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The SmarK Rant for NXT–08.22.13

The SmarK Rant for WWE NXT – 08.22.13

Taped from Orlando, FL

Your hosts are Tom Phillips & Alex Riley

Divas title: AJ Lee v. Bayley

Bayley as the starstruck wrestling nerd is a pretty funny gimmick. AJ lays her out with a neckbreaker for two and works the neck, but Bayley avoids a charge and HUGS IT OUT. Amazingly, that gets two. Corner clothesline and a slam get two, as does a kneedrop. She goes up with a back elbow for two as the crowd actually starts dueling chants for them. AJ claims a nose injury, and Bayly goes to console her and gets laid out and finished with a Shining Wizard at 4:36. Totally acceptable Divas match. **

Meanwhile, CJ Parker photobombs Tyler Breeze. CJ Parker? Who picks these stupid names?

Michael Zaki & Ron Hicks v. The Ascension

Nice to see they’re not giving up on the Ascension gimmick, because there’s always money in big scary tag team monsters. They really need better gimmick names, though. “Conor O’Brien” just doesn’t say killer to me, especially with his look. They should be “Warlock” and, I dunno, something biblical like “Uriel”. Zaki gets destroyed and finished by Rick Victor with a double team powerbomb and TOTAL ELIMINATION at 1:34. Total squash. ½*

Baron Corbin v. CJ Parker

Parker’s apparent new gimmick is burned-out stoner, complete with faux-Hendrix music. Corbin avoids all the groovy moves and pounds Parker in the corner, but charges and hits boot. Parker hits him with knees in the corner and finishes with a facefirst DDT at 1:40. Breeze comes out to protest the photobombing, basically doing a tribute to Derek Zoolander. Can we assume his finisher is called “Blue Steel”? Actually, Parker + Breeze basically equals John Morrison. Just indy level silliness here. ½*

Alexander Rusev v. Dolph Ziggler

Rusev is Bulgarian and has a board with Ziggler’s name on it, so you know he means business. I guess. Dolph with a rollup for two, but Rusev pounds on him and yells a lot. Apparently Bulgaria is still behind the times in terms of evolutionary development. Rusev throws knees and dumps Ziggler, then back in for a charge that gets two. Dolph escapes a chinlock and makes the comeback with a corner splash and dropkick for two. Ziggler hits the fameasser for two, but the Zig Zag is blocked and Rusev gets a leg lariat for two. Rusev goes up with a flying splash that misses, and the Zig Zag finishes at 6:14. Kind of a weird style clash, but Ziggler played a traditional babyface pretty well here, taking the beating and then coming back. *1/2

2/3 Falls: Sami Zayn v. Antonio Cesaro

Zayn gets a quick rollup for the first fall at 0:20 after a brawl, and they quickly fight to the floor again. Back in, Zayn with a leg lariat for two and he pounds away in the corner, then follows with a high cross for two. Cesaro plants him on the top rope for two and pounds away on the mat to take over. Cesaro tries for a chinlock and Zayn fights out, so Cesaro gives him a vicious powerbomb for two. Clothesline gets two. Double stomp gets two. Zayn fights up, but Cesaro puts him down with a throw and adds a double stomp. Zayn reverses a gutwrench into a sunset flip for two and follows with a rana for two. Cesaro uses a fallaway slam into a bridge for two, and we take a break. What’s with commercials on a show I have to pay $8 a month to watch, by the way? I understand the Hulu ones to a certain degree, but then WWE inserts their OWN after the Hulu ones. Back with Zayn rolling him up for two again, and a dropkick fires up the comeback. He charges into the swinging choke, however, and Zayn taps at 9:54 to even it up. Cesaro charges him with a corner splash for two and they slug it out on the apron, setting up an AWESOME superplex from Cesaro, as he powers him off the apron from the second rope. That dude is SCARY strong. Cesaro gives him the badmouth and blocks a small package, but Zayn gets a pair of rollups for two. Big boot in the corner gets two. Cesaro pounds him with forearms and tries another powerbomb, but Zayn reverses into a sunset bomb for two. Cesaro wisely bails to regroup, so Zayn charges and hits a tornado DDT from through the ropes and onto the ramp. What a spot! Cesaro dives in to beat the count, and Zayn gets two. He tries another tornado DDT, but Cesaro stops him by spitting in the face of physics with SHEER POWER, overhead tosses him into the Swiss Death forearm, and finishes with the NEUTRALIZER at 16:00. WHAT A FINISH! **** Why don’t they let Cesaro do that crazy shit on RAW every week? Zayn is money when they call him up. Market him to kids and let him fly around the ring and they’ve got something big.

The Pulse:

It was a one match show but what a match! Even just check out the finish if you can, because Cesaro was something else here.

Comments

  1. Ring of Honor is quickly becoming 1999-2000 WCW for the WWE: a pool of talent that reinvents the mid to upper card. It's fascinating how quickly we went from lugs like Snitsky to wrestlers like Punk, Cesaro and Bryan.

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  2. Once the powers that be figure out what they have with Cesaro it's going to be a good time.

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  3. So what'd you think of the pacing of the show? One match show, and the best match I've ever seen in person for sure.

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  4. really hoping this match and the match with Bryan last month have let them know and they are just biding their time to implement a proper strategy of elevating Cesaro.

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  5. I think they're actually missing the boat with Cesaro. He can easily be plugged into babyface Ryback role and make it work x1000 better. Ryback has the freaky strength and agility that could win him the respect of the crowd, which is something Ryback couldn't do until long after the company had lost faith in him as a top guy.

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  6. Amsterdam_Adam_CurryAugust 22, 2013 at 10:31 PM

    Tyler Breeze sounds like the name of a feminine hygiene product.

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  7. I only have two things to say about that main event.
    "OLE!"
    and...
    "HEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!"

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  8. Cesaro did get to giant swing Miz into the barricade like 10 times which was pretty great.

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  9. He also delivered one of the stiffest and best European uppercuts in that match he had with Sheamus. The dude is money in the ring.

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  10. I mentioned this on the other NXT thread but I'd guess part of the reason his push died in 2013 was the noticeable lack of crowd heat during his matches in 2012. And it wasn't from lack of trying, they gave him a great push to start with a character and promo time but he still seems to lack something. It's definitely not his ring work.

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  11. Just because a guy doesn't catch on with the crowd, doesn't mean he isn't doing good work or his character is bad. Sometimes, it just doesn't catch on and it's hard to pin point why. At the same time, it's not like he got a mega push like Ryback or The Shield. He never got to go over big names and that's critical in THIS BUSINESS. So, in reality, he got a decent push to start, but probably not the kind he needed.

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  12. Yeah those are good points. Maybe a face turn could do him some good.

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  13. He's missing Chris Hero

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  14. davidbonzaisaldanamontgomeryAugust 22, 2013 at 11:50 PM

    Wait, you pick on the bad names but use CJ Parker as an example and not Tyler Breeze?


    In the immortal words of Sir Tim Allen: "aaaarrrooouuuUUUUGGGH?!?!" o_O

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  15. davidbonzaisaldanamontgomeryAugust 22, 2013 at 11:50 PM

    So what you're saying is...He Needs A Hero?

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  16. Tyler Breeze is at least unique, CJ Parker is too bland.

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  17. I could really see that. Just a legitimate freak athlete that will wow the audience into cheering for him. I could kinda see it falling apart in promos, because I don't know if WWE crowds could support a foreigner who isn't evil or comedy relief.

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  18. Well, I'd put my money on Cesaro being in it for the long run, and I'm sure Chris will get called up eventually.


    So yeah, I'm saying that he's Holding Out For A Hero.

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  19. That was my favorite finish in a LONG, long time.

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  20. Yeah, what's wrong with Tyler Breeze? Sounds like a doofus male model, which is what he's going for.

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  21. Great review! You should definitely keep this guy!

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  22. He has money written all over him and he's being wasted in a comedy tag team with Jack Swagger.

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  23. It's no surprise that Zayn/Cesaro was so good, they are two of the best wrestlers in North America. What I found cool about it though, was that they had an exciting, original match while still wrestling within "the WWE style".

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  24. davidbonzaisaldanamontgomeryAugust 23, 2013 at 3:47 AM

    Because you can't say you're breezy, that totally negates the breezy!

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  25. That Swiss Death uppercut at the end was AMAZING. Cesaro looked like a beast.

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  26. British Bulldog was one of the biggest faces, and he was a foreigner too. ;)

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  27. Or a pornstar

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  28. Aries should really be the guy winning the BFG Series.......oh wait, this isn't the Impact thread...

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  29. The finish to Cesaro/Zayn (I'm on my seventh viewing, because DAMN):

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRvHHnFTo_w

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  30. Cesaro's leg band thingies make it look like he is wearing thigh-high stockings at times.

    Otherwise, great match!

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  31. Holy shit you are right... I wonder if that is intentional?

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  32. Problem with CJ Parker was the name was better with the previous gimmick. When he got repackaged he should have been Mark Starchild or Johnny Woodstock.

    Also, CJ Parker looks too much like Bo Dallas with a tan and some dreads.

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  33. Tyler Breeze is a fine name. Kinda has that Derek Zoolander type ring to it.

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  34. Warlock and Uriel are bad ass names for a tag team. Put Scott on creative.

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  35. Amsterdam_Adam_CurryAugust 23, 2013 at 6:53 AM

    Or even a valet. But not a wrestler.

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  36. HOLY SHIT what a finish. I think like Scott said previously "they should just have him deadlifting people out there"

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  37. Is NXT on Hulu Plus? I have Hulu Plus and seriously have never really browsed for what it has.

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  38. That main event is KILLER. I thought Sami's selling was a little wonky and a bit too over-the-top, but beyond that, WOWZA.

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  39. The Rugby jig is up, just put knee pads on him.

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  40. GODDAMN what a finish! And Vince doesn't think Cesaro is a star (apparently...it would seem he was who Vince said that about...maybe)? He's big and ripped, what's the problem?

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  41. That's to be expected, Sami spent 10 years under the mask as El Generico. Generico was well know for his ridiculous, borderline comedic, selling as part of the character

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  42. Love me some Bayley.

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  43. The name CJ Parker isn't bad. The gimmick, however, is ridiculous. It screams 'awful indy schtick.'

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  44. Seems like every name is a rib on someone nowadays, so I wouldn't be surprised.

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  45. Yep, everything WWE EXCEPT Sat. Morning Slam and The Diva's show is on Hulu Plus (And as I noticed, NXT episodes are available a week after they are uploaded to regular Hulu users as well).

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  46. That makes sense. I mean it can work and it didn't ruin the match for me, but there's a fine line between quality selling and looking like you're in a Benny Hill picture.

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  47. Main was great, but really could have used 7-8 more minutes. Loved the way it played off their 2 previous matches with the quick roll up and the chinlock. After watching this match I watched the match between Cesaro and El Generico (a wrestler very similar to Zayn that recently retired to take care of his orphanage in Tijuana) from KurtRussell Reunion II. That is a great match too, and it really benefited from having the extra time, allowing them to do some nice legwork and build to a handful of really nice near falls.

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  48. Which, while true to a point is a crap reason when there's been numerous times people have gotten over great with the crowd and had nothing happen because of backstage shenanigans. If they can't figure out a way to make money with a guy like Cesaro, that's insane.

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  49. I fully agree he should be pushed again. Hell, it can even be with Zeb and Swagger.

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  50. I wouldn't call it a "comedy" tag team by any stretch.

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  51. I'm still waiting for the elusive Summer Breeze character so that I can fulfill a lifelong goal and hear Seals and Crofts on national TV.

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  52. I say ROH is more like the AWA for the WWE. Providing them with currently the two biggest stars on the roster: D-Bry and CM Punk.

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  53. Zayn's tap out was great. Seems like every time you see someone tap they're super aggressive and energetic about it. Zayn tapped like he was about to pass out. Little detail, but it added a lot to the match for me.

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  54. Part of that has to do with the push itself. He was clearly supposed to be a bad guy, and not a cool bad guy that can easily get cheered. But they had him doing all this cool shit like dead lifting mammoth sized guys out there. Yeah, heels can get face reactions but its usually something that gets built up in the audience. "Generic evil foreigner who is actually fucking awesome" is a weird dynamic for the wwe audience to get its head around.

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  55. The problem with the leg bands is they bring out how REALLY skinny his lower-legs are compared to the rest of him (Not quite Kevin Nash skinny, but still)... He'd do better off with knee pads.

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  56. Man they need to put Zayn back under the mask, bring him to the main roster, and have him be the masked guy they've tried and failed with Sin Cara.

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  57. If we are looking at masked wrestlers the way it seems WWE does, El Generico seemed PERFECT for them as a kid friendly babyface that could sell a ton of merch.

    At the same time though I can picture him stuck doing alot of B & C show matches. It was hard enough for indie companies like ROH to take him as a serious competitor let alone Vince.

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  58. Why did it take this long for someone to swipe Total Elimination? Great finisher.

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  59. That's a good point. He wasn't too hot on the mic either.

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  60. (spots those damn kids on lawn)
    I can do without 'this is awesome' chants. The live crowd being into technical quality during the match means they're not investing fully into the story. Just cheer the good guys and boo the bad guys, rubes.

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  61. Not a bad point. The only way someone like a El Generico and a Colt Cabana get over as more than mid-card is to have a Steen or Homicide feud. And then they're only really taken seriously when the feud is going on (despite Generico/Zayn being made of awesome).


    Something also tells me that WWE won't really put on something like the 3-year feud that Generico/Steen managed to have (where despite changing face/heel alignments of Steen, his hatred for Generico STILL lived on).

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  62. Amsterdam_Adam_CurryAugust 23, 2013 at 4:02 PM

    I hate that chant with a passion. Especially when 3/4 of the time I hear it it's for a match that sucks.

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  63. Bayley rules. As does her body.

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  64. Yeah, that chant officially jumped the shark when fans chanted it during a mediocre Eve/Layla match on RAW last year.

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  65. That character would be much cooler if it came out to the Type O Negative version.

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  66. Amsterdam_Adam_CurryAugust 24, 2013 at 3:59 AM

    For me it was that Elgin/Richards match on ROH TV last year. Or the Richards/Paul London match from Border Wars. Awesome? That match was fucking terrible.

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  67. Amsterdam_Adam_CurryAugust 24, 2013 at 4:01 AM

    Sure, but then WWE would have something get over that they didn't create and trademark. Can't have that.

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  68. Amsterdam_Adam_CurryAugust 24, 2013 at 4:02 AM

    Add me to the list of people that thinks she's pretty damn fine.

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  69. Amsterdam_Adam_CurryAugust 24, 2013 at 4:03 AM

    Anytime he's ever in Buffalo drinks are on me just for that alone.

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  70. I'm fine with the match in principle. But it definitely gets used for more matches than deserve it.

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  71. That made me think of Ariel and Ukla the Mok from Thundarr The Barbarian, but I can't argue with it.

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