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WWE NXT Results
March 6, 2013
Taped at Full Sail University
Report by Justin James, PWTorch contributor
[Q1] No credits or video package to start; Dusty Rhodes’s music is playing to bring him out. Dusty books Bo Dallas, Corey Graves, and Conor O’Brian for a triple threat match for the #1 contender spot, like last week. Also, because of The Shield’s interference last week, he’s hired security out of his own pocket. Graves got the biggest pop out of that group, with a mixed reaction for Dallas and indifference to O’Brian. I think the only way Graves could get truly booed at FSU is to beat up Paige or William Regal.
Adrian Neville comes out for a tag team match, but Oliver Grey isn’t there. Neville says that Grey has disappeared, then offers to do the match as a handicap match anyways.
1 – NXT tag champion ADRIAN NEVILLE vs. SCOTT DAWSON & JUDAS DEVLIN – Handicap match
Neville does a variety of flips to get out of a wristlock. Backflips and an armdrag, then Neville gets put into the corner. Tony Dawson is getting ripped apart by William Regal in the booth, again. Devlin is wearing a black and red version of Zack Ryder’s old half-tights, half-trunks.
The Wyatt Family hits the ramp, dragging Oliver Grey’s unconscious body with them. He looks pretty beat up, with a black eye and blood trickling from his mouth. The Wyatt Family then walks off. Back in the ring, Neville avoids losing to a surprise schoolboy on the distraction. Neville tries to run out of the ring to get to Grey but Dawson rolls him back in. Neville fights off a superplex and clears Devlin, and hits the corkcrew shooting star press for the win.
WINNER: Adrian Neville in 3:15. Good way to put Neville over strong, winning a handicap match despite trying to escape to help his partner, and to continue the issues with the Wyatt Family.
Post-match, Neville immediately checks on Grey and gets help.
Backstage, Renee Young in interviewing Kassius Ohno. She wants to know why he’s staring at Regal’s WWE.com profile. He reminds her that he’s been gone, with an infection in his subconsciousness. He is obsessed with William Regal, and he’s tired of Regal backseat-driving his career. He brings up that Richie Steamboat is on the shelf because of Ohno. Next week, Ohno is going to face Derrick Bateman and destroy him, and it will be Regal’s fault, and hopefully Regal will get the message.
[ JJ Reax: Kassius Ohno’s only real competition on the promo front right now is Bray Wyatt. ]
Conor O’Brian is in some backstage area with smoke and blue mood lighting. He tells Graves and Dallas that they got lucky because of The Shield, and vows to become the number one contender and then beat Big E. Langston for his title. He calls Graves a “hero,” which is a bit counter to Graves’s presentation as a heel.
Backstage, Corey Graves counters O’Brian’s speech, then reminds the audience that he was about to beat O’Brian last week before The Shield interrupted. He says that O’Brian and Dallas got lucky, and that he never had a beef with O’Brian until O’Brian jumped the line for a #1 contender spot. He says that The Shield got to Dallas before he could but that’s a good thing because he would have embarrassed Dallas. He acknowledges Dallas’s recent success, but says he’ll win anyways. Unlike The Shield, when Graves puts them down, they will stay down.
[ JJ Reax: Corey Graves is constantly treading a very fine line with his character. He has a horrible attitude and has ambushed a few people, so he’s heel, right? But he is just about the smallest person on the roster, and shows a ton of heart and determination. So he’s face, right? ]
Cut to the booth, and Dawson hypes the number one contender match. Regal looks distracted. Dawson asks for his thoughts and Regal says that it would be best to not share them.
[Q2] Yoshi Tatsu’s music hits to pep the crowd up a bit. He is facing Leo Kruger, who has switched from Khaki to green pants, to feel less safari and more military.
2 – YOSHI TATSU vs. LEO KRUGER
Tatsu immediately takes control. Kruger begs off in the corner and then sucker punches Tatsu. Kruger with a couple of new moves. Tatsu can’t get out of a number of holds. Big lariat and Kruger locks on a kind of armbar for a submission win.
WINNER: Leo Kruger in 3:00. Kruger keeps developing and tweaking his in-ring style and persona. While he often has deserved criticism for his in-ring work, I respect his willingness to improve, and there are definitely some results.
Post-match, Kruger re-applies the hold, but Justin Gabriel makes the save.
Six-Divas tag team match is up. What, is this an episode of Raw? Sasha Banks, Cameron, and Naomi are facing Alicia Fox, Aksana, and Audrey Marie.
3 – SASHA BANKS & CAMERON & NAOMI vs. ALICIA FOX & AKSANA & AUDREY MARIE – six-DIvas tag match
Fox and Banks start. Banks demands Marie, but Fox does not oblige. Banks shows up Fox, so Aksana takes a tag. Aksana with some control. Cameron with a cross-body, but she can’t tag out. Fox back in. Audrey Marie controls Cameron with her legs. Cameron slips out of a bodyslam, but she can’t get to her corner. Cameron finally brings in Naomi. Naomi shows why she was an early favorite to win NXT 3. Aksana has to break up a tag. Big dropkick for the win.
WINNERS: Sasha & Cameron & Naomi in 4:30. Naomi was only in there for about a minute, but she stole the show here. Cameron also showed some nice moves. I hope to see a match between Naomi and Paige in the future. Unfortunately, this match did nothing to continue the feud between Audrey Marie and Sasha Banks.
[Q3] Backstage, Tom Phillips is interviewing Bo Dallas. Dallas is still excited about the events around January, and promises to not let this opportunity go by. Bray Wyatt interrupts. He says that he would have had protection last week if he had joined The Family. He tells Wyatt to stay away, and walks off. It will be interesting to see if they bring up their real-life relationship.
Alberto Del Rio is advertised for next week.
Backstage, Renee Young interviews Summer Rae. She is annoyed at having to remind Young that she is “The First Diva of NXT.” Young can’t believe her. Rae says that Paige is gone because of her. Quote: “The only reason Paige got attention from those lonely losers in the arena is because she is merely ‘attainable’ and clearly I’m not.” Ouch. She promises to treat Young like she did Paige if Young doesn’t get her title right. She announces that she is facing Emma next week.
[ JJ Reax: There are certain aspects of her delivery and character that need tweaking, but Summer Rae has a lot going for her. She was able to cut down Paige and run down the audience in one sentence without feeling like she was going for cheap heat. ]
Handheld video from The Shield informs the audience that they can rest easy because The Shield is protecting NXT. They explain that one injustice is Corey Graves’s whining, but the real injustice is Conor O’Brian thinking he deserves a title opportunity. “Bo don’t know a lot” in a 1980s reference. Rollins finally brings up his lack of a re-match, and says that even though they have been busy, he will return for the title.
Corey Graves is out first for the main event. Women are shrieking hysterically. Next is Conor O’Brian to near silence. Bo Dallas has new music. He looks very game.
4 – BO DALLAS vs. COREY GRAVES vs. CONOR O’BRIAN – Triple Threat #1 contender match to NXT Title
Graves and O’Brian want to corner Dallas, but Dallas fights out until they team up to take him down. Graves wants to do things by himself so he shoves O’Brian. He then tries to hit O’Brian, so they start to go at it. True three way action. Dallas sends O’Brian to the outside and eats a high knee from Graves.
[ Commercial Break ]
Dallas dumps Graves from the ring right out of the break. O’Brian comes to life and plows Dallas on the outside. O’Brian with a second-rope European Uppercut to Graves. O’Brian with offense on Graves and Dallas to control the ring. Graves gets a boot up in the corner to let him and Dallas take on O’Brian. The alliance is short-lived, with Graves taking a cheap shot on Dallas.
[Q4] Dallas takes Ten Punches on O’Brian insted of following up a suplex to Graves. Dallas wants Ten Punches on Graves, but Bray Wyatt appears on the ramp to distract Dallas.
[ Commercial Break ]
Back from break, Graves is taking it to O’Brian in the corner and has Dallas on the mat. Half Boston Crab on Dallas but O’Brien breaks it up. O’Brian takes a beating in return. Dallas shows some life, but gets crotched on a turnbuckle. Graves goes in for a superplex, but O’Brien slips under and nabs him into an Electric Chair position. O’Brian manages a sort of sit-out front suplex from that position to put Graves down hard. Dallas with a missile dropkick to O’Brian for a nearfall.
Wyatt is slowly coming to the ring now. Dudebuster DDT from Dallas, but O’Brian breaks up the pin. The little kids in the audience are willing Graves to life. Graves locks in the 13th step, but O’Brian slips in to prevent a tap out. O’Brian with a hold of his own, but Dallas breaks it up.
Dallas takes too much time staring at Wyatt, letting Graves escape a suplex. Wyatt yanks Graves out of a pin. I guess Rhodes’s “extra security” only cares about the doors? Dallas yells at Wyatt, letting O’Brian sneak in his Full Nelson slam for the win. Well, I guess that’s better than winning with a leg drop?
WINNER: Conor O’Brian in 13:30. Well-done interpretation of a triple threat match that avoided the typical WWE formula for these. There was very little time with one person lifeless on the outside, and all three showed off their in-ring characters to tell a story.
Final Reax: NXT has got to find something useful to do with Graves if he is going to be out of the title picture… Nice to see follow-up on each of the Diva feuds… I feel like we’re headed towards a six-man tag match of Oliver Grey, Adrian Neville, and Bo Dallas against The Wyatt Family, and it feels totally organic… Ohno – Regal is coming in one form or another, and it will have some good promos and mat work… NXT continues to enhance the NXT title by limiting Big E. Langston’s time and not have non-title matches.
NOW CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS 5 YRS AGO FLASHBACK: 5 YRS AGO – WWE Smackdown Report (3-8-13): Team Hell No vs. Drew & Slater, plus Ryback, Sandow, Big Show, Fandango, Del Rio, Ziggler
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