And then there were three... again. Derrick Bateman has come back to NXT to compete with Darren Young and Titus O'Neil for a shot at redemption. Will Daniel Bryan be able to coach him onto the next season of the show, or will the more established contestants stay on top of the competition?
They're selling the addition of Derrick Bateman as a big deal. The show did get a boost in the arm, thank goodness.
The editing of that intro video could not have been much more obvious. I mean, wow.
Does anyone have a chance to catch Titus in redemption points? At least they get to cut promos, though.
Titus' bit with the redemption point coupons was actually kind of funny.
Oh, how I missed Bateman's cheap pops.
How could they vote for him? He doesn't like the local team!
I thought they were just going to re-show last week's match for a second there.
I'm sure it'll be a good match and all, but the point of the show should be to show us what the rookies can do in the ring. But maybe we get some of that later?
Loving the necklace. Heel points for Tyson!
Just when I had forgotten about that movie.
Heck, that would have been a solid match even if it ended with the top rope spinning heel kick.
I wonder if the rookies took notes on that match?
I guess we get Part 3 next week?
Oh, well, I guess that's when we see all 3 in the ring.
Derrick's a funny guy, in his own goofy way. A team with Curtis would be pretty awesome. Heck, a group with Curtis, AJ, and Kaitlyn would be amazing. But what to call it?
Where's this storyline going to end up? It's going somewhere, right?
I wonder who he would have replaced on this season. Hopefully Novak.
Titus and Darren as a team? That should be interesting.
Who DID make the decision? I guess "WWE management" like the guys who eliminated Bryan and Tarver on Season 1.
Some would say it has been 17 weeks wasted.
Yeah, I'm not so sure anyone should use the flying headbutt after you-know-who.
That was an interesting finisher... I wish we got to see more of Bateman in the ring. We only get a couple of weeks to evaluate him before choosing who should be eliminated.
Another wrestling organization? I thought WWE just did entertainment?
They're not really going to end the show with a recap of Raw are they?
Well then, I guess they are.
I'm in kind of an odd place on where to rank everyone, given how comparatively little we've seen of Bateman as opposed to O'Neil and Young. Thankfully I'm just doing "tiers" this week. As a refresher, Top Tier means I want to see more of them, Middle Tier means I can go either way, and Bottom Tier means I think they should be cut soon.
Top Tier:
Titus O'Neil (Last week-1): Titus has really improved since Season 2. He just feels more fluid on the mic and in the ring. If it wasn't for the sudden re-emergence of Bateman, I think Titus would have had his one. He's nothing amazing, but he's got a good foundation. If he can add to his personality and keep improving in the ring, he might be able to edge out the late arrival.
Derrick Bateman (Last week-N/A): Bateman was right back in form personality-wise with his first segments of the season. There's SOMETHING there with this guy, for sure. We didn't get to see much of him in the ring this week, so it's a good thing he'll have more time to show us what he can do before the next elimination (whenever that will be). If he can deliver solidly in the ring (as he showed good potential with in Season 4), he might just be able to get by the more experienced (in terms of "TV time" this season) O'Neil.
Middle Tier:
Darren Young (Last week-2): Darren's in a tough spot now. His promos lately haven't been great (I think some of it could be his voice, but his delivery needs some work too), and he doesn't have the fire that O'Neil and (especially) Bateman have shown. I don't know what exactly he'd have to do to get the win this season, but he'll really have to grab the fans' attention to make it past his competition. He's not bad, but he doesn't jump off the screen either.
That's all for this week's NXT. I'll be back Thursday for Superstars and Impact Wrestling, and a news post will be up later tonight. Thanks for reading!
I can't disagree more with your rankings and opinions. Darren Young has way more tools (personality, in-ring, and aggression)than Titus and Bateman. You say Young lacks "fire", but when was the last time Titus did something controversial? Young has shown more aggression on the episode where he knocked down Conor than Titus has the whole season. He just sucks up to the fans, which is the only reason Titus is still here. You are way off.
ReplyDeleteI can't disagree more with your rankings and opinions. Darren Young has way more tools (personality, in-ring, and aggression)than Titus and Bateman. You say Young lacks "fire", but when was the last time Titus did something controversial? Young has shown more aggression on the episode where he knocked down Conor than Titus has the whole season. He just sucks up to the fans, which is the only reason Titus is still here. You are way off.
ReplyDeleteMost of why I feel Darren falls short is due to his mic skills. Some of it's just his voice in general, but for whatever reason he just doesn't seem to "click" with me as well as the other two when he talks.
ReplyDeleteI liked when Darren got bloody and when he shoved Hornswoggle, but I don't feel that same intensity other times.
Titus doesn't need to do anything controversial in his role. He's just a big athletic good guy. Somewhat basic, but it works for him to a degree. I wouldn't mind him showing more aggression/confidence and improving in the ring, however.
Thanks for sharing your opinion!
I think Darren's mic skills are superior to Titus'. Titus just sucks up to the crowd and really never has anything useful to say. Lucky Cannon's comments he made about Titus last month resonate 100 percent with me, because he has zero personality and rides Hornswoggle's coattails.
ReplyDeleteYoung has shown he has a fire, desire, and intensity that is required to be in the WWE. After all, isn't that a big reason why Andy won Tough Enough? And especially for a big guy like O'Neil, he hasn't shown that fire, which is another reason why he should fall short.
I also think that was a big reason why Curtis won NXT, because he stood up and challenged Clay. That is something Bateman lacks as well, which is why he lost NXT.
ReplyDeleteYoung has showed that passion all season so far by doing the three amigos and the frogsplash last week, by making a statement by taking down Conor, by dissing Chavo, and making statements like him winning NXT without a pro. Titus would never do that, which proves the stance.
Some good points. I think O'Neil might come across as better than he is by how much he seems to have improved since Season 2, where I would have ranked him dead last. Having seen more from Darren in Nexus and on Superstars, he doesn't get the advantage of a fresh look after many months of being "off the radar" like O'Neil was. Lucky Cannon was in a similar situation.
ReplyDeleteI'll agree that Titus could use more personality. It took a while for him to grow on me in that department. He sounds somewhat confident, but doesn't have the panache or flair that Bateman has. I don't have much of a problem with him playing off of Hornswoggle, because he's pretty popular in his own right. Will that be enough for Titus when NXT's done and they're not paired together? Maybe not, but for now it's working for him.
A big thing that seems to be missing from Young in my view is the "it factor". There's nothing wrong with his ring work, and I liked him incorporating Chavo's moves into his arsenal and wanting to win without a pro, but for some reason he doesn't come across as intense enough on the mic most times. Some of it's just his voice, as I said.
I guess some of the differences between them are character-related. Darren's character is more likely to try to make a name for himself than the more cool, calm, and collected Titus. I don't think the competition is so far gone that Darren can't impress me enough to move up the ranks.
At the end of the day, I only have one vote anyway, and I could be dead wrong with what actually clicks with the audience.
As for Andy from Tough Enough, it'll be interesting to see how well he makes it in WWE. I didn't see enough personality from him, though as time went on, he seemed to get more comfortable in his role.
Good insight. Your blog is the most interesting NXT blog out there. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteWhy thank you! I'm really interested in the NXT concept as a whole. Sometimes it's difficult to choose because people will have strengths in one area but not others, or will be fairly even in different categories, but not quite as good as their competitors in them.
ReplyDelete