WWE NXT TV Results
February 1, 2011 - Season 4, Week 9
Taped in Long Island, N.Y.
Aired on WWE's website
By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

The cast of Season Four of WWE NXT:

-- Rookie: Johnny Curtis. Pro: R-Truth.
-- Rookie: Byron Saxton Pro: Dolph Ziggler
-- Rookie: Brodus Clay. Pro: Alberto Del Rio. (changed 1/25)
-- Rookie: Jacob Novak. Pro: Chris Masters
-- Rookie: Derrick Bateman. Pro: Daniel Bryan.
-- Rookie: Conor O'Brian. Pro: Ted DiBiase.

The standard NXT video package introduced this week's show before Todd Grisham introduced the show as the camera focused on the WrestleMania 27 sign hanging atop the rafters. Grisham threw it to NXT host Matt Striker.

In-ring: Matt Striker said things are starting to intensify and next week will be a crucial elimination. Striker then introduced the NXT Rookies and their Pros, starting with Saxton & Ziggler, then Bateman & Bryan, and Curtis & R-Truth. Grisham noted Truth and Curtis will be in tag action tonight. Ricardo Rodriguez then escorted Brodus Clay to ringside. Striker wanted to know where Alberto Del Rio is. Ricardo took a mic from his pocket and explained Del Rio cannot be here tonight. He's been overwhelmed with so many things to do since winning the Royal Rumble, so he has found a suitable replacement. "Myself, Ricardo Rodriguez," he said with great gusto. So great.

Striker introduced the first challenge tonight: Arm Wrestling contest for three immunity points. Clay and Truth were the first in the ring. Saxton and Ziggler then hopped in the ring. It's Saxton vs. Curtis. Saxton had an illegal substance on his hand, which the referee asked him to remove. Curtis won in about half-a-second. The replay lasted longer than the contest. Saxton to the back.

Next was Bateman, with his right knee taped up, against Clay. Bateman demanded Bryan slap him around to get psyched up. "Okay, that's enough!" Bateman said. Clay just toyed with Bateman to allow Ricardo time to talk 100 MPH before slamming Bateman's arm down for the victory.

So, it's Clay vs. Curtis in the finals for three points. Curtis showed a little personality waiting for Clay to lock up. "Vamos, vamos, vamos!" Ricardo encouraged Clay, who struggled a bit with Curtis. Suddenly, Clay blasted Curtis in the face and the ref DQ'ed Clay. Curtis gets the three points. Curtis turned over the arm-wrestling station on Clay in anger after Clay's headbutt. They went to a replay to show Clay delivering the headbutt in plain sight of the ref.

Tonight in the ring: Saxton vs. Chris Masters in a battle of former Rookie and Pro.

[Break. Before returning, the Mystery Video vignette aired. It was the second one that aired on Raw last night. 2/21/11 flashed on the screen.]

1 -- CHRIS MASTERS vs. BYRON SAXTON (w/Dolph Ziggler)

Mathews became frustrated trying to figure out the Coaching Carousel in NXT Season 4 so far. Masters overpowered Saxton early on as Ziggler tried to encourage Saxton. Ziggler was selling that he wasn't all-in this week fresh off his World Title loss at the Royal Rumble. Masters snapped off an overhead suplex, then stalked Saxton. "Come on, Saxton, whatcha you got?" Saxton landed a boot to the stomach before crashing down on Masters's back from the second rope. Saxton then applied an armbar that Masters powered out of. Masters, with one good arm, dropped Saxton with a power clothesline before landing a big spinebuster. Masters turned up the volume and called for the Masterlock. Masters slapped on his finisher and Ziggler had a towel in his hand with the "tormented facial expression" teasing throwing in the towel. No matter, as Saxton tapped out anyways. Mathews had a good laugh at Saxton's expense.

WINNER: Masters via submission at 3:13. Dominating match for Masters, which is exactly what it should have been. It looks like Byron's number is up next week.

Earlier Today: Daniel Bryan was teaching Bateman a submission hold. Bateman, wearing a Navy Seals t-shirt, said he's frustrated not being able to get the whole submission thing. Bryan tried to explain the art of submission wrestling, then Gail Kim walked in and Bateman sighed. Bryan told Bateman that Gail will show him a guillotine hold. Bateman said women don't know submission wrestling. Gail said he'll show him. She applied a guillotine and Bateman begged for air before dropping to the floor. Bateman sold being KO'ed, then Bryan said that's so hot. Bryan and Gail made out as Bateman recovered on the floor.

Up next: DiBiase vs. Clay in another Coaching Carousel match-up.

[Break]

Back from break, Clay was getting himself warmed up in the ring while Ricardo talked to him non-stop. Grisham then fed to a video package on last week's NXT when Clay won a four-way elimination match and selected Del Rio as his new Pro, replacing DiBiase. Back in the ring, Clay waited for his opponent, Ted DiBiase. No Maryse tonight after Maryse slapped him on Raw. Mathews said they should find out how DiBiase is feeling after Lawler dropped him last night. Before the bell sounded, Maryse made her way to the ring.

2 -- BRODUS CLAY (w/Ricardo) vs. TED DIBIASE

The camera focused on Maryse walking to the announce table as DiBiase tried to wear down Clay with a reverse chinlock. DiBiase popped Clay with a kick to the head before Grisham celebrated Maryse giving him her number. On the outside, DiBiase popped Clay with a running dropkick, showing aggression. Grisham said the number is 555-1212. A random Pro's voice was heard as DiBiase and Clay returned to the ring where Clay executed a Tazplex on DiBiase. Maryse seemed indifferent ringside as Clay wore down DiBiase. She took out her phone and snapped a picture of the action in the ring for some reason. Is she scouting? Who knows.

Clay continued to dominate DiBiase before Maryse backed up to the ring to take a picture of herself with the action in the background. DiBiase suddenly took out Clay at the knee. Instead of going to work on Clay, he became distracted as Maryse teased planting a kiss on Grisham before slapping Grisham. DiBiase then turned around to take a powerslam from Clay for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Clay at 4:29. DiBiase's woes continue as DiBiase and Maryse move closer to a blow-up.

Backstage: Curtis was selling the headbutt from Clay when "Carlton" Saxton barged in. They traded barbs before Saxton told Johnny he's worried about him. His "Pro" is talking about him. Saxton claimed Truth is saying Johnny's ego is getting out of control. Johnny said they're friends, while he and Saxton aren't. He called Saxton the creepiest man he's ever met. Curtis said he has a match to win right now. Saxton said Johnny can deny it all he wants, but they know the truth. Curtis showed more personality in that segment than he has all season, but they way over-acted as if they were in an intense Western movie scene. It's just NXT, fellas.

[Break]

In-ring: Striker was with the four Rookies in the ring. Striker updated the Immunity Standings with Curtis in the lead with three points. The next challenger is the Talk the Talk challenge. Everyone gets 30 seconds to talk and the judges will be...the live crowd in Long Island. Cheap pop.

Saxton was up first. His topic was WWE Pros. Specifically, R-Truth. Saxton told "Mr. R" he has a tribute with him. Saxton did a mock version of Truth's rap. Truth was speechless. He then did his own gimmick. Ziggler said it sounded the same.

Bateman was next to address Dolph Ziggler. Bateman called him the fastest rising star in WWE with the face of a worn-out catcher's mitt. His real name is not Dolph, as he changed it from Turd Fergurson. Naturally, the jocks took the bait and led the crowd in a "Turd" chant.

Curtis had Chris Masters. He said he can't top Bateman, so he'll talk about someone else. Curtis slapped Clay, who chased Curtis to the outside. Curtis hid next to the announcers as Clay challenged him to get back in the ring. Grisham and Mathews denied any knowledge of who Curtis is to avoid Clay's wrath. The Pros resumed their "Turd" chant and Ziggler vowed to leave right now. The crowd cheered him on.

Brodus Clay was last to talk about U.S. champion Daniel Bryan. Clay challenged Bryan's manhood, then told Bryan to bring Gail Kim to his apartment and he'll show her what a real man looks like. Bryan shot back that a real man is not a fat man. Clay shot Bryan an evil look in response. Striker then surveyed the crowd. Strong reaction for Bateman. Boos for Curtis. "Love Machine" Brodus Clay was also booed. The winner is Bateman, earning two points. Masters still had a live mic wanting to know why no one wanted to talk about him. They absolutely have to do the Bryan vs. Clay match next week.

Announcers: Mathews and Grisham fed to the "official theatrical trailer" for Triple H's "The Chaperone" movie. Back to NXT, Mathews led the random tagline that it's the "funniest field trip of the year." That'll get 'em in theaters.

Main event up next: Bryan & Bateman vs. Curtis & Truth.

[Break]

Raw Rebound: They replayed the high points from the Raw Rumble main event last night that ended with Jerry Lawler becoming #1 contender to the WWE Title. They carefully edited Truth's attempt to skin the cat before showing the eliminations in rapid-fire fashion. Focusing on Lawler, they showed classic Lawler footage through his career to sell his story of never competing in a match at WrestleMania. They also focused on the Lawler vs. Michael Cole feud.

Announcers: Mathews congratulated Lawler and celebrated the "stupid look" on Cole's face last night. Mathews and Grisham then highlighted the Elimination Chamber line-up with Miz vs. Lawler the headline match.

In-ring: R-Truth's music hit to bring out Truth and Curtis. Tons of crowd shots of kids in the arena. Truth seemed to get blown up on the way to the ring. Ricardo chimed in from the stage: "Que pasa?" in-between Truth's "What's up?" lines. Ricardo is so great. Daniel Bryan's music hit to bring out Bryan and Bateman for the main event.

3 -- U.S. champion DANIEL BRYAN & DERRICK BATEMAN vs. R-TRUTH & JOHNNY CURTIS

The announcers focused on Bryan's love of submission wrestling, which is depicted on his official WWE t-shirt, as Truth and Bateman started things off. Curtis and Bateman then exchanged holds and came to a stand-off. A Pro randomly started an "E-C-W" chant before his mic was cut off. Bateman and Curtis then took the fight to the floor. A scrap was on and their Pros had to separate them. Bateman sold fire in his eyes as they cut to break.

[Break. WrestleMania video - they aired a video package highlighting the History of WrestleMania for an upcoming DVD. Untold stories, behind-the-scenes footage, etc. In a sit-down soundbyte, Vince McMahon was shown crying talking about sensing his dad when he walked to the ring at WrestleMania III. Lots of behind-the-scenes clips of WrestleMania through the years. This looks like an awesome DVD if the propaganda is at least kept in check.]

Back from break, Bateman and Curtis were having a civilized wrestling match in the ring. Mathews said he thinks Saxton is in trouble next week. Bateman ran over Curtis with a shoulder tackle and scored a two count. Bryan then tagged in and landed a kick strike on Curtis. Mathews said he heard this is the last season of NXT before saying he doesn't even know if that's true. "So, you're making up news?" Grisham asked. Bryan worked over Curtis as Mathews quipped that Korpela and Stanford are going to join them next season to form a four-man booth.

Bateman tagged in and worked on Curtis's knee as Mathews began talking to the voices in his headset. "Like Orton?" Grisham asked. Curtis exploded out of the corner with a roundhouse kick and continued to sell the knee before rolling over Truth to make a tag. Truth and Bryan in. Truth fired off a round of offense before tagging in Curtis. Double suplex. The action then broke down and Bateman flew to the outside. Truth then splashed Bateman on the outside. Back in the ring, Curtis missed with a top rope splash and Bryan slapped on the LeBell Lock center ring. Curtis tried to escape, but quickly tapped once Bryan applied it in full.

Post-match: Bryan and Bateman celebrated while Grisham noted they are 2-0 as a tag team on NXT. They replayed the finish as Mathews set up Bryan and Bateman's quest for the Tag Titles. Grisham signed off noting it's elimination week next week.

WINNERS: Bryan & Bateman via submission at 7:58. Decent action. Nothing that anyone will remember by next week, but they effectively presented Bateman as one of the two favorites, along with Clay, to win the contest.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Entertaining NXT this week. Ricardo Rodriguez has clearly become the highlight of this show, Curtis showed some personality, Bryan needs to be positioned to fight back against Clay, the intensity and sense of urgency was picked up a notch, and the commentary wasn't terrible like some weeks. So, all in all, decent episode.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for an "NXT TV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. To contribute your thoughts on NXT, email to pwtorch@gmail.com using our Feedback form.

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