NXT RETRO WORKRATE REPORT (February 13, 2013)
NXT RETRO WORKRATE REPORT – FEBRUARY 13, 2013
(by PHIL RIPPA)
WHAT WORKED
So just as I was starting to make a comment about how weird it was that here was Summer Rae doing ring introductions with no mention of her freak out and her attack of Paige when who should come storming down the ramp but Paige. And Paige takes the show hostage thus preventing us from having to see Mike Dalton/Axle Keegan. Total win. Oh and Paige yells and slaps Keegan like a crazed girlfriend which is outstanding. AND Dusty mic work as he acts all disappointed Dad. YOU GET OVER HER RIGHT NOW! HA! Paige and Summer Rae start brawling around and over Dream… oh this might be my favorite NXT segment so far.
William Regal – Color Commentator
Normally I would complain on the show wasting time with a recap video (heck, I basically do so down below). This is especially the case when it is for something that isn’t NXT related. But that Elimination Chamber one was really good.
What I am about to type is going to seem insane but Paige/Summer Rae might be the 2nd best match I have seen on NXT so far. Yes it barely last three minutes but the entire match is based on Paige’s injured shoulder including Paige knowing to do offense using only one arm. She is way to fucking good to not be called up. Can the WWE just release her already so she can work Shimmer and make me happy? Probably my only quibble is that the finish is Summer Rae’s roundhouse kick, and I understand the need to establish a finisher for her, but since the entire point is that one armed Paige was severely handicapped, the finish should have been something around her shoulder. Unless, Summer’s kick was supposed to hit the shoulder and if that was the case… never mind.
Hmmm…. 20 minutes left in the show and they are doing the Tag Tournament Finals. So this is either going to be the longest match I have seen so far or that is some terrible show planning. Let us see where this ends up. Oliver Grey being the fucking face in peril for the second straight week is befuddling to me. Though I will admit that I haven’t seen a lot of Adrian Neville in his Pac days, so maybe he isn’t so hot at the selling. Other than that… I got nothing. There is also WAY too much Wyatt Family selling. I mean if there was ever a team built to take a Southern Style beating it’s Neville/Grey. Eventually, Bray Wyatt gets ejected by Dusty Rhodes which I like since it helps build in the reason the Wyatts lose. Oh… spoiler I guess. Now, that was all the first half of the match. The second half is much better because Grey takes his beating and it is wonderful. Yes, I theorized that Neville might not be so hot with the selling but he is really good in the roll of babyface desperate for his partner to make the tag – despite the crowd really not caring at all. Maybe having Paige beatdown right before this wasn’t the wisest of moves. Aaron Rowan is no where near as good as Luke Harper but I really dig his ragdoll bearhug. That is one way to make that move fun. This really really becomes enjoyable when Neville finally gets the hot tag. Harper is amazing as big guy who can make tiny speedy guys offense look credible but then he fucking wastes Neville with a big boot as Neville comes off the top. Then it becomes chaos like any good tag finish should. In fact, my only problem with the finish is how long Neville takes to get off the corkscrew shooting star press as Harper has to lay around like a dope for far longer than he should. But yeah… full Worldwide point.
WHAT DIDN’T WORK
NXT sure loves themselves some recaps. Normally this isn’t a bad thing but the Tag Tournament recap looks like it was filmed somehow using Instagram. That is a trend that needs to stop.
I am six weeks into doing these reports. I really should do a separate piece on all the guys in the opening who I have yet to see wrestle.
Ugh – Alex Riley. Oh fucking hell. He is wrestling Corey Graves. Why couldn’t this be like the 8252107 random other feuds that the WWE forgets about. Somehow, Graves acid washed jean jacket vest has become even douchier. And fucking Riley really needs to fucking buy tights that cover his fucking ass. I really hope fucking cheeky cuts of tights aren’t suddenly a trend.
God – the NXT “doctor/trainer” so doesn’t look like a doctor/trainer. He clearly looks like a guy who would definitely come out of the crowd to rub Paige’s shoulder. And then rub something else after.
Todd Dawson might be the worst person to choose to do in-ring interviews and Neville and Grey might be the worst person to interview after a match. If they had just made-out – which let’s be honest totally seems to be the way they are teasing – if would have been much better.