WWE NXT Review - December 4, 2013

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

NXT Women's Champion Paige def. Natalya

These two work very well together and had a great match. As talented as the women's division is in NXT, Paige has faced almost everyone there is to face, so having her go up against a veteran in Natalya was a smart move. She scored the clean victory and boosted her credibility as champion. It is worth noting that Paige received something of a mixed reaction when she entered, so it will be interesting to see if she ends up turning heel before long.


Aiden English def. Local Athlete

The name of English's opponent was never announced, so I am unsure as to what it was. This was a basic squash match designed to put English over, but how many more of these matches can English partake in before it gets old? He turned face a few weeks ago, but his status wasn't made all that clear on this show aside from the roses raining down in the post-match. This was the first since his repackaging that he didn't receive a strong reaction from the Full Sail University crowd, but that might have been due to being overexposed at this set of tapings.

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Antonio Cesaro Apologized to Byron Saxton

A nice follow-up from last week. Cesaro came off as somewhat sincere during his apology and Saxton was hesitant in accepting it, so at least he didn't come off as a complete goof. Cesaro's attack on Saxton could be seen coming from a mile away, but it was logical in furthering the feud between Cesaro and William Regal, despite the fact Regal didn't show up to save Saxton. Their inevitable match against each other should be fantastic.


Tyson Kidd def. Leo Kruger

I wasn't watching NXT in February of this year and had no idea that Kidd and Kruger had a confrontation, so the brief video package served as a nice reminder of their history together. The match was good while it lasted and featured some solid action, but it a backstage segment to set up the bout would have been helpful. Krueger was protected via the roll-up loss and Sami Zayn's distraction, while Kidd picks up his first win back (on NXT). I love the idea of a Zayn-Kruger feud, as it gives Zayn something to do in the meantime before he eventually gets back in contention for the NXT Championship.


Adrian Neville def. NXT Champion Bo Dallas by Count-out

It was a tough task for these two to follow up the amazing match Neville and Zayn had in last week's main event, but they tried their best and put forth a strong effort. It was a very good match that built up a decent amount of suspense down the stretch. Say what you will about Dallas, but he has improved immensely since turning heel, both in the ring and character-wise. The count-out finish was weak, but at least it keeps the feud alive.


Overall Show

This show wasn't able to capture the same magic as last week, but it was still solid as a whole with two excellent opening and closing championship matches that made the show newsworthy. The other three matches/segments were effective in furthering feuds for coming week. Next week's edition will feature a tag team title match as well as Zayn vs. Kruger, so I look forward to what should be another good episode of NXT.