sek69 Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Breaking Ground is the best thing that ever happened to Barron Corbin. Once that show aired, a lot of people realized he's not just a guy playing a character but he really is a grumpy asshole IRL. I think that made him come off as more genuine rather than just A Dude Playing A Gimmick, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woof Posted February 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Every week I finish watching NXT and think to myself, "That was a perfect hour of wrestling. No soap opera, no BS. Just wrestlers wrestling and wanting to be the best. Everything revolves around that basic premise and it makes for such an enjoyable product. I maintain that one hour is the perfect length for a weekly wrestling show. Agreed, although in a perfect world I'd like two one hour shows a week, because waiting a week in between is too long. Gimme an hour on Tuesday and an hour on Thursday and I'd be a happy, happy man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Just finished watching this week's show, and that main even was pretty great for what was pretty much Bayley having a match with a practice dummy. I don't mean to completely dismiss Carmella since she has shown improvement, but I was amazed to see Bayley out there looking like mid 80s Ric Flair carrying that broomstick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Redman Posted February 21, 2016 Report Share Posted February 21, 2016 https://www.facebook.com/WWENXT/videos/956874217695476/ Balor and Bayley need to form a team called the Faces That Launched A Thousand Ships. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodear Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 I don't know why the NXT show thread gets so little traction here. Anyway, be the change you want. BAMF vs. American Alpha was not surprisingly a great showcase for Gable and Jordan but let's not talk about them because that's too easy. BAMF is damned tremendous and they are like the hidden jewel of the NXT tag division just not getting the recognition they deserve for being so great as the last WCW US Tag Team Champions. Murphy and Blake made everything Gable and Jordan did look like death including Gable's arm work and Jordan's holy shitplexes. They are always in position to feed the faces like the servers at a Brazilian steak house. Their transition to heat off that misdirection lariat from Murphy was jaw dropping (and removing) but they smartly don't work heat in order to pop the crowd but to build up the tag. And boy oh boy that they go strait to hot tag to the finish in a refreshing change of pace. Get that false finish out of here! We be building here. Gerard vs Apollo Crews was a good showcase for Gerard since Apollo can't channel his physical tools into a compelling match. Watch me nerd! Charisma is his dump stat! WHOOAHH D&D reference! Apollo Snooze (Scott Keith eat your heart out) doesn't get wrestling particularly well as he has two speeds, selling and offense. He's doing one or the other and he doesn't realize there is a gear between 1st and 4th. Gerard slipped a couple of times but managed to project an image of grinding determination. I came out of this looking forward to matches with Gerard rather than Crews. Sign me up for Gerard versus Joe and Ciampa like now. Speaking of which, Ciampa vs Bull Fit was a fun time mostly due to Bull being a lot of fun in his NXT swan song. He'll probably do better in the indies being the biggest guy on the show night in and night out. I think the ga ga was really funny in this with the jumping jacks test of strength and the core strength being tremendous comedy spots which work a little better because Tomaso was working straight man. But I think this muddied the Ciampa waters a bit as he worked heel here and he's kind of been presented as a face up until now. Hey? Do you have some Bayley? Doesn't matter because this is the, no lie, Eva Marie show. She was tremendous here working with Nia Jax as the muscle and Eva being the... nothing! She did nothing right all match! It was awesome! The psychology of her being complete dead weight around Jax's neck as Nia clobbers the faces worked so well. And of course, it plays into the finish as she grabs the fall without actually doing any damage in the whole thing. Jax's frontfacelockaphobia continues to be a highlight for me as was the hot tag where Bayley just rolled over Eva and hit her with her finish because Eva sucks in storyline. Despite the crowd being kind of tired (Big Red was tired drinking his coke) Eva still got boos just by putting her hands in the air. That's her value kids. NXT are good. Yes indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 Finn Bayley might be the greatest thing ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woof Posted February 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 I came out of that opening tag wanting to really see what Buddy Murphy has to offer as a single, at least in one decent length match. You're right, Goodear, in that as a team they really know their place and what to do. I wonder if Murphy has more in store when given the chance. Not really sure why, but there was just something about him last night that I had never really seen before. Makes me curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woof Posted February 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 A couple of other observations about what makes NXT great that aren't necessarily from last night's show: AThey almost never fight outside of the ring save for the occasional dive (that almost always goes right back inside). They keep stuff mostly between the ropes, so on those rare occasions when they do it has meaning. On a similar front, what have there been in terms of garbagey stipulation matches in NXT history? I can remember the two ladder matches (Dallas-Neville and Balor-Owens) and a No DQ match between Corbin-Dempsey. Outside of that we've had the Iron Man match (Bayley-Banks) and some Best of 3 Falls Matches (Zayn-Cesaro and now Zayn-Joe), but those are just regular wrestling with multiple falls. Notice the complete lack of reliance on steel cages, last man standings, street fights, I quits, etc. They keep rotating the match-ups through at a pace that manages to keep things fresh without needing to resort to tricks. When they finally do a cage match, for example, it's gonna mean something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodear Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 NXT using 2-out-of-3 as their go to feud ending match is one of my favorite things about the promotion. I just love how they use it so well in order to put a final stamp to show off who is supreme. There was also a lumberjack match between Neville and Bo Dallas back a while ago which also did a really good job of moving into a Neville-Tyler Breeze angle where the lumberjacks played in mostly straight since they were mostly enhancement talent. I love that NXT moves against the 'more, more, more' standard and downshifts effectively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Redman Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 Yeah co-signed. 2/3 Falls is so great because it's a special gimmick and a genuine feud ender, but it's not overtly violent in any way, because NXT as a promotion isn't violent in any way. It makes the occasional ladder match come off as incredibly violent in comparison, and it also puts even more focus on the action going on in the ring. In NXT the level of violence and danger is demonstrated by how stiff or light the guys work in the ring. The most violent NXT stuff I can think of - things like Regal/Ohno - were done without gimmicks, just really gritty, nasty wrestling work. Something like Bayley/Sasha didn't escalate the violence by picking up weapons, they did it by having Sasha stomp Bayley's fingers off. It's not just that less is more, but that wrestling is more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Dragon Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 For your fantasy booking bullshit of the evening, I'd really dig a Girard/Ciampa heel team with Elias Sampson as there manager just playing the Guitar as they destroy jobbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodear Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 They could totally be Samoa Joe's Team Taz walking him out as part of his entrance in warm up suits emphasizing his legitimate air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chief Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 Just need to add that American Alpha's Marty Jannetty meets the Steiner Brothers ring attire is bad ass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 For your fantasy booking bullshit of the evening, I'd really dig a Girard/Ciampa heel team with Elias Sampson as there manager just playing the Guitar as they destroy jobbers. That reminds me, the Jim Cornette/Jimmy Hart "heel manager with a prop he hits the faces with" rasslin' trope is one of the few that hasn't shown up in NXT yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Evans Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 Finn Bayley might be the greatest thing ever. At the NXT house show tonight, they did a dirty dancing tribute dance. It was glorious. I don't know where it's leading to but I approve Tonight's show was interesting because it felt like the changing of the guard. It seem obvious that Enzo/Cass/Carmella and Sami are headed to the main roster probably after Mania.I thought Bayley might be too but I think they will hold off on that till they get a new top babyface woman that isn't Asuka. The two women that could fill that role are Liv Morgan and Adrienne Reese. Adrienne had a cast on her hand so she might be injured. Liv has a lot of potential. She even does the Matrix move.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pol Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 I really appreciate that American Alpha are bringing back the extended shine and the abbreviated stretch run to tag matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbo Slice Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 Yeah, they're a great RnR/Steiners hybrid. One thing I wish they'd do is break up the tapings a bit. I know why they don't, but it leads to the crowds not really caring about the shows that are at the end of the tapings unless it's Bayley or Finn. Hell, even Enzo and Cass aren't immune to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woof Posted February 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 One thing I wish they'd do is break up the tapings a bit. I know why they don't, but it leads to the crowds not really caring about the shows that are at the end of the tapings unless it's Bayley or Finn. Hell, even Enzo and Cass aren't immune to it. Yeah, that crowd the other night was embarassingly silent. I felt bad for the workers because almost nothing they did was getting a response and they were working their butts off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woof Posted February 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 For your fantasy booking bullshit of the evening, I'd really dig a Girard/Ciampa heel team with Elias Sampson as there manager just playing the Guitar as they destroy jobbers. Girard/Ciampa as two grumpy fuckers is money. Them getting into a prolonged program with pretty boys Gable & Jordan would make my heart sing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.S. Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 Girard/Ciampa as two grumpy fuckers is money. Them getting into a prolonged program with pretty boys Gable & Jordan would make my heart sing. Gable is pretty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 Girard/Ciampa as two grumpy fuckers is money. Them getting into a prolonged program with pretty boys Gable & Jordan would make my heart sing. Gable is pretty? Long hair in wrestling = pretty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woof Posted February 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 Girard/Ciampa as two grumpy fuckers is money. Them getting into a prolonged program with pretty boys Gable & Jordan would make my heart sing. Gable is pretty? If Ricky Morton, Robert Gibson, Tommy Rogers, and Bobby Fulton were all once considered "pretty boys", then Chad Gable can be. Those dudes weren't winning any modeling contracts outside of a wrestling ring. It's a different world. And it's more about flash and style (which American Alpha have gobs of) than actual movie star looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 Finn Bayley might be the greatest thing ever. At the NXT house show tonight, they did a dirty dancing tribute dance. It was glorious. I don't know where it's leading to but I approve Tonight's show was interesting because it felt like the changing of the guard. It seem obvious that Enzo/Cass/Carmella and Sami are headed to the main roster probably after Mania.I thought Bayley might be too but I think they will hold off on that till they get a new top babyface woman that isn't Asuka. The two women that could fill that role are Liv Morgan and Adrienne Reese. Adrienne had a cast on her hand so she might be injured. Liv has a lot of potential. She even does the Matrix move.. It seems they are setting up Asuka to be the one who wins the belt, since she's been mowing everyone down and they did the angle where she was petting the belt after saving Baymella. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted February 27, 2016 Report Share Posted February 27, 2016 Girard/Ciampa as two grumpy fuckers is money. Them getting into a prolonged program with pretty boys Gable & Jordan would make my heart sing. Gable is pretty? I'd do him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Redman Posted February 27, 2016 Report Share Posted February 27, 2016 As would I. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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