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NXT TAKEOVER: PHOENIX - 1/26/2019


Dolfan in NYC

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The card will get filled out by tomorrow's tapings, but here's what's been announced:

FOR THE NXT CHAMPIONSHIP: Tomasso Ciampa (c) vs. Aleister Black

FOR THE NXT WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP: Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Bianca Bel Air 

FOR THE NXT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: Undisputed Era (c) vs. War Raiders

FOR THE NXT NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP: Ricochet (c) vs. Johnny Gargano

Kassius Ohno vs. Matt Riddle

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I'll guess, Gargano/Ricochet for the NA Title and UE vs War Raiders or Onesie-Twosie for the tag titles, but that will get sorted out soon. 

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The top of the men's card on NXT feels stagnant to me with variations of Black-Gargano-Ciampa being run into the ground.  I would think with the success of Dream getting a shot, they would continue to move people in and out.  Or just run a DIY tag on top for a change of pace.

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From the tapings...

Spoiler

 

Gargano/Ricochet for the North American title.

Undisputed Era/War Raiders seems likely for the tag titles, too.

 

 

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On ‎1‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 10:25 AM, Dolfan in NYC said:

The card will get filled out by tomorrow's tapings, but here's what's been announced:

FOR THE NXT CHAMPIONSHIP: Tomasso Ciampa (c) vs. Aleister Black

FOR THE NXT WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP: Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Bianca Bel Air 

----

I'll guess, Gargano/Ricochet for the NA Title and UE vs War Raiders or Onesie-Twosie for the tag titles, but that will get sorted out soon. 

onesie-twosie?

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  • Dolfan in NYC changed the title to NXT TAKEOVER: PHOENIX - 1/26/2019

You can't pick against Takeover but not the most inspiring card. 

Ciampa vs Black should be good but it feels overdone at this point and feels like Black has not shot at winning.

Ricochet vs Gargano is going to be one of those divisive where either people are gonna throw five stars at it or call it overly-produced HBK-esque theatrical nonsense. 

Shayna vs Bianca is a weird match for both. Shayna works best as the bully heel torturing the babyface but Bianca is supposed to be the cocky super athlete.  

Tag should be fine but I've never been as high on the War Raiders. 

I dunno...so much talent sitting around NXT that can't even sniff these big shows. Such a pointless existence. 

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3 hours ago, Hagan said:

I dunno...so much talent sitting around NXT that can't even sniff these big shows. Such a pointless existence. 

Steady paycheck, less travel, see your family more, learn more about your sport from some of the greats... not entirely pointless.

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What are the odds they go through with a heel DIY? I feel like that’s a swerve unless they’re going to be called up together as a team. I’m kind of getting almost a Bret/Austin vibe, where I can see Gargano ultimately screwing over Ciampa, but in a way that turns them both(or at least solidifies Gargano’s heel turn.) I wouldn’t be shocked if Ciampa helps Gargano win the North American title and then Gargano intentionally costs Ciampa the NXT title.

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2 hours ago, Hagan said:

Ciampa vs Black should be good but it feels overdone at this point and feels like Black has not shot at winning.

Ciampa vs Black has only been done once, but it definitely feels like leftovers from the summer. Should be a good match regardless.

Hopefully for Mania weekend, Riddle jumps into that mix as the new babyface hotness. I can't see them doing the Black-Ciampa-Gargano triple threat; if they were going to do it, they'd have done it here. 

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49 minutes ago, JonnyLaw said:

Steady paycheck, less travel, see your family more, learn more about your sport from of the greats... not entirely pointless.

I do get your point and those things are nice but a lot of these guys are getting paid way under their value, especially with how quickly things in the business are changing. Plus, you have guys wasting their prime jacking around in NXT when they should be on the main roster making real paydays. And it's less travel compared to the main roster but the whole point is to make the main roster and make real money. I think these guys probably enjoy the freedom of the NXT style but I'm sure they'd rather be putting money in their kid's college fund.  As has been noted, Nick and Matt Jackson seem to see their kids a lot and seem to be making good money. 

I mean, the whole going to wrestling school aspect of NXT is so odd. I mean, by this logic Hogan would have needed to go learn to work WWE style in 84 or to "freshen" him up to be re-introduced. 

And the agenting is nice, though, again...wrestling seemed to exist fine without this system for decades.

I mean, Keith Lee is already 34, Riccochet is 30. Shawn Michaels was WWF champion at 30. 

I dunno...the longer NXT is around and the fact that they sign this huge backlog of guys who can barely make TV or have to wait in line for years to get their shot and with the fact that the only callups seem to be body-fillers like Heavy Machinery and No Way Jose...yeah, it's starting to seem to be pointless. 

Actually...if ROH and AEW are throwing out so much money...if you're intent on signing with WWE I'd leverage out of NXT. 

 

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I’m enjoying this discussion, especially since it’s something we’ve all been talking/thinking about.

The indie market is a niche market, and there’s only so much revenue available there. A huge bulk of it (at least mercy wise) seemed to be going to the Bullet Club, then Jericho joined in, and a few others like Joey Ryan and SCU kind of piggy backed off of them/BTE. We don’t know when that market will be tapped, but at some point it will be. If a decent number of people jump from the WWE system to the indies/AEW, then we’ll find out sooner rather than later what that limit is.

The less travel part was referring to the indie travel, not the main roster. Riddle was on the E&C podcast recently, and some of his weekends (really 4 days) were crazy, and he mentioned being happy to settle down for a while. 

I do think some of the “wrestling school” aspect of NXT has changed ever since DeMott left. When he was there, you had guys like Itami, Balor, Zayn, and Owens being forced to sit and watch the beginners class, then go through the beginners class before moving up. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore based on how quick some guys debut on TV.

Finally, if AEW is successful, they’re going to need job guys and midcard filler too, or else they’ll have a bigger glut at the top than WWE does now.

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Triple H has been talking about making being an NXT lifer a thing where you get paid a good living, you aren't in developmental, you just work for NXT. They reportedly offered Hangman Page main roster money to be a focal point of NXT.

If the paycheck is good enough, it seems like a really nice life for a wrestler. Way less travel, hot crowds, access to an amazing training facility, etc etc. 

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4 hours ago, Brian Fowler said:

Triple H has been talking about making being an NXT lifer a thing where you get paid a good living, you aren't in developmental, you just work for NXT. They reportedly offered Hangman Page main roster money to be a focal point of NXT.

If the paycheck is good enough, it seems like a really nice life for a wrestler. Way less travel, hot crowds, access to an amazing training facility, etc etc. 

Yeah, plus there's a good chance you can get a job as a Performance Center coach after you decide to retire.

Ohno is one of the guys who will be an NXT lifer, but it's awesome because it's always great  seeing him work.

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Am I the only one that doesn't give a fuck about this card?

Gargano, Ciampa, Black, and the Undisputed Era are beyond stale and need to be called up *immediately* before their very presence in NXT continues to damage every other wrestler in developmental.

A lot of people were calling for a secondary title in NXT before the NA title was introduced, but it has been completely irrelevant all along. If there has been an actual feud for that title, it was so forgettable I can't recall.

As a Knoxvillian, I'm happy that Bianca is getting a shot on the big stage, but they've done a terrible job making her look like an actual threat. It may just be bad timing due to Kairi and Io being out, but they're getting a little too close to the Asuka problem a couple of years ago, where the champ is booked as being so dominant that it hurts everyone in the division.

War Raiders debuted with a lot of hype, but have shown basically nothing inside or outside of the ring since their debut. I haven't been given a reason to care about them other than the lazy "Hey, these guys are from New Japan!!" intro, and I'm not a New Japan mark.

Even Riddle-Ohno seems like it has been going on forever.

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7 minutes ago, ChesterCopperpot said:

Yes - you are

Good talk!

Somehow I doubt it, though, since I answered my own question by going back and looking. The closest thing to excitement expressed in the three weeks that this thread has been open is "should be a good match even though it's played out."

Hey, that's a neat poster, though! It's cool that you're hype about the Riddle-Ohno match. Should be a good one. But I don't care about good matches in a vacuum. I like compelling storylines. And even here, where all the "workrate" people are supposed to congregate, this seems to be an underwhelming card, which is what happens when the brand is treading water for a year.

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