By Ryan Kester

NXT on WWE.com
Taped earlier in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Matt Striker welcomed us to the show and talked about how NXT would be celebrating its 100th episode in a few weeks. He talked briefly about how Daniel Bryan got his start on NXT and is now the world heavyweight champion.

Matt Striker then welcomed Justin Gabriel, who made his way to the ring to talk about his experience with NXT and how it affected his career. He was instantly interrupted by heath Slater, who mocked Gabriel for not doing anything since their season of NXT ended. There's some beautiful irony there.

Gabriel mocked Slater's One Man Southern Rock Band gimmick. Striker interrupted and made a match between the two, which would be taking place immediately.

1. Justin Gabriel defeated Heath Slater in 13:00. Slater and Gabriel worked some chain wrestling to start, and Gabriel quickly gained the upper hand. Gabriel flipped around the ring and outpaced Slater in between armlocks.

Gabriel sent slater to the floor and quickly followed with a dive. Slater and Gabriel both sold while the show went to a brief commercial break... [C]

The show returned with Gabriel attempting a 450 only for Slater to spring up and sweep his legs. Slater gained the upper hand for the first time in the match and he quickly locked in a rest hold. Slater worked over Gabriel with stomps and jawed with the crowd for a mild reaction.

Gabriel made a comeback and hit a cross body for a near fall. Gabriel returned to the top rope but Slater again jumped up and his time hit a top-rope powerslam for a near fall of his own. Cool spot.

Gabriel hit Slater with a side effect and a springboard moonsault for another great near fall. The two men ended up on the turnbuckle and battled for control. Gabriel ended up getting the better, hit a hotshot on Slater and followed with a springboard 450 splash for the 1-2-3… [C]

Ryan's Rant: Where on earth did that come from? This was an absolutely great match that was preceded by a surprisingly good and natural exchange between Gabriel and Slater. Slater's gimmick is still eye-rolling bad, but it's remarkable how far these two have come, in terms of talent, since their stint on NXT. If they only had creative behind them, they could mean something for the company, and I think they proved that here.

The Raw Rebound focused on CM Punk's presence in his hometown and how John Laurinaitis screwed him in his gauntlet match.

Backstage, Derrick Bateman cornered Maxine and tried to convince her that they were still in love. Maxine talked about how much of a wuss he was and that he didn't listen. Bateman hyped his match against Johnny Curtis later in the evening and said he would get back with her after the match. He then proceeded to kiss her, which elicited a slap. When the two departed, Johnny Curtis was shown creeping around a corner and eavesdropping… [C]

Darren Young joined Striker and Matthews on commentary for the following match.

2. Tyson Kidd defeated Percy Watson in 3:53. Watson dominated to start the match, but Darren Young stood up at the announce desk and distracted him long enough for Kidd to gain the advantage.

Kidd locked in a rest hold, but Watson quickly fought out of it. Watson then hit a series of dropkicks and the Showtime Splash, but Darren Young left the announce booth and jumped on the ring apron to distract him again. Kidd capitalized and hit his fisherman neckbreaker for the win.

After the match, Darren Young hut Watson with a gutbuster and told Watson to tell Titus O'Neill "What up?"… [C]

Ryan's Rant: That entire segment felt lacking. We got rest hold Kidd tonight rather than the actual technical machine he's proven to be before, Young sounded like a robot, and Watson continues to lack the charisma that got him over in the first place. There was nothing unforgivable there, but there was nothing to really keep me excited after the opening match.

Maxine walked backstage when she ran into Aksana, who showed her an email on Teddy Long's phone of Bateman asking Long to keep Maxine on NXT when he moves to Smackdown because she was holding him back. Maxine asked if Curtis told Aksana to show her this, and Aksana denied the subterfuge. Maxine fumed and stormed off.

3. Derrick Bateman beat Johnny Curtis in 7:10. Curtis took control to start and pummeled Bateman with punches.

Bateman quickly battled back and sent Curtis to the floor. Bateman followed him with a dropkick from the ring apron. Curtis responded in kind and thumbed Bateman's eye before hitting a clothesline from the top rope. Maxine made his way to the ringside area and the show went to break... [C]

Back from the break, Curtis remained firmly in control while Maxine stalked at ringside. Bateman battled back and hit a running neckbreaker for a near fall. Bateman then tripped Curtis, who landed on the middle turnbuckle. Bateman rolled him u for the surprise tree count.

After the match, Maxine joined Bateman in the ring. Bateman got down on one knee, but Maxine just walked away from him. As Maxine made her way up the ramp Johnny Curtis walked out and joined her on the stage. Maxine slapped Curtis before giving him a huge kiss. Maxine and Curtis left while Bateman seethed in the ring.

Ryan's Rant: The match was ok, but these two still have some work to do when it comes to working a crowd. They are technically sound in their wrestling, but they lack any form of ring psychology and pacing. The love triangle saga continues, and I'm more or less lukewarm to the whole thing. The three people involved play their parts well, but the feeling that the story will never have a conclusion because it's all NXT has prevents me from really investing in it.

Overall, this was a pretty good edition of NXT. The opening match was phenomenal and a great surprise for regular NXT viewers (namely, me), and if you're a fan of the love triangle story then you got plenty to chew on this week. The Darren Young storyline continues to do nothing for me and I think that all three men involved in that storyline are simply too green to be performing for a WWE audience. They have talent, but they don't seem to be gaining a thing from traveling and performing for different live audiences.

If you have any questions or comments or just wish to chat with a fellow wrestling fan about whatever, then feel free to email me at ryan.kester@gmail.com, or follow me on Twitter at @TheRyanKester.

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