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WWE NXT Report
WWE NXT TV REPORT 1/11: Alt. perspective "Real-time report" - Double Date, Two Challenges, DiBiase loses to Rookie

Jan 11, 2011 - 10:49:12 PM
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WWE NXT TV alt. perspective report
January 11, 2011
Birmingham, Ala.
Report by Justin James, PWTorch correspondent


Pre-Show: What we're promised for this show is a double-date between the Bella Twins and Derrick Bateman & Daniel Bryan. There's something creepy about this since both Bella Twins appear to be interested in Daniel Bryan. Doesn't this violate one of Bateman's man rules?

[Q1]

The show opened with a video summing up last week's episode, including Dolph Ziggler ripping Jacob Novak. They also repeated the "prize" of NXT4: a shot at the "prestigious" WWE Tag Titles. I finally realized who the eliminated Jacob Novak's voice sounds like: Matt Hardy.

After the titles, they cut to the audience with Todd Grisham doing a voice over, no pyro. WWE's "Dick Clark" (Matt Striker, in Grisham's words) hyped the voting opening on WWE.com, and he repeated the fact that the prize is an opportunity for the Tag Titles.

The first challenge is a bizarre "T-Shirt Slingshot" challenge. The Pro slingshots t-shirts to his Rookie, who needs to catch them (including bounces) and get them in a bucket in 30 seconds.

-- Johnny Curtis and R-Truth first, 0 points. Curtis tried to toss a few to the crowd.

-- Byron Saxton next, Ziggler lobbing them to Saxton. Saxton has a new shirt that looks like the Best Buy logo. Saxton with 1 point.

-- Striker lets Bateman cut a pre-challenge promo, claiming he has the "hands of an angel." The announcers knocked Bateman a bit and rehashed his lack of wins. Bateman got a last-second point for a total of two.

-- Brodus Clay next, with Maryse shooting them to him. Ted DiBiase took over as Maryse proves unable to do it. 0 points for Clay.
alberto_150_22.jpg

-- Conor O'Brian and Alberto Del Rio next; Del Rio got some heat when introduced. O'Brian with 1 point. He caught a second t-shirt, but did not get it in the bucket in time.

Bateman wins. He ran to the ring, picked up Bryan, and they celebrated like they won something major. Throughout the challenge, Josh Matthews kept making comments to Striker, who responded on the mic. They started this recently, and it really bothers me, because it points out to the audience that Striker had an earpiece in and can hear what the announcers say.

Reax: What a lame segment. The Pros didn't even know how to launch the t-shirts properly.

They cut to Ricardo Rodriguez behind the stage on the phone, talking in Spanish. Subtitles told us that he was asking for help with a problem... with a rat... a large, stinky rat.

Reax: Why is WWE starting an angle around Ricardo Rodriguez and Conor O'Brian?

[c] - Promos for the Top 50 Superstars DVD and Royal Rumble on WWE.com.

Back from break, it's Byron Saxton vs. Conor O'Brian.

1 -- BYRON SAXTON vs. CONOR O'BRIAN

Saxton forces O'Brian to the ropes, but Saxton is selling a hand injury. They lock up again, Saxton outsmarts him by sliding though the legs and taking O'Brian down. They stare each other down, then lock up again for a test of strength. Matthews continues to bounce between heel and face, not sure which way to go. Saxton takes a cheap shot out of the corner, takes O'Brien down, goes into a mount, and cranks up the aggression.

[Q2] Saxton continues to be aggressive while the announcers play up O'Brian's "rat" character, including claiming that he only eats cheese. Saxton settles into a rear chinlock while Ziggler shouts instructions and Matthews tries to chat up Rodriguez. O'Brian gets some offense in and Saxton takes over again with a bulldog, then settles into another mat hold. Matthews trashes the Pros, saying that he's never seen the Pros spend time with their Rookies outside of NXT. Saxton continues the offense with a fairly standard series of clotheslines and chinlocks. This may be one of the longest NXT matches ever. O'Brian gets in some offense and Saxton takes over again. O'Brian gets his boots up as Saxton charges, then takes advantage with the surprise win with his weird finisher. Ricardo Rodriguez reluctantly announces O'Brian as the winner. Del Rio looks happy and Matthews rehashes Ricardo's backstage phone call.

WINNER: O'Brian. Certainly not a "clinic" by any means, but a very serviceable match. Saxton showed a lot of fire and I thought he had good facial work throughout the match. O'Brian bumped well for him.

Cut up a video captioned "Last Night After Raw" - the double-date with the Bellas. Bateman was in a dress shirt, tie, suit jacket...and American flag sweatpants and a fanny pack. Bateman accused Bryan of being a little weak with the ladies and Bryan says that it's uncomfortable with the Bellas because they are co-workers and the girls are sisters. Bateman split a pair of sunflowers with Bryan to give the Bellas, then cuts an awful "yo momma" joke on Bryan. ("I'm a ladies man, your mother told me so.") The announcers hyped the "Superstar Password" challenge next.

Reax: Mildly funny segment that gave Daniel Bryan a space to explore his personality a bit more without exposing it to the full TV audience.

[c] - The standard Royal Rumble ad, then an ad for WWE Kids Magazine.

Matt Striker announced Bateman as having two immunity points and the second elimination next week. The "Superstar Password" challenge is like the "Password" show where the Rookies try to tell the Pro what Superstar they are thinking of, without saying the name.

-- First, Johnny Curtis and R-Truth. Curtis took forever to finally say "spear" to get R-Truth to get "Edge," then did Kofi Kingston's hand-slapping as the next clue. 2 points for the pair at the end.

-- Next, Saxton and Ziggler. Saxton sang the Cena them song for 1 point, then tried a PG version of Mark Henry's song. 2 points total.

-- Daniel Bryan and Derrick Bateman were next and "toasted" with the microphones. They got "Sheamus," "Hornswoggle," and "Miz" for 3 points. They continued to play up their buddy-buddy relationship while Grisham called them dorks.

-- Next, DiBiase & Maryse and Brodus Clay. They took forever to get "Big Show," while Maryse gave shopping references for all of the answers. She's stolen the show so far, and then she blew a flirty kiss to either Johnny Curtis or Brodus Clay.

-- O'Brian and Del Rio were last. O'Brian and Del Rio have zero chemistry and got zero points.

Bateman and Bryan win. Bateman put his arms around Striker like they were friends.

Reax: Maryse and Derrick Bateman were the only ones who showed any personality or charisma in this segment. Derrick Bateman is a lot of fun, and truly knows how to maximize his exposure.

[Q3] The announcers hyped Curtis Vs. DiBiase.

[c] - Ad for the Bobby Heenan DVD and the Raw vs. Smackdown 2011 game, then a repeat of the HBK career summary video from Raw last night.

Time for more video footage of the double-date. Bateman was telling bad jokes with his feet on the table. The Bella Twins were unimpressed and only care about Daniel Bryan. They wanted to see his championship belt, and got excited about the idea that he could win the Tag Titles. The ladies then started fighting over Bryan, and Bateman sent him awful pickup lines via text messages, so they told him off. They started fighting again and accidentally spilled water on Bateman, who spazzed out and flipped the table over. He then handed Daniel Bryan a bag of change to cover the drinks and stormed out. Bryan excused himself, gave Nikki the bag of change, and went to catch up with Bateman. The Twins were quite angry and blamed each other for the bad date.

Reax: The segment really reinforced Derrick Bateman as being totally clueless, and brought back Nikki's heel character from NXT3. This was bad, but not quite as bad as Goldust's "wedding" on NXT3.

[c]

Back to the ring for Johnny Curtis vs. Ted DiBiase. Clay showed more fire coming out than DiBiase. Matthews claimed he was not talking about college football, even though he was talking about it earlier.

2 -- TED DIBIASE vs. JOHNNY CURTIS

DiBiase with a quick takedown and headlocks to take control. Curtis takes a moment to talk to R-Truth, then they lock up again. DiBiase takes him down with a shoulder tackle off the ropes and then poses on the turnbuckle. The announcers talk up Clay while DiBiase wins another lockup, and slaps Curtis in the corner. Curtis tries a springboard leg drop (unusual move) and misses. DiBiase takes over again, and they cut to break.

[c] - Hype for Barrett vs. Big Show for Friday. Hall of Fame ad featuring Shawn Michaels.

[Q4] DiBiase is in control with a headlock after the break. Curtis tries to get out but he can't. This really feels like a "best (or worst) of Randy Orton" reel with all of the side headlocks from DiBiase. Curtis fights out, DiBiase levels him with the turnaround clothesline, gets a nearfall, and then punches him in the head a bit. Johnny Curtis tries to lunge at Clay or Maryse who are mocking him, and DiBiase gets him on the ropes, then kicks a hole out of him in the corner. He follows with the "Orton launch" into the ropes.

Curtis shows some fire for a moment, but a DiBiase elbow takes him down again, then he settles into another headlock after some knees to the back. Crowd is mostly dead, and I can't blame them. Curtis gets out, and DiBiase catches him with a spinebuster off the ropes. DiBiase mocks him a bit, then whiffs on a punt while Curtis is half in the ring. Curtis stuns him with a shot to the head, and gets some momentum going again. Curtis counters the turnaround clothesline with a backslide attempt, which DiBiase blocks. Curtis hit his finisher for a nearfall. Maryse distracts the ref while DiBiase whips Curtis into the ropes and Clay takes the cheap shot. R-Truth attacks Clay, and while DiBiase watches, Curtis schoolboys him for the three count.
Maryse2_GG150_2.jpg

WINNER: Curtis. DiBiase just jobbed to an NXT Rookie. If his credibility isn't completely shot by now, I'd be shocked. Boring match with too many chinlocks and totally uninspired offense. He really looked like he was doing a parody of Randy Orton's 2008 heel style without the in-ring storytelling with his face, which is not a good thing. Maryse continues to be one of the highlights of the show with her amazing charisma.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]


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