And Daniel Bryan once again set the world on fire in an excellent main event match, proving he's capable of going toe-to-toe with anyone in the business, and Orton was only able to escape losing by uppercutting him in the ballbag.
Down in NXT Land, it was the 200th Episode of NXT! Well, the 200th episode of the current, superior format. Challenges were issued! Championships were defended! And some doofus called Triple H dropped by.
NXT was envisioned as a pseudo-reality competition, with eight "rookies" brought up from Florida Championship Wrestling (WWE's developmental territory) and paired with eight WWE Superstars to serve as the rookies' mentors. Over the course of several weeks, the rookies would wrestle one another, the Superstars, and compete in various challenges to earn points and immunity from being voted out of the competition. NXT Season 1 is best known now for introducing the Nexus faction and Wade Barrett, but probably moreso now because it also introduced us to one Daniel Bryan, who rose from the ignominy of his winless NXT season and later firing to become a former three-time world champion and 2013's Superstar of the Year. Season 1 also introduced us to Darren Young (now one-half of the Prime Time Players), Skip Sheffield (later rechristened Ryback), jobber extraordinaire Heath Slater, and Justin Gabriel.
Later seasons of NXT failed to capture that same spark. Season 2 ended up being a disaster for both finalists, as Michael McGillicutty shot his career in the foot with a terrible promo and Kaval shot his career in the foot... by being Kaval. McGillicutty only recently escaped from that debacle by renaming himself Curtis Axel, and even then, he's stuck in the midcard, tagging with The Ryback. Season 2 also gave us Titus O'Neil (now the other half of the Prime Time Players), former Miz flunky Alex Riley, and Husky Harris... who would go on to be possessed by the demonic force that is Bray Wyatt.
Season 3 was an All-Divas season, with a smaller crop of rookies. This season produced more eventual roster members, but it's perhaps best known now for introducing us all to AJ Lee and Kaitlyn. Naomi and Aksana were the only other two rookies of the season to survive, with Aksana being a jobber Diva and Naomi being one half of the Funkadactyls.
Season 4 was when the "reality competition" aspect of the NXT brand really started to falter. There were only so many members of the developmental roster that were really ready to be called up, and only so many WWE Pros that could devote the extra time to the competition. It didn't help that SyFy dropped the program and NXT started being hosted on WWE.com instead. NXT Season 4 had three main standouts: Derrick Bateman, Johnny Curtis, and Brodus Clay. Clay was arguably the most successful, even if he lost the season, as he was still introduced as an enforcer for Alberto Del Rio before being taken off TV for several months to be repackaged as the Funkasaurus. Derrick Bateman, arguably the most charismatic, floundered for a while, but was eventually released and now competes in The Wrestling Company That Shall Remain Nameless as Ethan Carter III. And Johnny Curtis is now known as Faaan...daaan...goooo.
NXT Season 5 started out as another competition, being called "NXT Redemption," and featured NXT wrestlers who had failed to win in previous seasons, but eventually abandoned the "reality competition" and did its own thing, with storylines running with the NXT rookies desperate to get noticed and earn a shot to the main roster.
Then in June 2012, WWE reached a deal with Full Sail University to produce their NXT show at their facility in Florida, and as a result, rebranded NXT as a proper brand. With less oversight from the main WWE producers (who are on the road with the main roster), and with more freedom to book their angles, NXT gradually became what it is today. WWE's deal with Hulu meant that the show could be hosted on a platform designed for hourly television, and eventually Hulu and WWE made NXT free to access, with no subscription service necessary. Almost eighty episodes later, we now come to NXT's 200th Episode.
A Word on This Week's Commentary
This week, the commentary team consisted of Tom Phillips, filling the usual play-by-play role. Heelish commentary was supplied, surprisingly, by Byron Saxton, of all people, while the face-swinging veteran role was filled by the increasingly capable Tensai. Having the heel perspective supplied by the hitherto face-aligned Saxton was a bit of a surprise, but he did it rather well and without the overbearing loud bullying nature of JBL on Raw or Smackdown.
Tensai's presence definitely helped in selling the American Pitbulls later on, since he was able to provide as much background as WWE will allow on indie wrestlers. If WWE is planning on moving Tensai into a mentor and commentator role, I'm all for it, since his in-ring career in WWE is clearly never destined to go above midcard act. As for Saxton, there's room for improvement in his heel-aligned commentary, but I think he may do well in the role.
Kicking Off with the Boss
The show started out with the gravelly tones of Lemmy Kilmister as he heralded the arrival of Triple H, who got a big ovation from the NXT Crowd and a chant of his name. Triple H thanked them for it, but encouraged an "NXT" chant instead. He thanked Full Sail University and put over all the amazing talent that's come out of NXT, name-dropping Damien Sandow, Antonio Cesaro, the Shield, the Wyatts, and-- after a chant of his name and "Five!"-- Big E Langston. Triple H promised that with the Performance Center just a few miles up the road, NXT will just get better and better.
He said he could take up a lot of time, thanking everyone in the back, all the production team members, and so on for the last 200 episodes, but instead he thanked the NXT Crowd. "You are NXT. This is your show." He then worked in a little self-deprecating humor, saying, "You didn't come to see me talk. Let's get down to some action," before dipping into D-X mode as he asked the fans "Arrre yooou rrrready?!"
Triple H often gets flak from fans and critics for his ego, but give the man credit: he clearly loves the business and wants to see it become more successful. He didn't play up his Authority character, he didn't play up his own accomplishments, he came out to thank everyone for 200 episodes of NXT, and kept it short before throwing it over to the reason everyone comes out to watch-- the action. Well done to him.
Match #1: Sami Zayn & Tyson Kidd vs Leo Kruger & Antonio Cesaro
One of the big stories in this match is the continued rivalry between Cesaro and Sami. Tom Phillips and commentary were frequently bringing up the Best-of-3 Falls match between the two earlier this year, saying that many are calling it "the best match in WWE this year." Even the fans knew it, since the moment that Cesaro and Sami were in the ring together, they were already chanting "Match of the year." They started chanting "This is awesome" just from a knuckle-lock. The NXT Crowd knows the potential for a heated match-up when they see it, and they were begging for the two international wrestlers to burn the place down.
For their parts, Cesaro and Sami played it cool to start out. There was the definite sense that both men knew exactly what the other could bring to the table, and felt each other out to try to find that one opening they needed to take control. Soon enough, it broke down into brawling, but then Tyson Kidd tagged back in and the heels went to work, as Cesaro snatched the Canadian out of mid-air and right into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. From there, the heels kept Kidd isolated and grounded. Kruger has all the tools he needs to be a solid hand in the ring. All he needs is the right booking to make him a major-league threat in the main roster. Alas, that may not happen for a while, but more on that in a bit.
Eventually, Kidd rallied back and managed the tag to Sami, who came in like a house on fire. He knocked Cesaro to the floor, connected with a springboard crossbody to Kruger, and then lined up the Corner Boot, only to run into a knee. Kruger tried for the Slice, but instead got caught in a Blue Thunder Powerbomb for a two count before Cesaro broke it up. Kidd took him to the floor, then laid him out with a huge tope suicida. In the ring, Sami nailed Kruger with the Corner Boot for a three count and an excellent match to start things off on the 200th episode.
Sami Zayn has shown himself capable of going with some of the best workers on the planet, and clearly NXT has high hopes for him. He needs the right handling on the main roster, however, and a good feud to kick things off for him. Tyson Kidd is working to get himself back into the "workhorse" role he had before his injury, and looks to be doing just fine in that regard. Antonio Cesaro is doing just fine where he is. I personally would rather he be on a singles tear, but he's working to re-elevate Jack Swagger after his fall from main event status, and that's fine by me.
Leo Kruger, as I noted, has all the tools in place. He has a solid look and a good mix of power and technical expertise to make a good midcard heel, maybe even upper midcard. The South African mercenary/hunter-of-men character just doesn't have a slot to fill on the main roster. The mercenary role is already filled (and expertly so) by the Shield, and the creepy hunter-of-men role is filled as well by the Wyatt Family. If they are intending to put Kruger in the Real Americans, then that could be a good place for them to gradually work him into a role in which they can use him. However, there have been reports that Kruger is changing his gimmick, to a character similar to that used by Russel Brand in Get Him to the Greek and named Adam Rose. I'm torn on this, since Leo Kruger is a better wrestler name in my opinion, and it could still work for that kind of character, if that is where they're going with him. Time will tell, I suppose.
Backstage: Natalya & Emma
After the opening match, we went backstage, where Natalya was watching Tyson Kidd's match. Emma danced her way in, and Natalya got on her case, accusing her of almost poking out her eye. I personally didn't see Emma's hand come anywhere near her face, but whatever. Emma somewhat sarcastically apologized, and remarked on how Natalya's changed since she got famous, calling her "Miss Reality TV Star," and quipping how she has no more time for the "little people... unless, of course, you're getting a title shot against Paige."
Natalya turned it back on her, pointing out, "You became #1 contender after a silly dance-off. I mean, your dance is 'awesome,'" (and yes, she did 'air-quote'), "and I don't deserve anything?" Emma took exception to Natalya calling dancing "silly," saying "Dancing is in my blood." "And wrestling's in my blood," Natalya said. Emma just shrugged, saying, it's in her blood too, "Wrestling is what brought me to the dance." Natalya challenged her to a match, saying "We'll see who's really deserving to be #1 contender." Emma agreed, and said she'll leave the "silly stuff" at home.
This was another somewhat out-of-nowhere bit of hostility from Emma, but it's setting up what should be another excellent women's match. I've said in past blogs that Paige's title defense against Natalya was a "star-making" match, and I stand by it. Emma has the chance to do the same here now.
Part of me had hoped that Sara Del Rey might step out of the back and ease herself into a role much like William Regal, serving as the "end boss" for the NXT ladies to prove to the brass that they're capable of being called up. If they're preparing Natalya for that role instead, then this is an absolutely perfect substitute, and I don't mean that as a slight on Natalya. She's the best female wrestler on the roster, and she's established enough in casual fans' eyes to be accepted in the 'veteran gatekeeper' role, and talented enough in the informed fans' eyes to do the same.
NXT Moments: Episode #1 - 2/23/10
Throughout the show, we were treated to clips from milestone episodes of NXT. Fittingly enough, the first 'NXT Moment' was from Episode #1, on February 23, 2010, which introduced us to Daniel Bryan and his first WWE match... against then-World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho. Bryan was shown to be a very capable wrestler, almost making Jericho tap out at several points.
This was a bit of revisionist history, of course. At the time, although Bryan was put over in a way, he was also being buried heavily on commentary by Michael Cole, Massive Troll, who was belittling Bryan's indie cred and calling him "a nerd, a geek, a goof" almost without cessation for the entirety of Bryan's first few months, and then again when Bryan returned from his brief "future endeavors" at Summerslam that year. Bryan succeeded in spite of some definite attempts to bury him further down the card, and now the WWE is starting to get behind him, and it's great to see.
Match #2: Sasha Banks (w/ Summer Rae) vs Paige
This non-title match up was meant to showcase the NXT Women's Champion and the primary heel ladies of the brand in the BFFs. Sasha's "Boss" character was expanded upon by Byron Saxton, who explained that she calls herself 'The Boss' because it's about taking control of her life, taking control of her destiny. Saxton extolled further on Sasha's development, to the point that Tensai called him out on talking more about Sasha than about the actual Women's Champion, Paige.
Paige, now that she's reached the American age of majority and has a proven track record of solid in-ring work with even established Divas, is ready for the call up. She's got a distinctive look and her "Anti-Diva" character would make a solid addition to AJ Lee's posse of women's wrestlers opposed to the Total Divas cast. Or she could slot in as the 'outsider,' of sorts, someone who sees the majority of the Divas roster as inferior and weaker somehow.
For Sasha's part, she plays the arrogant lady very well, swaggering about as if she's the owner of all she sees, and she has some ferocity to her offense, best shown when she fought off Paige's attack at the start of the match and delivered a flurry of slaps to her chest and back. She also shows a little more tightness to her holds, making them look more effective, best exemplified in this match with the rear headlock she applied. Sasha seems to be developing a signature move out of her rope-run knuckle-lock move. She used it last week, but it was countered early by Bayley, who threw her across the ring from it. She tried it this week, and got as far as the top rope before Paige dragged her down and threw her off. I find it amusing that Sasha's developing this "always countered" spot shortly after she and Summer Rae started associating themselves with Charlotte, daughter of Ric "never hits a move off the top rope" Flair. I'm not saying it's intentional, but it's an amusing coincidence.
Paige rallied back and hit a number of short-arm clotheslines, pausing to unleash a primal scream in Sasha's face before the last one, but eventually was stopped by Summer grabbing her leg. Sasha went for a low dropkick, but Paige sidestepped and Sasha instead hit Summer. This distraction left her open for the Paige Turner, which folded her up like an accordion, and gave Paige the victory.
Byron Saxton went into heel-spin mode, claiming that the miscue between the BFFs is the reason that Paige won. Tensai tried to instead play up the numbers game, ("They had her outnumbered and she still won!") but Saxton insisted, "It wasn't a handicap match! ...All I know is, two ladies had an accident and now Paige is the winner." It's a much better method of spinning facts to support the heels than JBL's yelling and bullying.
Backstage: Enzo Amore, BIG CASS & Aiden English
We got our first look at Enzo Amore since he broke his leg at an NXT live event, and appropriately enough, his motorized wheelchair had leopard print designs on it. He was complaining to Colin Cassady about some place that wasn't handicap-accessible, mentioning he's got a "bulldog lawyer in Jersey" and threatening to sue. I was a bit distracted by the fact that Enzo and BIG CASS were wearing "SAWFT" shirts, and I want one.
Aiden English was just off-camera, doing his vocal exercises, which prompted the Realest Guys in Da Room to head over and make fun of him. ("You puttin' the wall to sleep, pal?") English sneered and said one day he'll be on the big stage on Broadway, singing to the rafter, while guys like them will be taking tickets at the door. Enzo retorted by saying, "You holdin' a microphone and belchin' into it makes you a singer about as much as standin' in a garage makes you a car! My buddy Big Cass here has pipes that blow exhauuust!"
English was aghast at the suggestion that Cass is "a better singer than moi," which led to a brief Who's on First-esque exchange between Cass and English. ("'Moi' means you?" "No, 'moi' means 'me.'" "That's what I said. 'Moi' means you.") English challenged Cass to a singing competition. BIG CASS was all for it. "I'm gonna drop you like an unnecessary theater elective." He walked off, warming up his pipes with a "Mi mi mi mi mi mi..." and Enzo followed with a "Sa sa sa sa sa SAWWWWFT!"
I love every little bit of 'Zo and Cass. I want Enzo's leg to heal up so he and BIG CASS can be on the main roster yesterday.
NXT Moment: Episode #122 - 6/20/12
This particular clip highlighted the debut of the current format of NXT, dumping the reality competition aspect (which, as mentioned above, had already been essentially ignored) and stopping its touring with the main roster, instead basing the show at Full Sail University and beginning to feature more talent as NXT effectively merged with FCW.
This meant that stars like Seth Rollins and Big E Langston could get exposed to a wider audience, and fans didn't have to go searching YouTube or Dailymotion for clips of FCW to see the up-and-coming talent. The rebranding also meant that NXT became even more of its own entity, with its storylines having no effects on the main roster.
Match #3: Open Challenge - The Ascension vs The American Pitbulls (John Cahill & Derek Billington)
The American Pitbulls are better known to indie fans as the American Wolves, Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards, who established their team together in Ring of Honor, although they did compete all over the country, and even overseas in Japan for Pro Wrestling NOAH. Edwards, nicknamed 'Die Hard,' is a legit tough guy, earning his cred after suffering a broken elbow one night, and nevertheless competing in a grueling ladder match the following night to defend the ROH Tag Team Championship. Richards, meanwhile, has a somewhat controversial reputation on the indie circuit, with a known temper and ego that has led to some burned bridges.
The Pitbulls are here on NXT because they were given a week-long tryout with the brand, as part of WWE's desire to revitalize their tag-team division. If it weren't for that, they probably wouldn't give Edwards or Richards the time of day, given their smaller size and Richards' attitude problems. That being said, NXT was very gracious to them to even put them on the show against their dominant tag champions in the Ascension, and even to give them as much offense as they did against them. Even Tensai was putting them over on commentary, stating he's seen them from his time in the Orient, "These guys can go."
The NXT Crowd certainly knew who they were, and were putting their support behind them with a "Let's Go Pitbulls" chant. Viktor and Billington (Richards) started it out, and the 'rookie' was keeping up with the veteran. Eventually Cahill (Edwards) tagged in, but Konnor was also in the ring by then and he took control. Billington made a blind tag and the Pitbulls hit a double armdrag on the big man, then dumped Viktor to the floor. Konnor roared back with his huge signature flapjack slam before tagging in his partner. At this point, we almost saw a very bad thing as Billington tried to go up and over from a back suplex, and came down virtually right on his head. It was a scary moment.
The Pitbulls mounted some more offense, with Cahill hitting a big running knee on Viktor for two, before Konnor broke it up. The Pitbulls sent the champs to the floor, then laid them out with a dual tope suicida. For a moment, it almost seemed like the Pitbulls had a chance as Billington went up top and howled to the ceiling before hitting a big diving headbutt on Viktor, but this only got a nearfall, and then the Ascension put an end to it all. Viktor caught Billington with a big running knee of his own, and after taking out Cahill, the Ascension laid Billington flat with the Fall of Man for the three count.
After the match, Hunico & Camacho came out to talk some smack, while the Ascension dared them to step in the ring. They sent the challengers a message by hitting Cahill with the H-Bomb and then the Fall of Man.
This was a solid outing for the Pitbulls, and a good way to make the Ascension look dominant, issuing an open challenge, getting a capable (if "unknown") tag team that gives them a fight, and then still easily putting them away. As Tensai put it, "Big will always beat small." It's worth noting that Davey Richards has been telling folks that he's finishing up his independent commitments, which may mean he's signed with WWE. Then again, Richards has also been training to become a firefighter, and has teased retiring before as well, so it could mean nothing.
Backstage: Kofi Kingston interview
Backstage, Kofi Kingston was giving an interview, talking up NXT's 200 episodes, but he got swiftly interrupted by Lana. She spoke Russian at him, which bewildered both Kofi and the interviewer, so he called her out on the fact that no one understands her. She explained, "Alexander Rusev wants to crush you next week in the ring. Will you accept his offer?" Kofi said it sounds more like a challenge, and accepted it.
Pleased, Lana left, and a Kofi/Rusev match seems to be setting up bigger things for the Bulgarian Brute. I don't think he's getting called up before Wrestlemania, but he could be in the next batch of call-ups.
NXT Moment: Episode #132 - 8/29/12
This NXT Moment was actually from mid-way through the main event. I've just put it here for ease of flow. The episode in question marked the one where the first NXT Champion was crowned after a multi-week tournament. In the finals, a pre-3MB Jinder Mahal faced a pre-Shield Seth Rollins for the belt. It was a very solid match, which Rollins won. Rollins' NXT Title reign had several challengers lining up to face him, but his call-up as part of the Shield marked a change in his character, and led to most of his challengers turning face by default.
Match #4: Lumberjack NXT Championship Match - Bo Dallas defends vs Adrian Neville
The lumberjacks for the match were a bunch of NXT enhancement talent, none of whom stood out except for two guys with cowboy hats... and Tyler Breeze. They were, in essence, just These Guys. (Which, if you haven't guessed by now, is how I'm typically going to refer to any scrubs that don't get intros or characterization or offense.) The fact that the only lumberjack that got any major screen time was Breeze rather telegraphed the eventual finish to the match.
More importantly than the lumberjacks, however, the ring announcing for this match was done by none other than WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel! Having the Fink do your ring announcing adds a little touch of class, and they should bring him out more often. That touch of class was helped by having Finkel do the intros once both champion and challenger were standing in the ring.
Bo Dallas is still hated by the NXT Crowd, and the lumberjacks filled the role as they're supposed to do. Instead of beating on a wrestler when he goes outside, they instead just caught him and threw him back in the ring. This became clear when Bo tried to take a powder after some early offense by Neville, only to realize the lumberjacks are there and have to stop. He tried to toss Neville over the top, but the Jumping Geordie instead did a handspring and blocked the attempt. Bo ate a dropkick and did finally roll out to the floor, only to be immediately grabbed and shoved back in the ring by the lumberjacks.
Bo finally got control and tossed Neville to the floor, where Breeze tried to throw him back in the ring. Neville blocked it, gave him a look, and smacked him across the face. Breeze spent the rest of the match laid against the barricade, holding his jaw and looking sullen. That he still got screen time in this moment further telegraphed the ending.
Commentary tried to make the case that the reason Neville was keen on getting the NXT Championship now, as opposed to when he first broke into NXT, is that he first had to get his mind right, and also that he feels there's a "code of respect" when it comes to championships, and that Bo Dallas has violated that respect. It's a good thing that should be built upon, and arguably should be encouraged on the main roster as well. It will make heels more despicable when they try to hold onto a championship by any means necessary, even if it means disrespecting that "code." We're starting to see signs of that in Randy Orton, in his desperation to retain his WWE World Heavyweight Championship and to get out of anything resembling a fair match.
Bo took control in the latter part of the match, and he played to the crowd by using only the most basic moves and keeping Neville grounded. The fans still hate him so much that they shifted away from their usual "No More Bo" and "Bo-ring" chants to a more explicit "Drop the Title" chant and even warned "We Will Riot." Neville rallied back with an enzuigiri and then a standing shooting star press for a two count, before going up top for the Red Arrow. Bo rolled to the floor, where the lumberjacks all held Bo in place for a big flipping senton from the challenger.
Neville then threw Bo in the ring and went up for the Red Arrow, but here's where the chicanery came in. One of These Guys distracted the referee, allowing Tyler Breeze to pull Bo out of position just as Neville took flight with the Red Arrow, hitting nothing but mat. Bo made the cover on a hurt Neville to retain the title. Byron Saxton was quick to shift the blame to Neville, that it's his fault he lost for messing with Tyler Breeze. Tensai and Tom Phillips pointed out that Breeze still interfered in a match when that wasn't his job.
That was the conclusion of the 200th Episode of NXT: Bo Dallas still the NXT Champion, with no signs of slowing down.
Next week: NXT Rewind. A Look Back at the Year That Was. Also: William Regal vs Antonio Cesaro.
Let me repeat: William Regal versus Antonio Cesaro!
One more time, in case it wasn't clear: WILLIAM REGAL VS ANTONIO CESARO!!
No comments:
Post a Comment