HeadLocker — Jay Shannon
What Happened NXT — Week Five
The newest show is a week away from its first round of voting. It was another chance to impress the Pros (and maybe the fans). Sadly, the WWE Universe won’t get a vote in all this. Otherwise, Syfy might be looking for something new to fill the Tuesday night spot.
Josh Mathews, Michael Cole and Matt Striker welcomed the home audience to the show. Striker talked about next week’s Pro Poll.
Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel came out for the opening contest. They were tagging together, instead of fighting each other. Their opponents were Skip Sheffield and Wade Barrett.
Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel d Skip Sheffield and Wade Barrett
The Finish:
Skip took the tag and did a Stall Suplex. Justin landed face-first.Skip with a Scoop SLam and Big Splash. Skip Shouldered Justin. Wade tagged himself back in and pounded on Justin’s ribs. Skip tagged back in and punched and Shouldered Justin. Power Whip by SKip but missed the Charge. Heath took the tag and hit Flying Fore-arms and a a nice Neckbreaker. Flying Fore-arm in the corner. Skip reversed an Irish Whip but took a boot to the face.Haeth with a Flying Crossbody but SKip held him. Heath slipped free and Wade came in to “help” his partner. What happened was Wade accidentally Booted his own partner to cost his team the win.
Grade: B+
Jay’s Thoughts: Hillbilly Boy Skip isn’t going to make it with his current gimmick. He’s just annoying with the mix of “good ol’ boy naivity” and his “trying to suck up to the boss (William Regal)” Barrett will do ok in the WWE but won’t make all that big a splash. Gabriel will probably have a semi-successful career but will likely fade out within 3-5 years. Slater is going to be the next Golden Boy of the WWE. He is a future World/WWE champ.
NXT did a video profile of Daniel Bryan. Daniel talked about his submission style and being trained by Shawn Michaels. Daniel’s dream is to headline Wrestlemania.
Josh and Cole pushed the Shawn Michaels v Undertaker rematch. That led to another video piece about the two of them.
NXT went to break and then came back to push the Bret Hart v Mr. McMahon match at Wrestlemania.
NXT profiled Darrin Young The shaving-brush hair-do’d grappler is uner the tutelage of C.M. Punk. They haven’t had the best of relationships. Young talked about his dream, which is much deeper than the others.
The Wrestlemania Recall moment was the first Money in the Bank match at Wrestlemania 22. That one had some of the most enjoyable video pieces in the history of the WWE. I personally enjoyed Christy Hemme doing her When Harry Met Sally” restaurant skit. The first M-i-t-B winner was Edge.
NST then profiled the John Cena v Batista war. (So, the rookies all but get the night off?)It was time for another video piece (and a chance for me to grab some fresh green tea).
Finally, NXT stepped out of infomercial mode and got back to wrestling. Darrin Young, The Straight Edge Society and David Otunga came out for the main event. NXT showed a party that Otunga and The Miz attended. It was a SYFY party. Miz took his chance to take shots at Daniel Bryan. Break Time.
Daniel Bryan and Michael Tarver came out. Carlito was with his rookie. Miz abandoned Daniel. Big Surprise.
David Otunga and Darrin Young d Daniel Bryan and Michael Tarver
The Finish:
Daniel with the Hammerlock on Young. Daniel with a Dropkick. Cole suggested that Miz may be intimidated by Daniel. Tarver took the tag and worked over Young’s arm. Young with a Neckbreaker. Punk was totally ignoring the match. Otunga took the tag andhit a Scoop Slam. Otunga with the Neck Wrench. Daniel wanted the tag. The crowd gave Otunga grief. Otunga with the Rear Chin Lock. Daniel took the tag and hit European Uppercuts and a Snap Mare. Daniel opened up with brutal kicks. Young made th tag and Irish Whipped Daniel to the corner. Daniel came back with the Oroplata Sleeper. Daniel with the Crossbody. Tarver was distracted with Gallows. Otunga made the tag and hit the Uranage Slam after Daniel missed the Guillotine Leg Drop.
Grade: B
Jay’s Thoughts: Bryan Danielson has just got to be thinking “Darn it, I shoulda went to TNA”. He is getting so misused in NXT. The other three really aren’t in the same league with him, yet they get more of a positive push than he does. Young really doesn’t work for me. Neither does Tarver. Otunga will get a decent push, simply because of his Hollywood connections. That connection will hinder rather than help him, long term.
Final Grade: D
Final Thoughts: 3/4 of this week’s show was either commercials or video pieces about Wrestlemania. The matches themselves were rather bland. Cole kept up the annoying dissing of Bryan Danielson/Daniel Bryan. I”m waiting for Bryan to slap a Dragon Sleeper on that annoying jerk.This whole concept was a bad idea. It didn’t work for Tough Enough, it’s not going to work now. Bring back ECW, AWA, WCW or give us re-runs of Battlestar Galactica or Twilight Zone. This show is one of the worst things that WWE has created.
–Jay Shannon
Jade89512@yahoo.com
(3/26/10)