WWE NXT Review - November 20, 2014

Sami Zayn confronts NXT Champion Adrian Neville.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Becky Lynch def. Bayley

I was hoping for a longer match from the two, but for the time they received, they made the most of it and had a nice contest. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this was their first one-on-one encounter, so it felt fresh. Both Bayley and Lynch needs wins, but Lynch hasn't won a singles match in months and Bayley can absorb the loss being the underdog babyface she is. Charlotte coming to Bayley's aid was a solid way of solidifying her as a face and I'm curious as to what the NXT Women's Championship match will be at the next live special.


The Vaudevillians def. Mini Lucha Dragons

There hasn't been much interaction between The Vaudevillians and The Lucha Dragons since The Vaudevillians became the No. 1 Contenders to the straps, so this was a good way of furthering their feud. Yes, it was silly and something you'd see on the main roster, but it wasn't terrible and only put more heat on the heels. Most importantly, it was only a few minutes long and it didn't overstay its welcome.

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CJ Parker taps out to Tyson Kidd's Sharpshooter.

Baron Corbin def. Elias Sampson

The match was no different than any other match we've seen from Corbin thus far, which now becomes a problem. Yes, the Full Sail University crowd counting the seconds of the match was humorous, but Corbin has been in NXT for over two months at this point. It's high time he get involved in a real feud. Thankfully, it appears that may be coming to fruition sooner rather than later since it appeared he and Bull Dempsey had a brief staredown as they passed each other on the ramp.


Bull Dempsey def. Steve Cutler

Similar to the previous bout, this was nothing more than a squash match with Dempsey making quick work of Cutler. There wasn't anything notable about it aside from the crowd counting to 22 before beginning to boo which was hilarious. As noted, a feud with Corbin is seemingly on the horizon, so I won't label this match meaningless until further notice.


Tyson Kidd def. CJ Parker

While there wasn't anything necessarily wrong with the match, it was hard for viewers to get invested in the action because both guys are heels. I don't mind Parker in the role he's currently in and Kidd has been flourishing in recent months, but the dynamic was off and therefore the match felt like an afterthought. If nothing else, it set up a nice post-match promo from Kidd challenging Finn Balor to a match next week.


Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady def. Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder

It's crazy just how over Amore and Cassady are with the audience. I don't know if it will translate over to the main roster, but once the NXT Tag Team title reign of The Lucha Dragons runs its course, I'd love to see this duo get a run with the twin titles. The match was barely a minute long, so there isn't much to analyze. The Ascension attack afterward gave them their heat back and set up a potential tag match for an upcoming episode.


Sami Zayn Called Out NXT Champion Adrian Neville

Zayn is a natural on the mic in that he is no CM Punk or Paul Heyman, but he comes across so comfortable that it's hard not to like him. I also really liked how he sold the defeat from last week but not doing his usual shtick during his entrance. Neville was fine here as well, but I was surprised he didn't come off more heelish than he did. It may not be the direction they're heading in, but I guess only time will tell. Zayn vs. Neville at the next live special in December will be a spectacle to say the very least.


Overall Show

Of course, nothing was going to top the last two amazing episodes of NXT, so I can't fault this show for falling flat. It wasn't bad by any means, but cramming six matches (plus a talking segment) into a show that's barely an hour long rarely every works. For me, less is more, but I can't complain this week as what we got was decent and another step toward the highly anticipated live special. I'm already excited for that event, but if they can keep up the strong build in coming weeks, it could very well be the best live special yet.

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