NXT - Post NXT Takeover discussion in progress

[Supremo]

Fucking HELL that Drake Maverick vignette was brilliant. It's almost certainly a work at this point, likely after the outpouring of support he got on Twitter, but I don't care. Either way he's managed to make me care about empty arena wrestling, which no-one else has done. If this is what it takes to get me invested in an underdog then so be it. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he goes on to to win the title, but who knows with this company. They sent Jon Moxley on his merry way with a big hurrah and way more momentum than you'd ever expect, so it equally wouldn't surprise me if they turn Drake into the world's most sympathetic babyface before he goes and succeeds somewhere else.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Supremo

[unfitfinlay]

On 4/23/2020 at 8:51 PM, Sergio Bellend said:

He’ll be under contract for the next 83 days or whatever won’t he? With them getting paid for 90 days post-release, it’s more of a three month notice period on gardening leave than an instant contract termination I’d have thought. 

That is how it's worded in all the contracts that have made it online.

[bloodywolf]

It’s a work.

He will get to the finals. Lose an emotional filled, close fought “battle for his very job”

Let the new champ celebrate

Then an emotional Drake left in the ring, crying, might symbolically leave his boots there or something, maybe cut a farewell promo

Then HHH will come out and talk about heart, intensity and all that bollocks and award him a new contract

 

 

After then of course he’ll flounder in mid card at best 

[Supremo]

For as good as the Drake Maverick thing was on Wednesday, the Gargano and Candice stuff was some of the worst shit I’ve ever seen.

Just when I thought Johnny couldn’t get any more embarrassing as the terrible E-Fed heel, he now drags his poor wife into it.

I can’t remember the last time two people were so badly miscast. They couldn’t feel any less effective as heels. Not intimidating or even dislikable. They just come across as a pair of tragic, loser geeks doing cosplay wrestling.

[Snitsky's back acne]

Havent seen NXT in ages and, as evidenced by the fact nobody has posted in this thread for several weeks it would seem nobody else has either but I have seen the vignette for Karrion Kross and Scarlett and have to say it looks very cool. Quite a 'Natural Born Killers' feel about it

I would rather they debuted in front of a crowd but am looking forward to seeing how they come across in NXT.

[DavidB6937]

Well they absolutely nailed the Kross/Scarlett debut. Especially the entrance. They're going to be huge if handled right. 

A solid show overall but those two definitely made the lasting impression.

[Jacko]

Strap the rocket to Scarlett and Kross and they can be massive for the wwe as a whole 

[mim731]

2 hours ago, DavidB6937 said:

Well they absolutely nailed the Kross/Scarlett debut. Especially the entrance. They're going to be huge if handled right. 

Like Finn Balor and Aleister Black before him doing somewhat "different" darker gimmicks, I suspect Kross looks great in NXT, but on the main roster in front of a huge audience (not immediately, obviously) that is not going to translate, through poor execution, or it'll be watered down. Also, once Vince gets wind of Bordeaux, Kross will be off doing the "Cuck" bit in no time.

It's a shame, because they looked cool as fuck there, and it was a great debut for Kross. 

[uklaw]

History absolutely backs that up, and I do suspect Vince would tamper with the act, in some shape or form, especially as:

Scarlett has a certain something that could be marketed as a solo act, is not unattractive and is charismatic. 

Also, Kross on his own can work. Plus, he is a pretty darn good promo and effective wrestler. 

One thing that Kross has over Black and Balor is size. 

I guess we could find out sooner than later because didn’t initial reports suggest they would quickly be moved to one of the other brands? 

[LaGoosh]

I wasn't a fan of the Kross entrance. Not entirely clear what the gimmick is supposed to be. It seems to be a bit close to Aleister Black for my liking. The song was cheesy as hell and watching that woman lip sync every week to it is going to get boring very quickly.

[HarmonicGenerator]

I only watched the highlight video of his match on WWE.com but this is my first time seeing him and he looked a bit boring to me. Boring black trunks, shaved head and a bit of beard. Seen it before. Judging purely on appearance there was nothing that made him stand out to me. Even if his trunks had been red or something it’d have been a little bit different, but he just looked like a Create A Wrestler before you start changing them up. He’s got a decently defined act with the entrance and Scarlett but I’m already starting to forget what he looked like.

Edited May 7, 2020 by HarmonicGenerator

[Supremo]

Yeah, I thought the Kross/Scarlett thing was terrible. From what little of them I’ve seen, between the look and the charisma, there’s definitely something there. This wasn’t it though. It was typical of modern-day NXT, going through the system and coming out the other end all wanky, melodramatic and over-rehearsed.

I can’t put my finger on it. Has it always been this bad but everyone was more forgiving without a proper alternative? Or has it seriously gone downhill? Is it the lack of crowds?

All I can think watching things like this is how far away it is from someone like Sammy Guevara. It’s like a completely different dimension. One flick of the channel and you get a genuine breakout star, acting like a real character, constantly doing fun, dumb stuff that surprises you and makes you laugh. If Guevara was in NXT he’d be doing and saying the exact same shit every week, none of which would even come close to connecting.

Can’t someone just give Shawn Michaels a copy of EWR to keep him busy and out of the way?

[Snitsky's back acne]

Nah, sorry but that entrance was cool as fuck. 
Again, shame it wasn't in front of a crowd but the fact it wasn't yet still came across well is credit to everyone.
I have to echo what has been said - both Kross and Scarlett are money but for Gods sake keep them as far away from Vince as possible.

[Supremo]

Badly lip syncing the entire entrance is something fans would absolutely mock Vince for if someone did it on the main roster. It’s dreadful and the proof will come when they abandon it in less than three months.

The days of, “good until promoted to the main roster,” and, “don’t let Vince see them!” are long gone. I mean, fucking hell, what could he do with Gargano on the main roster that’d be worse than the shit he’s currently up to?!

[Loki]

I was also underwhelmed by Kross, he just looked very generic (although big), and I was confused by the constant references to a supernatural element from the announcers when there was no evidence of that.   Scarlett is fit as, but WWE isn't exactly short of attractive women.

Someone mentioned Natural Born Killers - didn't get that vibe at all, but that sounds like a much better direction for them.

Women's Championship match was a bit of a cop out.  Kushida was his normal boring self.  Ditto Gargano.

Grimes v Balor interest me -  I really like Grimes, he feels like an actual interesting character.  They both have the same finisher though, which'll be interesting.

Velveteen Dream continues to look like a genuine star.  Slightly short match though, I guess they're holding out for audiences to come back before they do a proper definitive match between them.