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7/19 Short’s WWE NXT Review: Kaitlyn vs. Tamina Snuka, Jinder Mahal vs. Percy Watson, Leo Kruger vs. Richie Steamboat, Raquel Diaz’s (Shaul Guerrero’s) debut against Paige (Britani Knight), Justin Gabriel vs. Heath Slater

Posted in: WWE TV Reports
By
Jul 20, 2012 - 01:18 PM

By Josh Short

WWE NXT
Taped in Winter Park, Fla. At Full Sail University


The show opened and Byron Saxton checked in on commentary. He hyped the main event as match between two former allies. William Regal checked in on commentary and hyped that it was a match between two former nexus members; Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater.

Tamina Snuka made her debut to a small pop. She was all smiles. Kaitlyn made her entrance to a small pop as well. She at first appeared quite serious before breaking into a smile as Regal noted that both Tamina and Kaitlyn can squat over 300lbs.

1.Tamina Snuka defeated Kaitlyn in 5:21. Both women locked up, Tamina whipped Kaitlyn towards the ropes and hit a chop in the style of her father. Kaitlyn cowered towards the ropes and then hid behind the referee as she taunted Tamina. Kaitlyn whipped Tamina into the corner however Tamina jumped over and hit two chops before hitting a flying forearm smash. Kaitlyn trapped Tamina in the ropes before locking in an abdominal stretch.

A short time later Kaitlyn dragged Tamina over to the bottom rope and placed one of her big thighs on her neck as Regal joked that she could crush walnuts with them. She followed up with a body scissors. Tamina rolled over to a pin to get out of it. Kaitlyn tried to attack however Tamina came back with a sick looking spinning sleeper slam. Tamina hit a scoop slam and signalled for the Superfly Splash however Kaitlyn pulled her to the ground and locked in a kind of armbar submission. Tamina picked Kaitlyn up, hit a Samoan drop and followed it up with the Superfly Splash for the win...

Percy Watson vs. Jinder Mahal was hyped as coming up next...

Chris Jericho Recalled his WWE debut for his Raw 1000 video...

A Big E Langston video aired. He spoke about his various rituals and how it’s now a ritual for his opponents to fear him. "Because when they see this, it means the end is coming, a big end. I’m Big E Langston and when your time comes take your beating like a man."..

Short’s Synopsis: At first that match was sloppy and just dragged however towards the end it did pick up just in time for me to say it wasn’t a really bad match. Kaitlyn managed to get a decent amount of heat once she started using those heel tactics. It makes me wonder how things would’ve gone for her had WWE aired her heel turn on Smackdown in which she joined Beth and Natalya in the Divas of Doom. As for Big E Langston, if you haven’t seen him before he was billed as the strongest man in Florida whilst he was in FCW. He’s a small but well built guy. His promo was ok and I’m intrigued as to how far they’ll take this ritual aspect of his character.

Jinder Mahal made his entrance to decent heat as Regal spoke about how he has known Mahal since he was born, how he went to his christening and how Jinder’s uncles were two of the greatest foes he’s ever had. Percy Watson made his entrance to a good pop...

2. Jinder Mahal defeated Percy Watson in 4:03. Both men locked up as Regal talked about Jinder’s heritage. Watson leaped over Mahal and hit a nice spinning calf kick before following it up with a great looking armdrag neckbreaker which made the crowd go "whoa." Mahal kicked Watson to the ground before hitting several knees to the head. He followed up with several knees to a grounded Watson. Regal noted that John Cena has sort of taken Percy under his wing a little and how much confidence that must give him.

After hitting a double underhook suplex Jinder locked in two rest holds. Percy made his comeback with two beautiful dropkicks and the Showtime Splash for a near fall. Percy went for a springboard cross body out of the corner however Jinder moved out of the way. Mahal hit a high knee and followed it up with the Camel Clutch for the win. Jinder kept the lock in for a few more seconds after the bell rang and then locked it in again. Regal said he couldn’t help but laugh given that he’s a villain too and that Jinder’s sending a message...

A Raquel Diaz video aired hyping her debut for later in the evening...

Short’s Synopsis: A decent match that had Jinder in control for most of it, with a few hope spots for Percy here and there. It surprises me how much heat Jinder gets when his offence is basically just knee strikes and a Camel Clutch. He didn’t even give a promo in his native tongue tonight and yet he still gets heat that gets bigger the longer he’s working. Percy is a really athletic guy and I believe that all he needs is a character because his ring work is very solid.

Richie Steamboat made his entrance to a good pop. Leo Kruger made his entrance a polite response and little to no heat. Steamboat chants started immediately as Kruger took his time taking his scarf off...

3. Leo Kruger defeated Richie Steamboat in 4:30. Kruger attacked Richie straight away with numerous strikes. Richie returned the favour with several chops and followed it up with probably the biggest monkey flip I’ve ever seen. Steamboat went for a running kick into the bottom corner however Leo reversed it into a schoolboy which drove Richie’s head into the bottom turnbuckle. Nice. Leo whipped Richie into the ropes, he fell to the floor and Leo hit a kick to the jaw which drew decent heat.

Leo followed it up with a chop of his own to Richie. Kruger went for a snap suplex however Richie countered it with a roll up for a near fall. Leo then hit his amazing snap suplex before posing of Richie. Steamboat hit and enziguri and went back to the chops. He hit several clotheslines and a chop before Leo bailed to the outside. Richie hit a running cross body however Leo rolled through and placed his feet on the ropes for the win...

A Raquel Diaz (Shaul Guerrero) video aired hyping her debut would be next. It was the same as last weeks...

Short’s Synopsis: A good match. Steamboat was really over here and Kruger was a great foil for him. I still don’t like the amount of chops Richie does, he’s had a good amount of time in his two matches on NXT to showcase different manoeuvres and yet he tends to stick to the chops and armdrags. The match did feature some good spots though. Kruger went flying with Richie’s monkey flip and I swear Leo’s snap suplex is the best I’ve ever seen.

Raquel Diaz made her entrance as generic Latin dance music played with Raquel stating that she came to NXT to give it a makeover played over the top of it. It appeared as if she was miming it...

Paige (Britani Knight) made her entrance to a massive pop as Raquel scoffed at Paige’s appearance. "Paige" chants started immediately...

4. Raquel Diaz defeated Paige in 1:41. Byron noted that Paige has quite a following here in NXT. Raquel tripped Paige and started ragging her head against the mat in stereotypical catfight style. The very loud "Paige" chants continued. Paige hit several clotheslines followed by a yakuza kick. Paige screamed and ran towards Raquel in the corner, Raquel cowered and the referee blocked Paige from hitting Raquel. Paige went for a kick but Raquel slammed Paige’s face to the mat which got a good reaction from the crowd. Raquel locked in the Gory Special and hit the Gory Bomb for the win...

Alex Riley was shown backstage, he asked Aksana where catering is. Aksana grabbed hold of Alex’s hand and offered to show him where it is. He said no and Antonio Cesaro showed up asking what was going on. Aksana said Alex was hitting on her. "I turn my back for one second and you’re already hitting on my woman, how very American of you" Antonio said. Alex said one of his rules is never trust a woman, especially a woman in this business. Antonio said one of his rules in German which he then said in English: "If you’re hitting on my girl I’m going to kick your teeth down your throat." Alex suggested they settle it. Cesaro said next week to which Alex said how European of him...

Short’s Synopsis: That match was there just to get Raquel Diaz over however I find it quite amusing that it instead showed just how over Paige is. The match was nothing special but the "Paige" chants were very loud and very consistent. By the way if anyone’s interested here is a link to a documentary that was shown on Wednesday night here in England on Channel 4. It’s about Paige’s wrestling heritage and shows her and her brothers journey to get WWE contracts whilst also showcasing their wrestling family and what the wrestling culture over here is really like: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-wrestlers-fighting-with-my-family/4od. As for the backstage segment it showed Aksana character really well and set up a match for next week. Nothing else really stood out.

Heath Slater made his entrance a decent reaction as J.R checked in commentary and praised Dusty Rhodes for making this match. Justin Gabriel made his entrance to decent reaction as well with plenty of cheers from the women in the crowd...

An ad hyped Summerslam in Los Angeles. Isn’t this the third year in a row that Summerslam’s been there?...

Justin Gabriel defeated Heath Slater in 8:53. Both men locked up, Heath hit a shoulder block before yelling Wooo! Heath went for an armdrag however Justin landed on his feet and hit a leg sweep to take him down. Gabriel followed it up with an armdrag and locked in a rest hold. Slater got his feet to the ropes and pushed Justin to the ground. Both men locked in various rest holds as the crowd chanted "Slater sucks." J.R noted that every time these guys get in the ring it is their Wrestlemania. Gabriel jumped onto the ropes and attempted a springboard manoeuvre however Slater pushed him to the floor whilst he was still on the ropes. Gabriel hit the ring apron on his way down. Ouch.

Back from the break Slater was locking in a rest hold and started elbowing Gabriel. Justin managed to get out of it, he went for a clothesline however Slater hit a neckbreaker for a near fall. Slater continued to focus on Justin’s neck. The crowd chanted "Frostie" at Slater, apparently that’s got something to do with the Wendy’s girl? Slater locked in another rest hold but Gabriel once again managed to get out it. Gabriel went to the ring apron and attempted to hit Slater with his shoulder however Slater avoided it and hit a nice knee strike, he followed it up with a neckbreaker that looked exactly like Michael McGillicutty’s McGillicutter whilst Gabriel was in the ropes for a near fall. Slater attempted a splash in the corner but Gabriel avoided it.

Justin made his comeback with various kicks, he performed his back roll and spinning kick combo. Gabriel hit a forearm in the corner and hit a great looking Blue Thunder Driver for a near fall. Slater then hit one hell of a spinebuster for a near fall. Gabriel went for the Gabriel Special however Slater countered it into a nice inverted suplex for another near fall. Slater then hit a neckbreaker from the top rope for yet another near fall. Slater placed Gabriel on the top rope, Gabriel fought him off and went for what at first appeared to be a moonsault however he landed quite hard on Slater’s shoulders and instead hit a reverse DDT which drew several gasps from the audience. Gabriel pinned Slater and got the win...

They replayed the highlights of the match as Ross praised Justin’s hard fought victory. Byron Saxton said we’ll see you next week to close the show...

Short’s Synopsis: Such a disappointment. The commentators made this match seem like it was one of the most important matches that Justin and Heath will have however the match was bogged down with rest hold after rest hold after rest hold. Even towards the end I didn’t find myself really being interested or believing in the near falls, especially the finish. It was clear the audience didn’t expect that to be the finish either. We’ve seen much better from these two.

Overall a less than stellar NXT, Kruger vs. Steamboat was good, Percy Watson had a nice showing and we found out how over Paige is. However the negative outweighs the positive. The two divas matches and the main event were ok but not really that exciting. I completely forgot that one of the stars of this new NXT Jinder Mahal was even on this episode. Let’s hope next week’s episode is much better because this episode just seemed to drag. Thanks for reading. See you next week. Cheers.

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