WWE NXT 9/20/11

This week NXT comes from NHO’s backyard in Dayton, OH!

1. A.J. vs. Maxine - 4
2. Yoshi Tatsu vs. Derrick Bateman - 4
3. Titus O’Neal & Percy Watson vs. JTG & Darren Young - 4

Suffice to say I haven’t watched an episode of NXT since it went online last year about this time. However, the recent reviews by the lads have gotten me sort of excited to peak in on this from time to time. My work schedule however prevented me from watching this live on WWE.com, however I caught it on demand on the NXT page. Better late than never I guess.

I enjoyed the divas match far more than any of the divas matches on the major shows (Raw and Smackdown). A.J. has a lot of spunk and fire to her and I think that’s quite awesome. I remember Maxine from the divas NXT season and thought she was quite terrible. Judging by what I saw here, she’s gotten a bit better in the ring but her skills outside of the ring still need work. A.J. threw a mean dropkick and hit a freakin amazing shining wizard. Maxine sold the shoulder quite well after she jammed in hard in the corner post. Not a bad match by any means.

This new version of Yoshi Tatsu is intriguing. Not sure what sparked this change but I like it. Bateman really wasn’t too impressive and he came across to me as just another generic dude. Yoshi’s kicks are hard as concrete, even William Regal on commentary vouched for that. Can’t believe that Tyson Kidd was “sharing the secrets of the Hart Dungeon” with Bateman pre-match. For some reason, I doubt that Bateman even knows what the Hart Dungeon is. Match was pretty solid but I could’ve done without the Tyson Kidd interference at the end.

Main event was set up by a goofy opening segment called “Showtime with Percy Watson” where him and Titus O’Neal carried on like buffoons before they were interrupted by JTG and Darren Young, with a much more reserved hair cut than he had back last year. To be quite honest, I forgot that JTG and Young were still gainfully employed. I wanted to really get behind this match but it just didn’t have much, if anything, to bump it up to a recommended level. Young took the bump of the night, doing a huge face plant straight to the floor over the corner post. O’Neal has a great look and lots of potential but really needs to work on his skills. Not sure what the issue is between JTG and Regal but I’m considering tuning in next week to find out. Didn’t buy Young putting down O’Neal with a rather lame gutbuster.