WWE NXT 6/27/2012

WWE NXT 6/27/2012

Last week's show is here:  https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/nxt-6202012-new-nxt.html

Why am I reviewing this? I reviewed the first episode of NXT years ago and always regretted missing some of the other original eps.

Jim Ross and Byron Saxton are doing commentary here. Jim really sounds a lot younger than he does in 2021.

Seth Rollins vs Jiro

Jiro took upskirt pictures of girls after his WWE run and still hangs around 2AW and indies today.Seth does a wacky dance for his entrance and is pushed as a heavy metal fan. Seth does a headspring and flips Jiro, then trips Jiro.  They both hit hard chops and Seth hits an enzugiri. Seth hit a spin kick then hit the blackout, which is just a curbstomp on the back for the win in a quick one. Seth then does headbangs.

Seth gets interviewed by Dolph Ziggler's brother, Briley Pierce. Pierce would go to face aggravated murder charges. He says he is from Iowa and he is here to rip the roof off, turn the place upside and change the world one heart at a time. Jinder Mahal then comes out and stares him down.

Jinder does a promo and says NXT will be molded in his vision. He says all will be subserviant as we witness his reign of dominance

Jinder Mahal vs Jason Jordan

Jordan has a mini-fro here and looks hilarious. Jinder takes control early with a neckbreaker then drops some knees on him. He puts him in a head and arm hold. Jordan gets a little bit of a comeback but Jinder turns it back around with a high knee. Then he wins it with a camel clutch. This wasn't anything interesting or special.

Jinder does a promo mostly in his native language. He said he will mold NXT in his vision again and said we will see a new wave of dominance flowing through the WWE.

We get a package on Leo Kruger. He said he is gifted with all the tools necessary to be on top. He said a pride of lions is headed by the alpha male lion and he is the alpha male lion. He says he is treated like a god in Africa and said he will prove to the rest of the world that he is an icon.  Kruger went on to become Adam Rose, was accused of domestic violence and breaking the WWE Wellness Policy and hasn't wrestled since December 2019.

Leo Kruger vs Aiden English

Kruger has a leopard sash with some sparkly gems in it. Aiden hits a big dropkick but Kruger blocks his 2nd attempt and pounds on him. Kruger stands on Aiden in the corner. Kruger then wins with a grounded sleeper in a quick and nothing special squash.

We get a package on Richie Steamboat. He is asked how he will live up to his dad's name and says he will not try to fill his dad's shoes, just his own. He said he will bring his best. He said he does some of his dad's moves and wants people to make their own assumptions of him. He said the people will see who Richie Steamboat is.

The Uso's vs The Ascension

"It's called Downcast, the tandem maneuver." - Jim Ross

The Uso's do their haka entrance. This is the original Ascension with Kenneth Cameron. They do their original entrance which makes them look like stars and highlights the importance of a good entrance.

Cameron tries to headbutt one of the Uso's and pays for it, then the Uso's double elbow drop him. Connor holds up the top rope and when one of the Uso's gets thrown into the ropes, he falls out. The Ascension stomp on an Uso in the corner. An Unso does a running tornillo headbutt on Connor and Jimmy gets in with the hot tag. Jimmy does an Umaga pop-up samoan drop then the butt attack in the corner.

Camera does a weird spinning jawbreaker and Connor does a big flapjack, which they call The Downcast. They win with this. This was a quick match and wasn't bad.

Richie Steamboat vs Rick Victor

Victor went on to become one of the Ascension. Richie ended up retiring young due to injury. Richie does some nice armdrags as we see Ricky Steamboat cheer him on in the crowd. Victor armdrags Richie but he hangs on to armdrag him. Richie hits a sliding clothesline and Rick hits some euro uppercuts in the corner. Richie ducks a clothesline and does a running crossbody. The crowd starts cheering for Richie then he wins it with a sling blade as we see Ricky Steamboat cheering. This was fine. Richie then hugged his dad outside.

Antonio Cesaro with Aksana vs Dante Dash

I didn't remember this combination or Aksana period. Dash is pretty big and Cesaro lifts him up and slams him. Then he hits Karelin's lift on him and a big kick to the back. Cesaro hits a big euro uppercut and flurries on Dash in the corner. Cesaro does a spinebuster variation then hits Dash with the neutralizer. Quick squash but Cesaro looked good.

We get a promo with Bray Wyatt driving around the woods. Bray says they don't love you like I do and can't protect you like I can. He is seen with cult members in the forest and tells them to come with him. Then he says he is powerful. Cool little package.

Johnny Curtis vs Derrick Bateman

Ross calls this a must win for both men. Curtis is Fandango and Bateman is EC3.

Curtis slaps Bateman early and Bateman hits a nice dropkick. Bateman then slaps him back. Bateman goes for a running high double knee and gets nothing, then Curtis hits a reverse high dragon screw. Curtis does an inverted indian deathlock on Bateman. Curtis then does a spinning toe hold. Bateman gets back in it with an STO with the arm then does a headlock driver for the win. This was short and fine for what it was.

Overall thoughts: Not a bad show at all. They squeezed a lot in 45 minutes and really made good use of their time. There was nothing must see, but they got a lot of people on TV and gave you enough not to feel cheated.