[NXT SPOILERS] For March 23, 2016 (Taped 1/27)

[Kyuubi]

1 minute ago, Greggulator said:

I don't hate flippy indie guys. I hate Gargano.

So you hate Vanilla midgets?

Okay, so we best friends.

 

[Go2Sleep]

Finn Balor has easily been the best NXT wrestler this year. Each of his exhibition matches has taken on a different feel based on the quality of his opponent. This week he was looking for basically a sparring session, then when Swann surprised him with his flurry, he unloaded the full arsenal on him. His cutoff elbow was nasty and his annoyance during the wristlock sequence with Swann's attempted counters showed nicely.

Also Swann got more over with 10 seconds of dance moves than Samson has with months of video packages and squashes.

[The Man Known as Dan]

I get the "Balor is showing a heelish side, that's great!" stuff, but the problem with me is still that everything Finn threw in that match felt soft as shit. He's supposed to be showing a more vicious side, but it's not coming across from me.

That said? Swann freaking rules. Great showing for him.

[Jiji]

For both Swann and Busick, I think it'll be a matter of the cream rising to the top.

[JonnyLaw]

So... No Way Jose, huh?

[Cristobal]

I have theorized that The Drifter is some kind of meta gimmick experiment in getting sustainable heel heat (a la Eva Marie) from an NXT crowd. This week convinced me of it. Look at what the Drifter does: NOTHING. 

He comes down to the ring, sits on the ropes...and does nothing. The heat sequence comes and he...does nothing. The post match beatdown comes and a babyface comes out for the save...and that's it. 

He does nothing entertaining, gives the crowd nothing to cheer or chant, in short giving the crowd nothing that they want to see. 

It's deliberate, and it's working. 

[Jiji]

13 minutes ago, Cristobal said:

I have theorized that The Drifter is some kind of meta gimmick experiment in getting sustainable heel heat (a la Eva Marie) from an NXT crowd. This week convinced me of it. Look at what the Drifter does: NOTHING. 

He comes down to the ring, sits on the ropes...and does nothing. The heat sequence comes and he...does nothing. The post match beatdown comes and a babyface comes out for the save...and that's it. 

He does nothing entertaining, gives the crowd nothing to cheer or chant, in short giving the crowd nothing that they want to see. 

It's deliberate, and it's working. 

So, when do we start cheering for him?

[RandomAct]

6 hours ago, JonnyLaw said:

So... No Way Jose, huh?

I'm excited for this, simply because of who is behind the gimmick and I'm happy for him to be on TV.

 

Is it just me, or did Emma vs Asuka feel kinda weird?  Maybe it was the dead crowd, I dunno.  My only issue is that they had Asuka sell WAY too much.  She needs to look like an unstoppable force of nature going into the Bayley match.  Emma made her look beatable.  Unless the plan is to bring her down a notch so we can believe that Bayley has a chance.

 

"Empress of Tomorrow" sounds like a late 90s anime.

[Linus]

Without watching it again I can't quite be sure who fucked up that crossbody spot in the Bliss-Dobson match, but it got very fiery after that. Lovely stuff.

 

Also, I like Elias Samson and I think he'll be great. But I think The Drifter is the shits. These are two opinions it is possible to have at the same time.

[Rev Ray]

I still think the Drifter should be handing out fliers for upcoming gigs and postering the all along the entrance tof the venues.

[Phantom Lord]

Asuka vs Emma I thought was a really good match. Easily better than the one in London and probably the first one I've seen at least of her in the states where Asuka really looked like she could be in trouble. I'm really interested in how Bayley/Asuka is going to work as a face vs. face match. Maybe they go with KO finish like they've done before with Owens/Zayn. Please don't die Bayley.

[turk128]

Heelish Finn has so much more personality. Can't wait for the cruiser weight tourney, hoping Swann is in it.

Bliss' achilles heel is her nose; this was what-- the third time she's had it cracked?

Grave's is right, Emma and Asuka have had a great spin-off story of their own. While everyone ran away from it, Emma faced the tiger, purposely provoked it and became stronger in the process. Emma elevated herself by losing to Asuka.

Also, Emma and Danna are great together, Danna is incredibly supportive of Emma especially when they lose. They're like the opposite of the BFF, it really is a positive inspirational relationship (if you ignore their heel tactics).

[Brysynner]

15 minutes ago, turk128 said:

Also, Emma and Danna are great together, Danna is incredibly supportive of Emma especially when they lose. They're like the opposite of the BFF, it really is a positive inspirational relationship (if you ignore their heel tactics).

But that's what makes it better. They're such BFFs, they are willing to do whatever it takes to help the other win.

[JonnyLaw]

5 hours ago, RandomAct said:

I'm excited for this, simply because of who is behind the gimmick and I'm happy for him to be on TV.

I had a hunch of who it might be, so I googled to see if his identity was known yet.  From what little I've seen, I'm excited.

9 hours ago, Cristobal said:

I have theorized that The Drifter is some kind of meta gimmick experiment in getting sustainable heel heat (a la Eva Marie) from an NXT crowd. This week convinced me of it. Look at what the Drifter does: NOTHING. 

He comes down to the ring, sits on the ropes...and does nothing. The heat sequence comes and he...does nothing. The post match beatdown comes and a babyface comes out for the save...and that's it. 

He does nothing entertaining, gives the crowd nothing to cheer or chant, in short giving the crowd nothing that they want to see. 

It's deliberate, and it's working. 

I'm in the same boat.  There was one point where he was standing over Swann, and he looked around at the crowd.  No reaction... so he just keeps standing there, which does end up getting him heat and gets the crowd behind Swann.  Good for him, as he didn't rush things, didn't panic about a potentially tepid response, he was just patient and waited for it and got exactly what he wanted.  Even his "What they need is what I am" is meta if you think of it as "NXT needs more heels".

Now, I'm just hoping we get a brief Lone Wolf and Drifter team before Corbin gets called up.  Maybe if they do the Dusty Classic again.

[RandomAct]

Yeah @JonnyLaw I'm excited.  I've been saying for years that he mastered the "hard" part of wrestling incredibly easy, and just needed to get the in-ring stuff down.  He was more than solid last I saw of him.  I think he's going to do great, since his charisma is through the roof.

[ChrisM]

Rich Swann could be something major in a couple of years. Charisma to burn, and really impressive in-ring.

[Jiji]

I think NXT is a great fit for him too. On the indies, he often tried overly complex shit that would often times not pan out. I'd imagine WWE wants you only attempting moves that you can do 9 or 10 times out of 10. He also hates heights and only has a beautiful frog splash as his lone top rope move he hits regularly (as of now), so his athleticism shines through in other ways. His hopping 450 is pretty rad too.

[MGFanJay]

Pretty fun setup show for Takeover. Gargano got a win over the Drifter, while Swann looked strong in defeat against Finn. Joe was built up like a fucking world-beater, while Alexa and Mary Dobson had a fun, but really sloppy match. Asuka vs. Emma was outstanding, and will be a far better wrestling match than anything setup for WM. The American Alpha life recap video set up their title match perfectly too. They've each lost the big one before, but now they have a partner, and now COULD be their time.

http://jayreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2016/03/nxt-3-23-16.html

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Edited March 25, 2016 by RIPPA
The new board doing the dirty work for me

[NikoBaltimore]

One result of the new board:  MG's ass pics don't automatically show up unless you click the link.  Now that's an upgrade!

[CSC]

On 3/24/2016 at 3:46 AM, RandomAct said:

 

 

Is it just me, or did Emma vs Asuka feel kinda weird?  Maybe it was the dead crowd, I dunno. 

I felt the same way.  I don't know if it was a conscious choice, but Emma didn't seem to be laying it in like she has been in her last half dozen really fun squashes.  if it was purposeful (and I'd like to think it was) to show her fear of pissing off Asuka, it's a pretty masterful piece of storytelling.

[w. josh]

Swann's early 80s pop-funk aesthetic might get him a decent shot at the main roster. Vince probably thinks it's contemporary music. 

[Jrag]

On 3/24/2016 at 10:11 PM, El Dragon said:

I get the "Balor is showing a heelish side, that's great!" stuff, but the problem with me is still that everything Finn threw in that match felt soft as shit. He's supposed to be showing a more vicious side, but it's not coming across from me.

I don't get this criticism at all.  Finn has his flaws, but almost all of his stuff looks brutal compared to your average NXT match.  The corner drop kick/double stomp/bloody sunday combo is the hardest hitting thing in NXT right now.

His improvement since the Dusty Classic has been pretty awesome.  The dude pretty much stopped working from the bottom and his matches have improved SOOO much for it.  This week and the most recent match with Crews being the best examples of it.

I'd agree with whoever said he has been the best part of NXT since the new year.  The Neville match was probably the best NXT match in that time frame and his subtle heel stuff is more interesting than anything he did last year. 

 

 

[The Man Known as Dan]

The Double Stomp never looks that good, and the Corner Dropkick isn't even the best on the NXT roster now that Aries is there. His apron kick looked just shitty on this one, and his cutoff running forearm also didn't look great by any stretch. 

 

The idea Finn has been the best part of NXT this year over Joe, Asuka, Emma, Jordan and Gable, or the Revival to me seems really really, well, wrong.

[Trocar Slush Weasel]

47 minutes ago, El Dragon said:

he idea Finn has been the best part of NXT this year over Joe, Asuka, Emma, Jordan and Gable, or the Revival to me seems really really, well, wrong.

Or Corbin.  Over his reign as champ, Bayley has become the face of NXT and over the course of 2016, Joe has overshadowed him.  He needs to change it up just for his sake.

[Jrag]

He is changing it up.  You are not paying attention if you think he is making the same mistakes he was making early in his title run.  His in ring work is finally matching his ace of NXT role.  

Joe has been the best part of all of his matches in 2016, but the matches have somehow underwhelmed?  I don't know, I guess I expected too much out of that 2/3 falls match. Sami overusing the hands-down, woozy selling bugged the hell out of me.  Joe's strikes look great without all that goofiness.

Jordan and Gable have been pretty awesome though so I won't argue that one.  My favorite act in wrestling at the moment.

Finn really isn't getting the proper credit right now while being overrated for most of his NXT run.  It's weird.