#232: Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn, NXT ArRIVAL (2/27/2014).
Hello, readers!
This week, I’m traveling back to over a decade ago, when I first discovered WWE’s developmental system, NXT. A far cry from the original vision of NXT from 2010 – a reality TV hybrid with rookies – this version, under the guidance and wisdom of Triple H, soared to heights even they might not have expected. In a few years, NXT would go from being more than the one brand in WWE to properly showcase women – it would become the hottest property in the entire promotion.
NXT would play host to some of the most exciting independent and international stars that wrestling had to offer in the 2010s, like Hideo Itami, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Roode, and the Undisputed Era, as well as being the proving ground for a women’s revolution that would later dominate American wrestling, like Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Bayley, Asuka, Ember Moon, Io Shirai, Kairi Sane, and Rhea Ripley, just to name a few. It’s a proven system, and the fact that much of today’s wrestling landscape is one dominated by NXT alumni is no accident.
Some will argue that the quality of NXT changed somewhere in 2021, when Vince McMahon began tampering with the product – and I am some. That’s when I stopped keeping up, as everything that made the brand so enjoyable was seemingly thrown to the side for the vision of someone out of the loop. Today, NXT enjoys great success under the watchful eye of Shawn Michaels, though it’s still not something I want to go out of my way for. I do love me some Giulia though!
Kicking things off for the theme this week is a man I purposely left out of the conversation earlier when talking about great wrestlers who’ve come through the NXT system: Sami Zayn. The former El Generico from Ring of Honor debuted in 2013 without his mask, much to the chagrin of his long time independent fans. That said, he quickly proved how good he can be without it, and turned into one of NXT’s most popular performers.
His first major feud would be against Cesaro, a main roster mainstay enjoying a resurgence in NXT. The two had been going back and forth for nearly a year, as Zayn upset Cesaro in one of his first matches for the company, and then Cesaro bested Zayn in a terrific 2 Out of 3 Falls Match later on. Zayn would become intensely focused on beating Cesaro, to the point of lunacy. It would finally culminate here in a singles match, the opening match of NXT’s first ever special on the WWE Network.
The bell sounds, and we are under way. They lock up, and Cesaro pushes Zayn away with his great strength advantage. Zayn takes a moment to breathe, and then they lock up again. Cesaro gets the advantage and smacks Zayn in the back of the head. Another lock up, and Cesaro gets the side headlock takedown off. Zayn with a head scissors, and they’re back up. Cesaro with a quick dropkick to the head. He goes for a single leg takedown, and then goes for a leg submission. Zayn blocks it, and sends him to the floor.
Zayn connects with a Senton to the outside onto Cesaro. Back in the ring, Zayn dives at Cesaro, who catches him and hits a tilt a whirl backbreaker for a 2 count. Zayn rolls to the floor, as Cesaro smiles in the ring. He follows Zayn and smashes his head into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Cesaro quickly tosses Zayn outside once again. Zayn tries to find a flurry of punches, but Cesaro grabs him and sends him into the barricade.
In the ring, Cesaro gets a 2 count. Cesaro sends Zayn back first into the ring apron, and drags him to the ring post. Zayn uses his legs to pull Cesaro head first into the steel. He readies himself for his diving turnbuckle DDT, and as he’s coming through, Cesaro catches him with a brutal uppercut. He goes back to the ring post, slamming Zayn’s leg against the steel. Back in the ring, Cesaro stomps away at Zayn’s leg, and then twists the knee against his own.
Nice double stomp to the knee by Cesaro, and Zayn kicks out. Cesaro with a Dragon Screw Legwhip, Tanahashi style, and he goes back to torquing the knee. Zayn makes it back to his feet, and hits a beautiful single leg dropkick. Cesaro is up first, and he goes back to stomping at the knee, and standing all of his weight on top of it. Another Dragon Screw by Cesaro, and another. Zayn blocks the third with some elbows to the head, but he misses an enziguri, and Cesaro capitalizes with a Single Leg Crab submission. Zayn crawls and makes it to the bottom rope.
Zayn with a back elbow to the head, and a boot to the face. He connects with a back body drop that sends Cesaro to the outside. Zayn goes for a springboard moonsault to Cesaro, who catches him and powerslams him right on the ramp! Back in the ring, Cesaro rushes Zayn, who reverses him with an Exploder Suplex into the turnbuckle! Zayn covers, and Cesaro kicks out. Zayn with a Blue Thunder Bomb gets another 2 count.
Zayn traps Cesaro in the Koji Clutch for a moment, but Cesaro reverses it in the Stretch Plum, El Desperado style! He struggles, but he is able to get to the ropes. He goes to kick Cesaro, who catches him and looks for the Swing, and Zayn reverses it into a roll up for 2. Cesaro goes right into the Swing next, throwing him around 10 straight times. Running uppercut in the corner by Cesaro, and Zayn reverses the pin into a back slide for 2. Cesaro with a double stomp to the head, and Zayn kicks out of that!
Zayn rolls to the apron, but Cesaro grabs him from the middle rope. Zayn connects with a kick to the face, and he goes to the middle rope with him. He hits an elbow to the neck, and then looks for a Frankensteiner, but Cesaro holds on to him! He looks for a powerbomb, but Zayn reverses it into a Frankensteiner! Helluva Kick in the corner by Zayn, but Cesaro somehow kicks out. Cesaro is up, and he nails a hard uppercut to Zayn. He tells Zayn to stay down, but he will not, so he hits another uppercut.
A third uppercut by the Swiss Superman, as the referee checks on Zayn. He’s up, and eats another uppercut, but now he’s throwing strikes at Cesaro, and both men throw fisticuffs! Snap German Suplex by Zayn, and a big boot by Cesaro. The Neutralizer is blocked by a roll up, and Cesaro kicks out. Code Red by Zayn, and Cesaro kicks out again! Both men are slow to their feet, but Cesaro hits an aerial uppercut out of nowhere. He covers, and Zayn kicks out at 1! Cesaro looks perplexed for the first time in this entire match.
Discus Uppercut by Cesaro, followed by the Neutralizer, and Cesaro finally gets the win in a hard fought battle. Post match, Cesaro shows his respect to Zayn, as they hug it out and show their admiration for the other. This is an awesome match, especially for 2014. This had that hot indie feel ala ROH that WWE simply didn’t have at the time. The presentation felt fresh, and the action was brutal. Sami wrestled this match like he had a chip on his shoulder, while Cesaro was the perfect bully foil for him. He dominated much of this, but Zayn’s heart is what helped propel the story along. Every uppercut, every bit of offense, had an extra bit of stank on it, and everything here was helped by a very appreciative Full Sail audience who bought in to everything being told. Really great match that helped introduce Zayn to a wider fanbase, and one that helped Cesaro in the eyes of many.