NXTweet 04.11.15

This show was all about the main event championship match between Finn Bálor and Apollo Crews. But there were action from Samoa Joe that were Truly Shocking (assuming you avoid spoilers).

Intro

Tweet 1: I am watching the NXT.

Tweet 2: What this show needs to get to the next level is Kane in a prominent role.
Tweet 3: Tonight: Apollo Crews versus Finn Bálor. It'll be good. But think how it could be improved turned into a three-way featuring Kane.
Tweet 4: Big fan of people going along dressed as their fave wrestlers then looking awkward when the cameras go for closeups.

Asuka v Cameron

Tweet 5: Asuka. She's great and all but she's no Glenn 'Kane' Jacobs.

Tweet 6: So much laughter for this bizarre appearance from Cameron.
Tweet 7: Why wasn't Cameron billed from Planet Funk? In fact why isn't she still doing the Funkadactyl gimmick?

Cameron doing a Ribena gimmick here. That'll get over.

Tweet 8: Let me tell you, this "Girl bye!" thing is on the cusp of taking off (it isn't).
Tweet 9: Why is this match still going? Why hasn't Asuka won already? I like her spamming the Rear Views though.
Tweet 10: Imagine booking Cameron the Funkadactyl to look even vaguely competitive.
Tweet 11: I'd be interested in knowing what Vince thinks of Asuka. She wrestles, which he's not interested in, but she loves a pose, which he is.

Tom Philips interviews Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder

Tweet 12: Recap of The Not-Mechanics trying to "cripple" Big Cass.

Tweet 13: Live to our medical correspondent Carmella for an update on Cass and Enzo.
Tweet 14: Dash Wilder having 'Powder Keg' on his ring jacket. Superb.
Tweet 15: You know what I like? I like every tag team on this roster wanting the titles. Because you would, wouldn't you?

Jason Jordan and Chad Gable challenge The Ascension

Tweet 16: They are not the World's Greatest Tag Team™.

Tweet 17: Jordan and Gable will give The Ascension their best match since they returned for the Dusty Classic.

Bull Dempsey v Angelo Dawkins

Tweet 18: I'm a fan of Dawkins and Fulton and their experimental act. Fulton looking like Rick Steiner doesn't hurt.

Tweet 19: You know what would really get Bull Dempsey over? Facing and beating Kane.

You should never have taken the rucksack off, mate.

Tweet 20: I've gone right off Bull since he became the new Simon Dean. He had potential as a lardy Tazz.
Tweet 21: Saddened to see Sawyer Fulton shouting at little Ange. I liked that team.

Tom Philip interviews The Vaudevillains

Tweet 22: Tom Philips playing go-between with The Vaudevillains here. What a mug.

Tweet 23: Why don't Dash and Dawson just take The Roughnecks as a name? It fits and it's a name. Could do worse.

Apollo Crews sits in a locker room

Tweet 24: Apollo having a stare at the NXT title hanging in the locker room there.

Tweet 25: Why are he and Finn sharing a dressing room when they're facing each other? Surely one would rather dress alone. For concentration, like.

Bayley introduces the Hype Bros as her partners to face BAMF

Tweet 26: Recasting Mojo Rawley as a 90s throwback is a stroke of genius.

Tweet 27: Disgusting that we have to put up with him dragging Bayley down to his level though.

Eva Marie v Marley

Tweet 28: Lol at Eva Marie having "RED" written on her WHITE ring gear. Slow clapping this.

Tweet 29: They should do a storyline where Eva's desperate to get a front cover shoot with Zoo. Relatable innit. For someone.

All red everything. Except for the white.

Tweet 30:  This girl Eva's wrestling. Is she The Kendrick's sister? Because there's a similarity there.
Tweet 31: These "Eva's ratchet!" chants though.
Tweet 32: A rare off night for Eva Marie there.
Tweet 33: Don't know about you all but I'm hyped for the inevitable Eva Marie title reign.

Tom Philips interviews Dana Brooke and Emma

Tweet 34: Dana and Emma with their sensational Mean Girls shtick here.

Tweet 35: Emma v Asuka could be great. That's what should have gone on at Takeover: Respect. I get that they wanted to give Dana the rub though.
Tweet 36: Eight of Spades is the theme song of Takeover: London. #fingeronthepulse

NXT championship: Finn Bálor (c) v Apollo Crews

Tweet 37: Eighteen minutes left on this show. Settling in for a hot little title match.

Tweet 38: I like that we're getting big matches for Bálor where he doesn't do his face paint. Makes it mean more.

Cut the lights!

Tweet 39: I'm into this lighting change for the ring intros.
Tweet 40: I'm less into a break about a minute into the match.
Tweet 41: "Moose"-esque shouts of "Crews!" there.
Tweet 42: An idea: have that punt kick become a regular thing from Bálor and call it the Hooligan kick.
Tweet 43: Finn Bálor and Davey Richards have the same haircut.
Tweet 44: Randy Orton and Eric Roberts. Condemned 2 looks like a powerhouse of acting.
Tweet 45: Such a fan of the Vaudevillains v Not-Mechanics getting an ad dedicated to it. Makes it seem like a big deal.
Tweet 46: Ads are entirely pointless during NXT though.

Referee with a W for a head there.

Tweet 47: Crews v Bálor is, as expected, really good stuff.
Tweet 48: That Bloody Sunday move really encapsulates the frustration of a Sunday. #deliberatePartridge
Tweet 49: That exchange that followed. My word that was good.
Tweet 50: Oh look, it's wolf and motorbike enthusiast Barry Corbin attacking champ and challenger.
Tweet 51: Corey Graves describing Corbin's actions as a mugging. Hope he takes a wallet from Finn's tights before he... oh, Joe's here.
Tweet 52: Joe finally doing his heel turn here. I'm obliged to ask why, Joe, why?

Why, Joe, why?

Tweet 53: Lol at the crowd actually chanting that.
Tweet 54: I want Joe to explain that he turned because Bálor refused to sign with TNA. "We could have turned it around, Finn! We could have saved it!"
Tweet 55: Good show. Good hustle.

That RAW Recap 07.07.14

Two things stood out as being good on Monday’s RAW.

The first was the presentation of Roman Reigns. A few weeks ago he was a fun-lovin’ prankster, spiking coffees being carried by Vickie Guerrero so he could sneak his way into a pay-per-view main event. That wasn’t the sort of approach that was going to turn Reigns from a man with potential coming off a run as part of a popular trio into the leading man WWE needed. It didn’t play to his strengths. Worse, it made him look like every other WWE babyface.

Thankfully someone involved in the creative process seems to have realised that was a mistake. Monday’s RAW opened with Reigns striding through the crowd, to a reaction only reserved for top stars, and cutting a promo in which he displayed charisma and the ability to hit bullet points that further storylines (both necessary skills for those at the top of the WWE ladder). The response he got when addressing Kane, Randy Orton, John Cena and Triple H was a very good sign.

I don't want to know what Joey Mercury's grabbing for.

The good booking continued when Kane showed up and Reigns left the ring to battle him in the aisle. That he was keen to fight ‘The Big Red Monster’ made him look like the tough guy WWE needs. That he speared Finlay and then knocked Kane off the apron with a Superman punch ensured that RAW’s first segment ended with Reigns looking like a man who doesn’t back down. That’s the kind of star the promotion needs.

The show ended in a similarly positive manner. After Cena had defeated Rollins (in a non-title match) Orton and Kane appeared to duff up the world champ. Reigns showed up and immediately KOed both men with Superman punches, establishing that the move is incredibly effective. After briefly being dazed by a thump from Rollins’ briefcase (again protecting him by showing that Rollins needed to use a weapon to stun him) Reigns returned to the ring to save Cena from a choke slam by spearing Kane.

The episode went off the air with Cena and Reigns raising one another’s hands. When Reigns held up Cena’s hand the crowd booed. When Cena held up Roman’s hand the fans cheered. It was confirmation that Reigns is becoming accepted as a top guy and that he’s already preferable in the eyes of many to Cena. Which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Cena’s been on top for near enough a decade and WWE have done a terrible job of creating new stars over the last few years. Reigns is new and looks the part, so people will back him. They want change and Reigns represents it.

The second thing that stood out as being good was the booking of the non-main event names. This is something I’ve mentioned in a variety of articles over the last couple of months, my feeling being that giving people outside of main event plots something to do is what’s needed to make WWE’s weekly programming more watchable and to create new stars.

Please note that Fandango has "Girls" written on his tights.

The best example was Fandango. He followed up his enjoyable Money in the Bank performance with a stint as guest commentator during a Dolph Ziggler v Alberto Del Rio match. He was fun and got his character over before he leapt up on to the announce table for the planned finish: distracting Dolph with his dance moves.

But this wasn’t just promising because it gave Fandango something to do. It was clear that Fanners had a problem with ‘The Show Off’ giving Summer Rae (Fandango’s ex) a kiss and that that was his motivation for causing a disturbance. It’s not the ideal starting point for a Ziggler v Fandango rivalry but it’s at least a step in the right direction, and the involvement of Summer and Layla could allow for some tag matches to keep things interesting.

Similarly the idea of having The Miz read out fan mail was a nice touch. It got over his new wannabe movie star vibe, as did the Tom Cruise shades. I could have done without the return of his awful leather trenchcoat though. That things needs to be retired.

The Divas division was well served too. AJ Lee and Paige were paired up as a babyface team to defeat The Funkadactyls. Cameron opted to apply lip gloss instead of tagging into the match at a critical moment and was immediately pinned with a Paige Turner when she did eventually ta in. She and Naomi then had a shoving match followed by a fight. It was not impressive or multi-layered but it did get a surprisingly strong reaction, indicating audiences may be more into the Funkadactyl v Funkadactyl feud than I’d assumed. If so that’s good news. It means people can be pleased by a storyline involving performers who have only been half-heartedly pushed as long as it develops naturally.

Of course, the Paige and AJ thing was underplayed. There were no signs of jealousy or bitterness from the former champ. The closest they came was AJ flaunting the title belt a little too much, but it wasn’t pushed by the commentary crew and Paige didn’t really react to it. The long approach is being with their rivalry. That’s good.

While RAW as a whole was nothing spectacular it did several things right and indicated that the roster as a whole is being given attention. It’s a step in the right direction and I hope WWE sticks with it.