WWE NXT - October 2, 2013
by Samoa Rowe
-From Orlando, FL. Our hosts are Alex Riley and the recently released Tony Dawson. Renee Young joins them for the mixed tag opener.
-Emma unveils Santino as her mystery partner and he gets a pretty good pop. Emma teaches her dance entrance to Santino, but he needs help flipping over the ropes.
Fandango and Summer Rae vs. Santino Marella and Emma
The crowd is really jazzed for this match, which is both refreshing and hilarious. They spend the first 90 seconds posing and dancing for our amusement. Fandango gets serious and targets the head, prompting Santino to reach out for a tag to Summer out of confusion. Santino clears the ring, giving him a chance for another dancing lesson from Emma. Cue the commercial! After the break, Santino is more than holding his own against Fandango. Santino and Emma high five after making tags as a way of confusing the referee and their opponents, but Fandango loses his temper and drops Santino with a clothesline to take control. Santino comedically sells the beating when he fails to kip up. Marella amusingly continually rolls out of the way for Fandango’s leg drop. Hot tag to Emma, who dominates Summer with the Dil-Emma (Tarantula). Emma puts the Cobra on, but Summer catches her off guard for a cat fight. Fandango tags himself in and nails a drop-kick on Emma! Santino and Emma rebound with stereo hip tosses and head butts. The Cobra finishes Fandango at 10:22 (shown). Perfectly enjoyable comedy match here. Santino and Emma played off one another perfectly, **½.Winners: Santino Marella and Emma
-Spooky promo with the Ascension. They promise to take their rightful NXT Tag Team Championships. Heroes will fall, and the Ascension will rise!
Kassius Ohno vs. Luke Harper
Harper takes the fight right to Ohno, quickly tossing him through the ropes. Ohno sneaks in a heel kick, but Harper shrugs it off and continues the slaughter. Ohno escapes a chinlock and delivers a running drop-kick to the floor. Ohno runs into a big boot! Harper ends it with a hard lariat at 2:56. This was a total squash. Ohno must REALLY be in the dog house.Winner: Luke Harper
-Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady cut a promo backstage. They’re pretty upset with Sylvester Lefort’s random team and feel they should be the #1 contenders to the NXT Tag titles. These guys are likable when they talk, it’s just a shame that they’re in-ring skills are so far behind.
-Video package for Mojo Rawley. He’s a big guy who works out a lot and says the word “hyped” a lot. He’s going to debut next week.
NXT Tag Team Championship:
Adrian Neville and Corey Graves © vs. The Ascension (Conor O’Brian and Rick Victor)
Neville kicks things off against Victor with fast-paced dominance. A shoulder tackle from Victor allows a tag to O’Brian, who plows through Neville. Graves gets a tag and delivers a mule kick before O’Brian reverses with a flapjack. The Ascension succeed in isolating Graves with quick tags. Commercial time! After the break, the Graves beat down continues for what feels like an eternity (and not in the good way where you feel bad for Graves, but in the tedious way where you’re getting impatient). Neville gets the inevitable hot tag and cleans house. Neville knocks The Ascension into place at ringside for a running senton! Missile drop-kick by Neville almost finishes Victor. O’Brian pulls Victor out of the way from Neville’s corkscrew senton! Graves breaks the pin and tags himself in. Sadly, Victor catches Graves with a leg lariat. The Ascension deliver TOTAL ELIMINATION and Graves is done at 10:38 (shown). Tedious, methodical match, at least until Neville’s spectacular hot tag. The Ascension’s coronation is a cool moment though, **.Winners and new NXT Tag Team Champions: The Ascension
-Rob Van Dam video packages. There will be high times on NXT next week.
Bo Dallas Invitational:
This is basically a gauntlet match format. If anyone can beat Dallas, that person will get a title shot in 2 weeks (or 2 hours later, if you’re live in attendance). Dallas almost gets pinned by a nameless jobber (while the fans amusingly chant “Let’s go, this guy.”). Bo gets serious and puts the jobber away with a spear at 1:09. Leo Kruger comes out next, but so does Antonio Cesaro! Kruger and Cesaro fight over who’s next and end up brawling. Cesaro dumps Kruger, leaving him vulnerable to Dallas, who dumps him out. A mysterious luchador is the next challenger, and he delivers a familiar Yakuza kick for the win at 0:17. “El Local” unmasks to it was Sami Zayn. That would have been a great opportunity for an El Generico cameo, but I digress. This was more angle than match, but it was pretty entertaining.Winner: Sami Zayn
Final Thoughts: I don’t approve of squashing Kassius Ohno as a means of sending a message. Otherwise, this was another solid edition of NXT. This show expertly makes every segment matter and keeps the ball rolling on multiple feuds and storylines in a one hour format. NXT should be looked at as a blueprint on how to book a wrestling show to other companies that are trying to build an audience. Thumbs up due to an entertaining mixed tag and all the positive angle advancements.
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