Wade Barrett's winning NXT (season 1) hurts Alex Riley's chances of winning NXT 2

[whoopwhoop12]

Ok, now I know the seasons are different with the WWE Universe having 50% of the vote this time around in season 2, but when you really look at it I think Alex Riley out of all the 3 remaining rookies is the most talented and the most well around rookie of them all. Granted, I do give Kaval his due for being a much better wrestler and Joe Henning (I’m sorry there was already a McGillicutty in wrestling and I can't think of calling a Henning some other fake name) for being naturally talented, but Riley knows how to do it and can do it well in the WWE.

Thinking back, Wade Barrett was everything in the eyes of the pros. If Daniel Bryan didn't get "disqualified", I think it would have been a close race between the two. Anyhow, Barrett won every poll and consistently became the predictable winner of NXT 1.

Wade Barrett was an obvious heel when he was in the first season and he won hands down based off just of the WWE Pros poll. Riley is in the same boat, but because of the fans voting do the fans really want to see him win?

We all know it's scripted based off of matches, but putting in the hands of the fans with voting and after seeing Wade Barrett win season 1, does that hurt Alex Riley's chances of being the winner of NXT season 2?

 

[The Calgary Kid]

I think it depends on how much the votes count, if they actually do at all. Sure, they tell us that we have 50% of the vote, but I'm not entirely sure that's true. I'm not saying it isn't, but we are talking about WWE here. I'm willing to bet that "50%" is less than that. If the least talented rookie was the most popular, what would that say for the show?

That said, Riley deserves to win. He is, as you said, the total package. Granted, he's the kind of person I grew up hating, but he's so good at doing it that I love hearing him talk. He's not the most technically sound in the ring, compared to the other two, but he's passable. People should know by now that people who are just okay in the ring but can cut an awesome promo are capable of going farther than people who are great technical wrestlers but can't talk. Kaval and Hennig both have the requisite amount of talent, but Kaval is poor on the mic and Hennig is just... I don't know. Cole and Matthews said it best when they said that there is just something missing, but they can't put their fingers on it.

To answer the question as to Wade Barrett's influence, it's an interesting question. I'm not sure that they would actually want obvious heels winning each of the first two seasons, but in an ideal world, Riley should have this won already. I feel like there might be the temptation to have a face win, especially given that the fan's supposedly help make the decision, which would be an empowering, "feel good" way of finishing the show. That said, it could also work in Riley's favor, because all they have to do is say that "The WWE Universe chose him", versus the pros picking heels in both seasons. It's a great question, and a tough one to call. It's definitely a "wait and see" kind of thing, though. I am definitely very curious about Tuesday's show.

 

[Remix]

Ok, now I know the seasons are different with the WWE Universe having 50% of the vote this time around in season 2, but when you really look at it I think Alex Riley out of all the 3 remaining rookies is the most talented and the most well around rookie of them all. Granted, I do give Kaval his due for being a much better wrestler and Joe Hennig (I’m sorry there was already a McGillicutty in wrestling and I can't think of calling a Henning some other fake name) for being naturally talented, but Riley knows how to do it and can do it well in the WWE.

YOu said it yourself. The others are better than him. Sure McGillicutty is bland as bread, but Alex Riley simply isn't the best there. Sure he can cut a decent-good promo, but if that's your selling point then he should fuck off back to FCW.

Thinking back, Wade Barrett was everything in the eyes of the pros. If Daniel Bryan didn't get "disqualified", I think it would have been a close race between the two. Anyhow, Barrett won every poll and consistently became the predictable winner of NXT 1.

Yes. Because he was the best rookie out of any of them. Riley isn't.

Wade Barrett was an obvious heel when he was in the first season and he won hands down based off just of the WWE Pros poll. Riley is in the same boat, but because of the fans voting do the fans really want to see him win?

Wrong. Alex Riley isn't winning, and the fans have nothing to do with it. Alex Riley simply is not better than the rest of his competition. Kaval stomps him in the ring, and (as last week's rap can prove) cut a damn entertaining promo.

We all know it's scripted based off of matches, but putting in the hands of the fans with voting and after seeing Wade Barrett win season 1, does that hurt Alex Riley's chances of being the winner of NXT season 2?

No. What hurts his chances of winning is that he isn't good enough. Simple as that.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

As Remix has already said, Riley isn't the best one there. He deserves to be in the final but does not deserve to win. Both Henning (There is no way I'm typing his gimmick name) & Kaval are both better than him in the ring and Kaval can carry a damn decent promo. To me, Tuesday was all about Kaval. I think WWE is trying to push him over the finish line. Riley is the guy with the best mic skills but that doesn't mean he deserves to win.

The point about Barrett winning Season One hindering Riley winning Season Two doesn't work for me. To me, Barrett was the only right choice to win after Daniel Bryan left the contest. He was the only other guy in the contest who had the full package. Riley doesn't have the full package yet, the only one who does, is Kaval.

 

[LitasRevenge79]

I agree. While Barrett was THE obvious choice for the pros, aside from Daniel's dq-ing himself with the statements that showed lack of confidence, he is the total package. That being said, in terms of A.Ri (as Cole keeps calling him) he may have charisma, but that only goes so far. Hype it up all you want, but even with the fans have 50%, that still doesn't matter, you either have it or you don't. Look at how well Kaval and Perfect Jr. fared in the last few poll rankings. At some point, there has to be accountability on the athlete as a person, not the WWE Universe, not the previous winner of NXT, not the pro, but the athlete themselves. Hennig, and Kaval have more than proven their chops (to me..even though I'm not a fan of EITHER of their pros..) but that shouldn't be what its about even for voting. I think even looking at Alex Riley, he's still not progressed, if anything, he's plateaued, and there's a frustration there that like I said, accountability will be the main focus.

 

[.]

I have to agree with Nexus Unsex here. Riley is only starting to make a lasting impression on me now. Kaval on the other hand has impressed since his frst 11 minute match in NXT where the crowd went from being confused to who was the face and who was the heel(Due to both men having heel pros) to giving Kaval a massive reaction and ovation in his match. Hennig on the other hand is bland for me. I don't like much about him. He is good in the ring but he should be using his dads finisher instead of that lame neckbreaker and in terms of promo ability Joe is nothing in comparison to his dad.

The way i see it, Kaval is winning this contest and probably going to Smackdown. Riley and Hennig can fuck off back to FCW and hopefully Hennig will take his real name and not some weird stupid name that makes him sound irish more than anything.

 

[masterbird-619]

yes i think so to. alex is good on the mic. he draws majer heat but he can not wresle. if he has a mach this nxt u can see. kaval has it all and joe has a lot of it to but all in all i think kaval will win bc as u say he has the totla package

 

[darqknyt]

Since when did the WWE become about actual wrestlting ability? The Miz& Cena are two examples of "stars" who arnt super proficient wrestlers.Riley has more long-term potential IMO than Kaval.I don't see Kaval ever making it out of the mid-card.The sad truth( or luck) is that fans have been voting for the Miz and not necessarilly Riley.'Cause heels have suffered at the hands of the fan vote (i.e Husky)
Henning problem's that even with the lame-name, he's still dick-ridin' his daddy.I personally think Husky Harris should have gone further, but he got screwed by fans having 50% of the vote.

 

[Afro-Ameri-Spawn]

To be honest, I really don't know. Wade Barrett and Alex Riley are two different ends of the spectrum. I mean, Wade Barrett didn't even really start not looking like just another hired goon and henchman. To be honest, I thought that he would end up being a hired gun for Jericho as his gimmick following NXT. He didn't establish himself as having an individual personality until Nexus began. So it was a nice sleeper gimmick that made him look like a mastermind in waiting.

Now as far as Alex Riley goes, he went out of his way to show that he was the biggest jerk that you could ever see on the face of this earth or any other planet. If the Miz talked shit, Alex talked just as much shit. Even at one time, he called Miz his former pro and walked to the ring by himself. No considering that The Miz wasn't selling any injuries, this helped the separate Riley from the pack. Or at least it should have. However, the heel character that he played only hurt him in the long run, with the fans adding in votes and all. But you still have to give it to the guy. He;s such an asshole that he gave the whole WWE audience the Dane Cook SUPER FINGER from the top of the ramp before he went backstage. TO be honest, I had to rewind the footage several times before I was able to confirm it and I'm surprised that it made the air. But hey, what else would you expect from a grade A asshole gimmick. Niiice.

 

[Rulk25]

I think it really was 50% but that can be manipulated as we never see the Pro's Votes. As they know the votes from the Universe before the final revela all they have to do is have the Pros all vote a certain way to manipulate their numbers to get what they want

So if the WWE U votes all for Luck Cannon and they want him gone tell all the pros to rank him last and the rest as needed to make sure he goes. Since we dont see the pro votes we dont have to see if they make sense

I think it depends on how much the votes count, if they actually do at all. Sure, they tell us that we have 50% of the vote, but I'm not entirely sure that's true. I'm not saying it isn't, but we are talking about WWE here. I'm willing to bet that "50%" is less than that. If the least talented rookie was the most popular, what would that say for the show?

That said, Riley deserves to win. He is, as you said, the total package. Granted, he's the kind of person I grew up hating, but he's so good at doing it that I love hearing him talk. He's not the most technically sound in the ring, compared to the other two, but he's passable. People should know by now that people who are just okay in the ring but can cut an awesome promo are capable of going farther than people who are great technical wrestlers but can't talk. Kaval and Hennig both have the requisite amount of talent, but Kaval is poor on the mic and Hennig is just... I don't know. Cole and Matthews said it best when they said that there is just something missing, but they can't put their fingers on it.

To answer the question as to Wade Barrett's influence, it's an interesting question. I'm not sure that they would actually want obvious heels winning each of the first two seasons, but in an ideal world, Riley should have this won already. I feel like there might be the temptation to have a face win, especially given that the fan's supposedly help make the decision, which would be an empowering, "feel good" way of finishing the show. That said, it could also work in Riley's favor, because all they have to do is say that "The WWE Universe chose him", versus the pros picking heels in both seasons. It's a great question, and a tough one to call. It's definitely a "wait and see" kind of thing, though. I am definitely very curious about Tuesday's show.

 

[The Viper Orton]

Actually no, I would say having the same Miz style hurt him alot. However it would hurt him much more in the future. If he or miz can't change to face, Riley would get lost in the shuffle. Because he is way too similar to the Miz. And Miz isn't a veteran that would retire in the next 3 years so Riley can follow. Riley needs to be a successful face in order to make it. Cause there aren't 2 great guys that are similar.

I mean they r comparing Orton to SCSA yet there are still differences. Jack Swagger is kind off making a Kurt Angle Ripoff and WWE is downgrading him month by month even though Kurt's gimmick was the best 1st gimmick ever in wrestling history (every wrestler had 2 or more gimmicks till they have made it except Kurt)