Friday, January 8, 2021

NXT 11-20-13 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, November 20th, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Bo Dallas is here to kick off the show. He comes out wearing a party hat and to balloons. He shows us a slideshow of his world tour. He then starts handing out cookies Oprah style to the live crowd. Out comes JBL to tell him how proud he is that Bo is the face of NXT. Sami Zayn is out now to interrupt the lovefest. JBL announces that he has reinstated Zayn. JBL then says that a new #1 contender will be determined tonight with a Beat The Clock Challenge and Sami is one of the competitors. 

Beat The Clock Challenge
Colin Cassady vs. Alexander Rusev

They inform us that Enzo was hurt at a recent live event. Lana is given a name and a job title. Rusev dominates the early going, but misses with a second rope headbutt. Cassady hits a running knee to the face and gets a 2 count. We are at the 3 minute mark and Cassady misses a splash in the corner and hits his face on the ring post. Rusev puts him in the Accolade and surprisingly breaks the hold. Rusev has Cassady up and hits him with knees to the kidney. That's actually pretty impressive. Rusev locks in the Accolade and this time Cassady taps at the 5:33 mark. This was the longest Rusev match to date. 

Match Rating: * (out of 5)

Adrian Neville is backstage for an interview and we learn that Corey Graves is out with a concussion. He shifts his focus to his match with Aiden English tonight.

Bayley is shown spinning around on an office chair. She then is interviewed and said that her and Charlotte were like Tommy and Chuckie and she doesn't know what happened. She says she hasn't had the courage to confront her and holds up her fists and says these bad boys will do all the talking. She then asks Devin to do the robot with her. 

Beat The Clock Challenge
Tyler Breeze vs. Kassius Ohno 

They work a frantic pace, trying to get an early pinfall. You know, something that actually makes sense. Ohno eats a step up enzuigiri and it knocks him to the floor. Regal is furious that Breeze is trying to pull Ohno back in the ring instead of letting him get counted out. He finally does and only gets a 2 count. Breeze continues the assault and is starting to get frustrated. He misses with a spin kick and Ohno almost gets the victory. We get a bunch of reversals and some nearfalls as time runs out. Ohno gets another roll up and scores a surprise victory at 4:48, which is the new time to beat. That was a fun little match and I have to say that I didn't see Breeze losing here. 

Match Rating: **

Hunico & Camacho vs. Johnny Vandal & Chris Rothwell

Well, we saw Camacho get squashed in his return last week but now Hunico is back. Camacho hits a Samoan drop and Hunico hits a swanton for the quick squash. After the match, they call out the Ascension. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get another new backstage announcer and he congratulates Ohno. Ohno is talking about momentum and then is interrupted by Lana. He mocks her accent and tells her that when he wins the NXT Championship, Rusev can have the first shot. 

Beat The Clock Challenge
Adrian Neville vs. Aiden English

We start with no entrances, which again must be due to something with English's singing. Neville shows off his athleticism, which is impressive as always. English hits a body slam and his standing leg drop for a 2 count. English dominates most of the match, until Neville hits a back suplex. He explodes for a fury of offense, including a low dropkick to the head. We are down to 1 minute and Neville goes up top. English sees it and wisely rolls out of the way. English goes for a superplex, but Neville pushes English off. Neville hits the Red Arrow and gets the victory with 3 seconds to spare. I'm not sure I love English losing there, as this seemed like a good candidate for time to run out. This was still another fun little sprint between two of my favorites on the roster. 

Match Rating: **1/4

The Ascension accepts Hunico and Camacho's challenge. 

Beat The Clock Challenge
Leo Kruger vs. Sami Zayn

4:45 is the time to beat. Bo Dallas is out to sit and watch the match on the entrance stage. Zayn has an answer for all of Kruger's offense early on, but a double thrust to the throat slows Zayn down. Kruger hits a nice snap suplex and starts going for a few covers. Zayn is able to hit a top rope crossbody for a nearfall, but Kruger is back on the attack. Zayn picks up the pace and hits a nice pop up dropkick. Zayn misses the Helluva Kick and almost eats a loss because of it. Kruger hits a big spinebuster for another 2 count. Kruger wastes a lot of time, but finally hits a clothesline with under 20 seconds left. On one of his pin attempts, Zayn rolls him up and gets the victory as the clock expires. JBL is out and announces that Zayn will face Neville next week to determine the #1 contender. This one wasn't as good as the previous two matches on the show, but it sets up next week nicely.

Match Rating: *1/2

This was an enjoyable show, as they really packed a lot in here. The Beat The Clock Challenge probably works better on a longer show, but it still provided a different feel to the normal episode. 

Overall Rating: 60%

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