arrow but Dawson and Dylan break it up. William Regal of all people runs in for the save but the heels have too much of a numbers advantage. Bray splashes Regal in the corner and the Family’s music plays to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was one of those shows that builds for later instead of being entertaining in its own right. A ticked off and serious Langston is interesting as is Kruger going after the title, but Dallas seemingly as a face and Dawson/Dylan in general do nothing for me or the live crowd it seems. The post main event stuff helped as the Wyatt Family are far more interesting heels than the trailer boys.

Results

Big E. Langston b. Aiden English – Big Ending

Emma b. Aksana – Dilemma

Leo Kruger b. Dante Dash – GC3

Bo Dallas b. Mickey Keegan – Belly to belly suplex

Corey Graves/Kassius Ohno b. Scott Dawson/Garrett Dylan – Lucky 13 to Dylan

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon for just $4 at:

NXT
Date: June 19, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Brad Maddox

We’re into the Bo Dallas era on NXT as he won the title from Langston last week. Due to the title situation the rest of the main stories have been put on hold for the last few weeks. The only other major story going on is the Women’s Title tournament which is only halfway through the first round. Hopefully things pick up a bit tonight. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Langston losing the title to Dallas last week. They treat the title win like a big feel good moment even though the fans seem to universally hate Dallas.

Welcome Home.

Adrian Neville vs. Bray Wyatt

This is a result of the long feud the Wyatt Family had with Neville/Oliver Gray over the tag titles as well as Adrian eliminating Wyatt from the battle royal a few weeks ago. Neville pounds away to start but a hard shot to the face puts him down. Adrian fights out of the corner but gets elbowed down for two. Bray sends him to the apron but charges into a kick to the head, only to have the Wyatt Family break up the corkscrew shooting star for the DQ at 2:07.

The Family comes in for the beatdown but Kassius Ohno and Corey Graves come in for the save. Dusty Rhodes comes out to make a six man tag for the main event.

Dolph Ziggler tells us not to try this at home.

Angelo Dawkins vs. Sami Zayn

This is Angelo’s debut. Dawkins tells Zayn to bring it on but gets caught in some crisp armdrags to send him into the corner. The powerfully built Dawkins slams Zayn down and we hit the chinlock. Sami fights up but Angelo knocks him into the corner with a hard elbow to the face. Dawkins charges into a leg lariat and Sami climbs the corner for the tornado DDT to pin Angelo at 2:57. Both guys looked good here.

Video on Leo Kruger who says he isn’t as creepy as people think he is. He’s lived a peculiar life which has made him an exotic human being. Everything is about to change.

NXT Women’s Title Tournament First Round: Sasha Banks vs. Summer Rae

Rae gets a quick two off a Russian legsweep as the fans are behind Sasha. Summer stomps on her in the corner and pulls her to the middle for a two count. A modified Stroke gets two for Rae before she pulls on Sasha’s arms and puts her feet on Sasha’s shoulders for a painful looking submission hold. Banks counters into a rollup for two and the match turns into a catfight. They slap it out and Sasha hits a Sin Cara style armdrag out of the corner for two. Summer comes back with a reverse DDT into a standing legdrop for the pin at 3:32.

Rating: D+. Summer looks great in her outfits but the work in the ring isn’t nearly as good. Paige carried her to a good match but Sasha isn’t ready to do something at that kind of level. The match wasn’t horrible but Summer’s time on offense didn’t look very good at all. You can see Rae vs. Paige for the title coming though and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Here are the updated brackets:

Paige

Alicia Fox

Summer Rae

Emma/Aksana

Xavier Woods says we might remember him from episodes such as #151 where he beat El Local or #155 where he beat El Local. Tonight he makes his return and a beep of his wrist communicator (same ringtone as the communicators the Power Rangers used in the old days) says it’s time to go. “It’s morphing time.”

Xavier Woods vs. Jake Carter

Woods has been gone becoming a Jenga world champion and winning a Nintendo 64 tournament. He takes Carter down by the arm but gets caught by a hard shoulder block and a headscissors. Off to an armbar on Carter as Maddox talks about Woods’ plan to find and marry Topanga from Boy Meets World. I can’t believe I’ve reached the age where my childhood has a nostalgia character. Carter fights up and hits a Hennig neck snap for two. Xavier comes back with a dropkick and the IT’S MORPHING TIME rolling clothesline before Lost in the Woods (Gail Kim’s Eat Defeat) ends Carter at 3:10.

Rating: D+. The match was nothing of note but this is the kind of fun character that is going to appeal to late 20s nerds who miss the 1990s. Woods has been around before and it’s been long enough that I had forgotten how much fun a guy like him can be. The match wasn’t all that great, but the fun carried this.

Sami Zayn says that the match with Dawkins wasn’t impressive. It was a message for Antonio Cesaro because Zayn wants a rubber match because Cesaro attacked him after their match last week. Your move Antonio.

Dusty Rhodes comes in to see Sylvester LeFort. Next week Dawkins and Garrett have a #1 contenders match against Ohno and Graves for a shot at the Wyatt Family.

We get a video of Bo Dallas shouting in a car, saying that he won’t be at the show this week because he’s been doing so much stuff since winning the title. We get photos of him at Disney World like he promised. “Don’t stop Bo-Leaving!.” He’ll be back next week. This has to be a heel turn.

Langston is back next week as well.

Wyatt Family vs. Kassius Ohno/Adrian Neville/Corey Graves

Harper starts with Graves with Corey going straight at the big man. A headlock brings Harper to the corner and it’s off to Ohno to pound away. Harper gets in a right hand and it’s off to Rowan for a slugout. Ohno comes back with a running boot to the face and it’s back to Adrian. Wyatt comes in and this a running splash in the corner but Neville counters a slingshot into a double stomp into Bray’s chest to take over.

Bray punches him down and brings Harper back in but Adrian hooks a quick hurricanrana to take Luke down. Back to Graves as things stay fast. Graves goes to the corner and wraps Luke up in a figure four neck lock over the top rope but gets dragged into the wrong corner as we take a break. Back with Harper dragging Adrian to the corner for a heavy beating from Wyatt.

Off to a chinlock on Neville as Bray has a creepy look on his face. Graves fights up and tries a sunset flip but has to avoid a seated splash from Wyatt. The hot tag brings in Ohno to face Rowan with the Family member launching Kassius over the top and out to the floor. It’s back to Harper for some choking and a hard uppercut. Ohno is down but Harper would rather stand around than go for a cover. Some elbow drops get two for Luke and it’s back to Rowan to continue the beating.

A pumphandle backbreaker gets two on Kassius but they ram heads off an Irish whip and everyone is down. Double tags bring in Bray and Adrian with Neville cleaning house. A standing shooting star press gets two on Wyatt followed by a big dive from Neville to take out Rowan, Harper and Ohno. Back in and Harper pulls Bray away from the Red Arrow (corkscrew shooting star), allowing Wyatt to pin Adrian at 9:00 shown of 11:30.

Rating: C. The ending was a mess but the rest of the match was a good old fashioned six man tag. The Family continues to be dominant and follows a formula similar to the Shield: you can beat then when you split them up but when you have the team united, they’re nearly unbeatable. Bray looks awesome at this point though with the looks on his face being very disturbing when he’s in the ring.

Overall Rating: C+. This is what NXT does better than anything: keep things moving and don’t spent a ton of time on any given story. We also got something set up for next week in the #1 contenders tag match and the returns of Langston and Dallas. Good episode this week with a mix of fun and action in an entertaining hour.

Results

Adrian Neville b. Bray Wyatt via DQ when the Wyatt Family interfered

Sami Zayn b. Angelo Dawkins – Tornado DDT

Summer Rae b. Sasha Banks – Standing legdrop

Xavier Woods b. Jake Carter – Lost in the Woods

Wyatt Family b. Corey Graves/Kassius Ohno/Adrian Neville

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon for just $4 at:

NXT
Date: June 5, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Brad Maddox

We have a new #1 contender after Bo Dallas won the battle royal last week, earning him a shot at Big E. Langston’s NXT Title. On top of that we’ve got Corey Graves/Kassius Ohno continuing their feud with the Wyatt Family. The big story tonight though is the beginning of the NXT Women’s Title Tournament to crown the first champion. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home.

Here’s Jim Ross to host the contract signing between Langston and Dallas. Both guys come out as we see some exclusive footage of them staring each other down after the battle royal last week. Langston is in street clothes which don’t quite suit him. Big E. signs but Dallas has something to say. He didn’t like Langston looking down at him last week like a joke. Since Langston won the NXT Title, he’s moved on to bigger and better things like hanging out with Dolph Ziggler and debuting at Wrestlemania.

Dallas thinks he should be doing those kinds of things but he isn’t because he’s not NXT Champion. He needs to be champion and is about to sign a contract that could change his life. All he needs are three seconds to change his life and make history. Dallas goes to sign but Langston says Dallas isn’t a joke. Langston started to respect Dallas when he fought Big Show, even though he got knocked out.

Dallas wants to be like Langston but Bo is a geek who probably lives at home with his mama and never stops smiling no matter what he’s doing. Bo was talking about three seconds, but Langston will crush his dreams in five. Dallas signs and walks away. Great stuff here from Langston but Dallas continues to look and sound like nothing special.

Corey Graves says his match tonight isn’t just about winning the tag titles but about taking the Wyatt Family down. Bray Wyatt likes to play mind games, but in Graves’ mind, they’re not playing games. Graves says he doesn’t like Ohno and doesn’t care what Kassius does in the match tonight.

NXT Women’s Title Tournament First Round: Tamina vs. Paige

I really like the look of the new belt as it’s very basic but classy looking. The centerpiece if oval shaped with the letters NXT in the middle and side plates coming off the centerpiece. Tamina shoves the much smaller Paige down with ease and chokes her down in the corner. A hair toss sends Paige flying and it’s off to a chinlock.

A knee drop gets two for Tamina and it’s back to the chinlock. Tamina slams her down for two more and it’s off to chinlock number three in a three and a half minute match. Paige fires back with some elbows in the corner but Tamina hits a superkick to drop Paige again. The Superfly Splash hits Paige’s knees, giving her a rollup to pin Tamina at 4:20.

Rating: C-. Paige did win, but I’m not sure having her get in a counter and a rollup for the pin is the best way to go about things here. It’s hard to imagine Paige not being in the tournament’s final and a win over a WWE Diva isn’t going to hurt her, but she could have looked much stronger here with the same result.

Kassius Ohno says his plan of attack is to attack. He’s bringing mayhem at the Wyatt Family fortress to get at Bray himself. Kassius doesn’t care what happens to Graves because Graves has proven he can’t handle three monsters by himself before. Tonight, it’s a war.

Colin Cassidy vs. Mason Ryan

Colin is a big guy who probably stands close to 7’0 tall. Cassidy pounds away at Ryan but is taken down by a single punch. Mason pounds away in the corner with right hands and a few headbutts before the Torture Rack neckbreaker ends Cassidy at 2:00.

Sami Zayn says it was a big deal to beat a WWE Tag Team and US Champion on the same night and maybe he could do it again. Cesaro comes up and says that was a cheap win. Zayn says that the only cheap thing that night was the cheap shot from Cesaro after the match. Cesaro wants a rematch and Zayn is up for it, as long as Cesaro tells him where he got his sweet man purse. The brawl is on but referees quickly break it up.

Alex Riley vs. Conor O’Brian

Conor easily runs Alex over a few times to start before throwing him into a headlock. Riley fights up but his chops get him nowhere. A dropkick puts O’Brian down and a top rope clothesline gets two but Alex gets caught by a splash in the corner. O’Brian flapjacks him down and puts Alex in the Stockade, a kind of seated Octopus Hold for the submission at 2:12. Riley looked good while getting squashed.

Tag Titles: Kassius Ohno/Corey Graves vs. Wyatt Family

Wyatt says he isn’t afraid of snakes or disease or fire. He’s only afraid of himself but the two guys in the ring aren’t scared enough of him. His name is Bray Wyatt and he is the eater of worlds. The men behind him are his brothers but tonight they’re going to give him an introduction of their own. Ohno starts with Rowan and puts on a cravate to take over. Erick can’t even slam his way out of the hold so he throws Kassius into the corner instead.

Off to Graves vs. Harper with Luke carrying him to a neutral corner like a rag doll. Why you would carry a rag doll to a neutral corner is beyond me but it’s not the best simile in the world. Graves armdrags his way out of a hiptoss before it’s back to Ohno to crank on Luke’s arm. It’s back to Rowan as we take a break. Back with Rowan holding Kassiuh in a cobra clutch before it’s back to Harper who gets two off an uppercut. Ohno escapes a powerslam by Erick and takes him down with a jawbreaker.

The hot tag brings in Graves to take out Rowan’s leg with a chop block but a Harper distraction prevents the 13^th Step from going on. Luke kicks Graves in the head to give Erick a two count before dropping a knee for two of his own. The Family keeps tagging in and out with Rowan getting two off a backbreaker. Off to an over the shoulder backbreaker for good measure (Maddox: “He’s going to break his back!” The name fits the move if nothing else) before it’s back to Harper who says yeah yeah yeah a lot.

Graves counters a suplex into a small package for two and a crucifix gets the same. Harper has a powerbomb countered with a backdrop and it’s off to Ohno to clean house. Ohno hits a series of forearms to Harper and gets two off a senton. A Bray Wyatt distraction doesn’t do his Family much good as Ohno hits a rolling headbutt for two. A clothesline from Graves sends both he and Rowan to the floor but the distraction allows Wyatt to blast Ohno in the head. Graves takes out Bray but Harper pins Kassius to retain at 10:00 shown of 13:00.

Rating: B-. They had me believing something the titles were in jeopardy at the end which is the right idea for a match like this. This match went a long way towards strengthening Ohno and Graves in their war with Wyatt which will definitely continue. The Family looks great in the ring for a pair of monsters with Harper having a lot of potential after the team eventually splits up.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a return to form for NXT after last week’s show. The main event for next week is advanced, we get a tournament match and a decent tag title match with a few squashes mixed in. What more can you possibly ask for in a forty five minute show? The title match next week has a better hype than I was expecting and Langston showed that he can be serious when he needs to be. Good show this week.

Results

Paige b. Tamina – Rollup

Mason Ryan b. Colin Cassidy – Torture Rack Neckbreaker

Conor O’Brian b. Alex Riley – Stockade

Wyatt Family b. Kassius Ohno/Corey Graves – Rollup to Ohno after interference from Bray Wyatt

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon for just $4 at:

I’m listening to the sweet Wyatt Family theme (Broken Out in Love) and started to think.Bray Wyatt and his Family are coming to Raw.  As most of you likely know, Wyatt used to be on the main roster as Husky Harris.  Bray Wyatt is a completely new gimmick for him, which is something that is becoming more frequent lately.  This means that fans are likely going to chant Husky Harris at him, which will get annoying in a hurry.  Why do fans insist on doing this?  They did it to Tensai by chanting Albert and I’m sure they’ve done it before then.  It’s no secret that he’s a different guy and it’s not like no one has ever been repackaged before.  Why do fans insist on reminding everyone else that they recognize someone?  It doesn’t work that way in movies or on TV, so why do we constantly have to be reminded of someone’s past identity in wrestling?

NXT
Date: May 22, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, William Regal

We’re a week away from the big NXT battle royal but tonight’s main event is Corey Graves vs. Bray Wyatt, as the Wyatt Family is apparently targeting people like Graves and Kassius Ohno for reasons yet to be named. This seems to be another filler episode before we get to next week where things start all over again, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home.

Curt Hawkins vs. Sami Zayn

Sami is independent mainstay El Generico minus a mask. The fans immediately start chanting OLE which is Generico’s trademark chant. Hawkins has short hair now, in case you’re not up to date on your Curt Hawkins news. Zayn takes him down with a set of armdrags and some chops in the corner for good measure. Hawkins elbows out of the corner and hits a quick enziguri for two.

Off to an early chinlock by Hawkins but an OLE chant gets Sami back up to his feet. Hawkins misses a forearm in the corner and gets caught in a belly to back suplex for no cover. A dropkick gets two but Hawkins comes back with a very excited slam. For the first time ever, we get a Let’s Go Hawkins chant but he can’t hook what looked to be a powerbomb. Instead Zayn grabs his wrist and runs up the corner into a tornado DDT for the pin at 4:14.

Rating: C. This was pretty much a squash but Zayn looked good out there. He has a solid presence to him and even though he’s a smaller guy, his offense comes off like it has some force behind it. Hawkins is as generic of a wrestler as you’ll ever find, but then again he has something resembling a resume and isn’t terrible in the ring so he makes for a good jobber. Good debut here for Zayn.

Video on Corey Graves, explaining why he has so many tattoos. There’s a CM Punk vibe to this and he closes with a good line: “I’m not here to leave a mark. I’m here to leave a scar.”

Antonio Cesaro vs. Yoshi Tatsu

Ok, Cesaro HAS to be able to beat Tatsu right? I mean, it’s Yoshi Tatsu. EVERYBODY beats Tatsu. Cesaro pounds him into the corner but gets caught by a quick cross body for no cover. Yoshi fires off some kicks but gets caught by a vicious European uppercut and the Neutralizer ends this in 52 seconds.

Post match Cesaro wants to know if that was the best competition he can get. There’s no one on any show that can challenge him, but here’s Sami Zayn to disagree. He speaks multiple languages, including Arabic which Cesaro doesn’t understand. Zayn goes to French instead and the match is on right now.

Antonio Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn

Cesaro quickly powers him down to start but gets spun around as Zayn leverages his way out of a test of strength. A springboard wrist drag sends Cesaro to the floor as take a break. Back with Zayn holding an armbar but being dropped throat first on the top rope. Zayn is whipped hard into the corner for two before it’s off to a chinlock. Sami fights up and tries a sunset flip but Cesaro does the DX crotch chop of all things before stomping onto his chest for two.

Off to another chinlock before Zayn comes back with a rollup out of the corner. A high cross body is caught by Cesaro in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two and a running European uppercut gets the same. Off to some rights and lefts in the corner by Antonio before he loads up a suplex, only to have Zayn slide down his back and roll up Cesaro for the pin at 5:00 shown of 7:20.

Rating: C. Nothing of note here but it was good to see Zayn get such a solid push to start. He was in trouble for most of the match but it makes sense that a guy as strong as Cesaro could throw Sami around like he did. This is a really good debut for Zayn and I really liked what I’ve seen so far.

Emma is in the back but she’s apparently taking Audrey Marie’s interview time. Emma keeps screwing up Audrey’s name and suggests Audrey dance to relieve stress. Audrey says get out before I take you out. Emma: “Can we go to lunch? I haven’t eaten today.” She dances off and smacks Audrey in the head as she goes.

Video on Bray Wyatt which looks more like the old ones.

Here’s some guy named Enzo Amore to talk. Enzo is from New Jersey and has almost every stereotype you can think of. He sees a bunch of fake tough guys in NXT and talks about people being a bunch of G’s.

Enzo Amore vs. Mason Ryan

Ryan throws Amore around like he’s not even there before chopping him down. Running snake eyes sets up a running clothesline by Ryan before a torture rack neckbreaker ends Amore at 1:26. Ryan is still nothing of note.

The Raw ReBound talks about Ryback demanding an ambulance match.

Stephanie McMahon will be here next week for an announcement.

There’s also a #1 contenders battle royal next week.

Corey Graves vs. Bray Wyatt

Bray shoves him around to start and still has that gray mask on his face. Graves takes him into the corner and pounds away a bit before putting on a front facelock. The Wyatt Family looks concerned as Bray is in some trouble early on. Graves gets the mask off of Wyatt so Bray heads to the outside. Not that it matters as Wyatt puts the mask back on and pounds away on Graves back in the ring.

Graves gets up a knee to stop a charging Bray before putting on a figure four neck lock over the top rope to slow Wyatt down again. Bray is fine with that though as he hits a running cross body as we take a break. Back with Wyatt holding a chinlock, only to get up and miss a charge, sending him out to the floor. Graves misses a baseball slide though and Bray sends him into the steps. Bray kicks him in the chest a few times before taking it back inside for another chinlock.

There’s the splash in the corner but Graves escapes the dancing into a rollup for a close two. The mask comes off again so Bray hits another cross body to put Graves down. Back up and Corey punches the exposed face and makes a good comeback, sending Bray reeling. A clothesline in the corner staggers Bray and a chop block puts him down. The Family is knocked down and there’s the Lucky 13 leg lock, but Harper breaks it up via a distraction by Rowan. Sister Abigail ends Graves at 8:41 shown of 12:11.

Rating: C. I was digging Graves here as his comeback was working well, but the Family getting the win was probably the right idea. There’s only so much you can do for Graves here without making the Family look weak, so the cheating was probably the right call. Graves looked good though.

Post match Kassius Ohno returns to try to make the save but gets laid out by the Family. Bray talks about being a monster to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling here wasn’t great but they did a good job with the storytelling here. Next week we’ll have a new #1 contender to Langston’s title so we can have a new main event feud to build around. I was really impressed by Zayn tonight and he seems to have a feud set up with Cesaro already. Good show here but for different reasons than usual.

Results

Sami Zayn b. Curt Hawkins – Tornado DDT

Antonio Cesaro b. Yoshi Tatsu – Neutralizer

Sami Zayn b. Antonio Cesaro – Rollup

Mason Ryan b. Enzo Amore – Torture Rack Neckbreaker

Bray Wyatt b. Corey Graves – Sister Abigail

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my book on the History of the WWE Championship from Amazon for just $5 at:

NXT
Date: May 15, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Brad Maddox

The main event tonight is Langston defending the title against Damien Sandow which is a good match for him. Sandow is a main show guy and a match against him wouldn’t do any harm at all to Langston’s status in NXT. Other than that we’ll get to see where the Wyatt Family goes with their new titles. Let’s get to it.

After a quick video on the title match tonight and the theme song we’re ready to go.

Summer Rae vs. Natalya

Summer is now doing the Maryse hair toss. A quick headlock takes Natalya down but Summer uses those long legs of hers to counter into a headscissors. They stay on the mat with Natalya grabbing an armbar until we hit a standoff. After hitting the ropes a few times, Natalya tries the Sharpshooter to no avail. Instead it’s a discus lariat for two on Summer but she manages to send Natalya to the apron. An enziguri gets two on Natayla and we take a break.

Back with Summer getting two off something we didn’t see and firing off kicks in the corner. Apparently this is happening because Summer said Natalya hung out with freaks in Horny and Khali. A back elbow to the face gets two for Summer and she cranks on Natalya’s arm on the mat. Cue Paige as Natalya counters into the Sharpshooter, only to have Summer kick off and send Natayla into Paige. With Paige on the floor, Summer rolls Natalya up for the pin at 5:46 shown of 9:16.

Rating: C+. This was exactly what it needed to be. Summer looked great out there (both in the ring and in those shorts of hers) and didn’t at all look to be in over her head. While she isn’t lighting the ring on fire or anywhere close to it, she looks more than competent out there and worked a decent enough match here. Also she won as close to clean as you can get as she didn’t even see Paige behind Natalya.

Paige chases Summer off post match.

Sami Zayn (El Generico) is debuting against Curt Hawkins next week and says this isn’t his first rodeo.

Here’s Bray Wyatt with a gray mask on his face (due to a broken nose) and what looks like a leather apron. He says this is the new face of fear and no matter who looks into his face, they can’t hurt him because he is already dead.

Danny Burch vs. Bray Wyatt

Burch is from London and has his own music. Wyatt starts with a slap to the face and takes Burch down with ease. A chinlock allows Bray to drill him in the face with a forearm before hitting that cross body of his. The splash in the corner sets up Sister Abigail for the pin at 2:07. Total squash.

Bo Dallas comes up to Adrian Neville but doesn’t seem to care about Neville’s update on Oliver Grey’s injury. Instead he’d rather talk about John Cena winning the Rumble, which Dallas happened to be in. Neville might just make it after all. Adrian has no idea what Dallas is talking about, but Dallas would rather talk about a #1 contenders battle royal in two weeks. Neville is in as well….and that’s that. This was pretty awkward but Dallas was acting rather heelish.

Conor O’Brian vs. Sakamoto/Briley Pierce

O’Brian beat up both guys last week so tonight it’s a handicap match. Sakamoto starts and is easily thrown down off a double chicken wing lift. Off to Pierce who is caught in a series of headlock takeovers. A suplex puts Briley down and it’s back to Sakamoto who has no effect with some chops. O’Brian pounds them both down with ease before hitting a splash to both guys at once in the corner. A very impressive double flapjack sets up a double pin for O’Brian at 2:36. Another total squash.

Post match Rick Victor comes out to the stage for a staredown with O’Brian.

Corey Graves says that his entire life has been ups and downs. You have to fail before you can succeed, but if you keep fighting you can win. He’ll be in the battle royal in two weeks and get the title shot he wants. Bray Wyatt of all people comes in and wants to know why Graves is here while the greatest war in human history is going on outside his door. Kassius Ohno knows what Bray talking about but Bray doesn’t go into any more depth than that. He says he owns NXT and that he’s the eater of worlds. Corey says he doesn’t have his own family but if the Wyatt Family keeps messing with him, they’re going down.

NXT Title: Damien Sandow vs. Big E. Langston

Apparently it’s Graves vs. Wyatt next week. Langston powers Sandow into the corner to start before running him over with a shoulder. Damien escapes the Big Ending so Langston shouts FIVE. A slam puts Sandow down again and Big E. pounds away on the ribs. Maddox says that wrestling Langston is like wrestling a frozen bison. Sandow is dropped on his back out of the corner but fights out of another Big Ending attempt.

We take a break and come back with Langston suplexing Sandow down. Big E. misses a charge into the corner though, allowing Sandow to clothesline him in the back of the head to take over. We hit the chinlock but Langston powers up, only to be hit with a dropkick. Off to a headscissors by Damien for a bit before he gets two off a top rope ax handle. Some knee drops to the chest get the same and it’s back to the chinlock.

Langston fights up and hits a quick belly to belly suplex and a series of hard clotheslines. Big E. fires off five knees to the ribs but Damien counters the Big Ending into an Edge-O-Matic for two. The Wind-Up elbow misses but Damien hits a swinging neckbreaker. A second attempt at the elbow connects but the Terminus is countered into the Big Ending to retain Langston’s title at 11:28 shown of 14:58.

Rating: C+. This was exactly what it was supposed to be. I don’t think Sandow was ever a real threat to win the title here, but at the same time it gave Langston a good looking win over a main show regular. It wasn’t a bad match at all and there were some nice false finishes at the end with Sandow countering the Big Ending a few times.

Post match another Big Ending gets Langston the five count to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Another good episode here as we have something set up for next week as well as two weeks from now. Sandow did a fine job here of giving Langston something to do until we have a new #1 contender for him to fight. The Graves vs. Wyatt Family story is interesting, as is Dallas’ teased heel turn. Good show tonight, as is the norm in NXT.

Results

Summer Rae b. Natayla – Rollup

Bray Wyatt b. Danny Burch – Sister Abigail

Conor O’Brian b. Briley Pierce/Sakamoto – Double Flapjack

Big E. Langston b. Damien Sandow – Big Ending

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my book on the History of the WWE Championship from Amazon for just $5 at:

NXT
Date: May 8, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, William Regal

This is the first show in a new batch of tapings, meaning the crowd will be completely different. The main event of tonight’s show is Adrian Neville teaming up with Bo Dallas to defend the tag titles against the Wyatt Family. Neville’s regular partner Oliver Grey is out with a knee injury at the hands of the Wyatt Family, so there’s a built in revenge story already. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the Wyatt Family vs. Neville/Grey story.

Welcome Home. That’s the name of the theme song if you wonder why I say that every week.

Damien Sandow vs. Baron Corbin

I believe this is Corbin’s first appearance. The fans immediately start chanting “thank you Sandow” as he toys with Corbin to start. Sandow offers Corbin a chance to leave right now before being taken to the mat with a headlock. Back up and Damien hits a snapmare and a knee drop for no cover. Corbin comes back with some shoulder blocks, only to be caught with the knees to the ribs and Russian legsweep to set up the Wind-Up elbow. A move similar to Matt Hardy’s Side Effect called the Silencer ends Corbin at 3:07.

Rating: D+. This was your old school Superstars style squash with Sandow having fun out there instead of actually being in any danger at all. Corbin looks very green but he has some size and a decent look. There isn’t much else to say about this one other than it was just a basic squash of a jobber, which you almost never see anymore.

Post match Sandow challenges Langston for the NXT Title.

Paige vs. Bayley

They’re already contradicting Paige’s nicknames as she’s called the Anti-Diva on the way to the ring before Regal says she told him she would be the Diva of tomorrow. They trade arm holds to start until Paige cranks it up, clotheslining Bayley on the top rope. Bayley sends her out to the apron and hits a quick clothesline for two before choking away in the corner.

Off to an armbar by Bayley followed by a middle rope back elbow to the jaw. A modified exploder suplex gets two on Paige but she blocks a slam and hits a release fisherman’s suplex to take over. Paige fires off some knees to the ribs followed by the Paige Turner for the pin at 4:58.

Rating: C. This wasn’t quite a squash but it was pretty close. As usual, the Divas in NXT are some of the most entertaining part of the shows and a lot of that is due to the commentary. Instead of hearing jokes about how hot the girls are, the matches are treated seriously and it helps things a lot. Also these girls are actually competent in the ring.

Post match Summer Rae jumps Paige.

Langston says that if you think his title reign has been impressive, you should see his yo-yo collection. Sandow comes in to challenge for the title again but Langston says he needs to answer a question first. First off, Sandow has to pick a number. The number is six, so Langston says add the number that comes after. That would be six plus seven making thirteen. Now add nine and divide by two and subtract six. Sandow says five (correct for you non-math fans) which sends Big E. into a frenzy. Sandow walks away in what might have been fear.

Sakamoto vs. Briley Pierce

Pierce goes after the arm to start as Regal talks about buying a microwave bed the other day. Pierce hooks a hammerlock and does Ziggler’s (acknowledged as his real life brother here) headstand in the process. That gets him nowhere but here’s Conor O’Brian to beat up both guys as the match is thrown out at 1:24.

Post break Sakamoto and Pierce want a piece of Conor next week.

Kassius Ohno vs. Camacho

Camacho still has a job? He slams Ohno down to start and Kassius bails to the corner for a bit. Ohno comes back with a dripkick and some shots to the chest. A dropkick to the side of the head puts Camacho down and he pounds away in the corner. Camacho comes back with some kicks of his own and a weak slam for two. Ohno can’t get an O’Connor Roll and is backdropped down for two.

Off to a chinlock for a bit before Camacho belly to back suplexes Ohno down for two. Now it’s a nerve hold by Camacho but Ohno fights up and hits his third kick to Camacho’s chest. Ohno fires off some strikes to the throat and a running forearm in the corner. A discus forearm sets up the Kassius Clutch (cravate hold) for the tap out from Camacho at 6:13.

Rating: C-. Dull match here but Kassius was wrestling like a face, which might not be a bad thing for him at all. The heel character wasn’t doing anything for me at all and I was getting bored watching him do the same stuff over and over again. He still needs to do more than strikes all the time to set up a submission hold but the different attitude helped. Camacho didn’t do him any favors here though. Why he has a job is beyond me.

Post match Ohno apologizes to Regal but gets cut off by Bray Wyatt who stares him down. The Family attacks Ohno from behind and beats him down. Wyatt hits his Downward Spiral on the stage.

Sandow vs. Langston for the title next week.

Tag Titles: Wyatt Family vs. Adrian Neville/Bo Dallas

Dallas and Rowan start things off with Bo pounding away on the big man as well as he can until it’s off to Neville for some kicks to the leg. A quick crossbody gets two on Rowan and it’s back to Dallas. The champions (kind of?) are tagging in and out very quickly here. Dallas dropkicks Erick down for two and it’s back to Adrian for a double clothesline for two. Rowan gets in a right hand though and it’s off to Harper for the usual power brawling.

Neville will have none of this being in trouble though and snaps off a rana on Harper followed by a big discus forearm for two. We take a break and come back with Dallas crawling through Harper’s legs to make the tag off to Neville. A big flip dive takes out Rowan on the floor and hits the corkscrew shooting star on Luke but Rowan makes a last second save.

Now it’s time for Adrian to take a beating like a small man like him usually does in wrestling. Rowan cranks on a reverse chinlock before it’s back to Harper. Both monsters pound away on Adrian’s ribs but only for a near fall. Harper puts on a chinlock to wear Neville down but he comes back with a small package out of a suplex for two. Neville avoids a charge into the corner to send Harper out to the corner and there’s the hot tag to Dallas.

Bo fires off forearms all around but Rowan stops him with a boot to the ribs. Dallas comes right back with a reverse DDT on Rowan before pounding away on the monster in the corner. A sunset flip is blocked by Erick and he plants Bo down with a pumphandle powerslam for two. Bray is very interested as he watches from the stage. Dallas escapes another pumphandle powerslam and spears Erick down for two but gets sent into Adrian in the corner. Erick hits a big boot to Dallas and Harper’s discus lariat gives the Family the titles at 11:50 shown of 15:20.

Rating: C+. No problem here at all as the monsters beating up the little guys is a perfectly smart way to go. There’s a door open here too as the regular champions weren’t there to lose so Grey can come back for the real showdown later on. The Family needed something to get them back to power and this is the best way they could have gone about doing it.

Overall Rating: C+. Not a great show here but it worked out well enough in the end. The title change was a good moment, but the rest of the show was spent doing something we haven’t seen before. A lot of this show was spent building up stars using jobbers, which is something very rare anymore. Good show here but done very differently from most episodes.

Results

Damien Sandow b. Baron Corbin – Silencer

Paige b. Bayley – Paige Turner

Sakamoto vs. Briley Pierce went to a no contest when Conor O’Brian interfered

Kassius Ohno b. Camacho – Kassius Clutch

Wyatt Family b. Adrian Neville/Bo Dallas – Discus lariat to Dallas

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my book on the History of the WWE Championship from Amazon for just $5 at:

NXT
Date: May 1, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, Brad Maddox, William Regal

After last week’s Clash of the Champions, it’s time to get back to the regular stuff here in NXT. Langston doesn’t have a challenger at the moment and the Wyatt Family is still running around. There really aren’t any stories at the moment other than Shield, which means we should get some interesting stuff tonight. Let’s get to it.

Chris Jericho is here tonight.

Welcome Home.

Epico/Primo vs. Wyatt Family vs. Bo Dallas/Adrian Neville

This is under elimination rules. Bray Wyatt and Rosa Mendes are nowhere in sight here. Dallas and Rowan start things off with Bo pounding away in the corner until it’s off to Neville. Bo and Adrian tag in and out very quickly with both coming in with top rope ax handles to Erick’s arm. Off to Harper vs. Adrian and a rolling cradle gets two for Luke. Apparently Wyatt gets to face Jericho in the main event tonight. That should be awesome.

Harper slams Adrian down but Epico tags himself in to pick Neville’s bones. That goes about as badly as it could for Epico though as Dallas gets the tag and cranks on Epico’s arm. Epico takes him into the corner and channels his inner Arn Anderson by raking Dallas’ eyes across the top rope. We take a break and come back with Rowan working over Dallas until it’s off to Harper for a chinlock.

Dallas hits a jawbreaker to escape and knocks Harper into the corner for a tag to Primo. Primo stomps Bo down in the corner and it’s off to Epico after just a few seconds. Scratch that as it’s already back to Epico as the cousins (Primo is Spanish for male cousin) take turns hammering on Dallas. The fans say NO MORE BO as Epico puts on a bow and arrow hold. Dallas fights up and rolls Epico away, only to get taken down for some near falls. Maddox: “What heart by Bo Dallas! Just like you Regal.” Regal: “I don’t have a heart. It’s a piece of black coal.”

Bo escapes a chinlock with another jawbreaker and it’s off to Primo vs. Neville. A leg lariat and standing shooting star gets two on Primo and there’s a spear from Dallas to Epico. Primo gets a quick rollup on Adrian for two but Neville kicks him in the head, followed by the corkscrew shooting star for the pin to eliminate Epico and Primo. A second later though Harper takes Adrian’s head off with the discus lariat for the winning pin at 9:41 shown of 13:11.

Rating: C+. This was a nice match with the Family finally getting a win to get themselves back on track a bit. Hopefully we get the Brits vs. the Family down the line for the belts with the monsters getting the gold, but until now this is about as close as we’re going to get. Epico and Primo did what they were supposed to do here, but without Rosa shaking her hips there’s nothing interesting at all about them.

We recap Paige vs. Summer Rae. Summer injured Paige’s shoulder and now Paige is back for revenge. Paige issued a challenge and Summer jumped her to accept the challenge.

Paige vs. Summer Rae

Summer jumps her during the entrance again but takes too long, allowing Paige to get the advantage once they get inside. A clothesline puts Summer down and Paige is looking very cocky. Paige smacks her in the face for two and looks to be loving every second of this beating. A fisherman’s suplex gets two on Rae but she rams Paige into the corner to escape. Summer rolls through a rollup and we get a catfight on the mat. Rae rolls to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Maddox accusing Regal of having a thing for Paige. Regal: “Blithering idiot.” Rae drops Paige again for two and she mocks Paige’s scream. Off to an old school Indian Deathlock by Summer as we get a debate over Native American vs. Indian. Paige finally makes the rope and kicks Summer in the ribs. The leg seems to be just fine already. Rae gets stomped out to the floor and starts to walk out, but Paige will have none of that. Summer is sent ribs first into the apron and the Paige Turner (kind of a snap reverse Angle Slam) gets the pin on Rae at 6:44 of 10:14.

Rating: C. The match was nothing special, but think about this for a minute: this was a perfectly logical conclusion to a totally acceptable story from two Divas. There was no stupid bubbly girl, there was no stupid line, there was no embarrassing match. It was a logically built feud with an appropriate conclusion. Now why haven’t the main show girls been allowed to do that in several years now?

Due to the Wyatt Family pinning Neville earlier tonight, they get a title shot next week against Neville and Bo Dallas, who is substituting for Oliver Grey.

Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho

Wyatt talks about being the kind of hero that the world needs and promises to break down the wall tonight. Wyatt gets right in Jericho’s face so Chris pounds him down and hits a quick dropkick to send Wyatt to the floor. Back in and Bray bails to the floor to avoid a right hand so Jericho hits a baseball slide to take him down. Jericho throws him in again and hits a top rope cross body for two. Rowan tries to trip Jericho up and gets himself ejected as we take a break.

Back with Jericho in control but being sent out to the floor. Harper slams him down onto the ramp so Wyatt can stomp away before pounding on Jericho back in the ring. Jericho tries a rollup but gets sent out to the floor instead. Off to a chinlock as the fans are all behind Jericho. Chris fights up but gets caught in a quick suplex to put him right back down. Wyatt misses a backsplash though and Jericho hits a top rope ax handle to take over.

After dropkicking Harper to the floor though, Bray decks Jericho with a clothesline for two. The running enziguri gets two for Jericho as does a running cross body for Bray. Jericho comes back with the Codebreaker to send Bray to the floor. Harper sends Jericho into the post though, giving Wyatt two more in the ring. Bray does the dancing bit but the Downward Spiral is countered into a slingshot into Harper. The Walls make Bray tap at 10:30 shown of 14:00.

Rating: B-. Another good match here with Wyatt getting a solid rub from Jericho. I’m fine with Wyatt losing here given that Jericho is still a big deal on the WWE roster. Wyatt tapping out isn’t something you would expect him to do though and it brings things down a bit. Still though, good match and a good use of Jericho here.

Jericho celebrates with the fans to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. We get storyline progression, a conclusion to a feud, and a visit from a big star. What more can you ask for out of a week long TV show? I like the swapping in of Dallas for the title defense as you can only have Neville holding a belt for so long until it becomes worthless. Good show again, but that’s what you expect from NXT at this point.

Results

Wyatt Family b. Epico/Primo and Bo Dallas/Adrian Neville – Discus lariat to Neville

Paige b. Summer Rae – Paige Turner

Chris Jericho b. Bray Wyatt – Walls of Jericho

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of the WWE Championship from Amazon for just $5 at:

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

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