Reports by Justin James, PWTorch contributor

WWE NXT Results
July 31, 2013
Taped at Full Sail University

[Q1] No pre-credit video this week, which is surprising considering that there was a title change last week. Enzo Amore kicks off the show, with Colin Cassidy. Cassidy's trunks now say "Bada Boom" which corresponds to Amore's promo. Cassidy has a microphone and talks in an accent that sounds a bit fake. He says that one thing they are not... wait for the audience to shout "SAWFT" and repeat. Amore says he sees the main roster as a dance floor, and he is going to dance. Cassidy tries to sing. Tons of Funk comes out to answer the call, with shirts from the new Performance Center.

[J.J.'s Reax - Amore's promo is a good example of how the FSU crowd is a bit "bizarro-land" at times; the crowd was playing along with him doing what would get him heat in any other venue.]

Amore and Cassidy decline to get in the ring, backing up the ramp, until Mason Ryan comes out to chase them into the ring. Tons of Funk wrecks them before the match even starts. Clay and Tensai manage to get Ryan to dance, giving him more personality in 30 seconds than he's shown in the past.

Backstage, Dusty Rhodes praises both Emma and Paige. Summer Rae comes in and knocks the two of them. Rae challenges Paige, but Paige isn't scared. Rae blames Emma, but Emma says she beat Rae fair and square. Rae challenges Emma to a dance contest. Paige looks disgusted by the suggestion. Rhodes says it sounds ridiculous, but books it anyways. Paige loses her temper and says that it doesn't matter who wins the contest, and she's going to beat whoever faces her next.

Tony Dawson clarifies that the dance-off is scheduled for next week.

Charlotte is out for a match. She's facing Sasha Banks.

1 - CHARLOTTE vs. SASHA BANKS

Banks controls Charlotte on the mat, then with some more athletic moves. Banks with a few big arm drags on the much larger Charlotte. Charlotte with some gymnastics and a two count on Charlotte's Web. Charlotte with a chop that gets Banks enraged. Banks back on the attack, then settles into a Camel Clutch. Running double knees in the corner from Banks. Charlotte with a creative dodge in the corner to get traction. Running blockbuster gets Charlotte the win.

WINNER: Charlotte in 4:00. The match lacked flow, and some spots felt rough, but there's some real potential here. Charlotte is very, very agile.

[Q2] Backstage, Renee Young wants a word with Tyler Breeze, who is obsession over himself in his phone. He says he was "amazing" and "magnificent" last week. He settles on "gorgeous" just like himself. Young looks disgusted as Bo Dallas (I think, they are wearing a wig) continues to photobomb the promo. Breeze shuts her down when she wants another question.

[J.J.'s Reax - Bo Dallas's antics in the background, or whoever that was, was completely distracting.]

Wyatt Family vignette.

2 - MICKEY KEEGAN & AIDEN ENGLISH vs. THE WYATT FAMILY (Luke Harper & Erick Rowan w/Bray Wyatt)

Before the bell sounds, Harper and Rowan wreck English and Keegan. For some reason the ref rings the bell mid-brawl, and Rowan picks up a quick win with a running splash.

WINNERS: The Wyatt Family in 0:30. I have no idea why the ref rang the bell in the middle of a pre-match brawl. Is this TNA?

Post-match, Wyatt enters the ring and gives English Sister Abigail. The crowd demands "one more time," but Wyatt has a promo instead. He's taking on the world. The crowd is playing right into this like it is a face promo. Wyatt says that they are saying good-bye to NXT, but if they are needed, they just need to "look into the sky and follow the buzzards." Big "Thank You, Bray" chant.

Backstage, Adrian Neville finds Corey Graves. He says he'll be out there to help Graves with his match against Scott Dawson. Graves says he doesn't need it, but Neville says he's worried about the Wyatt Family. Graves still isn't worried.

Sylvester LeFort interrupts the ring announcement to talk. He says money is all that matters, and he's wearing pants with a bunch of money printed on it. He introduces Scott Dawson. I wonder where Garrett Dylan has been? Apparently, Dylan is the son of Kris Kristofferson. It's like NXT is where the relatives of celebrities go to wrestle (Sasha Banks is related to Snoop Dogg).

3 - COREY GRAVES (w/Adrian Neville) vs. SCOTT DAWSON (w/Sylvester LeFort)

Dawson with early control thanks to his size, and he shows some strength, too. Dawson telegraphs a back body drop, letting Graves hit a chop block and then slap on Lucky 13 for the submission win.

WINNER: Corey Graves in 1:45. Quick match to show Graves as a threat against someone who has been built up a bit.

[Q3] Post-match, The Shield's music hits, and they come out on stage to show off their belts. Rollins reminds Graves of their history. He says that Graves is "almost" like himself and Reigns, but not quite. Ambrose says that Neville is "carrying around a belt, but you're not a champion, you just slid into Kassius Ohno's spot." That's brutal. He says that Neville is a thief, a crook, and that's an injustice that The Shield needs to address. Ambrose challenges Neville to a match. Neville is hot to accept. Neville ups the ante and says it should be right now, and for the United States Championship. Ambrose says he isn't some "NXT chump" and accepts the offer for next week.

[J.J.'s Reax - Ambrose is so good on the mic. The Shield came out to a big pop, but by the end, the crowd really wanted to see Neville show him up. ]

Next week is Neville vs. Ambrose, Summer Rae against Emma in a dance battle, and the "controversial" Bo Dallas against Leo Kruger in an NXT Championship match. Nice to see them recognize Dallas's status.

4 - BO DALLAS & SAMI ZAYN vs. ANTONIO CESARO & LEO KRUGER - Tag Team match

Kruger and Zayn to start. After some even handed struggles, Zayne gains control. Dallas is hot for a tag and does it without Zayn's permission, but takes so long posing on the turnbuckle that Kruger gets loose and tags in Cesaro. Zayn wants to tag in against Cesaro, but Cesaro yanks Dallas away just as Dallas finally decides to make the tag. It's Kruger and Zayn but Zayn gets tricked and gets the worst of Kruger.

[ Commercial Break ]

Zayn is still isolated. Cesaro with a chinlock but Zayn gets into the corner for a break. Zayn with a sunset flip, Kruger blocks, but Zayn forces him down for two, but Kruger drags Zayn back into his corner.

[Q4] Cesaro risks a disqualification with elbows in the corner and Zayn looks woozy. Zayn finally makes it to the corner to tag in Dallas. Dallas takes it to Kruger. Cesaro breaks up a cover so Zayn clears him out. Zayn and Cearo brawl to the back. As soon as they go, Dallas with his belly-to-belly finisher, but Kruger rolls under the ropes. Kruger hides in a corner after being rolled in and gets his wind. Kruger gets knees up in the corner, follows with The Slice and then a cover for the win.

WINNERS: Kruger & Cesaro in 10:30. There was too much talent in this ring for me to feel happy with it being wasted on a WWE-style tag team match.

Final Reax: Ho-hum episode to set up a few new storylines. I like that The Shield's history with Graves from many months ago was not forgotten, and The Shield was excellent in their promo, even Reigns who didn't speak at all. Sad to see the NXT Divas mired in dance contest silyness. Sadly, the release of Audrey Marie leaves Paige with only Summer Rae as a truly heel opponent.

***

WWE NXT Results
August 7, 2013
Taped at Full Sail University

[Q1] The pre-credit video plays up feuds set up last week: Adrian Neville against Dean Ambrose, Summer Rae and Emma in a "dance battle," and the "controversial" Bo Dallas against Leo Kruger for the NXT Championship.

Byron Saxton is in the ring to announce that Tyler Breeze has entered the building. Adrian Neville's music hits to bring out half of the Tag Team champions. The announcers are Tom Philips and Alex Riley, who has been doing a superb job on Superstars.

1 - ADRIAN NEVILLE vs. DEAN AMBROSE - United States Title match

Ambrose and Neville immediately start hot. Neville puts Ambrose in the corer who begs off, but it's a lure. Neville with a head scissors takedown followed by a slick kip up. Neville is outsmarting and out wrestling Ambrose every step of the way. Neville with a big roundhouse that drops Ambrose, but Ambrose rolls away when Neville goes to the top. Neville gets bowled over outside as they head to break.

[ Commercial Break ]

Ambrose has Neville grounded out of the break. Riley points out that a win by Neville not only proves Neville, but NXT. Neville slips away from a suplex and lands a right to get some space. Ambrose plows into the ringpost. Dueling chants for both men as Neville hits a springboard crossbody to begin a rally.

Ambrose gets sent to the outside, and Neville lands a huge dive over the top. Ambrose gets rolled into the ring and Neville wants the Red Arrow, and hits it. Rollins and Reigns appear from nowhere to draw the DQ a split-second before the ref hits three.

WINNER: Adrian Neville in 9:00; Ambrose retained the U.S. Title. If you didn't know that WWE would never change a Raw title at an NXT show, this would have been a really good match. It's just hard to get into a match when the ending isn't in doubt. Where was Corey Graves to protect his partner?

Post-match, Neville takes a beating until Graves and Xavier Woods finally make the save. I smell a Teddy Long special in the near future...

[Q2] Backstage, it's the clash of the stereotypes, as Scott Dawson, Sylvester LeFort, Enzo Amore, and Colin Cassidy converse. Amore has one of those mullets with the shaved sides, lines cut into the shaved sides, and the mullet pulled into the ponytail. When I grew up in N.J. in the '90s, this was the haircut that every guy with an IROC-Z had. Amore mentions that he heard that Dawson is facing Mason Ryan next week, and runs down Ryan. They say Ryan is "sawft" and know that Dawson will walk all over Ryan. LeFort is after the money. The dancing, wigged photobomber is back.

[J.J.'s Reax: NXT has finally found the perfect role for Mason Ryan, playing Hornswoggle to Amore's Chavo. Except Amore is a lot funnier than Chavo ever was, and I can actually believe it when Ryan wins a match against a grown man.]

It's the "dance battle" between Summer Rae and Emma. Funny sign: "Emma, I want your bubbles." Clever. Byron Saxton is doing the MC work. There are four rounds of dancing, and of course, the WWE Universe will choose the winner. This goes about as you'd expect, with Rae doing a good job dancing, and Emma being a klutz. Thankfully, the rounds are short.

In a bizarre turn of events, the crowd does "Yes! Yes! Yes!" to Emma and "No! No! No!" to Rae. Emma has a dance based on pushing a shopping cart and reaching items from the top shelf. Rae gets annoyed, and asks for her "real music" which is Fandango's music, and she Fandangoes. The crowd hums along. Emma cues her own music, and does the Emma dance. Rae gets infuriated. Of course, the crowd goes with Emma as the winner.

Apparently, this was indeed for the #1 contender spot to Paige's title. Post-"match" Rae drops Emma.

Video package on Leo Kruger. The kids made fun of him on his first day of school and he's going to take Dallas's title. And the kids are going to laugh at someone.

Danny Burch is making his debut. He's facing Tyler Breeze, who has his own special camera style for his entrance, making it look like he's a runway model. His Twitter name is "@MmmGorgeous." I'll give it to Breeze, he takes this gimmick to an irritatingly ridiculous extreme. His phone that he carries to the ring is connected to the 'Tron.

1 - DANNY BURCH vs. TYLER BREEZE

Breeze starts strong, takes some selfies, then goes back to the fray. He uses his speed to work around the larger Burch. Breeze puts Burch away with a spinning heel kick.

WINNER: Tyler Breeze in 0:45. Breeze looks to be another example of NXT creating over-the-top, yet effective heel characters. Johnny Curtis/Fandango, Heath Slater, The Wyatt Family, and now Tyler Breeze fit into this bucket.

Post-match, Breeze uses Burch as a pillow to lie on as he takes more pictures.

[Q3] Backstage, Renee Young interviews Bo Dallas. Dallas cuts off her question about him beating Cesaro. Dallas says that Cesaro is a "good kid" with a "really bright future." Dallas blames Zayn for his loss last week and says that Zayn's a kid and inexperienced. Dallas calls himself a "former tag team champion" and waffles when Young points out that the title was handed to him when Oliver Grey was injured. Dallas says he isn't afraid of Kruger, and sings "don't stop Bo-leiving" and leaves.

[J.J's Reax: Dallas is slowly becoming more obviously heeling in his demeanor.]

Video spot announces the expected match between The Shield and Graves, Neville, and Woods for next week.

Tom Phillips says that Emma is not medically cleared to face Paige, and Summer Rae has challenged Paige for the title, and Paige has accepted for next week.

Byron Saxton announces that Tyler Breeze has left the building. A "Yes!" chant erupts.

Leo Kruger comes out to a bit of support from a few males eager to see him hurt Dallas. Dallas comes out to the Cena reaction.

3- BO DALLAS vs. LEO KRUGER - NXT Heavyweight Championship match

Kruger is quick to roll out of the ring to play games with Dallas. Kruger gets a cheap-shot in to control the match. It doesn't last long as Dallas goes on a roll. Nice suplex into a bridge from Dallas. Riley explains Dallas' new arsenal by saying that a title on the line brings out the best in wrestlers. Kruger clotheslines the both of them out of the ring.

[ Commercial Break ]

Kruger is controlling Dallas by the head, but Dallas fights out. Kruger sends Dallas hard into the turnbuckle. The crowd chants "Ta!" to show their support for Kruger. Kruger wants a superplex but it is blocked. Dallas dinally fights him off, then flies off the top with a clothesline. Dallas finally gets some traction, much to the crowd's dismay.

Dallas with the springboard bulldog for a nearfall. Dallas shouts at Kruger in the corner before pounding him into the ground. Kruger is playing a babyface in distress routine. He jumps up and down shouting like a nut and surprises Dallas with a right.

[Q4] Kruger's showing a bloody mouth as the crowd shows strong support for him. The Slice for a nearfall. Kruger slaps on the GC3 and the crowd is begging for a tap out win for Kruger. Dallas fights the hold and reaching the ropes, but he's selling the damage. Kruger mounts Dallas, then decides to go to the top rope. He wants a double knee drop, but Dallas gets knees up, then locks in a nasty hold until Kruger taps.

WINNER: Bo Dallas in 12:00. Kruger has improved a lot in the ring, and Dallas is transitioning his in-ring work to show more heel persona. While the match wasn't superb at a wrestling level, it's a good match to continue the personal development of both Kruger and Dallas. Kruger has managed to turn himself into a sympathetic character, which I never thought possible.

Final Reax: Wrestling-heavy show, weighed down only by the silly "dance battle." Unlike most installments of such events, it was at least entertaining with the lovable Emma involved. But it was still a "dance battle" and for the #1 contender spot for a championship, no less.

[Torch art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]

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