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

[Matt_Black]

Yeah, I don't know what their rationale is. Hopefully he is getting the help he needs. Storyline-wise that comment by Roman was definitely directed at was it not? Just glad we aren't getting WCW era Scott Hall storylines. That was just tasteless and it really served no purpose other than as an inside joke half the crowd missed.

 

Compare what's happening now with what happened with Alicia Fox a few years ago- Arn got fired for enabling her and Fox was immediately pulled from shows.

 

I mean, this business now might even top "Our wellness policy doesn't apply to Brock no matter how much juice he uses because he's a part-timer."

[CQI13]

Don't recall hearing of Arn's involvement or Alicia's issues, but I think it comes down to The Usos and Brock are more important than Alicia.

 

There is a story about a football coach (Jimmy Johnson) who cut a third string lineman for falling asleep at a meeting. They asked him if he would have cut one of his stars for the same reason. His response - "Nah, I would have said 'hey guys, shhhh - he's sleeping.'"

[Jaysin]

Arn allowed Alicia to work drunk. That was the extent of his involvement.

[Matt_Black]

Look at AEW- both Sammy Guevara and Excalibur are important parts of the company's current direction. That didn't stop Tony Khan from suspending either of them this past year, and that was for (admittedly very offensive) comments they made years ago. Jimmy Uso could have killed somebody.

[CQI13]

Not defending WWE, but I also don't think Excalibur or Guevara necessitated a suspension. And of the 2 I only consider Guevara important. Excalibur is an announcer. Admittedly I don't watch AEW (no cable, not going to pay for the events) but keep up with enough to know Sammy is a stud in the ring.

[Matt_Black]

So, last night's RAW... The start was good, the very end was good, and everything in between was pretty much everything I've come to expect from RAW the past few years.

[Blodyxe]

Not a fan of Kross losing like that, but that's WWE for you.

[Jaysin]

Not a fan of Kross losing like that, but that's WWE for you.

 

Kross is less entertaining than paint drying.

[Matt_Black]

Kross is less entertaining than paint drying.

 

He's more interesting than Jaxson Ryker.

[Jaysin]

He's more interesting than Jaxson Ryker.

 

That's not saying much. House plants have more entertainment value than both men combined.

 

The only way I'm okay with Goldberg vs Lashley is if Lashley obliterates him. Goldberg hasn't had a good match in like two decades.

[CQI13]

It's going to be 4 minutes of brawling before the bell, a spear or two, and Largely wins. After the "match" Goldberg had against McIntyre, what is the point? It's diminishing returns at this point. Unless he wins, and then KO comes over to beat him.

 

Kross losing - no big deal. Jeff will end up folded in half via powerbomb or whatever and then the Jeff fans will be crying.

 

Even Lee losing doesn't faze me.

 

Nikki winning was cool. Charlotte will get the belt back at some point to add to her record. Becky vs Charlotte doesn't need the belt though.

[Rampaaage]

Kross is less entertaining than paint drying.

 

This was my exact reaction.

 

Don't get me wrong - the booking seems terrible. But the crowd was about as into him as I usually am during his NXT matches.

 

First Raw I've watched in awhile, think I will go back to skipping it. While it's still far from perfect SD is a much better viewing.

[CQI13]

Everyone has their likes and dislikes. Edge and his faux spear are meh to me. Bray Wyatt and his Ultimate Warrior-like promos are an invitation to fast forward. Not a fan about everything from Kross, but I enjoy him in NXT far more than the 2 I mentioned.

[crownsy]

Kross is less entertaining than paint drying.

 

I don't get why you bring him up, but leave Scarlett out of the act.

 

Legit, she is the ONLY interesting thing about the act. Not saying it's amazing or anything, but without her there what is he? Just another guy

[CQI13]

I don't get why you bring him up, but leave Scarlett out of the act.

 

Legit, she is the ONLY interesting thing about the act. Not saying it's amazing or anything, but without her there what is he? Just another guy

 

There are no valets left. The only managers are what...MVP and Heyman. She will get called up eventually as a wrestler.

[Blodyxe]

Kross is less entertaining than paint drying.

 

That was my opinion on QT Marshall, but you defended the guy

 

I strongly disagree. Kross is a rare example of someone who looks like a real heel and can talk. I like his in-ring style, not super flashy, but his offence is beliveable. Problem is, WWE is not interested in booking someone to their strenghts.

 

By logic the program with Jeff will end in his favor, but this was not a good first impression on the main roster. And speaking of logic, WWE can easily drop the plans for him if Vince feels iffy next week. Shame really

[Matt_Black]

Goldberg hasn't had a good match in like two decades.

 

I enjoyed, much to my surprise, that one RAW match he had against Mark Henry.

 

 

Kross losing - no big deal.

 

I disagree. I don't even like NXT, and I can see that Kross losing devalues the entire brand. Not only does he look like a chump, everyone he's beaten recently looks like a chump.

[CQI13]

I can see that argument, but Raw fans aren't NXT fans. I am not even sure all NXT fans are Raw fans! We'll see where it goes from here, but not going to judge off one match. They can still screw the pooch on this no doubt. And if at the end they do, then I'll say so.

[Jaysin]

That was my opinion on QT Marshall, but you defended the guy

 

I strongly disagree. Kross is a rare example of someone who looks like a real heel and can talk. I like his in-ring style, not super flashy, but his offence is beliveable. Problem is, WWE is not interested in booking someone to their strenghts.

 

By logic the program with Jeff will end in his favor, but this was not a good first impression on the main roster. And speaking of logic, WWE can easily drop the plans for him if Vince feels iffy next week. Shame really

 

Kross has zero charisma. His promos are him making idiotic tough guy faces. He looks like he's trying so hard to be tough, but his facial expressions are just so damn goofy and forced. You take away his spooky entrance and Scarlett and he's nothing. Plus, he raided Johnny Stamboli's Rellik closet for his gear.

[Mootinie]

Vince doesn't care about NXT. It has succeeded in one thing and that is attracting a live gate, which should be a given for any WWE show when you've been pretty much the only game in town for over 15 to 20 years.

 

Otherwise it's been a resounding failure. It didn't cut the legs off indie shows running WM weekend, it didn't sell Network subs, it didn't stop NJPW's US expansion, it barely slowed down RoH's upward momentum and it didn't stop AEW from winning the demo. More than anything it's killed Triple H's career as a WWE executive because there's no way he'll get RAW and Smackdown provided NXT is a failure.

 

Kross losing was Vince sending a message about how he views NXT. Triple H got run off Wednesday nights by a money mark with an Observer subscription because the only idea he had was to hot-shot big matches. It's got to be a personal embarrassment for Vince to have a WWE property like NXT repeatedly failing to get into the Top 50 when the Demo's come in. No wonder he treats it like a black sheep, I think I would too if I were him.

[Blodyxe]

Kross has zero charisma. His promos are him making idiotic tough guy faces. He looks like he's trying so hard to be tough, but his facial expressions are just so damn goofy and forced. You take away his spooky entrance and Scarlett and he's nothing. Plus, he raided Johnny Stamboli's Rellik closet for his gear.

 

Bro it's wrestling, the biggest stars in the best years were making idiotic tough guy faces and nobody blinked an eye.

 

I don't expect everyone to be the next Rock in the acting department, but saying that Kross has zero charisma is a big stretch. He clearly has enough charisma to get pushes whenever he went and have a girlfriend like that

 

And don't you dare attack mah boi Johnny Stamboli

[Matt_Black]

Rellik is "killer" spelled backwards!

[Jaysin]

First: I was a huge Johnny Stamboli fan and thought Rellik would have been super fun if TNA didn't repeat "killer spelled backwards" five billion and a half times.

 

Second: To me Kross just looks like one of those guys who listens to garbage like Five Finger Death Punch and punches dry wall when he loses in Call of Duty. I'm shocked he doesn't have a Monster Energy Drink logo tattooed somewhere on his body.

 

Baron Corbin has the same sort of "look" about him, but at least he has some sort of charisma about him and has had some good matches. To me, Kross isn't entertaining and his matches bore me to tears.

 

If you like him, cool beans.

[RKOwnage]

Vince doesn't care about NXT. It has succeeded in one thing and that is attracting a live gate, which should be a given for any WWE show when you've been pretty much the only game in town for over 15 to 20 years.

 

Otherwise it's been a resounding failure. It didn't cut the legs off indie shows running WM weekend, it didn't sell Network subs, it didn't stop NJPW's US expansion, it barely slowed down RoH's upward momentum and it didn't stop AEW from winning the demo. More than anything it's killed Triple H's career as a WWE executive because there's no way he'll get RAW and Smackdown provided NXT is a failure.

 

Kross losing was Vince sending a message about how he views NXT. Triple H got run off Wednesday nights by a money mark with an Observer subscription because the only idea he had was to hot-shot big matches. It's got to be a personal embarrassment for Vince to have a WWE property like NXT repeatedly failing to get into the Top 50 when the Demo's come in. No wonder he treats it like a black sheep, I think I would too if I were him.

 

I think the opposite way of looking at this is Vince didn't like NXT in 2015-2016 getting way more hype and excitement than his main roster product, so he started, consciously or subconsciously, undercutting the male talent that came up around that time (basically anyone not named Kevin Owens and arguably Finn Balor). With that happening year after year, callup after callup, from Neville to Sami Zayn to Nakamura to Samoa Joe to AOP to Sanity to Bobby Roode to Andrade to Aleister Black, the NXT brand is nothing to get excited about because you know they're going to get the rug pulled out on the main roster. That's a big part of why I haven't watched in a while. It's almost exactly the same target audience as AEW, but it's *treated* like a minor league by the main roster, whereas AEW is not.

 

That plus the stagnant upper card roster with stop-start main roster appearances (Gargano, Ciampa, the UE guys, etc.) is just a recipe for disaster. To me, the failure of NXT is entirely on Vince for treating it like a child company if the plan was for it to be more than that.

[Blodyxe]

First: I was a huge Johnny Stamboli fan and thought Rellik would have been super fun if TNA didn't repeat "killer spelled backwards" five billion and a half times.

 

Second: To me Kross just looks like one of those guys who listens to garbage like Five Finger Death Punch and punches dry wall when he loses in Call of Duty. I'm shocked he doesn't have a Monster Energy Drink logo tattooed somewhere on his body.

 

Baron Corbin has the same sort of "look" about him, but at least he has some sort of charisma about him and has had some good matches. To me, Kross isn't entertaining and his matches bore me to tears.

 

If you like him, cool beans.

 

You have every right to dislike him, of course, but to me it feels like your hatred is based on his mannerisms and what they stand for in your own experience.

 

Comparing him to Corbin though... Baron wrestles in a wifebeater and has a skullet now lol. They look nothing alike. I can understand if he reminds people of the main character from American History X, and that gives off bad vibes, but it's not the case there.

 

To summarize, he's not my favorite wrestler ever, but I think he can be a star. Looking forward to his match with Samoa Joe