4/11 Gutteridge's NXT Review: William Regal vs. Kassius Ohno, The Shield vs. Axl Keegan, Percy Watson and Scott Dawson, The Funkadactyls vs. The Bella Twins

By Darren Gutteridge
 
WWE NXT on Sky Sports 3

Taped on 3/21 in Winter Park, Florida
 
[Q1] Before titles, a video packaged aired recapping the William Regal vs. Kassius Ohno feud...
 
After titles, the Shield’s music was playing as Tom Phillips introduced himself and Brad Maddox as the commentary team. The Shield entered through the crowd as Axl Keegan, Percy Watson and Scott Dawson (?) waited in the ring.
 
The Shield slid in the ring, and immediately threw all three opponents out. The ref rang the bell once Dean Ambrose slid to the outside and threw Dawson into the ring with Roman Reigns...
 
1. The Shield vs. Axl Keegan, Percy Watson and Scott Dawson. The Shield took turns beating up Dawson. He escaped a suplex from Ambrose to tag Keegan, who threw a few rights before Ambrose landed a running knee. He tagged in Seth Rollins, and as his teammates took care of Dawson and Watson, he hit the Skywalker for the squash win...
 
The Shield defeated Axl Keegan, Percy Watson and Scott Dawson in 2:16.
 
Dawson was thrown in the ring again, and was dropped by the triple powerbomb. Ambrose grabbed the mic and said justice had once again been served at NXT. Rollins said the Shield was the most powerful and efficient fighting force in wrestling. They run Raw, Smackdown, and now NXT. Reigns closed with “Believe in the Shield”.
 
Someone said “Oh, Shield”. The camera panned to the Tron to show Corey Graves stood backstage, and he proceeded to say he didn’t believe in the Shield. He said the Shield had cost him the NXT Title twice, and next week, he wants to fight one of them.
 
Rollins said he “started” Corey Graves, so he will finish him as well. He told Ambrose and Reigns they could have the night off, because by the end of next week, Graves will believe in the Shield...
 
Gutt Reaction: An odd off night for the Shield. The promo was as basic as it gets, as was the beat down, but the biggest problem I had was this - what ‘justice’ was served? They went from being on a crusade against being held down to “attack everything” thugs with no clearly defined goals. Having said that, how ballsy does Graves look for calling out the Shield? It’s not the first time it’s been done, but it stood out because Graves has no back up or team around him.
 
Tony Dawson stood backstage with Summer Rae, who insisted on being called the “First Lady of NXT”. Dawson asked why Rae ran away from the match last week, and she claimed to have left her curling iron on. Rae said if she had of stayed, it wouldn’t just be the building that would of burnt down, but Paige’s career as well... [C]
 
Gutt Reaction: I’m turning around on Dawson. I disliked him initially when he replaced Byron Saxton, but he has taken steps to sound less generic on commentary, and has shown a certain spark as the stooge on the JBL Show on YouTube. Keep an eye on him.
 
[Q2] Backstage, Renee Young introduced Emma. Renee asked how she has found NXT so far. She said her path was similar to that of Lady Gaga and Madonna. Ok... Renee asked how she feels about being called a klutz by fans. Emma said the kids with their “Macarena and Electric Slide” have nothing on the “Emma-lution”. She then danced away, tripping on the mic cord...
 
Gutt Reaction: And the award for the worst segment on NXT ever goes to...
 
The Funkadactyls came out, doing the entrance they usually do with Brodus Clay, just without Brodus. Its odd looking. The Bellas are their opponents...
 
2. The Funkadactyls vs. The Bella Twins. I spent the early going of the match trying to figure out which one of the Bella twins had the, ahem, “enhancements” during their time away. I think its Brie. It helps tell them apart so it’s important I know these things.
 
After some flashy moves from the Funkadactyls, the Bellas got a foothold and isolated Cameron. Brie took Naomi off the apron, and the twins hit a rolling double leg flip for the 1-2-3...
 
The Bella Twins defeated The Funkadactyls in 3:40.
 
Backstage, Kassius Ohno stood backstage with Tony Dawson. Ohno said he wasn’t obsessed with Regal, but he has seen every match he’s ever had. Although he has had Regal’s voice in his head for a while, after tonight, no one would be seeing or hearing from Regal again...
 
A promo aired for an NXT special in two weeks. Four titles will be defended, featuring Big E Langston vs. Brad Maddox for the NXT Title, Adrian Neville vs. Antonio Cesaro for the US Title, Bo Dallas vs. Wade Barrett for the Intercontinental Title, and Kaitlyn vs. AJ for the Divas title...
 
Backstage, Renee Young approached Regal, and asked why he challenged Ohno to a match after initially appearing apologetic for his assault a few weeks ago. Regal said he was quite happy being the commentator and “Mr. Entertainment”, but Ohno unlocked his bad side. He asked his children to forgive him for what he will do tonight... [C]
 
Gutt Reaction: Good promos from both guys. They aren’t making one side out to be fearful or inferior, and that makes for the best matches. The four title matches will more than likely end with all four title holders retaining, but the effort is appreciated.
 
[Q3] Seth Rollins vs. Corey Graves was advertised for next week, with a lumberjack stipulation added on. Interesting. Kassius Ohno made his entrance to little reaction, but Regal got a nice pop...
 
A tour promo aired before the match started. It announced Undertaker’s partners for his 6-man match with The Shield have been changed from Sheamus and Orton to Daniel Bryan and Kane. It also showed the shot of all three men striking the arms raised pose from Raw...
 
A Corey Graves promo aired, focussing on his tattoos again. He said he doesn’t want to make a mark, but leave a scar...
 
3. William Regal vs. Kassius Ohno. The match started with a lot of chain wrestling, with Regal focussing on wearing down the arms of Ohno. He took the action to the corner, and hid a low blow from the view of the ref. Ohno caught a break by throwing Regal to the outside, and then dropkicking him through the ropes as we went to commercial... [C]
 
[Q4] Ohno was landing kicks to Regal’s head and abdomen when we returned. Regal escaped a full nelson and started stomping Ohno on the mat before returning to working over Ohno’s arms and hands. Ohno had to knee Regal in the side of the head to cause some separation and check on his fingers after Regal’s relentless attacks on them.
 
As Regal lay against the ringpost, Ohno booted his head into the post. Ohno got back in the ring and continued to target Regal’s head. The commentators said Regal seemed dazed and confused as Ohno went to apply the cravat, which Maddox dubbed the Kassius Clutch (Klutch?). Ohno couldn’t get it locked due to the pain in his hands, so he attempted another submission. Regal managed to get to his feat before it was fully locked in and threw Ohno with a belly to belly suplex. Regal tried for the Regal Stretch, but Ohno threw elbows to escape and nailed a back suplex for a two.
 
As both men got up, Regal stumbled around as he told Ohno to fight him. Ohno landed a big boot for another close two count. He went for the discus elbow, but Regal met him with an elbow of his own, setting up the Knee Trembler. Regal turned Ohno over and pinned him...
 
William Regal defeated Kassius Ohno in 12:30.
 
Regal looked dazed on the mat for a while as the fans chanted ‘you still got it’. Maddox wondered if this was Regal’s last match, questioning how he could top it, before praising Ohno and saying he would tell Vickie Guerrero about him. Regal got back to his feet as NXT ended...
 
Gutt Reaction: A great match. Regal’s body may not be what it once was, but he’s still the master of his style. His facial expressions really put over Ohno’s offence, and his win makes me believe this feud will continue. A Regal win will help no one, but an Ohno win will do wonders for him in the little bubble of Full Sail University.
 
The headline match didn’t help what was a bottom of the barrel show. While NXT has come on leaps and bounds in terms of advertising for upcoming weeks, they are still susceptible to nothing shows like this. They made the Shield dull people, that’s how bad this week was.
 
Thanks for reading. If you had any comments or thoughts on the show or this review, add me on Twitter via @Dazatheg