Season 1- The Cast of NXT- General Discussion

[SJM12492]

When I heard about NXT, I was quite excited. I mean, who wouldn't be? If you a huge WWE mark like me, this was great to hear! A brand new set of wrestlers fresh out the oven, ready to be eaten with the audiences eyes... Okay enough of the crappy metaphors...

I didn't know how NXT would work to begin with, I had no idea how it would differ from RAW, SmackDown! and especially ECW. But Vinnie Mac has done it again, a brand new concept: Pros and their mentees. And I have to say, I'm interested in this one... I'm guessing they're gonna do it manager style, with thrown in backstage segments, mabye creating rivalries between mentees AND pros.

The thread's question is, what do you think of this set up? Will it come together and work better then a petrol can with matches, or will it crash and burn like a petrol can with matches? Also, what do you think of the pairings, do you like it?

Here's my 1p (2 cents (exchange rate for the UK )):
All the pairings look great. And I was laughing at the irony that CM Punk gets the guy with the most hair, hee hee...

The only one I see any trouble with, is Miz being paired up with Daniel Bryan, AKA Bryan Danielson. I haven't really been paying attention to the guy, so I don't know that much about him. But I hear Danielson is one of the best indy wrestlers to date, if not, THE best. In other words, he's got talent and experience (is what I hear). Miz on the other hand, is personally not a favourite of mine, but he seems to pleasing some of the internet smarks, so I say, fair enough. May not be my flavour ice cream, but might still might taste good for other people (the whole 'I'm Awesome!' stuff doesn't really do it for me).

If Danielson is like the top of the class, then should his mentee be someone who's still quite young in this business? I believe someone like Chris Jericho, or Matt Hardy would be better helping Danielson get comfy with the whole big ass WWE scene. Miz is best suited for someone who is young, got potential and can be a great young heel...

Anyway, this is just my opinion, so don't take it too personal. But feel free to bitch slap me on here if you like.

 

[GenMe]

Dude really you dont know who Bryan Danielson is WOW

All the pairings are great,All the mentors go really well with all the "Rookies".The Mentors are just like the rookies some of them have the same style of wrestling.The only mentor and Rookie that i have a problem with is Carlito and Mr tarver correct me if im wrong.I really dont think that Carlito is going to help tarver at all.Why because Carlito is lazy as fuck he doesnt want to do shit in the WWE I really dont know why they havent release him.


Heres a youtube Vid SJM12492 Check him out..

[YOUTUBE]qKTfxPxKy84[/YOUTUBE]

Yeah he lost his Debut Vs Kaval But he is still the shit

 

[straightedge martyr]

Well, watching that vid, i was more impressed by kaval than danielson but whatever.

i am also exited about nxt and i think the WWE have done a great job with most of the pairings. i can see them working well together and im expecting to see some great matches.

Maybe Matt hardy will have some success on NXT, he deserves something by now, imo.

 

[Okay Fabian]

Apparently MVP is no longer mentoring Skip Sheffield:

http://www.wwe.com/superstars/wwenxt/

I guess they are looking to set up a feud between Sheffield and Regal instead of a friendship between the country boy and the street wise MVP.

 

[CardiffCam]

Daniel Bryan - Mentored by The Miz
I think Daniel Bryan has been booked perfectly in the first episode of NXT, and I like the way they're feuding despite being mentor and mentee. I was worried that Daniel Bryan just wouldn't suit the WWE, and for the first couple of minutes, he seemed really bland and boring to me, despite me seeing him in ROH, but then in his promo in the ring, he picked up the pace and he got me, and assumedly everyone else really interested. He did well to not try to put on an indie match with Jericho, because that would have bored the crowd, and instead put on a great, fast paced match. I actually noticed Jericho messing up once or twice, as opposed to Daniel Bryan doing so. And that was absoloutely sick, the slam on to the announce table, especially the close ups of the wound.

David Otunga - Mentored by R-Truth
He looks like he could be a great cocky heel, playing off his fiancee and his fame. He also has a great look, and his squash impressed me if i'm perfectly honest, despite the sloppy spinebuster. He kinda looked like he really wnated to kill Darren Young in there, which is a good thing, because he can get into character. I think apart from Daniel Bryan, he'll be another guy who makes it big.

Wade Barrett - Mentored by Chris Jericho
I've never seen this guy in the ring, but his commentary in FCW was great, better than any commentating in the WWE, including Striker, so if he isnt any good in the ring, he's be great as a commentator. I also think he could make it big assuming he can wrestle well. How can you not with Jercho as a mentor, and that much raw charisma?

Skip Sheffield - Mentored by William Regal
Looks like Batista 2.0 to me, but at least they're trying to teach this one to wrestle, sticking him with Regal. Haven't seen any of his FCW work, so I'll leave it at that.

Justin Gabriel - Mentored by Matt Hardy
Justin Gabriel is an absolutely amazing talent- he's a decent high flier, a great one by WWE standards, and a good technical wrestler. I'd compare him to a more toned down AJ Styles in ring, and I haven't seen him on the mic before. Its a shame he's been stuck with Matt Hardy, who really wont teach him anything extra ringwise or promowise, and is a boring character to interact with.

Darren Young - Mentored by CM Punk
I was quite interested by the collaboration between these two, but Darren Young seems a bit bland to me. I ahvent seen any of his work in FCW, and I barely saw him do anything on NXT, so Ill leave it there.

Heath Slater - Mentored by Christian
Seemed really boring and bland, and wasn't too good in the ring. Hopefully Christian can teach him a thing or two by the time he finishes up on NXT.

Michael Tarver - Mentored by Carlito
His gimmick intrigued me a bit, but he was a bit boring in the ring and on the mic. I dont think he's really going to improve much with Carlito as a mentor, so I dont think hes going anywhere.

 

[The Sparks]

What do we think of the "Rookies", well for most of them it's (in my opinion) their last chance to be in the WWE.


Heath Slater (Handsome Heath Miller), Skip Sheffield (Silverback Ryan Reeves), Michael Tarver (Tyson Tarver/Mr. Tarver) and Wade Barrett (Stu Sanders) have been in developmental for a while. If they can get over on this show, they might make it. If they don't get over you can bet they are going to be wished their best in their future endeavors.

Daniel Bryan (Brian Danielson) is designed to be the main eventer on this show and he should be. This is just a unique way of debuting him.

Justin Gabriel (Justin Angel) is the FCW champ and this is also a way to get him to the big leagues with a little intrigue instead of just having him show up ala Croft & Baretta.

Darren Young (Fred Sampson) is a career indie wrestler who is getting a once in a lifetime shot. If he get's over great if not, he had his 15 minutes and he'll be gone from the WWE forever, which is why pairing him with his gimmick and CM Punk is the only possible way for him to get over.

David Otunga is there because of Jennifer Hudson and the hope of mainstream media picking it up. He was horrible against Young in the debut. He's got a good build and a good persona but he's years away from being a watchable wrestler. He's a hit or miss that will probably be forced down our throats like Batista but it might work out.

Who would I have rather seen............Unlike some, I didn't want to see any 2nd or 3rd generation wrestlers because they have an advantage already and bring them straight to Smackdown or Raw can work without a build up. I think the cast was well picked and it leaves some solid developmental stars like Kaval (Low-Ki, Senshi) to main event the next season. The only one that I would eliminate would be Darren Young and replace him with an Alex Riley/Johnny Curtis/Johnny Prime type of guy who needs to learn a persona and get a rub to see if they are just wasting FCW money.