1/10 Gutteridge's WWE NXT Review: Seth Rollins vs. Big E Langston for the NXT Title, The Wyatt Family vs. Percy Watson and Yoshi Tatsu, Michael McGillicutty and Bo Dallas vs. Epico and Primo, Paige vs. Emma

By Darren Gutteridge


WWE NXT on Sky Sports 3

Taped on 12/6 in Winter Park, Florida

[Q1] Before titles, we got shown a replay of the end of last week’s episode, featuring The Shield and Big E Langston. Tom Phillips said that the title match between Seth Rollins and Big E will be tonight’s main event, with a no-disqualification stipulation added...
 
After titles (featuring the Shield), Yoshi Tatsu and Percy Watson were making their entrance. Phillips and William Regal hyped the main event before saying Tatsu and Watson are facing the Wyatt family tonight.
 
Bray Wyatt came out alone first, saying he could give people who feel like a piece of trash a reason for living. He said alone, “they” are weak and frail, but when they unite, they are strong, as “they” are “family”. Erick Rowan and Luke Harper walked onto the stage, placed Wyatt’s rocking chair at the top of the ramp, and then walked to the ring as Wyatt said “make me proud boys”...
 
1. Yoshi Tatsu and Percy Watson vs. Erick Rowan and Luke Harper. Rowan and Harper dominated Tatsu from the off, and although Watson stemmed the tide slightly with some clotheslines and a dropkick, the Wyatt family beat him down too. Watson managed to tag Tatsu after a jawbreaker, and Tatsu looked to pick up the pace.
 
Tatsu tried for a pin after a big boot to a kneeling Harper, but Rowan broke it up. Watson threw Rowan out, only to be taken out by a big boot from Harper. Tatsu took advantage of the distraction to land a high roundhouse kick, and went to the top rope. Harper ducked the flying heel kick, and put Tatsu away with a splash to the corner followed by a discus clothesline...
 
Luke Harper and Erick Rowan defeated Yoshi Tatsu and Percy Watson in 4:23.
 
Harper and Rowan immediately headed up the ramp towards Wyatt, and the three left without saying a word. The commentators hyped the main event, and Paige vs. Emma as the next match... [C]
 
Gutt Check: There is no style or finesse to ‘The Family’. They looked dominant, but sloppy. That may be by design, as they may want Harper and Rowan to look inexperienced or ‘deranged’, but it didn’t make for a fun match. I’m also not liking the rocking chair gimmick. Obviously, Wyatt has to be present for his guy’s match, but this will look comically weird should it make it to the WWE’s huge main roster stage.
 
[Q2] Emma came out doing a strange, strange dance, and was met with silence. Paige however came out to a big pop...
 
2. Paige vs. Emma. After throwing Emma around to start the match, Paige ate a dropkick and favoured her left knee. Emma zeroed in on it, throwing in a few odd dance moves again. Emma locked in a single leg Boston crab, and Regal pointed out she was trained by Lance Storm. Paige kicked her way out of the hold, and caught Emma with the Paige Turner for the 1-2-3...
 
Paige defeated Emma in 2:42.
 
They again hyped the main event, before cutting to a Damien Sandow video package and an Ireland tour promo...
 
Gutt Check: The only way to describe that dance move is the ‘funky crab’. So strange. Someone called me out for not mentioning Paige in my NXT Superstar of the Year awards, and while I can’t deny that she is over, I think she hasn’t had a match or moment that stands out. Big E has yet to have a big victory, but he’s been impressive every time out for what he is. My general disinterest in the Divas division at the moment may have also played a part.
 
Epico and Primo came out as the commentators talked over a replay of their attempted attack on Bo Dallas last week, which Michael McGillicutty interrupted. This has lead to tonight’s tag match between the four...
 
3. Bo Dallas and Michael McGillicutty vs. Epico and Primo. McGillicutty took control with a headlock exhibition on both Primo and Epico. Three minutes plus of headlock variations lead to a ‘headlock’ chant. Sweet Lord. This led all the way to the commercial... [C]
 
[Q3] Dallas was in the ring applying a chin lock on Epico when we returned. Regal said Dallas and McGillicutty could be ‘one of the greatest tag teams of all time’. Regal must be ALL about headlocks. Epico finally put an end to the lunacy by sending Dallas into the turnbuckle during a 10 punch corner combo and isolating him. The heels mixed dropkicks and slingshot splashes with rest holds to wear Dallas down until Bo threw Epico into a Primo dropkick, allowing Dallas to tag McGillicutty.
 
The crowd met each attack with a ‘Sha!’ shout, as McGillicutty hit a Saito suplex followed by a clothesline to a seated Primo. The following pinfall was broken up by Epico, only for him to be clotheslined to the outside by McGillicutty. Primo capitalised on McGillicutty turning his back on him by hitting the Backstabber. This lead to the pin...
 
Epico and Primo defeated Michael McGillicutty and Bo Dallas in 10:15.
 
Regal said Primo’s experience gave him the edge in the end, but he praised both teams. The main event is up next...
 
Gutt Check: I can’t tell you how dull the first half of that match was. McGillicutty is already quite bland, so having him run us through the complete history of the headlock was torture. The match didn’t really pick up in the second half either, as Primo and Epico are penned in from doing any consistent high flying stuff thanks to their heel slant. The crowd seemed to respond well to McGillicutty’s fire after the hot tag, so I praise him there, but otherwise that was very forgettable.
 
After Byron Saxton welcomed us to the main event, Seth Rollins was shown already stood at ringside. He climbed in the ring and posed with the title. JR joined commentary and said The Shield has had a week to make a plan to ensure Rollins keeps the title. Big E came out to a big pop, and JR said Big E doesn’t suffer from fear of anyone or anything. He climbed in the ring, and Saxton handled the in-ring introduction. Here we go...
 
4. Seth Rollins vs. Big E Langston for the NXT Title in a No-Disqualification match. Rollins looked to ground Big E, but Big E seemed to strong for the most part. Even after Rollins sent Big E crashing into the ring post, Big E got up and military pressed Seth to the outside. After Big E followed, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose attacked him and threw him into the ring steps. This took us into the last commercial... [C]
 
[Q4] Rollins was wailing on Big E when we returned, as Reigns and Ambrose stood at ringside. Rollins locked in a head scissors, wearing Big E down, only for Langston to stand up and give Rollins an Electric Chair drop. Big E fired up with clotheslines and a running body check. He took Ambrose and Reigns out as the stood on the apron with a double clothesline, and set up Rollins for the Big End, but Reigns slid in to make the save.
 
The NXT locker room emptied, and although Reigns and Ambrose fought them off for a while, the number advantage eventually paid off, and Reigns and Ambrose were chased backstage. Back in the ring, Rollins hit the Skywalker, and got a close 2 count. He argued with the ref, and went for it again, only for Big E to sweetly transition it into the Big End. This gave Big E the win and the title...
 
Big E Langston defeated Seth Rollins in 5:54 to win the NXT Title.
 
Langston went wild, and was soon joined by most of the NXT roster. They celebrated with him for a while as JR and Regal talked about how he overcame the odds. The roster cleared, and eventually Big E made his way up the ramp. He posed as steam shot out of the stage, and JR asked what was next for the NXT roster...
 
Gutt Check: Wow. Now that felt like a big event, no pun intended. Although the match was a little short thanks to the commercial (which I didn’t include in the match time), it felt hot thanks to the crowd, who were loud with their ‘five’ chants and cheers for the title change. They managed to make the Shield still look like a threat that had to be dealt with by the whole NXT roster, and also make Big E look dominant by fighting off three men for a good part of the match. Seth didn’t lose much, as he got caught quickly by the Big End, so he can save face even as far as his main roster work is concerned. All in all, they pulled off a big moment in this shows early history quite well.
 
The show, despite all signs that it might, couldn’t live up to the last week’s hot episode. The opening three matches didn’t amount to much, but the main event was awesome. Does that level out to a below or above average episode? If it had been a show with a lot of backstage promos and hype for the main event, as they have done with previous NXT title matches, then maybe I could give it a recommendation. However, I suggest you seek out the last few segments and skip the rest.
 
Thanks for reading. If you had any comments or thoughts on the show or this review, add me on Twitter via @Dazatheg