WWE NXT Report
April 4, 2012
Taped 4/3 in Orlando, Fla.
Report by Justin James, PWTorch contributor

Opening Thoughts: Believe it or not, this has been a busy week in the world of NXT. As expected, after last week's short but good match between Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel on Superstars, they officially teamed up (in a WWE.com video package). Then, they fought in a triple threat match (along with The Usos) for the WWE Tag Titles in the WrestleMania dark match (Epico and Primo retained). But, it turns out, Gabriel was hurt in the match and will be out for six weeks. Clearly, the "NXT Curse" (being on NXT gets you released) now has a variant: the "Tyson Kidd tag partner curse." First Trent Barreta, now Justin Gabriel. Clearly, having a good match with Kidd where he decides to partner with you afterwards leads to injury.

Also, NXT alum Brodus Clay got an insanely visible spot at Mania, leading an army of Tyler Perry imitators in a dance, and then more shine making the save for Santino on Raw. Also, Derrick Bateman and Maxine seem to have been extremely fan-friendly at Axxess. I'm seeing a lot of pictures of them with fans cropping up on Facebook and Twitter; Maxine is somehow staying in character in them and Bateman looks genuinely happy to be there and be with the fans. On Twitter, William Regal and Tyler Reks had a war with Regal being the decisive winner; that is one tiger's tail I would never pull. Finally, William Regal has been announced as an in-ring talent for the upcoming European show.

For this week's NXT, I am hoping to see the Kidd-McGillicutty rubber match, WWE has promised a reveal on who kidnapped Matt Striker (my guess is Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins, but who knows?), and Regal should be continuing his feud with Hawkins and Reks. Hopefully, Darren Young's shades of gray will be further developed as he resolves the conflict of his love for Tamina Snuka and his partnership with Titus O'Neil. I keep hoping for A.J. to show up on NXT and flesh out her side of the Daniel Bryan situation, especially with "best friend" Kaitlyn playing such a prominent role on NXT. And, with any luck, there will be a combination of Kaitlyn, Snuka, or Maxine in the ring.

***

[Q1] Josh Mathews describes NXT as, "the most drama-filled hour of the week" and he's right, at least in the WWE Universe. Percy Watson hits the ramp with an intro from Tony Chimel for a match. He will be facing Tyler Reks. Assuming Maxine keeps her hands off Regal, this could be a good match.

1 - PERCY WATSON vs. TYLER REKS (w/Curt Hawkins)

Reks with trash talk to start - "You're still a Rookie in my eyes!" Not exactly Mark Henry quality. Watson lands an early arm drag, then Reks comes back with a waist ock, but Watson escapes, cinches a waistlock of his own, and then put Reks down with a belly-to-back. I thought I was seeing Jack Swagger in the ring for a moment. Reks gets out and puts Watson in an armbar, but Watson turns it around. Watson with the scissors kick and a butterfly suplex and Reks heads to ringside for a breather. Reks suckers Watson in, though, to gain control.

Reks demonstrates his power and continues to work Watson's left arm. Regal cuts Reks pretty badly, comparing his career to Sheamus's, and points out that while they both debuted on the same night on ECW, Sheamus is a three-time Heavyweight champion and Reks is still stuck on NXT. He suggests that he needs to look in the mirror and make a change. With Regal, I sometimes wonder how much of his commentary is coming from the script or headsets, how much is improv, and how much of it is legitimate.

Watson turns it around with a boot in the corner, then a high-flying, rapid-fire comeback with dropkicks and shoulder tackles. Watson hits the Highsman, but misses a corner charge. Reks looks for a back body drop, but in mid-air, Watson hooks Reks's back, slides down, and lands a schoolboy for the pin.

WINNER: Watson in 6:00. Watson changed his formula a bit tonight and kept it fresh. He incorporated some amateur style wrestling, for one thing. I almost suspect he's been working with Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, or William Regal based on some of his moves. The mid-air schoolboy was unique and innovative. I want to see Percy Watson in the Money in the Bank match quite badly.

Post-match, Reks and Hawkins look to give Watson a beat down, but Regal interrupts on the house mic. He offers them a six-week suspension if they touch Watson or anyone else. Hawkins and Reks then leave the ring. Since when do WWE authority figures preemptively threaten disciplinary actions for things like post-match attacks? Stop, this makes way too much sense!

Backstage, Natalya is upset with an assistant for not having part of her outfit ready. Michael McGillicutty comes in an tells her that if he beats Derrick Bateman tonight, he earns a re-match against Tyson Kidd. He gives a corny sob story about not wanting to let his family down since he is a third-generation wrestler. Natalya calls him out on playing a game. She also gets mad at him for dragging the Harts into it.

[ c - WrestleMania montage ]

[Q2] Natalya is in the ring and Tyson Kidd is on commentary putting forth his friendliest face. Kaitlyn comes out as Natalya's opponent. Maybe Natalya can finally break her losing streak.

2 - KAITLYN vs. NATALYA

Natalya offers a hand slap and acts perky. Natalya with an innovative roll-through using her legs to hold Kaitlyn down and a bridge for extra leverage, getting a two count. Natalya offers another handslap. Kaitlyn with a headlock into a takedown. Kaitlyn with her power for a cover, and Natalya with a head scissors but Kaitlyn escapes. Kaitlyn with a schoolgirl for two, then a wristlock.

Kaitlyn with punches and Natalya fires out, but a hair pull sends her to the mat. No kidding, I just saw two full minutes of chain wrestling in a WWE Divas match. Natalya gets aggressive, and is bleeding a bit from the lower bicep. How often do you see blood in a Divas match? Natalya with an abdominal stretch and Kaitlyn is wearing Natalya's blood on her chin. Kaitlyn slips out of a powerslam attempt and nails a cross-body for two. Kaitlyn with a bridge cover of her own for two. Natalya bridges out of the cover, and they struggle for control before Natalya sends Kaitlyn to the mat. She looks for the Sharpshooter, locks it in, and Kaitlyn taps out in an instant.

WINNER: Natalya in 3:30. Fun match that smashed a lot of the limitations typical for Divas matches. Chain wrestling, blood, and a win for Natalya? More, please.

Backstage, Darren Young tells Titus O'Neil that he doesn't need O'Neil's help, likely his approach to Tamina Snuka. Snuka and Alicia Fox are walking down the hall, and O'Neil shoves Young in their path. He says that he knows they were busy and holds her hand. She says that they've been busy with Axxess and WrestleMania. Young says, "No, you've been busy going through my mind all, day, long." Snuka gives the "throwing up inside my mouth" look, tries not to laugh, and runs away. He tells them that he has reservations at McDonalds. O'Neil comes out from around the corner and mocks him, and Young is angry at him for not giving him support.

[ c - WrestleMania 29 ad ]

3 - THE USOS (w/Tamina Snuka) vs. TITUS O'NEIL & DARREN YOUNG

Jimmy and Young start off, and Young quickly starts to control. Jimmy knocks Young down and brings in Jey. Young tags to O'Neil, who delivers a big boot to send Jey flying. O'Neil and Young isolate Jey in the corner. Big powerslam from Jey and there's a double tag out. Jimmy rocks O'Neil with offense. Young makes the save on a pin attempt, but Jey tosses him out. This gives O'Neil a chance to gain control. Young is lolly-gagging on the outside, staring at Tamina, so O'Neil tells him to get his head right. That gives Jimmy a chance for a Samoan Drop and he tags in Jey, who gets the Superfly Splash for the win.

WINNERS: The Usos in 4:30. Okay match, though way too short for a tag match. Both Young and O'Neil need to work on putting up entertaining, sustained offense.

Post-match, Darren Young looks conflicted, and Titus O'Neil gets in his face.

[ c - WrestleMania montage ]

[Q3]

Raw Rebound. Excellent package, looking at the meaning of John Cena's WrestleMania loss and Brock Lesnar's return.

Backstage, Kaitlyn is being consoled on her loss by Derrick Bateman and Percy Watson. She is concerned that they might not think she is awesome anymore. Bateman tries to pep them up, even though Alex Riley was crushed on Monday. He says that they are there to put smiles on people's faces, then Maxine walks by on the phone. She's yelling at someone, then yells at the group. Bateman asks for a moment with Maxine. He asks her what her problem is, and points out that she is stress eating and "looks like an eclair." She throws the junk food in her hand over her should and denies it. Johnny Curtis comes out to make the save. He takes her to the side and says that he got a phone call from the kidnappers, the need to meet now. They start to leave and Bateman says, "It's getting weird!" Curtis shouts, "That's my line!" and Bateman comes back with, "That's my fiancee!" Too good.

Tyson Kidd comes out to talk to Bateman, who says that he understands if Kidd wants him to throw the match so they can have a re-match. Kidd says no way, and tells Bateman to do his best tonight. They shake hands. Uh oh, if they pair up in the future, Bateman will take an injury.

[ c - "Bending the Rules" DVD ad ]

In the basement, Johnny Curtis and Maxine are waiting for the kidnappers. Curtis suddenly remembers that he once took a fan down to that basement and "things got real weird." Curtis gets jumped by Hawkins and Reks. Reks puts him down with a sleeper hold, but Maxine keeps cool. They threaten to frame Johnny Curtis if Maxine doesn't use her charms to get William Regal to leave them alone. Reks points out that Maxine and Curtis are "filthy" anyways so they should have no issue doing it. Reks and Hawkins leave. Curtis says that they won't be outdone by "a couple of homeless looking guys" and vows that next week something will happen. Maxine concurs that they don't need to give in.

4 - DERRICK BATEMAN vs. MICHAEL MCGILLICUTTY

McGillicutty comes out of the bell like a man on a mission, but Bateman goes on the offensive. McGillicutty turns it into a street brawl. Bateman clears McGillicutty from the ring, then Bateman with a dropkick off the apron.

[ c - ad for the WrestleMania 29 contest ]

McGillicutty is fighting a hold out of the break. Vicious neckbreaker onto the rope and off the apron from McGillicutty, who goes into a hard offense mode, and the ref has to pull McGillicutty off Bateman in the corner. According to Regal, getting disqualified means you don't get paid for the night. That's a new one. I think Bateman's been going to the Dolph Ziggler School of Bumping. McGillicutty rolls around the mat with Bateman locked in a tight side chinlock.

[Q4] Bateman gets some traction and lands a side Russian legsweep into the turnbuckle. Both men are down and get up on the six count. Bateman kicks McGillicutty's legs out a few times, then a huge STO. Bateman looks insane as he beats the stuffing out of McGillicutty. Running neckbreaker from Bateman gets a close nearfall. Bateman involves the crowd and lands a big clothesline in the corner. Bateman looks to head up top, but McGillicutty ducks the top rope crossbody, and McGillicutty cockily looks for the Sharpshooter. Bateman counters with an inside cradle for one, and they separate. McGillicutty kicks Bateman's leg and nails the Turning Heads neckbreaker for the win.

WINNER: Michael McGillicutty in 9:00. This is easily Derrick Bateman's best work on display, and Michael McGillicutty's best match ever except his matches with Tyson Kidd in the last few weeks. I absolutely loved how McGillicutty made it a brawl to suit his "looking for revenge" story, and Bateman clearly wanted to hurt McGillicutty to soften him up for Kidd if he couldn't actually win. They worked stiff and it made this match feel extremely physical, as well it should.

Final Reax: Good show. The continuation of the various stories is moving well, they packed a ton of action into a show that would be an hour on TV, and Johnny Curtis and Maxine are hilarious. William Regal is the only WWE authority figure I've ever seen that makes sense and logic in how he handles the show. The last match was very, very good, and if you asked me six months ago if I thought those two would put on a match like that, I would not have thought so. I am looking forwards to Part Three of Kidd-McGillicutty.

[Torch art credit Neal Obermeyer (c) PWTorch.com]

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