Welcome back to NXT Redemption, or as I like to call it, the never ending season. The funny thing is though, after what transpired this week, I honestly am not sure I’m ready for it to end anymore. This episode saw former rookie, AJ, get proposed to by her loving leprechaun, Hornswoggle, until Derrick Bateman spoiled the party, and brought a special surprise along with him, in the returning, Maxine!
Check out the full recap below…
We open the show with Hornswoggle, Titus O’Neil, and AJ making their way to the ring. Titus welcomes the crowd to NXT as describes that his pro, Hornswoggle, has been on a journey much like his own, only Horny’s journey involves finding true love, which he has found in AJ. Hornswoggle takes the mic, but nobody can understand what is being said, therefore Titus takes control as his official translator. He drops a sweet potato pie on us, and lets AJ know that Hornswoggle feels she is the most special diva on the roster.
This leads to the leprechaun getting down on one knee and pulling out a ring…pop. AJ takes the candy treat, as Titus lets her know the ring symbolizes Hornswoggle’s faithfulness to her…FO-EVVAAAAA. AJ takes the microphone and tells Hornswoggle that size doesn’t matter to her (William Regal isn’t making a joke here, and neither should you). AJ says all that matters is the size of Hornswoggle’s heart…before getting cut off by NXT Rookie, Derrick Bateman.
Derrick begins to gag as he says this nauseating segment needs to stop. He tells Hornswoggle that if he believes anyone could really love him, he’s dumber than Titus looks, to which O’Neil retaliates with a variety of insults to Derrick (including a yeast infection accusation of all things). Derrick says that he’s not sure which of the two is the leprechaun and which is the troll in the relationship. Titus challenges Derrick to come to the ring, in which Bateman tells O’Neil to make him. This sparks Hornswoggle and Titus to charge up the ramp after Bateman, and AJ left alone in the ring…
BAM!
Out of nowhere, a female lays her out from behind with a stiff shot to the back. She picks AJ up and throws her into the ringpost, before laying her out with a big boot to the face. Said female is then revealed to be former NXT rookie, Maxine, as she stands over the fallen geek goddess and throws her ringpop down at her before exiting the ring to a pretty solid reaction from the crowd and posing at the ramp to close the segment.
Up next, we have the main event, as Derrick Bateman and Maxine make their way out to the ring hand in hand. As the two enter the ring, Derrick introduces Maxine as someone more than just a woman, or a diva, and demands the crowd show respect to his soul mate, Maxine. Maxine takes the mic and says that Hornswoggle wishes he could handle a real woman like her, but like every other man who couldn’t, he settled for someone less, like AJ. Maxine proclaims that if he thinks she’s causing problems for him now, he should just wait, because they are just getting started.
As a match between Derrick Bateman and Titus O’Neil transpires, the clip chosen joins them mid way through as Derrick sends Titus into the corner but misses a running splash, allowing Titus to follow up with a clothesline and a sick shoulderbreaker for a near fall. Maxine watches on, as Derrick goes for his Mantastic-DDT, only its countered into a fallaway slam. Bateman rolls out of the ring as Maxine goes to check on him. Titus exits the ring to toss Bateman back in, but as he climbs up, Maxine grabs him by the foot, allowing Derrick to roll him up for the victory! The dynamic duo celebrates up the ramp, as they engage in a makeout session to close the show.
Thoughts: I don’t think it needs to be said how much I enjoyed tonight’s episode of NXT. I’ve been wanting Maxine brought up for some time now, and I thought she had one of the better debuts for a diva. I really like the pairing of her and Derrick because I feel like he’s a natural face, so with Maxine beside him, it will help him to be taken more seriously as a heel character. I can’t wait to see where this leads, but as of now, NXT Redemption can continue for a while and I’ll be fine with it.
