My NXT project

[Sky Blue Sam]

Always feel bad for Oliver Grey. He was pretty good in NXT in the days before BritWres really got on the radar, and now he seems to barely wrestle. He got released at the same time as Danny Burch, but while Burch relocated to America and got rehired, Grey doesn't even get booked for NXTUK. He's only 31, but I'm guessing the door has closed for him

[Ramo2653]

I thought Grey had a really bad injury and had to retire?

[Sky Blue Sam]

He still wrestles, he just doesn't work the glamorous indies, doing the family-friendly All Star tours instead. He worked a few NXT matches after his injury, had a TNA trial on British Bootcamp II, and still turns up, just not regularly.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

1/30/13

Kassius Ohno and Leo Kruger Vs Alex Riley and Derrick Bateman: The tag tournament continues with this standard match. Ohno and Kruger obviously win after Ohno makes Riley tap out. Corey Graves runs in afterwards and puts Riley in the 13th Step. Can't say I'm really looking forward to a Riley/Graves match.

Mason Ryan Vs Sakamoto: What? Ryan is still banging about? I thought he was long gone. He gets put over big time on commentary too. Both Regal and Tony are waxing poetic about his 'beautiful' body, and Regal says the only other time the NXT fans have reacted to a wrestler like this is when Roman Reigns debuted. Actually kind of true since the crowd didn't give much of a shit about him either. Ryan with the squash win.

Paige Vs Aksana: This match doesn't really do any favours for either of these. Paige wins with a new submission hold, kind of a cross between a sharpshooter and a lion tamer. Then after the match, Paige accidentally bumps into ring announcer Summer Rae and, after initially playing it cool, Summer attacks her from behind. And then quite hilariously throws herself to the mat in order to roll out of the ring. Hmm, interesting development.

Sasha (yay) is being interviewed in the back by the debuting Renee Young (yay!- I love Renee), and is handed a letter from a secret admirer. I don't see this angle going well.

Bo Dallas and Michael McGillicutty Vs Primo and Epico: Yay, Primo and Epico made the cut. Boo, they're clearing jobbing here. But I'm just glad I get another match from them. And Rosa is back in their corner after missing the last couple of appearances. I don't want to sound creepy, but I enjoy watching Rosa dance. And just now I'm wondering why Kidd and Gabriel weren't in the tournament, as they've been on NXT quite a bit. This is another good match between these two teams, but maybe not quite on the level of the last one. Sweet hammerlock DDT from Primo (the same move Almas is using now) which should have been the finish. Dallas comes back with a very weak belly to belly to get the win. Now my hope is that this isn't the last of Primo on NXT. I'd love a Primo Vs Kidd match, and I'll never ask for anything else.

Episode MVP: Primo Colon. Then, now, forever. 

 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

2/6/13

British Ambition Vs Kassius Ohno and Leo Kruger: So, Neville and Grey have a team name. Good match here following the same formula of their first round match; Grey playing face in peril, Neville coming in off the hot tag and cleaning house. Ohno regains control but takes some time to talk trash to Regal, which allows Neville to fight back and take the match with the Red Arrow. 

Renee interviewed Summer Rae about why she attacked Paige last week. Jealousy, basically. And because she's the prettiest diva. 

Conor O'Brien Vs Mike Dalton: Quick, find Rick Victor, because I have no desire to watch Conor get pushed as a single. Is Conor really using a legdrop as a finisher? You have to be pretty fucking special to get a legdrop over as a finisher, and you ain't it, Conor. Not only does Dalton have to lay down for this, he has to lay down while O'Brien counts a 5 count to send a message to Big E. Big E then comes out and one-ups that by hitting Dalton with the Big Ending. Harsh.

There's a bit in the back with Paige screaming that she wants Summer Rae next week, and that she'll hold the show hostage if she doesn't get her. Dusty tells her to calm down. Then Sasha comes in and is given another card from her secret admirer. I guess it's good that they're doing something with these girls. It's weird seeing Sasha pre-Boss though.

After a lengthy video recapping the NXT tournament to see who would be in the Royal Rumble (Bo Dallas won, which I believe led to his short and ill-fated stint on Raw feuding with Wade Barrett), there's a backstage bit between Bo and Bray Wyatt. Cute.

The Wyatt Family Vs Bo Dallas and Michael McGillicutty: Short but competitive match sees the Wyatt Family advance to the tournament final after distraction from Bray. They then laid out Dallas after the match. 

Episode MVP: Kassius Ohno.

3 star match: British Ambition Vs Kassius Ohno and Leo Kruger.

[DreamBroken]

Alex Riley was always my #1 'wish he went further' guy, but I also always wanted to see Mason Ryan get something of a push around this time. They had a couple fun tags together on Superstars in 2012

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

2/13/13

Mike Dalton Vs Axl Keegan: I knew this match wasn't happening, since neither of these guys have been anything but jobbers. And sure enough, Paige rushes out to confront Summer, who is the ring announcer. Summer runs away, and Paige grabs a mic and cuts a pretty good promo about how she's not leaving until she gets Summer. She even slaps Keegan who tries to calm her down. It was nice seeing a woman get to hold her ground like this and have the guys quietly cede the ring to her. Dusty comes out to try to talk Paige down, and then Summer comes back out to talk smack. The two get into a pull apart which results in Paige holding her arm in pain. I can't tell if this is worked or not.

Corey Graves Vs Alex Riley: Riley gets a flurry of offence, but Graves puts him away with the 13th Step. 

Summer Rae Vs Paige: So, Paige got her match, but has her shoulder taped up. Summer actually looks decent going after the arm here, and I've never thought Summer looked good doing anything before. Paige rallies, but the arm proves her downfall as Summer surprisingly picks up the win.

British Ambition Vs The Wyatt Family: The final of the tag team title tournament. This follows the formula of all British Ambition matches so far; they use quick tags to take an early advantage, then Grey gets double teamed and worked over for a bit, before making the hot tag to Neville. Bray Wyatt gets some interference in, but Dusty, who is at ringside for the match, sends him to the back. Neville pins Harper with the Red Arrow to win the match and the belts. Nice celebration from the Brits, and Regal says he's never been prouder to be English. That might be taking it a bit far. Really surprised they won this match. I never picked Oliver Grey out as an NXT champion.

Episode MVP: Oliver Grey. Does the unfashionable work which allows Neville to shine.

3 star match: British Ambition Vs The Wyatt Family.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

2/20/13

Bray Wyatt Vs Yoshi Tatsu: Bray squashes poor Yoshi, who can't even get above jobber status on NXT. He then calls Harper and Rowan into the ring, and says they let him down by losing to British Ambition. He encourages them to beat the shit out of each other, and then they all leave together. Regal and Tom Phillips put this over as making the Wyatt Family even stronger, and it was an effective segment.

Renee interviews Sasha who is all excited to find out who her secret admirer is. Then she gets attacked from behind by Audrey Marie, who reveals it was her all along, because Sasha stepped into her spot while she was out injured. Eh.

Xavier Woods Vs El Local: Local is obviously Ricardo Rodriguez. The best part of this by far is Regal on commentary talking about how he and Xavier like to go out dancing together after shows, and that he's (Regal) has hooked them up with a 'couple of old sorts, a couple of slappers' for later. Regal is also very rough on Tom all throughout this show. I really like Woods, but these early appearances from him are pretty bad. This classic Vince McMahon 'dancing black man' character is really offensive actually. Woods with the win.

Audrey Marie Vs Sasha Banks: Regal and Phillips talking about what a role Sasha has been on. She's won one match. Like, a month ago. Audrey pretty much squashes her, which is surprising. I'm interested to see how this develops.

There's an in-ring interview with Tyson Kidd, who is recovering from knee surgery. So, that's why he and Gabriel weren't in the tag tournament. Kidd gets a nice pop. He is interrupted by Leo Kruger who calls Kidd a wounded animal and kicks his crutch out. Gabriel makes the save.

Big E. Langston Vs Connor O'Brian: None-title match built up as a clash of the titans. They go at each other with some decent brawling and big man offence, and in the end the ref throws the match out as he can't gain control. Decent way to continue the rivalry. After the bell, Corey Graves attacks E from behind and steals the belt.

Episode MVP: Bray Wyatt. He looks like a star already.

[The Natural]

On 10/10/2018 at 12:03 PM, JonnyLaw said:

Regal may be my favorite announcer of all time.  He added a lot of great pieces of character work that helped build people up.

Regal can do it all.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

2/27/13

Dusty Rhodes sets up a Bo Dallas Vs Connor O'Brian Vs Corey Graves number one contendership triple threat main event for tonight.

Justin Gabriel Vs Leo Kruger: Pretty decent match between these two- better than I was expecting anyway. Gabriel sells his arm pretty well throughout the match, and ends up picking up the win with the 450. After the match, Kruger steals Tyson Kidd's crutch and hits Gabriel with it. So this feud continues.

Aksana Vs Emma: Okay, I'm 6 years too late, but I'm joining the Emma-lution. Her act is really fun. Aksana, on the other hand... Man she's bad. Not sure who is supposed to be the heel here. Both is my best guess, as Emma is berating the crowd for laughing at her, and Aksana is playing too-good-for-the-crowd sexpot. Emma is starting to get cheered though. Aksana picks up the win. 

Corey Graves Vs Connor O'Brian: So, someone has attacked Bo Dallas in the back (that guy needs to be more careful back there), meaning this is now a one-on-one. Second straight match that is heel vs heel. This one doesn't really work. It's just awkward, neither guy really looks good, there isn't a lot of heat, and it goes too long. Eventually, the lights go out and when they come back on, the Shield is in the ring attacking both men. Well, I wasn't expecting that. I'm not sure what, if anything, this is leading to, but it's interesting.

Episode MVP: Justin Gabriel.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

3/6/13

So, tonight we're getting the triple threat match we were supposed to get last week for the number one contendership.

Adrian Neville Vs Judas Devlin and Scott Dawson: First Dawson sighting. Devlin didn't get too far in WWE, but I guess is still plying his trade on the indies. He has lots of tattoos. This is supposed to be a tag match, but Neville says he doesn't know where Oliver Grey is. Midway through the match the Wyatt Family drag Grey's lifeless body out to the ramp. This is a good angle. I like the way Neville just wants to get to Grey to check if he's okay, and that causes him to keep getting attacked by the heel team. Eventually he puts the match away with the Red Arrow and rushes to Grey.

Leo Kruger Vs Yoshi Tatsu: Tatsu gets an early flurry, but of course gets quickly squashed after that. He continues the onslaught, but Gabriel makes the save.

Sasha Banks, Cameron and Naomi Vs Aksana, Alicia Fox and Audrey Marie: Bad match, that doesn't really do anything for anyone. Naomi is the only one who gets to look strong really, as she comes in off the hot tag and picks up the win.

Bo Dallas is being interviewed in the back by Tom Phillips. He comes off so lame, all 'I'm so happy to be getting this opportunity'. Bray Wyatt comes in and says he could have protected Dallas last week. Teasing a feud between these two is interesting.

Connor O'Brian Vs Bo Dallas Vs Corey Graves: This is a really boring match. I can't get excited about the prospect of any of these guys challenging Big E really. I guess Graves would be the most interesting option at this point. Dallas looks to have the match won, but Wyatt comes out and costs him, leaving Connor to steal the win.

Episode MVP: Neville. 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

3/13/13

Kassius Ohno Vs Derrick Bateman: This is more about continuing the slow build to the Ohno/Regal feud. Regal is very complimentary towards Ohno on commentary, trying to keep it professional. Ohno wraps up a standard win, but then locks a variant of the Regal Stretch on Bateman. Regal lets it go for a bit, but finally has seen enough and hits the ring. He pulls Ohno off and checks on Bateman but when Ohno tries to get in his face, Regal decks him. Regal immediately shows remorse as Ohno retreats in shock. When Regal gets back to his commentary position he apologises for his lack of professionalism. Good stuff all around.

Summer Rae Vs Emma: Emma is fast becoming one of my favourite performers on NXT, which I didn't expect. Summer looks promising in-ring again, working over Emma's leg. Summer picks up the win with a roundhouse kick, then Paige comes out and chases her off.

In the back Neville tells us that Oliver Grey is going to be fine, and then challenges one of the Wyatt Family to a match next week.

Bo Dallas Vs Bray Wyatt: Doing this match already, eh? Wyatt dominates the whole match, but gets caught with Bo's crappy-looking belly-to-belly, and Bo picks up the upset win. Ugh. Not a fan at all of Wyatt losing a match already, let alone to this jobber. Dallas then fights off Harper and Rowan, but ends up taking a Sister Abigail. 

Alberto Del Rio makes a special appearance next, fresh off winning the world heavyweight title from the Big Show. He's cutting a generic babyface promo when he's interrupted by Antonio Cesaro, who challenges him to a champion vs champion match. Dusty comes out and says he makes the matches around here, and says Cesaro will face a champion, but it will be NXT champion, Big E Langston. Not sure of the point of Del Rio being there at all then.

Big E. Langston Vs Antonio Cesaro: This could be great, but doesn't go long before Corey Graves attacks Langston. Connor O'Brian joins in the attack, and it looks like the two have formed an alliance as they beat down E to end the show. 

Lots of angle advancement on this show, which I like. We also got Justin Gabriel challenging Leo Kruger to a match for next week.

Episode MVP: Bray Wyatt.

[Ramo2653]

Judas Devlin is Vibora from Lucha Underground/Luchasaurus on the indies.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

3/20/13

Leo Kruger Vs Justin Gabriel: Just like the last time these two met, I thought this was a decent bout. They got quite a lot of time, with Kruger working over Gabriel's arm and Gabriel fighting from underneath. This time Kruger gets the win with his armbar submission hold. 

Cracking segment next with Regal in the ring to issue an apology to Kassius Ohno. He calls Ohno out and Ohno obliges. Regal tells Ohno that he doesn't want to end up like him, a 45 year old man who can't sleep at night because of all the bad things he's done in his career. Ohno cuts a good promo about how he idolised Regal and tried to follow his career path, and they talk abotu having mutual respect for each other. Then Ohno says that the only thing people will remember Regal for is kissing Vince McMahon's ass. Before he can even finish the sentence, Regal slaps the shit out of him. Ohno retreats in shock again, as Regal looks remorseful. Really good stuff from both guys here. It felt very real, which of course makes it more meaningful. I can't wait for these two to throw down.

Paige Vs Bayley: Aww, look. It's baby Bayley. What a cutie. Short match with Paige going over via submission. Summer Rae comes out for a sneak attack, but Paige sees her coming so she thinks better of it.

Luke Harper Vs Adrian Neville: Bray and Rowan are out with Harper. Enjoyable match, with Neville using his high flying to fend off the interference of Rowan on the outside. Just when it seems he has the match in hand, Bray causes a distraction, and Harper is able to pick up the win with the discus clothesline. The Family starts a beatdown on Neville, but first Oliver Grey and then Bo Dallas come in to make the save, and the babyfaces clear the ring. Such good old school stuff. I assume a 6-man is coming, which should be fun.

This was another really good episode with lots of angle advancement, and some good wrestling too. NXT is on a bit of a roll right now.

Episode MVP: William Regal. Hey, here's clearly involved in a feud right now, so I'm counting him as a wrestler.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

3/27/13

This is billed as a 'Road To WrestleMania' special or some such, and has a decidedly non-canon feel to it. Fink is on ring announcing duty.

Kaitlyn Vs Natalya: Kaitlyn is defending the divas title. This is a fun match. One of the better women's matches on NXT so far, actually, if not the best. Kaitlyn seems to have come on quite a bit since her last appearance. Kaitlyn picked up the win with a nice spear.

Brodus Clay Vs El Local: Hopefully this is the last Brodus Clay match I'll ever watch in my life. He wins a quick squash.

The highlight of the show occurred next, and the one true 'NXT' moment. The commentary team were talking about WrestleMania, when Kassius Ohno jumped Regal and left him laying. That feud just escalated big time.

Randy Orton Vs Damien Sandow: I wish this was the last Randy Orton match I'll ever watch in my life. Standard match with Orton going over.

Episode MVP: Kassius Ohno.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

4/3/13

It's back to regular programming this week, and we have Tony joined in the booth by Kassius Ohno and Brad Maddox. Maddox is the pits.

Bo Dallas and Adrian Neville Vs Luke Harper and Erick Rowan: So we're told that Oliver Grey is going to be out for 6 months. I guess we won't be getting that 6-man tag after all. What a stroke of bad luck for Grey. No word on what's going to happen to the tag belts. Decent little match here, but I don't like the Wyatt Family doing another job to this makeshift team. Dallas pins Harper with the belly to belly. I expected the Wyatt Family to be much more effective in NXT.

Next, as I'm sure everyone knew was coming, Regal attacked Ohno at the commentary desk. Great vicious mauling from Regal, with the crowd chanting his name. I'm loving this feud.

Paige and Sasha Banks Vs Audrey Marie and Summer Rae: Nice combining of two feuds into one match here, with the main focus being on the Paige/Summer rivalry. Paige is desperate to get her hands on Summer but Summer keeps avoiding her. When it looks like she finally has her, Summer tags Audrey and runs away. Paige puts Audrey away with the Paige Turner and heads off in pursuit. Nice angle advancement.

Big E. Langston Vs Conor O'Brian: The NXT title on the line. Pretty basic big man match. O'Brian dominates much of the match, but Langston makes his comeback and puts him away with the Big Ending, and then gives him another one post-match for the 5-count. It looks like nothing became of the relationship between O'Brian and Graves, and hopefully O'Brian slinks back into the tag division now.

Episode MVP: William Regal of course. They announce Regal/Ohno for next week. Excited isn't the word!

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

4/10/13

We start with a wicked promo video to hype up the Regal/Ohno main event. I can't wait.

The Shield Vs Percy Watson, Axl Keegan and Scott Dawson: I don't mind the Shield showing up in NXT from time to time, but I wish they'd leave the shaky camera and bazillion cuts on the main show. This is obviously a squash win. They cut a promo afterwards about how they own NXT, but are interrupted by Corey Graves on the video screen. He says he hasn't forgotten them costing him the NXT title, and challenges one of them to fight him next week. Rollins accepts. I like that Graves has the balls to step to the Shield and that he wants retribution for the beatdown they gave him.

The Bella Twins Vs Naomi and Cameron: This was weird. Weird that it was on NXT to begin with, and then weird that it was billed as a grudge match, but the Bellas went over in pretty much a squash. This is just after the Bellas returned to the company, and they're heels.

Ohno and Regal both cut good promos in the back to further hype the main event. Ohno is wearing a Real Man's Man T-shirt. Quality. Regal asks his children's forgiveness for what he's going to do to Ohno.

William Regal Vs Kassius Ohno: Okay, here we go. Nice pop for Regal, but we get dueling chants. I'd say it about 70-30 for Regal overall. Regal with some really nasty mat work. He's trying to break Ohno's fingers and I'm watching through mine. Finger-work always makes me squeamish. They're working really stiff- awesome moment where Regal is remonstrating with the ref and at the same time he's mule-kicking Ohno in the face. Brutal. Ohno starts working over Regal's head, and Regal is selling a possible concussion/ear injury. Regal looks out of it and is inviting Ohno on. Ohno with the big boot but Regal kicks out. I thought that was it. Ohno lining up for the roaring elbow now, but Regal catches him with a forearm shot of his own, and then hits the knee trembler. Holy shit, Regal goes over. I was not expecting that at all. Great match. I really hope they get to go again.

Episode MVP: William Regal.

4 star match: William Regal Vs Kassius Ohno.

[Ace]

On ‎11‎/‎14‎/‎2018 at 6:10 AM, Ramo2653 said:

Judas Devlin is Vibora from Lucha Underground/Luchasaurus on the indies.

And was on Big Brother a few years ago... And the reason Bill DeMott was fired.

 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

4/17/13

William Regal is back on commentary and is looking very pleased with himself.

Leo Kruger Vs Justin Gabriel: This is the third match between these two in a short span of time. They have one win each, so I guess this is the rubber match. Like the last two, this is better than I would expect it to be. Kruger won with his armbar sub. 

Emma Vs Bayley: Second outing for Bayley, and this time she gets an entrance. Her music is the music they use to hype up like a lingerie match or something. Very inappropriate for her. Emma is really over with the crowd now. Someone has a sign which is a picture of her, and the arms have joints so they can do her dance. One of the best signs I've ever seen. She got some promo time last week and said she was like the Lady Gaga of NXT, and was bemused when Renee said she was a bit of a clutz. I still don't know for sure if she's a heel or a face, but she's just about my favourite act in the company, so whatever. Bayley actually dominated the early going here, but Emma soon took over and got the win via submission with a bridging leg grapevine. That's her first televised win.

Bray Wyatt Vs Yoshi Tatsu: You know how this one goes. Short squash win for Bray, after which he cuts a promo while cradling Tatsu's head. I think we get the first "yeah, yeah, yeah" from Harper here.

Seth Rollins Vs Corey Graves: This is a lumberjack match, and the fun game here is trying to spot the familiar faces amongst the lumberjacks, as these are mostly guys who haven't been on TV yet. Big Cass is definitely there. Is that Simon Gotch? Could that be Enzo with dark hair? Reigns and Ambrose had been given the night off by Rollins, but show up anyway to help their man get the win. This wasn't a very good match. I don't see the benefit of feuding Graves with the Shield, since I doubt he's going to get over on them.

Episode MVP: Emma.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

4/24/13

This is billed as a Clash of the Champions special, introduced by Dusty Rhodes.

Antonio Cesaro Vs Adrian Neville: The US title is on the line in our opener. This is a really good match, which the crowd was very hot for. It's no surprise really that these two had great chemistry, as they're in many ways perfect opponents for each other. Cesaro picked up the win with the Neutralizer.

Kaitlyn Vs AJ Lee: Divas title match. AJ's character was the fucking worst. Crowd is pretty split for this, probably more in favour of AJ. These two had a couple of half decent matches on the main roster, but this was pretty bad. The highlight was Kaitlyn cutting AJ in half with a nice spear, which earnt her the win.

Chris Jericho is interviewed in the back about appearing on NXT next week. He's interrupted by Bray Wyatt and Jericho challenges him to a match, saying that if Wyatt beats him, he will join the family. Not sure why Jericho would suggest that stipulation.

Big E. Langston Vs Brad Maddox: NXT title match. Maddox in the ring at least means he won't be on commentary. Nothing more than a comedy squash match.

Wade Barrett Vs Bo Dallas: And our main event is for the IC title. Crowd is very pro-Wade here, and this is probably the least favourable reaction Bo has got yet. It also happens to be the best match he's been involved in to date. Barrett looked really good here. I miss old Wadey B. Barrett catches Bo coming off the top with a Bullhammer to retain.

Episode MVP: Antonio Cesaro.

3 1/4 star match: Antonio Cesaro Vs Adrian Neville.

3 star match: Wade Barrett Vs Bo Dallas.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

5/1/13

Luke Harper and Erick Rowan Vs Adrian Neville and Bo Dallas Vs Primo and Epico: Any time the show starts with Primo Colon, I'm happy. Fun Primo moment of the night #1: Coming back from a commercial break to see Harper laying out Dallas on the outside, with Primo standing behind him dusting off his hands like he did something. Fun Primo moment of the night #2: Primo tagging into the match for the first time and immediately looking great. This is a decent little match actually. Helped by the fact that it's elimination, with only two guys in the ring at once. Primo and Epico are the first to go when Neville hits the Red Arrow on Primo, but then immediately afterwards Harper hits Neville with the discus lariat to win the match for the Wyatt Family.

Paige Vs Summer Rae: I quite liked this match, because it was booked to show that Paige is on a level above Summer, which is a change from the usual formula where the heel has to dominate most of the match. Paige dished out quite an asskicking, Summer got a short control segment, and then Paige got the win with the Paige Turner (which still looks awful).

Chris Jericho Vs Bray Wyatt: Decent match. They gave Bray a lot of offence before Jericho put him away with the Walls. Not a fan of another defeat for Wyatt. I figured he would have been booked stronger in NXT, though I guess is was the same problem he had on the main show, that they figured he could always get his heat back after a loss.

Episode MVP: Primo Colon.

3 star match: Luke Harper and Erick Rowan Vs Adrian Neville and Bo Dallas Vs Primo and Epico.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

5/8/13

Damien Sandow Vs Baron Corbin: Well, I wasn't expecting nondescript babyface Baron Corbin to come running down the aisle for this match. This is a good two years before I thought he showed up. Apart from one little flurry, this is a Sandow squash. Sandow challenges Big E for the NXT title.

Paige Vs Bayley: Bayley continues to get more time to shine during her matches, and the announcers put her over more, but she still hasn't won one yet. Paige gets the win, and then Summer Rae lays her out with the Summer special, which is one shot to the back.

Briley Pierce Vs Sakamoto: Oh look, Briley's back, and this time he's wrestling. They talk about him being Dolph's brother, and he even steals a couple of his moves. This is not terribly interesting, and goes to a no contest when Conor O'Brian comes in and lays them both out. Yawn.

In the back Briley and Sakamoto are all pissed off, and seem to be saying they're going to team up to take on Conor, though it isn't really clear and I don't care.

Kassius Ohno Vs Camacho: Not seen Camacho for a while, and this is Ohno's first appearance since losing to Regal. Ohno goes over in a short but competitive match. Afterwards he grabs the mic and approaches the announce table. He apologises to Regal, but is cut off by Harper and Rowan coming out for their match. He watches them head to the ring and then turns around right into Bray Wyatt's face. Awesome. The two have a stare-down, and Harper and Rowan attack from behind. Wyatt gives Ohno a Sister Abigail on the ramp. Wow, I wasn't expecting that. Very cool turn of events.

Adrian Neville and Bo Dallas Vs Luke Harper and Erick Rowan: So, they announced last week that since Oliver Grey is out, Neville gets to pick a new tag champion, and he goes with Dallas. This is their first defense. In the back they did a bit where Dallas was goofing around saying he was going to give 80% tonight because his 80 is like a 110 for most normal people. Looks like they're finally starting with the heel turn. Pretty decent match with the Wyatt Family winning the gold.

There was also a face-off in the back between Sandow and Big E setting up their title match for next week.

Episode MVP: Bray Wyatt.

 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

5/15/13

This, I believe, is the first week that Richie Steamboat isn't in the opening credits  I mean, I knew he was done obviously, but while he was still in the credits their was still a pinprick of hope.

Oh God, Brad Maddox is back on commentary.

Summer Rae Vs Natalya: Summer got the win when Paige came out as Nattie was going for the sharpshooter. Summer kicked Nattie into Paige, who was climbing into the ring, and then rolled Nattie up. It's become clear that Summer is quite limited in what she can do in the ring. Which is why she's in developmental, I guess. They're also acknowledging now her partnership with Fandango on the main roster. Paige chased Summer away after the match.

Renee interviewed Sami Zayn in the back about his debut match next week. He almost sounded heelish with how confident he was.

Bray Wyatt Vs Danny Burch: I had no idea they had Burch. Bray is wearing a mask now. He said his match with Jericho changed him, and now he wants people to look at him and see a monster, not a man. Quick squash win.

Bo Dallas and Adrian Neville are in the back, and Dallas is doing some proto-Bo-lieve stuff, telling Neville to keep his chin up. They both say they've entered a number one contenders battle royale for two weeks out. Definite heel turn for Bo.

Conor O'Brian Vs Sakamoto and Briley Pierce: Fuck this noise. Conor has definitely replaced Leo Kruger as my official worthless sack of shit of NXT. He goes over in a squash, and then Rick Victor showed up on the stage, and the two have a staredown. Yea, shuffle Conor back into the tag division. That'll probably make him more tolerable.

Corey Graves is being interviewed in the back, and Bray Wyatt walks in talking about how Graves is always trying to act cool when there's a war going on. The two basically bark some threats at each other. I love how Bray seems to be interacting with everyone on the roster, and I take this as a babyface turn for Graves. Bray just feels like the biggest deal on the show.

Big E. Langston Vs Damien Sandow: They've got rid of Big E.'s earworm "I'm a soldier" theme, which means maybe I won't be hearing it in my dreams anymore. This was really generic and boring. Big E won, of course.

Episode MVP: Bray Wyatt again.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

5/22/13

Sami Zayn Vs Curt Hawkins: Regal brings up Zayn's extensive experience, without going into too much detail of course. Short uneventful match sees Zayn win, which the announcers put over as a big deal. He was pretty over too, with some ole chants.

Antonio Cesaro Vs Yoshi Tatsu: Cesaro has the beret and sunglasses look now, but is sans US title. I feel sorry for Tatsu. I hope he isn't paid by the hour. Cesaro wins in less than a minute and then cuts a promo about how there is no competition for him. This brings out Sami Zayn, who says he may be new to NXT, but he thinks he can provide some competition. 

Sami Zayn Vs Antonio Cesaro: Okay, a ref is out and we're getting this match now. Cool. This is a much better showcase match for Zayn here, as these two put on a good short match. Cesaro is taking Zayn lightly, but Zayn catches him with a cradle for the upset. Cesaro gives Zayn a nice beatdown post-match. It didn't take them long to make Zayn a player and insert him into his first feud.

Mason Ryan Vs Enzo Amore: Okay, where to begin here. First off, I guess it was Enzo I spotted on lumberjack duty the other week. He looks weird with the dark hair. He's doing the same intro spiel pretty much that he always did here, and spazzing around like an idiot. I forgot Mason Ryan existed (again). It seems like ages since he had that last random appearance. Ryan wins in an absolute squash.

Bray Wyatt Vs Corey Graves: So this is following up on their altercation last week. Bray is still in the mask and has the family with him. This is pretty disappointing. Graves seems, at least, to be bang average in the ring. Rowan and Harper get involved and that allows Wyatt to hit Sister Abigail and pick up the win. They continue the beatdown on Graves after the bell, and that brings Kassius Ohno out to make the save to a nice pop. However, the numbers game is too big to overcome, and Ohno is laid out too. I didn't think we'd be getting a Wyatt Family/Graves and Ohno feud a few weeks back, but I like the way they got there. This was a really good episode of TV.

Episode MVP: Sami Zayn. 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

5/29/13

Tonight we've got the battle royale and an historic announcement from Stephanie McMahon! We've also got Maddox back on commentary... 

Luke Harper and Erick Rowan Vs Sawyer Fulton and Travis Tyler: Those are some NXT-riffic names. I don't know who either of these guys are, so I looked them up. Fulton stuck around a while and ended up in Sanity. Tyler didn't last long. Squash win for the tag champs. Lots of 'yeah yeah yeah yeah's from Harper.

Stephanie beams in from somewhere with her announcement. A lot of jabber about WWE being at the forefront of diversity in the sports and entertainment field for 50 years! Say what?! Then she presents the NXT women's title and says a tournament will begin next week to crown the first champion. That's what I assumed it would be, and I'm looking forward to it. I love a good tournament, me. I'm thinking it'll be Paige, Summer, Emma, Audrey, Sasha (where the hell has she been?), Bayley, Nattie and maybe Tamina or Alicia Fox.

Emma Vs Audrey Marie: This was set up by a backstage bit last week in which Emma accidentally hit Audrey in the face while doing her dance. It sounds stupid but was actually pretty funny. Fans are blowing bubbles as Emma comes out now. She stops the match to dance, but when it comes time to get serious, she can wrestle too. She ends up putting Audrey away with the Emma Lock.

Scott Dawson and Garrett Dylan Vs Jake Carter and Brandon Traven: This is turning into quite the jobber-riffic episode of NXT between this and the opening match. I guess they have to hold back the stars for the battle royale. We were introduced to the new team of Dawson and Dylan (surprised he's still around- how deep is this roster) backstage, with their manager, Sylvester Lefort. Who apparently was trained by Lance Storm. Dawson and Dylan, who I guess want to be known as D-squared, pick up the win in basically a squash. Traven is wearing a hideous singlet. That's about my only takeaway from this.

Big E. Langston Vs Derrick Bateman: Squash win for Langston, who then joins commentary for the main event. I'm really tired of Big E.'s shtick now, I have to say.

#1 Contenders Battle Royale: Holy shit, it's Rusev! Rusev is in this thing. A lot of the usual suspects. English is in there. How did Dante Dash get into this thing? Zayn is in there. The focus is on Ryan, Wyatt, Graves, Ohno, Neville and Dallas (as in, they all got entrances). Looking at results online, I guess Mojo Rawley was in there too, but I didn't spot him. And some guy named Knuckles Madsen... Mason Ryan is cutting through the field and legit tosses out 11 guys in about a minute (including Zayn, who you might think they'd protect better after his debut showing). Neville finally reverses a powerbomb attempt to eliminate him with a flying headscissors. Face-off between Conor O'Brian and Wyatt. Conor knocks Bray through the ropes but not out. Graves and Ohno eliminate Conor, but Wyatt eliminates them both. We come down to Neville, Dallas and Bray. I'm sure at the time people thought it was a given Wyatt was winning this. Neville takes out Bray and, after a few teases, Dallas gets rid of Neville. Crowd boos. I know Dallas is the next champion, and right now at least, it seems really out of nowhere. This was a pretty crappy battle royal.

Episode MVP: Emma.