NXT – Episode 219
May 1, 2014
Triple H opens the show with an announcement. He says the WWE Universe is starting to be increasingly filled by former NXT stars and the line is being blurred. “It’s like NXT is taking over the world” The world, people.
He then announces what we already knew — May 29 there will be a live two-hour special taking place from Full Sail University, “NXT Takeover”.
Tyson Kidd vs. Bo Dallas
Good for this jobber Tyson, he gets another run in Orlando. During his entrance, William Regal notes that Bo Dallas gave him something to BO-LIEVE in and that he was a heathen before. Seems dubious. They start hyping up that Bo Dallas is on his way to the main roster. Kidd gets on offense early with a series of kicks in the corner. Snap suplex by Kidd, he goes to the top but Bo slides out of the ring. Tyson fakes a springboard splash but Dallas grabs his leg, pulls him off the apron, slides Tyson into the ring and immediately goes for the pin. BO-lieve it or not, he only got a 2. The fans start singing “The whole worlds in his hands” because they are smart and they know that Dallas is Wyatt’s brother. Luckily this only lasted a few seconds.
Kidd goes for a dropkick but Dallas holds the ropes, Kidd hits the mat and Dallas again goes for a pinfall without his own offense. Regal asks “Does anyone know if Tyson Kidd is still married?” The other announcers mention that yes, he’s still married to Natalya which Regal replies “Hmm…I thought that would only last a week.” I have no idea what that was all about. Bulldog by Dallas, close two count. Bo starts showing frustration, pushing the ref into the corner. Tyson with a blockbuster out of nowhere and a three count! Bo is just so….there. Tyson looked great though. **1/2
Post-match Bo looks completely stunned that he lost and starts pacing around the ring and screaming at the crowd.
Devin Taylor who probably should marry me interviews Camacho and asks about his recent problems with Adam Rose. Camacho says he’s not a party pooper and that he throws the best parties “in the NXT Universe.” He says Rose’s parties look like Bingo Night at the Elk’s Lodge compared to his. I’ll take that as a slight at indy wrestling and get way too upset about it.
Rose enters the interview area, “wherever Adam goes it’s party time.” The music plays, the geeks enter and it’s party time. Even the goddess Devin starts dancing, thankfully she’s not very good at it meaning I still have a chance with her. Camacho covers his face and walks off screen and we go to a video package at the NXT Women’s Championship tournament.
Bailey vs. Sasha Banks: Bailey has an incredibly bright/fun entrance complete with wildy inflatable wavy guys. Sasha is accompanied by Charlotte. Sasha immediately attacks Bailey at the bell and starts beating on her in the corner and rolls her up for a quick two. Bailey with a few pinning attempts but twos across the board. Very aggressive start by both women, this is cool to see. Bailey gets Sasha’s leg caught in the ropes and starts slapping her on the back and plays to the crowd. Fisherman’s Suplex and a two count for Bailey. This is already better than anything I’ve ever seen Bo Dallas do. Sasha throws Bailey to the corner and starts slapping her back now. Did I mention how aggressive this match is thus far? Huge back body drop by Bailey and both women are down.
Sashas get thrown to the corner, Stinger Splash and Belly to Bailey! Sasha wisely rolls out of the ring. Bailey looks the other way, Sasha runs back into hits the Bankrupt…1…2…! Bailey kicks out and Sasha is shocked. This is pretty awesome.
Sasha immediately hits a Back Stabber and transitions into a crossface and Bailey taps. Very good women’s match. ***1/4
Video package for Brodus Clay, “WWE you took everything from me, my pride, my self-respect and my dignity.” Voiceover talks about losing his girls and his music. This is actually a pretty cool video and build for Clay. It’s a shame he’s no good. We’re getting Brodus Clay vs. Adrian Neville as the main event tonight and a hype video for Adam Rose, who we’ll experience next.
I like how Legends House promos say “Exclusively for WWE Network”
Adam Rose experience! Lights, dancing, lollipops, jobbers, oh it’s so beautiful. They have a huge bunny, it’s pretty creepy.
Danny Burch vs. Adam Rose: Hey, Danny Burch… here’s a guy that can stick around NXT for awhile! Burch tries to grapple with Rose but Rose just rolls around the mat for about a minute then poses to the crowd. Finally the two tangle as Burch hits a nice punch on Rose. Burch grabs Rose by the hair and starts pounding his head on the top turnbuckle but it doesn’t effect Rose who I guess we’re supposed to believe is Samoan now. He “Roses” up then hits his new finisher The Party Foul. The Exotic Express comes down to the ring to dance but it’s quickly broken up by Camacho. as he runs down and attacks the luchador Rosebud. This was hardly a match and the little wrestling wasn’t very good. *1/2
Natalya vs. Layla: The crowd does the Fandango dance for Layla’s entrance. Insert Layla promo that’s no good but god damn do I love inset promos. The winner here will face Sasha Banks. Tom Phillips talks about how prestigious the NXT Women’s Title is if these WWE competitors are trying to win it. They start off rather aggressively with Layla taking the advantage. Some stalling pretty early with Layla hitting a few arm-bar submissions. Natalya eventually turns the backs with a back elbow off the ropes, he tries to lock in the Sharpshooter but Layla espaces but she locks it right back in and Layla taps. This wasn’t even in the same universe as Sasha vs. Bailey. *3/4
Oliver Grey vs. Mojo Rawley: Oh christ. Mojo runs down to the ring and screams a bunch, camera shakes, you know the usual. Grey, who looks like he’s related to The Miz attempts to avoid Mojo in the ring but eventually knocks him down with a kick to the gut. Knees to Rawley’s head, this is Grey’s return from an ACL injury. Mojo with a Hyper Drive quickly and it’s over. That move is horrendous on him and he does it so soft, it just looks ridiculous. Hard to even call this one a match. *1/2
Aiden English comes out to cut a promo on Mojo. He starts walking to the ring, Mojo turns around to play to the crowd for some reason and Aiden runs in to attack him. Mojo quickly clotheslines him out of the ring and Aiden crawls to the back shouting at Mojo.
Brodus “Monstrous BC” Clay vs. Adrian Neville: Brodus has a ridiculous fake tan on his face, he looks like a video game character with poor coloring. The build around this match is Neville winning their previous matchup by countout and losing teeth after Brodus attacked him. Clay runs at Neville immediately but Neville drops to the ground and Clay goes tumbling to the outside. Neville hits a twisting plancha to the floor but the bell has yet to ring. Both men get back into the ring, the bell rings and we are officially underway. Huge sidekicks to the face of Clay by Neville. Adrian goes up for the Red Arrow right away but Brodus rolls to the corner. Dropkick by Neville, back to the top rope but Clay grabs Neville and throws him into the corner. Tree of woe position for Neville, Clay runs right into him. Belly-to-belly suplex by Clay, elbow drop and a one count for Clay.
Banzai drop by Clay but Neville again gets his shoulder up. Neville turns the tables with a few dropkicks to Clay’s knee and a dropkick to the side of his head to ground the big man. Neville goes to the ropes but Clay hits him with a headbutt in the chest. Powerbomb by Clay, and he goes to the top rope. Splash from the 2nd rope but Neville gets up at 2. I forgot to mention this is No DQ as Clay goes to the outside and grabs the NXT Title. Neville turns the tables with a sidekick to the title into Clay. Red Arrow and Neville gets the victory. This wasn’t awful but it wasn’t very good either. Neville played extreme underdog the entire time, which I get but really he only had a handful of offensive moves before getting the victory. **3/4
Final Thoughts:
This show fell off a cliff pretty early and is skippable if you’re pressed for time. Sasha Banks vs. Bailey was great and well worth a watch but there was nothing else of note on the show. Outside of that stellar Women’s match it was few jobber squashes, another mediocre Neville title defense, a solid Tyson Kidd match and an underwhelming WWE Divas match.
