WWE NXT Review - March 27, 2014

Mojo Rawley pins CJ Parker for the victory.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Mojo Rawley def. CJ Parker

As I've said in the past, I really enjoy Rawley's enthusiasm and just how energetic he is, but he is still quite green in the ring and the short length of this match was pure proof of that. I'm all for giving the guy some direction by putting him in a feud with Parker, but both guys need help right now. Rawley needs to work on his in-ring skills while Parker needs a better character. It is beyond terrible and doesn't garner the good kind of heat. The finish came out nowhere and hopefully this match marked the end of this odd feud.


Tyler Breeze def. Xavier Woods

It's sad to see how far Woods has fallen in only a few months. He was over before being called up to the main roster, which one would think would be great for him. Instead, it destroyed any momentum he had and the sight of him coming out to Brodus Clay's old entrance music ruins it for me, personally. It was a good match while it lasted, but the two were in need of a few minutes to make it feel more meaningful. I'm glad Breeze went over, but both guys need victories right now, so I'm not sure if allowing this feud to continue is the best idea.

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Adrian Neville retains his NXT Championship.

Corey Graves def. Yoshi Tatsu

This was a basic squash match for Graves, who dominated most of the match. Despite technically being a part of the main roster, Tatsu is irrelevant and therefore a win over him at this point means nothing. This bout was purely a showcase for Graves, so it was effective in that sense. His post-match promo also helped further his feud with Sami Zayn and I look forward to their rematch on next week's show.


Natalya def. Charlotte

Some of Charlotte's matches can be painful to watch, but this had to be the best match she's had in NXT yet. Though, that shouldn't come as any surprise given who her opponent was. The two were given a decent amount of time (more time than any of the other matches which preceded it, which surprised me) and made the most of it by having a surprisingly good match. Of course, Natalya was the right person to go over, but I don't think this is the last we've seen of them in the ring together. Bret Hart being at ringside was a nice touch, but it would have also been cool if Ric Flair was in Charlotte's corner, too.


NXT Champion Adrian Neville def. Bo Dallas

I was fearful that this match wouldn't be as good as some of their past encounters since it didn't have a stipulation attached to it, but it definitely exceeded my expectations. It felt like just another match early on as opposed to being a championship contest, but they picked up the pace down the stretch and delivered a fantastic final few minutes. The constant reversals and finisher attempts had the live crowd on their feet and the reverse 450 Splash from Neville to win it was extremely innovative and an awesome sight. These two have been feuding with each other for close to four months now, so I would like to see them move on to something fresh going forward.


Overall Show

The last few shows haven't been anything special, but the "vengeance" theme to this week's show made it stand out as the best episode since NXT: Arrival. I wouldn't call it a great show since the first few matches were rather forgettable, but the excellent main event in addition to the good women's match made it worth watching. I'm unsure what's on the horizon from here on out, but the announcement of the Zayn vs. Graves rematch gave viewers something to look forward to going into next week.

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