NXT Level

WWE really need to try harder with NXT. The show should be a place for new talent to earn a spot on RAW or SmackDown by engaging with fans and getting themselves over so that management have no choice but to use them more. Instead it’s a regimented affair where everyone is scripted to sound like everyone else, no unique personalities are present and the wrestlers are treated like idiots by the commentators, host Matt Striker, and each other. How is anyone supposed to stand out in such an environment? It says a lot about how WWE currently sees the show when two of the original pros have been fired since it began and one of the original hosts has left the company without being replaced.

With a little work it could be so much more than this.

Part of the problem is that the program currently bears no resemblance to its original format. WWE either need to officially reformat it or make an attempt to go back to what they originally intended by reinstating the pro-rookie dynamic and having stars from RAW and SmackDown that people actually care about appear as regulars. Having the likes of Chris Jericho and CM Punk on every episode helped the first season, why not repeat the process now?

The simplest and most effective way of making NXT a worthwhile affair would be to (finally) draw the current fifth season to a close and begin a new season. Everyone currently working on the show has been there long enough to earn a shot at getting over on RAW or SmackDown. Promote them all to the central shows and give them three months to prove they deserve to be there. If they don’t manage it then it’ll be time to release them: they will have had more than enough opportunities.

There are more than enough talented guys in FCW to make a sixth season of NXT very watchable. The obvious inclusions would be Kassius Ohno, Antonio Cesaro, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, formerly Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, Tyler Black and Jon Moxley respectively. The first three have been big stars in Ring of Honor while Ambrose was a standout in companies like CHIKARA, DGUSA and EVOLVE. They would all put on some truly excellent matches and provide some very enjoyable promos. A show built primarily around these four would be the best thing WWE could do with NXT.

After a year and a half in development the former Tyler Black (now Seth Rollins) deserves a shot at the big time

Then there’s Richie Steamboat. He’s a guy that has never been with a national promotion but deserves the chance to connect with fans. Meanwhile guys like Mike Dalton and Big E Langston have the look to warrant a shot at making an impact in a low pressure environment like NXT. If they don’t connect they can always be dropped back to FCW upon elimination to work on their shortcomings. The aim with guys like that should be to give them some exposure and let them attempt to get themselves over. They shouldn’t be rammed down the audience’s throat.

Guys like Abraham Washington, Eli Cottonwood and Husky Harris (a personal favourite of mine) could be considered for spots on a sixth season too. All are guys who weren’t given a fair chance at success in their previous runs on TV.

With the properly chosen cast and an emphasis on characters and good wrestling a sixth season of NXT could create some new stars. The show currently gets fairly poor viewership so what’s the harm in shaking it up a bit? The tasks that plagued early seasons should be quietly dropped and the airtime should instead be dedicated to matches, promo segments and video packages on the rookies. Videos showing the rookies and pros training together or spending time on the road would be a nice touch, and give the show a more realistic feel than the majority of WWE programming currently has. The company has enough money to be able to furnish each pro-rookie unit with a video camera to take on the road and record things. Obviously not everything would be appropriate for a TV audience but it would be a fresh approach to an established format.

NXT is also a good way of giving current stars something to do. Remember how the Miz grew as a character during the first and second seasons of NXT? Perhaps a Dolph Ziggler or a Cody Rhodes could use NXT to make the same progress. Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks have somehow become regulars on the C-show, so why not use them as pros on a sixth season. The fact that they’re a team could make for an interesting storyline or rivalry involving their rookies.

Ted Dibiase, Jack Swagger, Jinder Mahal, Drew McIntyre and Santino would all be good additions to NXT. They could even find a use for Khali by pairing him up with a rookie who excels at promos and playing on the fact that Khali doesn’t speak good English. A healthy mixture of main event performers and underused Superstars regulars should be what WWE aims for when drawing up their new pro list.

This man's career would benefit from a return to the original NXT format

For NXT to function as it should changes need to be made. It should be a proving ground for young stars and a way for them to prove to management that they deserve to be on the main roster. It doesn’t work that way at the moment. But it wouldn’t take much to turn it into a worthwhile show for fans and competitors alike. Ultimately it’s going to help WWE build a future for itself, so they’re stupid not to spend time and money on it now. If they do then the next generation of wrestlers can finally start making waves.

SmackTalk 10.02.12

This week’s SmackDown was not as good as previous weeks. The only thing it’s likely to be remembered for is the first confrontation between Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan. That was a very good match, especially by WWE TV standards.

It’s a shame that it wasn’t saved for a pay-per-view event, but giving away first time matches on RAW and SmackDown seems fairly common in WWE these days so it’s not surprising. Perhaps the feeling was that as Bryan and Orton are both going to be in SmackDown’s Elimination Chamber match next weekend their first singles meeting needed to happen beforehand. I also think this was the original WrestleMania World title match and that plans have changed, so the feeling now is that the match doesn’t need to be saved. 

The rest of the (active) SmackDown main event crew were involved in a tag match: Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes v Big Show and Sheamus. As you’ll read below I have a feeling that the idea of a Barrett v Sheamus feud is being introduced to fans now so that it can happen properly once ‘Mania’s out of the way. I wouldn’t be surprised if the World Heavyweight championship was involved and it led to a run at the top for the Englishman.

The tag match itself was enjoyable for what it was but nothing special. With three of the four men involved being people that WWE are relying on to become big stars in the future that’s not really good enough. The booking should be excellent at this time of the year but it feels like WWE’s treading water with regards to elevating stars. Let Cody defend the Intercontinental title. Let Barrett dispose of mid-card talent (and build some mid-card talent while you’re at it). Let Sheamus cut more promos so that he can become as likeable as he needs to be to gain acceptance as a challenger at WrestleMania. None of these things are happening and they should be.

The star of the show was Daniel Bryan. He was not only part of the great main event but he also cut a very effective heel promo in the middle of the show. His new character direction is working nicely. He was already a highlight of SmackDown for his matches but now he’s enjoyable for his character too.

Speaking of highlights: I not only miss Christian (which is understandable: he’s an excellent addition to the roster and makes every show he’s on better) but I found myself missing Mark Henry this week too. He can’t wrestle but he’s a genuinely intimidating man and works very well when used sparingly. He is a good character, and I was enjoying the vague hint that a face turn was in the works for him.

Both men ought to be back in time for WrestleMania XXVIII.

As far as the show’s mid-card goes: Jinder Mahal putting his headwear into a box was priceless. It’s one of those strange things you get in wrestling from time to time that don’t make any sense and are all the more enjoyable for it. Ted Dibiase needs a character. Desperately. He should either be turned heel again or be taken in a radical new direction as a babyface. The trouble at the moment is that people have no reason to care about him: he’s just a generic, hand-slapping smiley mid-carder. He doesn’t have the charisma to pull that off and the whole Dibiase Posse thing isn’t catching on.

Anyway, here are the tweets:

Opening promo, featuring Sheamus, Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes and Big Show

Tweet 1: It’s SmackDown time.

Tweet 2: Seeing Christian on the opening makes me wish he was back already. SmackDown is a poorer show without him.
Tweet 3: Sheamus opens the show. I bet he's just going to witter on about having not made up his mind about who he'll wrestle at 'Mania again.
Tweet 4: #fella
Tweet 5: History has told Sheamus that one world title WILL change hands at EC. Is he giving away booking plans there? That'd be a great gimmick.
Tweet 6: Sheamus stood his ground when people told him to get a tan and drop the accent. He wanted to make it to the top on his own merits.
Tweet 7: ... Oh and he started working out with Triple H too. That's pure coincidence though.
Tweet 8: Wade Barrett. With his (awful) new entrance music.
Tweet 9: Barrett has activated Camp Mode.
Tweet 10: Cody has made a jig at the entrance part of his regular routine. I like it. It's ridiculous enough to work.
Tweet 11: Big Show walks out. Fat people in the audience are shown. This has become a weekly occurrence. Is it smart editing or a rib on fans?
Tweet 12: Big Show v Sheamus for the World Heavyweight championship is indeed a match, Show. We can't argue with that.
Tweet 13: “Horrowing”? Oh, Cole…
Tweet 14: Ah good, there's the Great Khali. I'd like to take this opportunity to point out that he can't even walk convincingly.
Tweet 15: That opening segment was fifteen minutes long and did nothing except set up a tag match. Everything that was said we've heard before. Poor.

Jinder Mahal v The Great Khali

Tweet 16: Jinder Mahal is putting a HAT in a Perspex BOX. This is compelling television.

Tweet 17: Look at Khali. Actually look at the state of him. This is awful. Why is this happening? Why is this being allowed to happen?
Tweet 18: Rag-tag. #Bookerism
Tweet 19: What I liked most about that match was Khali keeping the cover going for a second or two after he'd won.
Tweet 20: Watch Booker T's hands when he's speaking. He has main event level hands.

Teddy Long and Daniel Bryan backstage segment

Tweet 21: Daniel Bryan is working wonders. He can even carry Teddy Long to an enjoyable backstage segment.

Tweet 22: I don't really know why that segment happened. It was just Bryan talking about being a vegan. Fun as it was it wasn't new.
Tweet 23: WHAT HAPPENED TO JINDER'S HAT?!

Beth Phoenix v Alicia Fox, The Rock hype video, and Natalya

Tweet 24: Beth Phoenix has good entrance music. Sadly she has no worthwhile opponents.

Tweet 25: I'd like a backstage segment in which Daniel Bryan lays into Alicia Fox for wearing that fur to the ring.
Tweet 26: Beth Phoenix won?! Didn't see that coming (I did).
Tweet 27: Tamina. Booker just called her 'The Warrior Princess'. I hope that name sticks.
Tweet 28: Randy Orton is standing backstage staring into a camera as he stretches. For the second week in a row. Solid stuff.
Tweet 29: Rock hype video. These things are going to get very tiresome in the next six weeks.
Tweet 30: Rock realised, at fourteen, that he could change his life with his hands. No comment.
Tweet 31: Natalya and Tyson Kidd backstage. Here comes a fart gag...

Big Show and Sheamus v Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett

Tweet 32: Big Show shakes hands with Charles Robinson. I wonder why. Nobody else cares.

Tweet 33: BARRETT RING COAT ALERT!!
Tweet 34: I have a feeling Sheamus will get the World title in the next couple of months and then feud with Barrett. That feud has potential.
Tweet 35: He won't necessarily win the belt at WrestleMania. I think he'll have it by the May PPV, whatever it's called.
Tweet 36: Closed fists are illegal in wrestling so really Big Show should be disqualified every time he uses that KTFO punch.
Tweet 37: Who is Sheamus going to wrestle at Elimination Chamber? As the Rumble winner he ought to be facing someone.
Tweet 38: They just mentioned Barrett's fictitious bare knuckle background. They do it every week. I should be used to it. I'm not.
Tweet 39: Note to WWE: it is very clear that Barrett does not weigh 270 pounds. Please don't have Michael Cole claim that's what he weighs.
Tweet 40: Big Show did a hunching clothesline and Josh Mathews called it as a spear. I feel cold inside.
Tweet 41: The faces win. Another utterly unsurprising result.

Michael Cole interviews AJ, featuring comments from Daniel Bryan

Tweet 42: Up next: YET ANOTHER replay of the AJ Death Bump.

Tweet 43: AJ looks very happy and is walking very briskly for someone in a neck brace.
Tweet 44: "Big oaf." Michael Cole is a journalist. Never forget that. NEVER.
Tweet 45: So AJ is telling off Michael Cole. Tremendous. We're back to Cole being a featured performer again.
Tweet 46: How about this: bring JR back to the announce desk and use Cole as a heel manager. He'd work well in the role and JR's a better commentator.
Tweet 47: Did Cole just call Show a moving bus?
Tweet 48: AJ has no self-respect. Someone told Michael Cole that at breakfast.
Tweet 49: Daniel Bryan is bringing this episode of SmackDown back from the brink of mind-numbing tedium.
Tweet 50: Bryan took a nature walk during the Super Bowl. Comments like that are why he's so good.
Tweet 51: Daniel Bryan recycles. Daniel Bryan is the World Heavyweight champion. I think the moral of the story is plain for all to see.
Tweet 52: Cole, a heel, is pseudo-feuding with Daniel Bryan, also a heel. That's the magic of Vince McMahon's mind.
Tweet 53: "Personal day." I LOL'd.

Daniel Bryan was the best thing about this week's SmackDown. Give the guy a personal day!

Ted Dibiase v Hunico

Tweet 54: Ted Dibiase. If anyone wants to check another channel now's the time.

Tweet 55: Hunico on a bike!!
Tweet 56: Ted Dibiase just bungled a clothesline. I don't know how. I certainly don't know why. I do know it will prove to be the match's highlight.
Tweet 57: Ted Dibiase would be the perfect guy to be given an experimental gimmick of some sort. He's not over so try stuff with him.
Tweet 58: I care far more about Hunico's bike than I do about this match or the feud between Dibiase and Hunico.
Tweet 59: Ted gets a rollup victory. Great. As a reward give him two or three weeks off and give Brodus Clay the air time instead.

From the Vault

Tweet 60: Cryme Time v JeriShow. I have mixed feelings about this... #FromtheVault

Tweet 61: Striker just referred to Cryme Time as the Sugar Hill Gang. Strikes me as a bit racist but that's Striker for you.
Tweet 62: Nobody has ever stood up from a Big Show punch. He is a killer. Credit this information to Todd Grisham.

The announcement that John Laurinaitis has kept his job

Tweet 63: John Laurinaitis has retained his job as interim RAW GM. Phew.

Tweet 64: Laurinaitis "live" on the phone from Abu Dhabi is amusing on multiple levels.
Tweet 65: #MrExcitement

Randy Orton v Daniel Bryan

Tweet 66: SmackDown's serving up an Ortonburger right NOW.

Tweet 67: Big Show is on commentary. He's no Booker T.
Tweet 68: Bryan's got a lot of black on his trunks. Don't worry though: the maroon's still there. #Regalstudent
Tweet 69: Running knee from the apron. #ROH
Tweet 70: Bryan v Orton is very good for a WWE TV match. Their first singles bout should've been saved for a pay-per-view though.
Tweet 71: Flying headbutt. #Benoit
Tweet 72: Everybody loves a superplex. That's what 'Cowboy' Bob told Randy at any rate...
Tweet 73: Why are WWE booking Cole to lay into Show for facing non-wrestlers at 'Mania when they're planning to do it AGAIN this year?
Tweet 74: “Are you going to sit here and run?" - Big Show
Tweet 75: Big Show chucks an attempting-to-flee Daniel Bryan into the ring and Orton RKOs him. Bryan wins by DQ.
Tweet 76: SmackDown goes off the air with Bryan smirking as he watches Show and Orton lump each other. The champ was the star of the episode.

SmackTalk 27.01.12

A week or so ago I experimented with a different approach to recapping RAW. Instead of simply writing what happened and giving my thoughts on it I posted up what I’d tweeted during the show with some extra thoughts afterwards (read that here). It’s not an approach I want to repeat for RAW, but I will try it again for SmackDown.

That’s what this blog is.

I think this approach works better for SmackDown. It’s a show taped on a Tuesday and aired on a Friday. That means there are spoilers out there for several days before it airs, meaning there’s a good chance anyone reading a SmackDown recap is already familiar with what happened on the show. There are enough ways of finding out what happened on the show without me providing one more. View this as a companion piece to enhance viewing of the episode should you be watching it for the first time.

Opening segment, featuring a Big Show, Daniel Bryan and Mark Henry

Tweet 1: It's SmackDown time.

Tweet 2: How many times must we sit through the AJ Death Bump?

Tweet3: Lot of fat lads in the audience sporting Big Show T-shirts. What does that say about how he's perceived?

Tweet 4: Big Show has a "career"?

Tweet 5: D-BRY!!

Tweet 6: "You are no Andre the Giant" - Daniel Bryan to Big Show

Tweet 7: Just when it was going so well... Mark Henry came waddling out.

Tweet 8: Mark Henry's being used as a tweener and he's getting over? What fantasy world have I woken up in?

Tweet 9: Just for once can Daniel Bryan face someone of his size on SmackDown?

Cody Rhodes v Justin Gabriel and backstage segments

Tweet 10: Did Cody just do a jig at the top of the ramp?

Tweet 11: Cole's picking Cody to win the Rumble. We know one guy who's not winning then.

Tweet 12: That match could've been great with another four minutes to play with.

Tweet 13: Yoshi Tatsu booked to bicker with Santino backstage. Why not have him wrestling Bryan?

Tweet 14: This Henry v Big Show feud has been going for six months. That is ridiculous.

Drew McIntyre v Sheamus and thoughts on video packages

Tweet 15: Drew McIntyre needs to get a haircut and some new trunks, maybe introduce a new move. That'd help him stand out. He needs to do something.

Tweet 16: Did Sheamus shout "FELLAAAAAA" after he won?

Tweet 17: This Rumble statistics video manages to be both interesting and tedious at the same time.

Tweet 18: There's so much filler on SmackDown it's ridiculous.

Santino and Yoshi Tatsu v Epico and Primo

Tweet 19: Tatsu will be wasted in this tag team.

Tweet 20: Which one is Epico and which one is Primo? Do the decent thing and write it on your tights, guys.

Daniel Bryan and Mark Henry backstage

Tweet 21: Is Mark Henry supposed to be shadow boxing?

Tweet 22: Mark Henry doesn't like to be touched. He's got father issues.

Randy Orton v Wade Barrett

Tweet 23: BARRETT RING COAT ALERT!!

Tweet 24: That Orton v Barrett brawl was absurd. Security footage. C'mon...

Tweet 25: I did like the ending though, where Barrett thought he'd KILLED Orton and ran off.

Tweet 26: Why are we seeing footage of Orton striding purposefully through a car park? Does he get ready in a production truck?

Tweet 27: Three man job squad holds back Orton. They are RKO fodder.

Tweet 28: Yep. Orton's going to blaze through them all.

 Hunico v Ted Dibiase

Tweet 29: Hunico on a bike!!

Tweet 30: That Hunico wrestles in street clothes is a good thing. Helps him stand out.

Tweet 31: Stand back, here comes charisma vacuum Ted Dibiase.

Tweet 32: Injured wrist on Dibiase? I won't ask how...

Tweet 33: Orange boots, Ted? Not a good choice.

Tweet 34: Hashtag Hispanic heel beatdown.

Tweet 35: I hope they ride the bike up the ramp.

Aksana, Teddy Long and Natalya backstage, DX v Hart Dynasty (From the Vault)

Tweet 36: They're still doing Aksana's random saxophone thing? Dedicated.

Tweet 37: WWE should have kept the Hart Dynasty together. They could have got years of tag work out of them.

Tweet 38: Natalya throws a mean-looking worked slap.

Tweet 39: DX v Hart Dynasty dragged.

Brodus Clay v Alex Riley and Kane v Zack Ryder (from RAW)

Tweet 40: Regal dancing. #thatscans

Tweet 41: SOMEBODY CALL MY MAMA!! #Funkasaurus

Tweet 42: This gimmick is great. #Funkasaurus

Tweet 43: They need to film more content for SmackDown. Recapping RAW is a waste.

Tweet 44: Choke slam through the stage. Why not?

Tweet 45: I've just noticed Kane has gone back to wearing one glove. I was always a fan of that.

Tweet 46: Another Kane opinion: he should have tombstoned Eve. For lols.

Tweet 47: Children are crying because Zack Ryder has been choke slammed on to a crash mat. Meanwhile viewers are turning over because they're bored.

Aksana v Natalya

Tweet 48: Aksana beating Natalya? Another solid piece of business for WWE's women's division.

Tweet 49: Is Tamina face or heel? It really isn't clear.

Big Show v Mark Henry with Daniel Bryan sitting at ringside

Tweet 50: Main event time. Big Show got the "in the ring" jobber intro.

Tweet 51: AmDrag alert.

Tweet 52: Lots of heat for Bryan. He's great in the smarmy heel role.

Tweet 53: I don't understand why Bryan's out there and not on commentary. That would really add to his character.

Tweet 54: Maybe it's to get heat with "internet fans."

Tweet 55: I love Bryan scampering around ringside. I don't love the finish to the match not being televised. That's bordering on a TNA move.

Tweet 56: SmackDown had a fairly poor ending. It hyped the Rumble match well but not showing the match finish on TV was weak and cheap.

As is usually the case SmackDown was a competent show that accomplished everything it set out to. Ted Dibiase’s babyface push continued, and Yoshi Tatsu made a rare appearance on a main TV show. While the Dibiase push is ultimately going to prove a waste of time (because Ted doesn’t have the charisma to get over as a face) it at least shows that the SmackDown writing team can and will allow mid-card talent the chance to get over. That’s something we rarely see on RAW.

‘The Funkasaurus’ Brodus Clay was used well again. Concentrating on his entrance and booking him in short, decisive matches is going to help him get over. He, unlike Ted Dibiase, has the charisma and presence needed to make people want to see more of him.

WWE has so few babyface prospects that if Brodus can demonstrate the character can work in longer matches against fellow rising stars (such as Cody Rhodes, Wade Barrett and Dolph Ziggler) he should be able to ensure the character doesn’t have the short shelf life many have predicted. I like Brodus and the gimmick and think he’s someone WWE should be thinking of as a future main event star.

The return of Randy Orton was another large part of this week’s SmackDown. Aspects of it seemed odd, particularly that it wasn’t advertised (as far as I’m aware) the previous week. A big star like Orton returning to TV after a hiatus (no matter how brief) should be mentioned in advance as it can help ratings. Seeing ‘The Viper’ walk through a car park directly before his match was peculiar too.

Those are minor quibbles though. The way both Barrett and Orton were booked helped their feud (which I assume will culminate at Elimination Chamber or earlier to free Barrett up to face Daniel Bryan for the World title at WrestleMania) and made Orton look like a favourite to win the Rumble. He was already considered a favourite but reinforcing it doesn’t hurt, especially when nobody else has really been made to look dominant before this year’s show.  

The Mark Henry v Big Show match was the most disappointing aspect of the show because we were simply told Henry had left ringside and been counted out during a break. No footage was shown. ‘The World’s Strongest Man’ was actually injured early on in the bout and had to head backstage because he couldn’t continue working. That’s nobody’s fault but considering the editing technology at WWE’s disposal they could have put something together to excuse Henry form the match for viewers at home. They did record him going backstage after all.

The end of the show saw Daniel Bryan wallop Big Show with a chair before ‘The World’s Largest Athlete’ made a comeback and got the better of the World Heavyweight champion. The original plan was apparently for Mark Henry to come in and splash ‘D-Bry’ after he’d absorbed a Big Show choke slam. Obviously that couldn’t happen. That’s a shame because Mark Henry has grown on me as a tweener. It’s unlikely we’ll see him compete in Sunday’s triple threat cage match so we’ll likely have Show and Bryan one-on-one instead. That’s still not likely to be the best of matches, but Bryan’s talented enough (and Show’s sympathetic enough) to make it work.

For more on this evening’s Royal Rumble read my preview here.