In 2012, if you told me that the top stars in WWE's developmental program would consist of Prince Devitt, KENTA, Kevin Steen, El Generico and PAC I would have scoffed at your ludicrous fantasies and wouldn't think twice. Yet even in 2012, there was still a strong presence of talents that honed their craft on the independent scene. There was a time in WWE when signing independent talents was a ill thought notion; the signing of CM Punk in 2005 may have generated an excited buzz of chatter amongst hardcore fans but our expectations fell when we deciphered that he was only there for the sake of it, with no grand plan or momentum. Fast forward a few years later and the best talent that WWE has includes Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Cesaro, Paige etc. Don't get me wrong, having an extensive resume from the independent circuit doesn't automatically qualify you for a successful career in WWE, just ask Chris Hero. However, it's nice to see WWE acknowledging that it's good to consider individuals who have gained valuable experience around the globe beforehand. Now, we've all had our rants and tirades on how WWE doesn't push the right people on their main brand but underneath all of the unfocused, myopic mess is a sound developmental brand that stands by old school philosophies and has drawn the attention of not only fans but many veterans such as Edge, Paul Heyman and Mick Foley.
NXT celebrated their fifth Take Over special titled "Rival" or as Triple H probably wants to call it: "We're really, really, really sorry about the Royal Rumble". I was not a follower in the movement to cancel my WWE Network subscription because the entertainment value of NXT is more than worth the price of admission. While only lasting two thirds the length of a standard WWE Pay Per View, Rival still managed to gather a lot of hype from it's exciting card and managed to knock it out park, which is now the standard for the Florida based brand. The opening match saw Tyler Breeze and Hideo Itami square off in a bout that debuted Breeze's newest prop, the selfie stick. WWE has a habit of throwing last minute matches to pad out their cards but NXT still manages to make their last minute matches make sense, which is more than WWE's answer that is nothing more than "becauselol". The match did a good job of showcasing the strengths of both men, as I feel that both of them are in need of a strong program at the moment. Breeze's methodical psychology was highlighted as he targeted Itami's legs which are largely seen as the puro star's main asset. This only made Itami look even more badass when he was able to suffer through the pain and kick the holy hell out of Prince Pretty. We seem to be getting a clearer idea of whoever Breeze's stalker is, who appeared to be some random blonde lady that managed to hop over the guard rail. Itami is looking more and more comfortable in working the WWE style now, which was also evidenced in his great match with Finn Balor a week prior. Hopefully both men will get a little more TV time in the future because this match was a very exciting way to start off the show.
We've all heard how fantastic NXT usually is but it's obvious that nothing is perfect. The two matches that followed Itami/Breeze clearly showed a dip in quality and while they weren't exactly bad, it's clear that certain individuals need a bit more work. The NXT Tag Team Championships were put on the line as the reigning champions Blake and Murphy wrestled the Lucha Dragons. Blake and Murphy are a team that haven't impressed me so far and their recent victory in gaining the titles did little to enthral me. They remind me of a team stuck in the early 90's: "We're not going to be held down by your rules, man! Xtreme to the end! Don't be a narc! Check out our matching tights and long hair, we're just too cool for school." I can't help but think of the time Chris Jericho and Lance Storm teamed in Smoky Mountain Wrestling as the Thrillseekers and somehow creative thought it would be a good idea to steal that gimmick. I know I'm being facetious but I was actually hoping that the duo could flip my opinion around and make me a fan - that certainly did not happen. What did happen was some awkward botching and noticeable miscommunication as Corey Graves tried to pass it off as "Ring Awareness". I've been supportive of Hunico stepping in to replace Sin Cara after Mistico's less than stellar run but watching him mess things up more than once was hard to ignore. Not only that but even Kallisto was off his game which was an unusual sight. After the botches, I felt that Murphy and Blake still didn't shine all that much in the end due to most of the heavy lifting being done by the Lucha Dragons. I enjoy the frogsplash being utilized as a finisher once again but I'm still left unconvinced. Blake and Murphy are still finding their feet and have trouble standing out amongst much more charismatic tag teams such as the Vaudevillains and Amore/Cassidy.
Baron Corbin and Bull Dempsey was another match that was nothing to write home about. The gimmick that these two men possess are actually quite intriguing; one is a lone wolf who sees other people as nothing but obstacles in his path while the other is an old school brawler who refuses to adapt to modern, photogenic aesthetics. The only problem concerning Bull Dempsey is that his old school brawler persona has been usurped by the vastly superior Kevin Owens. It appears that the bookers might not be interested in Bull anymore as he was booked to look like a chump throughout this entire feud. Baron Corbin is still trying to find out what works for him but it might benefit him to work with smaller guys like Breeze or Balor to emphasize his stature. Both men wrestled in an extremely underwhelming No DQ match that hardly took advantage of the stipulation. This feud has come to a whimpering conclusion and it will be satisfying to see these two move onto better storylines. Concerning these two matches, I understand that NXT is still a developmental system, so I'm aware that these guys are still discovering their characters and what works for them. These were hardly bad matches but were clearly outmatched by the three matches that follow.
The finals of the Number One Contender's Tournament met a climatic finish, as County Wicklow's Finn Balor took on Newcastle's Adrian Neville. It's amazing to see how easily Balor has settled into WWE programming and his presence and work rate are reasons enough to solidify him as a promising top star for years to come. The story of the match didn't have much build up to it and relied more on the encounter itself; Balor's intimidating war paint was brought out once again to throw Neville off his game, while Neville tried to avoid falling prey to mind games. While the match started off slow, it quickly built up to an exciting battle that included many near falls and false finishes. These close calls were frequent enough to generate heart pumping excitement without crossing into the "overkill territory" which a lot of indy promotions fail to grasp the concept of. Balor has a ton of momentum and will most likely be main eventing come the next special which is well deserved.
Keeping the lively atmosphere going was the Fatal Four Way for the Women's Championship. I've always been a big supporter of women's wrestling but I've had to get my fix from other promotions such as SHIMMER Women's Athletes and Joshi Puroresu in Japan. NXT not only has a credible women's division but also gives them enough promo and ring time to get them over with the crowd and establish successful talent. Most multi-competitor matches such as Triple Threats and Fatal Four Ways have trouble making an impact. This can be due to the fact that there isn't much of a story other than "Hey, here's four dudes duking it out" as the actual matches tend to be 1 vs 1 encounters of various in ring combinations while the other two wait outside the ring, pretending to be hurt. This title match managed to fire on all cylinders as it boasted enough story elements to capture my interest: the friendship between Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch leading to their inevitable clash, Bayley's new found killer instinct and Charlotte's eagerness to prove her worth as a fighting champion.
The match itself managed to rise above the standard pitfalls that usually plague the stipulation. Competitors didn't stay out of the ring for too long and were back in the action by the time you realized they were gone. This match also featured a lot of clever spots that were simply awesome to witness such as Sasha's double kneestomp in the corner, the Belly to Bayley off the top rope and the combo of suicide dives. Sadly, I felt that Becky Lynch wasn't able to get enough ring time, despite the Dublin lass being a very good in ring wrestler. She's mostly shackled to playing Sasha's BFF at the moment but she might be able to shine more in the future. Sasha was arguably the MVP of the match and is easily my favourite female wrestler in the WWE. It's admirable to see her humble start in NXT and gradually build on her "BOSS" persona which was blossomed into one of the most entertaining parts of the show. It was extremely fulfilling to see Sasha win her first championship, which she has thoroughly deserved. Here's to a good reign, Miss Banks, and I have no doubt that we'll be seeing more fantastic women's wrestling from NXT in the future.
Despite only wrestling two matches within two months in NXT, Owens has been firmly established as the show's newest monster. I hate to keep doing this but I can't help but compare this moment to WWE's past mistakes. In 2009, Sheamus won the WWE championship despite only being present on the main brand for a few months. This drew a lot of criticism from fans and only hurt the poor fella in the long run. Sheamus' win against John Cena looked like a complete fluke, so his victory was completely meaningless as they continued to book him like a chump. In 2012, Brock Lesnar returned to the WWE, standing as a harrowing figure from John Cena's past. In his first match since coming back, he completely dominated Cena for the entire match....until Cena won out of nowhere. This also caused a vocal uproar because it made no fucking sense and marred Lesnar's monster persona.
NXT has upstaged WWE by successfully pulling off two similar finishes in one match; Kevin Owens won the match despite being new to the company and the way he won was by brutally pummelling the former champion into unconsciousness. The finish protects Zayn well as he refused to kick out of the onslaught of powerbombs he received while also highlighting Owen's image as a ruthless killer, willing to do anything to win the championship. One can only revel in the giddy anticipation that surrounds the inevitable Owens vs Balor match. It's nice to see wrestling done right and despite not having the biggest budget or the most screen time, NXT proves that it doesn't need any of that because they have their priorities straight. People have dismissed Triple H's creative vision as a one off that only appeals to internet smart marks but I fail to see what's so esoteric about NXT's strengths. If sensible booking, forward planning, logical character motivations, championship prestige and good in ring wrestling is for smart marks, then I might as well be the fattest, sweatiest, basement dwelling, neckbeard smart mark there is.
No comments:
Post a Comment