NXT talk

[C.S.]

2 hours ago, donsem43 said:

I haven't seen one single mention of Sarah Stock in the Evolution build up.

She was mentioned briefly during Evolution by one of the commentors (along with Sara Amato and someone else). 

[Alucard]

3 hours ago, C.S. said:

She was mentioned briefly during Evolution by one of the commentors (along with Sara Amato and someone else). 

Serena Deeb was the other, believe it was Cole mentioning. Really great lineup with those three as trainers.

[Ricky Jackson]

Oney Lorcan is God. Sweet fuck that tag this week was great 

[donsem43]

Has there ever been a bad Pete Dunne match in NXT/NXTUK? The match with Danny Burch for the UK title was really, really good. 

This week's NXT proper episode had a lot of stuff for the women. Dakota Kai/Taynara Conti was a nice match (Kai/Storm from NXTUK was good to,) plus they set up three other matches for the future: Candice/Nikki Cross, Bianca Belair/Mia Yim, and a 2/3 falls rematch between Shayna Baszler and Kairi Sane at TakeOver. All of them should be at least good.

Dream/Lars was a super fun TV main with some nutty bumps from Dream.

[donsem43]

Meltzer is reporting that Ohno/Riddle will not be on TakeOver but taped for TV before the live show starts. Apparently due to the four matches already on the card will take up all of the allotted time.

[KawadaSmile]

That's some bullshit. Could easily have a 8 minute sprint and trim out some of the obviously melodramatic bullshit that will go down in the Gargano and Ciampa matches.

[Ricky Jackson]

That Ciampa/Black/Gargano segment was some great shit 

[Zoo Enthusiast]

Was front row at the show in Green Bay last night.  Some really killer stuff, especially Riddle and Dijak going all-out.  I’ve been in quite a wrestling funk for a while because of so much terrible real life stuff (to go along with the standard trash TV shows) surrounding WWE in the past six months but this was a blast.

[Robert S]

Is there a bigger loser in pro wrestling right now than Johnny Gargano? He lost what? 6 of his last 7 big matches? He is 0-3 against Almas, 1-2 against Ciampa and now 0-1 against Black and how the story is going I assume there will be a second loss against Black quite soon (unless the teased cage match ends in a schmozz).

[Superstar Sleeze]

On 11/2/2018 at 8:21 PM, Ricky Jackson said:

Oney Lorcan is God. Sweet fuck that tag this week was great 

Biff is from Boston loved seeing him the couple times I did on the indies and make a point to see him live when NXT comes to town. He never disappoints: best comeback in the business. Glad he is being recognized.

[Microstatistics]

For all the strengths of NXT, I don't think they understand payoffs or how to stop once a feud reaches its fitting conclusion. Gargano vs. Ciampa should have logically ended in April given the story they were telling. Same with Gargano vs. Black last month. But they negate the impact of previous endings by tagging on follow up matches and sort of run it into the ground. 

[SomethingSavage]

1 hour ago, Microstatistics said:

For all the strengths of NXT, I don't think they understand payoffs or how to stop once a feud reaches its fitting conclusion. Gargano vs. Ciampa should have logically ended in April given the story they were telling. Same with Gargano vs. Black last month. But they negate the impact of previous endings by tagging on follow up matches and sort of run it into the ground. 

Preparing them for future treatment on the main roster, then..?

In all seriousness, I think NXT has had a far better track record with this than main stage WWE, where everything happens on a treadmill without any markers, milestones, or conclusions in sight.

[DMJ]

I'm a huge homer for Gargano (being from Cleveland and having great memories of watching him wrestle since 2006), but I'm not super into the turn.

I'm not sure if there's a word for it, but to me, its almost like, in the late 90s, I used to be in e-feds where people created characters, wrote text-based promos and "competed" with one or two people writing out the matches, etc., etc. all through email and message boards. When it started, you could essentially envision a character based on their name - my character was Owen Masters (son of the supposed legend Larry Masters), his finish was the Master-Plex, and, as the name and pedigree hinted, he was clearly meant to bring to mind Mr. Perfect and Owen Hart. There were guys like Mortal Kombat-inspired Johnny Star and the cocky Johnny "Hotbody" Michaels (in retrospect, there were always lots of Johnnys in these feds). I remember feuding with Hatashi (whose entrance theme was "Big Me" by Foo Fighters and was, you guessed it, a monster sumo whose promos were written in a style that would now be considered blatantly racist). 

Inevitably, though, the creator of one of these characters - purposefully developed to be one-dimensional so that you and your opponent could engage in a war of words that could be understood and purportedly enjoyed by others - would listen to one too many Smashing Pumpkins songs and decide to have their character "go dark." Guys originally created to be a hybrid of Hulk Hogan and Austin like "The Rebel" Jack Eastwood would now deliver "promos" full of (literal!) bad high school poetry in dark gray, gothic fonts atop black backgrounds. Imagine if, in WCW, not just Sting turned into the Crow, but Luger did also, and so did both Steiners, and because why not, so did Public Enemy and Rey Mysterio Jr. This was the e-fed world in 97'-98'.

And that's kind of how Johnny Gargano looks to me right now. Like, yes, Gargano failing to beat Ciampa and being driven to this dark, moody "emo" character makes total sense and I can see exactly what he's going for with it - but that doesn't mean its good (and its certainly not original). It feels like something a 15-year old would "fantasy book" because of how "cool" it theoretically is for a hero, like a John Cena, to become an anti-hero. But what they're forgetting is that, like in an e-fed, a good character in wrestling shouldn't need to be constantly refreshed if there is progression in their opponents, reasons for various feuds, different short-term and long-term goals he can strive for. The Ciampa/Gargano feud needed to end or be suspended for a little while, no doubt, but who the hell thought turning the best babyface on the brand into a generic, pouting heel was clever?

Its not even that Gargano's turn feels forced - its that its not remotely interesting and has actually only served to make him feel lesser than he was as the underdog who couldn't win the title. Now, I'm not sure where  exactly that underdog babyface character could've gone, but I think, if it were my job, I'd be able to come up with some pitches. I could go on and on with how much I dislike the turn, but I'll stop here. 

[KawadaSmile]

Nick Miller has been released.

Shane Thorne is still around, which doesn't really shock me.

[sek69]

That's kind of odd considering WWE usually considers tag teams a package deal unless one of them messes up IRL.

[PeteF3]

Looks like the Nick release was asked for or at least mutual, as he has a child now living in Australia and wanted to stay closer to home. I'm sure when or if NXT Australia launches he'll be a focal point.

[donsem43]

So do they add Kairi Sane to the Women's Title match because I don't see them doing heel vs. heel at a Takeover.

[SirEdger]

With Dakota Kai injured, I guess they might be tempted to do Kairi/Io vs Duke/Shafir in the pre-TakeOver tapings or something. And I got the feeling we'll see Kairi and/or Io in the Women's Rumble this year as well.

[donsem43]

They could move Candace LaRae into the feud given her past issues with Baszler.

[Alucard]

I feel like they've done several in the past.... AOP/Sanity last year... maybe Sasha/Becky years back I think both were still heel. But I could also see Bianca turning face. I haven't watched NXT the last 5-6 months or so but she was always a highlight whenever she was on.

[donsem43]

Rhea Ripley/Deonna Purrazzo is a nice end cap to Rhea Ripley's early NXT UK run. Her matches vs. Dakota Kai, Toni Storm, and Isla Dawn were all worth watching, Hyped to watch her rematch with Toni at Takeover.

[Edwin]

On 12/27/2018 at 1:47 AM, donsem43 said:

So do they add Kairi Sane to the Women's Title match because I don't see them doing heel vs. heel at a Takeover.

Not happening.

I was at the NXT TV tapings last night:

Stacey Erwin def. Shane Thorne in a dark match.

Johnny Gargano cuts a promo and says he's coming for the North American title. Ricochet confronts him. Tommaso Ciampa comes out and Gargano ends the segment laying out Ricochet with a superkick.

Bianca Belair def. Nikki Cross. The match was pretty lengthy and Nikki got her send off after the match.

Fabian Aichner and Marcel Bartel def. some enhancement talent in a really fun match. The enhancement talent got plenty of offense in and one of them wearing pink tights did an amazing job bumping for Aichner and Bartel who are great together. They seem to be NXT's version of Ringkampf.

Adam Cole def. EC3. The Undisputed ERA put a beating on EC3 after the match and the War Raiders made the save. EC3 got a send off after the match, too.

The Street Profits def. the Metro Brothers. I have no idea who the Metro Brothers are, but they looked like Deuce 'n Domino. The Forgotten Sons attacked the Street Profits after the match.

Bianca Belair cut a promo and was confronted by Shayna Baszler accompanied by Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shaffir.

Dominik Dijakovic def. Adrian Jaoude.

Johnny Gargano def. Humberto Carrillo.

Kassius Ohno def. Keith Lee. Matt Riddle came out after the match, but was held back by the refs.

Velveteen Dream comes out and cuts a promo saying he wants the North American title, but Adam Cole and Bobby Fish confront him. Velveteen tosses them both out of the ring.

Lacey Evans def. Xia Li. Lacey didn't get a send off like Nikki or EC3, but it looked like it was her final match in NXT regardless.

Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch def. Fabian Aichner and Marcel Bartel. Easily my pick for MOTN. 1-2 ruled as always, but Aichner and Bartel looked amazing. There was a botched springboard dropkick attempt from Aichner, but that will most likely get edited out.

Kairi Sane and Io Shirai def. Amber Nova and Tanea Brooks. Kairi hit an assisted Insane Elbow Drop and then Io hit an assisted Moonsault on Tanea.

Velveteen Dream def. Bobby Fish.

Ricochet came out to cut a promo and as the segment developed #DIY ended up attacking him and Aleister Black. We almost got a #DIY reunion, but Candace LeRae came out and broke it up on the ramp.

Heavy Machinery, Aleister Black and Ricochet def. the Undisputed ERA in an after party dark match which was easily my second favorite match of the night. Sucks it won't air anywhere. Heavy Machinery got a send off from the fans after the match.

[rovert]

Shane Haste isn't long for NXT.

Glad Nikki Cross got her due. If you sit down and think about it she's in the elite in terms the most popular NXT characters ever. Her entrance pops were really insane. A total role model if you are a male or female indie wrestler in terms of hard work, conduct, and commitment to character. 

[NotJayTabb]

Be a shame if Haste does go, he always felt like the TMDK member with a higher ceiling, felt like he had more personality than Nick Miller. I guess the rumours of him teaming with an incoming Jonah Rock were premature.

[KawadaSmile]

I can't wait to see Bianca Belair headline Wrestlemania 37. To me she's a top 10 talent, and won't take long to reach top 5.