WWE NXT alt. perspective report
June 28, 2011
Taped in Phoenix, Ariz.
Report by Justin James, PWTorch contributor

Rolling into Week 17 (yes, 17) of "NXT: Redemption," it's become clear this show is like a beauty pageant in prison: do you really want to win? And what exactly does it prove? I am fairly certain that Titus O'Neil is still going to win this, but going on to NXT 6 isn't such a great deal, and I don't believe anyone in this contest has anything to offer WWE anyways. The only one with any kind of potential was Lucky Cannon, who was far too sloppy and boring in the ring to justify an in-ring role. It will also be interesting to see if Chavo's departure leads to Young going home before Conor O'Brian (O'Brian should be going first). Of course, if O'Brian leaves tonight, viewers get more time with the endless O'Neil-Young feud.

This is an elimination week, with Titus O'Neil dominating the points with 22.

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

Pre-credits, there was a brief video package summing up the season. Regal calls O'Brian to leave tonight.

[Q1]

Darren Young comes out for a match and cuts a promo on Chavo. He said that Chavo quit on him because he was jealous of Young, and talked up his past as a main roster member. He stumbles over his words a bit.

Conor O'Brian comes out from the back looking and acting all business. He says that people will be talking about how O'Brian turn Young's "NXT Redemption" into his "NXT Destruction."

1 - CONOR O'BRIAN vs. DARREN YOUNG

Early lock-up, with both men falling through the ropes while locked up. Unique spot selling aggressiveness from both wrestlers. The re-enter the ring and O'Brian goes to work with basic strikes, then goes into his armbar. Young gets to his feet and there is some back and forth, O'Brian with a two count. O'Brian his a series of axe handles on the fallen Young. The action moves to the apron when Young gets a neckbreaker.

[ c - "The Greatest Cage Matches of All Time" DVD, "The Best of WWE Magazine" ads ]

Young runs over O'Brian for a two count out of the commercial. Young goes to work with his methodical offense; he is bleeding from the lip. Young has developed a love affair with this lame submission hold where it looks like he is a chiropractor trying to help O'Brian crack his neck. O'Brian back on offense, a catapult into the turnbuckle gets him two. O'Brian with a big boot on Young as he runs the ropes, then a front suplex into the ropes. O'Brian has actually put on a lot of muscle during this season, must be that pairing with Kozlov.

Wow, Young with the Three Amigos, the chest slaps, and he goes up top. He manages to get the Frog Splash to O'Brian who is in the middle of the ring, which gets him the ring. That was actually really impressive, to see a man of Young's size nail a mid-ring Frog Splash. Young goes nuts waving his tongue around like The Rock eating pie, with blood all over the place.

WINNER: Darren Young. A bit above average, which is better than I expected from these two. Young's ending sequence really surprised me with his athleticism.

[Q2]

Backstage, Yoshi Tatsu sets a cactus on his Tatsu shrine. Tyson Kidd comes out, mocks him, and breaks his action figure. Tatsu snaps and takes down Kidd spouting Japanese at a rapid pace, the striped shirts break it up.

[ c - "Be a STAR," hype for Smackdown focusing on Randy Orton vs. Randy Orton - very effective ad to get over Mark Henry as a monster heel]

2 - YOSHI TATSU vs. TYSON KIDD

Regal actually provided background to Kidd's missing "crown" saying that Bret Hart had him in a submission hold and he couldn't get out because of it.

Tatsu starts off strong, taking down Kidd. They roll around in the ring pounding each other. Kidd rolls to the outside. Kidd tries to elbow drop Tatsu when he gets in, but Tatsu dodges and goes back to the attack. Tatsu with hard kicks. Kidd gets Tatsu into the corner and puts the boots to him. Vicious kick to Yoshi's face. Kidd with a second turnbuckle knee drop, unusual move. Tatsu goes outside, but Kidd runs and hits a basement dropkick to Kidd sending his head into the steps.

[ c - "WWE All Stars" ad, the old one, not the good ad from last week, "The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro" DVD]

Yoshi in an armbar back from break, then Kidd with a hammerlock suplex (as called by Regal) for two. It's amazing how Kidd makes an armbar or armdrag look painful while Darren Young and Conor O'Brian make it look like a child's game. Kidd mocks Tatsu with another armbar getting the crowd behind him, that says a lot for Tatsu's selling and Kidd's technique. Tatsu fires up, but a double clothesline takes them both out. Tatsu with the chips then the kicks, he looks like he is playing to win. Kidd to the turnbuckle, Tatsu with the running double high knees, then the spinning heel kick.

Tatsu goes to the top turnbuckle, but Kidd meets him up top. Tatsu hights him off, but Kidd comes back and kicks his leg out, crotching him hard. Kidd goes up and gets a huracarana for a nearfall. Kidd tries the Sharpshooter, but Tatsu rolls him up for three. Kidd with kicks, Tatsu counters with his head kick for the win.

WINNER: Yoshi Tatsu. Yet another 3-star-range match from these two, totally wasted on the NXT audience.

Q3]

Backstage, JTG is trying on gold chains and grille, but Hornswoggle in sneaking around in a trash can. Hornswoggle tries to grab JTG's chains, but JTG catches him. O'Neil makes the save. They argue over whether the chains or platinum or white gold. That's the lamest build to a match in a while.

[ c - WWEShop.com ad, Randy Orton sitting on the dining room table, getting orange spray tan on the middle class family's dinner]

About time, Maryse is here. She's on guest commentary, but there is no real explanation of why. Titus throws to a video recapping the Hornswoggle-Maryse feud (never thought I'd write that...). Regal says Maryse is even more evil than him. She denies dating Tatsu or Cannon, saying that just because they give he stuff doesn't mean they were dating.

3 - TITUS O'NEIL (w/Hornswoggle) vs. JTG

Back and forth between O'Neil and JTG. The banter between Regal and Maryse is so much more entertaining as Grisham stirs the pot by reminding us that Regal called her an "evil cow" last week. Hornswoggle passes her a kindergarten-quality love note. JTG bodyslams O'Neil and almost falls over. The camera is spending more time on the announce booth than the ring. O'Neil gets some sustained offense. JTG goes to the outside but accidentally bumps Hornswoggle. Honrswoggle flexes him muscles on the apron and Maryse says he in entertaining. JTG is distracted, and when he gets into the ring, he walks right into O'Neil's sit out slam for the win.

WINNER: Titus O'Neil. That was an absolutely wretched match, made even worse by the focus on the out-of-ring intrigue. Admittedly, that was more interesting that the match anyways.

Post-match, Maryse rips up Hornswoggle's love note, then flashes the go away hand to him. Hornswoggle is bummed and O'Neil tries to cheer him up.

[c - WrestleMania 27 DVD ad ]

Raw Rebound, mostly about C.M. Punk. Surprisingly, they kept the salty language. Great replay, interspersed with off-the-air imagery. Grisham says that Punk was suspended, and says that McMahon will be on Raw on Monday to address the situation.

The Rookies are lined up for elimination, Matt Striker finally makes his appearance. I'm calling O'Brian to be gone. He looks very nervous, and for good reason. Young and O'Neil look fairly calm. Maryse updates the points:

O'Neil: 22
Young: 7
O'Brian: 3

Conor O'Brian is eliminated. O'Neil shakes his hand is a show of sportsmanship. O'Brian thanks his supporters, and Vladmir Kozlov. He thanks Triple H for giving him a chance. He walks away, looks broken, and tries not to cry. Here's a stunner, Striker says that they will be headed towards the final episode joined by this man: out comes Derrick Bateman shadowed by Daniel Bryan. That may be the most shocking, surprising thing to happen on NXT since Daniel Bryan and Michael Tarver were both declared to have eliminated themselves on NXT 1.

Final Reax: Someone at WWE just hit the panic button big time. Apparently they finally realized they had a bumper crop of non-starters on their hands. It was obvious they were banking on Lucky Cannon improving his in-ring game with Titus O'Neil as a backstop, and when Cannon fell apart and O'Neil failed to excel in the ring or even make improvements on the mic, they needed to do something. Derrick Bateman was someone who could have, and maybe should have won NXT 4. His in-ring game was fine and his charisma was excellent. This move lets them stretch out the season a few more weeks. It also looks like Bateman is a ringer. The in-chat folks are furious (despite him being a fan favorite last season), but really I think it was the right move. It's not like NXT can be cheapened or devalued anymore anyways.

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