WWE: NXT Madness Redemption Round Results

It is now time to reveal the results from the opening round of the NXT Madness tournament, nicknamed the Redemption Round. The nickname stems from the idea that all six men competing in NXT's fifth season, nicknamed NXT Redemption.

Just as all six rookies compete for a right at the next NXT season, the six rookies in this bracket must compete in order to join the Round of 16. Some were closer than others, and there were a few upsets in terms of seeds.

More than 200 votes were cast, and I thank all of you who voted. Here are the results, followed by the updated bracket and a look at the second round matchups.

Redemption Round: Husky Harris Defeats Jacob Novak

(11) Husky Harris: 97.14 percent

(22) Jacob Novak: 2.86 percent

In a landslide, Husky Harris rolls over Jacob Novak. The Army Tank with a Ferrari Engine had no problem dealing with... uh... does Jacob Novak have a nickname?

Harris moves on to Round 2 with absolutely no trouble over the lowest seed. Husky Harris now has a second-round matchup with The One Man Rock Band, Heath Slater.

Redemption Round: Derrick Bateman Defeats Titus O'Neill

(12) Derrick Bateman: 85.71 percent

(21) Titus O'Neill: 14.29 percent

Titus O'Neill may seem rejuvenated as one of the favorites of NXT Redemption, but the momentum could not be translated into this tournament. O'Neill fell short by a favorable margin over the "Man-tastic" Derrick Bateman.

Bateman is widely considered a possibility to  that could go far in this tournament. This theory will be tested in Round 2, when he challenges Justin Gabriel.

Redemption Round: "Showtime" Percy Watson Defeats Lucky Cannon

(13) Percy Watson: 88.57 percent

(20) Lucky Cannon: 11.43 percent

I think that "Showtime" Percy Watson was celebrating the entire time during his big victory over Lucky Cannon. Then again, he seems to celebrate all the time.

Lucky may see himself as "Delish," according to his cape thing that is so long that he keeps tripping on it, but Cannon has seemed to build more of a following now than he had from his original gimmick.

Perhaps Cannon can work it out and make more of a splash in NXT Redemption, but his chances in this tournament are done. Guess he isn't as lucky as he thinks...

Watson now moves into the round of 16 with a big-time matchup against Daniel Bryan.

Redemption Round: Byron Saxton Defeats Eli Cottonwood

(14) Eli Cottonwood: 17.14 percent

(19) Byron Saxton: 82.86 percent

Our first upset of the tournament, in terms of seeds anyway. Saxton had a big lead from the beginning and never gave it up. Saxton has a good chance in NXT Redemption, as well as in this tournament.

Even ranked 19 out of 22, Saxton can make a major impact as a Cinderella story if he can defeat the man who won the season he competed in, Season 4 winner Johnny Curtis, in the second round.

Redemption Round: Skip Sheffield Defeats Conor O'Brian

(15) Skip Sheffield: 97.05 percent

(18) Conor O'Brian: 2.95 percent

Not a lot of love was shown for Conor O'Brian, who was bowled over by the Cornfed Meathead, Skip Sheffield, in the opening round.

This one was not very close. In fact, the only thing that prevented O'Brian from having the same percentage as Jacob Novak's poor showing was one vote that came in for a tie between the two men.

As O'Brian can now focus on NXT Redemption, Sheffield tries to keep his name strong in Round 2, when he collides with Kaval in a David vs. Goliath-type matchup.

Redemption Round: Darren Young Defeats Michael Tarver

(16) Michael Tarver: 45.71 percent

(17) Darren Young: 54.29 percent

Clearly the only true matchup of the first round, Darren Young upends fellow Season 1 rookie Michael Tarver by a slim margin. Young took an early lead, but a late surge by Tarver supporters made this an interesting matchup.

In the end, Darren Young survived and the man who is perhaps the clear favorite to win Season 5 will move to the Round of 16 with a huge matchup against the original NXT winner, Wade Barrett.

Updated Bracket

Here's a quick look at the updated bracket. On the top left, Darren Young moves on to face Wade Barrett, while Alex Riley and Michael McGillicutty finally get to compete in the bracket.

On the bottom left, Percy Watson and Derrick Bateman move on to their respective second-round matchups. Both get original NXT rookies; Watson is given Daniel Bryan while Bateman draws Justin Gabriel.

On the right side of the bracket, Kaval will try to make his run to the title by taking on Skip Sheffield in round two, while David Otunga and Brodus Clay get their first taste of the tourney against one another.

On the bottom right side, Johnny Curtis takes on a man he outlasted in Season 4, Byron Saxton. Meanwhile, Heath Slater takes on his former Nexus teammate, Husky Harris.

Second Round Matchups

(1) Wade Barrett vs. (17) Darren Young

(2) Kaval vs. (15) Skip Sheffield

(3) Johnny Curtis vs. (19) Byron Saxton

(4) Daniel Bryan vs. (13) Percy Watson

(5) Justin Gabriel vs. (12) Derrick Bateman

(6) Heath Slater vs. (11) Husky Harris

(7) David Otunga vs. (10) Brodus Clay

(8) Alex Riley vs. (9) Michael McGillicutty

Can Darren Young take down the top overall seed in another altercation in a heated rivalry between the two? Can Byron Saxton reach the quarterfinals with the 19-seed over Johnny Curtis? Will David Otunga or Alex Riley justify their high seeds?

It is up to you, the Bleacher Report readers. The previous round took a little too long, so this round will run shorter.

Vote with a comment or a message to me if you cannot comment. The deadline for votes is Friday, March 18 at 6:00 pm.