WWE NXT Results
August 22, 2012
Taped at Full Sail University
Report by Justin James, PWTorch contributor

1 - DERRICK BATEMAN vs. ANTONIO CESARO (w/Aksana)

Cesaro with early control, but Bateman turns it around in the corner. Cesaro drops Bateman over the rope hard, then goes on a head butt rampage to regain control. Regal tells Saxton that he'll stay home with the wife if he wants to be interrupted all the time. I'll be keeping that in my back pocket for future use. Bateman rallies, but Cesaro manages to get a rope break. Bateman arm drags him back into the ring. Bateman misses a dropkick, Cesaro is able to capitalize, land the Neutralizer, and win the match.

WINNER: Antonio Cesaro in 4:05. Nice match. Cesaro is a fairly large man who can make others look good, while staying strong himself. Good to see him able to hit the potentially tricky Neutralizer on a larger, heavier person like Derrick Bateman, but he needs a secondary finisher for folks like Big Show.

Video package with WWE Superstars (including John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Christian, and The Miz) talking up how important winning the first NXT Championship will be. There is some Rocky-like music as they show Jinder Mahal and Seth Rollins earning their spots in the final. The match will be next week (though the winner is common knowledge, as even J.R. mentioned it in a recent blog).

2 - TAMINA SNUKA vs. SOFIA CORTEZ

Cortez trash-talks Snuka, drawing some ire. Cortez catches Snuka in the ropes and takes advantage. Cartez with aggressive kicks, and a body scissors. Snuka is able to power up and put Cortez in the corner. Cortez eats a superkick but kicks out at two. Snuka plants Cortez with a body slam and follows with the Superfly Splash for the win.

WINNER: Tamina Snuka in 2:53. I really liked Cortez's potential, as she brings a very different style to the ring. It is a shame that she was released after this was taped.

Post-match, Raquel Diaz ambushes Snuka during her celebration, knocks her out, and uses lipstick to put an "L" on Snuka's forehead.

3 - JAKE CARTER vs. KASSIUS OHNO

Ohno cranks on a headlock early on, and Carter eventually escapes. The crowd is booing Carter, even though Ohno is supposed to be the heel. Ohno takes advantage of a ref break to big-boot Carter. Ohno with a cravat to slow it down. Carter dodges a big boot and lands some offense. Ohno with the "Dreamkiller" discus Shining Elbow for the win.

WINNER: Kassius Ohno on 4:03. I liked Carter's previous look with his tag team much better. Ohno paced this match as if it were a 10-minute affair, with multiple lengthy hold sequences, but it barely cleared four minutes. This is the kind of stuff that Ohno needs to get squared away before he is ready for the main roster; he has technical acumen, but the pacing of his matches consistently does not work well within the WWE match style.

Post-match, Ohno assault Carter some more. Richie Steamboat makes the save.

Summerslam summary video.

Another video package on the NXT championship. Hey look, Ted DiBiase is still around!

4 - TYSON KIDD & JUSTIN GABRIEL vs. MICHAEL MCGILLICUTTY & JOHNNY CURTIS - Tag Team match

Kidd and McGillcutty start off, and Kidd immediately gets cornered. Regal tells us that McGillicutty and Curtis, and Curtis' creepy van, are banned from all Disney parks. Too funny. Kidd gets McGillicutty into the corner and they tag team him a number of times. Saxton says that Richie Steamboat has challenged Kassius Ohno to a fight, and they await Ohno's reply. Curtis distracts Gabriel, letting McGillicutty turn him inside out with a clothesline.

False commercial break, and Gabriel is being abused by Curtis in the corner. Curtis with some innovative, hard-hitting offense. Curtis misses a crazy top rope corkscrew leg drop, prompting a double tag. Kidd unloads on McGillicutty. McGillicutty sends him into the turnbuckle, and McGillicutty holds him for Curtis to land a slingshot leg drop. Gabriel needs to break up the tag. Curtis puts Kidd on the top rope but Kidd blocks a superplex and sends Curtis to the mat. Kidd slips on a top rope move, but recovers and covers it well. Gabriel clears McGillicutty and Kidd holds Curtis for Gabriel to land a top rope blockbuster for the win.

WINNER: Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel in 7:40. Johnny Curtis may have won a record for "most time spent in the air for someone over 210 lbs." Unreal to see a man of his size going to the top rope so many times, and his corkscrew leg drop looked sick. I've seen this pairing before, and it is always good, but Curtis's expanded skill set took it to the next level. Excellent pacing throughout.

Backstage, Briley Pearce interviews Kassius Ohno. Ohno says that he hurts people, and says that he accepts Steamboat's challenge.

In the ring, Byron Saxton says that they are close to wrapping up the Gold Rush Tournament, then introduces Seth Rollins. Rollins comes out in ring gear with his high-energy entrance. Next out in Jinder Mahal. Saxton asks Rollins what the chance to be a champ means to him. Rollins says that he wanted to be a champion in WWE since he was a kid, so this shot means everything to him. He talks about how it is hard for a kid to know what he wants to do, and discovering wrestling gave him a purpose in life. He won't walk out of FSU without being the champion.

Saxton asks Mahal the same question. Mahal responds in Hindi. Then, he says it was a touching story, but he sounds like a born loser like the audience, but he is born into greatness. Rollins's dream will still just be a dream, and Mahal will win it.

Rollins starts to respond, but Mahal sucker-punches him. Rollins takes him down from the mat, and clears Mahal from the ring, then lands a suicide drive and heads back to the ring. The refs intervene as Rollins's music plays.

Final Reax: NXT is starting to re-claim its crown as "most coherent WWE program." They put more focus on an actual championship than Raw or Smackdown has in a long time. They hyped the interview segment all show long, hyped next week's match all night long, and gave both wrestlers a chance to talk about why they want the championship and what it means to them as the main segment. Add on top of that a video package featuring real WWE Superstars (including some heavy hitters like John Cena), and the NXT Championship match already has that "big match feel" where who wins the title actually matters. Great work by Seth Rollins on the mic sealed the deal. The only reason why I am not genuinely intrigued and hooked is because J.R. already mentioned who won in a recent blog.

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