By Ryan Kester

NXT on WWE.com
Taped earlier in Tucson, Arizona.

Titus O'Neill kicked off the show by making his way to the ring wearing a suit. A quick video recapped his heel turn from last week. O'Neill said that after seeing the footage, an apology was definitely deserved. He asked for an apology from the live crowd, but he got a "you suck" chant instead. O'Neil complained about having to cater to the fans for weeks.

O'Neill said he was liberated. He said that the fans were nothing but "mangy, grungy puppies." He then barked. Percy Watson appeared on stage and he asked O'Neill what had come over him. He stumbled over his lines and he asked O'Neill why he was changing.

O'Neill denied the support the fans showed him, and he said that his new demeanor was nothing but business. Watson asked him what was going on, and he said that O'Neill was turning on everybody. O'Neill talked about how the show was a joke, and how Watson was pulled into the joke with his talk show. O'Neill asked Watson to turn his back on the fans with him. Watson said he couldn't do that, and he said O'Neill was starting to sound like Darren Young.

This pissed O'Neill off, and O'Neill told Watson that he was either with him or against him. Watson said he wasn't with him. Watson turned to leave and O'Neill grabbed his arm. O'Neill said the difference between him and Darren Young was the fact that he kicked Darren Young's ass. O'Neill shoved Watson to the mat.

Matt Striker's voice rang through the arena. He stepped on stage and made the main event of Titus O'Neill vs. Percy Watson.

As Striker tried to walk through the backstage area, he was stopped by Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks, who wanted to know why they weren't in the main event slot. Striker said he didn't have time for them, and he told the two to worry about the Uso Brothers while he worries about NXT… [C]

Ryan's Rant: I like the substance of the opening promo segment, but both Watson and O'Neill need to work on their delivery. It's forgivable considering NXT is supposed to be the show where young talent gets a chance to work their craft. O'Neill did show some promise, but he needs to find something better than "mangy, grungy puppies" if he actually wants to get under the skin of a crowd. Also, the barking needs to go ahead and stop.

1. The Uso Brothers defeated Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks in 5:09. The Usos took control briefly, but Hawkins caused a distraction that allowed Tyler Reks to capitalize and gain control.

Reks and Hawkins wore down Jey Uso by keeping him in their side of the ring and working a series of quick tags. Jimmy eventually got the hot tag t Jey, who charged the ring and took out Curt Hawkins. Jey hit a wrecking ball on Hawkins and covered him. Reks broke the count.

Hawkins hit Jey with a leg hook belly-to-back suplex for a great near fall. Reks tossed Hawkins his cane, and Hawkins turned to use it on Jey, but he ate a superkick for his effort. Jey covered Hawkins and scored the pinfall victory.

Backstage, Derrick Bateman was dancing with a mop and bucket. When Bateman saw Kaitlyn, he gave her a high five. Kaitlyn talked about everything bad Maxine did and she asked Bateman why he would just take her back. Kaitlyn then mentioned that Curtis was in the arena, and Bateman ran off looking for him… [C]

Ryan's Rant: Good, quick tag match. There was nothing there that the two teams haven't already done with each other, but it was still entertaining enough.

2. Heath Slater defeated Trent Barreta in 4:41. Slater took control early, and he kept Barreta off balance with a series of strikes and rest holds.

Barreta caught Slater with an enziguri and he quickly followed with the Gobstopper for a near fall. Barreta hit a Northern Lights suplex for a near fall and he went to the top rope. Slater popped up and hit an exploder powerslam for a near fall of his own.

Barreta set up for the Dudebuster DDT, but Slater slipped out and countered with a flying neckbreaker for the 1-2-3… [C]

Ryan's Rant: Highly entertaining. Fast paced, but with very solid wrestling.

Matt Striker stood in the ring and set up a replay of the wedding debacle from last week. Thankfully, Michael's Cole's commentary contributions from that segment were cut out.

Striker introduced Johnny Curtis, who quickly made his way to the ring. Curtis briefly about how he enjoyed Maxine's company. Maxine and Derrick Bateman quickly interrupted, and Maxine said that Curtis will stoop to any level.

Maxine asked Curtis how low he will go. Curtis told her not act like she's not a dirty little girl. Maxine said that last week was a disaster and she either needed to figure out how to keep Curtis at arm's length or how to get him off of NXT. Bateman whispered to Maxine about how they were trying to figure out how to get off of the show.

Striker said that no one was leaving NXT because the show needs all the warm bodies it can get. Maxine told him to shut up and she said that Curtis doesn’t belong on NXT. Striker said everyone needs to get along.

Bateman told Curtis he's beaten him before and he can beat him again. Curtis said they needed to be one big happy family and he extended his hand. Maxine walked over and kneed Curtis in the crotch. Maxine and Bateman left the ring while Curtis tried to recover… [C]

Ryan's Rant: Was that supposed to be as intentionally bad as last week's wedding? It really makes no sense for this storyline to be continuing, and that whole segment didn't make a lot of sense.

The Royal Rumble by the numbers video package aired. The announcers then ran through the Royal Rumble card.

Backstage, Alex Riley talked to Percy Watson. Watson said that O'Neill will see the light. Riley said he knows what Watson is going through, and he wished him luck for his match… [C]

The Royal Rumble by the numbers video package aired. The announcers then ran through the Royal Rumble card.

Backstage, Alex Riley talked to Percy Watson. Watson said that O'Neill will see the light. Riley said he knows what Watson is going through, and he wished him luck for his match… [C]

3. Titus O'Neill defeated Percy Watson in 5:50. Watson hit O'Neill with n enziguri early, and he controlled much of the early action. O'Neill reversed a back body drop attempt by throwing Watson to the floor. O'Neill then barked.

Back in the ring, O'Neill worked over Watson in the corner before locking in a rest hold. Watson battled back, only to get thrown into the corner by O'Neil. O'Neill stomped on Watson repeatedly before locking in another rest hold.

Watson finally managed to make a comeback, and he ran through his move set on O'Neill. Watson hit the Showtime Splash for a near fall. Watson set up for Persecution, but O'Neill fought out and hit Clash of the Titus for the win.

O'Neill continued to attack Watson after the bell, but Alex Riley ran out and made the save.

Ryan's Rant: O'Neill appears to be much more at home working a heel style in the ring. Watson sold well for him throughout the match, and the two managed to tell a good story. Overall, this was a pretty middle of the road edition of NXT. The love triangle segment was just bad this week, but the match between Heath Slater and Trent Barreta was entertaining. I would suggest looking that match up, but I'd wait until the show is uploaded onto YouTube as I encountered problems with the WWE NXT feed for the third week in a row.

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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