WWE NXT Report
January 11, 2012
Taped in Laredo, Tex.
Report by Justin James, PWTorch contributor

I wonder if Johnny Curtis feels grateful that his Smackdown "run" did not involve the "Funkasaurus" gimmick, or if he is jealous that Brodus Clay won his debut match. But, hey, I got to see Naomi, who was the best wrestler on NXT 3 by a small margin (A.J. caught up pretty close near the end). With any luck, Funkasaurus will pan out since I do like me some Brodus Clay on my screen, even if the gimmick is pretty silly. Hey, maybe he can show up on NXT in one of the frequent homecoming matches, then eat Josh Mathews as a post-match snack.

At this point, I don't even know what to expect for this week's show, other than the possible return of Titus O'Neil. NXT has just been spinning its wheels and the only thing the writers care about is Derrick Bateman, Johnny Curtis, and Maxine, only one of which is an actual participant in the "contest." And, speaking of debuts, where's Bateman's promised Smackdown match?

Rookies

Derrick Bateman
Titus O'Neil
Darren Young

NXT Regulars

Matt Striker
William Regal
Josh Mathews
JTG
Yoshi Tatsu
Tyson Kidd
Trent Barreta
Justin Gabriel
Percy Watson
The Usos
Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks
Tamina
Kaitlyn
A.J.

[Q1] Odd, the intro video is totally different, with no mention of "Rookies" and lots of shots of Alex Riley, Trent Barreta, and other non-Rookie talent. Even A.J. and Maxine made the video, but JTG only had a brief flash.

Matt Striker starts off the show in the ring hyping next week being the 100th episode of NXT. The "homecoming match-up" is going to feature Alicia Fox, who was a Pro on NXT 3. Just as Fox starts to talk about Maxine, she comes out to interrupt.

Maxine says that Fox was useless to her on NXT and says that Fox needs to get out of her ring. Fox says that she was rude and belligerent as a Rookie, and Maxine tells her "tell me something I don't know." So heelish to own that. Striker tried to settle them down, but Maxine tells him, "Shove it, Seacrest." Fox says she's sorry for being rude and asks, "How are you doing, or who are you doing?" Maxine responds that Fox is sticking her nose in her business because Fox is lonely, and that it doesn't matter what goes on in Maxine's personal life because "I always end up on my feet." Fox goes low and says that she though Maxine was more comfortable on her back, and shoves Maxine to the mat. Maxine says that she prefers being on top and takes Maxine down. Pull-apart brawl as Striker gets a ref to the ring and heads to commentary. Tonight's booth is Matt Striker and William Regal; someone at WWE must be paying attention to my opinion because I've been hoping to hear this pairing for a while.

Reax: This was basically a repeat of the last two weeks, except unlike the previous incarnations of this promo, Maxine delivered on the mic, big time. She's absolutely wonderful in this role.

1 - ALICIA FOX vs. MAXINE

Maxine starts strong and sends Fox into a corner. They push each other around and Fox does a split to duck a running Maxine, but Maxine grabs the ropes and puts knees into Fox's back. Fox with a take down, but Maxine puts a boot to her stomach, then a big boot for a pair of one counts. Maxine forces Fox to the corner and puts shoulders to Fox. Meanwhile, he announcers announce that next week is the marriage of Maxine and Johnny Curtis. Maxine does a jump over a charging Fox, and lands on top of Fox to apply a Dragon Sleeper with a leg wrap-around. Fox manages to get out, then Maxine tries to roll up Fox, but Fox rolls through for the pin.

WINNER: Alicia Fox in 4:00. Fox landed a total of three or four strikes in the whole match, as Maxine just dominated her. Maxine is substantially shorter than Fox, yet looked like a total powerhouse and held up her end of the deal very well.

[ c - Royal Rumble ad ]

2 - TRENT BARRETA vs. TYLER REKS (w/Curt Hawkins)

Reks with a boot and punches to start things off, quickly dominating the smaller Barreta. The Regal/Striker pair is proving its value - when Striker sets up the typical "speed versus strength" match formula, Regal (rightly) points out that Reks is very quick and may negate Barreta's speed with his own. Barreta with a dropkick and a back elbow, and goes to the top, but Reks rolls away. Reks consults with Hawkins outside the ring, but Barreta nails a flip dive to take them both out.

Barreta comes into the ring, only to eat a big boot from Reks for two. Reks stomps on Barreta, then DDTs him into the turnbuckle. Reks continues to ground Barreta, but Barreta rolls away from a knee drop. Barreta with chops and a kick, but Reks clotheslines him down for two. Barreta gets boots up on a charge, then tries a corkscrew moonsault leg drop, but Reks moves out of the way. Reks tries the Burning Hammer, but takes too long, and Barreta slips out and gets Reks with a backslide for the win.

[Q2] Post-match, Hawkins jumps Barreta and Reks goes to the booth for some reason, then Tatsu runs in to make the save. He clears Hawkins with a spinning heel kick and knocks Reks out with the roundhouse.

WINNER: Trent Barreta in 6:00. Good match. Regal and Striker are doing an amazing job at elevating the talent and calling the matches properly.

Backstage, Justin Gabriel and Derrick Bateman are discussing what to wear to a club. Bateman says he doesn't care about Maxine. Bateman says he just wishes Maxine didn't think he touched Aksana. Gabriel says that she's upset about the email that Aksana had on Teddy Long's phone. Bateman looks confused. I guess he doesn't watch NXT. Gabriel says that everybody knows about it and summarizes the email. Bateman checks his phone and finds the email that was sent from his phone. Gabriel says that Bateman either left it at the bar or he should change his password from "1234" and wishes him luck. Bateman goes nuts and and screams "Curtis!" and stomps off. Bateman carried that perfectly.

[ c - "WWE Magazine's The Year in Photos" ad ]

Regal says that it is an absolutely travesty for Tyson Kidd to have to be anywhere near JTG. He then says, "JTG, what can I say? If brains were elastic, he wouldn't have enough to make a frog's jock strap."

3 - THE USOS vs. TYSON KIDD & JTG - Tag Team Match

Tyson Kidd and Jimmy start the match, and Kidd immediately slaps on a headlock. Jimmy fights out and slaps Kidd down. Jey tags in and they tag team him for a two count. Kidd with a jawbreaker and tags in JTG, who eats fist, then a Northern Lights suplex with a bridge for two. Jimmy comes back in, then Jey is back. Jey clears Kidd from the apron, but JTG takes advantage. Kidd and JTG tag team on Jey in the corner for a bit while Striker and Regal play up Kidd's kicks.

Jey fights out and lands a spinning back elbow. Double tag out and Jimmy runs over JTG and lands a Samoan drop and the stinkface, but Kidd breaks up the pin. On the floor, Kidd with a suicide dive, but Jey counters with a mid-air Samoan drop. Yikes! Back in the ring, Jimmy charges JTG in the corner and eats an elbow. JTG then takes a superkick to the chin when he tries an axe handle from the top rope, which is good for the win for the Usos.

WINNERS: The Usos in 6:00. Top-flight tag team match - good pacing and they avoided most of the typical tag team formulas, with lots of back and forth.

[ c - WWEShop.com ]

Raw Rebound. All about Kane, mostly with the stalking and attack on Zack Ryder. They forgot to edit out Ryder's head bouncing only a few inches below the edge. Yet, Ryder's YouTube show editors took care of that.

Backstage, Maxine tells Aksana that the loss to Fox was a fluke. Bateman shows up and kicks Aksana out. They tell each other to listen, and Maxine forces him to shut up while she tells him that they are done and she's with Curtis. She tells him to enjoy the 200th show while he's still stuck on NXT and her and Curtis are going to the top. So cruel. She doesn't let him say a word and walks off.

[ c - WWE 12, Royal Rumble ]

[Q3] Uh oh, Striker warns us that Elvis may be at the wedding next week.

4 - ALEX RILEY vs. JOHNNY CURTIS (w/Maxine)

Curtis takes Riley down, but Riley responds with an armdrag. Curtis heads outside the ring to hold on to Maxine and get some encouragement. Curtis takes down Riley on his way into the ring and dominates Riley with power. Riley with an STO to get separation and some moves of his own, but Maxine distracts him for a moment, letting Curtis slip in a brainbuster for the win.

WINNER: Johnny Curtis in 3:00. Fast match, but I liked what I saw. Curtis looked really good and Riley always does.

Derrick Bateman comes out the ramp and says he knows what Curtis did, but he's not sure how he did it. He vowed that next week it will end. Maxine seems to ask for an explanation, but Curtis doesn't offer it.

[ c - "The Best PPV Matches of 2011" DVD, Smackdown hype ]

Darren Young hits the ring in street clothes. He tells the crowd that he's the most dominant individual in NXT and says that he's beat Percy Watson, Derrick Bateman, and Titus O'Neil. He says that O'Neil won't come out to face him, but O'Neil proves him wrong and comes down to the ring. Young runs him down and calls him a loser like the folks in Laredo. O'Neil gets the crowd to bark instead and says that they are winners. O'Neil shows some fire on the mic and says that the show's fallen apart with Striker not caring about "Redemption Points," and he doesn't either at this stage. He says there's no JTG or Percy Watson, it's just them. He challenges Young to deal with it tonight. Young says he's beaten O'Neil plenty of times and tells OO'NeilNeal to take his "powerful demeanor, powerful attitude, and shove it." Huh?

[Q4] Young says the show was better when O'Neil was at home crying to his "stupid kids," and OO'NeilNeal tells him to watch his mouth. Young figures out that it was the comment about the kids that got O'Neil angry and repeats it. O'Neil gets in his face and sells conflict. He tells Young to trash him all day long, but he isn't allowed to talk about about his kids, and gives him one last chance. Young makes another comment about O'Neil's kids and there's a brawl. Striker gets on the house mic and tells the refs to pull them apart and books Titus O'Neil vs. Darren Young in a No DQ match for next week. The brawl keeps going and turns into a hot brawl as the show ends.

Final Reax: Lots of action on the show, but I would have preferred to see one fewer match and allow what was shown to go on longer. Half of the show has no story to it; it's more like they taped what would be dark matches, but they are still good matches. On commentary, Striker and Regal is a great team - they worked very hard to enhance the talent. This week's stand-out star, without a doubt, was Maxine. She carried herself like a pro in every way possible.

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