WWE NXT
March 9, 2010
Seattle, WA
Report by: Mike Tedesco of WrestleView.com
?Yes, sir, we promised you a great main event?? The WWE video leads us into the show.
A quick recap of last week’s NXT plays. It highlights David Otunga and R-Truth’s scuffle, Wade Barrett’s win over an injured Daniel Bryan, and Justin Gabriel’s amazing 450 Splash.
The NXT video plays and we?re brought into the arena with some pyro. Michael Cole and Josh Mathews welcome us to the third episode of NXT, live from Seattle, Washington.
R-Truth’s music hits and he makes his way to the ring with his rookie David Otunga. We then go backstage where Matt Striker is. Striker reiterates what he said last week. The eight rookies will be vying for a vote from the pros based on their success in the coming weeks. The pros cannot vote for or against their own rookies. The competition continues?
The Miz and his rookie Daniel Bryan are out next. We?re shown highlights from Raw when John Morrison and R-Truth beat the holy hell out of ShoMiz. The Miz says before the match begins he has a pep talk for Daniel Bryan. Bryan is 0-2 on NXT. He hasn?t proven anything to him, the people, or the NXT pros. Last night he was jumped so this match is very important to him. If Bryan lets him down, like being pinned, he?ll make sure he never attains his dream of becoming a WWE Superstar. He?ll also have him thrown off NXT!
R-Truth & David Otunga vs. The Miz & Daniel Bryan
It’s R-Truth starting out against Daniel Bryan. Bryan holds his hand out for R-Truth to shake but he just does a dance instead. They lock up and trade arm wrenches. R-Truth gets a side headlock so Bryan whips him off and takes a shoulder block. They go into the ropes and R-Truth counters a hip toss with a short-arm clothesline for a one count. David Otunga is tagged in and they hit a double shoulder block for a no count. Otunga wrenches the arm and tags R-Truth back in. Truth punches until Bryan comes back with some uppercuts. Bryan misses a strike and gets sent to the ropes for a stiff clothesline. R-Truth clotheslines him over the top rope and sends Miz over when he comes in. R-Truth then hits a nice senton over the top rope on them! Bryan’s career is on the line when we come back.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see R-Truth locked in a dragon sleeper applied by Daniel Bryan. During the break Miz blind tagged and got beat up by R-Truth. Miz later kicked R-Truth’s legs out and turned the match back to their favor. R-Truth fights up but Bryan takes him down with a knee to the midsection. Miz tags in hard and yells at Bryan. Miz locks a front face lock on. R-Truth fights up and rolls up Miz for a two count. Miz quickly takes him down with a clothesline. Miz beats on R-Truth and chokes him on the second rope. Miz then goes into the ropes and misses an avalanche. R-Truth kicks Miz away and tags in Otunga.
Otunga hits a pair of clotheslines and a back elbow. They botch a back body drop. Otunga sends Miz into the corner and runs into the boots. Miz then jumps into a powerslam but the pin is broken up by Bryan. Miz sidesteps Otunga and Bryan tags in. Bryan hits a beautiful missile dropkick. Bryan puts him in the corner and lays some nasty kicks in to the chest. Otunga reverses a whip but Bryan slips by him and eventually locks on a nice heel hook.
Miz tags in off the top of the head. Bryan is mad because he had the win so they go head to head. Miz slaps him and Bryan fights back. The referee separates them. R-Truth heel kicks Miz and Otunga hits his big Spinebuster for the win! Miz took the pin!
Winner by Pinfall: R-Truth & David Otunga
Match Rating: **
The Miz is screaming at Daniel Bryan at ringside. Miz screams he?ll have him out of NXT unless he goes to the back. Bryan fakes a slap and scares him. Bryan points at him before walking to the back.
An interview with Heath Slater airs. He talks about how mad he was about Carlito spitting in his face. They?ll take each other on next.
-Commercial Break-
Did you know WWE NXT was watched by more people than College Basketball on both ESPN and ESPN2?
During the commercial Matt Striker interviewed the Miz. Striker mentions that Miz said if Daniel Bryan lost he?d have let him down. Striker asks now that Miz was the one who lost did he let Daniel Bryan down. The Miz looks at Striker and says he’s the United States and Unified Tag Team Champions. Bryan comes up from behind and says every tag team partner he’s had has carried him. Miz says he’s so talented that they all were champions. Bryan asks if he’s so talented then why did he lose tonight. Bryan pushes Miz and walks off.
We take an in depth look at probably the first South African wrestler in WWE history Daniel Bryan. This guy is one of those guys to watch. Whether he wins or loses I think we?ll be seeing him around.
Matt Hardy and Justin Gabriel are backstage. They?re backstage and Hardy is giving him a pep talk. He’s in the main event again this week. Chris Jericho and Wade Barrett walk in. Jericho says he did good last week but he won?t this week. Wade Barrett is his prot?g? and he’s the best in the world by what he does. Gabriel says he respects Jericho but he’s not intimidated by Barrett. Barrett says he debuted last week and beat the fan favorite Daniel Bryan. Gabriel isn?t even the fan’s favorite yet so Barrett asks what he expects. Hardy says his guy will beat Jericho’s guy. Jericho wishes him luck and they leave.
Christian and Heath Slater make their way to the ring. Carlito comes out next and says Slater should be honored he spit in his face. Carlito asks if he knows how many Superstars faces he’s spat in. Carlito says he should be begging for him to spit in his face again.
Heath Slater vs. Carlito
Carlito takes a bite of the apple but Slater ducks the spit. Charles Robinson starts the match as Slater punches at Carlito. Slater has a whip reversed on him and Carlito hits a back elbow. This match continues next as Charles Robinson regains order.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Slater locked in an arm bar. Slater fights up and pushes him to the corner. Carlito kicks him and pushes his face in the corner. Carlito pushes his face again and Slater pushes him. Carlito charges and Slater sends him over the top rope. Slater does a hair flip and talks some trash. Carlito gets back in the ring and kicks him. Carlito bashes his face in the corner and punches away. Carlito sends him to the corner but charges into nothing. Slater punches and has a whip reversed on him. Carlito ducks and eats a kick. Slater then charges into a big boot.
Michael Tarver cheers on from ringside as Carlito gets a near fall. Carlito locks on a grounded chin lock. Slater fights up and Carlito knees him down. Carlito throws him over but Slater lands on the apron. Carlito charges into a shoulder and counters a sunset flip with a kick to the face. Carlito talks a little trash to Christian before locking a submission on Slater. Slater fights up and Carlito knees him before putting him into the corner. Carlito hits some shoulders before backing up. Carlito goes for a bronco buster but Slater moves.
Slater hits a pair of clotheslines and a flapjack for a near fall. Slater backs up and runs into a nice sit-out spinebuster. Carlito stands over him and laughs. Carlito goes for his apple but finds that Christian took it. Christian throws it to Michael Tarver. Carlito goes for the Back Stabber but Slater jackknifes him for a near fall. Carlito goes for a roll up but Slater rolls through and gets the upset over Carlito!
Winner by Pinfall: Heath Slater
Match Rating: * ?
Heath Slater celebrates big time with Christian. That dance simply has to go. Carlito can?t believe what just happened.
We get an in depth look at Darren Young. This guy was trained at IWF, a wrestling school a few towns away from me. I hope CM Punk shaves his head. That hair is absolutely terrible.
CM Punk is talking with the Straight Edge Society. Punk mentions that the first week they didn?t help and he lost. Then last week they helped and he won. Young asks why he can?t live life the way he wants. Punk asks Serena who the pro is and she says he is, of course. Gallows says that Young is the rookie. Punk says he can lead a horse to water but can?t make them drink. Punk says Straight Edge can make anyone a winner. Young can do things his way and see how that turns out. The S.E.S. walks away.
Justin Gabriel takes on Wade Barrett next.
-Commercial Break-
Michael Cole thanks Audioslave for the use of the song ?Be Yourself,? one of WrestleMania’s official theme songs.
The Raw Rebound airs and it highlights McMahon’s gauntlet match against John Cena.
Chris Jericho’s music hits and he makes his way to the ring with his rookie Wade Barrett. It’s announced that Chris Jericho will bring back the Highlight Reel this Friday on Smackdown.
-Commercial Break-
Wade Barrett vs. Justin Gabriel
They circle the ring and Barrett quickly kicks him. Barrett sends him to the ropes. Gabriel lands on his feet during a hip toss and hits a nice leg sweep for a one count. Gabriel ducks a clothesline but Barrett catches him eventually before driving him into the corner. Barrett drives some shoulders into his kidneys before being backed up by the referee. Barrett uses the ropes to stretch him out. Barrett chokes him using the ropes and covers for a one count. Barrett locks on an abdominal stretch as Jericho tells the announcers this is all his influence.
Gabriel knees him in the head a few times. Gabriel flips over Barrett and hits a roundhouse kick. Gabriel punches him down for a near fall. The crowd was chanting ?USA.? Don?t they know that none of them are American? Gabriel jumps into a fireman’s carry but he reverses into a roll up for a near fall. Barrett kicks and hits a nasty backbreaker for a one count. Barrett hits a trio of body slams before putting him on the top rope. Jericho hilariously yells at the commentators. Gabriel fights him off the top rope and hits an AMAZING 450 Splash for the win!
Winner by Pinfall: Justin Gabriel
Match Rating: * ?
Matt Hardy celebrates with Justin Gabriel until Jericho sends him out of the ring. Jericho then drops Gabriel with a Codebreaker. Jericho calls Barrett in as he slaps Gabriel with his jacket. Jericho locks on an old school Walls of Jericho and he’s tapping. Jericho raises Barrett’s arm as the show ends.
Quick Match Results
R-Truth & David Otunga* def. The Miz* & Daniel Bryan
Heath Slater def. Carlito
Justin Gabriel def. Wade Barrett
Bump of the Night: R-Truth’s senton over the top rope!
Match of the Night: R-Truth & Otunga vs. Miz & Bryan **
Mike’s Thoughts
Well that was a great episode to do my first NXT recap for. NXT is so much fun. It’s fresh, exciting, and nothing like the other shows. The storyline with Miz and Daniel Bryan is awesome at the moment. They?re a great fit together. Miz is red hot and he’s really helping Bryan get over with the crowd. Daniel Bryan was something to watch before coming to WWE and now that he’s here I think he?ll run away with this thing. I wish they were letting the fans vote, though. That?d give the show an even better angle.
Heath Slater looked good in his match with Carlito tonight but I?m not sure about his character. It’s pretty lame. Not everyone has to agree with me ? this is just how I feel. I think his look is ridiculous and the dancing is terrible. He needs to get something going to make me want to care about him because he’s got nothing right now.
Justin Gabriel was again impressive this week. This guy blew me away last week as I was not expecting to see a 450 splash. Now they showed his video this week and they showed quick clips of some other good moves he’s got. It’s down to him and Daniel Bryan in this competition in my opinion. I hope they keep both of them stick around long term.
Final Rating: ***
E-Mail ? MikeyT817@hotmail.com
Be sure to check out Friday’s Smackdown recap.
Thanks for reading!