Darren Young & Titus O'Neil: What Are Your Impressions Thus Far?

[Jack-Hammer]

A few weeks ago, Darren Young & Titus O'Neil were moved from NXT, where they've been for a good long while, and brought to the SmackDown! roster. In their first tag team match, they took on the Usos and were victorious. This past Friday, they basically won a squash match against Yoshi Tatsu & Ezekiel Jackson in which Big Zeke never got into the ring. Prior to each match, we saw a couple of brief, backstage promo segments in which they either taunted Teddy Long or their opponents. Based on what you've seen so far, what do you think?

Personally, I kinda like them so far. It's far too early to tell in the long run but I've enjoyed what they've brought thus far. It's good to see Young & O'Neil showing some personality, as the two of them were as bland as bland could get early on in their time in WWE. Young was part of the original NXT season and an original member of Nexus. All in all, Young was basically used as fodder most of the time with little to no real character. Titus O'Neil was, if I'm not mistaken, part of the second season of NXT and was beyond bland. They've come off as annoying heels so far, but to me, they show a good deal of personality while they do it. They have good chemistry together and having them at this point in time certainly couldn't hurt the tag team scene where, according the latest word, they're being considered already for a run with the tag titles.

 

[Danger Burger]

Been watching NXT ever since it got good and i have to say, they wouldnt have been my two first choices! Though i understand the move, because taking the headliners of NXT would leave the show a little dry!

What do i think of them now? Well, they did alright? The first match was much better than the second atleast! It was a good idea keeping them as a team, cause theyre needed! They can wrestle, but i'd work on a better finisher if i was them, this one reekes of the late 80's! Id love to see a combo combo combo style finisher! Though its up to them what that would mean!

Characterwise... Fine? Racist black guys it seems? A postmodern approach to the whole thing! I jest! They were a nuasance, which is good! I felt a little uncomfortable with the Yoshi taunting though! I'm sure it'll be fine! Bit of a waste of a match, especially with Big Zeke (He aint so bad), they really could have used him to vary the kind of guys they could take! Little more togetherness and they could have it down! Practice makes perfect right!

Just to throw it out there waaaay to early... Who's the micheals, who's the Jannety??

 

[Ol'Canucklehead]

They do nothing for me. I'd much rather see the Uso's get a push. Whenever the tag division seems to be getting better they blow it up.

 

[Mustang Sally]

The team needs a chance to develop. It's great the company is finally using these guys; it's ironic to see Darren Young in the ring, given that he was the first of Nexus to be kicked out of the group and I figured his chances of staying with the company back then were nonexistent.

On the other hand, Darren seems to be the weak link in this team so far. He appears tentative in the ring and even more tentative outside it, where he's letting Titus take the lead in all the backstage taunting.

At the same time, Titus O'Neill can hardly be considered a polished performer; he's big and strong looking but doesn't always follow through on his offensive moves..... he seems to miss a beat after executing maneuvers, as if leaving it to his opponent to make the next move.

But the only way to know if they can make it big is to let them try. It's nice to see young guys get their shot.

 

[#hamler]

I'll post a post that I posted back in a Titus O'Neil thread.

Back on NXT season two, I thought he was an absolute bore. I have never been tempted or cared enough to watch any of his character progression down in FCW. But he certainly looked good on Smackdown Friday night. His in ring work could use a little improvement, but I realized he had something I never thought I'd see out of him; charisma. During his promo backstage with Teddy Long, he looked like he was actually comfortable in his shoes - same with his match. Learning to display your untapped charisma is the first step in making it to the big time. He deserves credit here. While Darren Young seemed like the leader of the team here, I was more focused on Titus. Titus can make this tag team great if the WWE is willing to push the division. Titus O’Neil and only Titus O’Neil can make this team a win.

This pretty much covers both Young and O'Neil. I'm not huge on Darren Young and his incredibly corny ass look but Titus O'Neil has impressed me deeply since his forgettable days on NXT season two. As I've mentioned before, Young and O'Neil could definitely use some work on their in ring work and whatnot but I can get past that. What I do see in them is a solid amount of charisma. Charisma can get you far if you're good at it and from the looks of things, these two definitely possess enough of it. They certainly need more time on Smackdown so we can get a true taste of what these two have to offer us. As it stands, these two have made a great (second) first impression on me. It's not everyday you get to see two shitty wrestlers turn themselves around into a charismatic tag team.

 

[JustB]

I was actually kind of disappointed to see Young teamed with O'Neil as I think WWE should have paired him with Percy Watson as their South Beach Party Boyz tag team that they used in the minors. If you've never seen the team, youtube them. I think especially in the PG era they would have worked well as either a fun babyface team or an obnoxious heel team, a lot like Too Cool was back in late 99/early 2000.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Titus and Young are such an entertaining tag team. They are arguably the best thing to happen to the division since Miz and Morrison, who ironically also began as a random pairing that worked out far better than anyone thought they would. They have what it takes to become potential tag team champions in what would be a great title run. The promos they have done completely caught my interest, they are both good in the ring, work well together, and have a nice entrance theme. What more could you ask for in a tag team?

I never saw this coming. Young was the weakest link in the original Nexus and I thought they were going to release him after the angle where they made fun of him for looking like Cena. Then you have Titus who was formerly only known for his "make it a win" promo on the second season of NXT. If Air Truth (or whatever name they pick for the champions) are going to be the focal point of the tag team division then Titus and Young are a good candidate for the heel team rivals that they will need. I can't wait to see more from these guys!

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

I like what I'm seeing thus far. There best feature thus far is there chemistry. They play off each other well and it shows.

As for the question of who is the Michaels/Janetty? It's early, but I would say Titus is the Michaels. He has great size and has a great deal of charisma. As long as he progresses in the ring he could be on the right track towards stardom.

 

[MCMG]

Thus far they have been quite good. When they both initially appeared on NXT as single superstars i disliked both of them, especially O'Neil. Their joining together to become a tag team was a good idea and they stay a tag-team for a long time. We are in desperate need of tag-teams and these look to be solid and likable with a decent amount of talent and good mic-skills.

 

[ultramattman]

You have to love the way these guys commit to being a team, all the time. They kind of have an interesting dynamic. Darren Young takes the lead in the ring with O'Neil limited to occasional power moves. On the mic, O'Neil leads the way while Young just sort of mimics him.

One of the things I love is the 'realness' of O'Neil's style of trash talk. It comes off as very authentic, like the way real professional athletes trash talk each other. We probably all know a fast talker like O'Neil, cracking nonsense a mile a minute with a huge smile on his face. Young's doing a decent job following his lead.

 

[DethMetal]

I'm really liking these guys so far. They're pretty decent in the ring, and they're one of the more entertaining things going at the moments. I see big things for Darren Young and Titus O'Neil. I personally think that the only reason Epico and Primo aren't champions is so that they can be pushed to become champions. I really hope so, because if this is the direction of the tag-team division going foward, I'm on board.

 

[iSTILLwatchNXT]

I am really enjoying them as a team. "Millions of dolla's". I was impressed with the match in general against the Uso's. Jimmy Uso particularly impressed. It's nice the WWE seem to be finally giving us some real teams. Titus and D Young have new music I noticed. We now have Titus and Young, The Uso's, Primo and Epico, Hawkins and Reks who all actually look like tag teams. Hopefully they'll give them some sort of storyline in the tag division.

 

[DANIELBRYANrealwrestler]

Titus and Darren will get a push b4 the usos i ashure u the usos get NO mic time that tells u sumtin. Titus and Darren Young are actually guud on the mic and pretty decent in tag team just two dudes having fun is what it seems like not sure why their being used as heels

 

[The Eighties]

They've been a surprisingly good addition to SD, their matches are solid and they've got personalities that play well off each other, always a key factor in a top tag team, plus the "Millions of Dollars" catchphrase and dance will get over IMO. I just hope WWE allows them a lengthy run as a team so they can hone their craft, instead of looking to try and turn one into a singles star the moment they start doing well.

 

[The Eighties]

It's a shame these two seem to have drifted off Smackdown after such a good start. Is it just a time restriction thing? I haven't heard about there being any heat on them.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

They wear similar trunks and are both black dudes. Im down with it.

Anything for a proper tag team, or better yet, a group of them. Slowly yet surely.

Both would have likely benefitted more from being put in a team with a guy who was already semi over, so as to help wiht heat, but still.

Should be plenty of room for a somewhat decent tag division now that WWE will have roughly 488 hours of television time to fill up on a weekly basis.

 

[Terry Gyimah]

And with them as a team and AW in their corner, they honestly can build a stable with the 3 of them by putting them with Mark Henry and a heel Kofi or a heel Truth and you can have a New Nation of Domination

 

[Ithil]

I like them. They're an actual tag team, with a name, double team moves and matching trunks and everything, they're pretty funny to watch and they're fresh. They don't even need AW as a manager that much, they've shown plenty of charisma so far. Now they just need some good opponents.

Millions of dollars!

 

[boywithbluehanger]

I was seriously hoping that since we hadn't seen them perform on the last two weeks of Smackdown, that they weren't being downplayed. So last night when they won the Fatal Fourway tag-team match, I was hootin' and hollerin'! And when AW jumped ship to support them, I said "YES!!!! Now this makes sense!" AW is a loudmouth, arrogant, funny, black man and that's what the Prime-Time Players are.

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