KB Reviews NXT — page 29

NXT Takeover: Brooklyn
Date: August 22, 2015
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Rich Brennan

It’s the biggest show in NXT history (so far) as NXT is on the road again. We have a double main event tonight with Finn Balor defending the NXT Title against former champion Kevin Owens in a ladder match and Bayley challenging for the Women’s Title against champion Sasha Banks. Let’s get to it.

NXT
Date: August 19, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Rich Brennan

It’s the go home show for Takeover: Brooklyn and the card is pretty much set in stone, meaning tonight is all about the final build. This Saturday is going to be the biggest show in NXT history with 13,000 fans in attendance, so hopefully this show sets the stage in a very big way. Let’s get to it.

NXT
Date: August 12, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Rich Brennan

It’s time for another show built around a #1 contenders match as Bayley is facing Becky Lynch for the right to go to Brooklyn and challenge Sasha Banks for the Women’s Title. The Takeover card is mostly set and it’s time to firm things up, which can often lead to the best shows in a cycle. Let’s get to it.

NXT
Date: August 5, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re on the road to Brooklyn and most of the card can be seen from here. With just three shows left, it’s time to add some build to a lot of the midcard matches as the main event is pretty much set. There’s a good chance we’ll be seeing more of Charlotte vs. Bayley tonight as Bayley is aiming for the Women’s Title again. Let’s get to it.

NXT
Date: July 29, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We have a clear path towards Takeover: Brooklyn now with a main event of Finn Balor defending against Kevin Owens in a rematch from their Beast in the East showdown. Other than that it seems that we’re going to get Bayley challenging for the Women’s Title, but first she wants to get through Charlotte. However, Charlotte first wants to go through Dana Brooke, who she faces tonight. Let’s get to it.

NXT
Date: July 22, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton

We’re officially on the way to the next Takeover in Brooklyn with an announced main event of new NXT Champion Finn Balor defending against former champion Kevin Owens. This makes for an interesting match as Owens has kind of outgrown NXT despite only being there about seven months so far. It should be interesting how they get to the show so let’s get to it.

NXT
Date: July 15, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton

It’s a title show as Charlotte came out last week to help Sasha Banks, in exchange for a title match tonight. These two have had some big showdowns in the past and this should be the same, especially after their debuts this past week on Raw. The other major story will be the return of Sami Zayn for an update on his injury. Let’s get to it.

NXT
Date: July 8, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Rich Brennan

We have a new NXT Champion though we’re likely only going to hear about it in voiceovers as this is a taped show from a few weeks back. Finn Balor took the NXT Title from Kevin Owens in Tokyo on 4^th of July and you know Owens is going to be gunning to get his title back. Other than that though, we have the Vaudevillains vs. Enzo/Cass for the #1 contendership. Let’s get to it.

NXT
Date: May 30, 2012
Location: Riverside Centroplex, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Commentators: Josh Matthews, William Regal

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

Back to what has officially become the most boring show this side of
Warriors of Wrestling. We’re hopefully wrapping this season up but
getting there is really dragging, as there were zero stories last week
as well as no promos at all. That’s a shame as the show was starting to
get good up until that point. Let’s get to it.

To give you an idea of how much WWE.com cares about this show, their
website says it’s up every Wednesday at 4pm EST. It’s currently 8:05pm
EST and I have to watch this on Youtube because neither today’s show,
nor last week’s show are currently on WWE.com’s NXT page.

Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks vs. Usos

It’s 8:19 and the show can now be found on WWE.com, if you look in
the What’s Hot section instead of the NXT section. If I’m a TV company,
I’d be curious as to why I should put a show on that they don’t even
bother to put up on time. Anyway Jey and Reks get us going. Not much
going on so far so Jey shouts to the crowd a little bit. Hawkins comes
in and nothing goes anywhere now either. A quick chin/headlock by Jey goes nowhere so we head to the mat.

Off to Jimmy who armdrags Hawkins down and it’s back to Jey. A
headbutt to the chest gets one and the Usos tag again. Regal explains
what cutting the ring in half means, because a term like that needs an
explanation apparently. Jey escapes a slam and hits a great superkick to
put Hawkins down. Reks pulls Curt to the floor to avoid the Superfly
Splash so the Usos dive onto both heels as we take a break.

Back with Jey holding a hammerlock on Hawkins on the mat. Jey loads
up a superkick but Hawkins drops to the floor and suckers Jey in. Blind
tag brings in Reks and the Usos lose control for the first time. Hawkins
comes in with a kick to the back and a chinlock. Back to Reks who puts
on something like a Tazmission.

Jey escapes and it’s off to Jimmy on a not very hot tag. A Bubba Bomb
puts Reks down and the Umaga hip smash gets two. Hawkins interferes,
allowing Reks to hit a Downward Spiral for two. Jey comes in with a
Samoan Drop for two. Jimmy is sent to the floor and Reks/Hawkins hit a
powerslam/neckbreaker combo to pin Jey at 10:59.

Rating: C. The match was pretty boring until the
ending where things picked up in a hurry. That being said, we’ve seen
these two teams fight more times than I can remember, which makes this a
little less interesting. Also having no story to it hurts things, but
the match was perfectly fine. More Usos please.

Tamina Snuka vs. Kaitlyn

Maxine is on commentary, which is literally the first continued story
in two weeks. She’s fought them both before and this is due to last
week’s Kaitlyn vs. Maxine match apparently. Kaitlyn takes her to the mat
and hooks a bodyscissors and a rollup for two. Tamina takes her down as
well and puts on a seated abdominal stretch. Maxine makes fun of
Kaitlyn’s hair and Tamina changes to a chinlock. The crowd is
surprisingly not completely dead here. Kaitlyn fights out and hits a bad
cross body for two. Kaitlyn trips her up as they run the ropes and
hooks a full nelson with her legs to make Tamina tap (with her foot) at
5:21.

Rating: D+. The match was pretty dull, but I’m
digging this dueling submission story they’ve got going with Maxine and
Kaitlyn. Also it’s amazing how far less unbearable the Divas are when
they get some time to work out a match instead of hitting like three
kicks, a missed charge and the finisher with a signature move thrown in.
Imagine that: wrestling makes things better.

Raw ReBound is about Big Show, which is all that Monday’s show was about anyway.

Justin Gabriel/Derrick Bateman/Percy Watson vs. Michael McGillicutty/Johnny Curtis/JTG

Hey Justin is back. JTG still has the new attire and I still don’t
want to see him ever again. Watson and JTG get us going Watson works on
the arm but JTG speeds things up a bit. That’s cool with Watson as he
runs over JTG and slams him down for two. Off to Justin who hooks an
armdrag into an armbar. JTG gets him into the corner and it’s off to
Curtis who takes over.

Gabriel channels his inner Steamboat and armdrags his way to freedom,
taking Curtis to the mat. Off to Bateman who dropkicks Johnny down for
two. He misses a charge though and McGillicutty stomps Bateman down in
the corner. Everything breaks down and the faces stand tall as we take a
break. Back with Michael putting Bateman in a chinlock and punching him
in the face a few times.

Dropkick gets two on Bateman. Back to Curtis who has #letsgetweird on
his trunks. If you really want to push Twitter that hard, you would
think they could find a better billboard than Curtis. McGillicutty and
Curtis tag two more times as I guess they won’t like JTG either. Curtis
gives up the tag and it’s off to Watson. Watson cleans house but JTG low
bridges him to send Percy crashing to the floor.

JTG pounds on Percy both in and out of the ring, getting two in the
former. Off to the chinlock again and then back to Curtis. Elbow to the
face gets two. Watson hits a belly to belly out of nowhere and makes the
tag to Justin. JTG comes in at the same time and things speed up.
Gabriel hits a blue Thunder Bomb for two and everything breaks down.
Bateman dives on McGillicutty and Curtis while Gabriel hits a jumping
tornado DDT for the pin at 12:13.

Rating: C+. This was pretty good but it came and
went. You had three good guys, you had three bad guys, you had twelve
minutes, and the good guys won. It was pretty entertaining though and
that’s really all you can ask for on NXT in this weird kind of limbo
period they’re in at the moment.

Overall Rating: C+. Like I said in the main event,
you really can’t ask for more than about 45 minutes of entertaining
matches from Superstars II anymore. Regal’s position as matchmaker is
never mentioned anymore, the attacks in the back are never mentioned
anymore, and the Hawkins/Reks being security is never mentioned anymore.
I know I’m in the small minority here, but I kind of wanted to see
where those things were going. I’ve spent a year on this already and I’d
like to see some resolution to those stories. This was entertaining at
least though.

Results
Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks b. The Usos – Powerslam/Neckbreaker combination to Jey Uso
Kaitlyn b. Tamina Snuka – Full Nelson with Legs
Justin Gabriel/Derrick Bateman/Percy Watson b. JTG/Johnny Curtis/Michael McGillicutty – Tornado DDT to JTG

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NXT
Date: May 23, 2012
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Josh Matthews, William Regal

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

OH COME ON! Apparently they’re going to wrap up this season instead
of going straight to the new stuff. I know this is going to sound crazy,
but I think I’d prefer it that way. I’ve spent over a year on this
awful show and I need to get to the end of it for my own sanity’s sake.
Hopefully they wrap it up soon though. Let’s get to it.

Jinder Mahal vs. Derrick Bateman

Feeling out process to start with Mahal shoving Bateman into the
corner. Regal talks about Mahal’s cousin who is the two year running
Indian karaoke champion. His name is Getupta Singh. Bateman comes back
with some hard chops as a USA chant comes up. Clothesline gets two for
Bateman.

Mahal comes back with his long legs and chokes away on the ropes.
Bateman fights out of a chinlock but gets caught in a cravate with knees
to the head, getting two. Bateman comes back with a chop and
clothesline followed by a running flip neckbreaker for two. Missile
dropkick gets the same. Bateman’s falling bulldog is escaped and Mahal
hits a running knee to the face. A few knees to the back set up the
camel clutch to make Bateman tap at 6:29.

Rating: D+. Nothing much here but I’m getting tired
of this “Bateman is a rookie so beating someone from the main roster is a
big deal.” Bateman has been on NXT for what, two years or so? Mahal
debuted in April of 2011. If you want to REALLY stretch it, they’re
equals at worst. Let it go already. The match was fine.

Percy Watson vs. Heath Slater

Josh FINALLY explains what the One Man Southern Rock Band means:
Slater doesn’t need backup. It took how many months to say something
that took two seconds to say? Slater quickly takes him to the mat but
Watson kicks out of it with ease. Slater goes to the apron and hits a
HARD right hand to take over. Why he had to go out there for a punch I’m
not sure but whatever.

Off to a chinlock as Regal calls Slater a terrier, as in a dog. I’m
not sure I get the connection but then again I’m not British. Slater
hits Watson in the back of the head with an elbow and a kick to the same
place gets two. Back to the chinlock for a few moments and Heath goes
up. It’s the jump into the boot spot which drives me crazy, followed by a
dropkick from Percy. Heisman gets two and avoids a clothesline to
finish with Persecution at 6:23.

Rating: C-. Again the match was fine, but Watson is
in an awkward place. He’s too good to keep facing all of the NXT guys
but he’s not good enough to go face the main guys yet. The other problem
is he’s just Percy Watson and is athletic. His matches are ok but
there’s nothing memorable about him at all. I’m not sure what to do with
him, but he really doesn’t need to change anything immediately so it’s
not a huge problem.

Alicia Fox vs. Maxine

There’s only one way to put it: that animal thing on the top of
Alicia’s head looks stupid. The announcers actually point out that
Alicia used to be Maxine’s Pro. Very slow start so let’s talk about
Josh’s love life. Maxine controls until Alicia fires off some elbows to
the face. Maxine takes her back down and hooks a chinlock. Alicia hits
some dropkicks and a northern lights suplex for two. Fox tries a rollup
but gets countered into a dragon sleeper with a body scissors for the
tap out at 6:09.

Rating: D. This was a really dull match and I can’t
believe it was over six minutes long. Fox is just worthless. She looks
stupid with that fur thing, she’s nothing special in the ring, and her
looks are just ok. Maxine is hot and has catchy theme music, but above
all else, she has a personality. It helps a lot and is a reason she’s
one of the best Divas in the company.

Raw ReBound is about Cena/Show/Ace.

Drew McIntyre/Johnny Curtis vs. Great Khali/Ezekiel Jackson

Khali and Curtis get us starting and let the chopping begin. With
Curtis looking like he’s coming to join Elizabeth, it’s off to Jackson.
Off to McIntyre who gets chopped as well. Those are some sore chests.
Drew finally gets in a shot to the knee and stomps Khali down into the
corner. Khali shrugs him off and tags in Jackson who hits his
clothesline in the corner and clears the ring.

We take a break and come back Drew “kicking” Big Zeke in the face and
tagging in Curtis who is slammed a few times. Zeks goes after McIntyre
who gets in a shot to the knee to let the heels finally take over.
Curtis works on said leg for a good while until it’s off to Drew. He
kicks at the knee but gets slammed. Tag to Khali who beats up both
opponents and the Plunge ends Curtis at 9:03.

Rating: D. This was definitely the weakest match of
the night. Why are these people teaming together? I know Khali and
Jackson teamed up last week, which to be far is about as good as you’re
going to get for a tag team these days, but what about the other guys?
It was boring and was a borderline squash by Khali/Jackson.

Overall Rating: D. Sacre bleu what a boring show.
For those of you that say there’s too much talking and backstage
segments, I give you this as an example as to why those things need to
exist. There was not a single promo, segment or anything that advanced a
story on this show. I get that it’s because they’re moving to the new
stuff soon, but if nothing else make up some short term ones. With no
reason for these people to fight other than it’s that time of the week,
there’s no reason to care about this show and it needs to wrap up soon.

Results
Jinder Mahal b. Derrick Bateman – Camel Clutch
Percy Watson b. Heath Slater – Persecution
Maxine b. Alicia Fox – Dragon Sleeper with bodyscissors
Great Khali/Ezekiel Jackson b. Drew McIntyre/Johnny Curtis – Punjabi Plunge to Curtis

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NXT
Date: May 16, 2012
Location: Giant Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Commentators: William Regal, Josh Matthews

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

This is the final regular taping for NXT as after this the show is
going to move to Florida permanently which is probably a good thing. We
can now get the FCW guys on the show and give them some time. Also we
don’t need to sit through this show on Smackdown tapings because about
80% of the fans don’t have a clue who these guys are. Let’s get to it.

Johnny Curtis vs. Percy Watson

Apparently Curtis has stolen tape (as in Scotch) tape from the
announcers at some point. As they talk about Josh’s shoes, Watson takes
over with an armbar to start. Leg lariat sends Curtis to the apron but
he guillotines Watson on the top for two. Quick chinlock goes nowhere
and Curtis chokes him a bit. This time the hold of choice is a surfboard
with a knee in the back. Watson gets out of that pretty easily and hits
a few dropkicks. Heisman gets two. Persecution is escaped and Curtis
hits a spinning Falcon’s Arrow for the pin at 4:40.

Rating: D+. This was ok enough I guess, but Curtis’
weird gimmick doesn’t do much for him. It’s good for promos but in
matches he’s just kind of standing around and looking at the fans
instead of really being strange. Watson is a guy that the fans seem to
like but there’s nothing to him as far as a personality goes. It’s the
completely opposite of how he was in Season 2.

Great Khali/Ezekiel Jackson vs. Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks

See, THIS is what NXT needs: appearances from bigger names that are
regulars on the main shows. It gives us some fresh faces but we don’t
need to spend a month to figure out who they are. Weren’t Hawkins and
Reks security guards or something recently? I vaguely remember something
about Ace rehiring them but they don’t seem to care enough to let us
know and neither do the announcers.

Khali and Hawkins start things off. The taller one chops him a lot
and tags in Jackson, who seems to scare Hawkins a lot more than Khali
did. Off to Reks who gets knocked into the corner with ease. Reks takes
him down and Hawkins adds a top rope clothesline before tagging right
back out. Jackson plays Ricky Morton, which is one of the most curious
casting choices I’ve ever seen.

Reks is the legal evil one at the moment, kicking away at Jackson
followed by a chinlock. A slam gets two. Off to Hawkins who again is
only in for a few moments. Back to Reks who has more luck, hitting a big
boot for two. Another chinlock goes on but Big Zeke comes back with a
backdrop and makes the tag to Khali. He cleans house and the Plunge ends
Reks at 6:04.

Rating: D+. Another so-so match here which was fine
for filling in a few minutes. Still though the problem here is why
Hawkins and Reks are back in the ring. I checked and last week it was
said that they were security and not wrestlers. Therefore, we should get
an explanation as to why they’re wrestling here. That’s basic
storytelling and for some reason it’s just not happening at all.

Maxine vs. Kaitlyn

This is billed as a big showdown, which would make sense if this
wasn’t what, the third time they’ve fought in a month or two? Maxine is
in more traditional attire here and it’s working for me. Kaitlyn
immediately takes her down with a rollup for two, followed by a slam for
the same. Maxine hooks her guillotine choke but Kaitlyn eventually
breaks it up by draping her over the top rope.

Maxine comes back with forearms and a chinlock. She’s very fired up
this week. There’s another chinlock with a knee in the back which is
shifted into a kind of camel clutch. Kaitlyn fights up but gets ax
handled down for two. Kaitlyn comes back with a dropkick and a bad
crossbody for two. Maxine grabs a rollup for two and hooks a Last
Chancery. That’s easily broken and Kaitlyn grabs a Bubba Bomb. She drops
onto her back and puts on a full nelson with her legs for the pin at
6:00.

Rating: C-. You know when these matches go longer
than 90 seconds they’re a lot more enjoyable. At the end of the day,
having some decent matches by girls in small outfits is something that’s
hard to mess up. Having a match get six minutes makes it more enjoyable
instead of having them go like a minute. Matches like those are
pointless whereas something like this wasn’t bad.

Raw ReBound is about Big Show getting fired.

Cena Make-A-Wish video.

Tyson Kidd vs. Michael McGillicutty vs. Derrick Bateman

They have almost fifteen minutes for this. McGillicutty lets them
fight while he chills on the floor. The good guys take turns with
armdrags until it’s a stalemate. After another stand off the pair goes
outside and chases McGillicutty back into the ring. There’s a double
hiptoss and a LONG delayed double vertical suplex to put Michael down.
Bateman has a smart idea and rolls up Kidd for two.

Bateman gets knocked to the floor but McGillicutty breaks up a
suicide dive attempt. He hammers on Kidd for awhile until Bateman
finally revives from his coma. The pair sends McGillicutty to the floor
and Bateman hits a GREAT suicide dive. He may have hurt his knee on that
though. Kidd goes up top and tries a moonsault press onto them but
mostly lands between them as we take a break. Back with Kidd stomping
down on McGillicutty in the corner.

Here’s a Sharpshooter attempt but Michael kicks him into Bateman who
is on the apron. Saito Suplex gets two for McGillicutty. McGillicutty
sends Bateman into the post as Regal talks about having a step ladder
because his real ladder left him. Everyone is back in now and Kidd kicks
out of a dropkick. McGillicutty and Kidd collide on stereo cross body
attempts.

Bateman comes up and hits a few clotheslines on Michael for two.
Tornado DDT is broken up but here’s Kidd with the kicks to Michael.
Bateman hits a flip neckbreaker to Kidd but McGillicutty hits a
backbreaker on him for two. Kidd hits a high kick to McGillicutty to
send him into a northern lights bridging suplex by Bateman. Kidd breaks
that up with a springboard elbow for two. McGillicutty breaks up a
rollup and hits a Perfecplex for two on Kidd. Bateman breaks it up and
sets for a superplex on McGillicutty but Kidd breaks it up and sends
Michael to the floor. Sharpshooter followed by the Dungeon Lock gets the
tap at 13:40.

Rating: B. Best NXT match in months, hands down.
This was really entertaining and I legitimately didn’t know who was
going to win the whole way through. Also, I LOVED the knee injury coming
back to cost Bateman the match later. That’s a great little bit of
storytelling in there and it made the match that much better. This was
Bateman’s best match ever by about a thousand miles.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty good show here with a
great main event and some other ok wrestling on here too. It does have
problems like the attacks in the back not being mentioned at all and
Reks/Hawkins all of a sudden being back as active wrestlers, but if you
throw out a nearly 15 minute main event like that every week I can more
than over look it. Good show this week and check out that triple threat.

Results
Johnny Curtis b. Percy Watson – Spinning Falcon’s Arrow
Ezekiel Jackson/Great Khali b. Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks – Punjabi Plunge to Reks
Kaitlyn b. Maxine – Leg full nelson
Tyson Kidd b. Michael McGillicutty and Derrick Bateman – Dungeon Lock to Bateman

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NXT
Date: May 2, 2012
Location: Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio
Commentators: William Regal, Josh Matthews

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

Regal is back from scouting talent so we may have some new names
popping up this week. The show has gotten better with the change in
talent recently so I have some hope for this show. Now if they can get a
singles title in here then things would almost be set. Also Josh is
back from his Brock beating so let’s get to it.

Striker are in the ring to open things up. Josh and Regal are both
welcomed back. Regal says we’ll be having some new faces in the next few
weeks. Cue Curtis who looks different along with Maxine who he’s still
handcuffed to. They yell at each other and have issues getting in the
ring. Maxine falls getting in but they get cut off by JTG. He’s been
trying to get ahold of Regal but Regal won’t respond. Regal says all
three of these people were thorns in Horny’s side last week so tonight,
Curtis and JTG will be a team.

Tyson Kidd/Alex Riley vs. JTG/Johnny Curtis

Maxine sits in on commentary for this. Kidd and Curtis start and
Tyson frustrates him on the mat. A slick armdrag puts Johnny down as
Maxine complains about being handcuffed to him. Kidd hooks an armbar and
it’s off to Riley for a big pop. JTG comes in and walks into an armdrag
for two. Spinebuster puts JTG down but Riley takes out Curtis instead
of covering.

JTG gets kicked in the face as he tries to help his partner and Riley
goes up, only for Curtis to shove him off for two. We take a break and
come back with JTG getting two on Riley after a neckbreaker. Maxine says
she might become a new Maxine and it’s chinlock time. Riley grabs a
suplex but Curtis makes a save and hooks a chinlock of his own. Maxine
keeps complaining about what Regal did and Regal replies with a great
line: “I’m a villain. Why would you expect me to be nice?”

The double teaming continues for a few minutes but Riley breaks up a
superplex. This match is getting a lot of time for an NXT match as it’s
already over ten minutes. Middle rope dropkick allows the tags to Kidd
and JTG. Kidd hits a dropkick for two and the heels go to the floor.
Riley backdrops Kidd over the top onto both of them and almost everyone
is down. Kidd throws JTG back in and the Dungeon Lock gets the tap at
12:00.

Rating: C. Pretty decent tag match and while the
time helped it, it didn’t really make it great or anything. Most of this
was JTG and Curtis working over Riley until Kidd came in to dominate.
Kidd is just so far and away better than the majority of the roster of
this show that it’s almost unfair to have him against other NXT guys.

McGillicutty makes fun of Watson in the back and Watson maintains
that he was attacked. They have a match tonight because Watson thinks
McGillicutty jumped him last week. McGillicutty says he would have
finished him off and that he’ll see Watson out there.

Raw ReBound is Lesnar injuring HHH.

Hawkins and Reks are in the front row with Regal Sucks signs. Great.
Regal goes over to them and they hold up their ticket stubs. Regal
throws them out anyway and they argue with security the whole way. This
is going to keep going isn’t it?

JTG is mad in the back when he runs into Alicia Fox. He’s mad about
losing all the time and she says look in a mirror because he looks like
he’s stuck in Brooklyn from 1998. She thinks he needs a makeover and
asks for a week to change him and make him a future champ. He says no
then comes back and says she has one week.

Bateman and Kaitlyn are fired up about Bateman’s match on Smackdown.
They find Riley with a bad knee. He says it was McGillicutty but Kaitlyn
thinks it wasn’t. They carry him off to get help.

Percy Watson vs. Michael McGillicutty

We have almost fifteen minutes for this match. Watson controls to
start and hits a butterfly suplex for two. McGillicutty comes back with
some forearms and works on the bandaged knee of Watson. Watson knocks
him away but gets caught in a dragon screw leg whip and we take a break.
Back with Michael working on the knee even more. He rams it into the
apron and puts on a Figure Four. Regal points out how it’s on the wrong
leg, making me love him even more.

Watson sends him to the floor and comes back with an elbow but he’s
only got one good leg to work on. Elbow takes McGillicutty down and a
facebuster into a neckbreaker gets two. Watson can’t follow up quickly
because of the knee. He loads up Persecution but McGillicutty slips down
the back and hits a chopblock. McGillicutter gets the pin at 11:32.

Rating: C+. This was kind of a singles version of
the previous match. It’s not bad and the leg work played into the ending
which is all you can ask for. I like that they’re giving McGillicutty
time out there but please, let him be called Joe Hennig. Are you that
worried about him going somewhere else and becoming a huge star? Really?
Good match here though.

Post match Striker comes out with what looks like a piece of paper
that has gone through a shredder. He hands it to Regal who is mad. Oh
it’s a tassel off Percy’s boot. McGillicutty had been making fun of them
earlier in the back. Security wants to talk to Watson in the back.
Striker escorts him out as we go off the air.

Overall Rating: C+. This show continues to work well
with really basic stories. They’re mixing things up and the attacker in
the back is a good story as you now have two possible suspects. Adding
in a decent story with pretty good matches makes NXT a pretty solid show
lately, although less JTG would be a plus.
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NXT
Date: April 25, 2012
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Matt Striker, Hornswoggle, Johnny Curtis, Michael McGillicutty

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

We have an actual changed show this week as we’ve got a bunch of
people gone from the show after the great NXT purge last week. I’m not
sure what to expect this week but it should be interesting to see who
they bring in to replace the guys that have left. Either way it’s a good
thing to get some fresh blood in here. Let’s get to it.

Striker is in the ring and says that Josh isn’t able to do commentary
tonight because of the beating that Lesnar gave him on Monday. He
recaps the firings and hirings of Young/O’Neil, which gets limited
responses. That means there are some roster spots open and Regal is
going to bring in some new talent. He’s out looking for that talent at
the moment, so tonight Horny is the match coordinator. Oh good grief.

He says there are no more redemption points or challenges (duh) and
brags about how he can talk. Hasn’t he been able to do that for the last
six months or so? Tonight it’s Watson/Kidd vs. Curtis/McGillicutty.
First of all though, he calls out Derrick Bateman. Wasn’t that his
rookie like 6 months ago? Bateman says something to Horny from the aisle
but JTG jumps him. Oh great he’s back. He complains about being off the
show and that he has to beg Horny for a match. Bateman jumps him so
here we go.

JTG vs. Derrick Bateman

Bateman immediately dropkicks him down and takes over. Clothesline
takes JTG down as Horny says Bateman will be on Raw or Smackdown very
soon. Out to the floor but Bateman misses a missile dropkick from the
apron. JTG takes over back in the ring and hooks a chinlock. The video
messes up now but the audio is still good.

JTG gets two off something as Horny is talking about Brodus while
Striker corrects his English. The video is back now as Bateman rams JTG
into the corner and starts his comeback. JTG speeds around behind him
though and hits Jay Lethal’s belly to back suplex into a neckbreaker
which is awesome. It only gets two and Bateman hits his falling bulldog
for the quick pin at 4:42.

Rating: D+. I’m not wild on either of these guys but
JTG getting his head smacked against a mat is always a good thing. I
really hope he’s not going to be one of the main heels on this show now
but for a one off appearance he’s a breath of bad air after the weeks of
Young boring me to death.

Horny leaves commentary. I think there’s going to be someone different with Striker every match.

Maxine and Bateman arrive and a referee handcuffs them together as
per Regal’s orders. Maxine tries to flirt her way out of it but it
doesn’t work. Horny comes up and laughs at them. There’s a Divas tag
later.

A shortened version of Brock/Ace/Cena from Monday is shown.

Watson comes up to Kidd to talk about their match later and Kidd says
he hopes Watson isn’t another victim of Kidd’s bad luch with tag teams.
Kaitlyn comes up and asks for the name of the new submission hold he
used on McGillicutty. He says he’s going to let the fans pick when
Natalya comes up and gets in her face about flirting with Tyson. The
girls leave and the guys make fun of them but it’s nothing harsh.

Maxine has managed to change her clothes while being handcuffed.
Natalya comes up and asks about the tag match which they agree to work
together for. Curtis has to go with them.

Natalya/Maxine vs. Tamina Snuka/Kaitlyn

We get a video comparing Tamina to her dad. This is an insult to
Jimmy. Kaitlyn and Tamina hit dropkicks at the same time to start the
match. We have Natalya vs. Kaitlyn to officially get things going.
Natalya throws her around to start and hooks a quick stretch which
Curtis can’t explain the pain behind. Kaitlyn comes back with a bad
looking cross body which gets two.

Off to maxine who hooks a front chancery with a body scissors.
Striker gives a quick explanation of how the move works which Curtis
can’t do or doesn’t know. Natalya comes in to break up a tag and hooks a
leg lock. Kaitlyn knocks her off and it’s a double tag to Tamina and
Maxine. The Samoan destroys her and the Superfly gets the splash at
4:40.

Rating: D+. Another dull match here and that splash
really isn’t anything special at all. It’s just a top rope splash rather
than a top rope splash that looks awesome, which is what Jimmy’s was.
Kaitlyn continues to be all looks and little skill in the ring, but that
could apply to almost all of the Divas.

Striker says Maxine has to stay here because Curtis has a match.

Kidd finds Watson in the back holding his knee. He thinks it was Michael McGillicutty.

Johnny Curtis/Michael McGillicutty vs. Tyson Kidd/???

McGillicutty is a surprise partner apparently. Ok then. I could have
sworn they announced that earlier but whatever. Horny throws out
McGillicutty so it’s a one on one match.

Tyson Kidd vs. Johnny Curtis

Maxine is at the table but doesn’t have a headset. McGillicutty hits
on her as Curtis has to keep moving to avoid the technical skill of
Kidd. He gets in a shot on Kidd’s arm to take over but Kidd speeds
things up, sending Curtis to the floor. Tyson hits a sweet rana off the
apron to send Curtis to the floor and we take a break. Back with Curtis
putting on an armbar to keep Tyson on the mat.

During the break Kidd’s springboard elbow hit Curtis’ knee to set up
the arm work. McGillicutty is quoting country songs for some reason. The
arm work continues and the announcers talk about Cena vs. Lesnar to
fill time. Kidd comes back with some kicks but goes up and is caught in a
superplex for two. Kidd goes up again and hits a Blockbuster for two.
I’ve always been a fan of that move. Sharpshooter is countered into a
wheelbarrow suplex by Curtis for two. Guillotine legdrop misses and the
Hart Lock (which is the name from FCW from what I can tell) gets the
submission at 10:23.

Rating: B-. Good match but not a great one. Kidd is
one of those guys that can go out there and have a good match with
anyone it seems, even someone like Johnny Curtis who is hardly the most
interesting person in the world. I’m hoping one of these changes that’s
coming in NXT is a singles title for him to compete for.

Overall Rating: C. This show is kind of a
placeholder until Regal can come back and bring in some new talent with
him. That’s fine as the show wasn’t horrible or anything, but the
wrestling wasn’t much to see. Still though, it’s so nice to have some
fresh blood coming soon on this show and that’s a rare thing on
Wednesdays.

Results
Derrick Bateman b. JTG – Falling Bulldog
Tamina Snuka/Kaitlyn b. Maxine/Natalya – Superfly Splash to Maxine
Tyson Kidd b. Johnny Curtis – Hart Lock

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NXT
Date: April 18, 2012
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Commentators: William Regal, Josh Matthews

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

We’re in Regal country tonight and after a good show last week, hopefully this time things pick up even more. We’ve had some stories on the show lately and they’ve been done well with the long backstage segments. For the first time in a long time I’m actually looking forward to this show. Let’s get to it.

The opening video now has a recap which is the exact same format of Glee. I think that’s Bateman narrating. It covers the whole Stolen Striker story. This even has the bell and the title in lower case letters.

Percy Watson vs. Johnny Curtis

Regal gives us a quick story about hang gliding naked and being in jail for two days, getting here just in time. The announcers are talking about Glee now as Maxine sits in on commentary. Watson hits a leg lariat for a quick two. Maxine blames Curtis for being the mastermind for the whole Striker caper. There’s no relationship between Curtis and Maxine. Curtis makes his comeback but walks into an armdrag.

That gets Watson nowhere so it’s right back to Curtis choking away. The majority of this match is about Maxine and the plot which she denies connection to, meaning the camera is on her for most of the time as well. Regal talks about going to the Himalayas and how they can pick up a mountain gazelle for its hair and how it was made into something he’s wearing today. That’s a bigger lie than anything Maxine has said today.

Curtis hooks a chinlock as this is getting more time than it probably should given the guys that are in there. A jawbreaker gets Watson out of the hold and he speeds things up. A dropkick puts Curtis down as does the jumping clothesline. Heisman gets two and the Persecution gets the pin at 8:19.

Rating: C-. I’m really hoping this commentary with Maxine/Regal is leading to SOMETHING with Watson as he’s having the same match every week and there’s nothing coming out of it that I can see. Watson is athletic but he needs some reason for us to care about him which he doesn’t have at all right now.

Post match Regal calls Curtis to the back. Curtis has to sit in on commentary with Regal during Maxine’s match, which is next.

Maxine vs. Kaitlyn

Kaitlyn has new music. She grabs two quick rollups for two and a backbreaker for the same. Maxine comes back with a neck crank and some chest slaps. Curtis talks about playing as Regal in WCW/NWO Revenge which is a cool thing to hear. Kaitlyn breaks out of it and hits a cross body for two. Maxine sends her into the buckle and a dragon sleeper with a body scissors gets the submission at 3:33.

Rating: D+. They look good and that’s about it. Maxine is one of the few Divas with an actual personality and it helps her a lot. That and she’s not just another blonde. The match was nothing that good but it was better than most of the 40 second matches that I’ve gotten used to lately from the girls.

Post match Regal says he doesn’t believe either of them about Striker, so Maxine is required to be his manager or they’re fired. He has a contract to make it official. They go to sign it and Regal handcuffs them together. That’s from the arrest story he told to start the show.

Titus and Young are in the back and…..THEY’RE GOING TO SMACKDOWN???? AS IN PEOPLE ARE LEAVING THE SHOW???? SOMETHING IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING ON THIS SHOW??? They do a stupid dance.

Striker is looking in a mirror and has Hawkins’ cane. There’s a showdown tonight.

Raw ReBound is about Punk vs. Jericho.

Reks and Hawkins are yelling at each other in the back and say they’re done. Maxine and Curtis come in and yell at each other as well because they’re stuck together. Watson comes up and laughs at them. Bateman comes up and finds it hilarious. Kaitlyn thinks Maxine should be used to handcuffs. Comedy ensues.

Here are Hawkins and Reks who say that Regal doctored the footage which said it was them that kidnapped Striker. Striker pops up and says that he’s not 6’3 and 300lbs but he’s been accepted. He calls the two guys chavs which will make sense if you’re from England but the name fits. Striker talks about being chloroformed and beaten. The people don’t believe the lies and everyone knows it was them. Hawkins says so what so Striker swings the cane at both of them. Regal stops them and says right now it’s Reks vs. Hawkins, loser gets fired.

Curt Hawkins vs. Tyler Reks

Oh and Striker is guest referee. He just happened to be wearing a referee shirt under his jacket. Reks says they’re friends but in the middle of it Hawkins decks him. We take a break with Hawkins on the floor. The bell rings when we come back and Hawkins is sent to the floor again. Reks pounds on him as Regal talks about throwing a ferret in a bucket with a rat. Reks misses a top rope shoulder and Hawkins takes control.

Off to a chinlock as the fans make Reks the face by default. A kind of suplex gets two and Hawkins guillotines him on the top rope. He spends too much time yelling at the people though and Reks hits a pescado to take him out. Downward Spiral gets two in the ring for Tyler. Hawkins tries what looked to be a suplex of some sort but Reks gets behind him and a rollup pins Hawkins at 5:30.

Rating: D+. I’m glad one of them is gone as this isn’t an interesting pairing at all. The heel team of them didn’t work either and I don’t know of a single instance where I cared about these two at all. Not a good match either although Hawkins isn’t terrible I guess. At least the match was short though. Striker didn’t mean anything at all in this match.

Striker punches Hawkins post match.

Regal fires Reks post match as well because he wants to.

Overall Rating: C. Hokey smoke FOUR PEOPLE left the show tonight. Considering there hasn’t been anyone gone in months, this is catching up for lost time to say the least. I’m very glad that they’re actually changing some things for once as now the only rookie left is Bateman, assuming Titus and Young don’t stick around anyway. I can’t imagine them hanging out on Smackdown that much, but at least we might get some fresh blood here. That’s a huge step in the right direction for this show and that’s a good thing.

Results
Percy Watson b. Johnny Curtis – Persecution
Maxine b. Kaitlyn – Dragon Sleeper
Tyler Reks b. Curt Hawkins – Rollup

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Results
Percy Watson b. Johnny Curtis – Persecution
Maxine b. Kaitlyn – Dragon Sleeper
Tyler Reks b. Curt Hawkins – Rollup

NXT
Date: April 11, 2012
Location: Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia
Commentators: William Regal, Josh Matthews

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

It’s that time of the week again. After last week’s disappointing ending to the Who Stole Striker story, it’s time for more Regal vs. Hawkins/Reks, because that hasn’t been done to death yet around here. We’ll also see Maxine trying to get her hooks into Regal, which is probably an idea they came up with in FCW and are using here. Let’s get to it.

Percy Watson vs. Johnny Curtis

Maxine comes out with Curtis and Watson isn’t pleased. He thought they weren’t together anymore but Regal cuts off his complaints and tells Maxine to stay away from the ring. Maxine sits next to Regal and he can’t speak as well all of a sudden. Watson speeds things up after a slow start with a one footed dropkick where he lands on his feet. That was pretty cool. They fight over a top wristlock and Watson takes over with an atomic drop and a legdrop for two.

Maxine is whispering into Regal’s ear as Curtis takes over with right hands. He sends Percy’s shoulder into the corner and out to the floor as we take a break. Regal is now off commentary and talking to Maxine. Curtis controls with a wristlock but Watson comes back and rams some shoulders into Curtis’ ribs. Regal is frustrated that he isn’t focused on his job as Curtis hits a cool move by dropping a leg on the arm of a standing Watson for two.

Back to the arm hold and Watson can’t break out of it. Elbow to the arm gets two. Josh doesn’t seem to get what’s wrong with Regal. Regal tries to focus and talks about Curtis a bit but still isn’t all there. I’d assume this is connected to whatever the list of stuff Regal is into that Maxine and Curtis were supposed to get their hands on last week or the week before. Watson starts his comeback with his usual strikes and the dropkicks as Regal leaves with Maxine. Belly to belly puts Curtis down and Watson is distracted by Regal leaving, allowing Curtis to roll him up for the pin at 8:13.

Rating: C-. This was ok but Curtis is just such an uninteresting character, as is Watson. Watson’s character basically is that he’s an athlete while Curtis is weird. The weird part is fine when he’s talking, but in the ring it doesn’t really do anything at all. The match was more about Regal and Maxine, which is ok because it gives us some intrigue. He looked distracted when they left so something is up.

Hawkins and Reks talk to Maxine in the back who is minus Regal now. She talks to them and asks if they did that thing. Reks isn’t sure what they she means but apparently Regal is going to be talking to them soon. She doesn’t get Striker back until they know she didn’t screw them over. Why does she want Striker back? They leave and Maxine pretends to cry when Bateman and Kaitlyn pop up. Maxine cries on Bateman’s shoulder and asks for help with Reks/Hawkins. He says he’ll do it because she’s the worst thing that ever happened to him. He and Kaitlyn leave and Maxine smiles. This is a confusing story.

Tamina comes out of a dressing room and runs into Titus. She yells at him for leaving Young last week but Titus has a peace offering: a coconut tree. She seems legitimately pleased and kisses him on the cheek. Tamina walks off and runs into Young who doesn’t seem happy with Titus giving her a gift. Young walks up to Titus and Titus says he was just proving he was better than Young again. Titus leaves and Young is mad.

Back to Kaitlyn and Bateman with the one with better legs saying that she misses the old days of NXT. Bateman disagrees but they hear screams from a closet. They open it up to find Striker bound and gagged holding Hawkins’ cane. Bateman wants to get him to the doctor but Striker says he’ll handle this. He leaves while Bateman and Kaitlyn shrug.

Raw ReBound is about Cena and Lesnar.

Regal comes up to Reks and Hawkins, saying he’s underestimated them. He squeezes their necks and wants to know where Striker is. They don’t know and Regal says if anything is wrong with Striker, there will be serious consequences. Regal leaves and they go to find Striker. They open the closet and find that he’s gone. Are we supposed to believe that a guy that was kidnapped in whatever city has been in the same closet for a month now? Anyway Maxine comes with Curtis to laugh at them.

Michael McGillicutty vs. Tyson Kidd

Regal is back on commentary and is all messed up still. We get a quick recap which is based around Kidd not being a Hart and this is the rubber match in the feud. Regal seems back into it once the bell rings. Kidd works on the arm to start and arm drags him to a stalemate. He keeps making McGillicutty miss by using his speed, including sliding between his legs to clothesline him to the floor. Kidd dives over the top but crotches himself on the ring skirt. McGillicutty sends him onto the announce table as we take a break.

Back with McGillicutty holding a chinlock as Regal talks about leopards. Kidd gets up quickly but a shot to the back of the head puts him right back down. As he did earlier, Kidd speeds things up and has better success. An armdrag puts McGillicutty down and then fires off the strikes. A dropkick to the side of the head gets two. A Sharpshooter is countered but Kidd comes back with a Blockbuster for two. I could go for seeing that move becoming someone’s finisher again. Kidd kicks him in the head and tries his springboard cross body but Michael dropkicks him out of the air for two.

McGillicutter is countered into a backslide for two. Saito Suplex puts Kidd down and McGillicutty hooks a Sharpshooter on Kidd. Tyson makes the rope so McGillicutty tries the PerfectPlex, which should have been his finisher since the day he debuted. Kidd reverses it though and sets for the Sharpshooter. Instead of that though, he puts his foot above McGillicutty’s shoulder and leans forward, wrapping his feet around Michael’s head and pulling back on his arm as he leans back. It’s like a triangle choke but with their legs intertwined and it gets the tap out at 9:24.

Rating: B. This was an entertaining match with a cool finish as Kidd goes up a level to beat McGillicutty. Regal talks about Kidd doing submission training with Bret every day off he has which plays into this as well. This was a very solid ending to this feud and hopefully Kidd can get actual TV time soon instead of being the best wrestler on NXT.

Overall Rating: C+. I certainly got my wish about this show: Tonight’s episode was certainly not boring. I’m not completely sure it made sense, but it definitely was not boring. However, we got a very good main event (by NXT standards) and some plot twists that have me wondering what’s coming next. That alone is good enough to make this a good show and I’m curious as to where this is going.

Results
Johnny Curtis b. Percy Watson – Rollup
Tyson Kidd b. Michael McGillicutty – Leg Trap Triangle Choke

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NXT
Date: April 4, 2012
Location: Orlando Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, William Regal

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

We’re done with Wrestlemania now and NXT is still going. Tonight we’re supposed to find out what happened to Striker as I think we’ll get the list of demands from the kidnapper. I would complain about Striker being on the Wrestlemania pre-show doing commentary, but I don’t think enough people know about the angle going on here anyway. Let’s get to it.

Tyler Reks vs. Percy Watson

Reks and Regal have been having a Twitter war and Regal apologizes because it’s been bullying on his part for how dominant he’s been in it. Reks takes him to the mat but Watson wrestles out of it. A one footed dropkick sets up an armdrag to send Reks to the outside. We actually get a Percy Watson chant. Back inside Tyler pounds him down and stomps Watson in the corner.

Reks keeps him down with knees and chinlocks. This match is going by quickly but I can barely remember anything about it. I don’t know what it is about Reks but he’s very forgettable. Watson gets his feet up in the corner to stop Tyler’s offense, allowing Josh to say that Percy is building momentum. Watson uses those good jumping abilities for some clotheslines but won’t cover. It doesn’t really matter though as he rolls up Reks out of a backdrop for the pin at 6:09.

Rating: D+. I have no idea what they’re going for with Watson as he’s been having the same match for months now. I think they’re trying to push him as a Shelton Benjamin type incredible athlete but it’s only kind of working. Watson needs a story to keep people interested in him, and that’s not going to happen here because his name isn’t Derrick Bateman.

Reks and Hawkins get ready to beat up Watson but Regal says cool it. If they attack Percy, they’ll be suspended for six weeks.

McGillicutty comes up to Natalya in the back and says if he beats Bateman tonight, he gets a rematch with Kidd. He hits on her and Natalya cuts him off. This goes nowhere but at least there’s no Natalya “comedy”.

Natalya vs. Kaitlyn

New music for Kaitlyn and Kidd is on commentary. Nattie takes her down and Kidd says there’s nothing going on with them. Bridging rollup gets two for Natalya. I think Natalya is a face here but I really have no idea. Kidd admits that he isn’t a Hart, which ticked him off when McGillicutty rubbed it in his face weeks ago. Natalya works on the arm and uses more holds on whatever part of the body she picks. Kaitlyn’s first offense is a cross body but Natalya laughs it off and the Sharpshooter gets the submission at 3:30.

Rating: C-. This was a squash for Natalya as she picked apart Kaitlyn with ease. I’m so glad they’ve dropped that idiotic gimmick she’s been using for the last few months as she’s very talented and can make even someone like Kaitlyn look good. I’m still not sure if she’s a face or a heel though, but I doubt WWE has put any thought into it either.

Young says he doesn’t need Titus’ help with Tamina. He’s gotten her a coconut tree. Tamina and Alicia come up and Young hits on her with some really corny lines and she walks off. Young: “Tamina where you going? I’ve got reservations at McDonalds!” That’s the first funny thing Young has said in almost three years.

Titus O’Neil/Darren Young vs. Usos

Young and Jimmy start things off with Young grabbing a headlock. Jimmy speeds things up and Young tags out. Titus kicks Jimmy’s head off in a great looking shot. Back to Young for about two seconds before O’Neil comes back. They tag again and then a fourth time in the span of about fifteen seconds.

A fifth tag results in a belly to back suplex by Young for two, followed by a chinlock. Jimmy gets up and comes back with a powerslam and there’s the tag to jey. Titus comes in as well and everything breaks down. O’Neil yells at Young and walks into the Samoan Drop and Jey hits the Superfly Splash (cross body according to Josh) for the pin at 4:20.

Rating: C. Pretty good fast paced match here and hopefully this wraps up the Tamina/Young story because stories like that one are so repetitive on this show that they lose any interest at all. Hopefully the Usos get another tag title match soon and maybe even get the belts as they’ve got nothing left to do here.

Raw ReBound is all about Lesnar’s return.

Bateman and Percy tell Kaitlyn they still think she’s awesome. Maxine pops up on her phone shouting about needing something. She’s eating a doughnut when Curtis comes up. Everyone else leaves and Curtis says he’s got a message from the kidnappers, saying meet us in the basement. Bateman is still there apparently and says this is getting weird. Curtis: “That’s my line.” Bateman: “That was my fiance.” Maxine and Curtis leave when Kidd comes up to talk to Bateman. He wants Bateman to be ready for his match tonight. Not much to say by Kidd but I’m liking these rapid fire backstage scenes.

Curtis and Maxine are in the basement/boiler room when Reks and Hawkins pop up and Reks chokes out Curtis. Hawkins: “Reks and I are the kidnappers.” They did this to get Regal off their backs and they’ll frame Maxine/Curtis if they don’t get Regal off Hawkins/Reks’ backs. They leave and Curtis says it gets real weird next week. Dang it they had a good story going and they use it on the same people AGAIN.

Derrick Bateman vs. Michael McGillicutty

They exchange chops to start and then they exchange harder chops. Regal talks about Maxine’s mother coming up to accuse him of having an affair with Maxine at Wrestlemania. There’s no followup there. It just happened apparently. Bateman sends him to the floor and hits a flip dive from the apron to the floor as we take a break. Back with Bateman still in control.

McGillicutty gets in a knee to the ribs and takes over. Off to a chinlock which Derrick breaks, only to be sent into the ropes again. Dropkick gets two. We get the sequel to the chinlock but Bateman breaks it up again. A Russian legsweep sends the back of Michael’s head into the middle buckle and both guys are dazed. Now Bateman goes after the knee and hits a move that I don’t think would really hurt.

He gets McGillicutty in a DDT position but shoved McGillicutty forward. I think it was supposed to slam Michael’s head into the mat but it didn’t come close. There wasn’t a cover so it doesn’t matter but it was really different. Bateman hits the flipping neckbreaker that Morrison used to use for two. He really likes those falling forward moves. Derrick goes up but misses a top rope crossbody. McGillicutty tries a Sharpshooter but Bateman breaks it up. It doesn’t really matte though as the McGillicutter gets the pin at 8:30, earning McGillicutty a rematch with Kidd.

Rating: C. This was ok but I think it was more lengthy than good. I really don’t like Bateman’s in ring style as he uses some very weak looking moves such as the falling bulldog and that ridiculous looking reverse DDT. The match was ok and it sets up another step in the McGillicutty vs. Kidd feud which is good, but at the end of the day it’s another respect feud.

Overall Rating: C. This show had some ok stuff on it as far as the in ring parts, but I’m really disappointed in the culmination of the Striker kidnapping thing. Hawkins and Reks are so uninteresting as heels because their story has basically been this: they whine, Regal does something, they whine some more, Regal does something else. Nothing ever changes from that and it gets really boring really fast. And that’s what we get after a few promising weeks. I can’t say I’m surprised though, because this is the land of broken hopes.

Results
Percy Watson b. Tyler Reks – Rollup
Natalya b. Kaitlyn – Sharpshooter
Usos b. Darren Young/Titus O’Neil – Superfly Splash to O’Neil
Michael McGillicutty b. Derrick Bateman – McGillicutter

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NXT
Date: March 21, 2012
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: William Regal, Josh Matthews

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

Back to NXT Land with another episode. I barely remember anything about last week’s show and that can’t be a good sign. I believe Kaitlyn and Bateman finally hooked up, much to Maxine’s dismay. I’ve basically given up on the idea of Regal doing anything to change the show around, putting the GM change into the column that most of this show would fall under: totally pointless. Let’s get to it.

The opening video that they’ve added the last few weeks is actually pretty good.

Striker is in the ring to open the show and talks about how Regal has made four matches with McGillicutty vs. Kidd capping it off.

Curt Hawkins vs. Justin Gabriel

Justin chops him into the corner to start but misses what looked to be a springboard clothesline. Hawkins takes over after the crash, getting two off a slam. Off to a chinlock which implies this is going to be a very short match. Justin comes back with a jumping back kick off the middle rope, setting up a quick 450 for the pin at 2:23. Not a bad match and not quite a squash, but if Hawkins is going to be one of the top heels on this show he really needs to be fixed up a lot.

Bateman and Kaitlyn hold hands are in the back and are all happy. Tamina comes up to talk about how termites mate for life. She wants to find her termite. Bateman and Kaitlyn leave so Young and Titus come up to hit on her. They make fun of the Usos and Darren starts to ask her out. The Usos come up and Tamina isn’t happy with them I don’t think. So JTG is just gone I’m guessing? I can’t complain about that. There’s a singles match later and the Usos leave her with the two of them.

Darren Young vs. Jimmy Uso

Jey sits in on commentary. Jimmy starts off with chops in the corner and knocks Young to the floor. Back inside and they slug it out and Jimmy is sent to the floor. Jey really isn’t that great on commentary. We take a break with Jimmy on the floor and come back with Young pounding away from a mounted position. Jimmy manages to send him into the corner but he charges into two boots. Regal talks about his brother being in the biology department at Oxford University. Apparently he’s in a jar and has two heads.

Off to a chinlock by Young as the fans are behind the Usos. The fans always seem to react to them, unlike the tag champions where no one seems to care. That being said, I’d be stunned if the Usos get a title run in the next four months. Jimmy makes his comeback and takes Young down out of the corner. Jey gets off commentary to lead cheers. Jimmy comes back with a Samoan drop and some dancing, followed by the Umaga hip attack in the corner for two. He goes up but Darren gets in some forearms and rams Jimmy shoulder first into the post. The double knee gutbuster gets the pin at 6:25.

Rating: C. This was ok, but as usual the problem with Young is how boring he is. The No Days Off sounds like something a face would call himself. Wouldn’t a heel be about finding a shortcut to winning instead of working hard? Either way, nothing significant to see here other than the Usos losing again to people far less interesting than them.

Titus brags to Tamina in the back.

Josh Matthews gets a message on his phone that his car has been stolen and goes to look into it.

We cut to the back where Curtis and Maxine talk about how they faked the message in an effort to get Matthews off commentary, so that Maxine can get on commentary with Regal and talk her way off this show. Insert your THIS IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF A CAMERA line here. Curtis pulls out a chloroform soaked rag (Maxine: WHY DO YOU HAVE CHLOROFORM??? Curtis: Why don’t I have chloroform?) and knocks out…..Striker. They throw him in a crate and Maxine seems ok with it. Fox comes up after Maxine leaves and is disgusted by Curtis in a totally pointless scene.

Here’s Maxine coming out for commentary. She comes out with a box of gifts: oils and lotions etc.

Percy Watson vs. Tyler Reks

Maxine is flirting with Regal and probably will be for the rest of the show. Watson tries to get the crowd clapping and it works for about three seconds. Maxine is massaging Regal’s feet as Watson takes over and sends Reks to the floor. Reks yells at Watson as Watson dives over the top to take out Reks. We take a break to tell you to check out WWE’s new website which you have to be on if you’re watching this show in America, and come back with Reks in control.

Regal talks about I think his brother being a professional doughnut stealer. Reks works over the arm and Regal compliments Maxine on her foot massaging abilities. Watson comes back by ramming Reks into the corner. Maxine is rubbing Regal’s scalp as Watson hits a dropkick. Heisman gets two. A top rope cross body is rolled through for two for Reks. Persecution ends this at 6:24.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t into this one and again it’s the lack of any reason to care about Watson or Reks. Reks is a boring heel and Watson is a face that we have no real reason to care about. Both guys are ok in the ring but there’s nothing that makes me want to care about them. I wonder if they’re hoping that it’s just because they’re on NXT and the fans (all 15 of them) would be familiar with them and care about them. I’ve never missed an episode and it isn’t working for me.

Matthews is back on commentary.

Raw ReBound thankfully doesn’t recap the whole closing segment of Raw. I couldn’t sit through that again.

Curtis opens the crate in the back but Striker is gone. Maxine comes up and says let him out but Curtis won’t let her open it. Maxine: “You killed him didn’t you?” He opens the crate and there’s a note saying “we know what you did, we have Striker, we’ll come to you with demands.” Bateman and Kaitlyn pop up and Maxine accuses them of having something to do with it. They leave and Maxine knocks him into the crate. So we have someone using chloroform and an apparent kidnapping. Do the words CALL THE COPS mean anything around here?

We recap McGillicutty vs. Kidd which is being treated like a huge match. It wasn’t that great of a match in the first place but for NXT, this is a well built feud. McGillicutty beat him, Kidd wanted a rematch, McGillicutty said no, they yelled at each other and McGillicutty said yes.

Michael McGillicutty vs. Tyson Kidd

Kidd starts off with two dropkicks and headscissors McGillicutty to the floor. He hits a slow motion rana to send McGillicutty into the barricade and we take a break. Back in the ring with McGillicutty ducking his head so Kidd can break the momentum with a kick. Kidd misses a charge though and crashes into the ropes and out to the floor. McGillicutty rams him into the table which gets two in the ring.

Off to a chinlock as Regal says these two will be huge stars over the next twenty years. Kidd grabs a quick rollup for two but a clothesline takes him right back down. McGillicutty shouts that Kidd isn’t a Hart and it’s off to a chinlock again. Kidd comes back with some kicks and a dropkick to the side of the head for two. A dropkick to the ribs puts McGillicutty into 619 position but on the bottom rope.

Kidd hits a slingshot legdrop to the back of McGillicutty’s head for two. Michael comes back with a Saito Suplex for two and Kidd is in trouble. Kidd tries an O’Connor Roll but it gets reversed for two. McGillicutty reverses the reversal into a rollup for two. Kidd takes Snake Eyes into the corner but avoids the McGillicutter. Sharpshooter is countered as Kidd is kicked to the apron but he comes back in with a slingshot reverse victory roll (best way I can describe it) for the pin at 8:17.

Rating: B-. Good match and I get that they’re going for a big showdown here, but at the same time it wasn’t able to reach the level they were going for. A big part of that is due to McGillicutty not being all that great, and the build to the rematch being pretty rushed. Also, the first match wasn’t anything incredible so I don’t think people were really begging for a rematch.

McGillicutty says Kidd is going to regret that and he’ll go after Kidd where it hurts the most: his heart.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a more interesting show than usual and I think a lot of that is due to the focus being off Bateman. He had more or less been the star of the show for awhile and that wasn’t doing anything for anyone. An actual story with Striker being kidnapped is interesting at least, although it’ll probably wind up being disappointed. That and some pretty good matches made this a good show.

Results
Justin Gabriel b. Curt Hawkins – 450 Splash
Darren Young b. Jimmy Uso – Double Knee Gutbuster
Percy Watson b. Tyler Reks – Persecution
Tyson Kidd b. Michael McGillicutty – Slingshot Rollup

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NXT
Date: March 14, 2012
Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Josh Matthews, William Regal

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

With this show, half of NXT has been in this season. I can’t believe that. I mean, it feels like we’ve been at that point for years and years. Anyway, Regal is in his second week in power now and hopefully something changes because last week was the same thing as we’ve always had. Tonight’s big match is a mixed tag with Bateman/Kaitlyn vs. Maxine/Curtis. Let’s get to it.

Striker and Regal are in the ring to open the show. Regal is the Official Match Coordinator. Tonight is all tag matches.

Titus O’Neil/Darren Young vs. Usos

The heels make fun of the Siva Tao on their way to the ring. Titus gets beaten down in the corner almost immediately. The Usos double team and use some nice coordination for a corner splash for two on O’Neil. Darren comes in and walks into an uppercut from Jey. Young gets launched over the top in the corner and Jimmy hits a cross body off the apron. Jey takes out Titus and we’re almost in squash territory here.

We take a break and come back with Jimmy and Darren slugging it out, won by Darren. Back to Titus who rams Jimmy into the corner and it’s right back to Darren. The heels double team well enough to send Jimmy into the apron and out to the floor. The beating continues for awhile until Jimmy gets something like a superkick up in the corner to take Young down. There’s the double tag to bring in Titus and Jey. The place erupted for the tag and then just kind of stopped caring. They’ve been hot so far though. Samoan Drop takes down Titus and the Superfly Splash gets the pin at 8:05.

Rating: C. Not bad and I’m sure it won’t lead anywhere for the Usos. They’ve been dominant on this show forever but can’t get a title run because we need to see Kofi and whatever partner he has this week beat the champions but not be able to get the titles. The match was fine though.

Percy Watson and Alex Riley talk about basketball in the back. They have a tag match later tonight. Reks and Hawkins come in and Regal pops up (this was earlier in the day apparently) to make the tag match. If Reks/Hawkins lose, they’re doing Regal’s laundry.

Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks vs. Alex Riley/Percy Watson

Watson starts with Reks but gets caught in the wrong corner. The double teaming allows Reks to take over and Watson is in trouble early. A knee drop gets two. Off to Hawkins and the chinlock. This is a really dull match. Unlike the previous one which built up a hot tag, this has been Reks and Hawkins in control from the star with nothing interesting at all. Watson comes back with a belly to belly throw and there’s the tag to Riley with no pop from the crowd this time. Riley is now the Rare Breed. Oh boy. Riley takes Hawkins down but a distraction from Reks allows Hawkins to slam him off and hit a top rope elbow for the pin at 5:05.

Rating: D. Like I said during the match, this wasn’t interesting at all. Reks and Hawkins are the villains of the show I guess but they’re not doing anything interesting. Granted that’s probably because they lose half of the time and haven’t done anything but be annoying so far. Hopefully Riley and Watson don’t team together that often as they’re not that interesting.

Maxine is leaving a note for Striker when Kaitlyn runs in and rams into her. She’s playing tag with Bateman apparently. Someone canceled Kaitlyn’s flight again but Maxine says she doesn’t know anything about that. Bateman comes in as does Curtis who apparently wants a fourway. In the ring that is. Apparently there really was a game of tag going on.

Here’s Michael McGillicutty in street clothes. On the way to the ring we see a recap of his feud with Kidd. McGillicutty gets on the fans for being pathetic and demands respect. Kidd talking about hanging out with Bret Hart is lame too. No rematch either. Here’s Tyson to talk about how he’s been with the Harts since he was 16. McGillicutty says that no matter what he does, Kidd will never be a Hart. Kidd hits him with the mic and they go to the floor. Tyson tries for a Sharpshooter but Michael runs away. McGillicutty agrees to the rematch.

Raw ReBound makes sure the main event isn’t that long.

Kaitlyn/Derrick Bateman vs. Maxine/Johnny Curtis

Regal says Bateman was raised by nuns. No joke there, just a statement of fact. The girls start and Maxine gets taken down a lot. Apparently that was Regal’s office they were in rather than Striker’s. Maxine is frustrated and we take a break. Back with the guys in there and Curtis taking him to the mat by the leg. Curtis keeps looking at Kaitlyn and dancing for her which results in a Bateman rollup for two. Regal works in an Exotic Adrian Street reference for you old time fans. Kaitlyn slaps Curtis and the falling bulldog gets the pin at 3:32. Since a good bit of that was on a commercial no rating, but this was nothing.

Kaitlyn hugs Bateman’s mom as she leaves.

Bateman says that Maxine can go with whomever she wants, be it Curtis or Regal. Regal: “Wait what?” Bateman says tag, you’re it to Kaitlyn and kisses her to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. So that’s NXT for the week. It ran about 45 minutes, there were three tag matches which weren’t very good, there’s a new couple which we pretty much knew would happen and I won’t think about this show again until next week. That’s all NXT is anymore: 45 minutes of subpar wrestling that I don’t think about after I watch it. Why is this just now a revelation?

Results
Usos b. Titus O’Neil/Darren Young – Superfly Splash to O’Neil
Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks b. Alex Riley/Percy Watson – Top Rope Elbow to Watson
Derrick Bateman/Kaitlyn b. Maxine/Johnny Curtis – Sweetness to Curtis

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NXT
Date: February 29, 2012
Location: Key Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Josh Matthews, William Regal

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

It’s the one year anniversary show, despite the season not being on the air for a year yet but again, counting is probably too complicated for WWE. Striker has promised us a major announcement tonight which probably won’t wind up meaning much of anything because this is NXT, the land of crushed and broken dreams. Let’s get to it.

Alex Riley/Percy Watson vs. Darren Young/Titus O’Neil

Titus starts with Riley and the beating begins. Riley gets in a dropkick and it’s off to Young. Alex takes him down but goes up and is kicked down to give Young the advantage. Things slow down a lot with Titus taking over and saying that he has five. Riley tries to dive for a tag but Titus carries him back to the corner to bring in Young again.

Atomic drop gets two and it’s off to a chinlock with a body scissors. Riley manages to get a kick into the face of a bent over Young and tags in Watson. Watson speeds things up and hits the Heisman Splash for two. Watson goes after Titus though and walks into the double knee gutbuster from Young for the pin at 5:46.

Rating: D+. Technically this was fine but this feud has been going on forever. While they’ve done a good job of having it evolve over the months with logical step after logical step, it’s still not an interesting feud. Again, this would be so much better if they had something to fight for other than just pride.

Titus says Percy gets his rematch next week.

Back from a break and we have Alicia, Kaitlyn and Justin Gabriel in the ring in chairs. It’s supposed to be Bateman vs. Slater at this point. Apparently this is an intervention. Oh dear. They’re intervening about 5’5 of pure evil. Bateman: “You mean Trent Barretta?” They talk about how crazy Maxine is and how she beats up random rew members and makes everyone miserable. Kaitlyn set this up. This is being booed out of the building.

We get a highlight package of Maxine and Bateman’s relationship, including the whole engagement and the Johnny Curtis stuff. Bateman says she’s a lot better at home and he doesn’t want to die alone. Kaitlyn says that constantly getting slapped in the face is weird, not love. He asks Kaitlyn what love is then, so she bends him back and kisses him. Maxine runs out and gets in a fight with Kaitlyn which is quickly broken up. Maxine beats on Bateman and the girls are in the main event tonight.

Tyson and Natalya run into each other in the back. McGillicutty comes up and says something smells around here but it’s not Natalya. They’re up next.

Michael McGillicutty vs. Tyson Kidd

They go tot he mat and Michael controls with a quick headlock. Regal talks about Tiger Mask as Tyson hooks a hammerlock. Michael works on the wrist but Kidd reverses into a cradle for two. McGillicutty sends him into the corner and out to the floor for the first big advantage. Off to a chinlock with McGillicutty having a way too excited look on his face. Back up and Kidd gets up a boot in the corner and they clothesline each other.

Kidd starts firing off some hard strikes and a jumping spin kick gets two. Rolling cradle gets two. Kidd goes up but gets crotched. He knocks McGillicutty off and hits a moonsault press for two. Kidd loads up the Sharpshooter but McGillicutty kicks him away and the McGillicutter gets the pin at 6:22. McGillicutty’s face looks like it belongs in a Will Ferrell movie.

Rating: C. Why did that just happen? They’ve been pushing Kidd very strong the last few weeks and now he loses clean to Michael McGillicutty? For what? Was Kidd getting too over or something? I really don’t get this, especially after the last few weeks where they’ve had Kidd being Bret-esque with the Sharpshooter combinations. Then again it’s NXT so it’s not like anyone is paying attention.

Raw ReBound is about Rock and Cena of course.

Maxine is freaking out in the back and runs into Aksana. Maxine says everyone is plotting against her and she thinks even Aksana is in on it. Anyone that crosses Maxine will regret it.

Striker is in the ring for his major announcement, drawing a Regal chant. He talks about all the ring announcers and commentators and the thirty new superstars they’ve added. He does know that NXT has been around two years and that this season has been a year right? However there’s only been one host. He’s got this job because he loves this stuff. NXT was supposed to be about exposing the unseen because the guys in that locker room are carrying the business into the future. Yep the business is dead.

Anyway, lately NXT has been missing its point and that’s because of Striker. Tonight that changes….and here are Hawkins and Reks to interrupt. They have a surprise for Striker and they pull out chairs and drinks because they want to see this. Striker finally yells at Curt to shut up. He tells Hawkins to come try him if he wants to. Someone with veteran experience needs to take over. Someone that has worked his entire career so that Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks can be called wrestlers. Striker will still be host but the matchmaker is now Sir William Regal.

Regal gets in the ring and says that there are going to be some new people coming to NXT to face Hawkins and Reks. As for them, why are they wearing sunglasses inside? This is the beginning of the new NXT and their first surprise is next week.

Kaitlyn vs. Maxine

Bateman and Curtis are on commentary for this. Curtis rubs lotion on his chest. He says that Maxine is in his back pocket for whenever he wants to pull her out. Brawl to start and Regal says he’s very open to bribes. Kaitlyn books a body scissors for a bit but Maxine takes over with basic stuff. A running double ax gets two. Maxine beats on her a little more until Kaitlyn hits a Bubba Bomb and a rollup for the pin at 3:21.

Rating: D. As usual this was boring. These girls hate each other but always have coherent wrestling matches instead of wild brawls. That’s one of those wrestling things I’ve never quite gotten. Anyway, dull match and the ending came out of nowhere. It is nice to see something other than a mat slam of some sort for a new finisher though.

Maxine gets in Regal’s face and says she looks forward to working closely with him.

Overall Rating: C-. I wasn’t all that thrilled with this show but it wasn’t terrible. Regal taking over could be a good thing but if he just does the same things Striker did, this isn’t going anywhere. I’ve been saying it for months but this show is desperately in need of some fresh blood or at least some fresh faces. Also, end the whole Bateman/Curtis/Maxine stuff. It’s been going on for months now and it’s still going around in circles. Not a bad show tonight but this glimmer of hope needs to go somewhere.

Results
Darren Young/Titus O’Neil b. Alex Riley/Percy Watson – Double Knee Gutbuster To Watson
Michael McGillicutty b. Tyson Kidd – McGillicutter
Kaitlyn b. Maxine – Bubba Bomb

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