NXT
Arrival
Date:
February 27, 2014
Location:
Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators:
Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, William Regal
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
It's
the biggest night in the history of NXT as we are LIVE, I believe for
the first time in modern NXT. This is the first live wrestling
airing on the WWE Network so it should be a good test of the
technology. The main events are Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro in a rematch of
the match of the year and Bo Dallas defending his NXT Championship
against Adrian Neville in a ladder match. Also of note: this will be
partially going head to head with Impact Wrestling tonight and going
forward. Let's get to it.
HHH
opens us up to what sounds like the Natural Disasters' old music.
We
get a new intro with shots of a lot of the wrestlers, including
helpful name graphics for new fans.
Sami
Zayn vs. Cesaro
One
fall to a finish in a rematch from the NXT match of the year in 2013.
Sami has been fighting a knee injury lately. The video is holding
up perfectly well so far and they've fancied the arena up a bit for
the special show. Cesaro shoves Sami down a few times to start as
the fans aren't sure who they like better. Sami takes him down in a
front facelock but Cesaro counters his hurricanrana attempt into the
Swing, only to have Sami kick him away. Cesaro bails to the floor
and gets caught by a nice flip dive. The fans think this is awesome.
Back
in and Sami tries a high cross body but dives into a tilt-a-whirl
slam for a close two count. They head outside again with Cesaro in
full control and choking across the barricade. Cesaro takes him back
inside so he can throw Sami outside again and ram him into the
barricade. Into the ring again for a two count but Cesaro throws him
outside one more time. Cesaro goes after the leg but gets pulled
face first into the post for his troubles.
Sami
goes outside and tries to dive through the ropes around the post (as
in he starts on the floor, dives over two ropes in the corner and
lands on the floor) like he did in the first match but dives into an
uppercut instead. Now the leg is wrapped around the post and Cesaro
stomps away in the corner before cranking on the knee even more. A
knee drop to Sami's bad knee gets two and Cesaro stalks Zayn to mess
with his head.
Cesaro
takes him down with a dragon screw leg whip and it's off to another
leg lock. We get a WE THE PEOPLE from Cesaro but the fans counter
with an OLE chant. Another leg whip puts Sami down and he misses an
enziguri, setting up a half crab from Cesaro. Sami finally gets the
ropes and sends Cesaro outside, only to have his slingshot dive
caught in another tilt-a-whirl slam on the ramp. Sami BARELY beats
the count in at nine and grabs an exploder suplex to send Cesaro into
the corner.
Sami
grabs a Blue Thunder Bomb out of nowhere for two followed followed by
a Koji Clutch of all things. Cesaro powers out of it and rolls
around into an old Brock Lock (Cesaro bends the knee around his neck)
but Zayn dives for the bottom rope. The Swing is countered into a
rollup for two but Cesaro gets it on the second try. Only ten
revolutions this time though and a running uppercut gets two but Sami
reverses into a crucifix for two of his own.
A
HARD double stomp gets two on Sami but he's still able to block the
suplex from the apron. He kicks Cesaro in the head with the good leg
and sits him on the top rope, but Cesaro tries to counter the
hurricanrana into a Riccola Bomb, only to have Sami counter THAT into
the hurricanrana. The running kick in the corner gets a VERY close
two on Cesaro and both guys are spent.
It's
Cesaro up first and he drops Sami with a stiff uppercut. A second
one has Cesaro telling Sami to stay down as even Regal is calling
this uncomfortable. There's a THIRD uppercut and Sami looks dead.
Sami somehow gets up and it turns into a slugout until Zayn grabs a
suplex out of nowhere. He tries to get a running start but Cesaro
stops him with a boot to the face.
The
Neutralizer is countered into a hurricanrana for two and a sunset
bomb gets the same. Swiss Death only gets one with Sami shooting up
to scare Cesaro half to death. Cesaro goes BEAST MODE and takes
Sami's head off with a discus uppercut before a jumping Neutralizer
is good for the pin at 23:38.
Rating:
A. Good grief I'm exhausted
already. This was a heck of a wrestling match with two guys beating
the tar out of each other for the better part of half an hour.
Cesaro winning makes the most sense due to how hard he's been pushed
on WWE recently, but it's clear that Zayn is ready for the WWE.
Granted he has been for about six months now. Great match and worth
checking out if you want to see a fight that makes the people care.
Cesaro
celebrates as Zayn remembers what planet he's on. Sami looks up at
him and Cesaro pulls him up for a hug and a big cheer from the crowd.
Video
on Mojo Rawley. He doesn't get hyped. He STAYS hyped.
CJ
Parker vs. Mojo Rawley
Parker
has recently turned heel, blaming everyone for not cheering him when
he's just trying to make the world a better place to live. Parker
tries to use his speed against the much stronger Rawley but gets
caught in a big backdrop for two. Mojo gets caught with some shots
to the ribs and Parker puts on his mean face to stomp away in the
corner. It's amazing how the place just dies when Parker is out
there. Rawley shrugs off a bunch of left hands in the corner and
hits a splash, followed by a seated senton (Hyperdrive) for the pin
at 3:27.
Rating:
D+. This was a glorified squash
and they couldn't have picked a better person to take the loss. This
was treated as a huge win for Rawley who has a lot of potential bu
spends too much of his matches on defense. Parker just isn't working
but the heel turn is far beter for him. He'll be better when he gets
to cut some eco-friendly promos.
Video
on Emma, who is very bubbly.
Video
on Ascension, who have dominated the tag division for months now.
They're kind of like a goth Demolition.
NXT
Tag Titles: Ascension vs. ???
There's
an open challenge from Ascension tonight and their opponents
are.......TOO COOL??? That's a rather bizarre choice to put it
mildly. Viktor slaps Sexay down to start and doesn't approve of the
dancing. Off to Konor for a hard legdrop and even harder shoulder
blocks. Viktor slams Sexay down and puts on a chinlock before
driving in elbows. I think the fans say they want water and then
gum. Sexay finally fights up and makes the hot tag to Scotty whose
offense has very little effect. He gets the bulldog and loads up the
Worm, only to have Viktor pop up and run him over. Fall of Man ends
Scotty at 6:40.
Rating:
D. This was WAY too long and
Too Cool was the totally wrong choice for the challengers here.
They're a fun team who had a month long title reign FOURTEEN YEARS
AGO. This is the problem with nostalgia: it's fun to push every now
and then, but when it's pushed over teams that deserve the shots
more, you've got a problem.
Video
on Paige, who won the first NXT Womens Title last year but hasn't
been around in a long time. The idea is she's the anti-Diva, meaning
she dresses in black and is more about attitude than looks, even
though she's rather pretty.
Womens
Title: Emma vs. Paige
Before
the match though, here's Stephanie McMahon because what would we do
without her? The fans tell her that she's still got it but she says
she never lost it. I can't argue that actually. She says this is
the future and adds nothing at all for the most part. Emma has been
#1 contender for SIX MONTHS but is just now getting her shot. That's
even worse when you consider Paige has been champion for about seven
and a half months. Both girls are popular but they don't like each
other.
Paige
gets right in her face but Emma takes her down and its a fight early.
Emma gets kicked in the ribs but she reverses the Paige Turner into
a backslide for two. They fight over a backslide but Paige counters
a slingshot into a cradle for two. Paige slams her down and puts on
a hard chinlock. Back up
and Emma tries a rollup but gets taken into the corner for some hard
elbows to the face.
Emma
counters a kick and hooks the slingshot but Paige breaks up the Emma
Lock. Paige heads to the apron and fires off knees to the chest,
only to miss a charge in the corner. The Dilemma sets up the Emma
Sandwich (running crossbody to a seated Paige in the corner) for two.
Emma cranks on Paige's arms with her feet in the champ's back and
Paige is in big trouble. Paige gets flipped down onto her face but
avoids a charge in the corner.
Emma
sends her face first into the buckle but has to fight out of a
superplex. A sunset flip into a sitout bomb (fans: “BETTER THAN
BATISTA!”) gets two on the champion and both girls are spent. Emma
tells her to give up but gets slapped in the face, setting up the
Paige Turner for a VERY close two. Paige is stunned but puts on
something like an Edgecator (Scorpion Deathlock without stepping
over) before grabbing a double chickenwing AT THE SAME TIME and
lifting Emma up. There's no way Emma is getting out of that so she
taps at 12:55. SICK looking hold.
Rating:
B-. I can't get over that hold
at the end. I also can't get over Paige actually keeping the title
here as she's been the only champion and you would think they would
give the belt to the new sweetheart on Raw. That being said, Paige
looked AWESOME out there and will likely in WWE very soon.
They
hug it out as well, even though Emma looks mad.
Video
on Adrian Neville, talking about his love of adrenaline rushes.
Video
on NXT.
Xavier
Woods vs. Tyler Breeze
No
match as Alexander Rusev runs in to massacre both guys. The video
crashed but through refreshing I see Rusev holding Woods in the
Accolade while Lana talks trash for him.
Video
on Bo Dallas.
We
recap Neville vs. Dallas. Bo has been champion for about seven
months and only held the title from Neville through interference.
Tonight it's a ladder match for the big blowoff.
NXT
Title: Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville
Remember
it's a ladder match so here's Shawn Michaels to introduce the
festivities. The fans chant ONE MORE MATCH and he says he hears that
a lot. He's happy being fat and out of shape though so it's not
likely. The fans chant H-B-Shizzle and Shawn wants that on a shirt.
Fans: “YES! YES! YES!” Shawn says they're throwing him off
because he doesn't have to do this that often. He has insight on
ladder matches, and if you'd like to know it, you can go out and buy
his Mr. Wrestlemania DVD because he's got two kids to put through
college. He says this is about stepping into greatness and we're
ready to go.
Bo
immediately goes for the ladder but Neville makes a save and kicks
him into the corner. A quick missile dropkick looks to set up the
Red Arrow (corkscrew shooting star) but Bo rolls away before Adrian
can jump. Bo grabs the arm and the girls scream before he ties
Neville's leg into the ropes. The champion goes for a ladder but
Adrian hits a baseball slide to send the ladder into him. A nice
plancha puts Dallas down and the ladder goes into the ring.
Bo
keeps Adrian from getting inside and sends him spine first into the
steps to take over. He loads up a ladder but Adrian ducks the shot
and backdrops Dallas onto the ramp. Neville goes up the ladder but
Bo throws another ladder at him to take Adrian down. Bo sets up the
ladder over Neville but Adrian is able to push it up and kick Dallas
down in a nice power display. Now it's Bo shoving a ladder down to
send Adrian crashing and both guys are in trouble.
They
both try to pick up the same ladder but Bo drives it into Adrian's
ribs in the corner. Bo tries to catapult Neville into the ladder but
Adrian escapes and takes him down with a tornado DDT. They ram heads
and go down, but a ladder falls and hits Adrian square in the head in
a SICK looking collision. Dallas hammers away in the corner but
can't bulldog Adrian down onto a ladder.
The
champ gets sent into a ladder wedged in the corner and Neville kicks
him in the face. He goes up for the Red Arrow but Dallas pops up and
shoves Adrian down to the floor. Bo
goes for the belt but Neville springboards over him in a Shelton
Benjamin style move. The ladder goes down but they land on their
feet with Bo buckle bombing him into a ladder. Adrian kicks a ladder
back into Bo and slams him onto the same ladder, setting up the Red
Arrow to crush Bo against the steel. Dallas rolls to the floor and
Neville goes up to grab the title at 15:46.
Rating:
B. It wasn't a classic and
there have been better ladder matches but my goodness this rocked.
There was almost no doubt that the title was changing and Dallas' way
too long reign was ending at this show but it was hardly a bad way to
get there. Neville doesn't come off like a long term solution on top
but he's a good choice to win the belt on this huge show.
A
long celebration ends the show with John Cena applauding from the
crowd.
Overall
Rating: A-. This is exaclty
what this show needed to be with every big match delivering more than
well enough. Apparently there were some stream issues for the main
event but mine was working perfectly fine so maybe I was just lucky.
The opener is an instant classic and the title win made it something
historic so this worked all around. The crowd was having a blast and
it was the fun kind of show that NXT can pull off like no other.
Hopefully they don't have WWE invading it every week and we can get
back to normal. Great show either way and well worth checking out.
Results
Cesaro
b. Sami Zayn – Neutralizer
Mojo
Rawley b. CJ Parker – Hyperdrive
Ascension
b. Too Cool – Fall of Man to Hotty
Paige
b. Emma – Scorpion Cross Lock
Adrian
Neville b. Bo Dallas – Neville pulled down the title
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