The NXT Discussion Thread

[JLM]

It's no their fault, he was originally going to be Dr. Bron Breaker DMD but fucking AEW ruined it. I also got massive Mojo Rawley vibes from him and was instantly turned off.

Cautiously happy with NXT 2.0. Don't get me wrong, the last days of the previous NXT were not a patch on the show that kept my wrestling flame alive for several years running, but I was a bit worried that some of the good stuff that was still ticking over would be completely scrapped. I enjoyed the last Take Over and I've been interested in some of the fall out from it in the subsequent episodes. I really like how they'd built Carter and Catanzaro, for instance, with the most simple booking. Got beaten up, improved, got better at being a team, started winning, kept winning, got a title shot, looked credible against an extremely strong team etc. I enjoyed the six man tag quite a lot. Glad to see they're still behind Hit Row also. Glad to see Grizzled Young Vets appear too as I'm a huge fan of theirs and think they slot into this new style just as well as they would in a more indy-wank setting. 

Be fascinating to see who makes the cut and what gets dropped over the coming months. Like the whole Tian Sha thing. I think it's been good for Xia Li, Boa is as dull as he ever was, Mei Ying I honestly could not tell you if Vince would love it or not. It's nonsense but is it the right flavour of nonsense. I will miss their theme song if they get dropped. 

 

Some of the main roster-y over-production was grating. Definitely too many cuts, bloody hell.

I liked the older NXT feel of new guys popping up and little vignettes for green newbies trying out their personas. Watching that stuff grow has always been my favourite thing about NXT and it keeps things nice and fresh. 

Glad they're keeping Diamond Mine going. Been a shaky start and that Rust guy was a proper turd, but Bivens is money and I think it's a great jumping off point for any green hosses you may want to develop. The Creed brothers are hysterical and I love them. We all know that jobbers are the worst living humans and deserve extreme contempt, but a lot of modern wrestlers seem to have forgotten this. I think they're a better Steiners tribute act than Ronnie Barker or whatever his name is.

Bit surprised they went with Ciampa. Lot of folks thinking LA Knight was more in line with the new vibe. I think Ciampa's a good shout though, I think he can elevate his challengers more than Knight, and I quite like having a grumpy old man at the top of the pile for all he hungry young gunners to aim for.

Surprised to see comments about Von Wagner having a good look. He's in tremendous shape obviously but I think he has quite an unfortunate face/head/hairline situation going on. 

I stupidly went on Facebook this morning and had the title match spoiled, so that killed it a bit for me. Was selfishly glad it was quite short. Fun match anyway and, again, I like Ciampa as the champ for now. Also pleased for him as, aside from the overly wanky feud with Gargano, I've enjoyed everything he's done in NXT and think he deserves another run. 

The wedding was spectacular. It's a testament to how entertaining Gargano and The Way have been that I popped for Austin Theory coming back earlier in the show as it wouldn't have been right to do this without him. Right from the start I loved that Ikemen Jiro was the only one in his ring gear because he wears a jacket anyway. Superb. Him and Austin Theory apparently being good friends was both entirely preposterous yet completely believable. Thoroughly well earned reaction for Lumis speaking. The slowest of burns. Better than all of Cole and O'Reilly's near falls. 

Lastly, yeah, poor Kyle. I do like him. I think he's very good when utilised correctly but he has never been a good fit for WWE and I hope he leaves. I think he can be likeable, but the more he tries to appeal to the audience the less likeable he is, as epitomised by his festival wanker singles run persona. He's a good cocky heel, he's a good fiery underdog and he is extremely capable in the ring. I think there's a place for him somewhere but I don't think this is it. 

Thumbs up overall for the show, was better than I expected it to be. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 15, 2021 by JLM

[RIDDUM_N_STYLE]

I said it on another group and I'll say  it here, InDex = greatest wrestling wedding ever

[Hannibal Scorch]

Didn’t like the new intro so I improved it 

 

[BomberPat]

I assume it'll change over time, but that intro has no footage of wrestling or wrestlers in it. The brand's the draw, brother.

[Your Fight Site]

1 hour ago, BomberPat said:

I assume it'll change over time, but that intro has no footage of wrestling or wrestlers in it. The brand's the draw, brother.

I imagine it’ll get updated in the coming weeks once a few episodes are in the can. Just don’t think they wanted black and gold, “NXT 1.0” footage in their “NXT 2.0” opening.

[Hannibal Scorch]

1 hour ago, Your Fight Site said:

I imagine it’ll get updated in the coming weeks once a few episodes are in the can. Just don’t think they wanted black and gold, “NXT 1.0” footage in their “NXT 2.0” opening.

They’ll be updating the intro more then AEW do with the way they go through their roster

[The King of Old School]

Love the new look arena, that's what I hoped the AEW dark arena was going to look like.

[Hannibal Scorch]

8 hours ago, The King of Old School said:

Love the new look arena, that's what I hoped the AEW dark arena was going to look like.

Just finished watching it, I think the arena looks awful. Like I’m watching Progress rather then the worlds biggest wrestling company.

 

That said, also think the DarkZone looks awful as well

[The King of Old School]

12 hours ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

Just finished watching it, I think the arena looks awful. Like I’m watching Progress rather then the worlds biggest wrestling company.

 

That said, also think the DarkZone looks awful as well

I think the arena is a good throwback to the old WCW B shows in the 90's.

NXT is developmental, doesn't need to be produced the same as Raw and Smackdown.

[DavidB6937]

It's obvious that's what they're aiming for. They haven't relaunched it so that it can be the same as the main roster stuff. It's a new direction.

[theringmaster]

A so so episode, saved by a decent main event.

I'm not a massive fan of Diamond Mine but its good to see them sticking with them, kinda feels like the title change should have happened on the big debut episode though?

Two women squash matches were meh, Lopez feels like she has huge star potential.

Grimes  v Gacy did nothing for me.

Toxic Attraction promo was a decent 'What we are about promo' but Christ, STOP SWAYING! Genuinely felt sea sick by the end of the promo. 

Good tv main and a nice little 'new main event scene' match.

 

A week of set ups really, which makes for great headlines on twitter but not the most entertaining watch

[DavidB6937]

39 minutes ago, theringmaster said:

I'm not a massive fan of Diamond Mine but its good to see them sticking with them, kinda feels like the title change should have happened on the big debut episode though?

They already had the NXT title match. There was no need to do everything on that show. Makes perfect sense to have something else to bring people in the following week.

[theringmaster]

Just now, DavidB6937 said:

They already had the NXT title match. There was no need to do everything on that show. Makes perfect sense to have something else to bring people in the following week.

Good point, forgot bout that

[Nick James]

Unpopular opinion it seems, but Bron Breakker (double K aside) is a better name than Rex Steiner. 

[Lenin]

Bron Breakker looks and sounds the business but he's still very rough round the edges in the ring. Interested to see what happens with this new NXT format. The colours, the wrap around audience and the quick pushing of new faces has really highlighted how poor and stale the previous iteration was. It'll get nowhere near SD or Dynamite in terms of quality but it's different and fairly watchable.