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WWE NXT Results
July 10, 2014
Taped at Full Sail University
Report by Justin James, PWTorch contributor
[Q1] Like last week, WWE Network incorrectly dated NXT for Wednesday. In any event, Rich Brennan, Renee Young, and Jason Albert are in the booth.
Bayley kicks off the show, facing Summer Rae in the #1 contender match for the NXT Women’s Championship.
1 – BAYLEY vs. SUMMER RAE – #1 Contender match for the NXT Women’s Championship
Bayley immediately puts Summer Rae’s face into all four turnbuckles, but a cover only gets one. Bayley embarrasses Summer Rae with armdrags, then helicopters on top of her. Summer Rae bails to the outside then kicks Bayley in the head when she tried to get back into the ring. Summer Rae with her typical leg-based offense.
Rae catches a running Bayley with a dragon sleeper then transitions into a DDT. Summer Rae with a roundhouse, but Bayley catches it and leverages Summer Rae’s face into the mat to a “Bayley’s gonna hug you” chant. Bayley wrecks Summer Rae in the corner, then nails a big suplex into a two count. Bayley wants the Hugplex, but Summer Rae escapes, and follows up with the Summer Crush for the win.
WINNER: Summer Rae in 5:28. The women’s matches in NXT are a cut above the main roster, and this was a good sample. Lots of quality back-and-forth to put both wrestlers’s moves and personality on display and a clean pin in the middle of the mat to make Summer Rae look strong going against the dominant Charlotte.
“Last week” interview with Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn. Neville rips Kidd and Gabriel for their cheap attack, and Zayn blames himself for not seeing the attack from Kidd, but he’s surprised that Gabriel went along with it.
Backstage, Devin Taylor is with Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd. Gabriel says that he chose to not be a loser anymore. He is surprised to find himself back on NXT, while NXT has some top talent, they aren’t on his level.
Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn will be facing Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel in the main event.
[ J.J.’s Reax: Like Tyson Kidd, Justin Gabriel’s return to NXT has taught him how to talk, which has been a traditional weak spot for him. ]
Eden Stiles announces that Tyler Breeze has entered the building. And then Sin Cara’s music hits. He’s facing Wesley Blake who we have seen once or twice before.
2 – SIN CARA vs. WESLEY BLAKE
Sin Cara’s offense prevails early on. Blake with a boot to the middle on a lock-up ruse. Sin Cara dumps Blake through the ropes then follows with a suicide dive.
[Q2] Blake surprises Sin Cara after a ref break and slows it down with basic offense. Sin Cara is able to turn the speed on again and hits his usual notes. Enziguiri from the apron drops blake, then the Swanton Bomb for the win.
WINNER: Sin Cara in 3:42. A Sin Cara win on NXT against a relative unknown points to him being built up as a threat for an NXT player to conquer and look good against, like how they used Brodus Clay a few months ago.
Backstage, Natalya finds Tyson Kidd. He asks if something is bothering her. She says that nothing is wrong, but his interview last week was weird. Kidd says that it was an ambush and pins it on Renee Young. Natalya says that she feels that he blamed her for his loss to Adrian Neville. He denies that. She says she isn’t grooving on his new attitude. He acts hurt, but says that if she doesn’t want to be part of that, it is her choice.
Backstage, Summer Rae and Sasha Banks are doing their make-up as Rae gloats about her win. Banks is miffed that Summer Rae got a contender shot. Summer Rae says that they can still “hang out” which reminds Banks of what Charlotte said to her. Summer Rae says that when she wins the title, Banks will want to hang out with her.
[ J.J.’s Reax: The BFF’s breakup has been pretty well handled so far. This is actually an interesting storyline. ]
C.J. Parker is out, and the announcers debate his recent lectures. He gets a mic and says that he said some things last week that he isn’t fond of, and politely requests that Xavier Woods come out. Woods comes out in a Ricardo Tubbs-esque outfit, and to music that isn’t “Somebody Call My Momma.” Parker says he does not want things to get out of hand, and says that he was overzealous in his return, and apologizes for what he said.
Woods recaps last week. He says that he isn’t an idiot and logical, and logic is the only reason why he isn’t tearing Parker’s hair out. Parker plays peacemaker and says he doesn’t want this to escalate, but seems a bit belligerent. He offers a handshake. Woods declines and walks away, so Parker clobbers him with a kick from behind. Parker walks away as the refs check on Woods.
Next is a 1920s style filming technique for a Vaudevillains vignette. They vow to be champs. Renee Young calls them “entertainers,” which is exactly what I do not like about them.
This was followed by a package on The Ascension who are clearly positioned as “wrestlers” and not “entertainers” and it was precisely the shift from “entertainers” to “wrestlers” that made them click with the audience.
Bull Dempsey comes out to a bit of a positive crowd reaction. He is facing the promising Angelo Dawkins.
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3 – BULL DEMPSEY vs. ANGELO DAWKINS
[Q3] Dempsey with some very strong mat work, reversing a hip toss or arm drag into a headlock takedown. Dempsey sits on a Sunset Flip and Dawkins sells it like it was a ten ton bomb. Dempsey with old-school offense. Dawkins makes a brief comeback but runs into Dempsey’s elbow. Big corner splash from Dempsey, then the Bulldozer for the win.
WINNER: Bull Dempsey in 3:00. Dempsey is like Scott Dawson, someone who isn’t flashy or have a massive moveset, but conveys this aura of power with a well-executed competence that impresses.
Post-match, Dempsey cuts a promo saying that he is the wrecking ball, and he will not stop until he is NXT Champion.
Backstage, Sami Zayn plays interviewer to Adrian Neville. He asks why Neville made the save last week. Neville says that they go way back, and wants to know what’s next, Zayn says he will give the mic back to Devin Taylor and they are going to go win a match.
[ J.J.’s Reax: That was a unique, fun, and effective way to do this. Neville seemed so relaxed and natural. ]
Natalya comes to the ring with Tyson Kidd, but they definitely seem to be having issues.
4 – NXT champion ADRIAN NEVILLE (a/k/a Pac) & SAMI ZAYN vs. TYSON KIDD & JUSTIN GABRIEL (w/Natalya) – Tag Team match
Kidd and Neville start. They trade control with mat work. Zayn and Neville keep Kidd isolated with frequent tags. Albert points out that despite the respect and friendship between Zayn and Neville, Zayn wants the title. Kidd tags in Gabriel who takes a big arm drag and gets isolated too. Zayn gets on his hands and knees so Neville can hit a sweet corkscrew moonsault.
Gabriel breaks free but Neville pushes through Kidd’s attack and gets to Zayn. Zayn fights out of the corner, clears Gabriel, but gets sent over the top rope to the outside.
[ Break ]
Gabriel has control of Zayn. Kidd unloads on Zayn inthe corner and looks crazed. Gabriel puts Zayn in a Tree of Woe behind the ref’s back so Kidd works Zayn. Kidd and Gabriel with some great heel offense.
[Q4] Dual kicks to Zayn’s head. Natalya cheers on her man. Zayn manages to escape and bring in Neville. Neville with insane speed and offense on Gabriel. Standing moonsault gets a nearfall for Neville.
Powerbomb draws Kidd into the ring to break up the pin, and he drags Gabriel to the corner so he can tag himself in. Neville counters a springboard move with a kick and slides into a corner for two. “We want Natty!” chant from the crowd. Neville to the top, but he hesitates when Gabriel menaces him, letting Kidd recover and knock him down. Springboard elbow drop from Kidd and Zayn breaks it up, then dumps Gabriel to the outside. Neville and Zayn work together and a blind tag lets Neville hit a big dive on Gabriel and Zayn unleashes a crossbody that takes him more than halfway across the ring for a nearfall.
Natalya is falling apart ringside as Zayn weighs his options. Kidd jams his fingers into Zayn’s face to fend off offense so Zayn tosses him over the ropes where Gabriel and Neville are still taking a nap. Zayn with a huge flip dive to take out everyone ringside. Kidd plays up a hurt knee, but how real is it?
The ref backs Zayn off and Natalya gets ont he apron, but it’s a trick. Zayn blocks the sucker punch and responds, which sends Kidd sprawling into Natalya. Zayn and Kidd both show concern, but when Zayn tries to check on Natalya, Kidd surprises him with a schoolboy for the win.
WINNERS: Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel in 11:44. What a heck of a match. This is what you’d expect from these two in nearly 12 minutes, but I sure wish this was 15 or 20 minutes. Kidd has emerged into a quality heel over the last few weeks.
After the match, Natalya seems a bit reluctant to hold Kidd’s hand up in victory, given his preference to get a cheap win over checking on her.
Final Thoughts: Really high quality episode, with good-to-excellent matches, a great main event, and solid storytelling throughout. The NXT Championship picture is deeply complex and satisfying, the mid-card is developing well, and so is the women’s division. This show is a throwback to the Arrival lead-up. Tyson Kidd has stepped into the top heel slot vacated by Bo Dallas quite nicely, with Tyler Breeze as well.
OR CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE AT PROWRESTLING.NET: Powell’s NXT Hit List (7/4/2023): Creeds vs. Fowler & Reid in a Loser Leaves NXT match, Damon Kemp vs. Eddy Thorpe in an NXT Underground match, Roxanne Perez vs. Blair Davenport, Mustafa Ali vs. Tyler Bate
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