Ramsey Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Once again, late to the party because I avoided this place like the plague until I watched the show yesterday. Let me open with this: I love NXT. NXT reminds me of the old WTBS Saturday World Championship Wrestling days. The shows are tight, economical affairs that get the job done with zero bloat. The talk segments are short but effective. The in-ring product is fantastic. The commentary gets the point across and still lets you know what's happening in the ring. You get serious workers, you get comedy workers, and you get them in balance. Look, I'm an AJPW mark so I truly dig SERIOUS WRESTLING BUSINESS but I also find myself digging the shit out of Blue Pants and Enzo with Big Cass. Vince NEVER got me to like anything he thought was funny. NXT is everything that Vince has tried to convince us wrestling shouldn't be anymore. Turns out, he's wrong. I'd rather watch 30 minutes of NXT a week than 3 hours of Raw. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamal Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Man, I really dig Blue Pants. I need them to offer Leva a contract ASAP. And I am so here for The Era of The Boss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuroresuFan Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I'm going to sit down tonight & rewatch the special, but my first impression was that Neville/Owens was a much better match than Neville/Bálor. I enjoyed the match at TakeOver but after watching this weeks show, I'm thinking my enthusiasm for the special might have made me less skeptical of the match than I might normally have been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehabilitated Rick 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. I think Neville and Ricochet are this eras Messi and Ronaldo when it comes to flying wrestlers, Ricochet is as, if not more impressive in ability. But you're right, everything Neville does is clean and crisp, you never get the knots in your stomach that you did when you saw Kidman going for the Shooting Star or Punk spring boarding off the ropes with Neville, he hits everything with such precision. He's not one dimensional either, his strikes look good, he can brawl with the best and he's come on leaps and bounds with his promo work, he's an incredible talent. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I think what Matt D said about Neville giving meaning to his moves is what separates Adrian Neville from PAC or even Neville of a year ago, with his title matches against Kidd. He's so much better at telling a story with those moves and in-between those moves now than he was before and to people who appreciate that art of storytelling and psychology more than the ability to crisply execute physical feats, that goes a lot farther in terms of "being a great wrestler." He's grown so much and has become just about the perfect high flyer archetype over the past three or four months. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCM Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I think the first Zayn match where Neville won due to Sami hesitating because of the Neville's "injury" off missing the red arrow is when I started to notice how good he was getting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSJ Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Matt pretty much nailed it. What sets Neville apart and so far ahead of everyone else is that everything he does means something. He's not a high flying wrestler, he is first and foremost a wrestler who happens to have the amazing ability to perform a lot of high flying moves. What Neville does so well is to incorporate these moves into the storyline of the match. With other guys it becomes about the move and popping the crowd, with Neville, the move is part of business as usual and done to further the match. There's a lot of guys that should be analyzing what Neville does to make a match work, the guys that don't get it wind up like RVD (lots of flippy floppy stuff that looks impressive but doesn't mean a damn thing.) His growth in the last six months has been tremendous, promos are effective and his story telling in a match is as good as anyone in the business today. Really an amazing talent that's a joy to watch week in and week out. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Sugar Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 That Neville/Owens match this past week on NXT was INSANE. That reverse hurricanrana looked like it killed Owens. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Fresh Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Neville's gotta go on the short list of most purely athletic guys in the history of wrestling, along with Lesnar, Cesaro, John Morrison, and Shelton Benjamin. The way that guy is jacked for his size is just insane. J.R.: Billy Gunn too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stay Gold Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 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. I think 2011/2012 is when he first started to shed the "spot guy only" image and started to wrestle smarter (I'd say the same thing for Ricochet too). 3-4 big spots per match, if that. And that's when he added the muscle mass too. I do think he's perfected his style while in the WWE though (and has grown in other ways), but yeah, he was already on another level during his last couple of years touring the world. The first time I saw him live (2006?) he pretty much got booed out of the building. It's great to see where he's at now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSJ Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Yeah, he certainly didn't just become good in the last couple of months, but he has noticeably improved things that were lacking, most notably his mic work, it also hasn't hurt that he's been wrestling other guys who are elite as opposed to barely carryable choads. To look at where he is now compared to where he was only five years ago is really amazing, the growth has been that impressive. I still worry about how he will fare on the main roster, but that's true of all the guys that I like in NXT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 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. Nice job nailing exactly why Naito isn't clicking as a top guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Fresh Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Is there a video on the Internet collecting the best of William Regal getting upset at CJ Parker? Because there really should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeball Wizard Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 They must spend a great deal of time in training there emphasizing the little touches that aren't necessarily evident when they aren't there but make someone ten times better when they are. As has already been said, Neville has it, Zayn has it in spades, Sasha Banks does, and former nXter Rusev is the best on the main roster at it right now. I smell Regal's influence. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 That main event was way more than I expected, going in I thought it would be a throwaway TV match for the title.I thought they should've waited a another week or two for this match because it seemed like a big deal, seeing as Neville got way more offense on Owen than anyone so far. I'm glad Adrian didn't come out of this as just another challenger. And Sasha is made to be a heel, she doesn't let the cheers ruin her role as a heel like most guys today. She's got swag but heelish swag and her work in the ring is getting more crisp each Time I see her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikoBaltimore Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I'm going to sit down tonight & rewatch the special, but my first impression was that Neville/Owens was a much better match than Neville/Bálor. I enjoyed the match at TakeOver but after watching this weeks show, I'm thinking my enthusiasm for the special might have made me less skeptical of the match than I might normally have been. In hindsight I think I like Neville/Owens more as well. It told a better story and flowed better than Neville/Balor, which was really great as well. With Neville/Balor I felt they were holding back with better matches on the horizon. With Neville/Owens it felt like Adrian gave everything he had to defeat Kevin. He flew, he lifted him with sick German suplexes, and it was all with the intent to hurt him. Despite all that it took one move to squash that and give Kevin the win. It was amazing to watch. What also seals it for me is it's one thing to work with a guy who can also fly when needed and it will look great (Balor) But Adrian can have killer matches with big guys like Owens and it makes sense. Really glad he's shining in these matches. I still remember hearing tons of hype about Pac and the moves he can do. With all due respect to how he was, I'll gladly take Adrian Neville anyday over that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brysynner Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 So I was thinking about who in NXT fits the WWE "mold" (> 6'2" > 235lbs) and so far I've come up with three names: Baron Corbin, Big Cass and Mojo Rawley. Is that all there is in terms of "big guys" in NXT right now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSJ Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 One of these things is not like the others, one of these things does not belong. So I was thinking about who in NXT fits the WWE "mold" (> 6'2" > 235lbs) and so far I've come up with three names: Baron Corbin, Big Cass and Mojo Rawley. Is that all there is in terms of "big guys" in NXT right now? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red is Dead Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 If Mojo's going in there - then Owens has to be in there, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bustronaut Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 One of these things is not like the others, one of these things does not belong. So I was thinking about who in NXT fits the WWE "mold" (> 6'2" > 235lbs) and so far I've come up with three names: Baron Corbin, Big Cass and Mojo Rawley. Is that all there is in terms of "big guys" in NXT right now? Is it because Cass is entertaining? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brysynner Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 One of these things is not like the others, one of these things does not belong. So I was thinking about who in NXT fits the WWE "mold" (> 6'2" > 235lbs) and so far I've come up with three names: Baron Corbin, Big Cass and Mojo Rawley. Is that all there is in terms of "big guys" in NXT right now? Is it because Cass is entertaining? I think it's because Corbin's the only one over 30? Cass the only one who didn't play in the NFL? Mojo the only one who's friends with a very popular Super Bowl XLIX Champion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godfrey Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 So I was thinking about who in NXT fits the WWE "mold" (> 6'2" > 235lbs) and so far I've come up with three names: Baron Corbin, Big Cass and Mojo Rawley. Is that all there is in terms of "big guys" in NXT right now? I've been thinking about this too and maybe it's just that WWE just isn't the big man company it once was. Even Rusev and Reigns aren't all that big but are presented like their monsters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mco543 Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Rusev isn't a giant or anything but he's still an enormous, monstrous individual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godfrey Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Rusev isn't a giant or anything but he's still an enormous, monstrous individual. Oh yeah, no argument there. I'm just saying it's not like the roster is filled with many real big men like when Taker and Diesel and Mabel and Yoko were all in the mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSJ Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Heh-heh. Close. Though I find both Corbin and Cass to be quite entertaining. Mojo does absolutely nothing for me. One of these things is not like the others, one of these things does not belong. So I was thinking about who in NXT fits the WWE "mold" (> 6'2" > 235lbs) and so far I've come up with three names: Baron Corbin, Big Cass and Mojo Rawley. Is that all there is in terms of "big guys" in NXT right now? Is it because Cass is entertaining? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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