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NXT 2015 THREAD


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It's wrestling. Why can't "guy who is really good at wrestling" be enough?

It can be. But there are a lot of guys at the same level as Finn who also have characters who can be placed into all sorts of stories and narratives. Finn doesn't have that. Maybe he'll get there. I think Itami can get there because he has a goofy sense of humor from the time they've given him.

It's the difference in my fandom between Eddy Guerrero and Chris Benoit. They're both considered as the best possible in-ring technicians. But Eddy was way better at the character part. Ric Flair was a ridiculous character and also the best. Bret Hart was very good playing a character whole also being an excellent wrestler.

 

Many a professional wrestler has played a character while also being fantastic in the ring. I don't think I'm asking for anything too much here.

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I see it as his "voice" being defined at this point by his entrance and his paint.  He gets compared a lot to Jeff Hardy, but it's valid.  He wore face paint, didn't say much, yet was hugely popular.  There is a fanbase that would be into Finn's entrance and facepaint also, even more than Hardy.  His moves are not boring and he can surely get noticed for his main moves in time.  In other words, I'm not worried about his future, surely they see dollar signs with the merchandise alone.

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Well let's look at his time in NXT:

 

Debuts as Itami's partner to take on the Ascension who keep double teaming Itami

Tags with Itami against Kidd/Gabriel in a upcoming stars vs. people occasionally on TV tag match

Ends feud with Ascension

Kidd calls out Balor

Balor beats person who called him out.

 

My only knock on NXT is lately they haven't been really giving character development to anyone outside of their main programs (Zayn/Owens, Team BAE/Charlotte & Bayley) and or already built up characters (Enzo/Cass/Carmella)

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The only thing I'm not digging about Finn is the double stomp finish. Yeah at this point Tyson is the better overall act, but Finn's been there about 10 years less than Kidd. Let's give him more than a few tapings to find his groove in the E.

 

The only thing wrong with the women's tag was Charlotte. She stunk it up the other 3 were fine. I think Neville has grown into a damn fine worker over the last several months. I used to not think much of him, but he's grown in and out of the ring as a performer.

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There's a lot to the finish thing, actually. Zayn's Helluva Kick works because it can be done on anyone. The Double Stomp is the same way, which is why a guy like Balor can do it and it would be great. The problem is that Itami was doing it too. Thankfully, he's got that whole GTS thing.

 

But Owens needs a new finish. That vaulting powerbomb thing doesn't look that great. I'm guessing he's working on something, but that needs to change at some point.

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I hate Jeff Hardy, so that's not a player comp I'm feeling.

Then no matter what he does, you're never going to like Finn.  Nothing wrong with that, it's your opinion.  But unless he drops the Hardy comparisons which I doubt, you're not going to like him.  But that's fine.

 

I wish Owens could use the package piledriver, but I see why it's not used.  It'll be teased at times, but that's about it.

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Him wearing that face paint was awesome. But other than that, he is "guy who is really good at wrestling." I'll take Tyson Kidd as a "megalomaniac cat lover who is really good at wrestling."

 

He's a nice, humble, sweet Irish guy just happy to be competing here in America.... until you piss him off. Then he paints up like a demon and fucks up your whole world. He's Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde. That's his character.

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Him wearing that face paint was awesome. But other than that, he is "guy who is really good at wrestling." I'll take Tyson Kidd as a "megalomaniac cat lover who is really good at wrestling."

 

He's a nice, humble, sweet Irish guy just happy to be competing here in America.... until you piss him off. Then he paints up like a demon and fucks up your whole world. He's Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde. That's his character.

 

 

But he's not playing sweet, humble Irish guy in the ring when he doesn't have the facepaint on.  He's playing super over intense quiet dude who's doing painted-up mannerisms that don't really work when he doesn't have it on.  

 

I'm sure he'll figure it out given he's just starting and it takes adjustment to the WWE style, but right now it's not working particularly well.

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Him wearing that face paint was awesome. But other than that, he is "guy who is really good at wrestling." I'll take Tyson Kidd as a "megalomaniac cat lover who is really good at wrestling."

 

He's a nice, humble, sweet Irish guy just happy to be competing here in America.... until you piss him off. Then he paints up like a demon and fucks up your whole world. He's Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde. That's his character.

 

 

But he's not playing sweet, humble Irish guy in the ring when he doesn't have the facepaint on.  He's playing super over intense quiet dude who's doing painted-up mannerisms that don't really work when he doesn't have it on.  

 

I'm sure he'll figure it out given he's just starting and it takes adjustment to the WWE style, but right now it's not working particularly well.

 

 

Yeah, this.

 

There's not a lot of difference between unpainted Finn and Demon Finn. It would be awesome if they were to differentiate between the two. It could be a great parallel to Sami. Regular Finn can beat you as he's technically proficient and good at strikes, but is a nice and humble guy. But once someone screws him over, he puts on the face paint and just unleashes a form of unthinkable brutality.

That would be awesome. THAT is a wrestling character with so much potential for stories. I could totally see something awesome when he gets called up to Raw with Bray. Finn doesn't want to resort to becoming that demon but Bray wants it to become unleashed to control this dark force, but even he is unable to do so. Or they do something with XXX Diva. She likes regular Finn and wants him to stop unleashing the face-painted beast. But some enemy of his harms her in some fashion. So now he must decide: Does he abide by her wishes or does he become this person she loathes in order to get vengeance?

I would be 100% behind anything of the sort.

 

But right now, he's "Very good wrestler who paints his face during live shows." 

I do like Itami's basic template. I really liked him against The Ascension. Him sitting on that chair was badass. His refusal to lay down against the odds was great. I loved his interaction with Funaki. And I also liked the "Has something about you changed, Finn?" like he broke out when Bator wore the face paint. That's a good start for him.

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The next three weeks will feature an eight-man tournament to crown a contender to the NXT Title. The tournament finals will presumably be on the next live special on 2/11 and will be Neville(beat Kidd, then beat Baron Corbin thanks to Bull Dempsey's involvement) vs. Bálor(beat Axel, then beat Itami in what was said to be the best match of the taping).

Zayn defends against Kevin Owens on the live special.

Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy upset the Vaudevillains and then won the Tag Titles from the Lucha Dragons...that came out of nowhere.

Probably Charlotte-Bayley again in the near future. (EDIT: It'll be a four-way match with Charlotte-Bayley-Sasha-Becky at the live special.)

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I really don't like Finn's intro. I am in the minority, but he looks like a doofus as far as I'm concerned. 

 

The wrestling on this show wasn't great except for Zayn/Neville, which was solid. I was actually excited for Corbin/Dempsey. They should probably just book Reigns like Corbin since they both rely on signature moves and a piercing gaze (though obviously Reigns is farther along in his ring work). I thought Bull getting up for that End of Days was cool! That looked impressive. 

 

Sasha Banks continues to be awesome. 

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The only thing I'm not digging about Finn is the double stomp finish. Yeah at this point Tyson is the better overall act, but Finn's been there about 10 years less than Kidd. Let's give him more than a few tapings to find his groove in the E.

 

The only thing wrong with the women's tag was Charlotte. She stunk it up the other 3 were fine. I think Neville has grown into a damn fine worker over the last several months. I used to not think much of him, but he's grown in and out of the ring as a performer.

 

I don't think much about Devitt one way or the other, honestly, but he has The WWE Look in a major way. I'd bet dollars to donuts he gets a main roster push before KENTA or Steen.

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