Oh, and we're just days away from THE ROYAL F***ING RUMBLE!!
Down in NXT Land, Adrian Neville got back on the path toward an NXT Championship shot, the BFFs continued their issue with Natalya & Bayley, Xavier Woods looked for revenge on Alexander Rusev, and Antonio Cesaro had a face-to-face with Sami Zayn.
Of course, we're starting to see some NXT call-ups. Rusev is getting some house show matches with the main roster, and of course, Emma has been spotted in the crowd, doing the Emmalution and holding up an "#EMMAtaining" sign. She's often been spotted around Fandango/Summer Rae segments, so we may see the Summer/Emma feud pick up on the main roster as well.
Opening Video Updates
Aiden English is now included in the NXT opening video. I love it when they update the intro vids to highlight rising talent, and particularly when they highlight reigning champions. You don't tend to see it as often on Raw or Smackdown, given those shows' propensity to just launch into a cold opening. I can sort of see why they cut the opening vids from Raw/Smackdown, probably going for a "let's get you right into the action!" type of approach, but cutting a minute or so from an Authority in-ring promo to show the intro vid wouldn't be a bad thing.
A Word on This Week's Commentary
They had an interesting approach to introducing the show this week. After the opening video and a quick shot of the NXT Crowd, we're thrown over to commentary, standing together with their backs to the venue at their desk. It's a good visual and gives a sort of 'Sportscenter' vibe to the show, which isn't a bad thing at all. They had the Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, & Tensai team this week.
Phillips is still Phillips, while Saxton continues his recent heel-ish trend. Tensai continues to be the face-ish veteran, and is quick to call Saxton on his bias and heel slant at many times. This is something that I really wish would happen more often on Raw or Smackdown, but the problem there is JBL and Michael Cole don't have the right kind of dynamic to pull it off. Whenever Cole tries to call JBL out on his slant, JBL acts dismissive, particularly of Cole's attempts at journalism. It hurts the commentary a great deal and I really wish they'd rein JBL in a little bit, or at least have him change up his retorts. It gets aggravating to hear JBL constantly yammering about Cole being a conspiracy theorist every time Cole tries to play up the Authority angle.
I think what makes Saxton's heel commentary better than JBL's is that Saxton is playing less of a blatant Authority shill and more of a "doubting Thomas" or devil's advocate kind of role, persisting in interjecting an opposing view, even if there's no evidence to support his claims. JBL, in contrast, is a plain and simple bully, trying to talk over everyone else and being dismissive of any criticism.
Tensai proves to have a sense of humor about himself as well. Saxton teased him about A-Train at one point, and he made a couple of cracks about his size, such as how he'll never work out with Antonio Cesaro again, and counting to 10 during a Cesaro Swing before stopping and saying, "I'm blown up, I can't continue."
Also of note, they're using a new ring announcer girl this week and made sure to highlight that she was new. Her name is Eden. She did quite well, having a more natural flow to her announcing. NXT has gone through a few different ring announcers over the months as they've been at Full Sail University. Summer Rae started as a ring announcer before transitioning to wrestling. They had Cody Rhodes' wife filling the role recently, but she had a very stilted and uncomfortable style. Saxton has done ring announcing duty a few times and functions quite well in that role.
Match #1: Adrian Neville vs Wesley Blake
We might remember Blake from the lumberjack match on NXT 200. He was one of the two jabronis on the outside with a cowboy hat on. A video recently surfaced of Blake (with fellow cowboy Cole Andrews) practicing promos at the WWE Performance Center. The basic gist was that Blake can't not say his catchphrase of "Cowboy Up!" in response to any question.
At any rate, Blake got the already-in-the-ring intro while wearing his leather vest and cowboy hat, even doing the Stan Hansen hook-em-horns salute (complete with "Hoo!") while he's at it, to remind us he's from Texas. The story in the match was agility-vs-power, as Blake had a very slight size advantage, but Neville's experience and speed let him outpace it. Commentary was talking up opportunities in this match, that Neville is looking to rack up some more wins and get back in the title hunt. Meanwhile, Blake has a chance to derail Neville's game and shoot himself up the ladder. Byron Saxton tried to insinuate that Neville has suffered in terms of confidence since NXT 200 and his failed title shot, but Tensai shot that down immediately, saying "It [confidence] oozes off this man!"
Blake got a few good shots in, but Neville took control with some slugging and kicking, and the Red Arrow followed soon after to give the "Jumping Geordie" another win. This was a basic squash to keep Neville looking strong, and to introduce another NXT jobber. Blake and Cole Andrews have a unique look/character that may receive more development once the roster opens up a little more.
Backstage: The BFFs
Devin Taylor was doing interviewer duty this week, and she interviewed all three members of the BFFs-- Summer Rae, Sasha Banks, and Charlotte. This was the first time we'd seen the daughter of Ric Flair since she betrayed Bayley, which Devin pointed out. Charlotte explained she'd been enjoying the perks of being a BFF-- limousine rides and jets, "the kinds of things you're used to in my family." She wondered why Devin had so many questions about Bayley, saying, "I mean, who really cares about the cat lady?" She mocked Bayley's hugs and headbands, "No. NXT isn't that way. Life isn't that way. Life is vicious, and it will knock you down if you let it." That's why she dropped "Miss Nobody" and joined the Somebodies. Summer Rae said 2014 is the year of the BFFs, starting tonight with her match against Natalya, "and the total destruction of a Diva... that is, if you can call her a 'Diva.'"
This segment was primarily meant to re-introduce the BFFs for anyone that didn't know who they were yet, and to cover for Charlotte's absence. Charlotte, while she might have a good grasp of the in-ring technicals, isn't very good on the microphone. She could develop more as time goes on, but she didn't do a great job here.
Match #2: Xavier Woods vs Alexander Rusev (w/ Lana)
This was a return match from two weeks ago, when Woods was punished by Corporate Kane on behalf of The Authority for starting the petition that got Big Show his job back. At the time, Rusev squashed Woods, and Woods was looking for revenge.
Woods has dropped his 90s music and adopted "Somebody Call My Momma" as his theme on NXT as well, which disappoints me. Woods' "That 90s Guy" schtick was something that made him stand out a little bit more, but I guess the WWE brass thought it wouldn't fly in front of a larger audience. Tensai was a big booster for Woods in this match, which is a nice nod to the Tensai/Brodus Clay beef.
Tensai also gave us a bit of a translation for Lana's foreign language intro, saying that the word she yells out to start her introductions means "Quiet!" in Bulgarian. Rusev has ditched the leather loincloth/diaper for plain black trunks. This is probably a good idea, since the leather loincloth look probably would have been mocked horribly on the main roster. On the other hand, however, this removes another distinctive 'look' from Rusev, who has already lost the board-breaking and the flashy manager in the last couple of months.
Woods started out using evasion and hit a few kicks, but Rusev grabbed him by the afro, bent him back, then clubbed him to the mat for some mounted punches. Rusev dominated most of the match from that point on, using a lot more strikes and some mean-looking holds, such as an armbar while standing with one foot on Woods' face. Woods rallied back with a dropkick and then a running knee to the face for a near-fall, but Rusev fired back with a leaping kick. He yelled in Bulgarian ("I'm going to finish him," Tensai translated) and then cranked on a particularly vicious-looking Accolade for a quick tap-out.
Lana called Rusev off, as she does, but then she made a signal that Rusev clapped the Accolade back on again. Sin Cara's music hit and the luchador came down to the ring, running Rusev off long enough for Woods and Sin Cara to escape. Rusev yelled at them from the ring and made signals about how 'I shall break you.'
There was a noticeable change-up in Rusev's style, looking less methodical and plodding and more agile and strike-heavy. This, coupled with his greater animation in the ring and tendency to be less silent, is a good thing. The silent brute doesn't really fit Rusev. The ferocity with which he cranked on the Accolade made it look a lot more devastating than most camel clutches.
Match #3: CJ Parker vs Antonio Cesaro
Commentary was trying to play up Parker as a face, but the fact is, he was paired off against Cesaro, whom the NXT Crowd just loves. This, by default, made Parker the face. Commentary tried to cover by acknowledging that crowd love, and tried to spin a "We The People" chant as a "William Regal" chant instead, as a call-back to the excellent technical showcase that closed out the 2013 year for NXT.
Parker, we were told, requested this match, to try to make a name for himself. He started out with some chain wrestling, succeeding in taking Cesaro down, but when he went for a cannonball senton, Cesaro got the knees up and took control in typical Cesaro fashion. Parker managed a brief rally, connecting with the "CJ Express" (for lack of a name) corner knee press, and then a high crossbody. He then did a multi-rotation airplane spin, but Parker forgot that Cesaro regularly does spins of his own and doesn't get dizzy. Sure enough, Cesaro just stood up, cranked his neck, and put him in the Cesaro Swing to show him how it's done. The Neutralizer was academic for the pinfall.
The match was just to set up what followed, as Sami Zayn came out on a crutch (explaining why he wasn't wrestling at this set of tapings). He said that his 2014 is off to a rocky start, but he's thinking about 2013, which he calls the best year of his career. He in particular brought up the Match of the Year with Cesaro, and calls it the one blemish on an otherwise great year. He asks Cesaro for a rematch. The NXT Crowd was all for it, chanting "Yes!" Cesaro seemed amused, going up to Zayn on the stage, taking the microphone from him. But then he told him, bluntly, "No," and walked off.
I am not opposed to a Cesaro/Zayn rematch. The two are very familiar with one another, dating back to their indie days as Claudio Castagnoli and El Generico, and can never put on a bad match. Having Zayn chasing Cesaro to get that rematch makes for a good story over the next month, leading into the NXT Network debut.
Backstage: The Miz
Devin Taylor was on interview duty again, this time interviewing The Miz, making his first visit to Full Sail University. He said it's "awesome," suggesting an NXT edition of MizTV, when an angry CJ Parker stormed up, complaining that the fans keep booing him, and he doesn't understand why. Miz says "I can see why." Parker demanded to know what he meant. After saying "Really?" a few times, Miz said Parker just interrupted him, running down his usual litany of accomplishments, and calls it disrespectful. Parker sneered, "You must have a ginormous carbon footprint, because you are just spewing all kinds of toxic waste, hot boy! Consider this an environment act." Parker smacked him in the face before leaving.
I'm torn on how to feel about this. Parker's character clearly isn't clicking right with the fans, who have turned him heel by default. Pairing Parker off against an ambiguously-aligned guy like Miz-- who varies between heel and face from segment to segment, depending on what the booking requires, but who radiates such profound amounts of backpfeifengesicht ("a face badly in need of a fist" in German) that he may as well be a heel-- won't resolve those problems.
Match #4: Natalya (w/ Bayley) vs Summer Rae (w/ Sasha Banks)
The eternal BFFs-vs-everybody feud continues. Natalya had some words backstage before the match (shown during her entrance) about Summer Rae, calling her "full of stories," and that she [Natalya] can see right through her. She hopes Summer has a good chiropractor for after Natalya's done tying her in knots.
Summer Rae was only accompanied by Sasha Banks, I guess because Charlotte wasn't cleared to wrestle at this set of tapings, or perhaps they're keeping Bayley and Charlotte separate for as long as possible before blowing off the feud.
Renee Young joined the commentary desk for this match, and she got pulled into the orbit of 'doubting Thomas' Byron Saxton. When Renee said that Summer was still bullying the other women int he locker room, Saxton tried to cast some doubt on it. Renee quickly cut him off, "What would you know about women bullying women?" (Tensai with a sick burn: "Byron knows all about being bullied by women.") Saxton tried to spin the BFFs as "women banding together to become successful... [and that] makes them bullies?" Renee said it absolutely does, "when they do it the way Summer does," compared to Natalya's approach at becoming successfully.
While the ladies wrestled (and Summer is doing quite well), Saxton tried to use Summer's successes-- joining the main roster as Fandango's dance partner-- as justification for her attitude, but Renee shot it down by saying that being successfully does not give her carte blanche to be a bully.
Eventually, Natalya caught one of Summer's spin-kicks, taking her down and tying her into the Sharpshooter for the tap-out, which Renee called "Good triumphing over evil."
Backstage: Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady
Devin Taylor interviewed the "realest guys in the room," with Enzo still in the leopard-print electric wheelchair. Devin asked him about his injury and how well he's recovering. Enzo said that he used to live life on the edge, and that he just decided to jump off, because the difference between him and other people is he can fly. Devin, somewhat confused, asked when we can expect him back. Enzo said, "I think I just answered your question." BIG CASS interjected, explaining that Enzo's making a full recovery and we can expect him back soon.
At this point, Aiden English interrupted, not knowing why Devin was wasting her time with these Neanderthals, then dismissed her. English pointed out he beat Cass in a match, and considers the singing contest "a draw... after you mysteriously 'tripped and fell.'" Cass pointed out that English has taken "cheap shot after cheap shot after cheap shot, and after all that, I'm surprised you don't go home with the ugly girl from the party."
English said he'd show them both how good a singer he is right now. As he started doing his vocal warm-ups, Cass walked off, and Enzo ran over English's foot with his wheelchair as he left.
Bo Dallas Banner Raising Ceremony
Much was said earlier in the show that this episode of NXT marks Bo Dallas' 224th day as NXT Champion, making him the longest-reigning NXT Champion in history. To commemorate the occasion, a "banner raising" ceremony had been scheduled for our delusional champion.
There was a great shot as Bo made his entrance. Looking across the venue to the stage, some forced perspective of the NXT-Tron screens made them line up in a way that they spelled out "Boo Bo." The fans continue their hatred of Bo, as many of them were actually shown with their backs to the ring during Bo's entrance.
Bo thanked everyone for the ovation, and said their reactions are the reason why we're here to celebrate this moment. "When you chant 'Let's Go Bo,' it gives me so much strength, and it puts me to bed at night like a warm blanket." He brings up his record-setting NXT Championship reign-- the longest reign in history-- and says he's not talking about Seth Rollins or Big E Langston, but "yours truly, Bo Dallas." "I didn't ask for this," he tells us, playing humble, "but it is a great honor, and I humbly accept." He sent out thanks to his third cousin Charles ("you're always there for me"), his sister's college roommate ("thanks for coming!") and his 4th grade history teacher, Miss Ellie ("you've taught me so much!"), and all of his Bo-lievers, dedicating the banner raising ceremony to them. An electronic banner "unfurled" in the high corner of the venue while Byron Saxton applauded enthusiastically, much to an unimpressed Tensai's consternation.
Adrian Neville came out at this point, and Bo asked if he's out to be the first to congratulate him. No, Neville assured him he isn't out to do that, but he is out there for a reason. "I'm out here on behalf of myself, and everybody here and the Full Sail students and staff, and the whole of the WWE to say 'SHUT UP!'" He's not alone on that one. The NXT Crowd clearly agreed, and started chanting "He's a wanker!"
Neville continued, saying that Bo may have earned the privilege to come out and annoy everybody, but he's here to say that he's going to take that privilege away from around Bo's waist. Bo said that Neville earned his last title shot by beating a "nobody" (so Aiden English is a nobody now?), and that it took him 4 minutes and 45 seconds to beat a nobody. "I am a champion, Neville. It wouldn't take me that long to beat you. So what you're saying isn't just ... crazy, it's absolutely, positively pointless."
WWE COO Triple H interrupted on the NXT-Tron. He said they both make good points, so he decided to settle the dispute. Since Neville's title shot (on Dec. 4th) ended inconclusively via count-out, and since Bo thinks he can beat Neville in 4:45, if Neville can last that long without Bo beating him, then Neville earns an NXT Championship rematch... on February 27, on the NXT live show on the WWE Network. And that match starts now.
Match #5: Beat the Clock Challenge - Bo Dallas vs Adrian Neville (Time to Beat: 4:45)
We returned from an ad-break with Dallas divested of his tie and shirt, and Bo tried to rush in, but Neville ducked, smacked him in the face, then backed away to the other side of the ring. This showed Neville's strategy: he didn't have to beat Bo, he just had to run out the clock, and it showed in the majority of Neville's offense during the match. As for Bo, we saw more of his "anything it takes to make it" philosophy, using any advantage he can get, such as pulling the ring apron out from under Neville to send him crashing to the floor.
Byron Saxton tried to claim that this was unfair to the champion, who wasn't dressed to compete like Neville was, but Tensai put the kibosh on Saxton's complaints. Bo had claimed he could beat Neville in less time than it took Neville to earn his title shot, "so it's put up or shut up."
After that fall from the apron, Neville was down on the outside to the count of 9 before making it back in the ring, so Bo tried to capitalize with a pin attempt. During Bo's control segment of the match, he kept looking to the clock, showing that the "beat the clock" aspect of the match was definitely worrying him, playing on his nerves. He wasted a lot of time trying to beat Neville down, which allowed the "Man That Gravity Forgot" to take control back with a flying forearm and a dropkick. He went up for the Red Arrow, but when Bo rolled to the floor, Neville just jumped down into the ring and pointed to the clock again. He dumped Bo out of the ring again, then ran and jumped out the other side, forcing Bo to waste more time to chase him, allowing Neville to run out the clock and earn another title shot.
Neville celebrated in the ring, evading a frustrated Bo Dallas when the champ tried to bum-rush him in the corner. This left Bo down in the ring, and allowed Neville to go up and hit the Red Arrow, counting the three himself to add insult to injury as he posed over Dallas while holding the NXT Championship as the show closed out.
It's clear that WWE sees big things in Neville's future. He's a high-flyer, but he has an impressive physique that most aerial experts lack in WWE. Neville's also working on making his promos better understood, though his accent is still quite pronounced. Bo Dallas still has a character that fits perfectly in NXT, and I can't see it working on the main roster unless he's given a high-profile win and championship reign to justify his character's delusions.
Things are definitely building toward the NXT live show on the WWE Network, and I'm definitely hoping that it goes off well without too many hiccups. Capping off a show with a big-time championship match, possibly even a championship win for Neville, will go a long way to make subscribers sit up and take notice of NXT.
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