Today on NXT: Redemption, the competition to become the next breakout star of WWE hits Week 39. Derrick Bateman, Titus O'Neil, and Darren Young bring three different styles to the table; which one will be most successful in pushing them forward this week? Of course, they'll be joined by a number of other overlooked Superstars also with something to prove. Read on for my thoughts on the show as it happens, coupled with my impressions from being in the crowd that night in parentheses.
I have a feeling this might come out a bit complicated, but I'll do my best to tie it together.
(I should forewarn that any gauge of crowd reaction is coming from where I was seated. Someone could very well have been making noise or holding signs elsewhere in the arena that I didn't catch).
I really think it's time for a new entrance video. Put in the other people who appear on the show and remove the eliminated rookies. Though it does sell the competition aspect of the show.
(Striker and Mathews passed out high-fives and fist bumps before this match. Cool guys. I hear Chimel and Josh talked to fans during breaks as well.)
I'm sure the people watching were just as confused as Reks, Hawkins, and the crowd when that music hit.
(This was the first match, since there wasn't a dark match.)
Don't think I've seen that kind of cane prescribed before.
Good stuff on commentary and in the ring. All three characters are enjoyable in their development.
(Honestly, the fans chanting someone's name when they get on TV as little as these people is a good sign.)
Good saving of picking WWE over NFL by Striker.
Percy's got a fun energy about him (which translated well live).
I liked that dropkick spot. Good end to the match.
Good stuff from everyone. Why didn't Titus help out Percy?
Striker should do commentary more often.
I like them earning a match on Smackdown, though of course, Titus and Darren were just in one without winning any such match!
(This part was really confusing live, since Wednesday's NXT was taped before Tuesday's Smackdown. We had forgotten the order and were wondering why Bateman didn't get another match later. Big "duh" moment when we figured it out after the show.)
Curtis and Kaitlyn being together makes sense given the latter's recent attitude change. She and Maxine did have issues on Season 3.
Viewing WWE like a soap opera, these actors are all good in their roles.
BateMax is some weird level of entertaining.
(Saw at least one sign for them).
That actually is Bateman's mom, by the way.
Mrs. Bateman vs. Maxine?
I have no clue who those references are, but whatever.
(Kidd worked 3 matches Tuesday. Curtis avoiding the fans like they disgusted him was a nice little heel move.)
I hate that if it wasn't for NXT, we wouldn't be seeing some of these guys.
(Someone kept making Creed jokes at Trent. Ugh.)
Trent's got some neat little moves. Unique performer who's good in how they use him.
Good doubleteams.
Also good selling of Curtis' creepy character by Striker. I'd keep an eye on him.
(People were pretty impressed by Trent's top rope move. As they should have been.)
I know I pretty much keep saying "good stuff", but I've seen this before so it's harder to give specific impressions. Hence the live thoughts.
Good ending sequence from Curtis and Yoshi. (Fans liked it.) I thoroughly enjoy seeing the younger, fresher stars.
(It's kind of weird seeing the video packages on the screen live. But having a match or something while those are on would also be pretty weird.)
If I wasn't so behind schedule, I'd watch the Piper's Pit segment again instead of skipping it on this show. Well played by both.
Why isn't this woman on Smackdown? She should have been in the Mistletoe on a Pole match. She's earned a spot on the main show. Given how many Divas get there with less impressive work, it's a shame she's being overlooked.
(Maxine's pretty attractive live. Not going to lie. I wouldn't call her "fish lips" at all.)
Alicia does look like Rihanna, to the point where someone posted a picture of the latter on a wrestling board and I thought they were the same person.
I think they explained that it was a fox Alicia wears. Obviously someone's a fan of puns.
Good psychology by Maxine. She's pretty good compared to where she was 2 seasons ago. Still rough in places, but the effort's really there.
(We didn't see the Batemans on the ramp since we were watching the ring, so we were wondering why Maxine was yelling.)
I'm fine with that match. The Divas division continues to be overlooked on Raw and Smackdown.
(Sheamus got a nice smattering of cheers on his video appearance in the anti-bullying ad.)
HAHA, the We Hate Cena guy made it on the video package.
(Titus was shockingly over with the younger members of the crowd. I heard a good amount of barking from them. No lie.)
(Bateman's hair is even more ridiculous live. In a good way. He stands out.)
I think Young's music was a little different tonight? It sounds more fitting for a serious character.
Chops in front of the Charlotte crowd will always elicit a "Woo".
Good set-up of Titus as a strong, powerful guy with the spots in the opposite corners. (It worked in making him look like that live. Possibly why he got a good reaction the battle royal.)
Titus looks like a convincing bruiser. Obviously his opponents' selling helped that a lot.
Smart strategies by the heels to regroup and team up.
(I don't think they showed the video in the middle of the match, but we were watching the action in the ring.)
Good stuff by Young and Bateman. Wrestlers going out there and simply telling a story. I like it.
I like that the wrestlers here have distinctive strategies and styles, and the announcers are putting the match over.
Tower of Doom! I think that one's always good for a solid reaction.
I'll give that they're pretty much just setting Titus up for big spots here, but it's working.
(I think the neckbreaker was the best reaction Young got on offense all night. Not blaming him, he just didn't get a chance to show what he can do).
Nice chicanery by Bateman. He gets heat from stealing the win, and it "took two people to beat Titus"/ Young, notably, was kind of the odd man out of the equation in this match as far as stories go.
They're setting Bateman up pretty well for someone possibly going to Smackdown regularly.
A wrestler saying "Silence!" is always a set up for the fans being even louder. I like it.
I like where this story's going, though didn't Bateman want JTG as his best man recently? I guess that adds to JTG not being one to lie to him.
(We cracked up at the boo-boo line.)
Nice intensity from Bateman on the close-up.
(After the show went off the air, Bateman yelled "MAXINE!" and got frustrated. Hilarious. I wish that made it on TV.)
All in all, good show as it generally is, both on TV and in-person.
Now, I'll stop with the parentheses and go into rankings. But first, an important disclaimer. My opinions are undoubtedly greatly skewed by the reactions I heard live and parts of matches that I saw closer/better. I'm judging the competitors not so much on how technically "good" or "bad" they are as far as abilities go, but how well they could potentially work elsewhere in the promotion (Raw or Smackdown). Consider this more of a look at the role they play and how well the "actor" fits it than how good they are certain moves and so on. WWE considers their product kind of like a soap opera, and that's the perspective I'm bringing. Also, of course, exactly how they're used is crucial. If they don't get as much of a chance to show what they can do, they're not going to score as high.
As for the numbers themselves, 1 means so awful that they shouldn't even be having matches, 2 means they have a LOT of work to do and I don't think they're potential stars yet. 3 means they're in the middle, and could either succeed or fail. 4 means they're close to making it to the main roster if they say on the same path, and 5 means they're ready to be on Smackdown or Raw (at least every once in a while).
Derrick Bateman- 5. Good character, good moves, and has natural charisma. As stated above with Maxine, given how many people have made it to the roster with less experience and less talent, it's a shame he's not on Raw or Smackdown yet. Hopefully that's changing soon. I don't necessarily think "breakout star" with him, but he's got some potential if he gets a chance on the main roster. I would hope that would be with Maxine and/or teaming with Curtis, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen from a story perspective. A definite "A" on the grade scale, though of course he has a ways to go to be a breakout star on the main roster. THIS close to an A+ if he continues doing well.
Titus O'Neil- 5. Ohhhhhh boy, am I going to get it for this one. Titus can be mediocre on the mic, and in longer matches that aren't just "Titus does power moves and his opponents make him look good by selling well", he can have trouble, but based on how he's been used lately (granted, with support from other characters and being set up to succeed), I can see him working out on Smackdown/Superstars doing what Brodus Clay and Jinder Mahal recently did. He just barely made this rank, and still has very noticeable flaws, but if they just use him as a fairly silent guy who dominates (see Ezekiel Jackson), I think he can get over. It could have just been a one night, one crowd thing, and he could go down next week, but based on how he was used there, he's ready. (A- range).
Darren Young - 4. I'm going to get it for this one, too. Young is a talented athlete, but got hardly anything to do this week. With all the story time lately going to other characters and other performers, he was a "supporting character" this week. I definitely think he has an upside, and if he gets to do what he can do (get in good offense, cut inspired promos), he could really be someone on the main roster, but for how they're using him now, he's fairly lost in the shuffle. (B+ for being a good "actor" in a limited role.)
So those are my NXT thoughts this week. I apologize profusely for it taking so long to upload them. I hope it was worth the wait, and I look forward to the responses. I'll have a news post up later in the night. Thanks for reading!
At the risk of sounding redundant and with differences in opinion being commonplace, I won't get into Titus' ranking being so high and Young's being lowest.
ReplyDeleteIf I go off on a rant here, I apologize, but I think it’s just unfair how WWE/NXT Management is going about these three contestants. Bateman competed on SmackDown just a matter of a couple of weeks ago, and he wins this match to get on there yet again? Darren Young hasn’t even been on Raw or SmackDown in terms of decent face time since 2010. He hasn’t had as much of a tag match on either show since he wrestled Cena on Raw, and this was like a year and a half ago. On top of that, he gets eliminated first out of everyone in the battle royal (never a good thing), but yet Titus finishes top 10 and gets some face time with his finisher and dog bark. Titus also gets to wrestle in front of a live crowd on Raw a couple of weeks ago.
On top of all of that, I know records aren’t as much of a deal to the pros, but Young has a 12-17 record on NXT, despite being the more polished wrestler out of the three. Titus already has fan support, but yet he has a winning record, so it seems a bit unbalanced like we talked about before. Kaval, for example, was a good guy, so since he had the fan support, NXT Management booked him to lose most of his matches. This is a complete reversal with Titus.
Maybe you could shed some light on this. I know it’s more than just Young that they have overlooked. I just don’t find it fair how/why WWE Management always overlooks its more talented guys and gives some of the less talented in comparison (not saying Bateman isn’t talented) more face time. It’s not like Titus or Bateman have proven any more than Young so far, so I’m finding it hard to understand the justification there.
Again, I don’t mean to go off on a rant, and I know it’s just wrestling, but as a fan, it seems a bit unfair. Let me know your thoughts.
As long as it took me to post this week, you should get free reign to rant all you want!
ReplyDeleteI do think a 5 was a little high for Titus in retrospect. I should have considered his past work more. And there's the whole argument that his opponents were there for the purposes of making him look like a powerful, strong beast that really worked in his favor.
There's this whole blurring of the character itself and how it's played/presented that it's kind of hard to separate in the rankings. How much of someone looking good is their own talent and how much is them being put in the right positions? Titus' rank was inflated by that. He's not a "5-star match" worker with a lot of moves and techniques but that's not what they're going for with him.
At the risk of oversimplifying things, I think it really comes down to who they think they can use and how. I mean, look at Hornswoggle. If they just judged on wrestling ability, he probably wouldn't even be in the company. But they want characters to be in certain roles and to get reactions from the crowd to sell merchandise, etc. They like Titus as a powerhouse (maybe in a team with Percy), and they like Bateman's work, too. Since the competition is almost entirely in name only at this point, they're pretty much showcasing the performers they see the most in.
I don't think they're even looking at it from a "fair" (equal) perspective. They never really do. Look at as often as we see John Cena vs. as often as we see Primo, for instance. They (and the audience they're aiming for) would rather see and react to the former. Naturally WWE can change that to some degree: if Primo dominated Big Show or something he'd look a lot more credible, but they see more dollar signs with Cena.
For whatever reason (the suspension probably factored in), Young isn't who they want to use. They probably can't come up with a role they want to use him for on the crowded roster, while they think they have something with the other two.
Wins and losses can be misleading sometimes. I'd be surprised if they even kept record of that kind of thing. They're looking at this as more of a soap opera than a sport, so matches and pure wrestling ability aren't seen as being as important as getting the crowd into your storyline and character.
As for Kaval, there's the theory that they had him lose a lot so he "wouldn't get an ego just because he was big in another wrestling company". It's rare that someone who comes in from elsewhere will win a lot early in their career (See Daniel Bryan). They see Titus (or so I assume based on how he's used) as somewhat like Cena: a big, strong wrestler who doesn't lose much (and when he does, it's generally by cheating). I grade him on how well he does in that role. Given how he's been pushed to the side, they see Young as more of a "supporting character" on the show, and it'd be nearly impossible to be ranked high (and get a good crowd response) when you're not used much.
The "Cliffsnotes version" is that they're not looking for the best wrestler (athlete with the best moves, that kind of thing), but the character/performer who they think fans will cheer or boo the most. That's pretty much the go-to answer for any time someone who's technically talented isn't being used/pushed.
And this is a blog called Ramblings about wrestling. Rants on things others would see as not very important are pretty much par for the course!
You make some very good sense with those statements. I guess it's just really what each person views as important. You make a good point that the company is a little unfair in that they value marketability and fan-reactions and whatnot over ability and drive. I understand it's a business and they're there to make money, but I guess that's just where I differ from the WWE. I believe that hard work, ability and effort should make a star.
ReplyDeleteUsing their logic and expectations, a celebrity, for example, could train for a couple of years and get signed. But, it was basically be a slap in the face to those who have been working hard for years, because it would basically be for a marketing purpose. If the non-celebrity was in that celebrity's shoes, he/she would never get signed. Given, they'd have to have a decent look and would have to be semi-entertaining.
Take someone like The Great Khali, for example. The WWE basically viewed his power and size as superior to in-ring ability and drive. As a result, he was champion within a matter of months. It's just hard for me to grasp how that's justified to one-sidedly give someone like him a push who hadn't been wrestling long, purely on a small amount of less relevant factors.
Given, if Young, for example, was completely mundane and boring, I'd understand more. However, even guys like Hawkins and Young aren't incredibly entertaining, but I think they get shortchanged because WWE doesn't seem them as being marketable, despite having good skills and drive.
What are your thoughts on that? Overall, I understand it's a business, but I think there has to be some respect for effort and drive somewhere mixed in.
BTW- You also bring up a decent point in that your rankings kind of reflect how WWE Management has viewed each contestant instead of raw abilities. It's kind of the nature of the beast, because if Titus didn't get as much exposure, he wouldn't have gotten as high praises. I think it would be safe to say if Titus has gotten as little exposure as Young, with his flaws, he would probably be in the "3" area in your rankings. I may need to note that your rank of Young not being a 5 is mainly based on that he hasn't gotten as much exposure, which is a fair sentiment. I think he's kind of being penalized a bit by that.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty much what I meant to say. The Divas division is another example: the number of models being hired there exceeds the number of wrestlers. I lost track of how many potential Divas came and went in the time it took for AJ to finally make it to the main roster. She had to pay to be a part of a tryout, while John Laurinaitis hired a number of models with ZERO experience in the ring. Granted, some have done pretty well for themselves as athletes (Kelly Kelly, Kaitlyn), but it's a shame that some people will get on TV before they're ready mainly based on appearance.
ReplyDeleteBut, they want eyeballs on the product and stories to tell, so a lumbering giant will get on TV a lot quicker than a master submission specialist, etc..
I see where they're coming from, but it leads to some slipping through the cracks. What you and I personally want to see isn't necessarily what will get them the attention and such they're after. But I agree that hard work should be rewarded.
For the second post, that's fairly safe to say, yes. He's been given a good partner and put in positions to look good. He brings his own effort as well (playing to the crowd more, doing power moves), but the deck's kind of stacked in his favor. Bateman also is a big part of the storylines, and is paired with Maxine. He might not be as high by himself. Young wasn't even with Reks and Hawkins this week (granted, Titus wasn't with Percy in his match, so maybe they were backstage preparing for the main event). AJ's conspicuous by her absence from Titus' side as well, but they want her on Smackdown.
As for Young's future, if he doesn't get put back on the rails soon, he'll really be in danger of losing a good deal of momentum.
Here's another way of looking at the situation: If they were trying to use Titus as a more "technical" wrestler (who has a lot of moves and is really crisp with the execution of them), he'd be ranked pretty low. I guess you could say that Darren's trying out for a more a difficult part than he is.
ReplyDelete