This is interesting. The winner of NXT will team with their pro to challenge for the WWE Tag Team Titles. At this point I don't know for sure who would be the best tag team of those options.
Thankfully the Pros' battle royal was short. Not because it was a bad match, because it certainly wasn't. I just think that the show should focus on the Rookies and how they're improving in the ring and on the mic.
I like the new pairing of Saxton and Ziggler. Hopefully that means that Novak's the one going home tonight. Ziggler was mostly right in his criticisms of him. I'll get into it more when I rank the 6 wrestlers at the end of the blog.
Here's where my NXT blogs go differently from those for the other shows. I don't talk about the segments and matches individually, instead I talk about each wrestler's performance. And every elimination week, I rank those who remain. So this week is the first time I'm ranking the Season 4 rookies. I also break things down into tiers. Top Tier means someone who makes me want to see more of them, which means they're doing their jobs well. Middle Tier means that I'm either not entirely sure whether I like them or not or that I'm somewhat ambivalent towards them. It means I'm giving them more time before deciding one way or another, basically. Bottom Tier means that I think the person needs a lot more work, or that I just dislike them. They don't entertain me enough for me to want to see them much longer, which means that they are failing in their jobs somewhat. They can still turn it around, but this is basically the "short list" for who I'd eliminate.
1. Derrick Bateman- Bateman didn't get a chance to wrestle this week, but I don't think he needed to. He's been pretty solid each time we've seen him compete. He looks like he knows what he's doing in the ring, and he has some good moves. He was great in his segment with Bryan. He did really well in the Mic Battle, too. I'm a big fan of his "goofy" persona, as it's unique and doesn't come across as manufactured. He has the same "flow" to his promos that he has in the ring. A wrestler's promos and ringwork should come across as naturally as possible, much like an actor's. (Top Tier)
2. Johnny Curtis- Curtis I'm not as sold on just yet. I think he's got a good amount of potential, and much like Bateman has "flow". He's more subtle on the mic than Bateman, which I think might be what's keeping him from overtaking him at this point. Either way, I'd like to see more of him. He showed nice aggression in the ring this week, which helped his ranking. He also had moves that I liked to see, and was mostly good on the mic this week as well. He plays his character (which is likely an extension of his actual personality) pretty well. (Top Tier)
3. Brodus Clay- Brodus continues to have good moves and decent speed in the ring, but still seems a bit... off for some reason. Like he's going from segment of moves from segment of moves instead of a wrestling match. He's certainly not bad, and I think he's improving in the ring, but there's still some work that needs to be done here. I'm not entirely sure that I like the new more "evil sounding" Brodus as much. Maybe he's trying a bit too hard to sound that way? He's definitely unique and he has potential, but there are a few kinks to work out. (Middle Tier)
4. Byron Saxton- Saxton didn't get to show us much of what he can do this week, and I think that hurt him some. Novak was clearly in control all match, and the relationship between he and Ziggler was pushed moreso than Saxton as a wrestler. His finisher was kind of strange. He's been very smooth in his delivery on the mic and looks to have the basics down in the ring as far as making it look like an actual competition, but I think we'll need to see more of his wrestling skills for him to win this competition. (Middle Tier)
5. Conor O'Brian- Conor actually got pretty close to making it out of the Bottom Tier this week, despite (or maybe because of) not wrestling. At first I didn't like the "rat" gimmick or his attempts at comedy, but he's really grown on me. He did well in the role of intentionally corny comedian. I just haven't seen enough out of him in the ring to place him any higher than this. (Bottom Tier)
6. Jacob Novak- Novak had pretty much no chance of avoiding elimination this week, at least in my eyes. There have been times where I've disagreed with who got eliminated, but this was not one of those times. I think he improved a bit in the ring by showing more aggression, but still mostly came across like he was filling time in the ring between the moves he was doing. Again, it should look like a legitimate competition and should flow naturally. He came off more as someone trying to come up with how he was going to fill that much time and what move to do next. As far as mic skills go, he has to be one of the worst contestants in the history of NXT in that regard. Only Titus O'Neill, Eli Cottonwood, and Lucky Cannon are close. There are few wrestlers who I outright dislike and think need a complete overhaul, but I think Novak fits that bill. He had a decent character, but wasn't good enough in his delivery to stand out in this competition. Maybe he can pull a Dolph Ziggler and come back in a few years completely better, but for now he has a lot of work ahead of him. I'm glad that the pros and fans realized that. (Bottom Tier)
So there are my long thoughts on this week's NXT. Next week's will be shorter because I don't have to "introduce" my feelings for each contestant. I'll be back with show thoughts on Thursday for Superstars and Impact.
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