Last week on NXT, Derrick Bateman got the girl and Titus O'Neil got the win. But it's not over here. Not by a long shot. With no end to the competition in sight, anyone can be WWE's next breakout star. And anyone can stop by to show what they can do. Read on for my thoughts on the show as it happens.
That heel turn was out of nowhere.
Haha. Good line.
Eeh. Some good stuff there, and some not so good stuff.
And here's the charisma of the team.
I don't think I'd mind if they replaced Titus with Percy in the official competition.
So far, so decent I guess. Not an all-out failure of a promo, but not something that's TV-worthy.
I like that this show has found its purpose again. Even if it's something very different from what we started out with with the concept.
Not a bad segment from Hawkins, Reks, and Striker. I'm pretty much ready to declare this the official successor to the ECW brand concept-wise.
The Midcard Mafia bits got them noticed, but not in the way they probably wanted (management apparently wasn't happy about them).
The Usos definitely stand out in the ring with the dance moves.
Not bad by Hawkins and Reks, who had been kind of stagnating without any focus on them lately.
I forget what that move's called, but it was cool to see from Hawkins.
Bateman's fun sometimes.
I think we might be in for Curtis and Kaitlyn as a couple. That could be bizarrely effective for both of them.
Barreta looks pretty ticked compared to the smiling Slater in that graphic. If someone was seeing them for the first time, I'd be impressed if they guessed who was the heel of the two of them.
Good for WWE Magazine. He's good with giving pointers and career advice, as I think a good color commentator should be. All the experience Booker and Lawler have in the ring, and they turn the announce table into some kind of excuse for comedy.
Pretty cool suplex spot.
Wow. These two are playing off of each other better than I expected. Slater's growing from the fairly bland, seemingly miscast performer I saw him as in Season 1. Maybe he'll grow on me after all.
As far as goofy soap operas go, that was ok (but there's no topping the Season 3 wedding as far as that kind of thing goes).
Johnny's a creepy guy. I get a bit of a "Dexter" vibe from him.
God, why isn't Maxine on TV?
Heh. No one exits NXT.
Yay! The crazy train continues with these three.
Good segment to set up the main event.
And an impressive start by Percy.
I like Titus mocking the dog bark thing.
Regal's stuck around a long time because he's found a niche and is a character people connect with.
Good friends, better enemies? These two mesh well in there.
Good by Titus going after the crowd and telling Percy to stay down.
Hmm... nice comeback by Percy.
Hopefully this feud isn't over. For (presumably) their first time facing off, they did mostly well.
Thank God it was Riley making the save instead of Darren or Bateman. Really time to do something different with Titus opponent-wise.
And that's a wrap. On to rankings. Due to Darren being off the show this week (hopefully to freshen things up for his character and the show in general), it's just a two-man list this time. 5 is pretty much ready to be part of Raw or Smackdown, 4 seems to be on the way but has something preventing them from being there, 3 is in the middle of the two extremes, 2 is very far from being TV ready and needs a lot of work, and 1 shouldn't even be on the show.
Derrick Bateman - 5 (Last week: 5). Naturally charismatic performer who brings something different to the table and doesn't come across as forcing anything or trying too hard. He's got me wanting to see what his character does each week and hopefully making it past the show in due time. As long as he doesn't falter in the ring, he could honestly pretty much coast to being my pick to move on if I could only choose one performer to do so (not that he should do so). (Grade: A).
Titus O'Neil - 4 (Last week: 4). "Eeeeehhhh" isn't a good noise for me to make when watching someone. It's hard to put into letters, but it's the sound of "that could have gone better". Titus' performances have been frustrating at times, and this week was no different. While there are signs of "getting it" as far as putting a match together, reading the crowd, and putting on believable offense, and I think that at some point he could be someone who'd be able to have a shot on the main roster, the road there is not a smooth one. He can be clumsy and awkward inside of the ring and on the mic, especially in longer matches and segments when he has to do more work. If we weren't 47 weeks into the "Titus O'Neil project", and he had more direct competition on the show (if it's even still technically a contest - if it wasn't for the graphics saying rookie or Pro when someone comes to the ring, I'd probably consider it pretty much written off), he'd be in more serious trouble. As it is, it's not outside the realm of possibility for him to save himself with some more fluid and cohesive performances in the weeks (and likely months) to come. Kind of a rocky start to the heel turn, but changes in character generally aren't easy to pull off in the early stages. (Grade: B- or so).
That's all for NXT this week. I'll be back for Superstars and Impact Wrestling tomorrow, and a news post will hopefully be up tonight. Thanks for reading!
VERY good points about Titus. I agree with virtually everything you mentioned this week. You bring up very good points in that he would be in trouble if this wasn't a long and drawn-out season and that he needs to grow as a bad guy. I think he did have SOME good spots this week, but overall, his promo and match were mediocre and maybe average at best. I do agree that a little more time is needed, though. But, it is a rocky start.
ReplyDeleteSome of his points in his promo didn't make much sense or didn't even really support why he turned into a bad guy (any one could blame the fans, but it's your reasoning that matters, and he didn't have logical reason to start his heel turn). If you watch guys like R-Truth and Batista when they turned heel, they had more specific and "storyline-logical" reasons. That is where the believability needs to be there as a character.
Let me know your thoughts on this...Does it seem like Titus is kind of forcing this heel turn more than trying to make it natural? I understand that people are generally laid back, but even Daniel Bryan is more convincing in his new role than Titus. I think that is one hurdle Titus will have to climb over.
With it being no secret matches are booked, he needs to be more convincing as a bad guy, because fans know it was scripted to attack Percy at the end. Like you said before, it's the whole demeanor and manner you go about attacks and other tactics that helps. It seems a little forced. You need to have that natural aggression as a bad guy, and not the aggression after a "planned attack" that WWE Management plans.
I mean, people like Young, Otunga and Kidd are just "natural" in their roles. Their demeanors on the mic, smack talk and aggression just seem to flow. Though Darren has been a little predictable with some of his persona like you mentioned, it still is something people remember, and that is that his character isn't being "made" by Management, he's "making the character". Titus will need to do this to be more credible.
I agree that since he's been a good guy for so long, it may take a little while. But then again, he's feuded with many bad guys so far, so he should have gotten a good grasp in terms of how they go about feuds, matches and promos.
By the way, what are your thoughts on Young getting a week off to seemingly build up a feud? I know you mentioned before that it makes sense for him and WWE Management to re-tool for a bit.
I don't know if Titus got to choose to turn heel. It could just as easily (if not more easily) have been a decision by Creative or management to make that direction for him. It's also possible that they gave him the talking points for the promo, so I was looking more at the delivery.
ReplyDeleteI think it's more of a matter of him being new and uncomfortable in the role than anything. As for Bryan, I don't think they've fully transitioned him into heel mode yet. He's not going to completely change his promos and the like within just a few weeks.
Not all the fans know that it's scripted. If performers are doing their jobs right and well, the audience can "suspend their disbelief" and still get wrapped up in the storylines like soap operas, movies, TV shows and the like.
I disagree about Young being completely natural in his role. He generally comes across more as someone trying to get noticed as opposed to someone trying to win matches and outwit his opponents. While it's good to engage the crowd and have unique/powerful offense, it can be overdone. Sometimes it feels like he's more concerned about making sure everyone sees his big moves and knows that he's doing important things than being a good enough character and performer that he doesn't need to draw the added attention to himself. On the other hand, a similar character like Kidd can just smile and gesture and the crowd reacts.
If he's doing his job right, the audience isn't thinking about management or that he's making his character. They're thinking about how the match is going/went, and wanting to see where the stories go from there. The less the audience realizes that matches and promos are planned, the better. Most people don't go to movies to see people they know are acting act well. They go to get lost in a particular story. A good performer can give people that. He needs to focus more on getting cheers or boos than getting noticed.
While Titus has worked with heels, as far as I know he doesn't have much if any experience working that side of the coin. To some degree it's like driving with a stick-shift instead of automatic. You can watch people do it a million times, but doing it isn't something you pick up as naturally on the first few tries.
As for Young, if he's going to do the same things he normally does, I'm fine with them keeping him off-screen for a while. I'm guessing they might have the same thoughts on him I do as far as trying too hard. They don't want a scene-stealer (in the "taking attention away from what they're trying to accomplish" sense).
He's done pretty much everything he could do with Titus (who I'd think was the top face on the show). Attacked him, taunted him, lost to him, and finally been rendered ineffective against him in a one-sided affair. If he's going to be a heel again, he'll almost certainly be moving down the card.
Time off will do the character good. About the worst thing that can happen to a character is to be stuck doing the same thing over and over and never progressing. I think I've brought this up before, but he reminds me a bit of Sisyphus. He could be the best rock-pusher ever, but would never reach the top of the hill if he stayed in the same cycle with Titus.
I guess the word I was searching for about Young compared to Titus is believability. Even though he gets a little tiring with his mannerisms on the way to the ring and whatnot, people get used to it; therefore, they are more likely to perceive it. You get what I mean? I know Titus is new to the role, but that is something he will have to get into the habit of. Being believable to the audience is big. Being a panderous good guy for 46 weeks does not work in his favor.
ReplyDeleteIt really depends in terms of picking up on heel mannerisms and using them. I know, speaking for myself, in watching so many heels in their tactics and promos, it wouldn't be hard for me to tap into being a bad guy.
I'm also not sure if there is assigned speaking points or not, but if there was, that is even worse for Titus. I say that because charisma and coming up with details to back up your points in promos is huge, and if the points were already made for him, that is even proving my point even more. Even with (possible) speaking points, he still was vague and uninformative?
Yeah, time will tell in terms of if Titus can break through as a bad guy. I'm skeptical from what I've seen from him so far in 46 weeks and as his natural personality is laid back, but it's only fair to give him time. Would you agree that being a heel is KIND of acquired in that not everyone could pull it off? Guys like Mysterio have less range and are guys that can't really have the ruthlessness to pull it off. I know Titus is a big guy, but his personality doesn't really come up to match it (so far).
What did you mean by that match being one-sided affair? I thought Young got a good amount of offense in, despite being booked to lose, and showed more in that match than Titus. I do agree Titus is getting a bit much of a push. Is that what you meant?
With him proving about as much as he can as a bad guy (thought he could do more like you mentioned last week), do you think he will be booked to switch to a good guy and do you think he should or is there anything else storyline-wise or character-wise that he is capable of changing your mind from?
I'm not quite sure what you mean there. I'd think that if people got used to it, they'd be less likely to perceive it since it would become commonplace. Like how a DDT used to be a match ender, and now it's just another move.
ReplyDeleteI don't know enough about you to debate that point. Some would say it's a lot harder to pull off in front of a big audience, and every crowd is theoretically somewhat different. You have to simultaneously make what you're doing clear to everyone in attendance without overdoing it to where it's not believable and you look like you're playing a bad guy (instead of "actually being one").
I know that some promos for Raw and Smackdown are written word for word and deviating from the script might get someone heat backstage, whereas they trust others to ad lib it a bit. With NXT not being on TV in the States, there's likely less scrutiny but it's possible if someone's not a great talker they'll be given a script. I'm just speculating on that part.
The point I was trying to make was that if he was given a vague and uninformative script to read from and told to do it word for word, he can't really be blamed for the verbiage being bad.
I definitely think you can get better at being a heel over time if that's what you meant. Sometimes you'll think something will get a crowd going, but it won't and so on. There are also some crowds that are more pro-bad guy, so it would be harder to work with/around that. I think Mysterio did work heel some in WCW, but I didn't watch that so I wouldn't know "first-hand" how well he pulled it off.
It wasn't the best choice of words on my part: I meant that by the end of the match, while Young put a lot of offense to Titus, Titus got the decisive win by kicking out of however many minutes worth of a beatdown AND Young's finisher (which to my knowledge hadn't happened previously). Even Young (in character) was shocked that that happened. Titus beat him shortly thereafter and was still good to cut a promo afterward whereas Darren kind of disappeared. From a storyline standpoint, it was clear that Titus was higher up on the food chain and had "won" the feud (unless they go back to that well with Young as a face, which I'm hoping they don't do any time soon. There's only so much they can do with two people fighting each other.)
At the least, I hope he gets a couple more weeks off-screen so he's "fresher" when he comes back. He can, in character and reality, rethink things and bring a new approach to what he's doing. I think he could work as a good guy, but there needs to be enough time off for him to "think about what he did" and change his mind about what kind of person and competitor he is.
It's a little bit like Kane: he had done really just about everything to do before his "injury" by Henry, so much so that he went from being seen as a monster to to some degree just another guy on the roster. People weren't "afraid of him" anymore because he'd been pushed to the background and lost the aura that he used to have. Now he's back with an almost completely new look and attitude, and he's important again.
Something like that needs to happen with Young, as far as a "reboot" goes. At least for me to not be burned out on him. He could also come back as an even more evil heel using weapons or something trying to injure everyone, but I think that might really be pushing things. So, MAYBE a face turn and probably a new look to some degree. It'd be interesting to see what he could do in a team with Percy Watson, since they were together in FCW some time ago.
All valid points there. My thoughts on the promos and whatnot Titus did is really based in that if he had a topic, he needs to do more than just speak words to convey beliveability to gain credibility. What I mean by that is simply the deameanor (like the attitude, confidence and narcissism that a heel should have). I honestly think those intangible attributes are more crucial in character than a promo.
ReplyDeleteWith the beliavability stance I mentioned (it's hard to get the point across on here), but in my opinion, once you get into a character as Darren has become more ruthless and more relaxed, it becomes more identifiable to the audience. Though his mannerisms are a little repetitious, if he does them enough, people remember it. You get what I mean now?
I am also interested to see what comes of Young. With lack of information, do you think we could still come to the conclusion that it's basically time for Young to re-tool and come up with a new feud?
A problem he had as a good guy before was that (in Season 1 and after), he held back a bit. I think he kind of expected his good in-ring talent to be enough, so he kind of took it easy in Season 1 and after Nexus. And it ended up with him being back on NXT lol. What do you think he could do better as a good guy to get him over and noticed?
It wouldn't really matter to me either way. I personally am more of a liker of the villianous character, so I'd like to see him expand on that. You brought up some good ways to make his character better before, like being more villianous in his demeanor and promos. You mentioned repetition was a major reason why he wasn't a "5", so do you think that was the MAIN reason? Anything besides the suggestions you mentioned a couple of weeks ago?
I know the "PG" rating hurts him A LITTLE BIT in that a lot of the villians you are looking him to sample of in the past had a little bit more to work with when it was "TV-14".
believability*
ReplyDeleteI also agree that general attributes and demeanors are more important than the specific words in a promo. As I mentioned, not all heels need to have those characteristics to be successful. That would get old, especially in a roster with so many people.
ReplyDeleteHow has Darren been more relaxed? I haven't seen that. He's seemed just as high-octane as ever, though at this point I'm probably so burned out on him it's hard to notice.
People remembering you isn't necessarily a good thing if it's because you're doing the same thing over and over (unless that's what they want to see, but that generally applies to someone that's already been accepted by the fans in their role - Cena, HHH, etc.). While you do want fans to remember you, it should be in a way that doesn't take them "out of the moment" (like Titus stumbling in promos).
Someone came up with the theory that he'll team with Titus against Percy and Riley. I think I could live with that if they can find a way for it to make sense. I don't know how much say he has in the matter.
Working as a face can be completely different from being a heel (unless it's a case of the fans responding so well to someone that they kind of turn face by default). I definitely think he shouldn't be in the same gimmick he had to start off with on Season 1. It felt like kind of a weird fit, and would be hard to believe following such an intense character (unless he hits his head and forgets who he is or something equally ridiculous that I think people would groan at). It would probably take a while for him to believably transfer from one extreme to another, so I'd picture him starting off kind of basic instead of going straight into playing to the crowd and smiling.
Long-term, since I haven't seen much else of him as a face character-wise beyond the fairly generic "ex-Nexus member with no direction" we saw on Superstars, I don't know what would work for him to play off of. It has to be something he could believably portray, and ideally something he'd be comfortable with so he can easily tap into it.
Generally a face is someone the fans can sympathize with or see themselves as similar to. Unless they're just so entertaining in their roles that fans like them no matter what they do (Eddie Guerrero for instance). It's kind of a case by case thing for what works for someone. I definitely wouldn't just say "play to the crowd and pace things differently".
As I said, there's really only so far he can go in the role. Things can only be elevated so much before the only things that will draw the reactions he's looking for are weapons or dangerous spots. It's a bad road to go down.
As for his ranking, I'd say that's pretty much it. His character is pretty much in the same place it's been since early in the season. How many months had he been feuding with Titus? I'm all for lengthy feuds, but they were really spinning their tires there for a while.
This isn't a diss to Young, but I think a truly great performer can work around that. Smackdown's always been PG (though they did push the envelope more in the past), and that's where Finlay and Benoit generally were. C.M. Punk's feuds with Big Show and Mysterio, Orton's with HHH, etc. were PG, though I'd think with tenured performers involved they got more leeway than Young would get.
In a way, after looking at his history I can really see why Young would be frustrated and try so hard: he worked dark matches and B-shows similar to Superstars a number of times years back, but didn't get signed for years following them. In addition to the well-documented on and off booking since making it to TV (including notably being the only performer they were so lost on that he got demoted back to being a Rookie), he's the only performer currently on NXT who's to the best of my knowledge ONLY on NXT. Everyone else is either a part of Raw, Smackdown, or FCW. They don't think he's ready for one of the main show rosters (even on house shows), but they also don't think he's so unready that he's still learning the ropes down there. I don't think that that's ever happened with any other performer in the history of NXT.
ReplyDeleteI can't think of a better indictment against him being a big success in the company. It could not be more clear to me that they have no idea what to do with him. If it weren't for the Superstars match not too long ago and the fact that he's still being mentioned on the show, I'd say he could very well be completely off the radar and they're just using him to get other performers and stories over. There's a glimmer of hope there, but what happens with him next could be his last chance to get on management's good side.
With Young being relaxed, I'm looking more towards how he isn't just going out there and "winging it" like he was before. He has planned demeanors (pointing to the tron, "this is my ring", and the catchphrases and whatnot that create more relaxation with his character. I agree that when it goes to the "back and forth" promos and whatnot, he can be a little flustered and that is where one might think he isn't as relaxed.
ReplyDeleteYeah, with Titus pretty much coming up with mediocre promos the last two weeks, he hasn't been exactly winning anyone over. I mean, you can't take Youtube commenters 100 percent credibly, but about 90 percent of them are flat-out ripping Titus and his intangibles. I guess that kind of proves that stance I mentioned in that you need to stand out positively and not in that manner.
That Titus feud (for the second time) and having him end up on the losing end of it really seals the deal in terms of WWE Management not being committed to him. Like we talked about, Management is basically half of the blame in creating the feud the second time. I mean, imagine a Christian-Orton feud or a Miz-Cena feud again. I agree 100 percent that the only thing making him even fairly relevant to Management is that Superstars match.
One thing I have noticed, and this is with a lot of guys, is that one week there will be someone who gets booked to do extremely well, and the next week, they get flat-lined in a squash match or something. That happened with McIntyre, where he beat a seemingly upstart Justin Gabriel, but yet loses like four straight matches to mid-level guys around Gabriel's caliber after. There's just no common ground and stability with Management's decisions.
I guess it's just a victim of the machine type of deal, where even though the fans know Young's talent, WWE Management ultimately determines his fate. I would feel EXTREMELY demoralized if I was McIntyre or Young in that they are busting their asses and still don't get much of a push. We still see what happens. Maybe that week off (maybe two this upcoming week) could be a signal that Management wants to try something new with him.
Oh, right. I was thinking more along the lines of him still raising his voice for promos and going pretty balls-to-the-wall. Different kind of relaxed. I have seen that to a degree.
ReplyDeleteI think people on the internet, and YouTube commenters in generally, have a tendency to be overwhelmingly negative about a lot of things, so I don't look to them as a very good barometer for someone's success or failure (as they're not the main audience WWE's shooting for). Though sometimes they can be overwhelmingly positive, too. It seems like there's not much in-between at times.
Management/Creative could very well be even more than 50% to blame for putting them together so much. I know outside of NXT and Superstars, they have an even bigger leash on things since more people are watching and they see the shows as a lot more important.
Management/Creative (they're closely linked but not exactly the same thing) is notoriously inconsistent on its performers unless they're already over or someone's pushing for them behind the scenes. It feels like it's only gotten worse the last couple of years. It's like they have ADD some times.
Oh, I should note about the whole "mid-level" thing: I have a bad tendency to label everyone who isn't in a semi-important story or title picture as being "in midcard hell" when obviously a lot of them are technically in the lower card. Purgatory or Limbo would be a little more all-inclusive. To me, it's almost like everyone's stuck there, or in the "upper midcard" like Rhodes or around main event level. There is a lower card, but I misname it the midcard a lot.
Dolph Ziggler and Mark Henry come to mind as two people who they finally figured out what to do with after however many years and got behind (for now), so it's not impossible.
Just note that they took Brodus Clay off-screen after the Superstars matches and you saw how well that got put together. They've had Skip Sheffield waiting in the wings for a while now, too. Very ADD. Michael Tarver appearing backstage on Smackdown then them doing nothing with him... you get the idea.
He might have to make his own opportunity like Punk, Ryder, Ziggler, Miz, DiBiase, and Morrison ahead of him. No guarantees that it will work, but it might be his best shot for succeeding the company.
I couldn't agree more on the A.D.D. stance. It's just the harsh truth. Sometimes they just don't listen to the fans and who would make the best star in that company and rely on their own beliefs. I mean, all over the place I hear about guys like Kidd, McIntyre and Young having the talents, but they're just victim of the A.D.D.-based decisions of Management.
ReplyDeleteHave you noticed a kind of tendency to favor big guys? I mean, why would someone like The Great Khali have exceedingly enough talent to be the top guy on the show? Not to pull punches, but him and Titus are kind of in the same boat: Need work in the ring, are hard to understand (Khali always and Titus at times) and don't have any natural charisma. That is the A.D.D. kicking in hard right there.
Good point again with the relating to Brodus. The only thing I wouldn't like about taking Young off screen for an extended amount of time is that he is in a competition. I would be ALL IN for it if he wasn't in NXT, but even when he was gone for four weeks, a lot of others thought he was eliminated and were surprised at his comeback. I love the idea to re-tool him like Brodus, though.
Then again, maybe there will never be a winner of this competition? With it being basically a show for the lower-card guys and with the show's advertising and intro video featuring all of them, it can kind of shift attention that way. If that is the case (and Management really has no clear direction for the show now so it could be) I would be all in for a re-tooling.
I'd think that the average wrestling fan would disagree about Kidd, McIntyre, and Young since they're hardly ever on TV and generally lose. I'm of the impression that the average fan doesn't follow things too closely or watch shows like NXT or Superstars, nor do they view things like technical in-ring prowess as superior to charisma. The average fan's more casual, hence the fact that by definition they aren't hardcore fans. I'd be very surprised if any of those guys became top stars in the company since it is based so much on image and charisma.
ReplyDeleteThat's not just management's idea; money's generally drawn more from fans into the likes of Cena and Miz. Someone can be pretty bad in the ring from a "5 star match" standpoint, but if fans respond well to them, that's who they'll go with (unless they're so bad that they hurt people in the ring or the fans don't believe in their matches). A lot of people would say that the Twilight films are terribly acted and downright awful quality-wise, but people line up around the block to see them. Ditto for Justin Beiber. They're about selling T-shirts and all that kind of stuff ahead of being "good" because it's a lot better for their bottom line.
It's not quite as bad as it used to be given some of the less huge superstars getting chances, but yes. Back in the Hogan Era it was a lot of "set up the hero to beat the big guys", and they're still trying to make that work to some degree. Some of those performers probably had little to no business being in the ring from a technical standpoint and only got where they got because their opponents could make them look credible. Kevin Nash was champion for somewhere in the range of a year in the '90s, and some said he only had about 5-6 moves in his whole arsenal. A big, plodding guy but in addition to being a good politicker, he had a look they liked. Vince McMahon did try to run a bodybuilding business for a while after all. And pro wrestling has its origins in the carnival scene, where being abnormally big was a common attraction.
Khali also had the big Indian demographic. He's apparently a pretty big star there. Either way, I'd say my rankings are kind of biased towards the fact that WWE does have a tendency to use more performers like that, and misuse the technically-gifted athletes. It's a breath of fresh air sometimes when it's the other way around, though I'm not 100% sure how well a company built predominantly on athletics and technical skill would go with the "male soap opera"/"sports entertainment" crowd that I would argue is the majority of what's made wrestling successful. There were a lot more T-shirts sold for the strong characters than the strong in-ring performers (from a "has a lot of moves" standpoint).
Part of me thinks they could be biding time until the WWE Network launch (which is still apparently a good number of months off) and so aren't thinking of any ways to "really" end the competition until then (so they can start a new season when that starts). But there's plenty of time between now and then, so a lot of it could also be that they just don't know what to do with a lot of those people for Raw or Smackdown. So many people have been added to the roster since Season 1 ended that they're kind of stuck. WWE's still in a big state of change with the whole "who can we use and how" thing.
I'm personally really liking the shift in focus since it gives those people something to do and actual character development that we don't get much of on Superstars. For whatever reason (besides it "not being like the original ECW"), a lot of people didn't care for the precursor to NXT, the ECW brand. I thought it was criminally underrated as a place for them to try new things with people they had lost faith with, and test the waters with new performers. It helped Christian, Morrison, Miz, Sheamus, Zack Ryder, Ezekiel Jackson, Mark Henry, Punk, Swagger, Bourne, Kofi, Kelly Kelly, and Yoshi Tatsu's careers to get a start or restart there. There was less stress for everything to be perfect, but WWE treated it as the red-headed stepchild and it kind of floundered. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I guess it really is up for interpretation in terms of the "average fan". I don't know too many personally (I'm mainly judging from posts and comments on social media), but to me, the "average fan" bill knows a decent amount about WWE Management as its biases, so that is kind of where my justification was with it.
ReplyDeleteWith McIntyre, Kidd and Young, I think one thing to also consider is that they simply haven't gotten that chance and have been held back towards getting their chances to prove what they can do. Therefore, I can't really say they wouldn't fit that "sports entertainer" or "soap opera" image yet until they are given a chance. I think that kind of can exemplify the fickleness of WWE Management, because they can jump to conclusions and some would say unjustifiably not give guys like those three time to shine. I mean, look at Brodus: NO ONE expected him to exude so much charisma and fit that "sports entertainer" bill, but he has surprised everyone, because he was given that chance that those three guys haven't. I personally had him pegged as an athletic power guy with little personality before.
I'm noticing a lot of fans (and you're right that Youtube commenters aren't as valid and can be biased) do get fairly outspoken about guys like Kidd, McIntyre and Young. I think even with them being bad guys, fans notice their talents and kind of either realize that they're not getting those chances to fit that "sports entertainer" bill or just simply view raw ability as one of the main attributes to make it in the company.
I think when it comes down to it, everyone has their own preferences in terms of "sports entertainer" versus "raw ability". Being a "raw ability" guy, my frame of mind may be a little tweaked.
I do think there should be some more consideration for "raw ability" guys like those three, though. We mentioned this before, but I mean as long as they're not completely boring, why not give them a push at least to the mid-level? The WWE could find ways to market guys like that if they really wanted to. A lot of it is just lack of push, and for all I know, they could fit that "sports entertainer" bill if they had more of a chance and a set gimmick like Brodus.
With Brodus getting the push over those three, it kind of does exemplify the whole "big man bias" that the WWE can have. I liked Brodus, but before this gimmick, what did he have besides size that those three guys I mentioned didn't have? lol
And I also agree about ECW. It really wasn't "Extreme Championship Wrestling" like it was back last decade, but it was a good platform for those guys you mentioned, and really set the stage for them. I think the whole NXT image is very opake. Most can't tell if it's a competition or if it's just a show for the lower-card guys. I like the idea to give those lower-card guys more airtime and somewhat of a chance, but it confuses the purpose a bit. Those suggestions you mentioned a while back make sense to decrease the complexity of that problem.
ReplyDeleteI picture the average fan as someone who just watches the product on TV each week and doesn't look into it much (if at all) beyond that. Generally if someone's talking about it online, they're more into it than most, since it's more of a part of their lives than something they passively watch.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if there'd really be a way to show how many "average" fans there are and what their habits are, since so many people use the Internet now including the hypothetical kid fans who just post about how much they like John Cena and so on. I could probably find more information on that, but I don't know how much. I don't see regular viewers of NXT and Superstars as average fans since there's no way they number as highly as the number of people watching Raw each week. And adding in international markets that don't get NXT and Superstars would REALLY skew things towards the more casual fans.
Yeah, that's a fair point for the most part. McIntyre did get a pretty good amount of spotlight when he first appeared on Smackdown, but I don't think he's ever gotten to show much range. I'm curious as to how he'd do as a babyface. I've heard he did well in that kind of role pre-WWE. Sadly now he's "the guy who talks with a Scottish accent".
I'd REALLY like to see what Kidd could do if given the chance to shine. I liked what I saw of him early in his career on ECW. He's incredibly proficient in the ring, and has mostly been good on the mic. As silly as it looked, you can't stand out much more than a guy in bright pink tights with that little tuft of hair (not that he should necessarily go back to that). I don't know what it would take for him to make that leap into someone the fans could get behind on a bigger level, but if they could figure it out, he's got the nuts and bolts down to a T. If anything, that could be what's keeping him back. They know he's so good at the actual technical wrestling that he can be used to help others improve their games.
I don't know what was going on with the gimmick Young had in the early parts of Season 1, but it was pretty out there and it didn't really seem like it was a natural fit for him. Especially seeing his current gimmick, I can't picture him believably as a heavy partier. I'm thinking a bit of Lance Storm dancing years back. Storm was previously a VERY serious, humorless competitor all about technique, then they had him as a dancing goof. It had to have been some kind of joke at his expense. Brodus at least has the look of a rapper and was Snoop Dogg's bodyguard.
I'm under the impression that especially in early seasons they got a lot of leeway with who they could be and what they could do, and that just didn't look like something Young was 100% comfortable with. That look just didn't seem to fit. If he didn't do well enough with that, WWE's going to be shy about going to that route again.
Brodus cut a killer promo when he was eliminated in Season 4, and with some of his looks in the past and background, I'm not 100% surprised this is working for him (though I'm much closer to shocked than having expected it).
There's definitely a vocal contingent of fans who want a more athletic and technical wrestling-based product. Generally speaking, that's not who successful companies have marketed to. Instead of characters and stories, it can descend into a lot of long matches and innovative moves for the sake of innovative moves because fans keep needing to be impressed and they've seen everything there is to see. That sounds really good on paper, but it's not realistically attainable. When 30 minute matches with a lot of impressive moves become commonplace, it's almost impossible to get crowds to react. And when you do get them to react, they want even more next time. It can only go so far and fans who aren't into the technical aspects of wrestling get bored.
If they don't catch on with the crowds much (even with a push), they shouldn't push them too high if they're not going to make money. "Good wrestler" isn't much of a character, and if they can't fit with a more interesting character well, they're taking spots away from people who can (if they have people there who could do better). If they can do sports entertainment, it's much more justifiable to keep them around from a business perspective (which is most of what WWE cares about).
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's JUST size, but how quickly he can move and the moves he can do despite his size that separates him from the average big, lumbering lug. I think there's a reason he's gotten further than Eli Cottonwood.