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NXT Homegrowns Question

Hi Scott,

Another NXT question (lotta that going around these days!). With guys like Owens, Joe, and Zayn moving up to the main roster, more indy talent is going to be signed in pretty short order to fill their spots. I'm not against indy talent getting their shot, but doesn't this defeat the purpose of NXT creating new Homegrown talent? As WWE keeps bring in more indy guys to fill the rosters, it seems like the Homegrowns aren't getting attention. With all the buzz about Owens, Joe, and Balor, where does that leave Rawley, Breeze, and Corbin? Do they really matter anymore? Should they?

Any thoughts?


Having too much talent that's ready for TV is a good problem to have, I guess.  Breeze is absolutely ready for the main roster and should be there already, but he's in the weird friendzone where he's above the NXT learning crew but below the NXT All Star Indy Squadron and that's a tough spot.  As I said before, I really like the idea of splitting the NXT brand into the upper and lower tiers, because it's really becoming a problem where people expect WAY too much out of people that are essentially learning the basics but happen to be on TV with people that already know enough to be stars.  It's becoming a weird dynamic and I almost feel like they should just shoot two hour-long or even just 40 minute shows, one with the beginners and one with the IndyPowers crew.  But hey, even HHH admitted that he was learning as we went along, too, so I'm willing to cut everyone some slack and just enjoy the shows. 

Comments

  1. I think the bigger problem is not allowing the "IndyPowers" interact enough with the rest of the NXT homegrown talent. I don't think Breeze's vast improvement is a coincidence to him suddenly working a hell of a lot more over the past year with Neville, Zayn, Itami, and Balor.

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  2. I had this conversation about Breeze the other day. He's above the low level guys, but he never really beats the higher level guys. I think he's good enough for the main roster, but I have no idea how far he can go in that gimmick.

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  3. I think that is a big problem with the NXT crew, as enjoyable as these acts are on NXT can anyone see Bayley or Enzo & Cass topping out as anything but Superstars fodder?

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  4. He'd be a a few notches above Fandango and Adam Rose. It's a gimmick tailored for the opening match, which isn't an insult. Some excitement in that slot has been needed for awhile now.

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  5. That was sort of where I thought he would be. Opening the show and slightly above the two that you mentioned. And to be fair, I'd love to open one of their shows so, like you said, it's not an insult...just not a main event gimmick.

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  6. I love all three of them, and I think you are right. Although, Bayley to Belly is an awesome name for a move.

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  7. The kitschy gimmicks would fill out the lower card and the tag division nicely.

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  8. No way, Bayley is awesome. Period.

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  9. Tyler Breeze is a really good worker. Adam Rose is a great personality who gets NXT fans into a match. But neither gimmick is going to work well on the main roster.

    So put them together in a tag team on the main roster and see what happens. Try a toned down Party Bus gimmick or something and see what happens. Part of the jump from NXT to WWE should be for the wwe side to figure out a way to make these performers work on the main show. Recognize whose NXT gimmicks are "too Indy" and see what they (Raw creative) can do with the talents that make that gimmick work.

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  10. I haven't watched a ton of NXT but isn't Breeze's gimmick similar to HBK when he first turned heel in 92?

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  11. LOL at Raw Creative. But I like where you are going with this idea.

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  12. "But hey, even HHH admitted that he was learning as we went along, too, so I'm willing to cut everyone some slack and just enjoy the shows."

    This. NXT is consistently enjoyable, doesn't offend my intelligence &, most importantly, wants to be an honest-to-God wrestling show. As long I can say those 3 things then they earn the benefit of the doubt.

    My only consistent beef is when they repeat the main roster's mistake by forcing workers who clearly aren't ready on the audience. Corbin not only now needs to improve but also win over a Full Sail crowd that resents him. The same can happen to Dana Brooke, who I think has way more upside than Corbin and is just being rushed in front of the camera way before she's ready.

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  13. Yeah, I guess. I don't really remember when HBK first turned all that well though. Basically, he's the narcissistic pretty boy heel who can work, but is more interested in admiring himself most of the time.

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  14. Yeah sounds like Shawn

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  15. So *exactly* like Shawn in 1992.

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  16. Do they really have a choice, though? NXT is the training ground. If they can't get in front of that audience, where would they be going?

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  17. They just need to create a secondary NXT title, say the Soutern Florida Heritage Championship and let the newbs scrap over it. That would split the roster.

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  18. I mean, Shawn didn't have the selfie stick...haha. So yeah, I guess exactly like Shawn.

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  19. Oh yeah I know it will never happen. Part of the problem is they're trying to create single superstars always instead of filling the roster in the way that would best utilize everyone's talents.

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  20. Yeah - I think working with the 'IndyPowers' can help some of the green guys lots. I remember Scott commenting on how much Batista improved after tagging with Flair for a bit as part of Evolution.

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  21. Well, Vince hates tags (allegedly) so I guess that's why they are doing it, but I wish they would too. I had high hopes for Ascension, but they sort of have a cheap knock off look...and are mostly treated that way. I would like to see Enzo and Big Cass do well, but I have my doubts that they will make it. Blake and Murphy do look good though (although I haven't seen much of them)....maybe there is hope. It used to be a thing in the territories (Shut up, Grandpa!) that you could take two guys that were struggling as singles and make them "tag team specialists" (Hello Rock & Roll and The Fantastics), and they are doing that a little now. I'd like to see it be a thing.

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  22. MaffewOfBotchamaniaJune 6, 2015 at 7:49 PM

    Asking if Breeze matters anymore?

    C'mon man, guy is top-tier NXT.

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  23. HHH is trying to kill the indy business. Signing the top indy acts is a good way to do it.

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  24. Well, ideally, they work on the basics at the "Performance Center" before going out in front of an audience.

    Corbin isn't great, but he has the basics; he knows how to lock-up and run the ropes, so it makes sense to now let him learn how to handle an audience. Dana, on the other hand, still needs to learn the basics.

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  25. I have no fear that Enzo & Cass will do well; Enzo is one of the best talkers and characters that they have, Cass is also pretty good in those respects, they have a fun gimmick, and they're decent in the ring.

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  26. Fuck you and your slack, PAL!


    - VKM

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  27. I'm probably alone, but I like Breeze a lot more than Balor or Itami. As someone that doesn't watch anything outside of the WWE "bubble", I feel like they haven't lived up to the hype.


    (And before anyone says that I'm just some mark that doesn't like indy workers, I loved Bryan and Zayn the first time I saw them, and I loved Owens as soon as I heard his first heel promo.)

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  28. It's pretty much identical, yeah. I think Breeze is supposed to be a little more ambiguous in his sexuality, but that's about it.

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  29. Theberzerker, #1 HUSS CHOMPIONJune 6, 2015 at 8:00 PM

    As long as the process of taking seasoned performers like Owens, Balor, Zayn, etc. and making them toil away in the development/in-house indy league for a couple years to start isn't considered THE method to always follow, b/c this does show there is indeed a drawback to operating like that...you create a sharp class divide that hurts one league as much as it helps the other.

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  30. Yes, he's trying to kill off one of the best and most consistent sources of talent they've had. That makes perfect sense.

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  31. He's singing guys who are at the top of the indie world and going to the WWE is the next logical step. I'd say it's good for everyone.

    The only one that's a mystey to me is Itami. I still don't understand why he went to the WWW or why they're making him learn a new style.

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  32. I think (FWIW) that Breeze has more personality than either of those guys show. I haven't seen Otami much, but he strikes me as the guy that wrestles more than sports entertains.

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  33. Yes because then NXT would be the only game in town and then they could expand and grow the brand.

    Better to get them at a young age then at 30 with 10 years of wear and tear. It makes total sense.

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  34. Here's a clipped version of the epic Steen v Generico ladder war. If you guys like Zayn or Owens, you'll really enjoy this:

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6-m9UW4lTNk

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  35. Because he's a name to attract the hardcore crowd. That's the reason for most of these indy signings.

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  36. Not just personality, I like Breeze more in the ring, too.

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  37. Kinda makes you wish they hadn't killed off WWECW. That could be the "indy guys who are ready for prime time" show, and NXT could stay the "newbies that are still learning" show.

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  38. Totally disagree, Scott. Every promotion needs a mix of main-eventers, mid-carders, and low-carders. A show of nothing but low-carders is just "Velocity".

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  39. "WWECW" gets way too much hate. Sure, Lashley as a main-eventer was awful, but there was a lot of good stuff on there.

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  40. I think it's because it was built upon a false pretense. Had they just called a developmental farm system people wouldn't have shit on it.

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  41. If they're actually allowed promo time, I can see Enzo-Cass being one of the top acts.

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  42. The problem isn't Midcard vs. Main Event. Like Scott said, it's guys that have been working for 15 years vs. guys that still are learning to take bumps and run the ropes.

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  43. Bayley's problem is that her character is popular because it had development.


    She went from "mildly retarded superfan" to "overly naive journeyman" to "slightly cynical babyface scrapper" and the fans care because they saw her grow. Throw her on Raw and the "I'm really excited to be here" schtick is not only character regression, it also will seem a little disingenuous, she's been here for years and she's still starstruck?


    Luckily, Bayley is a good babyface, so if they just make her "nice girl who likes to hug people" it will probably work. But it will be inevitably flattened out as the main-roster does to everything.


    Sasha is fine as long as they let her wrestle long matches and don't call attention to the fact that's she's an itty bitty creature, Charlotte is invincible and Becky Lynch is my pick for sleeper star because most of her appeal isn't "tight characterization" it's "has a cool look and is great at suplexing mofos."

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  44. Really?


    Breeze has had a "plant jumps the barrier" spot and the female model entrance.


    He himself hasn't expressed interest in anybody, but he's a heel, that's to be expected.

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  45. I think Balor is the clearest star I've ever seen in wrestling. He's got "it".


    And I think Hideo really came into his own in the last couple weeks before his injury. He's good at selling and comebacks, but he was also showing some actual personality/taunts (just completely no-selling some dudes week thigh kicks and walking forward and legsweeping a guy before doing a "kick dirt behind me" thing).


    Hideo seems like a guy who'd be a great babyface in like 1988 NWA.


    Breeze works because he's fully-formed and is pretty entertaining in the goofy backstage skits they do. His biggest problem is his look, unfortunately.

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  46. He's also freshening up the indy rosters by giving people an "out".

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  47. Just the way I read it. I could be completely wrong, but I like the idea of him saying "yeah, so what" if anyone questions him.

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  48. The former WWE program or the network that was rumored to have TNA?

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  49. Virgil's Gimmick TableJune 6, 2015 at 9:26 PM

    I've been thinking this for a while. Make an NXT television championship and have it defended each week with a 15 minute time limit. And then take away the time limit at specials. That way you can have all the lower card guys both scrambling over not only the title each week, but who gets a shot at the title at the specials as well. You can do so many things. Like maybe have a dominant champion who squashes everyone and then either gets upset by a young rookie or gets an NXT title shot at a special. Or have a Regal-like champion ego defends it by skill and cleverness to out wrestle his opponent and beat the clock each week, and cheats when he gets desperate. Or have 3 guys trade it and book it so that they are all evenly matched, then blow it off with a triple threat ppv match where the winner is undisputed champion and the losers never get a TV title shot again.

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  50. Vince should look at all the stars he made that were part of tag teams first and realize that was how they learned to be stars, or at least a big part of it.

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  51. Virgil's Gimmick TableJune 6, 2015 at 9:30 PM

    People always remember the shitty years with all the broken ECW vets and Bobby "Bathtard" Lashley as champion. They forget the awesome years where Christian was the top star and had awesome matches with guys like Regal and Goldust every week.

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  52. Breeze wrestled at a house show I went to last weekend against Sandow so I bet he is moving up pretty soon.

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  53. Virgil's Gimmick TableJune 6, 2015 at 9:31 PM

    I think Owens is the first experiment in stepping out of that habit. I hope he gets as over as he looks like he's getting, cause with him alone the main show feels slightly more fresh.

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  54. Virgil's Gimmick TableJune 6, 2015 at 9:33 PM

    Because they want the Japanese market and he's a legend there.

    Plus I think because Okada. He seems like a guy they really want.

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  55. Yeah, I liked it for the most part, it gave midcarder guys a chance to be more prominent.

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  56. Yeah, ECW found it'd grove as something of a NXT before NXT when they had young guys like Sheamus and Kofi mixed in with veterans who wouldn't have a prominent role on Raw or Smackdown like Goldust or Shelton.

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  57. I think it's in how you go about it b/c fans are now very resistant to being told who the "next big thing" is. Corbin has had practically nothing but quick squashes, and fans are now wise to the notion that he isn't yet capable of more. Putting him in w/ Rhyno -- another guy who looks worse the longer his matches run -- didn't do him any favors. Fans feel he's being forced upon them & are greeting him w/ "CORBIN'S GONNA BORRRRE YOU!" chants.

    Dana Brooke had a series of vignettes announcing she's the next big thing and she's way too green for that kind of gloss. She's brand, spanking new & has potential so it would be foolish to write her off, but if the crowd sours on her then it's only going to make her development that much more difficult.

    Contrast them w/ Sasha Banks, who was given the time & space she needs to develop & connect w/ the fans w/o any added pressure and now has Full Sail in the palms of her hands whenever her music hits.

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  58. Valets holding mirrors were the selfie sticks of the 90's.

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  59. Virgil's Gimmick TableJune 6, 2015 at 9:44 PM

    That ladder match Christian and Shelton had still holds up, even with the blood stoppage in the beginning.

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  60. Yeah, it's pretty dumb to sell any of these prospects as "the next big thing" unless it's a guy like Steen who is ready before he steps in an NXT ring.

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  61. Agreed, the homegrown green rookies can learn from the seasoned Indy veterans. If Tyler Breeze isn't wrestling these indie veterans would he be at the same level?

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  62. I think Tyler Breeze is pretty awesome, and with a little tweaking, I believe his gimmick could succeed on the main roster.

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  63. Bayley suddenly becoming starstruck again would make sense since now she'd be on Raw (the big leagues) as opposed to NXT.

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  64. Itami I kind of agree, but Finn Balor might be the greatest human being alive.

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  65. A TV title works on paper, yet defending it at *every* show could be difficult since the NXT roster isn't really all that big. It wouldn't take long to cycle through everyone.

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  66. After the Mistico/Sin Cara disaster, I can understand the logic in having everyone (no matter how accomplished their international resume) put in some NXT time to get used to WWE.

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  67. Bring back the FCW 15 Championship!

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  68. In money-making terms, Balor is the lovechild of Ray and the Undertaker. Between the entrance costumes and the masks and all the merchandise possibilities, he is going to make them truckloads of money if they don't screw it up.

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  69. Legend is probably a bit strong, but yeah, WWE probably looks at him as an "in".

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  70. Enzo & Cass can easily be another New Age Outlaws. They come out, do their thing and wrestle a perfectly decent 5 minute match on Raw. Plus from what I've seen, you can stick them in with someone like the Usos and they'll be fine for an 8-10 min match at a PPV. They'll shift a ton of merch for whatever their catch-phrase is and if you need to freshen them up turn them heel for a few months and they'll still be OK.

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  71. I think the evil-Emma character has some potential as well so long as they let her embrace the dark-side. None of Charlotte-Bayley-Lynch-Sasha group really work as a chicken-shit heel whereas Emma might. Plus the problem is that the Lynch and Sasha are more or less faces regardless of their character's motivations now because of their workrate so they need new heels which means Emma, Alexa Bliss and Dana need to step up.

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  72. I think they have the right idea with Rhyno--bring in a name who can still go to work with and put over the rookies. You get a minor draw for the card and you get someone who the new guys can learn from. Plus, if he really shows that he can still go, the WWE can always call him up for a short run on the main roster again. They should do a little more of that while sending guys like Balor and Zayn up to the main roster more quickly.

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  73. I was a huge Elijah Burke mark... I really looked forward to the weekly punk/Morrison/Burke combo

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  74. Virgil's Gimmick TableJune 7, 2015 at 12:11 AM

    He's main evented some pretty prominent cards, put on some all time great matches, and been a consistent fan favorite there for years. If he isn't legendary now, he will be later.

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  75. Virgil's Gimmick TableJune 7, 2015 at 12:11 AM

    Call it the NXT 15 Championship. Done.

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  76. Virgil's Gimmick TableJune 7, 2015 at 12:12 AM

    Maybe do the 30 day clause rule then? That would mean at least once or twice a month.

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  77. I really don't think a babyface calling/implying that Breeze is gay in 2015 is in any way a good idea.

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  78. In many ways, it really is a happy problem to have. There are talented wrestlers on the roster who can wow the crowd week in and week out, and there simultaneously are guys and gals who are plying their trade in front of our eyes and growing by the week. Hopefully fans understand this and appreciate both avenues.

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  79. Yeah, and I don't expect there to be top-notch continuity in NXT-to-WWE, but that angle can't last forever and I don't know if the fans will have patience for it.


    Bayley has the weakest fundamentals of any of the Four Horsewomen so she can't just be thrown out there to the wolves, but I think that she has such upside as a babyface creative should bust their ass to make it work. Like, I don't think WWE has any character has kid-friendly as Bayley outside of Cena, and there's nobody when it comes to girls.

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  80. Lashley's real problem was booking. He wins the title in the abject horror that was the extreme elimination chamber, then his first feud is with Vince McMahon......

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  81. Sasha is kind of a chickenshit, but she's a god mode worker so even her ultra-heel mockery stuff falls flat.


    And Charlotte/Sasha/Becky have already gotten to the Flair-esque perma-face. At least for a certain part of the audience, they won't be booed. On the main-roster? Maybe? Probably?


    I think that the new wave of heels is a good idea, but the Horsewomen need to leave to give Dana/Emma/Alexa some room. We'll never buy them as top anything when Sasha's there. Also, it will give Zahra or Jessie McKay or KC Cassidy some room to develop and grow.

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  82. Corbin was over with the Full Sail crowd for awhile...they did the counting thing (how short his matches would be.) They messed it up somewhere and he doesn't have the mic skills to win them back over.

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  83. I also just don't see "it" in Balor, at least as a babyface. There's something about Finn that makes me think he'll be much better and more natural as a heel.

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  84. It's still all about making money.

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  85. I like the dichotomy. The show reminds me of Memphis, with great stars at the top but also rolling the dice on young talent.

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  86. Or you could do defenses every other week, with a #1 contenders' match in the off weeks to set up the matches.

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  87. The question is, if the indy guys, who know how to work (and in front of an audience) shouldn't better go directly to the main roster?!

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  88. I think the Main Roster needs a trim of guys they aren't going to use or maybe swap a guy like Ryder with a call up to give him a bit of a chance to try again.

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  89. The fact Vince won the title off him didn't help either.

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  90. I read it more like he's an asexual narcissist. He's basically Zoolander, he'll get a title run when the sequel is released.

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  91. The Miz needs a Hollywood crew and Tyler Breeze is the perfect guy for it

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  92. The only person on NXT TV that's learning how to bump and run the ropes is Dana Brooke.

    Let's be real, here. Guys like Baron Corbin or Aiden English obviously don't have the experience or skill of guys like Finn Balor or Hideo Itami, but let's not act like NXT is all indy veterans or green ass rookies still figuring out back bumps.

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  93. If NXT was all "rookies who are still learning," nobody would watch it.

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  94. So people actually have a problem with Owens, Itami, Balor and Joe getting a rocket strapped to their ass ahead of fucking Corbin, Breeze and Rawley??

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  95. It's the "Sin Cara Rule."

    Everybody should go to development to prevent something like that from happening again.

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  96. there is working, and there is WWE style working. You have to work towards the hard camera, know how to interact with the ref to keep track of time, finish, flow, etc. And there is simply a way WWE wants guys to lay out a match. This is an old example but it popped into my mind. Jericho, who had worked all over the world and on the big stage in WCW, had to "relearn" how to work in WWE. He was used to less planning of matches in WCW. He didn't bounce back up to feed the face comeback over and over. As he noted, each "territory" had a style, just like Mexico worked on the opposite side of the body from the US. WWE today is no different.

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  97. At this point, they might as well use NXT as the second touring brand with the indy talent and top guys from the Performance Center, cancel Smackdown which is pretty much pointless nowadays, and (re)create a developmental promotion in Florida with the lesser indy guys (like Crowe) and the still-in-training PC talent.

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  98. I think it's more of a problem with the idea of teaching these guys how to wrestle on camera and develop when the indie guys are already finished products and demanding the lions share of TV time.

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  99. It did give us Vince in a doo-rag though.

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  100. Let's not also act like I wasn't making a generalized statement. When in fact all three of the people you mentioned had no prior experience before being signed. Like Enzo, Marcus Louis, Lina, Sabby Piscitelli, Chad Gable, Alexa Bliss and countless others who are signed with athletic backgrounds outside the world of pro wrestling. I'm not saying they are put on TV having needed to learn the ropes. But that's the extent of their training when they get on TV. So structuring a match, calling spots, working a crowd is all being learned before our eyes. Like the Indy guys in armories were 15 years ago.

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  101. Buffalo HopscotchJune 7, 2015 at 9:30 AM

    It's like how people shit on X-Pac as a wrestler, but he was always used as the measuring stick on if the guy could work "WWE style" and would be paired up with new guys to help them learn (as he did when Jericho started"). It sounds crazy that Jericho had to learn from Pac after Jericho had been wrestling for years all over the world, but it's a new style all together. As you said, there's wrestling and then there's WWE Wrestling.

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  102. Buffalo HopscotchJune 7, 2015 at 9:33 AM

    I like it too. You could bring in several Ex-WWE guys like that. The good citizen ones anyway. Does Stevie Richards still wrestle? He'd be another good one to use like that.

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  103. Virgil's Gimmick TableJune 7, 2015 at 9:34 AM

    I like that idea better.

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  104. Buffalo HopscotchJune 7, 2015 at 9:35 AM

    I ended up travelling to LA on a whim to see Steen VS Generico in a ladder match for the PWG World Title in 2011. Was also the night Super Dragon returned and beat up the Young Bucks. It was fantastic.

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  105. Buffalo HopscotchJune 7, 2015 at 9:36 AM

    Ryder is down in NXT isn't he? Make him the real deal NXT Internet Champion and turn it into a real belt.

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  106. I would like to see Tyler Breeze get out in a tag team with Zach Ryder. Make them an Internet/social media obsessed pretty boy heel team. "Hashtag" Zach Ryder and "@" Tyler Breeze- The Trending Topics.
    You could have them send out tweets and post selfies to the Titan Tron from the ring apron.

    It gets two talented guys a direction, feeds the WWE obsession with social media and could actually get over because it is something different

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  107. With Smackdown coming to USA next year (and going live, if I read correctly), that show should go to the touring NXT guys. It would reduce the hours the main roster's creative team has to write, and makes Raw and Smackdown two different shows without splitting the main roster.

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  108. Plus there's the problem you get when you see Corbin and Rawley fucking up on the same show where Balor and Owens are doing main roster-worthy work. The young guys get savaged in the show recaps and by the fans watching at home because they look bad compared to the experienced guys.

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  109. Yes. Now there's room for the next generation of indy talent to rise to the top, like this generation grew into the gap left by the Punk/Joe/Danielson generation getting their shots at the top.

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  110. Corbin had the Full Sail crowd in the palm of his hand before Balor/Itami/Owens arrived. His feud with Bull Dempsey wasn't great, but the crowd was invested. Now he looks green as turtle shit when he's on the same show as guys who have 15 years in the business.

    The easiest solution is to give Smackdown to the NXT guys ready for the main roster and some of the guys who aren't getting any run on the main roster now.

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  111. Some of the NXT guys aren't ready for prime time cable TV. That's the whole point of NXT. And USA is not going to want a show built around a bunch if unknowns.

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  112. Like it. Then the inevitable break up comes when Ryder can't handle that Breeze gets more Likes on Instagram than him

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  113. Nobody actually said that, but whatever.

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  114. NXT absolutely should not be split. The rookies absolutely need to work with the greats such as Kenta, Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens, etc. That's because it makes them step up their game. If there becomes a "B-Team" nxt, they wont get the chance to work with better people which will improve their ability. For example, Austin has credited being able to work with Steamboat as a major reason he stepped up his game. He says he learned much from him. Don't take away the ability of the certain jerkers to work with Owens, Zayn, etc. You never know who will be the next Austin.

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  115. How's that a problem though? The alternative is to have a roster full of Corbins and Rawleys, which you certainly couldn't take on the road. NXT has evolved into its own thing now and they need great wrestlers performing too

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  116. NXT is a TV show though, not just developmental. Can't have a show full centred around Corbin trying to figure out what's up and what's down

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  117. Need a guy like him to appeal to the Japanese market (I'm guessing he'd have been a big part of the upcoming Tokyo Network show if he wasn't injured), same way they keep people like Khali around for the Indian market

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  118. It's a developmental TV show though. It's supposed to be a long term tool to replicate the TV indie experience without having guys kill themselves in the indies. It's a long term profit thing, not the short term base it around only the ready guys thing.

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  119. I don't mind them doing a split as far as national house shows vs. Florida house shows, but I don't think there's any need to be making those cosmetic changes on TV and basically telling your audience "This is the B-team, they're second rate and not good enough to be on the advanced show yet."

    It would especially be a pain to stick to those guidelines when you need bodies to do jobs or fill in for injured guys on the A-show, or have no use for someone like the Vaudevillains for the next couple of months and have to "demote" them until their spot opens back up.

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  120. NXT needs to promote these guys that are ready so that the feeder system and can start building up new guys or fixing ones that are broken.

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  121. Creating an second TV developmental to replace the existing TV developmental instead of promoting the guys that are ready to the main roster from the existing developmental is one of the dumber ideas I've heard in a while. The point is to enhance WWE's roster and create a developmental/feeder system. Not create RoH with better production values.

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  122. But that's exactly what they're doing - putting on great shows with people like Owens/Balor while having guys like Corbin learn the ropes. I don't see the problem...

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  123. I think they're promoting them about right given their skill level. Once (for example) Corbin is ready for the NXT main event, he'll be given the NXT main event promotion

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  124. This is... really good.

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  125. Why don't they just put good new wrestlers on Raw and put the old stale ones in a bin somewhere to be picked at by magpies and goats?

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  126. I mean, there's always going to be a Roderick Strong who will never leave, but wrestling needs an outlet for the 1% that are at the top.


    1% of backyard/hole in the wall people go to RoH/Dragongate/TNA/Japan.


    1% of the mainstream indy guys go to WWE.


    1% of WWE guys get real life popular/successful (actually the numbers are lower, but whatever).

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  127. I disagree. I loved watching him wrestle but I think that wrestling's overall popularity in Japan is so much lower post-90's than it used to be that it's hard for any of the current wrestlers to reach "legend" status. I think it's kinda the same thing over here. None of that is to disparage KENTA's work because it was great, but I just don't see him ever being revered like the 90's and 80's Japanese wrestlers.

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  128. Virgil's Gimmick TableJune 7, 2015 at 9:03 PM

    Well to be fair, he's no Misawa or Jumbo. If that's the bar, then I agree with you. I think the only current person that has or even could reach that status is Tanahashi.

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  129. You don't think Okada could get there?

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  130. Virgil's Gimmick TableJune 8, 2015 at 12:37 AM

    I think he could but it's gonna be a few years.

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  131. They should probably just be using the newbies as Jobbers while they learn how to work, and let the experienced ROH-types beat on them- they'll improve from working with those guys. Then if the rookies improve, they can be pushed on NXT, and maybe finally be given real RAW appearances. I think it`d be best if they didn't put guys on TV way too soon- that just leads to them either flaming out early, or getting overexposed before they even have a chance to get good (a recurring problem with guys like Orton & Cena, who have been on TV for like 13 years now).

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  132. Reminds me of how a super-heavy WCW mid-90s roster would throw old WWF names like Greg Valentine out there as Jobbers. It actually was kind of cool to see.

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  133. I think from the reaction that Adam Rose got on the ESPN special they should just call him Ray Leppan and have him be follower of Kevin Steen along with Corey Graves as their manager, dudes just fighting for their family.

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