WWE NXT Results
July 25, 2012
Taped at Full Sail University
Report by Justin James, PWTorch contributor
[Q1] Byron Saxton and William Regal hype Seth Rollins (former Tyler Black) against Drew McIntyre for the main event. That sounds like a nice match. They are still using the unnamed male ring announcer from last week.
1 – DERRICK BATEMAN & BO DALLAS vs. JOHNNY CURTIS & MICHAEL MCGILLUTTY – Tag Team match
Dallas and Curtis lock up and Dallas sends Curtis to the corner for a tag. Dallas with a delayed reverse atomic drop and Bateman comes in. Double team and Dallas is the legal man again. Dallas makes a rookie mistake, messing around outside the ring, letting Dallas get isolated. Dallas finally is able to tag Bateman who steamrolls Curtis. McGillicutty breaks up a cover and things break down. The ref is busy with Dallas letting the heels cheat a bit and Curtis hits his brainbuster finisher for the pin.
WINNERS: Curtis & McGillicutty in 3:15. I really want to see more of Dallas, but his role seems to be to get beat up in the heel corner, match after match. The match was too short to enjoy, a common theme of New NXT.
2 – ALEX RILEY vs. ANTONIO CESARO (w/Aksana)
J.R. is in the booth as well for this one. Regal says that Cesaro’s strength program is the old “Milo the Greek with a baby cow” story. Pre-match, Aksana gives Riley a hungry look.
Cesaro is able to over-power Riley from the beginning. Riley turns it around for a moment, but Cesaro faceplants him out the Ten Punches in the corner. Riley gets hung up on the ropes. Riley counters a European uppercut with a backslide but Cesaro rolls through. Cesaro is ragdolling Riley. Riley finally gets a break with a back body drop. Riley makes his habitual comeback.
[Q2] Riley wants the Final Score, but Cesaro grabs his ear. Aksana with a distraction letting Cesaro take Riley down and then the Neutralizer for the win.
WINNER: Antonio Cesaro in 5:20. Fun match that needed more minutes. I like the pairing of talent, but Cesaro’s finisher looks like it is tough to do on a larger man like Riley.
Backstage, Riley Pearce interviews Kassius Ohno (former Chris Hero). Ohno questions how much potential is really in the locker room, and says that he brings an element of danger. He tells folks to stay out of his way and says that he is the most dangerous man in sports entertainment. Definitely the best promo I’ve heard from him in NXT.
[ c – A bizarre Summerslam ad disguised as a weather report. ]
Matt Striker interviews Drew McIntyre. He brings up McIntyre’s decline, and McIntyre says everyone is talking about Seth Rollins, but the talking ends tonight.
3 – SOFIA CORTEZ vs. NATALYA
Technical wrestling to start off. Cortez makes the mistake of taking a handshake from Natalya, but transitions a wheelbarrow into an arm drag to save herself. Natalya turns to power, but Cortez slaps her and Natalya gets even angrier. There’s a “Yes!” chant for some reason. Cortez gets knees up in the corner to make a comeback. Natalya gets kicked out of the ring and she yells at the ref. She eventually takes a count out on purpose.
WINNER: Sofia Cortez in 3:30. Cortez is clearly quite talented, and Natalya is a good opponent to make folks look good. The ending was a bit bizarre, though. A feud between these two would have some nice matches.
Post-match, Natalya jumps Cortez and puts her in the Sharpshooter.
Raw 1,000 recap.
[Q3]
4 – DANTE DASH & GARRETT DYLAN vs. THE ASCENSION – Tag Team match
O’Brien and Dash open the match. O’Brien walks right through Dash and attacks Dylan. O’Brien no sells Dash’s offense like a machine and Cameron comes in. They work Dash over in the corner. O’Brien holds Dash in place for a spinning heel kick from Cameron for the win.
WINNERS: The Ascension in 1:45. The Ascension is going to grow on me. It’s a “corny like the Undertaker” kind of gimmick, but they really act the roles in the ring and combined with the really neat entrance, it may work. The ring work felt very powerful and it showed nice teamwork.
Big E. Langston vieo package. It sounds like a Mark Henry style character, and he has the look and style (from the clips) to back it up.
5 – SETH ROLLINS vs. DREW MCINTYRE
Rollins uses a ref break to sneak in an elbow to get an edge. Rollins grabs a big boot to trip up McIntyre. McIntyre lands a big right, but he can’t keep up the momentum. McIntyre holds the ropes after he’s whipped, forcing Rollins to turn a dropkick into a backflip to keep from landing badly, then lands the dropkick to send McIntyre out of the ring. Suicide dive from Rollins sends McIntyre well up the ramp.
[ c – The weird SummerSlam ad airs again ]
McIntyre is getting battered by Rollins. They both kip-up after a double knockdown. Rollins picks up steam again. Rollins with a backwards STO into the turnbuckle. Rollins with a corkscrew moonsault, but McIntyre rolls, abd Rollins is able to land on his feet but eats a big boot. McIntyre follows up with the Future Shock DDT for the win.
WINNER: Drew McIntyre in 5:40. Excellent match despite the lack of time. McIntyre’s been having a string of good matches, and Rollins is a top talent in the ring.
Final Reax: New NXT rolls along with the same flaws as before: matches are too short, not enough new talent in the ring, and a lack of characters to sink the teeth into. But, the in-ring talent of the young wrestlers is undeniable. Sofia Cortez and Seth Rollins were particularly outstanding tonight.