THE STORY SO FAR ON NXT SEASON 3:
NXT began in the first week of 2011 and featured 8 WWE superstars who were struggling for recognition and exposure; this would be their last chance to make it here in the WWE. The eight superstars were split between two NXT mentors – The Rock and John “Bradshaw” Layfield, better known as JBL – who would pass on their knowledge and experience to guide their team to survival. Well, that was the plan. From day one, JBL and The Rock had problems with their superstars and the road to survival has proven to be less than smooth so far. On Team Rock, we have the “Punjabi Playboy” Great Khali, the outspoken “Show Off” Dolph Ziggler – complete with Vickie Guerrero on his arm, the “Mexican Warrior” Chavo Guerrero and finally, R-Truth, the man who raps his way to the ring. On Team JBL, the “Chosen One” of soon to be Hall of Famer, Vince McMahon, Drew McIntyre, the “Moscow Mauler” Vladimir Kozlov, Montel Vontavius Porter – better known as MVP and the pint sized Kaval, winner of NXT Season 2. With a ranking system in place, the 8 men battled their way through the opening weeks to determine the early rankings. With the rankings determined by “Dead Man’s Boots”, i.e. if you beat a guy ranked higher, you swap places, each star looked to get to the top end of the rankings as fast as they could. For Kaval, this proved problematic when his mentor, JBL, wrote him off immediately. Yet to win a ranking match, Kaval sits bottom of the rankings but has been spared elimination due to winning the NXT Battle Royal at the Rumble and earning immunity from the first two eliminations. Drew McIntyre and Vladimir Kozlov have had no such issues with their mentor; both men seem intent on working with JBL, carrying out his dirty work and – in Kozlov’s case – turning on friends at JBL’s direction. Poor MVP struggled with this idea though; he realised that he could be making a mistake but he refused to “work” for JBL and ended up being the first man eliminated from NXT in Week 6.
On Team Rock, Khali used his weight and power to make an immediate impact and he has stayed clear of trouble so far. Dolph Ziggler, with Vickie by his side, has struggled with his relationship with Rock and found himself at the bottom of the rankings. Indeed, he beat MVP to survive in the first Elimination Match. However, since Rock’s injury lay-off, suspected to have been orchestrated and carried out by Team JBL, Ziggler has flourished with two huge wins that have propelled him to the Number 1 ranking. Chavo Guerrero and R-Truth have been mediocre so far though; Truth and Rock have clashed over the rapping whilst Chavo, intent on making his Uncle Eddie proud, has struggled to get out of second gear. This culminated in the second Elimination Match last week which Chavo won to eliminate Truth from the competition. Despite the support from the stand-in mentor, Mick Foley, Truth was unhappy with this and attacked the “Hardcore Legend” before leaving the WWE for good.
So the six remaining superstars are: Drew McIntyre, Vladimir Kozlov and Kaval for Team JBL; Dolph Ziggler, Chavo Guerrero and the Great Khali for Team Rock. With Rock out and now Foley out, who will mentor the Rock’s team in the coming weeks? And with the third elimination next week, who will be in the Elimination Match? As it stands, Kaval – now free to be eliminated again – and last week’s survivor, Chavo Guerrero, are the ones in the danger area. Can they escape this week on NXT?
