Miz will get Daniels over simply because he's effective at making people hate HIM and cheer whomever he's going against.
And, for all the love the guy(Daniels) gets, when he's dwarfed by a guy wearing 3 inch lifts in his boots, you know he's tiny. His match was okay, but nothing he did in the ring, or promo wise made me want to tune in just to see him.
Punk, who I disliked early in his run, is now grown on me and I think they're going to go with the Punk pushing his straight edge on his rookie until the rookie turns on him. He'll tell him the get up and the 'partying' is why he's losing. Either way, that's the most interesting pairing of the show for me.
Striker was great in his role, tempering the rookie hate with enough professionalism to make him sound somewhat impartial.
I'll give the show a few more weeks, but if they don't really REALLY do something to make me care about the rookies, I'll be deleting NXT from my weekly schedule.
Originally posted by Amos CochranPushing a WWE NXT Graduation PPV, with the eight competitors facing their mentors and the winners getting contracts, would be an interesting notion.
Or...I dunno...a contract-in-the-bank match at some to be announced payperview in July.
I have no clue how long the 'seasons' are supposed to last and if this would work out.
Originally posted by Karlos the JackalI didn't have high hopes for Otunga, but oh man, his video promo was AWESOME. His delivery, his attitude, his back story -- all great. His spinebuster was really horrible, but after that package I don't even care.--K
(edited by Karlos the Jackal on 24.2.10 0240)
I honestly took that spinebuster as Young fucked up and wasn't where he was supposed to be to get splashed down. It looked pretty awkward.
Cole's rant during the ME was just.......weird. Maybe they're going for he's goingt o be the heel announcer on NXT and replace him on Raw, which would make this a perfect world.
I don't know if Daniels (Brian?) was supposed to bounce that hard off the announce table as he looked a tad shocked/pissed after getting up. Still, a great, fun bout to watch.
Lose the flower, Drew. You're gonna get it caught on the ropes and look like a loser. Nobody wants to see a big burly guy hung up by a flower on the ropes.
Punk's "I don't even know why I'm here." was great. I love Punk.
I noticed that Daniel still had his "American Dragon" warmup jacket. I liked his "You'll snap or tap" and was a bit disappointed that he didn't get caught in a count by the ref and yell "I have until 10". He is a bit small, but I'm hopeful that WWE will let him go and see where he ends up.
Didn't care for Slater. He's also small and his voice irritated me.
I'll reserve judgement on the rest, but agree that the Otunga-Young match was not good but have no clue who deserves the blame for the awkward finish. I do agree that Otunga came off as being arrogant and full of himself and that Punk was super.
Speaking of Punk, I don't want to come too close to fantasy booking, but I'm curious as to whether or not NXT will "allow trades" of rookies. He and Miz could trade or Punk could explain to Cole that he was once King of Indies and that wrestling in front of 50 people in a HS gym is called paying dues - but that would be a face move.
Originally posted by Downtown BookieI didn't see the program, nor do I know who Daniel Bryan is, but I'm betting that he's had better days.
Let's see: The first and last segments of WWE's brand new television program on Syfy had him as the focus. He wrestled the World Heavyweight Champion in the main event and looked good doing it. For a few seconds, when he had the World Heavyweight Champion in his leglock finisher, it looked like he was going to make him tap. Meanwhile, the announcing team ignited a fury of Internet "controversy" based on Bryan as the poster boy for being an Internet darling. At the end of the night, his name more than any other NXT Rookie is the one talked about and mentioned the most. Sounds like he had a great day to me.
This is fun: Last night I sent Wade Barrett the following Tweet:
@WadeBarrett is a better Drew McIntyre than Drew McIntyre.
Barrett hit me back:
@WadeBarrett @BackoftheHead I can't wait to show him that tweet.
I didn't really think much of Otunga, because the gimmick was old when MVP and MNM did it. Although I have to admit that being able to legit namedrop Jennifer Hudson and the President *is* impressive.
Darren Young looks *so* much like a black John Cena. He seemed to have nice energy, although of course he didn't get to show much. I'm not sure whose fault the muffed spinebuster was -- looked to me like Young came in too fast before Otunga was set to catch and lift him.
I liked Tarver. Those punches he were throwing looked hellaciously stiff.
I thought Slater was going to be a heel at first, with that goofy dance, and was mildly surprised when he wasn't. Other than that, not much of an impression.
I miss Al Snow. (I just thought I'd say that.)
(edited by Shem the Penman on 24.2.10 1337) "The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?"
Sensi Al is going to be missed in this mess. I didn't bother watching it and after reading multiple reviews, I think I'll pass. Tuesday has become Mass Effect 2 night.
The show's debut wasn't bad at all. The only real bad highlight of the show was the squash match when David Otunga beat Darren Young in less than a minute. It seems that Otunga and Young should switch mentors because Young seems like the party type which would have complimented Truth while Otunga who shows little emotion would have been a better fit for the CM Punk. Then again, the WWE is about adapting so if Young can adapt to the "straight edge lifestyle", then he can learn to adapt to more changes in the WWE.
Daniel Bryan was impressive and I can see why a lot of buzz follows him. His in-ring work is going to be hard to beat but if he learns some personality, then he will definitely stand out if he makes it in the WWE.
In terms of size and strength, Vince may be looking at Otunga and Michael Tarver; Wade Barrett is a pompous Englishman which could work but his ring skills are yet to be seen (that dude is tall as he stood next to Jericho).
Back to Bryan Daniel, he took a good bump into the announce table as a visible welt on his side soon followed (welcome to the WWE). I wouldn't be surprised to see the rookies take their share of some bumps and bruises to "welcome" them into the pros.
It was pretty interesting to see how the heel pros acted like it was a waste of their time to teach their rookies; every rookie acted like a face except Wade Barrett which was good in my opinion because he seems like a natural heel character and it adds a little intrigue when a rookie doesn't pander to the audience. I hope next week's episode is a equally impressive.
Originally posted by lotjxSensi Al is going to be missed in this mess. I didn't bother watching it and after reading multiple reviews, I think I'll pass. Tuesday has become Mass Effect 2 night.
Is that dive/table spot what was supposed to happen there? I only wonder because Jericho seemed to sell it more than Bryan, who basically shook it off and had to throw Jericho back into the ring.
The way Jericho grabbed him and the way Cole shot away from the table during the replay leads me to believe that he was supposed to hit the top of the table, or at least slide over it.
Originally posted by StaggerLeePunk, who I disliked early in his run, is now grown on me and I think they're going to go with the Punk pushing his straight edge on his rookie until the rookie turns on him. He'll tell him the get up and the 'partying' is why he's losing. Either way, that's the most interesting pairing of the show for me.
I think we'll see Otunga turn on Truth, while Young will get converted to the SES. Which I still think needs another midcarder who could tag with Gallows, since Punk will probably moving back into singles feuds with Rey and (hopefully)Edge. Rated R Superstar vs. Straight-Edge is the next best thing to me to Hardy/Punk. And the matches would be great.
For all the internet uproar over Daniel Bryanson being teamed with Miz, it's obvious they knew what they were doing. And Bryan is getting one of the biggest pushes a new guy can get just coming in. Better than guys like Gavin Spears or the like got on ECW.
Originally posted by StaggerLeeAnd, for all the love the guy(Daniels) gets, when he's dwarfed by a guy wearing 3 inch lifts in his boots, you know he's tiny.
Yeah, he's so tiny, he was three inches shorter than the guy wearing three inch lifts in his boots!
Originally posted by The GameIt seems that Otunga and Young should switch mentors because Young seems like the party type which would have complimented Truth while Otunga who shows little emotion would have been a better fit for the CM Punk.
I still dont know what to make of this show. Where do I draw the line between work & real? For example, Danielson Bryanson seems to be himself (gimmick free), while the Jersey Shore guy clearly is not. The boxer Mr. 1.9 Secs looks like he's "himself with the volume turned way up", but what about the quiet gangbanger dude with R-Truth? And if they've already been saddled with gimmicks, then they're not exactly "rookies", unless you consider "rookies" to mean "professional wrestlers who have wrestled other places but not on WWE TV yet". Maybe I'm just confused because I thought the show was gonna be more like Tough Enough, where you had a bunch of "real life" guys with almost zero experience trying to win contracts.
Even the guys on the show seemed confused about where the work/real line is. Every time Stryker tried to interview them about their chances or what they've learned so far, they all tried to cut an in-character promo on him, then he would repeatedly admonish them like "No seriously, I'm trying to ask you about what you need to learn moving forward. Give me a real answer".
They are all "WWE Rookies", not pro-wrestling rookies
I think a lot of this is the Pros throwing their rookies "shoot" assignments. I bet Bryan didn't know he was going to have to open the show with an introductory promo until Miz sent him out there. Barrett probably didn't know Jericho was going to ask him to introduce him, then interrupt him in the middle like he did. Basically, throwing the guys to the wolves, to to speak, to see how they handle it live in front of 15,000 people. Sink or swim and see who can make it.
Originally posted by MonteCarlThey are all "WWE Rookies", not pro-wrestling rookies
Actually, they kept calling them "NXT rookies," which was funny, because I'm PRETTY sure it was the first NXT appearance for EVERYBODY. ;-)
Originally posted by MonteCarlI think a lot of this is the Pros throwing their rookies "shoot" assignments. I bet Bryan didn't know he was going to have to open the show with an introductory promo until Miz sent him out there. Barrett probably didn't know Jericho was going to ask him to introduce him, then interrupt him in the middle like he did. Basically, throwing the guys to the wolves, to to speak, to see how they handle it live in front of 15,000 people. Sink or swim and see who can make it.