Previously on NXT…
Rookie Divas Maxine and Kaitlyn stunk it up in what was perhaps one of the worst matches in WWE history. Naomi swept the challenges, putting her first in line for immunity from elimination. Aksana received her engagement ring from Goldust and fawned over it, even during challenges. And last, but certainly not least, the highlight of last week’s episode was the beginning of perhaps the end of the Bella twins as Nikki Bella showed some fire (as well as major heel tendencies) during the tag team main event which pitted Nikki and Brie Bella against Naomi and her pro, Kelly Kelly.
This week can only be better, right?
Mr. Blue Eyes, Matt Striker, was waiting for us as the program began. He introduced us all to the Halloween edition of NXT and brought out the rookie Divas. They were dressed in Halloween costumes of course and kudos to them for not being so stereotypical. AJ was out first this week and she was dressed as Ninja Turtle Raphael. Naomi followed her and was dressed up as the Hamburger Helper hand. Wow. Kaitlyn is out third and she’s wearing a dead-on Vickie Guerrero costume complete with padded backside. Out fourth is Maxine and she’s playing the part of “Ice Queen” tonight. And last, but certainly not least, the future Mrs. Goldust walks out and she’s dressed in a fire engine red devil costume. The girls get in the ring and Striker lets us know that elimination is next week and that currently, Naomi is leading the pack with immunity challenge wins. He tells the girls that there is plenty of time left to catch Naomi and even pass her, and with that being said the first competition of the night is about to take place. Of course, it’s a Halloween costume contest. Each girl will have fifteen seconds to impressed the WWE Universe with her costume and the fans will be the judges.
Aksana went first. Music started to play and Aksana really did nothing but blow kisses, pose, and move around a little bit. She didn’t even dance. She probably should have just done her push-ups again. Maxine went next. Striker asked her what her costume was and she told everyone that she was an ice queen. Striker remarked that she could certainly melt that costume, and Maxine looked up at him. She said that she could melt that costume and that she could send shivers down his spine. Maxine asked Matt if he knew what cold water did to a man. She looked away from him and revealed that she would hate to embarrass him so she is going to use the rest of her time to say that there is only one place for this queen, and that place is on top.
Up third was Kaitlyn and before Striker could even properly introduce her, she grabbed the microphone and started screeching “Excuse Me!” She introduced herself as the official SmackDown consultant and then she fell down. In true Vickie fashion, Kaitlyn started to pitch a hissy fit and the cougar herself was so not amused while sitting on stage. The rookies were and Maxine even had to smile at Kaitlyn’s impersonation.
Naomi had the unfortunate task of following Kaitlyn this week and she basically did a commercial for Hamburger Helper. They should really give her an endorsement deal. Last up was AJ and when Striker asked her what her costume was, she said a lion. That was pretty adorable. AJ tried to impress the WWE Universe by dancing around a bit and playing with the weapons that came with her costume. The contest wrapped up with the voting and basically, it wasn’t even close. Kaitlyn won by a landslide much to the chagrin of Vickie.
Kaitlyn celebrated her victory as the show cut to the backstage area. Ted DiBiase and Maryse were seen walking through the hallway. Maryse wasn’t exactly thrilled to be at NXT. She was complaining while she hung on to Teddy’s arm. He didn’t seem interested in what she had to say and at one point he even stopped her. Maryse wasn’t deterred. She kept complaining and said that she didn’t want to be here and that she had plans. The show faded to commercial break.
Once it returned, Kelly Kelly was making her way to the ring. The first match of the evening was set to feature Naomi and Maxine. Once Kelly got to the ring, Alicia made her way to the ring. Josh Matthews set the match up as a response from last week’s limbo challenge that Striker messed up. Maxine apparently threw this challenge out to Naomi since Naomi was basically given a free pass to victory last week.
Oh yeah, the girls are wrestling in their costumes tonight.
The bell rang and Maxine got us started by throwing Naomi to the ground and then bringing her to the corner. She threw a shoulder block into Naomi’s gut and tried to whip her across the ring. Naomi was able to reverse and send Maxine up against the turnbuckles instead. She nailed her with a splash, went for more offense, but Maxine was able to drop Naomi face first into the padding. She followed it up with a nice camel clutch like submission and then tossed Naomi to the outside of the ring. Naomi landed with a resounding thud and Maxine followed her out of the ring. She grabbed a hold of Naomi and slammed her face off the broadcast table. Then she kicked her into the railing. Maxine kept up the outside aggression by slamming Naomi’s back into the re-enforced steel a couple of times before the match finally made it’s way back to the ring.
But not before Naomi managed to get a cheap shot in at Michael Cole. Love it.
With the girls back in the ring, Maxine went for a cover. Naomi powered out so we continue. Maxine brought Naomi to the corner again and this time she choked Naomi with her foot to the tune of an almost five count. She snapped Naomi onto the match and went for another cover. Naomi was out after the one this time. Maxine shook off her near falls and went back to work. She slammed her knees into Naomi’s back and started driving her elbow into the side of Naomi’s head. Kelly rallied the crowd to get behind Naomi and finally the NXT favorite started to come back to life.
Naomi got to her feet and brought Maxine up with her. She hit a nice looking jawbreaker that sent Maxine staggering back. Naomi got to her feet and punished Maxine with a clothesline. Then she went for a cover. Maxine was out after the two and once she made her way back to her feet, she slammed her fist in Naomi’s gut. The former dancer doubled over in pain but managed to duck a clothesline. Maxine sent her into the ropes and then took her down with a nice big boot. Naomi was able to shake it off and make her way back up. She was able to headbutt Maxine and when Maxine fell to the mat, Naomi made the cover. This time she got the pin and yet another victory on NXT. Kelly and Naomi celebrated as the scene cut to the backstage area.
Aksana and Goldust are backstage and Goldust is telling his fiancee that tonight is very important. Maryse and Ted are in the house and they have come to take the Million Dollar Championship. Aksana replied that she that but next week is wedding. They will be married next week. Goldust said he knew that Aksana was excited but tonight she needed to focus. Aksana brushed it off and told him to stop worrying. Goldust said he always worried about her and Aksana switched the subject to what kind of flowers they should have next week. Goldust went to say something else but the immigration officer showed up and interrupted them. He commented that marriage cleared up all issues but as of right now, Aksana’s papers still weren’t in order. He told them that if Aksana wasn’t a married woman by next week he would take her into custody. He exited stage left and Aksana got really upset. She moaned about wedding and flowers, and finally Goldust calmed her down. He also told her she looked beautiful. They are the cutest couple ever.
Back at ringside, the Bella twins made their way to the ring. Much like we saw on Raw last night, the girls appear to have kissed and made up over their disagreement towards Nikki’s antics last week. A video package of what happened last week aired and when they cut to the twins in the ring, Brie still looked annoyed. Matthews mentioned that the Bellas appeared to have made up over what happened last week because on Raw they were with the guest host, and then AJ and Primo made their way to the ring. We were reminded that all the rookie Divas were competing in their costumes.
The match began with Brie extending her hand towards AJ. AJ seemed reluctant to shake it and rightfully so, but nonetheless she did and she followed it up with an arm drag take-down that sent Brie sprawling to the mat. Brie picked herself up and went for AJ, but AJ was able to turn it around and roll Brie up in a quick schoolgirl. Brie kicked out and picked herself up once again. This time she pushed AJ towards the ropes and hit her in the stomach with a knee. Then Brie sent Pocket Rocket to the other side and brought her down with a hip toss. She continued on with a slam to the mat and Nikki applauded her sister’s efforts. AJ was hit with a drop kick to the jaw and Brie went for the cover. AJ kicked out after the two and Nikki applied a firm headlock. AJ was eventually able to fight her way out of it but Brie put a stop to that by clotheslining AJ. She went for another cover but once again, AJ kicked out.
Brie kept with the headlock theme and she applied another one to AJ. Once again, AJ fought her way to her feet and out of the hold, but Brie stopped her with a club to the kidney area. She threw AJ into the opposite corner and went for her, but AJ managed to get the feet up and sent Brie out of the ring. Nikki was right there with her sister and the conversation wasn’t pleasant. Nikki ripped into her sister for not doing a good enough job and when Brie tried to walk away, Nikki followed. Primo came over from the other side of the ring and warned the Bellas against switching. The referee ordered Brie back into the ring and she followed his command.
AJ was waiting for Brie when she returned to the match. She caught Brie with a spinning heel kick and followed it with two more. She went for a cover, but Brie was able to power out. AJ remained on offense for the time being until she wrapped her legs around Brie’s waist and Brie was able to stand up. Brie backed AJ into the corner and that knocked the wind out of the smaller competitor. Brie was still struggling, however. AJ was able to rebound first and she made a cover. Brie kicked out of it but AJ continued to dominate. Brie finally managed to get a grip on the ropes and the referee was forced to make AJ back off. He pulled AJ back and that gave Nikki the chance to jerk Brie from the ring. Brie took a nice hit on the outside and Nikki got in the ring selling AJ’s offense like a pro. As soon as the referee backed off AJ, she went right back at Brie. Unfortunately for AJ, it wasn’t Brie she attempted to attack. It was a fresh Nikki and Nikki put her out of commission real quick. The Bella twins picked up another cheap victory and got a nice amount of heat. Nikki went to hug Brie, but Brie shoved her back.
Meanwhile, Primo had a bitchfit in the middle of the ring.
Backstage, Ted DiBiase was seen standing around. Maryse walked up to him, gripped his arm and asked if they could leave. She said the place was gross and that the building smelled like vomit. She then ripped on the rookie girls and called them tacky and cheesy. Right as she started to complain in French, Ted cut her off. He told her that they were here tonight to get his Million Dollar Championship back. Maryse pointed out that since Ted was right (he does come from money, har har) he could just go by another title. Ted was not amused by that. He gave Maryse a history lesson of the belt and basically stated that it was a family heirloom. He told Maryse that this whole feud with Goldust and Aksana was based on principal and he wanted his property back. He also called Aksana a mail order bride. He told Maryse that she was going to help him get the championship back tonight. Maryse rolled her eyes but agreed, then stormed off while complaining in French.
NXT faded to a commercial and a propaganda video.
When the show returned, all the rookies and the pros were in the ring. The rookies were seated at a table with their pros directly behind them. Striker let us know that the second challenge of the evening was about to take place and it was going to be a Halloween candy eating contest. Basically, the rookies had one minute to shove as much candy in their mouths as possible and their pros would be there to encourage them. Striker announced that they needed a special helper for this contest and the little creature known as Hornswoggle walked to the ring. Maxine was the most annoyed by this and she stood up as soon as he walked towards her. The contest finally got underway. Aksana basically picked at her candy, while Maxine started shoving as much as possible in her mouth. When all was said and done, the referees declared Maxine the winner. She celebrated her victory by getting in the face of Hornswoggle. AJ jumped to the little guy’s defense and together they humiliated Maxine by knocking her on her butt. Kaitlyn also started choking during all this and when Hornswoggle gave her the Heimlich maneuver, she ended up regurgitating all over Vickie.
Needless to say, Vickie was furious.
As Vickie left the ring in a stoic huff, Cole and Mathews revealed that tonight’s main event was going to be a mixed tag team match featuring Ted and Maryse against Goldust and Aksana.
NXT went on a brief hiatus to feature some promos and to remind us about the voting and whatnot, then it returned. Vickie is heard screaming from behind a closed door and it’s not pretty. She’s blaming Kaitlyn for everything under the sun and even says that she can’t believe she got thrown up on. Kaitlyn walked up to the door and knocked, and Dolph Ziggler walked out. He told Kaitlyn that she absolutely did not want to go inside there right now and when he noticed how upset the other girl was, he reassured that she wasn’t doing anything wrong. While they were talking, Vickie continued to carry on, but Dolph noticed Kaitlyn’s outfit and told her she could really make it work. He told her she was a shoo-in to win the competition but he had to go back inside because Vickie screamed his named out. Brilliant.
The main event was next and it kicked off with the reveal of Aksana and Goldust’s wedding invitation. Michael Cole called it the internet event of the year and with that, the golden couple made their way to the ring. Ted and Maryse followed suit and the girls were the ones who started the match off.
Maryse of course showed off at the beginning. She taunted Aksana and played to the crowd, then did her trademark hair flip. Aksana stood poised with her fists in the air, ready to fight, and Maryse told her to go ahead and hit her. Aksana just stood there and finally Maryse got things going by slapping the other blond across the face. Aksana went at Maryse, but the former two-time Diva’s Champion sent the Lithuanian beauty crashing to the canvas.
Maryse lit Aksana up and began to scream at her while she forced her into the ropes. Maryse really took exception to being called a loser by a rookie and she began to beat the snot out of Aksana. Aksana mounted little to zero offense and Maryse took advantage of the rookie’s inexperience. She bounced Aksana’s head off the canvas and threw her into the ropes. Aksana found herself pressed against the bottom rope while Maryse choked her and after the French-Canadian Diva stopped, she followed it up with a running knee to Aksana’s back. Aksana was down and Maryse went for the cover. She kicked out and that infuriated Maryse. She screamed at Aksana to stay down and then bashed the girls face into the mat so hard part of her costume came off. Maryse ripped the tail off the costume for good measure and then she knocked Aksana down once more with a nice side leg sweep. Maryse went for another cover, but Aksana managed to kick out. Maryse finally busted out the camel clutch, but thanks to the crowd’s encouragement, Aksana was able to fight her way out of it and to her feet. Maryse put a stop to that and slammed her back down once again. Maryse seemed to be going for perhaps a figure four, but Aksana pushed her back. Maryse slammed into her corner and Ted tagged himself in.
The men took over and the pace understandably picked up with two experienced athletes going at it. Goldust took early control of the match by throwing Ted around from corner to corner. Maryse’s sexy male counterpart finally got back in the swing of things when he stopped Goldust in the corner and took him out with a clothesline. Ted remained in command of the match until Goldust dropped to his knees, coming off a whip into the ropes, and hit Ted with an upper-cut. DiBiase managed to shake it off and gain control again by dropping the Golden One to the outside of the ring. Maryse got her cheap shot in behind the referee’s back and Aksana tried to get the crowd behind her man. Goldust eventually makes the tag and in come Aksana and Maryse for round two!
Aksana fares much better this time. She takes Maryse down with a clothesline and after getting whipped into the ropes, she drops down and pulls a Goldust, but nailing Maryse right in the kisser! She goes for a cover, but DiBiase runs into the ring and jerks Aksana off Maryse. Goldust comes to his woman’s rescue and he disposes of Ted. The menfolk brawl on the outside while the girls are left alone in the ring. Maryse got to her feet first and she sawAksana in a state of peril. She jerked the rookie up by her hair and brought her into the center of the ring. Maryse motioned for the French TKO but at the last moment Aksana pulled off a beautiful reversal and gathered Maryse’s in a small package. The former Diva’s Champion found herself pinned and on the losing side of things while Goldust jumped on the apron to celebrate.
Ted spoiled the moment by yanking Goldust off the ring and grabbing his title belt from Tony Chimmel. He climbed into the ring, slid Maryse the belt, and Aksana looked at both of them in surprise. To her credit, she smacked Maryse, grabbed the championship, and clutched it tightly to her chest. Ted wrestled it away from her, but Aksana slapped the crap out of him and she got the belt back. Goldust came out of nowhere to clothesline Ted over the top rope and Maryse quickly decided to get the heck out of dodge. Goldust and Aksana celebrated up the ramp, while Ted and Maryse licked their wounds on the outside. Another chapter of this NXT book closed and the show faded to back.
Nice rebound from last week’s hot mess.
Dolph and Kaitlyn’s segment kicks us off this week at number five. I was afraid they were going to drop this storyline all together when Vickie and Kaitlyn agreed to let bygones be bygones, but thankfully they didn’t. Dolph and Kaitlyn are adorable together and I loved the fact he was trying to reassure her that despite her recent set-backs she was doing great. It was nice to see a different side to the IC Champ, and you maybe get the impression that he’s beginning to feel the pressure of being with Vickie. We all know Dolph only began to date her because of her SmackDown position and from the way he reacted last night, methinks it’s beginning to wear him down.
In at number four tonight was the Maxine versus Naomi match. This is without a shadow of a doubt the best match Maxine has in on NXT. I loved her aggression on the outside of the ring, especially when she slammed Naomi’s head into the broadcast booth. As far as Naomi goes, she just goes without saying. Homegirl managed to wrestle a match in a Hamburger Helper hand costume and it didn’t even get in her way. Naomi and Maxine had nice chemistry tonight and I dare say that I could stomach even more matches from the two.
Stuck in the middle spot tonight is the costume contest, and it’s mainly just for Kaitlyn. This girl had a nightmare week last week. She was embarrassed, to be honest, during that match with Maxine, and I admire her for being able to brush it off and come back with guns blazing. Her costume choice was brilliant and she deserved to win this challenge because her Vickie impersonation was spot on. Other moments I liked from this were Maxine’s costume. She looked so pretty last night. And of course, I was a fan of Naomi during this because I’ve just recently discovered just how tasty Hamburger Helper is myself, and I love the fact she payed homage to my new go-to meal.
Runner-up for highlight of the night is the presence of Ted and Maryse. I was bitter during Raw because they weren’t on the show, but tonight made up for it. I got all I could handle of Ted and Maryse, and I wanted more. Maryse looked really great in the ring tonight and can I just say that Aksana deserves a MVP award not only for wrestling in heels, but for wrestling with one broken heel?! She did so well tonight and I’m glad, because she’s getting eliminated next week. I called it during Bragging Rights and I’m going to say it again. Something tells me that DiBiase and his money are going to have a lot to do with this elimination whether we vote for Aksana or not.
And tonight’s number one moment is hands down the excellent match between Brie and AJ. We often knock Brie for being the lesser wrestler out of the twins, but she was remarkable tonight. It probably had a lot to do with the fact she had an incredible opponent, but Brie deserves just as much credit as AJ. The fact that the WWE isn’t throwing away this Bella storyline makes me one very happy camper and I loved Nikki just carelessly tossing Brie out of the ring like she was nothing. I want a Bella feud and I want it now. Who’s with me?!
That wraps up this week’s edition of NXT. It was definitely a treat instead of a trick! Don’t forget to vote online for your favorite and of course tune in next week for the second elimination of the season, as well as the wedding of the year! Until then… Cryssi out!
