WWE NXT TV alt. perspective report
January 25, 2011
Cincinnati, Ohio
Report by Justin James, PWTorch Contributor

[Q1] The show opens with Todd Grisham recapping Conor O'Brien's elimination last week and then throwing to Striker and the Rookies in the ring. Brodus with a new hairstyle - a spiked mohawk. Interesting look to stand out. Tonight, there will be a Fatal Four-way and the winning rookie gets to swap his Pro if he so chooses. I see Brodus Clay winning this and dumping DiBiase for Ziggler. (Retrospect: one-half was right.)

Striker tells Bateman that there was a rules violation last week, then cuts to video of Derrick Bateman and Daniel Bryan in the locker room with the corny "security camera" shot. They were reviewing the answers for the challenge last week. Bryan was a bit doubtful at first, but Bateman blew it off saying, "This is NXT." Back in the ring, Bateman will be penalized, and Daniel Bryan objects. The other Rookies look like they want to beat him up. The first Rookie challenge is "Out-think the Fink," a trivia challenge. Bateman will have 20 seconds, everyone will have 30. And here's the Fink coming to the ring! Anyone who can score higher than Finkel gets additional Immunity points.

- Finkel gets two answers right. Matthews blames Striker's slow reading for the low number.
- Johnny Curtis gets one point.
- Derrick Bateman cuts a quick cheap pop promo, then to the questions. Bateman has only twenty seconds. Bateman gets one point. Daniel Bryan berates Striker for taking too long to read the questions.
- Byron Saxton with a "Toooo Saxxxxxxy" shirt. Saxton resembles The Rock in his facial expressions sometimes. Saxton gets one point.
- Brodus Clay gets one point at the buzzer.

No one gets immunity points and Ziggler tries to start a Ziggler chant. Grisham says "they're all losers."

[c] Royal Rumble ad, plug for the "Greatest Rumble Moments" WWE.com feature.

1 -- TED DIBIASE (w/Maryse and Brodus Clay) vs. U.S. champion DANIEL BRYAN w/Derick Bateman

There's a video recap of the Bella Twins finding out about Gail Kim's relationship with Bryan from Monday night's Raw during the ring entrances.

Lockout with an exchange of waistlocks, and Ziggler is saying "this sucks" from the stage. Bryan gets control with a wrist hold. Maryse seems to be flirting with Josh Matthews, then gives him her autograph and kisses the paper for him. Back in the ring, Bryan is still in control with some nasty-looking arm bars. DiBiase finally gets control, trying to pin Bryan, who bridges out. The camera and announcers are focused mostly on Maryse, not the match. Bryan with a monkey flip, then a LeBell Lock attempt, but DiBiase gets to the ropes before Bryan applies it.

[Q2] [c] Shawn Michaels HOF ad.

Back from commercial, DiBiase has Bryan in the coner, but Bryan reverses and kicks DiBiase in the corner. Maryse looks to be ashamed at ringside. DiBiase sidesteps a drop kick in the corner, then mounts Bryan and starts with the Orton-like stomps and knee drops. Ziggler is running down Bryan on the mic, saying that he's a vegan and telling the crowd to not clap for him. DiBiase stays in control with holds and a drop kick, then a neckbreaker. A number of two counts for DiBiase. Ziggler keeps yelling at the crowd to not cheer for Bryan, and R-Truth tries to start a Daniel Bryan chant.

DiBiase throws Bryan outside the ring, and comes off the apron with a double axe-handle, then puts Bryan into the barricade. DiBiase is still in control, dumping Bryan onto the announce table, then he gets back in the ring, looking for a count-out win. Bryan gets back in the ring at three and DiBiase goes back on the attack. Bryan fights out with European uppercuts, but DiBiase reverses a whip into the turnbuckle. DiBiase returns to his slow down offense.

Ah, here we go, DiBiase with the side headlock. R-Truth starts a Daniel Bryan chant as Bryan fights out. Bryan picks up the pace with his typical barrage of kicks. Bryan gets DiBiase down with a clothesline, and nails a monster missile drop kick from the turnbuckle for a two count. Ziggler says, "You're really good at almost winning, Bryan." Are they re-building a Ziggler vs. Bryan feud? DiBiase and Bryan trade a series of roll-ups. DiBiase tries Dream Street, but Bryan reverses. DiBiase counters with his sit-out spinebuster for two.

DiBiase gets aggressive in the corner, and the crowd is finally firmly behind Bryan. DiBiase goes for the spinebuster again, but Bryan counters into a LeBell Lock attempt. DiBiase is near the ropes and gets a rope break. Bryan destroys DiBiase in the ropes, and tries the suicide dive through the ropes. DiBiase catches him with an elbow in the head, though, as he goes through the ropes, knocking him back into the ring. DiBiase then hits Dream Street and gets his first win in memory. Maryse looks stunned, and DiBiase walks out of the ring.

WINNER: Ted DiBiase.

Reax: Really good match. DiBiase works well, but he has seemed so unmotivated lately (can you blame him?). In this match, he showed that he deserves better. I thought Daniel Bryan looked insanely weak for not putting away Ted BiBiase in three minutes. Ziggler on the mic from the entrance was really annoying. There was a lack of logic here - if they want to start building DiBiase up again, why give him a win on NXT and not on Raw? All the same, this was well-done showcasing both men's talents.

[c] Best of Raw 2010 DVD ad, the Royal Rumble statistics video

[Q3] Backstage: DiBiase gives Clay a pep talk, saying that if anyone else wins, they'll want to swap with Clay since DiBiase just beat the U.S. champion. DiBiase says that he doesn't want to lose Clay, because he wants Clay to win and help him win the Tag Team Titles. Clay says he desperately wants to stay with DiBiase, with a lot of "yes, boss" reminiscent of "Cool Hand Luke." It's clear that Clay would like to win so he can ditch DiBiase.

[c] Hype for the Miz vs. Orton match.

2 -- JOHNNY CURTIS vs. BYRON SAXTON vs. BRODUS CLAY vs. DERRICK BATEMAN -- Fatal Four-Way match

Small "Bateman" chant to start, then everyone surrounds Bateman because they are still angry about him cheating on the quiz last week. The three gang up on Bateman. Clay shines with speed plus "big-man offense." Clay easily eliminates Derrick Bateman. With Bateman eliminated, Curtis and Saxton silently agree to gang up on Clay. They manage to hit a double suplex on the big man, which was rather impressive. Curtis tries a sneak attack roll-up on Saxton, but Saxton gets out. Saxton manages to throw Curtis onto Clay and Ziggler cheers him from the stage.

[c] Flex Force action figure ad, "don't try this at home" ad.

Saxton and Clay are in the ring with Clay in control. He lands his big suplex. On the outside, Curtis catches Clay in the ropes when Clay tries to drag him into the ring, which knocks Clay down. Saxton keeps Curtis out of the ring, then goes to work on Clay. Curtis inexplicably is on the turnbuckle, even though Saxton and Clay are on the other side of the ring. Saxton crotches Curtis on the turnbuckle, then goes up top to meet him there. Curtis fights him off and hits a double leg drop from the turnbuckle on both men. Neat spot. Curtis gets the three count on Saxton.

It's down to Curtis and Clay. Clay dominates with big right hands and a splash in the corner, then the butt butt. It's like he's borrowed a page from every big-man in recent WWE history, and he pulls it off well. Now he's going with the nerve hold, Curtis is selling it like a champ, and tries to power out. Clay mauls him in the corner. Curtis finally gets on his feet and takes over again. Clay reverses a whip but gets Curtis's feet to the face when he charges. Curtis tries to come off the top of the turnbuckle, but Clay catches him with his death grip and drops him to the mat for three.

WINNER: Brodus Clay.

DiBiase and Maryse come to the ring. Maryse is smiling. Clay says, "Let me tell you about my Pro. He's got style, he's got money, he's got class." Then, he turns to DiBiase and says, "You can't control your girl, you're the brokest rich dude I ever met, and my new pro is Alberto Del Rio!" Then he says that he wants to say something from the heart and DiBiase should listen. He grabs DiBiase with the death grip. DiBiase is making it look like Darth Vader's choking him out as Clay holds him on the mat. Great elevation of the move as a finisher. Maryse starts begging Striker for help. Clay gets in Maryse's face and she's upset about it. Clay leaves the ring looking insanely dominant. Alberto Del Rio is thrilled. End show.

Reax: Decent enough match. WWE is obviously high on Clay by pairing him with Del Rio, and Bateman is getting a lot of air time, but I feel like they might be backing off of him a bit. Clay looked so good in the post-match. I think that Curtis is probably the next one gone. Maryse continues to silently steal the show, and it's distracting how much camera time she gets during matches. I could definitely see a Del Rio/Clay pairing to challenge for the Tag Team Titles soon. It would give Del Rio something to do and an excuse to be on both shows, while potentially starting the rehabilitation of the titles.

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

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