So I'm very impatient and decided I wanted to see what the new NXT rookies were like before the new season starts. Therefore, I used the power of youtube to check out each NXT rookie to see what they bring to the table. The result? A mixed bag...
Johnny Curtis vs. Leo Kruger
Kruger is South African and seems pretty green. With that in mind, it’s a testament to the more experienced Curtis that this match is pretty good. Curtis shows some nice aggression in the early stages, but two weak Kruger dropkicks send him outside where he gets hit by a Kruger cannonball from the apron. Kruger seems to want to try more flashy stuff (he hits a cautious looking standing rana at one point), but it’s Curtis who is giving the match structure. Curtis gets the win following a top-rope leg drop in a decent 5 minute match. Curtis looked pretty good here.
Curtis vs Kruger
Jacob Novak vs. Xavier Woods
Woods is better known as Consequences Creed in TNA. Novak is noticeably very green - nothing he does is particularly bad, but nothing is actually very interesting either. He’s like the heel Lucky Cannon. Sadly, Novak dominates most of the match in an uninteresting manner. Woods makes the comeback and wins following a leaping DDT from the top rope. I do think Novak has some potential, he kept the match structure simple and didn’t blow anything (bar an awkward moment when he ran off the ropes and stopped instead of hitting a prone Woods). But he didn’t look ready for national TV and hopefully he’ll get some more time in FCW after NXT.
Woods vs Novak
Conor O’Brian & Calvin Raines vs. Lucky Cannon & Conrad Tanner
Only O’Brian match I could find on you tube (not counting his previous days in WWE developmental as I want to keep this current). I’ve never seen quite so many awful tattoos in one sitting. It takes a while for the heel team of O’Brian and Raines to get control, but they make the most of it when they do, working over the arm of Lucky Cannon with aplomb. Both O’Brian and Raines look pretty good, I especially loved the vicious stomp on Cannon’s arm by O’Brian. Due to the short length of the match, around 7-8 minutes, the hot tag seems pretty abrupt, but at least Tanner has some babyface fire to heat up the crowd. The end comes when Raines distracts Tanner, allowing O’Brian to hit a full Nelson slam for three. If the WWE had a tag division, then I’d prefer to see Raines called up with O’Brian to make an impact there, but it looked like O’Brian should do pretty well as a singles act.
Raines & O'Brian vs Tanner & Cannon
Brodus Clay vs. Lucky Cannon
More Lucky Cannon! The sad thing is, he’s the workhorse of this match, essentially wrestling around Clay in the early going. Cannon works over the leg of Clay, which is a sensible tactic, but Clay soon takes over and we never see any leg-offence again. Abe Washington calls Clay the “Super Sexy Suplex Machine”, but Clay’s offence is pretty weak, with a nerve hold and a really crappy looking giant swing both being pretty poor. Clay’s finisher is pretty choice though, hitting a Tongan Death Grip which he holds into a choke slam, but when the best thing about your match is that Lucky Cannon looked pretty good, you’re in trouble.
Watch Lucky Cannon wrestle himself
Derrick Bateman vs. Byron Saxton
Cheating a bit here with the final two rookies together in one match. The commentary from Abe Washington and FCW champion Mason Ryan implies that Saxton did something to Bateman’s partner Johnny Curtis that was so reprehensible, even Abe can’t abide it. Bateman and Saxton both looked really good here. Bateman came out of the gates with some really fire in his offence and you could really believe he wanted revenge on Saxton. Saxton was far better than I expected, maybe not fully polished in-ring but with a heap of physical presence and charisma. He takes control with a nice move, lifting the ring skirt to swing Bateman’s head into the exposed steel ring structure from the apron, which Bateman sells really well with a glazed look for the rest of the match. Saxton then concentrates his offence on the head and neck. Bateman makes an explosive comeback with a big lariant and a choice legsweep into the turnbuckles, but Saxton wins with a move called the Recommendation, like a full Nelson into a Side Effect. Genuinely good match from these two, with a story that made sense.
Bateman vs Saxton
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