The NXT Report for December 4, 2013

A week ago, Adrian Neville defeated Sami Zayn in a spectacular match to earn an NXT Championship bout against Bo Dallas.

That match headlines this week's show.

Also on this week's broadcast, Natalya challenges Paige for the NXT Women's Championship, while Leo Kruger and "The Artiste" Aiden English are both in action.

Who will leave Full Sail University with the top male and female NXT titles in their possession? What will the ever-popular Sami Zayn be up to? Will the Alexander Rusev-Kassius Ohno rivalry continue?

All of these questions and more were answered on the December 4 episode of NXT.

Location

Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla.

Broadcast team

Byron Saxton (later replaced by Tom Phillips), Alex Riley and Renee Young

Match results

Adrian Neville defeated NXT champion Bo Dallas by countout

Tyson Kidd defeated Leo Kruger

Aiden English defeated THAT guy (seriously, no name given)

NXT Women's champion Paige defeated Natalya

Angle advancement

Dallas escapes with his title...again

Bo Dallas, for all the venomous hate directed at him by the NXT fans, has developed into one of the great heel champions in the sport today.

This week, he took on Adrian Neville in a really solid wrestling match to close out the broadcast. The challenger utilized his high-flying offense to catch Dallas off guard on a number of occasions and had the champion reeling, following a suicide dive over the top rope.

Unfortunately for Dallas, a high cross-body block off the top left both men stunned, and only one was able to beat the referee's count back into the ring. That one was Neville, who was declared the victor.

He had nothing to celebrate, however, as Dallas retained the title.

It was a good bit of booking in that it allows Neville to remain in the hunt for the championship and lets Dallas continue his hugely entertaining title reign in the cheapest way possible.

How Sami Zayn ends up getting back into the mix remains to be seen.

Speaking of the former El Generico...

Zayn becomes the hunted

In a WWE.com exclusive early in the evening's broadcast, Antonio Cesaro requested that Leo Kruger do him a favor involving Sami Zayn, a competitor Cesaro had an unbelievable series of matches with earlier this year.

Later in the evening, during another WWE.com exclusive, Kruger attacked Zayn for reasons that still are unknown.

After the backstage assault, Kruger was scheduled to face WWE Superstar Tyson Kidd in a match whose roots go all the way back to February, when Kidd was sidelined with a knee injury but found himself on the receiving end of a Kruger beatdown.

Kruger dominated the match, working over that previously injured knee, but fell victim to a distraction from an interfering Zayn and was rolled up by Kidd for the decision.

It was announced prior to the main event that on next week's show, Zayn and Kruger will meet one-on-one.

That bout should be a very good wrestling match. Zayn is one of the best workers in NXT, while Kruger is an underrated, underappreciated wrestler who lacks personality but has demonstrated very solid ring skills for the better part of his four years in developmental.

Cesaro bullies Saxton, wants Regal

Last week, William Regal came to the aid of Byron Saxton, who was being bullied by WWE Superstar Antonio Cesaro.

This week, Cesaro returned to NXT to issue an apology to the ring announcer and part-time commentator.

He insincerely apologized, then attempted to humiliate the smaller Saxton by forcing him to take the "We the People" pledge. When Saxton reluctantly repeated the line, Cesaro became incensed and delivered a brutal slap to the face and shoved him down, hard, on the entrance ramp.

While he manhandled Saxton, Cesaro asked him repeatedly, "where's Regal?"

The impending match between Cesaro and Regal, which will take place sometime in the coming weeks, will be phenomenal. Allowing wrestlers to do what they do best is what helps NXT stand out among other WWE programs.

What sets this angle apart from others on NXT is the intensity that has been shown by Cesaro and the verbal performance of Regal, dating back to last week's show, that sold the entire storyline in a few sentences.

Rusev...attracts beauty?

Alexander Rusev and his lovely representative, Lana, were in the backstage area discussing what one can only assume were important business matters, when Tyler Breeze approached.

And suddenly, the Bulgarian brute was surrounded by two really, really, ridiculously good-looking people.

Breeze thanked Rusev for his assault on "fatty" Kassius Ohno and attempted to invite him to a fashion show but was brushed off by Lana.

It was the lone reminder of the Rusev-Ohno feud, which will come to an end next week when they meet one-on-one.

Match of the week: Paige vs. Natalya

The best match of the week was the outstanding wrestling match between NXT Women's champion Paige and former WWE Divas champion Natalya.

The two female performers exhibited great technical skill, reminding fans that women can deliver interesting, quality matches between the ropes when given time to do so.

Paige's win came out of nowhere, but she managed to show great resilience by withstanding the attack of her accomplished main-roster opponent.

The emotion displayed by Paige after the match tells the story of how hard both women worked to deliver a great match.

Star of the week: Paige

The breakout star of the NXT Divas division once again proved why so many fans consider her one of the surefire stars of World Wrestling Entertainment's future.

Analysis

This week's show featured two very good championship matches, the continuation of the Regal-Cesaro feud and the groundwork for next week's Zayn-Kruger bout. All of that makes for a very focused, very good show that continues NXT's streak of quality programming.

On tap

Next week, Sami Zayn takes on Leo Kruger, and Alexander Rusev meets Kassius Ohno in Ohno's final WWE appearance.