WWE NXT (6/27/12)

 

Full Sail University

Orlando, FL

June 27, 2012

Commentators: Jim Ross & Bryon Saxton

Last week's show established the new direction NXT to be the new developmental show with Florida Championship Wrestling closing. We saw the debuts of The Ascension & Bo Dallas along with a damn good Tyson Kidd vs Michael McGillicutty match. This week we have the debut of someone you might have heard of, guy named Seth Rollins. Also we got Derrick Bateman against Johnny Curtis and another debut, guy named Antonio Cesaro. Should be a fun show so let's get right to it.

Match 1

Seth Rollins vs Jiro

The NXT debut of Seth Rollins has him going against Jiro. For those that don't know, Seth Rollins was born Colby Lopez in Davenport, Iowa. He started wrestling on the indies at 19 years old and took the name Tyler Black while wrestling for Ian Rotten's outlaw promotion. He made his name working for Ring Of Honor from 2007-09 before signing a developmental deal with WWE in August 2010. After 2 years of FCW as Seth Rollins, he's here in NXT. His opponent was born Yuki Tazikawa who was trained by former WWF Light Heavyweight champion Taka Michenoku. Ironically this would be Jiro's only NXT match as he'd go back to Japan shortly after. Ross calls Seth a hot prospect as the bell rings. Rollins rolls through some armdrags before tripping up Jiro with a leg sweep. Seth sends Jiro off the ropes but eats an open handed slap to the chest. Rollins acts like it doesn't hurt and returns the favor. Jiro gets a kick in but is dropped with a clothesline. Rollins dropkicks Jiro and hits him with an enziguri. Rollins hit a splash in the corner and then hits a curbstomp to the back. Ross calls it the blackout as Seth covers for 1....2...3 and that's it. Took Seth 90 seconds to dispose of Jiro and send him back to Japan. Ross goes to the replay of the curbstomp and Saxton says Seth has turned a lot of heads. He's not kidding.

Time of match: 1:32

Winner: Seth Rollins

Dolph Ziggler's brother Briley Pierce hits the ramp to interview Seth after his victory. Seth thanks Briley, introduces himself and he's here to rip the clouds out of the sky. Kind of funny to see him struggle a bit here on the mic considering what we would see in the years'/:#$$##### after this. Before he can go any further he's interrupted by Jinder Mahal who's in the next match. Mahal and Seth give each other the stank eye as Jinder makes his entrance.

Match 2

Jinder Mahal vs Jason Jordan

We get back from commercial with Jinder cutting a promo in half Hindi/half English until he's interrupted. We saw Jordan last week but Jinder was born Yuvraj Singh Dhesi in Calgary, Alberta Canada. He's another Canadian Indian like Tiger Jeet Singh or his uncle Gama Singh who used to be a heel in Stampede Wrestling. He was trained by none other than Bad News Brown and the fake Razor Ramon, Rick Bogner. He made his debut in Canada in 2002 but was signed to a developmental deal in February 2010 as Jinder Mahal. After his FCW run, here he is in NXT. Ross brings up Damien Sandow refusing to wrestle Jordan last week but Mahal bum rushes him at the start. Jinder puts the boots to Jordan and hits a forearm to the back. Jinder hits a neckbreaker and covers for 1...2...nope. Ross calls Jinder athletically arrogant and he's right, Jinder always was in great shape. Jinder drops a series of knees as Ross brings up Jason's Indiana wrestling days. Mahal locks in a half nelson before Jordan gets to his feet but is dropped with a knee to the head. Jinder does a double underhook takeover and covers for 1...2...nope. Mahal misses a knee drop and Jordan rallies with a right hand but Mahal counters with a high knee. Jinder slaps on the camel clutch and Jordan taps out to end the match. Ross says somewhere the Iron Sheik is smiling......why? Sheik is Iranian, not Indian. Inconsistency aside, Mahal looked great in this and he definitely had a bright future ahead. After the match Jinder cuts another promo in Hindi then switches to English to say he'll mold NXT in his image establishing a new wave of dominance in WWE. Sounds good to me.

Time of match: 3:08

Winner: Mahal by submission

We cut to a vignette of a newcomer coming to NXT, the South African Leo Kruger. He claims he took the name Leo because he's the alpha male lion. He says he's a god in Africa which isn't that farfetched. Born Raymond Leppan, he was born in South Africa in 1979 and turned pro at the age of 16. His ancestor was former president of South Africa Paul Kruger so there's the hint of truth in his words. Saxton calls him the South African Aristotle and he's up next.

Match 3

Leo Kruger vs Aiden English

Kruger we just learned about but his opponent is Aiden English. Born in Chicago, he was an accomplished stage actor before turning pro in 2011. One year later he was signed to NXT and here he is. Bell's gone and Kruger gets the upper hand with forearms to the back but eats a dropkick. Aiden misses a second attempt and Kruger starts punching away. He clotheslines English in the corner and stands on his chest. JR says Kruger doesn't make a lot of mistakes and likes to beat people up. Kruger hits a snap suplex and taunts the crowd. Kruger applies a sleeper wrapping his legs around English and Aiden quickly taps out. Took 82 seconds for Kruger to dispose of English and he taunts English on his way out. Kruger had a great look, we'll see how he does moving forward.

Time of match: 1:21 

Winner: Kruger by submission

After the match JR says we'll be seeing Richie Steamboat in action later. Yes, the "Little Dragon" from Wrestlemania 4 was now 25 and wrestling on his own. We get a montage of Steamboat in FCW and saying he's not trying to fill his father's shoes but make his own name. Richie in an interview says he wants to add to the last name, not ride it. When we get back from commercial, the Uso brothers are in action.

Match 4

The Ascension (Connor & Kenneth) vs The Uso's (Jimmy & Jey)

Commentators: Chris Russo, William Regal and JR

William Regal and Chris Russo join us on commentary for this tag team match. Ascension won their first match last week and now face the Uso twins. Kenneth starts with Jimmy and foolishly tries a headbutt only for Jimmy to make like his father and do a dance shimmy before dropping Kenneth with a right hand. The Uso's double team Kenneth but he heaves Jimmy out of the ring. Connor tags in and stomps away at Jimmy in the corner. Kenneth and Connor make frequent tags to isolate Jimmy in the corner. Connor locks in a chinlock but Jimmy powers out of it. Jimmy hits a diving headbutt to drop Connnor and both men make the tag. Jey hits a back samoan drop then hits a running ass smash in the corner. Connor breaks up the pinfall attempt and throws Jey on the outside. Kenneth tags in Connor who hit Downcast on Jimmy. Connor covers for 1...2....3 that's it, Ascension win it. Really tough to tell the Uso's apart and even JR & Regal had trouble doing it. Russo "If Jimmy and Jey, NXT mainstays couldn't beat The Ascension, who can?"

Time of match: 3:31

Winners: The Ascension by pinfall

We head right to the next match

Match 5

Richie Steamboat vs Rick Victor

Little Dragon gets a match with Rick Victor who desperately needs a win. Steamboat starts with a go-behind with a waistlock takedown. Richie hits a series of arm-drags and Ricky The Dragon himself is shown in the crowd. Richie gets an arm-ringer in and takes Victor down with it. Richie drops a leg on the left arm before locking in an overhead armbar. Richie slugs away at Victor in the corner and rams his head in the buckle. Steamboat delivers a snapmare and a clothesline but the cover only gets 1. Victor shoulderblocks Steamboat in the corner then hits some european uppercuts. Steamboat flips over Victor and delivers another arm-drag as JR calls it his go-to manuver. Steamboat hits a crossbody and a shoulderblock before delivering another clothesline. Richie elbows Victor in the corner and hits a slingblade for 1.....2.....3 to win the match. Ricky in the crowd gives him a big hand as Saxton says so far so good. That was a straight jobber match out of 1993 with Victor barely getting any offense in. Still, he made Steamboat look damn good.

Time of match: 4:24

Winner: Richie Steamboat by pinfall

 

JR hypes up the main event coming up of Johnny Curtis vs Derrick Bateman. We get a vignette of Antonio Cesaro and Aksana saying he's up next. Oh joy.... We get back from commercial for the Raw Rebound and its Chris Jericho vs John Cena going one on one in a tune-up for Money In The Bank coming up. Jericho has Cena in the Walls of Jericho when Big Show interferes and drops a leg on Cena's neck. Jericho bails and Big Show chokeslams Cena before locking in the Colossal Clutch. Big Show gets some serious heat for that one. Back to NXT for our next match.

Match 6

Antonio Cesaro (with Aksana) vs Dante Dash

We all know Cesaro and Aksana from their WWE run earlier in 2012 but who's Dash? Born Teon Freeman, he got his start in his native New Jersey in 2010 before signing with FCW in January 2012. Bell rings and Cesaro waistlock takesdown Dante before rubbing his head into the mat. JR says Cesaro speaks 5 languages and Antonio picks up Dash in a gutwrench while lying down before kicking Dash in the kidneys. Cesaro neck twists Dante and drops him with a european uppercut. He pummels Dash in the corner and hits a big boot in the corner. Cesaro hits a spinebuster then cracks his neck to signal for the finisher. He hits the Neutralizer and covers for 1...2....3 that's it. JR marvels at the strength of Cesaro and says he's got the talent to be a world champion in the future. In a few years fans would agree, Cesaro is freakishly strong.

Time of match: 2:45

Winner: Cesaro by pinfall

We go to a Bray Wyatt vignette to signify his impending arrival to NXT.  A few NXT guys and a little girl reach their hands out to Wyatt. This whole show is right out of 1995 with vignettes and jobber matches. Anyway, time for the final match.

Match 7

Johnny Curtis vs Derrick Bateman

This match stemmed from the week before where Bateman confronted Curtis in the men's crapper and they settle it a week later. Bell rings and Curtis slaps Bateman before running for the hills. Johnny misses a knee drop and Bateman rams his head into the buckle. Bateman locks in an arm-ringer and slaps Curtis in retaliation. Bateman whips Curtis in the corner but misses a charge. Curtis does a spinning leg-wringer as JR says next week we'll see a women's match but doesn't name them. Also next week will be the NXT debut of Kassius Ohno. Curtis goes to work on the left leg and goes for the Indian death lock. Bateman slaps Curtis to break the hold and chops him in the chest. Curtis uses a spinning toe hold but Bateman gets out of it. Bateman hits a series of clothesline and uses a reverse DDT. Bateman then uses a D-D-D then covers for 1....2...3 for the W-I-N as JR proclaims. Big win for Bateman who gets revenge for Curtis wiping his hands on Bateman's shirt the week before. JR signs off saying more debuts are coming next week.

Time of match: 3:46

Winner: Bateman by pinfall

Kind of a let down show from the previous week as this felt like an episode of WWF Superstars from 1992 more than a WWE show from 2012. The jobber matches and vignettes would have fit right in 20 years earlier. Still, with the NXT and FCW merger some guys are going to be pushed over others, it depends on how they respond. With Rollins, Cesaro, Bo Dallas and others on their way, good things were coming. Next week we get Kassius Ohno and a women's match, yay. Still, this was the future of WWE in a few years so get used to these guys.

WWE NXT (6/20/12)

June 20, 2012
Full Sail University

Winter Park, Florida

Commentators: Jim Ross, William Regal

For all intents and purposes THIS is the first episode of NXT in the format we know of today. To give a little backstory, NXT started in 2010 to replace the failing WWECW. It was basically Tough Enough under a different name taking "rookies" and seeing who'd be a future WWE star. Unlike the earlier Tough Enough's where they'd hire people off the street or small time independent wrestlers, the 2010 class featured veterans such as Daniel Bryan and Wade Barrett. Up until 2012, NXT kept the game show, elimination format until right around this time in June. Someone had the bright idea to merge their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling with NXT to create one big developmental conglomerate. As FCW came to a close, one by one their top stars started making their way to NXT. 

The show opens with a montage of the WWE legends and saying the next ones are on the way, the future begins...right now. The theme song is pretty badass and worth a listen if its your first time hearing it. William Regal is on the voice-over greeting us when Jim Ross makes his entrance. He welcomes everyone and introduces your new general manager Dusty Rhodes. Dusty says the main event will be Michael McGillicutty and Tyson Kidd one on one. Dusty says NXT will be wilder and crazier than ever and we're sent to a montage of a new NXT rookie named Bo Dallas. Dallas says he's the grandson of Blackjack Mulligan, son of Mike Rotunda and nephew of Barry & Kendall Windham. He says he knew he was going to be a wrestler his whole life and he says he's ready to fulfill expectations. He like to smile....yay. Its time for the first match

Match 1

Bo Dallas vs Rick Victor

Dallas makes his debut against FCW's Rick Victor. Ironically around this time Victor had beaten Seth Rollins to be the FCW Champion. Victor was a 10 year veteran of the independent scene so he definitely had experience going into his developmental deal. Dallas is in the black and white striped trunks and Victor is in the long purple tights. Victor starts with a headlock and Dallas gets in a top wristlock. Ross says Victor is a superbly conditioned athlete as Regal reminds us that he was trained in the legendary Dungeon with Bruce and Ross Hart. They trade armringers before Dallas gets a fireman's carry takeover followed by a few armdrags. Victor backs Dallas into the corner and chops away but Dallas reverses it with right hands. Dallas heaves Victor across the ring then hits a clothesline in the corner. Dallas tosses Victor again and hits a powerslam. Dallas hits a spear and covers for 1...2...3 that's it. Dallas wins it quickly and that was pretty good for what it was supposed to be. Rather them go 2 minutes than 10 and bore everyone.

Time of match: 2:20

Winner: Bo Dallas by pinfall

After the match Briley Pierce in a coat and tie interviews Bo. Pierce is none other than Ryan Nemeth, the real life brother of Dolph Ziggler who was nursing an injury at the time. Dallas says he had a gameplan and he executed it. He says its just the beginning for him and his smile is here to stay. "You will know Bo!" He's only 22 years old here so this is the perfect training ground for him. Ross then says another guy will be making his debut the following week, you might have heard of him......Seth Rollins. As mentioned earlier, Rollins was the former FCW champion and in the montage, he says he's the change we've all been waiting for. He called that one. Ross hypes up the main event and the debut of the intellectual Damien Sandow next before we go to commercial.

Back from commercial we get a montage for another guy about to make his debut, Antonio Cesaro. The next match was supposed to be Damien Sandow making his NXT debut against Jason Jordan. In case you forgot, Sandow was Idol Stevens back in 2007. His opponent is actually former Indiana University wrestler Nathan Everhart going by the name Jason Jordan. The announcer incorrectly calls Palo Alto "Palto Alto" causing Sandow to get pissed off and say he's not wrestling Jordan. No I'm not kidding, Sandow legit leaves.....the only time I'd ever seen that before is when Diamond Dallas Paige refused to wrestle a jobber in 94 or 95. Ross says he doesn't know whether to be mad or thankful as we go to a vignette introducing The Ascension. Longtime developmental wrestler Ryan O'Reilly was rechristened Conor O'Brien and his partner is Kenneth Cameron aka Thomas Latimer....yes, Charlotte Flair's ex. The British accent of Kenneth works here as Conor says they're the gateways of the future and they will rise.

We go to the Raw Rebound where we show John Cena vs John Laurinitis from the recent Raw. Vince McMahon had fired Laurinitis and he came out in a neckbrace saying he made a main event handicap match of David Otunga, Big Show and himself against Cena. Big Show says thanks for the contract and leaves Johnny Ace high and dry. In the actual match, Cena beats the crap out of Otunga and Laurintis refuses a tag. Then when Otunga gets the upper hand, Laurinitis tags in and beats up Cena causing Otunga to turn around and leave too. Cena hits three FU's in a row on Johnny and locks in the STFU to send him off TV. On to the next match.

Match 2

The Ascension (Conor O'Brien and Kenneth Cameron) vs CJ Parker and Mike Dalton

The Ascension's entrance is pretty cool, especially when Conor's eyes light up. For those that don't know, CJ Parker is now known as Juice Robinson and we got a young Tyler Breeze (Mike Dalton) here. Cameron bullrushes Parker to start with takedown punches before knocking Dalton off the apron. Cameron heaves Parker in the corner and stomps away before tagging in Conor to do the same thing. They frequently tag to stomp and drop elbows on Parker.. Cameron screams and tags in Conor before hitting a jawbreaker. Parker turns right into a flapjack by Conor who Ross calls The Downcast. Conor covers for 1..2....3 and that's it. Ascension makes quick work of Juice & Breeze to establish them as mean looking fellas. Cameron and Conor pose over the fallen Parker as we go to the replay. Regal says the rest of the roster is in a panic over them. Standard jobber match, not much to say.

Time of match: 1:18

Winners: The Ascension by pinfall

We go to a vignette of another fella making his debut, a weirdo named Bray Wyatt. Hmmm, where have we seen him before? Its Husky Harris under a new gimmick. He cuts a promo saying monsters and boogeyman are real. Of course he's real, he beat Booker T at Wrestlemania! We then cut to Derek Bateman, today known as EC3 looking for Johnny Curtis, now known as Fandango, in the bathroom.  Next week its going to be Bateman vs Curtis in the main event. Its funny how Curtis towers over Bateman and Bateman admonishes him for not washing his hands. Curtis says he's going to win next week and washes his hands on Bateman's shirt. Derek calls Johnny a dirtbag as we cut. Today Curtis is known as Dirty Dango on the indies so I guess this is where he got the "dirty" part from. Anyway let's go to the main event.

Match 3

Tyson Kidd vs Michael McGillicutty

Both these guys had their runs in WWE before being sent down to NXT to get some fresh feuds. Both of them will be back on the main roster but for now they go one on one here to show the "rookies" how its done. Before the match, Regal calls Johnny Curtis a "dirty, filthy swine." The match starts and Regal says Kidd started wrestling when he was 12 years old in the Dungeon. Ironically Kidd came from the Hart clan and their battles with Michael's father Mr. Perfect are well documented. They lock up and Kidd gets in an armringer before Michael grabs the rope. Ross explains the rope break rule as Kidd gets in a headlock. Kidd and Michael exchange go-behinds as Regal says both men have evilness about them that he respects. Kidd and McGillicutty circle before Kidd gets in another headlock before exchanging takedowns. Kidd drops McGillicutty and Michael bails to the outside to stall for some heat. The crowd chants and Kidd caters to them as Michael gets back in. Michael gets a greco-roman knucklelock to gain control but Kidd springboards into an armdrag as Regal says its wonderful to watch. Regal says Kidd was heavily influenced by Owen Hart which makes sense since Kidd made his debut in 95 when Owen was still alive. He also says the aggression he sees in McGillicutty reminds him of Mr. Perfect and Larry "The Axe" Hennig. Michael kicks at him in the corner and hits a snap suplex. Michael covers for a deuce but puts his head down and eats a boot. Kidd clotheslines Michael over the top to the floor and Tyson hits a suicide dive through the ropes. We cut to commercial and when we come back Kidd rams Michael's head into the buckle. Tyson stomps on Michael and hits a dropkick. A cover gets a deuce and Michael blocks a headscissors attempt to throw Tyson on the apron. Tyson goes for the shoulderblock but Michael blocks it with a knee. Michael nails a second rope neckbreaker and covers for 1...2.. nope. Michael rakes the ear across the apron and Regal likes that. Jim Ross "You're essentially an evil man." Regal "Yes." Kidd takes a sternum bump into the corner and Michael covers for another deuce. Michael locks in a chinlock but Kidd powers out of it. Kidd tiltawhirls into a sunset flip for a two count and Michael hits a powerful clothesline to stop the momentum. Another lateral press gets a two and ties Kidd into the tree of woe. Michael pounds away on the chest and chokes him from under the bottom rope. Michael covers for 1...2..nope. Michael goes for the Tajiri dropkick but Kidd rolls up, sending Michael nut first into the ringpost. Kidd strikes with hard kicks to the quadriceps and one to the face. A dropkick drops Michael and covers for 1..2....nooooo. Michael runs into a boot and a kick on the apron. Kidd springboards but Michael counters with a dropkick of his own. Michael covers for 1...2...nooo, Tyson gets the shoulder up at the last second. Michael sets up Tyson for a superplex but Tyson shoves him down. Tyson comes off the top with a moonsault but the cover only gets two. Kidd goes for the Dungeon Lock but Michael holds onto the apron to kick him off. Michael then hits a Saito suplex then covers for 1...2...nope. Michael applies the sharpshooter to add insult to injury but Kidd makes it to the ropes. Michael goes for the Perfect Plex but Kidd counters with an inside cradle for 1...2...nope. Kidd rolls up Michael then finally applies the Dungeon Lock. Michael taps and this one's over, Kidd wins it. Regal says he's proud to be a wrestler and there's no losers here. He's right about that, that was a great match and the crowd salutes it. McGillicutty made one mistake and Kidd made him pay. We go to the highlights and Kidd salutes the crowd after its over. That was a hell of a match between two guys that know what they're doing. Kidd had been wrestling for 17 years at that point and Michael 5. They were perfect to end this show by showing what veterans can do. As the FCW stars began to migrate toward NXT the vets would be called up to the main roster and anyone not getting over would get the boot. No way in hell these two were getting the boot, both had a future.

Time of match: 14:06

Winner: Tyson Kidd by pinfall

Ross and Regal sign off and that's it for the first episode of the "new" NXT. With the FCW stars such as Rollins, Wyatt and Cesaro coming, it was the end for what people called "NXT Red". It was only the beginning as NXT as been WWE's version of Triple A baseball ever since. Basically half of the crew for Wrestlemania 30 were in or going to be in NXT around this time. That's how great a crop WWE had at the time. They also had the perfect team in Regal and Ross to do the commentary as Ross shills his ass off for anyone in the ring and Regal puts over any and all dirty, underhanded tactics he himself would have done. All in all this was pretty good for a "debut" show that was now trying to take itself seriously after that weird period where NXT Redemption just kind of ended with no notice. Next week we got Curtis vs Bateman, the debut of Antonio Cesaro and the debut of Seth Rollins. That should be good.