Why hello world, and welcome to another wonderful edition of the NXT Watch! I’m on a huge high right now with news spreading that Cougar Town has been saved by the beautiful network that is TBS for a fourth season, and top that with the fact that this week’s NXT was probably one of the best episodes yet for a show that I feel never has anything short of a good one. This should make for one of the best NXT Watches we’ve ever come to know! Of course, my lack of sleep could put a dampener on that, but let’s hope those two positives outweigh that negative.
Now onto this week’s festivities. We returned to form with a Divas match that pits Tamina Snuka against Maxine. I’ve been critical of their chemistry in the past so it will be a good test to see how things may have improved since then. On top of that, Maxine and Kaitlyn find themselves in some brief backstage segments, and Alicia Fox serves up a brand new version of the amazement that is known as (the underutilized) JTG! Let’s kick things off with a bang as Mad Max takes on Tamina:
My inner Donkey Kong emerges to the sound of our jungle-esque “TA-MEE-NA” (duh duh duh) theme erupting. Out walks the Samoan Goddess to pose for the cameras, as it appears she has not yet randomly turned heel like I predict will happen once WWE realizes there are barely any heels left. We see a recap of the tag match from two weeks ago that lead to tonight’s contest, before we are cut off by the club hit “IF YOU WANT IT COME N GET IT”. I’m sure you’re all dancing, but please stop because Mad Max has a microphone and she’s complimenting Mr. Regal. Maxine then turns her attention to “Tammy”, stating that she may have lost on Raw, but that’s not important! Maxine continues that it’s all about working together as a team, and that she looks forward to having a match with dear Tammy. Our Queen of Mean claims she’s a new woman now, as the referee unhooks the cuffs and Maxine brilliantly tells Tammy to smile more since she has such a beautiful one!
Maxine walks into the ring all chipper and lovely, as the bell sounds and we kick things off with a lock up. Maxine scores a side headlock, but Tamina applies a leg scissors that Maxine fights out of. Maxine continues to smile for us all, with Tammy applying a few arm drags. Maxine connects with a kick and then hits a few punches, before being sent off the ropes by Tammy and hit with a chop to the chest. Maxine proceeds to roll out of the ring, but Tammy goes after her! Maxine snaps Tammy’s neck off the second rope and then begins to knee her in the back of the head. The two ladies roll inside the ring as Maxine scores with a few hair slams and then locks in a submission hold while the crowd gets behind Miss Snuka. Tamina backs Maxine into the corner, but Maxine scores with an elbow and locks in her Dragon Sleeper!
Tamina starts to fade, before fighting out and slamming Mad Max back into the corner until the hold is broken. Snuka hits a few sharp clotheslines and a back elbow! She ducks a clothesline and then nails a huge flying fist to the face, before scoring with the Samoan Drop! Tammy proceeds to head towards the top rope much to the crowds delight… will she…will she?! YE— NO! Maxine rolls out of the way and Tamina comes crashing down to the canvas! Maxine quickly locks in the Dragon Sleeper like a cheetah hunting its prey and Tamina has no choice but to submit to the vicious hold.
Once the match is complete, Maxine walks over to the commentary table and thanks William for the opportunity, before agreeing to be handcuffed back to Dirty Curty and heading off with a smile on her face and sunshine on her side!
Backstage, Dirty Curty asks Maxine to stop her smiling as it’s so different and confusing! Maxine reiterates that she’s a new Maxine before the two run into Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins. The duo want to put their differences aside with the pair, as they are now “in” with Johnny Ace. Hawkins insists that there will be a lot of changes coming soon and they may get left behind, with Reks adding “IF” there’s an NXT left when this is over. (Umm… there better be because it’s the only wrestling show I can watch in full and enjoy myself through.) Maxine simply laughs it off, as Reks and Hawkins claim that this info is exclusive to them. Way to make me worry.
The two hold the key which unlocks their handcuffs above them, as Johnny quickly unhooks their handcuffs to get ready for his main event. Matt Striker then sends Reks and Hawkins away, as Maxine continues her “70’s I’m so happy all the time hippy routine” which leaves me more amused than I could ever imagine. Striker claims that “just like when you wore white on your wedding night”, no one is buying this act! Matt Striker, you don’t have the same admiration Natalya does, so you can NOT insult Maxine and get away with it. She calls him charming, as Johnny states Maxine is acting a little too weird for him and heads off, leaving (not so) Mad Max to giggle at her own free will.
We pop backstage once more to see Percy Watson and Kaitlyn walking along a hallway, as she discusses the creepy attacks taking place recently. Percy is upset that people are blaming him, but Kaitlyn seems to justify it with the little tassels being left behind. The two suddenly run into Derrick Bateman, who tries to split them up because he can’t trust Percy at this time… especially with his gal pal, Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn stands up for herself and claims that ever since Derrick’s big match on SmackDown, Bateman has been getting a big head. Derrick justifies his actions and states that he just wants to protect Kaitlyn. She butts in that she doesn’t need protecting, but Derrick heads off and Percy soon follows.
Kaitlyn amazingly starts talking to herself, asking what’s with the trainwrecks around her lately between AJ, Maxine, Bateman, and Percy… before wondering why she’s talking to herself in the first place. (Genius!) Suddenly, a loud bang is heard once again, and Kaitlyn provides her best Baywatch run scene down the hallway to find a downed Derrick Bateman hobbling on one knee. Kaitlyn tries to ask who did this, before finding a pair of Percy’s glasses nearby and helping her one legged boyfriend to the nearest doctor for evaluating.
Also, check out the new and improved JTG (with Alicia Fox by his side) as he faces off against Yoshi Tatsu:
Thoughts: Tremendous! I loved this week’s episode of NXT (to no one’s surprise), even more than usual. I thought Maxine and Tammy had their best chemistry together tonight, and I was really into the match more than I thought I’d be. It was so refreshing to see someone roll out of the way from the Superfly Splash, and I really like where this “new Maxine” is going. Regal told her that manners are what will get her off NXT, so if being aggressive was getting her nowhere, the only thing to do is listen and Maxine is doing just that. I am going to miss her constant falls while screaming “OWW”, but if she can continue to grace us with nicknames like “Tammy”, I may be alright with this in the long run.
I’m also loving Alicia and JTG together. His new look is killer unique, and definitely makes him stand out as more of a threat as opposed to the rolled up jean leg he’s had for the past few years. I think and always have thought JTG was one of the most talented wrestlers WWE has, and he actually has charisma as well which is what halts many of the other people I enjoy watching in the ring. Pairing him with Alicia gives him something fresh and different, and I really hope these two take the ball and run with it. Perhaps it could transition over to SmackDown. (Sidenote: I love how everyone wants people they like to move to SmackDown since we all know Raw will do nothing but kill their careers). I look forward to seeing what these two have in store next week!
