411’s WWE NXT Report 01.02.13

From Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida

Commentators: Tony Dawson & William Regal

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

The show opens with The Shield interrupting a match in progress; they beat up the two hapless wrestlers in the ring. I can’t make out who it is. Dusty Rhodes appears on the stage but Ambrose cuts him off before he can say anything and tells him that this is a taste of what they do for justice. Rollins says that they’ve takes over Raw, SmackDown and NXT and there is nothing anyone can do about it. He shows off the NXT title. Rhodes says he told him to make an impact but not in the way that have. He mentions the title match against Corey Graves tonight. Ambrose says no one tells them what to do. Rhodes threatens to strip Rollins of his title if he does not defend. Rollins agrees with him and says he’ll face Graves with the title on the line. Reigns calls him old man and says he’s paying the shield’s rent. 6/10 interesting opening as we have gone to heel Rollins in the Shield on NXT. Good promo from the three.

Bo Dallas vs. Epico (w/Primo):   Well, this is a slightly more manageable WWE-level opponent for Dallas. They lock up and Dallas works a side headlock. He hits a shoulderblock and floors Epico. They work more headlocks and shoulderblocks for Dallas. Epico adds his own side headlock and hits a knee to the gut to floor Dallas off the ropes. He stomps the yard and hits a snap-suplex and a slingshot elbow drop. Epico moves into a body scissors as Primo looks on. Bo tries to fight back but a BOOTLACE EYE RAKE keeps him at bay. He continues with the Guerrero offense with a face-rake across the top rope. He applies a backbreaker stretch but cannot get a submission. Bo eventually frees himself and begins to fight back in the corner; Epico takes control back with a dropkick for two. He punches Dallas in the face but Bo call for more pain and smiles at Epico. Dallas mounts a comeback with clotheslines and a Magnum Suplex. The spear… for the win as Dallas beats a WWE opponent. Post-match Primo and Epico surround Dallas but Michael McGillicutty makes the save. 3/10 Not too special as Epico jobs to Dallas. I don’t see much in him [Dallas] he’s too small looking in the ring and the “I love pain” thing, I don’t think will get him over and his finisher does not look realistic, Roman Reigns… it looks realistic, not Dallas. I wonder why McGillicutty made as he is apparently a babyface still, he has been a babyface on NXT for a little while, it’s just weird since he’s a heel in the WWE.

Here is your winner… Bo Dallas via spear pinfall.

Sasha Banks vs. Tamina Snuka:   I think Tamina is a heel. The commentators sell Banks as a highly touted and hyped rookie. Tamina opens with clubbering and a clothesline. She stomps away and slams her; Snuka with an abdominal stretch (which is awfully close to a chokehold). Sasha escapes and avoids a splash in the corner; she can’t get Snuka down. She hits a Luchadore step-up-the-ropes armdrag and finally gets Tamina down. Banks gets a Mysterio wheelbarrow cradle but only gets one on Tamina. She charges… right into a Samoan drop. Tamina to the top for the Superfly Splash and the pinfall. 2/10 Total squash for Snuka and for those who care, they omitted “Snuka” from her nameplate graphic.

Here is your winner… Tamina Snuka via Superfly Splash pinfall.

Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd vs. Kassius Ohno & Leo Kruger:   We finally got both South Africans in the WWE in the ring at the same time all we need now is Col. DeBeers. Kidd and Ohno trade arm locks and armbars. Kidd utilizes the ropes for a flip counter and tags in Gabriel for a DOUBLE leapfrog and hiptoss. Ohno frees himself from Gabriel and tags in Kruger who walks right into an armdrag. Kidd returns and they hit that Last Chancery/running low dropkick tandem move (that really needs some kind of nickname), which nets Kidd a nearfall. Gabriel returns and they quick tag on Kruger with mule kicks and roundhouse kicks. Kidd settles into an armbar. Kruger gets up and backs Kidd into the ropes; he tosses him off the ropes and tries a sunset flip but Tyson rolls through and tries for the Sharpshooter. The heels retreat to the floor so Kidd and Gabriel nail them with some nice highspots. Gabriel a topé to Ohno (with Kidd holding the ropes open) and Tyson nails Kruger with a senton off the apron. Back from commercial with Gabriel and Kidd nailing poor Kruger with a double snapmare and double seated roundhouse kicks. They use like thirty double team moves, very Rockers like. Kidd works an armbar until Kruger fires him off; Tyson holds the ropes and Ohno provides a brief distraction so Leo can plant him with a spinebuster. Kassius tags in and opens with stomps and punches, aka “striking ability.” He slams him and nails a senton splash, for two. Ohno heads to one of his favorite holds: the cravat. Kruger returns and loads up a snap-suplex; he drops a series of elbows. I hate to nitpick and I know that Tony Dawson is trying to get “for the win” over as his pin catch phrase but try to refrain from using it on EVERY nearfall, it gets annoying. Here’s Ohno back in as they isolate Kidd from Gabriel; Ohno nails a series of knees and tags Kruger in for more kicks and stomps… oh, and knee drops, lots o’ knee drops. Kruger wears Tyson down more with a chinlock; Kidd frees himself and has a brief spurt of energy to clear Kruger out and floor Ohno and manages a tag to Gabriel. Justin enters the ring Kofi Kingston style with a springboard crossbody and some leaping lariats. Gabriel hits a roundhouse kick; Kruger sneaks in a blind tag but that doesn’t work during a “house of fire” rampage and Gabriel hits a spinout powerbomb. Ohno spoils the pinfall and Kidd and Ohno get kicked to the floor; Gabriel and Kruger trade nearfalls off cradles and Gabriel gets caught in Kruger’s End… for the WIN! 6/10 Impressive win for Kruger/Ohno over a relatively established WWE team, at least as far as NXT is concerned; a win over a WWE wrestler jobber or not is considered huge in NXT. The match was strict formula and it worked since the fans were into it and deflated when the heels won.

Here are your winners… Kassius Ohno & Leo Kruger via Kruger’s End pinfall.

NXT Heavyweight Championship Seth Rollins vs. Corey Graves:   Jim Ross joins for commentary, replacing Tony Dawson… for the WIN! Rollins is in his full Shield riot gear and enters to no theme music (he loses the tank top for the match). This is essentially heel versus heel. Graves starts off hot and beats Rollins up in the outset. Graves gets a few nearfalls off inside cradles and backslides. He gets Rollins down and immediately goes for the leg and knee in prep for his finisher. He drops elbows on the leg until Rollins fights back with CHOPS. He tosses Graves into the corner but he explodes out of the corner with a clothesline. Rollins comes back and hotshots Corey’s throat off the top rope. He SLAPS Graves in the face and hits a running high knee for a nearfall. Rollins applies a figure-four head scissors. Jim Ross notes in 2013 he’s celebrating his twentieth year in WWE… good God, I remember his debut at WrestleMania IX (full review, click here). Graves slips in a few nearfalls off the head scissors forcing Rollins to break. They exchange blows and Graves gets the better of it and nails a Dragon Screw. Rollins stops him dead in his tracks with an enziguri, though. Seth tries the running kick in the corner but Graves submarines his leg and slaps on the Thirteenth Step but Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns show up to break it up and draw the DQ. Post-match, the Shield beat up Graves until Dusty Rhodes empties the locker room to take out the Shield. The Shield do well for themselves in the initial series of jobbers but eventually guys like Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd, Yoshi Tatsu and Bo Dallas make their way out and… also get their asses kicked. Everyone gets extricated from the ring save for Dallas who takes a Shield Bomb to complete the destruction of the entire NXT locker room. Eventually, Big E Langston slowly makes his way to the ring. Well, he is the closest thing NXT has to Ryback. The Shield decides to vacate the premises. The Dream books a title match between Rollins and Langston for the title NXT week. 5.5/10 The match was good but the post-match stuff was better. That was a rather epic beat down of the NXT roster. It’s odd since Langston is a heel in the WWE, even mentioned as so last week in the recap show, but here he is whipping up the crowd on NXT. I like the Shield but running away from Langston is very uncharacteristic for them.

Here is your winner… Corey Graves via DQ.

OVERALL 5.5/10 The Shield is in full swing on NXT and they are probably going to get that title off Rollins soon so he can stay up in the WWE (where he belongs). I normally don’t read spoilers but you could not surf the web without knowing what will happen next week in the title match.

Please follow Marc Elusive on Twitter or like Marc Elusive on Facebook or check out www.marcelusive.net for reviews and recaps (of current WWE and old WWF PPVs, DVDs and VHS tapes) and a little analysis; more of a play-by-play style, like my reviews here. Thank you for all of your support.