Or: Daniel Bryan is Better than Everyone, Even Though He’s Still Winless!


Welcome back to “NXT Generation,” where this week, we’re going to hopefully see more entertaining wrestling from eight up-and-coming WWE stars and their mentors! Rather than a lengthy intro this week, I’m just going to jump into the play-by-play and save you all from a rant (good for you). I should note that I’m keeping my fingers crossed for an NXT rookie qualifying for Money in the Bank some time soon, since I think side incentives besides “winning” the competition need to come into play to keep things interesting.

We open with a recap of last week and then the opening video. Following that, David Otunga walks stoically to the ring while R-Truth raps. Matt Striker explains the voting process to those of us at home, noting that a pro can’t vote for or against his rookie and that the rookies are going to try to impress their pros.

Match #1: David Otunga (with R-Truth) v. Darren Young (with CM Punk)
Young immediately starts off with kicks. He puts Otunga in the corner and hits a sharp elbow. He goes for a whip, only for it to be reversed into a hip toss. Otunga follows this with another hip toss and a body slam to get 2. Young reverses a whip of his own and hits a neckbreaker. He puts a knee in Otunga’s back and then puts on a headlock. Otunga breaks it and he hits a suplex for another 2. Otunga goes to the apron and drives his shoulder into Young. He tries it again but Young is ready and nails a knee. He sends Otunga to the floor and hits a dropkick to prevent him from coming back in. Young starts talking to Punk as we go to commercial.

Back from the break, and Young has a headlock firmly cinched in. Punk is unipressed as Young starts driving in knees and then hits a suplex for 2. He re-applies the headlock and Otunga powers to his feet, using his fists to get the break. Otunga goes to the ropes, but Young anticipates it and drops him to the ground. Young re-applies the headlock, and again Otunga re-breaks it. Young drives Otunga’s head to the corner and whips him to the opposite. He can’t follow through as Otunga dodges and gets a roll-up for 2. Young hits a clothesline and gets 2.

Young gets another headlock and begins clubbing Otunga’s back. He drives Otunga to the corner and whips him again, but Otunga gets the advantage with a series of clotheslines. Young goes for a neckbreaker but Otunga counters and tosses him to the outside. Gallows and Truth start jawing as Otunga is on the outside, and when he gets back in he bounces off the ropes. Punk grabs a leg, which trips Otunga up and allows Young to hit his finisher (a full nelson/facebuster slam thing) and get the surprising win. After the match, Otunga shoves R-Truth.

Winner: Darren Young
Thoughts: Much better showing from both Young and Otunga this week, but that’s not saying much considering that last week they had about three moves between them in a short match, AND Otunga screwed up his finisher. Young spent far too much time trying the headlocks, but there was a lot more story here than last time, and there didn’t appear to be any horrible botches. That’s a plus.
Rating: **

We’re shown a profile of Daniel Bryan. Bryan notes that he’s not a rookie and that he’s held titles all over the world – they show him with the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship, and they mention his training with Shawn Michaels and his philosophy of wrestling. They also show him with a big bag of clams, making me flash back to Nigel McGuinness calling him a CLAM DIGGING ALBEENO.

By the way, Bryan’s calling himself to win it all and eventually main event WrestleMania. They then show clips of last week’s match with Chris Jericho. Bryan is getting his ribs checked by a trainer, and The Miz interrupts, clamoring for Bryan’s respect. Despite his injuries, Bryan is going to be working, facing Wade Barrett after the break.

After the break, Otunga says he got jumped by Punk. R-Truth pushes his rookie while shouting what sounds like gibberish and the two get into a brawl.

Match #2: Wade Barrett (with Chris Jericho) v. Daniel Bryan
Jericho comes to the ringside area with a microphone, which can only be good. Jericho calls Barrett the next big thing, leading to a promo package on Barrett – he’s a big man who’s from the mean streets of England. He’s out to make millions. Meanwhile, Bryan’s ribs are taped and The Miz is not out with him.

Barrett is a big, big man. He boots Bryan right in the taped ribs and then lays the fists to him. Barrett’s attack is focused early with shoulder blocks. Barrett whips him into the corner and does a backbreaker over the knee. That gets 2. Barrett hits a big suplex and then lifts Bryan, forcing him into the ropes. Bryan whips Barrett outside and then does a diving knee off the apron into Barrett’s chest. Back in the ring, Bryan climbs to the top rope but trips “due to his ribs” getting 2. Barrett hits a big press slam for 3.

Post match, Jericho comes in and lays a beatdown to Bryan. He again puts in the Liontamer and rookie and pro celebrate in the ring.

Winner: Wade Barrett
Thoughts: Not surprised that Bryan lost following the weakening of his ribs last week. The trip off the ropes was not pretty, but I’m pretty sure it was deliberate. Normally, I’d be beyond peeved that Dragon jobbed in a squash match, but this worked for story purposes. That doesn’t make it a great match, but it is good storytelling.
Rating: *1/2

We get a thank you to whatever band wrote the moderately annoying NXT theme music and then the Raw rebound, covering Michaels and Taker’s feud. They also clearly set the stage for Sheamus v. Triple H at WrestleMania. We then get a recap of Christian and Heath Slater’s teamwork, noting that not every pro-rookie pairing is at odds.

Slater talks about how great his week was last week and the reaction he got. Christian knocks him off his pedestal a little bit, noting that Slater wasn’t the only one to get a win and that the crowd was more behind Christian than him. He also notes Slater’s potential.

Matt is backstage with Hardy and Gabriel. Gabriel calls Matt a sensei; Matt calls him exciting and that he reminds Hardy of a young…Matt Hardy.

Main Event: Match #3: Matt Hardy and Justin Gabriel v. William Regal and Skip Sheffield
Regal and Sheffield are a complete odd couple. They show a package on Skip Sheffield, and this will be the only time I refer to him as a “cornfed meathead.” I refuse to let that stupid phrase enter my vernacular. He also notes that he’s an idiot who isn’t versatile in the ring, but he sure can rhyme! I probably WILL be saying “Yep, yep, yep, what it do” very soon.

Sheffield and Gabriel start things off and Cole talks about how Sheffield and Regal are at odds. Skip starts off with Gabriel in the corner, and he asserts himself early. Gabriel hits a dropkick and then puts in an armbar to get control. This allows Hardy to get the tag and the two double team for a while. Gabriel gets back in quickly and does a Jeff Hardy style dive off of Matt’s back to lead us into the break.

Back from the break, and now Regal is in the ring, dominating Gabriel. Regal hits a big slam and goes for a cover, getting 2. He puts in a wrenching headlock and then starts pounding away with lefts. Regal throws him and starts jawing in the corner with his rookie. This allows Hardy to get a hot tag, but Regal gets control, putting his boot to Hardy’s face on the apron. Regal pushes Hardy outside and Sheffield starts talking. Regal calls him a moron as Hardy rolls back in. He tags in Sheffield and Sheffield hits a slam and bounces off the ropes, doing a strutting splash which needs an immediate nickname. That gets a 2. He then starts laying the boots into Matt and he tags in Regal.

Regal hits a series of uppercuts and knees, then Hardy tries for a backslide which only results in neck damage to Hardy. Sheffield is back in and he powers Hardy to the ground. He goes for a cover but it only gets 2. Hardy eventually counters out of a powerslam, driving Sheffield to the mat. Regal gets the tag from Skip and Regal continues screaming at his rookie. Matt uses the lack of focus to drop Regal with a Twist of Fate. He tags Gabriel, who hits a huge 450 splash for the win.

Winners: Matt Hardy and Justin Gabriel
Thoughts: I was definitely impressed with both rookies in this match, but for very different reasons. Gabriel’s a solid wrestler; pairing him with the always over Hardy might be the wisest decision made in forming the 8 rookie-pro combos. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he won it. Sheffield, meanwhile, was entertaining in a funny sort of way. I enjoyed the Regal-Sheffield dynamic A LOT. There were definitely some moments that dragged in this one, but it was definitely a pretty good main event.
Rating: **1/2

Post-match, Striker is with the other six rookies. Carlito interrupts, sizing up all of the rookies. He spits in the face of Heath Slater, saying “That’s cool,” and ending the show on something of a dumb note.

Overall Thoughts: Overall, I enjoyed Episode 2 of NXT. There was more wrestling this week than last, and just about everyone delivered in some aspect. We have some interesting storylines developing, and I’m curious to see when the first decisions are made regarding each rookie’s future. I’m assuming there will be some sort of awesome elimination.

As for individual wrestler thoughts not covered, I’m already starting to think that I was wrong in assuming Daniel Bryan and David Otunga were the clear favorites to win. While Bryan’s still high on my list, I’m definitely going to throw Justin Gabriel into the mix. I’m also going to note that right now, with the way storylines are developing, I think things are really very wide open. I wouldn’t be surprised if WWE itself wasn’t sure of who was winning yet, waiting to see who truly impresses before audiences before deciding.