The Fight Network

The Antepenultimate Episode of WWE NXT Season 2

August 17, 2010

From Bakersfield, California

            The show began with all five rookies in the ring with Matt Striker, who reiterated that the season finale was in two weeks. The host explained that each rookie would have sixty seconds to do a promo on a topic of their choosing, except that they couldn't talk about why they shouldn't be eliminated from the competition. Percy Watson mimicked Kurt Angle's 3 Is with his 3 Ds: desire, determination and dedication. Alex Riley did a sarcastic promo, pretending to apologize to the fans, Kaval,  Lucky Cannon and Matt Striker. It wasn't much of a promo. McGillicutty did an even weaker promo, mocking his competition in a really lame fashion though he interestingly called Alex Riley "the David Otunga of NXT." Kaval did a passable interview using rhyming, closing with the final words "total nonstop action." Michael Cole  - who out of nowhere hates Kaval as if he were Daniel Bryan making it not believable and nowhere near as effective - then said "that was stupid." Husky Harris did a promo about the fact that his boots were once Barry Windham's boots. Windham's name got no reaction whatsoever and it hasn't even been pushed that the two men are related. In a twist, Matt Striker the announced the first elimination would take place right now. A graphic on the screen then showed that Percy Watson was on his way out of the competition. Watson thanked those who voted for him and his mentor, MVP. He then said he was going to continue to work hard and get better.

Michael McGillicutty v. Zack Ryder

            McGillicutty started by working the left arm and came with a dropkick followed by a clothesline sending Ryder to the floor. McGillicutty tried to catch Ryder with a baseball slide but missed. Ryder then dropped McGillicutty with a boot to the chest. Back inside, Ryder hit a knee drop for a near fall. Ryder did some work in the corner. McGillicutty then made a fairly nondescript comeback with clotheslines and a Stinger splash in the corner. He connected with a back body drop. Ryder came back with catching McGillicutty with a jawbreaker over the top rope and then hit the rough Ryder leg lariat for the clean pinfall. I suspect that WWE has given up on McGillicutty: see having him job clean to low card guy to Ryder, to a move which Ryder never uses to beat people with, and the consistent reminders that he is not entertaining, et al. If that's the case, I have to agree with their thinking because McGillicutty has not shown much at all through the duration of this season.

Ryder d. McGillicutty

            The announcers then did a recap of the Undertaker-Kane angle at SummerSlam and mentioned that Kane would do a promo on Smackdown explaining his actions. Elsewhere, Michelle McCool asked Layla if there was anything more to her kiss with Kaval a couple of weeks ago. Layla said it was nothing but then confessed to thinking Kaval was cute and that she liked his voice. Husky Harris then tried to hit on Michelle McCool in a cute bit.

Kaval v. Husky Harris

            Husky tried to suplex Kaval, who fought it off with knees. Kaval then maneuvered into a sleeper hold which forced Husky to reach for the ropes. Husky retook the advantage with an avalanche to get a two count. Kaval came back with a "Liger-like" (as Josh Matthews said) bicycle kick. Kaval then connected with a couple of elbows and some body kicks leading up to a springboard kick for a near fall. Kaval then missed a subsequent springboard move which led to Harris going for a uranage that went bad as Kaval landed right on his hip. After a noticeable pause, Husky covered for a two count. Husky went for another uranage but Kaval countered by rotating into a DDT. Kaval then connected with the warrior's way from the top rope for the pinfall. Aside from the one rough spot, this was another strong outing in a short match from Kaval.

Kaval d. Husky Harris

Kofi Kingston v. Alex Riley

            Kingston started with some kicks and backed Riley into the corner. Kofi then missed a shoulder tackle in the corner. Riley worked over Kingston on the mat but caught a boot when he tried to come off of the second rope. Kofi then came back with a standing drop kick and flying clothesline. He connected with the boom drop and then trouble in paradise for the quick victory. Well that did Riley no favors whatsoever.

Kingston d. Riley

            The show concluded with Matt Striker in the ring with Cole and Matthews. Striker first asked the men who they thought should win season two. Cole read the dictionary definition of impact and said Riley had the most impact. He then said that Kaval had no charisma and had the worst record of any of the rookies, so he should be eliminated. Wait, I thought last week that Cole liked Kaval. Anyway, Matthews then agreed with Cole. After another commercial break, they had the rookies at ringside. They must have been running really long because they did not show a poll and quickly cut to a graphic of Husky Harris as the next cut. Cody Rhodes then cut a promo on everyone in sight, telling Ryder "good luck in your future endeavors", knocking Layla for kissing Kaval and calling the fans lazy. He got in the face of the three rookies and began to attack Kaval. Rhodes showed good passion here. All of this led to a big brawl involving the pros who were here (the Raw pros were not on account of the upcoming Asian tour, by the way) and the rookies. Kaval, in the middle of all of this, hit the warrior's way from the top rope onto Husky who was standing on the floor. So, Husky didn't even get a farewell promo like the others. That concluded the show. All things considered, this week's show was better than most editions of NXT.