By Jason Powell

WWE NXT on WWE.com
Live from San Antonio, Texas

The show opened with a recap of last week's challenge... The horrible "Wild and Young" theme song played...

Powell's POV: Don't worry, folks. You didn't miss anything. The show is live tonight, so NXT started when Smackdown went off the air. Thank goodness, right?!?

Josh Matthews introduced the show on commentary and turned it over to Matt Striker, who was standing on the stage with the NXT pros, who were all seated. Striker introduced the NXT rookies. Striker ran through the immunity point standings. No one cared...

It was time for the wheelbarrow race. Jack Swagger's Soaring Eagle came out and sat in the wheelbarrow to make it tougher on the rookies. Johnny Curtis was up first. Striker made him do a restart because he left a second early. Curtis crossed the line in 13 seconds. No one cared.

Jacob Novak was up next. He crossed the line in 12.8 seconds to take the lead. No one cared. Brodus Clay was up next. Clay crossed the line in 13.8 seconds and the Eagle took a tumble, so a few people actually cared enough to laugh. Conor O'Brian took the lead with 12.7 seconds, and we're back to no one caring.

Byron Saxton wore a big black glove. The Master Blaster is really pissed wherever he is. Saxton took the lead, but Derrick Bateman tied him. Bateman protested because he thought he won. No one cared. They had a second running. Saxton got heat during his run.

There was massive controversy as Saxton dumped the wheelbarrow near the line. They actually did a replay to determine that his time counted because the wheelbarrow crossed the line before tipping over. Bateman won the competition with his second running. No one other than him cared. He pulled out an American flag for reasons that only he and his maker would know...

The announcers hyped Jacob Novak vs. Johnny Curtis, and our magnificent main event match with the mystery participant... [C]

Powell's POV: Okay, so maybe a few people cared tonight. I'm just not one of them.

1. Jacob Novak (w/Dolph Ziggler) defeated Johnny Curtis (w/JTG) in 5:00. The announcers said something about R-Truth calling JTG and asking him to fill in for him. Call me crazy, but I don't think that phone conversation actually took place. Curtis locked in an arm lock late in the match, but Dolph interfered while the referee was distracted to give his guy Novack the win.

Powell's POV: JTG somehow got the dead crowd to clap a couple of times before they went back to waiting quietly for their dark match main event. Good effort from both wrestlers. The fans just haven't been given any incentive to care.

A Derrick Bateman video aired. He's not nearly as funny as he thinks he is. He named his fists "Freedom" and "Justice" and then said he's the next WWE breakout star... [C]

It was Conor O'Brian video time. He's from Grand Rapids, Michigan and he's WWE's next breakout star. His whole gimmick is that he looks like a rat. Yes, really...

Josh Matthews and Todd Grisham spoke at ringside... Highlights aired of a training session involving Daniel Bryan and Derrick Bateman. Bryan wasn't happy that Bateman was reading a book during their training...

Powell's POV: You'd think the vegan who doesn't own a television would applaud the guy for reading. Oh, and there was some other guy in there drinking coffee. It cracked up the announcers and didn't strike me as the least bit funny, so I assume it's an inside joke, much like the entire NXT concept.

Striker hosted a trivia contest in the ring. The rookies had to name Taker's WrestleMania opponents. They each named one, so then it was time to name King of the Ring winners. Another topic was on cities that hosted WrestleMania. They also went through WWE pay-per-view events. I zoned out. Bateman won. He's the male version of A.J. from season three. No word yet as to whether he'll kiss Primo at the end of the season... [C]

Powell's POV: It's a little known fact that there were trivia contests and soda drinking contests in Stu Hart's Dungeon. Verne Gagne also used the wheelbarrow race while training Ric Flair back in the day. Flair edged out Buck Zumhofe to earn immunity. Had Flair not won that contest, Zumhofe would have been the Four Horseman leader and faced Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania. Is this show over yet?

Rat Boy was getting cocky backstage, so Alberto Del Rio put him in his place. He said he'd give him all the cheese he wants if he wins NXT. Grisham actually asked if Ricardo Rodriguez had to cut the cheese for Del Rio. Todd Grisham should be burnt at the stake for that joke...

2. Chris Masters, Byron Saxton, and Natalya defeated Ted DiBiase, Brodus Clay, and Maryse in 10:50. Yes, Natalya was the mystery partner. A record has been set for most jaws dropping simultaneously around the world. She actually got a nice reaction from the live crowd. Natalya got the better of Maryse during their exchange. Brodus Clay performed a big suplex as the show went to break. [C]

After the short break, DiBiase and Saxton were in the ring together. Masters tagged in and chipped DiBiase a few times. The crowd greeted him with a "woooo" for each chop. Later, Brodus missed a Vader Bomb on Saxton, who then got the pin to win the match for his team. The announcers closed the show by wishing viewers a Merry Christmas...

Powell's POV: God bless Natalya and Masters for showing energy and trying to get the crowd into the match. The highlight of the show as when the screen went black to close it out. Seriously, why is this show still on the air? I realize they have TV commitments, but surely The Score and any other network with a contract would accept a weekly hour of the XFL's greatest games as an upgrade.

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