*MERGED* [OFFICIAL] The Nexus General Discussion thread

[El Rev sXe]

the NxTWO (gosh I loved that!lol) outcome, well IF Danielson is coming back after the 90 days thing, I'm pretty sure that he will come back as a face and go after Barrett.

the mastermind of the group?? it is in fact a good idea that Jericho might be, but IMO a little bit forced. I mean why does it need, I repeat NEED having a mastermind. why can't it be just Wade Barrett who is behind all this invasion. As far I'm concern, it would have a lot sense that Barrett is the " criminal genius" behind all of this.

finally, I think it's going to finish by this statement: the NxT(WO) attacked the Undertaker! what a better way than proving themselves that putting the greatest of WWE in a vegetative state? obviously "you can't kill what is already dead" angle and leave a traditional Survivor Series macth between the NxTWO vs Cena, Taker, Kane(cause it's his "brother"), Danielson, Orton (cause he is technically a face or tweener) and other 2 guys that are big faces like Rey, Kofi even JoMo... and as someone said the group will end and "everyman for himself"; or maybe just Barrett stays cause you know.........he was the ONLY one who one NxT!!

 

[DeKayNy]

I just want to know why this 90 days thing has anything to do with him being hired back? The 90 day no compete clause only has to do with a released employee wrestling for another company. If WWE wants to hire him back tomorrow, they have to wait until his 90 days is up? No, not so much. It seems most of you don't understand - a no compete clause would only have to do with the company you've been let go from - if they want to hire you back the day after firing you, they can...you have the right to refuse but will not receive any benefits as far as unemployment goes if you do not choose to return to work. *THE 90 DAY NO COMPETE CLAUSE ONLY HAS TO DO WITH RELEASED WRESTLERS WRESTLING FOR OTHER PROMOTIONS - IT IS ESSENTIALLY AN UNEMPLOYMENT PLAN AND ACTUALLY A BENEFIT TO ANYONE RELEASED FROM A WWE CONTRACT, BECAUSE THEY WILL GET PAID FOR THOSE 90 DAYS THEY CAN NOT COMPETE FOR ANYONE BESIDES WWE* I'm sure some of these moderators that delete "spam" messages can clue you in on how unemployment works...they seem like the unemployed type...and before any of you bright guys accuse me of knowing too much about said unemployment, I work for unemployment. Full time - Job - Benefits, I know, scary...cuts back on video gaming huh? Ban me - Shucks.

 

[KingJaffeJO]

everyone makes very valid points. But if Jericho becomes apart of this NXT angle I will convert to a full time TNAer.

Since they are talking about bringing war games back its only logical to have them fight for thier contracts. If Micheal Cole has anything o do with this NXT invasion, he will be the one to introduce Bryan Daniels comeback which will turn heads after the heat they had. Batista seems to be the most plausible but don't look for season 2 to have anything to do with this as joe henning, (I also refuse to call him by his new name) the eventual winner, will be shacked up with ted dibase and the Fortunate Sons. Batista will come back and tell the world how he told the rookies how to make a big enough impact which will end up with him and cena while NXT starts grabbing gold and looked at as the new NWO or NXTWO as one other guy puts it.

Also, the rookies putting the taker in a vegetative state could go big with the whole " did you hear the one about the man who wouldn't die" bit, but I think that it is obvious and and the best way to try to give a overdue push to his attacker and brother Kane.

VKM is another choice for the leader but then it would not look right with danielson coming back after being fired by the boss unless.....wait for it.... Micheal Cole brings back Danielson in which he would become face which seems to be the next move here, who I believe could have some very good matches with CM Punk. Here are my top 5 choices for who could be the "secret leader" if there is one. Remember this could be one of those factions who end up dissolving over other issues.

1.) Batista- My number one choice for obvious reasons. Cena, Hart, spotlight. But I look at it this way. He is the only evolution member who did not run his own crew. But for this to be true, somewhere down the line either him or Barrett would have to turn to Face and battle it out as this faction will not stay together forever.

2.) VKM- again for obvious reasons, the eternal screwing of Bret Hart to have him ousted with embarrassment. fo rthat to work it would have to bret that brings back danielson.

3.)Jim Ross- Yes I know he has already denied this rumor but that would help a heel turn even more as he "lied" to the fans. But this is less plausible because we can't help but to love JR. You seen that when hall and nash left and they tried the whole fake diesel and razor ramon thing. he just could not stay heel if he wanted to.

4.) Paul Heyman- I guess this could be less plausible as i guess he had a major falling out with Steph. But hatchetts could have been buried and like one guy said good ideas like this usually has his name allllll over it. This would be a great storyline.

5.) Chris Jericho- As nuch as I hate to admit it, this could make sense as yes he was the only one that did not come out on when bret was assaulted, but like I said i will stop watching WWE if this comes to past. As good as he is on the mic, I have found myself turning th e channel when he shows his face.

I also thought of Joey Styles or Shane McMahon (which is why they kept getting back into the building when they were thrown out)

Oh yeah, has anybody considered that the "state" of the taker could have been caused by HBK for putting him out of business? My money is on Kane but HBK would not be a surprise to me....


All in all Wade Barrett, Bryan Danielson and maybe even Micheal Tarver could be getting major pushes. I can also foresee Skip and Batista fueding in a year or so...

By the end of the year, the rookies will have tag team gold, US gold and wade barret may even get the WWE title as well. i could go on all day about this stuff, really...

 

[jocephusorton]

I think ultimately Jericho is the 'leader' of the NXTwO, but mind the following:
HHH is filming a movie....not him
They probably are the deadman's attackers
Makes sense for them to get 'contracts' at money in the bank
According to WZ Bryan got released b/c one of Linda's aides said it would hurt her campiagn, so if he comes back before survivor series (election time) it will be as a face in a mask.
The angle will boil over and die @ survivor series in a traditional match or at bragging rights...expect the non-champ John Cena, HHH, Kane, Undertaker and up to 4 more to face the NXTwO with one potentially being Jericho to turn on team WWE.
If they aren't scheduled for a match @ 4way, they will interfere costing @ least Cena the title.
What if the Usos are involved as well as the other newly acquired FCW talent Archer and Hawkins?

I think this is like being in a 12 vice 24 year hot tub machine back to MNW and the nWo...besides all the nWo is in the PWOFH pro wrestlers old folks home aka TNA.

 

[Undying777]

Your Idea is cool OP. but like you said its to obvious. But if it dos go down like that I wont complain. I think Cole would make a good master mind behind this whole NXT faction. I think I have an idea that not many would see coming......



I think the master mind should be ......... Cm Punk... WELL.. It would be awesome!!!!

What if this NXT is a big cover up and all part of Punks plan to have the SES take over the whole WWE.


Lets say Cm Punk wins Sunday and becomes the WHC champ. Thus the begging of the SES take over.

Then Barrett threatens to sue WWE because he won a contract with a tittle shot of his choosing. The WWE has no chose but to allow the tittle shot. Barrett then threatens that when he wins, he and the NXT rookies are going to TNA with the WWE worlds tittle He could do it because he and the rookies are not contracted by the WWE. “HOW CRAZY WOULD THAT BE” ? The whole looker room would be behind Cena heals/faces. If he looses, they would all lose their most prize possession.

So in the next couple of weeks there is NXT beat downs and assaults on all of the WWE superstars, smackdown and raw. They should also start making it seem as if there is somebody masterminding the who thing. Have cole, king, and striker talk about somebody letting them in the arenas and such. Cena wants some big time revenge so he makes it a no dq tittle mach.

Cena and Barrett then have their no dq tittle mach at the ppv. Cena would put over Barrett big time. But Barrett cant get the job done. At this time the NXT rookies swarm the ring and begin to attack Cena. The Rookies are to much for Cena so some of the Raw and Smackdown superstars rush to save Cena and the championship. But its only going to be some mid card guys because somebody put chains on the main event guys dressing rooms, no Orten, Edge, Shamus, Big Show, ..... There is carnage all around the ring. Suddenly a cage begins to lower down from the ceiling and Cena is trapped inside with Barrett, and a “knocked out” Punk in the corner. Cena goes for the FU and it all seem like its over. As he goes for the cover Punk pops up and gives a GTS to Cena and drags Barrett over Cena’s body. 1,2,3, winner and new world campion Wade Barrett.

After the mach the NXT rookies climb into the ring and take of there NXT t shirts to reveal SES ones. Punk cuts a huge promo. He tells us that the whole time in NXT he has been planting the seeds of his SES take over. He tells us that all the members of the season 1 rookies became members of his SES, starting with Young. Punk and Barrett take their tittles and spray paint SES over the WWE logos...

I know know.... Punk was attack by the rookies! Well that all can play into Punks brilliant plan.

I know that A LOT... A LOT of you will crap all over this idea. But I like it and it would not be an obvious one.

 

[TCBT]

Well you may have a good point on alot of what you wrote, but let's take a look at everything that has happened and look at the big picture. The true ending to all of this is simply Cena will defeated Barrett in a title match. That is where this angle is really aiming. By that time we will likely see all the NXT season 1 Wrestlers integrated into the wwe Roster on a permanent basis.

As for Danielson, i went on record saying, if they mention him at all, he will be back on the 91st day.

Im not sure the order of events, but if Bragging rights comes before Summerslam, they were talking about a wargames match to close out bragging rights, i can see WWE vs NXT in the finale of Bragging rights with The NXT guys winning with the stip that the NXT guys get contracts, and then have the Barrett vs Cena match at Summerslam to close the angle entirely.

I agree with your first comment. It seems to me like this storyline was mostly done to give Barrett a realistic shot at winning the Title from Cena. But WWE is known for going one direction and completely changing its course from one second to the next, so who knows?

But I disagree with the Danielson comment. The 90 day clause has nothing to do with whether or not he's re-signed by WWE. And it also has nothing to do with mentioning him on TV. They NEEDED to explain why he wasn't there, and why he won't be there. Many, many wrestlers have gotten the same treatment when fired during a major storyline. One of the biggest names that come to mind are:

Hulk Hogan, when he was playing Mr. America and quit WWE. Vince McMahon gave a pretty lengthy explanation about him revealing to the world that he was Hogan and therefore got fired.... that was a longer explanation than Bryan received.

Stone Cold when he walked out on the company. He even got a whole 30-minute episode of Confidential, WWE's old TV show.

So no, that has nothing to do with anything.

 

[Macskye]

has anybody stopped to think maybe you're all right? think about, Vince is behind it, because he wants Bret Hart out of the picture, Michael cole is in on it because he wants to be GM of RAW, Chris Jericho is in with them for his own selfish purpose, with a dominant force having his back, with a GM and Vince in his pocket, sky's the limit. Daniel Bryan will come back after his 90 day clause and continue his feud with Michael Cole, possibly joining forces with John Cena etc. Maybe it will all come to a head at Bragging Rights, however I doubt it's going to last as long as that. I would love to see the season 2 NXT Rookies get involved, and join forces with the NXT season 1 Rookies, I was hoping to see them all last night.

 

[Spawn of Kane]

According to WZ Bryan got released b/c one of Linda's aides said it would hurt her campiagn, so if he comes back before survivor series (election time) it will be as a face in a mask.

Whoa there just a darn tootin minute.......what if...and this is a BIG IF......Daniel Bryan turned out to be the masked man in SES....I kow its a very long shot but WWE like to throw us some big ass curveballs!!!

Anyways...back on topic...I think the ''Leader'' (if there is one) should be HHH......Could use the whole '' I'm a veteran of the wwe and not one of you helped when i was being brutally attacked/sidelined by sheamus'' angle.....Plus its an opportunity for a much needed Heel turn for good old 'aitch

 

[Rulk25]

Well unless they do away with whole hair cutting thing it wont happen as I cant see wrestlers like Slater and Barret will shave their head as it would ruin their characters
When they brought in Festus and Serena they had nothing going for them but these have characters and they dont fit with a bald head.
I admit I wanted Bryan Danielson to join the SES from the get go though I mean he already dont eat meat or do drugs and is this pure boy he so fits and would have set up a Punk Danielson feud which based on previous matches would be a barn burner

Your Idea is cool OP. but like you said its to obvious. But if it dos go down like that I wont complain. I think Cole would make a good master mind behind this whole NXT faction. I think I have an idea that not many would see coming......



I think the master mind should be ......... Cm Punk... WELL.. It would be awesome!!!!

What if this NXT is a big cover up and all part of Punks plan to have the SES take over the whole WWE.


Lets say Cm Punk wins Sunday and becomes the WHC champ. Thus the begging of the SES take over.

Then Barrett threatens to sue WWE because he won a contract with a tittle shot of his choosing. The WWE has no chose but to allow the tittle shot. Barrett then threatens that when he wins, he and the NXT rookies are going to TNA with the WWE worlds tittle He could do it because he and the rookies are not contracted by the WWE. “HOW CRAZY WOULD THAT BE” ? The whole looker room would be behind Cena heals/faces. If he looses, they would all lose their most prize possession.

So in the next couple of weeks there is NXT beat downs and assaults on all of the WWE superstars, smackdown and raw. They should also start making it seem as if there is somebody masterminding the who thing. Have cole, king, and striker talk about somebody letting them in the arenas and such. Cena wants some big time revenge so he makes it a no dq tittle mach.

Cena and Barrett then have their no dq tittle mach at the ppv. Cena would put over Barrett big time. But Barrett cant get the job done. At this time the NXT rookies swarm the ring and begin to attack Cena. The Rookies are to much for Cena so some of the Raw and Smackdown superstars rush to save Cena and the championship. But its only going to be some mid card guys because somebody put chains on the main event guys dressing rooms, no Orten, Edge, Shamus, Big Show, ..... There is carnage all around the ring. Suddenly a cage begins to lower down from the ceiling and Cena is trapped inside with Barrett, and a “knocked out” Punk in the corner. Cena goes for the FU and it all seem like its over. As he goes for the cover Punk pops up and gives a GTS to Cena and drags Barrett over Cena’s body. 1,2,3, winner and new world campion Wade Barrett.

After the mach the NXT rookies climb into the ring and take of there NXT t shirts to reveal SES ones. Punk cuts a huge promo. He tells us that the whole time in NXT he has been planting the seeds of his SES take over. He tells us that all the members of the season 1 rookies became members of his SES, starting with Young. Punk and Barrett take their tittles and spray paint SES over the WWE logos...

I know know.... Punk was attack by the rookies! Well that all can play into Punks brilliant plan.

I know that A LOT... A LOT of you will crap all over this idea. But I like it and it would not be an obvious one.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

Im sure thats becaule Michael Cole ran away...didn't he??

I don't think its too obvious..there could be many outcomes and WWE will be looking for the most shocking one for us fans...

As for Bryan, he will be back..its obvious...WWE only did what they did to get the heat of them...They don't want to lose a talent like Bryan...

 

[harrythem]

How about it's just Wade Barrett and the nxt rookies that did it all themselves? The fact that they've managed to cause such a stir throughout the entire company, and the net as well, says to me they don't need a mastermind as, if they continue as they are, people will take them as a legitimate threat. It'd be nice to see new faces hitting the upper card scene and, this could well be it!

 

[steveom07]

Who cares what happens with Daniel bryan.

If he comes back or not, face or heel, he wont get any reaction, because its only people who watch ROH or other crap that actually like him or care about him.

And since all of you are to scared to leave your house and attend a WWE show, incase you miss some big breaking news then he will get no reaction atall.

I think Batista is behind it, as he is scheduled for upcoming shows. Makes sense really!!!

 

[Scott88]

I belive it will come to be Michael Cole is involved in the attacks some how, as I watched the Season Premier of NxT Season 2, as they were talking about the attack, Todd asked Cole something about how he got out of there and something was said to Cole along the lines of "Do you want to explain yourself..." and Cole simply said, "not yet" and had a smile on his face. Does anyone else remember that? It was quick and wasn't talked about again but it made me think that down the road, Cole is involved!

 

[NYJETMET]

Sorry folks, but like the New York Jets have done to me over the years, my heart will inevitably be torn out on this one too because I expect 'E' writers to screw this up somehow.

IMO for starters........

1) I don't see the Undertaker angle intertwined with NXT at all.
2) Batista is done with 'E' and is going to TNA.
3) Daniel Bryan was really fired and can't come back for "political purposes" (see LInda).
4) Cena can't turn, he sells too much merchandise. He's the 80's Hulk Hogan.
5) Cole is a boob. He's no faction leader.
6) Jericho is doing a show and cannot commit to being the NXT leader.

I truly think that the 'E' is trying to do the right thing and let this develop and fly on it's own with Barrett as the leader. That's what they should do. But if they hit a stumbling block or start to lose steam, they will bring HHH in as the leader. I really hope they just let this go for a few months and let it develop to see where it leads befor panicking.

 

[Astaff]

2) Batista is done with 'E' and is going to TNA.

No way he goes to TNA. For a guy who wanted to make a ton of money, why would he go somewhere where he makes less?

 

[Astaff]

I think Batista is behind it, as he is scheduled for upcoming shows. Makes sense really!!!

Those shows were booked BEFORE Batista left the company. WWE rarely changes the lineup for house shows. Hell HBK was listed to be at a PPV and that was listed before he retired...

 

[Chadmw]

I don't believe the NXT guys are behind the Undertakers attack, because this so far seems to be a RAW only storyline, seeing as the NXT guys have not shown up on Smackdown yet.

And unfortunately if there is a leader behind these guys it's going to be VKM. It will be just like the Greater power storyline with the Undertaker's ministry of darkness when for weeks and Weeks the Undertaker kept saying there was a higher power. And in the end the higher power ended up being VKM and was on of the most unsurprising and unintersting turns ever in the WWE. And unfortunately it will be the same thing again.

As for Daniel Bryan, as I mentioned before I do believe his firing is real, because storyline wise he never was an employee of the WWE, so how can you fire someone that is not an employee.

 

[3/4 Facelock]

I like the title of this thread. "NXT Outcome is really obvious"

Nobody expected these rookies to do what they did 2 weeks ago. Nobody. An entire arena was fooled and so was everyone watching from their couch. And now 2 weeks later this angle is "obvious".

Ambushes, punching, kicking, supermoves, mic work...that's understandibly obvious. It's like saying the sky is blue. You have to expect that. This is a wrestling show after all. The WWE is telling a story. Think theater with stage combat. What many consider “obvious” is what other people see as the formula. Faces overcoming, heels cheating, one-upsmanship…all that is the formula. Once the formula/storyline is written it gets presented to us. You might figure out how it ends (usually with the face victorious at the conclusion) but you don’t know what kind of road it’s going to take to get there. How it is presented to us is what is not "obvious".

They only things I can think of that are close to the realm of obvious are:

The rookies are all going to get their contracts.
Batista, Jericho, or any pro has NOTHING to do with it.

Past that, I don't know WTF to expect. I would love for Mike Cole to be the mastermind behind this faction, but that's just me trying to out-think the storyline.

 

[dionlyone18]

has anybody stopped to think maybe you're all right? think about, Vince is behind it, because he wants Bret Hart out of the picture, Michael cole is in on it because he wants to be GM of RAW, Chris Jericho is in with them for his own selfish purpose, with a dominant force having his back, with a GM and Vince in his pocket, sky's the limit. Daniel Bryan will come back after his 90 day clause and continue his feud with Michael Cole, possibly joining forces with John Cena etc. Maybe it will all come to a head at Bragging Rights, however I doubt it's going to last as long as that. I would love to see the season 2 NXT Rookies get involved, and join forces with the NXT season 1 Rookies, I was hoping to see them all last night.

The 90 day clause has nothing to do with him..that clause is for people that left the company and want to wrestle somewhere else..e.g Shelton Benjamin..rumors are surfacing that he is TNA bound once his 90 day clause is up..if WWE wanted Bryan back they could hire him today and he'll be back on T.V next week

But i do agree with the rest..i had this feeling as i was watching Raw and listening to Michael Coles commentary and he just didnt seem botherd as much as King...and VKM and Jericho would fit perfectly

 

[darbare]

I like the idea of it being Jericho, Vince and Cole.....that makes ALOT of sense....I truly dont like Bret as the GM....he needs to go sit down.....he said WWF this past Monday.....lol

 

[TheAnimal]

I think he will be back as Bryan Danielson, remembering what he said before on NXT, Daniel Bryan can't even beat rookies, but Bryan Danielson was kicking arse basically so he might be back and say yeah Daniel Bryan couldn't, but Bryan Danielson can. It would make sense with what Barret said about not seeing him again.

It makes sense with regards to the Cole thing, but they have got their renegade faction thing really getting them over, and a guy like Cole leading them would kill their credibility in an instant. I don't think anyone apart from Barret is their leader. He won NXT, he is the guy who is the best of them. They shouldn't have somebody else telling them what to do, if it were Y2J then they would look inferior to him because he was a pro when Barret was a rookie. Unless they did it in a way that Jericho got the next beatdown because he served his purpose to them and they would then look ruthless. But Y2J never liked any of the other rookies anyway.

 

[steveom07]

But it doesnt just schedule him for an appearance, it also has dark matches as cena v batista. Surely they wouldnt schedule them so far ahead if he wasnt going to be there?

Those shows were booked BEFORE Batista left the company. WWE rarely changes the lineup for house shows. Hell HBK was listed to be at a PPV and that was listed before he retired...

 

[JenksIX]

Losing Daniel Bryan really hurt this angle for me. Not only did they go from 8 guys too 7, but Bryan was also an obvious co-leader and probably the most established of the bunch. I'm not a fan of Danielson per se and I never watch ROH or NXT, but this guy is supposedly of the same caliber as Desmond Wolfe, so I felt Bryan gave a lot of credibility to the faction.

The thing I worry about is that this angle in the long run is mainly going to cater too Cena and likely Orton. I was really disappointed how Cena could go from getting no support the first week and then like ordering out the whole WWE lockerroom to help him. I mean I liked how the heel CM Punk went after NXT a second time the first week, but the entire roster helping Cena and him making it sound like (you attacked me and now the whole lockerroom is gonna get you) it's like ... when did all the heels lose their balls? Usually in angles like this, the heels get involved once the rival faction gets in their way some how.

But yeah, I see Cena and especially Orton feuding with these guys so people can mark out when Orton hits the RKO on 3+ guys in a row.

What I would wanna see is the young guys involved. Dibiase, Rhyder, guys on Smackdown ... but this seems like it's a RAW only angle, and I think that hurts it as well.

Perhaps NXT 2 is going to invade Smackdown?

Right now, I really have no idea how it's going to turn out ... I just am pretty sure Cena/Orton will probably be owning something or someone 3 out of 4 weeks a month.

Btw, Are all 7(8) guys really gonna get contracts and now you have 8 more guys on season 2? Like whose working for FCW right now? And in 3 months there is going to be a new season of NXT w/ 8 more guys? That's 24 wrestlers from FCW ... are they eventually going to have to make it season 2 losers vs season 3 losers on season 4?

Really not a fan of the NXT show idea. I think it just makes the rookies and pros look bad. I saw it last night and John Morrison looked like Matt Striker asked the wrong guy to comment, he was completely unprepared as if he was saying "Am I doing this in character or like do they want my honest opinion"

Anyway, I mention the NXT show because I am really curious what will happen with the first competitor(s) eliminated. Will they join the NXT faction? Will they get on a show some other way? When will Ted Dibiase's stable form and how will they interact with NXT if it's still around?

 

[Undying777]

Well unless they do away with whole hair cutting thing it wont happen as I cant see wrestlers like Slater and Barret will shave their head as it would ruin their characters
When they brought in Festus and Serena they had nothing going for them but these have characters and they dont fit with a bald head.
I admit I wanted Bryan Danielson to join the SES from the get go though I mean he already dont eat meat or do drugs and is this pure boy he so fits and would have set up a Punk Danielson feud which based on previous matches would be a barn burner

Yea I agree. I would not want to see those guys with their heads saved, well maybe Young. lol. I think its something they could easily avoid. Punk could always say because they played a huge part of his master plan, the rookies have proved them selves worthy to be his followers.

I know Punk will not be the master mind behind the NXT. Its no more then just what I would like to see happen. Probably because now that we have a huge NXT faction, we will not see a big SES faction. Selfishly, I really wanted to see the SES do a NWO like takeover way before the NXT rookies did it.

Most likely Cole will be behind the whole thing or. its just going to be Barrett and the rookies. Do they really need a master mind? I think Barrett is capable of master minding the whole thing.

 

[rubberman]

They want contracts. Bret won't give it to them, and also fired them.
We all know that Vince hates Bret, and he hates Cena for siding with Bret over Vince. After Season 1 the roster of NXT went to Vince to get contracts. He tells them he give them contracts if they screw over Bret and Cena. They will get them when he happy that they done enough damage. He will overrule Bret as the owner of the company, and give them contracts.
He will also have conditions attached. At no point should his name be linked with them, as he doesn't want Bret to know who screwing him until its too late. He won't give them directions as he wants to see if they can be creative in their destruction, this will give him denialabilty. This will also allow them to look strong as they are masterminding their way into getting contracts.