Today, on NXT Redemption, the competition hits week 38. Darren Young is back on the show, and Titus O'Neil has been put on notice. Will either of these men move closer to becoming a breakout star, or will that honor go to Derrick Bateman? Anything can go down on this week's show and probably will. Read on for my thoughts on the show as it happens.
Wow, Young's music is really off for such an intense character.
I love the name Gut Check.
D Young show is good too.
Of course, Young lost to Cena but that doesn't benefit him to say.
Solid promo. Glad to hear it.
Not who I was expecting to come out.
Cool enough. I like this trio.
Wait, are they booing or barking?
Lots of profanity today.
Nice save by Bateman on the marriage comments.
The commentary's pretty amusing here, but there's a match going on.
Curtis is a weird dude.
Ha, Bateman's good on commentary.
Why isn't he going after Maxine?
Fine little match-up.
BateMax is a very entertaining duo. Ready for Smackdown!
Curtis is also pretty creepy.
Yokozuna was pushed as a Japanese wrestler, though.
Didn't expect to hear Umaga's name in WWE again after how he passed away.
Good stuff from the Usos. They've got potential.
I think that might be the most natural Tamina's sounded on the mic.
If The Usos have a match at WrestleMania, Rikishi coming out with them would be pretty cool.
Another good match.
I love how Young just disappeared for a number of weeks and we don't get a reason why as far as stories go.
Nice stuff from Darren and Percy.
But... Hawkins and Reks already have Raw contracts.
This show's confusing. Are they fighting for spots on the roster or are they already technically there (given that some of them have had matches and walkouts and so on)?
Regal's cracking me up on commentary.
I agree on Anderson deserving a HoF nod.
Good ending sequence.
That music is really awkward.
Good show as always. Can't wait for more!
And on to rankings. Remember that 5 is ready for the main roster, 4 is on the way there, 3 is in the middle, 2 is awkward and undeserving and 1 is atrocious.
Derrick Bateman- 5 (Last week-5). Derrick continues to be very good with his character. He plays off of whoever he's working with well and is quite natural at it. He didn't get to wrestle on NXT this week, but it's possible that he does Smackdown again soon. Overall, I'm impressed with him. There's still work to do on improving in the ring, but all in all I think he's pretty ready for the main roster (Grade: middle of the A range).
Titus O'Neil- 4 (Last week-4). Titus had a mostly "on" week this week, though he can always be better. He's got more fire in his promos. He's still lacking in the ring, which is probably why he's best in a tag team role. Still very much a work in progress, but I can see he and Percy working as a team after they get some more experience together and more time improving/getting comfortable. (Grade: mid-B or so).
Darren Young - 4 (Last week-N/A). Darren's getting right back in the groove of things. He cut one of if not the single best promos he's cut that I can remember. I continue to enjoy him in the ring; there isn't any noticeable rust. I think the only thing keeping him from being above Titus this week was the "head start" Titus got due to the suspension. Once I get more "used to him" as a regular part of the show again (and see/hear more of him), he'll likely be right back on the path to the main roster. (Grade: somewhere in the B range).
Note: I'm cutting out the "who I would eliminate" section until Young has been back a few more weeks. It wouldn't really be fair to judge on that just yet since there's the disadvantage of not being on the show for a number of weeks.
That's all for NXT this week. I'll have a news post and Thursday's wrestling up when I'm able to. Thanks for reading and happy Thanksgiving!
Good insights this week. The only thing out of everything you mentioned that I don't find advocacious is that ring music of Young. I like it!
ReplyDeleteAnyway...I am totally with you on that promo. Great stuff from Young. He showed his determination and tenacity. As far as in the ring, you're right: He hasn't lost a step. I see bright things in his near future.
You mentioned you liked the trio of Reks, Hawkins and Young. I like it too, for the most part. I think the three of them have a lot in common: The ruthlessness, determination and not being afraid to step on people's feet to get to the next level. I like the alliance more than the JTG alliance. Three underrated stars who have a lot of similarities and upside.
I do agree Titus showed some fire this week. However, it just doesn't seem natural and just seems forced. Do you agree? I think it's because Titus has conveyed he's a laid back person for so many weeks. It's just not as credible. Not bad from him this week, but not great, either. He's not as polished as Young in that ring, and I think that's his MAJOR downfall.
However, it is to Titus' benefit that this season is so long in that he can hone his in-ring skills before an elimination. I think a lot of people have the mindset that he's not "quite there" in the ring to be able to make it to the main roster. You are right again in that teaming kind of seals up the mediocrity in technical skills.
I'm not as high on Bateman as you are, but I agree he's doing pretty well. I wouldn't say he's ready for the main roster yet, but he's trying hard. I don't see the in-ring talent up there yet, and he still has some character flaws. That backstage segment with Maxine and the whole "wedding" thing doesn't seem natural to me. It seems more of an act, and that's not something you want if you're Bateman. Effort really scores a lot of points with me. I see it in Bateman and Young, but not necessarily Titus.
I don't dislike the music so much as it seems out of character for someone so serious. I think maybe it's left over from his "South Beach Party Boy" gimmick days.
ReplyDeleteYoung seemed really happy to be back and determined to prove that he's earned another chance. I can really respect that.
Yeah, Darren and JTG just didn't mesh as well since JTG's character's kind of goofy (though entertaining). I'd love to see more of performers like we see on NXT and Superstars than some of the people we've seen do the same thing for years and years. That's the biggest thing I dislike in wrestling it feels like. Though Laurinaitis is also hard to watch.
I can see the "forced" argument. There's the whole argument of whether or not you can teach someone how to do promos or whether it has to come naturally. Kind of like public speaking. As I've said before, being better than his terrible performance on Season 2 almost automatically makes him seem good. If I hadn't seen that season, I don't know if I'd rank him as high.
I think it's to Titus benefit that they're ignoring eliminations and such. Since you can now be pushed on other shows regardless of standing on the show, he doesn't even have to be the best performer!
I think they should keep Titus and Percy as a team for now. You've got the agile, energetic, and athletic one with the more limited power wrestler. Both can continue to grow as performers in their roles and we get another team in the division. They teamed up in an unaired match before Raw this week, so that looks to be what they're thinking of doing.
I do think Bateman still has a ways to go in the ring, but I think he can at least get started on Superstars or in brief matches like he had with DiBiase. Not necessarily a weekly thing, but maybe untelevised pre-show matches and house shows.
I'm not really sure what you mean about the acting comments. I think the character is a little "over the top" but I like it that way.
Valid points. In relation to the whole wedding being an act, I just don't find it credible or well-rehearsed. Something like a wedding needs EVERYTHING to fall in place to seem credible, because it could potentially make or break Bateman and Maxine. It could also last a long time in a storyline. Given, this is indeed a tv show that isn't real life. Given, it's hard to pull something like that off, but it just seems like more of a. Looking at some of the past weddings (Edge, Kane and Test way back in the day), they just are too hard to pull off and actually reel people in. I think it does draw attention to Bateman and makes him stand out, but I think in terms of believability in his character, I don't like it.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the alliance with Reks and Hawkins, how do you think that will benefit Young? I agree the Watson alliance can help Titus, but I think for Young and his persona, he's also got enough talent to be on his own. However, if he was to team with anyone on NXT, I think it's great to team with those two who he has so much in common with.
I think it can benefit Young, despite him being better alone, being with two others who have the same determination and ruthlessness in them. What do you think?
Seems more of an unrehearsed and potentially harmful ruse***
ReplyDeleteI'm still not sure I'm getting the argument here. The storyline is that they're having issues going into their wedding. The goal as I see it is to get people interested in seeing whether or not the wedding and marriage will succeed (and since they're heels, people are presumably supposed to hope it fails). It wouldn't surprise me if one or the other (if not both) is/are plotting something. If they are, that will come into play.
ReplyDeleteI like the trio. It doesn't necessarily benefit Young as a singles competitor, but it gives all three of them more purpose and importance (Hawkins and Reks as mentors/Pros to a degree). I'm enjoying all three of them, so them having a storyline and presumably being featured more is good by me. I'd rather Creative put Young with them than not have any ideas for him on his own.
I've got good news and bad news about this week's NXT thoughts. The bad news is that I'll definitely be late in uploading the post. But the good news is that it's because I'll actually be at the Smackdown taping, so when I do get around to it I'll tell you how the fans in attendance reacted or didn't react to certain things. Of course, it's just one audience, so it can only tell so much, but I think it will be valuable insight as to how well people are doing!
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry that I'm running so late! I have to cover Smackdown and some news first, but I'll have NXT up as soon as I can (probably later today). I think it'd be unfair to rush through it given how different the experience was.
ReplyDelete