WWE NXT Review - September 4, 2014

Tyson Kidd applies the Sharpshooter on Adam Rose.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

NXT Women's Champion Charlotte def. Alexa Bliss (Non-title)

Charlotte and Bliss are still improving in the ring, but they worked a nice match here. Both had good showings, even if the match wasn't as long as it should have been. I'd like to see Bliss used as something more than an enhancement role in the future, though. The post-match bit with Bayley and Charlotte was once again well done and effective in building excitement for their title clash at Takeover 2.


Tyler Breeze def. Tye Dillinger

What's with Dillinger's creepy entrance music? Is he supposed to be a babyface? He surely didn't come off like one. Anyway, this was nothing more than a glorified squash match. The fans couldn't have cared less since they had no reason to side with Dillinger. If nothing else, it was a good win for Breeze as he prepares to contend for the NXT Championship.

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Adrian Neville delivers a dropkick to CJ Parker.

Tyson Kidd def. Adam Rose

What I really enjoyed about their match several weeks ago was that it was given time and Rose added an extra aggressive layer to his character. We didn't get either of those things here. Similar to Breeze's match, the ending result was never in doubt, so it was hard to invest in the action even if it was half-decent. I was surprised that a bigger deal wasn't made out of Rose being beaten in singles competition for the first time, but he's been irrelevant for so long that it wouldn't have mattered anyway.


Sami Zayn def. Marcus Louis

Is it just me or does Louis look completely out of place in the ring? Perhaps that's why he's better off in a tag team. He wasn't bad here or anything like that, but he was certainly no match for Zayn. Like the prior two matches, there wasn't anything necessarily wrong with this bout, but Louis was not the right opponent for Zayn. At least they managed to sneak in some last minute hype for the Enzo Amore and Sylvester LeFort match next week. The feud has felt rushed but fans will still be anxious to see Amore finally get his hands on LeFort.


NXT Champion Adrian Neville def. CJ Parker (Non-title)

I never thought I would say this, but Parker has come a long way as a character these last few months. He's so easy to hate and his gimmick is a perfect for him. He's a bigger threat to Neville than Louis and Dillinger were to their respective opponents, but he shouldn't have been fed to Neville. He hasn't had much direction as of late and this loss might ruin any recent momentum he's built up. I'm no fan of Parker whatsoever, but you think they'd find something more meaningful for him to do. The match was what it was, but it was so formulaic and predictable since the prior three bouts were the same exact thing.


Sin Cara and Kalisto def. The Vaudevillains in the Finals of the NXT Tag Team Tournament

It was nice to see this held in the main event slot, as it made the match and therefore tournamnet feel more important. That said, the tournament has been built up for so long that this bout should have gone longer. It was well wrestled and everyone involved put forth a good effort, but it was hard to stay focused after the five previous matches went so short. Cara and Kalisto were the better team to go over since they're babyfaces and I hope they're the ones to finally take the titles off The Ascension.


Overall Show

I understand why all four competitors in next week's NXT Championship match were in action, but the video packages would have sufficed. It would have worked on a lengthier show such as Raw or SmackDown, but to squeeze six matches into one hour felt forced. They was a good deal of successful hype for Takeover 2, but I was drained by the end of the show because all of they tried to cram in. Less is more, which is why I enjoy NXT more than the main roster programs more often than not. Unfortunately, this was not one of those nights, but I still look forward to Takeover 2, regardless.

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