WWE NXT Results
October 23, 2013
Taped at Full Sail University
Report by Justin James, PWTorch contributor

[Q1] The opening video package focused on the failure of Corey Graves and Adrian Neville to regain the NXT Tag Titles, and Graves's subsequent heel turn. Graves looks psychotic at the end.

Graves is out in a suit and coiffed hair. He says that folks probably want to know why he did what he did, but Neville nails him from behind and kicks him to the ring. It's a real brawl as the refs pour out to break it up. Excellent follow-up on this feud. Who doesn't want to see two of the best in-ring talents on the roster in an extended, multi-month beef like Regal and Ohno earlier in the year?

Post-credits, Tom Philips welcomes Tensai to the commentary position. Huh? Emma dances to the ring. She's facing Sasha Banks, who has a giant "Boss" necklace a la Vickie Guerrero's "Cougar" necklace. The announcers remind us that Emma is owed a title match, but she wants to get Summer Rae out of the picture first. That logic actually makes sense.

1 - EMMA vs. SASHA BANKS (w/Summer Rae)

Banks mocks Emma's dancing, then pushes her, but takes a Thesz Press in return. The crowd is hot for Emma as usual. A knee to the middle lets Banks go on the attack while trash talking.

[ Commercial Break ]

Out of the break, they have a Susan G. Komen spot with the recently debuted Mojo Rawley. It is really different from most of the others that I have seen, in terms of his ability to smile and focus on the positive.

Banks with a leg scissors and a chinlock in the middle of the mat as Riley and Tensai make fun, friendly jokes with each other. They manage to portray Fandango as possibly a victim of Summer Rae's manipulations. Emma is still finally able to get out of the hold only to be put right back down for a two count. Banks insults Emma, but Emma slaps her which sets Banks off. Tensai tells us that Banks was trained by Lance Storm. Emma fires up while selling the left arm.

The Dil-emma in the ropes, followed by the low crossbody for a nearfall. Emma catapults Banks to the middle of the ring, rolls through, and sets up the Emmalock. Summer Rae gets on the apron so Emma lets go of the hold to clock her, and Paige comes out to finish that job. It doesn't matter, Banks slips in an inside cradle for the win.

WINNER: Sasha Banks in 10:15. Was that the longest Divas match in quite a few years? I think so. Nothing really stood out here, Banks had a bit too much time using rest holds, and no one has really trained the Divas to put on a match longer than five minutes.

Post-match, as Banks gloats, Paige slips into the ring to clobber Banks, but she ducks and Emma nearly loses her head. Paige is upset that she hurt the wrong person. She tries to apologize, but Emma pushes her away, and Paige is furious at the rebuff.

[Q2] "Last week," the cameras caught up with Bo Dallas in the hallway after his "controversial" win over Sami Zayn. Dallas denies the controversy, and announces that he's going to take a vacation, as he will be touring the world. There will be a stop in "Bolivia" to deliver squirt guns to hungry kids. He then tries to speak Japanese. "Don't stop Bo-lieving."

Scott Stanford announces Graves vs. Neville for tonight. That's a bit of a rush.

Casey Maron and Tommy Taylor are already in the ring to some generic music. They look like local jobbers. They are facing The Ascension, who are actually getting a smidge of heat, maybe someone passed out some free beers in exchange for putting Astroturfed heat on them.

2 - NXT tag champions THE ASCENSION (CONOR O'BRIAN & RICK VICTOR) vs. CASEY MARON & TOMMY TAYLOR - non-title tag match

There's a "Let's go these guys" chant to show disdain for the match. Maron immediately gets taken advantage of while Philips points out O'Brian's recent weight loss. Maron takes the Fall of Man mid-ring, and Taylor never entered the match.

WINNERS: The Ascension in 3:00. Another basic enhancement match for the Tag champions to reinforce their moveset for the audience. They are the only champions since NXT moved to Full Sail who need to have non-title matches to get themselves over; every other champion has has very limited non-title exposure to keep a match with them feeling special and reinforce the benefits of being a champion.

"Last week," the roving cameraman finds Sami Zayn to ask about the false finish. Zayn praises JBL restarting the match when Dallas had his hand on the ropes, but expresses disappointment that the match wasn't restarted when he was knocked out by the turnbuckle. He says he empathizes with Daniel Bryan, and says that Triple H runs NXT. He says it isn't a conspiracy, but a shocking coincidence, and vows to make sure he doesn't lose the belt the next time he gets his hands on it.

[J.J's Reax: That was a perfectly-tuned promo from Zayn to show frustration that he isn't the champion after all he went through, anger at the perception of unfairness, and fire in his belly to get the title still. All while coming off as a decent person without a skewed understanding of reality. ]

Backstage, Renee Young has JBL for an interview. She tries to bring up what Zayn just said, but he cuts her off to question her choice of clothing. She tries to question him again, but JBL says that Zayn is being self-centered and blaming everyone else for losing the match. He says that the Wrestling God's Era will not be marked by controversy, he cannot be bought, and Triple H is an executive of a publicly traded company and is fair and dos what is BFB. He says that they take accusations and baseless accusations seriously. He also says that Zayn won't be back on NXT for a while, until they decide he can come back, and he should consider calling the NXT office and apologizing. He also suggests that Young may want to find a different shirt to wear.

C,J. Parker dances down the stage to light boos to face Alexander Rusev. He has Tyler Breeze's phone. Luckily for Breeze, there are no action figures of him to be stolen. I suppose we will see a "phone on a pole match" for a Tyson Kidd vs. Yoshi Tatsu NXT flashback.

Rusev has a leather wrapped something or other than he seems to pray to.

3 - C.J. PARKER vs. ALEXANDER RUSEV

Rusev just wrecks Parker out of the break. The crowd is begging for him to put the hurt onto Parker. Just as Rusev preps to plow Parker, a mysterious blonde woman shows up. Rusev puts Parker in The Accolade (Camel Clutch) for a quick tap-out victory.

WINNER: Alexander Rusev in 1:15. OKay, let's get this right. Rusev has been built into a heel, and part of a tag team, by facing crowd favorite Enzo Amore. Parker has been floundering as a face because he's been put against crowd favorite Tyler Breeze, and because his character is lame and he doesn't show anything special. So what happens? They put Rusev in a singles match against Parker, whom he squashes in just over a minute, and Parker doesn't get a single punch in, while the pre-match set up more Parker-Breeze feuding, and Rusev gets cheered for it. I know it's tough to book sometimes for the FSU crowd, but that was predictable.

The blonde woman walks around the ring, but Rusev doesn't seem to even notice her until she is all the way up the ramp. Don't know how he missed a tall blonde woman in heels and a bright red dress. Do The Legionnaires really need another moving part?

[Q3] During the break, Breeze came out to get his phone back, kicks out Parker, and cut off a dreadlock. Hilariously, Breeze is wearing rubber gloves to not soil his hands.

Corey Graves strolls out for his match with Adrian Neville, but he's still getting a pop from some folks.

Scott Stanford announces Breeze against Parker next week, as well as Paige against Summer Rae in a non-title match.

4 - ADRIAN NEVILLE vs. COREY GRAVES

The bell isn't even on the third ring and they are flying across the ring at each other. Neville drops Graves with a dropkick and holds nothing back. Neville dives over the top rope, manages to land on his feet, and run up the ramp. Graves begs off but Neville shows no mercy. A pair of kicks to the kneeling Graves, but Graves catches the third and smoothly transitions into a leg drag. Graves stomps by the ropes, but Neville is able to throw him down to the mat.

Graves fights out of the corner, wraps Neville's knee in the ropes, then jumps on it. Neville tries to fight back from the mat but Graves won't have it. The crowd is finally turning against Graves as he continues to work the knee. Graves looks like he will rip Neville's leg off and the crowd rallies Neville out.

Neville hits the ropes with offense to start a comeback. He gets Graves to the mat, but the bad leg slows him down on the ropes, so he has to jump over Graves. He lands badly and he has a massive rip in his trunks. Graves hits the chop block, and locks in Lucky 13 mid-ring. Graves is bleeding from the mouth as Neville taps.

WINNER: Corey Graves in 7:30. This match was a mistake. This should have had weeks of build-up, and they fought a bit too slowly to sell it as a major feud. That said, the right man won. Neville's moveset will always keep him over, and Graves needed a strong win to establish himself as a heel.

Post-match, Graves locks in Lucky 13 on the mat and the refs need to peel him off.

Final Reax: There's a ton of long-term potential in NXT right now, and the storylines are moving. But where are they going? It's hard to say, but that is part of the enjoyment.

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