What’s up Diva fans and welcome to this week’s NXT Redux! It is I Jack, back again to deliver the goodies of NXT like a wrestling journalist Santa Claus… who isn’t fat… or old… or fond of mince pies. Christmas seems to have came early this week as we got not only a match, but two backstage segments. NXT really is the gift that keeps giving, allowing all of it’s females to stand out with unique looks, characters and styles and although each storyline has to have a week or two off, we’re able to get to know all the girls and they’re able to shine. That was kind of like a conclusion to my piece when I was meant to write an introduction yet it seemed appropriate considering the exciting stuff we got this week.
We’ll first be checking out a backstage interview with everyone’s awkward Australian, Emma and the ponytailed princess, Renee Young. Then Emma takes on recent rival Summer Rae in a match before Summer, some random ginger dude and Sasha Banks get intense backstage. Let’s hope that’s whetted your appetites! Before you get dry mouth from running out of drool, let’s get on with it. TO THE VIDEO!
We kick off this week’s proceedings with Renee Young interviewing her favorite interviewee [/sarcasm], Emma. Renee references how personal Emma’s rivalry with Summer has gotten and asks for Emma’s thoughts. Emma announces that she still has an NXT Women’s Title match whenever she wants, yet she says that it will have to wait as she’s going to kick Summer’s rear end first. Emma then dances a little, mentions her own made up video game and then she dances her arms far too close into Renee’s personal space and then says that she’ll see Renee in 5 minutes. Renee looks really happy about that! [/moresarcasm]
After a WWEShop.com promo, we return to the NXT Arena to see Kendall Skye announce that Tyler Breeze has left the building. Nice tidbit to Tyler’s gimmick. However, that is irrelevant to us as Emma jiving her way through the tunnel of bubbles on the entrance ramp. Out next is her rival, the stunning Summer Rae. Summer clearly believes she is being violated by the bubbles and her reaction them is hilarious. Sadly, everyone’s fave part of her entrance where she sits on the top rope isn’t seen because of a recap package, yet I can let it slide this once. The bell rings and Emma begins to psyche Summer out with some dancing and an icy stare. Summer charges at the Emmalution Leader and ends up flat on her back as Emma goes the Emma Lock twice in quick succession. Emma tries to grab Summer again yet Summer kicks her off, before flying at her, locking herself around her and hitting a floatover roll style move that looks like a DDT as well. Summer rams Emma’s head into the mat and then Emma fires right back with the same brawler-style move. Emma then rams Summer’s head into mat repeatedly as the crowd begin to erupt in applause for her. Emma jiggles for the crowd before kicking Summer in the shoulder and getting a one count. The Melbourne born Diva then goes for her signature Dil-Emma yet Summer avoids being completely locked in before hitting a wristlock takedown.
Summer hilariously mocks Emma as she works over her arm, wrenching it around the ropes and splashing it before using the ropes again. Now in the corner, Summer sucks the life out of Emma with a foot chokehold before snapmaring her and applying a lovely lotus lock. Name that Tony Dawson. Oh wait, you can’t. Emma tries to fight out by pinning Summer, yet Fandango‘s right-hand woman keeps Emma’s trapped until she transitions the submission into an unsuccessful pin attempt. Emma makes her way to the corner to catch her breath and she does so just long enough to make an escape from the turnbuckle, meaning Summer is perfectly set up for the Dil-Emma. Emma then hits her sick corner crossbody before trying to end the match. Summer kicks out yet it’s not long before Summer cannot continue. Emma applies the Emma Lock (third time lucky!) and picks up the submission victory!
After the match, Summer attacks Emma and then throws Emma’s bubble solution in her eyes! Aaah, so that’s why there was a random table positioned in the front row of the crowd! I hope Emma has some form of braille substitute of ‘Dance Dance Emmalution’ available as I think she might be needing it!
Following a backstage segment that I was in now way interested in, we see Summer leaving the arena. After referring to a ginger haired fan as ‘Carrot Top’, Sasha Banks appears and says she can’t believe with Summer did to Emma. Summer tells Sasha that she better believe it and her controversial actions are what has gotten her to Raw and Smackdown, whilst Sasha has only ever won one match on NXT. I added that last bit in their just to throw some proverbial salt into Sasha’s burn wound that she just got from Summer. Summer says that Sasha is irrelevant and that she needs to wake up. She says that Sasha will lose her match to Paige in a few weeks because she doesn’t have a backbone. She tells Sasha to get one and beat ‘the witch down’. “GET IT TOGETHER, SASHA!”
Thoughts: Before I explode with happiness regarding that amazing Summer promo, let’s first look at Emma’s backstage interview. It was competent and although the dancing did take away from the seriousness of it a little, the dancing is Emma’s gimmick and as she wasn’t faced with a threat, it was ok for her to be carefree or whatever she is. However, I didn’t like her dancing in the middle of the match. At the start, it was clearly used to get into Summer’s head and that was fine, yet for me, even though Emma won, the dancing was not needed in the match. Emma has just been put ‘out of action’ for several weeks with an injury, and I don’t think her character seemed serious enough to represent that. If Emma’s character had a split personality or was Bipolar or something, then maybe I’d be ok with it, yet as her character is none of those things, I didn’t like it too much.
The match itself was basic yet it was solid. Other than the dancing that took away from the story element, nothing was technically wrong and other than a few bland moves, I like it and it kept me entertained. Summer’s Lotus Lock was the highlight for me.
Speaking of Summer, I loved her this week. The only thing I didn’t like from her was the flip/DDT thing as it’s not a DDT and the crowd clearly think it’s going to be a DDT and react for it, and then it comes off awkward as the crowd seemed to get excited for no reason. The move confuses the audience, so please don’t continue to do it Summer. Other than that though, Summer excelled this week. Her heel character has been completely perfected now and she is owning it with each and every NXT appearance.
Her tirade towards Sasha was absolutely excellent. I love NXT backstage segments as they are never revealed with the spoilers, so this was yet another golden nugget of a surprise. Sasha got completely ripped apart by Summer’s sharp tongue and it made me grin from ear to ear. Although it was a belittling promo, it still managed to be comedic too with the “SummerSlam was named after me” line. Sasha definitely has some thinking to do and without giving anything away, will Miss Banks take Summer’s advice? And with that, stay tuned, Jack will be back!
