What’s up Diva fans and welcome to this week’s NXT Redux. Ready to legit #LOL? I mean laugh out loud, not Lots of Layla (worst hashtag ever). We got a hilarious segment this week in the land of the yellow ropes in the form of a Dance Battle between Emma and Summer Rae, where the winner will face Paige for the NXT Women’s Championship next week! Slightly weird way to find a Number One Contender, especially for the title’s first defense, yet with Emma and Summer being known for their “dancing”, it makes complete sense. Plus, it’s a Dance BATTLE and not a Dance-Off, so that makes it ok… right?
Diva Dirt’s Cryssi would perhaps be better at me than this as she is the biggest Dancing with the Stars fan and knows everything from a Viennese Waltz to a Charleston yet the fact I have just been able to correctly name two forms of dance means I’m quietly confident I’ll be able to call the girls’ “expertise”. Just call me the next Len Goodman. Fun fact: He has bought a house in the same village that my friend lives in. The house was derelict and now work on it is nearly complete and it looks stunning! Anyway…. to the video!
First of all, we see a great graphic hyping tonight’s Dance Battle. One thing I love about NXT, the show is great for hyping it’s matches with graphics of this nature. Random note aside, the graphic concludes and we see NXT’s Byron Saxton ready to officiate the proceedings of the work of art we are about to witness. Out first is the sunshine on your cloudy day, Summer Rae! Summer shows off some Flamenco/Paso Doble moves as she walks down the ramp and then she jumps to the top rope with ease… IN HEELS. I have no idea how hard that may be, yet anyone who regularly wears them would know that it is quite difficult? Top work, Summer!
Out next is the Emma-taining Australian, Emma and the crowd are as usual, living for her presence. Emma’s has particular trouble getting in the ring this week after having practically perfected it in recent weeks (it must be the homemade t-shirt) yet she eventually makes it into the ring. Another random note: Alex Riley is really bad on commentary. The other guy is Todd Phillips I believe and he’s actually a good new announcer. Finally!
Byron explains the rules of the contest BATTLE and he notes that the winner will be decided on audience reception. Erm, sorry? What do you mean there are no judges?! To be fair, I think that is for the best, as knowing WWE, Great Khali, Jinder Mahal and Layla would be the judges, and we don’t need to see any of their dancing/performing/shimmying/flailing around.
Summer demanded that she go first earlier in the day so she steps up to the plate as the music hits. Summer shows off some Salsa(?) moves that look… interesting. Emma responds with some awkward side-stepping and that funny thing where you grab your leg and rock back and forth like you’re possessed by the ghost of a three-legged giraffe. Yeah, I don’t know the name either. Round 1 to Emma for me, hilarious! Summer’s “routine” was too short in my expert opinion.
Round 2 ensues with Summer shimmying, shaking and spinning like a raccoon that just took a drink from a contaminated river. Don’t ask me where I’m getting these similes from! Emma responds with a Chicken Dance. It’s great to see that Emma doesn’t only need to rely on the Emma dance! I’ll give Round 2 to Summer, and just for her antics as opposed to her moves.
Round 3 kicks off with Summer sliding before the camera cuts to the crowd. It’s not like I was judging her profession or anything WWE! Emma performs her third move, which Byron introduces as the “Advanced Shopping Trolley”… and it’s hilarious. I’ve seen it performed crisper in my time yet you cannot argue with Emma’s passion. Her shoving her imaginary trolley into Summer was brilliant! Due to the dodgy camera, I’m calling this round a draw. Tense stuff going into the final round.
Round 4 starts with Summer pulling out all the stops.. to her “real” music. Fandango‘s theme plays and Summer finishes her final routine with the splits! Emma then declares that there is only one theme the NXT crowd want to hear, and it’s hers. Emma whips off her shirt and gets down, Emma style! After a long and tough deliberation, my winner of the Dance Battle……
is………
EMMA! But seriously, what do I know?
The WWE Universe decide the winner and with by far the best reaction, Emma takes it! She celebrates as only she can before Summer drills her from behind before laying her out with her finisher. Again, she did this in heels. Apparently I should be impressed. The segment ends with Summer screaming that she will be in the championship match, not Emma. Time will tell.
Thoughts: Well, this was quite something, wasn’t it?! I genuinely laughed out loud at some points, with both girls proving that they can be highly entertaining. I love that Summer’s character isn’t all about the dancing, yet she has managed to incorporate it now that she is on the main roster with Fandango. Her character makes onions jealous with it’s amount of layers and although her “dancing” was questionable, her ability to impress verbally is not.
Emma is a natural choice to be #1 Contender. She deserves it after the amazing display of two weeks ago and I’d like to see her and Paige feud a little more. Even though Emma is a happy-go-lucky girl, she’s obviously going to be a little bitter about not winning the belt. Whether that’s the road WWE will take is another thing though, so we will have to wait and see. And with that, stay tuned, Jack will be back!
