My NXT project

[MonteCarl]

I remember when they called up Emma and tried to re-create the entire program/comedy match on the main roster, and it just did  not get over in the same way. I don't think Emma ever really recovered and got a true shot on the main roster. Probably the first example of something that got over with NXT not translating to the main roster, as they never ever truly explained Emma to the main roster audience. She just showed up in the audience for a few weeks, Santino plucked her out of the crowd, and away they went. And they still don't seem to have figured out how to do a proper NXT to main roster call-up.

[Brian Fowler]

I did love Emma's return to NXT "don't have fun" stuff though. Great use of meta

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

10/9/13

Antonio Cesaro Vs Leo Kruger: This looks like a babyface turn for Kruger. Match gets a lot of time, and is one of the duller Cesaro matches I've seen. He dominates most of the match, but Kruger refuses to stay down. This goes on too long, before Cesaro finally puts him away with the Neutraliser. Cesaro sells shock at the amount of punishment Kruger was able to take, and then gives him a kneedrop off the top rope for good measure. Kruger isn't the guy I'd pick out for a babyface turn.

Charlotte Vs Santana Garrett: Bayley is out with Charlotte. Garrett was Brittany in TNA and still wrestles on the indies. Not a good match. Neither one of these looked very good. Summer and Sasha come out to mock Charlotte, and just generally act bitchy at ringside. Charlotte picks up the win and her and Bayley leave, while Summer cuts a promo about how she and Sasha run NXT. Paige comes out and attacks them, but gets outnumbered. Big Emma chants, and she comes out and makes the save. In the back, Summer challenges Emma and Paige to a tag match next week. Paige and Emma later accept.

Mojo Rawley Vs Danny Burch: Mojo's debut and he gets over pretty well. I'm not personally a fan, but you can see the potential. Basic squash win.

Alexander Rusev and Scott Dawson Vs Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady: Rusev and Dawson continue to look good in the ring, whereas Enzo and Cass continue to get over. It's the Legionnaires who come out on top in a fairly short match.

There's a backstage bit with Renee Young interviewing Sami Zayn, interrupted by Bo Dallas. Dallas thinks they should team up and go after the tag titles rather than face each other, and Zayn thinks that's a good idea, but only after he wins the NXT title. This was pretty entertaining. Dallas is starting to get his character down now.

Rob van Dam Vs Aiden English: This is a nice little showcase for English despite him eventually going down. He looked a star.

Episode MVP: Aiden English.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

10/16/13

Of note is that Renee Young is on commentary for the whole show here, after previously just doing women's matches. This is the debut of a 3-person booth, with Tony and Regal.

The Ascension Vs Corey Graves and Adrian Neville: Stacked show tonight as we start with the tag titles on the line. This is as boring as the last match between these two. Again, Neville is the only thing interesting here. They tease some problems between the former champs throughout the match, with Graves tagging in a clearly injured Neville. In the end Neville goes down to the Fall of Man and, rather predictably by that point, Graves attacks Neville after the match. I dunno, I feel Graves was probably better as a babyface than as a heel. And better in a tag team for that matter. I'd still rather they were champs than the bloody Ascension anyway.

Tyler Breeze Vs CJ Parker: Crowd is pro-Breeze. Another short match between these two, with Breeze winning once again, this time after a thumb to the eye and the Beauty Shot spin kick. After the match, Parker palm strikes Breeze in the face and steals his cellphone. Classic babyface move there.

Summer Rae and Sasha Banks Vs Emma and Paige: This wasn't particularly good, but was really ruined by the commentary, which was a lot of distracting nonsense between the three of them about the girls' fashion choices and what they may or may not mean. Also disappointing to see them seemingly going with Summer as the next challenger to Paige, as she pins the champ clean here. 

Bo Dallas Vs Sami Zayn: Now this is a good match. By far the best Bo Dallas match I've ever seen. The fans are losing their shit here for every Sami nearfall, which is really great to see. They do a Dusty finish early on with Sami pinning Bo with the helluva kick and being declared the new champion, only for JBL to come out and point out (correctly) that Bo's foot was on the rope. So we get a restart. Lots of cool offence by Sami, but he can't put the champ away. Finally, the turnbuckle gets exposed, and Dallas manages to send Zayn's head into it, and roll him up for the win. Dallas sold the way he'd been through well. I enjoyed this match.

Episode MVP: Sami Zayn.

3 star match: Bo Dallas Vs Sami Zayn.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

10/23/13

So our 3-man booth this week is Tom Phillips, Alex Riley and Tensai! What a flop Tensai was, from coming in with a monster heel push to buffooning around on the developmental territories commentary team, getting scored on by Alex Riley. This team, by the way, was a big comedown from last week's team, which itself had some bad moments. The two man teams were fine. No idea why WWE insists on these 3-person booths.

We kicked off with Corey Graves coming out in a suit to explain his actions from last week. He didn't get far into his promo before he was attacked by Neville and the two brawled for a bit before being separated. I liked that Neville didn't wait to jump Graves. I wasn't expecting that, and it actually made me jump.

Sasha Banks Vs Emma: Both women look really good here, and this is a very solid match. Maybe only behind Emma/Paige for NXT women's matches so far. With a bit more time I think they could have done something really good. Sasha is really growing into her character now, and her trash-talking was a highlight of the match. Paige came out to brawl with Summer, and that let Sasha sneak in an eye rake and get the big win. After the match there was a miscommunication spot where Paige accidentally clotheslined Emma while going for Sasha. They did mention several times during the match that Emma has a future match with Paige locked in, so I'm glad they're still going in that direction.

The Ascension Vs Casey Maron and Tommy Taylor: I can't find anything about these two jobbers except that Taylor is British. Squash win for the tag champs.

Alexander Rusev Vs CJ Parker: Parker comes out taking selfies with Tyler Breeze's phone. What a dick. Rusev is out sans Lefort and Dawson. Is that it for that group already? Rusev wins in a squash, but the big news here is Lana making her first appearance, strolling down to ringside and watching the action before leaving. After the match, Breeze comes out and cuts off a couple of Parker's dreads. Booking logic suggests we get a hair match out of this. WWE logic suggests no.

Corey Graves Vs Adrian Neville: Quick turnaround on this match then. Graves dominates much of the match, working on the leg that Neville hurt last week, to set up for the Lucky 13. Neville taps out. Not a great match. 

They show backstage promos from last week from Sami Zayn and Bo Dallas, after their title match. Dallas says he's going on vacation, while Zayn suggests that JBL might have it out for him after he restarted the match for Dallas's foot being on the ropes, but not for Dallas's use of the exposed turnbuckle. He compares himself to Daniel Bryan on the main roster. Again, don't bring this Authority crap into NXT please. To be honest, Zayn just came off as making excuses here. JBL was right to restart the match, whereas the turnbuckle becoming exposed was just one of those things, and could have benefited either guy. Anyway, JBL cut a promo later saying that Zayn won't be welcome on NXT until he apologises for his comments. 

Episode MVP: Sasha Banks. 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

10/30/13

Alexander Rusev and Sylvester Lefort Vs Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady: This is really weird for a couple of reasons. First, there's no sign of Scott Dawson and Lefort is making his in-ring debut with little fanfare. You'd think that would be something they'd build to. The most weird thing though is that Rusev just demolishes Cass and Enzo, and then when Lefort comes into the ring to gloat, Rusev lays him out too. He then makes Cass tap to the Accolade. Obviously they've decided to go in a different direction with Rusev and wanted to kill the Legionnaires thing quickly. Surprising that Enzo and Cass are still booked as absolute jobbers despite being one of the most over acts in the company. Lana joins Rusev on the ramp after the match, but we still don't know anything about her or her relationship to Rusev.

Aiden English Vs Jason Jordan: Hey, Jordan is back. I wonder where he's been. He gets a little bit of offence before English puts him away. Regal confesses to having a man crush on English, and plays that up to comic effect throughout the match. A new wrinkle in English's gimmick is that fans throw roses at him from the crowd after his encore. The whole presentation of this is great.

Paige Vs Summer Rae: These two have their usual match, with the addition of Sasha running interference at ringside. Sasha gets ejected and Paige wins with the Paige Turner. Sasha comes back out to attack Paige, but Emma makes the save. Another miscommunication spot sees Emma accidentally take out Paige, and the two stare each other down. I'm looking forward to these two finally having their rematch.

CJ Parker Vs Tyler Breeze: This feud rumbles on, with the crowd still very much behind Breeze. Parker is a bit more aggressive than usual, and picks up the win with his palm strike, as he had to really. He goes to cut off Breeze's hair, but Breeze escapes. Parker dances with the scissors like he's Brutus Beefcake.

Episode MVP: Aiden English.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

11/6/13

Alexander Rusev Vs Sylvester Lefort: In the back we see Lefort trying to get answers out of Lana, but she just talks Russian to him. Lefort comes out with a fistful of dollars, and then Lana introduces Rusev. Lefort tries to buy his way out of trouble, but Rusev squashes him. Again, no Dawson.

There's a bit in the back where Charlotte gives Bayley a new headband to replace one that Summer Rae and Sasha Banks broke a few weeks back. Summer and Sasha come in and also give Bayley a new headband, apologising to her and saying that she should join them. Bayley is oblivious to the fact that they just want to use her, whereas Charlotte is hip to them and tells them to leave. So, Summer and Sasha = Triple H and Bayley = Eugene is what I'm getting from this angle.

Leo Kruger Vs El Local: So, this is another hyped return for Kruger. Will this guy ever just fucking leave? He comes out playing to the fans a little bit more, bu there's basically no other difference. He picks up the quick win.

The Ascension Vs Travis Tyler and Troy McClain: Speaking of guys who I wish would fuck off. It seems like the Ascension show up more than any other act. And they were played out to begin with. Tyler showed up before in a squash match, whereas you might remember Troy McClain from, well, nothing actually.

Mojo Rawley Vs Tye Dillinger: Dillinger gets in a little bit of offence before Rawley rolls through him. Rawley looks very green, but his enthusiasm is infectious. 

Luke Harper Vs Kassius Ohno: Last week there was a video where Luke Harper said that he had found a new play thing in Ohno, so that is kinda the basis of this match. Ohno is looking very trimmed down, incidentally. I enjoyed this quite a bit. Ohno got to do a lot more this time out, hanging in there against Harper's stiff offence. He hit the roaring elbow, but Harper kicked out, and then Harper caught him with the discus clothesline for the win. But Ohno looked good in defeat here. Nice, stiff match.

Episode MVP: Kassius Ohno.

3 star match: Luke Harper Vs Kassius Ohno.

[NikoBaltimore]

42 minutes ago, Yo-Yo's Roomie said:

Bayley is oblivious to the fact that they just want to use her, whereas Charlotte is hip to them and tells them to leave. So, Summer and Sasha = Triple H and Bayley = Eugene is what I'm getting from this angle.

I've read this Bayley=Eugene comparison elsewhere and I'm still not sure that's accurate.  In the case of this angle I saw this more as the new girl in town who is just trying to fit in anywhere she can.  So the need to fit in might overtake her knowing when somebody's trying to use her.  But while Charlotte came in around the same time Bayley did she's a Flair and thus can see right through that.  And with them being friends it makes sense for Charlotte to step in.  This is a story that's been played out in all kinds of coming-of-age movies and it's not that different from this.  And comparing her to Eugene who played a special needs guy anyway just feels wrong to me.

That said I did like this version of Rusev and like how it's evolved to what we saw his first year on the main roster.  I love what he is now but there's definitely times I wish he was still the unspeakable monster with Lana as the mouthpiece.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

I just think that's the dynamic of the angle as I saw it in that one segment. Not necessarily comparing the characters of Bayley and Eugene.  

[NikoBaltimore]

49 minutes ago, Yo-Yo's Roomie said:

I just think that's the dynamic of the angle as I saw it in that one segment. Not necessarily comparing the characters of Bayley and Eugene.  

That's fine and I apologize if my response came off a bit more negative than I intended.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

No, not at all. It's all good.

[JonnyLaw]

I believe that’s Ohno’s last NXT appearance until he shows up in the back to console Nakamura.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

11/13/13

Summer Rae and Sasha Banks Vs Charlotte and Bayley: Okay, Sasha has officially usurped Summer as the star of this team. She's out in full Boss regalia, and her trash talk and character work is kinda making Summer's look second-rate now. I will say though, based on watching these early NXT's, I'm surprised they didn't do more with Summer on the main roster. She isn't terrible in the ring by any means, and has the look that they seem to love. This match is notable for Charlotte turning heel on Bayley, slapping her in the face as Bayley tried to tag her, and then hitting Natural Selection. Which, by the way is competing with the Paige Turner for worse looking finisher in the company. Sasha and Summer look shocked, but Sasha pins Bayley, and then Charlotte celebrates with them. This was a well-done angle. The fans are really getting behind Bayley, and she got a lot of sympathy here.

Aiden English Vs Camacho: Wow, I'd forgot Camacho existed. Is he playing babyface here? Kinda hard to tell. Bullshit, as the network version of this cuts out English's entrance, which is the best part of the act. Camacho dominates, but English picks up the win. And then they cut out the encore too. Booo.

Mason Ryan Vs Danny Burch: I'm liking Burch lately, in the little bits and bobs he gets to do. Seems like Ryan's been gone for a little while, but comes back doing the same stuff he's always done. 

Adrian Neville Vs Corey Graves: 2/3 falls match. I enjoyed this match quite a bit. Really solid psychology. The first fall is very rushed, with Neville hitting the Red Arrow for the win. But from then on this is super solid, with Graves targeting the leg. He ties up the match with the Lucky 13, and continues the assault into the third fall. Really nice finish with Neville trying to get to the top rope on one leg, only for his leg to give out. Graves locks on the Lucky 13 again, but Neville makes it to the ropes. Then Neville small packages Graves for the win, to a big pop. Yeah, this was good.

Episode MVP: Adrian Neville.

3 star match: Adrian Neville Vs Corey Graves. 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

11/20/13

The show starts with Bo Dallas's homecoming celebration. He shows a slideshow from his travels. This goes on too long. Crowd is chanting for Sami Zayn, but JBL comes out. JBL calls Bo the face of NXT. Sami comes out and says he wants another shot at the title, and doesn't mind working his way back up. JBL says he reinstated Zayn because he always does what's best for business, and that tonight there will be a beat the clock challenge to find a new number one contender, and Zayn will be in it. I don't like this Authority bs bleeding into NXT.

Alexander Rusev Vs Colin Cassady: Alexa Bliss is ring announcing. Lana introduces Rusev. No Enzo, as he apparently got injured. This is not good. Cass is treated like a complete jobber, only getting in a few punches in the way of offence, but still this goes over 5 minutes which is just too long for a squash. Cass ends up tapping out to the Accolade. The booking of Enzo and Cass is really curious.

There is a new backstage interviewer called Devin Taylor. She doesn't seem too good. Renee has been on in any capacity the last couple of weeks. I wonder why. I mostly miss her in this role. As backstage interviewers go, she's a GOAT contender for my money. Anyway, this Devin interviews Neville, who really shouldn't be cutting promos. Then again, I guess if you don't cut them, you never improve, and that's what NXT is all about. Neville mentions Graves getting a concussion in their match last week. Is that it for him then?

Devin then interviews Bayley, who cuts a sweet promo about being betrayed by her best friend. I'm enjoying this storyline, and liking Bayley way more than I expected to.

Kassius Ohno Vs Tyler Breeze: Second beat the clock match. So, I guess that wasn't it for Ohno. These two didn't really click in this short match, and the size differential was very off-putting to me. Ohno picked up the win, beating Rusev's time.

Hunico and Camacho Vs Chris Rockwell and Jonathan Hornagan: I can't find anything on these jobbers. Hunico and Camacho win in literally like 10 seconds. I guess Hunico and Camacho are babyfaces upon their return. They're smiling a lot, and then they cut a little promo saying they're coming for the Ascension. 

Another new interviewer backstage. I didn't catch his name. He looks to be in his forties. Apparently Kassius Ohno has heard a lot of good things about him. Ohno is cut off by Lana who says he made a big mistake beating Rusev's time. Ohno mocks her accent. Ohno/Rusev would be interesting.

Adrian Neville Vs Aiden English: Again, the network cutting English's entrance. I want a refund. It would have been nice for Neville to sell the leg a little, after it got destroyed last week (and probably in the same set of tapings). But he didn't. Decent match sees Neville hit the Red Arrow for the win with 3 seconds to spare.

Sami Zayn Vs Leo Kruger: This is the final beat the clock match. Dallas comes out to watch on the ramp. What are they even doing with Kruger. This is probably the weakest match Zayn has had in NXT so far. They timed the finish nicely though, with Zayn rolling Kruger up and pinning him just as the clock strikes zero. JBL comes out and says there is a tie, which means next week Neville will face Zayn for the right to face Dallas.

Episode MVP: A lot going on this week storyline-wise, but not much of an opportunity for any one guy to stand out. I did like Bayley's promo, and it was nice to see Ohno pick up a win, although I assume it's his last. I'll go with Bayley this time.

 

[JonnyLaw]

All I remember about Devin Taylor is her (iirc) interviewing Adam Rose on the party bus and getting let go shortly after being on the Bachelor.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

11/27/13

Antonio Cesaro Vs Yoshi Tatsu: Tatsu is still employed? Okay, here we go. Cesaro is bullying Byron Saxton before the match because he accidentally stepped on his flag or something, and that causes Regal to leave commentary and pull Saxton out of harm's way. Regal gives a little shake of the head to Cesaro to say 'you don't need to be doing that', and Cesaro looks pissed. So there's your set up for the Regal/Cesaro feud. Cesaro, of course, squashes Tatsu, all the while eyeballing Regal. 

Bo Dallas Vs CJ Parker: None-title match which was set up in the back by Parker photobombing Dallas while he was being interviewed. Parker can't even get cheered against Dallas. Short match with Dallas going over with the tornado bulldog.

There's a backstage bit between Paige and Natalya, where Natalya brings up Paige treating her badly in the back recently. Is this something we've seen somewhere? Because basing a feud or confrontation on something that no-one has actually seen isn't very smart. They argue about Total Divas and then Paige challenges Nattie to a match, saying she'll even put the women's title on the line.

Tyler Breeze Vs Kassius Ohno: Ohno is attacked pre-match by Rusev with a big clothesline. He insists he can still compete, but gets caught right off the bat with the Beauty Shot and pinned. I hope we get that Ohno/Rusev match before he goes.

Hunico and Camacho Vs The Ascension: None-title. I guess with Enzo injured there's no other teams for Hunico and Camacho to beat to earn a title shot. The Ascension dominate, but Hunico small packages Victor to score the win. This division is in bad shape.

Adrian Neville Vs Sami Zayn: Number one contenders match. We are told that Regal is in the back to address his issues with Cesaro (whatever that means), so Bo Dallas is joining Tom and Renee on commentary. Renee really grills Dallas throughout the match, and Dallas does okay under the circumstances. It's a bit distracting though. The match itself is really good. These two have good chemistry, and the execution throughout is really good. Zayn in particular is really good at making stuff meaningful in his matches, and not just like an exhibition. I was surprised that Neville won the match clean with the Red Arrow, with no controversy that might give Zayn a reason to gripe. This kinda seemed like just moving on from the Zayn/Dallas feud into something new, but I could be wrong. After the match the two hugged.

There was also a bit in the back with Bayley confronting Summer and Sasha and challenging them to a tag team match. They don't think she can find anyone to team with her, but she says she has a friend. I'm intrigued as to who that could be.

Episode MVP: Sami Zayn.

3 star match: Adrian Neville Vs Sami Zayn.

 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

12/4/13

We start with a backstage bit from last week of Leo Kruger thanking Cesaro for taking him to a place he's never been before in their match. I guess they either got cold feet about a Kruger face turn, or that was never the plan, although it looked very much like that's what it was. Kruger says he could be a Real American, and notes he has a match against Sami Zayn coming up. They hatch some kind of plan. Actually, being part of the Real Americans is one role I think I could tolerate Kruger in.

Paige Vs Natalya: This is a good match. They work well together. Really lay it in, good sense of struggle. Paige survives the sharpshooter, and hits the Paige Turner (which Nattie takes as well as I've ever seen) for a hard fought win. They embrace after the match. This is about as good a match as either of these have ever had.

Aiden English Vs A Jobber: I get English's entrance back! Happy about that. Simple squash for English.

Cesaro comes out to offer an apology to Byron Saxton, who is on commentary. Saxton reluctantly joins Cesaro on the stage and accepts his handshake. Then Cesaro, as an act of good will, makes Saxton do the 'We The People' chant, which Saxton does unenthusiastically.  That causes Cesaro to lose his cool and he grabs Saxton, asking him where Regal is. I guess Cesaro was trying to goad Regal out. He ends up slapping Saxton and calling him useless. Good angle.

They show a bit from last week with Zayn being interviewed about his loss to Neville. He is attacked from behind by Kruger. 

Tyson Kidd Vs Leo Kruger: Yes, Kidd is back! I wish he'd have got a bit more fanfare, but I'm so happy he's back. Kruger dominates most of the match, working over the 'surgically-repaired knee' of Kidd. Zayn runs in to distract Kruger and Kidd rolls him up for the win.

Adrian Neville Vs Bo Dallas: Pretty good match, leaving a lot on the table for a rematch. Neville ends up winning by countout after hitting a dive on the floor. It looked like Dallas could have made it back in the ring, but chose not to.

Episode MVP: Cesaro was great in his bit, but Paige and Nattie had a good match. I think I'm gonna go with Paige.

3 star match: Paige Vs Natalya.

 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

12/11/13

The Ascension Vs Hunico and Camacho: Kicking off with the tag belts on the line. This is a boring match. A few nice sequences early on between Victor and Hunico, but then Konnor comes in and drags everything down as always. The Ascension end up retaining.

Alexander Rusev Vs Kassius Ohno: I'm glad to be getting this match, but it is pretty much a total squash win for Rusev. I have to imagine this is it now for Ohno, doing the honours on the way out. No better guy to do them for. Rusev refuses to let go of the Accolade until Lana tells him to.

Summer Rae and Sasha Banks Vs Bayley and Natalya: So, Nattie is the partner Bayley was talking about the other week. No sign of Charlotte here which is surprising. Decent little tag match. Sasha pins Bayley for the win. 

Mojo Rawley Vs Scott Dawson: This was set up by a bit last week with Sylvester Lefort trying to recruit Mojo to the Legionnaires. Mojo accused Sylvester of stuffing Dawson on payments. Not sure how he would have that information. Dawson dominates a lot of the match, but Mojo picks up the win. Afterwards, Dawson attacks Mojo and lays him out. 

Leo Kruger Vs Sami Zayn: Alex Riley, who is getting worse each week it seems, is annoying here, calling Zayna a sore loser for distracting Kruger 'for no reason' last week, completely ignoring the fact that Kruger had previously attacked Sami in the back. Nobody corrects him either, which is just bad commentary all around. Kruger very surprisingly wins clean with his Slice clothesline. He goes to give him another one post-match but Sami fights him off and the two have to be separated. No idea why we're continuing with this feud.

Episode MVP: Rusev.

 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

12/18/13

Billed as NXT 200, as it's the 200th episode, with highlights from the show's run interspersed between the matches.

Sami Zayn and Tyson Kidd Vs Leo Kruger and Antonio Cesaro: Fun match to kick off the show. Zayn pins Kruger with the Helluva kick while Kidd executes a dive on Cesaro. Zayn and Kidd make a fun team.

There's a backstage bit with Natalya watching the match and being interrupted by Emma, and they end up arguing and making a match. Emma came off a bit heelish here attacking Nattie for being on Total Divas. It worked when Paige did it, because Paige's character is aggressive and she's the anti-diva, but it seemed out of character for Emma. Nattie was good in the segment though.

Paige Vs Sasha Banks: This is fine, but not given much time. Paige wins with the Paige Turner.

The Ascension Vs The American Pitbulls: This is a tag title open challenge match. The Pitbulls are the American Wolves, Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards, giving the NXT-style names John Cahill and Derek Billington. Tensai puts the Pitbulls over big on commentary. Speaking of commentary, Saxton is playing heel commentator this week, which is rather jarring considering his role in the Cesaro/Regal storyline. Also, he sucks at it. Also, heel commentators in general need to go away. Very notable size difference between these two teams. They really don't look good in this match, messing up a couple of spots, including Richards landing on his head when trying to backflip out of a suplex attempt. The crowd seems to know who they are though and they get a nice reaction. Short, but competitive match sees The Ascension retain. Then Hunico and Camacho strut out for a staredown, leading to the other Pitbull getting a beatdown. I seem to remember that being the Pitbulls only appearance. Didn't they do something to piss someone off?

Bo Dallas Vs Adrian Neville: Lumberjack match for the NXT title. Howard Finkel is ring announcing for that big match feel. These lumberjacks... It's all the jobbers/not yet made TV guys, plus Tyler Breeze, which might be a clue as to the finish of this one. I recognise Baron Corbin. Haha, Braun Strowman is out there. Mostly, this looks like the hall of bad gimmicks. There's a couple of guys in cowboy hats, and a guy with bleach blonde hair and dungarees who is on camera for the whole match and very distracting. The match itself is pretty boring, uncharacteristically so for a Neville match. At one point in the match Neville slaps Breeze for putting his hands on him. Breeze sells this for the whole match, but pulls Dallas out of the way of a Red Arrow to allow him to retain. All these flukey wins for Dallas should lead to a great pop when he finally loses.

Episode MVP: Sami Zayn.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

12/25/13

This is a review of the year, hosted by Renee Young, and featuring a few promos from big names like Big E Langston and the Shield. But there is one match on the show.

Antonio Cesaro Vs William Regal: It seems like they rushed to this match a bit. It didn't have the patient build-up of the Ohno/Regal match. Both guys cut really good promos before the match. This is a beautiful match, with a particularly excellent performance from Regal as the veteran out of his depth, but fighting with every last scrap of energy he has. His selling is amazing. Great chain wrestling sequence to start the match, which the crowd is really into. They go a bit tepid for the rest of the match though, which is disappointing. Regal fights from underneath for the majority of the match, but has a great fired up comeback. In the end though, Cesaro is too strong for him and, after initially showing some mercy, he finally puts him away with a jumping Neutraliser, which had shades of Undertaker putting Michaels out of his misery with a jumping tombstone at WrestleMania 26. Lots of just nasty, gritty stuff in this one, as you'd expect from these two, including Cesaro hitting a double stomp to Regal's head! After the match, the two shake hands. I bet Saxton was like 'what the fuck?' when he saw that.

Episode MVP: William Regal.

4 star match: Antonio Cesaro Vs William Regal.

[MORELOCK]

25 minutes ago, Yo-Yo's Roomie said:

I seem to remember that being the Pitbulls only appearance. Didn't they do something to piss someone off?

It was reported that they were told by a referee to go home during a match (no idea if it's this one) and ignored the order, which had come directly from Triple H.

[NikoBaltimore]

I vividly remember the Wolves match again Ascension and while I was thrilled about them being on NXT TV that was a very disappointing match.  Richards almost spiking himself on the backflip was very cringeworthy and  I forgot his NXT name was Derek Billington.  And to Morelock's point I was under the impression it was Eddie they liked but Davey was the one that fucked it up for them.  Between the flip botch and not going home during a match (to me that was Davey's call, not Eddie's) and no wonder it didn't work out.

The Regal promo is still one of my all-time favorites in the aging vet who knew this was it and he sold that to the Nth degree with his facial expressions.  Great match and while the result was inevitable it was sad seeing Regal lose at the end.  I just wish they didn't rush through the post-match as right after they shook hands it just ended.  Wished they gave it one or two minutes for Regal to have his moment in the ring.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

2013 End of Year Awards

Male wrestler of the year- This is a two horse race between Sami Zayn and Antonio Cesaro. Both have looked fantastic almost every time out. The award goes to Cesaro. I feel like he has had slightly higher highs, including being in 2 of the matches of the year (one of which was against Zayn, of course).

Female wrestler of the year- Emma. The women's division has been a stand-out all year, and last year's winner of this award, Paige, was another strong contender, but there wasn't really a performer I enjoyed more over the course of the year than Emma. She was a constant highlight both inside and outside of the ring.

Match of the year- The 3 matches that stand head and shoulders above all the others are Regal Vs Ohno, Zayn Vs Cesaro 2/3 falls, and Regal Vs Cesaro. I could make compelling arguments for any one of the three, but for me it's the Regal/Ohno match that just edges it. It was two guys just beating the heck out of each other to settle a score, and had the feelgood ending of Regal pulling out the win. 

Feud of the year- Regal Vs Ohno. Ohno picks up this award for the second year running.

Tag team of the year- The tag division really failed to catch fire this year, and actually got worse as the year progressed. It was early in the year around the tag team title tournament that it was at its strongest. I think Harper and Rowan are probably the most deserving of this award.

Character of the year- Lots of contenders in this category, as the focus on character work is really what sets NXT apart for me. The most enjoyable character of the year- Emma.

The Leo Kruger 'Get off my TV' award- While Kruger is again worth a mention in this category, at least he was capable of having some good matches. The recipient of this award this year has shown absolutely nothing in the ring or in his character work despite being pushed strongly as both a singles wrestler and as part of a tag team. Conor O'Brien, get off my TV.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

1/1/14

Alexander Rusev Vs Kofi Kingston: This was set-up a couple of weeks ago when Lana interrupted a Kofi interview and issued a challenge. Not much to this, except they continue to make Rusev look really strong. In the end, Lana causes a distraction and Rusev locks on the Accolade, causing Kingston to tap out.

In the back a storyline starts with Sylvester Lefort announcing he is holding auditions for a new protege. I guess Dawson is out injured now. Mason Ryan pops up, but isn't interested in working with Lefort.

Emma Vs Natalya: Number one contender's match. I thought Emma already had a title match from winning that dance contest, like a year ago. This is a decent little match. Nattie has looked good in her outings on NXT. Emma wins with the Emma Lock, which they put over as a big deal. Natalya gives Emma her seal of approval after the match.

Next is a singing contest between Aiden English and Colin Cassady. This was set-up with a backstage bit a couple of weeks ago. It has disaster written all over it, but, just like the dance contest between Summer and Emma, actually ends up entertaining. The key to its success is that Cass is actually a competent singer, so when he busts out a tune mocking English, finishing by calling him SAWFT, the fans pop. English's act is so fun that they needed Cass to actually be good to get the reaction they wanted. So, Cass is awarded the win, but English beats him down afterwards.

Tyler Breeze Vs Mason Ryan: Lefort comes out to distract Ryan, and Breeze hits the Beauty Shot to pick up the win.

Sami Zayn Vs Leo Kruger: 2/3 falls. God, I'm so beyond done with Kruger. I don't care about anything he does, and I certainly don't want to see him in a 2/3 falls match, even with someone as good as Sami. It's like a recurring nightmare. Thankfully, Zayn wins this in two straight falls. I don't see how Kruger can come back with any credibility from this, but I've thought that before and been disappointed, so who knows.

Episode MVP: Natalya.

[The Natural]

On 2/1/2019 at 4:00 PM, Yo-Yo's Roomie said:

12/25/13

Antonio Cesaro Vs William Regal: It seems like they rushed to this match a bit. It didn't have the patient build-up of the Ohno/Regal match. Both guys cut really good promos before the match. This is a beautiful match, with a particularly excellent performance from Regal as the veteran out of his depth, but fighting with every last scrap of energy he has. His selling is amazing. Great chain wrestling sequence to start the match, which the crowd is really into. They go a bit tepid for the rest of the match though, which is disappointing. Regal fights from underneath for the majority of the match, but has a great fired up comeback. In the end though, Cesaro is too strong for him and, after initially showing some mercy, he finally puts him away with a jumping Neutraliser, which had shades of Undertaker putting Michaels out of his misery with a jumping tombstone at WrestleMania 26. Lots of just nasty, gritty stuff in this one, as you'd expect from these two, including Cesaro hitting a double stomp to Regal's head! After the match, the two shake hands. I bet Saxton was like 'what the fuck?' when he saw that.

Episode MVP: William Regal.

4 star match: Antonio Cesaro Vs William Regal.

Antonio Cesaro vs. William Regal is still one of my favourite NXT matches. I created a Best NXT Matches topic made up of my top twenty NXT matches. In the original list, Cesaro/Regal was 8th and in the latest version, 10th.