wrestling / Video Reviews
Hall’s WWE NXT Reviews 1.2.13 & 1.14.15
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...NXT
Date: January 2, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, William Regal
So a lot has changed in NXT in recent weeks, as the taping schedule has caught up with the main roster and NXT Champion Seth Rollins is now part of a thing called the Shield. That isn’t going to bode well for NXT, as Rollins is currently set to defend the NXT Title against Corey Graves. Let’s get to it.
Welcome Home.
The intro is cut off as the Shield is in the ring wrecking some wrestlers. Cue Commissioner Dusty Rhodes to say knock that off but Dean Ambrose (who I don’t believe had wrestled, or even debuted, on NXT TV) says they’re changing things around here. Rhodes says Seth Rollins is defending against Corey Graves tonight, with Ambrose saying they’re doing things their way. That doesn’t work for Rhodes, who threatens to strip Rollins of the title. Rollins will face Graves tonight, but Roman Reigns says that this might be Rhodes’ house, but he’s just paying the Shield’s rent.
Commentary isn’t sure what to do.
Bo Dallas vs. Epico
Primo is here with Epico. It’s a feeling out process to start with Dallas grabbing a headlock and shouldering him into the corner. Epico is right back with a suplex into a bodyscissors to work on the ribs before bending Dallas’ back over the knee. Dallas fights up without much trouble and strikes away, setting up a quick belly to belly. The spear finishes Epico at 5:04.
Rating: C. I get the appeal of Dallas at this point, but it only worked so well in the ring. He wasn’t the biggest guy but he was wrestling more like a power wrestler, which made for something of a weird setup. Things would get way better when he was able to embrace the other the top style with Bolieving and all that jazz, as this felt like a bit of trying to fit something in the wrong place.
Post match Epico and Primo surround Dallas but Michael McGillicutty makes the save.
Sasha Banks vs. Tamina Snuka
This is Banks’ second match in NXT. Tamina knocks her down to start fast and gets in a slam. The pace already slows down and Banks is up with a wristdrag out of the corner. A rollup gives Banks two but Tamina plants her with the Samoan drop. The Superfly Splash finishes Banks at 2:48. Banks was just an up and comer here but you could see the skills. She had a smoothness to her that you can’t teach and it felt like a matter of time/a repackaging.
Kassius Ohno/Leo Kruger vs. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel
Ohno headlocks Kidd to start and it’s off to Gabriel for the armdrag to Kruger. Kidd and Gabriel go Motor City Machine Guns with a Dream Sequence before Gabriel’s spinning kick to the face gets two. An armbar has Kruger in more trouble and everything breaks down, with Kidd and Gabriel both getting in a dive.
We take a break and come back with Kruger taking over on Kidd and getting two off a spinebuster. It’s back to Ohno, who gets to work on the back a bit more, with Gabriel coming in sans tag for a save. Kidd is finally able to dive over for the tag to Gabriel, meaning it’s time for some rapid fire kicks. A Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Kruger as everything breaks down. Gabriel rolls Kruger up but walks into the Krugerrand (forward Diamond Cutter) for the pin at 12:14.
Rating: C+. Looking back, I still do not quite get the appeal of Kruger. He’s a simple enough gimmick with the Big Game Hunter, but that only got him so far. The match was nothing overly great, but the problem here was Ohno and Kruger not being so interesting. Ohno was fun when he got to talk, though the whole thing didn’t work for the most part.
NXT Title: Seth Rollins vs. Corey Graves
Rollins (sans music) is defending. Graves strikes away to start and hits a clothesline, with Rollins having to grab the ropes. A knee puts Graves down and Rollins grabs a figure four necklock. Graves comes back up but gets caught with a jumping enziguri. The 13th Step (a leglock) has Rollins in trouble but the rest of the Shield runs in for the DQ at 4:32.
Rating: B-. This was really just an excuse for the Shield to run in and cause more chaos, which is where they tended to excel. Rollins was getting into his more trademark persona here and that worked pretty well. At the same time, Graves didn’t quite click in the ring but he would be more than good enough in other roles down the line. For now though, he was nothing more than a means to an end.
Post match the beatdown is on so Dusty Rhodes sends out some wrestlers for the failed save. Bo Dallas is the last one out and gets TripleBombed. Rhodes realizes this isn’t good and….let’s pause for a minute. I remember watching this the day it aired and thinking “in a smart promotion, the unstoppable good guy would come out for a showdown right now.”
As soon as I finished that thought, Big E. Langston (whom no one could lay a finger on at this point) appears and stares the Shield down. Langston slaps his hands together and gets on the apron, with the Shield bailing instead. Rhodes makes Rollins vs. Langston for the NXT Title next week to end the show. The one moment of Langston showing up in the exact right place at the exact right time is what made me an NXT fan and I have been ever since. Just perfect, logically booked wrestling and it worked to perfection.
Overall Rating: B. The Shield was the big draw here, as they were the hottest thing on the main roster and now they were a huge deal in NXT. That was going to have to change and Big E. Langston was the right choice to take the title away from Rollins. The rest of the show was just ok, but the big angle at the end made me a fan of NXT for well over ten years to come so we’ll call that a success.
Results
Bo Dallas b. Epico – Spear
Tamina Snuka b. Sasha Banks – Superfly Splash
Leo Kruger/Kassius Ohno b. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel – Krugerrand to Gabriel
Corey Graves b. Seth Rollins via DQ when the Shield interfered
NXT
Date: January 14, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Renee Young, Rich Brennan, Alex Riley
We’ll jump forward about two years, with NXT being an absolute underground sensation and easily the best of the regular weekly WWE shows. The cult following was in full swing and we’re fresh off of Takeover: R-Evolution, with Sami Zayn as the new NXT Champion. He’s defending against Adrian Neville in a rematch here, with new foe Kevin Owens lurking around as well. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence, now set to The Roar Of The Crowd, as we’re pretty firmly in peak NXT, or at least the glory days.
Finn Balor vs. Tyson Kidd
Balor has only been here for a few months and is clearly one of the next big things. The bell rings and Balor hits a shotgun dropkick into the corner but it’s too early for the Coup de Grace. Kidd bails out to the floor and cuts off a dive to send Balor back first into the barricade. Back in and Kidd stomps away as we take a break. We come back with Kidd catapulting him face first into the bottom turnbuckle and grabbing the chinlock.
A suplex sets up another chinlock until Balor fights up with a Pele. Balor sends him outside with a Sling Blade (called a clothesline into a neckbreaker), setting up the big running flip dive. Kidd is right back with a dragon screw legwhip over the ropes and a big kick to the face. The springboard elbow gets two back inside and Kidd grabs the Sharpshooter. Balor makes it to the rope and comes back with what would become known as 1916. A Coup de Grace to the side of the head (ouch) finishes Kidd at 11:49.
Rating: B. This was a good showcase for Balor, who was pretty clearly going to be a big deal in the main event scene sooner than later. He looked dominant here and survived against Kidd, who was a great choice to make others look better. That’s a very valuable thing to have and NXT used him as well as anyone else during his time in WWE.
Long video on Sami Zayn’s rise to the NXT Title, as he beat Adrian Neville for the title back in December.
Bull Dempsey reminds us that he is undefeated, just like his opponent, Baron Corbin. Tonight is the end of Corbin, who is going to hear BULL, BULL, BULL!
Bull Dempsey vs. Baron Corbin
The idea here is that they both win matches rather fast. They slug it out to start and quickly brawl out to the floor. That means some rams into the apron before going back inside, where Corbin grabs End Of Days for the pin at 1:21. Yeah that worked.
Charlotte/Natalya vs. Becky Lynch/Sasha Banks
Natalya rolls Lynch up for an early two and then sends her outside for quite the baseball slide. It’s off to Banks, who gets taken down by Natalya for the step over into the basement dropkick. A cheap shot cuts Natalya off though and Banks grabs a crossarm choke. That doesn’t last long as Natalya gets up for the tag off to Charlotte. House is quickly cleaned, with a neckbreaker putting Banks down. Lynch comes back in but gets pulled outside by Natalya, leaving Banks to neckbreaker Charlotte for the pin at 4:22.
Rating: C+. The women’s division was coming along at this point and you could see the star power in Charlotte and Banks. Lynch wasn’t far behind and Natalya was the perfect choice to help hold everything together. It was an incredible project that wound up working like a charm, with the Women’s Revolution coming together in about six months to change women’s wrestling forever. This wasn’t a great match, but it got the point across.
NXT Title: Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn
Zayn is defending and Neville is better known as Pac. They take their time to start with Neville flipping out of a backdrop and snapping off a hurricanrana. A headlock and dropkick work a bit better for Zayn and we pause for them to seemingly declare respect for each other. With that out of the way, Neville wins a slugout to knock Zayn outside for the big running flip dive.
We take a break and come back with Neville’s running uppercut in the corner connecting for two. Zayn kicks him out of the corner and hits a high crossbody but Neville is back with a standing hurricanrana for two more. Neville misses a kick to the head and gets Blue Thunder Bombed for two, followed by some rolling German suplexes.
The half and half is broken up and Neville plants him with a spinning hurricanrana for two of his own. After a pause to make sure that Zayn is still on this planet, Zayn suplexes him into the corner but it’s too early for the Helluva Kick. Instead Neville cuts off the dive over the bottom rope but gets pulled into a failed Koji Clutch attempt. Neville rolls him up for two and is sent into the corner for a quick Helluva Kick to retain Zayn’s title at 13:54.
Rating: A-. This was a Takeover level match on the regular show and that’s not something you see very often. Zayn has now beaten Neville twice and that firmly establishes him as the top man around here. The match was Neville getting in quite a bit of offense and Zayn catching him in the end for the win. Heck of a match here, with Zayn showing that he was more than a flash in the pan at Takeover.
Post match Zayn celebrates but Kevin Owens runs in to plant him with a powerbomb to end the show.
Overall Rating: B+. It was another awesome show as you can feel the roll that NXT is on at this point. They figured out the formula and it worked again here, with Zayn feeling like the big hero and Balor being groomed as the next one in line. Owens being right there as the big evil was perfect, as he was relishing the role and nailing it at the same time. Great show here and it was an incredible flashback.
Results
Finn Balor b. Tyson Kidd – Coup de Grace
Baron Corbin b. Bull Dempsey – End Of Days
Becky Lynch/Sasha Banks b. Charlotte/Natalya – Neckbreaker to Charlotte
Sami Zayn b. Adrian Neville – Helluva Kick
