NXT
Date:
January 1, 2015
Location:
Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators:
Rich Brennan, Renee Young, Corey Graves
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
We're
starting a new year here and Sami Zayn is still on the shelf due to
his attack at the hands of Kevin Owens. Last week was the Best of
2014 special with the only plot advancement being Charlotte defeating
Sasha Banks in an R-Evolution rematch. I'm sure there will be other
rematches in the future so let's get to it.
Opening
sequence.
Lucha
Dragons vs. Jason Jordan/Tye Dillinger
Non-title.
Dillinger chops Kalisto up against the ropes to start so Kalisto
comes back with a three bounce springboard armdrag. Off to Jordan
who tries the different approach of a release fall away slam to put
the champions in early trouble. Jordan mockingly bows to Cara on the
apron to allow some cheating. Renee keeps talking about how pretty
the villains are but still manages to be adorable. That takes
talent.
Dillinger
slams Kalisto down again and draws a nice Tye chant. Back up and
Kalisto flips forward to escape a backdrop and the hot tag brings in
Cara. Everything breaks down and Kalisto takes Jordan out with a
corkscrew dive, allowing Cara to hit a super victory roll for the pin
on Dillinger at 3:07.
Rating:
C. Standard pairing here but
the match worked well enough. Dillinger and Jordan are fine for a
pretty boy team with some nice technical skills. If nothing else
they're much better in this role than as the second (and more
talented) version of the American Males. The Dragons need some
better competition though as this is getting a little repetitive.
The
Vaudevillains come out and jump the champions post match.
CJ
Parker is worried about facing Baron Corbin but Bull Dempsey comes in
and tells him that taking down Corbin is for the better good. This
sounded a bit like a bounty.
NXT
moves back to Wednesdays in two weeks.
Enzo
and Cass are here to introduce Carmella's opponent and the BLUE PANTS
chant is just ridiculous. The guys give her an over the top
entrance, complete with superlatives and a hummed theme song. Cass:
“Inspired by Sami Zayn and straight from the discount rack!”
Enzo: “Since we have last
seen Blue Pants, she has met up with Steve and gotten a Blue's Clue.”
Carmella
vs. Blue Pants
Carmella
runs her over and steps on Blue Pants's hair, thus freaking Renee out
again. Enzo gets on the apron and.....dances I think? The
distraction lets Blue Pants grab a small package and BLUE PANTS
WINS!!! Cass: “DUH-DUH-DA-DA!” Match ran 1:13.
This
is another reason I love NXT: if this sort of reaction took place on
Raw, WWE would make sure to either destroy Blue Pants and have people
make stupid jokes about her or never bring her back in the first
place. Here they give her a win to advance a story. The audience is
happy, Blue Pants doesn't have to go anywhere else (though she could)
and Carmella's story is advanced. What more can you ask for?
Carmella
is mad at Enzo post match but Cass breaks it up.
Baron
Corbin vs. CJ Parker
Parker's
sign: “You can break my sign but you'll never break my spirit.”
Fans: “BREAK HIS SPIRIT!” Bull Dempsey is at ringside and
watches snake eyes and a big boot set up End of Days for the pin at
0:29.
Post
match Corbin asks if Dempsey is going to stand there or if they're
going to do this. Dempsey goes after him but referees quickly break
it up.
Regal
announces that Sami Zayn will be back next week. Curtis Axel comes
in and says he's barging in on Regal's interview. The boss never got
back to him, even though Axel is a former Intercontinental Champion
who has beaten HHH and John Cena. That sounds good to Regal and he
makes Axel vs. Itami next week. Regal just made an announcement and
a match for next week. His total time on screen: 74 seconds.
Here's
Charlotte for a chat. She's asked what her new challenge will be and
the Blue Pants chant starts up. Charlotte tells the crowd to not
chant while she's talking, even though she wasn't saying anything
yet. NXT is revolutionizing women's wrestling but she's beaten Sasha
Banks twice now. Cue Banks and Lynch to surround her but Natalya
comes out for the save before anything happens. That was a very odd
response to the fans from Charlotte when she's clearly been a face
for at least a month now.
The
Vaudevillains get their title rematch next week.
We
get a video from Sami, who is home for the holidays but doesn't know
what to say about what's happened to him. He worked so hard to win
the NXT Title but he can only think about Kevin Owens. When he comes
back he'll say everything to the fans and to Owens himself. This was
shot with a handheld camera instead of a professional camera and it
gave the video a much more realistic and gritty feel.
Kevin
Owens sits down with Renee Young. He didn't steal anyone's moment
because Sami got his big celebration. That's enough of the interview
for him though because he doesn't like being accused of things.
Hideo
Itami/Finn Balor vs. Ascension
I
know Balor's face paint (not here this time) got all the attention
but I really like Hideo's gi inspired attire. They go at it
immediately with the dream team taking over. Ascension bails before
the seated corner dropkicks can connect until it settles down to
Viktor vs. Balor. Finn charges into the corner with a running chop
before it's off to Itami, who the fans are really excited to see.
Back
to Finn for more forearms and chops before Itami drops a knee for
two. We hit the chinlock on Viktor as a Hideo chant starts up. Finn
does a nice jump over the ropes to avoid a charging Viktor before
kicking Konnor off the apron. The distraction lets Viktor get in a
big uppercut to knock Balor outside though as we take a break.
Balor
fights out of a chinlock from Konnor but the Ascension uses their old
school double team beatdown to keep him in trouble. It worked for
the LOD and Demolition so why not here? Off to a reverse chinlock
from Konnor for a bit before a big uppercut gets two. Finn gets
spiked like a football to break up a hot tag attempt as the beating
continues. Slugging it out with Viktor goes as well as you would
expect it to go so it's back to Konnor to just hammer Balor in the
head.
The
Pele Kick finally gives Finn an opening and the double tag brings in
Itami and Viktor as things speed up. Hideo snaps Viktor's neck
across the top rope and scores with a top rope clothesline, only to
walk into an STO for two. Itami teases the GTS again to another big
reaction (and a GTS chant) but Konnor makes the save. Finn takes
Konnor to the floor, leaving Itami to kick Viktor in the head for the
pin at 16:15.
Rating:
B-. I liked this one a bit more
than the first match, even though I'm not sure why this match needed
to exist. It's basically the same thing they did in the first match
but with less hype. I still liked it a good deal though and it was
more than enough for a TV main event. The reaction to Itami is a
very good sign though as I don't remember people being into him like
that since his debut. Also he was showing a more varied offense here
and not just kicking all the time so he's growing in the ring. Good
signs all around.
Overall
Rating: B. Story advancement,
matches made for next week, everything moving. This show is the
anti-Raw and it still gets more done in an hour than Raw can get done
in three. Sami coming back
to face Owens is going to be great and you can imagine how awesome
their promos are going to be before setting up the big showdown.
Really good and fun show this week that got a lot done in a little
time.
Results
Lucha
Dragons b. Tye Dillinger/Jason Jordan – Super victory roll to
Dillinger
Blue
Pants b. Carmella – Small package
Baron
Corbin b. CJ Parker – End of Days
Hideo
Itami/Finn Balor b. Ascension – Kick to Viktor's head
Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6
So amazing to see Axel, who appeared a bit lost in WWE despite the IC title, picking up more in NXT. Really shows how some guys might be better in a smaller pond.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Regal comes in, makes his announcement, and leaves. That's how authority figures should be used.
ReplyDeleteAnd away from main show booking.
ReplyDeleteI don't buy into the "WWE purposely sabotages "organic" acts" theory nearly as much as many others seem to, but nice review anyway.
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI like how when the champs are in a non-title match they don't automatically job.
ReplyDeleteWhen Itami finally hits that GTS the place is going to explode.
ReplyDeleteItami is getting the (good) WWE style in the last weeks.
ReplyDeleteWould love an angle where axel gets concussed or something and comes back thinking he actually is mr. Perfect. Music, towel, gum spit and all. Could use the perfect plex and see if it gets over
ReplyDeleteAnd no one has the heart to tell him he's not Mr. Perfect out of respect for Curt Hennig and his son paying tribute
ReplyDeleteTo quote Pat Patterson, the crowd is going to go BANANA.
ReplyDelete...... Perfect
ReplyDeleteIronic that NXT is better at "telling stories" than the episodic television show. Everything always has a logical lead into the next week and no one is inexplicably buried from one night to the next.
ReplyDeleteThe match may well be awful but they've made me wanna see Corbin vs Dempsey, if this was Raw they'd have already faced each other half a dozen times with multiple gimmicks.
ReplyDeleteI liked Charlotte telling the fans to quit chanting for Blue Pants, it just helps to establish Charlotte as someone who should be taken seriously.
ReplyDeleteYeah, in a series of tag matches.
ReplyDeleteThat would be awesome.
ReplyDeleteAlso reminds me of an old Scottish football story, where a player for Partick Thistle (not one of the major teams in the league) got a head knock. The trainer tells the manager "He doesn't know who he is..." and the manager's reply was "Well, tell him he's Pele and get him back on!"
It seemed kind of weird to me.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing myself (just caught the show tonight)
ReplyDeleteIt's just been some sick booking.
ReplyDeleteLove NXT to the point that I actually pray no one makes it to the main roster.
ReplyDeleteBut to quote one very famous band whenever I hear the vaudvilians new theme music
What have I what have I what have I done to deserve this?