WWE NXT Review - April 17, 2014

The Great Khali prepares to chop CJ Parker.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Aiden English def. Colin Cassady

Both Cassady and English are entertaining acts, but much like when they feuded a few months, their matches are uninteresting. They are both good workers, but they just don't have great chemistry together. Cassady has potential as a singles act, but he's been floundering since Enzo Amore was sidelined with an injury. He's been booked badly by losing every match he's been involved in and the win doesn't do much for English. He's beaten Cassady multiple times before and he hasn't done anything of note since. Both guys need wins at the moment, so this was a lose-lose situation.


Camacho def. Oliver Grey

Similar to the last match, both of these guys were in need of wins coming of their respective hiatuses. This was especially true for Grey considering he's been out of action for a year. After seeing Camacho in a suit during a backstage segment last week, I expected him to be repackaged in some way, but I was disappointed to see him out to his old stereotypical entrance music without any kind of gimmick change. The match was decent enough, but the crowd didn't have any reason to care about either guy because they have yet to be properly introduced. The finish came out of nowhere and having Camacho go over Grey was questionable. I have no idea how Camacho will fare on his own, but I'd much rather see Grey get the push over Camacho.

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Camacho pins Oliver Grey for the victory.

NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension def. Wesley Blake and Cal Bishop (Non-title)

I could have sworn that these two "local athletes" have faced The Ascension before. Either way, this was no different than any other match Ascension had in the last... well, their entire careers. There wasn't anything to analyze here, of course, and I won't bother complaining about the lack of a tag team division in TNA since I'd feel like a broken record. As always, the "YAH!" chants from the crowd toward Ascension during the bout were the only thing worth watching about it.


The Great Khali def. CJ Parker

This match looked like a total train wreck on paper and their backstage segment last week didn't give me much hope. However, the match wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be. Granted, it was no masterpiece and was still pretty pain-inducing to watch, but it was quick and painless for the most part. I absolutely despise the asinine Parker gimmick, so I enjoyed seeing him get his ass handed to him by Khali. Fingers crossed this is the last time we ever see Khali on NXT.


Jason Jordan and Tye Dillinger def. Sawyer Fulton and Baron Corbin

Jordan and Dillinger have been enhancement talent for so long that it was hard to take them seriously at first, but the crowd gradually got behind them as the match progressed. Their matching attire was a nice touch and it's about time that another team was added to the tag division in NXT. Dillinger seems more comfortable as a heel, but I'm glad he's being utilized at all. Expect a feud between them and The Ascension over the belts in the near future.


NXT Champion Adrian Neville def. Brodus Clay by Count-out (Non-title)

While they worked a good match, it should have been more in Clay's favor. I usually enjoy competitive matches more than one-sided bouts, but given the distinct difference in size between the two, one would think that Clay would have been more dominant. What was even worse was that Clay didn't even win, though at least he wasn't pinned clean by Neville. My issue with the finish was that if they want to continue the feud, why not have Clay win to set him up for a title match? The feud can continue through the non-finish, but Clay being booked to look weak was strange.


Overall Show

No one hour show should feature six matches. None of them were terrible by any means, but not one of them received enough time to feel meaningful. It was a night of squash matches for the most part to put talent over, and not even the main event could save this from being a dull show. Nothing of note happened on this show and it felt more like a stepping stone for what's to come in future shows. If there was one episode of NXT you can afford to miss, it's definitely this one.

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