NXT: The Era Of The "Wrestling God"

[Jack-Hammer]

Even though this latest episode of NXT was taped weeks back, it flows along with the current angle the new power regime is running with The Rhodes family. It began several weeks ago with Triple H "firing" Cody Rhodes for failing to defeat Randy Orton; it then continued with the return of Goldust attempting to defeat Orton so his younger brother could get his job back. Last week on Raw, under orders from Stephanie McMahon, Big Show was forced to "knock out" WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes rather than have him subjected to a beating from The Shield. This past Monday, out of nowhere, Cody Rhodes & Dustin Rhodes, AKA Goldust, "jumped the railing" and attached The Shield before security escorted them out of the build. Earlier this week, in another in story sit down interview conducted by Michael Cole, Triple H invited The Rhodes family to attend this coming Monday's episode of Raw.

Now that we're all caught up, as of this week's episode of NXT, Triple H has "replaced" Dusty Rhodes as the General Manager of NXT and has inserted JBL in his place. After the announcement, JBL came out and cut a heel promo on how NXT is the future and that the future is in the hands of the Wrestling God.

Even though there's definite truth in the heel authority figure being an overly used character in pro wrestling these days, I do think that this is a great fit for JBL. JBL has done a great job as heel commentator, he's a great talker and it makes sense when you consider how he's been vehemently beating the propaganda drum of the new regime since the post SummerSlam Raw. He's referred to himself as a "company man" on several occasions during this time period and I'm hoping that his new "position" is revealed on Raw this Monday. I know that NXT & the larger WWE scene are kept all but mutually exclusive from each other, but Dusty Rhodes is also now "officially fired" just like Cody. With all of them on Raw this Monday, adding JBL into the mix can give the promo segment this Monday a little extra juice.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

I'm on the fence. I believe a heel JBL in a place of power is one of the best things WWE could ever do, but I mean c'mon...is another authority figure with heelish tendencies really necessary right now? Where is the balance? Triple H is obviously siding on a "necessary evil" style character, but that makes everyone in that type of position a heel except Booker T.

WWE really has got heavy on management angles lately.

This probably means sources are accurate for once; Mr. McMahon is most likely coming back as a face character to establish some balance. At least I would hope so.

 

[Aquaman6686]

I think this is a test run, to see how well he does in the position, and if he does well, he'll be moved up to run either RAW or SmackDown.

 

[zhaff2004]

I agree with aquaman, this is a test to see how he does. A heel JBL on raw as a GM would be a solid addition.

 

[deadfox081]

The only bad thing to possibly come of this is removing JBL from the broadcast table. He's one of the few things that makes WWE commentary bearable.

 

[The Eighties]

I saw the episode and what I found interesting was just before The Triple H/JBL segment Kassius Ohno returned and was told by Brad Maddox that he had been kept off NXT because he wasn't what was best for business. I wonder if they are going to do a small Ohno vs JBL feud that filters the main show storyline theme into NXT.

 

[Uncle Sam]

If he's anything like Dusty - and I have no reason to believe he won't be - then he'll be out every now and then to make a match or an announcement and then duly fuck off. Not that I don't like JBL, I'm a big fan of how adequate he is, but a GM running roughshod over a show is never anything less than irritating. The guys behind NXT have a knack for not making terrible writing decisions, so I can only assume that will continue.

 

[Mustang Sally]

....but a GM running roughshod over a show is never anything less than irritating.

Agreed. The whole scenario reminds me of Michael Cole acting as de facto GM, running from his announcer's position to a laptop perched on a lectern to deliver pronouncements from an anonymous GM.....always making me wonder if he was the GM, hiding behind the computer to prevent heat from coming back at him. Of course, the whole storyline went nowhere, and was abandoned, which speaks volumes in itself.

If JBL is the GM, he presumably would perform the job with more dignity (if such a word can be applied to pro wrestling) than Michael Cole or anyone else who doesn't carry the clout of an authoritative figure such as JBL.

It's kind of nice to see his role with the company expanded, although I agree with others who would hate to see him removed from his announcing duties.

 

[OwenHart]

I think this is a test run, to see how well he does in the position, and if he does well, he'll be moved up to run either RAW or SmackDown.

This is exactly what i was thinking!

I enjoy JBL as a commentator BUT i loved his speech! Look at how he reacted with the fans "this is not the sing along with the wrestling God"! I loved it! I am very happy he got this position and hope he will replace either Maddox (i like him but he is not legit enough for that position, give him something else to do) or Vickie (im getting bored of her as a authority figure).. And ofcourse i would love to see JBL wrestling again. I am sure he still has it! Even if it is for 1-2 matches only. Imagine JBL Vs Punk or JBL vs Batista or ... its limitless! He isnt that old... and he loogs great. He is super charismatic... give him Ricardo Rodriquez as his servant (i know JBL loves this Idea) and maybe give him 2 young wrestlers and let him for a small stable. He could help put them over. Maybe Chris Hero (Ohno) and Leo Kruger.

 

[Klinz]

Do they even need a GM though whilst this current HHH/McMahon storyline is going on? Maddox has been an afterthought the past months or so, all he does is just appear in backstage segments with HHH currently.

I like JBL, he's decent on commentary but he tends to repeat himself way too much. I don't think he'll be too heavily-involved in NXT stories and will just appear now and then. If anything I assume he'll step into the Dallas/Zayn feud quite nicely.

 

[MCMG]

He probably won't do much but JBL is fantastic so having more of him on TV can't be a bad thing. Moreover, this could be a tester to see if maybe him being long-term manager of Raw is a possibility.

His role on NXT will be minimal but it will still be interesting to see how he does.

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

It really depends of how much they are gonna use him. Is he gonna play a huge factor like HHH on Raw and SD? Is he going to be more of a backstage guy like Brad Maddox? JBL is really good on the mic and has the ability to think and act while on stage, so he can make a great heel power figure. As far as balance goes, we have too many heel power figures running things, but that's pretty much the point, once you have a corporation running things their own way, all their shows need to have the same "management".