WWE NXT
Full Sail University
June 21, 2012
Report by: Grash of Wrestleview.com
The show opens with a package explaining NXT as the gateway to the future. The show has a brand new slick opening. The new theme music for NXT is now “Welcome Home” by Coheed and Cambria. Don’t get me wrong. I loved Wild and young, but it has run its course. The music is a kick in the pants upgrade that will get people excited.
Regal welcomes the viewers to the show. JR, now with deep stash and beard, comes out and welcomes the crowd to the new NXT. JR brings out Dusty Rhodes and announces him as the interim NXT General Manager. Dusty makes Tyson Kidd and McGillicutty for the main event.
We see a package for Bo Dallas. He talks about growing up in the business as he’s IRS’s kid. He says he’s ready to go. Regal says his debut will be next.
* ads *
Raw 1000
The King talks about Vince in the hospital. Mankind tries to cheer him up. Stone Cold jumps Vince and whacks him with a bedpan.
Bo Dallas vs. Rick Victor
Regal talks about Bo’s passion and fire. Rick is the last man to apparently to go through the Dungeon. The match is back and forth. Rick has a strength advantage while Bo has quickness on his side. Bo gets a good power slam. This sets up Bo on the offensive for the pinfall for the win.
Winner: Bo Dallas
After the match, Bo gets interviewed. He says he executed, and you see him again. He then makes a “Bo Knows” comment. JR picks up on that and runs with it.
We get a package for Seth Rollins. Seth is the change “you’ve been waiting for”. He is introduced with a CM Punk rogue vibe in his package. Seth will debut next week. We get a bump that reinforces our main event. We then move into a package putting over Antonio Cesaro as dangerous. He will be on NXT next week.
* ads *
Damien Sandow vs. Jason Jordan
Damien Sandow enters to the arena to his music. Jason Jordan is on Jobber Alert as he’s introduced without an entrance. Damien heads to the ring gets on the apron. He then announces for the best of all of us, He cannot, will not, and shall not compete tonight. And that’s all they wrote.
Winner: All of us. You’re NOT Welcome.
We then cut to a package that introduces The Ascension. The Ascension is the pair of Connor O’Brian and Kenneth Cameron. The package features them on the rooftop of a dark metropolis city at night. They “Rise” next.
* ads *
Raw Rebound
Skateboard Dude’s Last Night.
The Ascension vs. CJ Parker and Mike Dalton
And in an extended squash, the Ascension takes control of the match and dominate the whole way through. Great presentation in the ring as well as commentary putting them over makes the Ascension a pair to watch.
Winners: The Ascension
After the match, JR puts over the main event, calling Kidd and McGillicutty as NXT Stars.
* ads *
Bray Wyatt is real.
This cannot be done justice in recap form. Please watch it. And stop lying to your kids.
Curtis’ Office
Bateman calls Curtis out. Curtis is in a toilet stall. The two walk Outside of the Bathroom. They discuss their main event match next week. Before leaving, Bateman asks if Curtis is going to wash his hands. He does so, on Bateman’s Shirt.
Tyson Kidd def. Michael McGillicutty
Mike is out first, Tyson is second. Commentary puts over the a ability and family of each. The match starts off with back and forth action with Tyson taking the speed advantage and Mike with the strength advantage. We get a big spot and we cut to ads.
* ads *
When we return, the match is back and forth between the two to get us resituated. This gives way to a lengthy control segment by Mike. It puts Tyson in the face in peril role and helps build hope spots. We would then see sharpshooter attempts from each of them before Tyson applies the dungeon lock on Mike for the finish.
Winner: Tyson Kidd
Grash Says…
I want to thank Jason Namako (WrestleView’s ROH and FCW recaper and Host of the Independent Round Table) and Jeremy Samples for providing me ways to watch this new NXT. Given how my week went, I needed both of them. NXT right now does not air in the United States except for the Brighthouse network in Florida where it replaces the older FCW show there. All information about NXT was pulled from WWE’s website as well. The reason for this pull back from the WWE is simple: They have full intention to either shop the show around or to use it with the launch of the new network.
Bo’s package doesn’t make him look so good. He’s rather disjointed on the mic. The post-match interview is worse however. For most people, Bo Jackson of duel sport fame has faded from the spotlight. However for me, hearing the old “Bo Knows” phase makes me cringe. Not sure if it’s a matter of his age, skill, or talent that I am reacting to. Regardless how I feel, the WWE has made it very clear that Bo is a big deal and should be looked at going forward.
The next big package was for the Ascension. If you look back to my recaps from early 2011, you will see that I highly enjoyed Connor’s work with Kozlov. So it’s nice to see him back. Connor is paired with a Kenneth Cameron. Connor is the muscle and Kenneth is the speed in this pairing. As for their gimmick, they’re vampires. They don’t Sparkle. They are not the hoity-toity sex filled Lestat-Anne Rice style Ventrue-Torridor vampires. Instead, they harken back to older Nosferatu whom accept as and behave as bestial monsters of the night. It’s a different and interesting look that what is presented in other shows.
I enjoyed Tyson and McGillicutty as the action was good, but not as intense as previous NXT matches. I lay this down at the fact there was no story going into the match. Something simple as that to give some context and explanation to why these two hate each other (and they do in kayfabe) would have elevated this match. The problem with my opinion is that given the structure of the time in this week’s show, there wasn’t simply any time to use to build the match. It’s the feeling after finishing a good steak and your mind going “That was good steak, I want more of it”.
The choice WWE made here to build future shows. Ultimately, that’s the right choice. It’s laying the ground work for us to want to come back. It’s easy to say they’ve done their job with teases for Cesaro and Rollins. The next show’s main event with Curtis and Bateman already has some buzz for it as well from today’s episode.
Of all teases, it’s Bray Wyatt who has gotten buzz for his package. I will reiterate what I said in the recap. The segment is of such quality that trying to recap it will not do it justice. It is something simply you need to watch to understand the buzz. Understanding Wyatt? Well that’s another matter.