WWE NXT Review - January 8, 2014

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Bayley def. Summer Rae

Anyone else think Bayley is absolutely adorable? Looks aside, she is very good in the ring and dare I say underrated. Her timid gimmick is extremely over with the fans and worked well against Summer's evil antics. This match couldn't compare to the great match we saw between Emma and Natalya last week, but it was still fun for what it was and an enjoyable opening to the show.


Aiden English def. Colin Cassady

It was a tough task to turn the Full Sail University against English in the past, but they have finally started booing him after Cassady's spectacular singing performance last week. The match was decent, but not given much time. Despite the live crowd being heavily into the sing-off last week, they didn't seemed to be engaged in the action between the two this week. I see more potential in English as a singles star than I do in Cassady, so English going over clean was smart booking. However, I expect the feud to continue for a little while longer.

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Alexander Rusev def. Xavier Woods

I was surprised to see the fact that Woods started up a petition to bring Big Show back to WWE even acknowledge by Kane. That happened so many months ago that I didn't expect it ever to be brought back up again! So, at least there was a logical tie-in to this matchup. It was nice to see Woods back on NXT, even if it was for a brief bout against Rusev. He scored some offense over Rusev, so it wasn't a complete squash, but officials are obviously higher on Rusev right now than they are on Woods so it only made sense that he was the one who emerged victorious.


Tyson Kidd def. Baron Corbin

The commentators played up Corbin quite a bit throughout the bout to the point that I thought he might actually get the upset victory. Alas, he didn't, but kudos to the commentators for making him seem like a threat to Kidd. Speaking of whom, it amazes me that Kidd isn't on the main shows more often. I mean, he had two matches when he returned to the ring in November and hasn't been seen on WWE TV since. Ridiculous. At least he is welcome here at NXT and has his talents showcased properly.


NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension def. Hunico and Camacho in a Tornado Tag Team Match (Non-title)

If it wasn't already apparent, Hunico and Camacho just aren't clicking as babyfaces. The Full Sail crowd was chanting "We Want Pitbulls" early on and were more into The Ascension down the stretch. Take nothing away from the match quality, though, as the match was very solid and had several fun spots. It was easily the best of the three matches the two teams have contested against each other and was one of the better matches The Ascension has had. It is rare for the tag team champs to be featured in the main event, but it was a refreshing change of pace, especially since this looked to be the blow-off to the feud.


Overall Show

On a show lacking star power, I thought it was an enjoyable hour of wrestling and better than some would expect. Sure, there were no appearances by Sami Zayn, Leo Kruger, Antonio Cesaro or Bo Dallas, but there didn't need to be. Their absences let the undercard acts such as The Ascension and Tyson Kidd shine for once. The opening match was fun and the main event was better than expected, with everything else being solid or exceptional. A few feuds were furthered, which is all that matters. I look forward to the return of the top-tier talents next week.