No character development for the rookies..

[GetsHeat]

NXT started with a lot of potential for me, we were introduced to 8 seemingly colorful characters with different backgrounds, styles, etc.

Now, 14 episodes after we haven't had ANY character development for them. We still don't know anything more about them then we did after episode one.. How have they managed this? They've had about 10.5 hours (or 1.5 hours per each rookie) and they've totally blown it and this has really become the downfall of NXT for me.

Rather then having 8 colorful personalities, in the end we have rather thin, generic characters.

Look at the final 3.. We have Otunga. I know Otunga proclaims to be the A-Lister, has a famous wife, and that's about it.. Wade has played the "Snob" British character that's only been done by every single Brit in wrestling history.. and Gabriel.. all I know is he does a cool 450 and has a funny accent.

The only real exception is Bryan Danielson who has shown character and has had his character morph a bit.. but he's been "eliminated" so in the process of giving him 10-15 minutes of airtime a night after that they are really burying the three remaining in my books.

So since next week is the last episde of the NXT "season" what could be done to prevent this with the next batch of rookies? Would it be a smart thing to cut down on the crop to maybe 5 and have episodes that focus mainly on one character? That way through a 15 episode series you could have 5 episodes (or more depending on the rate of elimination) each to mold these characters?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Yeah, I've got to agree. One of the biggest complaints I've had about NXT has been the lack of character development for the NXT Rookies. I've enjoyed NXT overall and I'm hoping that the WWE can learn from mistakes they made during the 1st season and correct them when the show starts up for another season.

One mistake is the lack of knowledge as to who some of these wrestlers are. With the exceptions of Bryan Danielson and David Otunga, viewers haven't really been given much insight into the Rookies. The only thing that the WWE has given have been those 3 minute vinyettes that they showed of the Rookies the first several weeks NXT was on the air. That's simply not gonna cut it. If the WWE can correct this problem next time around, it'll make the next season a much more enjoyable watch overall.

 

[Ferbian]

I would only partially agree, due to the fact that we've been treated with introduction video's that supposedly further their gimmick / we learn more about them, and we've seen small bits of gimmicks shining through their promos (Wade Barrett and Otunga to say the least, Heath Slater, Michael Tarver) but it wasn't that much of it we got to see.

As I said, NXT has done some to promote their gimmicks and personalities, but ultimately, I do kinda agree because they could definitely do more, Wade Barrett shines through mostly as another British wrestler, as opposed to the bare knuckle money loving fighter that we were told all about when they hyped the show, David we haven't seen anything A-list from, with the exception of his mic skills which are over average in my opinion, and Justin Gabriel, who all I know, is a high flying slightly better build Evan Bourne (thus far) with somewhat mic skills, and he's African.

We could definitely see more from these, and hopefully, the winner will be displayed more thoroughly when time comes, I guess they don't want us to get too damn attached to the wrestlers if they're not gonna be winning the thing anyway.

 

[GetsHeat]

Ferbian makes a good point, remember when Darren Young was apparently some south beach party boy? When did we ever see glimpses of it? The same with Wade.. it was "Bare knuckle fighter" something we never see.. Michael tarver being some KO specialist (which I understand was removed but while it was alive it was never pushed)

They could have had simple vignettes that pushed their characters further. Have one with Otunga googling himself, Wade bare knuckle fighting/hoarding money.. whatever.. instead they are playing generic heel or face 101.

I'm not asking for award winning characters or anything, just some at all.

I wonder if it's possible the WWE has no confidence in them to perform..

 

[a0161613]

It's not just the lack of promo time that hurts their development. I saw Otunga get destroyed by Cena; this makes his presence in the final three ludicrous to me. Yet Slater, Barrett and Danielson have good matches with Jericho, Cena & Batista respectively.

Tells me that Cena can't carry a rookie with no real talent (Otunga) yet the rookies who have potential like Barrett and Danielson are able to mesh well with the superstars. Having good and balanced matches with main event level talent is only a good thing. Being squashed is not going to help the talent grow.

 

[GetsHeat]

It's not just the lack of promo time that hurts their development. I saw Otunga get destroyed by Cena; this makes his presence in the final three ludicrous to me. Yet Slater, Barrett and Danielson have good matches with Jericho, Cena & Batista respectively.

Tells me that Cena can't carry a rookie with no real talent (Otunga) yet the rookies who have potential like Barrett and Danielson are able to mesh well with the superstars. Having good and balanced matches with main event level talent is only a good thing. Being squashed is not going to help the talent grow.

I'd agree, but it's not really my point.. even if someone upset a pro I'd hardly care because they have no character, so I have attachment to any of them (With BD being the exception).. thus I also really don't give a crap on who is being eliminated.

On the subject of where rookies stack up against pros.. it's a really touchy subject, how bad is a main event wrestler going to look if he loses to a rookie? The best they can do is a roll up pin.. Cena has squashed far better then Otunga.

 

[Super Geng Boy]

I agree, but only in some bits. I agree with your opinion overall on how the show started with a great load of potential and we were introduced with 8 colorful characters.

Look at the final 3.. We have Otunga. I know Otunga proclaims to be the A-Lister, has a famous wife, and that's about it.. Wade has played the "Snob" British character that's only been done by every single Brit in wrestling history.. and Gabriel.. all I know is he does a cool 450 and has a funny accent.

There is a few positives that could be taken from recycling gimmicks actually. Nature Boy Ric Flair, he was not the original was he? And I'm pretty sure the Hart Dynasty remind me of something also.

The British Snob could work perfectly. But not just with any Englishman. There has to be that something with it to pull it off. And to be perfectly frank it is something that not many people have been able to posses. Wade Barret has that and that is why I have got to respectfully disagree. I agree with Gabriel, it is a shame too. Because the dude can put on a good match, but he will need a character to bring up a larger than life personality to help with his size. But heath Slater has his "one man rock band" thing going, which although many have tried it before is still a personality. David Otunga has shown that he is a brash cocky,arrogant heel willing to throw away the chance of becoming a champion with the top dog in the industry he is that self assured of success. Again, for a guy that's been with us for 13 weeks, it is not that bad is it? I agree through, except for Otunga, Bryan, Barret and Slater the rest have no personality.

The only real exception is Bryan Danielson who has shown character and has had his character morph a bit.. but he's been "eliminated" so in the process of giving him 10-15 minutes of airtime a night after that they are really burying the three remaining in my books.

There is only three of them through, it would be hard to have an hour show based around three people and three people only. I think that it does a good job, it gets someone else exposure, it furthers a potential huge feud with Bryan and Cole and it makes the other rookies seem more important by having less TV time.

 

[darbare]

the only one out of the final 3 that has had proper character development is Otunga.....he was a guest host on RAW....the kid has serious potential as a mic worker....i dont know about the in ring work yet though.....he needs to be trainin his ass off everyday 24/7 to see some improvement.....Wade Barrett has had some progression for his character, but he makes up for it in the little time he gets on the mic which proves he will do alright even on a show like NXT....Justin Gabriel is complete sh**....he is truly a one trick pony with average in ring skills.....he cant cut a promo to save his life and he shoulda been eliminated along time ago...I'll go with Wade to win it.....if Otunga could wrestle as good as Wade, then he would be leaps and bounds better than Wade in every sense....

 

[GetsHeat]

The British Snob could work perfectly. But not just with any Englishman. There has to be that something with it to pull it off. And to be perfectly frank it is something that not many people have been able to posses. Wade Barret has that and that is why I have got to respectfully disagree. I agree with Gabriel, it is a shame too. Because the dude can put on a good match, but he will need a character to bring up a larger than life personality to help with his size. But heath Slater has his "one man rock band" thing going, which although many have tried it before is still a personality. David Otunga has shown that he is a brash cocky,arrogant heel willing to throw away the chance of becoming a champion with the top dog in the industry he is that self assured of success. Again, for a guy that's been with us for 13 weeks, it is not that bad is it? I agree through, except for Otunga, Bryan, Barret and Slater the rest have no personality.

Are the Hart Dynasty really recycling a gimmick of just some logo/name? Playing off some nostalgia and trying to get name recognition. Nature boy i'll give you, but that was a unique (at the time) well thought out gimmick that Ric made his own.

On the other hand the British snob one has been played by just about every English wrestler.. look at the current crop. The British invasion play it, Desmond Wolfe plays it, William Regal plays it.. I can't even think of one English wrestlers that wasn't defined as being an Englishman and that only, and that's kind of a shame that they just can't be themselves.

It's not a very skilled gimmick, it's not unique, and really it's just beyond tired.. some are worth recycling but this one simply isn't.