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NXT - Post NXT Takeover discussion in progress


NEWM

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Did a 180 on Gargano, the match wasn’t for me stylistically speaking  but Gargano nailed it. Dream/Ciampa was my motn. Another step towards Dream being the Real Deal, he looked fantastic here. Ciampa is a great guy for him to mix it up with.

Ricochet is a man of wonders but somebody tell that boy never try trash talking again.

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8 hours ago, Accident Prone said:

I really hope they don't give Riddle the RVD treatment and just have his whole character be 'laid back stoner who says '"Bro" and wears flip flops'.

I think I'm going to scale back the indy love in this too, as whenever one of those guys makes his/her debut I'm always astonished at the negative response in this thread. I know a lot of you are going in with a blank slate on a lot of these guys and the likes of me saying "Oh indyname21 is so bloody good!" is going to do more harm than good.

Look at the reactions to Keith Lee on here for instance; I doubt it would be as negative if no one was chatting about how much he killed it pre-WWE. He'd just be a guy with no rep and would impress easily. I think people having a go at Matt Riddle has sorta sealed the deal with that.

I see it as more an issue with the presentation and WWE style. Hideo Itami was/is being labeled as a bad wrestler because he struggles to get along with the WWE way of working. Fucking KENTA being labeled as bad because he can't get into the groove of always working the hardcam, unnecessarily slowing things down and slapping on a chinlock because we're about to go into adverts.

This is not a slight against WWE, but their style isn't the be-all end-all. It's argubaly the style that will earn you more money but being unable to work within their mechanics isn't a mark on your skill as a wrestler (including character work and promos).  A wrestler not being able to work that way doesn't make them bad, the same way a wrestler not grasping the core structure of lucha libre doesn't make them bad.

Anyway, Takeover was great! Dream/Ciampa really surprised me and I bit on a couple of the near falls. Everything else was splendid also. Riddle going for the kill within seconds was telegraphed from the start (he's done the quick-kill a few times when entering a new promotion) but it was entertaining never the less. Brilliant seeing Pete Dunne close at the show atop of the cage. 

 

I get what you're saying but I don't think it's that exactly.  To succeed in the WWE, you need more than just timing in the ring.  You need a bunch of complex imponderables, that NXT is actually set up to teach you.  Not everyone as you say is going to be able to swim at this level.

Everyone said Ricochet was amazing before he came in, and all he's done is impress.  He's shown charisma, character, he fits into the NXT style brilliantly.  So it's perfectly possible to come in with a big rep and succeed.

It's also very possible to get a fantastic rep on the Indies and not actually be that good, and unfortunately that tends to get exposed when you end up in WWE on the biggest stage.  If you're smart, you soak up everything you can at the PC and get better.  Riddle is very clearly, to me anyway, a work in progress.  If he knows this, and applies himself he'll be fine.  If he believes the hype, it might not work out.

 

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It's great to see guys like Ricochet come in with no ego and a willingness to learn and grow despite the success they've had already. And he has grown in the short time he's been around in NXT. Same with the UE guys for example. They do get some great opportunities for training and learning from some of the best. Sure a lot of them would be solid additions straight on TV but they're all looking to better themselves.

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To be fair to Undisputed Era they were all just as great before they arrived in NXT, the only thing "massively improved" about them is their ability to work WWE style. That's not to say that there's no room for improvement of course (and I'm sure they'll continue to improve) but I think too often people are quick to associate not being adept at the WWE way of doing things and there being a time of adjustment with simply being shit or lacking before they came to WWE.

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Like BomberPat said earlier, I really couldn't give a shit about what Matt Riddle did in MMA and I don't really give that much of a shit what he did on the indies either. My first impression was that he was a dopey, barefoot wanker with an annoying gimmick who beat someone with a pretty crappy looking knee strike or whatever the fuck that thing was. First impressions really do last and mine was that next time I see him on the wrestling, I'm turning it off. Bro.

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Another excellent Takeover event. Great stuff throughout.

I’m fascinated by the spectrum of reactions to Riddle, but not at all surprised. I definitely think he’s a guy where context matters. If you’re seeing him blind I totally understand why you’d think he was an annoying berk.

Having followed his career since the Ultimate Fighter though, I love the guy. I met him in London back when he was fighting in the UFC and he was the nicest guy ever, with all the time in the world for each and every fan. Every description of him wrestling on the Indies backs this up, too. It always made me laugh how all he ever wanted to talk about during MMA interviews was pro-wrestling. Between him and Shayna, it’s really cool to see these super fans transition from MMA to their real passion and succeed so impressively.

Who would have ever thought, with all the talent on this show, that Dakota Kai would impress me most with her fire. That run-in was really great.

Gargano/Black and Dream/Ciampa were both fantastic. Whilst I would’ve never turned him in a million years, Gargano showed some good chops as a heel. Came across as a right little prick and I was happy when his head was kicked off. I completely bought The Dream’s final few nearfalls. It’s going to be a really amazing moment when he wins the belt. He’s truly the best thing their developmental has created from scratch.

War Games was great but there were definitely moments where it dragged. If anything, I left that match hoping we get to see them have a straight 8-man tag without the stunts or weapons because the best part of the match was the final five minute sprint where they just did finishers and clever spots. Still, Pete Dunne and Ricochet are the future of this business and Undisputed Era are a main roster invasion angle just waiting to happen.

One thing I thought was interesting was that they supposedly experimented with light-up wristbands similar to the, “Xylobands,” that Coldplay use at their gigs, yet it was barely noticeable all night. 

BAB65466-9D1E-4034-8CA8-731C04FE3ED6.thumb.jpeg.565854da4cfd5b6e97759c875594c034.jpeg

I saw the above photo on Twitter just before Takeover began, so was super excited to see how they were used. For reference, this is what they look like at Coldplay concerts:

What a fucking shame that the only time I even noticed it was during the ring announcement of Velveteen Dream and it looked proper rubbish. Hopefully they give it another go though because I reckon they could do some really cool stuff with that technology. Imagine incorporating them into Wrestlemania entrances. Set them all off just as Nakamura does his Matrix pose. Awesome.

Edited by Supremo
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12 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Like BomberPat said earlier, I really couldn't give a shit about what Matt Riddle did in MMA and I don't really give that much of a shit what he did on the indies either. My first impression was that he was a dopey, barefoot wanker with an annoying gimmick who beat someone with a pretty crappy looking knee strike or whatever the fuck that thing was. First impressions really do last and mine was that next time I see him on the wrestling, I'm turning it off. Bro.

I'm right, it's gonna be WWE's treatment of RVD all over again. 

On the indies, the stuff like wrestling barefoot and saying 'Bro' and being known as the King Of The Bros, it came off as really natural as that's who the guy is. It wasn't focused on as it's just part of the package. He's a laidback dude who's a bit weird and eccentric, yet tough as fuck, hard as nails and up for a big scrap. He's cool as ice, smiling and laughing during his entrance and bobbing along Warren G's Regulate. Then when the bell rings he's all business and gets pissed off very easily. 

Cue the NXT version; BRO BRO BRO BRO BRO BRO BRO HEY THIS GUY HAS BARE FEET LOOK BRO BRO HE'S SO WEIRD BRO BRO BRO BRO WOW HAHA 420 FOR LIFE BRO SLIDERS HOW COOL IS THAT BRO BRO BRO LOOK NO BOOTS LOOK BRO!

He's been diluted to all fuck.

 

 

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Really enjoyed Takeover. Title match got to agree with everyone else in that it was fantastic, when Dream hit the elbow i thought that was it. Rematch has to be on the cards and give Velveteen a rumble spot.

Wargames match itself was too long i felt. The crowd pop though when they did the lineup in the centre was as loud as i've heard in a long time. A straight 8 man would be great and the tease of Dunne looking at Ricochet's belt at the end was a good touch. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Odd episode this week.

I was immediately impressed by Punishment Martinez - tall, good look, menacing way of moving about him. And then they job him out to Bro Von Erich in under 5 minutes.  That's a very strange way of debuting a new potential star.

Good match between Dakota Kai and Shayna Baszler - but then we've seen it before, and Kai's lost like 3 times straight to her, so I'm not sure how the match benefits anyone.

Forgotten Sons are utter shite, well Blake and Cutter are anyway. They are both marginally out of shape and have no chemistry.  Ryker I'm intrigued by and he's got that great stare, but you can see why they took so long to get onto the tv show.  Their opponents, the Mexicools, don't seem like a long-term proposition either.

The rest of the show was talking around the main event scene.  Black is not a good talker.  When he was smashing his way to the ring to confront people, he looks great, they should stick with that.

I guess the WWE off-season malaise even affects NXT!

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