Including my analysis of who’s currently closest to the chopping block!


Welcome to Episode 3 of NXT and the third edition of “NXT Generation!” Before we get into the actual review of this week’s episode, I thought it would be interesting to highlight the eight Rookies and talk about how I think everyone is doing.

Before anyone asks, I figure that since NXT is supposed to be a competition, we’re eventually going to have to see someone get eliminated. As I’m writing this section before this week’s episode airs, I should mention that I’m not anticipating the first cut this week. I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone get the axe next week, though.

The eight competitors are paired according to where I think everyone stands at the moment.

Leaders of the Pack
Daniel Bryan (0-2): Even with an 0-2 record, this show is really Daniel Bryan and everyone else. He’s been the focus of the entire show for two weeks, and the simple fact of the matter is that everyone’s favorite American Dragon hung with Chris Jericho in the main event of the first show. That speaks volumes in my book.

Wade Barrett (1-0): Let’s see. Barrett is paired with the World Heavyweight Champion. I believe he’s the biggest of the Rookies. He’s a good talker. He’s also got a win over the guy listed above. Seriously, the man’s got a real shot of going all the way to Raw. Don’t be surprised if he and Bryan are in the final and he gets the win (even though I’ll pick Bryan until he gets eliminated).

On Solid Ground
Justin Gabriel (1-0): Gabriel impressed last week in his debut, showing off some decent high flying moves in a tag win with his Pro, Matt Hardy. The fact that Gabriel’s holding gold down in FCW leads me to believe that he’s got a pretty good shot of winning it all.

David Otunga (1-1): The non-kayfabe reason for Otunga’s position is his association with Jennifer Hudson, but the simple fact is that R-Truth’s rookie dominated in Week 1 and lost only through interference in Week 2. Of course, his first match was only 10 seconds long and somehow hideously bad, but that’s beside the point.

On the Bubble
Skip Sheffield (0-1): While not the best wrestler of the bunch, Sheffield proved himself to be wildly entertaining last week. I’m hoping to see some more of that each and every week. The fact that he was on Raw yesterday makes me think that Skip will be hanging around for a while. YEP YEP YEP.

Darren Young (1-1): Young hasn’t had much of a chance to shine or show his gimmick, but the pairing with Punk bodes well. He’s got a win under his belt over David Otunga. When he actually starts showing some personality, we’ll get more of a feel of where Young belongs.

Heath Slater (1-0): I’m sorry, but Slater does absolutely nothing for me. He failed to impress in Week 1 and has yet to show me anything about him that doesn’t scream “I’m a generic midcard face and dumb as a brick to boot!”

NXT to Leave
Michael Tarver (0-1): Tarver’s gimmick is that of a knockout artist, and in his first match, not only did he lose, he failed to even show that devastating knockout punch. It wouldn’t have been hard to showcase it even in losing – he could’ve accidentally knocked out tag team partner and Pro Carlito, costing them the match – but the fact that he didn’t do much of anything makes me think Tarver’s tenure is not long for this earth.

Slater and Tarver, you’re on notice. When Elimination #1 happens, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s one of them.

Enough space has been wasted, so it’s time for me to move on to the actual show!

Following highlights of last week, we open with R-Truth and David “A-List” Otunga heading down to the ring. Matt Striker is backstage and once again explains the voting process that the Pros will eventually go through.

Match #1: R-Truth and David Otunga v. The Miz and Daniel Bryan
R-Truth asks the crowd what’s up and The Miz and Daniel Bryan come down to ringside. Cole notes that Bryan is wrestling in his home state. It’s worth noting that Miz and R-Truth will be facing off against one another for the Unified Tag Team Titles.

The Miz grabs the microphone before the bell and points out Daniel Bryan’s record and the fact that he hasn’t proved anything to The Miz, the WWE Universe, and the Pros. If Bryan takes the fall, The Miz promises he will be thrown off NXT and will never become a WWE superstar.

Bryan and R-Truth start off by locking up and countering quick holds to gain dominance. R-Truth puts Bryan in a headlock and Bryan whips him into the ropes. R-Truth pushes him to the ground, and then bounces off another set of ropes. Bryan leapfrogs him but eats a clothesline. That gets a 2 count, and the two quickly get on their feet. Otunga gets tagged in and the two hit a shoulderblock that gets a quick kick out. Otunga tags R-Truth back in and Bryan starts connecting fists. R-Truth lays in a kick and another big clothesline before Bryan gets tossed to the outside. Miz is soon tossed, and Otunga and Truth work together, tossing Truth over the ropes into the duo as we head to commercial.

As we head back from the break, I should note that Cole mentioned on commentary that the WWE Universe also plays a part in voting, so I’m a little confused as to how this voting process is going to eventually work. We’ll see, I guess.

Bryan’s in control, locking in a number of submissions on Truth. He has a big stretch and then breaks it for a chinlock. Truth eventually powers out of it and goes for the ropes, only for Bryan to be ready with a charging knee. He tags in Miz, who puts Truth in a facelock. R-Truth puts him on the canvas and goes for the tag, but Miz blocks it by hodling Truth over the shoulder. Truth counters that into a rollup for 2. Miz lays some fists into Truth on the floor before the ref tells him to break it. He puts Truth on the middle rope and tries to choke him, getting a 4. He goes for a charging kick, only to be denied. Miz tries an ankle lock to block Truth from getting the tag, but he can’t get it locked in and Truth tags in Otunga.

Otunga quickly shows his power with big fists. Miz hits a kick and goes to the top, but gets hit with a powerslam. The pin attempt is broken up by Bryan, and Miz uses that to throw Otunga into the ropes, basically neck-first. Miz staggers into his corner and Bryan uses the opportunity to tag in and climb to the top, hitting a big double stomp. He pushes Otunga into a corner and begins kicking away. Bryan blocks a corner charge by bouncing off the ropes, dodging a powerslam attempt, and putting in a heel hook in the middle of the ring. Miz tags in while the heel hook is in, and that causes Pro and Rookie to go at it. Truth uses the distraction to hit a big kick on Miz and Otunga picks him up and slams him for 3.

Winners: R-Truth and David Otunga
Thoughts: The second best match NXT has had thus far (behind Bryan-Jericho…funny how one guy was in both of those matches). Bryan looked great, and though he didn’t get the win AGAIN, the storytelling was once again brilliant. Bryan had the win with the heel hook, only for The Miz to sabotage it. The crowd is clearly into everyone’s favorite American Dragon. Miz and Bryan’s dynamic is great and Otunga looked alright in his limited action – which is what he needs as he develops. R-Truth was definitely solid, more than carrying his still green partner.
Rating: **3/4

After the match, Miz is screaming at Bryan and tells him he’ll be out of NXT if he doesn’t go away. Bryan acts as if he’s going to slap him, but he walks off.

Heath Slater is shown backstage, talking about his run-in with Carlito last week. Slater says that Carlito needs to look out, because he’s looking for revenge. Their match is after the break.

Back from commercial, Matt Striker asks The Miz if he’s let Daniel Bryan down. As The Miz talks about being a champion, Bryan comes out and says that every partner The Miz has ever had carried him. The Miz says he’s the talented one, but Bryan says that if he’s talented, then why was the one who lost the match?

Background information on Justin Gabriel is highlighted, showing his FCW work and his British-Japanese hybrid wrestling style. Gabriel talks about his chances and how he’s come so far.

In the locker room area, Matt Hardy points out that Gabriel is the first NXT Rookie to beat a Pro and that he’s main eventing again this week against Wade Barrett. As they’re strategizing, Jericho and Barrett come into the locker room. Jericho tells Gabriel that he needs to be at the top of his game. Gabriel says he’s not intimidated, and Barrett says that he destroyed Bryan. Hardy says that Gabriel is better.

Match #2: Heath Slater (with Christian) v. Carlito (with Michael Tarver)

I’m telling you, Tarver’s in rough shape considering that he’s not wrestling again. Carlito says Slater should be honored because he spit in his face last week. Cole defends Carlito’s actions due to the notoriety that Slater achieved. Carlito goes to spit the apple again, and Slater immediately starts laying in fists. Carlito whips him into the ropes and hits an elbow. The two are separated as the bell has yet to ring, and we go to commercial.

Back from the break, Carlito’s got an arm lock on Slater in the middle of the ring. Slater powers up and pushes Carlito into a corner. ‘Lito kicks him and starts choking him. The two exchange pushes, and Slater throws Carlito to the outside. ‘Lito looks flustered and talks with Tarver quickly. Carlito kicks Slater in the gut and pushes him into a corner, again laying in a bunch of fists. He whips him into the other corner, and Slater dodges a charge. He lays in some fists and then kicks Carlito after getting whipped off the ropes. He can’t capitalize, though, as the One Man Rock Band gets rocked with a big boot. He goes for a cover, which gets 2. Carlito puts in a headlock and clubs at Slater’s back. ‘Lito tosses him to the outside, but Slater lands on the apron and leaps over ‘Lito and tries for a rollup, only to see it blocked. Carlito puts on an arm stretch, but Slater breaks it. He can’t gain any momentum as he’s pushed into a corner. Carlito goes for what looks like a bronco buster but misses. Slater then hits a big clothesline and nails a facebuster, which gets 2.

Slater charges at Carlito but eats a spinebuster. Carlito goes to the corner for his apple, but Christian has it. He tosses it at Tarver, and Carlito clearly is distracted by the thievery. He tries for a Backstabber, but Slater blocks it and goes for a rollup, only getting 2. Slater goes for a lariat but is pushed into the corner. Carlito goes for a rollup, but Slater rolls through and gets the 3.

Winner: Heath Slater
Thoughts: Not bad. Carlito did about as good as he’s capable of doing, and Slater worked hard. He did a lot to impress this match. I’m already regretting saying he does nothing for me. He still seems fairly generic, but it’s good to know that he can carry his own in a match.
Rating: **

We profile Darren Young, who notes how hard he’s worked. He talks about being ready to party and always having fun –he’s here to entertain the crowd, and he resolves to succeed.

Next, we’re backstage with Young and the Straight Edge Society. Punk points out that Young needed him to win. Young respects the Straight Edge lifestyle, but he wants to live his life the way he wants. Punk tells him that he needs to embrace Straight Edge to succeed. Before the commercial, we see clips of the Undertaker-Shawn Michaels feud.

Back from the commercial, we get coverage of the Batista-John Cena feud, which I really feel is the best built match for what seems like a very good WrestleMania XXVI up to this point. Even with Taker and Michaels, I’m sure this is main eventing and I’m actually okay with that.

Main Event: Match #3: Wade Barrett (with Chris Jericho) v. Justin Gabriel (with Matt Hardy)

Barrett starts off with a strong kick and punch and then whips Gabriel into the ropes, Gabriel nails a leg sweep and gets 2 on a pin cover. He goes for the top rope but Barrett catches him and throws him into the corner, laying in some hard fists. He stretches Gabriel in the ropes and uses the ropes for leverage to drop Gabriel to the ground. He gets a 2 count and then works on an arm stretch. Gabriel powers out by elbowing Barrett’s knee. The crowd chants “USA” despite neither competitor being American. Gabriel is whipped into the ropes and hits a roundhouse kick and a big windup elbow. That gets a 2 count.

Gabriel leaps from the apron to the ropes and is placed in a Fireman’s carry, but slips out before Barrett can capitalize. Gabriel rolls Barrett up for 2, and Barrett kicks him in the gut. Barrett hits Gabriel with a rope-assisted backbreaker, getting 2. Barrett hits 3 big slams and then hoists Gabriel on the top rope. Jericho screams about how methodically Barrett works as Gabriel pushes the big Brit off the top. Gabriel uses the moment to hit his 450 splash, and that’s all she wrote.

Post-match, Jericho charges into the ring and sends Hardy to the outside. Jericho hits the Codebreaker on Gabriel and he then locks in the Lionheart. Jericho and his protégé celebrate in the ring as we fade for the week.

Winner: Justin Gabriel
Thoughts: Barrett looked good in losing, showing off a pretty good power game. Gabriel showed off his versatility and his ability to take abuse fairly well; he also showed that he can win out of nowhere, meaning he’s got potential. As for the match itself, there was nothing technically wrong with it, but I must admit that it wasn’t that enthralling. All I know is that with time, both of these guys can become big deals.
Rating: **1/4

Overall Thoughts: Let’s see…all three matches were good, one of which bordered on very good. We had a lot of development in the Bryan-Miz relationship and Gabriel and Barrett show they have the goods. PLUS, Slater did a lot to improve his stock in my eyes AND there were no stupid moments this week a la last week’s closing. I’d argue that from an all-around perspective, Episode 3 was the strongest in NXT’s young history.

That’s going to be it for this week. For those who follow independent wrestling, I will be at Evolve 2 this Saturday, and I’m going to do my best to present either a write-up or appear on the podcast for the first time in ages to give my rundown. If I go with the podcast, I promise I will have a better microphone than in previous appearances. If you’re not into the independent scene, then you know where and when to look for the review of Episode 4 of NXT!