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 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

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

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

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

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

Welcome Home.

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

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

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

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

Neville checks on his partner post match.

Leo Kruger vs. Yoshi Tatsu

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alberto Del Rio will be here next week.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

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

Leo Kruger b. Yoshi Tatsu – Seated Armbar

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

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

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: January 9, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Rega, Tom Phillips

The main story tonight is Seth Rollins of the Shield defending the title against Big E. Langston, the unstoppable monster that seemed to scare the Shield away last week. That’s the kind of basic yet logical storytelling you don’t get on the main shows anymore. It should be interesting to see where they go with this, especially with Langston playing a heel on Raw now. Let’s get to it.

The opening video recaps the title match. It’s No DQ tonight apparently.

Yoshi Tatsu/Percy Watson vs. Wyatt Family

We get to hear Bray cut one of his awesome promos, talking about how he’ll bite the head off a snake just to taste its poisons. He tells his family to make him proud and the visual of the three of them together is pretty awesome looking. The Family is Erick Rowan and Luke Harper in case you’ve forgotten. Wyatt sits down in his rocking chair on the stage and we’re ready go to.

Yoshi and Harper start but Luke beats him down very quickly and brings in Rowan. Off to Watson who fires off some clotheslines and a dropkick to knock Erick to a knee. That’s about the extent of his luck though as Erick chokes away and Harper cheats a bit as well. Back to Harper who pounds away on Watson’s back and tags in Rowan for a neck crank.

Percy finally fights out and tags out to Tatsu for the comeback. Yoshi fires off kicks and chops to Harper and a Shining Wizard for two. Harper drills Watson again but gets kicked in the head by Tatsu. Yoshi misses a top rope spinwheel kick and a discus lariat gets the pin for Harper at 4:12.

Rating: C-. Just an extended squash here but the Wyatt Family plays these characters so well that it’s hard to not enjoy these matches. Watson and Tatsu seemed to have some potential back in the day but now they’re the jobbiest jobbers that ever lived. Ok maybe that’s a bit extreme but they’re lucky to even get spots like these.

Emma vs. Paige

Emma is Australian and dances a lot. Paige gets a HUGE pop, easily the loudest I’ve heard for a Diva in years. A Paige chant starts things up and Emma gets thrown down by the hair. Emma comes back with a low dropkick for a delayed two as Regal sings Paige’s praises. The dropkick might have hurt Paige’s knee and thankfully Emma works it over a bit. Back to the dancing as Regal continues to be confused by it. Off to a half crab which makes sense as Emma is a Lance Storm student. Paige kicks away and hits the Paige Turner out of nowhere for the pin at 2:42. Her popularity continues to impress me.

Epico/Primo vs. Michael McGillicutty/Bo Dallas

Set it up last week, pay it off this week. Michael saved Bo last week from a double beatdown in case you’re new around here. McGillicutty and Primo start things off and it’s a quick standoff. The fans want Rosa who is absent tonight. Michael easily takes it to the mat and cranks on a headlock. Primo fights out and tags in Epico who immediately gets put in a headlock of his own. Back to Primo and he gets headlocked down as well. Primo fights up and is almost immediately puts in a third headlock. Well you can’t say they’re inconsistent.

Regal says that Bo and Michael could become “one of the greatest tag teams of all time.” I know I ask for less realism in wrestling but that’s a stretch even for me. We take a break and come back with Dallas holding Epico in a chinlock. Dallas pounds away in the corner but Epico finally escapes and gets Bo in trouble in the corner. Primo hits a running crotch attack to Dallas in a 619 position for two before it’s off to Epico for a chinlock.

Dallas fights out but gets rammed right back into the heel corner for more of the beating he’s taking. The cousins hit a Russian legsweep/spinning leg sweep (Saturn’s half of Total Elimination) for no cover before it’s back to Epico for more stomping. Primo accidentally dropkicks his cousin and there’s the hot tag to McGillicutty. A lariat and Saito Suplex put Primo down as everything breaks down. In the confusion, Primo hits a Backstabber on McGillicutty for the pin at 9:48 shown of 13:18.

Rating: C-. Again not a great match but it certainly wasn’t that bad. McGillicutty continues to be a guy that should be getting bigger spots than he’s in at the moment, but as long as his name is Michael McGillicutty, that’s simply not going to happen. I don’t get the need to have him pinned here, especially given how much Regal puts him over on commentary.

NXT Title: Seth Rollins vs. Big E. Langston

No DQ and Rollins is defending. Rollins doesn’t have music yet. After the big match intros we’re ready to go. Langston grabs a kick and shoves Rollins down to start, freaking Seth out. The champion grabs a front facelock and gets shoved into the corner for some shoulder blocks. Langston misses a charge into the corner and hits the post, but immediately comes back with a gorilla press to send Rollins to the floor.

Langston goes after him but here are Reigns and Ambrose for the triple beatdown. Big E. gets sent into the steps as we take a break. Back with both guys in the ring again with Rollins firing off kicks to the ribs. Rollins hooks a triangle choke but Langston fights up and hits an electric chair drop to escape. The crowd is ENTIRELY behind Langston here as he fires off clotheslines. A double clothesline takes down Ambrose and Reigns but they run in again to break up the Big Ending.

Some guys from the locker room come out to try to stop the non-champions of the Shield but are quickly dispatched. Eventually about 15 guys come out and FINALLY clear them out, leaving it one on one. Rollins hits the standing Sliced Bread for two and the kickout scares him to death. He loads it up again, but Langston catches him on his shoulder and the Big Ending gives Langston the title at 6:38 shown of 10:08.

Rating: C+. The match itself wasn’t much, but the run-ins were handled perfectly, making this feel like a huge moment and a nearly Attitude Era style main event. I also really like the idea of not having Langston beat up the Shield on his own as it keeps things a bit more realistic given how strong Shield has been pushed. Not a great match, but really good booking of a title change.

The locker room comes to the ring to celebrate with Langston.

Overall Rating: B-. This is one of those shows where the earlier stuff wasn’t that great, but at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter. This was all about Langston winning the title and they pulled that part off quite well. I’m pretty sure this was the last episode in this batch of tapings, so starting next week we should be able to see where things are headed. Good show this week, as usual.

Results

Wyatt Family b. Yoshi Tatsu/Percy Watson – Discus Lariat to Tatsu

Paige b. Emma – Paige Turner

Primo/Epico b. Michael McGillicutty/Bo Dallas – Backstabber to McGillicutty

Big E. Langston b. Seth Rollins – Big Ending

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: November 21, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, Jim Ross

After last week not a lot has changed, as we’re still moving towards Mahal vs. Rollins II for the title. On top of that we’ve got Vickie continuing to have her bounty on Langston who is rapidly becoming one of my favorite people on this show. NXT has been the best wrestling show on TV for months now and hopefully that remains the case here tonight. Let’s get to it.

Earlier today, Kassius Ohno didn’t want to talk about Trent Barreta. He has a premonition about ending Trent’s career tonight like he did to Richie Steamboat.

Paige vs. Alicia Fox

Feeling out process to start of course before Paige takes over with a Japanese armdrag. Fox lands on her feet out of a monkey flip as the fans are WAY behind Paige. Alicia mostly botches what I think was supposed to be a suplex but it looked more like a slam. A northern lights suplex gets two on Paige and it’s off to a bow and arrow hold. Paige finally makes a rope and gets two off a cross body. A sunset flip out of the corner gets the same for Fox but she walks into the Paige Turner (kind of a snap Angle Slam but Paige never lifted her off the mat) for the pin at 4:52.

Rating: D+. Fox just isn’t that good. She’s very sloppy when she’s on offense and has been for years now. Paige is one of those girls that could be very good when she gets some more experience and the fans love her. On top of that, she’s 20 years old. That’s very impressive when you consider how good she is already.

Camacho vs. Big E. Langston

This is a match for the $5000 bounty that Vickie has put on Langston’s head. Camacho tries to pound on him but Langston keeps shoving him away. A shot out of the corner puts Big E. down but Camacho slaps him like an idiot. The Big Ending (falling slam) ends Camacho at 2:06.

Langston demands the five count and you don’t tell a man like that no. Camacho gets two more Big Endings for good measure.

We go to the back and Trent Barreta is down and in pain. Leo Kruger can be seen out of range smiling evily.

Post break we’re told Trent isn’t cleared for the main event yet.

Bronson vs. Nick Rogers

SWEET! Bronson is back! He shoves Rogers into the corner and completely no sells all of the shots from Nick. Bronson goes after the leg before hitting a crossface to the head. A lot of stomps and knees keep Rogers down as Bronson works on the leg. An STO sets up that kind of inverted Figure Four from Bronson for the tap out at 1:49. I love this guy.

Here’s Bray Wyatt who says all of the little lambs should fear him. Tonight he’s giving our lives purpose for the first time ever. He sits down in a rocking chair as Luke Harper comes out for his match.

Luke Harper vs. Mike Dalton

Harper looks like he looked as Brodie Lee in the indies. The fans chant for Ziggler who Dalton does look a bit like. Harper pounds away as Wyatt sits in the rocking chair. Dalton gets thrown around a lot as Harper keeps looking at Wyatt. A BIG spinning Boss Man Slam completes the squash at 2:41. Harper won in case you’re a rather dense person that needs everything explained to them.

Harper gets on his knees in front of Wyatt. Bray says he’s been around for 2000 years and says that once he decides it’s time to start hurting people, there will be no one left.

Earlier today, Mahal attacked Rollins in the back but Seth beat him down.

The Raw ReBound recaps (shocking) the end of the show.

Kassius Ohno vs. Trent Barreta

There’s a lot of time left in the show for this. Ohno says that there’s no opponent for him tonight because Trent is injured. Ohno demands that the referee count to ten and declare him the winner, but here’s Dusty Rhodes with something to say. He says that he knows Ohno had something to do with Trent’s attack and he’s got a replacement. Total time between Dusty appearing and the replacement’s music hitting: sixty seconds.

Kassius Ohno vs. Richie Steamboat

Richie starts fast and beats Ohno into the corner and hits a quick cross body for a two count. Steamboat pounds away in the corner and sends Kassius to the apron. Ohno skins the cat but Richie clotheslines him to the floor. It’s almost like Richie has insight into that move. A big dive to the floor takes Ohno out and we take a break.

Back with Richie holding a chinlock on Ohno until Kassius makes it to the rope. A low dropkick to the head puts Steamboat down and it’s cravate time. Ohno pounds him in the head some more for a pair of two counts and it’s back to the cravate. Steamboat fights up and gets a pair of quick rollups for two. Ohno comes back with a kind of lifting Downward Spiral for two of his own as this keeps going back and forth.

Steamboat fires off a bunch of chops to the chest and head to slow Kassius down before they head to the corner. Richie comes off the top but dives into a headbutt from Ohno to put both guys down again. In a bit of a strange ending, Ohno hits a running clothesline in the corner but as he goes to throw Steamboat to the floor, Steamboat rolls him up for two and hits the Slingblade (swing around neckbreaker) for the pin at 10:28 shown of 13:58.

Rating: C-. Sudden ending aside, this wasn’t an incredibly good match. I know Ohno is considered a great talent, but I really don’t see the appeal of him from what I’ve seen in FCW. He’s not bad but if I didn’t know he had been such a big deal in the indies, I wouldn’t have much interest in him at all. Steamboat is pretty generic as well with nothing interesting going on about him. Not a bad match but it was bland, like most of their matches so far.

Overall Rating: C+. This was another solid episode of NXT. There’s an energy to this show that you don’t get on any other wrestling series at the moment which makes it the most fun show going. It’s a combination of them using their time efficiently as well as having interesting characters who are all treated as big deals rather than there being a clear hierarchy like Raw or Impact have. Also the title match isn’t the focus at all but the other guys are built up well enough that it can be overlooked, which says a lot about the rest of the show.

Results

Paige b. Alicia Fox – Paige Turner

Big E. Langston b. Camacho – Big Ending

Bronson b. Nick Rogers – Inverted Figure Four

Luke Harper b. Mike Dalton – Spinning Boss Man Slam

Richie Steamboat b. Kassius Ohno – Slingblade

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: November 14, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Luftman

We have a world title match scheduled now and we have to get to that match, which may be tonight. They weren’t really clear when the match would be going on but tonight would be a bit soon I’d think. Other than that we’ve got Vickie holding a bounty over Big E. Langston’s head, which is good as he needs a story of some kind. I’ve been loving NXT for the last few weeks so hopefully it stays this good. Let’s get to it.

Mahal is in the back to open the show and talks about how awesome he is. Bo Dallas is called a nobody and comes up to challenge Mahal to a fight. Dallas says since he’s so easy to beat, put up the title shot. Mahal: “Why would I do that?” Dallas: “Why not?” Apparently it’s on and the title match isn’t tonight.

Ascension vs. Yoshi Tatsu/Percy Watson

This would be a good place for Tatsu to remind people what he’s capable of. Cameron and Watson start things off but it’s quickly off to a now nearly bald O’Brien. Ascension does their very fast tagging with the quick striking offense ala Demolition. Conor puts on a hard headlock to keep Watson down even longer. Watson finally escapes and it’s off to Tatsu vs. Cameron as things speed up. Ascension turns up the awesome and hits the Fall of Man (Total Elimination) for the pin on Tatsu at 2:54. Total squash and Ascension looked great.

Aksana and Layla have one of those stupid Divas moments in the back about Layla’s hair looking bad.

Corey Graves vs. Oliver Gray

They fight over an arm hold to start as we hear about Gray being a former lumberjack. So he made his living filling in a spot around the ring for a match no one wanted to see? How do I get that job? Graves works on the knee as the fans cheer for him, despite him seeming to be a heel. JR gets Tony’s name wrong (Tom) as Graves stays on the knee. Off to an Indian Deathlock by Graves as we go back to the 1970s. Graves hooks a cool looking rolling leg lock for the tap out at 4:13.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here but Graves looked good which is what NXT has been good at lately. They’ve built up a few guys and it’s hard to say who is better than whom. In something I can’t say about WWE or TNA at the moment, I buy this show as having a chance at not screwing this up. Good squash here.

Video on Big E. Langston

Here’s Langston for a special interview. SWEET this should be good. He talks about how he’s worried about Vickie’s bounty. Worried for the other people that is, because the E stands for their end. Langston has five reasons why he’s awesome but Camacho jumps him from behind. He hits Langston once then holds up five fingers.

Layla vs. Aksana

A quick rollup gets two for the British chick (Layla) but Aksana MESSES WITH THE HAIR!!! Aksana puts her down and crawls along the apron for no apparent reason. A baseball slide puts Aksana on the floor and a few rollups get two each for Layla. Layla gets pulled off the middle rope and pounded on a bit and it’s off to a triangle choke from Aksana. That goes nowhere so they get into a modified catfight. Aksana takes over and does the slow sexy crawl again which lets Layla make her comeback with clotheslines (arms to the chest according to Tony. He’s trying at least) and a high kick for the pin for Layla at 5:21.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t horrible but at the end of the day, Aksana just isn’t that good. Layla is one of the fun Divas and there’s nothing wrong with that at all, but it kind of limits where she can go. Aksana tries out there and there’s nothing bad about that sexy crawl, but the whole idea of them fighting over hair and then having a not very good match isn’t going to help shake the stigma this division has.

We go to a field with Bray Wyatt, talking about how he’s a monster and he’s never told us a lie. He’s been around for centuries and has been worshiped by every civilization and if you want to find the sign of him, follow the buzzards in the sky. I have no idea what he’s talking about, but the delivery is so awesome it’s hard not to stop and watch him, which is what promos are supposed to be about.

Roman Reigns vs. Chase Donovan

Reigns throws him into the corner to start and hooks a cravate. JR calls Reigns the LeBron James of the WWE. That’s a bit of a stretch I’d think but JR hasn’t cared in years so why should I? A spinebuster puts Donovan down and it’s off to a nerve hold. Reigns lets that go, roars a lot, and hits the belly to back slam for the pin at 2:41.

Reigns makes Byron Saxton announce him as the Thoroughbred Roman Reigns twice because he wasn’t happy with just being announced as the winner.

Jinder Mahal vs. Bo Dallas

The winner gets the shot at Rollins. Feeling out process is won by Mahal and it’s off to a top wristlock. Dallas hooks a headlock and they slow things down a lot. They’re using the formula usually reserved for the long and big matches even though there isn’t a ton of time left here. Dallas sends Mahal into the corner but misses a dropkick. Mahal’s camel clutch doesn’t work so Jinder hits the floor as we hit a break.

Back with Dallas hammering away in the corner but getting caught by a running knee in the face for two. Off to a double arm trap hold by Mahal which goes on for a good while until Dallas flips him over for two. Backslide gets two for Dallas so Mahal kicks him in the head a few times. A knee to the ribs gets two and Dallas is in trouble. Dallas gets knocked to the apron but he comes back with a kick to the head and a slingshot clothesline for two. Dallas misses a charge into the buckle and there’s the camel clutch for the tap at 9:03 shown of 12:33.

Rating: C. This wasn’t that interesting of a match. They started off slowly and usually once the break is over, things would pick up but in this case it never got into a higher gear. Dallas is a guy that gets a good reaction but he just isn’t that good in the ring. Mahal isn’t bad as a heel but he doesn’t really have much of a character other than he’s Indian and rich. Granted this is before 3MB started so that’s a moot point.

Mahal attacks Dallas post match but Rollins makes the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was one of those shows that only kind of worked. The stuff on it that was good was good but the stuff on it that was dull was quite dull. The main event didn’t work that well at all but they had to have something to fill in the time before the title match. I liked Graves and the Ascension stuff and the Wyatt promo as well, but I’m not sold yet on Reigns. The character development here is light years ahead of WWE and TNA at the moment though.

Results

Ascension b. Yoshi Tatsu/Percy Watson – Fall of Man to Tatsu

Corey Graves b. Oliver Gray – Rolling Leg Lock

Layla b. Aksana – High Kick

Roman Reigns b. Chase Donovan – Belly to Back Slam

Jinder Mahal b. Bo Dallas – Camel Clutch

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: November 8, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Tony Luftman, Byron Saxton

Tonight the focus of the show is on the fourway between Mahal, Dallas, Gabriel and McIntyre with the winner getting a shot at the NXT Title I believe next week. However that’s not the most interesting thing we might see tonight. More importantly: will Big E. Langston get to talk about the number five anymore? That’s what I want to hear more than anything else. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the announcement of the fourway last week.

Theme song.

Kassius Ohno vs. Trent Barreta

This is a rematch from two weeks ago where Richie Steamboat cost Ohno the match. Trent chops away to start and Kassius hides on the apron. Barreta tries a sunset powerbomb to the floor but Ohno kicks him in the head to escape. Back in and it’s a dragon sleeper by Ohno which is treated like any other hold here. Regal says Trent enjoys pain because it makes him feel alive. Well I guess it would.

Trent’s enziguri is blocked and Ohno gets two off a rollup. Barreta gets the same off a tornado DDT and Ohno is staggered. They trade elbows before Kassius kicks Trent in the face for two. Kassius puts Trent on top, only to be shoved off and caught by a missile dropkick. Trent loads up the running knee but Kassius ducks to the floor. Back in and the spinning elbow to the head gets the pin for Kassius at 6:08.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure what it was but this didn’t work too well. The chemistry didn’t work here as it was like they were just trading moves while building to nothing. It wasn’t terrible or even bad but it felt more like a collection of spots instead of a flowing match if that makes any sense.

Post match Trent ducks another elbow and dropkicks Ohno.

Cory Graves talks about how his tattoos tell his story and says come and read them.

Big E. Langston vs. Memo Montenegro

Langston starts a FIVE chant before shoving Memo down to the mat. A big clothesline kills Memo and the slam drop gets the pin for Langston at 1:00.

Langston does the drop again and counts five himself to a big pop. It’s remarkable how such a simple idea can get so over. The fans DEMAND he does it again but they get Vickie on the screen instead. She’s issues a five thousand dollar bounty on him and promises to laugh last. Langston is annoyed and goes to drop Memo again, but some guy named Chad Baxter jumps Langston. You can figure out what comes next yourselves.

Jason Jordan is in the ring for a match but HE’S BACK!!! AND HE’S GOT A MIC! Bray Wyatt I mean, as in the former Husky Harris who is now doing a freaky gimmick that seems to be inspired by the villain from Cape Fear. He says that he’s back with his wings healed, then he says something in some other language. Wyatt talks about taking us to the top of a mountain so we can watch everything turn to ash and then fly away. Jordan wants to fight right now but Wyatt says he’s a monster that is never alone. An even scarier looking guy comes to the ring to fight Jordan for him.

??? vs. Jason Jordan

The guy who isn’t named yet is played by former indy guy Brodie Lee, a pretty tall guy who I think had a truck driver gimmick. Regal thinks Lee (who isn’t named here mind you but it’s the only think I know to call him) just came out of a swamp. He kills Jordan with HARD punches and a big clothesline gets two. Lee misses a big boot in the corner so Jordan goes for the knee. That goes well for about eight seconds before Lee DESTROYS him with a Boss Man Slam for the pin at 2:18.

Wyatt says that this is the first son of the Wyatt Family and his name is Luke Harper. This was awesome.

Roman Reigns comes out for an interview but says he doesn’t need Saxton for this. Reigns says he’s sure people are doing better now that Saxton is gone and he’s here. He says that when you’re the man like he is, all you have to do is get up. Whether you’re with him or against him, it’s irrelevant because everyone wants to be Roman Reigns. What he said was fine, but he sounded scared to be talking. He’s got to work on that for a gimmick like this.

Justin Gabriel vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Bo Dallas

The winner gets a title shot at some point in the future and this is under elimination rules with no tagging. Drew and Gabriel fight in one corner while Dallas and Mahal do so in another. The heels both get knocked to the floor and Dallas hits a baseball slide to take McIntyre out. Gabriel dives onto all three guys as we take a break. Back with Mahal suplexing Dallas for two. Jinder and Drew tease a fight but instead they both stomp on Dallas.

McIntyre kicks Mahal down as the South African cross bodies the Scotsman who kicked the Indian in the head after beating up the American. JR’s words, not mine. Gabriel hits an STO on Dallas and knocks him to the floor. A spinning sitout powerbomb puts Mahal down and there’s the 450, but Gabriel hurt himself in the process. Drew dumps Justin to the floor but Dallas spears McIntyre down for the elimination. He also spears a diving Gabriel out of the air and we’re down to one on one with Dallas vs. Mahal.

We take another break and come back with Dallas knocking Mahal down and screaming a lot. We head to the floor and Dallas gets sent into the steps to give Mahal control. The title match is indeed next week. Mahal drops a bunch of knees for two which frustrates him. A jumping knee to the head gets the same result, as does a full nelson slam. Dallas breaks up what appeared to be a Rock Bottom and hits a powerslam to put Mahal down. The spear misses though and the camel clutch gives Mahal the win at 8:26 shown of 15:26.

Rating: B-. This was pretty entertaining and while I’m not crazy about Mahal getting another shot, it’s only his second so it hasn’t been driven into the ground yet. Having four guys in there was a fine idea and they didn’t feel like they were just filling in spots, which is a good thing. Fine main event here and it sets up something later, which is even more important.

Post match Dallas is put in the Clutch again but Rollins makes the save. Seth gets beaten down too and a staredown between he and Mahal ends the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was an awesome show overall with the highlight being the return of Wyatt, who might have the best gimmick in wrestling today. The cool part about that is you can’t really put your finger on what it is, which is what makes monsters creepy. They’re unknown, which can be quite frightening. I’m digging NXT a lot right now as it comes off like a full on promotion where the gimmicks don’t overlap and you really don’t know if one person could beat another. That’s never the case in WWE where it’s easy to tell who is going to win most matches and feuds. Great show this week.

Results

Kassius Ohno b. Trent Barreta – OBE

Big E. Langston b. Memo Montenegro – Slam Drop

Luke Harper b. Jason Jordan – Spinning Boss Man Slam

Jinder Mahal b. Justin Gabriel, Bo Dallas and Drew McIntyre – Camel clutch to Dallas

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

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

We’re back with the fourth week of the show which I believe is the final show from the first batch of tapings. After the six man that ended the last episode, there really isn’t anything set for tonight. I’ve heard talk of creating an NXT Title but that wouldn’t be for at least four more weeks because the next set of tapings is already done. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home everyone.

Tyson Kidd vs. Camacho

See, this is what NXT is good for: you can get a guy like Camacho some ring time. He hasn’t had much but he can get some here and it’s fine for him to get it at this level. Kidd avoids a kick to the ribs and nips up into a dropkick. Camacho takes over with a fist to the head but Kidd flips through a backdrop and grabs a quickly broken leg hold. Backslide gets two on Camacho and it’s off to an armbar.

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

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

Kidd tries to speed things up but gets caught in a wheelbarrow slam for two. A middle rope legdrop misses for Camacho and Kidd fires off his kicks. Camacho is draped over the bottom rope and Kidd hits a slingshot legdrop to the head to keep Camacho down. Back in and Camacho hits a butterfly suplex off the top for two. Camacho sends him to the apron but charges into a kick to the head. A Blockbuster gets two on Camacho as he gets his foot on the rope. Dang I thought that would have been it. Kidd loads up the Sharpshooter but here’s McGillicutty for a distraction. Kidd knocks him to the floor but walks into a DDT from Camacho for the pin at 12:15 shown of 15:45.

Rating: B-. I was really getting into this by the end of it. It’s amazing what guys like Camacho are capable of when they have time and a guy like Kidd to work off of. I’m so glad that Tyson is getting a main show push as it’s long overdue for someone as steady in the ring as he is. This McGillicutty feud has gone on for awhile though and it’s hard to see why it needs to continue.

Bray Wyatt video, this time about faith. It’s a shame that he’s out for so many months.

Hugh Jackman was on Raw once.

Justin Gabriel says he’s back to make a statement. Heath Slater comes up and says that Gabriel will make a statement of failure. Slater talks about taking out legends and Gabriel says it’ll be a young guy beating up Slater tonight.

Aiden English vs. Bray Wyatt

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

Video on Seth Rollins, who will knock you out.

We run down the MITB card.

Richie Steamboat says he’s got a great opportunity here. Leo Kruger comes up and they get in a brawl.

Video on Raquel Diaz, featuring Tweets from her.

Usos vs. Prime Time Players

Apparently Slater vs. Gabriel is next week. JR sits in on commentary for this one and there’s no AW for the Players. Jimmy and Darren get us going and Jimmy goes nuclear by going for the hair. Young gets takes into the Uso corner for a continued beating before it’s off to Titus for more of the same. Back to Young who charges into a powerslam from Jey for no cover. The Players head to the floor and Jey has a hair pick.

Jimmy hits a dive onto both Players and we take a break. Back with Jimmy uppercutting Titus, only to be knocked down after looking at Young. Young comes in with a kind of spinning toe hold. It’s clear JR has no idea which Uso is which, nor does he care. Jimmy kicks Darren to the floor where Darren trips up Jey before there can be a tag. Back in and Young works on the knee some more and tags Titus.

Jimmy gets in a shot to Titus but O’Neal breaks up the tag at the last possible second. Back to the knee but Jimmy breaks it up. For some reason though he goes to the Players’ corner instead of his own. A backdrop puts Titus down and there’s the tag to Jey. Jey cleans house and hits the running Umaga attack on Young in the corner for two. Titus takes Jimmy’s leg out again which allows the Players to hit the Demolition Decapitator on Jey for the pin at 9:51 shown of 13:21.

Rating: C+. Nothing great here but another win for the Players before they finally get their title match is just fine. The Usos are still stuck in limbo but they’re good at a job like this. JR not knowing which was which says a small something, as there’s nothing to tell the two guys apart unless you’re looking at their chest. That being said, they’re a tag team and there’s nothing wrong with them being so similar, as it makes them look more like a unit.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a totally different kind of show this week but it still worked. This came off a lot more like a show that the old NXT did and that’s ok for the most part. Having a fresh batch of faces makes that work well, and given the match quality was good all around, what more can you ask for? With talk of the tournament coming for a title, there’s a lot of upside on NXT in the future.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: July 4, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Byron Saxton

Happy (day after) Independence Day for those of you in America. Happy Wednesday to those of you not in America. It’s episode three of the new NXT and I’m actually looking forward to it. We’ve had two very good shows so far and we still have people that haven’t debuted yet. Tonight we have the debut of Kassius Ohno (what names these people have). Let’s get to it.

Sofia Cortez vs. Paige

Cortez is from Puerto Rico and Paige is from England. Both are good looking but they’re not that great in the ring. Cortez (blonde) hooks a headscissors to take Paige (black hair) down and stomps away in the corner. Paige gets a boot up so Cortez enziguris her down. Cortez hooks an arm trap chinlock which Paige breaks free of pretty quickly. Sofia kicks her in the head and hits a sitout DDT (thing the move that Mysterio does where he jumps at his opponent and hooks his legs under their arms and lays out into a bulldog but with a DDT instead) for the pin at 2:27. Usual Divas stuff but Cortez’s kicks weren’t bad.

Seth Rollins vs. Camacho

Dang they don’t waste time on this show. I love that. Ross says that WWE officials are high on Rollins. I’ve never heard that said on WWE TV before. Rollins starts out fast and hammers away before getting two off a rollup out of the corner. He pounds away again in the other corner but charges into a boot.

Camacho drops a leg (hermano) and chokes in the corner. A belly to back suplex gets two for Camacho but Rollins pulls himself up off the ropes and hits a standing enziguri. Seth hits a running dropkick but has to stop to take out Hunico. He rams them together and hits the Blackout for the pin (on Camacho just in case that’s too complicated) for the pin at 4:33.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t a great showcase for Rollins. It’s a good idea to have him beat a main show guy but the match didn’t quite work that well. Rollins has a good finisher that looks like it would knock someone out cold but the rest of him looks like he’s trying to figure out a style. The idea of him being full of energy isn’t much of a gimmick either. Not a bad match but it was underwhelming.

Hunico and Camacho jump Rollins post match and beat him down until Bo Dallas makes the save.

Corey Graves/Jake Carter vs. CJ Parker/Nick Rogers

Carter is Vader’s son. Graves and Carter used to be FCW tag champions and may have been when this was taped. JR acknowledges Carter’s heritage which surprises me a bit. Graves and Parker start us off but it’s quickly off to Carter off a blind tag. Carter hits a quick splash in the corner and brings in Graves again. Graves hooks a neck crank but Parker hits a backdrop and it’s off to Rogers vs. Carter. Carter picks Rogers up in a powerslam position and Graves slides in with a neckbreaker in a move called Bottoms Up for the pin at 2:25. Just a squash.

Video on Kassius Ohno.

Kassius Ohno vs. Mike Dalton

They trade wristlocks to start and Dalton takes him to the mat for two. Kassius (Chris Hero for those of you unfamiliar) hits a running clothesline in the corner and Dalton is in trouble. Off to a cobra clutch but Dalton escapes and hits a spinwheel kick for two. Ohno sends him into the ropes and hits the spinning forearm for the pin at 2:32. That’s a good finisher but hopefully he gets some promo time to expand things beyond “I knock people out.”

Ohno says he knocks people out and when they hear Kassius coming, they say OH NO.

Bray Wyatt video with him talking about going through a lot and getting stronger as a result. Now he feels no fear or pain and he wonders what is going to happen when people realize they can’t hurt him.

Derrick Bateman vs. Jinder Mahal

Mahal pounds away to start but Bateman throws him to the floor. He dives on Jinder to take over and they head back in. Mahal hits a neckbreaker on the top rope for two but a regular neckbreaker is countered into a backslide for two for Bateman. A small package gets the same as does a rollup. Bateman grabs a DDT and then a running flip neckbreaker for a close two. Jinder avoids the falling bulldog and hits a knee to the back and the camel clutch gets the submission at 4:02.

Rating: C-. Not a horrible match or anything but these two do absolutely nothing for me. Bateman is treated like an everyman and Mahal is Indian and rich. That’s nothing interesting as we’ve seen both kind of guys before. Nothing to see here but I’m sure we’ll be seeing these guys again for a long time.

Seth Rollins/Bo Dallas/Tyson Kidd vs. Michael McGillicutty/Hunico/Camacho

That’s a pretty fast turn around for a feud. McGillicutty and Dallas get us going but Kidd is tagged in before there’s any contact. McGillicutty tags in Hunico rather than fight and now we get going. Regal and Chris Russo are on commentary now and get in a debate about Hunico’s dew rag with JR. Hunico busts out a Gory Special but Kidd counters into a sunset flip for two. Off to Rollins who gets beaten down by the Mexican contingent and we take a break.

After hearing about DX invading WCW (the only WWE promo of the show so far) it’s back with Camacho holding Rollins in a chinlock. Rollins quickly breaks it and makes the tag to Bo Dallas. He cleans a few rooms of the house but gets sent shoulder first into the post to stop his momentum dead. McGillicutty comes in who hooks a chinlock of his own. Off to Hunico who hits a butterfly backbreaker for two.

He keeps Dallas on the mat and brings McGillicutty back in. Another backbreaker gets another two but McGillicutty charges into a boot. There’s the real hot tag to Kidd who comes in with a springboard dropkick for two. They head to the floor and Dallas dives on all three of his opponents. Kidd sets for a dive of his own but walks into the McGillicutter for the pin at 9:49 shown of 13:19.

Rating: C+. Not much here but it was way better than last week’s short main event. I like that they didn’t just do the tag match immediately but more importantly they didn’t repeat the main event from two weeks ago which would have given them one of the biggest problems they had on the older seasons of the show. Kidd continues to be awesome as usual.

Overall Rating: B-. Another good show here although a step behind the previous two weeks. As usual though, there is no messing around on this show as we got in six matches in under 45 minutes with only one WWE promo. On top of that there’s a major perk to this show: since it was taped about a month ago, there is zero talk about what is going on in WWE at this point. It is so refreshing to watch a good show and not have to hear about the same storylines which have nothing to do with the match we’re watching time after time. Another good show this week.

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