WWE NXT TV Results
August 23, 2011 - Season 5, Week 25
Taped in Calgary, Alb., Canada
Aired on WWE's website
By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

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

-- Darren Young (Chavo Guerrero (released))
-- Titus O'Neil (Hornswoggle)
-- Derrick Bateman (Daniel Bryan)
-- Jacob Novak (JTG) - eliminated Week 11
-- Byron Saxton (Yoshi Tatsu) - eliminated Week 13
-- Lucky Cannon (Tyson Kidd) - eliminated Week 15
-- Conor O'Brian (Kozlov (released)) - eliminated Week 17

This week's WWE NXT episode opened with another exchange between Matt Striker and Darren Young. Young beat down Striker, trying to prove his point against the old guard. William Regal made the save from the commentary position, coming to the aid of Striker.

Backstage, Tyson Kidd found his dry cleaning hanging in his locker room with Japanese characters written across the bag. Kidd rubbed his chin and they cut to break.

[Break]

In-ring: Tyson Kidd was out first for the opening match of the show. Kidd was introduced from Calgary, which drew a strong reaction. Trent Barreta came out next as the opposition while Regal tried to find the words to express his frustration with Young, saying he would turn him into a vegetable if he had the chance.

1 -- TYSON KIDD vs. TRENT BARRETA

The crowd was hot for Kidd early on as the two men circled the ring. Referring to the writing on Kidd's bag in the previous segment, Regal threw out a Yoshi Kwan and Killer Khan reference. Regal continued to harp on Young's actions and words, saying he won't put up with it anymore. Kidd and Barreta had a stand-off, which drew applause from the crowd. Todd Grisham noted Kidd has won all of their previous match-ups and Barreta told him before the show that perhaps he needs a more conservative gameplan. Barreta cut off Kidd and worked him over on the mat before they abruptly cut to break.

[Break]

Back from break, Barreta had Kidd in a side headlock, still trying to wear him down on the mat. Kidd then made a comeback with a double foot kick to the head for a two count. Regal said he could see Kidd a big star in two-to-five years, which brought up a good point from Grisham on whether he can sustain this hard style and pace for that long. Regal said he thinks so and he'll be able to adapt as he grows older in age. Kidd then found himself on the outside and Barreta went for a turnaround splash that came up short, causing him to crash hard on the floor as Kidd tried to catch him.

Back in the ring, Barreta made a cover for a two count. The crowd tried to rally behind Kidd as Barreta put him up top. Barreta wanted a superplex, but Kidd blocked, crotched Barreta (which Grsiham called the capital of Thailand), and climbed up top for a huracanrana. Barreta tried to follow through, but Kidd teased the Sharpshooter, which drew a huge reaction, only to have Barreta counter with a victory roll for a two count. Double knock down and they were on the mat again. At 13:00, they started trading bombs and strikes from their feet before Barreta scored with a running strike for a two count. They reset and Kidd caught Barreta in a single-leg Boston Crab. Barreta fought the hold before reaching the bottom rope for a break.

Suddenly, the ominous music played, supposedly from Yoshi Tatsu. Kidd was distracted by the music and latest message on the screen, then Barreta caught him from behind, nailed his DDT finisher, and scored the pin for the win. And Barreta ends his six match losing streak on TV. The crowd groaned as Barreta collected himself in victory to conclude the match.

WINNER: Barreta at 15:01.

Still to come: Cena vs. Punk replay from Raw.

[Break]

Announcers: Grisham and Regal were shown on-camera to discuss ongoing developments on NXT the past two weeks. They went to footage from last week showing Derrick Bateman insult Hornswoggle, Titus O'Neil, and A.J., which led to Maxine's return to blast A.J. and take her apart.

Backstage: Bateman was giving Maxine a shoulder massage. Bateman said that after he wins NXT: Redemption (oh yeah, the point of the show), they'll be even more powerful than Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, more provocative than Edge and Lita, and bigger than Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire. Maxine said she needs to get rid of A.J. first. Afterward, she has a little surprise for Bateman later. Maxine whispered it in Bateman's ear and left. Back live, Grisham said he wants a surprise.

In-ring: Some new, upbeat techno-type music played to bring out A.J. and Hornswoggle. A.J. has Maxine up next.

[Break. Raw plug - controversy and deceit are currently ruling Raw. Nash cheated Punk out of the WWE Title picture, Del Rio went nuts on Cena, and next Monday, they find out who's behind the Title Controversy. What Happens next?]

In-ring: Maxine and Bateman slowly made their way to the ring as Regal thanked Grisham for helping him through the past 25 weeks of this show, with it being Grisham's last night on NXT. Interesting.

2 -- A.J. (w/Hornswoggle) vs. MAXINE (w/Derrick Bateman)

The match quickly moved to the floor and Bateman tried to give A.J. a fright, which gave Maxine an opening to take control of the match in the ring. Maxine began to freak out when she couldn't put A.J. away, then a few vocal fans picked up an "A-J" chant. Grisham recapped each of the Divas's history on NXT Season 3 to fill time as Maxine continued to wear down A.J. Grisham noted to Regal they're really struggling in this match. A.J. suddenly tried a roll-up, but Maxine kicked out. So, Maxine went back on the offensive. The announcers moved to Regal's English heritage next and Grisham encouraged Maxine to get it done already.

After A.J. made a comeback, Bateman took out Hornswoggle on the outside, which drew boos and A.J.'s attention away from the ring. Maxine then pinned a distracted A.J. for the win. Post-match: Titus O'Neil ran off the heels as the announcers wondered where he was 20 seconds earlier. Hornswoggle's music played as the faces called down to the heels to come do something.

WINNER: Maxine at 6:24. That was painful.

Next: A replay of Cena vs. Punk from Raw.

[Break. Smackdown video plug - Bret Hart will rule as Smackdown GM. This is the type of short-term planning that bites WWE in the back-side when they should have advertised Hart in advance to draw people to Smackdown on Friday. Instead, they waited until the day after Raw to promote it. It's like giving away the Cena vs. Punk re-re-match on Raw with no advanced promotion and wondering why it didn't draw a rating.]

Raw Replay: A condensed version of the Cena vs. Punk match starting with Cena's ring entrance, a fan tossing Cena his t-shirt back, about eight minutes of the match, and Del Rio's post-match beat down on Cena to conclude NXT.

This was one of the worst NXT episodes of the season. The NXT series has become pointless, as there is barely a hint of this being a Rookie competition and there is no sign of this season coming to a conclusion any time soon. This season has lasted so long that even the lead announcer is leaving the show before its conclusion.

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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