A review of the first episode of the NXT Evolution of the WWE!

Welcome to the very first edition of NXT Generation! Before I jump on in, I feel it necessary to note that my previous column, “The Independent Scene,” is now dead. This is due in large part to the fact that the only independent promotions I’m following are Dragon Gate USA, Evolve, and – to an extent – Chikara. Did you know that Tyler Black was Ring of Honor champion? I didn’t! That doesn’t really make me the man to discuss the goings on of the independents.

It does, however, make me qualified to review a weekly TV show, which I’m more than happy to do. Plus, you know, I don’t need to be creative, which makes me more than qualified to be a member of WWE Creative come April. So go me.

Now, onto Episode 1 of NXT!

The show opens with the rookies and mentors along with the show’s tag line of “Eight Rookies, Eight Pros, One Dream.” The rookies are all lined up and The Miz comes face to face with his rookie, one Daniel Bryan. The Miz notes Bryan’s pedigree. For the three of you who come to this site and don’t know who he is (and somehow missed the show), Bryan’s a darling of this here internet, a star on the independent scene (both the actual scene and my former column), and an international sensation. The Miz asks him if he’s ready and Bryan says he is. Miz tells him to go to the ring, introduce himself, and show charisma (hence why the two are paired) and make people want to watch him on Tuesday night. When Bryan leaves, The Miz says his mentee’s personality is lacking and that he’s going to slap some of it into him if he doesn’t show it.

Bryan gets to the ring and we’re introduced to hosts Michael Cole and Josh Matthews (with Matt Striker as our guest host). Bryan thanks everyone for the welcome and quickly notes that he wanted William Regal as his pro. He talks about having wrestled all over the world and that he’s finally made it to the WWE. The Miz comes out and says that Bryan needs work. Bryan retorts by saying that he’d make Miz tap now, and Miz puts over his submission ability while wondering whether or not he has the tools to succeed in WWE. Bryan says that he could go on reality television, get a fauxhawk, and act stupid, but that it’s been done. Bryan then tries out a catchphrase, telling The Miz that if they were to face off, that he’d have two choices: to tap or to snap. The Miz asks the crowd about Bryan’s charisma and tells him that he failed, slapping him hard across the face to further the point. Miz leaves and Bryan says that the time will come for him to slap him back. Already, I’m sold on Bryan in WWE because that was great.

Back from the break, Bryan is with Striker and The Best in the World says he’s not embarrassed about the slap; he notes that he slaps harder than the Miz, but Striker rebukes him by saying that he needs to listen to his Pro and show respect if he wants to be a star. He says that he admires his confidence.

Carlito comes out to the ring and introduces us to Michael Tarver. A promo airs about Tarver (a.k.a. Mr. 1.9 Seconds) that shows how fast he knocks opponents out.

Match #1: Carlito and Michael Tarver v. Christian and Heath Slater
Slater’s promo airs during his and Christian’s entrance. Slater is a rock star who loves to show off. I’m already looking forward to a match with John Morrison.

The bell rings and Carlito and Slater start things off. Slater goes for a rollup, which gets two. Carlito grabs him and throws him into the corner. Tarver comes in and whips Slater, but Slater jumps up before Tarver can capitalize and hits a cross body. Slater hits some arm drags, but Tarver gets the momentum back and drops him on the second rope. He and Carlito double team and Carlito goes back in. He puts on a chinlock and drops him and then tags back in Tarver. Tarver starts clubbing Slater, but eats a scoop slam when Tarver bounces off the ropes. The Pros both get tagged in, and Christian quickly asserts himself. He hits a missile dropkick but Carlito repeatedly blocks the Killswitch. Christian’s in the corner and Carlito uses this opportunity to tag in Tarver. Christian gets whipped into the opposite corner but Christian capitalizes, hitting an elbow on Carlito and a boot to Tarver. Slater comes in and takes Carlito to the floor. Christian comes off the rope with a spinning back elbow and hits the Killswitch for the win.

Winners: Christian and Heath Slater
Thoughts: Decent given the time (about 4 and a half minutes), but the match was nothing special. The match basically highlights where most of the rookies are in relation to their mentors. Given Tarver’s status as a knockout machine, I’m surprised he took the loss. I would have expected him to KO his fellow rookie and get the win. Like I said, though, nothing special.
Rating: **

Backstage, we see Darren Young with the Straight Edge Society and saying that their styles clash would be quite the understatement – Young is a party machine. He’s going to face David Otunga.

Match #2: Darren Young (with CM Punk, Luke Gallows, and Serena) v. David Otunga (with R-Truth)
Punk is interviewed, saying he’s a mentor to the Straight Edge Society and no one else and he wonders why he was even picked to be a Pro. We get a promo video for Otunga, who mentions that he’s Jennifer Hudson’s fiancé. He thinks quite highly of himself, comparing himself to The Rock, Triple H, and John Cena in the span of ten seconds. As R-Truth raps his entrance, Otunga is all business.

The two lock up when the bell rings, and Young clubs Otunga and hits a back elbow for 2. Otunga clotheslines him and shoulders him, throwing him into the ropes. He hits one of the WORST spinebuster slams I’ve ever seen and that gets the three.

Winner: David Otunga
Thoughts: I think it’s pretty clear that the intention is to make Otunga look like one of the stars of NXT with Bryan, but that was a pretty bad first impression. When the entire match is thirty seconds long and you botch your big move, it does not bode well. A match this short is going to have a low rating no matter what, but that botch makes this bad boy a clunker.
Rating: DUD

Miz’s slap on Bryan is replayed and the hype for the main event rolls on.

The Raw rebound covers the Cena/McMahon story and Cena v. Batista is official for WrestleMania XXVI, which in all likelihood will be the main event.

Main Event: Match #3: World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho (with Wade Barrett) v. Daniel Bryan (with The Miz)
Jericho tells Barrett to introduce him, and Barrett basically starts by putting himself over, calling himself Europe’s best fighter. He says that it’s an honor to be paired with Jericho and Y2J cuts him off, telling him that he wanted an introduction. Barrett finally does what he’s asked. Bryan pushes past The Miz to get to the ring, and for some reason we get another commercial break.

Bryan goes for a handshake when the bell rings, but Jericho slaps the hand away. Jericho slaps Bryan in the mush twice but Bryan comes back with a dropkick. Jericho goes into the corner and is hit by a forearm and a bunch of stomps, but he gets an opening and punches Dragon in the face. Jericho cements his momentum with a dropkick and some stomps. He puts in a chinlock, but Bryan gets to his feet. He’s thrown off the ropes but capitalizes with a roll-up, which gets two. Jericho counters with an enziguiri and gets 2. Bryan is backed into a corner and hits a few shoulder blocks before dodging a charge. He capitalizes with some kicks and a dragon screw. He tries to whip Jericho, but Jericho reverses only for Bryan to flip over. He slips under Jericho and hits a running clothesline for a 2. Jericho gets another clothesline and goes out to the floor. Bryan dives out after him but Jericho grabs him and drives him into the announcer’s table. This only serves to fire Dragon up, and it leaves him with a pretty good welt on the side of his abdomen.

By the way, while all of this is going on, Michael Cole is being just absolutely vicious on the microphone about Dragon, talking about how he has no idea who he is and how wrestling in high school gyms doesn’t make you a great wrestler. We’ll talk more about that later. Jericho rolls back into the ring after the table encounter, and Bryan tries for a springboard but gets caught. Jericho goes for the Walls of Jericho, but Bryan grabs Jericho’s leg and counters puts in an ankle lock. Jericho rolls around and manages to get hold of the ropes. Bryan breaks the hold and walks right into a Codebreaker. Jericho busts out a rare Liontamer this time and gets the tap out.

Winner: Chris Jericho
Thoughts: A really good main event given the time (about 6 and a half minutes). Some will probably complain that Bryan shouldn’t lose his first match, but consider that he faced the World Heavyweight Champion and looked really good for most of the match, and there’s no reason AT ALL to complain. Dragon managed to get the fans behind him – they responded really well to the ankle lock – and any fears that people have about Dragon’s role in WWE should probably be assuaged by this entire show.

As for Cole, I know some will complain about the burial on the microphone, but I’m okay with it, because Bryan’s impressive ability in the ring counters what Cole is saying. In other words, Cole’s the heel announcer on this show – if Bryan jobbed in thirty seconds, it’d be one thing, but I think that ultimately the goal is to make Bryan into a star.
Rating: ***

Post match, The Miz gets in the ring and starts laying into Bryan. Striker is backstage with the six other rookies and we get a video package for the episode showing highlights.

Overall Thoughts: Not a bad debut show at all. Jericho-Bryan was a pretty good match that showed that everyone’s favorite internet darling can work a WWE style under time constraints and still be awesome PLUS he showed he has the potential to hang with main eventers. I’m already looking forward to the match where he beats The Miz – and likely becomes the first rookie to beat a pro. While the non-Bryan stuff ranged from forgettable but alright to downright awful (Otunga), I’m excited for next week and interested in seeing what Justin Gabriel and the whole of NXT’s got.