NXT 80

This is a special episode from WWE HQ because Smackdown was airing live that night so there was no reason for WWE to compete with itself. Matt Striker is helping us catch up on the alumni of NXT to date. He doesn’t address when they’re going to get around to picking a winner among the current finalists.

They show a clip of Wade Barrett being a jerk on Smackdown, then a music video featuring Brodus Clay.

August 16, 2011 – Bakersfield, California

AJ Lee & Kelly Kelly def. Natalya & Alicia Fox
This was on Smackdown. AJ was pretty much a non-factor in this, and Kelly was so much more over than I would have expected. This wasn’t blindingly awful and the crowd really liked it. **

Justin Gabriel def. Tyson Kidd
This is from the same Smackdown. Before the match, they show a video of Justin Gabriel’s WWE homecoming in South Africa. Striker says something about being jealous that his sister thinks Gabriel is attractive. That’s super weird. I know I complained that their NXT match was too long, but this was one-third the length and really didn’t give them an opportunity to develop anything interesting. It was fun while it lasted, though. **½

They show a music video of Alex Riley turning on the Miz to the tune of his entrance music.

July 17, 2011 – Rosemont, Illinois

Daniel Bryan def. Cody Rhodes, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Kane, Sin Cara, Sheamus, and Wade Barrett {Money in the Bank Ladder Match}
Only about six minutes of the 24-minute match are clipped out of this, which was kind of crazy in a pre-WWE Network world. The lighting is so overexposed and hazy here. Was it like this at all WWE PPVs around this time? Or had they done too many pyrotechnics during the intros for this match? This is the first Money in the Bank match I’ve seen in years, and after watching this I have to say that there’s no reason that any of these matches should ever fail to be fantastic. You have so many guys who can take a big bump and rest for quite a while as others take focus. This was awesome, and even more impressive than the big spots were the big spots they teased and didn’t do that made my clench up. ****¼

The show wraps up with a recap of season 5 leading up to Derrick Bateman’s return. Still no word on when the finals will be.