In case you need a reminder, Season Two's featured players are:
- Alex Riley, mentored by The Miz
- Eli Cottonwood, mentored by John Morrison
- Husky Harris (Duke Rotundo), mentored by Cody Rhodes
- Kaval (Low-Ki), mentored by LayCool
- Lucky Cannon, mentored by Mark Henry
- Michael McGillicutty (Joe Hennig), mentored by Kofi Kingston
- Percy Watson, mentored by MVP
- Titus O'Neil, mentored by Zack Ryder
* * *
Last night on Raw, seven of the Season One NXT hopefuls appeared before the crowd, collective hat in hand, and apologized for beating up most of the roster and staff a couple of weeks ago. Before all was said and done, the vicious beat downs had been forgiven and all of them had received contracts. But don't let those polite apologies fool you.
Announcing were Michael Cole and Josh Matthews.
Ashley Valence, the new ring announcer, made her debut. She explained that the voting will begin next week, to include the viewing audience and the pros, John Morrison, Cody Rhodes, LayCool, Mark Henry, Kofi Kingston, Zach Ryder.
(1) Tag Match: Alex Riley & The Miz vs. Showtime Percy Watson & MVP.
Riley and Watson practiced their trash talk before squaring off. Great drop kicks by Percy. When Riley got kicked out of the ring, Miz fussed at him, but Riley began to dominate. MVP and Riley went at it, then Watson made the tag and got the opportunity to show off. Miz hooked Percy's leg and pinned the rookie for the win. It was very hard to see during this match, as there was lingering smoke in the air.
Titus O'Neil is a distinguished graduate of the University of Florida and has two little children.
Mike McGillicutty, son of the late Curt Hennig, recalled calling his mother last week to tell her about his win. He was very emotional and proud.
(2) Titus O'Neil vs. Mike McGillicutty.
Good match with a fabulous neck-breaker finish by McGillicutty. McGillicutty picked up the win.
(3) Kaval (w/LayCool) vs. Eli Cottonwood (w/John Morrison).
Kaval's moves were impressive, but the much bigger Cottonwood prevailed.
Lucky Cannon explained that he'd been hit in the back of the head with a lead pipe and had to learn to walk and talk again. His father had helped him through it.
LayCool gave Kaval a peptalk and a pink tee shirt. They urged him to wear it.
Last night on Raw, the Bad Boys of NXT Season One had shown up to raise hell again. After all their lovely apologies, they attacked Mister McMahon and beat the stuffing out of him. He took some horrific bumps. The new anonymous General Manager has said the actions will be met with the appropriate consequences.
As a viewer, I find these continual, extreme beat downs to be disturbing. Okay, they're the bad guys; we get it.
Matt Striker had joined the announcers and didn't want to discuss what had happened last week.
(4) Cody Rhodes (w/Husky Harris) vs. Lucky Cannon (w/Mark Henry).
This is the first rookie vs. pro match of Season Two. Cody challenged Lucky to a 5-minute match to get things started. After getting tossed around the ring, Lucky rolled out to buy some time. Cody won it with a CrossRhodes.
Next week voting will begin and each rookie was given 45 seconds for a closing argument.
Alex Riley: He asked the audience if he looked familiar. If so, it was because he was stuffing them into lockers 10 years ago and beating them up.
Kaval (who was wearing his pink tee shirt): He said that 10 years ago he was told by WWE that he was too small, but without question, it is not the size of the fighter.
Titus O'Neil: Said he'd worked for everything he'd ever gotten; in the end he will be the next breakout star.
Michael McGillicutty: Said that again tonight he'd gotten a win and possessed no weaknesses. He reiterated the he would be the next breakout star.
Eli Cottonwood: He was baddest and the meanest. He was also patient and would strike with a vengeance. His actions would speak louder than his words.
Showtime Percy Watson: He likes to have a good time and is a heavy hitter and not a quitter. He has two words for ya: Oh yeah. (Isn't that the Macho Man's gimmick? Just asking?)
Lucky Cannon: He's lucky because he wakes up every morning, can do what he wants to do and appreciates being able to do it.
Husky Harris: He said he didn't need the 45 seconds and used his time to beat up Matt Striker. (Guess there's one in every crowd.)
Don't forget to vote and see ya next week.