King Kamala's NXT Redemption Live Blog

[King Kamala]

Yes! Video package for R-Truth Vs John Cena at Capital Punishment. R-Truth isn't gonna Tom for the WWE Universe. HE IS NOT DANCING ANYMORE!

R-Truth telling little kids to shut up= $$$

HE's GOT AN OPPORTUNITY AND HE IS GONNA TAKE IT!

Backstage, Lucky Cannon says he's gonna make Titus O'Neil and Hornswoggle pay for what they did. Maryse says she's taken the purse to a repair person and put the bill on Lucky's credit card. UH OH!

Titus entering solo to Hornswoggle's theme is quite the image.

Titus wins in a "poor performance" with the Clash of the Titus. Even on his off nights, Titus is still the best guy on this show.

Lucky Cannon is eliminated. THIS IS AN OUTRAGE HE IS TOO GOOD for NXT! HE SHOULD BE SLAPPING THE TASTE OUT OF RANDY ORTON'S MOUTH! Titus O'Neil leads a sing along of "Na Na Na (Hey Hey Goodbye)"

Maryse is outraged. This isn't fair. But she wants to tell Lucky Cannon that the purse he gave her was not even worth $5. Lucky is a cheap loser and gets slapped. Go to Hell, Lucky Cannon!

 

[King Kamala]

This week's show ends with a video package on the downfall of Lucky Cannon.

Half our field is gone. Only three competitiors are left. Next week, the field will go down to two.

Todd Grisham welcomes us to the show this week. Which is from Hershey, Pennsylvania. A city that always smells good. Is it because of the chocolate factory or his broadcast partner William Regal?

Hornswoggle and Titus O'Neil open this week's show. William Regal is surprisingly happy to see them. He loves to see smiles on the faces of the WWE Universe. Hornswoggle cuts a promo in gibberish. Titus translates it as Swoggle inviting Maryse to the ring. Hornswoggle and Titus tell Maryse to close her eyes. Swoggle gives her a Ring Pop.

Maryse calls Swoggle a fat troll and throws the ring pop in his face

OH RADIO! TELL ME EVERYTHING YOU KNOW! WHAT IS ZACK RYDER DOING on NXT!?

How can he hang out with a troll like Swoggle when he rode with Zack in Season 2. That munchkin can't prepare him for in ring action. Titus thinks Zack's headband is on too tight or he overdosed on spray tan. He was the first one eliminated with Zack as his pro. This season, he is gonna win NXT!

Matt Striker comes out. HOW BOUT WE MAKE THIS NIGHT SWEETER? BOOOOOO! Zack Ryder Vs Titus O'Neil is gonna be our main event!

 

[King Kamala]

We are opening up with a six man tag team match, playa. It's Conor O'Brien, Kozlov, and Yoshi Tatsu Vs Darren Young, Chavo Guerrero, and JTG.

Wikipedia tells me this was Chavo's last match in WWE. AND WHAT A WAY TO END A TEN YEAR RUN IN THE COMPANY!

Regal says he wrestled Chavo Guerrero Jr in Chavo's first match.

Faces win after Yoshi knocks JTG out with the kick again. LOL. This match is whatever. Long heat segment on Conor O'Brien. I'm just glad we're getting to the wacky episodes of this show fairly soon.

 

[King Kamala]

Next week on RAW. A special three hour edition of RAW from Las Vegas, guest starring Shawn Michaels and featuring a fan voted Sin Cara Vs Evan Bourne. Absolutely nothing worthwhile happens on this episode.

RAW Rebound. We see CM Punk sitting in the ring, grousing about how he beat Rey Mysterio at Capital Punishment and John Cena in a non title match and demands to be #1 contender at Money in the Bank. He is not leaving the ring until he gets named #1 contender at Money in the Bank. The Anonymous GM was going to name Punk the GM but now he has to earn it in a Triple Threat Falls Count Anywhere Match with Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio. Punk managed to get the win by throwing Rey Mysterio off Alberto. CM Punk says Money in the Bank 2011 will be a historic day in his career and WWE history. Sure. It was no Capital Punishment. CM Punk says it's the last day of his contract and he's leaving with the WWE Championship.

Woah. I thought CM Punk first threatened to leave with the title during the Pipe Bomb promo. Don't remember this preamble. Probably cause I was too spellbound about Capital Punishment.

Backstage, Tyson Kidd tells Lucky Cannon to calm down. There is gonna be no recount . He shouldn't have focused so much on Maryse.

Tyson stumbles upon a shrine in Yoshi's locker room with a bunch of candles surrounding Yoshi's action figure. Yoshi tells him to scram. Tyson Kidd sulks off and Yoshi Tatus places a Hershey Bar in the shrine and bows to it. Regal and Grisham arent sure what the hell is going on!

 

[King Kamala]

It is time for our main event.

I think this is after "Z! True Hollywood Story" had started but before WWE really acknowledged it. Small "Ryder" chant. Regal points out that Ryder was trained by his old tag team partner Squire Dave Taylor. Huh. I did not know that. That is a fun fact!

Ah. Just as I said that WWE wasn't acknowledging the web series yet, Grisham mentions dismissively Ryder's web series. Regal says a guy has to get himself over in the ring in this internet day and age.

Zack Ryder wins with the Rough Ryder after Hornswoggle accidentally distracts Titus. This internet star is going places! Next week, someone will get eliminated and we will be down to two! The WWE Universe has an opportunity to ruin someone's life next week, Regal says.

 

[King Kamala]

Rolling onto the June 29th edition.

Opening video package recaps the competition so far and hypes the final three; Conor O'Brien, Darren Young, and Titus O'Neil.

William Regal HATES that we have to eliminate one of these competitiors but if he had to pick one, it'd be Conor.

Darren Young enters to the show theme music. He says Chavo Guerrero Jr quit because he is better than him in every aspect. He's accomplished more in the past year than anything Chavo has accomplished in the past 15 years. He main evented SummerSlam. He fought John Cena. Somebody in the crowd laughs uproariously at Darren saying he is better than Chavo.

Conor interrupts. He's had it with Darren talking about main eventing SummerSlam and wrestling John Cena. He's gonna take Darren Young's NXT Redemption and turn it into utter destruction.

William Regal:...What did that mean?
Todd Grisham: I don't know

Crowd reaction to this segment is comically heatless.

Both the wrestlers fall out of the ring, locking up, which makes the crowd come alive for the first time (albeit it in a "WOAH! What the fuck did these idiots did just do?" incredulous way)

Regal awkwardly tries to agree with Darren Young that he is better than Chavo. This is a classic WWE burial lol.

Kozlov isn't here because he's with the main roster on a tour of Australia. LOL. This is how unimportant this season is. "Nah, Kozlov! We don't need you at TV. You got to wrestle in the 3rd match of the house show in Brisbane with Santino against David Otunga & Michael McGillicuddy"

Darren does the Three Amigos and does Eddie's chest slapping. Grisham & Regal think this is mildly disrespectful. He wins with a Frog Splash. DAMN! THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR ASKING FOR YOUR RELEASE, CHAVO!

 

[Baby Shoes]

I like Darren Young better than I like Chavo :-\

 

[King Kamala]

Darren Young never had a toy horse that got destroyed by Norman Smiley. Point: Chavo

Darren Young's mouth is bleeding slightly so of course, he does a crazy "sadistic smiling" face like he has just been in a death match with Nick Gage.

Backstage, Yoshi Tatsu worship his shrine and places a mini cactus next to his action figure cause I think they're in Arizona. (Yeah, night before was RAW Roulette in Vegas so makes sense). Tyson Kidd comes in and breaks the legs off the Yoshi action figure and Yoshi flips the fuck out at him. Scott Armstrong and Little Guido come in and restrain him. Holy shit. I forgot Little Guido was a ref for like six months.

Idk why Yoshi is all of a sudden an eccentric weirdo but I think they're obviously just making this shit up as they go along this season.

Grisham and Regal note that Tyson Kidd has shaved his head. Regal says Tyson Kidd recently went up to Calgary to train with his Uncle Bret Hart and Bret Hart got mad and shaved his head.

Small "Yoshi!" chant. Presumably started by Baby Shoes.

Yoshi is not in a happy mood. He's still pissed about his action figure getting destroyed. That was probably the only one.

Regal talks about Tyson Kidd learning the "art of torture" in Stu Hart's Dungeon and I get sad realizing that we're not gonna get anymore wrestlers coming out of the Dungeon. I mean DH Smith and Nattie are still around but they're the last ones, I think

Yoshi wins a nifty little match with a spinning kick to the back of the head.

Regal says that's the kind of wrestling we need to see in WWE.

 

[King Kamala]

JTG Vs Titus O'Neil is next. This is probably NOT the kind of wrestling WWE needs.

JTG preens in a mirror. Hornswoggle sneaks over in a trash can and tries to steal JTG's bling. Titus tells him to keep it easy. Leprechauns love gold. JTG says it's platinum but Swoggle insists it's white gold.

Ooooo. Maryse is here to join us on commentary. Why is she here?

OH shit. Are we gonna get a storyline where Swoggle, Maryse, and JTG fight over JTG's white gold chain!?

Maryse tells Todd that just because she got nice things doesn't mean she dated anyone on the show.

Hornswoggle hands Maryse a love note. Maryse says she doesn't date dwaves. She doesn't even date anyone under 6 feet.

TItus gets the win with help from Swoggle.

Maryse says Swoggle is so fat he can hardly climb up the ropes. She tears apart his love note.

Regal and Grisham are upset cause they support the notion that a leprechaun and a Diva can fall in love.

 

[King Kamala]

DID YOU KNOW? John Cena has more Facebook fans than The Rock, Tiger Woods, Jennifer Lopez, Dwyane Wade, Kim Kardashian, Tony Hawk, Sarah Palin, Johnny Depp, and the Dalai Lama!?

PISS OFF, DALAI LAMA! The people wanna hear from Cena!

We get a recap of CM Punk helping R-Truth beat John Cena in a non-title tables match. Also CM Punk got a promo. Highlight package cuts off just as Punk starts talking about Vince McMahon. Regal says there will be FIREWORKS on the 4th of July edition of RAW.

It's time for our elimination. Striker says in case the votes are a tie, the person who has the most redemption points gets to stay. They haven't mentioned this before---which seems to tip a storyline, maybe?

No. Conor O'Brien is just straight up eliminated. Regal is not surprised. Conor O'Brien thinks there is no better place to be eliminated than PHOENIX, ARIZONA! Conor O'Brien tells Triple H that he was never good at the game of Monopoly or Life but he wants a second chance to play the Game.

Those stirring words is why Conor O'Brien has a spot on the roster this to the day.

Matt Striker tells us that Darren Young and Titus O'Neil won't be alone in the Finals....they'll be joined by Derrick Bateman.

Grisham and Regal are baffled. WHAT!? This episode really feels like the start of where the show is really starting to go off the rails. Hornswoggle is the only pro that shows up, they get to the final two and then randomly introduce someone new. I mean WTF kinda competition show does that? I mean like halfway through the competition, sure, maybe. But like "We got two people left...oh, wait here's a new guy." GD WWE. I am looking forward to some Baby EC3 tho in the coming weeks and months.

 

[Baby Shoes]

Yup. I was there. Near the ramp too. Thinking this is the one my friend caught me doing something on camera during one of the promos on NXT. I was yelling Chicks and America at Bateman. I hope that was my Yoshi chant.

 

[King Kamala]

Gonna watch the 7-6 episode before I head to Boston for the night.

Opening video package again recaps the season so far. This is the most competitive season of NXT so far. I guess you could say that since no one won! Season 4's Derrick Bateman was added to the competition last week. So now instead of 2 competitors remaining, we have 3.

This week, we are from Tucson, Arizona. Daniel Bryan looks really happy to be there for some reason. Bateman is high fiving kids. I never knew he was a face in WWE?

Titus O'Neil still on top of leader board of Redemption board. This week, we have another promo off. This week's prompt...Winning NXT.

Darren Young is spitting feathers mad that NXT threw a swerve ball at them for adding Derrick Bateman. Swerve ball? Does he think he is Vince Russo? Young's been busting butt for 17 weeks! He doesn't have a pro! He's gonna win all by himself.

Titus O'Neil is surprised NXT brought back Andy Samberg but he doesn't care. He is gonna win NXT no matter what. He has made it rain with Redemption Points then he makes it rain with the redemption points. They've been giving away certificates?

Shot of nerdy thirtysomething white guys doing Titus' dog bark. Baby Shoes?

Derrick says backstage, Titus O'Neil was talking about how the Florida Gators are better than the Arizona Wildcats. Bateman and Daniel Bryan are the Kings of the Internet. The best thing to happen to the world wide web since kitten videos. Hashtag #TucsonRocks hashtag #ChicksandAmerica. Crowd boos Bateman. Buncha idiots in Arizona. Titus O'Neil wins. Grisham says he lost brain cells watching that.

Regal holds up one of Titus' redemption points and stares at it incredulously. He thinks all three men should be eliminated! Honestly, that promo off wasn't that bad. I'm wondering if at this point, it was a storyline decision to have everybody say "These guys are arrogant doofuses and blowing their shots at redemption", which is bizarre as hell.

Last week, Tyson Kidd and Yoshi Tatsu had one of the best matches in NXT history. This week they have a rematch.

 

[King Kamala]

Even though he won, Yoshi is still pissed that Tyson Kidd destroyed his action figure last week

Todd Grisham said their match last week bordered on five stars. OK, Dave Meltzer.

This show was taped a week and a half before due to the foreign tours and 4th of July Holiday and as a result, god damn, we have a lot of piped in crowd noise. Crowd is chanting for Yoshi like he's John Cena.

It is pretty dope that WWE decided to just gave these two 10-15 minutes to have a match and let them do what they wanted to.

Regal and Grisham channel Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan for a bit by completely ignoring this match and talking about possibility of CM Punk trying to leave WWE with the title after Money in the Bank. At least, they bring it back by saying "Tyson's Uncle Bret tried to leave WWE with the title and look how that turned out for him."

Grisham thinks Tyson Kidd's gotten a lot better since he shaved his dumb haircut. Regal thinks his improvement is probably more due to proper training and diet.

This match isn't quite as good but is still a fine TV match. Kidd gets the win. After the match, he puts on a chain with Yoshi's action figures leg tied on it. This is only gonna upset Yoshi further. Regal and Grisham tripping over themselves to put this over as a classic also reminds me of later WCW commentary for some reason.

 

[King Kamala]

Video package for Derrick Bateman. Since Season 4, he got 3rd place in a soap box derby and raised a new cat named Simon. Some people say he doesn't deserve the chance. But he got eliminated from Season 4 in his hometown, in front of Mama & Papa Bateman.

Derrick Bateman says in a few years, we'll all be laughing in a few years when he is holding the WWE Title. I mean, sure , a title, I guess.

Titus O'Neil tries to talk Swoggle out of giving Maryse a boquet of dead flowers, banana peels, and Twizzlers.

Would you be shocked if I told you that Maryse beats Swoggle with the the boquet? Titus says he needs to let it go and find another woman.

 

[King Kamala]

The then makeshift team of Darren Young & Titus O'Neil take on Derrick Bateman & Daniel Bryan.

Weird now to see Daniel Bryan enter to "Ride of the Valkyries" to a muted reaction and no "Yes-ing"

Regal wonders who out there picked Derrick Bateman to return. Of all the people, why him? Grisham wonders who put Regal on commentary. Regal says Daniel Bryan was once his protege.

Regal & Grisham rag on Scott Armstrong's ref skills.

Was D-Bry the only NXT rookie to eventually become an NXT Coach?

Derrick Bateman and Daniel Bryan get the win when Bateman hits the One Percenter (or whatever it was called at this point) on Darren Young.

So the two party crashers made the two guys who have been here for the past 17 weeks look like doofuses. So that's the theme for this show.

Regal and Grisham talk about Mr. McMahon and John Cena's reaction to CM Punk's promo on RAW a week and a half ago.

We get a full replay of the segment to close the show. Righteous, indignant Cena is my 2nd least favorite Cena behind "Funny" Cena.

 

[King Kamala]

Firing up 7-13.

Our opening video package highlights Derrick Bateman's return to NXT, teaming with his mentor Daniel Bryan to beat the (not ready for) Prime Time Players.

I just noticed that during the opening credits that they add a sparkle effect on Conor O'Brien's eye as he stares at camera. Conor O'Brien.

we are here from Mohegan Sun Casino Arena, home of the WNBA's Connecticut Sun.

Derrick Bateman has his own entrance music. William Regal still wants to know why Derrick Bateman was added back to the show. Derrick says this show should be the called The Derrick Bateman Super Fun Happy Hour Extravaganza. The WWE begged him to come back to the show. Derrick Bateman is here to win Season 5 and Season 6 and he will win Season 7 if he has to.

Darren Young charges out. He main evented SummerSlam! He wrestled John Cena! He has been here for the past 19 weeks.

Bateman says even if he didn't get added, it's a popularity contest and there is no way Darren would've beaten Titus.

Titus interrupts and him and Bateman argue over at who is better at getting cheap pops.

Maryse interrupts and announces a "triple treach match" starting now. Grisham and Regal mock her English speaking skills. Regal hopes these guys are better at fighting than they are at talkin'.

 

[King Kamala]

Regal doesn't think that Titus and Darren should form an alliance. They've been fighting this whole show! They would never be able to get their act to become a marginally successful tag team.

Daniel Bryan is the only rookie out there. Regal rags on his fashion choices. I wonder what D-Bry thinks of LL Bean revising their return policy.

Crowd chants for "Daniel Bryan".

Darren Young is first guy eliminated by EC3. This is an elimination match? Sure.

Derrick Bateman wins with the One Percenter. OMFG. This show makes everyone look like a doofus. Bateman shows up partway through the show and just immediately dominates.

video package on the history of Money in the Bank.

Alex Riley and Heath Slater made Money in the Bank made MITB matches!? LOL!

 

[King Kamala]

Yoshi gives a toy belt to his one legged action figure. He is not going to get a new action figure cause of PRINCIPAL! HE WILL WIN BACK THAT ACTION FIGURE LEG AND HIS HONOR! Yoshi Tatsu Vs Tyson Kidd III is tonight.

We take a brief look at how awesome Mohegan Sun Casino is.

Video package for CM Punk Vs John Cena at Money in the Bank. IIRC, this was a pretty good match.

JOHN CENA! YOU ARE NO LONGER THE BOSTON RED SOX! YOU ARE NO LONGER AN UNDERDOG! YOU ARE A DYNASTY! YOU ARE THE NEW YORK YANKEES!

Comparing someone to the Yankees is a FIGHTING WORDS for a MASSACHUSETTS MAN like Cena.

Although weirdly enough, I think Cena is a Tampa Bay Devil Rays fan.

Backstage, Hornswoggle is depressed over Maryse and pounding root beers like Snoopy. There's a package delivery for an H Swoggle. He has a secret admirer. He makes out with Maryse's 8x10

Kozlov is talking on a cell phone. JTG interrupts and wants to make a bet. We never find out what bet is.

 

[King Kamala]

William Regal claims he sent the package to Hornswoggle to cheer him up.

ANnouncers doing a good job of putting this dumb storyline over by saying Tyson Kidd knows it's dumb but he is willing to do whatever it takes to gain a competitive edge.

Regal says he is way more of a gangsta than JTG.

Regal wishes he got a chance to win a Money in the Bank match. They should have let Regal in one of these garbage split brand Money in the Bank matches. For some reason, I am now upset we never got Regal falling off ladders. He'd have been more credible of a participant than Heath Slater or Justin Gabriel.

Regal kind of points to redirection of this show saying that this show gives an opportunity to stars who don't get featured on RAW or Smackdown.

The only people who tore up his action figure was his ex wife. HEY!

Yoshi gets the win with a bridge rollup after Tyson Kidd misses a 450 Splash. Yoshi tries to get the action figure leg back but gets jumped. William Regal could watch these two wrestle every week and he probably will for the next 7 or 8 weeks, knowing this show.

 

[King Kamala]

Firing up the 7/20 episode before I hit the hay.

We are at the Target Center in Minneapolis for tonight's show

we are down to 3 guys. One of the NXT coaches Daniel Bryan won the Smackdown! Money in the Bank match on Sunday! He could become a World Champion!

But that pales in comparison to Vince McMahon getting relieved of his CEO duties on Monday Night RAW. We'll see that segment later.

This week's challenge is a dummy challenge. Regal wishes JTG were out here seeing how he is the biggest dummy in WWE. The Dummy does have a picture of Michael Cole's face on it. These guys are going to demonstrate wrestling moves on the dummy. Hoo boy.

Derrick Mateman mocks Titus' dog bark then hits some elbows, a backdrop driver and a running seated senton on the dummy. William Regal wants to punch Derrick Bateman in the windpipe

Darren Young isn't gonna do this challenge. He's wrestled John Cena. He's not gonna pretend to fight a dummy. He challenges Titus O'Neil to a match later tonight.

Titus wants to see Derrick Bateman try and do those moves he did to the dummy to him. He then chucks the dummy at Darren Young, who is outside the ring, and does the dog bark.

Titus wins. This is bullshit. Bateman shoulda won!

 

[King Kamala]

Oh boy. A Kozlov match to start. I was rereading Countdown to Lockdown earlier and Foley took a bunch of potshots at the idea of Kozlov being WWE World Champ.

He is wrestling JTG. JTG thinks Vlad is a silly Russian. He will never be as good and as hood as JTG.

Regal wonders why JTG would mess with someone with an 800 point dead lift.

KOzlov is wrestling with fingerless leather MMA gloves but I thought they were weighlifting gloves for a second and with his gym shorts, he looks super like a middle aged dad taking things too seriously at the gym. Like a Tim Storm vibe.

Regal tries to put JTG over as turning a corner in this match but Kozlov gets the win. I can't believe Kozlov was almost a WWE Champion.

 

[King Kamala]

Hornswoggle catches up with Maryse. Maryse insists she's not his secret admirer. Swoggle humps her leg in a TV PG fashion and candy gets dumped all over the place. Maryse shoves him into a wall. A PA gives Swoggle another package. It's a weird stuffed plush.

Yoshi Tatsu goes backstage and his entrie shrine has been destroyed. The head off of his action figure has been yanked off. He screams in Japanese.

Titus O'Neil Vs Darren Young, Part XXXVIII is our TV main event.

Regal and Grisham talk about Darren Young's "Mr. No Days Off" nickname. Around this time last year, he was part of the main event of SummerSlam. Guess he should've taken some days off. AHAH

Derrick Bateman comes down, holding the picture of Michael Cole, to get a closer look.

Regal gets emotional talking about Daniel Bryan winning Money in the Bank last weekend. Something he wishes he could've done. And I get mad again at the fact that they didn't give Regal one of the filler spots in one of these Money in the Bank matches between 2010 and 2013. Who wouldn't want to see Regal doing Power of the Punch on someone while climbing a ladder.

Titus wins again with the Clash of the Titus.

The show closes with the replaying the segment from RAW where Triple H informs Vince that he has gotten a vote of no confidence from the WWE Board of Directors. This segment features some classic hammy Vince acting. I also think it's the debut of Triple H as a well meaning authority figure. Triple H is really bad at pretending to cry.

 

[King Kamala]

Firing up 7/27.

DRAMATIC OPENING VIDEO PACKAGE highlighting Tyson Kidd and Yoshi Tatsu's feud over Tyson disfiguring Yoshi's action figure.

We are in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love. But no love lost between Yoshi & Tyson! They're having a Necklace on a Pole match.

Rey Mysterio Jr won the vacant WWE Title from The Miz. But he had no time to celebrate thanks to Triple Haitch (love Regal's pronunciation) who put him in a impromptu match with John Cena. We'll see the results of that match tonight.

Titus O'Neil is out for our opening contest (no Swoggle around). He's facing Derrick Bateman, who is wearing boxing trunks similar to Apollo Creed's (or Rocky in Rocky III and Rocky IV or Tommy Gunn if you're a dick who wants to bring up Rocky V)

Todd Grisham says if you were to create a prototype of a WWE Superstar, it would look a lot like Titus O'Neil.

Darren Young comes out to root for Derrick Bateman, presumably mostly cause he hates Titus.

Bateman wins with the One Percenter after distraction from Darren.

 

[King Kamala]

Backstage, Hornswoggle follows a trail of candy which leads to a note on a curtain that says his secret admirer is behind the curtain. And the secret admirer is... a young AJ LEE! They smooch.

Maryse laughs and calls them a pair of trolls. AJ then whacks her over the head with some flowers.

Backstage, Kozlov is planking on top of a vending machine. JTG wants to know what is going on. Kozlov says he is the best planksta! JTG says their bet was to figure out who is the best gangsta not planksta. 2011!

 

[King Kamala]

It is time for the first Necklace of a Pole match in NXT history.

Yoshi walks out with his action figure and the action figure is all bandaged up with a little sling around his arm.

These guys are feuding over an action figure leg. Crazy.

This is a very intense match for two guys feuding over an action figure leg and probably on technicality, one of the best "On a Pole" matches ever.

It ends with Yoshi taking a very sick bump on a Tyson Kidd backdrop from the top pole but managing to grab the leg.

Regal says if these guys were fighting this much over an action figure leg, imagine what would happen if they fought over a title! Yeah, imagine that...

Regal is proud to be a part of WWE!

After the match, Tyson jumps Yoshi and continues to attack Yoshi's ankle. Regal thinks Tyson should be competing for World Titles after this. Tyson ripped the leg off Yoshi's action figure now he's trying to rip off Yoshi's leg IRL.

Show ends with a replay of most of John Cena Vs Rey Mysterio from the previous RAW. Amazed WWE never tried to main event a WrestleMania (or at least a SummerSlam) with this match but I guess they don't want to divid the kiddos.

 

[King Kamala]

Wow. Watching that replay of the Rey/John Cena match from last episode might have been foreshadowing for this year's WrestleMania. ANYWHO. On to the 8/3 episode.

We get a recap of the season so far. This season has been going on for almost six months. The second longest season of NXT lasted three months and a week. And we are not even halfway done this season!

I SAID WE ARE WIIILLD AND YOUNG!

This week's show is from Rupp Arena on the University of Kentucky campus.

Matt Striker welcomes Titus O'Neil. No Hornswoggle in sight. Regal wonders if Hornswoggle is tied up with the young lady he was with last week. Was AJ's debut being Hornswoggle's lover!? no, wait, she was on NXT Season 3 (2nd best season behind this one!)

Titus knows Darren and Derrick Bateman are double teaming cause they know he's better than them. he's not concerned about them.

Generic rock music brings out Darren Young and a weirdly stretching Derrick Bateman, who are also not accompanied by their mentors. Well, Darren's mento got released a few months ago. Man, what a long season.

Titus says there's no way in possible hell (Grisham: Possible hell?) that either of those two could beat them.

Bateman says Titus has reached the top of his suck ceiling and its time for him to go. Titus wants a tag team match. Striker sucks up to the fans and Bateman & Darren tell him to can it. Titus tells them to pick a partner. Derrick Bateman selects Matt Striker. Striker cannot believe this. He's not an active competitor! THEY SHOULD PICK A PRO! Titus says him and Striker will kick Derrick and Darren's behinds.

Regal says Matt Striker is a very seasoned pro actually!

JTG Vs Kozlov in the Battle of Who is the Bigger Planker Gangster is next!

 

[King Kamala]

DID YOU KNOW HOW MAY FOLLOWERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA THAT JOHN CENA AND THE ROCK HAVE!?

Kozlov comes out dressed as JTG to his entrance music. Regal spent years mentoring that man and it has all gone down the toilet!

JTG looks so defeated by life during Kozlov's entrance.

They do a mirror spot. FIVE STAR MATCH!

Grisham explains to Regal what planking is. 2011! Regal thinks these men should spend less time planking and more time focusing on in ring competition!

Kozlob gets the win and dances around. Regal says Kozlovs available for children's parties. Kozlov planks on top of JTG and takes a selfie. 2011!

 

[King Kamala]

Tyson Kidd is out to cut a promo (?). He says Yoshi might have won last week but he got a leg up on him. Tyson Kidd says he grew up with Brian Pillman, Davey Boy Smith, and Bret Hart! There's no room for action figure shrines in the Dungeon! Or dorks like Yoshi Tatsu!

Regal thinks Tyson Kidd is one to watch in WWE!

It's main event time. AJ and Hornswoggle come to ringside to guest commentate.

Matt Striker comes out to his old school teacher gimmick theme. For some reason he has his ring gear. Which kayfabe wise doesn't make sense since he hadn't wrestled in WWE for like four years at this point. But I guess you can always use the "Wrestlers never know when they're gonna be in a match so they're always prepared even if they haven't booked in a while" excuse.

Grisham & Regal talk about how Shaq told Titus O'Neil that he was voting for him on this seasonf of NXT. Titus also recently met Bill Cosby. Eee *tugs collar*

AJ feeds Hornswoggle M&Ms.

Regal is tired of Grisham bad mouthing Striker's in ring abilities. He is a long time veteran! Grisham asks what Striker's in ring attributes are. Regal: (pause)...uh he's a hard worker.

I got to say Striker is good as the overwhelmed ex wrestler forced back into competition. Matt Striker ate 3 pieces of cake in catering tonight. He's not ready for this. Regal is concerned about the lactic acids building up in his muscles.

Titus and Striker win when Titus hits Clash of the Titus on Darren after Striker distracts him.

Odd quartet of Matt Striker, Titus O'Neil, AJ Lee, and Hornswoggle celebrate to end the show. #SquadGoals.

Hornswoggle lifts AJ on his shoulders. Grisham is so taken by this feel good moment that he wants to hug Regal.

WHAT AN EPISODE!

 

[King Kamala]

Firing up 8/10 episode.

New abbreviated version of credits only mentions the Final Three. But we still get Conor O'Brien's starry eyed wink and Lucky Cannon lounging.

We're five days away from the biggest SummerSlam of All Time. We're live in Sacramento. Would it be too much to ask for a Boogie Cousins cameo in this episode?

A Challenge? We haven't had one of these in a while. Challenge is the rookies have to carry an egg in a giant spoon up the entrance ramp.

No, wait. Darren Young interrupts. He is done with these dumb challenges and has had it with Matt Striker. Matt Striker says he is just doing his job, Darren can do or not do the challenge if he wants just let him host this damn segment. Darren doesn't need to be in NXT. He main evented SummerSlam last year! He wrestled John Cena! He accomplished way more than Matt Striker, a FAILED WRESTLER who is now just a host.

Matt Striker is proud of his career and now proud he gets a chance to entertain the WWE Universe. Darren Young is just fixated on the past. Darren Young cold cocks Striker then challenges him to a match.

Guess we won't see that egg challenge!

Tyson Kidd cuts a promo on Justin Gabriel. Tyson Kidd has the intensity of the British Bulldog, the technical skills of Bret Hart plus high flying abilities. He is the best to ever come out of the Dungeon.

 

[King Kamala]

Regal says he was on the phone with his old trainer Marty Jones and Marty said his old friend The Dynamite Kid is a huge fan of Tyson Kidd and thinks he's the modern day Dynamite Kid. He then mentions the fact that he wrestled Justin Gabriel's dad in South Africa.

Grisham mentions Regal losing to Justin Gabriel on the very first episode of NXT and Regal grumbles.

Regal thinks Tyson Kidd could be just as good as Bret Hart and British Bulldog at the end of the day. At this stage in their careers, Bulldog and Bret were honing their craft overseas. Tyson Kidd is young and already in WWE, where the best wrestlers are!

We discussed this in another thread but definitely think WWE dropped the ball a little bit on Justin Gabriel.

Todd Grisham almost makes a sophomoric joke after Regal talks about a bruised coccyx bone.

This match is a bit slow to start but eventually picks up steam to the high flying, hard hitting action you'd expect from these two.

Gabriel wins with his signature 450 Splash!