The NXT Discussion Thread

[RedTwoster]

10 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

As for TNA, they have had some NXT talent come down (though a collection of people you’d never heard of as they are hardly on TV). They sold 4000 ish tickets for Slammiversary (but tickets started at $10 Canadian) and their TV ratings have continued downwards so it feels very one sided. AEW got a lot of stick when they worked with Impact, but at least they sent AEW champion Kenny Omega and they saw a decent spike in both TV ratings and PPV buys.

 

To be fair, TNA may be perfectly happy with that. It's free advertising for their talent - and you could easily make the case for this being equally helpful. Yes, AEW sent over Omega and Christian - but the only Impact talents they gave exposure to were Gallows and Anderson; and they barely acknowledged where they came from in the first place. 

In the case of the NXT, they're giving top TNA talents a chance to shine on a bigger stage - you could think of it as being like a demo of a video game. 'If you like what you see, come over to watch TNA Impact for more of where that came from'. I think there are/were benefits to both partnerships. 

[DavidB6937]

Yeah the Omega thing really wasn't a case of a real working relationship between AEW and Impact so let's not get that excited about that. It really didn't do much for anyone in the long run.

The NXT/TNA stuff seems to be something with a longer vision. Sure, TNA hasn't exactly had big names from NXT but it's allowed some NXT talent to get exposure and experience where they haven't necessarily had it before.

And if the working relationship continues, there's nothing to say that bigger names won't be involved on both sides. But the bigger the names are, arguably the more complicated the booking gets.

I'd say the Rascalz stuff has actually been the most enjoyable.

[Supremo]

Joe Hendry made me watch my first NXT pay per view in forever, so there’s that, at least. Capitalising on him going viral will likely bring new eyeballs to the the product.

I thought he looked okay. There was almost a Butlins charm to how basic the main event was. Genuinely refreshing just having lads hitting the basics rather than trying to be the Superworker everyone else is, across all brand and companies.

Seems the TNA deal also allows them to have their cake and eat it with Zachary Wentz, too. Sack him for the Nazi stuff, but unofficially bring him back as a guest from another company. Fair play. Smart.

It was a fine, passable show. I laughed at Ridge Holland staring at his hands after turning heel. NXT will always NXT. Also funny to see HBK still turning every female on his roster into a spooky goth. Man certainly isn’t subtle with his tastes.

Biggest headline coming out of the show is Giulia. I’d never seen her before, but fucking hell. That’s some look and aura! Reminded me of when Nakamura came in, like he’d come from a different dimension. Instant superstar. 

[Hannibal Scorch]

22 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said:

Yeah the Omega thing really wasn't a case of a real working relationship between AEW and Impact so let's not get that excited about that. It really didn't do much for anyone in the long run.

Except increased TV ratings, increased their PPV buys. Hear it from the main man himself.

Plus it got the Good Brothers off of Impacts wage bill and back to WWE. Win Win.

 

[BomberPat]

yeah, I don't think there's a fair comparison to be made between AEW at their hottest sending their World Champion to TNA, the shock of the initial Don Callis/Omega alliance saying they'd show up on Impact, getting the TNA World Title on AEW TV, and allowing Christian Cage, one of the most fondly remembered stars in TNA history, back in TNA, and the measurable difference that made to TNA's business during a pandemic, and WWE sending them Joe Dempsey and Wolfgang in return for trying to piggyback on TNA's most viral act without having to do the work to get him over themselves. Has TNA business improved since booking NXT talent, or their talent getting more "exposure" on NXT? 

The slightly revisionist history of the AEW/Impact relationship seems to boil down to how it just petered out, more than a fair assessment of how what collaborations did exist actually benefited both companies. It reminds me of Konnan complaining about CMLL getting a better deal out of working with AEW than AAA did, and claiming that AEW never sent AAA "any real stars", as if they didn't let AAA use Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, FTR and the Young Bucks multiple times.

 

I can see the appeal from WWE's perspective - the more generous reading is that it allows some of their wrestlers to get the kind of varied in-ring experience against different opponents and in different environments than just working the same venue every week does, while the more cynical interpretation is that it's exactly the same as every other working relationship with WWE; starts out promising, and very quickly becomes apparent that it's WWE treating the "partner" as a shop window to see who they want, and signing the best of them to exclusive deals. We haven't got to that point yet, but come some TNA contracts coming up, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised.

[LaGoosh]

35 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said:

The NXT/TNA stuff seems to be something with a longer vision

The vision is pretty much:

- NXT sends them their scrubs for TV time and experience.

- NXT long term steals TNA's best prospects. 

- NXT gets first dibs on talent before AEW.

[DavidB6937]

1 minute ago, LaGoosh said:

The vision is pretty much:

- NXT sends them their scrubs for TV time and experience.

- NXT long term steals TNA's best prospects. 

- NXT gets first dibs on talent before AEW.

Probably. I mean obviously they wouldn't be doing it unless there was anything in it for them.

But in amongst all that, it'd be nice to see more competitive stuff like the Lee/Wentz storyline which feels more of an even playing field. Hopefully we'll get some more actual feuds involving the bigger talent. I don't know if they'd go as far as a Worlds Collide show or something but that'd be a nice way to round things off at some point.

[Hannibal Scorch]

1 minute ago, DavidB6937 said:

Probably. I mean obviously they wouldn't be doing it unless there was anything in it for them.

 

[RedTwoster]

I mean, no one is forcing TNA to enter into this partnership, and they can always end it if they feel like WWE isn't holding up its end of the bargain. 

But ultimately, if it's about stealing hot prospects, WWE is teaming up with the wrong company. Outside of the women's roster, TNA isn't exactly blessed with a high potential roster. They make the most of what they have, and have done for the longest time. 

There are very, very few male wrestlers that I could imagine AEW pursuing - maybe Chris Bey and Mike Bailey; but ultimately, it's not a very exciting roster; and while it's obviously not a negative for WWE; I think it would be a stretch to call it advantageous to them, or a disadvantage to AEW. It's just a thing that happens to exist. 

[JLM]

Yep, Giulia is a megastar. She got a monster push in Stardom because of the incredible look and her physical charisma, but initially there were some complaints that her ring work didn’t match up. She has since brought that up to an incredibly high standard as well *and* has been working on her English. Very excited to see how she does, she is a world class talent who has pretty much everything. 

[DavidB6937]

18 minutes ago, JLM said:

Yep, Giulia is a megastar. She got a monster push in Stardom because of the incredible look and her physical charisma, but initially there were some complaints that her ring work didn’t match up. She has since brought that up to an incredibly high standard as well *and* has been working on her English. Very excited to see how she does, she is a world class talent who has pretty much everything. 

I've seen a few clips and I can see her translating pretty well, especially now. Definitely got a good charisma there.

Who's the better prospect out of her and Stephanie Vaquer do we think? I'm not too clued up on her to be honest.

[Nick James]

Fucking hell, feels like the forum was down forever, but not to worry, the same circular arguments between the same posters continues on. 

In other news, Giulia is bloody gorgeous. Don't know much about her at all outside of the twitter clips, but I certainly hope she does well. 

Oba Femi is the man, just an absolute beast in every sense and I genuinely don't want to see him lose for a long time. 

[RedTwoster]

41 minutes ago, Nick James said:

Oba Femi is the man, just an absolute beast in every sense and I genuinely don't want to see him lose for a long time. 

He's very good - but I'd also say Tony D'Angelo has been impressive from day one. I absolutely hate his gimmick, but he's one reinvention away from being someone who can make a big impact on the main roster. 

NXT is a strange place, in that it seems to be the domain in which Vince McMahon's ideas live on. There are some wild gimmicks on that show that I just couldn't imagine existing on the main roster these days. 

[Hannibal Scorch]

9 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

He's very good - but I'd also say Tony D'Angelo has been impressive from day one. I absolutely hate his gimmick, but he's one reinvention away from being someone who can make a big impact on the main roster. 

NXT is a strange place, in that it seems to be the domain in which Vince McMahon's ideas live on. There are some wild gimmicks on that show that I just couldn't imagine existing on the main roster these days. 

Haven’t seen loads of him, but D’Angelo’s gimmick seems like it was rejected in 1995, he deserves better as his in ring stuff is really good. I also hate Andre Chases ring gear. I know it’s different and fits the character but I just hate how it looks.

[DavidB6937]

1 hour ago, Nick James said:

Fucking hell, feels like the forum was down forever, but not to worry, the same circular arguments between the same posters continues on. 

I haven't really seen much discussion on here about the NXT/TNA relationship to be honest. If everyone was arguing about ratings or something then fair enough.

 

26 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

He's very good - but I'd also say Tony D'Angelo has been impressive from day one. I absolutely hate his gimmick, but he's one reinvention away from being someone who can make a big impact on the main roster. 

NXT is a strange place, in that it seems to be the domain in which Vince McMahon's ideas live on. There are some wild gimmicks on that show that I just couldn't imagine existing on the main roster these days. 

 

15 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

Haven’t seen loads of him, but D’Angelo’s gimmick seems like it was rejected in 1995, he deserves better as his in ring stuff is really good. I also hate Andre Chases ring gear. I know it’s different and fits the character but I just hate how it looks.

See it's actually why I like NXT. I get that a lot of it probably wouldn't work on the main roster - and you could argue that that should be the whole point of it - but I like that they have a lot of clearly defined characters and quite the variety. It does remind me of the wrestling I watched when I was younger, for better or worse. And I think the best ones will make it regardless.

The call ups to the main roster are always difficult regardless of what their characters are because there's very little support in the transition. It's all too often "here's this person!" and then they get forgotten about.