NXT returned to the ~50 minute run-time it always had prior to its debut on WWE Network, thoroughly wrecking havoc with my four segment format. I know that doesn't bother many of you, as the recap & results layout doesn't seem to be universally embraced as of yet. But let's give it a few more weeks, shall we?
(We shall)
Segment One
Recap:
- Mojo Rawley defeated Bull Dempsey in an extended squash while New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski watched.
- CJ Parker upgraded his wardrobe in order to vow revenge on Rawley.
- Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn never got started because Corey Graves cheap shotted Zayn headfirst into the ring post.
Reactions:
- The Hype Man's entrance is fun. I can't deny it. But he's got to be able to work a match after it, or he's just Brodus Clay.
- The formula they used for this one will work for now, though. Dempsey worked him over for a few minutes so he could get his wind back, basically. Then it's the four moves of doom, only two of which lead with his posterior (shoulder to mid-section out of three-point stance, splash, Rear View, Hyper Drive - which is what they're calling his seated senton).
- It's funny how you can pretty much predict the big, hard partyin', dopey-looking NFL players who will do a lot of stuff with WWE. God love 'em, but Gronk and Ben Roethlisberger look like they're cut from the same frat boy cloth, if you know what I mean.
- Color me impressed with heel CJ Parker's mic work. I think putting him in a suit is probably a mistake - it's out of the Chris Jericho bad guy playbook without any regard to the actual character he's portraying. Other than that, letting him go on about Mojo eating GMO fast food and belching has let him settle into a naturally douche-y groove. Now if he could just do anything interesting in the ring...
- Tyler Breeze's entrance > Adam Rose's entrance. COME AT ME, MARKS!
- Depriving the NXT live and television audience of a Sami Zayn match is pretty much the most heelish thing you can do, I think. Looking forward to more of that feud, if for no other reason than I think working with a babyface ring general will really help Graves learn to work as a rudo within matches.
Segment Two
Recap:
- Sheamus begins an interview with Devin Taylor about having started out in WWE Developmental, but is interrupted by Aiden English to set-up tonight's main event.
- Adam Rose beat Camacho in a back-and-forth match, for which Renee Young joined Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and William Regal on commentary.
- Bayley got a roll-up win over Sasha Banks, while Charlotte attacked Natalya at ringside to further their issues.
Reactions:
- You know Sheamus is a good guy, because he made a joke about his opponent's testicles. At least he mentioned JBL here. It's been a while since we've had a General Manager sighting. Triple H seems to do most of the decision and book-making down in Florida lately.
- Adam Rose is SUPER-over with the Full Sail crowd. My early read remains that it's a mid-card gimmick, but his quick popularity and the depth they added to his character in the course of the match give me hope that I'm wrong. Having his opponent mocking him be the thing that sets him off is great, and he added some new flourishes to the old Kruger moves (like pulling a train whistle before The Slice - or whatever they end up calling his clothesline now). Keep adding elements like that and he could make some occassional main event noise.
- I think it took 12 seconds before somebody asked Renee about backstage gossip. It was less than that before she and Regal started flirting. It didn't really detract from a strong match, but there was a spot where Camacho was elevating his body to add pressure to a headlock where I wanted William to say something, but he was too busy chatting up Young.
- Whichever Cagesider or Cagesiders had the idea to have Camacho replace Roman Reigns in The Shield...that's a good idea. He'd fill the power vacuum nicely, and it would give them a chance to stop freaking pretending he's Mexican.
- The strappy, single shoulder look Banks was rocking was Boss, if you will.
- Bayley becoming more confident due to experience and her affiliation with Natalya is a fantastic development. They really need to introduce some new females, because I'd like to see her get a few definitive victories to reinforce it, but Sasha and Charlotte are not at a point where it makes sense for them to be easily dispatched.
- The Beautiful Fierce Female (BFF) did a lot to impress me this week as well. While playing heel ascendent, she did a lot more than just rest holds. The shrieking and slap fighting still showed up, but it was limited to when the story of the match dictated it.
- Pretty excited to see what kind of match Natty gets out of The Nature Girl. They've built a pretty good feud out of just a couple of interactions.
Segment Three / Main Event
Recap:
- An extended promo video for next week's episode highlights the NXT title rematch between champ Adrian Neville and Bo Dallas, Xavier Woods vs. Tyler Breeze, Natalya vs. Charlotte and Mojo vs. CJP on a show they are calling "Vengeance".
- Aiden English makes the mistake of taking the microphone away from an Irishman when he's singing a ditty.
- Sheamus defeats English in a long match that the announcers use to put over The Artiste.
Reactions:
- Very excited for next week - more so for what it portends for NXT than the card itself. To the surprise of no one, the women's match is the bout to which I'm most looking forward. It's smart for them to build toward an episode like this, though. Every month would be too much for a two-hour, ArRIVAL-like special, but if we know that angles are going to pay off every few shows like this, it will make it easier to get through episodes like last week.
- Has English always had the theater scene on the Trinatron for his entrance? It's a cool touch. No idea what the song was based on, but they should consider providing some musical accompaniment.
- The Mojo Rawley section was very excited to see Sheamus. I'm just sayin'...
- I get what they were trying to do here, but I'm not sure The Drama King was ready for the spotlight. English's offense is still almost exclusively strikes, and based on his look and Sheamus' well-deserved reputation as a brawler, I don't buy for one second that he could push The Celtic Warrior to the limit.
- Phillips and Regal tied for best lines from an announcer on WWE TV in a good long while. The Villain said that watching English and Sheamus was like "looking at a negative" because of how pale they are. The play-by-play man got in a perfectly appropriate Archer reference when the Irishman high-fived a youngster made up to look like him and Tom called him, "the wee baby Sheamus".
- Quite liked the spot where Sheamus pulled himself up to the top rope and Aiden hit a modified neckbreaker once he got there. Other than that, this was a long, unexciting affair. Kind of like a Bo Dallas match.
Nice return to form for the show this week. Characters were developed, the middle two matches were strong enough to carry the opener and the main event and we have something to look forward to with next week's "Vengeance" show.