The NXT Discussion Thread

[Hannibal Scorch]

2 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Come on man, it's my day off, I don't wanna read this!

Come on Dev, a whole second hour* of Smackdown for an in ring Mox vs Kingston promo would be generational!

 

*minus the 10 minutes of entrances before they start.

[tiger_rick]

3 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Come on man, it's my day off, I don't wanna read this!

Exactly, it's the day Edward Kingstonian and Dean Ambrose turn up on Smackdown is going to be wild.

[BomberPat]

29 minutes ago, mim731 said:

That's quite a list of guys in front of him in the pecking order, and with TK's propensity for bringing in released/free agent ex-WWE talent I don't think he would have progressed too highly.  

I honestly think that Tony Khan bringing in ex-WWE talent is overstated - yes, he's brought in a lot of people who used to work there, but rarely at the expense of the established roster unless there's a pretty strong argument for them warranting it (I don't think anyone complained about Bryan Danielson being heavily featured on the grounds of him being "ex-WWE").

But there was also a ridiculous amount of WWE talent released between 2019 and now. There are plenty of names that AEW could have brought in over that time and never did; they didn't sign EC3, No Way Jose, Lars Sullivan, Mojo Rawley, Braun Strowman, Karrion Kross, Top Dolla or Jaxson Ryker, for example. Of the ex-WWE guys they have signed, most of them have found their spot on the roster - the only one I would say really stands out now as a  "WWE guy" taking up space in the main event picture is Adam Copeland, but you can also completely justify why you would hire Adam Copeland when he became available. 

The main event picture over Ricky Starks' run has largely been Moxley, Danielson, Hangman, Swerve, Ospreay, MJF, Samoa Joe, and CM Punk, with occasional spots for The Young Bucks, Darby Allin, Orange Cassidy, Adam Cole, Jay White, or Christian Cage, and Kenny Omega. It's hard to argue that it's ex-WWE guys that are keeping Starks, or anyone else, from a top spot, really.

[mim731]

6 minutes ago, BomberPat said:

I honestly think that Tony Khan bringing in ex-WWE talent is overstated - yes, he's brought in a lot of people who used to work there, but rarely at the expense of the established roster unless there's a pretty strong argument for them warranting it (I don't think anyone complained about Bryan Danielson being heavily featured on the grounds of him being "ex-WWE").

But there was also a ridiculous amount of WWE talent released between 2019 and now. There are plenty of names that AEW could have brought in over that time and never did; they didn't sign EC3, No Way Jose, Lars Sullivan, Mojo Rawley, Braun Strowman, Karrion Kross, Top Dolla or Jaxson Ryker, for example. Of the ex-WWE guys they have signed, most of them have found their spot on the roster - the only one I would say really stands out now as a  "WWE guy" taking up space in the main event picture is Adam Copeland, but you can also completely justify why you would hire Adam Copeland when he became available. 

The main event picture over Ricky Starks' run has largely been Moxley, Danielson, Hangman, Swerve, Ospreay, MJF, Samoa Joe, and CM Punk, with occasional spots for The Young Bucks, Darby Allin, Orange Cassidy, Adam Cole, Jay White, or Christian Cage, and Kenny Omega. It's hard to argue that it's ex-WWE guys that are keeping Starks, or anyone else, from a top spot, really.

I should probably have clarified, I meant that as a contributing factor rather than solely the issue. The sheer number of bodies on the AEW roster, including the people you have mentioned (but also at times there was Malakai Black, Miro, Andrade and others) made it hard for a time for anyone to ascend to main event status because there would have been a long line of people in front of you. In many of those cases it will also have been justified. I'm not suggesting AEW is doing a mid 00s TNA and bringing in people just because they were ex-WWE. More so that it was a pretty bloated roster at points. 

[Chili]

He'll do alright for himself will Starks so long as he doesn't trip over himself. I really enjoy him on the mic, got a great delivery and poise to him. Really enjoyed that clip. Look, Ricky Starks fell into the Jericho Vortex and came out of it positively, so he's capable of a lot of promise, probably the IC/US whatever that actual big mid-card title is.

Hope he and LA Knight do the double Doink at some point.

[Infinity Land]

Take a look at Daniel Garcia. Similar height and build. Garcia edges the wrestling style that TK likes, Starks edges the mic skills that can make someone a star without actually wrestling.

Garcia has TK's backing but it amounts to being a mid-tier champion that most fans struggle to remember even exists.

Maybe when Jericho retires in 10 years it will leave some tv time for others to talk. Otherwise with few exceptions, all anyone can do is shut and wrestle in AEW.

[BomberPat]

Just now, Infinity Land said:

Maybe when Jericho retires in 10 years it will leave some tv time for others to talk. Otherwise with few exceptions, all anyone can do is shut and wrestle in AEW.

Jericho gets a couple of minutes' promo time tops most weeks. Last week's Dynamite had promo segments for Jay White, Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay, the Hurt Syndicate and the Gunns, Hangman Page, Mercedes Moné and Harley Cameron, MJF and Dustin Rhodes. Collision had promos from Jon Moxley, Max Caster, FTR, Powerhouse Hobbs, Megan Bayne, Harley Cameron and Mercedes Moné, Ricochet, and Buddy Matthews and Okada. 

There is a lot to criticise AEW for but "nobody gets mic time, they just wrestle" is demonstrably not true. 

[DavidB6937]

10 minutes ago, Infinity Land said:

Maybe when Jericho retires in 10 years it will leave some tv time for others to talk. Otherwise with few exceptions, all anyone can do is shut and wrestle in AEW.

What? Look at some of their top stuff..

Hangman's success over the years has been character driven and on the mic. Same with a guy like Swerve.

You've got something like Toni and Mariah which is massively storyline driven and absolutely not based in matches.

Harley's rise is all down to her promos and skits etc.

Even a guy like Ospreay - someone who you could've easily seen as a "shut up and wrestle" guy - has absolutely excelled on the mic in ways no one even imagined.

You really shouldn't be drinking this early.

[gmoney]

Starks' 4-5 week storyline on Collision (back when Collision was good) with Punk was great, and showed me he could hang and not look out of place in main events. I'm quietly excited about this move, though obviously I'm not watching NXT. 

[TheScarlettChad]

Will he bring his Rock cosplay with him? He looked so second rate dressed in that clobber 

[LaGoosh]

58 minutes ago, Infinity Land said:

Take a look at Daniel Garcia. Similar height and build. Garcia edges the wrestling style that TK likes, Starks edges the mic skills that can make someone a star without actually wrestling.

Garcia is a better promo than Starks to be fair. He's great! He's better than most people. 

[TildeGuy~!]

I’m happy he didn’t go straight into a program with Oba Femi, would have looked the least threatening a challenger has ever looked.

Edited February 12, 2025 by TildeGuy~!

[Hannibal Scorch]

1 hour ago, gmoney said:

Starks' 4-5 week storyline on Collision (back when Collision was good) 

Collision is probably the best AEW show right now. The last 2 episodes were full of bangers and decent segments.

[digforvictory]

The most recent Collision was particularly great, easily the best wrestling show of that week.

Starks will do well in NXT, still not sure he'll get to the main event on the main roster but if not there's nothing wrong with being a good over midcarder.  I think he's well suited to the WWE.

It's great having two major companies where wrestlers can go to. Look at how much better Ricochet is in AEW, if WWE were still the only game in town he'd probably still be bland boring babyface Ricochet. Hope we have many more years of people going back and forth. 

[TildeGuy~!]

Tried watching Vengeance Day last night but turned off after the tag match.

Booker T makes these shows unwatchable for me.