Saturday, August 25, 2012

8/22/12 NXT

Ratings:
Antonio Cesaro vs. Derrick Bateman: *1/4

Tamina Snuka vs. Sofia Cortez: 3/4*

Kassius Ohno vs. Jake Carter: *1/4

Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel vs. Michael McGillicutty & Johnny Curtis: **1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Another extremely busy week for me is the reason for me only getting to watch this week's NXT now.

Cesaro faces Bateman in singles action here. This match was taped before Cesaro captured the U.S. Title. Cesaro with a nice aggressive style. Cesaro with the Neutralizer for the win.

All the WWE Superstars are praising the NXT Title because (1) they're getting paid to do it and (2) it's good buildup for the finals between Rollins and Jinder. I think the belt looks hideous. Whatever happened to the styles that showed up in the 90s? Those looked real good.

Tamina and Sofia in divas action. This was before Sofia's release from the company, reportedly due to a bad attitude (which Sofia denied). Basic stuff here. You can really tell the difference in how the crowd sounds between these events at Full Sail and those arenas that pack thousands of people. Tamina wins via the superfly splash. Post-match, it's Raquel Diaz with the blindside attack. WWE invested well in Diaz despite being green in wrestling skills, so we'll see how that goes.

Ohno with another win this week, as relative unknown Jake Carter jobs here (we've seen him on TV before; he is Vader's son). Ohno with the rolling elbow KO for the win. Richie Steamboat comes out after the match and eventually challenges Ohno to a match. Glad to see all these little feuds starting between the new guys.

Tag match basically ends the wrestling portion of the show. Some young great talent in the ring here. Very good tag wrestling and experienced tag team techniques here. Sure, Kidd and Gabriel in a match can't be bad, but this was still a much better tag match than I anticipated. Tag team Blockbuster (with a bit of Hart Attack setup) gets Kidd/Gabriel the win.

Face-to-face showdown between Rollins and Mahal ends the show. Contrasting styles in more ways than one. Seth comes to the ring all jacked up to hard rock/metal, while Jinder calmly arrives with his Punjabi (Hindi?) music. Rollins may incorporate a risky wrestling style, while Mahal mostly stays with basic effective moves. Mahal with a cheap shot to start the fight. I'd hope Rollins wins this one because it would really show a new crop of talent has arrived. We'll find out next week!

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