WWE Smackdown (8/5/22)

WWE Smackdown

Bon Secours Wellness Arena

Greenville, SC

August 5, 2022

Commentators: Michael Cole & Pat McAfee

Ring Announcer: Samantha Irvin

With Summerslam in the past, its time to focus on Clash at The Castle coming up in Wales. Raw on Monday established The Uso's were still the team to beat while Smackdown had to do something to counter. Let's see how they do it. We open with a Summerslam recap vignette set to Kid Rock before we're shown The Bloodline arriving. Jimmy & Jey Uso in their own car with Roman Reigns in a different car. He knows better than to have them driving. We're in Greenville, South Carolina tonight as McAfee says coming up tonight is a confrontation between Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns. Pat uses his telestrator to show him kicking Baron Corbin in the gonads. Baron himself is watching from the back and gets laughed at by Ricochet, Angel Garca, Humberto Carillo, Megan Morant, Xia Li, Drew Gulak, Shanky and Jinder Mahal. Ricochet says karma is a b...eautiful thing. Corbin says he's going to wipe the smile off his face and Ricochet challenges him to a match right here, right now. McAfee "Hahaha loooooser, loserrrrrr" Back to ringside, Cole says Pat is having way too much fun as its on to our first match.

Match 1

Ricochet vs Baron Corbin

"Happy" Corbin is on a cold streak of late and Ricochet wants another IC title shot, so let's see how this plays out. Bell's gone and Corbin heaves him into the corner but misses a charge. Ricochet gets the Pele kick on the apron, blocks the End of Days and Ricochet dropkicks him out of the ring. Ricochet dives over the top rope onto Corbin. Ricochet dives off the top but lands on his feet, only to take a 360 clothesline by Corbin. Baron punches away in the corner and stops to hear the boos. Ricochet punches away but gets dropped with a back elbow smash. Ricochet on the apron shoulderblocks Baron in the ribs but Baron hits a right cross to stop the springboard. The crowd chants for McAfee as Baron gets a knee to the ribs. Baron slides under Ricochet but gets kicked in the face twice. Ricochet flips over Corbin, sits on Samantha Irvin but gets launched right into the ring post by "Happy" as we go to break. Back from commercial Corbin has a neck twist on in the ring before hitting a backdrop. Corbin covers for 1..2.....no. Corbin yells at the ref and then the crowd as Cole says he's wasting too much time. Richochet flips over Corbin and gets a knee to the ribs. Ricochet hits an elbow and a shoulderblock in the corner. Ricochet hits a flying clothesline and a standing shooting star for 1..2....no. Ricochet goes for a spring board but Corbin counters with a torture rack neckbreaker. Corbin covers for 1...2....no. Corbin eats a frankensteiner and Ricochet overs for a deuce then hits a sunset flip for another two count. Ricochet kicks Corbin but runs right into Deep Six, Baron covers for 1..2....no. Ricochet goes for the sunset bomb but Corbin drags Ricochet to the top rope. Corbin throws him into the top rope (OW!) as McAfee stands up for the distraction. Ricochet crotches Corbin and hits the running jawbreaker. Ricochet hits the shooting star press and covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. McAfee celebrates at ringside as Cole says the bum luck of Corbin continues. Good big man/little man match as Ricochet used his speed to frustrate Corbin. The McAfee distraction didn't hurt either.

Time of match: 11:50

Winner: Ricochet by pinfall

Post-match, Ricochet and McAfee throw a football around before Pat autographs it. Pat punts it into the crowd but the fan totally fails to signal for the fair catch. We go to a highlight of Liv Morgan pinning Ronda Rousey by complete accident while Liv was tapping. We then get a graphic of a gauntlet match coming up to decide the number one contender to Liv's Smackdown Women's Championship. Sami Zayn knocks on Roman Reigns' door as we go to break. Back from commercial we get another damn Summerslam montage when the Uso's answer the door for Sami. Jimmy is happy to see him but Jey isn't. Sami says he respects them for winning the tag match and asks how Paul Heyman is. Sami says he's trying to text him so he could talk to Roman. Sami says it'll be quick but Jey says its not a good time but Jimmy says he'll text him later. McAfee says that's a tough look for Sami Zayn at ring side. Cole shows us the Liv Morgan/Ronda Rousey match. Liv clearly tapped before Rousey was pinned and Cole says the official blew the call. Rousey turned heel by attacking Liv and the referee. Cole says we got a gauntlet match to determine Liv's opponent at Clash at The Castle but McAfee gets stopped mid sentence to mark our for Shinsuke Nakamura's theme. Hahahaha! Before we get to the next match, we get a highlight from all the way back in April 27, 2000 of Steve Austin destroying the DX Express bus. That's a fun stroll down memory lane, on to the next match,

Match 2

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Ludwig Kaiser (with Gunther)

Basically winner gets a title shot at Gunther and Guntger tells Kaiser to go get him. Kaiser beat Nakamura a few weeks earlier after Nakamura beat him a month ago. This is the rubber match as Kaiser gets some elbows to the head. Kaiser rams Shinsuke's head into the buckle and stomps away in the corner. Nakamura counters with kicks in the corner and choking him with his boot. Shinsuke tells him to come on and hits an enziguiri. Shinsuke covers for a one count and Kaiser hits a right hand to the jaw. Kaiser is dropped on the top rope and hits a running knee to send him to the floor. Shinsuke hits a kick but runs into a tilt-a-whirl slam as we go to break. Back from commercial Shinsuke hits a knee to the head followed by an axe kick to the back. Shinsuke hits a sliding dropkick and a siding german suplex. Nakamura taunts Gunther to hit him but gets a baseball slide courtesy of Kaiser. Kaiser is thrown on the apron and Shinsuke hits a running knee. Shinsuke runs into an uppercut and Ludwig covers for 1...2...no. Ludwig hits a fisherman's plex and covers for 1..2...no. Gunther is frustrated outside and tells Kaiser to finish him. Nakamura gets an arm-bar but Kaiser lands on top for 1..2....no. Nakamura hits Kinshasha and covers for 1..2....3 to win the match. Next week its Shinsuke vs Gunther for the IC strap. Good match and it serves its purpose to set up the big showdown.

Time of match: 8:45

Winner: Nakamura by pinfall

Post-match Shinsuke goes toe to toe with Gunther and taunts him. We get a highlight of the Viking Raiders taking out Xavier Woods last week and we cut to Megan Morant with Kofi Kingston. She asks how Kofi and Xavier are doing and Kofi says Xavier will be fine. He'll get back to normal and he's not used to being alone without Big E and Xavier. Kofi says its time to make the Vikings pay because New....Day rocks....New....Day rocks. Up next is the controversy surrounding Liv Morgan.....after Sami knocks on Roman's door again. Jey is irate but Jimmy says he needs a favor from Sami. He wants him to assume Heyman's role and Sami says its not really his job. Jimmy says it'll mean a lot to Roman and Sami agrees to do it. Sami says he'll take care of it and leaves while Cole says lock the door to the production truck (Hahahaha!). Kayla Braxton brings Liv Morgan to the ring who's arm is in a sling. Kayla asks how she's feeling since her arm is in a brace and Ronda's been suspended. Liv says she's feeling so many different emotions and the crowd legit boos her. She wants to address the elephant in the room as the crowd chants "You tapped out!" Liv says she appreciates people calling her out on her shit (yes, she said that). Liv says she tapped but she thought the ref had counted three so when Ronda comes back....oh wait, here comes Sonya Deville of all people. Sonya says she can fool the dumb crowd with her innocent act but they know she doesn't deserve to be champion. Liv raises the belt as Sonya says Liv screwed her over. Sonya admits that Adam Pearce sucks at his job but Sonya really loves seeing her hurt. She says she's going to win the gauntlet match then beat her at Clash At The Castle. She's going to take what matters most, the Smackdown Women's Championship. Here comes Aliyah to face Sonya for the gauntlet match, so let's get started.

Match 3

Sonya Deville vs Aliyah vs Raquel Rodriguez vs Shotzi Blackheart vs Xia Li

Match one of the gauntlet has Aliyah taking on Sonya. Liv will be at ringside for the duration as the bell rings. Aliyah starts with a shoulderblock and blows her a kiss. Sonya drops her with a back elbow smash and chokes her on the second rope. Aliyah rolls her up for a one count but Sonya ducks the line. Sonya hits a spinebuster and covers for 1..2...no. Sonya locks in a chinlock but Aliyah hits a jawbreaker. Aliyah with a Thez Press and a second rope crossbody for 1...2...no. Sonya drops Aliyah on the second rope as the crowd chants for Ronda Rousey. Sonya hits Eye of The Hurricane (she calls it Deville's Advocate) and covers for 1...2...3 to win the fall.

Next out is Aliyah's partner Raquel Rodriguez. Raquel backs her up in the corner and hits shoulderblocks. Raquel clotheslines Sonya for 1..2...no. Sonya clips the left leg of Raquel and hits a facebuster for 1...2...no. Sonya locks in a chinlock but Rodriguez stands up and hits a sidewalk slam. Raquel elbows Sonya and hits snake eyes, followed by a big boot. Raquel hits a Vader Bomb followed by a Tejana Bomb before covering for 1...2....3 to send Sonya out.

Next up is Shotzi Blackheart as we go to break. Back from commercial Shotzi has an abdominal stretch on Raquel but Rodriguez powers out of it to land a fallaway slam. Raquel hits a Vader Bomb followed by a normal powerbomb. Raquel covers for 1...2...3 to win the fall.

Xia Li's turn to face Rodriguez and she kicks away at Raquel to start. Xia kicks at the left leg and does a double knee drop, covering for 1..2...no. Xia rolls up Raquel then locks in a half crab. She makes the ropes and Li kicks away at her before slapping her across the face. Raquel gets mad and headbutts Xia down. Xia counters with a kick to the ribs but runs into a fall away slam. Another Vader Bomb is followed by a Tejana Bomb and the cover gets 1...2....3 to eliminate Li.

Natalya is up next and she goes after the left leg of Raquel. She goes for the sharpshooter but Raquel kicks her off. Natalya clips the left leg and works it over. Natalya applies a deathlock (for real) and slaps Raquel's stomach. Raquel rolls through and somehow hits a vertical suplex. Raquel covers for 1...2..no. Natalya applies the sharpshooter but Raquel makes it to the ropes. Natalya goes up to the top and Raquel hits a Tejana Bomb. She covers for 1....2....3 to eliminate Natalya.

Shayna Baszler is the last one out and the winner of the fall goes to Clash at The Castle. We go to break then after the commercial, Shayna locks in a leglock. Shayna kicks at the left leg and then works over the left arm. She points at Liv Morgan and rolls through with an armbar. Shayna goes for a sleeper but Raquel throws her in the corner. Raquel hits the corner splash but Shayna counters the Vader Bomb with the Kirifuda Clutch. Raquel tries to roll through it but Shayna hangs on and german suplexes Raquel for 1...2....3 to win the match. Damn good showing by Raquel with a smart move to end it by Shayna. She essentially choked out Raquel so she had nothing left to kick out.

Time of match: 21:05

Winner: Shayna Baszler by pinfall

Post-match Shayna poses on the second rope and calls out Liv Morgan. Cole says that with Liv dinged up, this is the worst possible outcome for her. Back to Sami with the Usos and tells them that everything's all taken care of with the production truck. He has to talk to Roman and Jimmy says it ain't gonna happen. Sami says they're giving him the runaround and Jey shouts the truth is the Bloodline don't need him and if Sami doesn't get with the program, he'll rip that shirt off real soon. We get a graphic for tonight's confrontation between Drew and Roman before we cut to commercial. Back from break we get yet another Summerslam vignette before we head to our next match.

Match 4

The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) vs Tommy Gibson and Jim Mulkey

Interesting names for the job guys. Tommy Gibson is 19 year old "Hollywood" Hunter James out of the Georgia indies while Jim Mulkey is Marcus Kross (no not Karrion). Gibson runs right into an Erik forearm to start. He heaves Mulkey in the ring where Ivar tags in to do a bronco buster to Mulkey. Ivar scoop slams Gibson and Erik scoop slams Ivar onto Gibson. Ivar elbows Tommy in the corner and tags in Erik. Erik splashes Mulkey and scoop slams him before tagging in Ivar. Ivar hops on the second rope and hits a powerslam on Gibson. Both Raiders slam Mulkey on Gibson and Erik covers for 1..2...3.. to win the match. A good old fashioned squash match right out of 1993.

Time of match: 1:28

Winners: Viking Raiders by pinfall

Post-match the Raiders shitcan the jobbers but here comes Kofi Kingston with a singapore cane. Kofi cleans house of both Raiders to a huge pop. Erik "You're a dead man!" as we go to break. Back from commercial, its an impromptu match!

Match 5

Erik (with Ivar) vs Kofi Kingston

Impromptu match since Erik had no problem with the jobbers. Kofi punches away at Erik in the corner but runs into a knee to the face. Erik pounds away on Kofi and hits a snapmare. Erik applies a chinlock and pounds away with forearms. Erik hits a modified Bossman slam and covers for 1...2...no. Erik  goes for a full nelson and knees the back of the head. He covers for 1..2...no. McAfee says he's never seen the moves Erik has done before as Kofi hits a second rope dropkick. Erik is sent out of the ring and Erik dives over the top rope onto him. Ivar misses with the singapore cane and Erik uses the distraction to send Kofi in. Kofi rolls up Erik anyway for 1..2....3 to win the match. That was sudden although it doesn't really prove anything. He barely beat Erik but oh well, a win's a win. 

Time of match: 3:44

Winner: Kingston by pinfall

Cole says he has breaking news, the women's tag team belts are vacant and this Monday, the tag team tournament starts to crown new champions. Finally, its time for the confrontation. Roman Reigns and The Uso's hit the ring as we get a highlight of Reigns winning the Last Man Standing Match with Brock Lesnar. We cut to commercial and when we come back, we get a mini-vignette of Gunther highlights. Then Roman stands in the ring with his crew and demands his acknowledgement. McAfee "They have to. How could you not?" Reigns say you know the deal and how they're going to brag about winning, but there's a few things first. Roman says he hates Brock Lesnar but he respects him. Reigns says they hate Lesnar because he tried to kill Heyman who's not here. Reigns says Heyman is in the hospital (yes, not medical facility, another sign Vince is gone). but Drew McIntyre shows up for a rebuttal. Drew calls him the "tribal queef" and says he talks too much. He just wants to fight and doesn't want to wait. Drew goes to the ring but strange music plays and things go black and white. A woman is at the entrance way as even the Bloodline is confused. Suddenly Drew McIntyre is attacked by....KARRION KROSS! Yup, the guy who was released in 2021 along with fifty others for Vince's "budget cuts" is back! Kross beats the hell out of McIntyre and sends him into the ring steps. The woman at the entrance is Scarlett Bordeaux and Kross looks at the Bloodline. Scarlett sets up an hourglass as Cole says time is running out on Reigns. Kross and Scarlett stare at the Bloodline and Reigns holds up his title belts as we sign off.

Looks like Triple H is righting the wrongs of the past by bringing back Kross & Scarlett who should have never been fired in the first place. Not only that, he's going to put legit badass Baszler against Liv Morgan in Wales. Then he's bringing back the women's tag team belts. Things are looking up around here. Sami continues to be the sidekick to The Uso's and McIntyre now has to watch his back against Roman. Not just from the Uso's but Kross as well. Also Reigns said "hospital" and not medical facility, that's definitely a sign Vince doesn't run the show. Hopefully Raw this Monday keeps up the momentum. I'll see you there!

WWE NXT (7/4/12)

Full Sail University

Orlando, FL

July 4, 2012

Commentators: Jim Ross & Bryon Saxton

After the great debut show two weeks ago, last week's NXT felt like an old episode of WWF Superstars with vignettes and squash matches. Hopefully the upcoming weeks will be better once everybody is introduced and they can all just wrestle. We got a women's match and Kassius Ohno making his debut. JR thanks us for joining and sends us right to our first match.

Match 1

Sofia Cortez vs Paige

Sofia Cortez was Ivelisse Velez on Tough Enough the year earlier and she was actually the protoge of indy legend Steve Boz in Chicago before being signed. Her opponent was actually a 19 year old Saraya Bevis who made her debut at the age of 13 in her native England in 2005. She's the daughter of Sweet Saraya and Roy Bevis, both English wrestlerts. This is booked as a "divas" match and Saxton gets excited before the bell. They lock up but Paige throws Sofia backwards. Sofia ducks under a clothesline and goes for a waistlock but Paige blocks it with a headbutt. Sofia blocks a hiptoss with a headscissors into a frankensteiner. Paige bails to the outside as JR brings up Sofia;s singing talent and martial arts skills. Back inside Sofia kicks and punches away in the corner and tells the ref to shut up. Paige follows with right hands but Sofia lands a martial arts kick. Sofia covers for a 1 count and locks in a arm-trap chinlock but Paige flips out of it and chops Sofia. Paige eats a kick to the face and Sofia executes the Mysterio DDT. She covers for 1....2....3 and that's it. This was definitely nearing the end of the "divas" era as 19 year old Paige looked pretty good selling here and just needed more experience. Sofia gets the duke as JR puts over both having a future. We go to the highlight of the finish as Saxton calls it an impressive debut.

Time of match: 2:27

Winner: Cortez by pinfall

Saxton hypes up Kassius Ohno's debut later tonight but up next is Seth Rollins taking on Camacho with Hunico in his corner. After the commercial break we go right to the match.

Match 2

Camacho (with Hunico) vs Seth Rollins

Camacho was born Tevita Fifita, the son of Haku. He was signed in 2009 as Tonga before becoming Donny Marlow in FCW. He made his main roster debut as Camacho, bodyguard of Hunico. Hunico was born Jose Arriaga who won the Texas state wrestling tournament his senior year of 1996 and was voted tournament MVP. He turned pro in 1999 and worked as Mistico in Mexico until someone else named Mistico (Luis Urive) showed up and Arriaga had to change his name. He signed with WWE in 2009 under the name Hunico and was in their developmental program when WWE signed Urive to work as Sin Cara. When Urive got suspended for 30 days following a wellness violation, Arriaga became Sin Cara. We all know how Sin Cara vs Sin Cara came out of that and eventually Arriaga became Hunico again doing a cholo gimmick. Now he's backup for Camacho against Rollins who made his debut the week before. Rollins makes his entrance punching up the ramp like Donkey Kong before getting in the ring. Rollins and Camacho slug it out at the bell but Camacho takes his head off with a big elbow. Camacho works him over in the corner before whipping Rollins off the ropes who turns it into a cradle for a deuce. Rollins trips up Camacho and covers for a 1 before chopping Camacho. Rollins works him over in the corner then whips Camacho into the other corner. A charge eats boot to drop Rollins and Camacho drops a leg before stomping away. Camacho pulls Rollins into the middle and covers for 1 before taunting him. Camacho executes a back suplex and covers for 1....2...nope. Camacho stomps away at Rollins as JR calls Seth highly regarded. Saxton says that's driving Camacho to beat him up if everyone's high on Rollins. Rollins nips out of a giant swing to hit an enziguiri to stun Camacho and drives Camacho into the buckle with a one armed ddt. Rollins hits a dropkick and kicks Hunico down but runs into a big forearm by Camacho.  Camacho holds Rollins for Hunico to hop up on the apron. Rollins sends Camacho into Hunico then hits the curb stomp on him. He covers for 1....2....3 and that's it. Hunico gets in and beats up Rollins with Camacho joining in. They doubleteam Rollins until Bo Dallas hits the ring to save Rollins. Rollins had a bright future ahead and he did the best he could in that.

Time of match: 4:33

Winner: Seth Rollins

We go right to the next match after commercial.

Match 3

Corey Graves and Jake Carter vs CJ Parker and Nick Rogers

Tag team match to showcase the four new guys. Parker we know but Corey Graves was born Matthew Polinsky and started wrestling in 2000 at age 16. He took the name Sterling James Keenan which was a tip of the hat to Sterling Sharpe of the Green Bay Packers and Maynard James Keenan of Tool. In 2006 he worked dark matches with WWE before signing a developmental deal in 2011. Jake Carter is the son of none other than Big Van Vader and played football for Oklahoma University before injuries derailed him. He also got a developmental deal in 2011. Rogers was born Austin Spencer and he made his name on the Canadian indies before signing with FCW. He had a good run there and now he's here on NXT. Graves & Carter were the FCW tag champs right around the time FCW closed. Parker starts with Graves at the bell and Graves gets in a sideheadlock before Parker monkey flips him. Graves gets mad and rams Parker in the corner who punches Carter. Carter tags in and beats up Parker before landing a forearm. Graves tags in and holds him down before Carter splashes Parker in the corner. Graves chokes Parker on the middle rope before Parker fights back with punches and a backdrop. Rogers gets the tag but runs into a Carter spinebuster who had tagged in. Carter knocks Parker off the apron and tags Graves. They hit their finisher "Bottoms up" on Rogers and Graves covers for 1....2...3 to win the match. Carter & Graves definitely had chemistry and it showed in this match. Just a basic squash to get the team over.

Time of match: 2:25

Winners: Graves & Carter by pinfall

We go to JR and Byron and JR calls Kassius Ohno a knockout artist. We go to a highlight package of Kassius before we go to commercial. Back from commercial we get a Bray Wyatt vignette saying he's not afraid of anything and feels no pain. He tells his future opponents they need to run as we hear sinister laughing. Wyatt is making his debut next week.

Match 4

Mike Dalton vs Kassius Ohno

Ross says Dalton was trained by Lance Storm as Dalton starts with an arm-bar but Ohno overpowers him. Dalton sends him off the ropes and hits a drop toe hold before high school pinning Ohno for a 1 count. Ohno reverses a prawn hold and hits a dropkick to the face. Ohno goes in the corner and shouts "OHHHH....NO" then delivers a clothesline in the corner followed by a jumping forearm. Ross says Ohno prefers knocking people out as Ohno kicks Dalton around. Ohno chops Dalton in the corner and locks in a cobra clutch. Dalton fights out of it and hits a spinning wheel kick. He covers for 1...2...nope. Ohno rakes the eyes then hits the K.O. punch. Ohno covers for 1...2....3...its over. Dalton is out cold as Ross puts over the discus punch as something special. Ohno grabs the mic and says he knocks people out and when they hear him coming they say "Oh no!". Gonna need to do better than that but its a start.

Time of match: 2:32

Winner: Ohno by pinfall

We go to commercial then straight to the next match.

Match 5

Derrick Bateman vs Jinder Mahal

Both Mahal and Bateman won in the previous weeks before so it makes sense to put them together to give someone a possible winning streak. Bell's gone and they tie up to start with the crowd starting a small USA chant, ha! Bateman takes advantage with a northern lights suplex and clotheslining Mahal over the top rope to the floor. Bateman dives onto Mahal on the floor before sending him back inside. Mahal snaps Bateman off the top rope and covers for a near fall before choking him on the second rope. Mahal drops some knees to the sternum and goes for a Rude Awakening but Bateman counters with a backslide for a deuce. Bateman catches Mahal with a cradle for a two count then a slam with a roll up for yet another near fall. Bateman drops Mahal with two clotheslines and a facebuster. A running neckbreaker by Bateman gets a two count and Derrick gets frustrated. Bateman is sent into the ropes and Mahal delivers a knee to the back of the head. Mahal then locks in the camel clutch and Bateman quickly submits. Mahal sold his ass off for Bateman yet one move turned the tide for him. The crowd boos but Mahal is your winner.....but wait! Mahal puts the clutch back on as JR says there's no call for this. Guess he needed some more heat.

Time of match: 4:02

Winner: Mahal by submission

Late breaking news, tonight's main event is now a six man tag with Michael McGillicutty teaming with Hunico and Camacho against Tyson Kidd, Bo Dallas and Seth Rollins. Dusty Rhodes isn't wasting any time plus Rollins & Camacho are pulling double duty. After an obligatory "Don't try this at home" commercial we got to our main event.

Match 6

Seth Rollins, Bo Dallas and Tyson Kidd vs Michael McGillicutty, Hunico and Camacho

Guest Commentator: William Regal

Stemming from the match to start the night, now we got an impromptu six man. Kidd and McGillicutty had a great match two weeks earlier and Dallas was victorious last week. Dallas starts with Michael who Michael tells to scram. Tyson tags in so Hunico does as well. JR complains about Hunico's durag as Kidd hits a top rope headscissors. Hunico gets a boot to the mid-section and a Gory Special and uses it as a pinfall attempt for 1...2...no. Kidd uses his abdominal strength to sunset flip out of it for a two count then Kidd victory rolls out of a waistlock. Kidd armdrags Huncio and tags in Dallas who drops an elbow to the left arm. Rollins tags in and goes to town on Hunico in the corner before splashing him in the other corner. Rollins gets distracted by Camacho allowing Hunico to nail him from behind. Camacho tags in as we cut to commercial. We're back with Camacho covering Rollins for a near-fall before locking in a chin-lock. Rollins fights out of it but is in the wrong corner as Hunico tags in to stomp away. Hunico charges but eats boot then Rollins monkey flips Hunico halfway across the ring. Rollins rolls into the corner to tag Dallas but Camacho tags in. Camacho falls down so Dallas somewhat misses a big elbow so they repeat the spot. Dallas kicks Camacho in the head then knocks Michael off the apron. Camacho counters by throwing Dallas head first into the bottom buckle. Regal says Camacho manhandles people with ease. McGillicutty tags in and and puts the boots to Dallas. Michael gets in a chinlock and punches Dallas for good measure. Dallas powers out of it but Michael locks in a leglock to keep Dallas from tagging. Hunico tags in and delivers a double-underhook backbreaker then covers for 1...2.....nope. Hunico locks in a chinlock as Regal tells a cockamamie story of how Camacho saved Hunico in the barrio from a gang stabbing by biting the nose off the guy stabbing Hunico. Hunico tags in McGillicutty to deliver more damage before executing a backbreaker. The cover gets a deuce and Michael pounds away as Regal says Dallas suffered a kidney injury a few months earlier. McGillicutty cheap shots Rollins but that allows Dallas to make the tag to Kidd. Kidd cleans house of the heels and hits a dropkick to the face. A pier sixer develops with Dallas taking out Hunico to the floor. Rollins dives off the top onto Dallas, Hunico and Camacho. Down to Kidd and McGillicutty, Michael chopblocks Kidd and hits the McGillicutter. He covers for 1...2....3 that's it. Good booking to have Michael get a big win after putting Tyson over two weeks earlier. Hunico struts around as JR signs off. Damn good match for time constraints and it showcased the stars of the future. Kidd and McGillicutty took command but the others kept up nicely.

Time of match: 13:19

Winners: McGillicutty, Camacho and Hunico by pinfall

That was a better show than last week as they're still in weeding out mode. They're trying to establish everyone's skills before they start storylines. It's fairly obvious a lot of these guys could go like Kidd, Rollins & McGillicutty and NXT was to develop character. Paige was only 19 here which is a blessing that NXT was established to get her experience before being put in a WWE ring. Kassius Ohno is a bit of a gimmick but he can definitely work on it. Jinder has a GREAT look and he could be a special heel someday. Bray Wyatt makes his debut next week so let's see what the former Husky Harris has in store.

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.