The Official WWE / NXT Discussion Thread *May Contain Spoilers*

[BHK1978]

I went to Smackdown last night (It was an hour and a half drive). It was good but not great.

 

I have not watched Smackdown since it moved over to USA, so I was a little surprised on how much focus was put on the matches and how little focus is put on the segments. I wish RAW was more like that.

 

I forgot to add that I thought the Smackdown show was far better than the NXT show I went to on Friday. Even though the crowd was more...alive (For lack of a better term) for the NXT show.

[Hashasheen]

One thing that has bothered me the last few years.... Is it normal that Chris Jericho's chest is seeming to cave in? It looks like somebody punched him and it never inflated back out.

 

He tore some pectoral muscles a year or two back and they've not healed properly.

[Blackman]

I really can't slap another gimmick on Finn Balor. This one suits him somewhat, but once the match happens the "gimmick" - if it is one - gets thrown out of the window. It's more of a side attraction than a gimmick, really.

[Anderz]

Another random NXT comment; but it's pretty awesome seeing The Badd Boyz turn up as jobbers. I hope they hang around as a regular jobber team as they are great fun.

 

Also, Graves continues to be the best colour commentator in recent history.

[smurphy1014]

Another random NXT comment; but it's pretty awesome seeing The Badd Boyz turn up as jobbers. I hope they hang around as a regular jobber team as they are great fun.

 

Also, Graves continues to be the best colour commentator in recent history.

 

The "defense" chant was great. I would love a broadcast of Graves and Ranallo.

[jwt13]

Spoiler but Eric Young just debuted at NXT's taping. Answering a challenge from Samoa Joe. Very excited about this.

[Blackman]

Great work by the Miz and Emma on RAW. The episode wasn't stellar, but it was decent at the very least.

[liontamer]

got done watching the Monday night wars on the network. Lots of repetition, but overall entertaining. Question though. When the TBS deal was pulled out of the offer to Bischoff, weren't there still other TV deals in place (Canada, japan, mexico etc)?. I'd think that would still be worth while and that eventually a US deal would come. Also, is there a mod for that scenario? might be my first RW attempt.

[lazorbeak]

I know in some ways NXT has advantages that the main roster doesn't, but it's unbelievable how much more I care about random NXT midcarders because they have real, understandable characters that cause their actions to make sense. I talked about Eva Marie a week or two ago saying she's getting to be passable, and I actually loved the storyline in the Asuka match where she is clearly outclassed and could be knocked out by a big move at any moment so she's just trying to find an opportunity to steal a win. Similarly I loved the Revival's storyline being a natural reaction to losing their titles. I was worried they were turning babyface after the crowd got behind them crushing jobbers, but then they attack a (previously injured) Zach Ryder as part of their "destroy all the tag teams so we get another title opportunity" plan. Main roster storylines tend to feel way too much like workers have been plugged into a WWE 2k storyline and have to wrestle no one except each other for four to twelve weeks.

[Mootinie]

got done watching the Monday night wars on the network. Lots of repetition, but overall entertaining. Question though. When the TBS deal was pulled out of the offer to Bischoff, weren't there still other TV deals in place (Canada, japan, mexico etc)?. I'd think that would still be worth while and that eventually a US deal would come. Also, is there a mod for that scenario? might be my first RW attempt.

 

There's Genadi's WCW Lives On. It's a really great mod and I think it's being worked on for a TEW 2016 release.

[Greylocke]

I may be in the minority, but I'm really not liking the direction NXT has been going.....and it's not just because of my general disinterest in Finn Balor or the fact that the Balor/Joe feud felt like an inferior copy of Zayn/Owens with less interesting players.

 

I have no objections to them hiring loads of established indy and foreign talent and trying to capitalize on their existing fame outside WWE.....but it feels like that's all they have been doing recently. When is the last time we're told anything about these wrestlers beyond how many years they've spent in the business wrestling all over the world, how big they were in Japan/Europe/etc, and how hard they worked to finally get here? Again, I've said this before, I don't think there's anything wrong with them using the wrestler's legitimate history as a character background, but I need to see more than that. It's becoming a cookie-cutter character mould for current NXT, face and heel alike. A good character on any program should be able to get a viewer's interest on the program's own merit, and not require the viewer to go dig up their old matches and read up their histories in other companies. So far, the only guy in the recent batches of established talents that really entertains me is Nakamura (who just oozes so much personality on his own that they simply don't need to do much with him....at least, not for some time).

 

It's almost like the NXT writers are thinking: "So...this guy was a big star in the indies, most of our fans know them, I'll just put these guys in the ring, bring up their history a bit, and the crowds will cheer, so I won't bother writing anything for them." Where is the NXT that gave us such memorable characters like Bo Dallas, Tyler Breeze, Bray Wyatt, Bayley.......hell, even Tyson Kidd, who isn't the most charismatic guy or a fantastic speaker, but actually managed to gain more character development in a single year with NXT than the rest of his WWE career combined. Or how about the Ascension, who pretty much got over just on their gimmick and booking (there's certainly nothing remarkable about the ring work). That's the NXT I miss. Right now, the only recent "unique" character they've given us is.....Elias "Drifter" Samson. Seriously? That's the best you can come up with? Even Bull Dempsey was bizarrely released just after it seems like he's finally found his character niche. I just don't understand this shift.

 

I've heard much general comments about how the booking and characters of the WWE main shows have been stagnant compared to NXT....well, recently I'm seeing the opposite. RAW has done more interesting things with Styles, Gallows and Anderson in the short span of 3 weeks than NXT has done with the likes of Aries, Balor and Joe. (Apollo Crews is, sadly, still boringly one-dimensional as ever).

 

I'm staring to wonder if Dusty Rhodes' passing had something to do with it. It maybe that WWE lost more than just a legend and great trainer, but also possibly the heart and soul of the NXT I loved. I really hope I'm wrong on this.

[jwt13]

I may be in the minority, but I'm really not liking the direction NXT has been going.....and it's not just because of my general disinterest in Finn Balor or the fact that the Balor/Joe feud felt like an inferior copy of Zayn/Owens with less interesting players.

 

I have no objections to them hiring loads of established indy and foreign talent and trying to capitalize on their existing fame outside WWE.....but it feels like that's all they have been doing recently. When is the last time we're told anything about these wrestlers beyond how many years they've spent in the business wrestling all over the world, how big they were in Japan/Europe/etc, and how hard they worked to finally get here? Again, I've said this before, I don't think there's anything wrong with them using the wrestler's legitimate history as a character background, but I need to see more than that. It's becoming a cookie-cutter character mould for current NXT, face and heel alike. A good character on any program should be able to get a viewer's interest on the program's own merit, and not require the viewer to go dig up their old matches and read up their histories in other companies. So far, the only guy in the recent batches of established talents that really entertains me is Nakamura (who just oozes so much personality on his own that they simply don't need to do much with him....at least, not for some time).

 

It's almost like the NXT writers are thinking: "So...this guy was a big star in the indies, most of our fans know them, I'll just put these guys in the ring, bring up their history a bit, and the crowds will cheer, so I won't bother writing anything for them." Where is the NXT that gave us such memorable characters like Bo Dallas, Tyler Breeze, Bray Wyatt, Bayley.......hell, even Tyson Kidd, who isn't the most charismatic guy or a fantastic speaker, but actually managed to gain more character development in a single year with NXT than the rest of his WWE career combined. Or how about the Ascension, who pretty much got over just on their gimmick and booking (there's certainly nothing remarkable about the ring work). That's the NXT I miss. Right now, the only recent "unique" character they've given us is.....Elias "Drifter" Samson. Seriously? That's the best you can come up with? Even Bull Dempsey was bizarrely released just after it seems like he's finally found his character niche. I just don't understand this shift.

 

I've heard much general comments about how the booking and characters of the WWE main shows have been stagnant compared to NXT....well, recently I'm seeing the opposite. RAW has done more interesting things with Styles, Gallows and Anderson in the short span of 3 weeks than NXT has done with the likes of Aries, Balor and Joe. (Apollo Crews is, sadly, still boringly one-dimensional as ever).

 

I'm staring to wonder if Dusty Rhodes' passing had something to do with it. It maybe that WWE lost more than just a legend and great trainer, but also possibly the heart and soul of the NXT I loved. I really hope I'm wrong on this.

 

I think they just have too much for a 1 hour show. I feel it would be better to expand to atleast a hour and a half. I don't care for the Finn/Joe feud either though, it's boring.

[Blackman]

Greylocke's right. The Drifter is probably one of the most interesting characters atm. Didn't even realize Bull was gone just as he started to get interesting. A lenghtier time slot would serve them well.

 

I can't believe I'm saying this, but they book just like the way I booked TCW in earlier TEW games, flooding the roster with the best talent and letting the rest flow through. It's very cheesy. The game should have a stat for the organisation that gives penalties for high roster turnover (like the Teamwork stat in PES).

 

I saw the last two NXT eps yesterday and I was a little underwhelmed. It's such a mess. Way to make Asuka look mediocre when they gave her Eva Marie (again: nothing more than awkward eyecandy. She's really THAT BAD) to work with. Eva Marie was booked way too strong, leaving Asuka's rep in ruins.

[niall2015]

I may be in the minority, but I'm really not liking the direction NXT has been going.....and it's not just because of my general disinterest in Finn Balor or the fact that the Balor/Joe feud felt like an inferior copy of Zayn/Owens with less interesting players.

 

I have no objections to them hiring loads of established indy and foreign talent and trying to capitalize on their existing fame outside WWE.....but it feels like that's all they have been doing recently. When is the last time we're told anything about these wrestlers beyond how many years they've spent in the business wrestling all over the world, how big they were in Japan/Europe/etc, and how hard they worked to finally get here? Again, I've said this before, I don't think there's anything wrong with them using the wrestler's legitimate history as a character background, but I need to see more than that. It's becoming a cookie-cutter character mould for current NXT, face and heel alike. A good character on any program should be able to get a viewer's interest on the program's own merit, and not require the viewer to go dig up their old matches and read up their histories in other companies. So far, the only guy in the recent batches of established talents that really entertains me is Nakamura (who just oozes so much personality on his own that they simply don't need to do much with him....at least, not for some time).

 

It's almost like the NXT writers are thinking: "So...this guy was a big star in the indies, most of our fans know them, I'll just put these guys in the ring, bring up their history a bit, and the crowds will cheer, so I won't bother writing anything for them." Where is the NXT that gave us such memorable characters like Bo Dallas, Tyler Breeze, Bray Wyatt, Bayley.......hell, even Tyson Kidd, who isn't the most charismatic guy or a fantastic speaker, but actually managed to gain more character development in a single year with NXT than the rest of his WWE career combined. Or how about the Ascension, who pretty much got over just on their gimmick and booking (there's certainly nothing remarkable about the ring work). That's the NXT I miss. Right now, the only recent "unique" character they've given us is.....Elias "Drifter" Samson. Seriously? That's the best you can come up with? Even Bull Dempsey was bizarrely released just after it seems like he's finally found his character niche. I just don't understand this shift.

 

I've heard much general comments about how the booking and characters of the WWE main shows have been stagnant compared to NXT....well, recently I'm seeing the opposite. RAW has done more interesting things with Styles, Gallows and Anderson in the short span of 3 weeks than NXT has done with the likes of Aries, Balor and Joe. (Apollo Crews is, sadly, still boringly one-dimensional as ever).

 

I'm staring to wonder if Dusty Rhodes' passing had something to do with it. It maybe that WWE lost more than just a legend and great trainer, but also possibly the heart and soul of the NXT I loved. I really hope I'm wrong on this.

 

NXT did what they could with Apollo but at the end of the day, the guy is just one dimensional, I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, and say that he can do better with a different character but even then I'm not 100% sure. I remember before Crews had his title shot against Bálor though, he took 3 weeks off, and each week, we got 3 different video packages about Apollo's life and really gave people a reason to like him because he came off as a nice, genuinely friendly guy which made me like him for awhile. As for character development, the best case in recent memory is American Alpha. The development of Gable and Jordan has been phenomenal, from Jordan looking for a partner, but always rejecting Gable's offer. Then finally accepting Gable's offer but never saying the catchphrase, then after a few wins, the two were like brothers. Even in recent memory, their match with The Revival was all about the fact that Gable and Jordan had a shot at the big time and failed, and Takeover: Dallas was their chance to prove that they arent just choke artists.

 

To be honest, Joe vs Bálor bored me towards the end, but their storyline atleast made sense on a week to week basis, unlike the WWE title storyline, where the Authority tried everything to get the title off of Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble, then handed him a Number One Contenders match at Fastlane for absolutely no reason. There was no logic in that, and Joe vs Bálor atleast was a storyline that had little to no plotholes in it, which I've always hated about a lot of WWE storylines. Also, Alexa Bliss has been consistently great in NXT, from the smiling sweetheart to this complete bitch, and the transition was natural after she screwed Enzo & Cass out of the titles. Even a few months ago, her promo and match with Bayley really proved that Alexa will be a star in both NXT and WWE, so long as she can avoid any backstage politics that is. Even Bayley has been given some character development after she passed out instead of tapping to Asuka, the sound of the arena in Dallas was unforgettable, they were genuinely sad that Bayley had lost, and it was against Asuka, a woman who herself has been one of the best things about NXT (I can only imagine what it wouldve been like if Eva beat her instead, most likely riots). Now we get to see Bayley claw her way back up, which she is best at

 

I've not really been impressed by Aries at all in NXT, but I've been able to get behind Bálor, although he is in need of a few tweaks to his character before he becomes boring, maybe a heel turn is in order. But I think, when you look at what NXT have with American Alpha, Asuka, Bayley, Alexa Bliss, Nakamura, etc. The future is bright for NXT, and specifically the womens division.

 

P.S. Anybody else think that Eva Marie is just a female Tyler Breeze with less talent in the ring and on the microphone?

[Blackman]

P.S. Anybody else think that Eva Marie is just a female Tyler Breeze with less talent in the ring and on the microphone?

 

I honestly can't make any comparison at all. She's just...Eva Marie. The best I can come up with is compare her with TV stars that have been in the ring for a one-shot deal, like Snooki (the worst example maybe). Tyler Breeze has a 'limited' gimmick, but played it almost to perfection. As some suggested earlier, she would be best in an authority-backed gimmick (reality TV star?). Tyler's flow was natural, where Eva Marie's just awkward in everything she does. Her ring movement makes no sense, and her taunts are not exactly well-timed and generic.

 

It's hard to be disgusted with her given she looks so fine, but the "heat" she gets - which is "go-away" heat. Samson also gets "drift away" chants, but those are genuine heat, whereas with Eva they really mean it. But in her last appearance, it seems fans accepted her and remained fairly apathic during her match, apart from some pops for Asuka. It made it all the more clear that the episode wasn't that good, together with my expectations for Am. Alpha vs Enzo&Cass. The latter kind of gave up on NXT and focus on the bigtime now. You already saw that in Enzo imo.

[Mootinie]

At least there's something to talk about with regards Eva Marie. Everybody else in NXT is just there, having okay matches and cutting forgettable promos in lazy storylines (barring American Alpha, Bayley & Alexa Bliss, who are all awesome. Oh, and Big Breakfast Bank Holiday B&Q Bonanza Banter Corbin).

[milamber]

I still enjoy NXT but they do seem to be focused more on the Takeover specials and live events (which look fun from all the leaked youtueb videos) and less on making the TV show must-see. The rushed taping schedule and increased roster turnover means more stagnant shows. Also, as Greylocke pointed out, with so many New Japan, TNA and indy guys joining NXT and basically wrestling as themselves, they need to work harder to package the homegrown talent with interesting characters so there's a good balance.

 

I'm not sure if expanding to 1.5 hour shows will help. While Lucha Underground isn't everyone's cup of tea, it's my favorite 1 hour of wrestling most weeks. Interesting characters, entertaining wrestling and smart booking. Quality over quantity.

[K-Nection]

I'm a fan of NXT but I think we are just seeing what happens when they book almost 2 months of TV at a venue that doesn't have as hot a crowd. I'm really in favor of keeping all their TV at full sail. That crowd is the most loyal and it comes off better on TV.

 

I'm sad to hear about the departure of Bull Fit as that was a great gimmick for him. In hind insight that guy would have a really good spot atm if he didn't leave because of all the call ups.

 

One of the appealing things we seemed to gravitate towards NXT is that the roster always appeared fresh. Just the minute somebody had nothing left to accomplish they were called up and we always had a fresh main event scene. We haven't gotten that with Balor and Joe because they should have been called up by Survivor Series.

 

I know somebody mentioned the passing of Dusty as why the booking has become stale but it's not that IMO since the man has been gone since June of last year. This is the first lull period I could think of since Bo Dallas' title reign. I think the roster is just not getting refreshed at the rate that we would like IMO.

[K-Nection]

http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2016/0315/608595/bull-dempsey-talks-his-wwe-release/

 

It apparently came out of left field for not only the fans but the trainers as well. It seems that Bull Dempsey was the only person to see the "writing on the wall." IMO it further proves asking for his release was too much of a knee jerk reaction. I think it was one of those things that if he hung around some of those guys that got called up could put him over and he would have had a main event run in NXT.

[Big Roguey]

At least there's something to talk about with regards Eva Marie. Everybody else in NXT is just there, having okay matches and cutting forgettable promos in lazy storylines (barring American Alpha, Bayley & Alexa Bliss, who are all awesome. Oh, and Big Breakfast Bank Holiday B&Q Bonanza Banter Corbin).

 

[guyver3]

Damn such a bad break for Enzo and Cass hopefully Enzo is ok.

[lr10540]

What a brutal looking bump Enzo took. I hope it's not as serious as it looked.

[smurphy1014]

Damn such a bad break for Enzo and Cass hopefully Enzo is ok.

 

They just said he is talking and moving. Going to the hospital for further evaluation.

[guyver3]

They just said he is talking and moving. Going to the hospital for further evaluation.

 

That's a relief I didn't see him move at all after that bump after what happened with perro aguayo it was pretty scary.

[Russelrules44]

That's a relief I didn't see him move at all after that bump after what happened with perro aguayo it was pretty scary.

 

Well, that's probably the end of The Vaudevillains push; wouldn't be surprised if they sent them back to developmental. Either way, they're probably not going to last much longer in WWE.