Tonight continues the (mis)adventures of Darren Young, Titus O'Neil, and Derrick Bateman as they compete for possible redemption.Who will move closer to a spot on Season 6, whenever that may be? Read on for my thoughts on the show as it happens.
I'm actually pretty tired of that theme song. It's a shame they haven't re-done the "first part" of the intro with the other ex-contestants.
A "Bret Screwed Bret" sign in Canada. That's refreshing.
Oh look, it's this again.
Darren Young sounds like someone, I just can't picture who.
I think Young might be improving on the mic. There's just something that doesn't click for me.
Mostly a good segment.
Oh snap. Regal! A feud with him as part of the "past" of WWE would be kind of cool.
I know someone in WWE knows what those kanji say. Tell the announcers, please!
Maybe Regal's on his way to becoming part of the regular roster, or maybe not.
Yeah, Trent Barreta's randomly on NXT. Ok.
Pretty cool stomp move by Trent.
I feel like we're listening to golf commentators on this show sometimes.
WWE All-Stars commercial. Compare this Hogan to the one who's a focal point of TNA.
I like Kidd and Barreta wrestling and all, but I think this show needs more of a focus on the rookies and their interactions with the Pros/each other/whomever.
Cool sequence with the Sharpshooter tease.
I like the Rolling Half Boston Crab.
I wonder what Tatsu will look like when he (presumably) returns in a more serious role because of this angle. He could have new music and maybe a new look completely. I'm aware that he was just on Smackdown, but he could still get a new look before his next physical appearance on this show.
Some of those "OMG!" moments were unreal at the time.
If this show goes much longer, the rookies will have enough experience to be Pros themselves.
Bateman's growing in this role.
Haha, AJ's barely taller than Hornswoggle.
Not a bad music choice for Maxine. I was hoping for something more menacing, but whatever.
Wait, is Grisham leaving? Interesting. I'll see what else I can find on that.
Maxine's been in the ring, just not in WWE.
AJ's showing some fire here. We rarely see her "mean" side.
I think Maxine has some potential. She's still somewhat rough, though. The screechy yelling's not good either.
If AJ can do in WWE what she's done in FCW she'll be pretty successful.
Bateman adds some heel points.
And Titus gets credibility for that run-in.
So, if Maxine never got a contract through NXT, how is she able to appear on this season? I'm guessing whoever "runs" NXT lets her on the show.
And we're done. This show could be half this length and still get everything they actually do to actually move stories along done.
I feel like I'm obligated to do rankings, though we hardly got anything new from the three rookies. I'm going to be re-doing the rankings soon (possibly next week) to make things more clear. I'm just trying to figure out exactly how I want to handle it.
Anyway, here's the tier lists. As I've said, hardly anything's changed, so everyone's still at the same tier. Kind of makes rankings boring I think. I don't know precisely how I'll handle ranking going forward (other than I doubt it will be as easy as a 1-2-3 ranking), so I'm open to suggestions. As for now:
Top Tier:
Titus O'Neil (Last rank-1): All Titus did this week was a run-in. So there's not much to say on that. I like Titus as a big power guy, but he's becoming somewhat bland these past few weeks with less-than-impressive matches. He needed a strong promo or match this week, and he didn't get that. He's pretty much "coasting" in the "want to see more of" list since I've liked things I've seen from him in the past. The season's dragging on and not much is changing. Titus having a great performance soon would break him out of his funk, but he has to actually have an opportunity to do that. We'll see what comes from him in the future.
Darren Young (Last rank-2): Young got to be the bully again this week, and the role's working for him. I think a match with Regal could really be something good for him, possibly even "star-making" by NXT standards. I think he's getting better on the mic, but there's still a little something that's not working there. I can't put my finger on it, though. His promos just don't "flow" like, say, Miz, Punk or Del Rio. Granted, those are high marks to reach for. The point's that those guys command more attention with their speech patterns than Young does. There's nothing really "wrong" with him; I just think he could do it better. Also, I's like to see more of him in the ring, where he's been the most impressive.
Derrick Bateman (Last rank-N/A): Bateman's becoming more natural as a heel. I haven't completely "forgotten" about his face role, but he's doing a good deal to continue his separation from it. I think he'll continue to come into his own there, which will be interesting to see since we haven't seen him as a strong heel yet. His ringwork's been kind of iffy lately, so hopefully that's also better next time we actually see him compete.
I apologize that there's not much to add this week. The show in general feels like it's in a holding pattern.
Anyway, that's it for this week. I'll be back for Superstars and Impact Wrestling on Thursday, and a news post will be up later tonight. Thanks for reading!
Fair insights this week. I had a few comments/suggestions:
ReplyDeleteI think the flaws you mentioned Young had before (promos, nicknames to make his persona stand out and being a "bully") have objectively been worked out. He's coming into his own in terms of his persona, and I think he's doing enough to stand out, personally. Whether it be the "No Days Off" name he invoked, his in-ring work, confidence and his intensity. I liked that promo, and I think he's becoming more "ruthless" in his role like you said you wanted to see from him. You mentioned he doesn't have the cache in his promos, which is partially true to some extent, but keep in mind his promos are still effective, though.
You mentioned that he should be more like Kidd in his heel role, but I don't really see how Kidd is any better in his role than Young, because he never cuts promos or talks, and it's proven that you need to have a personality to make it in the company and Young actually makes that effort than Kidd lacks (IE- Miz, Otunga, Cena, because let's face it...they didn't become champions based on in-ring talent lol). I really don't think many people even know much about Kidd because of it.
Bateman has improved and is indeed getting used to his role a bit, but I think he has A LONG way to goin a short amount of time (presumably). I don't think his in-ring talent will reach Young's level, however. I do see him POSSIBLY being a future star in the WWE, but he has some elements to work out.
As far as Titus goes, the effort just isn't there. You never see him cut promos, show any intensity, or really stand out like Young has. I know you said he isn't a "promo cutter", but if he ever wants to make it in this company, he HAS to be, and I just don't think he has that in him. I think Titus is getting better in the ring, but let's face it....he never had a chance to reach Young's in-ring ability.
That being said, I honestly don't really see, especially over the last month, how Titus is ahead of Young (maybe you see something I don't). I just think if you combine all the elements that make a star in this company, Young has them, Bateman has some, and O'Neil has some....but having "some", doesn't really mean they'll make it in this company.
Good point about Maxine not having a contract, by the way. I was also confused why she was on there and actually beat AJ, who has gotten some victories on mainstream shows like SmackDown. But then again....can we really expect the expected with NXT? lol
ReplyDeleteYoung's getting better with nicknames and the like, but not having days off isn't too much of a gimmick to me. That really isn't a reason to boo him for me. I like that it shows his dedication, but I like him best as a mean guy who doesn't care who he pushes around. I like him being a bully in other words. If I phrased that incorrectly before, I apologize. I think bad guys shouldn't have many (if any) "good" qualities so bullying's right up the alley.
ReplyDeleteI liked the promo, too, but the delivery didn't really stand out as much as I want him to. I do try to keep in mind if something's working, but in general I'm looking at who I like in their role best.
I was mainly referring to Kidd's work in the ring. The smirks, yelling during submission moves, that kind of thing. His promos are usually short and to the point, though. Sometimes it's the little things he does that I like (which Kidd can get away with more because I'm more familiar with seeing him. He's not trying to make a "first impression" to make it on the roster like Young).
The difference between Kidd and Young is a little hard to explain: Kidd's a veteran on the show and the cocky heel who can just project a swagger while Young's looking to get his foot in the door, so his persona would be different.
WWE looks at in-ring talent in different ways, basically as far as "does the crowd react to certain things they do" as opposed to how many moves you can do and how well you do them. They're an "action soap opera" moreso than a sport. So in their eyes, Miz and Cena are very talented from an in-ring perspective.
Bateman's been disappointing in the ring this season. I liked some things I saw from him in Season 4, but it's almost like he's taken steps backwards this go-round. But he is a heel now so his moves are different.
I look at Titus kind of like a (smaller-scale) Mark Henry or Ezekiel Jackson. Not because of their race, but because they're mainly defined by being powerful guys who work a more "methodical" pace. I'm not as sold on him as a future star, at least not at a high level. The older you are, seemingly the harder it is to look like you have potential to stick around.
And that's why I'm changing the rankings. The "last ranking" is what they were ranked way back when O'Brien was cut, and I put them in that order by default when commenting on them. Back when eliminations were somewhat regular, the actual numbers were updated every so often like the Pros' Poll in Season 1. But I didn't want to change the numbers without a clear milestone (like an elimination). So I'm kind of at a loss for what to do with rankings since eliminations are so rare. I have an idea, but it could end up repetitive too after a while.
I'm pretty much making things up as far as why Maxine's there. They've said WWE management's in charge in past seasons, since they cut Bryan and Tarver in Season 1, and DQ'd Naomi and Jamie for going off topic in a challenge in Season 3. But now, Striker's kind of being hinted as the person in charge of challenges and such. Though I think Maryse made a match or two as well.
ReplyDeleteThe idea is (presumably) that if AJ beats Maxine in her first match, Maxine's not much of a threat. But if Maxine beats the more established AJ, things are more even. The goal's always to get people to see the next segment or match between them.
Great point about Titus. He is getting older, and I don't see his in-ring talent and personality getting any more vivid as he gets older. That is something to also think about in terms of him becoming the next star.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a good idea to basically make your rankings in terms of if someone were eliminated each week by placing each of the three as if this was an actual elimination. Your rankings are easy to follow now, but I think it is less advocacious, because there hasn't been an elimination in two months. That basically means that until the next elimination (which would be in five weeks at the rate they're going) the rankings will be the same. So I think that is a good idea for the viewers.
The main thing keeping me from just ranking them 1-3 is that WWE doesn't really rank them anymore. They just give who's going home.
ReplyDeleteMy current idea is to talk about each rookie, then say who I'd choose to go home if it was an elimination week. For the actual ranking, I'm stuck between a 1-5 scale of each of them or incorporating theoretical redemption points. A good match or segment would add points based on how good it was. I want it to tie it in to their ranking scheme basically.
I would say a 1-5 scale would be most clear and advantageous. It would be a good idea to say who you'd want to go home each week. I am all for it, because the old way wasn't an updated way to show what you thought about the current rankings and it gives more of a clear picture on your views.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback. I might give it until episode 27 (next week is 26) so the people who don't keep up with comments won't just suddenly see a new ranking system. The 1-5 system's a little bit like tiers, but more detailed and specific. The numbers aren't just arbitrary in other words.
ReplyDelete