The big news, arguably the biggest news of the year:
ZACK RYDER IS A SEASON 2 PRO AND TEAM LAYCOOL WILL COACH LOW KI
I am beside myself with excitement. "He's little!"
As for the finale, it was a good payoff to a horrible concept. Barrett pretty much turned babyface with his burial of Otunga. I have no idea why they wouldn't just let Gabriel be in the final two so it would be face-heel, and I have even less idea why winning and losing matches never had any affect on the rankings.
Another highlight was a weird bit where all the pros just started randomly talking about whatever, seemingly to kill time and stretch the end of the show to the end of the hour, in which William Regal went pure mental, calling Matt Hardy "Eugene" and telling Jericho he's "always been a fan of [him] and [his] two moves." R-Truth then rebutted Regal by DOING A FUNKY DANCE. An incredible, inexplicable series of events.
In the end, season 1 of NXT wasn't thought out at all, never made sense, and was never good, except for the feud between the guy they cut first and the announcer which took place after he was eliminated.
Season 2 though. Season 2 has Zack Ryder and Team LayCoolval. Season 2 is going to be amazing. Bring on the keg races.
John Morrison - Eli Cottonwood MVP - Percy Watson Cody Rhodes - Husky Harris (Windham Rotunda) Zack Ryder - Titus O'Neill Mark Henry - Lucky Cannon Kofi Kingston - Michael McGuillicutty (Joe Hennig) (apparently his mom is Beulah) Michelle & Layla - Kaval (Low Ki) Miz - Alex Riley
Alex Riley and especially Percy Watson were hilarious in their bits.
Barrett's promo on Otunga was the highlight of the season. I had a feeling Otunga was gonna win because Barrett had been #1 for weeks and weeks. Plus I figured when Regal and Jericho pretty much talking like Barrett already won before the pros vote. Laycool is entertaining really the first time Michelle Mccool has been entertaining by the whole Laycool thing is a pretty big ripoff of The Beautiful People. Regal was awesome on the mic and him calling Matt Hardy Eugene is almost as great as him calling Sting sunshine back in the day. Christian got a great line on Regal not winning a fight in a year. The names of the new rookies are awful espicially Joe Hennig's
That pros segment at the end was a ridiculous mess. In a good way. Regal was going crazy with the random names for people... Christian was Benjamin Button, Miz was Kermit, Matt Hardy was Eugene.
"Regal, you haven't won a fight in a year."
Punk walking out.
Just a ridiculous mess. I loved it. As for next season...
Giving your two third generation superstars the goofiest names possible while still acknowledging their family history has to be a rib.
I'm kind of really psyched on seeing Low Ki slow boil while putting up with LayCool. I guess next season is a comedy? I mean, that one guy's gimmick seems to be Eddie Murphy as Buddy Love in the Nutty Professor...
Just look like an oil and water combination. They don't look like they have anything in common and it doesn't even look like a potential Pro/Rookie fight has any potential. Just an odd combo.
MVP - Percy Watson
Holy crap! If Digital Underground was a wrestler, he'd be Percy Watson!
Cody Rhodes - Husky Harris (Windham Rotunda)
Very interesting to pair the former Legacy guy with a guy who COULD have done the Legacy angle had he come along a few years earlier. Although, this just shows me that WWE really has nothing else for Cody to do.
Zack Ryder - Titus O'Neill
Oh man, this is going to go terribly. Ryder's already a joke as it is and he's going to take this poor schlub down with him.
Mark Henry - Lucky Cannon
Like with Cody, it doesn't look like they have anything else for Mark Henry to do. In this case, I don't mind so much. Lucky Cannon looks like he has a shelf life of about 3 weeks.
Kofi Kingston - Michael McGuillicutty (Joe Hennig) (apparently his mom is Beulah)
This is about the WORST possible ring name they could have possibly chosen for this poor guy. Why not just call him "Joe Hennig"? It certainly rolls off the tongue a lot easier than Michael McGillililililcutty.
Michelle & Layla - Kaval (Low Ki)
Oh man, poor Low Ki deserves SO much better than this.
Miz - Alex Riley
Alex Riley looks like he'll be the breakout star out of the group. So far, he looks like a cross between Christopher Nowinski and the guys from the Mean Street Posse. He's got charisma up the wazoo and his chemistry with Miz will be off the charts. Can't wait to see how this goes.
They had no clue what they were doing with Season 1, but now that they've had time to determine what they want out of this show, Season 2 sounds like it'll go a lot more smoothly.
And as for the season finale, well...that was an entertaining trainwreck. Someone needs to give Regal a live mic more often.
Lucky Cannon sounds like a gay porn name. Not even like a real gay porn name, like a a name a group of high school juniors getting drunk for the first time would come up. It's over the top, but not over the top in a hilarious way like Percy Watson appears to be (except Cole seemed to think Percy was on the level and cool? but maybe that's just Cole?)
Most of these names are super horrible. And they're changing the rules again and probably will five more times. And the Cole/Daniel stuff just didn't go anywhere here. Kavel with LaCool is a bit of mad genius but maybe someone else can tell me how it goes.
Originally posted by CxMorgadoThat pros segment at the end was a ridiculous mess. In a good way. Regal was going crazy with the random names for people... Christian was Benjamin Button, Miz was Kermit, Matt Hardy was Eugene.
"Regal, you haven't won a fight in a year."
Punk walking out.
Just a ridiculous mess. I loved it. As for next season...
Giving your two third generation superstars the goofiest names possible while still acknowledging their family history has to be a rib.
I'm kind of really psyched on seeing Low Ki slow boil while putting up with LayCool. I guess next season is a comedy? I mean, that one guy's gimmick seems to be Eddie Murphy as Buddy Love in the Nutty Professor...
(edited by CxMorgado on 2.6.10 0019)
I thought Regal was on drugs again, the way the heels and faces were trying to get him to sit back down, Punk just walking away. And calling Matt Hardy Eugene, by god what an awesome segment. We need more crazy Regal.
Unless I missed something (I was paying more attention to the Mets game), it seems that they had one pros' vote and announced the results of that, then had another vote twenty minutes later, and the ONLY thing that had changed was that the two finalists had cut 60-second promos. Is that right? I mean, the notion that a 60-second promo was going to change the final outcome is just a little too bizarre for me. (Although I must admit that if a 60-second promo was ever going to change my mind about someone, the one Barrett cut was it. That was gold.) They should have presented it as one vote for who gets eliminated first, without establishing which one of the survivors was #1.
NXT had that Jericho/Danielson match, that was pretty cool. And that pros vs. pros eight man tag where Barrett subbed for Jericho and Jericho did commentary, and Josh was like, "I consider you a friend, Jericho" and Jericho was like, "I consider you a gelatenous parasite." Good times.
SPOILER ALERT! Future NXT Rookie/Pro pairings:
Season Three: Davey Richards/Hornswoggle Season Four: Tyler Black/Justin Roberts Season Five: Chris Hero/WWE.com writer Aubrey Sitterson Season Six: Kenny Omega/a company HR rep Season Seven: Austin Aries/Aurora Rose Levesque-McMahon Season Eight: Roderick Strong/one of Jimmy Uso's scarves
I think NXT's legacy will be determined on what they do with Daniel, Wade, Ortunga and whoever is left with season 2. I can't imagine Low-Ki not getting a contract in some way with the company plus I consider him more free agent then NXT rookie. The Tough Enough in the end did some good, but all that is left from that show in the WWE is Miz/Morrison, everyone else got injured, went to TNA, got bored with wrestling or is working the indys for $50 a match. They legitimized Tough Enough by having Maven eliminate Taker from RR 2002 which is still a great moment. I don't know if Bryan's win over Miz and embarrassing Cole is enough. Its Miz, a high upper card guy depending on how bad the tag and single's division on that particular show. I think Wade will do just fine and maybe get a title reign shortly, but I don't think Bryan's losing streak and elimination did him any favors. Also Laycool is not some rip-off of Beautiful People, it is a rip-off of Beautiful People with uglier chicks. Velvet Sky's ass trumps all.
Can season 2 of NXT just be 60 min of Regal talking? I'd watch that!
Oddly, after the show "Kaval" and "Otunga" were trending topics on Twitter...make of that what you will.
Barrett obviously deserved to win...maybe he ends up in the U.S. Title Fatal Fourway against Jericho? Or maybe after that amazing cluster-F at the end, Regal does?
Acknowledging those guys are the sons of Rotunda and Hennig, and then giving them ridiculous fake names is just...self-defeating.
"Unless you did something unspeakable with a cactus, 'Shaqtus' is not a real word." - Santino Marella
Originally posted by lotjxI think NXT's legacy will be determined on what they do with Daniel, Wade, Ortunga and whoever is left with season 2. I can't imagine Low-Ki not getting a contract in some way with the company plus I consider him more free agent then NXT rookie. The Tough Enough in the end did some good, but all that is left from that show in the WWE is Miz/Morrison, everyone else got injured, went to TNA, got bored with wrestling or is working the indys for $50 a match. They legitimized Tough Enough by having Maven eliminate Taker from RR 2002 which is still a great moment. I don't know if Bryan's win over Miz and embarrassing Cole is enough. Its Miz, a high upper card guy depending on how bad the tag and single's division on that particular show. I think Wade will do just fine and maybe get a title reign shortly, but I don't think Bryan's losing streak and elimination did him any favors. Also Laycool is not some rip-off of Beautiful People, it is a rip-off of Beautiful People with uglier chicks. Velvet Sky's ass trumps all.
Well Kaval/Senshi/Low-Ki is the same situation as Danielson. The veteran who already has the developmental deal (so he is already really signed by wwe) who will probably end up on the roster somewhere. Just using him on NXT will give him some exposure before putting him somewhere.
Bryan's losing streak and elimination did him favors in such a way that the last 3-4 weeks he has been the focus of the show, even though he was eliminated. Sure, he's feuding with Michael Cole, but the past few weeks he'd gotten more mentions on Raw and Smackdown than Barrett, Otunga and Gabriel combined.
And while Velvet's ass does trump all, LayCool has surpassed TBP in the way that where TBP are just bitchy hot chicks, LayCool are obnoxious super annoying over the top arrargh can someone smack em PLEASE!-chicks.
Six weeks ago I would have agreed, but right now they're really golden.
And I'm sure that even getting 2-3 guys out of Tough Enough over all those years was worth it. The show got WWE as a whole more exposure and Morrison & Miz have good upsides.
Yay, Low-Ki/Kaval is finally gonna be on tv. He's teamed with Laycool though. I'm kinda intrigued to see where this goes. I know it's futile to hope, but maybe he will get to use the Warrior's Way in the Wwe (realistically he'll probably use a roundhouse kick as a finisher though).
Very interesting to pair the former Legacy guy with a guy who COULD have done the Legacy angle had he come along a few years earlier. Although, this just shows me that WWE really has nothing else for Cody to do.
I was beginning to hope Rhodes was the masked SES guy. This suggests he isn't.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
It looks like the E is slowly getting behind Zakk with his multiple appearances on Raw and even his small interaction with Orton. He's got the size, the in-ring, and arguably the look to be a solid midcarder, just in time for Season Two of NXT AND The Jersey Shore. All he needs is a couple of wins and I could see him as a viable US contender against R-Truth.
WWWYKI
I can see Barrett with a World Title within a year, he has so much upside it's almost a foregone conclusion.
The pro interaction at the end was fantastic. The moment Miz started talking you can see Christian roll his eyes and Punk throw up his hands in disgust.
Then the insanity with Regal...gold.
Season 2: We know Kaval can go, does anyone on here know anything about the other 7 guys ringwork?
As far as NXT2 is concerned: What a bunch of uninteresting pros is that? Give me a break! Ok, LayCool rule as pros for Kaval and the more TV time for them the better it is for me. The Miz is of course a "good" pro as well. But what about the rest? I hate those choices. At least the new rookies look kind of interesting to me.
My favorite part of NXT was the promo Wade Barrett cut on Dave Otunga and especially when he compared his movements and poise to the Great Khali's which is obviously true.
Wade Barrett definitely deserved to be the winner as he was better on the mic and in the ring overall compared to everyone else.
If anyone thought bad about NXT season 1, then prepare for a nightmare with season 2. LayCool as pros....really?! And Zack Ryder as a pro as well?
My thoughts on next week's rookies and pros;
1)Eli Cottonwood: Of course you have to have a big guy which is no secret that Vinny Mac loves. But when I saw him, I immediately thought of Khali and Giant Gonzalez (hopefully this guy has a few more moves then both of them). I am assuming Morrison is in for personality purposes.
2)Percy Watson: The second coming of Heath Slater but a lot more annoying.
3)Husky Harris: Pairing up Cody Rhodes seems perhaps the best pairing besides Miz and Alex Riley. Cody Rhodes is an underrated wrestler, but to be an actual pro doesn't quite do it for me. As for Husky Harris, he does look bland but we'll see what happens with him and Rhodes.
4)Titus O'Neill: As It's False pointed out, him pairing up with Zack Ryder is going to bring him down and may not get a chance to work up on the show.
5)Lucky Cannon: Mark Henry also as pro? How about a pro who can actually wrestle? Again I am with agreement with It's False that he would have a very short shelf life but that seems that way with most of the rookies thus far already.
6)Michael McGuillicutty: Okay, why not stick with his real name of Joe Hennig? You would think that as much as WWE tries to market wrestlers and their famous pasts, that Vince would keep Hennig as part of his name. A rookie who looks like he could work his way up without some overdone ring persona and if he is a little bit like his father, he should be able to wrestle. And his pro, Kofi Kingston, I would consider an actual 'pro' in season 2.
7)Kaval: Another guy who is going to be brought down by his pros with LayCool. Please don't tell me this going to turn into Kaval being 'Meat' with LayCool re-enacting PMS.
8)Alex Riley: Perhaps the most separated from the group because not also does he have some of the necessary charisma but with Miz as his pro, this duo should gel pretty nicely. His character is pretty similar to Christopher Nowinski's and he didn't last very long despite having character as well.
Unlike this season which had some pros heavily involved with their storylines in NXT and on their other shows, season 2 who has more pros who can't wrestle and are just putting them on NXT to make their faces still known. My expectations for season 2 are already very low.
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