11/8 Gutteridge's WWE NXT Review: Justin Gabriel vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Bo Dallas for the No.1 Contendership, Kassius Ohno vs. Trent Baretta, Big E Langston vs. Memo Montenegro, Bray Wyatt returns

By Darren Gutteridge
 
WWE NXT on Sky Sports 3
Taped on 9/20 in Winter Park, Florida
 
[Q1] Pre-titles, we got shown a video package highlighting the set up to tonight’s No. 1 Contender match between Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal, Justin Gabriel and Bo Dallas...
 
Tony Luftman set the scene for tonight after titles, touting a Big E Langston appearance, as Kassius Ohno made his entrance. They showed a video package of him losing to Trent Baretta two weeks ago, which lead to this rematch. William Regal and Byron Saxton chimed in as Baretta made his way out...
 
1. Trent Baretta vs. Kassius Ohno. Saxton and Luftman have very similar voices, but Saxton stands out for sounding awake. After trapping Baretta in the apron and stomping on his head, Ohno took it to the mat, wearing down Trent. Baretta escaped, and after a few running strikes, he hit a Tornado DDT from the corner for a 2 count. He tried to pick up the pace again, but Ohno knocked him down first with a running knee, and then with a big boot.
 
Ohno put Baretta on the top rope, but Baretta threw him off and landed a missile dropkick. Baretta attempted his running knee, but Ohno ducked out of the ring. After giving chase, Baretta slid into the ring and got met by the discus elbow from Ohno, which lead to the pinfall...
 
Kassius Ohno defeated Trent Baretta in 6:10
 
Kassius looked to hit the elbow again after the match, but Baretta was wise to it and ducked it. Ohno stumbled to the apron, and Trent dropkicked him off. The two had a stare down as Luftman teased the main event...
 
The non-sensical 'bucket list' Survivor Series advert featuring the Miz played ... [C]
 
Gutt Check: Seriously, what has Survivor Series got to do with a bucket list, and why would you make it the focus? Anyway, a good match to start the episode off, but the crowd wasn't in to it. That may be down to this being the 3rd taping of the night, but the two guys put in a good effort to lift them. Ohno's finisher received no reaction, which is either down to lack of familiarity from the audience, or it's lack of real impact.
 
[Q2] A Corey Graves vignette aired, with him talking about his tattoos, and the stories they tell. One looks like a zombie version of Kick-Ass, and if so, that’s awesome. He said 'but why waste time telling you about it (the stories), when I could get right in your face and show you'.  The package ended with just the name 'Graves'...
 
In the arena, Big E Langston made his entrance, while his opponent Memo Montenegro waited in the ring...
 
2. Big E Langston vs. Memo Montenegro. Langston got the audience to start chanting 'five'. He immediately slammed Memo down, and then took him out with a running body check. Big E took his strap down, and hit Memo with the Big Finish for the squash win...
 
Big E Langston defeated Memo Montenegro in 1:00
 
The ref didn't count to 5 before lifting Big E's hand. The audience chanted for 'one more time', and Big E obliged, hitting the Big Finish again before counting his own 5 count. The audience chanted again for 'one more time', but Vickie Guerrero appeared on the tron to distract him. Vickie said after embarrassing her last week, she had now put a five grand bounty on his head, and will give it to anyone who puts him on the shelf.
 
Big E turned back to Memo, before being attacked from behind by Chad Baxter. Big E body checked him and hit him with the Big Finish as well, adding another 5 count before leaving...
 
Gutt Check: When a tall blond guy in red trunks ran down and attacked Big E, I thought 'HOT DAMN THEY FOUND HEIDENREICH!' (That’s 3 weeks of obscure 00's wrestlers. That’s not a roll to be proud of). I'm not sold on a babyface Big E, but the crowd are into him, and if you're going to turn, there is no one better to feud with than the biggest heel in wrestling Vickie G. If nothing else, the bounty storyline will just add more to the dominance Big E has enjoyed thus far.
 
Jason Jordan was already in the ring as Bray Wyatt made his entrance after a hiatus. He came out saying 'Can you feel it? Can you feel me?'. He implored the audience to join him and escape 'this rotting mountain'. Jordan grabbed a mic and said he wasn't here to talk, he wanted to fight, and invited Wyatt down to the ring.
 
Wyatt said he didn't want to hurt Jordan, only to help him. He told Jason he was too good for him, because he was a monster. He finished by saying he is 'never alone'. At this point, a large homeless looking guy, Luke Harper, came out, and ran into the ring...
 
3. Jason Jordan vs. Luke Harper. Harper viciously attacked Jordan from the get go, keeping him in the corners and hitting him with clotheslines and splashes. Jordan dodged a big boot, and tried to mount a comeback, but Harper caught him with a Black Hole slam for the 1-2-3...
 
Luke Harper defeated Jason Jordan in 2:20
 
Wyatt introduced Luke Harper as the 'first member of the Wyatt family' before leaving. The announcers threw it to a highlight package of Roman Reign's match from last week.  Saxton stood at the top of the stage after the package and brought out Roman Reigns, who came out in a suit.
 
Saxton came over, and Reigns took the mic and told him to leave. He called himself 'the man', and said there was nothing he couldn't do. He finished by saying 'Everybody wants to be Roman Reigns'... [C]
 
Gutt Check: Wyatt is such a different character that he needs to be on the main roster ASAP. The pre-match promo was good, but I still prefer it in it's video package form, as live it reminds me a little of those cheesy arena-style preachers. Luke Harper really fit in with the packages as well, as Wyatt was always shown talking to 'hillbilly' types, and giving him a following will help establish the gimmick. Reigns promo, however, was dull, and was received as such by the audience. I guess he's a heel, but that was such a non-descript promo it didn't establish a character further than 'he thinks he's good'.
 
[Q3] Gabriel came out first for the main event, followed by McIntyre, Mahal, and Dallas, as JR joined commentary...
 
4. Justin Gabriel vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Bo Dallas in a No.1 Contender Fatal Four Way Elimination match . Both heels ended up on the outside. Dallas hit a baseball slide, and Gabriel then dived on all three men with a flip over the ropes before a Survivor Series promo aired...
 
Gabriel was the first man to gain an upperhand when he took out McIntyre with a spinning reverse DDT, before hitting a 450 splash on Mahal. McIntyre threw him off the pin, and turned around into a spear from Dallas for the first elimination...
 
Drew McIntyre eliminated at 4:35
 
Dallas stood up, and took out a diving Gabriel with another spear in mid-air...
 
Justin Gabriel eliminated at 4:47
 
Seth Rollins was shown sat at the top of the ramp as we went to the final commercial... [C]
 
[Q4] Mahal threw Dallas into the steps as JR announced that the winner will face Rollins for the title next week. Mahal began to wear down the back of Dallas, hitting a full nelson slam for a two. He charged a cornered Dallas, but Bo side stepped him and gained a foothold. He hit a scoop slam, and tried for a spear, but Mahal dodged it and Dallas hit the ropes. Mahal capitalised with the Camel Clutch, and Dallas tapped out...
 
Jinder Mahal eliminated Bo Dallas in 13:25 to become the No.1 Contender for the NXT Title
 
Mahal slapped on the Camel Clutch again, and as Rollins ran down to make the save, Mahal broke the hold and stomped him when he entered the ring. Mahal grabbed the title, and Rollins pounced on him. They rolled around a little before Mahal slid outside and began to retreat. Rollins climbed the turnbuckle and stared down Mahal as NXT went off the air...
 
Gutt Check: An OK match, but I would of preferred it to have been a traditional Fatal Four Way. They didn't even make it clear it was an elimination match until McIntyre got pinned. The two commercials really hurt the early part of the match, as there was only about 3 minutes of real action before it was 1 on 1. And Mahal was the dullest option of the three, as he has already has his shot, and the crowd didn't buy him as a threat during his initial push on the show.
 
NXT seemed to shift direction this week. A new feud looked to have taken shape in Ohno and Baretta (but it may end up being a hold over feud if Richie Steamboat really is injured), Big E started a more obvious babyface turn, and gained a storyline. Reigns (kinda) chose an alignment, Wyatt returned with a follower, and we now have Rollins next opponent. While the matches weren't anything to shout about, it at least felt like a 'newsworthy' show with a big match set for next week.
 
Thanks for reading. If you had any comments or thoughts on the show or this review, add me on Twitter via @Dazatheg