Go2Sleep

I was trying to find footage of Bill DeMott in WWE, and this was my first hit.

Now that's a quality finisher. If the Zayn/Owens match can get ref stoppage on the map as a believable finish in NXT, Crowe should definitely start doing this. Also, someone should bring back Bryan's UFC 8 elbows.

It says a lot about Cody that the most over he ever got was when he grew an intentionally bad moustache.

Neville being the first to beat Rusev would be perfect. Looks like he'll be on Raw by 3/30 at the latest. There's no doubt Neville has the talent to stay over, the biggest challenge is getting that initial investment from non-NXT viewers for a guy who's not a killer promo. A ready-made angle with a ton of heat thanks to John Cena putting it over would be the ideal intro for someone like that. Plus it'd be on the one-year anniversary of Rusev's debut/streak and coming off a second win over Cena, setting up the obvious cocky promo just begging to be interrupted... Jesus, it's so perfect, you know we'll never see it on Raw.

Got around to my re-watches. I'm adding Bryan/Rollins, although I see it being toward the bottom of the list by year's end. The first half isn't super interesting, although I loved Rollins only doing a dive after J/J were gooning Bryan on the outside. The second half is really good, though. There's a couple good near fall sequences to play off the earlier neck work, but believe it or not, Roman Reigns is what really puts the finish over the top. First he comes out with spear of spears to take out Show, then he wipes out Mercury. Rollins backpedals, but leans through the ropes with the ref looking over his shoulder and is begging Roman to hit him for the DQ. Noble being the stooge that he is, tries to sneak attack Bryan with the case, which causes the ref to turn around unbeknownst to Rollins, then BAM superman punch. Totally underrated finish. I'm still not sold on Cena/Rusev. I did pick up some extra depth from the first time around. Both guys did a great job acting convinced they were better, and being frustrated when their normal moves didn't put the other away. I dug that aspect of the story, but the striking is pretty bad at points, and the counter sequences are slow and unnatural. Also, the finish really took me out of it since Lana getting in the ring either undermined the story they were building, or made Rusev look weaker than he should have. The ref missing a ball-shot would've been fine, but Lana's slow and awkward interference didn't make a lot of sense to me. Definitely a match of ups and downs for me.

I think it instantly makes her an unambiguous heel, and unlike the main shows, I trust the NXT writers to be able to frame it as "I'm mad because I'm back where I started" instead of "I'm mad because I'm on the developmental show and not on Raw where all the important people are." Plus her delivery just hit the right notes with me and was way more believable than Becky Lynch who did the exact same angle six months ago. And, yes CJ was great in his brief appearance too. His snickering at Riley's impassioned speech and the fact that he brought up hardway-ing Owens were perfect.

The problem with Tom Green being behind GTV was that in its first couple of appearances, it was "GDTV."

Crowe really needs to figure out his moveset or he was staring directly at his own future with his opponent 2015 Bull Dempsey. The crowd really wanted to like him, but everything he did on offense was so flat. Once again, NXT put on a master class of how to further angles with less than a minute of screen time. The Bliss, Cass/Enzo, and Zayn promos were all exactly what they needed to be, but Emma really stole the show with Bayley. The whole "I/you need to turn heel because I'm/you're a jobber as a face" angle is as cliche as wrestling angles get and has been used multiple times in the NXT women's division over the last year alone, but Emma made it sound like she was really on the verge of a mental breakdown. Like getting nowhere on Raw really traumatized her, and unlike recent new hires, she seemed really ashamed to be on NXT. Charlotte/Sasha wasn't as good as R-Evolution, but still a nice match. They did a good job playing off their spots from R-Evolution, and Sasha adapted her offense nicely to work the back. Charlotte's chop block was well-timed and nasty, although her ring post figure 4 wasn't so hot. Sasha has quietly become the best diva in all of WWE. Still anxiously awaiting the rubber match, presumably on the live show on 3/25 where they announced Balor/Owens.

This is the same company that bills Kofi Kingston from "Ghana, West Africa."

Things they did right with Roman this week: - His clear out of J/J in the opening promo - Pulling Mercury into the ring with one leg - His dive/general house cleaning of the authority at the end Things they did wrong: - Giving him a speaking role in the opening promo - Eating the pin in the main - Announcers unironically comparing him to Rocky Balboa It's frustrating, because any time they do something right, you know some setback is right around the corner for him. The build for Mania this year is pretty bad between Roman's ups and downs, the seriously-underrated awful Orton/Rollins feud, and attempting to create drama where there isn't any (will Orton turn on Rollins, will Cena be on the card, will Taker show up). Just announce the damn matches and build up anticipation for the showdowns. Of course, if HHH/Sting is any indication, they're no good at that either.

I remember it being good, but I'll need to re-watch it when it comes up on the network to see where it ranks. I also need to re-watch Cena/Rusev. My first impression was that it was a solid, but standard, Cena match. The other four matches had a lot of creativity and/or intensity that goes beyond the typical WWE match. I didn't pick that up from Cena/Rusev.

I'm surprised we haven't seen this thread pop up yet. 2015 certainly isn't off to the hot start that 2014 was, but there's been enough good stuff to start talking. Also, I loved having last year's thread to update my list regularly so as not to forget anything by the end of the year. Anyway, here's where I'm at so far. 1. Sasha vs. Bayley (Brooklyn) 2. Lesnar vs. Reigns (vs. Rollins) (Wrestlemania) 3. Sasha vs. Bayley (Respect) 4. Lesnar vs. Cena vs. Rollins (Royal Rumble) 5. Bryan vs. Reigns (Fast Lane) 6. Owens vs. Zayn (Rival) 7. Sasha vs. Becky (Unstoppable) 8. Owens vs. Balor (NXT 3/25) 9. Owens vs. Cena (Elimination Chamber) 10. Rollins vs. Neville (Raw 8/3) 11. Sasha vs. Charlotte vs. Becky vs. Bayley (Rival) 12. Owens vs. Neville (NXT 2/18) 13. Rollins vs. Orton (Wrestlemania) 14. Joe vs. Ciampa (NXT 12/2) 15. Jordan/Gable vs. Gargano/Ciampa (NXT 10/28) 16. Ambrose vs. Big Show (Raw 7/27) 17. Finn/Joe vs. Dash/Dawson (Respect) 18. Bryan vs. Sheamus (SD 4/3) 19. Bryan vs. Rollins (Raw 2/2)

I'd be down for Riley facing Owens if it's a quick squash and/or he takes the apron powerbomb to be written off NXT. He has to get an entrance, though, so we can hear that sweet theme that was wasted on Alex Riley one more time.

I wonder who's gonna end up with the longest streak of appearances in the ATGMBR.

One good thing about the show was the tag title match up to the finish. That was the most I've enjoyed the Usos since they were in the Shield's midcard opponent rotation. Orton in the Authority is a less-compelling version of Bryan in the Wyatt Family.

Also Dillinger: I'm not going anywhere until Jason Jordan comes back out here and explains why he left me high and dry. One Fan: Because you suck!

If Axel was still in the Rumble, wouldn't he have been officially eliminated when Ambrose came out and threw him over the top on the (second) Raw after the ppv?

Owens in the booth was the best guest announcer spot in ages. His character of "guy who seems normal from a distance, but the more you get to know him, the more you're kind of afraid he might be a serial killer" is perfect, and has manifested itself very naturally thus far. Plus the look on Riley's face as he was getting chucked over the table was awesome.

Good call on the camis. Those looked bad on guys with massive upper bodies, let alone old, skinny Shawn. I remember quite a few guys trying the cami look in WWE. I think Test might have been the first.

One-Man DX Shawn in early 2007 was the worst. He was actually pretty motivated in the ring around this time, but WWE had a million glowsticks and shitty DX 06 shirts left to sell, so he had to keep using the DX gimmick for months after HHH went down with his second quad tear. Old man re-living glory days in a stable predicated on youth + shilling as many products at once as John Cena = Woof. Also, bonus camo here.

It is unfortunate that Neville's face has to counter balance the beauty of his moves.

I'd say Neville is way ahead of those guys (and everyone else in wrestling history) in terms of just flying moves. His combination of elevation, quickness, cleanliness, and degree of difficulty just blows away everyone I've ever seen. The amount of times he can rotate his body in a small space is amazing like doing a phoenix splash off the middle rope, the 450 from the apron to the floor, standing corkscrew moonsaults, etc. The red arrow is one of the most beautiful moves in wrestling, and he hits it, and everything else, dead on every time. He looks like he could be an olympic gymnast or diver, just so far beyond what you'd expect from even an elite wrestling flyer. The other thing I've noticed about Neville is that crowds are usually lukewarm when he comes out and often favor his opponent if it's someone of similar rank, but by the end of the match, he always gets a ton of heat. I've always been a fan of Neville, and I'm glad other people are coming around on him, even if the accompanying narrative that he became good in just the last couple of months is inaccurate. He's just been working with Zayn and Owens instead of Bo Dallas and Titus O'Neill.

Yeah, if Long managed you in 1996, you were in trouble. I think his biggest success was Ice Train. He managed Pittman, Jim Powers, and couple other jobbers too I think.

Carmella seems like she'd be a natural pairing with Sasha. She could be the third member of Team BAE if that's still together.

I don't think so. At the risk of sounding too snobbish, the big names on NXT are already better than most of the guys on the main roster. If Tyler Breeze and the Vaudevillains were the best guys on NXT, sending a vet would be helpful, but you don't need to teach guys like Zayn, Neville, etc how to work. All that's left for them is finding their niche in the WWE universe, which they're better off establishing on their own. Christian was working with guys like Swagger and Ryder, not CM Punk. I'd love to see Cena mix it up with the next generation of guys while he can still go like he can, but it's probably better to wait for the right moment on the big stage (a la Summer Slam 13) instead of fantasizing about Cena touring the indies. Although... If you really wanted to do a "big name slumming it in the minors" angle, Randy Orton doesn't seem to have anything to do these days.