NXT 6-12-13 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, June 12th, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro

Seeing Zayn without his entrance music is just bizarre. Cesaro goes right after Zayn and drops him on the guardrail. He rams him in the ring post. The ref holds Cesaro back before ringing the bell. As soon as the bell rings, Cesaro hits a running uppercut. Zayn tries to fight back, but Cesaro nails him with a spinebuster. It really is quite amazing that Zayn wrestled with a mask for so much of his career. Cesaro catches Zayn in midair and hits a great spinning backbreaker for a 2 count. Back from the commercial break, Zayn gets destroyed by a stomp. Zayn uses a headscissors and swings Cesaro out of the ring. Zayn hits a senton over the top rope. Back in the ring, Zayn heads to the top rope, but eats an uppercut. Zayn hits a fantastic counter into a Canadian Destroyer, but Cesaro kicks out. Zayn charges at Cesaro in the corner and Cesaro gets the boot up. After some counters, Cesaro goes into a chin lock and works his way into the Neutralizer for the victory. This was easily the best match in NXT's short history. Zayn is such a breath of fresh air to this roster.

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

Renee Young is here with a hesitant Bayley. She's sporting a headband with a bow and lets us know that she likes robots. She says Alicia Fox is pretty and asks Renee if she thinks that she is pretty. I didn't know that the Bayley character started out this way.

Leo Kruger gets more vignette time. I really don't understand it.

Travis Tyler & Baron Corbin vs. Scott Dawson & Garrett Dylan

The pairing with Dawson and Dylan with LeFort feels so random. Dawson and Dylan corner Tyler and hit him with some quick tags. Dawson and Dylan are very similar to the Revival in that they focus on actual tag team wrestling. Corbin finally gets tagged in. He doesn't last long as he gets hit with Southern Pride for the victory. This was a pretty impressive showing for the new team.

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show Kassius Ohno, Adrian Neville and Corey Graves arguing about the Wyatt Family. William Regal tells them that they need to put their egos aside and figure out a way to take them out. Ohno thanks Regal for the chat.

NXT Women's Championship Tournament First Round Match
Bayley vs. Alicia Fox

Bayley offers her hand and then ends up hugging Fox. Fox hits her with a suplex with a bridge for a 2 count. Fox slaps Bayley and she fires back and then hits a monkey flip. She hits a knee drop and gets a nearfall. Bayley is getting a solid reaction from the crowd here. Fox sneaks in a kick while on the apron and then hits the scissor kick for the finish. I'm not really sure what good it does to have Fox win here, but what do I know?

Match Rating: 1/2*

Wyatt Family vignette time. Bray says a bunch of words.

NXT Championship Match
Bo Dallas vs. Big E Langston

Dallas hits a dropkick to Langston's chest, but it hardly phases him. Big E shows off his athleticism and then knocks Bo over with a shoulder tackle. Bo takes Big E down to his knee with a low dropkick and then sends Langston over the top rope. The crowd is already starting to boo Bo. Langston takes control and hits a splash. The "No more Bo" chants are beginning now. Bo hits the springboard bulldog for a 2. Langston hits a belly-to-belly suplex and hits a series of clotheslines. Bo counters out of the Big Ending and rips off the top turnbuckle. He uses it and gets the victory to become the third NXT Champion in history. This would begin probably the weakest title reign in NXT history. This was obviously a very historical moment for the brand, but the match was very underwhelming.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Renee Young comes out to interview the new champion. He tells her he's going to Disney World while the crowd boos. This was probably not the moment they were hoping for.

Well, this is probably the most important episode of the show since it has two big moments. The Zayn/Cesaro match is the best match to this date on NXT and the crowning of a new champion. That alone is worthy of a thumbs up. The two other matches were good enough for what they were. Let's hope the women's matches get some more time in round 2.

Overall Rating: 68%