By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

KELLER'S NXT REPORT
JUNE 9, 2010
TAPED IN TAMPA, FLA.
AIRED ON SYFY NETWORK

[Q1]

-The show opened with freeze-frames of the destruction of the Raw set by the NXT Season One Rookies.

-Then the NXT theme opened. Unfortunately, the same song is used as the theme, which personally I hate, but that's just me. At least American Idol changes their cheesy "farewell" theme song each year. The opening showed each Rookie in color posing for the camera with the Pro in black and white next to them.

-Michael Cole introduced the show. My hunch is Cole wasn't beaten up on Raw so that he'd have an excuse to host the show tonight.

-Matt Striker stood mid-ring, clutching his ribs and wincing a bit, as he welcomed everyone to season two of NXT. He asked if they'd make the type of impact that the season on NXT wrestlers made. He welcomed the season two Rookies to the ring.

-Miz walked out first. Cole called him "the Phil Jackson (of NXT)." He introduced Alex Riley, his new rookie. Cole said given what he's heard about Riley, he and Miz should get along well. Cole said they both have huge egos and like each other.

John Morrison came out next and introduced his Rookie, Eli Cottonwood. He touted his Rookie as the tallest. Cole said he might be the oddest, saying "he's a fry short of a Happy Meal." Eli sauntered to the ring, looking like some LSD might just be kicking in.

Cody Rhodes walked out wearing a new custom jacket. He half-heartedly introduced his Rookie, Husky Harris. Cole said there's a story about his Rookie they'll talk about later.

LayCool walked out onto the stage and introduced Kaval. McCool said, "He's the Rookie you've all been waiting for." Kaval has a cool ring jacket with his lettering across the chest. At least McCool didn't say their Rookie was "definitely the shortest." Cole said he's looking forward to how their relationship goes. Kaval shook his head at the antics of LayCool as the three walked to the ring together.

Mark Henry said his Rookie, Jason "Lucky" Cannon, isn't the strongest, but he is lucky.

Kofi Kingston hopped onto the stage. Cole immediately said Michael McGillicutty is the son of "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig. Well, why is he called McGillicutty if he's the son of Hennig? Did he take on his mother's maiden name, an adoptive father's name, or just choose a ridiculously stupid name for himself.

MVP introduced "Showtime" Percy Watson who made Ernest "The Cat" Miller seem comatose relative to his energy level.

Zach Ryder introduced Tytus O'Neil. Striker said he disagrees with Cole that Ryder doesn't deserve to be a Pro on NXT. Cole said O'Neil has a rep for snapping when pushed and losing control.

Striker asked them to spread out and let the camera get a good look at them. He said last season the NXT Rookies were evaluated by the WWE pros, but this season they're going to reduce the Pro influence t 50 percent, with the other 50 percent going to the fans. Striker said season two will be very different, only 12 weeks long. What's on SyFy in September, then, on Tuesdays before Smackdown begins on SyFy in October? Maybe nothing, I suppose. When Husky grabbed the mic and began talking, shoving ensued among the rookies. [c]

-They went to Cole and Josh Matthews at ringside, who reacted to what happened last night on Raw. Cole recapped what happened. He said they attacked Cena, but also assaulted, mugged, mauled employees of WWE including security, announcers, time-keepers. Cole said he managed to get away. He said as he made his way through the crowd, there were children crying trying to make sense of what happened. Matthes said it was catastrophic and unprecedented. He said he hopes that doesn't happen tonight on NXT.

[Q2]

1 -- JOHN MORRISON & ELI COTTONWOOD vs. ZACK RYDER & TITUS O'NEIL

The Pros stat on stools on the stage and took notes on what they were seeing. Morrison started against Ryder at first. When Cottonwood tagged in, Ryder tagged in his rookie O'Neil. Cole noted Cottonwood played pro basketball while O'Neil played pro football with the Jacksonville Jaguars. O'Neil bailed out to ringside after Morrison kicked him. Ryder counseled him as they cut to a break. [c] Morrison battled Ryder after the break. Morrison scored a two count on O'Neil a minute later, then Morrison overshot on Starship Pain and barely connected, but scored the three count.

WINNERS: Morrison & Cottonwood in 5:00.

-Striker asked Morrison for his opinion on Cottonwood. Morrison asked the crowd. They gave a luke-warm response. He said everyone has an opinion and that's what matters. It's hard to find much to talk about with such a short match. Striker asked the Pros what they thought. Miz said those guys had a chance to impress and entertain the audience and show everyone who they are, but "do you really think you impressed anyone tonight." Miz said he's not entertained. "You failed," he said.

-Cole said he loves The Miz for being outspoken. He said he should be in the Hall of Fame of coaches. Matthews said he's out of his mind. He found a way in there to take a shot at Daniel Bryan.

-A vignette aired with Riley who asked, "Does my hair look alright? Of course it looks alright! We get lunch, right? Hurry up, I have to meet my girlfriend for a martini." He said his life was privileged growing up and he doesn't have a problem admitting that. he said his mother was Miss Virginia and his father was a New York Jet and commentator. He said his a rare breed. He said he is the star of season two. Pics aired of him as a QB in high school and Boston College. He said he was signing his autograph since age 16. He put his signature on the screen so people won't ask him for it. "Now leave me alone," he said. He said he has the looks, mic skills, and athletic ability. He said WWE should buy a plane and write in the sky: "Alex Riley has arrived and he's running the show." He then told everyone, "You're dismissed."

-Cole said they'd air highlights of "the assault that shook the foundation of this company, it's psyche" last night on Raw. [c]

[Q3]

2 -- CODY RHODES & HUSKY HARRIS vs. MVP & PERCY WATSON

Cole revealed that Watson is the son of I.R.S., and noted that last night Dusty Rhodes gave an elbow to I.R.S. on Raw. The Pros remained on the stage taking notes. Percy wrestled with red sun glasses on. Cole compared him to Erkel. Cole noted he's a former Green Bay Packer and Washington Redskin. Striker said Percy tried being a model, but wanted to be more physical. The camera close-up caught Cody leaning in to call a spot for Watson. He then tagged in Husky. Husky has the body that Mike Rotunda seemed to be fighting his whole career with the flabby mid-section that caused him to wear those high waisted tights even in his prime. Cole said Husky is also into scuba diving and rodeo. He said he'd like to see him get into that wet suit. Not sure I would, but okay. They cut to a break at 3:00. [c] Cody worked over Percy after the break. Percy kicked out of a senton back splash. MVP tagged in and punched away at Husky, picking up the pace. He went into his Ballin' finishing sequence. Rhodes attempted to interfere with a top rope move, but Percy alerted MVP and MVP caught Cody with a boot to the face. Percy then tagged and hit his floating DDT finisher for the win.

WINNERS: MVP & Percy Watson in 8:00.

-Afterward, Cody confronted Husky. He said he doesn't just resemble someone in his family, but also all of the fans. He said he wanted to talk about Watson instead. He said he's already a great athlete, so he's going to outshine MVP and mold Husky into a star. Strangely, Striker tried to yank the mic away from Cody mid-sentence, and Cody backed up and finished. MVP said he believes Showtime is ready for primetime. Cole inaccurately said MVP thinks he has a diamond in the rough. The story of that segment was that Cody thinks MVP has a diamond already, and Cody plans to turn a "diamond in the rough" into an NXT winner.

-A vignette aired with McGillicutty. He talked about his family history. He said NXT is his stepping stone to the next level. He said his in-ring style summed up in one word is "ruthless." He said, "Ruthless aggression is back. It's up to me to continue the Hennig legacy." He's a real mix, facially, of both Larry the Axe and Mr. Perfect.

-Cole hyped the recap of the finish of Raw, calling "one of the most frightening scenes in WWE history." A freeze-frame aired of Cena looking like he was reaching for a life preserver while being attacked by sharks.

[Q4] [c]

-Striker stood in the ring with all of the Pros and Rookies. He said he wants to take a look now at the "vicious and disturbing actions" that occurred last night on Raw. A replay of the entire incident aired, over ten minutes in length.

[Q5 - Overrun]

-Back in the ring on NXT, Striker asked for Rookie reactions to the video. Kaval said it's unbelievable they'd do such a thing, but that's how you make a statement. Cannon said what they did was cowardly, but agreed that how someone makes a statement. Husky said he doesn't agree with everything they did, but he doesn't care because he's there to win NXT and that's it. Riley sneezed when asked. Striker asked, "What?" Riley sneezed again. Then he said, "I think I'm allergic to you." That was funny. Percy said he doesn't find it appropriate at all. He said you should fight one on one. He acted like spiders were crawling over his body as he talked. Eli said, "I think he deserved every bit of it." O'Neil said those Rookie should try that against them. McGuillicutty mocked the cliches and Roley sneezing into the mic. Striker cut him off, which drew boos. He then welcomed the Rookies to NXT. The crowd booed. Layla slapped Kaval for some reason, then another brawl broke out. The Pros beat down the Rookies. Cole said it was an initiation. Matthews said a message was sent. Cole said the Pros want to quell any thoughts of a mutiny by the Season Two Rookies.

FINAL THOUGHTS (7.5): Good start to the new season. They focused on a few key season two contestants and their personalities stuck. They also built up some dynamics between Pros and Rookies that should be fun to watch over the next 12 weeks develop. I don't get at all acknowledging the family lineage of Hennig and Rotunda while not addressing the proverbial pink elephant which is why they don't use those names but instead are using cartoonish names... The handling of the previous night's big angle on Raw gets an A- from me. They made it seem like a big deal, as out of the ordinary week to week typical WWE happenings. I wasn't crazy about the Pros beating down the Rookies at the end as some sort of message tied to how the season one Rookies acted the night before. But there were no high-crimes that hurt the angle the night before, and largely what they did really sent the message that there's a huge buzz and pending major fallout from their actions. Let's see what they have in store for us on Monday. There's pressure to deliver right now because fan expectations are high that the next chapter is a good one...

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