411’s WWE NXT Report 12.12.12

From Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida

Commentators: Tom Phillips & William Regal

Championship’s roll call: WWE Champion: CM Punk… World Champion: Big Show… Intercontinental Champion: Kofi Kingston… United States Champion: Antonio Cesaro… Tag Team Champions: Team Hell No… NXT Champion: Seth Rollins… Diva’s Champion: Eve Torres

Paige vs. Sasha Banks:   They lock up and Banks backs Paige into the ropes; Paige comes back with a waistlock and screams. She gets a step-over head scissors takedown into a neck lock. Sasha tries to bridge free but Paige rolls her around. Banks tries to run the ropes but gets caught. Paige gets a nearfall off a spinebuster move. Sasha comes back with a stiff chop to the face and a step-op-the-ropes twirling armdrag, she gets two. Paige comes back with rage and snapmares her into the corner where she pounds her down. She lassos her up with a fisherman’s suplex, for two, so Paige applies a double armlock. Banks comes back with a Mysterio wheelbarrow cradle for two. Sasha gets a nearfall and then whiplashes her down. Paige fights back and immediately hits the Paige Turner for three. 3.5/10 Paige continues to impress and get over with the NXT crowd. Not sure who Sasha Banks is but she did not put up much of a fight.

Here is your winner… Paige @ about 5:15 via Paige Turner

Roman Reigns talks to Tony Phillips and completely dismisses him; he says everyone works on his time. His cellphone rings and he answers and walks off the interview.

We get highlights of the end of last week’s match with Tyson Kidd and Leo Kruger where he and Kassius Ohno double up on Kidd until William Regal makes the save. In the back Ohno and Kruger threaten Regal for messing with them.

Oliver Grey vs. Rowan:   Wyatt wanders out and cuts one of his usual awesome weird promos; where he discusses the true power and introduces us to “his son.” Apparently, this is yet another Wyatt disciple, who comes out; this one is a large bald man in a green jumpsuit with a huge red beard. He hits a running huge boot and tosses Grey into the corner backwards over and over. Grey tries to fight back but he gets a big head-butt. He slams Grey as Wyatt watches from his rocking chair on the stage. Grey tries to battle back but gets floored with a clothesline. The disciple tries a bearhug looking move but drops Grey. He hits a pair of corner clotheslines and finishes with a high angle sideslam. Post-match, Wyatt introduces his second son, Rowan and to follow the buzzards. 4/10 Squash match to introduce another member of the Wyatt family.

Here is your winner… Rowan @ about 1:40 via high-angle sideslam.

NXT Commissioner Dusty Rhodes heads out onto the stage. He has a State of the Union in NXT. He pimps the main event and then turns to Vickie Guerrero. She’s welcome in NXT at any time but she makes no decisions on his watch. Rhodes discusses the bounty on Big E Langston and essentially expunges it. I think he does something a little untoward because the camera cuts to the fans and they are laughing. Rhodes furthers my theory by adding “sometimes the old cowboy comes out.” He then turns back to the main event but is interrupted by Camacho. He calls him “El Jefe” and tells him to reinstate the bounty because he needs the money to get Hunico out of Mexico. At least they are acknowledging that Hunico is absent. Camacho threatens to bounty up on the Dream if he does not rescind his order. Big E comes out to protect the Hall of Famer. Rhodes books a handicap match in Camacho’s favor for next week. 4/10 That was interesting; Rhodes books the match in favor of the heel. Langston did not seem to care anyway, part of his character. I like the fact that they’ve acknowledged Hunico and turned his absence into the bounty storyline with Camacho.

Elsewhere Big Show is here and answers Bo Dallas’ challenge from last week. He threatens to knock him out and keep him in NXT for the rest of his career. That match is next week!

NXT Heavyweight Championship Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal:   Mahal is out in his 3MB garb and music; he’s playing the air guitar so we have the changeover to 3MB Mahal (despite the entire lead-up having him as the maharaja). Rollins is still pre-Shield babyface. That will be interesting to see what NXT does with Seth since he is pretty popular on NXT. I like this version of Mahal better than the Indian aristocrat. Jim Ross joins William Regal on commentary. Mahal retreats to the floor at the bell. MIND GAMES! Jinder reenters and they finally lock up, collar-and-elbow style. Rollins works a hammerlock until Jinder makes the ropes. He tries a cheapshot but Rollins sniffs it out so he hides in the ropes drawing a referee break. Mahal then works the arm so Rollins nips up to free and whirls him into a side headlock. Jinder tries to free himself and finally does with suplex-like throw; he steamrolls him with an air guitar shoulderblock and hits the ropes… right into a leapfrog clothesline. In the corner Rollins chops and boots; Jinder SLAPS him and runs away. Rollins gives chase and catches him trying to reenter; he drags the “fun one” back to the floor and lights him up with chops. Rollins hits some No Kicks and tosses him off the ropes. Mahal counters a backdrop with a boot but Seth hits clotheslines. Jinder backdrops him onto the apron so he tries a springboard move but Mahal pushes him to the floor in a nasty looking spill. Back from commercial, Mahal has Rollins entrapped under the ropes choking him with the knee. He drops some rope-assisted knees. Rollins tries to fight back but Mahal hammer-tosses him into the corner. Jinder heads to the floor to bow-and-arrow him around the post; he hits a snap-suplex on the floor. Back in the ring Mahal gets two. He turns to the double-arm wing wear down hold. Rollins tries to twirl into a backslide but Mahal whips him back down; a backbreaker nets another nearfall. Rollins fires back with knees and chops; he hits the ropes but meets a knee in the guts. Mahal reapplies a chinlock. He drops a knee for two and goes back to the chinlock. Rollins tries to fight back and counters another backbreaker with a head scissors. Seth tries a tip-over in the corner but gets caught. Mahal reapplies the chinlock and maintains it for a while. Seth tries to fight back and flips out of a back suplex attempt and hits a Pelé style kick. Both men down. Jinder gets up first but misses a charge and Rollins hits a one-foot dropkick. He pounds away and they exchange arm-weary blows. Mahal tries a head-butt but collapses to his knees so Rollins hits a No Kick. Seth clotheslines Mahal to the floor and topés out onto him. He hits a springboard knee back into the ring and gets two. Both men down selling the exhaustion of a grueling title match. He props Mahal atop the ropes and enziguris him there; he tries a Super Frankensteiner but Mahal rolls through and almost wins the title. Seth scores with some kicks but runs afoul of a tilt-a-whirl sideslam, for two. Jinder to the second rope but he plays air guitar too long and leaps right into a dropkick. Seth looks for that running forearm in the corner but meets the buckles face first. Jinder stomps away in the corner and mounts the buckles and slap Rollins around. All that does is serve to piss Rollins off and he nails a turnbuckle powerbomb. He looks for Avada Kedavra but Mahal catches his boot and tries the full nelson slam; Rollins counters but Jinder has the wherewithal to nail the high knee to the back of the head. He thinks Camel Clutch but Rollins retreats to the ropes. Mahal tries to schoolboy him but Rollins rolls through and NAILS Avada Kedavra! He hits the Skywalker and gets the pinfall. Post-match, Rollins celebrates his victory with the fans (for perhaps the last time as a smiling babyface on NXT). 7.5/10 Fantastic, well-paced, main event this week with the added bonus of it being a title match. Mahal was just beginning to get into the 3MB character (or he toned it down significantly for the NXT title match) because there was minimal music and maximum wrestling. Rollins is using the Skywalker (Shiranui) more often than the Blackout. I think the Blackout is a better finisher for his Shield character BTW. Good main event this week.

Here is your winner… Seth Rollins @ about 15:20 (broadcast) via Skywalker pinfall.

OVERALL 6/10 Pretty good show this week; we had a divas match (but they are much better on NXT) a new member of the “Wyatt Family” and a fantastic title defense in the main event. Good show this week.

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