NXT Weekly Rankings & Evaluation
By George Chiverton, PWTorch NXT specialist

First, a word about Big E. Langston, who debuted on Raw. Big E.'s debut has me excited to see how his popularity in NXT translates. He is a massive fan favorite at Full Sail and hopefully this will show. However, his departure from NXT raises a lot of questions in a similar way to Seth Rollins's departure. With storylines still involving Big E. taking place during tapings, where will the get-out clause come from?

Latest NXT Rankings

(1) Bray Wyatt (-)
(2) Kassius Ohno (-)
(3) Paige (-)
(4) Seth Rollins (-)
(5) Corey Graves (debut)
(6) Jake Carter (-1)
(7) Big E. Langston (+1)
(8) Richie Steamboat (-2)
(9) Bo Dallas (-)
(10) The Ascension (-)
(11) Jason Jordon (-)
(12) Leo Kruger (-)
Waiting List - Bronson, Roman Reigns (?), Luke Harper, Nemo Montenegro, Xavier Woods, Sasha Banks, Luke Harper, Rowan.

12/12 WWE NXT Episode Evaluation

- The first match featured the Diva of the hour, Paige, taking on Sasha Banks, whose gimmick is that she's lived in a lot of places. Paige had the crowd solidly behind her. The connection she commands from the crowd is unique and it is a crime that she is playing to such a small crowd still. However, I shall not complain as she is always a highlight on NXT. Sasha showed good athleticism and decent in ring training. All-round decent match to kick off the show.

- Roman Reigns rejected another interview backstage. He came off well and his performance during TLC shows he can go. To rank or not to rank is now the question given that he will likely transfer permanently to the main roster.

- Backstage alongside Leo Kruger was Kassius Ohno, who delivered a great promo about putting competitors on the shelf. In particular he had a line condemning a "rogue" like William Regal for sticking up for Kidd, which I particularly enjoyed. Ohno and Kruger had some chemistry, but that does little to change my opinion of the South African.

- Up next was Oliver Grey, who entered with some quite seductive slap bass. He waited in the ring as Bray Wyatt made his way to the ring. I thought that Bray was going to compete at last, but he introduced 'his son' before ending with 'good luck, kid.' Down to the ring came another bearded behemoth in odd overalls. In FCW he was known as Erick Rowan and took a nordic wild man gimmick. This seems a fresh start. He finished Grey with a massive modified sidewalk slam; an impressive feat given the Englishman's size.

Following the match, Bray confirmed this was the second son of the Wyatt family (after Luke Harper) and that he would now be known as Rowan.

- Dusty Rhodes came out (to his still awesome music) to cut a standard crazy and flamboyant promo. He was essentially saying Vickie Guerrero's bounty was void. He clearly at some point said something he shouldn't have at the taping, but it was cut out. The crowd ooed and laughed before Dusty apologised and said 'sometimes the cowboy inside of me comes out.' Camacho interrupted and demanded the bounty be re-instated. He has a terrible fake Mexican accent now. Camacho appears to be separate from Hunico, so why not change up the gimmick? He's Samoan? Anyway, Big E. came out and there was a handicap match made for next week.

- Big Show was in a pre-recorded segment advertising a match against Bo Dallas next week. That should be fun.

- Main event time for the NXT Title with Jinder now coming out to the 3MB gimmick to face Seth Rollins (now of The Shield). He really doesn't suit this role. Neither does Drew come to think of it. Heath should run some new auditions I think.

In a match between two wrestlers, there was only one star. Considering Kidd, Ohno, and others are in the wings and this match has already happened once, I don't get why Mahal was involved again. The feud didn't evolve past the first match and a couple of weeks ago, when people were stating a claim to a title match, Mahal's made no sense. Nothing added up to equal this match.

- Mahal's offense was relatively dull and the crowd was quiet until the last four minutes. Rollins won with a superkick and a standing sliced bread, which Jim Ross called the 'Skywalker.' Not the best NXT title match, but Mahal is now out of the picture.

A sarcastic Corey Graves was shown in the crowd 'applauding' Rollins's victory. This match is something I'm much more excited for, although when will Rollins leave with The Shield?

Finally, this week's show perfectly re-energized both the top and middle of the NXT card. Also, next week's loaded show is intriguing and drawing my attention. I'll be curious to see if this is kept up.

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