He main events against Nagata tonight, on a show that looks kind of light on paper. They have to follow the Ishii match, the only other important match on the show. I'm guessing they tear the house down.
I was thinking exactly the same thing after watching the special - its like they are fusing cutting edge wrestling with 1980s NWA style storylines to create what is pretty well a territory with a completely different offer to the main product.
Is anyone else wondering if the end game is no-longer to send everyone up to Raw/Smackdown? I'm beginning to think they are signing people to headline a territory with a weekly TV show, bi-monthly specials and houseshows at the weekend.
In the case of Kane, he doesn't need to be in in NXT. He doesn't need to be on Raw. He needs to be told he can retire and take a nice cushy road agent job and if he doesn't like that he can fuck off to TNA and finish out his career as Jake Glennobs or some shit. And take Giant Paul White white him.
I'm watching night 3 of 2014 BOLA, and realized something.
What I love about wrestling is that it makes me smile. When I'm watching a great match or great angle, I just get a shit-eating grin on my face that I rarely get for any other form of entertainment.
Right now, Candace Larae is one of the wrestlers that make me smile like that. She is SUCH the awesome underdog (like Generico/Zayn) that you can't help but cheer for her.
I would LOVE to see her in NXT or a theoretically revitalized TNA Knockouts division. I would HATE to see her in WWE Proper.
Kane seems like a really good guy and I have no problem with him continuing to have an onscreen WWE presence if all they have him do is stand in the back of Triple H or Seth Rollins promos and on occasion chokeslam a dude after a match and shoot fire.
Yeah, they have the indy-lovers who want to see the BEST TALENT (name a better babyface than Zayn) and WWE fans who want to see what the fuss is about.
Well, if we don't include houseshows why couldn't you have the guys only wrestle 2-3 times a month?
There's what, 60 full-time wrestlers WWE employs? If you have 8 matches a week and use jobbers, you could easily each guy only wrestle 3 times a month.
A small grip of mine with the NXT style, such as it is, is that there seems to be a chinlock in every match. Now, in Zayn/Owens it was aggressive and actually played into the finish, but otherwise pick a body part, y'know?
I think that's wise on Bryan's part, especially coming off a major injury. And something I appreciate about his wwe style is that he never resorts to a chinlock, he always works a proper hold.
Not everything needs to be sold like death. A stiff slap in the face is a stupid thing to sell. Ziggler or someone would do a stupid flip like he was hit by The Hulk. Idk. Maybe I just like Bret Hart style selling more than flippy whippy stupid Shawn Michaels pinball selling.
I was thinking the same thing. Different NXT regions could even have different styles. They could have an NXT civil war at some point, have 'dream matches' within their own developmental system.
Have each promotion with it's own international connections, let's say we keep NXT "Classic" in Orlando, and that's the one where the main-roster guys regularly come down to, it's the closest to Raw and Smackdown. It's where you play to the largest audience and make them camera ready.
Make a school in Calgary and have some Hart's or Lance Storm run it. Bring in Europeans and teach a very simple, old-school match-based submission style.
The California school can have Japanese guest talent and focus on strikes and high-spots. Classic junior heavyweight stuff. Maybe get Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe to teach.
The Texas school can bring in Luchas and teach them that style. The flippy, rolling, tricky stuff. Get Chavo to run it or something.
Different audiences, different styles, move the guys around so they learn the different stuff and basically create an artificial indy circuit that's backed up by WWE money. That way even if RoH goes belly-up and Mexico explodes into civil war and Japanese wrestling collapses again you can still get new Finn Balor's and Sami Zayn's.
I mean, I'd still probably have Classic NXT be the only one that gets a TV show, but maybe you could sell the developmental stuff to local stations or something?
Nakamura could probably relate to Reigns. I still remember when Nakamura was pushed to the moon with no personality. I thought he would be the death of NJPW.
But while Nakamura spent years travelling the world to find himself, Reigns will probably be stuck in the WWE bubble throughout his career, and thus will never figure things out for himself.
It made sense in the Neville/Balor match too b/c kayfabe Neville is stronger and Balor flies around so he wanted to wear him down and slow him down. Chinlocks are fine if there is a reason for them and not when guys are blow'd up.
HHH is in a tough spot ... he still has to make Vince happy but he absolutely understands how to make the product better. NXT shows that. They have been sticking with newer guys on the main roster like Rusev, Wyatt, Ambrose, and especially Rollins and Reigns. All those guys are NXT guys and, imo, HHH guys.
Flash is blocked at my job so I am going to presume the above video is:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7leMctSTMc
Nope, it was much more hammy.
ReplyDeleteAre we sure there are no lingering effects from those Hydrogen bombs we dropped on Japan?
ReplyDeleteIf Beau James was the man of 2014, then Shinsuke Nakamura is the man of 2015.
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna be pushing him down your throats so hard, Dock Muraco is going to say "Whoa, lay off the puroresu, zanatude"
He main events against Nagata tonight, on a show that looks kind of light on paper. They have to follow the Ishii match, the only other important match on the show. I'm guessing they tear the house down.
ReplyDeleteIs that live on the NJPW Network? I may have to spring for that now.
ReplyDeleteYup, and February is free, I believe. A charge goes on your card, but you get the money back if you cancel by the 27th.. Or something..
ReplyDeleteThat double main event looks pretty killer, and Tenzan is going for the NWA World Title, so there's that too..
I looked on the site after hearing reports of that, but couldn't find anything mentioning that on the site itself.
ReplyDeleteOh well, I don't mind paying for that anyway. When's bell time, 7pm?
1am Pacific / 4am Eastern
ReplyDeleteSo 6pm for me. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAnd 3am for me :(
ReplyDeleteWhen did we do that?
ReplyDeleteNXT feels like an ROH show just more refined and focused.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking exactly the same thing after watching the special - its like they are fusing cutting edge wrestling with 1980s NWA style storylines to create what is pretty well a territory with a completely different offer to the main product.
ReplyDeleteIs anyone else wondering if the end game is no-longer to send everyone up to Raw/Smackdown? I'm beginning to think they are signing people to headline a territory with a weekly TV show, bi-monthly specials and houseshows at the weekend.
I think they could easily sell out a reasonably sized venue in Chicago or New York (and London).
ReplyDeleteIn the case of Kane, he doesn't need to be in in NXT. He doesn't need to be on Raw. He needs to be told he can retire and take a nice cushy road agent job and if he doesn't like that he can fuck off to TNA and finish out his career as Jake Glennobs or some shit. And take Giant Paul White white him.
ReplyDeleteNeeds more Bob Sapp.
ReplyDeleteWith the addition of not having a bigot redneck piece of shit as their champ.
ReplyDeletePerfect ingredients for a very tasty wrestling cake
ReplyDeleteThreadjackish:
ReplyDeleteI'm watching night 3 of 2014 BOLA, and realized something.
What I love about wrestling is that it makes me smile. When I'm watching a great match or great angle, I just get a shit-eating grin on my face that I rarely get for any other form of entertainment.
Right now, Candace Larae is one of the wrestlers that make me smile like that. She is SUCH the awesome underdog (like Generico/Zayn) that you can't help but cheer for her.
I would LOVE to see her in NXT or a theoretically revitalized TNA Knockouts division. I would HATE to see her in WWE Proper.
Kane seems like a really good guy and I have no problem with him continuing to have an onscreen WWE presence if all they have him do is stand in the back of Triple H or Seth Rollins promos and on occasion chokeslam a dude after a match and shoot fire.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they have the indy-lovers who want to see the BEST TALENT (name a better babyface than Zayn) and WWE fans who want to see what the fuss is about.
ReplyDeleteThey could probably run Philly every month.
Less insultingly stupid than WWE, less exhausting to watch than NJPW (does every show have to be five hours long?) I think is what you meant.
ReplyDeleteNXT is going to save WWE.
ReplyDeleteWell, if we don't include houseshows why couldn't you have the guys only wrestle 2-3 times a month?
ReplyDeleteThere's what, 60 full-time wrestlers WWE employs? If you have 8 matches a week and use jobbers, you could easily each guy only wrestle 3 times a month.
Just do NXT except make it twice as long.
Do you think it'd be worth it to do like...NXT West and create a Performance Center out in LA?
ReplyDeleteRecreate the territories with different developmental leagues.
Why? He has the rocks backing. Of course they'd bring him in.
ReplyDeleteThey aren't thiugh. Less is more when you're wrestling up to five times a week. Your hero would be broken if he constantly went balls to the wall
ReplyDeleteA small grip of mine with the NXT style, such as it is, is that there seems to be a chinlock in every match. Now, in Zayn/Owens it was aggressive and actually played into the finish, but otherwise pick a body part, y'know?
ReplyDeleteI think that's wise on Bryan's part, especially coming off a major injury. And something I appreciate about his wwe style is that he never resorts to a chinlock, he always works a proper hold.
ReplyDeleteBig E is a former NXT champ. So he would already be over as soon as he came in. It works perfectly.
ReplyDeleteFuck you for even saying that.
ReplyDeleteWhen Vince is dead.
ReplyDeleteNot everything needs to be sold like death. A stiff slap in the face is a stupid thing to sell. Ziggler or someone would do a stupid flip like he was hit by The Hulk. Idk. Maybe I just like Bret Hart style selling more than flippy whippy stupid Shawn Michaels pinball selling.
ReplyDeleteIt REALLY sucks that Jay is such a fuckhead, because I really, really like the Briscoes.
ReplyDeleteNXT might kill Vince...
ReplyDelete"WHAT? THESE MIDGETS AND SLUTS ARE OVER? GODDAMNIT PAUL!"
*Head implodes, Scanners style*
I was thinking the same thing. Different NXT regions could even have different styles. They could have an NXT civil war at some point, have 'dream matches' within their own developmental system.
ReplyDeleteIf you think that Wrestle Kingdom 9 was too long, then I can't think of anything else to say.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy NXT.
It's not just the length, but it's also the pacing. Too many head-drops and lariats and dueling kicks.
ReplyDeleteNXT has the right combination of absurd cartoon gimmickery and serious combat sports.
Nakamura rules. Imagine if Reigns had a 10th of his star power.
ReplyDeleteHave each promotion with it's own international connections, let's say we keep NXT "Classic" in Orlando, and that's the one where the main-roster guys regularly come down to, it's the closest to Raw and Smackdown. It's where you play to the largest audience and make them camera ready.
ReplyDeleteMake a school in Calgary and have some Hart's or Lance Storm run it. Bring in Europeans and teach a very simple, old-school match-based submission style.
The California school can have Japanese guest talent and focus on strikes and high-spots. Classic junior heavyweight stuff. Maybe get Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe to teach.
The Texas school can bring in Luchas and teach them that style. The flippy, rolling, tricky stuff. Get Chavo to run it or something.
Different audiences, different styles, move the guys around so they learn the different stuff and basically create an artificial indy circuit that's backed up by WWE money. That way even if RoH goes belly-up and Mexico explodes into civil war and Japanese wrestling collapses again you can still get new Finn Balor's and Sami Zayn's.
I mean, I'd still probably have Classic NXT be the only one that gets a TV show, but maybe you could sell the developmental stuff to local stations or something?
Nakamura could probably relate to Reigns. I still remember when Nakamura was pushed to the moon with no personality. I thought he would be the death of NJPW.
ReplyDeleteBut while Nakamura spent years travelling the world to find himself, Reigns will probably be stuck in the WWE bubble throughout his career, and thus will never figure things out for himself.
After that Ishii/Honma match, this brother Shinsuke has his work cut out to top that one..
ReplyDeleteAnd that's the first thing that's gonna make today great.
ReplyDeleteIt made sense in the Neville/Balor match too b/c kayfabe Neville is stronger and Balor flies around so he wanted to wear him down and slow him down. Chinlocks are fine if there is a reason for them and not when guys are blow'd up.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, as long as they took their time in expanding, and didn't try to do too much at once.
ReplyDelete"Where are my dancing Negros!"
ReplyDeleteLove it. Don't see it happening, but I love it.
ReplyDeleteAdd on someone like the Usos and maybe someone like Ambrose like the show I was at and you could really have something.
ReplyDeleteHHH is in a tough spot ... he still has to make Vince happy but he absolutely understands how to make the product better. NXT shows that. They have been sticking with newer guys on the main roster like Rusev, Wyatt, Ambrose, and especially Rollins and Reigns. All those guys are NXT guys and, imo, HHH guys.
ReplyDeleteI'd have preferred if he went after the ribs to set up the Red Arrow or the legs to nullify Balor's finish, but it was still a very good match.
ReplyDeleteThere was a war on. It wasn't big news.
ReplyDeleteWrestlemania IX. Underrated.
ReplyDeleteWe did not drop hydrogen bombs.
ReplyDeletethat's a lot of overhead for a company that's trying to trim cost.
ReplyDeleteAh, true, true.
ReplyDeleteCocaine is a helluva...ah fuck it. #becausejapan
ReplyDelete