Original Airdate: Wednesday, July 18th, 2012
Full Sail University
Winter Garden, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkingTheNetwork2
Tamina Snuka vs. Kaitlyn
Oh boy, it's Tamina. I will say she looks a lot more mobile here. Some semi-sloppy offense to start. Kaitlyn's hair is...something. I'm not even really sure how to explain this match. It just feels like a series of moves with no purpose. Tamina fights back and is heading to the top rope, but Kaitlyn grabs her leg. They seem to be trying to get Kaitlyn over as more of a submission wrestler. Tamina picks her up off the mat and hits a Samoan Drop. Up to the top rope and she hits the splash for the pinfall.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
We get a very serious vignette for Big E. Langston, which just seems so odd knowing what we know now.
Jinder Mahal vs. Percy Watson
I haven't seen much of anything that Watson has done. Regal claims that John Cena has taken Watson under his wing. He is definitely fairly athletic, but like a lot of guys on the early days of NXT, is just so plain on offense. Watson misses with a splash and Mahal hits him with a high knee. He then puts on the Camel Clutch and Watson submits. That was rather uninspiring.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Richie Steamboat vs. Leo Kruger
This really has to be one of the low points for WWE in terms of developmental talent. Steamboat looks good in the early going with some chops and a monkey flip. Kruger blocks a kick and rolls him into the turnbuckle. Steamboat chases Kruger around the ring and then hits a crossbody, but Kruger rolls him over and puts his feet on the rope to get the win.
Match Rating: *1/2
We get a Raquel Diaz promo. Of all of the things I have seen so far from this era, this actually feels the most like the current NXT.
Raquel Diaz vs. Paige
She comes out to the ring giving a Body Donna-era Sunny type promo. Paige looks incredibly nervous coming down to the ring. Diaz slams and then rubs Paige's face into the mat. Paige fights back with a clothesline. Diaz catches Paige's kick and slams her face first. She then hits a Gory Special for the victory. Regal after the match does acknowledge that she is a Guerrero. Not the most impressive debut.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Aksana is flirting with Alex Riley and then Cesaro walks in and Askana says Riley is hitting on her. They then mutually agree to fight each other next week. I'm glad that they are able to contain themselves for a week rather than, you know, fighting right now.
Heath Slater vs. Justin Gabriel
This match is already better than everything else on this show. Gabriel goes for a springboard move, but Slater pushes him to the outside with what looked like a painful fall. After Slater works on his back and neck, Gabriel comes back with some nice kicks and a sit down powerbomb. Slater counters Gabriel's counter and hits a reverse suplex for a nearfall. Slater hits a neckbreaker from the top rope. I like that move quite a bit. Jim Ross every episode repeats how important each match is, but I'm still not really 100% sure why. Gabriel fights off Slater with some nice elbows and then hits a moonsault into a DDT and gets the pinfall? It looks like Slater might have taken a stiff shot on the moonsault, which stalled the inverted DDT and was unable to kick out. Up until the final 30 seconds, this was a good match.
Match Rating: **3/4
Well, the main event was the best match so far in the short history of this show. We also got a debut of what they are treating as a major player in the women's division and a lot of mediocre wrestling otherwise. The short running time helps, but we all know the level this show is going to be at in a few years and you can't help but hope we see the momentum start to swing that way.
Overall Rating: 49%
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