NXT in Review
If you're catching this on Hulu sometime over the next few days, you can watch all the wrestling in about 15 minutes. No vignettes that we haven't seen before and no shocking news.
The matches weren't bad, but this show was heavily used to pump WrestleMania.
Next week, the pros vote.
Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel d. Skip Sheffield & Wade Barrett by pinfall when Slater pinned Sheffield.
Darren Young & David Otunga d. Daniel Bryan and Michael Tarver when Otunga pinned Bryan.
NXT: Shot By Shot
Regal came out with his rookie's team, but Christian watched from the ramp. I wonder where the rest of the pros where.
Sheffield's retro stalling vertical suplex into the facebuster was a unique twist on an old move.
On looks alone, I think Wade Barrett has the look closest to a typical WWE wrestler.
Cool finish of Barrett hitting a boot to Sheffield on accident. This was a fun opener.
With the rest of the rookies in tag team action later, that probably means lots of videos and WrestleMania promos tonight. I didn't read spoilers yet, since this was taped last night.
Cool Undertaker/HBK package. Still not as cool as that one a few weeks ago right after Elimination Chamber, though.
This Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon video was a nice recap of their story. I wonder why they don't put these on their YouTube account.
You think the live audience had to sit through all these videos? Man that would be boring. I hope not...that'd be five hours.
Carlito and Punk are the pros out for the main event tag team match. They should really follow up with the Miz. I guess David Otunga was with the Miz on the red carpet in Hollywood...weird.
Josh giggles like an 8-year-old that CM Punk is talking with the Straight-Edge Society instead of watching the match.
Daniel Bryan pinned again? Wow.
Showing posts with label NXT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NXT. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
WWE NXT Review: Barrett, Slater, Young want votes; The Great Khali destroys Daniel Bryan
Sorry for this being late. I went out Tuesday night while NXT was on and had to wait till Hulu put it up.
NXT in Review
This week's focus was on the rookies trying to impress their pros. Not that it never is, but we found out this week that the votes will be cast in two weeks. Exactly what the votes will be based on is unknown, though Michael Cole and Josh Matthews were paying more attention to win-loss records tonight.
Darren Young & CM Punk d. Matt Hardy and Justin Gabriel when Punk hit the GTS on Hardy and Young got the pin.
The Great Khali d. Daniel Bryan by pinfall.
Heath Slater d. Michael Tarver by pinfall.
Wade Barrett d. Skip Sheffield by pinfall.
NXT Shot by Shot
This week, they're adding the records to the Twitter account. I like that. Not that it means anything in a scripted environment, but it adds to the competition feel.
It'll take two more weeks for rookie evaluations. I really wonder how that's going to turn out. Clearly they're pushing Daniel Bryan as the top star, so I'm thinking somebody else will be the actual NXT winner.
I wonder if any NXT guys will show up at WrestleMania. Daniel Bryan said he bought a new suit for the event.
Michael Cole points out the rookies are trying to impress the pros, which is the logical explanation of why the pros weren't in the ring all that match in the opening tag match. That makes sense. It's hard to impress other pros when your pro is doing all the work in the ring.
Kevin Rudolf's "I Made It" just doesn't fit the gravity of the Undertaker/Shawn Michaels feud, or the WrestleMania feel. I guess it's different than the nu-metal garbage they usually use, but at least that fits a little better.
Justin Gabriel needs to watch some more Christpher Daniels matches if he wants to do that leg sweep takedown better.
Nice swerve seeing Young and Punk function as a team, only for Young to get the Gallows Pole (or is it Poll?) I thought maybe Punk and Young had finally come to a working agreement.
We didn't even get a Daniel Bryan entrance? Where's the Miz at?
And the Great Khali looks more and more like a buffoon every time he's on television.
Michael Cole continues his hate campaign on Daniel Bryan and the Internet has a whole. He just sounds like an idiot here.
Bryan goes 0-4 and he's going to get his heat back...well, no. He gets chokeslammed by the Big Show. I really hope he does something sweet next week because he hasn't gotten the best treatment since that first exchange with the Miz and awesome match with Chris Jericho.
With his smug attitude and obvious marketing potential by being a Harvard law student and Hollywood party guy, I think David Otunga might have a future in WWE past NXT.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Heath Slater = douche. That torpedo plancha (or whatever it was) that he did to Michael Tarver looked pretty sweet, though.
Wow, Michael Tarver has some stupid tattoos. Not really in and of themselves, but just their placement. Stupid tattoos or not, I'm digging that he uses the T-bone suplex.
Have I also said Skip Sheffield = douche? That leather vest is too close to Stone Cold Steve Austin's for my tastes.
Jericho yelling at the commentators putting over Wade Barrett is fantastic. This how Ric Flair should be managing AJ Styles - letting him do his own thing and making sure he's the star.
Josh Matthews busts out "vintage?" And for a Skip Sheffield splash? Lame.
NXT in Review
This week's focus was on the rookies trying to impress their pros. Not that it never is, but we found out this week that the votes will be cast in two weeks. Exactly what the votes will be based on is unknown, though Michael Cole and Josh Matthews were paying more attention to win-loss records tonight.
Darren Young & CM Punk d. Matt Hardy and Justin Gabriel when Punk hit the GTS on Hardy and Young got the pin.
The Great Khali d. Daniel Bryan by pinfall.
Heath Slater d. Michael Tarver by pinfall.
Wade Barrett d. Skip Sheffield by pinfall.
NXT Shot by Shot
This week, they're adding the records to the Twitter account. I like that. Not that it means anything in a scripted environment, but it adds to the competition feel.
It'll take two more weeks for rookie evaluations. I really wonder how that's going to turn out. Clearly they're pushing Daniel Bryan as the top star, so I'm thinking somebody else will be the actual NXT winner.
I wonder if any NXT guys will show up at WrestleMania. Daniel Bryan said he bought a new suit for the event.
Michael Cole points out the rookies are trying to impress the pros, which is the logical explanation of why the pros weren't in the ring all that match in the opening tag match. That makes sense. It's hard to impress other pros when your pro is doing all the work in the ring.
Kevin Rudolf's "I Made It" just doesn't fit the gravity of the Undertaker/Shawn Michaels feud, or the WrestleMania feel. I guess it's different than the nu-metal garbage they usually use, but at least that fits a little better.
Justin Gabriel needs to watch some more Christpher Daniels matches if he wants to do that leg sweep takedown better.
Nice swerve seeing Young and Punk function as a team, only for Young to get the Gallows Pole (or is it Poll?) I thought maybe Punk and Young had finally come to a working agreement.
We didn't even get a Daniel Bryan entrance? Where's the Miz at?
And the Great Khali looks more and more like a buffoon every time he's on television.
Michael Cole continues his hate campaign on Daniel Bryan and the Internet has a whole. He just sounds like an idiot here.
Bryan goes 0-4 and he's going to get his heat back...well, no. He gets chokeslammed by the Big Show. I really hope he does something sweet next week because he hasn't gotten the best treatment since that first exchange with the Miz and awesome match with Chris Jericho.
With his smug attitude and obvious marketing potential by being a Harvard law student and Hollywood party guy, I think David Otunga might have a future in WWE past NXT.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Heath Slater = douche. That torpedo plancha (or whatever it was) that he did to Michael Tarver looked pretty sweet, though.
Wow, Michael Tarver has some stupid tattoos. Not really in and of themselves, but just their placement. Stupid tattoos or not, I'm digging that he uses the T-bone suplex.
Have I also said Skip Sheffield = douche? That leather vest is too close to Stone Cold Steve Austin's for my tastes.
Jericho yelling at the commentators putting over Wade Barrett is fantastic. This how Ric Flair should be managing AJ Styles - letting him do his own thing and making sure he's the star.
Josh Matthews busts out "vintage?" And for a Skip Sheffield splash? Lame.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
WWE NXT Review: The Miz hates Daniel Bryan
NXT in Review
I liked this show a lot better than last week's. I think the Miz and Daniel Bryan have an interesting dynamic. In hindsight, not pairing Bryan with William Regal is probably better for him at this point. The Miz is becoming a hot commodity in the WWE and fans just want to see him get his ass kicked by somebody. I'm really digging a match between these two down the road.
This show did a lot better job of profiling the wrestlers. The only one that didn't get much time was Michael Tarver, who cheered on Carlito instead.
Minus the RAW Rebound and WrestleMania push, plus commercials, this show could probably watched in 30-35 minutes.
NXT: Shot by Shot
If I missed anything in the first 3 minutes, I apologize. I had an emergency meeting for class.
Matt Striker tried to explain the NXT competition again, but didn't really add anything, I didn't think.
The first match is David Otunga and R-Truth vs. Daniel Bryan and The Miz.
I'm kind of surprised they don't involve the Big Show much with Daniel Bryan and his tag partner, the Miz. Especially since R-Truth is involved in this match. Yeah, I almost forgot R-Truth and John Morrison have formed an interim tag team to battle ShowMiz at WrestleMania.
Miz cuts a promo on Bryan for going 0-2 and doesn't think he's proven himself to the pros. If they don't win tonight, Miz says, he's kicking Daniel Bryan off NXT.
Josh Matthews says Otunga and Truth have patched things up. They do hit a sweet double-team where they wind up and Truth flips over the top rope onto Miz and Bryan on the outside.
The story of the match was dissension between Miz and Daniel Bryan. Miz ends up losing for their team. Post match, Miz flinches after Bryan feigned a punch and Bryan walks away. Wow, I guess Otunga and Truth are really straight again.
Heath Slater cries about getting spit in the face with an apple by Carlito. The look and content reminded me of some idiot bitching the Real World.
We finally get a look at Justin Gabriel, who also has a martial arts background. Maybe they'll do an MMA bout down the line with Gabriel and Michael Tarver. Matt Hardy pumps him up for his main event shot and says he'll be the first WWE rookie to beat a WWE pro. All right, he's got a point, but that's semantics. John Cena beating Kurt Angle in 2002 was pretty huge for loyal SmackDown viewers.
Chris Jericho and Wade Barrett show up to intimidate Gabriel by putting over Barrett's victory over the Daniel Bryan last week.
I like how during the entrances, they show who the rookies' mentors are, and vice-versa.
Why does Michael Tarver have 1.9 written on all sides of his shirt? Josh Matthews later explains that's how many seconds it takes for Tarver to knock somebody out.
Slater ducks an apple spit from Carlito and gets the upper hand before they cut to commercial. That's a weird spot to break, but whatever. Later on, Carlito hits a big boot and Tarver says Slater's going to need to go to the dentist. I like stuff like that during matches.
The match was a pretty fun back-and-forth match. Christian took Carlito's apple, then told Christian he was going to embarrass his rookie. They do a series of roll-ups and finally Slater gets the pin. I guess Heath Slater was the first to beat a WWE pro, not Justin Gabriel. Oh well, Gabriel can still be the second, right?
Darren Young is profiled and says it's all about entertaining and having fun, likening his favorite wrestlers to Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and Shawn Michaels.
CM Punk involves Serena and Luke Gallows in reminding Young that he's the pro before telling Young he should adopt a straight-edge lifestyle.
Wait wait, Gabriel's wrestling Wade Barrett? I thought he was wrestling Chris Jericho. Did I watch the promo I thought I watched?
Why is "Be Yourself" a WrestleMania theme song? Didn't it get played enough during one of the Diva Searches?
That RAW Rebound with Vince McMahon vs. John Cena was just as stupid in recap form as it was live.
We find out Wade Barrett's rose colors mean different things every week. A little weird, but okay.
The dumbass crowd chants "USA!" and Josh Matthews doesn't get it either. The only American at ringside, besides the announcers, is Matt Hardy. I would posit a guess that speaking English is the only requirement to get that chance, but every one of them speaks English. Reminds me of a match in Peoria between La Resistance and Chris Benoit and Edge, where our local yokels chanted "USA!" too.
Gabriel defeats Barrett with the 450 Splash and goes 2-0 on NXT.
I liked this show a lot better than last week's. I think the Miz and Daniel Bryan have an interesting dynamic. In hindsight, not pairing Bryan with William Regal is probably better for him at this point. The Miz is becoming a hot commodity in the WWE and fans just want to see him get his ass kicked by somebody. I'm really digging a match between these two down the road.
This show did a lot better job of profiling the wrestlers. The only one that didn't get much time was Michael Tarver, who cheered on Carlito instead.
Minus the RAW Rebound and WrestleMania push, plus commercials, this show could probably watched in 30-35 minutes.
NXT: Shot by Shot
If I missed anything in the first 3 minutes, I apologize. I had an emergency meeting for class.
Matt Striker tried to explain the NXT competition again, but didn't really add anything, I didn't think.
The first match is David Otunga and R-Truth vs. Daniel Bryan and The Miz.
I'm kind of surprised they don't involve the Big Show much with Daniel Bryan and his tag partner, the Miz. Especially since R-Truth is involved in this match. Yeah, I almost forgot R-Truth and John Morrison have formed an interim tag team to battle ShowMiz at WrestleMania.
Miz cuts a promo on Bryan for going 0-2 and doesn't think he's proven himself to the pros. If they don't win tonight, Miz says, he's kicking Daniel Bryan off NXT.
Josh Matthews says Otunga and Truth have patched things up. They do hit a sweet double-team where they wind up and Truth flips over the top rope onto Miz and Bryan on the outside.
The story of the match was dissension between Miz and Daniel Bryan. Miz ends up losing for their team. Post match, Miz flinches after Bryan feigned a punch and Bryan walks away. Wow, I guess Otunga and Truth are really straight again.
Heath Slater cries about getting spit in the face with an apple by Carlito. The look and content reminded me of some idiot bitching the Real World.
We finally get a look at Justin Gabriel, who also has a martial arts background. Maybe they'll do an MMA bout down the line with Gabriel and Michael Tarver. Matt Hardy pumps him up for his main event shot and says he'll be the first WWE rookie to beat a WWE pro. All right, he's got a point, but that's semantics. John Cena beating Kurt Angle in 2002 was pretty huge for loyal SmackDown viewers.
Chris Jericho and Wade Barrett show up to intimidate Gabriel by putting over Barrett's victory over the Daniel Bryan last week.
I like how during the entrances, they show who the rookies' mentors are, and vice-versa.
Why does Michael Tarver have 1.9 written on all sides of his shirt? Josh Matthews later explains that's how many seconds it takes for Tarver to knock somebody out.
Slater ducks an apple spit from Carlito and gets the upper hand before they cut to commercial. That's a weird spot to break, but whatever. Later on, Carlito hits a big boot and Tarver says Slater's going to need to go to the dentist. I like stuff like that during matches.
The match was a pretty fun back-and-forth match. Christian took Carlito's apple, then told Christian he was going to embarrass his rookie. They do a series of roll-ups and finally Slater gets the pin. I guess Heath Slater was the first to beat a WWE pro, not Justin Gabriel. Oh well, Gabriel can still be the second, right?
Darren Young is profiled and says it's all about entertaining and having fun, likening his favorite wrestlers to Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and Shawn Michaels.
CM Punk involves Serena and Luke Gallows in reminding Young that he's the pro before telling Young he should adopt a straight-edge lifestyle.
Wait wait, Gabriel's wrestling Wade Barrett? I thought he was wrestling Chris Jericho. Did I watch the promo I thought I watched?
Why is "Be Yourself" a WrestleMania theme song? Didn't it get played enough during one of the Diva Searches?
That RAW Rebound with Vince McMahon vs. John Cena was just as stupid in recap form as it was live.
We find out Wade Barrett's rose colors mean different things every week. A little weird, but okay.
The dumbass crowd chants "USA!" and Josh Matthews doesn't get it either. The only American at ringside, besides the announcers, is Matt Hardy. I would posit a guess that speaking English is the only requirement to get that chance, but every one of them speaks English. Reminds me of a match in Peoria between La Resistance and Chris Benoit and Edge, where our local yokels chanted "USA!" too.
Gabriel defeats Barrett with the 450 Splash and goes 2-0 on NXT.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
WWE NXT Review: Daniel Bryan's ribs hurt
NXT in Review:
We finally got to see the rest of the rookies this week. Justin Gabriel got beat up a lot before hitting a nice 450 splash. Wade Barrett dominated Daniel Bryan, and Skip Sheffield seemed like a mix of fun and ridiculous.
While Daniel Bryan by far had the best showing of anybody to date last week, they didn't follow that up very well this week, I thought. Not only was Bryan defeated by Barrett without much offense, but nobody else really stood out as a star.
Michael Tarver barely got any airtime (it was at the end, and he didn't talk), so he got the worst end of the stick this week. At least Slater got a segment with Christian and an apple to the face.
Matt Striker told us how the competition worked, but neglected to give us too many details. My hunch is that WWE is still working out how they want to do it and are just giving us what they've come up with after a week.
NXT Shot by Shot:
R-Truth kicks the show off. Not only is Truth's gimmick getting stale to me, but it's not giving the rookies any unique character to come out to their pro's music.
Matt Striker ties explaining the competition, saying the 8 WWE pros cast votes, but can't vote for or against their rookie. He doesn't really go into much detail about how votes are cast. These votes will apparently determine success or failure.
Darren Young is out, reluctantly accompanied by the Straight-Edge Society. The fans didn't know who to chant for in this rematch, but Young's taunt before the chinlock made him the heel and Otunga the face. I thought it'd be the opposite for both, for some reason.
The story was that Young wanted revenge for his short debut match last week, and that Punk wanted nothing to do with his rookie. The end saw Gallows and Truth get into an argument, and while the ref was distracted, Punk surprisingly tripped up Otunga. Young hit his finisher, which starts like a full-nelson into a full-frontal slam, and picked up the win. Afterwards, Otunga shoves Truth. Maybe I was right in my thought that Otunga would be a heel.
For as much as Cole hated the Internet last week, he talked a lot about the WWE Universe blogs during this match.
Daniel Bryan is profiled first tonight, talking about his decade in wrestling and being trained by Shawn Michaels.
Cole rips on Twitter, so he must hate anything outside the WWE bubble.
Bryan's highlights from last week are shown, including several shots of that sick table bump with his match against Chris Jericho. Backstage, Bryan's ribs are being checked out when his trainer, the Miz, comes up. Miz's lesson is that Bryan must fight though a "boo-boo" before slapping the sore spot.
A William Regal package? Really?
Backstage, Matt Striker tries to interview David Otunga. Truth comes in and the refs have to split them apart.
Chris Jericho introduces Wade Barrett, portrayed as a European bare-knuckle fighting champion and the largest competitor on NXT.
Barrett takes to Bryan's ribs early on, with Jericho saying on commentary that's what he instructed Barrett to do. Bryan's only real offense was a sweet running knee off the apron, but Barrett pins Bryan pretty soon after, the idea being that Bryan was too injured. The vulture World champion Chris Jericho attacks Daniel Bryan's ribs, locks in the Walls of Jericho, and leaves.
Christian psychs up Heath Slater in the gym. Slater says how great last week's reaction was, but Christian says they're still his peeps and that Slater needs to earn his own.
Justin Gabriel calls Matt Hardy his sensei - wow, is that a reference to the Mattitude Followers?
William Regal and Skip Sheffield enter. So this is the Cornfed Meathead? He's wearing a Steve Austin-style leather jacked with those words emblazoned on it. He seems really charismatic with a southern charm about him, talking about how much he loves to entertain - almost like a beefier Ken Anderson (...Anderson). Regal is disgusted.
Gabriel is described as only being America for a year, coming from South Africa. He doesn't get much offense (or character background) at all. I liked Regal's offense in this match, as they looked like they could be used in a barfight instead of just straight-up wrestling. Matthews calls a splash by Skip Sheffield as "vintage." How can it be vintage if nobody outside of Florida has ever seen the move? Cole is angry with Matthews for that line. Matt Hardy hits a sick-looking Twist of Fate on Regal, allowing Justin Gabriel to get the win with a 450 splash.
All of the rookies (minus the two who were in the match) are in place backstage and Carlito taunts them all with his apple. He spits in Heath Slater's face and says, "that's cool," which pisses Slater off. Slater asks, "that's cool?" Striker's weak response, "that's NXT."
We finally got to see the rest of the rookies this week. Justin Gabriel got beat up a lot before hitting a nice 450 splash. Wade Barrett dominated Daniel Bryan, and Skip Sheffield seemed like a mix of fun and ridiculous.
While Daniel Bryan by far had the best showing of anybody to date last week, they didn't follow that up very well this week, I thought. Not only was Bryan defeated by Barrett without much offense, but nobody else really stood out as a star.
Michael Tarver barely got any airtime (it was at the end, and he didn't talk), so he got the worst end of the stick this week. At least Slater got a segment with Christian and an apple to the face.
Matt Striker told us how the competition worked, but neglected to give us too many details. My hunch is that WWE is still working out how they want to do it and are just giving us what they've come up with after a week.
NXT Shot by Shot:
R-Truth kicks the show off. Not only is Truth's gimmick getting stale to me, but it's not giving the rookies any unique character to come out to their pro's music.
Matt Striker ties explaining the competition, saying the 8 WWE pros cast votes, but can't vote for or against their rookie. He doesn't really go into much detail about how votes are cast. These votes will apparently determine success or failure.
Darren Young is out, reluctantly accompanied by the Straight-Edge Society. The fans didn't know who to chant for in this rematch, but Young's taunt before the chinlock made him the heel and Otunga the face. I thought it'd be the opposite for both, for some reason.
The story was that Young wanted revenge for his short debut match last week, and that Punk wanted nothing to do with his rookie. The end saw Gallows and Truth get into an argument, and while the ref was distracted, Punk surprisingly tripped up Otunga. Young hit his finisher, which starts like a full-nelson into a full-frontal slam, and picked up the win. Afterwards, Otunga shoves Truth. Maybe I was right in my thought that Otunga would be a heel.
For as much as Cole hated the Internet last week, he talked a lot about the WWE Universe blogs during this match.
Daniel Bryan is profiled first tonight, talking about his decade in wrestling and being trained by Shawn Michaels.
Cole rips on Twitter, so he must hate anything outside the WWE bubble.
Bryan's highlights from last week are shown, including several shots of that sick table bump with his match against Chris Jericho. Backstage, Bryan's ribs are being checked out when his trainer, the Miz, comes up. Miz's lesson is that Bryan must fight though a "boo-boo" before slapping the sore spot.
A William Regal package? Really?
Backstage, Matt Striker tries to interview David Otunga. Truth comes in and the refs have to split them apart.
Chris Jericho introduces Wade Barrett, portrayed as a European bare-knuckle fighting champion and the largest competitor on NXT.
Barrett takes to Bryan's ribs early on, with Jericho saying on commentary that's what he instructed Barrett to do. Bryan's only real offense was a sweet running knee off the apron, but Barrett pins Bryan pretty soon after, the idea being that Bryan was too injured. The vulture World champion Chris Jericho attacks Daniel Bryan's ribs, locks in the Walls of Jericho, and leaves.
Christian psychs up Heath Slater in the gym. Slater says how great last week's reaction was, but Christian says they're still his peeps and that Slater needs to earn his own.
Justin Gabriel calls Matt Hardy his sensei - wow, is that a reference to the Mattitude Followers?
William Regal and Skip Sheffield enter. So this is the Cornfed Meathead? He's wearing a Steve Austin-style leather jacked with those words emblazoned on it. He seems really charismatic with a southern charm about him, talking about how much he loves to entertain - almost like a beefier Ken Anderson (...Anderson). Regal is disgusted.
Gabriel is described as only being America for a year, coming from South Africa. He doesn't get much offense (or character background) at all. I liked Regal's offense in this match, as they looked like they could be used in a barfight instead of just straight-up wrestling. Matthews calls a splash by Skip Sheffield as "vintage." How can it be vintage if nobody outside of Florida has ever seen the move? Cole is angry with Matthews for that line. Matt Hardy hits a sick-looking Twist of Fate on Regal, allowing Justin Gabriel to get the win with a 450 splash.
All of the rookies (minus the two who were in the match) are in place backstage and Carlito taunts them all with his apple. He spits in Heath Slater's face and says, "that's cool," which pisses Slater off. Slater asks, "that's cool?" Striker's weak response, "that's NXT."
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
WWE NXT: Welcome to the Universe, Daniel Bryan
NXT in Review
Tonight was the debut of WWE NXT, billed as the next evolution in wrestling. It did some different things - not using a hard camera, interviewing a rookie during his pro's match and utilizing a host (who did nothing more than act as a backstage correspondent).
As far as momentum, only one rookie got it as far as I'm concerned. Clearly, Daniel Bryan will be the star of this show. He had maybe not memorable, but definitely intriguing interactions with the Miz and a fun match with Chris Jericho. I'm not complaining though, as I think given his cult following already, WWE made a wise choice in picking Bryan to be the face of NXT.
Evolution? A little hyperbole. But it did the job in introducing a few new talents tonight, with the rest presumably debuting next week.
One thought I'm left lingering with is how NXT is a competition. They referenced it a few times but never specified what the competition was.
Anyway, here's what I thought as I watched the show.
NXT Shot by Shot
All the rookies stand backstage and the Miz pulls out Daniel Bryan, the former ROH sensation "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson. Miz peps up Bryan, who comes out to Miz's theme. As Bryan walks to the ring, Miz threatens Bryan to the audience.
Michael Cole is calling the action next to Josh Matthews, with the NXT host being Matt Striker. They're all really hammering Bryan's supposed lack of personality. Remember another guy who didn't have personality? Bret Hart, maybe? I've never heard Bryan speak, so I'm not sure about that.
I like how they put the most well known wrestler out first with one of the better men on the mic, the Miz. So far online, this has been the most talked about pairing. The crowd seemed to be into this. I doubt that many WWE fans know about him, especially the young ones, but maybe they're just so anti-Miz that they'll cheer anybody. WWE acknowledged how things actually happen outside the WWE Universe, with Bryan saying he was sorry his mentor wasn't William Regal.
Even after commercial, Bryan is still the focus, saying he won't get along with Miz. It's cool they acknowledge he's wrestled twice as long as the Miz, but Striker is quick to point out that he has never wrestled for the WWE. But tonight he wrestles Chris Jericho?! Awesome!
Carlito introduces a video package on Michael Tarver, portrayed as a dangerous MMA specialist. I guess the rookies don't even get music. Christian comes out with Heath Slater and we see a video about Slater, a charismatic "rock star without the instruments." This guy seems like a douche. The jury's still out on Tarver.
The experiment with the boom camera is interesting. Since it's an evolution, it at least looks a little different.
The tag team match with the rookies and pros was okay, but I really wish the roles would've been reversed with Christian and Slater. I think if this is about younger guys, Christian should've caused the distraction on Tarver, and Slater pick up the pin on pro Carlito.
The look Punk had on his face with Darren Young was priceless! I wonder if he'll try to convert Young to the Straight-Edge Society. What is this guy, a Dragon Ball Z character? The story is that Young is a party boy from South Beach.
David Otunga, boyfriend of Jennifer Hudson, is profiled as a Hollywood guy. He compares himself to The Rock, Triple H and John Cena. We'll see.
This match is a 1-on-1 match between the rookies, but it doesn't last long. Otunga uses a sloppy modified spinebuster to get the win. Punk leaves and isn't happy.
Wow, Michael Cole busted out the Tough Enough reference on Josh Matthews?
After the RAW recap, Cole said he's something like Matthews' mentor. Matthews acted insulted, saying JR still was mentoring Michael Cole via Twitter.
Next week, we'll see more rookies.
Jericho says Wade Barrett must introduce him. Barrett is a European bare-knuckle fighter.
Wow, Daniel Bryan's first WWE match is with Chris Jericho. That's gotta be awesome for him. Cole said he hadn't heard of him before he showed up to NXT. C'mon Cole, at least try to win over the fans that hate you. Man, he sounds like an idiot talking about how lame the independents are.
Striker interviews Barrett about what he's learning from Jericho during the match. That's something I haven't seen before - and if I have, it's been awhile.
MAN that bump Bryan did into the chair looked sick! They show all the rookies watching in the back and I'm not sure why. Matthews references the competition, but I don't get it.
After the Codebreaker, the Champ wins. But Bryan looked good in defeat, reversing the Walls of Jericho. The Miz jumps in to start beating up Bryan. They recap the match, and Cole said he equates watching Bryan to watching paint dry. Is Cole doing a heel turn tonight or something? He just hates Bryan.
The show ends with a recap, a la how TNA used to recap Impact.
Tonight was the debut of WWE NXT, billed as the next evolution in wrestling. It did some different things - not using a hard camera, interviewing a rookie during his pro's match and utilizing a host (who did nothing more than act as a backstage correspondent).
As far as momentum, only one rookie got it as far as I'm concerned. Clearly, Daniel Bryan will be the star of this show. He had maybe not memorable, but definitely intriguing interactions with the Miz and a fun match with Chris Jericho. I'm not complaining though, as I think given his cult following already, WWE made a wise choice in picking Bryan to be the face of NXT.
Evolution? A little hyperbole. But it did the job in introducing a few new talents tonight, with the rest presumably debuting next week.
One thought I'm left lingering with is how NXT is a competition. They referenced it a few times but never specified what the competition was.
Anyway, here's what I thought as I watched the show.
NXT Shot by Shot
All the rookies stand backstage and the Miz pulls out Daniel Bryan, the former ROH sensation "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson. Miz peps up Bryan, who comes out to Miz's theme. As Bryan walks to the ring, Miz threatens Bryan to the audience.
Michael Cole is calling the action next to Josh Matthews, with the NXT host being Matt Striker. They're all really hammering Bryan's supposed lack of personality. Remember another guy who didn't have personality? Bret Hart, maybe? I've never heard Bryan speak, so I'm not sure about that.
I like how they put the most well known wrestler out first with one of the better men on the mic, the Miz. So far online, this has been the most talked about pairing. The crowd seemed to be into this. I doubt that many WWE fans know about him, especially the young ones, but maybe they're just so anti-Miz that they'll cheer anybody. WWE acknowledged how things actually happen outside the WWE Universe, with Bryan saying he was sorry his mentor wasn't William Regal.
Even after commercial, Bryan is still the focus, saying he won't get along with Miz. It's cool they acknowledge he's wrestled twice as long as the Miz, but Striker is quick to point out that he has never wrestled for the WWE. But tonight he wrestles Chris Jericho?! Awesome!
Carlito introduces a video package on Michael Tarver, portrayed as a dangerous MMA specialist. I guess the rookies don't even get music. Christian comes out with Heath Slater and we see a video about Slater, a charismatic "rock star without the instruments." This guy seems like a douche. The jury's still out on Tarver.
The experiment with the boom camera is interesting. Since it's an evolution, it at least looks a little different.
The tag team match with the rookies and pros was okay, but I really wish the roles would've been reversed with Christian and Slater. I think if this is about younger guys, Christian should've caused the distraction on Tarver, and Slater pick up the pin on pro Carlito.
The look Punk had on his face with Darren Young was priceless! I wonder if he'll try to convert Young to the Straight-Edge Society. What is this guy, a Dragon Ball Z character? The story is that Young is a party boy from South Beach.
David Otunga, boyfriend of Jennifer Hudson, is profiled as a Hollywood guy. He compares himself to The Rock, Triple H and John Cena. We'll see.
This match is a 1-on-1 match between the rookies, but it doesn't last long. Otunga uses a sloppy modified spinebuster to get the win. Punk leaves and isn't happy.
Wow, Michael Cole busted out the Tough Enough reference on Josh Matthews?
After the RAW recap, Cole said he's something like Matthews' mentor. Matthews acted insulted, saying JR still was mentoring Michael Cole via Twitter.
Next week, we'll see more rookies.
Jericho says Wade Barrett must introduce him. Barrett is a European bare-knuckle fighter.
Wow, Daniel Bryan's first WWE match is with Chris Jericho. That's gotta be awesome for him. Cole said he hadn't heard of him before he showed up to NXT. C'mon Cole, at least try to win over the fans that hate you. Man, he sounds like an idiot talking about how lame the independents are.
Striker interviews Barrett about what he's learning from Jericho during the match. That's something I haven't seen before - and if I have, it's been awhile.
MAN that bump Bryan did into the chair looked sick! They show all the rookies watching in the back and I'm not sure why. Matthews references the competition, but I don't get it.
After the Codebreaker, the Champ wins. But Bryan looked good in defeat, reversing the Walls of Jericho. The Miz jumps in to start beating up Bryan. They recap the match, and Cole said he equates watching Bryan to watching paint dry. Is Cole doing a heel turn tonight or something? He just hates Bryan.
The show ends with a recap, a la how TNA used to recap Impact.
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