[OFFICIAL] NXT Aftermath, Review, and Ratings Thread

[Schizophrenic]

I was thinking about the belt situation and I guess it will bring a whole new meaning to "Next World Champ!" won't it?

Anyway, I am torn. I think that some of the vets need to be around to make the guys worth it but on the other hand, I watch FCW and it is doing just fine with the new guys and it's entertaining with just the new guys and I think that if they focus on the new guys and bring in a RAW or SmackDown guy once a month it would give people a reason to watch that week and it would make people look at the guy opposing the vet and think "if he's going again Christian or Morrison then he must be someone to watch." It's like when FCW bring in Goldust or Kofi to wrestle someone, it's usually a guy to watch.

 

[itsJMoney]

Personally I don't see a change in champion happening just because the name of the show (and the title) are going to change (of course when it comes to WWE and the things they've done recently, I've been wrong quite a few times). Hopefully we don't see Christian losing the title, that is unless he gets traded to RAW or Smackdown.

But in the event that the title would change hands along with the name change, then I'd like to see a tournament to crown a new champion rather than a battle royal.

As for who I'd like to see as the new NXT Champion (if that's what they call it) I would like to see Christian get it back. But if it does change hands, I would rather see someone new with the belt over someone that has held it already. The names that come to mind are Shelton Benjamin and Zach Ryder.

 

[RicSpade]

Honestly I think while NXT (I hate that name btw) is going to be the place to farm and raise new up and comers like ECW did, I honestly think the best way to do it is to have a once every two month weed out process for NXT talent to be moved up to the main roster. Lets do contracts on a pole or ladder matches or cage matches on NXT and the winner goes to Raw or Smackdown or gets a title shot, thats the way to keep the vets there while getting the guys they want onto the main brand. I mean we have drafts and then Sheamus randomly showed up to Raw, so why not make a reason for a guy to get to step up? Also I think that if the logo they spoiled on the main site is the logo they need to change the color or something for about 15 seconds I thought I was looking at the old NWA-TNA logo.

 

[Mantaur Rodeo Clown]

First, what do you think of the reported concept of WWE NXT as has been reported on the newsboards? Do you see it being any more advantageous to what WWE is currently doing with ECW?

I don't see it being anymore advantageous by renaming the show, just simply more obvious. I would guess that most WWE fans already get that ECW is the show for the young up and comers, and the "Superstar Initiative" certainly supports that. We aren't idiots after all.

If they continue to do the same thing with the show, then I have no problem whatsoever with it. ECW is actually a great watch each week. However, if they completely revamp the show by eliminating the veterans on the show and completely stripping the show of its stars, then then the WWE may have an issue.

Secondly, do you have a better suggestion for what WWE should do with the show? It's obvious they do NOT want another third major brand at this point in time, however should they just replace the show with another show like Superstars instead, or should they even just cancel the show, based on the news of the intentions for it?

I really like ECW. It has a nice feel to it and it's just a quick fix of wrestling. There's maybe a couple of feuds and they are heavily wrestling based and there's nothing wrong with that. I really think the WWE should keep the show in this vein, and whilst they make focus on the younger stars, they should still have a few established names present. Then again, a large focus of the show right now is on guys like Ezekiel Jackson and Zack Ryder, both fresh faces.

If it's just a renaming and rebranding of a similar package, I have no problem with it. the Sci fi content to be added? I think Vince learned from 1993-1995 that weird gimmicks don't work. Then again, he probably didn't and will try it. I don't think theres a place for it, unless Bryan Danielson comes out dressed like an actual dragon.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

What a stupid fucking idea, honestly. Hey how about not even remotely attempt to give this brand any sort of legitimacy, and just come right out and say its nothing but a farm league. Yea, people will TOTALLY fucking watch THAT.

This is likely to bomb, and bomb terribly. Itll be like an hour of dark matches, cept with its own apron and theme music and shit. Fucking horrible. You think we hear total silince NOW during ECW matches? Oh, you have seen fuckin NOTHING yet


Its a sad thing, becuase ECW has always been a very enjoyable show. I dont think that will be able to happen now. I guess more will have to be seen about exaclty how they will run this, but from the outset, coming right out and casting this in a light to make it seem less legit than the other shows.....sorta defeats the whole purpose.

 

[crashfellow]

Firstly, i think the idea of the show being renamed is a good one. Perhaps it's not a good name, but the renaming of the show will finally end the tainting of the legacy ECW.

The show has been tainted, as being known as nothing more then low third place show to Raw or Smack down, used as a dumping ground for wrestlers who have clearly fallen out of favor on the other brands, and seemingly a punishment for people like Cristian. Also the firing and disgracing of every ECW original on the show makes it worse. I like so many others felt so positive when the first one night stand came on.. It makes me wonder if this show, like the WCW invasion was set up to show the fans 'hey.. ECW was just like this.. it was never very good, and now you see that'.

This show has lost anything that the original ECW company had going for it, which is a very sad thing.

I must ask, when Vince McMahon came out on TV, am i the only person who noticed the absolute sense of quiet jubilation as he announced it's going off the air? The show wasn't being renamed or re branded, it's off the air. Just to hammer home that ECW has once again been removed from TV.

The true sad point of this is that WWE now owns ECW as a brand, and i would have to imagine this promotion now has absolutely no chance of ever returning under a none WWE banner... very sad also.

Like myself, have you noticed the ECW chants have stopped on all shows? i doubt this was by accident... sadly i do not believe we will ever heard NXT chants being chanted at a wrestler over 10 years later.

 

[GenMe]

Now that in 3 weeks ecw will become NXT, Will NXT have any good PPV matches? Or would NXT even have any PPV matches during the year? in the past PPV's ecw has had atleast 2 good matches,And they are all for the ECW championship and most of them had been like a 3 minute match.So now that NXT its just around the corner,Will vince let NXT have some PPV time at all or will they just be out of the PPV picture for now and ever? Tell me what you think....and im sorry if this thread was already post by some one else

 

[Harrison101]

I don't even know if NXT is even a fully fledged brand like ECW was. The details are obviously under lock-en key for now. But I don't think it will change from ECW's old ways, of maybe one Championship Match every 2-3 Months or something like that. However, right now, your guess is as good as mine.

 

[Notorious718]

Who knows? Only time will tell. However, if the treatment of ECW over the past few months says anything (as far as PPVs are concerned, at least) I wouldn't expect anything to change. Assuming NXT features its own championship, maybe they'll feature a title bout every couple PPVs or something like that. I'm they'll have good wrestling matches (ECW has featured some of the best wrestling in WWE television over the past months in my view) but as for whether or not they'll be featured on PPV, only time will tell. My opinion? If WWE is gonna use NXT to push younger superstars and give them credibility as the future, I think they should be featured on PPV to give them more exposure.

 

[BourneToFly]

I'm assuming right now that NXT will be a merely developmental brand. It looks like it's going to be a way to get a national crowd for the higher talent in FCW. As for a title, I'm not sure if they're going to have a championship, but then again, who knows. As of right now, anything could happen.

 

[Dr. Stinger A. Zoidberg]

Well I think it will. The only reason Vince killed ECW when he brought it back was because he personally didnt create it, and he didnt want ECW, created by Paul Heyman, to become a big brand in WWE. Which is why there was little to no emphasis put on it. In NXT's case however, It is Vince's creation, and he is going to want to put alot into it. So I expect to see, multiple NXT matches on a PPV, giving the younger talent some PPV exposure. I also wouldnt be surprised if the WWE crowned the first ever NXT Champion at Wrestlemania.

 

[Leafy]

Hmm. I didn't think about this. I think it will take the same position as ECW. Sometimes not even on the PPV and if they are it's going to be the opener. I'm sure we won't see a NXT PPV match for a while if they are going to be using green wrestlers. Hopefully they surpass the bar made by ECW but I don't see a brand full of rookies even bring on PPV's.

 

[The Champ]

I really don't see what the problem is, people have been complaining for four years that the new ECW is not the same as the old one, so they're finally ditching the name and going for something else. I think it's gonna be a great opportunity for the young guys to get their own platform to shine, although I'm not sure if getting rid of all the veterans from the show will exactly be a smart idea. Nevertheless, I'm not quite sure what to expect from this, but I'm certain that the development of the show will at least be somewhat exciting to watch. I'm always open to a change, and I think this one will work.

 

[RockNWag]

What could some of the storylines for the NXT brand consist of? Are there any storylines being setup on ECW already? How about....

The current ECW stars that will be on NXT? Yoshi Tatsu, Zack Ryder, Zeke, Croft and Barretta, Abe Washington , You get it.... Could there be a battle between the ones already there and the up and comers? Is that too Cliche?

Are they going to bring younger stars from Smackdown and Raw to the show? Hart Dynasty, Legacy (let's hope only Rhodes will go) Primo, Bourne?

How about reintroducing stables? With more 2nd/3rd generation stars (assuming a few come from FCW, like Little Perfect, The Million Dollar Baby, Jonathon Fatu) there could be a REAL legacy stable...not a tag team "stable" How about a bigger Hart Dynasty? Will they bring in younger wrestlers from Independant circuits? Teddy Hart?

The possibilities are endless. What are you expectations and...well...Dreams about the NXT brand?

 

[modest-genius]

I'm still excited about this announcement. As you have all said, this is what ECW was all about. This is what made people watch ECW and gave it ratings. Young talent. With the exception if talent, do you think people were tuning in to se Finlay and Goldust?

The thing that will kill this show however is if they start, episode one, with a clean slate. The fans knowing nothing going into it. You'll have introduction promos from stars which won't get a message across because people don't know them. Arguments with heels won't work because people don't care about the faces. You'll have matches with dead crowds because they don't know who's wrestling.

What WWE should do is promote the hell out of it on RAW and Smackdown. Lets say Bryan is the guy who they're going to push to the top of NXT. They need him to come out on RAW and have him take out Shaw Michaels. Have him challenge him to a match on the first episode of NXT. They can do this with just young guys, they just need to get the ball rolling first. A guest apperance from Undertaker or John Cena is going to do wonders in building it's credibility.

It should be the THE talking point on ECW for the next 2 weeks.

This could lead to the WWE's own version of the X Division. The return of the cruiserweight championship.

Tiff shouldn't be the GM. Put her on Smackdown and give her a storyline with Teddy, or team her with Christian. There should be a new GM for NXT to make it not seem like ECW with a new name, and it should definitely be a heel. William Regal for example, with Zeke body guard, not an official member of the roster.

Once the show is up and running for a few months, they should give two of the best new guys the Unified tag titles. They can be on RAW and Smackdown every week promoting NXT then.

Having the NXT champion (awful name for a title) be crowned at Wrestlemania is another great idea.

 

[Lancer]

The only problem I have with the whole ECW / NXT thing is this: what is the purpose of Superstars? With WWE programming on 4 freaking times a week, the only show I see with no direction is Superstars. Raw is the flagship brand, Smackdown is the "B" show, ECW / NXT is the developmental show, and Superstars is.....?

I agree with the rebranding of ECW though. ECW has been dead since 2001. Not even One Night Stand (2005 or 2006), or a weekly TV show could ever bring it back. It is better off being nostalgia, and a cool name drop, for performers and fans alike. NXT will reveal the actual purpose for it all along: as a developmental show where new stars can be created, and stagnant ones can be sent to "rehab" their careers.

 

[The New Generation]

It was long overdue. The WWE needed to get rid of the name ECW and change what the brand stands for. ECW has felt for the past couple of years like the training ground for future stars, instaed of show for extreme wrestling. The name change is great, but I think they could have come up with a better name then NXT, but I'll have to get used to the name, although it sounds like an idny brand.

I'm also a huge fan of Evan Bourne so hopefully he will be moved to NXT so that he gets some recognition. This will also help other new talent as they will get a chance at a title. We will also see alot of new FCW talent that will eventually be the next Raw Superstar.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

We have more details on NXT:

WWE NXT debuts on February 23rd and the company is promoting the new show as innovative and even revolutionary. There has been talk that WWE NXT will feature young superstars from WWE's developmental system such as Bryan Danielson and Kaval (formerlyLow Ki) in a show that's a hybrid of pro wrestling and reality TV.

Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) sent out a press release today discussing its involvement in NXT show, writing:

"With speculation rife regarding the imminent debut of WWE’s new television show ‘WWE-NXT,’ all FCW Superstars are sure to be at their best as they attempt to impress top brass in WWE and secure spots on the new show’s roster. And with Edge watching over the evening’s proceedings, the stakes have never been higher."

So apparently, the show appears to feature all Developmental superstars, as we were expecting according to the reports ... but also is going to combine a wrestling show with Reality television.

In other words, this show appears to be heading in the direction of being another Tough Enough.

So we may very well not really be seeing NXT as an arena show like ECW, and rather a show that is based in FCW along with staging interviews and scenarious, watching the guys and gals practice their promos, train in the ring, and so forth.

I suppose this concept is better than just having all developmental stars appear in an arena show, since nobody is going to care about a bunch of nobodies they haven't seen before, and the audience reactions would be pitiful.

But I question how long WWE can keep that up without the audience getting bored in seeing everyone train all the time.

 

[Leafy]

Well I plan on watching NXT every week. If I get to see some of the promising young talent every week it will make me connect with the superstars. When they move to the larger brands I can root for them because I feel like I was with them all the way.

And if Low Ki and Danielson are on NXT consider me a loyal follower. And I don't know if this was a rumor but I remember seeing that Sy Fy were hoping NXT will have more Sci Fi storylines. This sounds amazing and want to see Danielson vs. The Alien Master.

 

[Dysturbed]

what is the purpose of Superstars? With WWE programming on 4 freaking times a week, the only show I see with no direction is Superstars. Raw is the flagship brand, Smackdown is the "B" show, ECW / NXT is the developmental show, and Superstars is.....?

A show that allows fans to see a few extra matches if they feel like it. It's basically a very minor option that is pretty much presented as such as opposed to being presented as or being expected to be viewed as must see tv like the other shows. I personally have no interest in it but it is what it is. Since there are always going to be dark matches prior to a televised show or ppv WWE probably figures that rather than have some them be "dark", why not have those matches televised? If a station is willing to air such matches (it is) and even a minimal number of people watch those matches (which is what happens), then why not show them? Does that mean that they should start televising house show matches since those also exist? No, though I wouldn't doubt that one day.

With that in mind, and where the shows direction that you are looking for is concerned, I don't think that we have reason to believe that this point that the show is intended to have a "direction" and therefore I don't think that there is any reason to expect it. Maybe when the concept was initially presented it seemed that way but that quickly stopped being the case.

 

[Mr. TM]

The best thing out of this is not having to see those horrendous posters saying that THIS IS NOT THE OLD ECW. Well of course it was not. So that is an improvement right away. The name isn't great, but it sounds neat I guess. I assume that many of the same things will be happening, it is just no longer called ECW. The name fits along with the feel of the show, a next set of generation wrestlers on an hour show, so lets see if more people tune in.

 

[Dagger Dias]

So we may very well not really be seeing NXT as an arena show like ECW, and rather a show that is based in FCW along with staging interviews and scenarious, watching the guys and gals practice their promos, train in the ring, and so forth.

I'm not sure whether to be happy or disappointed by this. This show would break kayfabe, that's a bigger issue than it might sound like. On a positive note, it's still an infinitely better idea than WWE having a third brand anymore. I will absolutely give this show a chance, and I recommend that everybody else do the same. You might like it. Some won't, that's all but guaranteed, but it will be cool to see them training before actually getting promoted to the main roster. This could still be rather interesting because we will know who we want to root for ahead of time. The only issue I have with it so far is that it'd break kayfabe, but that can be ignored.

 

[chief]

Ok, so yeah I am looking forward to seeing some new faces, and I am looking forward to seeing what they do with NXT being a 'groundbreaking' new show or whatever, but just how are the WWE going to accomplish that?

For some reason I am not getting my hopes too high just yet, but it has got me thinking.

What if, they had a format for this show similar to a Major Sport, ie conference/league table style wrestling. Each wrestler would wrestle each other wrestler with the winner moving up and down a conference/league. Then every few months once the 'Championship' is decided that wrestler will graduate up to either Raw or Smackdown, that way it keeps the feuds fresh we see plenty of new matches and 'enemies' could still cost people close to them in the conference/league some of their matches. Its just a thought, and I haven't really thought through the exact rules (ie Are there playoffs?) etc. But I just wanted to throw that idea out there.
Thoughts?

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

I'm not sure whether to be happy or disappointed by this. This show would break kayfabe, that's a bigger issue than it might sound like. On a positive note, it's still an infinitely better idea than WWE having a third brand anymore. I will absolutely give this show a chance, and I recommend that everybody else do the same. You might like it. Some won't, that's all but guaranteed, but it will be cool to see them training before actually getting promoted to the main roster. This could still be rather interesting because we will know who we want to root for ahead of time. The only issue I have with it so far is that it'd break kayfabe, but that can be ignored.

Are you familiar with Tough Enough? That show broke Kayfabe a long time ago while showing the trainers teach moves to the students and getting them to practice promos. This show sounds like a repeat of that show, so because of that, nothing is new here.

Kayfabe is pretty much dead in this day and age anyway. Sure, they put on a show, but everyone knows wrestling is scripted. It's the year 2010 after all.

 

[NotoriousBigQ]

NXT looks like it will be WWECW with new colors, a new logo, and a newer roster. Its going to continue to be a 3rd show and play as a minor league to RAW and SD!. In my opinion, its not a bad thing to have a minor league type of show but I'm glad they're pretty much coming out and saying they aren't going to put any top guys on that show. I'd prefer that over them treating ECW as a minor league, but never coming out and saying it. I'm interested to see what sort of other changes will happen when NXT debuts, and I'm giving the WWE exactly what they want, my viewership for the debut.