WWE NXT: The NXT Review (2.8.11)

It’s Tuesday night, are you ready for NXT?!

Either way, “Wild & Young I” is blaring so it’s time anyway.

NXT begins tonight on the stage where Matt Striker and the four remaining rookies are accompanied by a large padded mat type thing. Hah. As the master of the cheap pop, Derrick Bateman is wearing a cheese hat. Nice one.

We are having a “Rock ‘em, Sock ‘em Rookie Challenge,” which is worth two immunity points.

First Challenge: “Rock ‘em, Sock ‘em Rookie Challenge”

First is Johnny Curtis vs. Derrick Bateman.

In seconds, Curtis shoves Bateman off of his podium but ends up landing first.

Bateman advances.

Next is Brodus Clay against Byron Saxton.

Clay hesitates, possibly contemplating how he’s going to get onto the podium but instead chooses to drop the whole contest and shoves Saxton instead, eliminating himself in the process. He heads to Striker and proclaims that he is 6’8, 365 pounds and refuses to embarrass himself by partaking in the competition, he will instead prove himself in the ring. And you do know that.

Saxton advances.

The final will be Derrick Bateman against Byron Saxton.

They battle it out briefly and both men end up falling. Saxton is declared the winner but after a replay, it is decided that there will be a rematch.

They get up there again and Saxton wins in seconds, earning two immunity points!

Winner: Byron Saxton

Next, we are reminded of last week when Derrick Bateman called Dolph Ziggler “Turd Ferguson." Ziggler’s rookie, Byron Saxton will be going up against Bateman this week to defend his pro’s honor.

Matthews and Grisham on commentary compare Bateman to Santino Marella. Yikes.

First Match: Byron Saxton vs. Derrick Bateman

Bateman takes the lead, working Saxton very well. In the background, the “Turd” chants are still going. Derrick ‘Cheap Pop’ Bateman strikes again!

Bateman gets onto the top rope while Saxton is grounded and gets knocked off by Saxton for his efforts.

Saxton gains control at this point and works Bateman’s shoulder/upper body region. Bateman powers out of the submission and takes control again. Bateman is fired up, hitting several clotheslines. Saxton crawls to the corner where his pro is standing and gets a nice dropkick.

There are a few near fall roll-ups before out of nowhere, Bateman locks in the LaBell Lock and submission wrestling gets Bateman the win. Dolph Ziggler is livid.

Winner: Derrick Bateman

Another good match with some decent back and forth action. Bateman looked great out there especially.

When we return from the break, all the rookies and Matt Striker are back in the ring. Our next challenge is a new one, named the WWE.com Shop challenge. Interesting.

Second Challenge: “WWE.com Shop Challenge”

The challenge is worth three immunity points and will involve the rookies guessing the retail prices of certain WWE merchandise. Cheap plug!

But wait; there will be some special guests to present these items!

And the first is…

AJ Lee from NXT Season 3, looking gorgeous as ever.

“Didn’t you lose?” Thank you, Dolph Ziggler.

AJ has the “Top 50 Superstars Of All Time” and she makes it look good while Tony Chimel promotes it verbally.

Clay guesses $29.99 and Saxton $24.99. Bateman needs to know whether the DVD is Blu-Ray or regular before guessing $19.99. Curtis guesses, “One dollar, Bob."

The real price is $34.95, Brodus Clay is closest, and so he wins.

The next guest is Naomi, also from NXT 3. Please, please, please bring her to the main roster.

Naomi has a WWE Kids Magazine.

$6.95, $9.99, $10 and $1.

Curtis, Bateman, Saxton and Clay all make good guesses but the real price is $3.99, so Clay wins again! I don’t think I have ever seen him this enthusiastic.

AJ returns with a little World Heavyweight Championship replica belt. I bet Dolph is loving this.

Tony Chimel’s selling is hilarious.

Bateman guesses $39.99.

Saxton guesses $19.99.

Clay $19.95.

Curtis $30.11.

The exact price is $19.99, so Saxton wins this round. Great guess.

Naomi is back again, this time with the book on the history of the WWE Championship.

Saxton thinks it is $28.95, Bateman; $38,451 (haha!), Curtis; $30 and Clay; $23.

The constant tittering from Josh Matthews and Todd Grisham at the announce table really gets irritating after a while.

The real value is $28 but Saxton is over, so Clay gets the win, picking up three immunity points.

Ziggler then makes the best comment of this season of NXT and the entire year in general:

“That’s the first time Saxton’s been over.”

Every Smark watching likes Dolph Ziggler just that little bit more now.

Both Clay and Curtis are tied for immunity points, which is very important on a night where elimination is pending.

Winner: Brodus Clay

We go backstage where R-Truth is with his rookie Johnny Curtis. Following some “accusations” Curtis has been hearing about, he’s pretty pissed with his pro!

I don’t understand why Curtis would pay attention to anything R-Truth says when he doesn’t even know what city he’s in half the time.

As the segment closes, the pair appear to make up and we get back to some ring action.

Second Match: Brodus Clay vs. Johnny Curtis

As the pair size each other up, Dolph Ziggler screams “Milwaukee, Wisconsin” from the stage whilst wearing a cheese shaped hat. He then throws it to the floor and gives it an elbow drop. If Dolph Ziggler was like this on SmackDown, he would be one of the most over guys on the roster by now.

Truth then gets “Turd” chants going in retaliation as Brodus works Curtis into the corner. Curtis then strikes back and hits some elbows before receiving some himself. The two exchange a strike battle and Curtis gets thrown out of the ring.

The following offense is fairly fast-paced, with big Brodus taking control.

For a big guy, Clay moves very well. I am impressed, again.

Did I mention that Ricardo Rodriguez is in Clay’s corner again? I guess his pro is too busy being a Royal Rumble winner to appear on NXT.

After a whole lot of abuse from Clay, Curtis gains control briefly and attempts a leg drop. Brodus isn’t having any of it and hits a massive slam to pick up the win.

Winner: Brodus Clay

A decent match, a good showing for Clay.

Next up is the elimination.

Since Clay and Curtis are tied, Striker asks each man why they think they deserve immunity.

Johnny Curtis takes the cheap pop route and simply claims that the Packers rule to a huge cheer. I believe Derrick Bateman has started a trend.

Brodus Clay does the exact opposite and says he does everything alone and doesn’t care that the Green Bay Packers won and that he thinks the Steelers should have instead. He gets an expected boo.

Johnny Curtis or Brodus Clay, who deserves immunity? Well, it’s up to the live audience. They choose Curtis, obviously, despite it “not being a popularity contest."

And the eliminated rookie is…

Byron Saxton!

Dolph Ziggler is shocked. The other pros taunt him.

Saxton looks close to tears and then gets even angrier when his pro calls him “Brian."

He screams down the mic and doesn’t understand how he can be sent home. How a model citizen can be eliminated! Then, he says he calms down and forgives the WWE Universe. We all make mistakes. Saxton says goodbye and flashes his signature grin, knowing he will be back.

As he saunters up the stage, Dolph Ziggler stops him and screams until his face turns red. He calls Saxton an embarrassment and other names whilst Saxton shakes with anger. Ziggler then tells him to leave, pointing up the ramp.

As Saxton walks away, Chris Masters encourages him to punch his pro in the face. Instead, Saxton continues smirking and walks away, concluding this episode of NXT.

Wow, Byron can work a mic. I believe that was the best elimination promo we’ve ever had on NXT. Good job!

Ziggler also did a good job. If only he showed as much on SmackDown as he does on NXT!

An entertaining episode of NXT, with very little wrestling, though. Anyway, it was great seeing AJ and Naomi return briefly, but as a self-confessed Saxton mark, I was hoping he would stay for a little longer. He is a great talent, though, so I expect him to be on the main roster soon.

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-Leva Lies