Welcome to a new series on my blog. Usually I write the articles you see here, but in order to further engage with my YouTube subscribers and make them feel even more apart of the SmarKDown community, I will also accept articles made by them. This one is written by Runn O. He’ll take it from here, enjoy!
Since NXT doesn’t have any PPV or live special during 2012 – 2013, I will include some monthly title defenses on TV instead.
Seth Rollins (August 29 2012 – January 9 2013)
- Televised matches: 9
- Record: 7-2
My match ratings:
- Seth Rollins def. Jinder Mahal in a Tournament Final NXT Title Match – NXT August 29 2012 (***½)
- Seth Rollins (c) def. Michael McGillicutty – NXT October 10 2012 (***¼)
- Seth Rollins & CM Punk def. Antonio Cesaro & Kassius Ohno – NXT October 17 2012 (***¾) *R*
- Seth Rollins (c) def. Jinder Mahal – NXT December 12 2012 (***¼)
- The Shield vs. Ryback & Team Hell No in a TLC Match – TLC 2012 (****¼) *HR*
- Big E def. Seth Rollins (c) in a No DQ Match – NXT January 9 2013 (***¼)
Seth Rollins won the NXT Championship in a ‘Gold Rush’ Tournament to crown the first-ever NXT Champion by defeating Jinder Mahal in a pretty good final round match. He then went on to defend the title against several wrestlers and even team up with the then WWE Champion: CM Punk to take on the ‘Kings of Wrestling’ in a hidden gem. Shortly after that, Rollins would debut as part of ‘The Shield’ at Survivor Series and have that fantastic TLC match with Ryback & Team Hell No before losing the belt to Big E the following year. For a first ever Champion, Rollins did a solid job and his promos were quite decent, not to mention his impressive W-L record as well.
Rating: 6/10
Big E Langston (January 9 2013 – June 12 2013)
- Televised matches: 23 (13 Main Roster)
- Record: 8-1 (1 draw)
- Main Roster Record: 5-8
My match ratings:
- Big E Langston def. Seth Rollins (c) in a No DQ Match – NXT January 9 2013 (***¼)
- Big E Langston (c) def. Conor O’Brian – NXT April 3 2013 (**½)
- Team Hell No (c) def. Dolph Ziggler & Big E Langston in a WWE Tag Team Title Match – WrestleMania 29 (**¾)
- Big E Langston (c) def. Damien Sandow – NXT May 15 2013 (**¾)
- Alberto Del Rio def. Big E Langston – Main Event May 22 2013 (***½) *R*
- Bo Dallas def. Big E Langston (c) – NXT June 12 2013 (***¼)
When Seth Rollins started to move on to the main roster as part of ‘The Shield’, NXT was in need of a new top guy. Enters Big E Langston, who was just awesome with his ‘five count’ gimmick during 2012. After winning the belt, Big E would go on to squash some jobbers and defend the title in some forgettable matches on TV. Oh, and do I need to mention the fact that he was already on the main roster at that point being the bodyguard for the heel Dolph Ziggler therefore making his face run on NXT quite confusing. The start was great but the rest wasn’t memorable at all.
Rating: 3/10
Bo Dallas (June 12 2013 – February 27 2014)
- Televised matches: 16
- Record: 11-5
My match ratings:
- Bo Dallas def. Big E Langston (c) – NXT June 12 2013 (***¼)
- Bo Dallas (c) def. Antonio Cesaro – NXT July 3 2013 (***¼)
- Bo Dallas (c) def. Leo Kruger – NXT August 7 2013 (***½)
- Bo Dallas (c) def. Sami Zayn – NXT October 6 2013 (***½) *R*
- Bo Dallas (c) def. Adrian Neville in a Lumberjack Match – NXT December 18 2013 (***)
- Adrian Neville def. Bo Dallas (c) in a Ladder Match – NXT Arrival (***½) *R*
Unlike fellows jobber, Jinder Mahal (with all due respect to The Maharajah). Dallas’s reign was actually comparable to JBL’s WWE Title Reign, maybe even better as some may say. Bo captured the belt by defeating Big E (who was already a heel on the main roster at that point but was still a face on NXT, WTF?) and went on to defend it occasionally on TV. A heel turn soon followed since the crowd was always booing him as a babyface, I gotta admit it was smart of them to turn him heel since he can’t connect with the fans as a face. After holding the belt for record 260 days, he would drop it to Adrian Neville. The first half was meh, but the second half was great which elevated my rating, his promos always delivered as well especially with the ‘Bo-Lieve’ gimmick. And then he got move to the main roster where his career would (kinda) died there.
Rating: 7/10
ALL-TIME CHAMPIONS RANKING
- Bo Dallas (12/6/13 – 27/2/14) 7
- Seth Rollins (29/8/12 – 9/1/13) 6
- Big E (9/1/13 – 12/6/13) 3