I've never seen this, as I didn't have the network back then. February of 2014. I'm watching it because of the Post Wrestling podcast that came out today and I want to watch before I listen.

It's got a sub 2 hour run time, which sounds ideal to this viewer.

Match 1: Sami Zayn vs Cesaro.
I didn't realize Cesaro did the Jack Swagger "we the people" gimmick. I'm sure it's explained, but sort of weird for the European to be the American, but I'm out of the loop.

Announcers are saying a previous match up of these two was a match of the year contender, which sounds plausible to me.

Anywho, here we go go go.

Fun match. Crowd seemed super into it, rooting for each guy at times (i.e. the fans were divided).

The near falls at the end seemed realistic, so some of the kick outs were surprising, and with a fun end where Cesaro just decided enough was enough I will kill you now.

Thumbs up.

Uh oh. We got an after-the-match angle where Cesaro has to hug him cause RESPECT.

Lame. But whatever. Doesn't change my opinion of the match.

Looking at the crowd is kind of fun cause you see a lot of shirts for guys that aren't even around anymore.

Match 2 coming up.

Match 2

The Moon Child CJ Parker.

He sort of looks like a hippie ember Moon crossed with a stereotypical hippie.

And he's against the hype bro. Mojo Rawley.

There's a batch of people in the crowed wearing shirts for him that look homemade. Like how family reunion shirts your uncle gets made for the whole game look.

Announcers say Mojo has 16 gym records at the university of Maryland. Seems like a suspect claim, but I dunno.

Moon child CJ Parker sporting the rare "trunks with belt loops and belt" look.

Done already. Mojo wins with a dumb special move that's basically a sit on your chest squash move.

100% forgettable in every way.

At least it was fast.

Emma backstage segment now.

Emma seems terrible, but it's being presented as if she's popular. I have no idea if that's accurate.

But she's pushing the Emma-lution, and World Wrestling Emma-tainment.

She appears to be the champion.

Match 3

Tag team championship.

The Ascension back when they were unstoppable as a Toad Warriors knockoff, against a mystery opponent TBA.

...and it's...

...omfg. Too Cool-- Grandmaster Sexy and Scotty 2 Hotty.

Announcers have to tell us "this was one of the most popular tag teams of the attitude era," and they cut to a montage showing highlights just to let you know it's true, they were a tag team in the 90s.

Wow.

Scotty 2 Hotty looks super old. He's got a shaved head that looks super gross. Like an actual giant worm.

Brian Christopher looks a lot like his dad at this point.

Announcers reference the length of the title reign by the Ascension and compares it to the Wyatts. I don't think I was aware of the Wyatt family's NXT stories.

Speaking off, whatever happened to Bray? Remember when Randy Orton, the Blundgeon Brothers, and Braun where in his gang?

Lots of rest holds, so announcers are forced to talk a lot. One mentions that the Ascension are "almost reminiscent of the Legion of Doom."

Thanks, I hadn't noticed.

I have always thought the Ascension are super dumb, but knowing they're the Surf Dudes with Attitudes in Southpaw Regional Wrestling makes me kind of like them.

...update-- this match is still happening. Crowd seems into it, spelling out the W O R M when dipscott hits his dumb move.

But then the Ascension hit their own dumb move, the fall of man (with dumb name to boot) for the pin.

Yawn.

Match 4

Paige vs Emma

Turns out Paige is the champion, not Emma.

Stephanie McMahon comes out in an ugly dress, not sure why yet.

Crowd chants "you still got it" before she does anything other than walk to the ring.

She tells us how proud she is to announce a diva's division match. lol.

Emma comes out. Apparently her gimmick is being a bad dancer(?).

Paige out to mote generic music. Everyone for the most part on the show so far has awful music.

Stephanie shakes each of their hands and then leaves the ring. Pretty lame role in this so far.

Match stats. Here we go.

I have no memories of Paige as a wrestler, but apparently her special move is the Paige Turner. While Emma's is the Emma-lock.

It's stuff like that that make me embarrassed to watch wrestling.

They have Emma kick out of the Paige Turner, noting no one has ever kicked out of it. But let Paige win shortly thereafter with a weird scorpion cross lock (that's what they called it) submission.

Divas hug after the match, which is our 2nd post match respect moment of the nite.

Preview for the headliner runs.

I guess it's Adrian Neville, the man that gravity forgot (lol at that) vs Bo Dallas in a ladder match. Dallas is champ.

Match 5

Xavier Woods with a lot of hair as a 70s funk dude vs Tyler Breeze.

Also, forgot to mention, lance storm got a shoutout as the person that trained Emma.

Wait. Rusev with his awesome music comes out. He's got Lana, and is the Bulgarian Brute.

Did he go from Bulgarian to Russian to Bulgarian for his character?

Lana tells us he's the future of wrestling, Alexander Rusev.

I had no idea what his first name was until now. He kills both dudes and we don't have any actual match.

Match 6

Championship ladder match. Dallas v Neville.

Note: the NXT belt is ugly. This is the giant X version.

Oh snap. Shawn Michaels comes out first! What!?

He's in street clothes with his denim jeans tucked into his cowboy boots, which as person from rural Kansas, I can tell you is not how anyone wears them.

Crowd chants "one more match," which is oddly relevant now.

I am not and never was a Michaels fan, so I could care less about all this.

Crowd chants "H B Shizzle" which I never have heard.

He tells them to calm down cause he doesn't do this much anymore and you're making me forget what I'm supposed to say, please buy the Mr Wrestlemania DVD.

He was sort of oddly likable with that.

Whatever though. He announces the match as a chance for greatness for one of these wrestlers, and sort of just stops talking.

Neville out first. He better f word win. Bo Dallas appears to be a huge chode.

Reading your review makes this show sound depressing. I remember everyone being extremely high on this show.

I'm not sure about Rusev's character development. I think he's been Bulgarian the whole time but I'm not 100% on that.

A bunch of people on another wrestling forum had that Cesaro/Zayn match as MotY for 2014.

edit: only because of where all of these people have gone on the main roster and now the card looks like a joke. Not because of what you're saying about them.

Apparently the venue only holds 400 people.

Also, we're 11:30 into the match. There's been a few interesting spots, but to be honest I'm checked out. This isn't doing it for me. Been reading twitter and distracted.

ISO-

Yeah. I've been thinking that to myself-- that so many of these people had promise and disappeared or whatever, while others turned into stars (to varying degrees).

Keeping in mind Shawn Michaels wrestled in Wrestlemania V and is wrestling again in 2018, it's crazy that some of these people fell off the map in under 5 years.

Neville wins. Zero percent interested in this one. Neville becomes the 4th ever NXT champ.

But overall, a fun show. This was the first NXT PPV and I thought it was good. Nothing extremely noteworthy or essential viewing, but the Cesaro / Sami match was a lot of fun.

I need to look up the 2 out of 3 falls match they reference as happening previously.

The end.

PS two hours is just too sweet.

Ruses was always Bulgarian, he was just Putin’s Silver Star winner. Or something like that