We are now at the 29th episode of Season 5 of NXT. That's a pretty
good run for a show that's not on the air in the States at present.
Fortunately it's relatively cheap to make. Anyway, this edition of the
show will feature even more in the journeys of Derrick Bateman, Darren
Young, and Titus O'Neil to make it to the next season of the show. Also
featured will (presumably) be fellow ex-NXT contestants AJ, Maxine, and
Percy Watson, along with a number of Pros and whoever else crashes the
party. Read on for my thoughts on the show as it happens!
Percy's a snazzy dresser! He still looks off without the glasses.
How'd they not know something was coming with the way the way they had the ring set up.
Titus and Percy both have music and TitanTrons, and they're not officially on the roster. Ditto for Maxine.
Anyone else thinking of the Abraham Washington show?
Titus showed more personality there than I've seen from him in quite a while.
That brake sound effect was pretty funny.
Good set-up for Darren by JTG, to match Percy working with Titus.
Good opening segment. Titus and Darren both felt more natural and less nervous in their delivery.
I'm actually really tired of that "get through this" song too.
AJ = D'aaaawwwwww.
Wow. Whatever Maxine's wearing is umm... wow.
I think I've seen this match before...
Speaking of NXT 3 alumni, I wonder when we'll see Aksana back in the ring.
Was that the Liontamer!?
Maxine's quite vocal in there.
Regal's amusing on commentary in his own way.
I kind of get the feeling that AJ's holding back in the ring a bit so her opponents don't get hurt.
Not a bad match. When's AJ going to pull out the Octopus and Sliced Bread #2 again?
Congrats again to Ryder for living his dream. Being put over by
Hugh Jackman and being a part of the Raw Rebound's a pretty big deal.
That video package was well put-together.
Maxine's great as a pathological schemer. She's got a future as a heel manager.
Bateman's doing well as a heel now.
No remix for Yoshi's updated gimmick? It's far too upbeat.
At least Korpela has more energy than Grisham.
Yoshi was pretty funny back on the ECW brand. He's really progressed since his bowing days.
Bateman seems more comfortable in the ring as a heel than he did weeks back.
That abdominal backbreaker was pretty tight. Don't think I'd seen that one before.
Not a bad match at all.
Trent speaks? I figured he'd be playing Pokemon.
I know I say it every week, but AJ's adorable. Especially with her sing-songy voice.
Hahaha, the entrance graphic spelled Titus' last name wrong.
Nice working with the arm by Titus.
Good tag teaming by these two so far.
Haha, "No Days Off" chant. I can't believe I wanted JTG fired a few months back.
Where's this Titus been? He seems more crisp and focused tonight.
Nice spunk by Percy. He's got energy.
I officially redact wanting JTG fired earlier in the season. He's been rather entertaining when he's used in smaller doses.
I'm a little split on Darren playing to the crowd instead of just being Mr. Intensity.
Nice fire by Titus this week.
Big finisher.
Kind of weird that The Usos would sneak attack someone as the good guys.
And that's a wrap. On to rankings. In this case, 5 means that
someone's totally ready for the main roster, 4 means that there's still
some work to do to get there, 3 means that they're about half-way ready,
2 means they're leaning towards being demotion worthy, and 1 means they
pretty much need to go back to the drawing board.
Titus O'Neil - 4. I'll note that this one's rounded up. I think
he could very well have had his strongest showing of the season tonight,
stepping out of what's dogged him in the past. He had more fire in the
ring than usual and felt more natural in his delivery. It wasn't a
complete transformation, but it impressed me enough to move him up.
Tonight was big for him, and sometimes it's "what have you done for me
lately" rather than "what have you done". I'd like to see this Titus
more often and improvement from here.
Darren Young - 4. Darren was in a really tough place this week
since he wasn't "featured" as much as Titus' big post-tag comeback and
spent a lot of time on defense. I can't really factor that in but so
much. Percy is still fresh, and Titus/Derrick have been rejuvenated
lately so he was kind of stepped over this week to a degree. I liked
what we did see of him, but it wasn't "his week" as much as his
improving opposition.
Derrick Bateman - 3. Bateman improved this week as well, and is
fitting better in his role, but it will still take some time for him to
make it to 4 level. Tonight was a good step in that direction, though.
If he keeps going, he can completely separate himself from his Season 4
run.
Who I'd eliminate: Derrick Bateman. This was the toughest of the
past 3 weeks on who to choose. Darren was fine this week but didn't grab
attention as much as Titus and Bateman (since I wasn't expecting them
to pull out what they pulled out), but he had enough good will built up
for me to decide in his favor. This could very well have been the best
week for Rookies since we came down to 3.
That's it for NXT thoughts. I'll be back Thursday for Superstars and Impact Wrestling. A news post will be up later. Thanks for reading!
Yesterday night, Titus wasn't in the ring with a dummy; he was in the ring with Mr. No Days Off, D Young. And when it was all said and done, there was nothing stopping Young from driving his knees into the ribcage of Titus.
ReplyDeleteYou're mainly right, but keep in mind that Percy was the one who started the promo and made the effort to get Titus in on it. Titus still isn't showing the effort in terms of starting things on his own. He did do a little better this week, but you mentioned before that Percy isn't a good partner for him. I agree, because, to me, it just shows that Percy is just another person O'Neil panders to until he actually cuts promos and does new things BY HIMSELF. Just like Young is "doing it all by his damn self" and makes the effort to get himself noticed and step away from the pack like he does every week like Chavo said.
I just think NXT is giving Titus WAY more opportunities to shine than Young and even Bateman (despite adding him to the finals with zero weeks in Season 5). It doesn't show Titus' true effort when promos are set up for him and he doesn't cut them off the bat by himself like Young does. I can GUARANTEE if Young was booked to win as much as Titus, had a charismatic partner that set his promos up for him and sucked up to the fans, he would be the clear-cut winner.
I do think teaming with a partner like Young has does not help him, because Young is more of an individual performer. To the fans, I think Titus being carried by Percy helps him, but I can't agree because of what I mentioned before.
Good insight as always, however.
ReplyDeleteFair enough about Titus' "assisted promo". It made sense for the segment to go that way though, since it was Percy's show. There's definitely a difference in charisma there.
ReplyDeleteWas his sequence where he held on to an arm during moves new? I don't remember it being that long at least. I really liked that; it made him less one-dimensional.
I'm actually liking the tandem of he and Percy now. Percy can be the more energetic guy and set up for Titus to come in and deliver the power.
I agree that the bookers seem to set Titus up to be big. Given that he wrestled on Superstars recently and before Monday's Raw, it looks like he and Percy might be on their way to a regular gig at some point. So, fair warning if they end up getting the Brodus Clay treatment.
I'd be hard-pressed to disagree about Young being booked like Titus working for him. He made for kind of a strange babyface under his Season 1 gimmick, though. Then again, so did Justin Gabriel for a bit.
Young definitely works better (from what I've seen) as an individual who does most of the in-ring stuff (instead of just getting to do some moves here and there like Titus).
And good response as always. I like thinking of things from other perspectives. I can miss or overlook things that others catch, so it's good to be kept more on my toes sometimes.
You've got some good points there. I just saw the Superstars spoilers after you mentioned that and was very surprised at that was well. Titus has also been on Raw in the backstage area a few times along with Bateman. I honestly haven't even seen Young away from NXT and on Raw, Smackdown or Superstars since like winter. He certainly hasn't been booked to win a match on those shows like Titus did. So, I have NO idea what the deal is with that. You'd have to agree (I'm assuming) that with management booking Titus to win so many matches and hand feeding him promos and with Bateman getting a free ride to the finals, that something is odd. What are your thoughts on the thought process by management there? Maybe they're trying to give Titus and Bateman some TV exposure that Young HAD, but wouldn't you think booking Titus to win so many matches and with the Redemption Points almost being handed to the face characters that the deck is stacked a bit?
ReplyDeleteI may be being a little hard on Titus, partially because I am a Young fan. You make some valid points, and I do agree he has gotten better, though. Maybe I'm just not seeing some of your points about Titus, but then again, maybe I am being more picky because I have more insights than the younger crowd who likes him. Maybe he might make it in the WWE and maybe not, but he has a long way to go.
I think the key is that different people in the company see talents differently. The people who book FCW and/or NXT might be really high on someone, but the people booking the main roster might not see eye-to-eye with them. It's a little bit like the difference of how someone's booked on Raw vs. Smackdown. Minor league vs. major league baseball could be a good analogy as well.
ReplyDeleteI think to some degree it's a necessary evil since the company's so big. Having one team do Raw, Smackdown, Superstars (which I think is done by the people who do each brand), NXT, and FCW would be immensely stressful.
Honestly, they're probably just looking at NXT and saying "we like (or can use) this guy and this guy, but can't find a use for this guy".
It's really not surprising. I can only think of a few specifics off the top of my head, but there'll be times when someone will be booked with a certain character and a certain way in FCW (or formerly OVW), then completely changed when they get to the main roster. AJ, for instance, was pretty much the exact opposite personality-wise down there.
I'd say it is stacked. Winning and losing NXT (or being booked a certain way in FCW) only matters so much if people higher up want to go in a different direction. There've been plenty of times where performers have slipped through the cracks when they were doing good work, but Creative couldn't come up with what to do with them.
WWE is definitely marketed towards the mainstream audience (some would say "lowest common denominator", but that sounds too harsh) rather than the hardcore wrestling fan. They only care so much about your ability to pull out innovative moves and the like. They refer to what they do as an "action soap opera" or sports entertainment.
There are TONS of talented wrestlers out there who wouldn't be used in WWE because they don't fit the mold they're looking for. If you're looking for something with more focus on in-ring talents and less on characters and promos, you might want to check out Ring Of Honor or another similar wrestling promotion. It's where Daniel Bryan, C.M. Punk, and Kaval got started.
The matches are set up pretty much completely differently. There's what's called the "WWE style" and then there's what a lot of other companies do. There are generally more big moves and sequences and such and a lot less long submissions like chinlocks and sleepers. Some would argue that it's more about being able to do a lot of moves or innovative moves than any other factor there.
There's a solid group of fans who swear off of WWE after watching it. The philosophies are that different.
You are probably right about that; I don't keep up with Ring of Honor, TNA or shows like that too much. I have noticed that one of the main reasons many former WWE and WCW stars are now on TNA or on other promotions is because of what you just mentioned and the company's politics.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the WWE's logic, because it's all about the fans and not their own egos. To a degree, they do know what it takes to be a star, but unless someone on NXT, for example, is completely horrible, I'd have to take the Universe's side on this one. It's all about the fans and what they want, because they are the main reason the WWE makes money. Exhibit A is Kaval. WWE wasn't going to go anywhere with his persona, but in reality, he was one of the best wrestlers on that show and had more upside than most.
Even with the heels, they're basically judged by how many boos they get, which is the same as the faces and getting cheered. If they get booed to hell, that SHOULD be great for them, because the goal is to entertain that crowd in any way.
I think that logic alone, though only having like five televised hours to showcase their talents, is unfair. There is and has been way too much talent that hasn't been recognized by the WWE. Given, most fans will watch regardless as fans, but they have lost some fanbase and talent because of not properly utilizing certain talents.
What would you do if in charge of it to get talent noticed with the WWE being the mecca company of wrestling? To their defense, they do only have five TELEVISED hours of WWE programming per week, so they don't have much time to showcase everyone. Superstars was a good idea in terms of getting the more under-utilized stars a chance, but it isn't televised in most areas.
Honestly, following TNA can be rather frustrating. There are a lot of people there kind of coasting on what they did years ago. At least Cena and Orton are still in their physical primes. Guys like Hogan, Flair, Sting, Steiner, etc. not so much.
ReplyDeleteI think WWE means well. They just see things differently from some fans. They're not looking for wrestlers; they're looking for people who sell merchandise and so on. Kaval was a talented in-ring performer, but they didn't see him making it too far beyond that. He didn't want to be there if he wasn't going to be utilized as a wrestler.
I agree about heels. A babyface can only go so far without good people to play off of. The old saying is that the idea is for the faces to chase down the heels. They do bad things, and the faces try to stop them. If they're easily able to beat everyone, there's not much drama.
In the States, it's only 4 hours on TV each week since NXT and Superstars are online-only. Most fans just watch Raw and Smackdown.
Booking new talents is tough. There's the whole "paying dues" and "working your way up" thing, which is like a lot of other jobs in a way. Management wants to know someone will stick around and fit in long-term.
I don't claim to have all the answers and honestly could completely miss the mark, but here are some ideas I've cobbled together over the years:
-Raw and Smackdown are kept separate, with separate GMs and talent. They only come together on special occasions.
-Talents are signed to one show or the other. They can leave and be signed by the other show, but only the tag team and Divas champions can cross over unless by special invitation (which should be a fairly big deal).
-Superstars is its own brand, like ECW was a few years ago. It's kind of a "talent recruitment" place. They're there until Raw or Smackdown signs them. They can try out on the other shows prior to getting signed there.
-NXT is done in "classes" rather than seasons. Those who do well "graduate" to Superstars at the end of however many weeks. Others either stay (possibly with new Pros) or "flunk" back down to FCW. New "students" come in. The terminology would be subject to change, but that's the concept in a nutshell. They would still do challenges and matches and stuff. I guess they could get grades rather than rankings? It's kind of an odd concept; the school stuff is just the best way I can think to describe it. It needs to be different from Superstars.
- The other shows are promoted on Raw and Smackdown. The GMs have "scouts" looking at Superstars and the students on NXT. They want to one-up each other and get the best talent and such.
- Work to a talent's strengths and around their weaknesses.
- Encourage talents being different and developing their own styles. Now, obviously everyone can't do everything they want to, but the last thing they want a talent want to be is generic.
- People who have been around a while doing the same stuff in the same gimmicks should get some refreshing. Like R-Truth and Mark Henry.
- Talents should be rotated a bit. If Cena's facing the same 3 people over and over, it's time for something to change to avoid burn-out.
- New, refreshed, and returning talents should get video packages so they seem important when they wrestle.
I'm sure there are more, but those are some basic tenets. Thoughts? What would you suggest?