Tyler Reks and Percy Watson are the opening match of NXT tonight. Watston gets the win after about eight minutes of solid action when he goes over the top of Reks and gets the school boy rollup for the three count. Reks and Hawkins go to attack Watson after the match but Regal tells them they will be suspended for six weeks if they do. They leave the ring, furious.
^I can’t say enough for how talented Percy Watson is. I would guess that he will be brought up to the main roster sometime this year. Reks looks like he is just going to keep doing what he’s doing with Hawkins until WWE decides to create a legit tag team division on their main programming. This could take awhile. Regal is awesome as the man in charge of the show/match coordinator. This guy should be the GM of Raw or Smackdown.
Natalya is backstage waiting for her bra to be ironed. Michael McGillicutty approaches her. He tells her that Regal will give him a rematch with Tyson Kidd if he beats Derrick Bateman tonight. He starts to talk about the pressures of being a third generation superstar and she cuts him off. She tells him that what’s going on with him and Tyson is between them and tells him not to bring up her family again.
^Natalya is awesome. The flatulence angle didn’t come into play here. I’m thankful for that. McGillicutty has some big shoes to fill as his father’s shadow is a huge one to follow.
Natalya goes one on one with Kaitlyn. Tyson Kidd is on commentary for the match. They wrestle for a solid four minutes and Natalya makes Kaitlyn tap out to the sharpshooter in the center of the ring.
^This was the best divas match I’ve seen since the last good one I saw on NXT. These are the girls that should be on the main show. Forget about Kelly and the Bellas. These two should be working with Beth and Tamina as the focus of the diva’s division.
Backstage segment with Titus O’Neill and Darren Young. O’Neill shoves Young into Tamina and Alicia Fox as they walk by. Young says he knows Tamina had a busy week and she talks about Axxess and WrestleMania, but Young cuts her off. He says talks about her being busy because she was running through his head all day. She laughs and walks away. Young tells her he has reservations at McDonalds as she goes. O’Neill mocks him afterwards.
^O’Neill plays a great heel character. It’s too bad his in ring ability doesn’t match up with his quality speaking skills. Darren Young will make for a great face(possible partner for Justin Gabriel down the road?) once he is on a regular roster.
Titus O’Neill and Darren Young take on the Usos in our next match. The match goes for just under four minutes as Jimmy uses the Samoan drop and Jey Uso hits the splash from the top rope on O’Neill for the three count. The Usos celebrate with Tamina after the match. O’Neill gets mad at Young after the match for being too distracted by Tamina.
^The Usos should have won the tag team titles at WrestleMania. I’d be excited to see Primo and Epico drop the belts and come work with some of these guys on NXT. Really solid tag team action here all around. Titus and Young work well together, and I know Young is supposed to be heel, but he is really going to do much better in the same sort of face role that Justin Gabriel portrays.
Backstage segment with multiple characters. Kaitlyn asks Bateman and Watson if they still think she’s awesome even though she lost to Natalya. They do. Percy is upset about Riley being destroyed by Tensai on Raw. Maxine comes into the picture on her cell phone. She is telling someone she needs something. She bumps into the group and Bateman asks Kaitlyn and Watson to give them a minute alone. Bateman tells Maxine she’s acting insane and that she’s been stress eating. She says she hasn’t and then Johnny Curtis comes into the scene and tells her they need to talk urgently. He pulls her to the side and tells her that he received a call on his mobile device and that the kidnapper told them to be in the basement right now. Bateman yells “it’s getting weird” as they run off. Curtis yells back that it was his line to say. Bateman responds that Maxine was his fiance.Tyson Kidd comes into the scene and tells Bateman that he wants him to tear McGillicutty apart. They shake on it.
^Lots of things going on here. Lots of fun to watch these guys. Far more entertaining that anything John Laurinaitis says or does in a backstage promo.
Backstage segment with Curtis and Maxine in the boiler room. Reks and Hawkins attack Curtis and Reks holds him in a choke hold. They tell Maxine that she is going to get William Regal off their backs or they are going to make her and Curtis look like the kidnappers. They walk off after telling them that this is blackmail. Curtis and Maxine talk about how Reks and Hawkins have no idea how weird they can make things.
^Reks and Hawkins are the kidnappers? Couldn’t see that coming a mile away or anything. I’m actually intrigued to see how this whole angle plays out.
Michael McGillicutty takes on Derrick Bateman in our main event. They put on a solid seven plus minute contest. Bateman misses a double axe handle off the top rope and McGillicutty goes for the sharpshooter to mock Tyson Kidd. Bateman rolls him up into a small package and gets a one count only. McGillicutty stands up and hits the running neckbreaker for the three count. Tyson Kidd comes out to the stage to stare down McGillicutty as the show ends.
^Anytime Michael McGillicutty is in the ring, you know you’re going to get a solid performance. This guy is gold in the ring and should be the next heel IC Champion. This was another all around fun NXT to watch. The backstage storylines continue at a good pace, and the rivalries are as strong as ever. Great job once again from the people who write this script! I’ll have the usual stuff up this week and my first special edition TS column up by the tenth. Until next time, you’ve been ThunderStruck!
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