SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The following report originally published 10 years ago this week here at PWTorch.com…
WWE NXT Results
May 8, 2014
Taped at Full Sail University
Report by Justin James, PWTorch contributor
[Q1] Extreme Rules 2014 will go down as the day that the NXT experiment yielded full fruit, as every single victor was on NXT. Let that sink in for a moment.
Emma kicks the show off for her match against Charlotte. I think the booking here is fairly obvious, but NXT has surprised me in these tournaments in the past.
Jason Albert, Renee Young, and Rich Brennan are in the booth for a bit of a different feel.
1 – EMMA vs. CHARLOTTE (w/Sasha Banks) – NXT Women’s Championship Tournament match
The crowd backs Emma, but Charlotte’s size advantage gives her early gloating rights. Emma uses agility to elude, but Charlotte catches up and cleans her clock. Charlotte with a figure four headlock, but Emma bridges into a cover and Charlotte has to break. Emma reveals a pink sock puppet from her boot, does some weird twirling thing, but misses Charlotte and nails Sasha Banks with the Cobra. Charlotte with the Charlotte’s Web for the win.
WINNER: Charlotte in 3:49. I can’t believe they just ruined Emma with the lame Cobra finisher.
Sylvester Lefort has re-formed the Legionnaires, this time with himself as an in-ring competitor, and a newcomer, Marcus Lois. Good moment to say that I am starting to miss Scott Dawson. To make it clear who are the heels, Lefort has a French flag and they both have “France” on their trunks. They are facing El Local and Kalisto.
2 – KALISTON & EL LOCAL (Ricardo Rodriguez) vs. THE LEGIONNAIRES (Sylvester Lefort & Marcus Lois) – Tag Team match
El Local and Lefort start off. El Local rolls through wristlocks to gain control of Lefort. Lois is able to get an edge over El Local. Lois is able to manhandle the substantially sized El Local, while looking quite surly in the process. Double tag and Kalisto unleashes on Lefort. The action breaks down, El Local with a plancha to take out Lois, and it is back to Lefort and Kalisto. Kalisto floats over on a body drop, slides down, hits a school boy but kicks Lefort in the head when he hits the mat. Kalisto bounces off the ropes, hits an enziguiri and it is good for the win.
WINNER: Kalisto & El Local in 4:30. Kalisto made me a huge fan with under a minute of ring time. He delivered on the promise that Sin Cara had. His charisma is big time, with both his in-ring style and most-match celebration quickly winning over the crowd. I can’t wait to see more of Kalisto.
[Q2] Adam Rose peps up one of his rosebuds (Captain Comic), who is apparently going to be in action. He’s facing Camacho. No Exotic Express for Captain Comic.
3 – CAMACHO vs. CAPTAIN COMIC
Camacho starts with a dropkick and Captain Comic is on the mat. Young is somehow able to sound serious when discussing Captain Comic. Camacho picks Captain Comic apart. running powerslam wraps it up for Camacho.
WINNER: Camacho in 2:48. Camacho looks bad for taking that long to pick apart a nobody.
Camacho wants more post-match, but Adam Rose makes the save. Where was he during the match? Rose invites Camacho into the ring, but Camacho chooses to glare from the ramp instead.
Brennan announces that Young is permanently part of the broadcast team. That’s very welcome.
Alicia Fox with a self-serving promo. Alexa Bliss with one of her own, introducing herself, praising Paige, and saying that when she is champ, “life is Bliss.” Not much there to make an evaluation on.
Bliss is dressed like an anime fighting girl, Chun Li meets Kasumi, and blows glitter all over the place.
4 – ALEXA BLISS vs. ALICIA FOX – NXT Women’s Championship Tournament match
Fan support for Bliss, who set up in the heel corner for whatever reason. Fox tosses Bliss, but Bliss uses some speed. Bliss with a kind of standing back handspring moonsault, but I don’t know if she botched it or not but it looked like a stiff knee drop instead of a moonsault. Fox with offense. Fox with the Northern Lights suplex into a bridge for two. Bliss’ mouth is bloody as she counters a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker with a cradle for the win.
WINNER: Alexa Bliss in 3:27. Bliss is super fast and agile, but I am not sure if I don’t understand her moveset or if she had a couple of botches. Opinion pending.
[Q3] Backstage, Devin Taylor congratulates Adrian Neville on his win over Brodus Clay. Neville weighs in on the battle royal for the #1 contender slot. He says that Cesaro proved how hard you need to work to win a battle royal.
The participants are: Sylvester Lefort, Marcus Lois, Aiden English, Danny Burch, Jason Jordan, El Local, Kalisto, Kurt Hawkins, Xavier Woods, Yoshi Tatsu, Oliver Grey, Baron Corbin, Colin Cassady, Mason Ryan, Camacho, Brodus Clay, Mojo Rawley (who gets an entrance), Sami Zayn (also with an entrance), Tyson Kidd (who sneaks in during Zayn’s music), Tyler Breeze, and Bo Dallas (with a full introduction). Young points out how ridiculous Dallas’s entrance is.
5 – 20-MAN BATTLE ROYAL – #1 Contender Match for the NXT Heavyweight Championship match
Oliver Grey is the first out, then Kurt Hawkins, both from Brodus Clay. Kidd and Breeze gang up on Clay for a moment. The Legionnaires continue their match against El Local. Everyone teams up to dump Clay. Aiden English clears Danny Burch from the ring. Mason Ryan press slams Aiden English over the top. Xavier Woods is dangling as a break starts.
[ Break ]
Out of break, El Local and Marcus Lois are on the floor. There’s a big “Yoshi Tatsu” chant. Baron Corbin makes the classic mistake of dumping Camacho over the ropes but not verifying that he actually hits the floor. Kalisto and Sylvester Lefort take each other out. Woods and Camacho have a chop-off, and they end up dumping each other out. Sami Zayn can’t quite get Baron Corbin out of the ring. Jason Jordan manages to send Mojo Rawley out. Tyson Kidd and Yoshi Tatsu tangle, but there’s no action figure on a pole tonight. Baron Corbin sends Jason Jordan to the floor after a struggle on the apron. Bo Dallas clears Baron Corbin.
Yoshi Tatsu whiffs a roundhouse to Bo Dallas, who responds by sending Tatsu over the top. Dallas eludes a powerslam and clears Mason Ryan, then Colin Cassady. Tyson Kidd sends Dallas out to a huge pop. It’s down to Kidd, Zayn, and Breeze. “Thank you Tyson!” chant. Breeze with the Beauty Shot out of nowhere to turn Kidd into a wet noodle, but he can’t get Kidd out of the ring. Breeze and Zayn can’t top each other. Breeze ducks the running boot, and Zayn is dangling. Breeze punches him over and over but Zayn hangs on. Kidd comes at Breeze from behind but Breeze ducks and Kidd and Zayn are both dangling over the edge. Kidd suddenly pikes up and catches Breeze in a huracanrana, and all three hit the ground at once.
WINNER: Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze, and Tyson Kidd 7:29 in a three-way tie. I have to say, I’m not a fan of the battle royal format as a rule, but this one was booked perfectly with a clever ending. Breeze looks like a credible threat, and Dallas put tons of heat on himself so the crowd went nuts for Kidd taking him out. The last battle royal on NXT was well done as well.
Post-match, the crowd chants “triple threat” as the refs try to figure out who the winner is. Replay shows no clear winner. The crowd demands JBL to sort it out, but then Triple H’s music hits. Triple H polls the crowd, and they demand a Triple Threat match. He says that the crowd obviously knows what is best for business, books a triple threat match for next week, and the winner faces Adrian Neville at Takedown.
[ J.J.’s Reax: Obvious booking here, but it’s amazing how the right presentation makes a hamburger go down like prime rib. ]
FINAL THOUGHTS: There were some sketchy moments of the show (namely Emma and the sock puppet, and Alexa Bliss’s debut), but the battle royal was quite satisfying for what it was, and Kalisto has me more excited than a debut has since Sami Zayn. A Kidd vs. Zayn match is made in heaven, though the introduction of Tyler Breeze into the mix is the fly in the ointment. Not that he can’t do it, but that triple threat matches are hard to carry. All the same, I am really looking forwards to it.
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