NXT:
Balor's already ready for the main roster. Just. Wow. Granted, Tyson Kidd can do great work with just about anyone and it is important for Balor to learn time cues and all that other "acclimation to WWE" stuff, but there aren't many recruits like the former Fergal Devitt.
So-so Bull promo. Honestly, I don't know how much shelf life he has at this point. He'll need to keep progressing for me to endorse him as a talent.
I don't guess I expected a long match between the two squash match kings, but that was disappointing after so much build. I would have liked some kind of DQ or something to set up future matches. I do wonder what this means for both men's futures. I think at some point they should team to go for the tag belts.
Good enough Divas' match. I definitely think there's potential in all three NXT names.
#&$*ing AMAZING match between Zayn and Neville. Neville's really damn close to being ready for the main roster with any gimmick. Both men have done a lot of really good things in the ring. I think both can be great assets on the main roster for 2015.
Based Kevin Owens. I wish they would have saved Bull vs. Baron for later and had promos from the competitors in the NXT Title match instead.
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
Charges against Kevin Nash have been dropped stemming from the
incident with his son on Christmas Eve. Theoretically this clears him
for the upcoming Raw Reunion, but he doesn't expect to be back on WWE TV.
I can see why WWE would be leery of using him with the press against
him, although maybe they've got a cool segment planned with the nWo and
they'd be OK with bringing him back for that? Legally, he's in the clear
now.
Daniel Bryan talked about his future as a wrestler:
- Metallica doing a concert at someone's house is pretty cool.
- It's great for Bryan to get to be in a big role with the Smackdown move.
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I hope Bryan differentiates from the other former indie names on the
main roster. It feels like everyone's doing superkicks, suicide dives,
and European uppercuts.
- Interesting look at the millenials comment. I think he's got some points there.
- Brave of him to speak about WWE not having a competitor like WCW.
- Cool to see him give props to those NXT names.
- Bryan vs. Lesnar definitely needs to happen.
- Sting does seem like a pretty down-to-earth guy.
Jim Ross talked about Randy Savage going into the WWE Hall of Fame. Really interesting story of JR's first day at WWE. As for the gray hair thing, Kevin Nash worked TNA without hair dye.
Paige talked about her WWE debut and more. AJ had already worked with Paige before Paige's main roster debut, and likely knew of her reputation from NXT. Heck, it gave AJ a pretty big feud and a lot of TV time/PPV appearances. Plus, time off! There was no reason for AJ to be upset.
NXT will have a live event in Columbus, Ohio on March 5 as part of the Arnold Classic. That's incredible! I hope the talents make the most of it and they get some new fans from performing there.
Former WWE name and current NWA Champion Rob Conway needed surgery for an emergency appendectomy. That sounds quite terrible. I hope he recovers well. He's got quite a few matches under his belt for someone with a fairly brief stay in WWE. He's kept busy. Good for him.
Raw brought in 3.91 million viewers against stiff competition. The big Randy Savage announcement and having Cena vs. Rollins early helped start the show strong, but ultimately a good number of people did switch over to football. It's an uphill battle and a long process to make the product what some fans want it to be.
The building set to host Summerslam 2015 could be closing before that's an option. I can't say I blame NJ for closing a facility losing so much money each year, especially when a new facility is set to open in the next few years. There's been a lot of history in that building, though, so people won't be pleased.
Update: WWE is looking for other options for hosting the show. I wonder if L.A.'s an option, since they've held the show there often in the past.
TNA announced the full roster for the upcoming UK tour. Those last few names are from the second season of British Boot Camp. I wouldn't be shocked to see some of them signed by TNA despite not winning.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I'm mostly OK with that. I'd rather have Reigns win the Rumble, Rollins and Ambrose fight for the briefcase at WM31, then Ambrose cash in on Lesnar after Lesnar beats Reigns in controversial fashion. Why end Mania with a big heel moment?
2. Let's just say Reigns is a work in progress. They're not helping by micromanaging his promos. I don't see any way Reigns vs. Show would be a great match, but I think the idea is to have the veteran Show see how "ready" Reigns is for a big push.
3. Sometimes it's good to take a break, then go back and catch up on what you missed. On the WWE Network for $9.99, of course. But really the show's not written for the people who've watched for years and years, just like the Christopher Nolan Batman movies weren't for the fans of Adam West's Batman.
4. That's pretty much it. They also have to think of travel schedules. The shows before and afterward have to be somewhat nearby.
5. What does any of that have to do with missing small details? Small details would be like forgetting Santino won the Intercontinental Title on his first night. I do think the firing storylines are getting stale, but they need to fill some time before Mania season kicks off in full swing. There's probably a reason the faces were fired temporarily to add heat to The Authority. Maybe Sting's able to get them back somehow to set up Sting vs. HHH? The hero needs to save the day. Getting some jobs back would be a good way to get support for Sting from people who don't know him from WCW or TNA. That's probably a bigger audience than you'd think.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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