Loki Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 Dempsey's an odd one - he looks like a heavy from Get Carter, has a completely different style to everyone else in NXT, and feels a bit awkward at times. BUT he's a big tough looking boy and has obvious upside. "WoS" as a gimmick worked for his dad in WCW, and it'll work for him in NXT but it's not strong enough for the main roster so eventually he'll need to find something. The Nathan Frazer vignette was good (maybe the first time I've ever heard him speak, didn't even realise he was English). But it doesn't say "wrestler" to me. Let's see where it goes. Generally though, it's been a while since I've seen any NXT and it appears to have turned into NXT UK from 5 years ago. Noam Dar of all people! I'm really not a fan of Gallus, Gacy, Tyle Bate, Alba Fyre et al so there's a lot of skippable stuff on the show atm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Statto Posted April 19, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted April 19, 2023 (edited) Echo the love for the show opening with them cutting into a recap vignette to an ongoing brawl. Precisely the kind of stuff wrestling needs more of to feel less contrived. Edited April 19, 2023 by Statto Typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Fatty Facesitter Posted April 19, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted April 19, 2023 1 hour ago, Loki said: Dempsey's an odd one - he looks like a heavy from Get Carter, has a completely different style to everyone else in NXT, and feels a bit awkward at times. BUT he's a big tough looking boy and has obvious upside. "WoS" as a gimmick worked for his dad in WCW, and it'll work for him in NXT but it's not strong enough for the main roster so eventually he'll need to find something. Agree to an extent - I think it's definitely a huge contrast, but I quite like how unpolished an awkward his work sometimes is - it actually strikes me as being deliberately presented like that as opposed to him being green. He wrestles/fights like he's in an actual scrap, or like some sort of MMA duel, or essentially how would try and wrestle/fight someone in a dojo, the streets, etc. I also think that unlike his dad working in WCW, there's a bigger generational gap now between the WOS era and the modern era - so the scale of the contrast is almost much bigger, and that too isn't necessarily a bad thing because of how unique it is. With Gulak in tow with him on-screen and his dad back behind the scenes, I think this is a big year for him where they can really flesh out the character element and perhaps fine-tune some of those other elements. Watch this space. 1 hour ago, Loki said: The Nathan Frazer vignette was good (maybe the first time I've ever heard him speak, didn't even realise he was English). But it doesn't say "wrestler" to me. Let's see where it goes. He had an absolute banger last week with Dragon Lee and he's always good for fireworks in his matches in NXT so far - the fact his vignette was so good that he perhaps came across as more of a host/announcer/presenter I think is actually a great thing long-term - once you start to build this character alongside the brilliant matches he can have, they're onto a real winner here. 1 hour ago, Loki said: Generally though, it's been a while since I've seen any NXT and it appears to have turned into NXT UK from 5 years ago. Noam Dar of all people! I'm really not a fan of Gallus, Gacy, Tyle Bate, Alba Fyre et al so there's a lot of skippable stuff on the show atm. I think that does this week's show a bit of a disservice. Gallus aren't anything to crow about from a character perspective but they tore it up this week. Gacy, Tyler Bate and Alba Fyre weren't on the show this week. There will always be bits to skip but I thought they knocked it out of the park this week. I also think the UK 'callups' - if that's the right term - have seriously helped to elevate the winder in-ring product. In the early 2.0 days the standard was pretty low among the new recruits, but I think the UK call-ups have helped not just the quality of the in-ring product of the show overall, but it's been massively beneficial for some of those early 2.0 call ups to improve alongside them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 In as much as the skillsets of the UK guys are helping improve the greenhorns, yes I think that's true. However a lot of them (in my opinion) just aren't really good enough for WWE TV in other areas, and given how long most of them have been at this, they're unlikely to improve. I don't mind slightly rough matches and un-formed wrestling, that's what I expect from developmental. What I like less is boring characters, and a lot of the NXT UK crew are pretty skippable imo. The brawl was great, but the match was a load of wrestlers who I don't care about. And that now includes the former Grizzled Young Vets who had a great thing going and are now subsumed in the shite that is Gacy. On the upside, the women's division generally is banging. Tiffany Stratton, Zoey Stark, Nikkita Lyons and Sol Ruca are an explosive combination for a division and it could be a new Horsewomen era as they develop - and they have lots of good talent to develop alongside. AEW take note. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane O' Mac Version 2 Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 3 minutes ago, Loki said: On the upside, the women's division generally is banging. Tiffany Stratton, Zoey Stark, Nikkita Lyons and Sol Ruca are an explosive combination for a division and it could be a new Horsewomen era as they develop - and they have lots of good talent to develop alongside. AEW take note. 3 out of the 4 I'm with you, but Nikkita Lyons? She has a great arse and owns the social media thing with the thirst traps, but I haven't been overly impressed by her otherwise. She's athletic, but I think she's already on her second knee injury since joining. And her promos are completely wooden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 She’s Nia Jax but not shit. The WWE have wanted a monster woman for ages, I think she’s perfect for that. I may be wrong of course, time will tell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Double post but... Brooks Jensen is Bull Buchanan's son! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Nick James Posted April 22, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted April 22, 2023 Just rewatched the Nathan Frazer segment as it popped up on Twitter and it was great again on a second time. Comes across as a natural, likeable and a star. More of this and the guy could go far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members FLips Posted April 22, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted April 22, 2023 5 minutes ago, Nick James said: Just rewatched the Nathan Frazer segment as it popped up on Twitter and it was great again on a second time. Comes across as a natural, likeable and a star. More of this and the guy could go far. State of that hairline though. Even for a wrestler that's bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted April 26, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted April 26, 2023 I’ve got a whole new appreciation for Komander. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Fatty Facesitter Posted April 26, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted April 26, 2023 👍 Carmelo Hayes/ Grayson Waller - I thought this was excellent. Some of the transitions in the early going were absolutely delicious and there were some great spots throughout. They seriously busted a gut between them and you could see how much they've grown as performers since this incarnation of NXT launched. Waller looked to have done himself a mischief at the end - hopefully nothing too serious. The only blemish on an otherwise brilliant match. Both chaps have bright futures. Couldn’t give a toss about the Bron beatdown post-match but it does at least begin the setup for the next PPV nice and early. 👍 Trunk match - A fun way to start the night and they made good use of some of the spring-themed paraphernalia around the set. The trunk match theme was at least somewhat unique. However, the show-closing cinematic segment can get in the bin. NXT’s ‘acting’ is really, really tiresome. 👍 Drew Gulak sighting. 👍 Joe Gacy - “It’s just me, Joe” 👎 Women’s title triple threat - Absolutely terrible from start to finish and one of the worst main events NXT have ever produced. The execution was abysmal from the very start with absolutely zero zest and featuring all the intensity of an ant passing wind. After the poor opening section, complete with the spot already highlighted by @Supremo, it completely fell apart with two more poorly-timed spots within moments of each other - Stratton does a double stomp on Perez right onto her bonce when she’s completely unprotected, then Stratton does a Swanton to the outside and Hartwell goes down with an ankle injury. This left Perez and Stratton completely exposed as the plan fell out of the window and they showed no acumen for improvisation. Perez then almost ends her own career by landing on her head from a top rope hurricanrana. No points for guts for Hartwell coming out at the end to finish the match - the damage had already been done. All three performers took a massive hit to their credibility here I’m afraid - developmental brand or not, there were so many basic elements of being a professional wrestler that were really, really poorly executed. All three have shown their capabilities previously so they clearly have the ability, but this match will haunt them for a goo while. It’s almost worth watching just to see how poor it really was. I’m normally quite a Positive Peter and I never like to be too harsh, especially with an injury involved, but this was quite worryingly bad to the point where I think all three performers could do taking a good look at themselves. Really, really poor and nowhere near up to standard for television. 👎 Cora Jade/Valkrye - Too long and without anything unique taking place. Jade does has potential with this heel character, but there was nothing standout here. 👎 Breakker/Chase - Nothing criminally bad but it was just too short to be anything of note. 👎 Briggs/Henley James/Jenson - Ran too long and had nothing groundbreaking. Fast forward to the end for plot development, otherwise you can skip the rest. 👎 Oba Femi/Oro Mensah - Ran too long and Oba Femi poses no unique qualities from any generic big man we’ve ever seen. 👎 Charlie Dempsey is the worst talker of all time. Regal, give your son a clip round the ear’ole and project some personality onto him. Overall - The NXT title match was excellent and the opening tag was fine. Otherwise the rest of the show was either entirely skippable or red reels rotten. A bizarre episode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theringmaster Posted April 26, 2023 Share Posted April 26, 2023 Think it's unfair to criticize Roxanne and Stratton, they were thrown into a tough spot as every dynamic of the match changed; going from 3 to 2, they had to call on the fly, listen to the ref and obviously in the back of their minds they had to be wondering what was the finish? Is Indi not coming back? I felt bad for Indi since this was obviously supposed to be her big showcase match as Champion and it was just 'there' with a botched ending. She could be one of those cases where a championship actually hinders her. Regardless of the botches and the flat feeling, Roxanne is still obviously the absolute future of the division though. Good show overall, NXT Title match was a blast and the Trunk match was fun. Pretty Deadly are a team i have just never 'got' but are actually really growing on me. Bron Breakker just needs to get gone imo, him in nxt just doesn't interest me anymore. Send him to Raw, he seems the sort of chap Vince will love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Fatty Facesitter Posted April 26, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted April 26, 2023 8 hours ago, theringmaster said: Think it's unfair to criticize Roxanne and Stratton, they were thrown into a tough spot as every dynamic of the match changed; going from 3 to 2, they had to call on the fly, listen to the ref and obviously in the back of their minds they had to be wondering what was the finish? Is Indi not coming back? I felt bad for Indi since this was obviously supposed to be her big showcase match as Champion and it was just 'there' with a botched ending. She could be one of those cases where a championship actually hinders her. Regardless of the botches and the flat feeling, Roxanne is still obviously the absolute future of the division though. Unfortunately it was so, so bad that nobody is exempt from criticism. It was bad before the unfortunate injury even took place. After the injury, when Perez did that hurricanrana/frankensteiner from the top rope she landed square on her head and neck. They strikes they were hitting each other with had absolutely no velocity whatsoever and they barely played to the crowd at all. I'm no expert and while I'm sympathetic to their plight, the execution of what they were able to do during that spell was of a really, really poor standard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted April 26, 2023 Share Posted April 26, 2023 Considering the hype around her I've found Perez pretty disappointing overall so far. I've been enjoying others on the roster far more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Bellenda Carlisle Posted April 29, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted April 29, 2023 On 4/26/2023 at 10:42 AM, theringmaster said: Regardless of the botches and the flat feeling, R̶o̶x̶a̶n̶n̶e̶ ̶ Tiffany is still obviously the absolute future of ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶v̶i̶s̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶ wrestling though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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