The NXT Thread

[BEN!]

So many poor men.  Makes me think The Ascension are rich with potential as future members of The Hobo Army.

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

Haven't watched the early leak of NXT yet but a lot people are being critical of Charlotte and how much this week's match exposed her as not ready at all.

 

It was scrappy but I didn't think it was terrible. If anyone was exposed it was Summer Rae.

[rovert]

Deathly dull episode this week. Last show of the tapings taped in June. Dead crowd, no pre-tapes or interviews and crummy matches. A non-Regal week on commentary too.

[mco543]

The Tyler Breeze/Mojo match made this one of the best NXT episodes ever. That being said, the Summer/Charlotte match wasn't particularly good at all. The Alexa Bliss package they did was well done, I can't recall ever seeing that before. Neville/Rusev was probably one of Neville's better matches as champion, I'm surprised by how good Rusev is. I expected him to much much worse in non-squash matches.

[Greggulator]

THE ASCENSION start things off with their late 90s/early 00s Nu Metal music. I still, after all this time, have no idea what to think of The Ascension. I really like them as a hybrid Eliminators/LOD combo in NXT -- just the most dominant wrecking crew we've seen in ages. They've done a good job explaining the lack of tag teams in the division because of their dominance -- no one wants to deal with these dudes. But they're also really outdated. Their music sounds what I assume Disturbed sounds like. Viktor looks like a Society of Creative Anachronism guild president. Conor looks like some dude who works security/sells e at a rave -- and I mean a rave in like '98, when raving wasn't really a thing anymore, and I mean at a warehouse party in a Rust Belt city.

 

I love their opponents don't even have names. Just local names, with one dude's tights saying "VANDAL" in an Atari 2600-font. This is such a great squash. It's not nearly as insane looking as something The Steiners in '92 or whenever would do on WCW's Sunday show. But that's fine. They still do those great "What are you thinking?" looks and trap some dude on the floor and the like.

I think the best possible outcome for The Ascension is for them to end up in some shocking 30-minute draw or the like against some two no-names making their debut. Maybe not no-names, but some team that comes out of nowhere and damn nearly steals the belts from them. They don't swing the upset, but come close, and you have an instantly great story.

TYLER BREEZE vs. MOJO RAWLEY is my MOTC to date. That was absolutely perfect. They're made Tyler into this incredibly smart wrestler who knows every trick in the book -- he plays chess while everyone else plays checkers. That's how he beat Sami to become the number one contender. Dumbass Mojo had no idea what was coming and it was fantastic. It shows how cunning Tyler is. And it also shows that Mojo needs a lot of work before he gets to Tyler's level, but since he lost via a b.s. cheapshot, it doesn't really take away from him all that much, either.

SUMMER RAE versus CHARLOTTE is disappointing. I liked what this match in concept. It started off strong, with some good "mirror" type spots that also felt like there was some hatred between them -- a great start, actually, since these two are former BFFs who know each other so well. And it then gets into some submission type stuff, because that stuff hurts and Summer's best strength is her smack talk/crowd work type stuff. But neither of these girls is Dean Malenko. They're limited in that type of stuff -- the Figure Four Headlock and the variations from that are really interesting, but look like kids stuff compared to main roster men's submission stuff. The match was just a bit more complicated than it had to be. A less ambitious version of this, with a basic pattern, would have been a lot better. I give them points for trying to do a submission type match -- if they want a serious woman's division, they'll need to have a bunch of different types of matches to make things work -- but what Charlotte and Summer have isn't quite ready for something like what they tried to do.

VAUDVILLAINS vs. TEAM LUCHA was a lot of fun. This was worked as it should have been, with everyone looking decent and fun. I thought Aiden English was really great in this, with his unique brand of trash talk and mannerisms. I love Kallisto's kicks, too. These guys against The Ascension is a great, logical matchup. Either way, I love how many tag teams NXT suddenly has and how many guys I like in those tag teams. Tag team wrestling is the best kind of wrestling. One of the huge, but understated, reasons why the big roster has hit a sort of malaise has been due to the lack of tag wrestling. There are a lot of factors -- Bryan getting hurt is reasons one through 12 -- but having 45 minutes a show (at least) done with great tag wrestling not there anymore is another reason. A lot of that is because they broke up The Shield, but a lot is also because they moved away from the style, in general.

ADRIAN NEVILLE vs. RUSEV was also very good. Rusev looks like a monster. I love his offense so much. I don't remember anyone ever who had his strength AND also was heavy on kicks like him, too. He has such a good, weird offense that works really well for what he's supposed to be -- both a world-class athlete AND a monster all in one. He and Lana have a world class act. I sort of wish Vince and everyone else realized that using Russia as cheap heat was really dicey and could really hurt a great act like this. I'm not trying to make light of that conflict -- my MA thesis was on Russia using its natural resources as a means to move Ukraine into its sphere of influence. But businesses around the world are tied into the Russia/Ukraine/possible sanctions conflict. It's pretty fascinating that the WWE finds itself in a similar position to a lot of manufacturers and finance companies. Using Russia and eastern Europe as a profit center has been a house of cards for ages. The WWE's exposure comes from a mid-card storyline and the potential for some seriously awful public relations just months after its major share price collapse. It's a bit different than having millions of loans to Russian companies (especially those with ties to its government) or seeing an export market disappear, obviously. But it's still fascinating to see how the corporate version of the most American of art-forms is also affected by world affairs.

[SirSmUgly]

Man, fuck that NXT crowd this week. Summer Rae in control on offense sucks, but doing the wave? Then they started WHAT!-ing Lana. They were the worst.

 

Charlotte sure isn't ready to carry someone of Summer Rae's caliber to a decent match. I do think they tried to do some nice stuff with all the verbalizing in the ring. What I liked the most was the spot where, while locked up on the ground, Summer yelled "OW, MY FACE" and then Charlotte immediately hooked Summer's nose and started pulling, huge smirk on her face. They were doing some decent character stuff that made it easier to put up with Summer Rae's control section.

 

I also liked the Ascension no selling everything and the jobbers running scared. More of that, please. That was the first week that I enjoyed them in ring, and it was mostly predicated on how dickish they were about not selling the jobbers' offense and chasing the jobbers around and stuff.

 

Tyler/Mojo was match of the night. 

 

I actually thought Rusev looked pretty good just relentlessly keeping Neville grounded. That match was exactly what it needed to be. That's probably the most I've enjoyed a Neville match so far. 

 

I give the Vaudevillains some credit for working a couple nice tag moves into their arsenal. That European uppercut/neckbreaker combo was nice. I love tag teams that actually do tag team moves, and that combo in particular looks like it could be a nice signature spot for them if they develop a good way to signal it to the crowd. 

[Matt D]

Gregg has been watching too much Tyrant.

[scraylo187]

Today I decided that Smaller Ascension Man doesn't need a mask, but he DOES need to spit red mist in dudes' eyes.

[Go2Sleep]

I've got no problem with the Sin Cara/Kalisto team, but no way should the Vaudevillains be doing clean jobs to them right now. That's what the French Connection is for. Also, I hope someone told Rene the word she was looking for is "luchador"

 

Summer and Charlotte did a lot of the little things right, but big things wrong. The whole match should've been like that first exchange and corner trash talk sequences. Instead, it was two long-ass restholds and they lost the crowd. Wasn't as terrible as the crowd doing the wave would suggest, but definitely could've been better.

 

I thought they were going to protect Mojo for sure, but I was pleasantly surprised with how Breeze finished him.

 

Main event was ok. They definitely protected Neville until the post-match. If they were gonna close with someone in the accolade, it should've been Zayn, not the champ.

[JRGoldman]

This may just be me, but I think the Ascension will come across as really small when put on Raw or Smackdown. I don't mean in size, but in presence. They have physical charisma, sure, but nothing they do makes me feel like they are larger than life or anything. In fact, in most of the NXT squashes I have seen with them, I've felt like the other team has someone on it that "gets it" and connects moreso than they. I think wrestling has gone away from this in recent years, but wrestlers need to be real life super heroes in some fashion. The Ascension don't come across as otherworldly or super at all, which is damning considering they are supposed to be time travelling space vampires. 

[Joe Fixit]

Sheamus kind of had the same problem on ECW before they put him up against Goldust, so they should do the same with the Ascension.

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

I'm not really sure Viktor is good enough; there's a period in that squash where he just looks lost. I actually think it should be Neville as the 2nd Ascension member.

[Jamal]

Yea I dug the character stuff with Summer and Charlotte but that match was twelve shades of bad. And damn was that crowd brutal.

[Goodear]

Why The Ascension are still being booked as heels at this point is beyond me.  Their mannerisms and the crowd are making them look like faces and they might as well run with it.  Let them be dominant face guys and The Vaudevillians and The Legionaries can bounce off them for a while.  Then when they loose the belts and go on a chase you can chalk it up to cheating and stuff so the dominance is maintained.  You can also eventually move them into a thing with Kidd and Gabriel to give them some experience againstr main roster talent.

[rovert]

The next NXT special seems to be Thursday September 11th.

[Greggulator]

We start with TYLER BREEZE in action against ANGELO DAWKINS. This is a squash match, where Tyler just beats down and eliminates a 300-pound dude with athletic credentials. That's awesome. They are really making Breeze look like the next big thing. He's damn good in the ring (kayfabe AND actually) and has a vicious streak and is super smart, too. He's a rare combination and is totally pulling off a poor man's post-barbershop window Shawn Michaels thing. It's a joy to watch.

Post-match, Tyler says, "That was annoying" about having to wrestle. Because, instead, he had a big announcement. He waits a few beats and the announcement... he's entered in his video into the Oscars! HA! Great. And just as he's about to play his video, instead we get the Prodigy knock-off of ADRIAN NEVILLE. Neville comes into the ring and talks about when Tyler's going to actually challenge for the belt. "Oh, wait, what's that? I just got a phone call from the director of The Hobbit. You're needed back on the set." (Roughly that.)  Awesome. Neville: "That's funny. I had a Snapchat with your mom. Turns out she's not the only one in your family who likes sending selfies." AWESOME. Tyler looses his cool and Neville takes him out until Breeze backpedals up the ramp.

What a really quick, awesome segment. Breeze's ascent continues, but Neville gets under HIS skin for once with a pretty great insult.

We go to JOJO (!) backstage who welcomes Nattie out for an interview. And the question, for some reason, is about Adam Rose. Nattie talks about how much she likes Adam Rose until Tyson Kidd comes out. It's been a long time since I came around on a guy this quickly. He's become an outstanding douchebag -- FACT! -- and that's continuing in this segment, setting up a match later in the night.

CHARLOTTE comes out with the belt. She has presence. And she's facing BECKY LYNCH, who comes out to a great reaction -- with no step-dancing, either! And this match is REALLY solid. It's the exact opposite of the match against Summer Rae. There's not one second in this match that's wasted. The beginning starts with a really great chain wrestling sequence. Becky has great "house-of-fire" offense and mannerisms. Charlotte's calculating and does some really great leg work. She has an awesome bridge leglock thing -- she's just a terrific athlete. Charlotte controls most of the match. Near the end, she's doing that "hop up onto the second rope and squash an injured leg" thing but Becky turns it into a ridiculously smooth roll-up for a near fall. Charlotte ends up coyly chopping Becky's knee and hitting Bow Down To The Queen. This was a really good match.

I WILL BE BACK TO CONTINUE! I AM TAKING MY DOG FOR A WALK AND GETTING ICE CREAM!

I am back from getting ice cream. There is a truly awesome ice cream stand just a few blocks away from here -- the best in Philly, certainly. My wife and I just bought a new house. We originally were looking at some other neighborhoods; we've always wanted to live in an old home, and you can certainly find that here. But when we were looking, we realized how much we love our little part of the city. And the ice cream stand is a huge reason why.

Earlier in the show, they announced that there will be a tournament to determine the number one tag team contenders. Jojo introduces MOJO RAWLEY, who wants to get in on that action. Maybe Jojo will be his partner? Mojo Jojo? Instead, he's interrupted by Bull Dempsey, who also wants in on this and says he wants a tag partner, too. Interesting.

THE ASCENSION come out with their very non-ice cream loving theme music. They're taking on Steve Cutler and Matt Miles. This is just like last week -- another squash, with them toying with their opponents. They do some really fun LOD-type stuff here, just taking chump's head off with a clothelsine and the like. Viktor speaks after the match to inform the fans of the tag tournament. "We know what their fate will be." Conor:" TOTALLLL ANIIIHHLLLAYYYTIOON!" That was, like, the perfect mic spot for them. Short, sweet and to the point. They finally, finally nailed it.

There's now a dramatic video package of the CJ PARKER VS. XAVIER WOODS feud that I completely forgot about! They're having a rematch next week, which is timed fairly poorly with Xavier's recent heel turn.

Out comes MOJO RAWLEY doing Mojo Rawley things. He's followed by new best friend/likely enemy BULL DEMPSEY. And their opponents are THE MECHANICS -- The returning (and missed) Scott Dawson and some dude DASH WILDER dressed in auto repair gear.This was quick. The Mechanic's do a bit of a Tully/Arn "work a bodypart" thing on Mojo. But Mojo outpowers them, until Bull comes in and finishes them off with the Bulldozer. I'm glad Dawson's back and hope The Mechanics get a bit of a push.

Some guy is in the back with BAILEY, who is glad to see the BFFs break up. She doesn't want to be a lemon ("like Adam Rose says") but is happy they did, because they were mean to her. And she also has beaten Charlotte before. This leads The Queen to come out and sternly tell Bailey what's what. I'm so glad they're headed in this direction. I'm surprised they didn't earlier -- Charlotte turned on Bailey to join the BFFs -- but I'm glad they did. The payoff will be better.

ADAM ROSE comes out w/ the Exotic Express and is mega over. TYSON KIDD comes out with NATTIE and they have a loving embrace and kiss before the match starts. They lock up and Rose ends up on the floor. He walks past Nattie and makes eyes at her, causing Kidd to smirk. He then offers Nattie a lollipop. Which she takes. And puts in her mouth. Tyson then goes out of the ring to berate her.

This match is very good. I think it might be Rose's best in this character, actually. He worked really snug and stiff and none of his attempts to be cute come into play. Kidd's also very good and stiff and dickish throughout this. The end ties back to the start and is really clever -- Kidd sees the lollipop and says something to Nattie about it, leading to him getting rolled up. After the match, Nattie comes into the ring to console Tyson/try to make amends but he shoves away. And they leave it at that.

Really good episode.

[Tim Evans]

Went to the tapings tonight. The next big show, NXT Takeover 2 is on September 11th. These tapings set up the following matches for the show:

 

Main event: Fatal 4 way for the NXT title: Adrian Neville vs Sami Zayn vs Tyler Breeze vs Tyson Kidd

Women's title match: Charlotte vs Bayley

Tag team title match: Ascension vs Sin Cara and Kalisto

Hair vs Hair match: Enzo Amore vs Sylvester Lefort

 

OK show overall. Best match was Sami/Rose vs Kalisto and Sin Cara. Rose worked sorta heelish and almost looked like Kruger. Also Nattie is easily the most over person in Full Sail right now.  It was insane. Sami is a close second with Enzo and Bayley. Oh and NXT has a new GM

William Regal

[SirSmUgly]

Maybe it's because I watched this episode with my sister, but I enjoyed the hell out of it. I thought it was good to send Charlotte out there with Becky Lynch after that confidence crusher against Summer Rae. They had a nice little match that was smartly centered around Charlotte knocking out Lynch's leg to get her down to her knees for the BD2TQ, but the pace in the opening few minutes was fantastic! I loved that they did some nice chain wrestling to begin. 

 

Tyler Breeze is actually quite good on the mic. His offense is kinda not great, but since he's a heel that should be poking lots of eyes and doing hidden ball shots in longer matches, he's fine. He's also helped by being placed in a spotfest like his Sami Zayn match at Takeover, so I'm guessing he and Neville will mesh well. 

 

I look forward to Bull Dempsey inevitably killing Mojo Rawley dead.

 

Tyson Kidd is really enjoyable. That was the best Adam Rose match ever by far, but his character work is getting a bit more natural. He started out pretty bad on the mic, but he's beginning to find the mark on that douchebaggy husband character, and his in-ring mannerisms exude a mixture of cockiness and annoyance with everyone who he wrestles against and also his wife. 

 

Also, Connor saying TOTAL ANI - HYAH - LATION cracked me up. 

 

This show was very fun!

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

So are The Mechanics a parody of the mid 90s 'occupation gimmicks', a rib on Steve Austin, or both?

[Kardo]

Tyson Kidd is awesome in this role. It's the perfect B/C show storyline for him. I don't know if it would translate to the main roster well enough, but it works perfect in this setting.

[odessasteps]

Hopefully, this means we dont have to worry about Regal's job security.

[Ace]

Regal's one of Triple H's boys. He's perfectly safe.

[JonnyLaw]

I look forward to Bull Dempsey inevitably killing Mojo Rawley dead.

 

 

I still hate his look, but Dempsey won points from me when he calmly told Mojo to "shut up".  I'm not reading the spoilers, so I don't know if this has already been proven wrong, but I can see this pairing giving Mojo more of an edge instead of the inevitable betrayal angle. 

[hammerva]

I guess I will wait until the 9/11 show to see how it will look but it just seems that Ascension vs another team with Kallisto is just lazy booking until they decide to move Ascension in the main roster.   I can't imagine it will feel different than what happened at Takeover

 

 

[Cristobal]

Hopefully, this means we dont have to worry about Regal's job security.

As noted, Regal's one of Hunter's guys. Also he's pretty much brilliant at his job, whether it's in-ring, talking, commentating, mentoring, etc. The only thing that could threaten Regal's job security would be if he got back into drugs, and given how rarely he wrestles, that seems reasonably unlikely.