WWE NXT Report
August 8, 2012
Taped at Full Sail University
Report by Justin James, PWTorch contributor

[Q1]

1 - JUSTIN GABRIEL vs. MICHAEL MCGILLICUTTY - Gold Rush Tournament match

Gabriel is able to control early mat wrestling. McGillicutty finally gets control with a kick to the knee, and a "Mr. Perfect" chant breaks out. Gabriel jumps through a suplex and puts together some unique mat moves.

Flase commercial break, and Gabriel is fighting for a break when the action resumes. A bit of a brawl breaks up and the pace picks up. Double crossbody and the action resets. Gabriel's kicks put him on top. Huge springboard crossbody gets Gabriel a nearfall. Gabriel to the top, but McGillicutty rolls out of the way. McGillicutty busts out a Perfect Plex for a nearfall, to the appreciation of the crowd. Gabriel misses a springboard moonsault and McGillicutty follows up with the Turning Heads neckbreaker for the win.

WINNER: Michael McGillicutty in 8:10. Very good match. The initial mat wrestling was really enjoyable, because Gabriel did a good job of humiliating the larger, smug McGillicutty; it was emotionally satisfying to see an underdog babyface pushing around a bully heel like that.

As a result of the match, McGillicutty will face Seth Rollins next week in the tournament.

2 - C.J. PARKER vs. KASSIUS OHNO (former Chris Hero)

Parker with a quick take down, which draws Ohno's ire. They trade wrist locks, but an early pin attempt sends Ohno out of the ring. Parker gets suckered by Ohno, and Ohno traps him in the skirt then lands a slingshot foot stomp to take control. Ohno with hard hitting strikes, but he takes a while to follow up each hit. Standing front flip dive onto Parker. Parker tries a sunset flip but Ohno stays up and Ohno retaliates. Parker catches a big boot and goes on the attack. Parker drops the knee pads but Ohno hits a big boot before he can use the bare knees. Big discus elbow to the back of Parker's head, and Ohno gets the win.

WINNER: Kassius Ohno in 3:30. As a disclaimer here, when Tyson Kidd first debuted in ECW years ago, I did not see the big deal about him, and he is now my favorite in-ring performer in WWE most days of the week. With that said, I am struggling to enjoy Ohno's matches. I think that the weakness is the speed of follow-ups. Ohno is simply too tall and lanky for the "big moves" to feel very high-impact. While I love the innovation behind some of his moves, I believe he needs to follow up relentlessly (like Daniel Bryan) to give the feeling that he will hound his opponents to the end of the earth, instead of dishing out single hits at Kane speed.

[Q2] Briley Pearce interviews Jason Jordan and Mike Dalton from last week after their victory over Hunico and Camacho. They are ecstatic for beating Smackdown stars. They vow to take every opportunity they get.

Bo Dallas against Jinder Mahal is our main event.

Awesome video package for The Ascension. It's a little bit lighter on the vampire/werewolf imagery, while still retaining a very evil feeling.

3 - TAMINA SNUKA & PAIGE vs. KAITLYN & CAYLEE TURNER - Tag Team match

Snuka and Turner to start. Turner slaps Snuka and Snuka thosses her around. Turner tags Kaitlyn in. They chain wrestle a bit. A test of strength ends with Kaitlyn knees Snuka in the breadbasket. Snuka fires up. Paige comes in and the crowd gets behind her. Paige beats Kaitlyn down in the corner then takes her to the mat with an arm drag. Kaitlyn finally gets the upper hand with her strength and gets Turner in. Turner somehow controls the more powerful Snuka. Samoan Drop let's Snuka get a break. Snuka tags out and Paige batters Turner. Paige picks Turner up like a sack of grain and hits a fallaway slam, but Kaitlyn breaks up a tag. Snuka tries to deal with Kaitlyn, which lets Paige surprise Turner with an inside cradle for the win.

WINNERS: Tamina Snuka & Paige in 6:30. Snuka and Kaitlyn seemed a bit off. In no small part, the problem is that Kaitlyn has not been properly re-packaged as a heel. Paige was the real stand-out her; how many Divas can land a fallaway slam, let alone one about the size of Nikki Bella? I feel like she's studied a lot of Randy Orton's tapes and has done a great job making herself into a very unique performer for the Divas division. She has a lot of support from the crowd, too. Keep an eye on Paige.

Backstage, Bo Dallas is warming up. Derrick Bateman gives him a pep talk and says he supports Dallas and to not worry about costing them the tag match not too long ago. Bateman may be being disingenuous.

4 - BO DALLAS vs. JINDER MAHAL - Gold Rush Tournament match

There's an extended lock-up, which Mahal eventually gets the better of. They reset and Dallas controls Mahal with mat work. Dallas surprises Mahal with speed and agility. Neat counter of a big boot into a schoolboy by Dallas for two. Mahal takes a break on the outside of the ring.

False commercial break and Mahal is beating on Dallas. Dallas finally turns things around and goes on basic offense with a bit of a twist. Mahal grabs the ropes to fend off Dallas and Mahal comes up with an inverted slam for a nearfall. Dallas dodges and corner charge and lands a bulldog bouncing off the ropes for a nearfall. Mahal beaks for mercy but it is a ruse. Dallas sidesteps a running knee from Mahal, but Mahal counters a suplex. Mahal gets the Camel Clutch applied and the ref calls for the bell.

WINNER: Jinder Mahal via submission in 8:30. Mahal is finally changing up his match formula. Dallas was in his first match with significant amounts of offense; while he mostly stuck to the basics, he changed them up in a way that made them feel very unique. For example, he twists his body around a lot to avoid his opponents and counter attack. I think that Dallas has long-term potential if properly mentored.

Final Reax: Paige was the real draw for tonight, I think, and the Gabriel-McGillicutty match is worth viewing for sure. I look forward to seeing Seth Rollins against McGillicutty next week. The Gold Rush Tournament format is excellent and WWE should mainstream it a bit, since it feels much more like a legit sport than the current ways of determining the #1 contender. I hope to see more of Kassius Ohno with some tweaks to his in-ring style to make the matches flow a bit better, too.

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