Original Airdate: Wednesday, August 1st, 2012
Full Sail University
Winter Garden, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Dusty Rhodes is here to announce that there will be a Gold Rush Tournament to crown the first ever NXT Champion. 8 competitors will be involved and it starts right here tonight.
Gold Rush Tournament Match
Richie Steamboat vs. Leo Kruger
Kruger's just a little awkward to me, not sure exactly what it is, but he's not that crisp. The crowd definitely has taken a liking to Steamboat. Kruger is saying that he hurt his knee and of course he is only using it as a distraction and clubs Steamboat. Kruger is doing a lot of showboating, playing up his heel persona. Kruger isn't doing a very good job of hiding his conversation with Steamboat. Steamboat attempts to make a comeback, but Kruger hits him with a nice spinebuster. Steamboat is able to kick out and eventually hit a flying crossbody off the top rope for a 2 count. Kruger gets Steamboat into a sleeper hold. These early NXT matches are very much late 80s/early 90s matches without the larger than life personalities. It's amazing how different the new NXT is. Then out of nowhere, Steamboat hits a nice move that I'm not sure I have seen before for a victory. That was certainly a random finish.
Match Rating: *3/4
Big E. promo time again and he is up next.
Big E Langston vs. Adam Mercer
Langston is such an underrated worker. Langston hits three consecutive backbreakers. Langston hits him with some spears and then the Big Finish for the victory. He looked good and the crowd was impressed. Good debut.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Audrey Marie vs. Raquel Diaz
Diaz does her shtick where she talks on her way down to the ring. I did not know that Tyler Breeze was married to Audrey. Diaz gets here in the Gory Bomb and gets the victory. That wasn't exactly very good. After the match shes uses lipstick to write a "L" on Marie's forehead.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We are backstage with 19 year old Paige. She basically says nothing.
Hunico & Camacho vs. Jason Jordan & Mike Dalton
Quite a bit of talent in the ring here. I have to say I hate Camacho's ring gear. He looks like he's from a catalog, which I am guessing is not what he was going for. They do a nice double team where they look like they are doing a double hip toss and stop him mid-flip and slammed him down. Dalton is sent off the ropes and Huico tosses him up to Camacho, but Dalton hits a hurricanrana into a pin for an upset victory. It's not very often you see the "already in the ring" competitors win, so that was a nice surprise.
Match Rating: *3/4
Gold Rush Tournament Match
Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins
We get a rematch of last week's main event. McIntrye comes out strong, but Rollins fights back with his quick paced offense. McIntyre tries to hide under the ring, but slams Rollins' face into the ring when he goes to get him. McIntrye is working on Rollins arm when they go to commercial break. Rollins finally gets some offense in by countering into a DDT and is now fighting back with some strikes. Suicide Dive by Rollins now and he's now stomping in the corner. He hits the splash, but then McIntyre clubs him and gets a 2 count. Rollins off the second rope, but McIntyre catches him and hits a backbreaker. Rollins misses a Phoenix Splash but lands it, which leads to McIntyre missing a big boot, which then allows Rollins to hit the Stomp for the victory. I preferred their matchup last week, but this was still the best match of the show.
Match Rating: **1/4
Well, that wasn't a great episode by any means, but I am glad that there are now at least stakes. I also though Dalton and Jordan winning an upset was a nice wrinkle to what is usually a pretty predictable show. I don't see the other first round matches being much better, but maybe the second round will pick it up.
Overall Rating: 37%
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