NXT
Date:
October 16, 2013
Location:
Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators:
Tony Dawson, William Regal, Renee Young
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
Tonight
is a very big show for NXT as we FINALLY get the showdown between
Sami Zayn and Bo Dallas. This is a match that's been built up for
months now and tonight is the blowoff. Imagine that: setting up
match and building up to it for months as the fans want to see it
more and more. Why is that so complicated? Let's get to it.
The
opening video sets up the title match tonight with Zayn wearing a
mask and pinning Dallas a few weeks back.
Welcome
Home.
Tag
Titles: Ascension vs. Adrian Neville/Corey Graves
Ascension
is defending and won the belts from Neville and Graves two weeks
back. Corey sends Victor into the corner to start as the announcers
talk about how much more aggressive Graves has been since losing the
titles. Victor is knocked into the corner before putting on a
headscissors choke over the ropes before bringing in Adrian. The
Brit loads up a quick Red Arrow but has to kick O'Brien away, only to
hurt his leg in the process.
Back
from a break with Victor slamming the back of Graves' head into the
mat for two before it's off to Conor again. Adrian quickly gets over
to the corner and dives to Corey for the tag. Graves goes for
Conor's leg and puts on Lucky 13 but Victor makes the save. Adrian
is still hurt but Graves tags him back in anyway. O'Brien throws
Adrian shoulder first into the post but Neville comes back with a
kick to Victor's face. He goes for the tag but Victor kicks Adrian
into Corey which isn't a tag for some reason. Ascension hits the
Fall of Man on Neville to retain the belts at 5:52 shown of 9:22.
Rating:
C. This was all about finishing
off the Graves/Neville team for good which was the right move. They
never felt like anything more than transitional champions and in both
matches they've looked outclassed by Ascension. It was a glorified
squash and there's nothing wrong with that at all.
Post
match Graves yells at Neville for losing their shot before destroying
him, turning heel in the process. It takes a little bit before the
fans really get onto him but the YOU SUCK chant gets going after a
bit.
Cena
is coming back in case you didn't know.
Post
break the announcers are stunned at what they just saw.
Tyler
Breeze vs. CJ Parker
As
usual, the fans are entirely behind Breeze and can't stand Parker.
Renee Young continues to be awesome on commentary by saying she and
Breeze get along so well because they both have blonde ponytails,
shop at the same stores and are about the same size. Fans: “BREEZE
IS GORGEOUS!” Parker hits a hard chop to the chest to start as the
announcers debate which kind of cell phone would be the best weapon.
Breeze
misses an elbow drop and gets rolled up for two, protecting his face
in the process. Parker misses a dropkick and gets kicked in the face
but Breeze has to go take a picture in the corner. Breeze pounds
away and freaks out when CJ loads up a right hand to the face. Fans:
“NOT IN THE FACE!” Breeze uses the distraction to poke Parker in
the eye and hit a spinwheel kick for the pin at 3:25.
Rating:
C-. If there is a more fun
character out there than Tyler Breeze, I have no idea who it is. The
match was nothing special but the thing that stood out the most here
was Renee Young. She is so perfect as the laid back commentator and
actually makes the matches a lot easier to listen to. She's funny,
she adds stuff to the match, she sounds natural and above all else,
she isn't corny at all. In short, she sounds like a normal, bright
person talking about what she's seeing and offering some intelligent
thoughts to it. That's the polar opposite from how forced most
commentary is and it's very refreshing.
Regal
praises Tyler for his tactics. Breeze goes to take a picture but
Parker hits him in the face and steals the phone to take pictures of
himself. Regal has the right idea: “CALL THE POLICE!”
Breast
cancer is bad.
Paige/Emma
vs. Sasha Banks/Summer Rae
Paige
insists that she gets to start and erupts on Summer to start. It's
quickly off to Emma who sends Summer running off to Banks. Emma
avoids a charge in the corner and gets a quick sunset flip for two.
Sasha takes her into the heel corner and brings in Summer as Renee
takes jabs at Tony for calling her the foremost authority on Divas.
Summer
hits a faceplant for two on Emma before pulling on Emma's arms. Emma
backflips over into a rollup for two and there's the hot tag to
Paige. The champ cleans house and fires off some knees to Summer's
ribs before getting two off a PerfectPlex. Everything breaks down
and Summer hits a quick standing legdrop for the pin on Paige at
5:50.
Rating:
C-. The looks of the girls made
this a lot easier to get through but it still wasn't much of a match.
Much like earlier, this was there to do little more than stet up a
future match, presumably with Summer finally taking the title from
Paige. Still though, good stuff here as the Divas of NXT continue to
be the best in the business today.
NXT
Title: Sami Zayn vs. Bo Dallas
They
have a ton of time for this. Bo is defending if you're new around
here. Feeling out process to start with Sami sending Bo into the
ropes. Sami gets a pair of rollups for two, sending Bo into the
corner. Back up and the champion grabs a headlock to take Zayn down
and drops some knees for two. Dallas hooks a cravate for a few
moments before Sami comes back with clotheslines and a backdrop. The
running boot in the corner.....WINS THE CHAMPIONSHIP AT 4:35?????
The
fans are so shocked they forget to cheer but before I can even type
Rating:, here's JBL
to say it doesn't count because Bo's foot was on the rope, which was
clearly before the bell. JBL tells the referee to not make him learn
his name so restart the match. Bo elbows Sami out to the floor and
we take a quick break.
Back
with Sami fighting out of a cravate but getting clotheslined down for
another two. Sami fights up again and low bridging Dallas out to the
floor. There's the big flip dive from Zayn followed by a high cross
body for two. Dallas blocks the running boot in the corner but gets
caught in a spinning blue thunder bomb for two. Bo hits a boot to
the side of the head and a bulldog out of the corner for a close near
fall.
A
reverse DDT gets the same but Sami avoids a powerslam and spears
Dallas down for two. Dallas blocks a climbing the turnbuckle armdrag
and spears Sami down for two. The fans are losing their minds on the
kickouts. Dallas puts Zayn on the top rope for a superplex but gets
countered into a great looking sunset bomb for an even closer two.
Sami rolls some German suplexes but Bo rips off the turnbuckle pad
and sends Zayn face first into the steel to block the last German,
allowing Bo to roll him up to retain at 14:26 shown of 17:16.
Rating:
B+. Really fun match here where
you genuinely didn't know who was going to win until the end. At
this point Zayn shouldn't be in NXT for awhile as this was his big
moment and he came up short. He's more than ready for the main
roster so there's no need to keep him around in developmental
anymore. Dallas' best match ever by a few thousand miles.
Overall
Rating: A. My goodness NXT is
amazing. This felt like their biggest show ever and it delivered in
spades. We have angle advancement in the tag title match, a
challenger for Paige, a fun match with Breeze and a great match with
a false finish for the title. This is by far the highlight of my
wrestling week and somehow it keeps getting better. Excellent show
this week and great stuff all around.
Results
Ascension
b. Adrian Neville/Corey Graves – Fall of Man to Neville
Tyler
Breeze b. CJ Parker – Spinwheel Kick
Summer
Rae/Sasha Banks b. Paige/Emma – Standing legdrop to Paige
Bo
Dallas b. Sami Zayn – Rollup
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
Great recap of a great show. This is pretty much the only current show worth watching anymore. The matches are fun, the stories make sense and the divas can wrestle. My only complaint is I can't decide who's hotter Paige or Emma!
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