Goodear Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 Corbin vs Aries might end up being the worst match on that show. And it's probably going to be a really good match. RIght? And Corbin actually is pretty good working with smaller guys like Gable and Gargano (with the caveat that Gargano isn't especially good, but Corbin's work in that match was solid). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted February 17, 2016 Author Share Posted February 17, 2016 Is Rhyno done? He is still listed under on the WWE.com NXT roster page so he is at least under some sort of deal with them. But he might be doing more of a behind the scenes thing now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Sweetser Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 As an aside, has anyone in NXT in the last year made as big a turnaround as Baron Corbin? The feud with Joe seems to have flipped the switch with him, and I genuinely enjoy the "anti-indy" gimmick. The addition of being able to seemingly hit End of Days out of nowhere (and some really impressive versions, to boot) seems to have added an extra snap and fire to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Fresh Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 NXT obviously is awesome all around, but I find myself disappointed when Gable & Jordan aren't on an episode. Those guys have such a bright future. I hope they stay a team forever. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go2Sleep Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 As an aside, has anyone in NXT in the last year made as big a turnaround as Baron Corbin? Jordan, Gable, Dash, and Dawson all come to mind. If you consider going from horrible to pretty good in a specific role, Mojo. If you consider going from solid to elite, Bayley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 Mojo has not improved nearly as much as Corbin. He's still a hobo version of Kevin Greene. Now he's just able to work hot tags instead of having to be in the ring 100% of the time. Dash is the weak link for his team too. He's not bad by any means but Dawson is miles ahead. Dawson was already good doing the Mechanic gimmick way back in 2013, so I don't know if it's that he improved a bunch as much as he's actually been given a chance. Jordan, Gable, and Corbin were definitely the big risers (lol) for the male side of the roster. I wonder how much of Gable's goofy enthusiasm will work on the main roster. He's also going to be working in the land of giants where guys like Wade Barrett (~6'7") are just above average height. I thought Jordan was really tall but he's only 6'3", which is indy tall but he won't have that size advantage on the main roster. Bayley has grown considerably and so have Sasha and Becky. I'd like to see more confidence in Bayley when she's on offense. There's still a bit of indecision and awkwardness. I didn't care for her early control segments in the Carmella match but both of them cranked it up after the dives. I'm not expecting 1993 Misawa level of ace poise but it's a an area for further growth. Dana Brooke's character work is now very good too. I'm interested to see where she's at in competitive singles matches when she's over her injury. She was still not very good in the ring prior to injury but she hasn't had many opportunities to shine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 I'm laughing my ass off at the description of Mojo being a hobo version of Kevin Greene. I think Corbin was showing improvement well before the Samoa Joe match, but the Samoa Joe match was the eye opener for many. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyuubi Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 As an aside, has anyone in NXT in the last year made as big a turnaround as Baron Corbin? The feud with Joe seems to have flipped the switch with him, and I genuinely enjoy the "anti-indy" gimmick. The addition of being able to seemingly hit End of Days out of nowhere (and some really impressive versions, to boot) seems to have added an extra snap and fire to him. I feel like I am the only one on this board that can see that the Vaudevillains have grown to great in-ring technicians in the past year and that kind of makes me sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Man Known as Dan Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 I nominate Blake and Murphy going from a Hawkins and Ryder tribute act to a pretty good Midnight Express tribute act. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jrag Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 As an aside, has anyone in NXT in the last year made as big a turnaround as Baron Corbin? The feud with Joe seems to have flipped the switch with him, and I genuinely enjoy the "anti-indy" gimmick. The addition of being able to seemingly hit End of Days out of nowhere (and some really impressive versions, to boot) seems to have added an extra snap and fire to him. I feel like I am the only that can see that the Vaudevillains have grown to great in-ring technicians on this board in the past year and that kind of makes me sad. They have improved in the ring, but the gimmick is so hacky that I can't get into it. A few minor tweaks and that shit would be so much better. Instead of a vaudeville tribute they should be going for a manly man/greatest generation gimmick. It's practically the same thing only not completely embarrassing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 I nominate Blake and Murphy going from a Hawkins and Ryder tribute act to a pretty good Midnight Express tribute act. Oh dude, I don't think anyone grew on me this last year as much as Blake and Murphy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodear Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 Blake and Murphy have gotten so good as being heels where they have one or tow neat spots but go out of their way not to pop the crowd (because bad guys). Their dynamic with Bliss as her clearly being the leader of the two goofs is so solid, they have great chemistry. I always kind of liked Corbin but BAMF just took their push and ... did okay. But now? Oh so solid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick B. Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Hope Gotch gets to do more. Dude is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVA Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 I think it might be easier to come up with which NXT regular improved the LEAST over the course of the year. My list would probably start with the champ, oddly enough. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattdangerously Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Has Finn actually improved in any way? He seems kind of like the same dude he was in New Japan, just with a way more pretentious entrance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Man Known as Dan Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Yeah, Finn has made no real adjustments to me... BTW, that Joe/Sami match might make me change my tune on Joe in March Madness. He was really good in that. He plays the bully so fucking well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyuubi Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 They have improved in the ring, but the gimmick is so hacky that I can't get into it. A few minor tweaks and that shit would be so much better. Instead of a vaudeville tribute they should be going for a manly man/greatest generation gimmick. It's practically the same thing only not completely embarrassing. I can kind of see that, but I watch Lucha Underground and New Japan Wrestler a lot so I see a lot of gimmicky shit that is either so asinine that it projects itself as theater so it is awesome or so mind numbingly stupid that I can't wait until they start kicking the shit out of each other. There aren't a lot of gimmicks in WWE that I can get into besides Sasha Banks' The Boss gimmick(I think it is an awesome gimmick) or Bayley. The serious wrestlers who can't act for shit have character tics or flaws instead of gimmicks and the ones with gimmicks usually aren't great wrestlers unless we are talking Kurt Angle who is usually awesome. So I can see how the Vaudevillains gimmick kind of overshadows their in-ring ability, but it is kind of the opposite for me. I don't expect these guys to be going hold for hold with Gable, but they were. I don't expect William Regal-esque mat wrestling from them, but they do it so well. I don't expect unique and clever offense from a bunch of old century clowns, but I am shocked when I do. I am expecting Santino Marella. I get Finlay and William Regal. I guess that is what makes them fun for me and makes me look forward to their tag team matches. I don't know shit about old school black and white films with texts outside of that weird film thing in Red Dead Redemption so maybe there is something I am not getting the second hand embarassment from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick B. Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Match from Gotch's indie days as Ryan Drago. He wrestled for Harley Race's WLW for a bit as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edwin Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Gotch was all over the US Indies everyone watched back then -- namely PWG and CHIKARA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick B. Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Saw him in person a couple of times, so I'm a bit biased in this regard...heh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodear Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Yeah, Finn has made no real adjustments to me... BTW, that Joe/Sami match might make me change my tune on Joe in March Madness. He was really good in that. He plays the bully so fucking well. I agree. But lord is he over. Its like Jeff Hardy Mark II where I don't get it, but I can see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Fresh Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 He's a much more beautiful man than Jeff Hardy. That helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyuubi Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 I did not even know Simon Gotch was an indy wrestler or wrestled with PWG. Then again, I just assumed that everyone worth noting that wrestles with PWG wrestled in ROH as well. But yeah, he is awesome. Did anyone know that Aidan English is technically part of the Guerrero family since he is married to Eddie's daughter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Z Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 I did not even know Simon Gotch was an indy wrestler or wrestled with PWG. Then again, I just assumed that everyone worth noting that wrestles with PWG wrestled in ROH as well. But yeah, he is awesome. Did anyone know that Aidan English is technically part of the Guerrero family since he is married to Eddie's daughter? He was only on the very first PWG show ever in the opening match, which was a Six Man Tag, so very easy to miss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick B. Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Plug "Ryan Drago" into YouTube and you'll find quite a few indie matches of his. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts