WWE NXT Review - July 31, 2014

Tyson Kidd takes control of Adam Rose.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Tyler Breeze def. Angelo Dawkins

This match might have taken place when Breeze was still recovering from his injury, so similar to his match with Mojo Rawley from a few weeks ago, I'm not surprised this bout was as short as it was. That said, it shouldn't have gone any longer than it did and Dawkins was the perfect person to take the loss since he's an enhancement talent anyway, unlike Rawley. Breeze's post-match promo about submitting his music video was comical and he and Adrian Neville had an enjoyable exchange on the mic. It's amazing to think it's been over two months since Breeze first became No. 1 contender to the NXT Championship. Will he get his shot at the next live special in September?


NXT Women's Champion Charlotte def. Becky Lynch (Non-title)

First off, bonus points for Lynch undergoing a chance in entrance music. It's encouraging to see that she's dropped the lame Irish shtick and is now able to be herself a bit more. Lynch is still relatively new to the roster and I'd protect her as much as possible, but she had a nice showing against the champ here. Charlotte looked better in this match than she did last week and no indication was given as to whether her feud with Summer Rae will be continuing going forward. Her backstage segment with Bayley made it seem that those two are now set to feud over the title which I'd be totally content with.

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Charlotte dissects the leg of Becky Lynch.

NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension def. Mac Miles and Steve Cutler (Non-title)

Same match, different week. Need I say more? Their post-match promo was decent, but based off the way they played to the crowd at the end, it portrayed them as babyfaces. Well, which is it? If nothing else, I was happy to hear that a tournament will be held to determine No. 1 contenders to the straps. One can only hope that whoever wins the tournament will ultimately take the titles from The Ascension.


Mojo Rawley and Bull Dempsey def. The Mechanics

The pairing of Rawley and Dempsey is an odd one seeing how one's face and the other's heel, but it sure beats the heck out of Dempsey squashing faceless jobbers each week. This is much more interesting even if the end game (Dempsey turning on Rawley) is predictable. The match was fine for what it was, but it was mainly used to establish the team of Rawley and Dempsey. I wasn't a fan of Scott Dawson the first time he was involved in a tag team, but any additions to the tag division in NXT is positive.


Adam Rose def. Tyson Kidd

It's always a treat whenever Rose comes to NXT because he is so beloved by the Full Sail University crowd. However, this was no ordinary Rose match because it was actually... competitive. Rose is a very good worker and it was refreshing to finally see him showcase his skills in this match against Kidd. They worked a very solid match with both guys showing great aggression. The action was good enough to the point where it meant something when he won. The tension teased between Kidd and Natalya afterward was interesting and I'm anxious to see what it will lead to.


Overall Show

This wasn't a must-see show by any means, but it was definitely average. The main event was pleasantly surprising and everything else seemed to serve something of a purpose. It was another filler week for the most part, but they managed to make it an enjoyable hour with solid storytelling and decent wrestling.

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