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The Architecture of NXT: Episode #130
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The Architecture of NXT
Episode #130
August 15th, 2012 | Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida
The episode opened with Richie Steamboat being interviewed earlier today. He said he had a big obstacle in his way. Future WWE Champion Jinder Mahal walked up, his opponent in the tournament, and said Richie’s dream will become a nightmare.
Bryon Saxton, Jim Ross and William Regal were on commentary.
NXT Championship Gold Rush Tournament Semi-Finals: Jinder Mahal vs. Richie Steamboat
Mahal is the generic foreign heel, while Steamboat’s a white meat babyface. Mahal hit a stun gun for the first big move and took to wearing down Steamboat. Steamboat turned things around, but made a crucial mistake as his high risk move didn’t pay off. He missed it and Mahal slapped on the Camel Clutch to win at 4:43. This wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t interesting either. It was Mahal being boring, Richie getting a mild rally and then it ended. [*½]
Leo Kruger was interviewed about losing in the tournament. He said something has been brewing inside of him and that he’s “coming for you.” No word on who he meant.
Heath Slater came out to brag about his recent work on Raw with legends. He issued an open challenge and the fans chanted for Triple H. It was answered by someone surprising.
Heath Slater vs. Scotty 2 Hotty
Yup. Scotty’s offense did get the crowd going and he made sure to include taunts in between. He showed that he still had some agility on a back flip. Slater got a near fall on a neckbreaker, but also got hit with a bulldog. You know what came next. W-O-R-M. That’s all she wrote after 3:54. This was just here to get the crowd a nostalgia pop. [*]
Last week, Bo Dallas was interviewed about the loss in the tournament. He knows he came close and promises not to miss on his next shot. Derrick Bateman came up to him to say he had nothing to be ashamed of, his best just wasn’t good enough. He also called Bo his protégé, which made things awkward.
The Ascension vs. The Usos
The Usos got quite dominated by these guys back in June. Kenneth Cameron came out aggressively and took down Jimmy with an interesting corner neckbreaker. Jimmy got isolated following that, but fought through it and tagged in Jey. He came in hot and did some fun stuff, including the Umaga ass attack. Konnor knocked him off the top rope, leading to an awkward DQ at 4:36. Since when it that a DQ? Match was going quite well before that. [*¾]
Post-match, the Ascension jumped Jimmy Uso.
They attempt to interview Richie Steamboat, but he wanted no part of it.
Hunico and Camacho are interviewed about losing to Jason Jordan and Mike Dalton. Hunico made an excuse about having a 170 degree temperature.
Raquel Diaz got promo time in a mirror, where she talked about making over the women of NXT, for their own benefit.
NXT Championship Gold Rush Tournament Semi-Finals: Michael McGillicutty vs. Seth Rollins
Well, their careers went in opposite directions down the line. They got off to a solid start with some exchanges before Seth hit a suicide dive. Inside though, McGillicutty took him down with aggression. McGillicutty remained in control through a commercial break. Seth gained momentum, but his rally was cut short by a great suplex. They struggled to get control for a bit, until Seth hit the Curb Stomp from out of nowhere to make the finals at 8:30. Good match and the only thing worth checking out on this episode. It followed a standard formula that worked. [**¾]
Jinder Mahal came out to confront Rollins, but Dusty Rhodes interrupted. He wanted them to avoid a fight to save things for next week. Jinder ignored him and attacked, but got sent packing for his troubles.
