*MERGED* [OFFICIAL] The Nexus General Discussion thread

[Coco]

Glad to see the WWE's finally given fans something that doesn't insult their intelligence for what feels like the first time in the last two or three years – the entirety of RAW sans the invasion notwithstanding.

Let's not get carried away. It may feel like years to you, but it hasn't been years. Taker-Michaels, Michaels-Jericho, Cena-Batista, and so-on haven't exactly insulted anyone's intelligence from where I sit.

While I'm sure everyone is happy something this shocking has happened in an otherwise generally repetitive and childish show (RAW), I still can't help but feel that a number of these rookies don't particularly own personalities worthy of the cause, and most notably I still reject the idea that seven rookies suddenly turned on the stop of a dime to join a faction simply because they didn't win the competition. Though I suppose on some level that's plausible, I just don't think it's very believable.

Seven guys who were going to be tossed out on their ear because of this NXT experiment while yesterday's developmental prospects got unconditional call-ups to the main shows aren't going to be angry enough to do something about it?

Yeah, okay.

What you think is believable seems to hold very little weight as you simply lack the imagination to make anything work.

Trust me: If they went with something as bold as tonight's ending, they can surely piece together a decent motive.

And now I wait eagerly to be proven wrong next week when we go back to business as usual (as you pointed out, tonight's show overall didn't exactly inspire confidence).

 

[Rabbid Wolverine]

i dont know about this, what are they gonna do after? is this gonna be nwo with guys half the age??? None of them are really defined as stand outs yet, i guess barrett is going to be.

What is the point of having an nxt series when all of them can ba a part of the show after?

i dunno, interesting idea, i'll have to see where it goes before commenting on it too much

 

[randyorko3589]

I loved the ending to RAW. It was unexpected and for once WWE kept their mouths shut and it didn't get out on the internet before it aired. I can't wait to see what happens with this. Between this and the Undertaker thing WWE might can turn around. I think Cole does have something to do with it since he didn't get beat up during the chaos. I also wondered why Cena was the only person they got a stretcher for. I like how even CM Punk tried to help. At first I thought they were helping Punk and were all going to join the SES.

 

[Richnap]

I don't think NXT was never ment to be a series. I think it was all a set up. When SYFYH bought Smackdown they were never going to keep NXT/ECW. Kodus Vince for doing something with a show on deaths door and making it worth something. Think about it was the perfect set up. They were never rookies they were training for a higher cause. I am interested in what there mentors will do

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

Amazing way to end Raw. Just amazing. Tonight was one of the top ten endings to a Raw ever.

What will happen next to NXT? Are they a new super faction? Will Wade Barrett take Cena's title? Will Barrett or Danielson be the leader of this new faction? Did they have something to do with Undertaker's vegetative stat? Will this new faction invade Smackdown too?

So many questions to be answered, so much speculation. I love it.

I guess I'll get to my thoughts on this.

Way I see it going is the rookies are doing this because they are pissed off about not getting enough respect or that their show is getting cancelled. Who really cares why they formed, I want to know what they are going to do. Barrett has a title shot for winning NXT so maybe he takes Orton's spot in the Fatal 4way and wins the title, it would work perfectly because Cena doesn't have to lose to a rookie and can still look strong. This would start a fued with Barrett and his faction because Cena stands up against bullies and such.

After all that I see Danielson and Barrett going into a power hunger driven fued, Hopefully with the WWE title at stake aswell(one can dream) really I don't know and am just excited as all get out about all this and can't wait for next week.

Tune in next week. Same WWE time, same WWE channel.

Something I wanted to add to this was the fact that CM Punk got himself a beat down too. I doubt that WWE actually listened to the votes or note but assuming they don't why didn't they let Rey Mysterio be in the match to draw even more heat on the rookies? Having Punk get his ass kicked too could have been to put a tweener stamp on the group. If they wanted to get them over as a faction not to be fucked with they also could have had them beat down BOTH World Champions.

 

[TheBestThereNevaWas]

Well the angle has done its job...it's gotten people talking and excited about tuning in to WWE programming. I wished the rookies hadn't showed up in wrestling attire, though. To me that kinda took away from the credibility of the attack.

At 1st I was wondering why no one came out to help, because there is no way you can get me to believe that veterans will let rookies show them up in such a manner. It's one thing if vets are beating up on the champ, but you don't want rookies doing it before you. Like an earlier poster said, it could be that most had already left which is what usually happens anyway. Another possibility is that the GMs kept the wrestlers as bay citing "this is good for business". I just hope that the "E" gives a plausible explanation for it.

I sincerely hope that Michael Cole is not behind the "invasion" or going to be the mouthpiece for the group. I think his presence would take away from the rookies. Let them find their voice on their own, first. If it doesn't work, then maybe throw him in as the mastermind...but I hope not. I would rather Cole be lambasting them verbally from his announcing position with King giving him grief about being a coward and running off.

I can see them showing up on NXT trying to sway the new rookies against their pros. I was wondering about the crappy selection of pros for the 2nd season & why Miz was getting a 2nd run. Now it makes a bit more sense. I wouldn't want to hear anything a former rookie had to say if I was being coached by John Cena for example. But I'd be willing to listen if I was being coached by say...Zack Ryder. Since Miz will most certainly be the mouthpiece for the NXT pros, does that mean he will be getting cheers by default in this "war"?

I believe Smackdown might try to take precautions to prevent something similar from happening on their show, but I hope the rookies still get the upper hand.

Please don't botch this, WWE. This is a storyline with tremendous long-term benefits. Hopefully all the rookies can step up to the plate as well.

 

[jonboi24]

I've been coming to this site for about a year and love reading the posts on the forums and after the AWESOMENESS that occurred at the end of RAW, I really wanted to talk about it so I finally registered.

Now at the topic at hand. HOLY MOTHER F***ER, this was by far one of the greatest ending in Raw, no WWE, hell maybe even wrestling, this millennium. This was unpredictable and just straight up chaos. They made all 8 rookies into (somewhat) believable heels.

Tarver - looked badass with the bandanna and his "knock-out" punch looked believable for once
Justin Gabriel - was booed for his 450 splash (one the few times I can recall a high-flyer being booed for his aerial finisher)
Skip Sheffield - showed me a lil bit of JBL
Daniel Bryanson - spits in Cena's face and for god sakes choked Justin Roberts with his tie
Heath Slater - broke out of his whole lay-back "one man rock band" character and just went super aggressive and intense and help beat the shit out of Lawler
David "A-list" Otunga - slammed cena but still pretty much seemed the same, though this guy is born to be a heel [update] just saw the video on wwe.com, and he did hit the ref
Darren Young - nice clothesline on Cena but I felt he was kinda lost among the others [update] i saw the ending again and he did mess up the bell corner and beat up the crew member but still was the least impressive of the 8
Wade "your NXT WWE Champion" Barret - looked like a champ

Was that Howard Finkle jumping to save Justin Roberts?

There are so many possibilities with this story line: the whole Undertaker thing, Cole "running away", McMahon's warning to Bret, the rookies relationships with their former pros, and NXT season 2. Man WWE better not F**K this up because this could legitimize 8 future stars and quite possibly be the greatest thing the have come up since they became the WWE.

PS. can anyone make me a sig featuring all 8 rookies and the tag line "Nxt World Order" and Daniels and Wade in the middle. would be much very appreciated!

 

[Klown_Karnage]

First of all, I thank you DJImpact1 for being pretty much the only voice of reason I've seen thus far in this thread. Now, I know my opinion's in the minority and may draw some bad rep from this, but I have to express my astonishment and disgust with this segment.

First of all, I don't have a problem with the angle per se, but the gratuitous nature of this segment leaves a lot to be desired. It was too long for a start. Three to four minutes would have been ample to get the point across. I get the idea that this one lasted fifteen to twenty of the same boring stuff. It was such a clusterf**k of a beat-down that really nothing individually mattered, the whole thing was sloppily executed, I mean seriously. This wasn't wrestling. What it seemed to me to be was a bandaid slapped over the end because they came up short on time and needed something to fill space at the end. It was shocking, then disgusting, and then just plain old boring. I had to switch to another channel. I checked back every now and again just to see if something worthwhile had come on, but was sadly disappointed. It completely ruined an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable episode.

Also, the fact that the rookies were working together, both faces and heels all in the same faction, made absolutely no sense. In addition, the segment just made the rookies look weak. Think about it, it took all eight to do any appreciable damage to one superstar at a time after they'd already been worn down and worked over by each other. And still it took that long to get them to stop fighting back. How weak are these people? Give me a break. If they wanted to promote this talent, they should have had Barret come down alone and lay out the pair of them, maybe bring along Bryan since he's got a future on TV as well, but that's it. Don't get these old news NXT rejects involved.

What little I saw of this segment made me want to take a long shower. My advice, if you haven't seen the show yet, just change the channel when Barret starts coming. There's nothing worth watching after that.

That's all I got folks. I'm going to go and try to unsee what I saw tonight.

 

[Maikeru_1979]

While this was an amazing ending to Raw and it did leave me speechless. I have a bad feeling that Vince and the creative team will screw it up somehow.

this has gained some buzz among wrestling fans I dont see how 8 essentially no named wrestlers destroying the ringside area will gain them to many more new fans.

I liked how they did it. Danielson screaming loud enough that Cena's not better than him was classic.

will be watching NXT tomorrow night partially to see how it continues but mainly cause Low-Ki is finally going to be back on TV

On a final note I really think that this was all planed throughout the night and set up during the show. It is the only way they could do it and not end up having it leaked onto the web

 

[Ben G]

this has got to be the coolest thing i have seen all year
i hope to god that this makes absolute stars of wade barret and daniel bryan because i now have two new favourite superstars
since none of the NXT rookies are on any show yet i hope wwe lets them run wild on both raw and smackdown for a few months, even bringing in some titles along the way this has the potential to be amazing

 

[kimbfun]

I must admit I was really taken aback at first. I really was disturbed by the raw violence. If you want to beat up Cena go ahead but all the others it made no sense. I really was disturbed seeing the faces of the children in the audience, I think they could have gone another route rather than using wrestlers that are second class and weren't even worth people voting for. Believe me I have seen alot I have watched wrestling for over 45 years and this was about the worst. It got the reaction it wanted I guess by the many different posts. I just didn't like it.

 

[jonboi24]

Just saw the invasion again. and man was it straight up violent. could wwe be moving away from the pg era with this NXT era. I was surprise no one started to throw their drinks or garbage at the ring. great segment. i think wwe just found/made themselves a new generation of stars for years to come.

 

[dberk17]

I thought the ending was unexpected and exciting. I agree 100% that Danielson has created a separate identity for himself and shouldn't have been a part. Also, am I the only one who thought Tarvers tights looked like a diaper??? lol

 

[Mr. Conman]

Look i was glad of how this turned out. 8 NXT rookies looing for thier spot in the company. With the guy as powerful and the intellect (with the help of Jericho) Barret will take these guys to the big leagues. I was also thinking that this could help The Undertaker's storyline u know the rookie will make names for themselves so they take out the most respected man in the businuess today.

 

[SyndicateSaint]

PS. can anyone make me a sig featuring all 8 rookies and the tag line "Nxt World Order" and Daniels and Wade in the middle. would be much very appreciated!

That is indeed an awesome idea for a sig. I'd make it if my photoshop skills were up to par!


I got to thinking....You guys mentioned the McMahon thing...I completely forgot about that. I have a feeling that Bret is going to be the J.J. Dillon in this whole nWo type situation. Taker as Sting maybe? You know the "dark avenger" of the home team. Man, I'm really excited for this! Who's out right now with injuries? Does anyone think that this could be used to "bring someone back" as a mentor for the group? Or is it common knowledge that Cole is the front runner to be leader?

 

[aphazel1]

This ending to Raw was AWESOME in every way imaginable. I haven't been shocked by prowrestling since Hogan's heel turn back in the day.....Seriously, my jaw literally dropped in awe as I watched the spectacle unfold. IMHO, this was handled perfectly. I was marking out like a 12 year old girl at a Metro Station concert. Right before the invasion happened, I was actually getting ready to turn off the TV because I couldn't force myself to watch CM Punk job to Cena and then BAM!!! Thank you WWE for the best ending to a Raw in over a decade!

 

[1ofThePeeps]

Gonna go ahead and repeat "holy shit" and "best raw ending ever."

I think WWE creative put Swagger Punk and Mysterio as Cena's possible opponents in hopes that Mysterio would win for this segment. Rey is one of the biggest faces in the company, and it probably would have gone over even BETTER if he would have been out there.

I really don't think this storyline can live up to this, though. Not saying it's going to suck, but I'm having nightmares of Justin Gabriel on the mic trying to cut a heel promo.

Skip Sheffield looked AMAZING.. as did Danielson when he was yelling at Cena in the middle of the ring. Barrett is legit enough to be the leader of this faction.. I think Tarver has been severely underrated. He looks sick with that bandanna over his mouth. I don't remember him being as awful as Otunga in the ring, either.

But wow. Just.. wow. This whole show was outright terrible, I was positive they were going to end the show with Cena beating Punk, with a possible Shaemus run-in. When Barrett first came out, I thought he'd distract Cena and Punk may pick up the cheap win..

Even when all the rookies had Cena surrounded, I was sure it was going to be a lackluster ending.. I cannot believe that they let this happen, but I thank the wrestling gods that they did.

 

[KG775]

I can't remember the last time I was truely surprised in wrestling. To me, wrestling has become very predictable in the last 10 years. Actually, I do remember the last time I was surprised. It was when Eric Bishoff was announced as the new General Manager of Raw years ago. Since then, there hasn't really been any real surprises

So tonight, once again, I found myself board of the typical Monday Night Raw. When I saw Barret walking down the ramp eyeing Cena, I thought for sure they were writing Orton off of the ppv and throwing Barret in there (since he has that title shot at a ppv). Then, I found myself confused when Tarver, Sheffield, and the rest of them surrouded the ring. Then, I was completely thrown off when they all went completely ape shit on everything and everyone around the ring. This was hands down the very best ending and angle the WWE writers have come up with in a long time.

As much as I loved it, I do have a couple complaints. Before I get into that, I have to say that when Punk jumped back into the ring to take on the rookies again was great. I don't think he was trying to help Cena, but it seemed to me like he was representing WWE in this fight against the NXT rookies. The rookies punching out Stricker, the King, the ref, and Justin the announcer plus destroying the ring and announce table was icing on the cake.

My complaints are for one, I think they should've had Bryan and maybe a couple others jump Cole. I don't know and didn't see where Cole ran off to, but I think Cole should have been included in that beat down. Second, I think they should've had a couple other "WWE Soldiers" ran down to help Cena but getting a beat down also. Kofi and Henry would've been good as they've been known to help Cena in the past.

Other than that, I thought it was great. I find myself actually wanting next Monday to come quicker so I can see where this is heading. Since the rookies are not contracted to one brand, I think having them show up on Smackdown to do the same thing would be great as well. I don't think they should show up on NXT tomarrow night to jump the new rookies as I feel that would make the new rookies look bad on their TV debut.

 

[matman8540]

I can only say one thing about this...WOW! This invasion angle came totally out of left field; especially the fact that the NXTWO attacked Cena, Punk, Gallows, King, Striker, ring announcer, referee, etc. Only Serena & Cole escaped unharmed. Not sure about Serena, but Cole ran like a scalded dog (Thank you JR). I also agree with the previous posts on how it's very likely that they were involved in Taker's "disappearance", and how Cole may be their leader, where he'll become Eric Bischoff. He will probably take credit on how "Daniel Bryan became a man tonight". However, I'm going to take a wait and see take on this, as when the ECW castoffs aligned with WCW during that first invasion angle, and it totally took one big huge steaming three coiler after that.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

Now that I am pretty sure the marks have cooled down for what was one of the most surprising endings to any wrestling show ever held, let me head us back to reality.

Yes, the ten minutes of was all good, but let's look at the rest of Raw at face-value:

A-Team/Dibiase: Perhaps the worst usage for a guest host I have ever seen in my entire life. A kidnap storyline featuring the guy that will play Mr. T as the victim? Good God...and of course throw in some people like Roddy Piper and Dusty Rhodes and you have yourself a clusterfuck of old talent making an appearance as if it were The Surreal Life.

Randy Orton vs. Edge: Whatever choice you took, the stipulations were absolute shit. Especially since they ended it with a D-Q. A debate match?

Hart Dynasty vs. ???: This was when I started to lose faith in humanity. I know WWE has a kid fan base, and I am sure they had absolutely nothing better to do then to vote Hornswoggle and Khali, but damn. Uso Brothers? Dudebusters? 'cmon I smell rigged. IWC I am almost sure would rather have a credible fight here then a throwaway attempt at comedy.

Only to name a few. A FEW of the really bad ones. Yes, NXT popped in and practically saved this show otherwise we would all be ranting on how bad it really was. And I will make my case that 10 minutes was also too long.

The end stretched too long for 8 guys to make a statement. Just sayin'.

 

[INFERNO]

Ok i had to register on here just to give my take on. (hopefully nobody has brought this up already, if so my apologies) Anyway i saw one previous poster talking about maybe this is what the rock was reffering to when he said he wanted to do something "special". Now hear me out, maybe im reading way to far into this or maybe its just wishful thinking.

If i remember correctly alot of people thought that the Rock was gonna be the host for this raw since it was a 3 hour raw and in Miami (The rock's city).

I personally think and/or hope that if the WWE can form this angle along the lines of what it should be it can bring back what survivor series used to be. And where is Survivor series being held this year? MIAMI! and where did the rock debut? SURVIVOR SERIES!

anyway like i said it may just be wishful thinking but i'd love to see it either way

 

[Tugboat77]

I loved it as well. Everyone can agree with this one. I was shocked to see Gabriel and Slater so aggressive against Cena. 8 heels coming out of NXT, I'm glad they are all sticking around on TV instead of going back to FCW.

Shocked that Danielson didn't do anything to Cole though. He was right there!

Actually Cole ran like a bitch at the first hint of trouble which isn't surprising. I think Serena stuck around longer. That's one of only two things that would have made this better for me. I would have loved it if Danielson had of destroyed that idiot Cole along with everyone else. I know he isn't a wrestler but neither are the ring announcer, time keeper, production crew members, etc., but they didn't run like scalded dogs.

The other thing that would have made this perfect is if Jericho had come down and asked Barrett what was going on or tried to celebrate with Barrett and they attacked him too. That would have been really cool even though I love Jericho. But for storyline purposes it would have been awesome.

Also, my bet is that Daniel Bryan drops the silly name now and goes back to Danielson as part of this rebellion.

 

[whatalife1683]

This was an awesome ending to Raw. I hope WWE does not drop the ball. I have a good feeling they took out Taker. I can see this all leading to a huge match at summerslam. I seen a few posters who hate, and one who wrote to the WWE. You didn't enjoy the segment which is fine, However, this was not disturbing or digusting in any way. I believe there will be 3 or 4 stars who become championship material. I am looking foward to next. By the way, do not watch the show next week if you felt it was disgusting.

 

[lineo]

The Cena beatdown was very unexpected, but the silly Cena-Thumbs-Up took away all the heat. Who came up with that brilliant* idea?

* Not brilliant at all. In fact, profoundly stupid.

 

[sTyLnK]

It's hard to take wrestling seriously because it wasn't cool or jaw dropping. It was just cheesy. I was laughing the entire time. But, on the flip side it was unexpected which the WWE needs more of. Did anyone else laugh when they brought out only one stretcher?