SirSmUgly Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 This show had so much stuff going on. It felt packed in a good way. Owens comes out and justifies his actions in a way that is going to keep the crowd split on cheering for him. Man, that crowd was hot. They were chanting for everyone heatedly. Rhyno shows up and Tom Phillips says that though it's now called the Spear, the man who made that move popular is in the ring. I looked to see if Goldberg had also showed up, but nope. I don't like Rhyno or Finn that much, but I want to see that match because I can't imagine how their styles will go together at all. I loved that Enzo and Cass get the "sing-along" treatment, but when Enzo got to his spiel about Carmella, the crowd stopped singing along and booed mercilessly. Even better, after he stopped talking about Carmella, the crowd went right back to singing along with him. Captain Obvious would assert that they really need to get Carmella away from those two OR turn Enzo and Cass heel, and I think the former is a smarter idea right now than the latter. Blue Pants is charming as hell. Sasha Banks is still awesome. Double-knees in the corner is so vicious. Love that move. Oddly, I think women have my two favorite moves in the company right now (Banks's double-knees, Nikki Bella's forearm). I can't believe I'm saying that. Neville/Owens involved some pretty awesome bomb-throwing. Owens bumping around like a pinball was impressive. Neville's high-end offense is the best in the company (including the main shows; I know some people will say that Rollins does, but Neville is really, REALLY crisp on all his stuff). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCM Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I think my favorite part of the main was the determination on Neville's face as he was getting his ass handed to him early on. It made all his comeback stuff more believable. I also loved how even though Owens ate a ton of offense once he turned the tables it was Lights Out see you latter thanks for coming one shot kill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick B. Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 The 450 off the apron was very cool but it was the deadlift German that really got my attention. Impressive strength. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyLaw Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I can't take Crowe seriously as long as he has troll doll hair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greggulator Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 The thing about Neville is that he's absolutely jacked/gasses/etc. for a flyer. I mean, he's on par with all the great flyers of all-time in terms of crazy and/or graceful moves -- guys like Rey, Sabu, Waltman, Sasuke, Juvi, etc. But he looks like Benoit/Eddy when those dudes were pumping themselves with steroids to get a Big 2 deal. (Not that I'm alleging anything about Neville. It's just that he has this insane body frame for someone who flies like him and obviously has a ton of strength.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turk128 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Neville is so 100% ready for the big leagues. That dead-lift German was mind boggling. I went back and re-watched Neville/Cesaro again... I want a 20+ minute match between those two. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstout Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I don't think Tyler Breeze is a future World Champ or anything, but he definitely scans better than "nothing-happening midcarder." I would use him with a bodyguard to get the bodyguard over on the main show. One could pair Breeze with Corbin as his smoldering bodyguard, for example, and use Breeze to get Corbin over when the latter eventually turns face. How many generic long-haired Shawn Michaels/Matt Hardy types can wrestling take? And why is greasy long hair such a popular thing? It's like pro wrestling never got out of the hair band era. Balor's work is world-class and he could be a big star, but that body-painting gimmick is bush league. Might appeal to kids, though. I'd still clean him up and put a suit on him, though. Breeze + his gimmick = just there. The "long haired pretty boy" deal is played. I haven't seen enough NXT to have anything to say about his micwork, though. He may save the gimmick somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirSmUgly Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I like the "delusional pretty-boy gets a big smoldering bodyguard" gimmick. It's one of my favorite pro wrestling tropes. YMMV. (Note: I think he's REALLY good at portraying his gimmick, so as you watch more of him, he might bring you around a bit.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimLivingston Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Stoked to see Crowe debut. The tall hair is basically necessary for him considering he's so short and it'll make him look taller. How the hell can NXT pack six/seven segments that are quality like that into an hour yet RAW can't do one good one out of three? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyLaw Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Stoked to see Crowe debut. The tall hair is basically necessary for him considering he's so short and it'll make him look taller. That's what boot lifts were made for. I am interested to see where they go with Crowe's gimmick, because right now I don't think it makes sense. He interrupts the show with his vignettes for a few weeks, almost as if he is taking the show over, and then comes out to jump CJ Parker when he claims to be shutting down the show. After which he basically says, now back to the show as planned. What was his plan if CJ Parker hadn't interrupted? Is he protecting the show? (Note - I don't read the spoilers, so if this has all been explained, no need to let me know.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nice Guy Eddie Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Stoked to see Crowe debut. The tall hair is basically necessary for him considering he's so short and it'll make him look taller. That's what boot lifts were made for. I am interested to see where they go with Crowe's gimmick, because right now I don't think it makes sense. He interrupts the show with his vignettes for a few weeks, almost as if he is taking the show over, and then comes out to jump CJ Parker when he claims to be shutting down the show. After which he basically says, now back to the show as planned. What was his plan if CJ Parker hadn't interrupted? Is he protecting the show? (Note - I don't read the spoilers, so if this has all been explained, no need to let me know.) I wouldn't mind if Crowe's attacks are completely random in the early going. I think it's more interesting that way sometimes. Think a serial killer with no clear modus operandi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stay Gold Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Yeah, solid episode. Loved the main event, obviously. Always liked Rhyno, and it was cool to hear his old WWE music again. You could tell he was thrilled to be there. Everyone marking out made him so happy. I enjoyed his run in TNA last summer, and I'm sure he'll be more motivated here. I'd like to see Rhyno take on Crowe, Neville, and Owens. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 If anything, Rhyno's return shows that it's entirely possible that WWE could sign Samoa Joe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 NXT could use a Regal/Finlay/Goldust figure like WWECW did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Guy Named Tracy Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 My appreciation for Rhyno increased after listening to his podcast with Colt. He showed a lot of personality and was a good talker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Z Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I think Neville just jumped to the front line as far as favorites for the March Madness tournament go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamBroken Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Awesome to see the massive pop for Rhyno. Always liked him and excited to see him here in this role. Definitely a great boost to the show. The later face off with Balor was a real cool little moment too. Usually my interest fades after the takeovers but this one actually kept a lot of good stuff going. I've always hated leva bates and think this gimmick is so lame as is most Enzo stuff, but Sasha continues to shine like a star, great work as always. Thought Crowe's debut came off unique and he did pretty well. I'm a fan of CJ Parker even if his role will always remain guy that everyone debuts against. I so much prefer Neville as the top babyface star of NXT and loved the main event. Awesome stuff, both guys looked good. Neville's reverse rana spot was killer. Great finish. Thumbs up for more of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodear Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I want to do a write up at some point about what differentiates Adrian Neville from other high flyers since I can't normally stomach the spotty style but Neville makes it work. Considering the match up had a 450 to the floor, a dead lift German suplex and a reverse rana, I never really thought it was overkill. Meanwhile I have this emotional revulsion to The Young Bucks even when it comes to GIF form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godfrey Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Just now watching the main event and when Neville hits that first German I thought to myself, "Huh, that wasn't as impressive as the comments in this thread led me to believe." And then he hits that second, real deadlift one and I fell out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I want to do a write up at some point about what differentiates Adrian Neville from other high flyers since I can't normally stomach the spotty style but Neville makes it work. Considering the match up had a 450 to the floor, a dead lift German suplex and a reverse rana, I never really thought it was overkill. Meanwhile I have this emotional revulsion to The Young Bucks even when it comes to GIF form. Let me try to hack at this. I saw AJ Styles vs Naito last week and thought AJ's beatdown of him was great, but when it came time for Naito to get his revenge, there was nothing behind his pretty offense. There was no intensity, speed but not any sort of visceral hatred. I get the reputation of being anti-physical skills sometimes, but the idea, in my mind is that athleticism is just a tool in the tool box and you have to use it as part of a greater whole instead of using it as a crutch so you don't have to call upon more character-driven elements of wrestling. In that match, he not only used a 450 to the floor and it wasn't overkill, but he made it feel hatefilled and intense. He made it not a flourish or showing off or something ridiculous for the sake of looking kewl, but you actively got the idea, because of his physical skills and how he was successfully utilizing them that the move hurt more than if he had just done a splash. Almost no one in the world is able to wrestle like that. And i don't think Neville was able to tap into that as well six months ago either. It's giving his athleticism consistent meaning and purpose in a way I've rarely seen and it's great to see him come into his own like that. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turk128 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Thought Crowe's debut came off unique and he did pretty well. I'm a fan of CJ Parker even if his role will always remain guy that everyone debuts against. CJ Parker is the perfect wrasslin Glass Joe. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kennedy Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Neville has really come into his own in the past 6 months. Flippy, athletic guys are not usually my cup of tea but he makes it work as his basic stuff looks great too and he ties it all together really well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go2Sleep Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 he's on par with all the great flyers of all-time in terms of crazy and/or graceful moves -- guys like Rey, Sabu, Waltman, Sasuke, Juvi, etc. I'd say Neville is way ahead of those guys (and everyone else in wrestling history) in terms of just flying moves. His combination of elevation, quickness, cleanliness, and degree of difficulty just blows away everyone I've ever seen. The amount of times he can rotate his body in a small space is amazing like doing a phoenix splash off the middle rope, the 450 from the apron to the floor, standing corkscrew moonsaults, etc. The red arrow is one of the most beautiful moves in wrestling, and he hits it, and everything else, dead on every time. He looks like he could be an olympic gymnast or diver, just so far beyond what you'd expect from even an elite wrestling flyer. The other thing I've noticed about Neville is that crowds are usually lukewarm when he comes out and often favor his opponent if it's someone of similar rank, but by the end of the match, he always gets a ton of heat. I've always been a fan of Neville, and I'm glad other people are coming around on him, even if the accompanying narrative that he became good in just the last couple of months is inaccurate. He's just been working with Zayn and Owens instead of Bo Dallas and Titus O'Neill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 All this said, I still want Neville to have an orc gimmick. Dude just looks like a Lord of the Rings character. He can still do his shit as an orc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go2Sleep Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 It is unfortunate that Neville's face has to counter balance the beauty of his moves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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