NXT 8-29-12 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, August 29th, 2012
Full Sail University
Winter Garden, Florida

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Mike Dalton & Jason Jordan vs. Hunico & Camacho
We are getting a rematch of the upset on the August 1st episode. I would have like to have seen a little bit more aggression from the heels here. I'd also like to see both of them in different ring gear because what they wear is just so generic. The heels isolate Jordan early on here. Jordan fights back and hits a dropkick, allowing him to get the hot kick to Dalton. Dalton brings a nice energy to this show. He tries the hurricanrana into a pin, which was how they won last time, but this time it only gets a 2 count. Hunico and Camacho get an illegal double team and are able to distract Dalton. Hunico hits a nice suplex for the victory. Not bad and I am a fan that we are finally getting some storylines here.

Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)

The Usos are in the ring and they challenge The Ascension to a fight. The arena lights go down and their music hits. The Ascension ambushes the Usos and takes them out. They hit their finish on both Usos and their music hits again.

Big E. Langston vs. Chase Donovan
Donovan gets the "already in the ring" treatment. It's fun to see this version of Big E. He has done a nice job adjusting to his New Day gimmick. He hits about 2 moves and then the Big Finish for the victory. Not much to that one.

Match Rating: 1/4*

All of the NXT stars gather on the ramp to watch the title match. We then go backstage to Big E. and he just breathes heavily.

Back to the ring and Howard Finkel is here, which is a nice touch. He introduces commissioner Dusty Rhodes and he carries the championship belt to the ring.

NXT Championship Match
Jinder Mahal vs. Seth Rollins
Jim Ross joins the booth and they try their best to make Mahal seem like the favorite. I don't know why, but Rollins looks like Will Forte with long hair and a beard in this era. Mahal refuses to shake Dusty's hand to some boos. Rollins gets off to the early start. Rollins misses with a knee, but ends up sending Mahal to the outside. Mahal blocks a kick and slams him face first to the apron. Mahal slams him down to the floor. Back from commercial and Mahal is stretching Rollins. Rollins battles out of it and attempts a suplex, but his back is sore and Mahal goes back to work on it. Big backbreaker for a 2 count. The story of this match makes sense all the way, but Mahal is just so uninteresting that even a great performer such as Rollins has a hard time bringing out personality. Rollins is fighting back with some kicks and a single legged dropkick. Rollins does a crossbody from the top rope to the floor nails Mahal and the crowd is getting pretty juiced. The crowd has come a long way since the first episode. They built a nice little audience in a short amount of time. Mahal now nails a superplex and both men are down as we hit the last commercial break. They go back and forth until Mahal hits a nice suplex. Everything with Mahal is so slow motion as made evident by the spot they do where Rollins misses a kick but hits an enzaguri. Rollins hits a knee off the top and only gets a 2 count. Rollins misses his corkscrew off the top rope and Mahal hits the full nelson slam and somehow Rollins kicks out. Mahal goes for the Camel Clutch, but Rollins gets to the ropes before he gets it on. Mahal goes for it again and Rollins gets a roll up for another 2 count. Rollins has Mahal up for a buckle bomb and the Blackout for the victory. Seth Rollins is the first ever NXT Champion to a nice pop. That is definitely one of Mahal's best matches, but that is not saying a whole lot.

Match Rating: **3/4

Rollins celebrates by swinging the belt similar to Ultimate Warrior and then all the faces come to the ring to celebrate with him as the show goes off the air.

Well, obviously this episode was the most focused show produced to date. They promised a payoff and we had a solid match with a clean finish. Rollins is obviously the star of the bunch so far, so it was a no brainer to put the title on him here. The nice thing about early NXT is that I don't really know any of the storylines from this era, so most of this is all new to me. I am excited to see where they go with Rollins' run and also where guys like Ohno and Langston end up.

Overall Rating: 58%