The second challenge

The fireworks go off and Matt Striker is starting us off. He reminds us there are only 7 rookies left in the competition (Titus O’Neil was eliminated last week). We get a little bit on insight from the Pro’s. First, we ask Zack what he thinks of last weeks results. He wants to know who in their right mind would vote Titus last. He says O’Neil was robbed and we all know it. Morrison says he likes the fact the Universe gets the chance to vote, but that they should have voted off The Miz.

>.< Really?

Out come the rookies (one at a time). Striker asks Husky if he agrees that the pressure is on him. He says, ‘I’m gonna climb, and nobody can stop me’. Alex riley says that we’re ‘looking for champions’ and decided to ‘put it in the hands of a guy who’s not tall enough to ride the bumper cars at Six Flags. Kaval is next and is asked, after his impressive showing, was it a fluke? Kaval says ‘listen to the Universe for your answer.”

The next challenge is the ‘talk-the-talk challenge’. Who can use their time wisely and talk the best game? Whoever wins, gets there own talk show next week! I’ll sum up what they say in order, and give small thoughts.

Watson – Topic: Glasses – he says he wears his (fake) glasses to remind himself that to get where your going, you have to have a clear vision of the future.

He used all 30 seconds, but all he said was what he said in his introduction and every week since, so not very original.

Kaval – Topic: Chicken – He says ‘chickens’ (the coward version) doesn’t belong in the WWE, and that he is not a chicken. He’s at a size disadvantage, but he knows with the help of the WWE Universe, he’ll ride to the top and be the winner… of NXT Season 2.

Again, wise use of time, but he didn’t truly stay on topic with chickens.

Cottonwood – Topic: Moustache - … I’m not sure what he was saying here, but apparently, over the next couple of days, he’ll grow one to prove he’s the real man of the group.

Morrison’s reaction says it all…. He hid behind his clip board

McGuillicutty – Topic: Breath - He reminds us of his background, but that by the end of NXT… he’ll take our breath away.

He didn’t use the whole time, but I think he gave a quick, smooth statement.

Harris – Topic: Doorknob - Says he used a doorknob to get in… but since we voted him last, we don’t deserve to hear him speak.

Come on… really?

Cannon – Topic: Deodorant – He goes a long way about it, but basically says the WWE needs him and he needs the WWE, and that he’s getting Lucky, who wants to join him.

Very nice job and a good use of the topic.

Riley – Topic: Pigeon – he says he’s come across a lot of animals in his day, and is dealing with them in the ring. He says “the show started out with me and the 7 dorks, but now it’s just me, and 6 pigeons’.

Great mic work, a small stumble, but a good use of the topic. Why is he 4^th?

Laz’s Winner: Lucky Cannon/Alex riley – I couldn’t really pick, but these two were the best in my opinion.

Atlanta’s winner: Percy Watson 

Ok…what? I really cannot see what people like about this guy. He’s ‘ok’ in the ring, but at the end he is a goof. Of course, I guess I should expect it; Alex is a bad guy, so no one’s gonna vote for him….

Percy Watson w/ MVP vs. Michael McGillicutty w/ Kofi

Fast paced action sees Watson take early control, but McGuillicuty takes it back with a dropkick, and then starts hitting some big moves, getting many near falls. MVP does a good job getting the crowd behind Watson. Watson fights out of a head lock and hits his own series of drop kicks. Watson goes for a clothesline, but McGullicuty ducks, bounces back and hits a sunset-flip on Watson for the 1-2-3.

Winner: Michael McGillicutty

Solid match from both men. I was impressed with Watson (for once) as he did sell very well, but McGillicutty with another one-hitter-quitter and now 4-0.

They go into a little video about Titus O’Neil. So, here was my opinion. He was not the worse, but really, he wasn’t the best either. I did like his ‘goodbye’ last week as it was full of class and very well delivered.

The Miz vs. Kaval

Hmm… Miz against the underdog… flashbacks much?

Slow beginning with Kaval getting a few low kicks in. The two lock up and end up in the corner. The ref separates the two, but Kaval goes back after Miz, and gets hit with a boot. It’s all Miz for a while now, as he takes over the match with big moves and chokes on the rope. (Hey, he didn’t use a tie anyway….) Kaval starts to fight out, just to get the boots of The Miz in his face. Miz hits that big clothesline where his legs go through the ropes.  Miz locks in the headlock, but Kaval gets to his feet. Miz goes for a suplex, but Kaval turns in midair and lands on the Miz for a 2 count! But The Miz kicks Kaval in the gut, and throws him out of the ring as we go to commercial.

We come back from commercial and The Miz has another face stretch in on Kaval as we see a clip of The Miz slamming Kaval into the ring stomach first. Miz goes for a move, but Kaval ducks, bounces off the ropes, goes for a sunset pin, but breaks it, jumps up and hits a type of Warrior’s Way! (Quickly too). Both men are down to the 7 count. Miz whips Kaval, but Kaval starts picking up the pace, including a hand-spring karate kick which leads to a two count!  Kaval goes for the Warrior’s Way, but Miz catches him on the ropes. Miz tries a superplex, but Kaval hits out. Miz then sweeps the legs out and Kaval falls hard to the mat. Kaval is up and gets hit by the Skull-Crushing Finale for the 1-2-3.

Match Winner: The Miz

But it was SO close by Kaval! But we can’t have a rookie win…not yet anyway.

We have a RAW Rebound. If YOU want one, check out my RAW report here on TWG and on Extreme Backlash Radio! We also have a PPV run down (which I may do a prediction article on…hmm….)

During a commercial, we are told that The NeXus will be here next week! That should be fun.

Cody Rhodes and Husky Harris vs. Mark Henry and Lucky Cannon

I’m predicting a quick match, as it’s already running long.

Lock up between the rookies to start us off, Husky shows his strength, but Lucky shows his speed. After a small back and forth, Mark Henry gets tagged in, and Husky runs to tag in “Dashing” Cody Rhodes. Cody tries a few hits, but gets lifted above Henry’s head and slammed to the ground. Henry goes for a sitting splash, but Rhodes moves and tags in Husky, and both of them kick on Henry. Rhodes gets tagged in with a big move, then Husky comes back in with another series of shots. Husky poses too long, and Henry hits him with a BIG clothesline. He tags in Lucky and Harris gets to Rhodes, and Lucky takes it to Cody for a moment, but then Rhodes gets a few shots in, but Lucky dodges and gets Cody in a pin... but Husky breaks it up! Henry comes in and takes out Husky, but by the time the ref has him out, Cody hits the Cross-Rhodes for the 1-2-3.

Winner: Cody Rhodes and Husky Harris

Good tag match here, though it was a very quick main-event. Both rookies showed the stuff and the Pros showed why they are the Pros.

NXT Rating: B-

Here’s the thing, ladies and gentlemen… this NXT is almost boring me. There are no big conflicts, they are trying to evenly push everyone they can as fast as they can, and in the end it’s just not as good. Next week, Percy Watson will have a talk show and The NeXus will be there. Um… coincidence? NO! After they kill John Cena in a 7-on-1 match, the NeXus will come to NXT and brag about it for a while and probably try to recruit some new guys to the cause. That’s my prediction, anyway.

So, anyway, time for the Rankings.

#1 – Kaval (2) – 1-3 – Yes, he lost, I know, but he looked GREAT doing it! He did do a good job with the ‘talk-the-talk’ challenge. However, if Kaval doesn’t get a good series of wins soon, he’s going to drop.

#2 – Alex Riley (1) – 2-1 – He drops only because he was inactive, really. His pro won, but that means nothing to me when it comes to the rookies. Alex has what it takes and I hope people vote for him, even though he’s a bad guy.

#3 - Michael McGillicutty (4) – 4-0 – He has the best record, but I just keep seeing one hitter quitters. I want to see him go against a pro with that and see if he can still pull it out. That would shoot him up to #1.

#4 – Eli Cottonwood (3) – 2-1 – his only loss was tag-team, and he was off this week, AND he failed in the challenge this week. Bad week for Cottonwood. Seems to me he needs a good manager to speak for him.

#5 – Lucky Cannon (5) – 1-3 – He did nothing to help himself this week. Another loss and he’ll drop.

#6 – Percy Watson (6) – 1-2 – He lost his match, but won the challenge. I’m not sure what people see yet… I hope he can impress me.

#7 – Husky Harris (7) – 1-2 – Got a tag win via his Pro this week, but he can’t deliver a good promo. Even his answer of a non-answer sucked. Sorry WWE… might lose out on Harris.

I guess that’s it for me. This has been Lethal Injection #10, the NXT report