WWE NXT - December 4, 2013
by Samoa Rowe
-From Orlando, FL. Our hosts are Byron Saxton, Alex Riley, and Renee Young.
-WWE.com exclusive footage reveals Antonio Cesaro mocking William Regal’s accent and warning him to stay out of his business. Leo Kruger shows up and feels he also has what it takes to be a Real American and wants help against Sami Zayn. Trouble is brewing!
NXT Women’s Championship:
Paige © vs. Natalya
They start things off with an aggressive handshake. They evenly exchange holds on the mat. Natalya counters into a suplex and goes after the arm. Paige counters with a head butt and they trade near falls and submissions. Paige narrowly avoids a Sharpshooter and takes a time out to set up a commercial break. Post-break, Paige has turned up the aggression and stomps a mud hole. Paige punishes Natalya with an intense chinlock and abdominal stretch. Natalya reverses the abdominal stretch and hooks the leg. Both divas are wrestling angrily now. The both wipe out with double cross body attempts. Paige misses a leg drop, allowing Natalya to slap the face (just because) and nail a suplex. Paige runs into a rolling clothesline for a Natalya near fall. Natalya applies the Sharpshooter and pulls Paige into the center of the ring. Paige desperately counters by thrusting Natalya into the turnbuckles. Paige surprises with her Paige-Turner finisher for the upset win at 11:21! Big victory for Paige and a damn good match to boot, ***.Winner and still NXT Women’s Champion: Paige
-Paige helps Natalya to her feet with a hug! They’re such good sports.
-Tyler Breeze visits Lana and Alexander Rusev and thanks them for their help last week. Lana cuts Breeze off and kicks him out so she can continue motivating Rusev. It sounds like she expects him to become NXT Champion soon.
-Mojo Rawley is interviewed backstage. He lives his life in a state perpetual state of being hyped. Sylvester Lefort and Scott Dawson interrupt. Lefort tries to recruit Rawley to little success. Rawley accuses Lefort of stiffing Dawson on his paychecks and holding him back. It dawns on Dawson that some of his checks haven’t been signed, but refuses to face reality. Dawson and Rawley face off next week.
Aiden English vs. An unnamed jobber.
English croons a parody of “When You Wish Upon a Star” on his way to the ring. It seems like English is finally getting some heel heat from the Orlando fans. English overwhelms the jobber and finishes him off with the Director’s Cut at 1:22. Forget what I said about heel heat before, as the fans chant for an encore. They can call this guy up to the main roster anytime and it’ll be awesome.Winner: Aiden English
-Antonio Cesaro comes to the stage, supposedly to apologize to Bryon Saxton for pushing him around last week. Saxton cautiously accepts Cesaro’s handshake. Cesaro says he thought Saxton would know better than to touch his Gadsden flag and says he’s sorry in five languages. Cesaro orders Saxton to say “We, the people” but doesn’t get any enthusiasm. Cesaro loses his temper and slaps Byron to the floor.
-WWE.com exclusive shows Sami Zayn’s reaction to coming up short to Adrian Neville last week. Zayn doesn’t make any excuses, stating that the better man won. Zayn isn’t giving up on his title hunt, but gets ambushed by Leo Kruger, who knocks him down with a hard clothesline.
Tyson Kidd vs. Leo Kruger
Kidd is looking for payback for Kruger attacking his injured leg last winter. Hot start for Kidd with rapid fire kicks. A hapless Kruger suffers a snap suplex, but he escapes into the ropes. Kruger turns it around with his size advantage and dishes out methodical offense. Kruger starts going after the previously injured knee to send us to commercial. After the break, Kidd desperately tries to steal a quick pinfall, but Kruger continues relentlessly attacking the knee. Kruger steals the Sharpshooter but Sami Zayn shows up on the apron for a distraction. Kruger turns his back on Kidd, allowing a roll-up for the loss at 7:09. Not an overly inspired match, but it’s good to see Kidd back in action.Winner: Tyson Kidd
-WWE.com exclusive interview with Hunico and Camacho. They take what they want and right now they want the NXT Tag Team Championship. They’ll face the Ascension in a title match next week!
NXT Championship:
Bo Dallas © vs. Adrian Neville
Neville goes on the offensive, attacking the wrist and arm. Bo regroups and connects with some clubbing offense, but Neville flips into a high cross body. Neville follows with a drop-kick for a 2 count, sending Dallas to ringside for a breather. The ref tries to pull them apart in the corner, inadvertently allowing a Dallas cheap shot. Bo takes control, applying a chinlock. Hard bulldog by Dallas gets a 2 count. Bo exposes his knee but misses a flying knee drop. Neville targets the exposed knee with stiff kicks and rapid fire attacks. Neville scores a running dive to the floor! Dallas slides to the floor to avoid a Red Arrow, but Neville still catches him with a flying cross body. Neville narrowly wins by count-out at 7:32, which the crowd soundly boos. This felt like the first 7 minutes of a proper 20 minute main event. I suppose this is meant to build to a bigger match in the coming weeks, but is a normal **¼ match in it’s own right.Winner via count-out: Adrian Neville
Final Thoughts: This episode is worth watching for Natalya vs. Paige. Everything else is building towards bigger things down the road. I love the attention Antonio Cesaro is getting, as well as the Hunico/Camacho push. Thumbs up for another pleasant hour of wrestling.
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