The debut edition of the “next evolution of the WWE”, WWE NXT, came to you from the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI. Eight WWE Pros will mentor eight Rookies with the winning Rookie earning a WWE Contract to join RAW or SmackDown. New World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho would serve as the Pro to his Rookie Wade Barrett, former ECW Champion Christian would serve as the Pro for Rookie Heath Slater, former World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk would serve as the Pro to his Rookie Darren Young, R-Truth would serve as the Pro for Rookie David “The Marquee” Otunga, Matt Hardy would serve as the Pro to Rookie Justin Gabriel, Carlito would be the Pro for Rookie Michael Tarver, and United States & Unified WWE Tag Team Champion The Miz would serve as the Pro for independent wrestling veteran, Daniel Bryan.
Match Results
- Christian & Heath Slater (in his WWE debut) def. Carlito & Michael Tarver (in his WWE debut) by Christian pinning Michael Tarver following the Killswitch.
- David Otunga (in his WWE debut) def. Darren Young (in his WWE debut) by pin following a modified spinebuster.
- Non-Title: Chris Jericho def. Daniel Bryan (in his in-ring WWE debut) by submission to the Walls of Jericho.
Detailed Results
The inaugural episode of WWE NXT starts with all eight WWE Rookies and United States & Unified WWE Tag Team Champion The Miz, who tells his Rookie, Daniel Bryan, to go to the ring and introduce himself and can even go out to his music! After Daniel Bryan exits, The Miz states that if Bryan does not show the crowd personality, he will “slap” it into him!
Daniel Bryan makes his first appearance in a WWE ring and states that he “wishes” his Pro was William Regal instead of The Miz! Bryan then introduces himself and states that, after ten years in the independents, he is finally in the WWE! Bryan’s first address to the fans was interrupted by his Pro, The Miz, and Daniel Bryan threatens to make him submit! The Miz states that Daniel Bryan may be a submission expert, but he has no “personality”! Bryan tells Miz that if they ever competed, that he would leave Miz with two options, “tap or snap”! The Miz then looks into the face of his Rookie and tells Daniel Bryan that Bryan “failed” before slapping his rookie across the face! Following the slap, Daniel Bryan proclaims that one day, there will be a time when he slaps The Miz back! How will this tumultuous partnership play out in the weeks to come?
Shortly after this confrontation, it was announced that, in his first match in a WWE ring, Rookie Daniel Bryan will go one-on-one, in a non-title match, against the new World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho! How will “The American Dragon” fare against the World Heavyweight Champion?
With his Rookie, Michael Tarver, by his side, Carlito comes out and vows that, with his help, Tarver will be a “breakout” star! Following the proclamation, Carlito would team with his Rookie, Michael Tarver, against WWE Pro Christian and his Rookie, Heath Slater! In their first outing as a team, Christian & Heath Slater proved to be the better Pro & Rookie team by defeating Carlito & Michael Tarver! How will Carlito & Tarver respond to the loss?
The relunctant Pro, CM Punk, presented his Rookie, a self-proclaimed “partier”, Darren Young as Young went one-on-one with the confident Rookie David Otunga, who is mentored by his Pro, R-Truth! David Otunga made quick work of Darren Young as Otunga planted Darren Young with a modified spinebuster en route to winning his debut WWE match. Is the confident David Otunga as good as he thinks he is? How will CM Punk mentor Darren Young?
Next week on WWE NXT, Pro Matt Hardy will debut his Rookie, Justin Gabriel! What kind of impact will Justin Gabriel have when he debuts? What kind of partnership will Gabriel have with Matt Hardy?
Then it was time for the main event as the new World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho, accompanied by his Rookie Wade Barrett, would go one-on-one with The Miz’s Rookie, Daniel Bryan, in a non-title match. While Daniel Bryan had a good outing against Chris Jericho, “The American Dragon” found himself trapped in the Walls of Jericho and was forced to submit; giving Jericho the win! After the match, The Miz enters the ring and pummels his defenseless Rookie! How will Daniel Bryan react to his near defeat of Chris Jericho and post-match attack by The Miz?