The Architecture of NXT: Episode #132

The Architecture of NXT
Episode #132
August 29th, 2012 | Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida

It’s time to crown the first ever NXT Champion!

Camacho and Hunico vs. Jason Jordan and Mike Dalton
Four weeks ago, Jordan and Dalton upset Hunico and Camacho for their first time. The future Tyler Breeze opened against the future Tanga Loa. Regal did a good job explaining how Dalton and Jordan have spent the past few weeks together to grow as a team. Jordan took the heat segment, including Hunico’s awesome school boy bomb. The dual tags came and Dalton nearly won the same way he did a few weeks ago. Camacho held Jordan back, while Hunico got the win with an Angle Slam at 4:01. Decent enough with a pretty hot finish. [*½]

The Usos came out for a surprising promo. They have unfinished business with the Ascension and want to settle it. The Ascension responded with an ambush. I like this because it gives us legit feuds and helps build a tag division.

RAW REBOUND ~ CM Punk and Jerry Lawler had quite the confrontation, leading to a Steel Cage match. Punk won, but General Manager AJ Lee announced he had to defend his WWE Title against John Cena at Night of Champions. A pissed off Punk took it out on Lawler until Cena made the save.

Big E Langston vs. Jake Donovan
Donovan was instantly taken down. THE STRAPS CAME DOWN TOO! Big Ending connected and Big E moved to 2-0 in 0:39. [NR]

Briley Pierce caught up with Big E and asked about his streak. Big E just grunted a bunch and said nothing. If they only knew how much charisma this dude had.

The NXT roster stood atop the stage as Dusty Rhodes was introduced. He carried the title to the ring. Howard Finkel performed the introductions, adding to the important feel of the match. Jim Ross joined Regal and Saxton in the booth.

NXT Championship Gold Rush Tournament Finals: Jinder Mahal vs. Seth Rollins
Interestingly enough, both would go on to win the WWE Championship. Seth won the first exchange, before trying a dive. Jinder avoided it and slammed Rollins from the apron onto the ramp. The entire roster remained on stage to watch this unfold, which was a great touch. Mahal took control through a commercial break, wearing down Seth. Jinder just beat down on Seth for the entire second segment of this match. He cut off a few comeback attempts until Seth connected on an enziguri. The crowd was way into things and Seth got them even louder with a cross body to the outside. Jinder cut him off and delivered a superplex heading into the second break. They traded blows and it was anyone’s ballgame. Seth came close with a springboard knee and superkick, but it wasn’t enough. Seth escaped the Camel Clutch and nailed the Buckle Bomb. Blackout followed and Seth won the title in 13:14. Best match of Jinder’s career (still) and of the tournament. They had the crowd in the palm of their hands and worked a smart, competitive match. [***¼]

Seth’s celebration involved the entire roster. The NXT DVD has additional footage with Triple H joining them.

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

A good episode this week. The opening tag wasn’t much, but continued the existing angle and the Big E squash helped establish a new star. The rest of the show was dedicated to the title match, which I love because it made it feel special. The match delivered and was one of the better ones since the start of NXT.