NXT
Date: February 20, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, William Regal
Date: February 20, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, William Regal
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
We’re
back in Florida and we finally have some tag team champions in the form
of Neville and Grey. The main story for tonight is the title match
between Conor O’Brian and Big E. Langston which has been built up for
weeks. Also I believe we find out who Sasha Banks’ secret admirer is,
which would have been better suited for last week around Valentine’s Day
but it’s not too far off. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of the title win last week.
Opening sequence.
Yoshi Tatsu vs. Bray Wyatt
This
is a good idea as the Wyatt Family lost last week, so having Wyatt
himself get in the ring, I believe for the second time on NXT, is a way
to redeem the Family. Wyatt no sells everything and throws Tatsu down
with a wicked release Rock Bottom. A BIG running splash crushes Tatsu in
the corner and a fast spinning Downward Spiral gets the pin at 1:37.
Total squash.
Wyatt
tells his family to get in the ring. He shows them a clip of the ending
of the title match last week and blames Harper for the loss. He tells
Rowan to hit Harper for it so Rowan smacks him in the face. Wyatt tells
Harper to hit Rowan for having to carry Rowan. He says fight it out then
tells them to stop because he’s proud of them. These three are still
very creepy and it’s rather awesome.
Here’s
Sasha Banks in the back and she’s excited about meeting the admirer.
Another note is delivered and some brunette chick jumps Sasha. She (no
name given but it might be Audrey Marie) beats Sasha down and says get
out of NXT.
I’m Coming Home Wrestlemania video.
El Local vs. Xavier Woods
Local
is Ricardo Rodriguez under a mask. They’ve taken away the Angel Grove
part of Woods’ character, making him far less interesting already.
Phillips says that Woods looks like Steve Urkel if he spent five days at
the gym. Phillips wasn’t a fan of that show was he? The fans chant
Power Rangers at Woods as he hits a leg sweep for two. Local hits a kick
to the back of the head for two and stomps away in the corner.
A
running low enziguri gets two more as Phillips declares Local to be
portly. Local hooks a chinlock to no avail but he sends Woods into the
corner for two. Back to el chinlock followed by another hard kick to the
back of Woods’ head for two. There’s chinlock #3 as the fans are still
staying with Xavier. Woods fights up and hits a flying headscissors to
take over. A missile dropkick gets two so Woods takes him to the corner
and a tornado DDT gets the pin at 4:40.
Rating:
D. Remember how much fun Woods was before? Forget all that. Now he’s
just a guy with an afro that dances a lot and has nothing interesting
about him at all. The Power Rangers thing at least appealed to the nerds
in the audience and had some nostalgia for people in their mid-20s, but
this version of him is as dull as his name sounds.
The doctor says Paige’s shoulder is messed up but she’s improving.
Apparently
O’Brian vs. Langston is NOT for the title. We’ve spent this much time
hearing O’Brian talking about the title and building up the match and
it’s NOT for the belt? Why in the world not?
Audrey Marie vs. Sasha Banks
Banks
turns it into a brawl to start but Audrey pulls her by the hair to take
over. Off to a half nelson on Banks which transfers into a chinlock and
then a bow and arrow. Sasha comes back with a headscissors and a
dropkick to the……uh…….Regal: “Sternum.” Phillips: “Yeah sternum.” Marie
shrugs it off and hits a wheelbarrow facebuster (apparently called the
Photo Finish) for the pin at 2:05. Short and ok.
Summer
Rae isn’t concerned about Paige. She is however concerned with the nail
she broke during the fight. Rae declares herself the first lady of NXT.
It’s amazing how much more interesting the Divas are here when they’re
treated even somewhat seriously.
New Orleans is hosting Wrestlemania XXX. I can’t wait.
Here’s
the injured Tyson Kidd to update us on his condition. Kidd says he
doesn’t know when he’ll be back but guarantees that he will be someday.
Phillips asks Kidd about Punk calling Kidd an unappreciated workhorse.
Kidd says he’s flattered and says that being a workhorse is a way of
life, not something you learn. This brings out Leo Kruger who says Kidd
looks like a wounded animal: weak and vulnerable. Leo kicks the crutch
away but Justin Gabriel runs in for the save before anything bad can
happen.
Conor O’Brian vs. Big E. Langston
Non-title
for no apparent reason. The fans fire up Langston to start and they
lock up. That goes to a standoff so they head to opposite corners and
charge into another lockup. Langston charges into an elbow to stagger
him and Conor pounds away in the corner. Langston punches back and
clotheslines O’Brian to the floor as we take a break. Back with the
champion going shoulder first into a post and O’Brian yelling a lot.
Off
to an arm trap chinlock by O’Brian but a FIVE chant brings Langston
back to life. Conor takes him back down with a full nelson slam for two
and it’s the return of the chinlock. Langston fights up again and hits
some knee lifts to the ribs before a slugout ensues. They brawl in the
corner until the referee tries to break it up. That doesn’t work either
so he throws it out at 6:34 shown of 10:04.
Rating: C+.
The match wasn’t that exciting but it did a great job at setting up a
rematch down the line. O’Brian looked like he could easily hang with
someone like Langston which was the biggest concern about him getting
this show. This was a good old fashioned power brawl which is one of the
hard to screw up formulas. Good stuff here.
Post match Corey Graves jumps Langston from behind to end the show.
Overall Rating: C+.
As is the case week in and week out with NXT, they can bring in a
different batch of people every week and the stories stay consistently
strong. Here we had some of the same names that we saw last week but
there were also different names brought in to keep things fresh. That’s
really impressive booking and it keeps the show from getting stale.
Another good effort here as NXT stays strong.
Results
Bray Wyatt b. Yoshi Tatsu – Spinning Downward Spiral
Xavier Woods b. El Local – Tornado DDT
Audrey Marie b. Sasha Banks – Photo Finish
Big E. Langston vs. Conor O’Brian went to a double DQ when they wouldn’t stop brawling
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