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[NXT] 7/5/17 TV SHOW


Greggulator

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Roode/Strong is an absolute masterpiece. I'm trying to come up with a reason why it's not on the same level of Sasha/Bayley or Sami/Neville or Revival/DIY. The only thing I can think of is because it was on the weekly show and not at a Takeover. That's the only reason, and that's not much of one. 

A+. 

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For a guy who I've always found extremely competent but somewhat dull, Roode's run from the four-way where he won top contendership has been difficult to find fault in. He might not set the world on fire, but he's lowkey putting together a damn fine body of work. Here's hoping there's a rematch for Roddy on the horizon. 

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Yeah, that was an absolutely killer match. I had a feeling it would be, as Roode is a real meat and potatoes guy that can sell really well and put a good story together and Strong has really good offense and good babyface fire. They have excellent chemistry. Round 2 is gonna be a motherfucker. 

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8 hours ago, Greggulator said:

Roode/Strong is an absolute masterpiece. I'm trying to come up with a reason why it's not on the same level of Sasha/Bayley or Sami/Neville or Revival/DIY. The only thing I can think of is because it was on the weekly show and not at a Takeover. That's the only reason, and that's not much of one. 

A+. 

It is a very valid reason IF the match was edited (I am not saying it was) but the whole live vs. tape can be a valid reason when comparing matches

Now... folks who were at the tapings did rave about the match so I am thinking what you saw is what they gave

EDIT - just to clarify what I mean on the whole live vs tape... for example (and I am just paraphrasing Meltzer's words here)

Kendrick/Ibushi from the CWC was a 5 star TV match but that was because they edited out the entire part where Ibushi accidentally getting counted out part. If that had been live ppv folks might have docked it because of that.

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I'm watching this thing. 

1.) Mauro really is the cross between Craig Johnson and Matt "smark" Striker. Do you people just not know who Craig Johnson is or something?

2.) Ohno really, really shouldn't be a face. It's almost gross to have to see him slapping hands on the way down after his indy run from the last few years. It's an actively bad sign that they don't have a way to chant Ohno with his music.

3.) I'll admit to having seen very little KENTA but I saw this tag match with Taue and Shibata in NOAH where he was a cocky young ass (though less so than Shibata). He's too old to pull that off now.

4.) Urgh, This Sanity entrance feels like it's in slow motion. 10 second skip. 

5.) Wait, I swear Percy hasn't said anything until he does the plug. Is that all they have him for? Later on he says "I've got nothing on that one." Of course you don't.

6.) Killian should do that grounded Body Splash repeatedly. That'd be a good spot. Itami's looking pretty good here. Some of that is Sanity feeding/going up for him though. Good storytelling on the tag. Some of it felt like them hitting marks to get to a point instead of it happening organically, but that's wrestling in 2017 most of the time. Better that they hit the marks than not.

7.) The idea of reporters just trolling around the Performance Center to interview Ember is funny. Is that like.. the wrestlezone guy or something? Is it Scotsman? Al Issacs?

8.) I miss Drew's old theme/entrance.

9.) Laycool Australia started off ok but I don't think the act is working. 

10.) Strong's another guy who should be a heel. I guess if they're going to play into him being a face, going with family and wrestling dream is the way to do it. Shit, can't everyone just be heels though? Gargano can be a face. They can bring Bayley back down. Sting can be in their corner and they can just feud with everyone. Chris Hero vs Kimber Lee was good. I'm sure he could have a good match with Bayley.

Ok, I'll watch this match next.

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The title match had no right to be that great. I mean, they really didn't do anything above and beyond. Everything was basic and simple.

They both told a fantastic story through limb work. And then they spiced it up with that slow burning pathos. Roode didn't immediately go to the family, he naturally walked into it and did not force it. Kudos goes to Strong's wife, great bit of acting/emoting.

Roode isn't so secretly being the MVP of NXT.

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1 hour ago, Matt D said:

I'm watching this thing. 

7.) The idea of reporters just trolling around the Performance Center to interview Ember is funny. Is that like.. the wrestlezone guy or something? Is it Scotsman? Al Issacs?

9.) Laycool Australia started off ok but I don't think the act is working. 

7)  When I saw the press there, I almost wished they had someone holding a piece of fruit or something goofy because the presser in the PC would be as goofy as someone recording it on a banana.

9)  I don't know why Billie Kay wanted a cake.  It's pro-wrestling, you know what happens if a cake gets introduced to the proceedings.

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Here's what I blabbed on about in the MOTY thread.

BOBBY ROODE VS. RODERICK STRONG

I absolutely hated Roderick Strong when he debuted. NXT really hit a trough for a little bit. My biggest problem with NXT is that there were too many cases of OMG A ROH/JAPAN/TNA GUY HAS ARRIVED! There was nothing organic about these characters arrival leading to a crowd response. That's just the laziest form of storytelling. You can't assume everyone watching knows who these people are. (I don't.) Roddy Strong was the number one example of this. Whereas the live crowd marked for him, all I saw was a guy who did a lot of backbreakers without any personality at all and stiff line readings during promos. 

They gave him an incredibly simple hook that gave him depth and a purpose for fighting. (And they did it brilliantly -- Roddy isn't a good live promo, so give him a lengthy taped segment you can control.) He became a family man trying to move on from his troubled past and give his wife and kid a better life. Boom. Perfect.

And that contrasts so well against Bobby Roode and his Flair cosplay. Roode saw Roddy's upcoming rise and tried to use his troubled background and family to his advantage, like a true villain. If the really great GLOW TV series has taught us anything, it's that KISS works best. Keep It Simple Stupid. Give me a character to root for. Give me a character to hate. And they did -- The Family Man against The Insufferable Rich Jerk. 

This match was worked perfectly for this match. Strong has the upper hand and works on Roode's back. Roode uses his cheapshot nonsense that pays off wonderfully with Roddy's leg getting trapped in the steps (not sure I've seen that before) and now has a limb to attack the rest of the match. Roddy has his hope spots and a great comeback. He can't quite beat Roode because his knee's banged up/Roode knows how to position himself to JUST escape trouble. But Roode can't keep the FAMILY MAN FIGHTING FOR EVERYTHING down. 

After Roddy kicks out, there's a huge pop. And the chant of "Let's Go Roddy!" It's not "This Is Awesome!" It's fans rooting for the hero. And it's wonderful.

The end is such an awesome heartbreaking ending. Roddy thinks he's won it and is celebrating with his family. That gives Roode enough time for another cheapshot and the chance to hit the Glorious DDT right in front of his wife and mother as he gloats. And then he hits a second one to retain. GLORIOUS.

This is just great and perfect wrestling storytelling. They gave a performer a hook. They pushed him using that hook. It contrasted against the villain. They had a match that reflected their archetypes -- Strong's intestinal fortitude vs. Roode's cold intelligence. The fanciest move in the match was a backbreaker. And it still brought the house down.

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Yeah I wonder where all the "Bobby Roode doesn't have the wokrate to be NXT champ" people are today? Roode and Strong matched up perfectly both in ring and character wise. Masterful heel performance from Roode, and easily Roddy's best match in NXT. This year has been pretty awesome for NXT tv matches. I'm interested to see what they do with Gargano leading into Brooklyn.

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Just watched this with the kids. I'm a huge KENTA fan. Miss caring about him, but I can't get into the feuds they set him up in. 

How is Ohno not a heel with all that pandering? He's probably a super nice guy, and every interview I hear him give I think, "I bet we'd get along, he seems like a cool dude." But as soon as he comes out I'm like "Fuck that guy." 

Bobby Roode has been a great champion. I don't know much about the work rate complaints because I don't keep up with opinions very well. But his matches are generally laid out really well and intelligently. What I really love about his run is that he doesn't do a lot of the chicken shit heel stuff, where you think he's a weak champion. He really WINS the match. He put his leg under the rope. Roddy wasn't robbed there. He just over celebrated and couldn't get back in the game fast enough. Then Roode whipped Roddy's ass in front of his woman. Cold Blooded Asshole.

 The difference between a champion like The Miz and a champion like Roode, is Roode wins matches, Miz just doesn't lose his title. Whenever someone beats Miz for the belt it doesn't feel as special because really everyone can beat him based on how he generally retains his belt. But right now it seems like there's no one who can beat Bobby Roode. His victories aren't just luck, they're the result of strategy and cold calculation. He's more of a Cerebral Assassin than Hunter was. And I dug this match because I didn't give a fuck about Roderick Strong, but I wanted to believe SOMEONE could beat Bobby Roode.

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Roode/Strong was definitely Bobby's best match in NXT. First half was really strong with good pacing and selling from both guys. Second half lost me a bit with Roddy going all "bad Nak" and blowing off Roode's good knee work using almost all knee-based offense plus the meh finish. Still solid overall.

The McIntyre/Dain match they alluded to would be pretty fun.

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9 hours ago, Greggulator said:
This is just great and perfect wrestling storytelling. They gave a performer a hook. They pushed him using that hook. It contrasted against the villain. They had a match that reflected their archetypes -- Strong's intestinal fortitude vs. Roode's cold intelligence. The fanciest move in the match was a backbreaker. And it still brought the house down.

You know what, this is not unlike the Charlotte vs. Natalya match that helped put Charlotte on the map. Short build to establish the emotional hooks then exploit said emotions during the match to maximize crowd reaction.

The difference this time is the crowd is a lot more jaded (jebus, those old days when everything felt so genuine) and Roode can just check off another box on his glorious list (as apposed to Natie who really struggled to find her way).

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On 7/6/2017 at 0:17 AM, Greggulator said:

Roode/Strong is an absolute masterpiece. I'm trying to come up with a reason why it's not on the same level of Sasha/Bayley or Sami/Neville or Revival/DIY. The only thing I can think of is because it was on the weekly show and not at a Takeover. That's the only reason, and that's not much of one. 

A+. 

The Babyface didn't win. It's right there. This was a Clash match vs a PPV match. It was a well built TV match. It wasn't the culmination of a story. It also didn't have as resounding a finish of any of those.

Simple, straightforward wrestling works for a reason. This was meat and potatoes. Roddy started strong. Roode kept getting advantages by taking a powder or using space or the ref as a distraction. The babyface outwrestles the heel in the shine. The heel gets advantages in underhanded (but not necessarily chickenshit) ways. The face powers through it. Roode was great at stooging throughout this, at drawing heat, at making the babyface look good. Their timing and crispness was solid the whole match. There was polish throughout. Everything looked like it it like it was supposed to but always organically. There was just base professionalism in that regard. Strong made up for the size disadvantage with speed and finesse and by focusing right from the get go on the back. The first act ends with a bit of heat and comeback/cut off spots before Strong's comeback. He gets his foot caught in the stairs. Roode capitalizes and we're into act 2. 

Legwork is used so often for a reason too. It's highly visual, with the whole body coming into play. There's a ton you can do to the leg (and Roode does both simple and more complex things). The selling works for the back rows. And it's so, so easy to set up cut off spots with it. Even a crowd so smarky can be taken up and down (especially given the emotional build and use of the family), and they do that, with Roddy fighting back repeatedly, occasionally getting in shots on Roode's back, only to get cut off with a kick to the leg, or by not being able to lift Roode up correctly. They use this to foreshadow him eventually hitting moves, thus giving everything meaning. Ultimately, that sort of thing is what I loved about this match the most. Nothing in the match happened without reason. They didn't do any spot just to hit a spot. Everything had a narrative reason behind it or at least in shaping it. Nothing was done because it was cool. I'm not just talking about transitions here. The first glorious DDT didn't end the match because Roode had just eaten a bunch of backwork and made sure to sell just for a couple of seconds before trying for the pin. It wasn't just another finisher kick-out; it was worked as part of the match. That foreshadowing? It was for a fireman's carry lungblower, and when Strong DOES hit it, it's by the ropes and Roode rolls out. By the time Strong gets him back in, he can't get the 3 count. It protects the move, protects Strong to a degree (if only he hit that in the middle of the ring!), makes Roode seem both vulnerable and canny at the same time, and furthers the escalation of the match. The kickouts, even finisher kickouts, aren't WWE MAIN EVENT STYLE (or, I assume, NJPW style), but instead something explained and organic. It's not about workrate or fighting spirit. It's about storytelling. That's why this works. 

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I love that it means something more to Roode that he pin a man's shoulders to the mat to prove his dominance. Because I for sure thought they were going to do a 10 count finish with Roddy knocked the fuck out from that DDT. Roode wanted ZERO doubt that he was The Man and he wanted to make sure Strong's woman saw it too. 

I just can't get over how much I enjoyed this match. I thought for sure I was going to hate it.

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Considering there was Dunne/Bate this year I can't say it's the best NXT match of the year.  If we're going strictly off of weekly TV then it's by far the best one (though that LWS match last week was right up there for different reasons)  No matter how one ranks it it was a tremendous match based off of simple yet effective storytelling.  NXT has been on a damn good roll lately and I'm positive that by the end of the year they'll be the hot brand again and it'll be due to matches like this.

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On 7/6/2017 at 0:17 AM, Greggulator said:

Roode/Strong is an absolute masterpiece. I'm trying to come up with a reason why it's not on the same level of Sasha/Bayley or Sami/Neville or Revival/DIY. The only thing I can think of is because it was on the weekly show and not at a Takeover. That's the only reason, and that's not much of one. 

A+. 

I mean, a reason for me is that Roddy just doesn't make me feel the way Bayley or Sami or even, by the time we got to the second DIY/Revival match, DIY did. It's obviously a very personal thing, but even with the totally solid babyface build he's just not that compelling or sympathetic a character compared to all those folks. Plus the ending is a bit silly (if the ref noticed the leg being under the rope during the count, then why did he count 3? It's not like he's not able to stop the count when someone's shoulders go up a split second before the 3; if he didn't notice 'til after then how does he know it was there during the count?) 

Still, that's just nitpicking for why it's not an all-timer; it's great match and way better than I would have predicted. The structure is super smart, I love the Bobby Roode back selling, love the DDT in front of the family, love the whole thing.

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On 06/07/2017 at 1:31 PM, JonnyLaw said:

 

WWE referees and security trying to break up brawls and attacks is like a performance art. Look at them at the end there! Tableaux-esque. 

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11 hours ago, Oyaji said:

WWE referees and security trying to break up brawls and attacks is like a performance art. Look at them at the end there! Tableaux-esque. 

I think they operate on Rhythm Heaven mechanics.

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On 7/6/2017 at 9:08 AM, JCM said:

Yeah I wonder where all the "Bobby Roode doesn't have the wokrate to be NXT champ" people are today? Roode and Strong matched up perfectly both in ring and character wise. Masterful heel performance from Roode, and easily Roddy's best match in NXT. This year has been pretty awesome for NXT tv matches. I'm interested to see what they do with Gargano leading into Brooklyn.

The Roddy match makes four for Roode this year that, by my own estimation, are 4* or better

- TakeOver San Antonio vs. Nakamura

- TakeOver Orlando vs. Nakamura

- TakeOver Chicago vs. Itami 

Yeah, the guy can absolutely work. 

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