WWE NXT Alt. Perspective Report
July 19, 2011
Taped in Minneapolis, Minn.
Report by Justin James, PWTorch contributor

"NXT: Redemption" has entered this bizarre Twilight Zone where there are so few competitors and no eliminations scheduled that it feels more like a standalone show with only five wrestlers (I'm counting Yoshi Tatsu and Tyson Kidd as roster members at this point) instead of the competition of sorts it is supposed to be. I am going out on a limb and predicting that last week's box of green candies for Hornswoggle is either from Maxine (from NXT: 3) or Fit Finlay.

Rookies (and Pros), and points:
Titus O'Neil (Hornswoggle): 25
Derrick Bateman (Daniel Bryan): 0
Darren Young (Chavo Guerrero): 7
Conor O'Brian (Vladimir Kozlov)
Lucky Cannon (Tyson Kidd)
Byron Saxton (Yoshi Tatsu)
Jacob Novak (JTG)

[Q1]

Off Todd Grisham's introductions, Maryse and Matt Striker have a punching bag with Michael Cole's picture on it, and they introduce the Rookies. Maryse recaps the points and somehow makes it sound appealing. The crowd pops for Bateman having no points. The dummy challenge is worth five points. The crowd is going to judge it.

Bateman rips on O'Neil's barking. Then, he knocks the bag down and hits it with elbow drops, a butt splash, and a suplex as the crowd boos. He then rips on O'Neil some more and gets more boos. Rgal says he'd love to hurt Bateman.

Darren Young says this contest is dumb and recaps that he's already been on the main roster. He talks trash to O'Neil and bails out.

O'Neil cuts a generic promo on Bateman and Young then tosses the punching bag at Young. Young gets booed, Bateman gets a mildly mixed reaction, and O'Neil gets a big cheer. O'Neil now has thirty points. Why do they still bother? He has improved a lot on the mic in terms of his confidence, but the content is still lacking.

Up next, Vladimir Kozlov against JTG.

[ c - "Rey Mysterio: The Life of a Masked Man" DVD ad, Summerslam/Baywatch ad ]

Pre-match, JTG cuts on Kozlov for not being "gangsta." Wow, that's as sensible a basis for a feud as the leg from an action figure... oh, wait.

[ c - "WWE All Stars" ad ]

1 - VLADIMIR KOZLOV vs. JTG

Vlad takes JTG down quickly, who hides in the ropes. Some kids start a "Let's go Kozlov" chant. Kozlov stays on the offensive until JTG knocks him outside of the ring, then dumps him face-first into the ring post. JTG with his usual uninspired moveset. Minneapolis loves Kozlov more than Chicago loves Cena, so strange. A Mugshot gets JTG a nearfall. Kozlov headbutts his way back on top, but JTG cuts off the comeback with a chop block. Kozlov knocks him down and then catches him with the Iron Curtain for the win.

WINNER: Kozlov in 5:00. JTG was on offense the whole time, but Kozlov basically beat him with two moves, so JTG looked really weak.

Backstage, Hornswoggle brought his candies to Maryse. She makes fun of him and says that she had nothing to do with it. He grabs her leg and she dumps the candy on him. A backstage person has another package for him, and it's a goofy green rabbit plushie.

Backstage, Tatsu's shrine is destroyed and he freaks out. The appendages on his action figure are all torn off except one arm.

[ c - WrestleMania 28 ad, which is still hyping Cena vs. The Rock, hype for Raw focusing on the WWE title finals and Triple H running Raw ]

2 - TITUS O'NEIL vs. DARREN YOUNG

There's a slow feeling-out process, even though these two have met about seven times this season. Young runs the ropes right into a powerslam. O'Neil with an abdominal stretch worthy of John Cena. After enough power offense from O'Neil, Young heads up the ramp but Titus throws him back in. Then, he shoves him at the turnbuckle, but Young goes over and onto the outside. Young gets some space to breath, but Derrick Bateman appears on the ramp, and they cut to commercial.

[ c - "The True Story of WrestleMania" DVD ad ]

[Q3] Titus in on top but Young finally gets some sustained offense in. Titus fights out of the corner. Back and forth between the two. O'Neil runs over Young with clotheslines then powerslams Young off the ropes. Young ties his finisher, but O'Neil slips out. O'Neil hits the ropes, but Bateman trips him behind the ref's back, causing Young to whiff a dropkick. Young is kind of wandering around and O'Neil gets the sit-out slam for the win.

WINNER: O'Neil in 10:00. These two still don't put on a good match together. It's sound, and there are no botches, but it's like watching paint dry. O'Neil's stock is dropping in my mind as he continues to fail to show anything new or interesting. Regal's commentary is back to where it was. The ending made no sense - Bateman barely interfered and it backfired on him.

[ c - Smackdown preview, Orton vs. Kane in a Street Fight, Summerslam ad]

Replay of the end of Raw last night. End show.

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