Bobby Roode is an A+ Player

[Dr. Mantis Toboggan, M.D.]

Bobby Roode made his televised debut tonight on NXT. How good does he look? He walks and talks like an established main event talent. This guy is going to skyrocket in NXT and I see him as a top name on whatever brand he goes to in the future. Bobby is a short term talent for NXT and I see him coming up to the main roster within the next 9 months. He's going to do just a well as AJ Styles has been doing since his debut. This is fantastic seeing top TNA guys coming over to WWE. What did you think of Bobby's debut and what does the future hold for him in the WWE?

 

[Charismatic Enigma]

Hmm...If I'm being honest I didn't think it was the greatest debut. I feel like there was probably a more (pardon the pun) impactful way to debut him.

Granted I do feel AJ is a much bigger star, but I was just telling my friend last night how even though AJ is doing some of the best work of his career, imagine how much hotter he could be right now if they hadn't jobbed him out at all of those PPVs when he debuted. Imagine if he'd actually won the Rumble in his debut in Orlando, it would've been HUGE and unforgettable.

Right now with the Smack Down roster being so much visibly weaker than Raws, especially if Wyatt just went out with an injury, Roode could've made a big play there if he interrupted the main event of the first ever SD exclusive PPV. Or maybe if he and Aires, Joe, E. Young, and AJ all did a TNA invasion of SD, or even to debut him in a surprise at Takeover Brooklyn 2.

But to basically have him come out to a...odd...new theme song, on a regular episode of NXT with minimal fan fare, and then cut the classic "start out face, and then hit the crowd with weak insults" promo, just didn't really do much for me. He's bigger than that, and this debut didn't feel like it. He's too big/experienced for NXT, if they'd at least debuted him at a Takeover, it would've been in front of a bigger crowd that would've made the moment feel big like it did for Nakamura, but this just wasn't enough for someone of his stature.

I know everyone loves NXT and views it as a third brand, but it really should be developmental. The real top tier talent (which he is) need to be on the main roster, especially with thing being so thin on the SD roster, he should've bypassed this altogether. It will never leave the same impression coming up from NXT as it would to just go straight to the roster, look at AJ and the Club as prime examples.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

[youtube]RZMXTf7Ux0[/youtube]

It's cool and a nice way to debut. The entrance theme is intriguing and thats alright. I am sure he will work upper soon, but the problem in NXT is that they are so damn unfaithful in full sail.

The moment a new global indy star walks in, they just cheer for that guy. Happened with Neville as champ when Zayn came in, Zayn/Balor, Balor/Nakamura. Bastards.

 

[swallop]

How can you think that..? Not trolling but that was the WORST promo Ive ever heard before from anyone... I never really watched TNA so im sure there is worse but as far as comparing it to anything ive ever heard form the WWE/WWF id say all time worst. The whole crowd popped at the beginning but as soon as he started talking nobody cared. They started booing him even before he "turned heel".. It was god awful painful to watch. Idc who he faces at Takeover i just hope they dont job out Tye to him..

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I know everyone loves NXT and views it as a third brand, but it really should be developmental. The real top tier talent (which he is) need to be on the main roster, especially with thing being so thin on the SD roster, he should've bypassed this altogether. It will never leave the same impression coming up from NXT as it would to just go straight to the roster, look at AJ and the Club as prime examples.

As far as NXT being the developmental brand, it still is to a major degree but it's also become something else simultaneously that wasn't intended. The opportunity for NXT to be the developmental brand and more simultaneously was something that was there and WWE took advantage of it.

As for Roode, I can see both sides of the issue. Roode is a long time veteran who's been a major player for TNA for quite a long while, same as Samoa Joe really. The thing is that unlike Styles & the Club, there really hasn't been a ton of buzz surrounding Roode for a few years. Karl Anderson was an established tag team star in New Japan whereas Styles & Gallows left TNA and wound up doing some of the best work of their careers in ways that generated a lot of positive buzz. AJ Styles and Anderson & Gallows were among the most consistently and positively talked about wrestlers in the business while they were in New Japan whereas Bobby Roode had just been spinning his wheels in TNA. The most talked about aspects of TNA, for the most part, of the past few years has revolved around discussion on how badly it's struggling financially, its fall to drawing roughly a third of the audience it was drawing at its peak and guesses as to when it will close down. Roode won TNA's KOTM Championship but nobody really cared. He had a 2.5 month tag title run with Austin Aries 3.5 years ago that hardly anyone remembers and he had a 5th tag title run with James Storm earlier this year but the glory days of Beer Money are gone. So yeah, the guy's basically been spinning his wheels in TNA whereas Styles was making headlines in Japan and injecting fresh life into his career. Truth be told, if the buzz that Styles, Anderson & Gallows hadn't been there from the time they spent in New Japan, they'd have gone to NXT if WWE was even interested in signing them like Joe and Roode.

 

[OYDK]

What I found hilarious was that some of the marks in Full Sail were still kind of cheering when Roode began to turn, as if they didn't realize that he was actually ripping on them. "You people NEED Bobby Roode"... *confused cheer*. "I'm going to bring this crowd to the next level!"... *more confused cheers*. It seemed like he just said fuck it and went straight for the jugular after that. Dunno, just found that kind of funny...

Anyway, it was a good start for Booby Roode. He came off as a legitimate top-tier talent, which he has always shown to be, and didn't stumble once in a pretty lengthy promo segment. Positioning himself as the man who's going to be "at the forefront of the new NXT" is a good way to make him feel like a big deal straight out of the gate, although I wish they just cut the gimmicky aspects out of it. Saying he's going to bring NXT to wall-street and that president's were going to be in the crowd soon was a little hokey and gives me the feeling that his character is going to be akin to an arrogant philanthropist (for lack of a better word). Guys like Joe, Aries, Owens, hell even Eric Young all came in and basically just played themselves... I don't really get why Bobby Roode would be treated any differently.

Still, it's only been one week so I could be jumping to conclusions, I'm just hoping his character isn't too gimmicky. Also, I'm kind of surprised they turned him heel right away when Joe and Aries are already top level bad guys. Starting off as a face probably would have given him more momentum to start his run but it is what it is. NXT needs main event talent especially with rumors of Samoa Joe getting the call so I expect Roode to be stuck there for a long time yet.

EDIT: Forgot to mention... his theme is fucking GLORIOUS. The more I listen to it, the more I like it.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

[youtube]E7oMBq1vkCM[/youtube]

That just plain sweet man. Him coming out in them robes with this music does fill a piece of the puzzle called 'over'. He is has always been a confident speaker, and NXT is basically the land of ' I did well outside, I'm a star', but this Glorious Domination has a taste of pazzaz that I like.

 

[enviousdominous]

Thank goodness they're actually trying to keep NXT relevant. With Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe in the title mix, I'm probably going to be more excited about NXT than any other WWE programming.

I think it was smart to debut him as a heel, in that he likely knew that the gullible NXT crowd will welcome him with a face reaction. He has the experience needed to make the crowd play along, and they eventually caught on.

What I love about Bobby Roode is he seems like a genuine person. I don't feel like I'm watching a guy ham it up for a cheap reaction, the look in his eyes tells me that he's damn passionate about the sport and that he's not just reciting a script.

I hope that his time in NXT is short lived. Obviously it's a wise move to debut some people on NXT so everyone can be absolutely certain that they'll break the internet when they get called up, but I don't think that Bobby Roode is going to require too much time to prove that he can generate buzz.

 

[therockiswwf]

Granted I do feel AJ is a much bigger star, but I was just telling my friend last night how even though AJ is doing some of the best work of his career, imagine how much hotter he could be right now if they hadn't jobbed him out at all of those PPVs when he debuted. Imagine if he'd actually won the Rumble in his debut in Orlando, it would've been HUGE and unforgettable.

Good lord no. Sure the main event of Reigns vs HHH sucked but AJ was not ready to be put in that position. AJ's mic work has only recently begun to grow. He needed to be introduced to everyone first (maybe 1/3 of the audience knew him and that's being generous). You could have a guy come in and win a title right away but that won't get him over.

The pop he got was due to where the PPV was. His subsequent pops where much smaller because it took time to build him up.

Right now with the Smack Down roster being so much visibly weaker than Raws, especially if Wyatt just went out with an injury, Roode could've made a big play there if he interrupted the main event of the first ever SD exclusive PPV. Or maybe if he and Aires, Joe, E. Young, and AJ all did a TNA invasion of SD, or even to debut him in a surprise at Takeover Brooklyn 2.

Roode is not a big name. Also a TNA invasion angle would be incredibly dumb. This would not be anything like the NWO. All the guys are not very well known. Shocking debuts do not make people interesting. You'd also run into the problem of needing to introduce each guy which takes a lot of time and would clog up SD.

But to basically have him come out to a...odd...new theme song, on a regular episode of NXT with minimal fan fare, and then cut the classic "start out face, and then hit the crowd with weak insults" promo, just didn't really do much for me. He's bigger than that, and this debut didn't feel like it. He's too big/experienced for NXT, if they'd at least debuted him at a Takeover, it would've been in front of a bigger crowd that would've made the moment feel big like it did for Nakamura, but this just wasn't enough for someone of his stature.

He is not bigger than that. NXT needs guys as well who can help younger guys out. They also need guys to carry the brand. WWE does have a style that is different and training down in NXT can help them get more comfortable.

I know everyone loves NXT and views it as a third brand, but it really should be developmental. The real top tier talent (which he is) need to be on the main roster, especially with thing being so thin on the SD roster, he should've bypassed this altogether. It will never leave the same impression coming up from NXT as it would to just go straight to the roster, look at AJ and the Club as prime examples.

It is developmental that is disguised as a 3rd brand. Roode is not anywhere near a top tier WWE talent (not even close to being that popular). Roode is 40 and has been on a show averaging 300-500k viewers for the past few years. WWE averages over 3 million in the US. Casuals probably have near zero knowledge of Roode.

The Club has been very meh so far. Styles has picked up his game recently.

 

[Darkshadow1234]

Good lord no. Sure the main event of Reigns vs HHH sucked but AJ was not ready to be put in that position. AJ's mic work has only recently begun to grow. He needed to be introduced to everyone first (maybe 1/3 of the audience knew him and that's being generous). You could have a guy come in and win a title right away but that won't get him over.

The pop he got was due to where the PPV was. His subsequent pops where much smaller because it took time to build him up.



Roode is not a big name. Also a TNA invasion angle would be incredibly dumb. This would not be anything like the NWO. All the guys are not very well known. Shocking debuts do not make people interesting. You'd also run into the problem of needing to introduce each guy which takes a lot of time and would clog up SD.



He is not bigger than that. NXT needs guys as well who can help younger guys out. They also need guys to carry the brand. WWE does have a style that is different and training down in NXT can help them get more comfortable.



It is developmental that is disguised as a 3rd brand. Roode is not anywhere near a top tier WWE talent (not even close to being that popular). Roode is 40 and has been on a show averaging 300-500k viewers for the past few years. WWE averages over 3 million in the US. Casuals probably have near zero knowledge of Roode.

The Club has been very meh so far. Styles has picked up his game recently.

Disagree with you on the part that Roode isn't a big name. or a top tier talent.

 

[Jerichoholic_6]

Roode is very good, not great. He's also 39 and like Aries I think he has been brought in predominantly for NXT. People talking about his long term potential in WWE is a bit silly I think. If he gets to the main roster he will be a solid midcarder but at that age the potential is limited. People saying Shelton is too old but the guy is only a few years older than Roode and I'm much more excited for him right now than I am for Roode.

Also in reply to posts above, AJ is a much bigger name and star than Roode and I'm not the biggest AJ fan around.

Theme is awesome

 

[ShinChan]

I have been watching both Bobby Roode and James Storm since a long time. Started watching them as Beer Money Inc for the first time. And I have always found Roode to be much more interesting than Storm.

Maybe Storm's handling in TNA has a hand in it but Roode has always looked better out of these two at every matter. And that's why I am happy to see Roode in NxT.

Still I don't think that he might ever be a world champion in WWE. I am all okay if he does so but I am doubtful because of his age.

He isn't going to be called up to the main roster until atleast this year's end as the voids need to be filled which were left by the likes of Balor, Corbin, Crews and Breeze.

For me, he is an A-/A player though. Might improve after I see what he is upto in NxT.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

I love Roode. Beer Money will go down as one my all time favorite tag teams, them vs The Motor City Machine Guns were classic contests and the best series of tag matches I ever saw. Then Roode went on a solo run and resembled Triple H, I liked it. He can do good to great things in WWE and I hope he makes the main roster sooner than later.

 

[therockiswwf]

Disagree with you on the part that Roode isn't a big name. or a top tier talent.

Top tier WWE talent also means you're very popular. I think he could do that (although his age makes me hesitate to saw he definitely will). But right now he is very low tier.

Roode is not a big name. TNA at its peak got 1 million viewers in the US. That was 2 or 3 years ago at this point. WWE regularly averages over 3 million for Raw. That's at least 2 million people who have no idea who Roode is. Casual fans definitely have no idea who he is. John Cena is a big name. Brock Leanar is a big name. You cannot put Roode in the same sentence as them. Heath Slater is probably more well known than Roode.

 

[OYDK]

Top tier WWE talent also means you're very popular. I think he could do that (although his age makes me hesitate to saw he definitely will). But right now he is very low tier.

Roode is not a big name. TNA at its peak got 1 million viewers in the US. That was 2 or 3 years ago at this point. WWE regularly averages over 3 million for Raw. That's at least 2 million people who have no idea who Roode is. Casual fans definitely have no idea who he is. John Cena is a big name. Brock Leanar is a big name. You cannot put Roode in the same sentence as them. Heath Slater is probably more well known than Roode.

Top tier talent has nothing to do with popularity in the sense that you're describing. Just because a guy wrestles for a smaller promotion doesn't mean his talent can't be main event level in NXT or WWE. Talent has nothing to do with the scope of a wrestling company's popularity. CM Punk was a top level talent even when he wrestled for ROH. AJ Styles was a top level talent even though much of the American audience didn't know him before his debut. Bobby Roode is a guy that can outpromo 9/10 people currently on the WWE roster and is a ring-general similar to the likes of HHH. Before EC3 came around, Roode was the best talent in TNA by a large margin barring Kurt Angle.

Heath Slater may be more well known than Bobby Roode, but he's not more talented. Key word; TALENT

 

[therockiswwf]

Top tier talent has nothing to do with popularity in the sense that you're describing. Just because a guy wrestles for a smaller promotion doesn't mean his talent can't be main event level in NXT or WWE. Talent has nothing to do with the scope of a wrestling company's popularity. CM Punk was a top level talent even when he wrestled for ROH. AJ Styles was a top level talent even though much of the American audience didn't know him before his debut. Bobby Roode is a guy that can outpromo 9/10 people currently on the WWE roster and is a ring-general similar to the likes of HHH. Before EC3 came around, Roode was the best talent in TNA by a large margin barring Kurt Angle.

Heath Slater may be more well known than Bobby Roode, but he's not more talented. Key word; TALENT

Since WWE is not real, I do consider popularity to be a part of top tier talent. Popularity is the only objective way to judge a wrestler's talent (since what makes you good in the ring if there is no standard for it). I would say Roode is a top tier prospect but a low tier talent.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Always been a big Roode fan, Beer Money is my all time favourite tag team and he was then best TNA world champion I ever saw.

HOWEVER his promo seemed very aimless at times, and did drag. But I loved just seeing him innan NXT ring and his theme was very very good! Who will his first feud be with? Itami? I wonder..

 

[Isaac Kaye]

I'm surprised by the mixed reactions for Roode here, the guy is an absolute bona fide main eventer. He's been a bit of a late bloomer, yes he's 39, but in wrestling terms (these days) and the kind of shape that he's still in, that's still very young. The man oozes charisma, he's got all his movements, facial expressions, ring psychology down to a tee. Roode is miles ahead of most of the midcarders on the main roster and he certainly has the ability to main event on either RAW or SD.

SD could use someone like Roode at the moment given their paucity of talent. They should pull the trigger with his sooner rather than later because he doesn't need a slow build. The man is already a superstar.

 

[LBGetBack]

Top tier WWE talent also means you're very popular. I think he could do that (although his age makes me hesitate to saw he definitely will). But right now he is very low tier.

Roode is not a big name. TNA at its peak got 1 million viewers in the US. That was 2 or 3 years ago at this point. WWE regularly averages over 3 million for Raw. That's at least 2 million people who have no idea who Roode is. Casual fans definitely have no idea who he is. John Cena is a big name. Brock Leanar is a big name. You cannot put Roode in the same sentence as them. Heath Slater is probably more well known than Roode.

I don't think you're correct on how you're calculating that nobody knows who he is. For example....I haven't watched TNA in years. But I watch WWE. So I'd be in that 2 million that have "no idea who he is" by your calculations. These things don't remain static. I watched TNA back when Roode had Ms. Brooks as his manager, through his Beer Money days, and then to his solo title run. But I haven't watched in at least 3-4 years. I suspect that somewhere between 2004-2016 more wrestling fans watched TNA at some point than you realize.

 

[LBGetBack]

What I found hilarious was that some of the marks in Full Sail were still kind of cheering when Roode began to turn, as if they didn't realize that he was actually ripping on them. "You people NEED Bobby Roode"... *confused cheer*. "I'm going to bring this crowd to the next level!"... *more confused cheers*. It seemed like he just said fuck it and went straight for the jugular after that. Dunno, just found that kind of funny...

Anyway, it was a good start for Booby Roode. He came off as a legitimate top-tier talent, which he has always shown to be, and didn't stumble once in a pretty lengthy promo segment. Positioning himself as the man who's going to be "at the forefront of the new NXT" is a good way to make him feel like a big deal straight out of the gate, although I wish they just cut the gimmicky aspects out of it. Saying he's going to bring NXT to wall-street and that president's were going to be in the crowd soon was a little hokey and gives me the feeling that his character is going to be akin to an arrogant philanthropist (for lack of a better word). Guys like Joe, Aries, Owens, hell even Eric Young all came in and basically just played themselves... I don't really get why Bobby Roode would be treated any differently.

Still, it's only been one week so I could be jumping to conclusions, I'm just hoping his character isn't too gimmicky. Also, I'm kind of surprised they turned him heel right away when Joe and Aries are already top level bad guys. Starting off as a face probably would have given him more momentum to start his run but it is what it is. NXT needs main event talent especially with rumors of Samoa Joe getting the call so I expect Roode to be stuck there for a long time yet.

EDIT: Forgot to mention... his theme is fucking GLORIOUS. The more I listen to it, the more I like it.

Umm...his gimmick in TNA was a Wall Street stock trader. That's not new.

 

[therockiswwf]

I don't think you're correct on how you're calculating that nobody knows who he is. For example....I haven't watched TNA in years. But I watch WWE. So I'd be in that 2 million that have "no idea who he is" by your calculations. These things don't remain static. I watched TNA back when Roode had Ms. Brooks as his manager, through his Beer Money days, and then to his solo title run. But I haven't watched in at least 3-4 years. I suspect that somewhere between 2004-2016 more wrestling fans watched TNA at some point than you realize.

It was not a literal point. You said you have watched TNA which means you wouldn't be part of that 2 million anyways. I'm going to guess there are more WWE fans who have not watched TNA than have watched TNA. Casual fans are very likely to have never watched TNA.

TNA at it's peak got a 1.5 rating. Raw that same night got above a 4.

Again, let's compare Roode to big names. John Cena. Brock Lesnar. The Rock. Stone Cold. Undertaker. Shawn Michaels. HHH. Roode is not even remotely popular as any of them. Those are A+ guys. Roode is talented but let's not pretend he is a giant star.

 

[OYDK]

Umm...his gimmick in TNA was a Wall Street stock trader. That's not new.

Ummm... that was his gimmick like, 10 years ago. Before Beer Money. Before he ever became anything in the world of wrestling. Besides, I never said that this was a new character... I said he needs to cut the gimmicky crap out of it.

Completely unnecessary post guy... Comprehension is key.

 

[LBGetBack]

Ummm... that was his gimmick like, 10 years ago. Before Beer Money. Before he ever became anything in the world of wrestling. Besides, I never said that this was a new character... I said he needs to cut the gimmicky crap out of it.

Completely unnecessary post guy... Comprehension is key.

Storm = Beer. Roode = Money. You posted like you didn't know that's been his gimmick. If that's not the case, fine. But there was nothing in that post to indicate that.