The search to find the first NXT Champion began this week as Dusty Rhodes announced a Gold Rush tournament amongst eight of NXT’s brightest stars.  The contest kicked off this week with two quarter-final matches, with Richie Steamboat facing Leo Kruger while Drew McIntyre took on Seth Rollins in the main event.  The debuts also continued, with two new faces coming onto the show to mixed results.

NXT General Manager Dusty Rhodes kicked of NXT talking about the importance of titles, especially of a wrestler's first title, before announcing that he'd commissioned an NXT Championship, the first holder of which would be held in a three-round Gold Rush tournament.  Rhodes then named the eight men who'd worked their way through preliminary matches to reach the quarter finals of the tournament: Richie Steamboat, Bo Dallas, Leo Kruger, Seth Rollins, Michael McGillicutty, Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal and Justin Gabriel.

The first of the quarter finals then took place at the start of the show, with Richie Steamboat facing "The Alpha Male Lion", Leo Kruger.    Kruger had the upper hand for most of the match, despite tweaking his knee in the early going.  But Steamboat was able to resist each and every attempt at a finishing move Kruger threw at him, leading to the "Alpha Male Lion" to become more and more frustrated, until the frustration boiled over as he whipped Steamboat off the ropes with more force than he probably intended.  Steamboat took advantage of the momentum to quickly spring back on Kruger with his own finishing move, the spinning sitout sleeper slam he calls the Sling Blade, and Steamboat was able to cover for the pinfall victory, securing his place in the tournament's semi finals.

NXT's main event was another Gold Rush Tournament match, this time pitting Drew McIntyre against Seth Rollins, in a rematch from last week's match.  While McIntyre had earned the victory the week before, this week the young, vigorous Rollins had his larger opponent better scouted, and when McIntyre was able to avoid Rollin's corkscrew moonsault Rollins, in turn, was ready for McIntyre's response with his big boot.  Rollins dived to one side and McIntyre ended up tangled in the ropes, and by the time McIntyre had got both feet back in the ring Rollins was waiting with The Blackout to secure the victory.

The new faces continued to make their debuts this week on NXT, with the first to perform was the gigantic, musclebound Big E. Langston.  Langston, who reportedly can bench press over six hundred pounds, lived up to his fearsome introductory video package by destroying his opponent Adam Mercer in short time.

Southern belle Audrey Marie was next to make her debut, and she certainly looked impressive going one-on-one with the obnoxious Raquel Diaz.  However, Diaz's "Exfoliation of Ugliness" tour continued to roll on apace, and once again it was a spectacular Gory Bomb from Diaz that put her opponent away for the three count.

The next debutants were the tag team of Mike Dalton and Jason Jordan, but for much of their match they seemed to just be there to make up the numbers as they were physically dominated by the more established pairing of Hunico and Camacho.  But Mike Dalton, the man Hunico and Camacho isolated and beat down for much of the match showed great heart, refusing to give up, always kicking out, lashing out, trying to get back to his corner to bring his tag team partner in for the rescue.  But the writing seemed to be on the wall when Hunico and Camacho set Dalton up for a double-team finishing move, with Hunico whipping Dalton off the ropes before back body dropping him over his head towards the waiting Camacho.  But Dalton showed he still had some surprises left, catching Camacho with a hurricanrana pin, and while Jason Jordan reached in to drag Hunico out of the ring Dalton secured the pinfall, and huge upset victory, over Camacho.

NXT results:

• Richie Steamboat def. Leo Kruger (Gold Rush Tournament quarter final)
• Big E. Langston def. Adam Mercer
• Raquel Diaz def. Audrey Marie
• Mike Dalton & Jason Jordan def. Hunico & Camacho
• Seth Rollins def. Drew McIntyre (Gold Rush Tournament quarter final)