NXT Rookie Challenges: Who Needs 'Em?

[DirtyJosé]

I really want to see NXT be a relevant show. I love the concept of an all noob show with some main roster guys at various levels bouncing around with them. I like the options for feuds that can develop between rookies, and between superstars. I've even grown accustomed to the camera angles and the concept of Striker as the host.

What I hate most about NXT is the challenges. I think they are quite simply the worst part of the show. I feel that if they wished to have "games" like this, they could be better planned and better presented. What we've been given looks cheap and rushed, and further more the rookies either seem to not care or have been instructed to look like idiots out there.

Maybe that's the point; to show the rookies as ill-prepared and still very green. But there are other ways to get that across without having the rookies look ******ed. What they are doing seems like something boiled up by a board room committee that is better fit for a more traditional reality show.

I think the time could be better spent on the pro's opinions of their rookie and others'. I like some of the video packages they've put together; why not extend that? Or maybe even use the time to reference the WWE.com polls and touch upon who is doing better/worse.

What do you think of the rookie challenges?

Do they add and enhance our impression of the rookies? Or do they make the job of getting these guys over that much harder?

Besides just giving the time to more matches, what else could be done that would serve the same purpose without making the rookies look silly?

 

[Dagger Dias]

What do you think of the rookie challenges?

The challenges are something different. It gives the guys on NXT something to do while us fans wait for the next pro's poll. Some of the challenges have been better than others, that's for sure!

Do they add and enhance our impression of the rookies? Or do they make the job of getting these guys over that much harder?

The good challenges, such as the promo challenge, can improve an impression on the rookies as well as make us think less of them. The challenges do help, but seeing who can sell the most programs was a little silly, and so was the challenge last week. Even the keg race was strange.

Besides just giving the time to more matches, what else could be done that would serve the same purpose without making the rookies look silly?

It's hard to say really. What they should have done instead is not have so much time in between the first two pro's polls because then they could have only done the challenges that deal with improving as a wrestler.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I don't mind the challenges actually. I agree that, on the surface, they might look kind of stupid in some cases but they do serve something of a purpose. Just having the Rookies get into matches week after week could probably get stale so this does break that up a bit. I wish that some of the challenges weren't so tongue-in-cheek, but I don't really have much of a problem with them other than I wish some of them were a little more hardnosed.

 

[The Doctor]

I love the challenges. They're something different and I like that they're giving out prizes for the winners. They're always fun to watch and see how the various rookies will react to them. Last week's really got us some insight into the rookies' personalities. Daniel Bryan is having fun, Wade Barrett loves money, David Otunga doesn't do manual labor, and more.

I would like to see some more wrestling-related challenges, like the promo contest but with serious subjects. If they do the promo contest periodically throughout the season it could show us how the rookies are making progress.

 

[RVDgurl]

For the love of God....the challenges are worse than bad. Yes, it's something different, but jousting and talking about flowers makes me want to bang my head against a wall. I can't wait until they have a hot dog eating contest. Maybe we'll see that next week. As Doc said, I wouldn't mind these challenges as much if they were more wrestling related. Keg carries and selling programs really have little to do with wrestling skills. I don't pay attention to ratings, but it's kinda obvious why this show isn't doing too well.

The WWE really has some decent talent on the NXT roster. Justin Gabriel rocks my world and Heath Slater and Wade Barrett are full of talent as well. And of course, Bryan Danielson is the greatest man on earth . Let these guys wrestle a little more. I understand that NXT is suppose to be more like a "reality show" so the WWE wants to include more that just wrestling matches. That's fine but they have to be able to come up with something a little better.

 

[DirtyJosé]

When I hear the phrase "reality show", I don't auto think of silly competitions as much as I think of real interactions and "documentary cam" style video packages. What if NXT went the route of having camera men in the locker room or somewhere else backstage catching more of the rookies and pros working with each other. Why not share some of that teaching instead of hiding off screen? Why not showcase them getting used to being on the road, and getting used to that lifestyle (well, honestly most of them already are, but fuck it, you can kayfabe it!). Or give the challenges some meaning or some more weighty rewards. As it is, two weeks in a row I've ditched NXT half way in because it started out with a ******ed challenge that I could have watched on Global Guts as a child.

 

[Mike Honcho]

I don't like anything about NXT. It has nothing to offer. If it were similar to Tough Enough and we saw some real training and development, then I would watch. It doesn't have any effect on the other shows. Otunga being a guest host on Raw? Who? Why?

 

[NXTrookie2013]

Yes the challenges are kinda silly but they are relevent to being a WWE superstar. The Keg Carrying competition showed how storng they are. The Mic segment shows thier mic skills, almost all of them sucked xP. The rockem-sockem thingy or w/e showed their balance. The magizine selling one i still dont know xD

 

[Snow_Leopard]

The only real correlation I could determine between the magazine selling challenge and wrestling was maybe that being able to sell programs will equate to being able to sell merchandise as a superstar, but I doubt that's it.

Still, the last challenge did show some insight into their characters and allowed for a lot of creativity, which is a plus.

 

[Slim Pickns]

For some reason I catch myself watching NXT every week. Since the first episode I haven't missed it once. I'm someone who struggles to even watch RAW after I have DVRed it yet I always find time for this stupid show.

The reason this show is stupid is mainly the rookie challenges. Not that they exist, just that they are so random. An obstacle course would make sense, an obstacle course where you drink a soda does not. The concept of making these rookies do something other than just wrestling screams for a potential hit show, but the ball has been greatly dropped. When Wade Barret simply quit on the first part of the course, he came off more legit than anyone which should not be the case. The only challenge that I liked was the talk the talk as it showed how much potential these guys have on the mic which is equally as important as how well they perform in the random matches they have each week.

I say keep with the outside the ring challenges but make them involve things that show the rookies potential, not just random games. If none of these guys get over, its the show creators fault, not theirs.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

SLIM!!! MTFO!!!!

Not even hyperbole, these are probably the dumbest thing I have EVER seen on WWE tv. I argue that the fact they have the rookies doing them compounds the stuidity. In WHAT fucking way does this help develop them as talents? As future WWE superstars? In no way, its fucking ******ed, and makes them look stupid. I suggested at the beginning they have a NXT title, and run it like any other brand.

Oh no, way too easy. You mean having people chase the title, engage in feuds, cut promos, and act in angles would develop them better than guzzling soda at the concession stand before juggling? Heresy, right.

I fucking HATE the challenges, and I HATE stupid fucking NXT. Horribly executed, and just shit. Should have kept ECW.

 

[Ferbian]

I'm slowly beginning to agree with you strongly Norcal, seeing as the challenges used to be at least mediocre to watch to say the least, but this weeks episode was the final drop that tipped the cup from mediocre to absolutely awful.

I've always found somewhat of a ridiculousness over the challenges, but in the end, I accepted them because they spiced something new to the show, but for the love of god I did not want to sit through what was like.. 15-20 minutes of just challenges, absolutely shit as opposed to giving us another match that could solidify them much better.

 

[Klown_Karnage]

I wouldn't mind the challenges so much if they were actually relevant to being a wrestler without having to stretch so much to make it fit. The challenges could work, but the way they're handled actually cheapens what it is to be a wrestler. Okay, we all know it's kayfabe, but do we have to make these rookies look so stupid by making them look as if they've never even trained for this stuff?

Okay, the keg carry wasn't so bad. I can live with that one. Even knowing that everything is planned out in advance, I'm alright with that. The promotion one is where things got stupid, not the concept but the subjects they were given. These had nothing to do with wrestling. When I want to watch people speaking on completely random topics, I'll find people who actually know how to do it and watch Whose Line Is It Anyway. The magazine selling bit, while it gets into the fact that, as a superstar they'll have to learn to flog merchandise, it still does nothing for them as a wrestler and gets far more into the business part that they have very little control over. The rock-em, sock-em bit...good grief! If they're going to do that why don't they have some actual wrestling?! A Mini-Royal rumble match would have been more fitting. As for the obstacle course, why not a multi-person hardcore match or at least a MitB style ladder match. Instead we're subjected to Survivor style drivel.

I'm afraid I stopped watching a long time ago, about the time that the challenges began. There was so much potential to this show and it's become crap...and I don't think the challenges are solely to blame, but they're a part of the problem.

 

[Widdows]

I think they're a waste of time that cuts time out of a show which could be used to add time to the actual wrestling.
I mean, Barrett wins the best challenge to win his own theme tune. So where is this theme? If he were to get eliminated [highly unlikely I know] then he would have used it.

 

[Slim Pickns]

SLIM!!! MTFO!!!!

Not even hyperbole, these are probably the dumbest thing I have EVER seen on WWE tv. I argue that the fact they have the rookies doing them compounds the stuidity. In WHAT fucking way does this help develop them as talents? As future WWE superstars? In no way, its fucking ******ed, and makes them look stupid. I suggested at the beginning they have a NXT title, and run it like any other brand.

Oh no, way too easy. You mean having people chase the title, engage in feuds, cut promos, and act in angles would develop them better than guzzling soda at the concession stand before juggling? Heresy, right.

I fucking HATE the challenges, and I HATE stupid fucking NXT. Horribly executed, and just shit. Should have kept ECW.

NorCal! Miss chatting with you bro.

You said pretty much what I was trying to spit out. I think my initial post came off a little too nice. The show NXT itself, is awful, the participants are not. The worst part is Barrett, Gabriel, Young, and Bryan could probably be over by now. Instead they get zero reaction trying to sell the body wrecking effects of monkey bars and soda chugging. Can you believe someone thought that was a good idea.

WWE obviously came up with the name and idea of the show being rookies without thinking of what the actual show would be constructed of. Hell, they didn't even announce the rules until week four, which leads me to believe they didn't have them until them. As I said originally, the ball has been dropped big time. This show could have had behind the scenes training sessions and interviews, tracked match results similar to boxing or MMA, a title to chase, and a unique ranking system that would really make the show stick out. Instead we got random matches, no direction until week 4, little direction after that, a crap load of RAW recap videos (seriously 3.5 million people watch RAW, 1 million watch NXT. Who are they targeting with these?), and challenges that seem like they are designed to make the rookies look silly.