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[NXT SPOILERS] For Feb 24 (Taped 1/22)


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Blake and Murph are so good at feeding, I expect Gable to be as chubby as Bull in a couple of weeks.  I think it was interesting that the went strait from the hot tag to the finish rather than have any sort of false finishes in there.  It was refreshing to go that way.  Buddy's sell of the arm bar was intense when Gable was rolling around with it. 

 

Oh Apollo Crews, why are you so boring?  You know how people have 'it'?  Apollo does not.  No.  Like he goes from selling and then tacking Gerard and being serious and then he yells 'Gotcha!' when he hits the clothesline.  His line is snagged around a stump.  Time to cut bait!

 

As the swan song of Bull Fit, I think this might have been his best outing in the gimmick.  The jumping jacks opening joke was solid and Ciampa was okay as the foil because he is so serious wrestling business.  Since he's the one who still has a job (sorta?), I would have liked Ciampa doing more.  I think he got overshadowed here.

 

Eva Marie sucking so bad in character almost makes up for her sucking so bad because she's bad.  She could do nothing right in that match in best way possible as she kept getting handed the match by Nia and fumbling the ball.  She is truly the world's hottest Mr. Fuji.  And despite the crowd being a bit worn out she was still able to draw heat just by raising her arms.  She's got value son and you cannot deny it. 

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Not everyone can have a flashy debut. I'm fine with Girard and Ciampa starting as jobbers and slowly working their way up. Special debuts won't mean much if everyone gets one. Speaking of, I really want to see a Girard/Ciampa match at some point. Ciampa has been a low-key bright spot since his debut, and Girard looks like he's gonna fit right in.

 

The difference is that Ciampa is still just an Indy guy they bring in on occasion, whereas Busick is a full-time contracted WWE wrestler.

He totally would have deserved the complete hype package. They've been so good with those in the past.  I don't understand, why they just threw him out there in a nothing match.

 

 

I could see your point if they hadn't had the success they've had developing company guys with a lower profile into serious acts  (Blake & Murphy, Corbin, Enzo & Cass, etc. etc.).  They've already got A Double coming in with the hype next week so I can see why they don't want to stack them on top of each other.

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Seems like there would be a little too much overlap with Dash and Dawson right now, but I wouldn't complain if they teamed.

 

I think they didn't hype Girard as much because they don't have any immediate plans for him. No reason to go all out, especially with Nakamura and "next week's surprise" coming in. I'm cool with Girard laying low for now, since I have full confidence in the NXT machine to get behind him when the time is right, which is probably going to be this summer or fall.

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I'm not saying his career is totally doomed already, just because he didn't get a special debut or something. He also didn't need weeks of video packages hyping him up. Just make it a little bit of a bigger deal? Maybe announcing a week beforehand "Hey, next week there'll be the debut of this new wrestler and he's great, so watch out!". I don't know, it's not such a big issue and I'll drop it. I'm sure he'll work out just fine.

 

 


As the swan song of Bull Fit, I think this might have been his best outing in the gimmick.  The jumping jacks opening joke was solid and Ciampa was okay as the foil because he is so serious wrestling business.  Since he's the one who still has a job (sorta?), I would have liked Ciampa doing more.  I think he got overshadowed here.

 

Ciampa can be super serious, but he's also very good at the comedy wrestling, his brand of comedy is just not very PG-friendly.

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Not saying that the Crews match was overly exciting (it wasn't amazing or anything), but just about all of Busicks offense (yes, including his chinlock variation) looked really damn painful. Not his fault Crews is a boring face.

 

Though, honestly, I've stopped knowing what you find entertaining about most things.

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Not saying that the Crews match was overly exciting (it wasn't amazing or anything), but just about all of Busicks offense (yes, including his chinlock variation) looked really damn painful. Not his fault Crews is a boring face.

Though, honestly, I've stopped knowing what you find entertaining about most things.

Me too.

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Crews is baffling to me.  The guy had a lot of hype around him when he was in Evolve, and I believe he was highly regarded in his matches.  So how can go from that and devolve (pardon the pun) into a charisma-less guy that does flashy moves for a big man?  With what he can do showing a modicum of personality would be simple enough to make him THE guy.  I just don't get it.

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Blake and Murph are so good at feeding, I expect Gable to be as chubby as Bull in a couple of weeks.  I think it was interesting that the went strait from the hot tag to the finish rather than have any sort of false finishes in there.  It was refreshing to go that way.  Buddy's sell of the arm bar was intense when Gable was rolling around with it. 

 

Oh Apollo Crews, why are you so boring?  You know how people have 'it'?  Apollo does not.  No.  Like he goes from selling and then tacking Gerard and being serious and then he yells 'Gotcha!' when he hits the clothesline.  His line is snagged around a stump.  Time to cut bait!

 

I agree about BAM those guys make everyone look like a million bucks(not that Alpha need much help). I think they should try putting Crews in a tag team. He's going to get left in the dust by Aries, Sombra, and Nakamura so a singles run on top isn't looking likely. I wouldn't give up on the guy, but he needs to step his game up in a hurry.

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Charisma isn't Crews's issue. He has that. He has a great look and great smile and enthusiasm. He just doesn't have ska storytelling knack.

Like that match this week -- I am fine with a face working underneath. But that means you have to show a struggle. You have to show that there are stakes. That you could lose a match to a person making their debut just a few weeks after you realized you're not at that elite level.

I don't think the match was a snooze because of either guy in particular. It was a snooze just because one guy has a hard time emoting and the other guy doesn't know how to work for a big TV crowd yet and is easing into whatever role he gets.

But even against Finn, I never saw desperation from Crews. He's like the anti-Sami who knows just how to show he is in danger. Finn isn't my cup of tea but he shows that stuff, too.

That is why I loved that main event so much. It really had a ton of emoting and kayfabe strategy.

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I also was talking with someone about Eva last night. I think it is genius how they are using her. She is so bad at trying to be hated she is even more hated. It doesn't make her good but they are doing a great meta thing.

I just hope the meta thing evolves into her being able to use the very real hate people (me) have for her into something beyond "holding my arms out for no reason."

It is very compelling either way.

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Crews has the same problem Bobby Lashley did - he SHOULD be impressive and intimidating, given his physique and strength, but he gives off such a dopey, "I'm gonna put on a show for you guys!" vibe that it kills the whole thing. But hey, Lashley got pretty good after a decade or so, so maybe we're looking at 2025 WWE Champion Apollo Crews.

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Crews would best served being the big bully heel that Sami has to defeat.  Cocky monster Crews would be awesome.  He falls into a similar spot that Balor has in that for such a likeable guy he should not be a good guy.  A change is definitely needed.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just watched the episode. The issue with Crews is he's a dinosaur. A muscled up white meat babyface who can do safe-looking flippy moves would have been impossibly over a decade ago. Today, white meat babyfaces are an endangered species. Further, in today's environment, acrobatic spots will only get you so far. Your stuff needs to be hard hitting and look really good.

 

He has the freak of nature size to be presented as a pocket world beater. Why not just make a beast who has an acrobatic second gear.  

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Zayn and Bayley are basically white meat baby faces. The difference is those two are phenomenal at drawing sympathy, and Crews just disappears when it comes time for him to sell. His opponents may as well be hitting a heavy bag.

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