Saturday, August 31, 2019

NXT 12-5-12 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, December 5th, 2012
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Michael McGillicutty vs. Antonio Cesaro

McGillicutty tries to fire up on Cesaro, but Cesaro isn't having it. McGillicutty hits a nice looking dropkick on Cesaro and I have to say this is the most motivated I have seen him in NXT. Cesaro pushes McGillicutty up on the top rope and then hits a running uppercut. Cesaro was still sort of trying to find himself during this period and despite the United States Championship, he was an afterthought on the main roster. Cesaro dead lifts McGillicutty and hits a gutwrench suplex for a 2 count. McGillicutty fights back, but Cesaro hits him with a thumb to the eye. Cesaro hits a pop up uppercut and then the Neutralizer for the win. I liked the McGillicutty we got here tonight. Why don't we see that more often from him? Nice victory for Cesaro.

Match Rating: **1/2 (out of 5)

Next week we get another Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal match.

Axl Keegan vs. Bo Dallas

Keegan looks like he's 40 years old, but apparently he is 26 here. Despite not getting an entrance, he dominates the early part of the match. Dallas then asks Keegan to keep punching him in the face and that fires himself up. He hits the spear and that's all. Um, no.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Bo Dallas says he loves to fight and he will fight anyone in the WWE.

Corey Graves vs. Yoshi Tatsu

Graves throws his jacket at Tatsu and as Tatsu is about to throw it back behind him, Graves attacks him. Graves goes after Yoshi's legs and already looks more impressive than he did on his last appearance. Tatsu tries a comeback for a second, but Graves takes out his legs again and puts him in the Thirteenth Step for the submission victory. I didn't realize Yoshi was a NXT jobber too.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Gavin Reid vs. Roman Reigns

So if my quick research is correct, this show was taped 3 days prior to the Shield's debut. I never really had thought about it before, but I hadn't realized that Seth Rollins was the NXT Champion when he was on WWE TV. This is obviously just a squash and Reigns looked good for what it was.

Match Rating: 1/4*

After the match, Reigns grabs the mic from Byron Saxton. He insults him and tells him to leave, but then gives him his mic back. Not really sure what that was supposed to accomplish.

Tyson Kidd is backstage and says he wants to be NXT Champion and in walks Kassius Ohno. He says that Richie Steamboat ran his mouth and that he put him on the shelf. Kidd then quotes Einstein and walks away.

Leo Kruger vs. Tyson Kidd

Well based on how much time is left on this show, its possible that this will be the longest Kruger/Rose match I have ever witnessed. Kidd does some nice wrestling to get things going, but after two dropkicks Kruger hits a big spinebuster into the commercial break. Kruger ducks a crossbody by Kidd and he hits his throat on the top rope and falls to the outside. Kruger hits a baseball slide to knock Kidd to the outside. Kidd is able to stall Kruger after a spinning heel kick. Kidd goes for the springboard elbow drop, but Kruger gets his knees up. Kruger is on the outside and Kidd walks the edge of the apron and nails Kruger with a kick. Kidd goes off the top rope, but Kruger gets his boot up, but Kidd sees it and grabs his legs. Kidd puts Kruger in a unique submission hold and Kruger immediately taps. They seem to be doing the start-stop-start-stop push with Kruger. As soon as the match is over, Ohno attacks Kidd from behind. Kruger joins in and Kidd is laid out. Out comes William Regal. He pulls Kidd out of the ring and helps him walk to the back. The match was nothing special thanks to Kruger's lackluster heat segment.

Match Rating: *3/4

Well, there was nothing particularly memorable about this one, but it was effective in the continued pushes of guys like Roman Reigns and Cesaro. However, this was a little light on storyline until the final segment with Ohno and Kidd. This was not their worst show, but definitely not the NXT we know today.

Overall Rating: 41%

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