8/15 Short's WWE NXT Review: A "cool" wrestler from the Attitude Era returns, Jinder Mahal vs. Richie Steamboat, and Michael McGillicutty in the semifinals of the Gold Rush tournament, The Ascension vs. The Uso's

By Josh Short

WWE NXT on Youtube
Taped in Winter Park, Fla. at Full Sail University

The signature aired followed by the opening video played and Byron Saxton welcomed us to the show and hyped that there would be the two semi-final matches tonight and that Richie Steamboat vs. Jinder Mahal would take place immediately. Jinder Mahal made his entrance to little reaction, he picked the NXT Championship up and placed it in front of his head as JR checked in on commentary. Richie Steamboat to a good reaction with plenty of cheers from the women in the crowd.

1. Jinder Mahal vs. Richie Steamboat. Jinder started with a knee to the gut of Richie and hit several strike around the ring. Richie hit a dropkick for a pin attempt followed by an armdrag. Richie went for an Irish whip however Jinder countered and dropped Richie onto the ropes. He followed it up with knee strike to the head followed by a rest hold.

Richie made his comeback with several clotheslines and a back elbow in the corner. He tried to drag Jinder to the other side of the ring however Jinder countered with a back suplex attempt, Richie countered that with an attempted enziguri which Jinder countered into a Camel Clutch attempt. Richie countered that and went for a unique pin attempt. Nice combination there. Richie went for several pin attempts however Jinder countered with a neckbreaker. Jinder placed Richie on the top rope however Richie fought him off and missed a missile dropkick; Jinder took advantage and locked in the Camel Clutch, Richie tapped out in a few seconds...

Jinder Mahal defeated Richie Steamboat in 4:43 to advance to the final in the Gold Rush Tournament.

Briley Pierce was backstage and interviewed Leo Kruger. Leo said something in different language; I presume it was one of South Africa’s many. He spoke in crazed way. He pulled out his own tooth and said that something has been bothering him and brewing inside of him, he switched back to the other language although I swear he said “I come for you pu ta, I come for you ta ta” and walked off laughing in his crazed way...

Short’s Synopsis: A decent match. The counters were entertaining and the finishing sequence with Steamboat missing the missile dropkick gave him an out and kept him looking strong. This was probably Jinder’s best match on NXT. As for Leo Kruger, that was creepy although I think I like it. Myself and Gutteridge have both discussed Kassius Ohno’s lack of conviction when it comes to his soft spoken, creepy promos and I feel the same way about Leo’s here. The removal of the tooth was shocking and I did like it a bit however it just wasn’t convincing. Still it was nice to see another aspect of Kruger’s character.

Heath Slater made his entrance to a good pop. He had a mic and said he wants everyone to take a minute and look at him. He said his catchphrase and said that his interactions with the legends do not matter anymore. He said he was here to issue an open challenge to anyone in the back. He said he meant anybody and the crowd chanted “HHH”. Haha. Saxton hyped that we’ll find out Slater’s challenger after the break. [C]

[C] Back from the break Slater’s opponent still hadn’t shown up. Slater said that nobody wants to get embarrassed by the “One Man Band”. Regal said he wanted to punch Heath in the mouth in his usual blunt tone. Heath said if no one wants to come out then he will sit there and entertain everybody. Scotty 2 Hotty’s music cut him off...

Scotty 2 Hotty made his entrance to a huge pop. He jumped around the crowd and threw his shirt towards the camera. He looked to be in good shape.

2. Heath Slater vs. Scotty 2 Hotty Scotty bowed to the audience and clapped to get the crowd hot. Both men locked up and Scotty took him down with shoulder block. Regal talked about how Scotty had his first match when he 17 but probably lied about his age. Scotty continued to get the crowd to chant “roof” as he raised his arms. Scotty tried for and attack in the corner however Slater countered with a boot followed by a clothesline as Regal called him a “silly ginger git”. Wow, that couldn’t have been more English. Regal then praised Slater by saying that he is able to get under peoples skin. Slater locked in a rest hold. Scotty tried to make a comeback however Heath countered with a neckbreaker for a near fall. Slater continued to lethargically attack Scotty. He whipped Scotty into the ropes however Scotty jumped into the ropes to stop himself for a nice spot. He hit the running bulldog and the crowd came unglued. He hit the full Worm for the win as the crowd popped huge...

Scotty 2 Hotty defeated Heath Slater in 3:55.

After the match Saxton hyped that The Uso’s vs. The Ascension would take place next... [C]

Short’s Synopsis: A segment that was just really fun to watch. Nothing was at stake and there was no drama but there was no need for any. This was just a really fun segment. Slater, like Regal said, is good at getting under peoples skin and was a great foil for the massively over returning hometown hero.

[C] The Ascension were midway through their elaborate entrance, they got a decent reaction. The Uso’s performed the Hakka and made their entrance with the attire they wore when Rikishi returned on Raw for a good pop...

3. The Ascension vs. The Uso’s. The bell rang and Cameron and one of the Uso’s charged at each other. The Uso no sold Cameron’s headbutts. The Uso’s made the tag and hit a double elbow. The Uso hit several punches on Cameron in the corner before Cameron drove the Uso’s body into the turnbuckle. Regal said he had “ruptured his custard”, yes guys that’s another one of our infamous sayings. Cameron hit a neckbreaker out of the corner.

The Ascension made quick tags, continuously kicking the crap out of the Uso in the corner. A short time later The Ascension hit the Downcast (Swinging Jawbreaker/ Flapjack combo) although the commentators didn’t refer to it as that. O’Brian morphed however the Uso hit a Samoan drop and got the hot tag. Jay Uso hit his usual comeback offense including the hip attack in the corner. With all for men in the ring Jimmy hit a kick to the gut that knocked O’Brian out of the ring. Jay countered a scoop slam attempt and hit a super kick. He went for Superfly Splash however O’Brian pushed him off the top rope down to the outside for the disqualification...

The Uso’s defeated The Ascension in 5:34.

After the match The Ascension attacked Jimmy Uso, he tried to comeback but the Ascension beat him down, they followed it up with a double spinning wheel kick to good heat...

After the match Saxton hyped the main event of Seth Rollins vs. Michael McGillicutty...

Richie Steamboat was walking backstage, Briley Pierce tried to interview him however Richie brushed him off...

Backstage Matt Striker interviewed Hunico & Camacho; he asked them about their loss to Jason Jordan & Mike Dalton. Hunico said he had a stomach bug and a 170 degree temperature. He said Camacho lost his Burro, Camacho said he didn’t have a Burro and Hunico told him to shush. He also said Jordan & Dalton got lucky before saying something in Spanish. He concluded by saying “See you on the rebound essay”...

Backstage Raquel Diaz was putting makeup on and looking in a mirror. She said that some of the divas have “got their granny panties in a wad” because of her quest to makeover NXT. She said her makeover was benefitting them. She said the Exfoliating Ugliness tour is coming their way and ended with what I presume is another one of her catchphrases; “love it!”...

A Summerslam advertisement aired questioning whether CM Punk’s demand for the spotlight got too much attention...

Short’s Synopsis: The Ascension vs. The Uso’s match was quite dull. I like the quick tags that The Ascension do as it makes the look like complete beasts however the match was too short and it featured a lot of the same offense from the match these two teams had a while back. The finish was terrible, I know that technically seeing as the referee saw the attack it must be a DQ but it was still a weak ending. As for the three backstage segments I liked Richie’s the most. It made the Gold Rush tournament and the NXT championship seem important and something really worth having. Hunico & Camacho’s interaction was going okay until the Burro joke as it took all the seriousness away. Raquel basically said her catchphrases.

Michael McGillicutty made his entrance to little reaction, he showed intensity and pointed to the championship. Seth Rollins made his moshing entrance to a decent reaction.

4. Michael McGillicutty vs. Seth Rollins. The bell didn’t ring so the length of the match will not be an official time. Both men started with some chain wrestling. A loud “let’s go Rollins” chant started. Seth pushed McGillicutty against the ropes and helped him there, Michael yelled for the ref to get Seth off him which got a good amount of heat. McGillicutty then slapped Seth for more heat and then ran outside the ring. Back in the ring Seth clotheslined McGillicutty back to the outside of the ring and hit a suicide dive for a great reaction. Seth rolled Michael into the ring however McGillicutty hit a knockout punch for a near fall. McGillicutty then hit several strikes as the crowd chanted “Sha!” (the noise that McGillicutty makes whenever he strikes an opponent). Hahaha. [C]

[C] Rollins hit a dropkick with one foot and flipped in mid air for near fall. Rollins went to the corner but missed a flying crossbody, McGillicutty came back with neck snap and a Saito suplex for a near fall as the crowd continued to chant “Sha!”. Seth went for a Saito suplex of his own but McGillicutty escaped, Rollins went for an enziguri however McGillicutty hit a sick looking Saito suplex which JR described as “high impact and nasty” for another near fall. McGillicutty stalked Seth and went for the McGillicutter, Seth tried to counter with a pin attempt however McGillicutty his big strike to take Seth down. Michael placed Seth on the top rope, Seth went for rolling powerbomb however McGillicutty temporarily countered it. Rollins hit the powerbomb into the opposite corner and followed it up with the Blackout for the win...

Seth Rollins defeated Michael McGillicutty in 7:48 to advance to final of the Gold Rush Tournament.

After the match Jinder Mahal made his entrance, Seth went to attack him however Mahal moved back towards the ramp. Interim NXT GM Dusty Rhodes then came out and said my the best man win. Jinder attacked Seth from behind, he Irish whipped Seth however Seth came back with his one-footed dropkick and then clotheslined Mahal out of the ring. He started moshing as Saxton hyped that one of these men will go down in history as the first NXT champion to close the show...

Short’s Synopsis: A decent match that would have been better had the crowd not been chanting “Sha!”. It was funny at first but then it just got annoying as the match progressed and it eventually made me want the match to end. Still there was some decent action in this match so it’s not a complete miss.

Overall this was a show that continued NXT’s current run of putting on a decent but not great show. I enjoyed this week’s episode a lot more than last weeks. Granted that may be because I’m still in such a great mood given that Robin van Persie has joined my beloved Manchester United rather than those scumbags at Manchester City. The Scotty 2 Hotty return was the highlight of the episode for me. Richie Steamboat and Jinder Mahal put on a decent match. The Ascension, despite their over the top characters are very good as tag team when it comes to in-ring work. Richie, just by his body language was good in his backstage segment and Rollins and McGillicutty put on a decent main event. The only real negatives of this show was the Burro comment in Hunico and Camacho’s backstage segment and Raquel saying the same stuff she has been since her first video. However these are just nitpicks.

Thanks for taking time out to read my review of this week’s NXT. If you have any questions or just fancy a chat about anything; especially NXT and wrestling in general follow me on twitter @JoshTubeShort. Cheers!