NXTweet 17.06.15

For the first time ever: Kevin Owens v Samoa Joe. Plus a touching Dusty Rhodes tribute and some non-WWE-owned footage of Fergal 'Prince' Devitt from various periods of his career. Also, a good Blake and Murphy match! This show truly had it all.

Intro

Tweet 1: It's NXT time.

Tweet 2: That Dusty tribute is strong.

Blake, Murphy and Alexa Bliss v Enzo Amore, Big Cass and Carmella

Tweet 3: I wonder if JR thinks Enzo's sneakers expose the business.

Tweet 4: Carmella's mic skills definitely expose the business.
Tweet 5: Excellent crash zooms from the cameraman on this Blake 'n' Murphy entrance. He's obviously a big fan.
Tweet 6:  Assuming it is a he, of course.
Tweet 7: I really like this current trend in wrestling of guys getting heat with stupid haircuts.

Intimidating glare from Enzo as he dances there.

Tweet 8: Enzo and Cass continue their transformation into the New Age Outlaws with Enzo using Road Dogg's jab sequence.
Tweet 9: I was always a fan of that jab sequence. Not sure why when I stop and think about it.
Tweet 10: "Nice to see you awake over there, Saxton" - Corey Graves, calling out the third wheel of the commentary desk
Tweet 11: I think it needs pointing out that that match was really quite enjoyable. Cass is great when he can just batter guys.
Tweet 12: And, to be fair, Blake and Murphy did some big bumping for him.

Devin Taylor talks to Samoa Joe

Tweet 13: Devin Taylor just welcomed Joe to NXT. He's been around for a month now. #justsaying

Tweet 14: Really liking Joe saying he's always prided himself on being in hot companies when he's exclusively been in TNA for about eight years.
Tweet 15: Joe cut a pretty good promo, said he'd beat down Owens, then just stopped and stared at the floor. Weird dude.

Finn Bálor video

Tweet 16: Let's take a look at Finn Bálor, shall we?

Tweet 17: Lots of emphasis on his demon paint here. Guessing there'll be a voiceover mentioning he made it big in Japan.
Tweet 18: Ah no. They've swerved us with some talking head stuff.
Tweet 19: Love this footage of an Irish train station. Truly the essence of sports entertainment.
Tweet 20: Surprised to see that RPW match with Ricochet. That was only a year or two back. Also, I was there for it. #justsaying
Tweet 21: Becky Lynch showing #emotion here. I like her now. It's the new look and her having found a character that works.
Tweet 22: Deliberately confusing editing here. They've used footage of Devitt leaving for WWE as they're talking about him leaving for (New) Japan.
Tweet 23: Grado sighting.
Tweet 24: Looking forward to Grado getting signed to flesh out the show once the big names leave for the main roster. He's a future champ, for sure.

KC Cassidy v Charlotte

Tweet 25: Where is the Queen City?

Tweet 26: Why is Charlotte not announced as being from Flair Country?
Tweet 27: Charlotte doing her dad's taunts always cringes me. She's not off her head enough to do them justice.
Tweet 28: Seeming very much like the purpose of this match is for Charlotte to spam Flair taunts. Maybe she's been told to work them in more.

Charlotte's figure eight. Even though it doesn't form an eight.

Tweet 29: She actually got to win with her figure four. Bet 'Naitch' is sickened by that.

Devin Taylor talks to Dana Brooke

Tweet 30: Dana Brooke's putting herself over as a fitness competitor. Does the Arnold Classic count? Is that considered a legit thing?

Tweet 31: Really enjoyed Brooke doing that whole promo to the wrong camera.
Tweet 32: Devin wrestles on house shows. Is this head patting from Dana going to lead to her losing it and making her TV in-ring debut?

Kevin Owens v Samoa Joe

Tweet 33: Samoa Joe, towel enthusiast.

Tweet 34: I'm interested to see just how indy Joe and Owens are allowed to make this match.

The champ? He's here.

Tweet 35: Joe's going to have heat with Khali for using that chop to the head.
Tweet 36: He just used the Broski boot too...
Tweet 37: Imagine if Joe had stayed in TNA and he was still involved in that embarrassing BDC debacle.
Tweet 38: Another imagine now. Imagine if Punk had stayed with ROH or TNA until around now and was just coming into NXT.
Tweet 39: It'd be weird, right?
Tweet 40: Owens going for the apron bomb on Joe. Good luck, mate...
Tweet 41: They went to a DQ finish? What a shock (not a shock).

A sure sign that this feud is now #personal.

Tweet 42: Say what you want about Samoa Joe, the man knows how to work a pull-apart brawl.
Tweet 43: Lol at Owens venomously elbowing some innocent young boys in the face.
Tweet 44: Great show, everyone. Great hustle.

Shining Star

When Cody Rhodes transformed into Stardust last summer I thought it was a massive step backwards. It was a knock-off of the near enough two decade old Goldust character and a gimmick it was impossible to envisage WWE taking seriously. In other words it was exactly the sort of thing that was going to keep Cody tethered to the mid-card. He wasn't exactly on the cusp of main events before the change but he was even further away after it.

Cody made the best of a bad situation. Which is hardly surprising as the Stardust character was apparently his idea to begin with. He changed up his entrance and in-ring mannerisms, going out of his way to try and establish Stardust as a distinct entity. Even more impressively he switched up his move set, something WWE performers are generally not encouraged to do. These changes helped to establish Stardust and make the change easier to accept.

What a good-looking man.

It's only recently that the Stardust character has begun paying off for Rhodes and the writing team. It's been revealed that the change was part of a long term plan to play into the split of the Rhodes-cum-Dust brothers tandem. Stardust announced at Fast Lane that Cody is "dead", killed by his deadweight brother and unsupportive father. In a nice touch he referenced various stages of his career (being 'The Prince' and 'The Dashing One', being an Intercontinental champ, and being touted as the breakout star of The Legacy) and his former status as a hot prospect within WWE. As character development goes it was certainly attention grabbing.

Since the two (half) brothers officially split on the February 16 RAW further tweaks have been made to the Stardust character. He's been shown to be violent and unstable both in matches and backstage segments and moved from wearing a Goldust-esque bodysuit to full length tights (possibly because he wants to have those abs of his on display).

It seems likely that another Goldust versus Stardust is where this is all heading, although Stardust's recent interest in the Intercontinental title means it's unlikely to happen at WrestleMania. How that will play out is anybody's guess. The rumours that Goldy is ready to retire are as widespread as they've ever been so it seems reasonable to assume we'll see Goldust versus Stardust with a retirement stipulation for the former on the line. Given Stardust's recent sentiments we could see him challenge Goldust to face him with this stip and Goldust, wanting his brother back, agreeing on the proviso that if he can win the match the Stardust gimmick gets dropped.

That scenario would almost certainly play out with Goldust losing. It could be used to launch a big singles push for the Stardust character, unrepentant at having fractured his family and caused the retirement of his brother. Played right it could get him over big as a heel. Alternatively Stardust could win the match and, following a moment of clarity brought on by seeing how dejected 'The Bizarre One' was at the loss, ask for and receive reconciliation. That would allow Goldust to go out in the match he's apparently wanted for years and lead back to the reintroduction of the babyface Cody Rhodes character.

Knowing WWE we'll get a watered down version of one of these options. The Stardust saga so far has already been a departure from the writing team's usual unwillingness to commit to anything original, interesting, or forward thinking. It's too much to expect the story to reach its conclusion without the usual WWE disappointment seeping in.

The Man in the Boiler Suit

If you didn’t watch RAW last week you’ll have missed Daniel Bryan finally giving in and joining the Wyatt Family. I wrote last month about why this is not a good move. You can read that here. My opinion hasn’t changed since.

This is happening. Get used to it

What was Bryan’s reasoning? The support of the fans hadn’t gotten him anywhere apparently. Yep, the classic heel turn excuse. Only, really, this isn’t the most passionate heel turn in history. Bryan has cut any scathing promo on wrestling fandom. He’s just had enough and joined up with a group that says they want to help him. Maybe he’ll do something more overtly heelish on this evening’s show.

Assuming he appears on tonight’s RAW (and why wouldn’t he?) D-Bryan will probably be sporting a rather natty navy boiler suit. It’s what he’s worn at house shows over the last week to demonstrate his Family ties. The amusement factor is something to look forward to I suppose.

The show as a whole will be presented with the much loved (by somebody, somewhere) old school theme. This basically means there will be a range of former WWE stars on hand for the show, many of whom were more prominent before the debut of RAW than after. Among them are Roddy Piper, Sergeant Slaughter and Dusty Rhodes. Attitude Era fans will be catered for with The Godfather and the reunion of Too Cool. If you’re wondering that reunion’s happening don’t worry: we all are.

He may be a free agent as of this morning but don’t expect Jeff Jarrett to show up. ‘Double J’ and WWE had a falling out fifteen years ago and it’s unlikely the man from Memphis will ever appear for WWE again. In fact it’s likelier that Hulk Hogan will appear. He definitely fits within the old school remit and it would allow WWE to start setting something up for him at WrestleMania. Assuming he’ll be doing something at WrestleMania, of course.

The point of this (yes there is a point) is that I tend to like the old school editions of RAW. Because WWE actually puts some effort into making them watchable and special. It’s not about seeing the stars of yesterday today, more that hiring them forces WWE to make use of them and doing that involves some thought. Generally speaking these episodes are proof that when the creative team put their minds to it they can churn out an enjoyable episode of RAW that doesn’t follow a pay-per-view. I hope make tonight’s episode entertaining. And if they do I hope they realise that they could, in theory, do the same thing every week.

Battleground review

Battleground will not be remembered as one of WWE’s better pay-per-view efforts. When it was good it was really good, but unfortunately that wasn’t often enough. There were too many filler matches for this to be noteworthy.

Part of the problem there is that too many matches are left until the last minute to be put together. If Bray Wyatt and Kofi Kingston’s problems had started the night after the last pay-per-view (held only three weeks earlier) there would have been more reason for the crowd to be emotionally invested and, just as importantly, there would have been another match that could have convinced people to buy the show. With a three hour RAW, a two hour SmackDown and numerous superfluous programmes each there’s no excuse for WWE not to be creating more mid-card conflicts.

“Never before has WWE been so divided,” lied Josh Mathews as the pre-show kicked off. That set the tone comfortably low for the evening. The experts chosen to join him were The Miz, Tensai and Titus O’Neil. ‘The Big Deal’ didn’t shine as he has done on commentary before, but he still came across better than his fellow panellists.

The pre-show match saw Damien Sandow take on Dolph Ziggler. ‘The Intellectual Saviour’ prefaced his loss with a promo that referenced Benjamin Franklin. That served as a nice reminder that Sandow’s character hasn’t been drastically altered since being introduced last year. That’s a rarity in WWE these days and speaks to the good work he’s done with the character.

The show proper started with the World Heavyweight championship hardcore match. Champion Alberto Del Rio defended against challenger Rob Van Dam. It was an improvement on their match at Night of Champions. The relaxed rules and receptive crowd benefited both greatly. RVD shines when he can through pieces of metal at people’s heads.

For an opener the match was fine although it was a little deliberate in places, most notably when Van Dam was pratting about setting up the ad hoc weapons for his Innovative Offence™. The list of weaponry included a chair, a ladder, and a rubbish bin (or trash can if you're in North America). Ricardo also involved himself, smacking his former employer with the bucket he carries about. He got a pasting in return.

Ladder (tug of) war!

Van Dam’s undoing proved to be the Van Terminator. Once he’d missed that ADR quickly applied the cross arm breaker, with a chair added for additional pressure. ‘Mr Pay-Per-View’ had no choice but to submit.

Backstage Zeb Colter cut a promo about Buffalo being a haven for illegal Canadian immigrants. Cesaro and Swagger stood behind him mocking the audience. Naturally 'The Swiss Superman' showed more personality here than Swaggalag. His ability to make something as banal as standing around while someone else cuts a promo entertaining is one of the reasons he’ll go far in WWE. He’s just too good not to be given things to do.

The Real Americans beat The Great Khali and Santino in a forgettable tag match. Cesaro got the win after a lengthy big swing on Khali. Yes, the big swing is now a convincing finish in WWE. Add that to the list of reasons to like Antonio Cesaro.

Another nothing match followed: Intercontinental champion Curtis Axel defeating against R-Truth. In fairness Axel did what he could to perpetuate the image that his title means something. It’s not his fault that it’s been devalued over the course of a decade by indifference from the writing team. Cole told us that “many people say Axel is the perfect Paul Heyman guy.” What he didn’t say is who these people are or why they’re saying such stupid things.

Match four (or five if you’re a pre-show counter¹) saw Brie Bella strut out to the ring to challenge for the Divas championship. The champ skipped out with the modern-day-female-Diesel, Tamina Snuka. She more than counteracted Brie’s second, Nikki.

I like the pairing of AJ and Tamina. Her previous affiliation with Big E Langston showed that AJ was the sort of character who worked well having a heavy at ringside. Tamina makes more sense in the role because she can actively involve herself in AJ’s matches, where Big E couldn’t. It also gives her something to do. She’s not a bad wrestler but without this new link she wasn’t going to get anywhere while the AJ versus Total Divas plot was going on.

Michael Cole chose the opening moments of this match to reveal the results of the greatest power couple poll that had been running on the WWE website (or on their app or… somewhere). The winners were Edge and Lita. Personally I can’t see how anyone could justify voting for any couple other than Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. They’re a combo so powerful they’ve had storylines dedicated to their heelish management styles twice and who genuinely run the company.

AJ won a short, basic match after Brie was distracted by Tamina throttling Nikki. It was not of the calibre we've become accustomed to from Ms Lee. That was more of a time issue than anything else. Simply put, they didn’t get enough.

Backstage Dusty Rhodes told Renee Young that no matter the outcome of their match the Rhodes family would leave Buffalo with their heads held high. Goldust, whose facepaint seemed to be patterned after Darth Maul, said he and Cody would expose The Shield as puppets of the regime (someone should have told him that was never a secret). Cody put over his dad’s charisma and his brother’s natural ring ability before said they were fighting for their lives and their family. It was good stuff.

Business picked up with the tag match that followed. All four men did their absolute best to make the match a good one and the crowd came to life. They built to a great conclusion: Dusty dropped Ambrose with a Bionic Elbow and was about to get attacked by Reigns (presumably he would have been treated to a spear) but Goldust made the save. Back in the ring Rollins tried to sneak in a win with rollup but Cody escaped and hit Cross Rhodes for the three count.

This picture was included solely because of Goldust's cartoonish facial expression

The low card gang (and Dolph Ziggler) came out to congratulate the winners in the aisle. Nothing says a big match has just been won by the appearance of Zack Ryder, the Usos and Justin Gabriel. Up in the expert skybox Miz said he wanted to be the first to welcomes the Rhodes boys back to WWE. Presumably he’d missed everyone else just doing that exact thing.

Brad Maddox was shown on the phone to Triple H and-or Stephanie McMahon. The point of this was to let us know that they’d left the arena. Apparently they'd been called to an emergency meeting. After nine. On a Sunday. During a live PPV. If this doesn’t sound feasible then you’re probably new to wrestling storylines.

Beat Wyatt beat Kofi Kingston in match number six (or, indeed, seven). The highlight of the match was Bray walking upside down on his hands and feet. That’s something I imagine we’ll be seeing ‘The Eater of Worlds’ do again. I like it. It made it clear that he’s a peculiar guy (not that that point wasn’t already clear). He won after reversing the SOS into Sister Abigail.

After the match Rowan and Harper hit a back breaker and a big boot on Kingston. Bray then told everyone to follow the buzzards.

CM Punk and Ryback took the semi-final spot and had a decent match. There was nothing especially memorable about what they gave us. It was the standard Ryback-slash-Punk-slash-WWE main event format. The babyface got beaten down for a bit before making some comebacks, with some ringside brawling featured for good measure. ‘The Second City Saint’ won with a low blow, which he managed to sneak in as the referee was telling Paul Heyman to give up a kendo stick he’d yanked from beneath the ring.

The final visit to the expert panel revealed that they were all backing Bryan. I’ve written before that Bryan getting as much support as he does in such situations doesn’t do the underdog image he trades on any favours. That’s as true now as it’s ever been.

The production truck suffered from technical difficulties during the video package hyping the main event (known as “pulling an ROH” in wrestling circles). This resulted in several seconds of Justin Roberts standing around looking gormless followed by an apology from Michael Cole. Hey, at least the problem didn't effect a match.

The match was slow to get going which left the commentary team to provide some highlights. They did so. ‘King’ said Bryan's living his dream, referring to the Brie proposal and winning then losing the WWE title. The Brie bit I understand but how is being stripped of a title living a dream? Later on he would bring up Bryan having worked in Memphis (around a decade ago) as further proof Bryan was living his dream.

Michael Cole made reference to Bryan’s old 'American Dragon' moniker and the eye patch era (which came about thanks to an errant blow from Takeshi Morishima). It was surreal hearing these things referenced on a WWE event. They famously don’t like to acknowledge things they’ve not created themselves.

Eventually Bryan and Orton’s pace picked up. When that happened the audience became louder, clearly in support of Bryan. ‘The Viper’ tends to wrestle slower matches, which surprises me when you consider that he’s probably one of the best conditioned men on the roster.

Thing from The Addams Family was the guest referee

The finish is what this match will be remembered for. Bryan had Orton in the Yes Lock and Big Show's music started playing. 'The Giant' thundered down to the ring and pulled the ref to the outside before KOing a perplexed Bryan. Brad Maddox then appeared and dispatched the mysteriously rehired Scott Armstrong to the ring. At this point it seemed as though the Show heel turn I'd predicted was on.

This turned out to be a fine swerve. ‘The World’s Largest Athlete’ pulled Armstrong from the ring before he could count the match in ‘The Apex Predator’s’ favour. He got blasted with the WMD too. Show finished by lumbering into the ring and hitting Orty with perhaps the weakest KO punch he's ever performed. Maddox looked stunned as Big Show hollered and then stared at him.

A WWE PPV ending on a non-finish? It was common in the Attitude Era. It's rare now. Here it worked as it was clearly setting up a return match for the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. It also featured Show finally standing up to the McMahon fam, which is what made the live audience accept it. Had things ended with Show officially turning heel and the match going to a non-finish things would have been different².

As WWE pay-per-views go this was slightly below average thanks to the high number of matches with no background to them and the forgettable nature of the two largest bouts. It was a good night for Cody Rhodes though. If he makes it high enough to get the DVD set treatment I’d expect the tag match from this show to make an appearance. On that level at least, Battleground was a success.

***

¹ If you are you’re an animal!

² For the record Show turning heel and Orton winning the championship probably wouldn’t have annoyed fans as much as Show KOing Bryan to instigate a DQ finish with no new champ. We don’t need to worry about this though as neither actually happened.

Battleground preview

Battleground feels like it will be another filler pay-per-view, one that exists to keep storylines ticking over between bigger shows without having much worth in its own right. Even if this is true it's not a guarantee that the show won't be worth paying attention to. The card looks noticeably more appealing than Night of Champions did three weeks ago. It's almost certainly going to lack the impact of 2013 stablemates like SummerSlam and Royal Rumble but not everything can hit those heady heights. If expectations are kept in check it looks like it will be enjoyable enough.

The main event match is Daniel Bryan v Randy Orton for the vacant WWE championship. Technically this will be the third PPV in a row where they've faced each other but the first, at SummerSlam, was more angle than match. However you look at it we're well into Bryan versus Orton as a feud. The matches and the majority of their interactions have been very good. Crowds have bought into 'The Viper's' heel turn and continued to back 'The Dazzler'. Which is exactly what WWE wanted.

There's been a definite pattern to the programme so far. While Bryan's championship victory at Night of Champions disrupted the standard formula and came as a surprise the weekly stuff has been more predictable. Bryan has found himself beaten down by 'The Apex Predator' and-or The Shield and-or Big Show but refused to give in. It's a fine, effective approach but I can't help but think WWE are going to need to do something new with all parties after Battleground. The method will have run its course.

This probably won't be an issue. While Bryan and Orton could easily do another pay-per-view match or two before people are sick of them together I suspect they'll be going their separate ways after Battleground. The Big Show swerve turn I predicted for NOC (you know, the one that never happened) could just as easily happen at Battleground.

'The World's Largest Athlete' could cost Bryan the title and then wrestle him at Hell in a Cell and Survivor Series before Bryan gravitates back towards the title. That was the approach WWE took with Punk in 2011: he lost the gold and then had some matches against and alongside Triple H (he never faced Kevin Nash, sadly) before regaining the belt three months later.

Should Show’s turn happen Orton would be left free for a feud with... ummmm... pass. There's no obvious challenger for 'The Apex Predator' but I'm sure WWE could cobble something together. Perhaps Cody Rhodes could get the nod. He's likely to "have a job again" by the time we reach HIAC.

I'm going to predict a Daniel Bryan loss. Orton winning and continuing to work as a placeholder for Bryan, Cena or Punk makes far more sense than putting the title on Bryan again. Another short reign would harm his credibility and turn people off of him. At this point he’s more effective as an underdog chasing the gold.

A strange tie-in to Bryan v Orton is the Divas championship match between AJ Lee and Brie Bella. Newly single Randy Orton took a leaf out of Ric Flair's play book on RAW and hit on (a term I despise that feels apt here) Brie. She is, of course, the fiancé of Bryan and so turned Orty down. The show ended with Bryan being duffed up by Orton and Brie running out to help, only to stop when she remembered how ineffective her efforts would be.

Linking the Bellas (more Brie than Nikki) to Bryan on Total Divas is one thing. It's a largely scripted reality show but it's still based on what's real, and what's real is that Bryan and Brie are in a relationship. WWE had little choice but to acknowledge that there. Linking them on RAW is quite another thing. The shows are effectively two separate worlds and the company could quite easily have downplayed or ignored aspects of Total Divas, the Bryan-Brie relationship among them. By linking them in such a meaningful way on RAW WWE have made it clear that Brie is to be considered a face.

What this means for her title prospects (and her sister) is anyone's guess. WWE may be determined to present Brie as a good gal, and some fans may go with it, but the majority are still going to cheer for AJ Lee. She's the one we want at the top of the division. She's earned it. Brie is never going to be seen in the same light because she does not come across as someone with as much passion for wrestling as AJ.

My prediction is that the ladies will get their usual crowd reactions at Battleground and that Brie will go down in defeat. There's a chance she'll win to set up the predictable "your girlfriend won but you didn't" routine but I'd like to think WWE has more faith in and respect for AJ and what she's trying to do with and for the division than to shortchange her like that.

Also towards the top of the card is the Goldust and Cody Rhodes v Shield match. The tag team titles aren't being defended, instead this match has been given some stips depending on who wins. If Rollins and Reigns are victorious the Rhodes boys will be banished from WWE "forever" and Dusty Rhodes will lose his job as an NXT trainer (he's already been placed on sabbatical as the general manager, replaced by Stetson-wearing, hot stepping Texan John Bradshaw Layfield). If the brothers are the winners then they'll get jobs with WWE.

Given that WWE has been pretty good at honouring stipulations recently and that Cody has at no point stopped being employed I find it hard to imagine the Rhodes brothers losing here. There's also the fact that Goldust has only been offered a job, the inference being it will be something we don't expect. Also, a Shield loss would probably setup a rematch for the belts, which is something I can imagine filling time on the post-Battleground RAW. The story of the Rhodes versus the McMahons could continue whoever wins but the good guys going over makes far more sense as it would set up so much.

The World Heavyweight championship will also be defended in a rematch from Night of Champions. On that show challenger Van Dam won by disqualification after uber-macho Alberto Del Rio refused to release his cross arm breaker submission hold because he's just so manly. The DQ finish was WWE's way of not burying RVD in front of his home state fans as well as setting up a rematch.

Frankly either man could win. ADR has either been the WHC or the lead challenger since the start of the year. I wouldn't be surprised to see him distanced from the title soon. Nor would I be surprised if Van Dam were given a run as champ to make the most of his popularity. I don't feel strongly enough about the situation to argue that a title change will definitely happen but I also can't deny the time doesn't feel right. This being a hardcore match also favours ‘Mr Pay-Per-View’.

Another screwy finish with 'The Essence of Excellence' leaving as champ would set up a Hell in a Cell collision though, so bear that in mind. I'm going with a Van Dam victory. It's nice to have a world championship match that's tough to predict. Hopefully they'll give us something worthwhile to watch.

Intercontinental champion Curtis Axel will go from wrestling the second most important match on the last pay-per-view (admittedly as a passenger) to the least important on this one. He'll defend his prize against R-Truth. The best we can hope for is something inoffensive that's used to lead into Ryback v Punk. Axel to retain. What's up, Truth? Your eyes as they stare at the lights.

On the subject of filler there’s been talk of Bray Wyatt v Kofi Kingston happening. If it’s going to happen I expect it to be confirmed after this week’s SmackDown. If it goes ahead I think we’ll see Wyatt win. Kofi’s role is to make guys like the Wyatt Family look good.

Four months ago Dolph Ziggler was one of the two hottest guys in the company. Since then he's lost the WHC and slipped down into a spot lower than the one he was in at the start of the year. Three months ago Damien Sandow won a Money in the Bank briefcase. Since then he's made one further supershow appearance losing to Cody Rhodes. These spirals of disappointment will entwine at Battleground when the two men wrestle one another in the pre-show match.

Yep, the pre-show match.

There's nothing wrong with being on the pre-show. It's better than not appearing at all and WWE seem to have picked up on the fact that it's an advert for their pay-per-views so it's probably best to include a good match. As such being placed on the pre-show can be taken as a vote of confidence. That said there's still a stigma attached to the position. It stems from the days of guys not over enough to be used on the main show being tossed out there to warm up the crowd.

I'm sure 'The Intellectual Saviour' and 'The Show Off' will put on a cracking match. Hopefully they'll get to do so, in a rematch or with others, on the Hell in a Cell show later this month. Either could win but I'll pick Ziggler. A face win would set a good tone for the evening.

 

Paul Heyman gets his guys on posters

 

Finally we have CM Punk versus The Ryback. It was around this time last year when they began their first feud. The roles were reversed then, as was Paul Heyman’s allegiance, and 'The Human Wrecking Ball' seemed like he could become the next big star. Had WWE treated him better he could still have been on course for that now. Instead he's been misused throughout 2013 and is just another guy on the roster.

Punk has been pinned on the last two pay-per-views and WWE has made it incredibly clear that protecting 'The Big Guy' is not a priority for them anymore. And  ‘The Second City Saint’ has lost or failed to win in his last three supershow outings. So on the surface a CM Punk victory seems inevitable. But it may not be.

Wins and losses don't mean a great deal in WWE once someone has reached a certain point. Punk has reached that level and doesn't come across as someone who has a problem with losing on pay-per-views (a medical condition known as Michaelsaphobia). It's easy enough to imagine Heyman interfering on his client's behalf to cost Punk a win. There's been no indication that their feud is going to end soon and a Punk loss is a solid way of maintaining the status quo.

I've not been the biggest fan of their rivalry, which started in July and has felt like it’s dragging for much of its time, but the fact that Heyman has various clients for Punk to battle has at least kept matches fresh. I wouldn't be surprised to see another handicap match inside a HIAC, this time putting Ryback and Heyman against Punk, followed by some sort of team outing at Survivor Series. The latter match could be a nice way of showing us the next Paul Heyman guy: they could defect from Team Punk mid-match.

The long and the short of this is that I think Ryback will defeat Punk. As with ADR v RVD this one could go to either guy but I like The Ryback's chances slightly more.

Predictions summary:

Randy Orton to defeat Daniel Bryan
Ryback to defeat CM Punk
Goldust and Cody Rhodes to defeat The Shield
AJ Lee to defeat Brie Bella
Rob Van Dam to defeat Alberto Del Rio
Dolph Ziggler to defeat Damien Sandow
Curtis Axel to defeat R-Truth
Bray Wyatt to defeat Kofi Kingston (if the match happens)

The Rhodes Boys

On the September 2^nd RAW Triple H fired Cody Rhodes. At first it appeared to be nothing more than a convenient way to give Cody a few weeks off to get married and have a honeymoon (you know, like a normal person). It did the job of excusing Cody and got over 'The Game's' heel act, and it seemed that that was all it was intended for.

It has developed into far more. Cody's dad and brother appeared on TV in his stead to discuss him getting him his job back. Both were humiliated by the McMahon fam. Dusty took a solitary punch from Big Show on the orders of Stephanie while Goldust wrestled and took a pasting from then WWE champion Randy Orton at the order of Tripper.

These could have been throwaway or filler parts of their respective episodes. They weren't. Everyone involved did their best to make them memorable pieces of WWE television. Goldust in particular shone. He did an exemplary job of emphasising the importance of his return to RAW and his match with 'The Viper', which would have seen Cody rehired had he won.

The match itself was great. Fans were drawn in in part because of ‘The Golden One’s’ status as a character from the company's past and the rehiring stip. But the quality of the match and the performance of the two wrestlers undoubtedly helped.

Based on that single episode of RAW alone WWE could do worse things than rehiring Goldust as an agent. He could teach a lot of guys a good deal about creating and establishing a character. There may not be any as outlandish as Goldust on the roster anymore but his knowledge would still apply.

That wig has seen better days

 
The September 23^rd RAW saw Cody and Goldy run in through the crowd and attack The Shield in response to their father’s treatment the previous week. Wherever the storyline is going it's clear it's not yet peaked. There are various things we could see happen. Cody and Goldust could be made to wrestle for a contract, which could be a very emotional match with the right crowd. It could harm Cody’s face turn though, which is the main reason I think this is something we won’t see.

A swerve turn and singles match isn’t out of the question although it would be asting a clearly popular performer in Goldust and potentially risking Cody’s face run. The two have wanted to face each other at WrestleMania for years so it shouldn’t be ruled out completely. It’s certainly the sort of thing I could imagine WWE promoting on one of their strong B plus level pay-per-views.

What comes to mind for the pair’s immediate future is a match with The Shield. I’d like to see them against Rollins and Ambrose although the combo of Rollins and Reigns seems likelier. Hey, maybe they'll push the boat out and give us a six man match pitting the Rhodes family against 'The Hounds of Justice'. Longer term Goldy and-or Cody could find themselves tangling with Big Show and possibly even ‘The Cerebral Assassin’ himself.

Ultimately it doesn’t matter what matches we get. This is a way of elevating Cody Rhodes. He’s someone that is capable and deserving of a higher standing in the company. It’s nice to see WWE recognising that and Goldust getting to contribute too. This is proof that over the last twelve months WWE has seen a return to form when it comes to creating stars.

That RAW Recap 16.09.13

Monday's RAW saw Daniel Bryan stripped of the WWE championship. For anyone who'd seen Night of Champions the evening before this failed to come as a surprise. That show had ended with Bryan dropping Orton with his knee strike finisher and referee Scott Armstrong counting a distinctly fast three count.

It was clear from that that something was going to happen on RAW regarding Bryan's status as WWE champion. Something turned out to be the stripping. Triple H interrupted the new champ’s celebratory yesfest during the opening segment and called out Armstrong to check out some footage of him counting to three. Once it was established that he had indeed counted a little faster than usual he muttered to Bryan that they’d been had.

Bryan asked what he was talking about and it was immediately clear that Triple H, living up to his ‘Cerebral Assassin’ moniker had set Bryan up. Orty joined them in the ring and ended up laying Bryan out so Tripper could regain the title belt.

 

The champ is here! Yes! Yes! Yes! etc.

 

The short reign Bryan had at SummerSlam was not harmful to him. It portrayed him as being a worthy headliner. He defeated John Cena clean and was only defeated by Randy Orton because of a surprise Pedigree from Triple H. The combination of the unexpected finisher and the gruelling encounter with Cena is what put him down at SummerSlam. The loss of was presented as, in wrestling parlance, a screw job. It set him up to chase Randy for the championship, the assumption being that he would eventually defeat him for the feel good victory (and the title).

I didn't expect this to come just four weeks later. If I'd had to guess I'd have said Bryan would get the championship back sometime between Survivor Series and WrestleMania XXX. I thought he'd lose at Night of Champions, due to outside interference or similar conceit, and head into a placeholder programme with someone else. It seemed like the logical step.

What we have instead is WWE's hottest star having won the WWE championship twice in under a month with both reigns combined lasting under twenty-four hours. There's obviously a plan in place here but right now it's tough to see what it is. I understand WWE want to crank up the sympathy for Bryan and to a certain extent the approach they're using will achieve that. But I can't help but feel that too much of this will cause fans to feel they can't put their trust in Bryan. If every time he wins the title he loses it very shortly afterwards people will simply begin predicting the losses and stop caring.

We're not at that point yet. With the title vacated it looks as though it'll be a while before Bryan's in a position to be one a three time champ. If and when that happens I think Bryan will get the lengthy title reign he deserves.

For the record the reason the McMahons gave for not returning the title to Orton was that he’s lost his edge. Stephanie specifically told him that she wants the man who handcuffed Trips and gave her a DDT. Her reasoning for wanting this was (completely unsurprisingly) not stated.

The only other notable occurrence from RAW was a passionate promo from Dusty Rhodes. He talked about going down the wrong in life and being unable to pay bills and mortgages (and, strangely for a man who’s theme song declares him to be “just a common man”, being unable to pay for people to come and cut the lawn). It was, of course, about Cody being fired. Dusty wanted him rehired.

Steph hit the ring with her catchy R’n’B theme music and offered Dusty exactly that but also threw in the option of having Goldust rehired. She actually said there was only one open spot. Remember that as newcomers continue debuting on the main roster in the coming months.

Dusty refused to choose. His reasoning was that as a parent he couldn’t pick one son over another. This resulted in The Shield storming the ring and Big Show being summoned by Steph. ‘The Dream’ was then given a second choice: a beating from The Shield or a KO punch from ‘The World’s Largest Athlete’. Dusty refused to pick so Show was ordered to do the deed.

That didn’t happen so Steph ordered The Shield to dish out some hurt. Show yelled at them not to. Reigns evened the score with chairs so Show ended up launching his WMD fist at Dusty anyway (Dusty swayed after absorbing the blow instead of doing what everyone else does and simply falling flat, which allowed Show to catch him). Rhodes did a stretcher job.

 

Big Show sobs after accidentally killing Dusty Rhodes

 

It was a bit long-winded but it got the job done. Steph looks like a callous ice queen and we were all reminded that Cody Rhodes exists. Plus they managed to keep Big Show’s story going. Not bad. It’s just a shame so much else on the show was filler.

That RAW Recap 25.03.13

Two weeks from WrestleMania and WWE is still producing RAW episodes with a lot of filler. The company and the people who run it have all been around long enough for this not to be concerning. It's WWE's system and they know what they're doing. It doesn't mean WrestleMania is going to suffer. Unfortunately it doesn't make for interesting viewing though either. Regardless of what pay-per-view's next on the calendar WWE should be aiming to give us a solid show every week.

From the irrelevant filler file: Ryback trounced SmackDown main eventers 3MB; Mark Henry beat fearsome combo Jimmy and Jey Uso; Antonio Cesaro defeated World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio via count out in a four minute disappointment; and The Shield were built up for WrestleMania by being put over Justin Gabriel, Zack Ryder and The (Not So) Great Khali. All of this was done for a reason, but it was boring. All involved could have been given something more interesting to do and the same effect (preparing for 'Mania) could have been achieved.

Slightly better were the match between The Miz and Wade Barrett and the continuation of Chris Jericho's feud with Fan... Dan... Go (you've got to let the vowels breathe). 'The Awesome One' beat Barrett in order to set up their long rumoured Intercontinental title bout at WM29. The match was pretty decent. That bodes well for the big show, although they're going to get a shorter run time there.

Looks like Fandango's been raiding John Morrison's ring gear closet

Despite my aversion to 'Y2J' and the ballroom dancer's dispute before it began I'm pleased that the programme has been well constructed so far. Those rumours that Vince McMahon was personally working on the Fandango character days after hip surgery must have been true. Right now they've got the third most logical 'Mania rivalry behind Lesnar v Triple H and Del Rio v Swagger. Who'd have guessed that a month ago?

Speaking of which, both of those feuds saw advancement on Monday. Swagger distracted ADR. It was perfunctory advancement. Meanwhile 'The Game' cut a short and forgettable promo about how you should always expect to wrestle your last match against a guy like 'The Pain'. He also said he was going to WrestleMania to fight, not to wrestle. Maybe they should get some FightMania graphics prepped for that match.

Not every WrestleMania match is being treated so well. Undertaker v CM Punk is a prime example. The feud that should have been about Punk's continued demands for respect and proving to "the WWE Universe" that he's the best has instead revolved around a prop urn purportedly containing the ashes of 'The Phenom's' former manager Paul Bearer.

That Bearer would have approved of this and that his family have signed off on his involvement in the storyline isn't the point. If it'd truly what Bill 'Paul Bearer' Moody would have wanted that's fine. It's a missed opportunity. The match itself will still be great, I'm sure. The approach to it has been dull. Promos from Punk about how ending The Streak will force everyone to respect him would have been so much better.

RAW opened with Punk cutting what was by his standards a snore of a promo. He said he'd gotten under 'The Dead Man's' skin. He said The Streak could have gone on forever if Undertaker hadn't come up against Punk. 'Taker showed up and pummelled him until Punk escaped the ring and ran away. It was as dreary as it sounds.

It's difficult to care about any of this. We all know Punk's losing at WrestleMania. The draw of the feud was seeing the respect-obsessed 'Best in the World' of the last eight months come up against the man who has earned more respect than anyone in company history over his twenty-three year stay. It was that build as much as the match itself that appealed about Punk challenging The Streak. Acknowledging the death of Paul Bearer was absolutely the right thing to do, and the tribute they aired was touching. But his involvement should have ended there.

Nobody needs to see more of this

Closing the show was a debate between WrestleMania opponents (twice in a lifetime, folks!) John Cena and The Rock. They were given questions by Dusty Rhodes, Booker T, Mick Foley and Bret Hart with Jerry Lawler on compare duty (which sounds like a poor American version of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue). Ric Flair was originally meant to be a part of this segment too. My assumption is that Booker replaced him. In case you've not heard a blood clot in 'The Nature Boy's' leg concerned WWE's medical staff. They sent him to a hospital, who sent him home. It's unlikely he'd have contributed a great deal. Best to put health first, 'Naitch'.

Mick Foley opened by asking John Cena if he was prepared to deal with the regret another loss to The Rock would bring him. Cena didn't give a direct answer. He was never going to. This was an excuse to have Cena and Rock cut promos on each other in a moderately fresh environment. Instead he flanneled about how beating 'The Brahma Bull' is "the big one" for him. If he can't do it fans will greet him with derision in every arena in the country (and presumably the world). He admitted he's statistically good but basically his point was beating The Rock is his greatest challenge.

All of which cheerfully ignored the fact that fans already greet Cena with derision on a regular basis.

Rock responded with a story about growing up near Philadelphia (which is where RAW was being held). If we're to believe all of Rock's stories then he must have had about fourteen different childhoods.

Bret Hart's question was more of a statement. He said watching Rock and Cena verbally swipe at each other last year reminded him of himself and Shawn Michaels. ‘The Hitman’ was disappointed by the bad blood. Rock said he respected Cena because he beat him at WrestleMania XXVIII fair and square and 'The Franchise' didn't complain. He took his loss like a man, said Rocky. Which is true. Cena said Rock has proven his dedication to wrestling by winning the WWE championship. A weird leap of logic, but that's Cena.

Booker T's wanted to know why Cena says he has to beat The Rock at WrestleMania. In fairness Cena had addressed this point when answering the night's first question. His said simply that he'll beat The Rock because he has to.

Rock wasn't satisfied with that answer even though, when you get right down to it, within the parameters of kayfabe every wrestler has to win every match because they have to. Nevertheless Cena was pushed for further comment and gave it. He stated that Rock was the only man who'd ever gotten into his head, which caused him to make a mistake during their previous match. That mistake was going for a Rock Bottom on The Rock and it cost him the match. In Cena's mind if he hadn't done that he'd have won and proven he's better than Rock, because he is (apparently) better than The Rock. Which would make a nice tag line for this year's show, WrestleMania XXIX: Better Than The Rock.

Naturally Rock didn't take kindly to Cena's statement. He argued that if Cena had had him beaten he'd have beaten him. He lost, so he didn't have The Rock beaten. He dredged up Flair's old "to be the man... wooooooo... you gotta beat the man" line and told Cena he'll never win because he's not the man.

'The Dream' piped up. Cena said he wanted to provide The Rock with a loss that will haunt him. Rock retorted that he's not built that way. He'll still be 'The People's Champion' on Monday 8 while Cena will be asking himself why he lost again (and eating Fruity Pebbles apparently).

There was a staredown. Cena went for an AA but Rock slipped out and dished out a Rock Bottom instead. Rock left the ring. Cena busted out his patented kicked puppy look to show that he's really up against it at WrestleMania and is beginning to doubt he can beat 'The Great One'. It would have been the ideal way to end the pre-'Mania RAW. 

 

Great reactions from the guys at the table: Foley seems to be getting up, Hart's just staring into space and Dusty's doing  dance

The point of the segment seemed to be to show that Cena hadn't taken the loss as well as originally believed. That's why they had Rock acknowledge Cena's acceptance of losing early on, before Cena unravelled on the question of why he must win. It wasn't quite pulled off, but it was a good attempt and makes for a logical story. That's important with any match, particularly a WrestleMania main event.

The main event Q&A was a success because it worked. It got done what it needed to. Very little else on the show can make that boast.

NXTweet 13.03.13

Last week’s NXT felt sparse. This week’s show more than made up for it with matches featuring Kassius (or Kass-yus, as Tony Dawson likes to call him) and Bray Wyatt. Even Big E Langston had a match. That’s become something of a novelty since he got called up to the main roster to work as Dolph Ziggler’s enforcer.

The NXT champ worked a competitive main event against the United States champion Antonio Cesaro. That came about when ‘The Swiss Superman’ interrupted an address by World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio. It was a strange segment. The World champ essentially showed up to be interrupted and provide the impetus for a match featuring two men he usually has nothing to do with. It would have been more interesting to see him wrestle someone like Corey Graves or Conor O’Brian.

The Big E v Cesaro match was good. WWE has a peculiar habit of booking guys that start out winning via squash in longer and longer matches. Look at what happened with Ryback and Brodus Clay last year. I suppose it makes sense to do this on NXT: it’s supposed to be somewhere guys improve and they’ll improve far quicker if they’re given longer matches.

Ohno wrestled against Derrick Bateman. Oddly it was Daniel Bryan’s former on-screen protégé that dominated the majority of the match. Ohno, by far the man with the higher standing, got what amounted to a fluke victory after booting Bateman in the chops. The booking wasn’t bad, but it was surprising.

Following his win Ohno slapped his STF kravat hold onto Bateman. William Regal made the save. I’ve written before that a televised collision between them would be A Good Thing. If announced a week or two in advance and built up as a meaningful match it would make a very worthwhile main event.

 

Ohno channelling Thor in preparation for his upcoming showdown with William Regal

 

Bray Wyatt lost to Bo Dallas. It was a relatively uninspiring showing. Bray’s good in the ring, but he’s far more interesting as a character than as a wrestler. His opposition didn’t help. I’m not a fan of Dallas: everything from his long, stringy hair to his generic wrestling style put me off him.

Wyatt puts me in mind of Raven during his ECW heyday heading up the Flock. The Wyatt Family isn’t as impressive as that iconic and eclectic stable but Bray has many similarities with Raven. They both work a brawling style, wear street clothes for their matches, and are excellent promos. There’s a hint of the old Raven trait of being a cult leader in Bray too. I like the similarity. Raven was underappreciated everywhere outside of ECW. I’d like it if Bray could succeed in WWE with a similar gimmick.

Opening video

Tweet 1: NXTweet.

Tweet 2: Alberto Del Rio's going to appear. That'll be... well, it'll be something.

Derrick Bateman v Kassius Ohno

Tweet 3: It’s Kassius… OHNO!

Tweet 4: This has been on my mind for a while now: what's going on with Bateman's hair. Looks like he's asked for the "Elaine from Seinfeld" look.
Tweet 5: Dawson is still saying "Kass-yus". Weird fella.
Tweet 6: Bateman was on offence for most of that. Ohno pulled out a win with a boot to the face. Booking Bateman like a job: good stuff!
Tweet 7: Regal saved Bateman from a devastating kravat. The fans gave him a token, brief, chant.

Emma v Summer Rae

Tweet 8: It's Emma. She still seems drunk. I don't understand this act at all.

Tweet 9: "If you thought she was talented with the microphone..." - Tony Dawson on Summer Rae (he tailed off and didn't finish the sentence)
Tweet 10: Regal says Summer's wrestled like a veteran in the women's division.
Tweet 11: She's been wrestling for about a month. With the division the way it is that qualifies her as a veteran.

Is that Summer Rae or Kelly Kelly? It's difficult to tell...

Tweet 12: According to Regal Summer just performed a "headmare".
Tweet 13: Spinning heel kick there. It would be more accurate to say spinning thigh kick but never mind.
Tweet 14: Paige's return was greeted with apathy. Probably because the fans forget she was supposed to be "injured".

Renee Young interviews Adrian Neville

Tweet 15: Adrian Neville promo. #Geordievision

Tweet 16: Neville looks like an imp.

Matt Striker interviews Big E Langston

Tweet 17: You know Big E Langston's a star because Matt Striker's been called in to interview him.

Tweet 18: Big E's defense against Conor O'Brian will be delicious. I hope that match features Langston licking O'Brian several times.

Bo Dallas v Bray Wyatt

Tweet 19: When Bray Wyatt is given the chance to cut promos on people that matter he'll become a star.

Tweet 20: Bo Dallas does not matter.
Tweet 21: Was Wyatt just singing a song from The Lion King?
Tweet 22: The Wyatt Family should recruit more members. Stick Justin Gabriel in and have him dress in a giraffe outfit. It'd be a refreshing change.
Tweet 23: Bo Dallas beating Bray is apparently a shock, even though he's the one who won a slot in the Rumble and beat Wade Barrett.
Tweet 24: Bray's finisher should be called the Husky DDT.

Not dissimilar to Raven

Renee Young interviews Justin Gabriel

Tweet 25: Justin Gabriel's going to tell us all about his problems with Leo Kruger. Oh good.

Tweet 26: Gabriel told us NOTHING about his problems with Kruger there. He just explained that Kruger was in the South African militia.

Alberto Del Rio promo, featuring Ricardo Rodriguez, Antonio Cesaro and Dusty Rhodes

Tweet 27: Albertooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Dellllllllllllllllllllll Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiooooooooooooooooo!!

Tweet 28: "'Viva Del Rio' they shout everywhere he goes!" - Tony Dawson, lying
Tweet 29: Nice of Del Rio to dress for the occasion.
Tweet 30: To say he's the new WHC is stretching it a bit. He won it over two months ago.
Tweet 31: Antonio Cesaro... Heeeey!!
Tweet 32: If Cesaro thinks he can beat Del Rio why not challenge him to a title match?
Tweet 33: It's 'The Dream'... baybee!

Big E Langston v Antonio Cesaro

Tweet 34: Big E Langston, walking to the ring through an explosion of powder. What a man! What a MACHINE!

Tweet 35: I'd like Dawson to say that Langston is "285 pounds of pure Big E goodness."
Tweet 36: Cesaro doesn't wear kneepads. He doesn't wear elbow pads. You're lucky he's wearing trunks!
Tweet 37: That uppercut was very European.
Tweet 38: Cesaro deadlifting Langston is the highlight of this show. His expression was priceless.
Tweet 39: E Train? Good name for a move. Ridiculous, but good.
Tweet 40: Conor O'Brian and Corey Graves do run-ins. This qualifies as chaos according to Dawson.
Tweet 41: Langston is clearly not popular with the locker room. Nobody made the save. Not even ADR.

NXTweet 06.03.13

The fact that NXT airs weeks after being recorded can sometimes lead to strange situations. Like on this week's show, where Corey Graves, Conor O'Brian and Bo Dallas were to clash for the second week in a row and it wasn't mentioned by the commentary team. The two shows had been recorded weeks apart rather than on the same night, which presumably led to the forgotten emphasis.
 
Things like this don't happen often on NXT, and they're not major problems when they do. It remains jarring though.
 
The triple threat match was to decide on the next challenger to Big E Langston's NXT championship. Annoyingly Conor O'Brian won. He faced Big E a few weeks ago in a decent match that went to a no contest. I'd have preferred one of the other two men to win to give us something fresh. Graves in particular would have been a far more interesting choice than 'The Ascension'.

All three-way matches should have a spot like this

 
In a way this illustrates one of the good things about NXT. There is a distinct lack of an upper tier, which places everyone on the same level and creates an atmosphere where anyone could realistically win the title if given the chance. This makes it an unpredictable watch, and unpredictability in wrestling is rarely a bad thing.
 
Will O'Brian defeat Ziggler's bodyguard? It's possible but I wouldn't say it's likely. Big E is doing very well on NXT and a loss could harm him.
 
Elsewhere on the show six Divas fumbled their way through a six (wo)man tag team match. The heel team of Alicia Fox, Aksana and Audrey Marie were on target for most of the bout. On the opposite side of the ring Sasha Banks looked good, Cameron looked decent, and Naomi looked horrendous.
 
Leo Kruger beat Yoshi Tatsu with the London Dungeon in a brief outing. And lastly (in the opener, ironically) Adrian Neville won a handicap match against two nondescript villains, both of whom were larger than him, after Oliver Grey was assaulted backstage by the Wyatt Family. The fiends!
 
Speaking of the Wyatts the saga of Bray attempting to recruit Bo Dallas continued during this show. First Dallas was approached during a backstage interview (in which he was bragging about winning a Rumble slot, which happened well over a month ago and made me wonder if I was accidentally watching an old episode) and then Bray sauntered to ringside during the main event. It was the Family leader pulling Corey Graves out of the ring that distracted Dallas and allowed 'The Ascension' to get his win.
 
Will Bo end up joining the villainous Family? Stay tuned, grapple fans!

Dusty Rhodes promo

Tweet 1: Be warned: I am watching NXT.

Tweet 2: NXTweet.
Tweet 3: Here comes the living turnip Dusty Rhodes. #eefyooweel
Tweet 4: He just said it! #eefyooweel
Tweet 5: Want to know what this beefed up security consists of? Arn Anderson patrolling corridors wielding a sack of doorknobs.

Adrian Neville v Judas Devlin and Scott Dawson

Tweet 6: Who are these jabronis in the generic gear?

Tweet 7: PAC's lost Oliver Grey. He's going to wrestle a handicap match. This is known as Ryback Syndrome.
Tweet 8: I don't think I want to know what the Wyatt Family got up to with an unconscious Grey.
Tweet 9: Pretty shoddy medics over there at the NXT Arena.

Where were the medics?

Leo Kruger v Yoshi Tatsu

Tweet 10: What happened to that face paint or half mask or whatever it was that Yoshi was wearing?

Tweet 11: I've not actually seen much of him since last year so he probably dropped it a while ago.
Tweet 12: Is South Africa on Twitter?
Tweet 13: London Dungeon there. Lovely to see.

Cameron, Naomi and Sasha Banks v Audrey Marie, Aksana and Alicia Fox

Tweet 14: Six Diva tag match. Expect botches.

Tweet 15: The Funkadactyls' aren’t troubling 'Taker for Best Ring Entrance Ever.
Tweet 16: Alicia Fox is a heel again? Why? Why not?
Tweet 17: Naomi is breathtakingly sloppy here. It's no wonder they don't let her wrestle on important shows.
Tweet 18: It's over. I can say that that was certainly a wrestling match.
Tweet 19: The winning Divas hug one another to celebrate. Why are Kane and Bryan the only male team that does that?

Bo Dallas talks about his Rumble win backstage

Tweet 20: Didn't Bo Dallas get attacked last week? Why isn't that being mentioned?

Tweet 21: Bray Wyatt saved that segment via boundless charisma.

Summer Rae witters

Tweet 22: Here's Summer Rae. Generic interview ahoy!

Tweet 23: Summer Rae is the argument in favour of scripted promos. Imagine how bad she'd be if she could do what she wanted.
Tweet 24: #Shieldvision
Tweet 25: Basically, The Shield are going to carry on doing run-ins and nobody's going to stop them. Not even the mighty Dusty Rhodes.

Number One Contendership match – Conor O’Brian v Corey Graves v Bo Dallas

Tweet 26: The commentators don't seem too bothered with reminding us that this match was due to happen last week. It's peculiar.

Tweet 27: I don't know this referee's name but for what it's worth I don't care for him.
Tweet 28: "I truly believe that size does matter" - William Regal
Tweet 29: I can't imagine Bo Dallas or Conor O'Brian anywhere except WWE. They don't look like guys that would succeed in ROH or TNA.
Tweet 30: O'Brian's gimmick would work in CHIKARA though. Probably.
Tweet 31: Why isn't Corey Graves billed as being from "The Dumpsters of New York City"?
Tweet 32: For the record I want Graves to win this. Best wrestler in the match. I think him versus Big E would be good.
Tweet 33: Bray update: he is stood at ringside dressed, as usual, like someone who handles alligators for a living.
Tweet 34: 'The Ascension' wins. It's the worst possible scenario: an uninspiring challenger that we've seen wrestle the champ before.
Tweet 35: In twenty years O'Brian will be held in the same regard as the Undertaker.