wrestling / TV Reports

Csonka’s WWE NXT Review (10.02.14)

October 2, 2014 | Posted by Larry Csonka

Introduction
As a reminder, this will not be another traditional recap, but instead it will be a mash up of the Rs, Instant Analysis and my usual Twitter ramblings I would do during the shows; completely uncensored and as the ideas flow unfiltered to the old keyboard. Remember, this is a review; and I am here to review the show. As always, I encourage discussion and even disagreement, just do so in a respectful manner. I will be doing the review for Raw and most PPVs and iPPVs going forward.

WWE NXT 10.02.14
OFFICIAL RESULTS

~ NXT Women’s Title Match: Charlotte © defeated Bayley @ 11:30 via pin [***]
~ Viktor vs. Hideo Itami Went to a No Contest [NR]
~ Baron Corbin defeated Troy McClain @ 0:50 via pin [NR]
~ The Vaudevillains defeated Jason Jordan and Tye Dillinger @ 4:10 via pin [**]
~ NXT Title Match: Adrian Neville © defeated Tyson Kidd @ 13:00 via [***¼]
~ ~ ~

* From Full Sail University.

NXT Women’s Title Match: Charlotte © vs. Bayley: Not sure why this is not given a shot at the main event, considering that they did the tag titles last week, it would have been a nice way to spread things out. I’ve mentioned it before; Bayley is great because she’s so different. She almost feels like a CHKARA comedy figure, but comes across in the ring as a sympathetic 80s Crockett babyface. The other thing is that she is the polar opposite of someone like Charlotte, making her easy to root for and support. Charlotte’s mocking of Bayley was just right, making it even easier to root for Bayley. Unlike The Miz, Charlotte actually was working the leg to set up the figure four. Seriously, either Miz is stupid or the agents on his matches suck because he never sets the damn thing up. This was different than the Takeover match, and that’s a compliment. This was slower, Charlotte worked at a very deliberate pace as she broke the knee down, and tried to make everything she did mean something. Bayley made the comeback, and even sold the knee pretty well during that as well. Charlotte working the bridge spot into the figure four is pretty cool, and Bayley sold so well in that spot. The knee gave out on Bayley down the stretch, leading to Charlotte hitting the natural selection for the win. Good work from both, good story, everything meant something and it all fed into the finish. Post match they had the show of respect as they hugged and shook hands. RESPECT.

Hideo Itami vs. Viktor: The Ascension were obviously not amused by Itami’s actions since his arrival, and have decided that the match doesn’t matter and that they were just going to kick his ass. I am actually fine with this, because last week he distracted them during the title match. My reaction wouldn’t be to want to win a grappling bout, I’d want to kick the man’s ass too, so The Ascension beating the hell out of Itami makes sense to me. The Ascension used a modified (shitty) version of the doomsday device and left Itami laid out in the ring.

* Carmella trains with Big Cas and Enzo. Big Cas’ commentary on the video is the best part of this.

Baron Corbin vs. Troy McClain: Hey, there’s Troy McClain, you may remember him from such recent articles like “WWE Releases Two NXT Wrestlers” and getting destroyed by Baron Corbin right here in front of you. Corbin continues to mow people down, which is all well and good, but I hope that they start developing his personality a bit. We need to get to know this character.

The Vaudevillains vs. Jason Jordan and Tye Dillinger: They changed The Vaudevillains music, not so much a fan of the new stuff. Their entrance is still really entertaining. I said it previously, but Jordan and Dillinger have a Haas and Benjamin vibe about them. Jordan is rough, but has a good look and some great athletic ability. I like the potential that they have, and hope that they can develop enough to get a shot down the line as a tag team. It seems that they are missing something but I can’t quite put my finger on it… I got it; get them velvet hoodies, stat! But seriously, back to the match, The Vaudevillains are a lot of fun, and scored the win in just over four-minutes. The match was fine, and I just hope they can find a solid direction with the tag division as we move forward.

* Itami gets checked on backstage and Funaki makes a cameo! Funaki is worried about Itami’s issues with the Ascension, and lets him know that he has his back.

* Bayley interview time backstage. She’s disappointed, but she knows she can’t quit because she knows girls look up to her. She gets better every time she faces Charlotte, and she knows that she can win the title. DA BOSS Sasha Banks attacks Bayley and says that she will win the title from Charlotte.

* Titus O’Neil is at ringside for the title match.

NXT Title Match: Adrian Neville © vs. Tyson Kidd: I generally enjoy both guys, and have no issue with the rematch because it should finally close the chapter with Kidd and allow Neville to move on to the next stage. Overall a good main event, with some shenanigans by Titus O’Neil and Sami Zayn. I can really do without Titus here, but it made sense because it allowed Zayn to show that he always does the right thing, which will play into the feud with Neville as things progress. Sami rooting on Neville also shows again that he’s just a good guy, even thought Neville screwed him at Fatal Fourway. Kidd and Neville work really good together, and I say again, Kidd working with the NXT guys is a good idea because he knows the main roster style and can be a guy that helps them transition. Jojo announcing that, “Tyson Kidd has no more NXT Title opportunities” was a nice touch, playing off of Regal’s edict that Kidd was getting his last chance for the title while Neville was champion

* End scene.

* Thanks for reading.

The Tirade
Charlotte vs. Bayley was a good opener, and they continue to work very well together. Charlotte continues to improve, and Bayley is such a great face. Baron Corbin killed a man; he’ll never be seen in NXT again. The Ascension destroyed Itami, which again was also perfectly fine. More importantly it made sense, as noted above, and doesn’t hurt Itami because The Ascension were tag champions for nearly one year and mowed down teams on the regular. Them beating down one man is perfectly believable. Commentary noted that, “Itami is new to NXT… he hasn’t made friends yet” it a great set up to introduce a new talent. The main event was a good match and a nice way to close up the show and slowly progress Zayn vs. Neville. Zayn simply wants to beat Neville because he feels Neville is the best, and I like that.

One thing I do what to discuss, and I mentioned it above; Charlotte vs. Bayley should have had the chance to carry this show. You’re booking a one-hour TV show, you don’t have to waste two title matches on a regular show, that’s why you build to the specials. Charlotte and Bayley could have easily been given the time here to main event, while saving Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd for next week. Considering that they did the tag title rematch last week, it would have worked out perfectly. Remember, booking episodically and giving people a reason to watch the show is what you need to be doing. It’s not so much that they did something wrong, but something they could have considered. Especially since Triple H has stated that he is so proud of the NXT ladies, give them a chance to main event, so when they get to the main roster and hopefully that division evolves, it will be common place to have it happen.

Overall this was a really good show, two good matches and some advancement overall and nothing bad. More of this please.

Show Rating: 7.9

As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale…

0 – 0.9: Torture
1 – 1.9: Extremely Horrendous
2 – 2.9: Very Bad
3 – 3.9: Bad
4 – 4.9: Poor
5 – 5.9: Not So Good
6 – 6.9: Average
7 – 7.9: Good
8 – 8.9:Very Good
9 – 9.9: Amazing
10: Virtually Perfect

The final rating is not simply an average of the rated segments above. The rating takes them into account as well as the segments that are small but not scored, the flow of the show, the overall booking, build to PPV, crowd reactions, and so on and so forth.

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Larry Csonka is a Pisces and enjoys rolling at jiu jitsu class with Hotty McBrownbelt, cooking, long walks on the beach, Slingo and the occasional trip to Jack in the Box. He is married to a soulless ginger and has two beautiful daughters who are thankfully not soulless gingers; and is legally allowed to marry people in 35 states. He has been a wrestling fan since 1982 and has been writing for 411 since May 24th, 2004; contributing over 3,000 columns, TV reports and video reviews to the site.

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