By Chris Shore

WWE NXT on SyFy
Taped earlier in Houston, Texas.

The show opened with pyro and Todd Grisham and William Regal checked in on commentary as the new announce team. They said the theme was redemption. They tossed it up to Matt Striker in the ring, who promptly introduced his new co-host Maryse. She called out the rookies for this season.

The rookies are Darren Young, Connor O'Brian, Lucky Cannon, Byron Saxton, Jacob Novak and Titus O'Neil. Striker pointed out they had all competed in previous seasons. Maryse said they would be competing together for a spot on NXT Season 6.

Shore’s Slant: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Striker said this year would be different also in that they would be competing for redemption points that could be used to prevent elimination as opposed to immunity points. Striker said there would be no immunity. He said it was time to introduce the pros.

Darren Young's pro was Chavo Guerrero. Chavo came out and cut a promo and told Young to "get noticed." Connor O'Brian's pro was Vladimir Kozlov. Kozlov said, "Vla blah zle fir zet," or something. Lucky Cannon's pro was Tyson Kidd. Kidd said he was Lucky because he had the best pro this season and he had to learn to take what he wanted to win.

Byron Saxton's pro was Yoshi Tatsu. Tatsu said Saxton needed to relax and be himself. Jacob Novak's pro was JTG. JTG said there weren't going to be any distractions this year, like last time. He said they were going to get it popping. Titus O'Neil's pro was…no…oh my god. O'Neill's pro was Hornswoggle. Horny cut a promo in gibberish and did the dog bark thing. Striker announced Novak vs. Young for next…

Shore’s Slant: I don't even know what to say. Chavo Guerrero is the biggest name pro on the show? This is unreal. And a Season 6? My head hurts so bad. OK, Let's get through this together.

1. Darren Young (w/Chavo Guerrero) defeated Jacob Novak (w/JTG) at 3:33. They locked up and pushed back to the ropes and fell to the floor. They slid back in the ring and Young took quick control with a scoop slam. Novak hit a big boot for two and hooked a rest hold. Young fought back and hit a backdrop. He hit a full nelson side suplex type move for the win…

Backstage, Yoshi Tatsu chased Maryse down and said she would be a very good host this year. She said thanks and said he had something to tell her. Byron Saxton ran up and interrupted and said he wanted to sit down with him and work out a plan. Maryse said she had to get ready and would see Tatsu later. She walked off and Tatsu yelled at Saxton for having terrible timing…

Shore’s Slant: There was zero response for Young's finisher. And I mean none. They didn't even act like he hit a move, let alone a cool one. Even the live crowd has given up on NXT. And Tatsu chasing Maryse? Oh no.

The Raw Rebound video recapped the end of Raw with Cena's rap and Miz's attack…A Connor O'Brian video played and he gave some stories on his rough personal history…The Boot Camp Obstacle course was hyped for next…

Shore’s Slant: See that last sentence? Yup, passive voice again. Can you tell how much I'm digging this?

Back from comer…wow, look at Maryse…Oh, sorry! Striker described the obstacle course: over a wall, under a cargo net, across a balance beam, through some flags and then drag a bag up the ramp. Titus O'Neill was first. Not surprisingly, O'Neill did it in 29.8 seconds. Novak was next and scored 24.0 seconds. Saxton scored 26.5.

Cannon took the mic and said if anybody here thought he was going to be their circus monkey tonight they were "stupider than he though." He said the only challenge he had was stealing Maryse. She gave him the hand and the buzzer sounded. O'Brian scored 27.1. Young started and Chavo cheered and got the crowd hyped up. Young did it in 23 seconds to win three redemption points…The announce team hyped revealing the special ref for Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler at WrestleMania 27…[C]

Shore’s Slant: Huh, that kind of entertained me. Go figure. Kudos on a pretty good moment there WWE NXT. Did they really just hype the special ref like it was a spoiler? Who the hell is watching NXT that doesn't watch Raw or at least read a friggin recap? Big suspense after this break.

A video recapped Stone Cold Steve Austin becoming the special guest ref for Cole vs. Lawler…Titus O'Neill vs. Lucky Cannon was announced as the main event…[C]

Shore’s Slant: Replace "Steve" with "Vince" in Cole's meltdown and that was pretty much me after Season 6 was announced.

The announce team setup a Byron Saxton hype video…

2. Titus O'Neill (w/Hornswoggle) defeated Lucky Cannon (w/Tyson Kidd) at 3:13. Cannon slapped Titus and Titus stomped a mud hole in him. Cannon tried to hit a drop toe hold in the corner but Titus blocked it. Cannon kicked him in the head and Titus spilled to the floor. Cannon rolled him back in and worked the head with kicks and chokes.

Titus hit a back suplex and went to work. He whipped Cannon to the corner and charged. Cannon kicked him in the face and stalked him. Hornswoggle hit Kidd in the leg. Kidd chased Hornswoggle around the ring and the ref stopped him. Hornswoggle pushed Cannon off the top rope and Titus hit a sit out powerbomb for the win. Post-match, Kidd tried to put Horny in the Sharpshooter, but Titus kicked him from the ring…

Shore’s Slant: Nothing particularly entertaining about that match. Hornswoggle as a pro makes me want to kill myself, but not anymore that the idea of Season 6. You'll stay with me though, right? Hey! Where are you going? Damn. I'll have more to say tomorrow on the hitlist. Thanks for reading and I'll see you then.

Questions? Comments? Anyone, anyone? Let me hear from you. Email me at css3238@gmail.com with whatever is on your mind.

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