Last week, things continued to get heated on NXT. A frustrated Curt Hawkins punched out the host of NXT, Matt Striker. What repercussions will be coming his way? Titus O'Neil continues to plot against his former partner Percy Watson, and the crazy love rectangle with Curtis, Bateman, Maxine, and Kaitlyn is getting even crazier. How will things change this week? Read on for my thoughts on the show as it happens.
No remorse from Reks and Hawkins coming to the ring.
Regal's comments further support my theory that he's at least partially "in-character" as a commentator.
Nice promos from Hawkins and Reks.They sounded a more natural in conversation than if they were just "cutting a wrestling promo".
Hawkins belittling Striker I'm mostly ok with, since theoretically Striker's not coming back to the ring full-time.
Hawkins as NXT GM would be interesting.
"I'm not as stupid as you look". That one kind of slipped under the radar.
Striker saying Hawkins doesn't hit hard is a little disappointing. Call me old school, but I like the idea that the guy still competing and training regularly can drop the guy who's only wrestled a few times in years.
Substitute. Clever.
Regal as NXT host/GM. I can get behind this.
I hope this is a set up for Kidd to be a babyface.
Was that a subtle reference to Regal failing his Wellness test (and getting suspended) years back when he was Raw GM?
Tyson's mostly good. He doesn't have to go out of his way and taunt. He can just gesture and gets his point across that he's proud of what he did.
Chants for Tyson. Impressive.
I was hoping he'd choke him with the T-shirt, but that might be against company policy after the Benoit incident.
I like that the crowd is into this beyond being impressed with some of the offense and making "oohs" and "aahs". They're cheering for Kidd to prevail.
NICE Victory Roll into a Sharpshooter. That was pretty impressive.
I like that they're promoting Tyson competing before the (international) commercial break.
Titus is in good shape.
I like Regal as host. He doesn't overshadow the talent. He just says his piece and tosses to the action.
Ooh. This should be a good test for Titus.
Wow. Titus is actually stringing things together instead of just doing some moves here and there and not knowing what to do with the rest of his allotted time.
Titus might be a little over-the-top with his taunting.
Titus' selling wasn't that great. It's important when you're working for longer matches and aren't just on offense a lot.
Clever reference to the other name for the Clash of the Titus.
So-so promo from Titus. His voice gets pretty garbled at times.
Alex Riley, on the other hand, did a really good promo.
A little late for Valentine's.
Kait-man. I like it.
Hahahaha. I love how some guy just comes up and believes Curtis is Bateman with no ID.
Fun segment as always from Curtis.
They should "toss to break" with what's coming up next more often.
Good points from Regal that would set up to Percy/Titus.
So much (theoretically) for McGillicutty playing off of his father's career.
Good athleticism from Watson.
Yeah, McGillicutty's yelling comes across almost like he can't get a reaction otherwise.
That was a nice differentiation from the "head down in the ring" spot, which never works out for the person bending down. I don't know why anyone would even try that trick anymore.
Good enough match from Percy Watson. Keep your eye on him in the years to come if WWE doesn't blow things.
You'd think she'd recognize Curtis' handwriting? I'm ok with it other than that.
Titus, Percy, and Derrick all get ads for their matches this week. Darren Young's nowhere to be seen. You'd think they'd change who the Rookies are or something.
Scumbag Cena - kisses his best friend's girlfriend and tries to injure him.
Kane hooked a car battery to Shane McMahon's testicles. Stealing a girlfriend's a little lower on the evil pole.
Kaitlyn's hair's really grown. Pretty good that she's stuck around for someone who wasn't even supposed to be on Season 3.
What did Derrick hand out to the fans?
Two opponents?
This would make sense to build sympathy for Bateman.
Now that works for a partner.
I could listen to (and watch) Kaitlyn on commentary all day.
Check THAT out. Dangerous moves, but they caught my attention.
Heh. Kaitlyn on commentary.
This match is good so far. I'm amused by the commentary, but the ring-action should be a little more important.
I think that was a Seinfeld reference by Kaitlyn with the "head to toe" thing.
Bateman's a house of fire.
Nice end.
I don't think I've ever seen an attack with Valentine's chocolates.
And the soap opera fun continues. Everyone played their parts well.
On to this week's Rookie evaluations. 5 is without any major, crippling flaws. 4 is mostly good, but has something that keeps them from being a 5. 3 is so-so, with either highs and lows or being average overall. 2 is almost entirely bad, with very little in the way of redeemable qualities. 1 is so terrible they shouldn't even be on this show.
Derrick Bateman - 5 (Last week: 5). Good at everything he does. A performer with a look and character that stands out from everyone in the company in a good way. I'm a bit concerned about his ability to work longer singles matches, but we haven't seen him in one of those in so long there really isn't much in the way of judging those. Barring a big slump in the upcoming weeks and months (since this show will almost certainly keep going), he'll be pretty safe at the top of the Rookie mountain. More experience in longer matches seems to be the only thing keeping him from being a fairly certain lock for bigger things in the company. (Grade: close to mid-A range).
Titus O'Neil - 4 (Last week: 4). Titus continues to be in kind of an odd place, as his progress has been somewhat frustratingly slow. With the impressive performances put on by new and rejuvenated members of the WWE roster, it's a little hard to advocate pushing him too big. He's getting better with the nuts and bolts in the ring and the overall feel of being a wrestler with his determination and strategy in the ring, but his promos continue to be awkward at times. He's come a long way from Season 2, but I don't see him making it to 5 range for a good time coming (if at all). If NXT lasts another 50 weeks, maybe he'll get to where I'd like for him to be to make it to a regular singles spot on the main roster, but for now I wouldn't recommend him there. (Grade: lower end of the B scale).
If I had to eliminate someone, it would be: Darren Young. He becomes less and less important each week. The less often he's on the show, the closer he gets to the "whatever happened to _______?" list. I'd be more than ok with him being officially replaced in the competition by Percy Watson, or even the former Skip Sheffield (who's been working a lot of live events and dark matches lately). Given what having time off and a reboot did for Kane, I think that could be the answer for him if they want to make use for him outside of a supporting role. Of course, that would require that they have a long-term plan (which isn't always a guarantee for them).
That's all for this week's NXT. I'll be back for Superstars and Impact Wrestling tomorrow, and a news post will be up later tonight. Thanks for reading!
Chuck, I had to admit that saying Titus' promo was "so-so" is generous. I'm honestly trying to look at the glass half-full with him, but I just can't see any positive progression in his bad guy persona. I'm willing to give him a little more time, but there's just something missing.
ReplyDeleteI think half of it is just him getting used to the role and the other half being him just naturally being a laid back guy in real life. I notice there needs to be some sort of correlation between your aggression/demeanor in real life that attributes to your character. Therefore, I just can't see him carrying on enough traits to make it as a bad guy. I'll give him time, though.
As for Young, was this week off a week where he was sick where he had a valid reason, or was it Management's decision? I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it was Management's decision, because you are right in that they are clueless on what to do with him. That trails into him being penalized because of it.
With O'Neil (though I necessarily don't agree) you can see that the company has faith and sees more potential in him with Titus being on like a six-match booked winning streak and with him getting commentary and promo time.
I understand he's not "horrible", but I think you can make the argument that he is being pushed more in part because of his size. I hate to sound like a jerk, but look at the facts: Young is better in the ring, has a nickname, catch phrase, and is arguably better with promos; therefore, I'd like to see what Management would do if Young was the bigger wrestler. You catch my drift there?
It's the politics of the business, but being a fan of Young, it's tough to swallow.
Good insight this week, though. By the way, I remember your New Year's post about predictions or whatever on the WWE Superstars and remembered you mentioned Tamina being a champion this year. Good prediction. How did you have the foresight to know that?
ReplyDeleteI mean, she was at the bottom of the heap: Competing on NXT and being booked not to win most of her matches. I mean, I don't remember since her recent push the last time she won a singles match.
I wish there was some more congruence with the male and female divisions. I mean, Reks, Hawkins and Young all go out there and cut decent promos and are solid in the ring. However, in the men's division, they are lucky to ever get on one of the main shows.
On the other side of the coin, would we honestly even know who Tamina was outside of her father? I mean, most people haven't even heard her speak. She may become champ soon, but she lacks sooo many intangibles that people like Reks and Young, though not perfect, indeed have. I just don't understand Management or the Divas division. There is a new champ that lacks so many skills so often.
His promos definitely need work. I think a lot of it is his voice. Some people just can't get that down apparently. I remember Shelton Benjamin having a similar problem. Maybe he's overthinking things and getting flustered? That's got to be tough. Not that that excuses what was not a great promo. I think having seen so many promos from him that he'd have to do something REALLY good or REALLY bad for it to draw much attention. I agree that there's something really keeping him from being a 5, but I think relative inexperience in the ring might be the bigger flaw. I do think he's progressed as a heel to some degree, since his attacks were more focused this week instead of just big bursts of power leading to the Clash of the Titus.
ReplyDeleteI think a performer does need to be able to pull something from inside themselves to be a bad guy unless they're REALLY good at faking it and watching others' traits. There is, notably, the "mean character, nice actor" trope, where someone can be very villainous on-screen and pretty nice outside of it. Of course, it could go the other way as well where someone can be a great person on-screen and terrible off of it. There probably can be some correlation, but I wouldn't say it's inconceivable to be different.
I haven't seen anything about Young being sick or anything, which doesn't mean that he wasn't. NXT seems more structured long-term than some of the other shows, but I expect that there are still some "week-to-week" decisions on who to use. This is pure speculation, but it could have come down to him or McGillicutty, and they chose the latter. He worked some recent house shows using some of his father's signature moves, so maybe they're looking at possibly changing up his character. There are SO many performers in the company that someone's going to get left out (or everyone will be squeezed in in less meaningful, short bursts and the show becomes a mess).
I definitely think they look at the size factor when pushing someone. It's not as bad as it has been in the past, but I guess they look at it in the way that a bigger man is "more believable" to win what they see as a fight. Obviously a skilled smaller competitor could beat someone bigger in a real fight, but the story they generally look for is different from reality (like a lot of other forms of entertainment).
I think that "better in the ring" is really subjective. I definitely get that Young is more technically proficient and experienced and can do impressive moves, etc.. To WWE, "better in the ring" would presumably be getting the fans involved in your matches and stories through what you do. They look more about the ups and downs of a match (as far as someone getting beaten down and coming back, etc.) a lot more I'd imagine than moves that look impressive.
I think there's a big distinction between getting cheers and boos vs. getting "oohs" and "aahs" because you did something that looked awesome. While I can get behind the latter as a fan of athletic displays, WWE (and to some degree the audience) is more into the story of the match. And I think generally that's what sells events, since if you're primarily focused on doing big, impressive moves, people will have eventually seen most of your tools of the trade and not react to them as much because they become commonplace. If everyone's doing brutal-looking offense, it's even harder to get them to react.
The best WWE example I can think of is The Undertaker's WrestleMania matches. They've been built up so big that we "know" that one Tombstone or Pedigree or whatever isn't going to end things. They've raised the bar so high that they have to keep topping it, and at some point that becomes unsustainable because they can only wrestle so long and do so many things. Hopefully that makes sense.
I guess statistically some of them had to be good guesses. Given that they had just turned her face at that point, and they were pretty behind her when she and The Usos first debuted (and kept her "on-screen" with JTG for a while), I thought it would eventually be happening. She hasn't won yet, though. They could just be setting up for something else for WrestleMania. In addition to big performers, they also historically "have a thing" for 2nd- and 3rd-generation stars.
ReplyDeleteThere's presently more of a story for Tamina than those people (and less competition in the division). She has a very one-of-a-kind lineage, look, and moveset compared to other Divas, so I think they could be on to something with her. I don't think she should win on Sunday, though. It's too early in the story.
There's no telling about Tamina without her heritage. That's insanely hypothetical. She doesn't need intangibles or even speaking skills if she can get the crowd behind her, and so far she's been able to do that. Granted, they've set her up pretty well with how they've booked her post-turn.
I think I've used this metaphor before, but this isn't the Oscars as much as the People's Choice Awards. Though, if fans got solidly behind the people you mentioned, WWE would be foolish to ignore that.