Zim’s WWE NXT Review: Adrian Neville and Bo Dallas vs. The Wyatt Family for the NXT Tag Titles, Damien Sandow wrestles, Paige vs. Bayley, Sakamoto sighting, and Ohno and Wyatt steal the show with a stare

By Zack Zimmerman
 
May 9, 2013 NXT on Hulu Plus
Taped March 21 at Full Sail University
 
A video package explained the set up to tonight’s NXT Tag Team Title match, Neville and Dallas vs. The Wyatt Family… Cold open this week with Damien Sandow making his entrance to open the show. Tony Dawson and William Regal checked in on commentary before NXT rookie Baron Corbin made his entrance. Corbin was sporting chest and arm tattoos coupled with skinny jeans and a mohawk, decent size.
                                                                                                              
1. Damien Sandow vs. Baron Corbin. Sandow was in control in the opening minutes and even offered Corbin the opportunity to "just leave now." Funny. Corbin eventually had a short burst of offense before Sandow fought back. He hit his knee strikes, the Russian leg sweep, the Elbow of Disdain, and finished Corbin off with an arm-trap side slam which Dawson called The Silencer.
 
Damien Sandow beat Baron Corbin in about 3:00.
 
After the match, Sandow ordered silence and then issued a challenge to Big E Langston for the NXT Championship. "You’re welcome." He concluded. Regal questioned if Sandow may be able to take Langston to task…
 
Backstage, Adrian Neville was warming up when Bo Dallas entered. Dallas said that he was honored to defend the Tag Team Titles with Neville. "Look in these eyes, these are tiger eyes." Dallas said. He vowed that he would give Neville 80 percent tonight, because that was like everyone else’s 110 percent. "I’m kidding, relax. Let’s do this." Dallas closed…
 
Scott Stamford hyped Paige vs. Bailey coming up after the break…[C]
 
Zim’s Zag: Standard fare match from Sandow and Corbin. Corbin didn’t stand out as a star, but he did the job he was there to do. Bo Dallas is still unbearable, I mean, was he being cocky? Or was he joking? My hope is that his "80 percent" effort is going to cost them the match and lead to a heel turn for Dallas, because he just isn’t connecting on any level right now.
 
Paige made her entrance to a nice ovation. Bayley was introduced by Saxton and was already in the ring.
 
2. Paige vs. Bayley. Bayley shoved Paige in the corner, so Paige shoved Bayley to the mat and they each worked armlocks nicely. Paige ran Bayley into the ropes and then took control of the left arm with multiple pin attempts, never relinquishing grip. Paige went up-and-over onto the ring apron, where Bayley whipped her down by the hair and scored a two-count.
 
A short time later, Bayley came off the top rope with a diving reverse elbow and hit a snap suplex for more near-falls. She attempted a bodyslam, but Paige fought back with elbows and hit a fisherwoman’s suplex. Paige fired up and hit repeated knee strikes on Bayley before stomping away in the corner. Paige hit a kick to the gut and landed the Paige Turner for the win.
 
Paige beat Bayley in about 5:00
 
Post-match, Summer Rae ran into the ring and hit Paige from behind. Summer didn’t stick around long, but took her time to enjoy her work once back at the top of the ramp…
 
Backstage, Tom Phillips introduced NXT Champion Big E Langston. Not long thereafter, Damien Sandow interrupted. "Pardon me for interrupting your dissertation on ignorance, but, I am here to issue a formal challenge for your Title." Langston said he would accept if Sandow could answer one question. He gave a convoluted math question and the answer turned out to be five. Both men took turns saying "five!" back and forth before Sandow realized he was playing into Langston’s hand. Sandow looked bewildered and walked away…
 
Scott Stamford hyped the main event NXT tag Team Title match…[C]
 
Zim’s Zag: Nice match from the Divas here. Five minutes of solid work is more than we see from the ladies on most WWE programming, so it’s nice to know the talent is there, even if the opportunity may not necessarily be. I like the Langston/Sandow matchup, Langston’s NXT character is slightly quirky, and that works well with Sandow’s schtick. Plus it’s a good, credible opponent for Langston to have as a challenger.
 
Back from break, Saxton introduced Briley Pierce, who Tony Dawson quickly identified as Dolph Ziggler’s brother. "So why is his last name Pierce, then?" Regal asked. Funny. Sakamoto made his entrance doing a toned-down Muta-style gimmick.
 
3. Briley Pierce vs. Sakamoto. Both men were working a bit too briskly, but Pierce showed-off his impressive athleticism. Shades of big brother for sure. About a minute into the match, the lights cut out and Conor O’Brian’s music hit. He quickly entered the ring and attacked both men.
 
Briley Pierce and Sakamoto fought to a no-contest in about 1:30.
 
O’Brian leveled both guys with clotheslines and a big splash in the corner. He hit a flapjack on Pierce, and another to Sakamoto, driving him into Pierce. O’Brian stood over them and his lighting took effect while his music played…
 
Backstage, Renee Young started to ask Natalya about Totally Divas. Summer Rae interrupted and said that she attacked Paige because everyone is jealous of her for being on Raw and Smackdown in recent weeks. Nattie said that she wants to meet up with Summer next week and put her in the Sharpshooter. Summer told Nattie to go back to the circus with Khali and Hornswoggle, and next week, she’ll prove that Nattie is just a freak…
 
Scott Stamford hyped the main event title match…[C]
 
Zim’s Zag: If you missed routine Sakamoto beatdowns, this segment was for you. Pierce is a carbon copy of Dolph Ziggler that one week when he cut his hair and dyed it brown. Kidding aside, its high praise but he needs to be his own guy because I don’t think there’s room for Dolph Jr. It’s still a wait-and-see thing on O’Brien; cool gimmick and great size, but he really has to step up his work. Summer definitely has a gift for gab that we don’t see from many Divas, should be a good test to see how she hangs with Natalya next week.
 
Back from break, Renee Young asked Pierce and Sakamoto for comments on O’Brian. Pierce said that O’Brian made the biggest mistake of his life. Sakamoto challenged O’Brian to face them two-on-one next week, and then carried on in Japanese. "Yeah, exactly. What he said." Pierce closed…
 
Kassius Ohno made his entrance. He was intense as usual, but looked more sorrowful than malicious. Camacho was introduced and was already in the ring.
 
4. Kassius Ohno vs. Camacho. Ohno locked in a cravate early, but Camacho overpowered him. Ohno leapfrogged Camacho and dropped him with a single-leg dropkick. Ohno hit another dropkick and kipped up before hitting a unique neckbreaker. Ohno followed up with a sliding single-leg dropkick, but Camacho regained control a short time later. He used a bodyslam and a jumping leg drop for a one-count.
 
The commentators debated if Camacho was in ring attire or street attire before Ohno fought out of a back suplex, but took a back-body drop for a two-count. Camacho settled into a chinlock and the crowd rallied behind Ohno. Camacho kept control with a back suplex and a nerve hold. Ohno eventually fought out and connected with another single-leg dropkick. He hit several strikes and finished with a running elbow in the corner. Ohno stalked Camacho and looked like he was going for the move f/k/a the Cyclone Kill, but hit a knee-strike instead. He quickly applied a modified Kassius Klutch and Camacho tapped out.
 
Kassius Ohno defeated Camacho in about 6:00.
 
Ohno immediately rolled to the floor and took a mic. He ordered his music cut and made his way up the ramp. When he reached the top, he said he had something to get off his chest. He said the past few months had been a blur and he didn’t know who he was any more. "William Regal, I don’t expect you to believe this, but I’m sorry."
 
Just then, Bray Wyatt’s music began to play. Harper and Rowan brushed past Ohno towards the ring, but maintained eye contact the whole time. Ohno looked thrown off and slightly apprehensive, but stood his ground. As he turned around to walk out, he found himself face-to-face with Bray Wyatt. After a brief, intense staredown, Wyatt took several steps backwards, smiled big, and spread his arms. "I mean you no harm." He assured Ohno.
 
As Ohno stepped towards the back, The Family attacked him from behind. After Ohno was laid out, Wyatt screamed at his monsters to get off of him. Wyatt smiled wide again and picked Ohno up before driving him into the stage with the Sister Abigail. He laid across Ohno, chuckling with delight before fixing his hair, putting his hat back on, and sending The Family to the ring…[C]
 
Zim’s Zag: Wow! The quality and intensity of the initial encounter between Ohno and Wyatt was simply magical. I’m not crazy about how Ohno "turned," but it was surely passable and will allow for better possibilities now. Especially forgivable because he’s starting off his face run with a program this potentially awesome. An absolute must-see few minutes of programming.
 
Back from break, it was announced that the next match was for the NXT Tag Team Championships. The Wyatt Family was introduced first and were already in the ring, where Harper could be heard stammering "yeahyeahyeah." Adrian Neville made his entrance, though Bo’s American flag video wall was up by mistake. Bo Dallas was out next.
 
5. NXT Tag Team Champions Adrian Neville and Bo Dallas vs. The Wyatt Family (w/Bray Wyatt) for the NXT Tag Team Championships. Dallas opened up with Rowan, and made frequent tags with Neville. Cheers when Neville tagged in, some jeers when Dallas tagged back in. Neville hit a high-speed running crossbody on Rowan, before bringing Dallas back in. He was met with "no more Bo" chants, but nailed a dropkick and tagged Neville back in.
 
Rowan hit a forearm and finally tagged in Harper, who briefly had control, but Neville fought back with a diving hurricanrana. He followed up with a running uppercut in the corner and a dropkick to the kneeling Harper. He connected with a standing SSP, but Harper kicked out. Dallas tagged in and hit a double-suplex with Neville for a two-count on Harper. Harper slowed the momentum when he caught Dallas with a backbreaker and murmured "yeahyeahyeahyeah" before tagging Rowan back in…[C]
 
Rowan had a neck crank on Dallas while Harper egged on from the apron. Harper tagged back in and continued to wear Dallas down until Dallas managed to tag in Neville. Neville fired up and knocked Rowan off the apron before flying onto him with a perfect Space Flying Tiger. He got back on the apron and hit a big kick on Harper, then nailed the Corkscrew Shooting Star. He made the cover, but Rowan was able to break it up. Rowan tagged in and quickly gained the upper hand on Neville. Neville eventually reversed a power move into a small package, but wasn’t able to stay in control or make the tag.
 
Harper tagged in and The Family laid Neville across the top turnbuckle and took turns wearing him down with shots. Harper settled into a chinlock and yelled "yeahyeahyeahyeah!" He tried for a suplex, but Neville again rolled it into a small package. Harper kicked out and went for a running big boot, but Neville evaded and Harper went toppling to the floor. Back in the ring, both men were able to make the tag and Dallas came in hot. He went for his combination, but Rowan caught him with a kick to the gut. Dallas managed to hit an inverted DDT for a two-count, but missed his belly-to-belly enabling Rowan to hit a pumphandle slam. Dallas managed to kick out at the last second while Wyatt was shown looking on intently from the stage.
 
Rowan went for another pumphandle, but Dallas escaped and hit the spear for a good near-fall. Rowan was able to shove Dallas into Neville, knocking him off the apron, and then nailed Dallas with a big boot. He tagged in Harper, who stalked Dallas while mumbling "yeahyeahyeah" before hitting the discus lariat and getting the pinfall victory.
 
The Wyatt Family defeated Bo Dallas and Adrian Neville in about 12:30 to win the NXT Tag Team Championships.
 
A replay aired and afterwards, The Family was shown dementedly looking at what they had done. Bray Wyatt raised both of the newly crowned champions’ hands and Tony Dawson gave the sign off…
 
Zim’s Zag: Good match with the right ending. I like everything about the finish; The Family are the best team in NXT and deserve the belts, while Dallas taking the pinfall potentially sets up future heat with Neville. Harper continued to completely shine as well and I look forward every week to his truly entertaining subtleties.
 
Overall, this was a very good edition of NXT and I expect this quality to keep up down the road. Storylines were started/continued logically, the matches were all solid, and above anything, this show featured the best one or two minute segment NXT has featured yet. The first encounter between Ohno and Wyatt was masterfully done, virtually perfect. Ohno made a soft face-turn, and immediately became engaged in what is sure to be a hot program going forward. The crowd has wanted to cheer for Ohno, so they were given proper reason to do so. This show is worth going out of your way to see and I cannot heap enough praise on the second half happenings.
 
Throw any comments, questions, criticisms, or corrections @InVasionZim; always happy to discuss.