Welcome one and all to this weeks NXT Watch. Last week, Sasha Banks took a victory over Alicia Fox in singles action, but that surprise upset is nothing to the set of surprises we have in store for us this week. It’s Paige squaring off with Aksana tonight, and both women mean business as one looks to keep her streak, and the other looks to start one. In addition, we also have a surprise from Summer Rae, and a secret for Sasha Banks so let me shut up now and we can get things started because you’re likely not even reading this part as it’s of no interest when there’s a video link right below it!
We head to the ring as the Saxophone/slightly sounding porno music hits and out struts Aksana. She looks to high five a fan, but completely no sells him and gets a huge “Owwww” from the crowd in doing so. (+10 points) From there, she climbs into the ring as I now want to mute the video due to the horrible commentary by the guy who isn’t William Regal. Up next comes the rebellious anthem (come on, it completely tops “You Oughta Know”) of Paige. The fan favorite steps out from the back and gets her occasional hand slap in, as we see a lot of signs to support the Anti-Diva.
The porcelain princess as Sir Regal puts it (which kind of makes me think she’s a doll), suddenly hops on top of Aksana and lands on the top rope before getting knocked to the outside. Aksana rolls her back in and immediately catapults her into the ropes, which in return sparks Paige to fall backwards onto her knees. After a failed pin attempt, she begins choking Paige in the ropes, then proceeding to slam her into the corner and seductively crawl around the ring. Continuing to show her intensity off after that brute intimidation, she nails a sidewalk slam but can only muster up another two count.
A submission hold now gets locked in, as Paige is unable to get the upper hand in a match one would think she’d be dominating. Aksana decides to break the hold to beat her down a little, then locking it in once again and reverting to pulling the hair. She’s forced to break it, which allows Paige to mount a comeback with some sharp fists. Aksana heads to the top rope and looks to be going for a move of sorts, but Paige slams her off and locks in a brutal cloverleaf variation for the tap out victory!
Summer Rae now gets into the ring and announces Paige the winner, but our Porcelain Princess (which I’m so bummed is a nickname I didn’t come up with on my own) accidentally bumps into her and knocks the microphone out of her hand. Summer looks a tad bit irked, but Paige instantly apologizes like every good friend would. She turns around to continue celebrating, when…
WHA-BAM!
Summer Rae drills her from behind and screams “That’s right Paige! This is for the year I’ve had to be here without getting a match on TV to show my talent! This is for having to become a permanent announcer while you shined on my show!” Oh wait, nevermind. That was what happened in my own head. The first part really did happen though! With Paige laid out on the canvas, Summer stands up and gives us her greatest pissed off expression before angrily walking off to the back and leaving Paige looking like a sad puppy dog, or one of those women on daytime talk shows that has just found out her husband has been sleeping around with other women… and men. And has 20 children — not all of which are human — that he has potentially fathered.
Following that, we head backstage to new correspondent, Renee Young. She’s standing by with Sasha Banks to catch up on Banks’ big win last week over Alicia Fox, that of which appears to please Miss Banks so much as she gleams from eye to eye. To get a victory in this company has been her dream since she was a mere toddler in dollar sign emblemed diapers. The fact that her win was over a former Divas champion has just made this moment even better, but before she can continue, an assistant interrupts and says that he was instructed to hand her this pink note.
*Ahem*
Roses are red… Violets are blue
I lie awake at night… thinking of you
Your secret admirer.
Sasha seems surprised, but nonetheless heads off to possibly prepare for which member of the NXT roster this note comes from. (PLEASE be one of the options I’m about to predict below.)
Thoughts: Hallelujah! Praise everything that is right! NXT has finally begun to incorporate storylines for the Divas and I could honestly not even be happier with the direction they went this week even if my own personal favorite, Naomi, walked in and had a match with Paige herself. I’m really excited that Summer Rae finally got to do something and will ultimately be entering a feud with Paige as she’s my second favorite in NXT after Emma. I’ve gotten to see her compete a few times at the live events and I think she will surprise people if given a fair chance to showcase her abilities. Unless something catastrophic happens like nerves get in the way or the match between she and Paige is cut short, I’m expecting them to put on a great showing together, and hopefully we get some more build in the coming weeks like a backstage interview with Summer so she can explain why she attacked Paige.
There’s so much this feud could become, but the question is if they’ll take it to the next level or not. You have this Anti-Diva that the crowd absolutely thrives on seeing beat down anyone that steps in her way, who looks nothing like any female WWE has ever signed before, and is who most fans consider to be the next breakout star of a division that’s desperately in need of one. Then you have a Diva who most will possibly write off because she looks exactly like what fans think of when they hear the title of a WWE Diva. Blond, skinny, tan, and stunning. But the difference (to me at least), is that I think Summer Rae is better than that stigma, even if she gets labeled in that role for her first appearances. The crowds are going to want Paige to just beat and destroy her, which will make for the perfect feud. I really don’t want this to be a one and done type deal, and considering it seems that NXT is getting fond of storylines and segments, I actually have hope that it can develop into a top rivalry for the show. And I also think it helps that this will be the first TV appearance that Summer Rae wrestles in, so nobody really knows what to expect. It’s fresh, new, and exciting. I cannot wait!
The match itself was good, and definitely the best from Aksana in a long time. I’ll be honest and say that I’m not an Aksana fan anymore, which is upsetting because I used to really like her. But I can admit this was definitely the type of Aksana I missed — the one who put on good matches and was fun. I will say that I think I prefer her blond comedic character, and also when she was doing great stuff in ring each week as Divas champion in FCW. Paige is great, and I’m sure nobody disputes that. But it was nice to see Aksana do some additional things this week and I’m pretty happy with her performance. Hopefully these two can square off again because you can only get better when working with Paige.
And here I was beyond satisfied seeing Summer and Paige getting a feud, NXT goes beyond that and gives Sasha Banks a storyline to boot! I like this new interviewer, Rene. She seems comfortable behind a camera, and as someone who has rarely ever been a fan of some of the female backstage interviewers in WWE, I think she’s closer to the top of the list than the bottom. We’ve only seen her a few times, and she’ll continue to grow and get more comfortable as it goes on, so I like that we’ve got a new female that is in a different role than everyone else.
Onto Sasha, she is very very fun to watch in the ring, and I love that she’s (seemingly) going to be getting these backstage segments until she finds out her secret admirer because it will aid her in the acting part of being a Diva. Not many really start off strong when they first get to developmental (AJ’s first FCW promo to now is like a different person) as they have to adjust to actually being behind the equipment and lights etc. Plus, acting is not easy — especially for people who are getting thrown in front of a camera fairly quickly without prior life experience. It takes time, and the fact that Sasha is getting a platform to improve is great. As far as her crush goes… I’ve assembled a list of suspects I want/think it might be:
1. Fandango/Johnny Curtis – One of the NXT originals! Plus she did manage him once on a WWE live event.
2. Judas Devlin – I don’t even know why, but I could really see this working.
3. Briley Pierce – He needs to debut in a fun way already.
4. Garrett Dylan – I like him, and he deserves a bigger role on the tv show. Plus nobody would see it coming.
5. Anya – Okay I know this is way out there, but this is honestly the person I want the most. It would be so fun to watch them as an odd couple Diva tag team pairing. Plus, would Sasha really tell Anya to leave her alone when she’s probably a good foot shorter than this towering Russian? I think not.
That’s it for this week. Shoot me a comment with your ideas for Sasha Banks secret admirer, and I’ll include them in next weeks recap (provided I actually remember to). So until next time — peace!
63 Comments
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It was on 30 January nog 31
bjorn448 Reply:
February 4th, 2013 at
not*
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I’m excited for the Summer/Paige feud. Summer’s surprised me in the couple matches I’ve seen her in and I think working with someone like Paige will really help her come along. As for Sasha, out of all the people on your list Bobby I’m rooting for the admirer to be either Fandango or Anya the most.
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Oh have not watched divas in a year but this looks really interesting (given i havn’t seen the other videos recently yet either) Aksana looks like shes improved alot and im liking the Paige/Summer people they both don’t seem boring :’] cant wait to see more
Although i thought it was hilarious the way summer came out of the ring
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It feels like they might be going in a Trish/Lita direction with Pagie and Summer. The anti girl vs the model, it’s just perfect.
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Can’t wait to see the Summer/Paige match. Summer will definitely surprise some people. As for Rene, she should comfortable behind a mic since she’s a really accomplished broadcaster and journalist. She’s a also a huge wrestling fan and worked on a WWE recap show here in Canada, and when WWE took interest in putting more content in the channel (The Score) that’s when they picked up Rene.
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Like omg Summer Rae is my favorite diva because she’s like so pretty, has a great personality, and has fashionable ring gear
anyways haha, for someone like Summer she’s learning quite well as I’ve been hearing plus the fact she’s been working with girls who have previous wrestling experience. I can’t wait to see the next episode where her and Paige brawl outside the ring reminds me back in 2002 after Trish had a match with Ivory on RAW and Tara was on commentary then her and Trish duked it out on the stage
That’s very interesting they inserted a 2nd storyline for the girls there with Sasha Banks
Joey Mercury mentioned Rachelle St. Clair on his twitter, I did not know what he meant but I assume it was over her being injured. I assume she’ll be reporting there sometime in the spring or early summer. That leaves her also there’s the new female blonde named Kendra who popped up at recent houseshows
SherriShepherdWWE Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at
wow, never heard of this Kendra girl, thanks for passing that along :)
and ya i seen the Rachelle mentioned on his twitter as well, couldnt figure out what he meant by purple thought LOL
JD Sensations Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at
Kendra is the new ring announcer, she’s not that good though. She kinda looks like Mike McGuirk
DjayDay Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at
Mike McGuirk LMAO I’m dying I didn’t even see the resemblance till I read this..I don’t get why the have another new girl. Focus on training her if the intent is to stick her in the ring, and let Rene Young do the announcing in house shows.
JD Sensations Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at
I was immediately like MIKE?!?! Imagine she dressed like Mike did omg I’d die
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Why is developmental better than the stuff in tv? I can’t wait for Summer and Paige to start feuding! I think it would be a cool twist is actual a diva trying to lure Sasha in to attack her(maybe a potential masked assailant)? Also, with there being more frequent diva content in nxt again I hope the nxt diva’s title is introduced soon!
JamieKym Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at
Like Daffney did with Taylor?
Raekon Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at
Developmental was unfortunately always better than the main roster the last few years. :(
At least we get to enjoy the developmental stuff thought so even it sucks for the divas on the main roster, its a good thing for us as viewers.
Marshy Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at
This is why NXT needs to be back on TV,let’s say on the Scifi Network once again on Tuesday nights, but this time around that they will be wrestling just like we get to see on Raw,on Smackdown,on Superstars, on Main Event, and on Saturday Morning Event
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Is it just me or is the way Summer left the ring extremely awkward?
shameronstar Reply:
February 4th, 2013 at
Lol, she that was kind of funny because it was like her spine stopped working or something!
JD Sensations Reply:
February 4th, 2013 at
yeah even the way she attacked Paige was awkward as well
puppies Reply:
February 4th, 2013 at
Yeah she just like collapsed in the middle of the ring and starting rolling lol
Little Red Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at
HAHAHAHA I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed. Look at all that blonde hair fly around.
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The match was bad, I hope they’ll give more material to Paige (and better opponent) because I feel she’s losing her hype on NXT.
I also can’t wait to see Summer in the ring because from what I’ve seen she’s pretty green (and I don’t think people should wait more from here).
And I hope Hornswoggle is not Sasha’s admirer :/
AJFan95 Reply:
February 4th, 2013 at
My god you’re cynical. The match was good; best from Aksana in a while and if anything, Paige is gaining momentum with this upcoming storyline with Summer. Actually Summer is coming along quite well and the little, I’ve seen was impressive. Stop being so negative please.
French.One Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at
How can you be impressed when you’ve seen only “a little” ?
AJFan95 Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at
Because the little I have seen was impressive?
DjayDay Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at
She hasn’t been in a ring long and is doing well. What was the question for? Go look it up for yourself.
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Tbh wasn’t a fan of the match and it wasn’t because of Aksana,but because of the booking.Paige had a little to no offence in this match and it was basically a Cena-win…Aksana kicked her till the end and the all of a sudden Paige wins.Paige looks like a tough girl,she should resist more.A do hope Paige and Summer bring it..they had so much potential.And I can only hope WWE will start booking the girls like they book the NXT ones.
charovnica Reply:
February 4th, 2013 at
*i ;*have
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Aksana looked good in this match. I don’t like the formula they are doing of letting Paige get beat up and then she hits one move on her opponent and its over. Is not balance well. I liked Summer Rae. I was laughing at her crazy hair whips when she got out of the ring haha.
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Really tho, the way Summer left the ring made me live again.
Mr. Asstastic Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at
Yasss!
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To be fair, most of the backstage interviewing girls in the past are just women that have been given a microphone. René is a former sports anchor, so it’s only natural she’d be comfortable in front of the camera and address the talent in such an unstage manner.
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I loved how Summer left the ring…it reminded me so much of Maryse!
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PAIGE ? oh Sasha I’m gonna like this feud Summer isn’t bad at all seen houseshows matches
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Anya and Sasha for lesbian power couple 2013.
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I didnt know Paige has gauges.
Im loving the feud between Summer and Paige.
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Aksana = Anna Williams
KaitlynLover<3 Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at
From Tekken?
JamieKym Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at
Yep
Raekon Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at
She could totaly play the role in a movie cause it would fit her very well. :)
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Haha! There’s an older woman, sitting in the crowd wearing glasses, who has her “shocked face” on the entire time Summer Rae blindsides Paige.
“IT’S STILL REAL TO ME DAMNIT!”
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I loved the match!
Aksanas in ring psychology was perfect, the spots were very good and Paige was in top form on her selling unlike a few other times in which she was a bit sloppy (off days I guess which is ok since everyone has them now and then).
That’s the Aksana I knew and loved and it’s saddening how they book her on the main roster when her attitude, in ring skill and hard hitting, fierce character are actually good.
Loved the attack and the way it had played out.
Paige was like “WTF???” looking around as if she didn’t knew what even hit her after Summer left the ring. :)
Can’t wait for their feud to unfold and I hope the Sashas admirer is someone she can really work well and connect with.
BTW: there was a match on a live show a few weeks ago Paige & Sasha Banks vs Emma & Summer Rae!
Summer won it for her team after she he a roundhouse spinning heel kick on Sasha. :)
Check it on youtube, its a 3 parts video.
Raekon Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at
BTW: in the match I mentioned, Anya was the ring announcer! :)
DjayDay Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at
I saw it, and it wasn’t Anya it was Dani. Still a good match though, she impressed me.
Raekon Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at
Oh it was dani? I thought it was anya because it looked like her from afar.
Thanks for the info though. :)
DjayDay Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at
Yeah, I can see where you got mixed up though. What gave it away was a) Dani’s height compared to the ref, as she is a very petite girl, where as Anya being 6’1 would be around the same height, either a little shorter or a little taller b) her voice, Anya has a very thick Russian accent, the announcer spoke clearly c) Anya is a lot lighter than Dani, speaking of I wonder what Dani’s background is?
French.One Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at
We see Paige trying to caught Summer with his arm after the refer raised her hand. Summer placement wasn’t the best imho.
Raekon Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at
Yeah the spot in which Paige obviously tries to bump into Summer looked a bit akward but they wanted to make it look real and have room for the attack and bump. :/
Also because the announcers mostly stand at the side near the ropes or outside the ring when they are announcing, unless its a special occassion or a PPV thingy.
Wasn’t a biggie for me though. :)
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aksana is just so awkward to me, i hope summer & her forehead are decent well she was paige to work with which will help her…
Little Red Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at
Summer and her forehead? Really, Art?
puppies Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at
Lol
art Reply:
February 7th, 2013 at
Bahahahaha she has a massive forehead…
Little Red Reply:
February 10th, 2013 at
And you’re a dickhead. What’s your point?
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Summer Rae hair flipping just reminds me Maryse.I miss her so much.And i heard Summer Rae is just like Maryse&K2.Even her entrance is hair flipping.But well how hard you try you can be a Maryse!
HeelEveRulez Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at
*cant
DjayDay Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at
Summer does do a hair flip, but her entrance is definitely unique to her. She doesn’t do it, or even enter the ring the same way Maryse did, so no worries.
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CRYING. Summer Rae tried rolling out of the ring but threw herself stiff onto the mat and then slid like a worm. You better work you ring out, girl.
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looked like summer killed herself trying to get out of that ring, lawrd.
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As soon as I read you wanted Anya to be Sasha’s ‘secret admirer’, I first though of the Taylor Wilde/Daffney fued, and then strangely enough, I though of Sophie Kaczynski from 2 Broke Girls.
I’m still confused why I think of her when I think of this possible pairing…