By Darren Gutteridge

WWE NXT on Sky Sports 3
Taped January 9 in Winter Park, Florida

[Q1] After titles, Natalya, Emma and Bayley made their entrances. Tom Phillips, William Regal, Alex Riley and Renee Young introduced themselves on commentary as Summer Rae, Sasha Banks and Alicia Fox (accompanied by Charlotte) came out for 6 Diva tag action...

1. Natalya, Emma, and Bayley vs. Summer Rae, Sasha Banks and Alicia Fox. Phillips announced that Emma will indeed take on Paige for the NXT Women's Title at the February 27th Live Special, referred to as the locally advertised name of NXT Arrival (stylised ArRIVAL) for the first time. Bayley wasn't messing about for once, taking it aggressively to Fox. Before the first commercial however, Fox put an end to her momentum with a dropkick... [C]

[Q2] Back from commercial, Rae had Bayley locked up on the mat. She and the BFFs kept Bayley on the back foot for a while, but she eventually got a tag to Emma after giving Rae a suplex. Rae tagged Fox, but she was then knocked off the apron, along with Banks, by the onrushing Emma. Fox caught her with a big boot, but as she went to tag out, the BFFs started backing up the ramp. Fox turned back to Emma, only to get tripped, and she soon found herself in the Emma lock. She quickly tapped...

Natalya, Emma and Bayley defeated Summer Rae, Sasha Banks and Alicia Fox in 7:26.

Colin Cassady vs. Aiden English was advertised for the show, as was the return of the Wyatt family to NXT...

Gutt Reaction: Not a bad showing from the ladies in a match where Summer Rae really shined with her heel antics, but I'm just relieved we are now done with this feud. Paige returning from injury is sure to spice things up again, and hopefully we won't see any more holding pattern programmes like this one.

Aiden English requested a spotlight on the stage. He sang about being the only artist that sings in the WWE. He got quite a negative reaction at the end, which is a good sign going forward for him. Colin Cassady received a nice pop for his entrance. They replayed the pair's interactions over the past few weeks...

2. Colin Cassady vs. Aiden English. Cassady started things off with a big powerslam, but English soon replied with a spinning neckbreaker. A second neckbreaker set English up for his deep bow legdrop, but Cassady sat up to avoid it. He lead the crowd in spelling out "S-A-W-F-T" before delivering a club to the back (anticlimactic if you ask me), before throwing English to the ropes.

He went for the big boot, but English ducked it. He shouted "AH-HA!" as he went for a crossbody, but Cassady caught him. He seemed to be going for a swinging side slam, but English scurried out of it and kicked Cassady in the knee. Cassady sold the kick before English put him down with the Director's Cut to get the 1-2-3...

Aiden English defeated Colin Cassady in 2:19.

English did not receive a shower of roses, nor did he perform an encore...

Sami Zayn calling out Antonio Cesaro was advertised for up next... [C]

Gutt Reaction: I really think that loss is damaging to Cassady. He's still not all there in the ring, but he has impressed in all other ways over the course of this feud, and I thought he was nailed on to get one over on English here. The finish was pretty final, so I also doubt we'll see Cassady get his win back down the line. A waste of an opportunity to get Cassady over as someone to be taken seriously.

[Q3] Sami Zayn came out without crutches, but he was still limping as he walked to the ring. A loud "Ole, Ole, Ole!" chant started. He grabbed a mic in the ring, and said he wasn't proud to announce that he has lost sleep over his loss to Cesaro, and has watched the footage over and over again. He said he has only ever wanted to move forward in his career, but now he is stuck. He claimed he couldn't even pinpoint the part in the match where it all went wrong for him, as he was only a breathe away from winning the most important match of his career.

Cesaro's music played, and he came out with mic in hand. He begged Zayn to stop, as he was starting to sound pathetic. He offered to help Zayn by pointing out that there wasn't a moment when it all went wrong, as there was nothing he could have done that would have made a difference. He told Zayn to get over it, because he was better than him.

A "One more time" chant started. Cesaro said Zayn would have a great career ... "down here". He said Zayn could beat anybody he wanted, just not him. He described the match as acting like a metaphor for all of Zayn's career – close, but no cigar.

Zayn thanked "Dr. Cesaro" for his analysis. Zayn said they had known each other for many years. He called Cesaro a workhorse, which got a big ovation from the crowd. He praised Cesaro for getting to the big stage, and his "fight anyone, anywhere" attitude, but questioned why he didn't want to face him. A few members of the cult of Full Sail shouted out "SAWFT!", which raised a chuckle. Cesaro turned the question around by asking how many times he would have to beat him before Zayn got the message that he wasn't as good. "Just once", was Zayn's reply.

Zayn put it to Cesaro that he could prove to the world that he has been right all along, and that he isn't as good as him. "Or, maybe it won't go down like that." He said they bring out the best in each other, and maybe Cesaro is worried that he can't beat Sami Zayn at his best. Cesaro contemplated things for a moment, before asking how Zayn's knee was. Zayn said it was fine, but Cesaro pushed him for an answer on whether it was medically clear. Zayn said he would be fine.

Cesaro said if he accepts, he wants no excuses should Zayn lose. Zayn said "You have my word" before extending his hand. A "pinky promise" chant broke out, and Zayn obliged by sticking out his little finger. The crowd got hot as Cesaro put his out, as both men tried to contain themselves. Cesaro hesitated, before raising the mic to his mouth. "My answer is still no".

Cesaro kicked Zayn in his injured knee. As Zayn sold on the canvas, Cesaro threw his mic at him and left the ring. He was half way up the ramp when Triple H's music hit. Before he could start talking, a "best for business" chant started. "You may not want this match, but they do. And more importantly than that, I do". Triple H said although Zayn isn't medically cleared to compete tonight, he will be good to go for February 27th. He booked the rematch for NXT Arrival before leaving, and the crowd went wild...

Gutt Reaction: Great segment. I think both men deserve credit for remained calm, reserved and respectful, as this isn't really a feud that requires lots of shouting and crowd baiting – this is a wrestling issue, pure and simple. I know boxing and MMA press conferences tend to descend into slanging matches, but in other pro sports, even great rivals tend to show a lot of respect to one another before a match. I'm hopeful both men persevere to keep this style on the main roster, where everyone tends to go over the top, as it gives them a unique style. Top marks for the Full Sail crowd for playing their part well too.

Tye Dillenger has entrance music. Who knew? He was already in the ring when CJ Parker made his way out...

3. CJ Parker vs. Tye Dillenger. I think Riley announced he would be calling the NXT Arrival show. Lord have mercy on us all. Dillenger took control early, and got a "purple power" chant on a count of his ring gear. Parker was soon in control however, utilising an airplane spin to wear Dillenger down for the Third Eye palm strike. The Worst Finisher in NXTTM gave Parker the victory...

CJ Parker defeated Tye Dillenger in 1:18.

Parker grabbed a mic and shouted "Why don't you people love me!?". He said he does a lot for this world, as he reduces, reuses and recycles...

Eric Cartman's POV GODDAMN HIPPIES!!!



"You're looking at a guy who drives a fuel efficient 2014 Ford Fiesta that gets 40 miles to the gallon". He said he cares about Mother Earth, but the "sheep-ple" in the audience are ruining everything. He blamed them for the melting ice caps, the holes in the O-zone, and the cutting down of the rainforest, before saying "From this moment forward, the Moonchild don't love you neither"... [C]

Gutt Reaction: I thought this would be an effective way to turn Parker heel. I consider myself a centralist politically because both sides of the coin piss me off, so don't see my hatred of liberal "save the earth" types as a conservative thing – it's more their preachy, arrogant, "holier than thou" attitude that rubs me the wrong way more than their message, and this was a good first step down that path for Parker. In other, unrelated news, I have just this second decided to sell me Ford Fiesta, lest people think I'm a hippie too.

[Q4] The Cult of Full Sail went CRAZY for the Wyatt's entrance (at least initially, they went silent during Wyatt's walk down with the lantern). Their opponents, the jacked-up-Donald-Glover Jason Jordan, and Marcus Lewie, were already in the ring. Rowan and Harper entered the ring, as Bray sat in his rocking chair...

4. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan vs. Jason Jordan and Marcus Lewie. The Wyatt's dominated, isolating Lewie from Jordan before quickly finishing him off with Harper's discus clothesline...

Luke Harper and Erick Rowan defeated Jason Jordan and Marcus Lewie in 0:55.

After the match, Wyatt got in the ring and put Jordan down with the Sister Abigail. He grabbed a mic, and said "Grown men tremble by the sounds of our footsteps. Souls cry at the mere thought of our presence being felt." He shouted that this world had already been laid victim to all of his poisons, before stating that they have never forgotten where they came from. "NXT has, and always will, belong to the Wyatt family". He dropped to his knees to deliver his "Follow the buzzards" send off as NXT came to a close...

Gutt Reaction: Cool way to end the show, but I think the Wyatt's return to NXT should have been saved for the Arrival show. Harper has been back since Wyatt cut that awesome "bringing down the machine" promo that heralded their departure from NXT, but this is the first time all three men have been back, and you can tell by their reaction that this is something the Cult wanted to see. Why not save that to make an already hot show hotter? Yes, it could be seen as a little counter productive to see the heel faction get cheered like that, but imagine the reaction they'd have received had someone like 3MB came out on Feb 27th and started bashing NXT, only to be put in their place by Full Sail's favourite sons.

I'd be a hypocrite to not once again rag on all of the short match times, so I will be consistent in that regard, but at least the last two squash matches delivered either something constructive (Parker's) or fun (Wyatt's). I'm happier with this hour of NXT over previous ones from this taping however because of the great Zayn/Cesaro back and forth. They did a much better job of building to their match than Bo Dallas and Adrian Neville have done, and they did it in a third of the time.

Thanks for reading. Be sure to check out the Dot Net NXT podcast with Zack Zimmerman and myself, available for members of the site! If you have any thoughts on the article, add me on Twitter - @DazatheG

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