Monday 26 November 2012

The NXT Three

So what do Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns want? Right now it’s unknown but we’re told that answers will be forthcoming on this evening’s RAW. Yes, former war correspondent and current ‘Voice of WWE’ Michael Cole will be interviewing the NXT wrestlers in the ring.

At the moment the plot could go either way.

I assume that the three will claim they are unaffiliated with CM Punk as Brad Maddox did after Hell in a Cell. Storyline-wise there’s nothing to link them to the WWE champion beyond the fact that their actions helped him to retain his title at Survivor Series. They have not voiced an opinion on Punk and he has not voiced an opinion on them.

The logical progression of the story would see them state they acted alone. Their motivation could be that they saw Ryback making a name for himself, appearing regularly on RAW and headlining pay-per-views for world championships, and they thought they deserved the same. Rollins and Ambrose are certainly better wrestlers than ‘Big Hungry’. It’s entirely possible Reigns (son of Wild Samoan Sika) is too, though from what I’ve seen he’s a little light in the personality department. That could be given as a reason for the men taking this course of action.

WWE could really push the realism of the situation and have the men bring up the fact that they are taught in developmental to create their own opportunities and do everything they can to make a name for themselves. Obviously if NXT talents acted like this for real they’d be future endeavoured before they knew what hit them, but in television land this sort of behaviour is par for the course.
 
As much as I like him I have to say that Ambrose has the worst hair
 
An alternative is that the men will hint at a relationship with Punk (or one will be revealed over time). Maybe we could discover that Punk is using NXT as his own personal recruitment agency, plucking the most talented grapplers from the roster and having them interfere in his matches. To a man in Punk’s spot they would be disposable cannon fodder. From an NXT talent’s (kayfabe) POV  they would be getting precisely what they want: a chance to make an impact on the main roster. This could neatly encompass Maddox’s actions too.

On another note: I have mixed feelings on these call-ups. I’ve been waiting for Seth Rollins, formerly Tyler Black in Ring of Honor, to show up on RAW or SmackDown for two years. It’s nice to see him promoted but at the same time I’m concerned he won’t get to make the impact he deserves debuting alongside two other guys.

I have similar feelings about Ambrose (previously Jon Moxley) but I’m not as familiar with him and so they’re not quite so strong. From what I’ve seen of him on NXT Roman Reigns is lucky to be associated with two far more talented men. Kassius Ohno would have been my choice for the third man.

Tonight’s interview segment should prove memorable. As long as Dean Ambrose does the bulk of the talking it should go very well.

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