I really don't want Balor's debut to be "My next pick is..." He deserves so much more. Same for Bayley really. It'd make sense for her to debut as Sasha's partner at Battleground rather than drafted up.

Why does Sasha have to be a face? I'd rather it be Nia Jax unless you plan on having Sasha attack Bayley after and set up a sweet feud that would actually have a story for the women's division apart from the title picture.

Tbf with Bayley they're probably going to do both. I mean most expect Bayley to be the partner anyway but if she gets drafted and still isn't the partner I could actually see the crowd booing whoever it is.

I think the best thing to do with NXT going forward would be to have the D
draft just be for NXT Superstars. After this initial draft next year's would only be NXT talent. Could do 5 picks apiece for a total of 10 call ups. Wouldn't need to call up anyone else throughout the year unless need be for injury. Main roster talents could become free agents and go to any show they please.

Not big on Bayley either. She's ok in the ring but I just feel like the main roster will overwhelm her. She's not the best talker in my opinion either. She'll probably get picked but I think she really needs more time in NXT.

I'd expect this too, I just don't like it.

I'd sooner not have people come up in "bulk" as it makes them less special. I figure they could have just drafted from the main roster then added NXT guys/returning older guys as they went.

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4 of the draft picks?

Probably not, but still fun.

Seemed like a clear send-off for Balor, Bayley, and Alpha. Nakamura's just there because he happened to be working the main event that evening.

Authors Of Pain are suprisingly not terrible in the ring.....

How all three had what could be considered the best match at WrestleMania? Cause that's how it turned out!

That was quite a few months ago now.

Catching up on the last 3 weeks worth of NXT....

Bayley/Alexa Bliss good match..... Alexa has become surprisingly capable. Thought she was going to lead the "next wave" of the NXT Women's Division, but I'm ok with her on the main show. She is ready.

American Alpha/Revival two out of three falls match was fantastic.

Balor/Nakamura match good as well..... not as good as the 2/3 falls tag match I feel.....

Hate the NXT crowd singing along with Nakamura's theme now..... like, shut up and just let me listen to it.......

Oh sweet, Itami is back next week.

No Way Jose is impressing me. Didn't like his gimmick, but this Austin Aries feud has brought out another side of him which is awesome.

Shut up and go to youtube if you want to listen to it. People are having fun you turd burglar.

He definitely came to life on this episode for sure. Looked great in his match and his standing up to Aries.

Who was that creepy promo with the trees for, before the TM61 match?

Ember Moon/Athena I think

Did NXT remix Emma's old theme for Santana Garrett's entrance theme?

Was the Ember Moon promo creepy enough to warrant her being the first female Wyatt Family member?

Bray, Ember, Harper & Rowan. :y:

They need real fucking workers in that women's division on SmackDown to accompany Becky and Nattie.

Just got done with the NXT Houston house show. Last NXT event for Finn Balor, Mojo Rawley, Nia Jax and Carmella. It was excellent, better than most PPVs. Hideo Itami came back and Bobby Roode had a match as well in the main event (Balor/Nakamura vs Roode/Joe). There was a great send-off for everyone, including thanking to Matt Bloom and a subtle jab at the challenging working conditions under Bill DeMott.

Oh, and Mandy Rose is unbelievably hot.

Yeah that's basically it. Funnily, the first time it was used was when she was Emma's opponent and Emma had just come out to her theme.

Speaking of themes, Bobby Roode's theme is.. Glorious.

Better than his TNA one?

I would have to listen to this properly and not muffled by a surprised crowd but I liked what I heard. Female chorus (I think anyway) and went well with his robed entrance.

She looks like a yellow Eva Marie who had a morning coffee.

There's definitely some Eva Marie action in the face, but you really have to see her in person.

Was pretty obvious Mandy Rose was getting signed the second I saw her on Tough Enough. While WWE may be making a push towards proper women's wrestlers, they're always going to bring aboard hot fitness models on occasion. It's no real surprise that she immediately went onto Total Divas for that reason.

Also Mandy's boyfriend looks exactly as I pictured him. Jacked dude who looks like he's 40 years old. Fair play to him for living the dream. Gives us all something to aspire to.

You know what is actually scary? She does a Tiger Driver. I legit was afraid for Bayley after that move.

She'll give a Billy Kay or a Payton Royce a stinger at some point and that'll be the end of that.

I mean, I haven't seen her yet so maybe she's not as green as I picture a Total Divas signee, but I'll assume so until I see otherwise with my own eyes.

Not every woman needs to be a wrestler. Mandy Rose would be fine as a valet, manager or ring girl if she sucks at wrestling.

Well, they're using her as a wrestler so that's what she is until further notice.

She'll be great on Big Brother in a couple of years.

And she will be forever because the WWE still doesn't see the point in having diverse purposes for their women. They're either announcers or wrestlers.

That being said, they haven't worked out the value of many of their male performers either.

She actually wasn't bad. Pretty green but knows how to take a bump correctly and do basic moves. That's why the Tiger Driver was a surprise. Her tag team partner, Daria, is more believable in the ring with a boxer style gimmick.

Daria Morgendorfer?

Daria Berenato

Jane Lane

Racy Stacy

THERE MY BOYS

Itami back and Bobby Roooooo in the building.

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Now this is a hot fire theme

Well I'm listening to this when I go to work today

Such a great promo from Roooooo too. Just started off as a face before turning on a dime. Love it.

Glorious theme for a glorious man.

Finally! And yeah, it's even better now than when I heard it live and muffled.

Catching up on the past two weeks.....

WTF at them using a remixed Emma theme for Santana Garret's entrance..... Was super confused for a moment because I thought Emma was somehow back....

TM61 still so generic.....

Also still have no idea if it is "Nick Miller" or "Mick Niller"..... His boots say "MN", but I swear the commentators say Nick Miller......

Google tells me it is Nick Miller..... then why does he have "MN" on his boots..... should be other way around......

What even is TM61

Is it Cut or something?

His real name is Mikey Nicholls, so he's too lazy to get new gear

Ok.... so they did change his name, then? Why did they change it to the name of a character on the hit sitcom "New Girl"?

Yeah when they were The Mighty Don't Kneel in NOAH, they were Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls. Still prefer TMDK name to TM61

If Bobby Roode ever wrestles at Mania or NXT's Mania weekend special, he needs to have a live chorus sing his theme. Would make his entrance and theme even more glorious in the end.

Almost as good as Christian's "At Last" (v1)

Almost.

I haven't heard it yet, but I don't mind the idea of them remixing Emma's old theme for Santana Garrett. The vibe of the theme worked for a plucky babyface, but they fucked up Emma, so why not try again with Santana, who has a great look and is apparently a good worker with a great attitude. It also gives Emma someone to bust when she comes back to NXT to work off some ring rust.

Bobby Roode's theme is definitely glorious. I want him on both RAW and SmackDown shopping himself around as soon as possible. Give this man a Royal Rumble win now.

It wasn't a remix of Emma's old theme, though, it was a remix of her current theme.

Oh, well then.

Changed the title to be more boring because why not.

Cien vs Roode was not what I was expecting for Takeover. Extremely excited for Amber Moon's debut after seeing all the great responses from recent live events.

Apparently it's Will-O-Wisp or somesuch.

I guess you can teach it to any Brother Nero you catch after gen 4.

:lol: at Nakamura taunting and teasing Joe at the end of the show this week.

Also liked how security only went after Joe since they knew he'd be the toughest to contain to stop a possible brawl.

That was Mojos best ever showing I think. Still not exactly a fan, but he has progressed.

Reddit pointed it out that Regal has a pair of brass knuckles on a velvet pillow in his office

Or they figured that if they got to close to Nakamura, he'd mess them up. :shifty:

Haven't really seen a lot of him as he's usually in tag matches but I was impressed with him in the Somoa Joe match. I know a couple of people can't stand him but I thought he was alright.

Reminds me of the Flash Gordon theme.

Mojo vs Joe was a decent showing, may give Mojo a chance based on that outing. LOVED the confrontation at the end with Nakamura, great stuff.

Has Joe vs. Nakamura been built well? I'm predicting Nakamura to take the belt and Joe to end up on SmackDown. Asuka will retain the Women's Champion, eventually dropping it to Ember Moon; Johnny Gargano & Tomasso Ciampa actually have a good chance at winning the Tag Team Championship too, because American Alpha vs. The Revival on SmackDown makes sense.

I wasn't that excited about Bobby Roode in NXT, but that theme is just glorious. I imagine he's the first major contender for Nakamura. Hell, he's actually got a good shot at winning it too, because Nakamura doesn't need to be in NXT long. But I'd probably keep him there until you have something concrete for him to do on the main roster.

If Bobby Roode doesn't go into the main event I'd like to see him and Aries team again. Think they would be a great team if they chose to do another Dusty Rhodes Classic.

Nice to see Patrick from TE on this past weeks ep..

If they do another Dusty Rhodes Classic, Roode & Aries are a good bet to win it. Either them or Nakamura and Itami.

Apparently, HBK has moved his family to Florida and has become a trainer. Should help the guys down there.

He is an excellent hire. He can keep an eye on twice the amount of wrestlers an average trainer could.

Dude can even sell punching himself.

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"According to Pwinsider.com, Shawn Michaels has joined the coaching staff at the WWE Performance Center. Michaels is relocating to Orlando, and is taking over the “finishing class” previously run by Terry Taylor. Taylor recently had neck surgery and was unable to continue coaching the class as he recovered.

The site also reports that NXT coaches Sara Del Rey and Adam Pearce will be leaving their positions at the WWE Performance Center. They will be taking producer positions with the main roster. WWE will be looking to add to the Performance Center staff; they recently brought in Scotty Too Hotty and Stevie Richards for guest coaching spots. That is how Adam Pearce got his job with the company."

Well shit, I wonder who will work with the female wrestlers now.

Del Ray has been part time NXT and part time main roster for a while now. Sarah Stock has been running it, so hopefully shouldn't change too much.

Well, that's the WWE's gain.

I now want to see vignettes of Michaels training all the NXT guys how to do finishers, comedically hitting the Superkick whenever anyone back chats him.

"Sawyer Fulton, I don't think your finish is working for you. Why don't you try the Sweet Chin Music? It's working for Dolph Ziggler."

"But Shawn, I don't think it suits my..."

*SWEET CHIN MUSIC*

http://rs465.pbsrc.com/albums/rr16/t...rkick.gif~c200

Seems like a straight/clean HBK is one of the best people around to train people to become professional wrestlers.....

I was wondering how long that's been there.

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Shawn Michaels should be the new Takeover commentator too.

That's awesome, I never noticed it....

Damn, love that Serpents song. NXT has the best music out of all the brands.

Hot Roode promo too.

This whole takeover card run down and promo is great They need to do that on the main shows more.

Bobby Roode hasn't even shown his new fans how hard he goes in the ring. I hope that Jap is ready Saturday

He's facing a Mexican...

I'm not expecting much as Almas' TV matches have been visibly edited due to botches....I'd rather have seen a Roode/Dillinger match to really show off Roode's skills

For those in the know: should I be excited for Ember Moon? I know nothing of her.

Watch this.

This Daria Barranado braud... I keep picturing the chick Coach Clint Eastwood calls a "scabby Kraut".

sweet...

Spioilers for the next set of tv tapings:

If I had to predict the next Takeover card: