WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact
Picture

WWE NXT Review - January 1, 2014

1/1/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Alexander Rusev def. Kofi Kingston

Rusev may not be the best in-ring worker, but he is very agile for being a big man and is solid enough to the point where he can hold his own against his opponents. Kingston carried him to a good matchup that was given good time but not too much, either. It is rare for a Superstar from the main roster to come down to NXT and do a job for someone else, so props for Kingston to doing so. He is a notable name that can lose to a rookie, give them a big victory, and not lose anything in defeat. It isn't hard to see why officials are high on Rusev and I wouldn't doubt seeing him on the main shows by the end of the year.


Emma def. Natalya to Become the No. 1 Contender to the NXT Women's Championship

The commentators did a nice job of mentioning how both lovely ladies are from the Calgary area and have a lot in common. I expected a great match out of them, and while it was a nice match while it lasted, it definitely could have gone on a lot longer. Thus, I was mildly disappointed with this bout, but they made the most out of the time they were given. This match might not have been a letdown had Natalya not contested an excellent contest with Paige a few weeks ago. Now the official build for the Paige vs. Emma title match begins.

Colin Cassady def. Aiden English in a Sing-Off

I am not usually a fan of sing- or dance-offs, but this one was relatively harmless. English has an entertaining act and Cassady is starting to grown into his own without having Enzo Amore around. The two make a great team, don't get me wrong, but it is important for him to survive alone while Enzo is out with an injury. The post-match attack with English ambushing Cassady indicated that a match between the two is imminent (potentially next week), which is good to see since English was in desperate need of a program.


Tyler Breeze def. Mason Ryan

It is hard to believe that it has almost been three years since Ryan debuted on Monday Night Raw alongside CM Punk. All these years later and he still hasn't improved all that much, which is a shame since he has such an impressive physique. The match was pretty basic, but at least it ended with Breeze picking up the victory. I was surprised not to see Adrian Neville make an appearance and attack Breeze after he cost him the NXT Championship two weeks ago. That being said, Breeze needs credible victories if he will be feuding with Neville in the near future.


Sami Zayn def. Leo Kruger in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match

We have seen a handful of these matches in recent months, and the prior two (Zayn vs. Cesaro and Graves vs. Neville) were noticeably better than this one. These two have had a good feud over the last month, but I don't think it was in need of such a stipulation just yet. Nonetheless, they had a fun matchup that consisted of several cool spots that the Full Sail crowd awoke for, as they didn't buy into many of Kruger's near-falls for some reason. The commentators made mention of how resilient Zayn was and that he wouldn't give up, which was essentially the story told in this bout. Not often do you see this kind of match end in two straight falls, especially with the babyface going over, but it breaks away from the predictable formula and gives Zayn a huge momentum boost. I don't know if this will trigger the character change in Kruger that has been rumored for quite some time now, but only time will tell.


Overall Show

With the last two episodes of NXT being very good, this show was somewhat of a step down. It wasn't bad by any means, but it simply wasn't as spectacular as NXT's 200th episode or its recap show on Christmas. However, this episode was solid as a whole and furthered (or started) a number of programs. It was a nice first show of 2014 and I look forward to what else unfolds in coming weeks.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    Battle Of The Belts
    Cruiserweight Classic
    Halftime Heat
    Hidden Gems
    Interviews
    Lists/Rankings
    Mae Young Classic
    Mixed Match Challenge
    News
    NJPW
    NWA Shockwave
    NXT PLEs
    Opinion
    Previews
    Retro Reviews
    Reviews
    RJ's Two Cents
    Satire
    Slammy Awards
    SNME
    SummerSlam Recall
    The Deadly Draw
    The World Is A Vampire
    Tribute To The Troops
    Women's Eliminator
    Worlds Collide
    WrestleMania Recall
    WWE Draft
    WWE Network Specials
    WWE PLEs
    WWE Starrcade


    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    RSS Feed

©2025 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact