My NXT project

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

9/19/12

Trent Barretta Vs Johnny Curtis: So, here's Trent's comeback match after 6 months on the shelf. Regal wonders why Johnny Curtis is always carrying a bag of sweets, and trying to give him toffees. I love Regal. Curtis works over Trent's arm, but Trent pulls out the win. Decent match.

Paige Vs Alicia Fox: Again, the crowd is very into Paige, as is Regal. He likes to call her 'the enchanting raven-haired lady' and 'hell in boots'. It's quite impressive how over Paige is since she hasn't really been presented as a big deal at all. Paige gets the win after a nice little match. Fox was probably Paige's best opponent on the main roster, so they obviously had chemistry. Incidentally, this is the second match Paige has won with the cradle DDT, and both times it looks like she's hurt herself doing it.

Conor O'Brien Vs Jimmy Uso: Again the cornermen get involved, but this time it leads to a win for O'Brien. It looks like O'Brien is the weaker worker of the Ascension. After the match, Jey catches a beatdown too. The Ascension have pretty much dominated this feud.

Bo Dallas is being interviewed in the back. He still exists then. Michael McGillicutty interrupts and the two end up brawling.

Kassius Ohno sparring session: This is billed as a sparring session, but really it's just a match. I wonder if they came up with the sparring session idea, and then just didn't know how to make it work so it ended up just being a match. Oliver Grey is the opponent, a British worker who didn't do much in the States. He gets a blast of offence before being overwhelmed and tapping out to a submission hold. Ohno says it was easier than he expected, so let's go again. The bell rings again, and Ohno gives Grey the roaring elbow and taps him out again, before Richie Steamboat runs in to make the save.

Seth Rollins Vs Rick Victor: Victor got a lot of offence in in the early going here, basically out-thinking and out-fighting Rollins. Rollins eventually makes his comeback and puts Victor away with the Blackout, but it was a good showing for Victor.

Episode MVP: Trent Barretta. He looked good on his return.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

9/26/12

Michael McGillicutty Vs Bo Dallas: The future B-Team collide. I don't know why anyone ever had any sort of expectations for Dallas as a top level babyface. He has a weird look, isn't a big or imposing dude physically, and is very blah in the ring. He dominates the early portion of this as it's wrestled as a grudge match, but then McGillicutty gets the upper hand and starts taking Dallas apart with brawling offence. McGillicutty again looks very good, and he ends up picking up a dominant win. Again, they kinda dance around whether McGillicutty has got an actual shot at the NXT belt.

Leo Kruger Vs Jake Carter: Carter is weird. He comes out looking all douchey, and his video even says "your girlfriend's favorite" on it. But then he's slapping hands with the fans. I was trying to work out why he had clocks and watches on his tights and then it occurred to me- "it's time". Very clever. Kruger's new look and style is very boring. I don't want to see him creeping around with a weird smile on his face. Kruger wins in basically a squash. 

Ryback Vs Aiden English and Francis Remi Dorian: I can't find much on Dorian. This is the standard Ryback jobber match of the time. Big E does it better.

Richie Steamboat Vs Kassius Ohno: I'm looking forward to this. Same structure as the opening match, with the babyface starting a house a-fire. Steamboat does it better than Dallas though. Then Ohno takes over. This turns into a very solid match, and I really liked the finish with Steamboat avoiding the roaring elbow and catching Ohno in a surprise inside cradle to pick up the win. Very well executed sequence. Ohno loses it after the match and lays a beating on Steamboat, having to be restrained by officials. This is the best booked feud in NXT by far.

Episode MVP: Richie Steamboat. Good performance and victory in the main event.

3 star match: Richie Steamboat Vs Kassius Ohno.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

10/3/12

The show starts with Kassius Ohno entering the arena earlier in the day, with Briley Pierce, the hardest working man in WWE, trying to catch a word with him about his beatdown of Richie Steamboat. Steamboat jumps him from behind and leaves him laying. Nice opening to the show.

Drew McIntyre Vs Richie Steamboat: Drew is back after an injury apparently, and is wearing a cast on his wrist. I'm sure that won't be coming into play at all. This had the potential to be a good match, but it was cut short by a run-in from Ohno. That allowed Drew to hit Steamboat with the cast, and hit the Future Shock DDT for the win.

Big E. Langston Vs Aiden English: Big E is super over. This is another total squash, with E forcing the ref to count to 5, and then following up with another Big Ending after the match. Aiden hasn't had the chance to show anything yet in his appearances. 

In the back, Steamboat is looking for Ohno, but we see Michael McGillicutty heading out to the arena. He comes out and it's finally definitively announced that he will be getting a shot at Seth Rollins's championship. He calls Rollins out and Rollins obliges. Rollins says they should have the match right now, but McGillicutty retreats. McGillicutty's music is really odd, by the way. It reminds me of something that would be the theme song for a teen angst-themed manga. I dunno.

We see footage from earlier of Briley (again) interviewing Kidd and Gabriel in the empty arena about their match with the Ascension tonight. Then, ridiculously, the Ascension's music hits and we see them up in like a suite or something looking down on them. I just love that they went to the trouble of having their music play in the empty arena. I bet the music guy was well pissed off that he had to show up early for this.

Kassius Ohno Vs Percy Watson: Steamboat attacks Ohno before the match, but it still goes ahead. Watson gets some offence in. Regal is pimping his leaping ability, but doesn't want to say whether he or Kofi Kingston can jump higher, in case it starts some trouble between them. Ohno ends up getting the win. 

The Ascension Vs Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel: Pretty decent match, probably the best Ascension match to date. Kidd plays a good face in peril. The Ascension win to continue their dominance. 

Episode MVP: Kassius Ohno. It had to be him or Steamboat, and I think Ohno shades it this time.

[DreamBroken]

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

McGillicutty's music is really odd, by the way. It reminds me of something that would be the theme song for a teen angst-themed manga. I dunno.

I loved that one lol, didn't really fit him at all but it's one I wouldn't mind being reused for someone else. It stands out when a lot sounds the same elsewhere.  I wish they'd get bands to do themes more often.

 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

10/10/12

WWE champ CM Punk is in the house tonight, and cuts an opening promo about respect, and then later confronts Seth Rollins, telling him nobody is going to respect him just because he's a champion, and that he has to beat it into people. Refreshingly, when Michael McGillicutty is interviewed, he says he doesn't give a shit about respect (not in those words, obviously), and that he just wants the belt.

Bo Dallas Vs Johnny Curtis: Regal tells us that today Johnny Curtis had a bag of butterscotch that he was offering out. Not much of a match. Dallas picks up the win with a spear. Dallas is high up on the list of wrestlers who should not be using a spear as a finisher.

Audrey Marie and Paige Vs Kaitlyn and Alicia Fox: Paige continues to be the most organically over act on the show. The highlight of the match is Audrey Marie busting out a unique takedown, which has Regal legit marking out. He tells us it was a move popularised by Steven Wright, and that he hasn't seen anyone do it in a long time. It took him a while to recover from that. Paige picks up the win for her team.

Leo Kruger Vs Dante Dash: I'm over Kruger. This guy's boring as shit. Total squash win, and then he cuts a promo about hunting his prey or something.

Seth Rollins Vs Michael McGillicutty: Punk comes out for commentary. He really is very good in that role. JR, Regal and Punk is a strong team. Decent match given a fair bit of time. McGillicutty looks particularly good again, but it's Seth who picks up the win, kinda out of nowhere, with a variant of Sliced Bread #2. The show ends with Rollins staring down Punk, who is applauding the champ.

A couple of quick things: Summer Rae is doing ring announcing now, and she isn't very good. Where is Raquel Diaz? Did the Exfoliating Ugliness tour end? And, more pressingly, where is Bray Wyatt? He got a bunch of vignettes, a squash match in which he was already over with the crowd, and nothing since.

Episode MVP: I'm only picking active competitors for these, otherwise Regal might have 2 or 3 by now, and would probably get this one. Instead I'll go for McGillicutty again.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

10/17/12

Alex Riley Vs Jinder Mahal: Boring. I don't care about either of these guys. Riley picks up what I guess is an upset win, but Mahal beats him down after the match.

Trent Barretta Vs Jake Carter: This match was set up last week when Barretta made fun of Carter for striking out with a girl. So, Carter is back as a heel, which only makes sense. He looks like a (somehow) even douchier version of The Miz. Guy has potential, not sure why he didn't make it. This is an okay little match, with Trent picking up the win.

Damien Sandow Vs Brandon Traven: Traven gets a good burst of offence here, and Regal puts him over as being a trainee of Harley Race. Sandow picks up the win in the end of course.

Kassius Ohno and The Ascension Vs Richie Steamboat and The Usos: I love the babyfaces rushing the ring to get them some at the start of this. I also love how fired up Richie is coming in off the hot tag and teeing off on Ohno. Pretty good main event match. Steamboat goes for a dive, but is caught on the back of the head by the elbow from Ohno, and Ohno gets the duke. I hope that isn't the end of that feud.

Episode MVP: Kassius Ohno. He's really coming into his own(o).

[JonnyLaw]

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

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

10/24/12

We see Heath Slater in Dusty's office trying to get a title match with Rollins. Vickie Guerrero comes in and is bigging up Slater for some reason. Dusty makes a none-title match but says if Slater wins he'll get a title shot.

Brodus Clay Vs Camacho: Fucking Brodus. The longest entrance ever, he gets introduced by the Funkadactyls, then he introduces the Funkadactyls, then there's a Funkadactyl dance, and only then does Brodus actually show his worthless ass. Camacho gets him up for a Samoan drop which is impressive, but this is a routine win for Clay.

Trent Barretta Vs Kassius Ohno: This starts with Richie Steamboat being interviewed on the ramp, and Ohno comes out and hands him a towel to 'throw in'. Some nice action between Trent and Ohno, and a nice finish with Richie coming back out and throwing the towel in Ohno's face, and Trent hitting a running knee (Bryan style) to pick up the big win.

Layla and Alicia Fox Vs Paige and Audrey Marie: Layla is really fun as a babyface here. There doesn't seem to be much of a clear heel/face alignment here, as Fox seems to be a heel, whereas it's more hard to tell with the NXT girls. Paige is obviously really over which makes her nominally a face I suppose. They've started airing vignettes for her to, which shows they're getting behind her. Audrey ends up tagging herself in but getting pinned by Layla, which angers Paige. 

Bronson Vs Lincoln Broderick: Who the fuck is this Bronson now? They're putting him over as some kind of big deal, and a dangerous man. This is a squash win for Bronson. Neither one of these guys did much of anything.

Cesaro comes out with the US title. Nice bit of heeling as he tells everyone to stand for the national anthem, but then requests the national anthem of Switzerland. You can see the confusion in people's faces, torn between listening to a foreigner, and disrespecting the anthem. Hilarious. Tyson Kidd comes out. Yes! Now this is a match I really want to see. And they set it up for nice week.

Seth Rollins Vs Heath Slater: Slater is accompanied by Vickie. He looks really good in this match, dominating a fair amount of the action. Regal calls Slater a silly ginger git, and says what a skill it is to be as unlikable as Slater is. Rollins gets the win, and Vickie ends up walking out on Slater.

Episode MVP: Slater. He looked really good in that main event.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

10/31/12

The Usos Vs Johnny Curtis and Michael McGillicutty: Regal's reactions to Curtis's entrance are just amazing here. I can't even begin to do it justice. It looks like McGillcutty is tired of Curtis's weird ways. Nice little match which sees the Usos pick up the win. Then the Ascension music plays and they're up in the crowd looking down on the Usos. Do we really need this feud to continue?

Leo Kruger Vs Xavier Woods: Hey, it's Xavier! He dances his way out. Oh no, not Kruger. Competitive squash win for Kruger.

Big E is being interviewed on the ramp but is interrupted by Vickie Guerrero. Oh God, I hope Vickie isn't becoming a regular NXT personality. She wants to manage Big E, but he responds by clapping powder in her face. I guess that's to signal that Langston is officially a babyface.

There's a pretty poor talking segment with Jinder Mahal being interrupted by first Justin Gabriel, then Drew McIntyre, and finally Bo Dallas. They all think they should get a shot at the NXT title. Dusty Rhodes comes out and makes a fatal fourway number one contenders match for next week.

Roman Reigns Vs CJ Parker: Reigns's NXT debut is being built up as one of the most anticipated in history, which is funny because other than a single vignette earlier in the show, he hasn't been mentioned at all. This is pretty boring stuff. I'm a Reigns fan, but he clearly took a while to grow into his role. I don't see him getting over with this crowd with this sort of display.

Antonio Cesaro Vs Tyson Kidd: Aww, man, they gave these guys less than 10 mins. It's still good, obviously, because how could it not be, but if they'd have had like 5 more minutes, I bet they could have had a really great match. I love the way they work this, with Kidd going for all kinds of cradles and pin attempts to try to win the belt. In the end Cesaro has too much and puts Kidd away with the Neutraliser.

Episode MVP: Cesaro.

[w. josh]

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

Bronson Vs Lincoln Broderick: Who the fuck is this Bronson now? They're putting him over as some kind of big deal, and a dangerous man. This is a squash win for Bronson. Neither one of these guys did much of anything.

(James) Bronson was an FCW holdover. Definitely the kind of dude who would have lost a competitive match to Barry Darsow on WCW Saturday Night.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

Just weird the way they debuted him like he was someone we should have known about. And I'd literally never heard of him before. Between that and the way they were talking about Roman Reigns's debut, i'm wondering if some vignettes have been cut out of the network versions for some reason.

[John from Cincinnati]

This was taped but never aired around this time

 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

11/7/12

Kassius Ohno Vs Trent Barreta: They set this rematch up with a backstage bit last week. This is pretty much the same as their last match, except with Ohno getting the win. Barreta fights off Ohno's attempts to continue the beating. It looks like they're moving on from the Steamboat feud to this, which makes me a sad panda.

Big E. Langston Vs Memo Montenegro: Vickie pops up on the tron and says she's placed a $5000 bounty on Langston after he disrespected her last week. Now this is an old school gimmick I can get behind. I like the realistic cash amount too. What's this? Montenegro is Alberto Del Rio's brother? I had no idea his brother was signed. I actually thought for a second that it was Ricardo Rodriguez. Langston is still very over and crushes Montenegro here. Chad Baxter runs in to try to claim the bounty, but gets squashed too.

Luke Harper Vs Jason Jordan: This is supposed to be Jordan against Aiden English, but Bray Wyatt comes out instead. He cuts a promo and then introduces the debuting Harper as the first son of the Wyatt Family. Harper squashes Jordan. Harper's character is a lot more manic here, a bit hammy.

Jinder Mahal Vs Bo Dallas Vs Justin Gabriel Vs Drew McIntyre: This is pretty shit. The crowd don't really care about any of these guys, and the match isn't booked or worked in a way to get them invested. And of course, the only worker in the match I give a shit about, Drew, is the first to be eliminated, by a Dallas spear. Gabriel falls victim to the same fate just seconds later, giving us Mahal for Dallas for the number one contendership. The crowd just aren't buying into Dallas at all, despite him being booked pretty strong. Mahal ends up going over after Dallas taps to the camel clutch (after JR and Regal have spent the whole match talking about how Dallas will never give up). Rollins has come out on the ramp to watch the match, and he and Mahal get physical in the post-match. And that sets up our main event for next week.

There's also a vignette for Corey Graves, so I guess he's coming back soon. And there was an interview segment with Roman Reigns on the ramp. I don't know where to begin with this. They show highlights of his win from last week, and it's really weird seeing him wrestle in trunks. He comes out here in an ill-fitting suit, and tells Saxton to leave. So I guess he's a heel. That wasn't really clear last week. He cuts a very generic heel promo about how he's the best, and says it doesn't matter if you're with him or against him. He seems to be trying to channel the Rock a bit with his delivery here, which isn't good. And I guess his 'thing' is that he pretends he's signing his name in the air. I don't know if this all just seems so weird because of the contrast to how he is now, or if it was just shit. Either way, it's clear they're presenting him as a big star in NXT.

Episode MVP: Big E. Langston.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

11/14/12

The show starts with an interview bit setting up Mahal putting his title shot on the line against Bo Dallas in the main event tonight. Huh? They definitely said Mahal's shot was for this week. I wonder if Seth couldn't go for whatever reason so they had to stall. Dallas looked shitty here. He tapped cleanly to Mahal last week, but here he is weaseling his way into another opportunity.

The Ascension Vs Percy Watson and Yoshi Tatsu: Tatsu's music! I forgot all about that jam. What an odd team. The Ascension completely squash them. I feel like they need to put these guys in some competitive matches. But not against the Usos.

Corey Graves Vs Oliver Grey: Graves is doing his punk rock thing, and the crowd seem to be into him, despite him playing a heel. Nice opening exchanges with Grey being able to show off some technical stuff. He looks really young. Graves takes control and destroys Grey's leg, leading to a submission victory. Pretty solid stuff.

There's an interview with Big E on the ramp, and Camacho attacks him from behind and then skulks away. Just sending a message it seems.

Layla Vs Aksana: This was set up by a terrible backstage skit earlier in the show. Aksana is about as bad as it gets. Layla wins a short but competitive match.

Roman Reigns Vs Chase Donovan: Another squash match win for Roman, and again he doesn't look terribly impressive. Haha, Roman demands Saxton announce him as 'The Thoroughbred' after the match. Good lord.

Jinder Mahal Vs Bo Dallas: Why the fuck is Matt Striker doing ring announcing in NXT now. He fucking sucks at that too. Another boring match that ends with Dallas again tapping out to the camel clutch. So this whole thing really was a waste of time. Interestingly, these two have wrestled three times now, and each time it has ended the exact same way. Jinder has propelled Dallas against the ropes (or this time the turnbuckle, but with the same effect), and then locked on the camel clutch for the tap out. Who laid these matches out? Jinder tries to continue the beatdown but Rollins makes the save. 

Episode MVP: Really slim pickings this week. I guess Graves for a solid singles debut.

 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

11/21/12

Paige Vs Alicia Fox: This is the worst match I've ever seen these two have. I generally like them together. Paige wins.

Big E. Langston Vs Camacho: So this is Camacho trying to pick up that sweet 5k. It doesn't happen, of course, as he gets squashed by E. Langston continues the beatdown after the bell in customary fashion.

Tom Phillips (!) is on backstage interviewer duty this week. They gave Briley the week off, I guess. So earlier we had an interview with Kassius Ohno about his rubber match with Trent Barreta scheduled for tonight. Ohno said he was going to give Trent the Steamboat treatment and end his career. Now we cut to the back and Trent has been taken out. We see Leo Kruger hiding. Ugh. Phillips tells us the match might be off.

Bronson Vs Nick Rogers: Bronson is back. I thought he might have been a one and done. This is another squash for him. He looks decent but not very interesting. 

Luke Harper Vs Mike Dalton: Dalton gets a "let's go Ziggler" chant. He does look very Ziggler-esque. Basically another squash for Harper. NXT is very heavy on guys getting dominant pushes right now- Big E, Bronson, now Harper, and you can probably throw Reigns in there too. Bray is watching from the stage, in the debuting rocking chair.

There's a bit in the back where Jinder attacks Rollins, but Rollins gains the upper hand before refs break it up. I've noticed that Seth never seems to get laid out. Still no idea when this match is going to happen.

Richie Steamboat Vs Kassius Ohno: So Ohno comes out and demands the match against Trent to be awarded to him via forfeit. Dusty comes out and says he has a replacement, and out comes Richie. Yes! Best possible outcome here. It's regrettable that none of the matches these two had together really got above good. I feel like they probably could have done something great together, but it just never really happened. Not sure why that is. Nonetheless, this was a solid little match, and Steamboat came out on top with a slingblade. I hate that move. This felt like the definitive end to this feud, which I'm fine with. It's been a fun feud, but I think the story has been told.

Episode MVP: Richie Steamboat.

 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

11/28/12

Team Hell No are in the house tonight.

Leo Kruger Vs Trent Barreta: This is based off Kruger maybe attacking Barreta in the back last week. Barreta has taped ribs and works from underneath for the whole match. Kruger eventually puts him away.

Xavier Woods Vs Memo Montenegro: Memo is back. They make reference to him being related to Del Rio. This is a squash for Woods, who I like a lot, but this is not a good setting for him. The dancing gimmick is kinda beneath him, and he doesn't have the offence to squash a bigger man in interesting fashion.

Audrey Marie Vs Emma: Oh hey, it's Emma. What a shitty name for a wrestler, by the way. The one name for women is shitty anyway, but "Emma" has to be a low point. I had a cat named Emma. She was fat and very sickly, but sweet and funny. Emma looks incredibly green here. How experienced was she when she came in? She does the goofy dance thing, but all the focus is on Audrey here. Audrey is now a heel. She looks pretty decent. I think she could have contributed something to the brand, but not sure how much longer she sticks around.

There's a bit with Michael Cole (bringing out the big guns) interviewing Mahal and Rollins in the ring about there title match that will definitely happen at some point in time. I don't know whether Cole is still a heel here. He's acting like a babyface, so we'll go with that. Nobody says anything of note, and Mahal ends up beating Rollins down and locking him in the camel clutch.

Team Hell No Vs Johnny Curtis and Michael McGillicutty: This is for the tag team titles. I wondered why Curtis and McGillicutty would get a shot, but they said on commentary that this is Curtis cashing in his title shot from when he won that season of NXT that one time. It was nice of them to remember that. Curtis is doing more and more Fandango-like movements. McGillicutty has some funny reactions to him humping everything in sight. Like most Team Hell No matches, this is pretty good, without ever really going to that next level. It's funny that the formula (and it made sense looking at them) was always for Bryan to play face in peril, but what ended up getting Bryan so over was his incredible work as the hot tag in those matches with the Shield. Team Hell No win of course, and then hug it out after the match.

Episode MVP: Well, they had the best wrestler in the world on the show, so why not give it to him, right? I'm talking about Bryan, if that wasn't clear.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

12/5/12

Antonio Cesaro Vs Michael McGillicutty: McGillicutty randomly comes out as a babyface, and gets a nice reaction. This is a match they could have built to and had as a main event. Pretty good little match. McGillicutty works well as a face. Cesaro puts him away with the Neutralizer.

Bo Dallas Vs Axl Keegan: So, according to wiki, Keegan ended up getting a career-ending injury shortly after this and got a job behind the scenes. No idea if he still works there or not. Here he's pretty much just cannon-fodder for Dallas. After the match, Dallas throws out an open challenge, not for a match, but for a fight.

Corey Graves Vs Yoshi Tatsu: Graves attacks Tatsu before the bell, and then pretty much squashes him. Regal, who is back on commentary after a couple of weeks off, likes Graves's attitude.

Roman Reigns Vs Gavin Reid: Reid is Welsh. That's about as much as I know about him. Reigns continues to look not so impressive, but is being put over huge on commentary. He also continues his little thing with Saxton who is on ring announcer duty, although this time he doesn't demand to be called the Thoroughbred, which is good. A Roman Reigns/Byron Saxton feud is not a thing I thought happened. By the way, I had no idea the Shield were doing there thing on the main roster while Rollins and Reigns were still competing in NXT. And with no reference being made to it. And why didn't Ambrose show up in NXT?

Tyson Kidd is being interviewed in the back about his match coming up with Leo Kruger (ugh), but is interrupted by Kassius Ohno (yay). Ohno's malevolent hipster character is growing on me.

Tyson Kidd Vs Leo Kruger: Well, this is the best match Kruger has been involved in so far, by some distance. Kidd is really good. And the best part is that Kidd picked up the win with the dungeon lock. After the match Ohno attacked Kidd. I really wanna see Kidd and Ohno go at it. Holy shit! What's this now? Regal is heading down to the ring to pull Kidd out of harm's way. Oh yeah, I'm all in for Regal and Ohno!

They hype Rollins/Mahal for next week. 

Episode MVP: Tyson Kidd.

[Greggulator]

I'm jealous. You're at the point now from when NXT goes from "uhm, okay, I guess I'll watch this" to "oh, this is pretty cool." 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

12/12/12

Paige Vs Sasha Banks: Well, shit. Just as Gregg says this is where things really start to get interesting, look who's making her debut. She's just plain old Sasha Banks here, not The Boss yet. But she already looks really good. In fact, I'd go so far as to say she's looking like the best female performer in NXT based off this one performance. Paige gets the win with the Paige Turner, which is a crappy move. I hope these two go at it again.

Erick Rowan Vs Oliver Grey: And now fucking Rowan is debuting. Oh yeah, the Wyatt Family is complete. Like the Harper debut, Rowan just comes out as an unknown disciple of Wyatt. He puts Grey away with ease.

Dusty Rhodes came out, and for some reason canceled the bounty that Vickie Guerrero put on Big E. Very odd. Did they just decide to retcon that angle, and if so, very un-WWE-like to not just pretend it never happened in the first place. Another odd thing- there was an awkward cut in the promo where the crowd reaction was like clearly not at all to what Dusty just said, and then Dusty apologised and said sometimes the old cowboy comes out in him. He obviously said something that they had to cut out, but why didn't they cut the reaction out too? Anyway, Camacho comes out and says he needs that bounty money, and something about Hunico being stuck in Mexico. Camacho just got his ass beat by Big E a couple of weeks back, so don't know what he's chatting about. Then Dusty set up Big E Vs Camacho and a partner of his choosing for next week. Big E, who had also made his way out, approved of this. Very strange segment all in all.

There was also a promo from Ohno and Kruger in the back, warning Regal not to cross them. I could do without Ohno having to carry Kruger around with him. Oh, and also, Big Show said he's answering Bo Dallas's open challenge.

Seth Rollins Vs Jinder Mahal: Completely out of nowhere, Jinder comes out for this match in his 3MB persona, music, duds and all. Say what? This really undermines the whole build for this match. They'd at least tried to build up rich, entitled, birthright-to-be-champion, foreigner Jinder up as a credible challenger to the belt. 3MB Jinder is a total comedy jobber. I half expected Rollins to come out in Shield gear. But he came out and had a seizure on the stage instead. 20 fucking minutes these two got. By far the longest match on NXT so far, and felt like it too. Really boring stuff. Rollins won with his Asai DDT which is being called the Skywalker. Another bad finishing move. Corey Graves comes out to stare down Rollins after the match, so I guess that's the next challenger.

Episode MVP: Don't wanna come off too fanboy-ish, but I honestly felt Sasha had the best performance this week.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

12/19/12

The Usos Vs Primo and Epico: Yes, Primo! You know I enjoyed this match. Just rock solid tag formula stuff, with all the guys playing their roles well. They got about 10 mins as well, which is a good length for NXT. The Usos go over, and then The Ascension show up on the video screen to bark some threats at the Usos. Crikey, this feud still isn't over?

Big E. Langston Vs Camacho and Aiden English: English looks, in his attire and the way he carries himself, to be doing his singing gimmick, but we haven't seen any of it on TV yet. Langston destroys English quickly, as Camacho walks out on the match. 

Kassius Ohno Vs Percy Watson: Watson got a lot of offence in this match. Possibly more than he should have, if I'm being honest. I still see the upside in him, but he needs more seasoning. A tag team with a more experienced pro would be a good spot for him. Ohno, of course, gets the win, and then has a few words for Regal as he leaves. 

There's an in-ring interview with Rollins, which ends with him being attacked and beaten down by Corey Graves.

The Big Show Vs Bo Dallas: This is probably Dallas's best NXT performance yet. He's pretty good in the underdog role here, and I love his sell of the knockout punch. Well-worked match overall.

Episode MVP: My boy, Primo.

3 star match: The Usos Vs Primo and Epico.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

12/26/12

This is a year in review show, with a couple of promos (Cena and Punk hyping NXT up as the place to see the stars of tomorrow) and a bonus match (Kane beating Cody Rhodes- standard fare) thrown in.

 

But as 2012 comes to an end, I thought it would be fun to do my own year-end awards.

Male wrestler of the year: Tyson Kidd. There's nobody who has been more reliable throughout the year.

Female wrestler of the year: Paige. Despite not always looking great in the ring, she's really the obvious choice. Cortez looked better in the ring, but presumably left/was released a while back, Diaz was a featured character, but seems to be gone also. None of the main roster girls that showed up made much of an impact, and Banks only has the one match (though it was the best individual female performance of the year, I think). Not that I'm giving it to Paige by default- it's really impressive how quickly and thoroughly she got over.

Biggest surprise: Michael McGillicutty. I knew he was a solid hand, but I didn't know how good he was. It makes me wish they'd done more with him.

Best character: Bray Wyatt. It still feels like early days for the character, but already you can see the potential. That of course got ruined on the main roster.

Best match: Tyson Kidd Vs Michael McGillicutty- 9/12. I really enjoyed that one.

Best feud: Kassius Ohno Vs Richie Steamboat, obvs.

Get off my TV: Leo Kruger. I didn't mind him as the slightly camp version of the character he debuted with, but the reboot version, where he skulks around, laughs sinisterly and pulls on his own hair, is just bad. It tells you everything that I can't wait for Adam Rose to debut.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

1/2/13

Well, this is interesting. The show starts with the Shield in the ring beating down a pair of unnamed jobbers who were apparently out for the first match. Dusty comes out and after a back and forth, he makes Rollins Vs Graves for the NXT title for the main event. This is the first time the Shield have been acknowledged on NXT (barring a reference in Punk's promo on the year in review show, but I don't count that as canon), and I take this as a further sign of NXT becoming more visible, and part of the wider, ugh, WWE Universe.

Bo Dallas Vs Epico: Epico is no Primo. It looks like they're trying to rebuild Dallas for another push, and he picks up the win here with the spear. Epico and Primo look poised to attack Dallas after the match, but Michael McGillicutty, obviously a full-fledged babyface now, makes the save. Aww, it's the B-Team. I hope we get Pre-B-Team Vs Primo and Epico.

Tamina Snuka Vs Sasha Banks: Tamina is a heel now, and Sasha is playing a feisty babyface. Regal talks up Sasha quite a bit as a promising talent. She looks good again, but ends up being overwhelmed by Tamina.

Kassius Ohno and Leo Kruger Vs Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel: Regal says that Kruger and Gabriel have a rivalry going back years in South Africa. He also talks a lot about his issues with Ohno. Pretty good match. I still wanna see a long Ohno/Kidd match, and of course Ohno/Regal. Kruger ends up pinning Gabriel.

Corey Graves Vs Seth Rollins: Rollins comes out alone for this match. Weird dynamic. Graves is the heel who just attacked babyface Rollins a couple of weeks ago. Now Rollins is the renegade heel who has vowed to take over the show. So Graves ends up playing de facto babyface, and it just makes for an awkward match. Graves ends up locking on his submission hold, the 13th Step, but Ambrose and Reigns are in to cause the DQ. The beatdown continues and Dusty sends the babyface roster out to stop the Shield. They get dealt with though, and Bo Dallas takes a triple powerbomb. Odd that he'd be the one to take the move. Then Big E's music hits and he comes out to a big pop. He gets into the ring and the Shield back off. Dusty makes Rollins Vs Big E for next week for the title. Nice detail of Reigns wanting to get in the ring and fight E, but Ambrose holding him back. Pretty good show to start the new year.

Episode MVP: Kassius Ohno.

 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

1/9/13

Luke Harper and Erick Rowan Vs Yoshi Tatsu and Percy Watson: The Wyatt Family easily take care of NXT's designated jobber tag team.

Paige Vs Emma: Emma gets her entrance, complete with bad dancing. Regal is disgusted. This is a short match, but suddenly Emma looks very competent. The Paige Turrner gets the win for Paige.

Primo and Epico Vs Michael McGillicutty and Bo Dallas: Cool, I was hoping we'd get this match. And they get quite a bit of time too. And Primo wins! I'm so happy by this turn of events. Good match, as I expected it to be. Primo pins McGillicutty with a back stabber.

Big E. Langston Vs Seth Rollins: No DQ match for the NXT title. This is a well-booked match. Big E dominates until the Shield get involved. The NXT roster comes out to even the odds, and that allows Big E to hit the Big Ending and pick up the win and the title to a big pop. The NXT babyfaces all come into the ring to congratulate E as the show comes to a close.

This show also had Adrian Neville cutting an introductory promo. He debuts next week!

Episode MVP: Big E Langston.

3 star match: Primo and Epico Vs Bo Dallas and Michael McGillicutty.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

1/16/13

Adrian Neville Vs Sakamoto: So Sakamoto is the guy who was Tensai's servant. Short match that is a showcase for Neville. He finishes it off with the Red Arrow. Crowd is pretty into him already.

Trent Barreta Vs Leo Kruger: The best part of this is Kassius Ohno joining the commentary team and needling Regal. I can't wait for those two to go at it. Ohno ends up hitting ringside and giving Trent the elbow which allows Kruger to pick up the pin. Regal heads down to ringside too, but is held back. The decision ends up being reversed as it is made clear to the ref that Ohno interfered. 

Big E. Langston Vs Camacho: Langston comes out to cut a promo but is interrupted by Camacho, who says they still have a beef. This leads to a match, in which Camacho is squashed once again.

Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel Vs Antonio Cesaro and Damien Sandow: Solid enough main event. Nice to see the more established team of Kidd and Gabriel pick up the win, although I'd much rather have Kidd in singles action.

Episode MVP: Tyson Kidd.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

1/23/13

The show opens with Shawn Michaels announcing a tournament to crown the first ever NXT tag team champions. I'm definitely down for this. Primo and Epico better be in it.

The Wyatt Family Vs Percy Watson and Yoshi Tatsu: You know how this ends. It would have been nice if Watson and Tatsu had looked like anything other than complete jobbers leading into this tournament, but oh well. Harper and Rowan haven't really looked super impressive yet, but then they've only been in basic squashes. I have no idea who wins this tournament, by the pie. The Wyatts are my pick.

There's a bit in the back with Dusty telling Alex Riley and Derrick Bateman they're in the tag tournament. Riley and Bateman? That well known team. Primo and Epico definitely better be in it now if these goobers are. Corey Graves comes in and is upset that he wasn't invited into the tournament. Riley is trying to intimidate him and calls him circus boy. What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Dusty says no-one would team with Graves and makes a match between Graves and his former tag partner, Jake Carter. Carter still exists then.

Sasha Banks Vs Alicia Fox: Sasha picks up her first win, in a decent short match. Regal is really putting Sasha over, and brings up her relationship to Snoop. Wasn't it Regal who pushed to get Banks signed?

Corey Graves Vs Jake Carter: So, Carter is back to being an ill-fitting babyface? I still think there was potential there. Semi-competitive squash ending with Carter tapping to the 13th Step.

Adrian Neville and Oliver Grey Vs Drew McIntyre and Heath Slater: Tag tournament match. So if Heath and Drew are in this, you know who better be in it too? Primo and Epico. Poor Drew doing the 3MB shtick. I found 3MB entertaining for what they were, but Drew deserves so much more. Nice to see Grey get given something to do, as he's shown something in the couple of brief glimpses I've got of him. Decent little match hurt by a bit of a rushed finish. Neville gets the win for his team with the Red Arrow.  

Big E. Langston Vs Axl Keegan: The standard Big E squash. After the match, Connor O'Brien appears on the big screen spouting some mumbo jumbo that I guess was a threat to Big E. He had a video bit earlier in the show about how he was the one true ascension. I'm guessing that means my mate from down the road, Kenneth Cameron, has left. Funny how they finally introduce tag titles, and the most dominant team, and the only team to be featured in any meaningful way, on NXT are no more.

Episode MVP: Adrian Neville.