Mistico apparently also left and someone else is wearing the Sin Cara mask, but no one really cares.
Down in NXT Land, Aiden English continues his magnum opus against one of These Guys, Antonio Cesaro and Leo Kruger are Up To Something, and Adrian Neville challenges Bo Dallas for the NXT Championship.
A Word on This Week's Commentary
Commentary this week was provided by Renee Young (yay!), Byron Saxton (meh), and Alex Riley, and... well, A-Ry is one of those guys that I really wanted to reach some position where he fit and worked well. Part of that is because he's a local boy, being from Northern Virginia like me. He worked well as Miz's lackey, but that tended to fall apart when he actually had to wrestle a match, which exposed his weaknesses. They backed him out of a wrestling role and consigned him to Superstars and the like, until he surfaced as a commentator.
I know that a lot of people found him unsuited for the role, but I thought A-Ry did decently enough. Not perfect or great, but with the potential to improve. This week, however, Riley showed some signs of maybe backsliding, and actually getting worse. Being a generally optimistic person, however, I'm hoping that Riley's mistakes and commentary choices this week are just down to a one-off instance.
Last week: On WWE.com Exclusive - Antonio Cesaro
These videos are a great way to follow up on angles that unfold on TV, and given that in this day and age, it's important to bring traffic to one's website, it's also a good idea to show these videos on TV. WWE's main shows have an unfortunate tendency to endlessly shill the WWE App as your one-stop place for seeing these videos. NXT doesn't do that, and given these videos are only a couple of minutes long, it fills some time as well.
This video featured the cameraman/interviewer asking Cesaro about William Regal's involvement in last week's altercation with Byron Saxton. Cesaro mocked Regal with a British accent, telling him, "Don't stick your nose into other people's business, sunshine!" At which point, Leo Kruger turned up. He thanked Cesaro for their match a couple of months before, and then thanked Cesaro for what he did to him. "You took me to a place I haven't been to for a very long time." ("It can't be a shower," Cesaro muttered.)
Then Kruger revealed he had a proposition for him. "I, too, Mr. Cesaro, could be a Real American," and brought up his own issues with Sami Zayn. Namely, that Sami had cost him his chance at the NXT Title. Cesaro had an idea, and said he'd talk to Zeb Colter about Kruger becoming a Real American, if Kruger does something for him. They turned away from the camera to talk like the villains they are, discussing their evil plan.
Match #1: NXT Women's Championship - Paige defends vs Natalya
This title defense was booked last week after Natalya confronted Paige about some unclear incident that left a bad impression about Paige. The reigning NXT Women's Champion retorted that Natalya, being one of the stars of Total Divas, had forgotten her roots. So now we have a chance to see two of the better women's wrestlers on either roster square off.
Renee Young talked about how both women come from wrestling bloodlines. Natalya is the daughter of Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, is a graduate of Stu Hart's Dungeon, and is part of the extended Hart family. Paige is the daughter of Sweet Saraya and Ricky Knight, both British wrestlers, as are her brothers. They both have the pedigree to be among the best female competitors in the business.
Paige actually had a smirk on her face in her entrance, which Renee noted is a rarity. Riley was quick to call it cocky. Although Paige has defeated main roster Divas before, there is a 'ladder' of sorts, and NXT is still seen as a 'lower tier' to the main roster. It stands to reason, therefore, that Paige's confidence going into the match would be seen as cocky. Natalya, for her part, was quick to get in Paige's face, while the champion did not back down.
There was a nice touch of class as the referee was holding up the belt at the start of the match. Both women faced the hard camera, as one might for an official photograph. This is something that one tends to see more often in some indie companies or in overseas companies, where there is still a bit of pageantry to our so-called sport. Chikara Pro had these official poses before every title defense, and it gave a little bit of extra prestige to them. Being from countries where wrestling still has some of that gravitas to them, to see Natalya and Paige do this for the NXT Women's Championship makes it mean that much more. They even offered a sportsman-like handshake, albeit an aggressive one.
While the ladies exchanged holds in the early going, commentary was putting over the origins of the match, with Paige looking down on Natalya's participation in a reality show and thus "forgetting her roots." Renee Young speculated that Paige probably wouldn't have turned down an opportunity like Total Divas either.
Natalya was in control, using her strength to her advantage, while Paige's tenacity kept her right in the thick of it. After an ad break, however, Paige was in the process of going berserk, unloading strikes like mad. During the break, we were told, Paige offered another handshake, which Natalya took advantage off, and Paige, feeling disrespected, went off. The NXT Crowd seemed more in support of Paige, but they were still cheering for Natalya at times as well.
A slight commentary flub came up when Natalya was applying an abdominal stretch and pulled back on the heel. Saxton miscalled this as Natalya "applying extra twerk," which prompted both Renee and Riley to call him out on it. ("The word is 'torque.')
Part of the match revolved around whether or not Natalya could lock in the Sharpshooter to get the victory. After recovering from a double-KO spot from a dual crossbody, she did so, hooking it in well, and dragging Paige away from the ropes at one point. However, Paige came up with a unique and strategic reversal; dragging herself close to the corner, she reversed the hold, snapping Natalya back hard into the turnbuckles for another double-KO spot. When they both made it back up to their feet, Paige delivered an absolutely brutal Paige Turner for the victory to retain the title.
After the match, when Natalya got back to her feet, Paige gave her a hug, and commentary were quick to put over the match as a sign that Paige is a wrestler to watch. I heartily agree. This was a star-making match for Paige. Call her up to the main roster now.
Backstage: Alexander Rusev & Lana & Tyler Breeze
Our Bulgarian Brute and his Russian "social ambassador" (ugh) were standing around, while she was speaking Russian to him. After a moment or two, Tyler "breezed in" (I'm sorry) to thank Rusev for the help against Kassius Ohno, whom he called a "total uggo," and cracked wise about Ohno's weight, which I thought was a bit of a low blow.
Lana interrupted, saying that Rusev appreciated his words, and dismissed him. Breeze didn't take the hint, trying to invite them to a "walk off" he's doing (whatever that is), but Lana shooed him away. Lana turned back to Rusev to resume speaking Russian to him, in which the only recognizable phrases were "Crush Ohno. Crush Ohno," with an additional phrase that suggested he's eyeballing the NXT Championship next after that.
I think that Rusev will make a solid Umaga-esque upper-card heel when he gets called up, and he'll make a good heel challenger for the NXT Championship. Given that our current champion is the obliviously heel Bo Dallas, however, I think Rusev will be the first challenger to the face that beats him.
Backstage: Mojo Rawley interview
Rawley was being interviewed by the new interview guy whose name I still don't know. He asked Rawley if he's still hyped a few months into his NXT career. Rawley's response was "I don't get hyped, I stay hyped." He's been working hard to one day become NXT Champion, and then onto Raw and Smackdown and the sky's the limit.
Sylvester LeFort and Scott Dawson interrupted at this point. LeFort said he can make Rawley's dreams come true. Rawley said he knows who he is: "You're the guy who's been stiffing Mr. Dawson every week on his paychecks," comparing LeFort to the scumbag agents he's seen from his football career. Dawson quickly defended his manager, but did admit that sometimes "the checks ain't been signed, or haven't showed up..." LeFort quickly assured him the checks are in the mail, and blamed the government shutdown. (Hooray for topical humor.) Dawson challenged "Caffeine High" to a match next week. Rawley replied, "What do I think about that? I stay hyped."
LeFort and Dawson both have a solid grasp of their characters. Dawson seems a bit like Jamie Noble 2.0, which isn't a bad thing. He can certainly take tips from Noble himself, who's now working as a producer for WWE. Dawson's "Captain Roughneck" character has a definite slot in the midcard, which again isn't a bad thing.
Mojo Rawley, meanwhile, seemed to be pretty obviously reading off cue cards. He was staring fixedly off-camera. There are times when this works, but generally when it's done, the person doing it is either staring up or down at an angle, not at eye-height. His delivery still needs a little work, and he needs to add a little more depth to his character than just ex-football player "I stay hyped" boundless energy guy. Having a clearly defined character/gimmick is fine, but there needs to be depth to it as well.
Match #2: This Guy vs Aiden English
The jobber didn't even get his intro finished before Aiden English interrupted to ask, "Spotlight, please!" English gave one of his traditional singing entrances, wearing new tights. Saxton cracked wise about how he usually doesn't like people who wear sunglasses indoors. Renee defended him, but Saxton quipped, "Come on, Renee, you like any man without a shirt on." She could only reply, "Well-- okay, yeah, that's kinda true."
The NXT Crowd picked up on the jobber's lack of intro by regaling us with "Let's Go This Guy!" chants. Commentary tried to skew English into a heel status by intimating that there were "You Can't Sing"-type chants, which is just a bald-faced lie. The NXT Crowd is small enough that you can hear most catcalls and quips from the audience. Commentary also dragged with some bad jokes about Riley not knowing what "thespian" means, or how to pronounce it.
This was pretty blatantly a squash match, which culminated with English delivering a "To Be Or Not To Be" suplex, and then the Director's Cut for the pinfall. He gave an encore performance and was thrown roses by the crowd, but things segued into the next segment as English was interrupted on the ramp by Antonio Cesaro, who told him to leave.
Ringside: Antonio Cesaro and Byron Saxton
Cesaro was getting "Push Cesaro" chants as he apologized to Saxton for last week, when he got in the announcer's face for stepping on the Gadsden Flag. He said he lost his temper, and asked Saxton to join him on the stage so he can apologize properly. A somewhat leery Saxton accepted the handshake as Cesaro apologized in five different languages (character continuity!), and then offered to let Saxton do the Real American salute with him. The announcer was reluctant, and didn't join in on the "We The People" chorus, and eventually gave a half-hearted "We the People."
Cesaro, dissatisfied with this, accused Saxton of making fun of him, then started roughing him up on the stage. Very shortly into this, Cesaro started looking toward the wings, then demanded of him, "Where's Regal?!" When Saxton said he didn't know, Cesaro smacked him to the floor before leaving. Tom Phillips replaced Saxton on commentary for the rest of the show.
Last Week: On WWE.com Exclusive - Sami Zayn
This video picked up after Sami's failure to win the #1 contender-ship to the NXT Title. He said, "The better man won," and talked about how close he's come to winning the title, and said he's coming for the title, whoever wins. Leo Kruger then attacked him out of nowhere, leaving him laying, before stating, "Tata, Sami."
The point behind this segment is to set up another interim feud for Sami and to spin out the Bo Dallas Championship Reign a little bit longer. This is a case where NXT's long-term storyline-plotting is much superior to the main roster's. On the main roster, storylines get spun out in a month or two, and then they're forgotten. Only a select few get any long-term continuity, and even that can be ignored if the Creative Team decides it's inconvenient. Sami Zayn is probably going to be the one to beat Bo Dallas at last, but they have to play out the storyline a little bit longer first.
Match #3: Tyson Kidd vs Leo Kruger
The story behind this match goes back to February. Kidd was starting to build some steam, in part thanks to an endorsement from CM Punk, who called him one of the best "workhorses" in the company. After tearing a meniscus in his knee, however, Kidd was sidelined and came to NXT to bid a temporary goodbye. Leo Kruger came out and attacked him to add injury to insult. This match is Kidd finally getting a chance to get his own back.
Alex Riley bizarrely tried to compare Kidd to Eddie Guerrero, with his longer hair and the long tights, saying that he had a similar strut to his walk. None of this is anything remotely true, and is another sign of Riley's losing a step this week. Kruger's entrance was a bit different as well, as he's slanting heelish again. As a result, he dropped the hooting from his entrance and didn't yell out "Kruuuuuger!" as he had been was angling towards a tweener position.
Kidd came out swinging, managing to knock the larger Kruger to the mat, where he used some devious strategy to pull the apron out of position. This distracted the ref, who had to put it back, and allowed Kruger to get a cheap shot in to get himself some breathing room. Kidd kept control in his corner, however, for a little while longer.
Renee Young tried to talk up Kruger's eerie nature, about how he always seems to be hunting for something. She said he walks around mumbling to himself, and mentioned his "crazy eyes." Kruger does a good job seeming a little bit "off" in his ring segments, but as always, the rule is "show, don't tell."
Kruger slowed things down to break up Kidd's momentum, and targeted the surgically-repaired knee, going technical. He even applied a Sharpshooter, and if I may say, better than most Hart-trained people have done. The finish, however, came when Sami Zayn popped up at ringside, distracting Kruger. This left him open to a reverse prawn hold from Kidd for the victory.
A-Ry was calling Sami a "sore loser" on commentary, claiming not to know why Sami was out there. This is a bad disconnect from the videos being shown on the show and the action at ringside. Fair enough, it may be that the videos we see on the show are filmed after the tapings are concluded, and thus the live commentary can't know what happened, but with several weeks between taping and air-date, it shouldn't be hard to ADR some commentary that reflects backstage segments as well as ringside segments.
On WWE.com Exclusive - Hunico & Camacho
This brief video just further sets up the eventual Ascension vs Hunico & Camacho match for the NXT Tag Team Championship. When asked about their defeat of the Ascension in non-title action, Hunico said they came from the barrios, where everything they wanted, they had to take. Camacho chimed in to add, "Todo oros, todos." (All the gold, all of it.) Hunico agreed, "Los oros es nosotros!" (The gold is ours!)
I have to wonder what will become of Hunico & Camacho if Hunico is going to be portraying Sin Cara going forward with Mistico's departure from the company this past week. Hunico isn't as much of a high-flyer as Mistico, so he may have to change up Sin Cara's style to suit his own. And if he does carry on being Sin Cara, what will happen to Camacho?
Match #4: NXT Championship - Bo Dallas defends vs Adrian Neville
Adrian Neville's music has taken a bit of a downturn. His initial entrance theme had a better hook than his current one. A-Ry was turning heelish again as he complained, "Why is he 'The Man That Gravity Forgot?' He comes back down. He's like 'The Man That Gravity Forgot For A Moment And Then Remembered Again." It was a bit pedantic and stupid and I didn't like it. Bo Dallas, meanwhile, continues to be hated by the NXT Crowd, with more and more of the front row turning its back on him every week, accompanied by loud "No More Bo" chants.
I commented during the NXT Women's Championship match that they added a little touch of class to it thanks to the two women involved having a great deal of respect for the business and showing it. NXT continued that here, as they did the super-special in-ring introductions for challenger and champion. It's a nice touch and it's something I wish they'd do more often for title matches on the main roster.
Tom Phillips helped put over not just Bo, but the man he beat to win the title with a nice trivia fact. He pointed out that the man Bo beat, Big E Langston, had been undefeated until he faced Bo Dallas. That one fact put over Big E as a big deal, and helped establish to anyone just tuning in this week that Bo is not someone to be underestimated.
Neville took control in the early going, of course, with loud "Let's Go Neville" chants, and got a chance to show off his impressive agility with a series of handsprings across the ring. He followed this up with a huge top-rope crossbody. A-Ry redeemed himself slightly by pointing out that Neville got a lot of distance on that move and still connected, saying there's only a few people in the world who could pull that off.
There was a bit of a call-back to Bo's previous defenses when he let himself get powered into the corner after grabbing a headlock. While the ref is trying to break it up, Bo managed to loosen the turnbuckle cover. He beat both Big E and Sami Zayn by ramming them into an exposed turnbuckle. This was a nice nod to those defenses. Although the referee got the cover back on, this distraction allowed Bo to sneak in a cheap shot and take control.
To his credit, Bo Dallas started showing a real aggressive streak and some pretty stiff strikes, most of them focused on the head. The NXT Crowd didn't care, showering him with "You Are Bo-Ring!" chants. He got cocky, however, as he went to the second rope, exposed his knee, and shouted out "Don't stop Bo-lieving!" before going for a knee-drop, which missed. This gave Neville something to exploit and target, sending the champion to the floor, where Neville followed with a running corkscrew moonsault over the top-rope.
Neville brought him back in and set up for the Red Arrow, but Bo slid to the outside, so Neville just hit him with another big crossbody to the floor. This left both men struggling to make it back in the ring to answer the ten-count. Neville just made it in at 9, but when he did so, Bo immediately dropped back to the floor before the 10. Neville won the match via count-out, but did not win the NXT Championship.
This is a perfect scumbag way for Bo Dallas to retain the title without making Neville look weak, or without rehashing the same method for Bo to retain as he's done so far. Neville has a good case for a rematch, giving them more time to build to Sami Zayn's eventual rise back to contender-ship.
Next week: Sami Zayn vs Leo Kruger
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