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I think it's fine. Don't watch NXT tag teams unless it's a Takeover, as I think they all suck except American Alpha.
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The Aussie's have arrived.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SbPOF_LkKZQ?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> |
I want Asuka to obliterate Nia Jax. Totally fucking destroy her. No one likes her or thinks she's good anyways.
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Why are they filming the NXT promos on iPhone now?
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They're doing a ton of backstage stuff live on Facebook so I suppose it's easier
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Spoilers for the next set of tapings (May 25th and June 1st):
SPOILER: show |
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To clarify: I think that American Alpha vs. The Revival II will be a good match. I'd have been fine with it as a televised main event of a TV though. It's quite rare those belts get to main event, isn't it? I'd rather have seen Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa challenge American Alpha at the actual Takeover, given the push they have been getting. The Revival could have spread out the tag team "star power" by facing TM61 in their debut, or something.
Good charisma from Shane Thorne in that video, by the way. He seems relaxed. He might have to tweak getting that laid-back Aussie personality polished for American audiences, but I like the interplay between him and Nick Miller. |
Peyton Royce is gorgeous, but that outfit she was wearing against Carmella is atrocious. If they want her to do a Poison Ivy thing, I hope they spend some coin on getting her some better attire.
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It might be a triple threat tag team match now so I am all for that also.
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That could be fun too. I'd prefer an epic team vs. team classic match, but I won't turn down something that fun.
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Think we get just the four matches at Takeover? If they're given time and hype videos, they could really fill a large portion of the time. I'd maybe like to see Tye Dillinger vs. Manny Andrade, or whatever his new name is. Andrade "Cien" something.
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#pokemonjokes |
Nia Jax has quite a booty on her.
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I actually like Nia Jax, she's super green and has a limited move-set, but at least she's different than all the other "Total Divas" garbage we've been force-fed for years....
On the other hand, not a huge fan of The Revival, decent talent in the ring, but if they were to get released, I wouldn't miss them in the slightest.... Dis-banding Blake & Murphy is not the way I would go either, not sure that either has what it takes to be a top singles guy to compete with the likes of Balor, Joe, Nakamura, Aries, etc. in the main event picture.... Seems to me that they would be better off together than apart, especially with fireplug Alexa in their corner.... |
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Could do with a change of finisher too, again, something like the Worlds Strongest Slam/splash combo could work for her. |
Is it true that Wesley Blake is injured? I heard something about a torn ACL. That's a shame, because Buddy Murphy vs. Wesley Blake with Alexa Bliss as the ref would have been a fun addition to Takeover.
I honestly don't really like them as a team. I think they could have pushed them into a title match against American Alpha by having the Nakamura/Aries alliance crash, but when you look at a team like MNM -- even considering Johnny Nitro's relatively short time in the business up until that point -- the same charisma is just not there. Murphy needs to find something. I'd try to stay away from anything "too Australian," but he does have an extreme sports edge. It didn't work for Justin Gabriel, but you could easily do some vignettes about how Australia has got some of the most dangerous and venomous creatures in the world -- and he's the most dangerous. His Australian ring name of Matt Silva is so much better than Buddy Murphy too. Blake has this weird journeyman vibe to me. I like him in longer tights -- sort of like something Hiroshi Tanahashi would wear. I like him using a Superkick and the Six Star Frog Splash as finishers. I'd probably use him as a wrestling babyface. I love The Revival, but I worry about their main roster prospects. I can see Scott Dawson turning into Jamie Noble very quick and Dash Wilder being released. I like the idea of them having a manager. There's also just not much nuance in the tag team division. If their whole shtick is to be this tag team revival, then they need to be put on top, don't they? Can you really see them being put above teams like Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows? Maybe in time when things move on from where they currently are, but these guys are NXT bound for a long while I think, and I'm fine with that. I'm actually pretty cool with them getting Alexa Bliss as a manager too. Nia Jax is getting better all the time, but she still has a long way to go. I don't want to see her on the main roster until she's a lot better, and even then I'd make her a bodyguard that eventually breaks away from her charge. |
Yeup, Blake got hurt shortly after the Nakamura/Aires match during last month's set of tapings.
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While I still enjoy NXT as a how, one thing that bothers me a bit is that right now I feel there's just too much talent on NXT and as a result the booking is too focused on showcasing the big talents. That's the way it should be, but as a result the smaller names end up falling between the cracks.
Between Joe, Balor, Aries, and Nakamura the top of the card is an absolute logjam of names. Then you have Hideo Itami who should return, and various other bigger guys, there's no chance for lesser guys to really break out from the pack anymore as they did earlier in NXT's run. I feel it's become too much ROH-ey 'These guys are the best at what they do, see them fight each other', rather than just have anyone be booked as if they could legitimately take the NXT Title. Also it's become a bit too 'outside talent' heavy. Where in the past you could see the likes of Neville and Zayn as homegrown talent, guys like Joe/Aries/Nakamura are anything but homegrown and were debuted as such. They're established stars and pretty much completely polished, there's no upward growth, no change to give them 'learning moments' where they lose against others. Guys like Joe/Aries/Nakamura almost feel 'too good' compared to the rest of the roster, and it has created a feeling of there being two groups, rather than one big group. Because those kind of guys aren't really ever going to lose. They're there to look great and unstoppable, which is nice when they have a big match with each other, but it means all the other guys on the roster are completely fucked because you know they're gonna get mowed down. In a way Takeover: Brooklyn was both the best and worst event for NXT as a whole. It had huge great moments and matches, but also it really started that change where some guys were started to get booked as unstoppable winning machines who could only lose against other unstoppable winning machines. And everyone else were destined to lose. And that's never been the magic of what made NXT great, sure the work-rate and talent is awesome, but the simple but smart storytelling was what made NXT awesome in it's own way, where plucky underdogs like Enzo Amore could get insanely over, and Tyler Breeze was a believable title contender, or Sami Zayn being super-talented but having issues winning when it mattered, etc. The talent/workrate came second. I helped it all, but it was never the be-all-end-all of the content. It was all about organic storytelling and giving a feeling that all of them were equally talented, and it's all about them trying to refine themselves. I am reserving judgement until after the next special, which will doubtless be great from an in-ring standpoint. Hopefully it will clear the table again with Balor either regaining his title or getting his 'going to the main roster' tour, and then different names being pushed up to the top. |
Oh and another thing - as they continue to add more and more established indy names to NXT (and who knows how many Cruiserweight Classic guys will impress them enough to earn contracts) I kinda worry that NXT will expend to 2 hours every week. I'd rally hate that. I just think an hour is the perfect amount of time to sit down watch wrestling.
Or maybe they'll split NXT into, say, a Wednesday group and a Friday group and air two hour-long shows a week. Still I think it could reach a point of oversaturation. |
I think the WWE should establish a second developmental territory that gets its own TV. Maybe set it up in Memphis and have Jerry Lawler head it up, if it's something he's interested in doing. Hire Dr. Tom Prichard and Tracy Smothers as coaches, and also send Brian Kendrick there, and maybe Sara Amato to head their female side of things. Guys can then move between NXT and this other location, keeping them fresh and trying different things in front of other crowds.
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Think that's kind of what they are doing with EVOLVE. I do feel NXT is a little crowded but agree that 1 hour is perfect for a wrestling show.
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Yeah, that's true. Have the WWE been pumping money into EVOLVE?
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Next Takeover special might be the final one based on a recent tweet by Triple H.
Being speculated around the net the WWE either is dropping the live ppv route for the NXT brand or could be starting a brand new series name for the specials. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">On June 8th LIVE on <a href="https://twitter.com/WWENetwork">@WWENetwork</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NXTTakeOver?src=hash">#NXTTakeOver</a>: The End...<br><br>Where do we go from here?</p>— Triple H (@TripleH) <a href="https://twitter.com/TripleH/status/735636638487957504">May 26, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> |
Sweet promo from Nakamura on Aries this week despite the broken English. Still better than half the main roster too.
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I think "The End" just refers to the end of the Samoa Joe/Balor rivalry. Personally, I want Joe up in the draft. Probably Balor too, but I would keep the NXT Title on him long enough to switch it over to Hideo Itami. Have it be revealed Balor was the one who took him out.
Itami, Aries and Young can carry the brand for a while. I can see them splitting up Johnny Gargano & Tomasso Ciampa too, and that will be a good feud. They're introducing Andrade "Cien" Almas too. I have a feeling they'll probably pick up guys like TJ Perkins, Zack Sabre, Jr. and Kota Ibushi from the Cruiserweight Classic too. It won't be long before a whole bunch of new indy standouts are signed when ROH contracts come up at the end of the year anyway. Plus you've got Tino Sabbatelli and Hugo Knox ready to make on-air debuts too. The product will be fine if you lose Joe, Nakamura, Bayley, don't get Roode and eventually lose Balor and Asuka. |
I'd consider swapping Tyler Breeze for Tye Dillinger too. Breeze would make a great opponenet for Almas, Ibushi and the like, while Dillinger could get a run on the main roster, maybe in a proper tag team with Johnny Curtis.
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Dillinger is super over and can go in the ring, wouldn't be surprised if he becomes more of a "threat" following the draft....
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Mentioned it it the brand split thread but figured I'd go more in depth here in the NXT thread. I think NXT has enough talent and considering they are going to have 2 sets of tours I think they should have a NXT split.
Replace Main Event with Titans and make NXT Main Event. Have the other show just be NXT. NXT Main Event would be for the top experienced talent and all of NXTs current titles. NXT would go back to being developmental. NXT Main Event NXT Champion NXT Women's Champion NXT Tag Team Champions Any top Indy talents signed that don't go straight to Raw or Smackdown go to NXT Main Event. NXT Have guys that have been training at the PC and need more experience on NXT. Would be more like NXT before they brought in Zayn, Owens, Joe, Aries, Nakamura and guys like that made it more about the in ring action than developing talent. Could maybe introduce a new title like the NXT Florida Championship or have something like the FCW 15 championship. Could have both shows air on the same night with NXT airing first followed by NXT Main Event. Takeovers or what ever they become would be dual branded. Think it would be a great way to get the guys that need more developing more opportunities and they don't have to contend with established Indy stars on a regular basis. |
I'm fine with NXT staying NXT. I think the branding and the focus it will need could detract from getting serious about SmackDown and re-building NXT after it is plundered in the draft.
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Current card for next week's Takeover: The End event which includes the newly announced Dillinger-Cien match.
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Should be a good show based on that.
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Aries hasn't been at his best in NXT so I really hope he brings it to this Nakamura match. I'm sure he will though.
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He's been overshadowed by Nakamura, that's all. When Nakamura goes up to the main roster, Aries will have his chance to shine. There's a part of me that sort of hopes Aries wins so that Nakamura can be called up and Aries can challenge Balor for the title. Because Joe loses without being pinned and also gets called up.
Dillinger vs. Cien is a good match. They've been working on house shows (in the main events too) and they've apparently got great chemistry. With NXT likely to get raided, that could be a big program moving forward for them. I wonder if we may even see an NXT Women's Title switch and Asuka called up to the main roster, if they space out the ladies? I'm far less confident about her being called up than I am Joe and Nakamura though. It's arguable that Aries doesn't have much left to learn in NXT either, so maybe he loses and gets called up? |
I loved how Joe won the title at a house show, keeps things very unpredictable.... Had Balor lost on TV just a few weeks prior to the draft, it would have felt far too obvious that he was losing.....
I'm not sure you should have Asuka drop the title if she is going to be promoted, they don;t really have anyone on the roster (other than Bayley, who'll probably be called up as well) that can be seen as a legit threat.... probably better to have her be stripped of it and have a tourni or battle royal to crown a new champ to keep her unbeaten and strong..... |
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Add the Drifter to long list of WWE wrestlers injured recently:
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Sad for him. As much as I hated the gimmick, it was getting somewhere finally.
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Elias Samson has something. I saw it prior to The Drifter gimmick. Like CJ Parker, a lot of people are used to seeing instant indy greatness in NXT and the actual developmental guys get a lot of flack. He was getting good heat.
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