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The following report was originally published on PWTorch.com five years ago this week…
WWE NXT Results
July 17, 2013
Taped at Full Sail University
Report by Justin James, PWTorch contributor
[Q1] No pre-credits video tonight this week, which is a surprise given the big triple threat for the #1 contender to the NXT Heavyweight Title match, and maybe the conclusion of the Women’s Title tournament.
Leo Kruger is out first for the triple threat match. That means either a screwy finish or the Divas are going on last. Next is Antonio Cesaro. Finally, out comes Sami Zayn.
1 – SAMI ZAYN vs. LEO KRUGER vs. ANTONIO CESARO – Triple Threat match – #1 Contender match for the NXT Heavyweight Championship
Cesaro immediately goes after Zayn and shoves off Kruger, who tries to get involved. Zayn retaliates and keeps Kruger away, too. Cesaro pays enough attention to Zayn to allow Kruger to assert himself. Cesaro sells getting dumped over the rope for an eternity as Kruger picks Zayn apart. Zayn whips Kruger tot he ropes, where Cesaro pops up from ringside and snatches Kruger from the ring. Zayn goes through the ropes to take them both out.
[ Commercial Break ]
Kruger is nowhere in sight as Zayn and Cesaro go at it. Cesaro reverses a top rope cross-body with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Kruger and Cesaro face off, and Cesaro gets a “we the people” chant. Cesaro rocks Kruger. Uppercut to Kruger and Zayn schoolboys Kruger as it staggers.
Kruger wants a belly-to-belly suplex in the corner to Zayn, but Cesaro runs behind Kruger and hits a belly-to-belly of his own to Kruger – a wicked spot that sends Zayn across the ring and Kruger to the middle. Cesaro dumps Kruger ringside and locks in the chinlock on Zayn. Cesaro wants the Neutralizer, but Kruger hits the Slice clothesline and covers Zayn for two.
Zayn fights out of a Kruger hold and hits a double DDT, drawing a ten count for all three from the ref. They get up at eight and Zayn fends off Kruger and Cesaro. Amazing sequence of nearfalls for Zayn, who then sends Kruger outside yet again, but turns around into an uppercut, then the Neutralizer. Kruger breaks up the pin and steals the win.
WINNER: Leo Kruger in 7:00. I can’t remember the last time a triple threat match made this much logical sense. Great story being told, with Zayn and Cesaro working together to keep Kruger out of the ring so they can continue their feud, and Kruger constantly bouncing back in to try to take advantage of situations, eventually getting the pin. Despite having three bodies in the ring for most of the match, the ring did not feel crowded and there was ample space for each man to get in some signature moves, show their individual style, and not just make it a punch-kick-elbow brawl.
Backstage, Corey Graves runs into Adrian Neville, and says he isn’t looking for a friend, he’s looking for a tag team partner, and he respects Neville’s wrestling abilities. He doesn’t care what issues he’s had with Neville, he wants those Tag Team Titles. Graves walks away as Neville lets it sink in.
Sylvester LeForte comes out to introduce Scott Dawson in his match against Bo Dallas. LeForte is in a bright yellow suit with a black shirt. The more I think about it, I think LaForte’s accent may be a bad version of a Quebec accent, not French. Dawson assaults the ring steps with his Maglight.
[Q2] Bo Dallas comes out to big boos. Lots of “No More Bo!” chants.
2 – NXT champion BO DALLAS vs. SCOTT DAWSON – non-title match
Dawson and Dallas trade control in the lock-up until Bo gets a rope break. Dawson with a cheap-shot to start controlling the match. Drop kick from Dallas to turn it around as Regal compares Dawson to Arn Anderson. Dawson back on the attack. Dawson telegraphs a back body drop letting Dallas fire up. Belly-to-belly off the ropes for the win.
WINNER: Bo Dallas in 2:30. NXT never puts their champions in non-title matches without them winning, which is sensible to keep them strong. Dull match.
Post-match, Kruger ambushes Dallas. Spinebuster lets Kruger mount Dallas, then hit a neckbreaker to stand tall over Dallas. “Thank You Kruger” chant breaks out as Kruger celebrates with the belt.
Video package with Rick Victor and Conor O’Brien talking about The Ascension. They are going to reduce our heroes to ashes.
Bayley is amazed at her luck to be in the ring. Ric Flair comes out first to the kind of welcome you’d expect. He seems genuinely happy to be there and slapped a lot of hands on his way out. Flair talks about being proud to be at NXT, where the future of WWE is being made, thanks the crowd for their continued support, and says he is especially proud to be there for his daughter. Flair beams with pride as she is introduced. She easily does some acrobatics on here way into the ring.
3 – BAYLEY vs. CHARLOTTE (w/Ric Flair)
Charlotte gives a “Whoo!” of her own at the beginning of the match as Bayley walks around star struck. They trade wristlocks and escapes. Bayley tells Flair how good Charlotte is. Charlotte with a unique cover that Dawson calls “Charlotte’s Web.” Bayley with a pair of leverage pins for two counts.
Flair has his jacket off now. Bayley kicks Charlotte but almost seems to apologize, but then hits a cover. Charlotte fights out of the corner. Charlotte does a cartwheel into an armdrag for the win.
WINNER: Charlotte in 2:30. Bayley’s gimmick is almost painful to watch, especially since I saw her debut where she was really vicious. Charlotte had a couple of unique, innovative moves. She is extremely tall and has a female MMA fighter look to her musculature, but obviously has a gymnastics background as well. She was definitely competent in the ring. Quality debut.
[Q3] Post-match, Flair comes in to give his daughter a real “proud dad” hug. I think he got sweatier than she did.
Backstage, Tony Dawson is interviewing Sheamus. The video suddenly is interrupted, and some guy wearing a fur vest introduces himself as Tyler Breeze. He says he’s a model, and is looking at himself in a compact. He says that NXT week, NXT will witness “gorgeous.”
The Paige vs. Emma match is announced via video for next week.
I think that Tony Dawson has more nicknames for Corey Graves than John Morrison had for himself. No pre-match promo from Bray Wyatt, but he sits on his rocker and the end of the ramp. Graves and Neville are billed at a combined weight of 403 lbs. That’s four pounds less than Mark Henry’s announced weight.
4 – ADRIAN NEVILLE & COREY GRAVES vs. THE WYATT FAMILY (Luke Harper & Erick Rowan w/Bray Wyatt) – Tag Team Championship match
Graves and Harper to start. Graves outwits Harper and wrecks Harper in the corner. Graves drags Harper outside and knocks him silly there, then sends Harper into the corner to bring in Neville. Neville runs and jumps off Graves’s back to land a dropkick. Neville gets caught up by Harper and Rowan is in. Graves blind tags to save Neville. Regal accuses Dawson of being a relative of his wife due to the way he interrupts all of the time.
Graves dodges a charge in the corner, so Rowan eats the ringpost and hits Harper, too, but Harper tags in and retaliates. Graves with a leg whip to take Harper down. Rowan intervenes, but Neville clears him. Graves runs into a big boot for two.
[ Commercial Break ]
Rowan has Graves on the mat. Harper gets the better of an exchange of rights with Graves. The crowd isn’t able to will Graves out of his predicament. Graves manages a sunset flip but Harper responds with a dropkick. Abdominal stretch from Rowan. Rowan keeps Graves away from Neville.
[Q4] Graves shows life, but runs right into a sidewalk slam from Harper as he runs for the corner. Graves ducks a running big boot in the corner, and manages the tag as Harper recovers on the outside. Harper tags in, too, and Neville manages to run Rowan over. Neville keeps Harper out of the ring, then dumps Rowan outside to land a springboard moonsault onto the ramp. Neville with a second rope moonsault, but Harper breaks up the tag. Neville back to the top, but Wyatt interferes behind the ref’s back, letting Rowan get a nearfall. All of a sudden, Sheamus comes out to take out Wyatt at ringside. Graves clips Rowan’s leg. Neville to the top, Red Arrow for the win.
WINNERS: Corey Graves & Adrian Neville in 11:15 to capture the Tag Titles. Well executed, but formulaic WWE tag team match. What’s sad about that, is that these four have put on some really good matches in the past, but this one was just too much “paint by numbers.” The big surprise was Sheamus being the one to even the odds.
Post-match: Sheamus snatches the championship belts from ringside and gives them to Graves and Neville to celebrate with them. Sheamus ducks out quickly to let them have their moment.
Final Thoughts: It was nice to see Graves and Neville win the titles, though it’s a shame that they looked so weak going into the match, losing match after match beforehand. Nice story of it taking Sheamus to even the odds and finally defeat the Wyatt Family. Charlotte had a nice debut, and I’ll be keeping a close eye on her. I was disappointed to see no promos from Paige or Emma hyping their match next week, but I look forward to the match quite a bit. The opening triple threat was easily the mach of the night.
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S FLASHBACK: 5 YRS AGO – NXT TV REPORT (7-10-03): Emma vs. Summer Rae, Sami Zayn vs. Leo Kruger (Adam Rose), Enzo & Cass, Regal & Corey Graves & Neville vs. The Wyatt Family
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