NXT
Date:
August 14, 2013
Location:
Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators:
Tony Dawson, William Regal
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
Things
are getting better in NXT as we now have a heel champion instead of a
face champion that no one can stand. Other than that we have Shield
vs. Xavier Woods/Corey Graves/Adrian Neville in what has the
potential to be a solid six man tag. The crowd should love the
Shield if nothing else. Let's get to it.
After
the usual opening, here's Paul Heyman to get us going. He's here to
look for a new Paul Heyman Guy and is thrilled by what he sees in
NXT. Heyman appreciates the ECW chants but he's here to look for the
future rather than to live off the past. In the back, there is the
next Paul Heyman, or the next Brock Lesnar, or the next Curtis Axel,
the latter of whom comes out to a mixed reaction. Paul talks about
how awesome Curtis is and says there's no one in Florida who can be
the next Axel.
This
brings out Big E. Langston to a HUGE reaction. He says he's man
enough to take down Axel for the Intercontinental Title but Heyman
isn't pleased. Axel says he's got this one and agrees to face
Langston at say.....Thanksgiving? Or maybe Christmas? Langston cuts
him off and says defend it tonight or Axel proves that he's not good
enough to hang here in NXT. That's enough for Axel to accept the
challenge and we're on.
Intercontinental
Title: Curtis Axel vs. Big E. Langston
Axel
pounds away at Langston's head and speeds things up, only to be
caught in a nice looking belly to belly suplex. Curtis is sent to
the floor and we take a break with Heyman yelling OH MY GOD at
Langston's strength. Back with Big E. holding a chinlock and hitting
five big punches to the ribs.
Axel
gets in a kick to the gut and a clothesline to the back of the head
to put Langston down. A quick dropkick gets no cover and a big THANK
YOU PAUL chant breaks out. Another dropkick gets two and we hit the
front facelock. Langston easily powers out and fires off a series of
clotheslines and knee lifts before running Axel over. There go the
straps but Heyman comes in for the DQ at 4:38 shown of 8:08.
Rating:
C-. This was fine. We
certainly won't going to get a title change here but the crowd was
WAY into Langston and Axel got in enough offense to not look like a
joke. Big E. can hold his own in the ring and is looking like a more
well rounded worker every time he's out there. That's very
impressive given that he's only 27 and has only been in wrestling for
a few years.
Post
match Langston goes after Heyman but Axel makes the save. Curtis
loads up a belt shot but walks into the Big Ending for the five
count.
Sami
Zayn says he's got a long running issue with Bo Dallas but now he's
got to deal with Cesaro and Colter accusing him of being an Arab or
an evil French Canadian. He thinks the moment that tipped them off
was when he spoke Arabic or when he announced himself as being from
Montreal. At the same time though, he challenged Cesaro to a match
over a month ago but hasn't heard back. Zayn will up the ante
though: we can make it 2/3 falls.
Mason
Ryan vs. Scott Dawson
Dawson
gets in his face to start but gets crushed into the corner. As the
beating continues here are Enzo Amore and Colin Cassidy for a
distraction, allowing Dawson to get in some cheap shots. Not that it
matters as Mason's cobra clutch slam is good for the pin at 1:30.
Ryan
cleans house after the match.
Women's
Title: Paige vs. Summer Rae
This
was supposed to be Emma's title shot but Summer beat her down last
week and gets the shot instead. They fight over a lockup to start
and Paige gets a quick two off a cross body. Paige throws her across
the ring and stomps Summer down in the corner, only to be slammed
face first onto the mat via a caught boot.
In
a unique move, Summer puts Paige's head between her (Summer's) legs
with Paige on her knees (think a victory roll position but on the
mat) and slams Paige face first into the mat before turning her over
into a rollup for two. A monkey flip gets two for the challenger and
Summer cranks on a headlock. Paige drives her into the corner to
escape and catches Summer's boot in a nice callback. The Paige
Turner is good for the pin at 3:43.
Rating:
C-. This was short but it
worked well enough. I'm assuming they're setting up for Emma vs.
Paige as a big match which is fine, but the bait and switch isn't
NXT's normal style. Summer's in ring work isn't all that great but
she's far better in the ring than someone like Aksana. Paige was her
usual good self here.
AJ
says she's defending the title against someone next week but she
isn't sure who it's going to be. It could be anyone from the boom
mic operator to her mom to Renee Young. Bayley comes up behind her
and gives her a big hug. She's REALLY excited to see AJ and
apparently has been following her all day. Bayley would like the
title shot and thinks they're friends, but they'll be even BETTER
friends after the title match. AJ gets another big hug and gives a
look that says she's admitting defeat in the battle of the crazies.
Dolph
Ziggler will be here next week.
During
the break Emma attacked Summer Rae. A ticked off Emma could be
interesting.
Shield
vs. Corey Graves/Adrian Neville/Xavier Woods
Graves
vs. Rollins gets us going with Corey sending him right back into the
corner for a meeting with the Shield. Seth charges in for an armdrag
but Graves keeps rolling through and armdrags Corey down instead.
Off to Neville for a dropkick to the knee and one to the chest for
two before the tag is made to Woods. Things speed up a bit and Woods
snaps off a headscissors for two. The NXT guys keep up the frequent
tags with Graves cranking away on Seth's arm. The arm is quickly
dropped in favor of the leg but Rollins bails to the floor, allowing
Woods and Neville to hit stereo dives on Shield as we take a break.
Back
with Reigns headbutting Woods down and stomping him down in the
Shield corner. Off to the US Champion for some trash talk and right
hands to Woods' afro. Xavier backflips out of a belly to back suplex
and there's the not yet hot tag to Graves. A quick chop block sets
up Lucky 13 but Rollins makes the save. Reigns comes in to pound
away and hits a great standing falcon's arrow for two. Back to Seth
to crank on the arm for a bit before making a blind tag off to
Reigns. Graves doesn't see the tag and tries a sunset flip on
Rollins, allowing Roman to get in a hard cheap shot.
Back
to Ambrose for more trash talk as the fast Shield tags continue. A
snap suplex puts Graves back in the wrong corner before Reigns comes
back in. Corey kicks away at Roman's knee from the mat but there's
almost no effect. Graves is shoved into the corner and gets a burst
of energy to fight his way out.
The
hot tag brings in Neville to speed things up and an enziguri puts
Dean down. He gets the knees up to block the Red Arrow though and
makes a tag off to Rollins. Adrian flips out of a German suplex and
tags in Woods who gets two off a high cross body. A kick to Seth's
head and a quick downward spiral gets two. The It's Morphin Time
clothesline gets two as well but Reigns makes the diving save.
Neville
hurricanranas Reigns to the floor and Ambrose suplexes Graves to the
floor. Woods loads up a superplex but Rollins counters into a sunset
bomb. Xavier holds the ropes but Reigns makes a blind tag and
punches Woods to break his grip on the ropes. Rollins hits the
Buckle Bomb and the spear from Reigns is enough to pin Woods at 14:07
shown of 16:52.
Rating:
B+. Cut two minutes or so out
of the middle and this is a classic. This was in the old vein of
Shield matches with the last second saves and perfectly planned out
insanity and it's still awesome. The NXT guys got a solid rub here
as they got to put Shield to a good test. The ending never really
was in doubt, but they had me wondering there for a few seconds,
which is a sign of a good match.
Cesaro
accepts Zayn's challenge for the 2/3 falls match next week. He
promises to beat Zayn so bad but Sami jumps him to start a brawl.
They're pulled apart and Cesaro channels his inner James Kirk by
shouting ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYN to end the show.
Overall
Rating: B. Solid show here with
a great main event and some good stuff leading up to it. NXT does a
great job at incorporating the main show guys into the fold and the
shows benefit a lot from it. At the end of the day though, the NXT
guys are the stars of the show and that's the important idea. The
Zayn vs. Cesaro match has the potential to be amazing so things are
looking up for next week.
Results
Big
E. Langston b. Curtis Axel via DQ when Paul Heyman interfered
Mason
Ryan b. Scott Dawson – Cobra clutch slam
Paige
b. Summer Rae – Paige Turner
Shield
b. Xavier Woods/Corey Graves/Adrian Neville – Spear to Woods
Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6
http://antoniocesaro.ytmnd.com
ReplyDeleteSo can't wait to see the Zayn/Cesaro match on tv after seeing it at the tapings. Every wrestling fan should watch next week, that match is amazingly good.
ReplyDeleteJust saw the tag match at your recommendation and loved it. Great stuff.
ReplyDelete"At the end of the day though, the NXT guys are the stars of the show and that's the important idea"
Couldnt agree more. I like these reviews a lot as I dont always get the chance to see NXT.
Much appreciated.
ReplyDelete