Original Airdate: Wednesday, August 21st, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
WWE Divas Championship Match
Bayley vs. AJ Lee
AJ doesn't want to hug Bayley and gains the early advantage. Bayley tries to make a comeback, but is stopped by an AJ reverse elbow. AJ misses a splash in the corner and Bayley gives her multiple hugs, while pushing her into the turnbuckles. Bayley hits an elbow off the second rope for a nearfall. AJ uses Bayley's naivety against her, knees her in the midsection and hits the Shining Wizard for the victory. This was more about character development than the actual match.
Match Rating: * (out of 5)
Backstage, Tyler Breeze asks Alexa Bliss to take a picture. She thinks it's of the two of them, but he just wants one of himself. CJ Parker photobombs it and Breeze isn't happy about it.
Michael Zaki & Ron Hicks vs. The Ascension
This will shock you, but the Ascension start of destroying whichever guy is in there. They hit the Fall Of Man and get the victory. Yep.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Baron Corbin vs. CJ Parker
So Parker is a hippie and Corbin is still a jobber. Corbin gets in a little bit of offense, but it of course doesn't last long. Parker hits a knee and then hits a version of a DDT for the pinfall victory. The crowd was not digging the hippie character. In the post match interview, he says that he is just a guy going with the flow. Out comes Tyler Breeze and he flat out does a Zoolander impersonation. Breeze calls him a Lenny Kravitz wannabe and gets out of the ring before Parker can do anything. That wasn't very good.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Alexander Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler
I have no idea why Rusev is never on NXT? We get a little bit of a house show match type start, with lots of stalling and playing up their characters. Ziggler explodes for a dropkick, but then Rusev catches Ziggler and knees him in the midsection before dumping him over the top rope. Rusev misses in the corner and Ziggler hits a splash and another dropkick for a 2 count. Ziggler hits the Fameasser for a nearfall. Rusev hits a spinning kick and then goes up to the top rope. Rusev misses with a splash and Ziggler hits the Zig Zag for the victory. While this wasn't necessarily a great match, Rusev got to show a little bit of what he can do and Ziggler hit the high notes for the NXT crowd.
Match Rating: **
2-Out-Of-3 Falls Match
Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro
This is one of my most anticipated matches to watch that I have never seen. Zayn hits a dive over the top rope and gets a quick pinfall less than a minute in the match. Zayn then clothesline Cesaro over the top and throws Cesaro into the steps. Zayn continues the attack in the ring, hitting a top rope crossbody. Cesaro finally gets in some offense and hits a powerbomb. Zayn makes a comeback and hits a hurricanrana, but then Cesaro hits a suplex into a bridge for a 2 count. Zayn hits a pop up dropkick, but Cesaro catches Zayn for a chinlock. In a first for me, Zayn taps out of the vicious looking chinlock. We are tied up 1-1. Cesaro immediately hits him with a running uppercut while the ref is trying to check on Zayn. Cesaro then hits an amazing superplex and Zayn kicks out. Cesaro goes back to the chinlock, but Zayn turns it into a pin attempt and almost steals the victory. Yakuza Kick by Zayn, but Cesaro kicks out. Zayn hits a Canadian Destroyer and again Cesaro kicks out. Zayn hits the always awesome dive through tornado DDT on the outside. The referee gets up to a count of 9 before Cesaro dives in. Zayn has become mainly a character in present day WWE, that people almost forget that he was one of the best performers in the company. Cesaro counters a tornado DDT with a huge pop up uppercut and then hits the Neutralizer for the final fall. What an awesome final few minutes there. It's not quite the classic I hoped for, but it is the best NXT match up to this point.
Match Rating: ***3/4
That is two very strong showings in a row for NXT. During this time, getting help from the main roster was a blessing and it shows. Watching Cesaro and Zayn work is always a joy and this match was no different.
Overall Rating: 70%
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