WWE NXT TV Results
March 15, 2011 - Season 5, Week 1
Taped in Kansas City, Mo.
Aired on WWE's website
By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

The cast of Season Five of WWE NXT (Pros):

-- Darren Young (Chavo Guerrero)
-- Jacob Novak (JTG)
-- Byron Saxton (Yoshi Tatsu)
-- Conor O'Brian (Kozlov)
-- Lucky Cannon (Tyson Kidd)
-- Titus O'Neil (Hornswoggle)

This week's NXT opened with Todd Grisham noting this season is all about redemption. He introduced William Regal before sending it to the ring where Matt Striker and Maryse were standing by. Maryse repeated Grisham's opening line, then Striker introduced the NXT Season 5 Rookies and Pros.

JTG led out Jacob Novak, followed by Chavo Guerrero with Darren Young, who Regal noted is the most experienced Rookie. Not exactly a complement. Kozlov brought out "Hard Life" Conor O'Brian. Yoshi and Saxton waved their way onto the show. Tyson Kidd led Lucky "Cape" Cannon out. Regal said Cannon has the most beautiful robe on NXT. Hornswoggle, to a big pop, brought out Titus O'Neil to round out the field.

With the Rookies in the ring, Maryse struggled through some introductions. Apparently the winner of NXT Season 5 can choose any Pro he wants on NXT 6. It wasn't clear if she meant the entire roster or just the current Pros. Slim pickings. Striker noted the first contest is the Talk the Talk Challenge.

Jacob Novak took the mic and was immediately booed. Novak attempted a rap, which drew boos. He said he's staying alive in NXT Season 5. He asked Kansas City to scream, which drew more boos. "Vote for me on NXT," Novak added. "I'm the man. Jacob No-vak." Regal said he's trying to think of something good to say, but he just wants to punch him in the face.

Darren Young stepped to the outside to say his stage is with the fans. Young said he's being confident, not cocky, saying he's the top Rookie. Young noted he has a Guerrero, so the sky is the limit for him. He vowed to win NXT. Striker attempted a Royals reference, which drew mixed murmurs.

Conor was next. Hard to get past his Abe Lincoln beard as he did the "big dream" speech. Conor said he's living his dream in Kansas City, Mo. and the crowd forced a cheap pop. Conor said everyone here can live his or her dream too. Pause. "Good job, Conor," Kozlov muttered from the stage.

Byron Saxton was next. He made a Lady Gaga reference on Lucky Cannon's wardrobe, then Cannon and O'Neil horsed around in the background. Saxton thanked the audience for giving him a second chance.

Next was Cannon, who tried shooshing the crowd. More boos. Cannon said the name is "delish, a/k/a steal your girl." Cannon said he has Adonis blood and it's all about him. Regal said he likes the change from Season 4. He said he's not trying to get people to hate him.

Rounding out the field, Maryse handed the mic to O'Neil after giving Cannon the hand. O'Neil declared he will make it a win. Yes. O'Neil paced the ring and said this is his season. He noted a conversation with Hornswoggle - yes, a conversation - and O'Neil provided a recap by doing a lot of muttering. His 45 seconds expired and he attempted to wrap it up before Maryse took the mic.

Striker and Maryse then polled the crowd on who won the contest. Boos for Novak. Mixed leaning cheers for Young. O'Brian was lightly booed. Regal sighed. Saxton was mixed leaning boos. Lucky Cannon was loudly booed. Titus was cheered at the level of Young. So, it's either Young or Titus. Striker said the winner and winner of two Redemption Points is...Titus O'Neil.

Announcers: Regal said the key is connecting with the crowd and that's what O'Neil was able to do. Still to come tonight: Darren Young vs. Conor O'Brian. It's next.

[Break. WM27 - 19 days away.]

Rookie video: Titus O'Neil said he simply wasn't himself on Season 2. They replayed the various bad moments for O'Neil losing his place on the mic, dropping the keg, and stumbling in the ring. He vowed to make Season 5 his season. And he'll make it a win.

1 -- CONOR O'BRIAN (w/Kozlov) vs. DARREN YOUNG (w/Chavo Guerrero)

Conor aggressively rammed Young shoulder-first into the ringpost early in the match. Young recovered on the floor before Conor rolled him back into the ring for a nearfall. Conor continued to work over Young's left shoulder before Young came back with an atomic drop. Regal noted the Rookie Mistakes from both men as they traded offense. Young then busted out a fallaway gutbuster ala Roderick Strong and scored the pin on Conor for the win. On the stage, Hornswoggle and the Pros jotted down notes on their clipboards as Regal noted the strong finishing move for Young. Young then mimicked everyone else on the roster pointing to the WrestleMania banner hanging in the arena.

WINNER: Young at 2:59. Conor just isn't very convincing in the ring, while Young is essentially the ringer of NXT having already worked with top stars on the roster.

Still to come: St. Patrick's Day Keg Carry.

[Break]

Raw Rebound: John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio in a main event that was completely forgettable for a "first time ever" match-up. The video transitioned into focusing on psycho Miz pretending to be The Rock before destroying John Cena. Back at the announce table, Regal said Miz cannot be taken lightly and he is a "serious, serious champion."

Backstage: Yoshi Tatsu approached Maryse, who was on the phone. Yoshi told Maryse she did a very good job last week; much better than Matt Striker. He noted Maryse isn't as pretty as Striker. Lucky Cannon barged in and apologized for not being professional last week. Maryse told him he was a jerk, but it's okay. Maryse walked off and Yoshi waved her good-bye. Lucky watched Maryse walk off and noted he sees what Yoshi is up to...but he won't get her because...he's not Lucky. He walked off and Yoshi frowned like a child. Lucky is showing something this week.

[Break]

Announcers: Grisham told Regal that either he or Striker needs to drop the suit vest. They fed to a video on Jacob Novak claiming this is his season. Novak said he feels like he has all the gifts to win, but he put his faith in Dolph Ziggler last season. He said he thinks Dolph was threatened by him. Novak continued to shift blame before vowing to be more aggressive this season and win NXT.

2 -- LUCKY CANNON & TYSON KIDD vs. YOSHI TATSU & BYRON SAXTON

Lucky and Kidd were already in the ring, which wasn't a good sign. The babyface duo came out as Grisham noted Yoshi was wrestling with a heavy heart considering the situation in Japan. Regal said you have to set that aside and take care of business when you come to work. Yoshi quickly knocked down Kidd, played to the crowd, and kicked Kidd in the gut. Lucky then took a cheap shot at Yoshi, giving the heels the advantage on Yoshi. The crowd chanted for Yoshi and rallied behind him, leading to Yoshi scoring with a knock-down clothesline.

Saxton then hot-tagged into the match and cleaned house on Kidd. Saxton lost control, then Cannon tagged himself into the match. Kidd, stunned, watched as Cannon entered the ring and scored with sort of a front slam on Saxton. Apparently that's his finisher, as it was good for the pin. Post-match: Kidd expressed frustration with Cannon for trying to take over. Kidd told Cannon to get on the same page with him and Cannon acted apologetic.

WINNERS: Kidd & Cannon at 4:08. Completely forgettable tag match, but fine for NXT

[Break]

Raw Last Night: Grisham fed to a real-time replay of Vickie vs. Trish Stratus from Raw, leading to a post-match brawl with Lay-Cool, Snooki, and Vickie setting up the WrestleMania six-person tag match. ... Announcers: After that six-minute video, Regal and Grisham plugged the Keg Carry up next.

[Break]

On-stage: Maryse said they thought it would be "funny" to have the NXT Keg Carry on tonight's episode. Striker recapped the contest rules and said the winner will receive two Redemption Points. Striker reminded Titus what happened the last time he tried the Keg Carry. Cue up the Season 2 footage to show Titus tripping and falling. Over and over. I imagine McMahon wakes up every morning and cues up this footage. Back to NXT, Maryse told Titus not to mess up this time. He smiled along, willing to laugh at himself.

Up first was Jacob Novak. 9.9 was his time running around the ring. Regal said he would give a year's salary to watch Hornswoggle do this. Young was next. 9.8, beating Novak by 0.1. Kozlov told Conor, "You can do it!" with his accent. Hilarious. O'Brian scored 9.4, setting a new time.

Saxton was next. "Go go, Byron, go go Byron," Yoshi repeated over and over. Saxton scored 9.5, just short of the Rat. "Fabio" Lucky Cannon was fifth. Lucky, greeted by boos, approached the keg as Kidd shouted encouragement. His time started, but Lucky decided he wouldn't compete and said he will recite a poem instead. Lucky slowly walked toward Maryse speaking French. Maryse offered to throw up. Lucky kept talking and put his hand on Maryse, prompting a slap to the face by Maryse. "I'm in love. I've never been treated like that," Lucky said, wide-eyed. Maryse said she broke a nail.

Last, but not least. Titus. Hornswoggle started grunting before holding up a sign: "Make it a win." Titus did not trip on the first turn. He made his way around the ring at a rapid pace while tempting fate on falling on his face and finished at 9.1 to win the contest and pick up a clean sweep this week. Titus and Horny hugged it out as Regal said he's happy to see this connection. After a replay of Titus winning, they closed the show with Titus and Horny playing to the ringside fans.

Updated Redemption Standings:

Titus O'Neil - 4
Darren Young - 3

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.

We suggest these recent related articles...

JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 9/30 - Week 182: Balor & Joe in Dusty tournament, Ciampa and Gargano in singles matches, final "Takeover" card, more; Overall Reax

JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 9/23 - Week 181: Vaudevillians defend NXT Tag Titles, Kana introduded, lots of promos, Takeover build, more; Overall Reax

WWE NXT RESULTS 9/23: Vaudevillains defend NXT Tag Titles, Kana/Asuka formally introduced, Breeze, Eva Marie, more