WWE NXT Report
November 30, 2011
Taped 11/29 in Charlotte, N.C.
Report by Justin James, PWTorch contributor

Opening Thoughts: Well, I am now glad that I got Raw tickets and not Smackdown tickets for this week's TV, thanks to the Live Smackdown Holiday nonsense, but I still would have liked to have seen the Bryan-Henry title match in person. That said, Smackdown did feature your favorites from NXT - Maxine in a backstage segment, Darren Young, Titus O'Neil, and "Dirty Curty" Johnny Curtis in a battle royal, but no Derrick Bateman. Hmm. Hopefully there will be plenty of him on NXT this week, though.

Rookies:
Darren Young
Titus O'Neil
Derrick Bateman

NXT Regulars:
Matt Striker (host, announcer, occasional wrestler)
William Regal (annoucer, occasional wrestler)
Jack Korpela, Josh Matthews (announcers)
A.J.
Kaitlyn
Johnny Curtis
JTG
Tamina
Tyson Kidd
Yoshi Tatsu
Percy Watson

[Q1] The show starts with Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins hitting the ring. The announcers are Josh Mathews and Matt Striker. Please, someone find Jack Korpela and William Regal! Percy Watson comes out to a slightly different version of his music.

1 - PERCY WATSON vs. TYLER REKS

Reks with early control, but Watson makes a fast comebackl On commentary, Hawkins claims that the cane is doctor-prescribed. Tyler Reks with a slick reversal in the corner to send Watson face-first until the turnbuckle. Hawkins says that they were underused and underutilized and unbooked, which is why they needed to invade NXT. Wow, the crowd is rallying behind Watson a bit. Reks goes into the ringpost to let Percy get on top. Watson with a series of big dropkicks and his overhead throw, and gets the crowd fired up, then his standing jump into a lateral press for two. Watson gets distracted by Hawkins, and Reks takes him down, and goes to the top, but Watson dropkicks him in mid-air for the win. Post-match, Hawkins ambushes him with the cane.

WINNER: Percy Watson in 5:00. Okay match, but not given enough time. These guys are all just treading water, waiting for a slot on the main roster to open up.

As they cut to commercial, Striker announces a main event three-way among the three Rookies, with the winner receiving a match on Smackdown.

[ c - "Stone Cold Steve Austin" DVD ad ]

Backstage, Johnny Curtis is flirting with Kaitlyn, but Maxine comes in acting jealous and Kaitlyn leaves. Curtis notices that she's jealous, but she pretends that she isn't. She says that if he knew how to treat a woman, he wouldn't need to settle for little girls like Kaitlyn. That's funny, because Kaitlyn is bigger than Maxine. Curtis kisses his fingers, puts them on Maxine's lips and says that's the best he can do and walks away. Maxine fumes. Bateman appears to apologize, but she just jumps on him and kisses him, then he introduces her to his mom. Bateman walks away, and his mom says that she's been watching, and threatens to take her down if she hurts so much as one curl on his head. Wait, people in WWE actually watch WWE? Well, that changes everything.

2 - YOSHI TATSU & TRENT BARRETA vs. TYSON KIDD & JOHNNY CURTIS

Both of these teams could go far. Curtis could make a good mouthpiece for Kidd and Kidd can teach Curtis a lot. Also, Tatsu/Barreta could be a super-hot tandem.

Tatsu and Curtis lead off, with Tatsu using his speed to get early advantage and bring Baretta in. Barreta with a running flip dive and some rollups, but Kidd distracts Barreta so Curtis can take over. Curtis looks heelishly arrogant choking Trent in the ropes, and tags in Kidd.

[Q2] Kidd with a springboard guillotine leg drop, then corner stomps, and the usual heel corner work. Barreta with his corkscrew moonsault to get Kidd off of him, and they both tag out. Tatsu with an armdrag, dropkick, and a back body drop, then hard chops against the ropes. Striker reminds viewers of the action figure-maiming story. Tatsu to the top rope, but Curtis dodges the spinning heel kick. Curtis with a nasty-looking sit-out brainbuster for the win.

WINNERS: Curtis & Kidd in 8:00. That match needed another five to ten minutes, but they delivered in the ring. Curtis's finisher looks absolutely devastating.

- Replay of the Piper's Pit segment from Monday Night Raw.

[ c - WWE '12 ad ]

3 - ALICIA FOX vs. MAXINE

[Q3] Why does Maxine wear a nightie and garters to the ring? Then again, why does Alicia Fox wear a Tanuki suit to the ring? Maxine starts off strong with her power offense, but Alicia shoves her away, then jumps a corner charge, and transitions the jump into a sunset flip for two, which was slick. Maxine with hand thrusts to the stomach and tosses Alicia by the hair. Maxine with a basement dropkick for two, and gets frustrated. Maxine retains control and moves to a chinlock. Derrick Bateman and his mom come out to cheer her own. Maxine with a Dragon Sleeper, but she's distracted, letting Fox throw her off and immediately hit her finisher. Post-match, Maxine blows up on Bateman.

WINNER: Fox in 3:00. Maxine dominated someone who was breathing on #1 contender status a few weeks ago for all but ten seconds. Maxine's reversal into the sunset flip was really innovative, but Maxine did a good job at getting herself over as a power threat in the ring.

[ c - Be a S.T.A.R., Raw hype playing up Cena's torment, Miz's rise, and Punk's championship reign ]

4 - TITUS O'NEIL vs. DERRICK BATEMAN vs. DARREN YOUNG - Triple Threat match, winner gets a Smackdown match

Titus has his old new music (or is it new old music?) back.

Titus clears out Young then hits a big powerslam on Bateman, but Young breaks up the pin. Young chips Titus, who no-sells and gets mad, then chops Young a number of times. Titus is absolutely huge compared to Young. Young goes up top, but Titus grabs him and throws him to the mat. Bateman breaks up the pin and beats down Titus in the corner. Bateman chops Titus, but Titus chops back. Bateman tries a running sunset flip, but Titus shakes it off, picks him up and throws him into Young, then kicks Young and clubs Bateman. Bateman rolls outside and O'Neil goes to work on Young. He throws Young outside the ring and starts to bark. Bateman approaches Young to arrange and alliance.

[ c - "The Reunion" DVD ad ]

Back from the break, Young and Bateman are double-teaming O'Neil. Young eventually ends the alliance with Bateman, who tries a pin, then Titus gets up, clotheslines them both, and beats them both down a bit. Striker says that "Big Deal Titus O'Neil" is the best choice for Smackdown. Titus tries pinning Darren, but Derrick breaks it up. Eventually, Bateman and Young start going at it again. Bateman with a running mid-height dropkick to Young in the corner. Bateman goes to the top and Young crotches him, then meets him up top. Tower of Doom spot with Titus powerbombing Young superplexing Bateman, Titus tries the pin, but Young kicks out.

Young with the fallaway slam when Bateman interferes. O'Neil with the scoop slam for two, then calls for the Clash of the Titus. Young rolls to the apron, but Titus goes to the apron too. Young surprises O'Neil with a kick to the crotch, and lands a neckbreaker on the apron, and O'Neil rolls into the ring. Bateman dropkicks Young to the outside and steals the pin.

Post-match, Bateman asks Maxine to come out and says that they are going back to Smackdown where they belong. Maxine's music hits and she fails to appear. Instead, Tamina and JTG come out. Tamina says that Maxine packed up her stuff and left with Johnny Curtis. Bateman makes some hilariously over-done faces here, which is in-line with his over-the-top character. Hey, Derrick Bateman has some fresh stitches on his head. They end the show.

WINNER: Derrick Bateman in 10:00

Final Reax: Bland show, but it's nice to know that Derrick Bateman will be on a main roster show, complete with a face turn. On commentary, Josh Mathews does a really poor job compared to Jack Korpela. He doesn't take the show seriously at all and comes off like Michael Cole Light. Matt Striker is fine, but he needs to work with someone like Korpela or Todd Grisham who will actually call the action, so he can do what he does best (add history and context). More importantly, William Regal has been integral to this show and his presence was greatly missed.

[Torch photo (c) PWTorch.com]

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