NXT ArRIVAL

Legacy Review

NXT ArRIVAL

February 27, 2014 from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL

Commentary: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and William Regal

Welcome to the first of a brand new series here on the Legacy Blog. The way I figure it, the NXT we knew and loved is dead and buried, therefore the classic Takeovers are now old school, therefore they deserve a place here. Logic even a Vulcan couldn't argue with.

After starting out as a game show style show for "developmental" talent (some guys stretched this definition) with decidedly mixed reaction and results, the whole NXT brand was revamped in early 2012 when Triple H took it over. He shut down developmental territory FCW and renamed it NXT with a base of operations at Full Sail University, with an eye toward creating what we now have in the WWE Performance Center. NXT produced a weekly show that had a ton of buzz from hardcore fans as it went on, and during that era produced future stars like Seth Rollins and the Shield, Big E, and the Wyatt Family, but was also syndicated on TV and hard for most people to find and watch. This is both the first ever NXT show to broadcast live and the first ever live broadcast on the brand new WWE Network. While it's definitely intended to give the NXT developmental brand some exposure, its main purpose was as a stress test for the Network before the much bigger Wrestlemania 30 in a little over a month.

The show opens with a dark arena and some cool lighting. The music playing is, I kid you not, Earthquake's old music minus the quake sound effects. It works great. I've said for years upon years that his music was underrated. Trips does his "are you ready" intro and says the future is now. It was weird seeing him here at the same time he had turned himself into one of the most hated men in wrestling again on the main roster as the rule ignoring heel authority figure holding, among others, super hot Daniel Bryan down.

 

Cesaro def Sami Zayn in 22:55- Zayn was, if memory serves, the first big high-profile indy signing for NXT after Triple H took over the brand. He was of course known for his work under a mask as El Generico. He's got his original music and tights here, with the flag of every country he'd wrestled in on them. Such a cool idea. Cesaro was a few years into his WWE career after also coming over from the indys (a rarity at the time), and was already a mainstay on the main roster but was coming down to NXT on a semi-regular basis to help out. He's in his Real American phase here. WE THE PEOPLE! He was in the midst of one of his regular "we're really really going to do something with him now" push teases, having beaten WWE Champ Randy Orton on TV recently. The push would die out after deadlift bodyslamming Big Show to win the first Andre Battle Royale at WM 30, one of many missed opportunities for a guy that absolutely should have been a world champion in WWE. This is actually the conclusion of a trilogy. These two had a couple of well received matches on NXT TV in 2013 that because of the way pre-Network NXT was distributed hardly anybody saw. Anyway, to the match. The Full Sail faithful are split. Cesaro shows the power advantage early. He gets a waistlock takedown and slaps Zayn in the back of the head. After a couple of old school headlock/headscissors counters Cesaro hits a dropkick. He blocks a Zayn headscissors. Zayn blocks a swing attempt and armdrags Cesaro, sending him sliding to the floor. Baseball slide. Zayn teases, runs, and hits a tope con hilo! Back in Zayn tries a crossbody off the top. Cesaro catches him and hits a backbreaker for 2. Zayn rolls out. Cesaro runs him into the barricade. He rolls Zayn back in just to chuck him out again. Classic "ole" chant from the crowd from Zayn's Generico days. Zayn tries to come back with forearms. Cesaro gives him another barricade shot. He slams Zayn on the apron and covers for 2. He tries to drag Zayn to the corner to post his knee, but Zayn pulls Cesaro into the post. Zayn goes to the floor, charges, and dives through the ropes in the corner! Cesaro cuts him off in midair with an uppercut! "Holy shit" chant for that. That was a callback to their last match where Zayn hit that crazy ass dive. Now Zayn's knee gets posted. Cesaro goes to work on it while we get more replays of the midair uppercut. Double stomp on the knee. Dragon screw leg whip by Cesaro! Zayn gets him with a heel kick out of nowhere for some breathing space but Cesaro is quickly back on the knee. More dragon screws. Zayn lays in some forearms. Cesaro ducks an enzuguri and hooks on a single leg crab. Zayn gets to the rope. Cesaro charges right into a back elbow. Zayn backdrops him to the floor. He shakes the knee off, and hits a springboard moonsault! Cesaro catches him and slams him on the ramp! Zayn barely beats the count back in. Another Cesaro charge....Zayn grabs him and hits a corner exploder suplex! Cover for 2. Cesaro tries to hit the ropes, but Zayn grabs his tights and pulls him into a blue thunder bomb for 2! Koji clutch! Cesaro powers out and locks on a knee hold we now know as Numero Dos thanks to El Desperado in New Japan. Zayn fights, teases tapping, and finally dives in desperation for the rope. Swing tim....no, Zayn counters with a roll up for 2! Now we're swinging! 10 rotations. Cesaro corner uppercut and cover. Zayn counters with a crucifix rollup for 2. Cesaro basement dropkick for 2. They have a battle climbing the ropes. Cesaro blocks a hurricanrana, wraps up Zayn's arms for a straitjacket powerbomb, but Zayn fights out and hits the hurricanrana! Helluva Kick! Cesaro kicks out! Oh man the crowd thought that was it. Both guys are slow to get up as we're getting into the deep water now. Cesaro floors Zayn with a series of stiff European uppercuts that are hitting a full 1 on the Suzuki meter. After each he tells Zayn to stay down and for the ref to count a KO. After a fourth uppercut Zayn hits back! Slugfest! Hockey fight! Zayn ducks a punch and hits a German suplex! He charges but runs into a Cesaro big boot. Cesaro goes for the Neutralizer. Zayn backdrops out and covers for 2. Cesaro goes for a powerbomb but Zayn flips it into a Canadian Destroyer for 2! Cesaro press and uppercut! Zayn kicks out at 1! That rattled Cesaro. But Zayn's almost spent, using the ropes to stand up. Cesaro discus uppercut! He hits the Neutralizer! That gets the pin. After the match they hug it out and the crowd has nothing but love for Zayn even in defeat. His NXT journey is just beginning. An absolutely incredible match that was the perfect choice to go out first on NXT's first live show. This is the one that initially put NXT on the map more than anything else. ****3/4

 

Mojo Rawley def CJ Parker in 3:25- Oh CJ Parker. This is Juice Robinson, who'd been with WWE developmental since the FCW days, in his hippie gimmick. Rawley is a former football player and is basically a poor man's Ultimate Warrior minus the face paint. His whole gimmick is he's a hyped up wild man that's always got the meter on 15 out of 10. Second straight match with a proper lockup. Rawley's hyped. After some basic counters and a speed run Rawley gets a backdrop for 2. Parker with a boot up in the corner and clothesline for 2. He lays in some left hand punches that would become a Juice trademark. He does some more corner beatdown stuff until Rawley reverses a corner whip and hits a couple of avalanches. A Rawley Earthquake splash, or the "Hyperdrive" as he calls it (which is begging for a ludicrous speed joke somewhere), finishes it. This is the kind of match between two clear developmental projects that would stay confined to regular NXT TV in the future rather than the big Takeover shows. Rawley in particular was very raw and, frankly, wouldn't get much better. 3/4*

 

NXT Tag Team Championship: The Ascension (c) def Too Cool in 6:40- The Ascension had run roughshod over what little there was of the NXT tag division since winning the titles the previous September. More than any other part of NXT it'd take a while to get the tag division up to scratch. Frankly the Ascension weren't very good, there was just no one else and they were believable powerful monsters. Attitude Era stars Too Cool were a mystery opponent, having worked an Old School Raw earlier in the year. They get almost no reaction from the crowd. Viktor and Grandmaster Sexay, who's looking more like his dad Jerry Lawler than ever, start. Sexay hits a shoulderblock and dances. Viktor kips up and pummels him with chops. Konnor with a huge legdrop and huger shoulderblocks. The Ascension break Sexay down as it's been all one sided so far. Hammering elbows and chinlocks from Viktor. Sexay jawbreakers out, crawls under Viktor and tags. Bald Scotty 2 Hotty is in with punches for everyone. He and Viktor block hiptosses and Scotty hits a forearm. He tries to get the crowd going with "raise the roof" but they don't care. Not just the lack of reaction for Too Cool, that wasn't even retro cool yet. Is it now? I'm no expert. Scott and Viktor do some back and forth until Scotty hits a faceplant and you know what's coming. W.....O.....R.....M.....whoooooooooa no Viktor cuts it off! Clothesline. The Fall of Man ends it. It's the Ascension and past their prime Too Cool (who arguably never really had it anyway), so it's pretty much what you'd expect. Much better days were coming for the NXT tag division. *

Ric Flair is ringside with his daughter, up and coming NXT wrestler Charlotte. No last name, just Charlotte. Stephanie McMahon comes out to introduce the women. Er, excuse me, Divas. We're still firmly ensconced in the Divas era even with AJ Lee on the main roster trying to change that. Though NXT doesn't use the Divas name on the title the belt's color scheme is very much modeled after the butterfly belt.

 

NXT Women's Championship: Paige (c) def Emma in 12:54- Paige became the first NXT Women's champ in June '13, also becoming the youngest woman to ever hold a WWE title at age 20, and has held it since in dominant fashion. Her whole persona is the "anti-Diva", a brilliant move considering where WWE women were at the time. Emma (AKA Tenille Dashwood) had been in the system since the FCW days and had made her main roster debut earlier in the year. She's in her bubbly babyface persona that liked to dance really badly. Steph said she was going to be doing the ring announcing, then doesn't. There's a weird silence where commentary is quiet, expecting announcements but they never happen, the bell just rings. Paige gets right in Emma's face. Shoving. Emma does a double leg takedown. Cat fight! I can say that, they're still Divas. Paige goes for the Paige Turner early. Emma blocks it into a backslide for 2. Emma sets up a slingshot. Paige blocks that and stacks Emma up for 2. Split crowd chants. Chinlock with aggression from Paige. Emma gets up with a waistlock. Paige blocks a German suplex and backs Emma up into the corner. Wild back elbows from Paige. Emma grabs a boot and drops Paige. She gets the slingshot and goes for the Emmalock. Paige pushes out before she can hook it on. After a bit of tussle on the floor Emma drops Paige on the apron and covers for 2. DilEmma (a tarantula)! She follows that with the Emma sandwich (a crossbody in the corner) for 2. Emma stretches Paige's arms out in a surfboard while commentary puts her over as a submission specialist and says in a very good Captain Subtext way that she's all character on Raw and SD, but in NXT she can actually frigging wrestle. After she can't hold the surfboard anymore Emma covers for 2. Classic women's hair throw. Paige gets a forearm in the corner. They go up top. Emma fights out of a superplex, sunset flips and gives Paige a walking sit out powerbomb for 2! "Better than Batista" chant from the crowd! That's fantastic. Running kick from Emma for 2. Paige comes back with an open hand slap and clothesline. The Paige Turner hits! Emma kicks out! Good, that would have been a pretty flat finish. Paige hooks in a Sharpshooter, but stays facing Emma, straitjackets her arms and pulls back! That's nasty looking. Emma taps. Solid stuff, but compared against the women's wrestling on the main roster at the time it was damn near mind blowing. It also suffered from the outcome never really being in doubt. **3/4

Ad for weekly NXT on Thursdays, now exclusively on the WWE Network. Pat Patterson and Dusty Rhodes are ringside for the next match. Saxton does the worst Dusty impression ever.

 

Tyler Breeze and Xavier Woods no contest in :35- Woods comes out to Brodus Clay's old "Somebody Call My Momma" music. Breeze still has his original music. The bell does ring so it is an official match, but before anything can happen......RUSEV UDRYA! RUSEV MACHKA! ALEXANDER Rusev (still with a first name) is here! And Lana. Rusev destroys everyone and walks off. Statement made. Happy Rusev Day everyone!

Larry Zbyszko and Steve "Skinner" Keirn, an important coach/trainer in FCW, are ringside for the next match. Shawn Michaels makes a special appearance to hang the belt up for the ladder match and cut a very fun goofy Shawn promo. This was before he started working for NXT full time.

 

Ladder Match for the NXT Championship: Adrian Neville def Bo Dallas (c) in 16:04- Neville is the past and future PAC in his "The Man that Mavity Forgot" gimmick. He's already held the NXT tag titles twice with two different partners (Oliver Gray as British Ambition, and Corey Graves). Dallas is a 100% FCW recruited and trained project. It's never mentioned on air but he's Bray Wyatt's brother, son of Mike Rotunda and nephew of Barry Windham. He's the third ever NXT Champion after Seth Rollins and Big E, and he's held the title longer than either of them. This is the peak of his heel BOLIEVE gimmick, one of many NXT gimmicks I absolutely loved even though I knew they likely wouldn't do well on the main roster. Neville's had past shots at the title but Dallas has held onto it through nefarious heel means. No getting away with that in a ladder match. Dallas immediately tries to step out to get a ladder. Neville grabs him and pulls him back in. Neville flip over in the corner, flip across the ring and missile dropkick off the second rope. He goes up top for an early Red Arrow. Dallas rolls out of range, then takes the advantage with short arm elbows and a short arm clothesline. He hooks Neville upside down in the ropes and goes for a ladder. Smart. Neville baseball slides the ladder into Dallas! You don't get more classic ladder match spot than that. Neville plancha! They fight on the floor and Neville goes into the steps. Let's get another ladder! Neville dodges Dallas throwing the ladder at him. He backdrops Dallas to the floor and sets to climbing. Dallas throws the other ladder onto him! He sets the ladder up on top of Neville. Neville pushes the ladder up from his back and dumps Dallas. Neville climbs again and Dallas dumps him. Ladder tug of war. Neville gets squashed in the corner by the ladder. Dallas wedges a ladder into the ropes in the corner. Neville uses it as a launch for a tornado DDT! They fight over the other ladder and have a midring collision. The ladder accidentally falls on top of Neville. A ref quickly leans in to check on him but he's a Geordie, he's fine. Dallas hits some corner clotheslines. He goes to bulldog Neville onto the ladder. Neville counters and pushes Dallas into the corner ladder! Climb and fight on top of the ladder. Dallas pulls Neville's face into the ladder. Back to the mat and Neville hits a high kick to Dallas' head. He goes to the top rope but Dallas pushes him to the floor. Dallas slowly crawls to the ladder. Neville springboards off the top rope and leaps over him! Dallas pounds Neville in the back. He teases a German off the ladder, then when that's blocked lifts and buckle bombs Neville into the corner ladder! Neville slams Dallas on the ladder. Red Arrow on Dallas laying on the ladder! Dallas rolls out to the floor. Neville sets the ladder back up and climbs. Dallas recovers and gets back in, but too late as Neville grabs the belt for the title! During the postmatch celebration John Cena is shown in the crowd applauding. Smart move, not showing him until then. He would have been booed out of Orlando. Good though unspectacular ladder match, but I do appreciate how they focused more on psychology than high spots. ***1/4

Before wrapping up I do have to mention the streaming issues. This being the first live show ever on the Network, there certainly were issues. For many the feed cut out during the Woods/Breeze match and didn't come back. I honestly don't remember if that happened to me or not, but I do remember during the Cesaro/Zayn match I had a consistent horrible frame rate, like trying to play a newer game on an old PC. People rightly complained and WWE was quick to point out that the full show would be available on demand almost immediately, as would become standard for the Network. And the stress test did its job, as they got a lot of the issues ironed out in time for WM 30. Imagine if they hadn't tested everything with this show before then.

OVERALL SHOW THOUGHTS- This was a wonderful introduction for NXT to the general public that, like me, didn't have access to the old weekly show. I wasn't hooked in as a regular weekly NXT viewer yet (I'll let you know when that happens, there's a specific signing that did it), but I was definitely in for the next major show. The middle did have a couple of bleh matches, but the show's overall feel and atmosphere make up for it. I also can't stress enough what a breath of fresh air this was against the stale feel of the main roster. NXT has indeed arrived, and something truly special has started.

OVERALL SHOW GRADE: B