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The Architecture of NXT: Episode #131

June 28, 2017 | Posted by Kevin Pantoja
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The Architecture of NXT: Episode #131  


The Architecture of NXT
Episode #131
August 22nd, 2012 | Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida

Byron Saxton and William Regal handled commentary.

Antonio Cesaro w/ Aksana vs. Derrick Bateman
Bateman is just a generic babyface, but he brought some fire here. He took it right to Cesaro. Though it hadn’t happened when this was taped, Cesaro won the United States Title on the main roster on 8/19. Bateman’s fire was no match for Cesaro’s strength, as he got thrown around with ease. Cesaro showcased his great offense, from a splash to a Saito suplex to the Neutralizer that ended the match at 4:02. Nothing special, but a solid showcase for Cesaro. [**]

VIDEO PACKAGE ~ Several Superstars spoke about how important becoming the first NXT Champion is. Considering people like John Cena, Christian, Daniel Bryan and the Miz spoke, it helped the title feel important.

Sofia Cortez vs. Tamina
Tamina’s one of the blandest and most unspectacular wrestlers in WWE history. On the other hand, Sofia feels like a star. She mocked Tamina early and paid for it. Since Sofia was at a size disadvantage, she did her best to wear down Tamina. Tamina fought back with generic offense. When a kick wasn’t enough, Tamina won with the Superfly splash at 2:54. I know she was a main roster girl, but there’s no way I’d put Tamina over Sofia. [NR]

Raquel Diaz arrived after the match and jumped Tamina. With lipstick, she drew an “L” on Tamina’s forehead. However, since she had Tamina upside down, she actually drew a “7” instead.

Kassius Ohno vs. Jake Carter
As mentioned before, Carter is the son of Vader. His short-lived stint on offense got stopped by a kick from Ohno. From there, Ohno brought big strikes and kicks, showing off his knock out ability. Carter managed a small comeback with a suplex and sidewalk slam, but then ran into a roaring elbow. That got the three at 3:58. Like the previous match, this was mostly a squash. Ohno was entertaining and I thought Carter’s small hope spots were fine. [NR]

Kassius Ohno attacked Carter after the match until Richie Steamboat made the save. Ohno exited before any action could go down.

SUMMERSLAM AXXESS ~ Highlights were shown from the weekend events.

Jim Ross joined the booth for the main event.

Johnny Curtis and Michael McGillicutty vs. Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd
I always liked the Gabriel/Kidd team. Especially when they were heel in NXT in 2014. McGillicutty and Kidd started things, reminding me of their great main event from episode one. Gabriel ended up taking the heat for his guys, which lasted through a commercial break. McGillicutty and Curtis tagged in and out, cutting the ring off and wearing Gabriel down. Curtis made the mistake of missing a high risk move, allowing the Kidd hot tag. He did his thing, but did flub a springboard moonsault. JR covered up for it well on commentary. Kidd and Gabriel won with the super tandem blockbuster at 9:40. Good old fashioned tag team wrestling. They worked a smart tag formula, though it lacked in some parts. [**¾]

Briley Pierce interviewed Kassius Ohno about Richie Steamboat’s challenge to him. Ohno was more than happy to accept.

VIDEO PACKAGE ~ Superstars made predictions for the tournament finals.

Byron stood in the ring for a special interview with Jinder Mahal and Seth Rollins. He asked what it means to them to win the title. Seth cut a vanilla promo about this being his dream and how nothing will stop him from being the first NXT Champion. Seth’s come a long way as a promo. Jinder went next, and to be fair to Seth, Jinder’s promo was just as basic. He said he was born for this. Seth went to respond and Jinder got in a cheap shot. Seth turned the tables on him and stood tall to close the show.

6.0
The final score: review Average
The 411
A pretty focused episode this week. They did a wonderful job making sure the NXT Title match next week felt like a big deal. I think it would’ve been better if they didn’t do the closing segment, because that didn’t add much. The squashes set up or built to potential feuds (Raquel/Tamina, Ohno/Steamboat) and the main event was solid.
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