9/27 Gutteridge's NXT Review: Richie Steamboat vs. Kassius Ohno, Leo Kruger vs. Jake Carter, Michael McGillicutty vs. Bo Dallas, Ryback in action

By Darren Gutteridge
 
WWE NXT on Sky Sports 3
Taped on 8/9 in Winter Park, Florida
 
[Q1] A Kassius Ohno video opened up the show, featuring highlights of his match with Richie Steamboat, his post match attack on him, and shots of last weeks lame sparring session. This lead into titles...
 
Gutt Check: NXT is now available on Hulu Plus in America, so hopefully they bring the big guns tonight for what may be a lot of people’s first taste of the new NXT. If you are a first time viewer this week, I'd love to hear you're opinions of what you see.
 
Saxton welcomed us to the show, and teased Kassius Ohno vs Richie Steamboat as the main event. Michael McGullicutty made his entrance, and William Regal sang his praises. Bo Dallas came out to some really weak country music...
 
1. Bo Dallas vs. Michael McGillicutty. Regal pointed out that each man's Granddad fought each other. Bo controlled the match from the start, not letting McGillicutty get going.  Dallas landed a series of forearm smashes into a cornered McGillicutty, and when the ref tried to break it up, McGillicutty landed a punch and then threw Dallas into the ring post. Bo sold the damage as we when to commercial... [C]
 
[Q2] When we returned, McGillicutty was beating Dallas on the mat. McGillicutty focussed on the left arm of Dallas with rest holds. They two began to trade punches, and Dallas gained the upper hand. He hit a lot of shots in quick succession. He seemed to be going for something big when McGillicutty hugged the ropes. As the ref split them again while Dallas was punching him, McGillicutty clotheslined Dallas and landed the Turning Heads neckbreaker for the 1-2-3...
 
Michael McGillicutty defeated Bo Dallas in 13:10.
 
McGillicutty left the ring as Regal said he thinks McGillicutty is ready to face Seth Rollins, before throwing it over to a Paige video package. In it, she said she was trained to be a champion, before concluded by saying 'The less you know about me, the better'...
 
A Hell in a Cell hype video aired, before the Raw Rebound, which focused on CM Punk and Mick Foley...
 
Gutt Check: Most of the match was taken up by the commercial, which hurt it's pacing. Before the commercial, it was all Dallas, and after, it was all McGillicutty. The match was passable, but unremarkable. McGillicutty is given a win to help towards building him as a challenger to Rollins, but at the expense of Bo Dallas, who seemed to be one of the guys they were going to feature early on. But as Bo is only 22, they can afford to be patient before pushing him.
 
Jake Carter came out for what I think is only his third NXT appearance. He was part of a tag team in one of the early weeks with Corey Graves that screamed 'Thrown together', and then got beat up by Kassius Ohno a month or so ago. They pointed out that he is Vader's son. He seems to have a pretty boy gimmick. His opponent is Leo Kruger, who ambled to the ring with a strange smile...
 
2. Leo Kruger vs. Jake Carter. Kruger sat in the corner, and as Carter approached, Kruger attacked, and stomped him repeatedly in the corner. Kruger used a variety of strikes to keep Carter grounded. He started to stretch Carter to further wear him down.
 
Carter seemed to stem the tide with a face plant, and hit a series of clotheslines, but Kruger dodged a corner splash, and then set up Carter for his finisher, which Saxton dubbed the Kruger's End, which is a neckbreaker turned into a facebuster...
 
Leo Kruger defeated Jake Carter in 3:55.
 
Regal said he couldn't wait to see what Kruger had in store over the coming weeks. Saxton plugged the main event, before Regal announced that Ryback will be in action next... [C]
 
Gutt Check: The new Kruger character is growing on me. He showed a vicious game in that match, and it fit very well with his gimmick. It was methodical, but violent. The character is also kept almost on the outside, without the mid-match theatrics employed by The Ascension. He doesn't snarl, he doesn't pretend to be holding a sniper rifle as he 'stalks his prey', he just beats them up.
 
[Q3] Ryback's entrance seemed to be dubbed, as Saxton said the reaction was huge, but the arena was muted as Ryback's music blazed. When they were plugged in, the audience was chanting 'Feed! Me! More!'. His opponents were in the ring...
 
3. Ryback vs. Jobber No. 1 and Jobber No. 2. Jobber No. 1's birth certificate reads 'Aiden English.' Jobber No. 2 wasn't given a name. Rightly so. Ryback pretty quickly divided and conquered, reeling off his usual spots before hoisting both men up for his double finisher, and getting the double pin...
 
Ryback defeated Jobber No. 1 and Jobber No. 2 in 2:20
 
The fans seemed really into the chants, as they were hot for the victory, chanting along with the 'Feed! Me! More!'. Backstage, Kassius Ohno and Richie Steamboat were shown walking to the ring...
 
Gutt Check: The Ryback kills two men. It’s still impressive, but it loses something after 512 times.
 
A new 'Don't try this' advert aired, with Sheamus handling the speech this time...
 
Kassius Ohno was out first, and the female ring announcer sounded awful when she introduced him. It was like a 5 year old introduced him she sounded so timid and quiet. Richie Steamboat received a similar treatment when he came out, as JR joined commentary...
 
4. Richie Steamboat vs. Kassius Ohno. Kassius repeated rolled to the apron to force the break as Richie controlled the match. Kassius got a foothold when, after Richie landed on the apron while maintaining a wrist lock, Kassius booted him and ran him into the ringpost. This lead us into the break... [C]
 
[Q4] Both men tried to best the other one with chops. Kassius won, but Steamboat quickly regained control with a top rope crossbody, followed by a top rope dropkick. Steamboat got a two count, and as he picked up Ohno and Irish whipped him, Ohno countered with a big boot for a 2 count of his own.
 
Kassius took Steamboat to the corner, but Steamboat landed a dropkick for a close two count. Steamboat went top rope, and tried for a moonsault, but Kassius moved. Kassius hit a corner splash, and swung for his elbow finisher, but Steamboat ducked it and rolled Ohno up with an inside cradle for the sudden win...
 
Richie Steamboat defeated Kassius Ohno in 12:32.
 
As Richie celebrated, Ohno hit him from behind with his elbow finisher. He locked on his cravat crossface from last week, and 5 refs were needed to prise him off. Kassius tried to get back at Steamboat, but when the refs stopped him, he left up the ramp as NXT finished...
 
Gutt Check: I have been waiting for Kassius to have a good match for months, to see if he matched the hype he got on the indys. And while this wasn't a great match, it was a very good TV main event. But I was more impressed with Steamboat, who really brought his A game in an attempt to excite the crowd, which he did. The ending sequence was very nicely done, and I hope the post-match attack prolongs the feud some more.
 
Well hopefully that hooked some of the new American viewers seeing the show for the first time. The new and interesting character of Leo Kruger was showcased, and the main event was very nicely done. The comparative snoozer that was the first match may have dampened some enthusiasm, but this was one of the better NXTs of recent weeks. Viewers were left wanting for more from the Steamboat / Ohno feud, as well as the McGillicutty / Rollins feud.
 
Thanks for reading. If you had any comments or thoughts on the show or this review, add me on Twitter via @Dazatheg