WWE NXT - November 6, 2013
by Samoa Rowe
-From Orlando, FL. Our hosts are Tom Phillips, Renee Young, and Alex Riley.
-Sylvester Lefort is arguing with the mysterious blond woman who has been eyeing his talent, Alexander Rusev. Turns out the blond lady is Russian and has stolen Rusev from Lefort’s wacky stable. Good.
Sylvester Lefort vs. Alexander Rusev (with the mysterious blond and apparently Russian lady)
The still yet-to-be-named Russian blond introduces Rusev as the “Bulgarian Brute.” Lefort offers Rusev some cash, but the Brute isn’t having any of it. Rusev shoves the cash in Lefort’s mouth and applies the Cobra Clutch for the submission win at 0:12. Okay, can we be done with this angle now?Winner: Alexander Rusev
-Charlotte and Bayley are hanging out backstage when Summer Rae and Sasha Banks stroll in to stir up trouble. Sasha offers a replacement headband to Bayley, but Charlotte isn’t buying their forced kindness. Summer tries to recruit Bayley to their Mean Girls stable, offering her the type of fame Summer has found on Raw and Smackdown. This angle has potential.
El Local (Ricardo Rodriguez) vs. Leo Kruger
Kruger misses a kick, allowing some token offense from Local, but Kruger cuts him off with a spinebuster. Local counters with a boot, but Kruger knocks him off the turnbuckles for some grounding and pounding. Hard lariat by Kruger leads to a trio of snap suplexes. The double underhook submission finishes it at 2:11. Fine squash here.Winner: Leo Kruger
-WWE.com exclusive footage shows Paige and Emma bickering over their in-ring miscommunications. Paige doesn’t think Emma’s attack was accidental, Emma thinks Paige has issues. I hope this isn’t leading to an Emma heel turn, but a face vs. face match could be fun.
Travis Tyler and Troy McClain vs. NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension (Rick Victor and Conor O’Brian)
The “Let’s go, these guys’ chants for the jobbers haven’t gotten old yet. Victor immediately scores a takedown against Tyler and backs him into position for O’Brian’s shoulder thrusts. O’Brian delivers rolling side headlock takeovers! Victor nails an STO and throws Tyler into O’Brian’s flapjack. The Ascension double team Tyler with THE FALL OF MAN (formerly known as Total Elimination) and it’s over at 1:43. I love these tag team squash matches where the jobbers can’t even make a single tag. Good showing for The Ascension once again.Winners: The Ascension
Ty Dillinger vs. Mojo Rawley
The commentators put over what a nice guy Rawley is when he’s hanging around the Performance Center. Dillinger throws a chop, but it’s completely no-sold. Rawley nails a shoulder block, but Dillinger counters and actually builds a bit of heat. Ty heels it up by raking the face. Rawley makes his comeback, rolling around like a football player. Rawley dishes out rapid fire attacks and finishes with a running senton at 3:22. The ring fills with smoke for Rawley’s celebration. This was a nice baby face exhibition for Rawley.Winner: Mojo Rawley
-THE RAW REBOUND! Stephanie and Triple H bore us with their legal battle against Big Show, who settles for a WWE title match with Randy Orton at Survivor Series. It’s not too late for me to pawn my Survivor Series ticket off on Craig’s List.
-Next week: Charlotte and Bayley vs. Summer Rae and Sasha Banks (cool!) and Adrian Neville vs. Corey Graves in a 2/3 falls match (neat).
Luke Harper vs. Kassius Ohno
The crowd does a hilarious arm wave to the Wyatt’s theme song. I swear, these NXT fans are organically what the TNA Impact Zone crowd tried to force themselves to be. Ohno looks to be in better shape than in recent memory, perhaps he’ll be out of the proverbial dog house soon enough. Ohno takes the fight to Harper in the early going. Harper absorbs some shots but counters with a back body drop. Harper goes on offense and sets a methodical pace. Ohno throws a desperate rolling elbow and drop-kicks Harper through the ropes. Cue the commercial! After the break, Ohno is in the driver’s seat until getting knocked off the apron with a big boot. Ohno narrowly avoids a count-out, but Harper is simply toying with him now. Harper delivers the Gator Roll and a catapult into the bottom rope. Ohno tries to build a comeback with a surprise drop-kick. Ohno puts together a string of moves, including a neck breaker off the ropes! Harper cuts Ohno off with a side slam. Ohno surprises again with a roaring elbow but Harper kicks out! Big lariat by Harper finally ends this at 14:51. Way too long, as a good chunk of this match was resting and stalling for time. They never really got out of second gear, and Ohno’s career seems to be dead in the water, **.Winner: Luke Harper
Final Thoughts: Another lackluster NXT episode (Bo Dallas and Sami Zayn are M.I.A. due to taking part in an overseas tour). This was feeling like a Thumbs in the Middle due to the squashes being enjoyable enough and some angle advancement in short backstage segments, but the main event and the frustrating trajectory of Ohno’s career soured it enough where this is a solid Thumbs Down.
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