WWE Monday Night RAW #1257 Review (26th June 2017)

This week's Monday Night RAW came from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California and featured a Women's Championship #1 Contender's Gauntlet match with Sasha Banks, Bayley, Mickie James, Dana Brooke, Emma and Nia Jax, The Hardy Boyz teaming with Finn Balor against Elias Samson and Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus and Enzo Amore calling out Big Cass for attacking him last week as well as Intercontinental Champion The Miz and his Miztourage, Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe. But was it any good? Let's take a look.

Strowman chucked Reigns in an Ambulance

This segment was made for a GIF of one big guy throwing another big guy off a stage and into an Ambulance. That's pretty much all this eight minute slice was as Roman Reigns cut a promo about being attacked by Braun Strowman last week, then Strowman turned up in ambulance (leading inevitable Scott Steiner references on the ever-imaginative world of Twitter) and then as Reigns tried to take the action to Strowman he failed miserably and ending up leaving the back of the ambulance. The crowd was hot for it, it was entertaining and created a memorable and GIF-friendly moment. Hardly a classic, but it did what it was intended to do and did it well.

Hardy Boyz & Balor def. Tag Team Champions Cesaro, Sheamus & Samson

Our opening contest was a solid and simple six man tag, that finished hot with a couple of dives to the outside, before Finn Balor pinned Cesaro after a Coup de Grace. The match followed your usual six man structure with Balor and then Jeff Hardy taking on the face in peril role and Cesaro, Sheamus & Elias Samson working well as the bruising heels in control. This fairly basic, but otherwise enjoyable six man (the crowd absolutely loved it) was pretty much ruined when some guy joined the commentary desk and got interviewed by Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Tom Phillips on commentary. The bloke talked about a couple of movies he's in and apparently he was in the new Transformer film, but I had no idea who he was and he essentially just made the match feel even more inconsequential than it was. 

• A Goldust promo about stage fright, ahead of his match with R-Truth next, like most of these promos the direction and performance is nice but there's nothing particular catching about the content.

• Goldust came out with his own personal cameraman wearing a gold suit and beat the shit out of R-Truth. There was no match. 

• Samoa Joe interrupted a Paul Heyman interview and it was fucking great.

The Worst Segment of the Year Happened 

Who the fuck are the Ball Family? These three dickwads turned up on Miz TV to advertise some horrible looking t-shirts and the family's Dad went on a mad one, running around the ring and generally making the Miz look stupid for not kicking him in his great balls of fire. I'm not sure what it was supposed to be or how this was supposed to get people interested in anything, but it was horrible. Arguably worse than This is Your Life because it had literally no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Apparently one of the kids said the N-word as well and thankfully WWE just played Dean Ambrose music when they realised things had gone down hill quickly than greased up fat guy. 

The Miztourage def. Ambrose, Rhyno & Slater

Six man tags, we all love six man tags. Honestly, I was still trying to get over the previous segment to pay much attention to what was going on here, but I did see Bo Dallas got a roll-up victory on Rhyno. Everything else was pretty basic stuff and with having already seen a six man tag as the shows only other match to this point it was difficult to get excited about. But, The Miztourag  won, which is a good thing I suppose and makes sense with them being the unit in the match as opposed to the hodge-podge team of Dean Ambrose, Heath Slater and Rhyno. 

Cass turned on Enzo...again. 

This was another weirdly put together segment, that included a great, heart-felt promo from Enzo Amore, but also showed that WWE wasn't 100% all-in, lacking the little touches that could have elevated both guys heading into their programme. Stuff like having Cass enter to the same music as Enzo and then using the same gimmick microphone made this segment feel like an afterthought, when both guys had clearly put a lot of work into it. Having Cass apologise and Enzo accept the apology, ended making Amore look like he was missing a couple of his marbles, but we're all used to our babyfaces being stupid af so why stop now. Cass obviously attacked his pal on the entrance ramp and managed to get a decent bit of heat from it, but this segment could have and should have been so much better, with just a little bit more attention to detail. 

Rollins def. Hawkins 

Seth Rollins picked up a swift victory over Curt Hawkins, pulling out all of his big hitters before winning with his ripchord knee situation.  Hawkins is pretty good in his job as "warm body" and his quick "star-maker" promo prior to each match makes the beatings he takes more entertaining than a win over a local competitor. Bray Wyatt's big face popped up on the screen post-match and he said some words about being a God and announced that the two would face off on 9th July in Dallas, Texas. Wyatt has been coasting since his WWE title programme with Randy Orton, I used to be captivated by promos, but now I find myself zoning out because the content is way too [Insert Name Here] and struggles to break it's formula. 

Joe ambushes Lesnar 

The trope-heavy build towards Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire continued as Joe jumped Lesnar from behind on the ramp and attempted to choke him out with the Coquina Clutch. NXT has shown over it's run that sometimes the simplest wrestling cliches are the best things to building rivalries and creating interest and that's exactly what we've seen between Joe and Lesnar so far. Joe's been built up as a credible threat to Lesnar's Universal Championship, which means even if he doesn't topple the Beast Incarnate (which let's face it he isn't going to do), he'll be in a much better place than where he was before and whoever manages to take the title from Lesnar will benefit even more. I mean, again, the babyfaces looked completely stupid, as anyone and his dog could have seen what was coming as Paul Heyman introduced his client, but that's by the by. 

• Neville def. Lince Dorado in a purple ropes match, with Akira Tozawa looking to scrap with him after the match. Titus O'Neil stopped the fight and announced the two would face off at Great Balls of Fire in a pretty awful promo. 

• Paul Heyman cut a magnificent promo when interviewed by Dasha Fuentes, telling us why we should get behind Brock Lesnar, why Samoa Joe was a threat and why we should want to see them fight, all in an entertaining and captivating two minutes of screen time. 

• Women's Champion Alexa Bliss tried to kiss up to Nia Jax as their weird, will-they, won't-they saga continued, ahead of the Number One Contender's Gauntlet match.

Jax def. Bayley, James, Brooke and Emma, Banks def. Jax in a Gauntlet Match to become #1 Contender to the Women's Championship

It was cool to see the Women end the show this week and taken as an overall piece of storytelling, this was a strong near half hour of television. Yeah it had it's problems, like Nia Jax beating Bayley WAY too quickly in the first match for my liking, but we got a match that managed to build one contender up as a monster heel who is more of less unstoppable under regular circumstances, whilst also giving us a Number One contender who found a way to beat the unbeatable, with the caveat being it came after the unbeatable had already wrestled the rest of the women's division. Jax is brilliant in her role and deserves a tonne of credit for taking her look and making herself feel like a believe bad ass. The hip attacks with her opponents on the ropes and pushing Brooke to the mat as she attempted a cartwheel elbow were great examples. She's clearly being helped by the booking (pinning Bayley, Mickie James, Dana Brooke and Emma in speedy fashion!) and could still be more polished inside the ring, but she's more than capable of creating a story-based match that gets the fans invested when called upon. I also think she's got more potential as an ass-kicking babyface, due to her overtly likeable persona off-screen (see the new episode of Ride Along) 

The way Banks won the match made her feel like a credible contender, she didn't get a cheap win, she made Jax tap out to a version of the Banks Statement. She found a way to defeat the Woman who ploughed through the rest of the division, thus we're left with one challenger for Alexa Bliss at the next PPV and another being positioned as a new potential top female heel. It was exactly how the match should have gone. Kurt Angle coming out to celebrate with Banks was a little weird, but Women's Champion Alexa Bliss' appearance made much more sense. We've seen issues between the pair before, but this set the two up for their match in just under two weeks well with Banks landing a dropkick and ending the show posing with the Women's strap. I'm not sure where this leaves the rest of the Women's division, but with only one week of RAW to fill before the six-week build to SummerSlam begins I'm sure they'll find something for Nia to do until then. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.49/10 

The episode managed to finish strong with the Lesnar/Joe segment and then the Women's Gauntlet (with purple ropes in between) but there's no mistaking that this show featured one of the worst segments in television history and a lot of treading water. The two six men matches were fine, but both ruined by terrible celebrity appearances, Rollins and Wyatt haven't quite found what their feud is supposed to be (other than some time filler for both men) and despite strong performances from both Enzo Amore and Big Cass I found their segment lacked the attention to detail (from a booking and presentation stand point) that it deserved to feel like a fitting conclusion to their mystery angle. On the whole, I feel like the show managed to do it's broad strokes well, Reigns chucked Strowman into an Ambulance, Cass took out Enzo again, Joe choked out Lesnar, Jax dominated but Banks earned a title shot, but more often than not lacked the precision that should make being a long-time viewer of the product a satisfying experience. 

WWE NXT #249 Review (Aired 24/05/2017)

On 24th May, WWE aired the 249th episode of NXT, taped at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois before Takeover: Chicago on 20th May. The show's main event had the dream match of former WWE Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre against former NXT Tag Team Champion Wesley Blake. With action featuring Aleister Black, Curt Hawkins, Robert Anthony and the debut of Velveteen Dream, it couldn't overcome the post-takeover curse. I can't even lie to you and pose that as a question, as if it would be good.

Black def. Hawkins

Another brief match for everyone's favourite Dutch shit-kicker. No surprises here, beyond perhaps the amount of heat Hawkins was able to acquire but the pre-taped nature of NXT means such boos are unreliable. After some brief back-and-forth, Black hit the Black Mass for another win. Not much to write about but watching Black destroy lesser men is still fun. I could see that maybe they're trying to start doing a Corbin-Dempsey type one-upmanship feud between  Black and McIntyre as both seem to be getting booked on the same episodes.

• We get the first of five re-caps for the evening of the Tag Title ladder match as well as footage of what happened after. It was accompanied by the most beautiful wordplay by the NXT production team with sadly no answers.

• Ember Moon has a pre-match promo on the empty arena seats. She's annoyed that once again she has to sit to the side and watch. The most interesting detail is that she doesn't want Asuka to lose because she's not just focussed on winning the NXT title but winning it From Asuka. Good storytelling that. "Time heals all wounds but battle scars last forever"

• Recap II: Women's Triple Threat Edition. Asuka has a post-match interview which hits her standard beats, I'm the best, no-one will ever take my title, kicks for all, woo!

• The Velveteen Dream will be in the ring, TONIGHT!

• Recap III: Strong v Young. Afterwards Strong has an interview, he talks about fighting for his family's honour and also his next goal being the NXT title. I bet him vs Roode would be a fine treat indeed.

Dream def. Anthony

There were three notable things from this match: 

1. Patrick Clark's name is now 'Velveteen Dream'. It is not a nickname, it is now who he is. 
2. Dream has upgraded from 'Wii Menu Screen Prince Rip-Off track' to 'Toejam & Earl Deep Cut Prince Rip-Off Track'. 
3. He has somehow managed to make a neckbreaker into a Top Rope Elbow Drop a convincing finishing manoeuvre.

Another quick squash that did the job of establishing Dream, a persona that Clark has managed to adapt to with reasonable comfort. Action-wise, it was servicable but showed off Dream well who hopefully will continue to grow as a performer and won't just be used as a pouting joke because there's too much potential there to waste.

• Recap IV of V: UK Title Edition. Peter gets an interview afterwards talking about how Bate had just been holding his title for him and how he told everyone he'd take it and he did. Good for him.

• It's the final recap and yes, it's the NXT title. Afterwards, Roode and acts all smug like talking about how he's the greatest NXT champion of all time and how Itami was good but not in his league. Somewhere Neville is Geordie fuming about him basically stealing the 'not on Neville's level' bit.

McIntyre def. Blake

This was also a squash, but no quite as quick as the others. As much as this was another match about getting over how good we're meant to think McIntyre is, it did far more for me to re-consider Wesley Blake. As the guy I always thought of as the lesser half of the tandem of Blake and Murphy, with his new bluesy theme, proudly celebrating his Austin, TX background just as much as his tights and working with his new style as an old school Southern grappler, it all worked to make for a very successful re-packaging. This was a surprisingly competitive match from Blake against McIntyre but from the audience's perspective, that seemed to be a detrimental effect as at nearly 9 minutes, shortly after they came back from the ad. break (because we can't have a whole 9 minutes go by without an ad. break), the crowd had clearly lost energy as no-one expected Blake to win and the crowd were not willing to suspend their disbelief for more than a few minutes. Eventually, McIntyre would fight back to deliver his signature Claymore Yakuza Kick for the win. Still, credit to both men for actually trying to bring some energy to a throwaway match and especially to McIntyre for actually making Blake seem like a challenge even if the crowd didn't.

Finally...

Solid matches but nothing exciting. You all know the post-Takeover drill by now, fill time until they can actually film something. Also don't taunt us by asking why Ciampa did what he did then give us nothing. Don't bother unless you really need to see the interviews that are probably online or you're a massive fan of re-debuts. 

ATPW Scale Rating: 3/10

WWE Main Event 3rd July 2013 Review

Main Event seems to have hit it’s stride at the moment, seemingly stumbling upon a format that should work out well for WWE in the long. Pitting a more experience main event calibre star against someone who has been untested in that role, whilst also give them more time than they would usually receive on WWE programming certainly feels like a good move in terms of assessing if a talent is ready for the big time, even if the result is a little predictable.

Christian vs. Damien Sandow 

Taking the format mentioned above this weeks Main Event pitted the experienced veteran Christian against the younger Damien Sandow. It would seem that WWE are still high on Sandow, following his short feud with Sheamus, with Sandow going through a number of awful segments but still managing to hold his own. Christian for me should be occupying a similar role to that of Chris Jericho, by the way of helping to get some of the younger talent over with the audience, Christian is capable of putting on superb matches with numerous different talents and making them look good in the process, however WWE has to be careful to make sure Christian gets enough wins elsewhere to make beating him a big deal.

Before the match, Damien Sandow cut a promo as he walked down to the ring. It was another impressive piece of mic time for Sandow who continues to improve every time he’s handed the microphone. He worked the crowd well, as well as insulting Christian, in terms of pre-match promo there wasn’t much else to do. Also given some time with a microphone was Cody Rhodes who was on commentary for the whole show. This seems like a good idea for me, as Rhodes’ promo ability is not the strongest part of his game, however he impressed me all night long as a commentator. He managed to stay neutral for the most part, even when Sandow was in the ring, whilst talking up the competitors in the ring, as well as any ongoing storylines he needed to mention. A very fine display from the Essense of Mustachioed Magnificence (Funny nickname, can’t see it on the Wrestlemania Marquee though)

The match was another good technical contest with some good wrestling throughout. Christian controlled the early going managing to outsmart Sandow a number of times, which was the main story that ran through the match, Sandow attempting to use his intellect but Christian coming out on top. Sandow eventually did gain some control and did look good in this role wearing down Christian with rest holds, before hitting a number of signature moves such as the Cubito Aquette. My only problem with this part of the match was it was a little too slow with an over reliance on the rest holds and whilst Christian’s selling was good throughout, it felt like this section could really have used a little more going on.

The latter stages of the match certainly picked up the pace after a double clothesline spot that swung the momentum in Christian’s favour. With Sandow able to kick out of a number of Christian’s signature moves in what was more or less a repeated barrage, really allowed Sandow to look like a threat to the veteran and certainly helped build him further, as a future main eventer. The ending saw Sandow reverse a Killswitch in an Edgecution for a near fall, in what was a nice addition of psychology to the match. Christian eventually managed to hit the Killswitch after using the rope to daze Sandow in a move we’ve a few times from Christian since his return. It was a nice ending and giving Christian the victory made sense here to keep him looking like an “All-Star” heading into Money in the Bank, whilst also keeping Sandow looking strong from a competitive contest. Personally I think Sandow has the better chances of leaving WWE’s next pay-per-view with a briefcase than Christian.

Best of the Rest (in the World)

Elsewhere Jack Swagger had his first match since his return on Monday’s Raw against Sin Cara. Before the contest Zeb Colter cut another promo explaining his views on America. This was a much better promo than the one he cut on Raw this week as it had a much more focused feel and stuck to the topic, whilst helping to push Colter’s refocused gimmick. Swagger as usual sticks to his three word catchphrase “We the people”, which works for Swagger as he was never that great a talker, hampered with a bad lisp to boot.

The match between the two was a surprise for me. In as far as Sin Cara was pretty slick in the ring, whilst Swagger seemed uncomfortable being back in the squared circle. Surely after only a few weeks off, there should be no ring rust for Swagger. Swagger dominated the match with a number of power moves, with Sin Cara only getting rare blasts of offense. There was a nice spot with Sin Cara barely making a ten count, which really worked for me as Sin Cara was made out to be the underdog and I think the character finally found it’s niche. If WWE marketed Sin Cara that way, it would certainly help him make his way up the card. Swagger eventually got the after catching Sin Cara awkwardly and hitting a Gutwrench Powerbomb and locking in the Patriot Lock for the submission victory. It would have been a good ending if Swagger had done any work on Sin Cara’s ankle prior to the lock.

Big E Langston was also in action in what was essentially a squash match against Curt Hawkins. Hawkins attempted to use his pace to get one over on Langston but Langston’s power game was showcased well through, with Big E hitting a number of now signature moves and picking up the win with the Big Ending. Langston held the pin for a long time and I was half expecting him to count to five like he does in NXT, but alas it didn’t happen. Big E seems in a bit of a limbo at the moment, we haven’t seen much of him and Dolph Ziggler together lately, and whilst it seems AJ Lee is continuing her involvement, it feels a little like WWE doesn’t know where to fit Langston into things at the moment. Curt Hawkins is another rarely used talent that deserves a lot better from WWE, he’s capable of some really good matches and is a steady hand on the microphone, if WWE has nothing specific for him why not team him up with old partner Zack Ryder and help bolster the tag team division at the same time?

Finally...

What have I learnt from this week's Main Event?

1. Damien Sandow could be in store for a major push in WWE.

2. Sin Cara has improved a lot in his latest run and in an underdog type role may have found a niche.

3. Cody Rhodes is a better commentator than Michael Cole.

WWE Main Event 5th June 2013 Review

This week’s edition of WWE Main Event featured Sheamus in the spotlighted contest once more, this time against another talented European Antonio Cesaro. Elsewhere the Usos took on Team Rhodes Scholars and Justin Gabriel fought the lesser seen Curt Hawkins.

Sheamus vs. Antonio Cesaro

Our main event for Main Event saw two talented Europeans square off for the second week in a row. Last week’s we saw Sheamus face Wade Barrett in an enthralling bout and this week it was the turn of Antonio Cesaro to take on the Celtic Warrior. Both men currently seem in somewhat of a limbo in terms of storyline, with Sheamus’ on-off team with Randy Orton apparently on hold, as well as their subsequent feud with the Shield, with a storyline with Damien Sandow has failed to take off due to some pretty awful segments on Smackdown over the last two weeks. Meanwhile Cesaro hasn’t been seen much of late, mainly appearing on Main Event, and after his unsuccessful run with the United States Championship earlier in the year, it would appear WWE doesn’t know how to handle The Swiss Sensation.

The match, as last week, was a fantastic watch and benefitted from being fairly fresh, as I can only think of handful of occasions these two have faced each other in the past and certainly not recently. Cesaro dominated the early going, firstly slowly wearing down Sheamus with a number of submission holds, and then sending his shoulder crashing into the ring post with Sheamus on the apron, leading to a kick to the head from the opposite side with Sheamus’ head hitting the ring post. This section for me proved why WWE should take more of a chance on Cesaro, as he managed to make this spot look dangerous and important without injuring his opponent. Unfortunately, Sheamus’ selling of this was edging towards the comedic, which would be my only criticism of The Celtic Warrior during this match.

The two then switched momentum frequently throughout the latter half of the contest, with Cesaro showing a number of nasty looking submissions including escaping Sheamus’ White Noise and slapping on a Cross Face Chicken Wing a la Bob Backlund, whilst Sheamus hit his crowd pleasing clubbing blows with Cesaro tied up in the ropes (that moves really needs a name) with Long Island proving they can indeed count to ten. There was a nice near fall when Sheamus leapt from top rope, only to be met with A Very European Uppercut from Cesaro, with at least some in attendance thinking it might be over. The ending came with Cesaro about to attempt his Neutralizer, only for Sheamus to counter into White Noise, which was delivered to the top turnbuckle, once Cesaro got back into the ring, Sheamus delivered a Brogue Kick for the victory. This was a satisfying ending as it at least made Cesaro look like a challenge for Sheamus, unlike Cody Rhodes on Raw last Monday.

Cesaro brings a legitimacy to his matches that is rarely seen in WWE today, he looks extremely tough like a wrestler from the 1950’s, his blows are worked extremely close and his submission holds look painful. Hopefully, this and the number of awful gimmicks that he has taken on will go some way in Cesaro returning to WWE’s good favour as he could really bring something different to the main event scene. Sheamus on the other hand is much better when put in these kind of matches, when he’s taking things seriously against a serious opponent like Cesaro or Wade Barrett he can really put on quite a match.

Best of the Rest

The Usos new push continued as they took on Team Rhodes Scholars. For a tag team match this had a strange dynamic as it saw The Usos dominate for most of the contest. With The Usos making frequent tags, Rhodes and Sandow were rarely in control for very long, including a clever blind tag that lead to Cody Rhodes get dropped on the top rope after a double team. During the small period where Rhodes Scholars had control of the match, we saw a different side from both Cody and Damien, as they looked a lot more aggressive in the ring than what we’ve come expect from the usually precise and calculating duo, including some rather vicious stomps from Rhodes. As the match edged towards its end, there was a great false finish, with Cody slipped out of a suplex attempt and hit his Beautiful Disaster kick, when it looked like it might be over, Jimmy slid in to make the save for his twin. Soon after, Jey hit a Super kick and Jimmy soared from the top rope with a Superfly splash for another impressive victory for the Usos.

I was a little surprised by this match, not at the quality as that was never in doubt with the four individuals in the ring, but that The Usos picked up the victory over a tag team so previously so high up the ranks, so early in their new push. Damien and Cody have been looking like permanently splitting for a while now, maybe it’s finally time to break them up and allow them to pursue singles careers, though with WWE currently stalling on Sandow’s singles feud with Sheamus and Cody seemingly going nowhere it might be a while before their association wears out. WWE clearly believes in The Usos, and I can see why, they put on fantastic tag team match almost every time they get in the ring and seem to know how to work the crowd well, with the right booking and a successful feud with The Shield they have the ability to get over well with the audience.

There was also a singles match between Justin Gabriel and a returning Curt Hawkins. For such a short match this was good fare, with both men playing their roles well. Hawkins looks cocky and confident as a heel, whilst Gabriel’s strong selling ability allows him to work the face in peril role well. The ending however seemed a bit rushed with The Capetown Werewolf kicking a charging Hawkins out of the corner, pushing him to the mat hard, before hitting a 450 splash, even Josh Matthews on commentary seemed surprised. Both of these competitors could benefit from a reignited tag team division, as there really is little for them, however talented they maybe, higher up the singles ladder.

Finally…

What have we learnt from this week’s episode of Main Event?

1. Sheamus benefits from working against a more serious opponent. 

2. The Usos will, deservedly, continue to rise up the Tag Team ranks.

3. Ricardo Rodrigues brings little to the commentary team! 

Announced for next Monday's Raw:

Triple H Vs. Curtis Axel

WWE NXT 29th May 2013 Review

This episode of NXT felt like a farewell/new beginning kind of episode, as we saw a number of Superstars final appearance for WWE as well as a number of debuts and a new number one contender.

18 Man NXT Championship Number One Contenders Battle Royal

Now I don’t know about you, but I love a good battle royal and with the amount of talent in the ring this should have been a fantastic exciting contest, and for the most part it was. With Corey Graves, Bray Wyatt, Kassius Ohno, Adrian Neville, Bo Dallas and Mason Ryan all involved in the contest it was difficult to pick a winner from this bunch, which always adds to match of this type.

The earlier stages of the match was dominated by former Nexus member Mason Ryan, who was given the hilarious nickname “Cardiff Colossus”, as he threw out over half of the competitors including Main Roster superstars Curt Hawkins and Yoshi Tatsu, as well as Briley Pierce and Sakamoto in their last appearance for WWE and the former El Generico, Sami Zayn. With the focus clearly on Mason Ryan’s power, it would seem that NXT is high on Mason Ryan, and personally though he is physically impressive, he doesn’t really offer a lot else and with Superstars like Ryback already occupying similar spots on the Main Roster I don’t really see where Ryan could figure. He was eventually eliminated by fellow Brit Adrian Neville.

With Corey Graves and Kassius Ohno teaming up to eliminate Conor O’Brian only to themselves be eliminated by Bray Wyatt, this sets up nicely for their tag team match with the Wyatt Family next week, it’s been a quick build up and I’m interested to see how Graves & Ohno play out as faces, hopefully they keep the edge that made them so great to watch in the first place. Bray then sped about the ring delivering damage to the former NXT Tag Champions, Neville and Dallas, showing why WWE has decided to move him up to the Main Roster soon, until Neville got another surprise elimination with a huge enziguri.

The final stages of the battle royal were enthralling with Neville and Dallas both hanging on to the ropes to stay in the match at various points. Neville particularly impressed me, with a number of small mannerisms which made it look like he was just about to be eliminated and raised the final moments of the contest. As the two exchanged blows it was clear who the crowd was behind, cheering Neville and booing Dallas, and I have to say I agree. Although, I believe Dallas is a talent young wrestler, I can’t see him ever progressing past a mid-card spot within WWE. Therefore it was even more surprising when Neville missed his British Airways finishing move and Dallas through him out of the contest. Big E Langston vs. Bo Dallas will be an interesting contest, but doesn’t quite have the same feel as Langston vs. Adrian Neville for me.

Best of the Rest

Langston was in action earlier in the evening against the departing Derrick Bateman. The match was quick squash match with Bateman only getting a little early offence, including a nice front kick in the corner before Big E ploughed him down and hit Bateman with the Big Ending for the win. As usual Langston went on to hit his finisher again for a count of five which the audience lapped up. With Langston appearing more and more on Raw and Smackdown it can only be a matter of time before Langston drops the title and disappears from NXT altogether.  

Elsewhere, there was a rare appearance from Stephanie McMahon, who hasn’t been seen on WWE TV since the Hall of Fame ceremony. The Billionaire Princess was there to announce the brand new NXT Women’s Championship and a tournament for the belt starting next week. It is clearly a good idea to introduce the title as it gives the younger competitors something to work for and build storylines around. It will be interesting to see who goes on to eventually win the belt with the early front runners being the likes of Paige, Summer Rae or Emma.

Speaking of Emma she was also in action against a departing Audrey Marie. Emma’s dancing gimmick seemed to get over with the Orlando faithful with plenty joining in with her strange arm movements, however it’s worth wondering if WWE really needs another dancing gimmick, with the likes Fandango, Tons of Funk and R-Truth already occupying spaces on the Main Roster. The match itself was short and messy, with a number of awkward looking moments between the two. Audrey Marie should little to prove that WWE should not have released and she would’ve added little to the Diva’s division which needs stronger performers and characters to build it back up. Emma’s new submission finish, the Emma Lock was probably the best part of the match and was executed well by the young Australian Diva.

There was also two tag team squash matches on the show, the first featuring current NXT Tag Team Champions Luke Harper and Eric Rowan, the Wyatt Family taking on rarely used talents Sawyer Fulton and Travis Tyler. The Wyatt Family dominated the match that went no longer than a minute and a half with Luke Harper pinning Travis Tyler after a Discus Clothesline. Somehow, in such a short match there was an awkward moment where Sawyer Fulton dropped off Harper’s shoulders and attempted to reach for the tag, unfortunately he was way too close to Tyler and this removed any believability to the contest. Neither Tyler nor Fulton did anything to show me that they should move further up the NXT ranks anytime soon.

The other Tag Team contest saw the debuts of Scott Dawson and Garrett Dylan, alongside their manager Sylvester LeFort. Dawson and Dylan play the classic Redneck tag team, whilst LeFort plays an over the top Frenchman in a Leopard print coat, imagine Cade & Murdoch managed by Rico and you’ve pretty much got this team. They faced the now release Brandon Traven and Vader’s son Jake Carter. Teaming up Dawson and Dylan seems like a good idea by WWE, as neither quite has that star power on their own, but as a team they seem to come into their own, producing hard hitting tag team action and could find a niche within the Main Tag Team Roster in the future. Their sit out spine buster/sit out axe handle combination finish was an impressive finish and I can see it getting over with the crowd. LeFort brought little to the team and I’m sceptical about the whole Frenchman leading Rednecks thing, as it just wasn’t done strong enough, although I’m happy to see how it plays out in the coming weeks.

Finally…

What did we learn from this week’s NXT? 

1. Bo Dallas is destined for NXT Championship match, though we’d rather see Adrian Neville get a shot 

2.  WWE won’t regret any of its recent developmental releases.

3. Brad Maddox is hilarious on commentary.

Announced for next week: Kassius Ohno & Corey Graves vs. The Wyatt Family