NXT Takeover: Rival 10 Observations On The Night

NXT Takeover: Rival continued the tradition of awesome events for NXT. It was a night of change with both a new Women’s Champion crowned in Sasha Banks and Kevin Owens is the New NXT Champion. Instead of doing a re-cap of the show, I thought I would offer 10 observations based on last night’s show. There was a lot to talk about coming out of this show that is for certain.

1. Selfie Sticks Rule When Used By Tyler Breeze: It was a late edition to the card with Tyler Breeze taking on Heido Itami. When Breeze came out with a selfie stick all styled to match his outfit. I have missed Tyler Breeze and he had a good match with Itami that as I stated prior to the match both needed. Match aside the Selfie Stick stole the show as far as this match went.

2. Baron Corbin Is Not Ready For Prime Time: Corbin’s feud with Bull Dempsey has damaged him. The third in this trilogy of doom was suppose to be a no disqualification match but had very little in the way of weapons as part of the match. There were a few botched spots and Corbin just didn’t look good in a longer match. It is not like Corbin can’t succeed, but much like how people are critical of Roman Reigns and the position he holds currently. People seeing Corbin as this next big thing is not a role he is ready for at this time.

3. NXT Tag Team Division Needs Help: The Lucha Dragons and Blake & Murphy had a very sloppy tag-team championship match. Blake and Murphy are just to babyface for me liking. While people rave about Kalisto, I have seen him look like a red-hot mess on two NXT specials now. Sure, you have the Vaudevillians and Big Cass & Enzo, but just like on the main roster tag-teams are few and far between. It was a toss up for worst match of the night between the tag team match and Corbin and Dempsey.

4. Finn Balor A Better Version of Jeff Hardy: Finn Balor is a much more together version of Jeff Hardy in some ways. The introduction he has is a much better version of Jeff Hardy for modern times. His introduction is almost bordering on performance art. Once the bell rings with or without the pain, he is an amazing talent. He doesn’t have the baggage and bad habits that have held back Jeff Hardy from having the true career he could have had. Finn Balor should have a tremendous chance of success on the main roster and could be a big merchandise seller.

5. Ladies Hit A Home Run: Triple H talked about wanting to expand the roles for women on main roster on Stone Cold’s Podcast. A big reason for this desire has to be the talent he has seen in NXT. The four-way match that the ladies put on last night validated his opinion. All four women worked about as solid a 4-way match that you could hope to see regardless of gender. The success of Ronda Rousey in MMA is proof that times are changing and women fighting can sell. It may sound silly in the scripted world of pro wrestling it feels more real than the guys may at times. The talent is there to take the Women’s division back to its glory days with Trish, Lita and a host of other ladies.

6. Charlotte and Sami Zayn Next Stop Main Roster: Sami Zayn and Charlotte Flair both lost their titles and that seems to scream that time are now for them to be heading to the next level. If Triple H wants to expand the women’s division Charlotte Flair is the WWE’s Ronda Rousey to run with. The fact her dad is Ric Flair adds to her credibility. While Sami Zayn has nothing left to prove on the NXT level. While many fear what will become of Sami on the main roster his support from Triple H. Clearly, Sami has been taken under the wing of Triple H and just as other guys like The Shield and Bray Wyatt have had success I feel Sami will be able to do the same with his support and backing.

7. What is next for Adrian Neville: Some will say it also time for Neville to move on to the main roster. I have a feeling he will not and would almost be inclined to see him make a heel turn in NXT. He has lost in many face vs. face matches of late and always been taken the losses with class. Eventually he has to snap from this you have to figure. His size will always be a major concern on the main roster. Maybe with a Napoleon complex as a heel he would have a better chance than being the rumored Mighty Mouse type gimmick they planned. I still say face or heel he must have a manager and given faces seldom have mangers these days this is another reason to turn him heel. They teased a heel turn in his feud with Zayn so why not go all the way with it. 

8. Sasha Banks Is Finally The Boss Of The NXT Women’s Division:  Sasha Banks has lived in the shadows of Summer Rae and after that Charlotte but she now can truly be The Boss she has professed to be. I often felt her work was somewhat underrated as people were dazzled by Paige and after that the quickly developing Charlotte. The NXT fans have been behind her long before this moment but this is validation of her gimmick and she finally is on top of the mountain. It will be interesting to see how she handles being on top moving forward with Charlotte likely off to the main roster soon. 

9. Cory Graves A Work In Progress On Commentary: Cory Graves was thrown into commentary out of the blue after being forced to retire as an in-ring competitor due to concussions. I felt on his first show in December he was somewhat better than he was last night. He probably has too many voices in his head telling him what he should be doing. I still like him and his style is unique from the other cast of characters. He is the closest thing we have seen to a heel announcer in NXT. If he is given the chance to grow into the role, I think he can be very good at this eventually.

10. Kevin Owens the Greatest Debut In NXT History: if you had told me 18 months ago, that Kevin Steen would even be in the WWE, I would have had a hard time believing it. It would not be that Kevin wasn’t good enough but that Kevin wasn’t the typical mold of what a WWE Superstar is. I could never have imagined not only is he here in NXT but also has been brought in as the dominant heel of the brand. In his words two months to the day, he debuted in his third televised match he has won the NXT Championship. It is mind-boggling and to see him pictured with Triple H with the NXT Title seems almost out of a dream. It is all very real though and Kevin is truly one of the best performers I have been privileged to see.  It is so great to see him succeed and have success. It is so amazing the confidence and push he has been given on his way in the door in WWE. It really is a magical ride that Kevin has been on after months of waiting for him to debut. I don’t think this is the last title Kevin Owens will lay his hands on. He perhaps without knowing celebrated the same way as Brock Lesnar did when he beat The Rock head butting the title. I made the joke on twitter is it too late for Lesnar vs. Owens at Wrestlemania?  It is one of those wrestling moments that I will remember for a long time... if not forever. Now the work begins, as Owens will look to stay on top and validate what has been afforded him in entering the company with such a strong push.

Fast Lane will have a tough act to follow. This is nothing new for the folks on the WWE Roster who finally have some competition that TNA could never provide. NXT has become not just the future of the WWE but a true force that should motivate people on the main roster that have a pulse and a competitive bone in their body. It was another fun night in the wrestling fantasyland that is NXT. In a place where things make sense, more than they don’t and talent exceeds the high expectations of demanding pro wrestling fans more often than they do not.

WWE Needs To Get More Bang For Their Rock

The appearance of The Rock did create a buzz no one is going to deny that. He stands out whenever he decides he wants to come back home and play wrestler for a night or a few months. It has got to the point of the odd night here and the odd night there.  His feud and basis for John Cena to be against him was his lack of a presence on WWE programming. Which at one point we are told created a legitimate beef between the two. The issue when the Rock comes back is not that he isn’t sticking around as much as it he reminds us how good he is in comparison to the current crop of WWE stars including John Cena himself.

When you have these rare chances to have the Rock on the show I would suggest that the WWE tends to blow it with him and miscast him more often than not. Take this recent visit from the Rock was this the best use of him at this time? I would venture to say it wasn’t and while the interaction with Rusev will help Rusev and Lana to some extent, this really isn’t who needed The Rock’s help.

Roman Reigns his relative needed the Rock far more. So why not have The Rock stop Rusev from attacking an injured Reigns or better yet The Authority. The Rock could cut this promo about how Roman is his family and he will always have his back. He could talk about how he is going to help him through his rehabilitation and make him an even bigger bad ass. Providing validation of the fact, that Roman is carrying on the great legacy of The Rock’s family in this company.  A real passing of the torch moment that whenever the Rock does pop in and out you can utilize. It even makes a great build to a heel turn for Reigns way down the line where he no longer wants or needs The Rock’s help. It may not help in the short term but WWE needs to figure out ways to build for the long term when guys like The Rock drop in.

Rumors are getting louder that Stone Cold Steve Austin is thinking of making a comeback. While the obvious people pairing Austin with seem to be C.M Punk, Brock Lesnar or even John Cena that is a short-term one-event match. Punk and Austin would be great if Punk was even on speaking terms with the company. Still isn’t it better to see Austin tied to some younger star than one that is on the back nine of their WWE career while Austin is coming down the eighteenth fairway of his for a second time for some cheers and applause.

WWE seems to fall to much in love with their past just like many of the fans.  Fans can cheer the Rock, Austin or Hogan, remember the past, and have a great moment. That isn’t going to help invest them in the current product. Perhaps that gets to another issue for the WWE. They seem like they are in quicksand trying to promote their past but in doing so it shed light on how badly their present doesn’t measure up to their great history.

The legacy and history of the WWE and really all of wrestling on any major scale in North America is owned by the WWE. This should be a tremendous asset for this company yet they have still not found a way to have their history help their future on many occasions. It shouldn’t be that difficult to come up with ideas to allow interactions with your past and the present to help build your future. There are moments the WWE does get it right but they are rare.

A recent example happened on one of the NXT specials this year when Charlotte Flair won the NXT Women’s Championship with her father Ric in her corner and Bret Hart in the corner of Natalya. Past and present mixed magically together to create a really special and emotional moment that you could feel. Even this I think they missed a moment in the aftermath. Heading into the match, Charlotte was booked as a heel. Coming out of it, I maintained at the time she should have been turned into a babyface. It was the right moment to do it but instead WWE has waited until months later to start a slow turn with Charlotte when they had the moment to do it handed to them in their lap.

WWE needs to come up with some simple and effective ideas to market both their past and present in harmony. If they do not find a way to do that, both the current product and WWE Network will suffer for it as a result.  Ideally, you want the Network to lure back old fans and get them invested in the current product and win them back as fans again. That clearly isn’t happening right now on any level.

When the WWE figures out a way to do this that will be a moment when things start to move in a positive direction.

Sometime I feel the WWE has been so bogged down in corporate business that they try to take simple things and make them into rocket science. Vince McMahon built this empire based on going with his gut a lot of time and taking chances. It seems this company is in a very different place from that these days. They are afraid to take almost any risk at all and as a result, the product, ratings, and network subscriptions are all heading in the wrong direction.

There really isn’t a lot of excuses in the sense you have perhaps one of the most talented rosters top to bottom you have had since the glory days of the "Attitude Era." It just goes to show talent can only be talented when given the environment and ability to be so. Not enough freedom is being given to these people that play these roles every Monday Night and most of the rest of the week.

What is left of wrestling fans will always cheer The Great One and all the other legends like him. They key is making new guys to be those legends for the next generation and to this point that isn’t happening enough. What happens when the WWE runs out of break glass in case of emergency old stars from the past?

It is a real problem and the WWE has used up almost all their nostalgia-based matches that people will still be excited about. The WWE seems to be very short sighted as relates to these kinds of matches.  What is the pay off for a Sting match as an example 5 years from now? Next to nothing, really it just becomes a historical moment added to hundreds that already exist.

They need to start building a future and they acknowledge that with the money they have spent on the performance center and the amount of work that has gone into the NXT and developmental as a whole. Nevertheless, that just gives you the talent you still have to make them into stars. Something the WWE has historically been very good at but seems to be lacking in over the last few years. Instead focusing primarily on the one guy they have built in John Cena. You need more than one guy to make this company go.

In any case, it is always nice to see The Rock; I just wish WWE used their time with him more wisely.

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NXT Takeover 2: Post Show Podcast

We did not have a Hangin on the Moon today think all our audio issues are solved but decided to do an NXT Takeover post game show with myself and Josh Lopez. We break down the card and share our thoughts as well as have a couple interesting sidebar conversations along the way. So sit back and enjoy as we bring a little NXT into your life.


Still will have the regular podcast on later tonight as always with Chris Walder talking all the rest of the wrestling news of the week. Walder might give his two cents on Takeover 2 as well so make sure to come back and listen to that.

NXT Takeover 2: A New NXT Champion To Be Crowned?

 NXT is set to have there third special event on Thursday night on the WWE Network. On paper, this card does not live up to previous two. We will have the introduction of Kenta to NXT officially scheduled but also have Prince Devitt and Kevin Steen now as part of the mix at the performance center so who knows if we see them as well? We did see the participants in main event on Raw this past Monday. They seemed to get over pretty well with both the live audience and the viewing audience. Ole chants rang out on Raw for Sami Zayn and for once, the commentators did a great job of getting over all four guys in the match.

Singles Match
Mojo Rawley vs. Bull Dempsey

I have no interest in this match at all. Mojo Rawley is a classic example of what the WWE thinks will draw compared to what the audience actually wants. Which is not Mojo with his lack of experience in the ring combined with his over enthusiastic character makes him annoying as hell to most and me. While Bull Dempsey is old school, wrestling gimmick is not a hit with me either. Some thought this gimmick would be great for Kevin Steen. It is a death sentence and nothing is great about it. Someone has to win the match that should be a boring yawn festival so I will go with Bull by default.


Hair vs. Hair Match
Enzo Amore vs. Sylvester LeFort

Has a babyface ever lost a haircut match in the history of wrestling? If they did, it was terrible booking of the highest order. Still despite this being, a very predictable outcome of this still should be a fun match. It is a big match for Enzo who has been out with injury for a long period and this is the first big match since his return from injury to his leg. LeFort knows about injuries himself; he as a result was booked as a manger in NXT when he debuted.  Both have a lot to gain from a high profile match like this and it should be good. Enzo Amore will win but it will be all about the journey and post match haircut that makes or breaks this contest. 


NXT Tag Team Championship Match
The Ascension (c) vs. Kalisto & Sin Cara

We saw Kalisto with a different partner go against this team of The Ascension as he teams with Sin Cara who also is new under his mask from the original. The Ascension has long been rumoured to heading to the main roster. They did pop up this week on WWE Main Event so maybe finally they are off to the main roster. Does this mean that automatically means they will drop the titles? It could but I would not call it a lock at all at this point. I have never been a fan of The Ascension. They have size and an entrance as well as the support of the great NXT fans. Still for me, I see them as a team destined to flop on the main roster. I think they will retain the titles regardless of their status in terms of the main roster.
 

NXT Women’s Championship Match
Charlotte (c) vs. Bayley

Charlotte Flair was able to capture the NXT Women’s Champion in a match with Natalya that many are calling one of the best women’s matches in years. Bayley up until getting this title opportunity was booked as a far less serious character that seemed to be geared at kids. She was a star struck fan girl but in the last month or so has been down played and she has been more serious in her actions. The reason for the change is to build her as serious contender.  Some think Charlotte is going to be rushed to the main roster based on her fast improvement but also to give her father something to do on the main roster. Who knows if this is true but if it is they have set a precedent that would suggest she should lose if moving up to the main roster. Will see what happens but both women will have a huge mountain to climb to live up to Charlotte’s last match. I think Bayley is going go over here but not sure, if that is a good move to make. 

NXT Championship Match
Adrian Neville (c) vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd

Let’s start by saying this is easily the best match on the show with some of the best talent on the NXT roster currently. I also think you could make a compelling argument for all three challengers to win this match. I also feel that as a fan I am ready to see a change of this title and have methods to protect my baby face current champion. Sami Zayn has been chasing the title for a long time and has been the MVP performer on NXT since he arrived. The four-way gives him a way to win without turning his character. Tyson Kidd is doing a great job with his NXT heel run. He could certainly make a great champion. My choice to win this contest is however, Tyler Breeze who I think is deserving and is the best fit for the role. Breeze likely is not coming to the WWE roster with his current gimmick or at least should not. It is two similar to what The Miz is currently doing. I think he can really learn from a run as a heel champion as well. I still think regardless the title needs to change. We will see if in fact we get a new NXT champion on Thursday. How people view this show will be largely be based on this match. Nothing else on the card has a chance to challenge this match on paper for match of the night.

I think this will be the greatest challenge in terms of one of these shows so far. The first two have created quite a short but great legacy to live up to for NXT roster. This show still can be very entertaining it is just how great the other two shows have been that makes the challenge for this show to live up to it. Triple H is extremely proud of what he has created with the NXT brand and Performance Center and rightfully so.

Our friends at Between the Ropes sat in on Paul Lesveque's conference call to promote tomorrow's event.   

 

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Still A BOliever in NXT System Producing Talent?

Is it time to re-evaluate how NXT is doing at producing talent on the next level? No one will question the earlier returns from the NXT system have been fantastic. The Shield and Wyatt’s are big players on the main roster. Daniel Bryan being on mend will mean either the Shield or Wyatt’s will be in the main event of this PPV.

Looking closer at more recent NXT call-ups you see nothing but trouble. Xavier Woods was paired with R-Truth his former tag partner once upon a time in TNA. He was given the music of Brodus Clay and been on a free fall to jobberville ever since. Can’t always hit a homer no worries the sassy little Aussie Emma will make people smile. Not exactly as she started as a fan in the crowd with signs and would be plucked from that by Santino. Her dance the 400 strong at NXT do each time she comes out does nothing for the WWE Universe. A teased romance with Santino and pink cobra later this poor girl is not over as much as the red head that can’t wrestle on Total Divas.

Time to call on the big guns as Paige has been long anticipated to make her way to the main roster. The strong Anti-Diva of NXT has become the weak lucky girl that some how got a fluke win on A.J Lee. Where is she? She is gone to watch the Blackhawks with CM Punk back in Chicago. Not doing much for Paige. Even little used Alicia Fox rubs Paige’s face in the mud verbally and physically despite not winning.

What now well let’s have a party with a man dressed in a bunny suit rumoured to be Zack Ryder and a bunch of other freaks from the back not working matches dressed in crazy costumes. All part of Adam Rose’s Exotic Express that has had two times to make us all rosebuds but instead Rose has been a dud. Sorry to be a lemon but this whole act is not ready for prime time.

What has gone wrong? Bolieve it or not NXT is on a heck of losing streak at debuts. That is right Bo Dallas you better “REALLY BOLIEVE,” because things are not going well up here at the big boys table. How long before Bo Dallas is the lead singer of 3MB singing don’t stop Bolieving?

You wonder how gimmicks like Tyler Breeze and Bailey will do in the big time on the main roster. It seems just because it works at NXT is no indication that it will get over on the main roster.

Sami Zayn and Charlotte Flair might be the two best chances left in NXT at the moment. This is at least in the immediate future.

Well someone from NXT has gotten over on main roster lately actually…..Lana. To bad the one they are trying to get over is, Alexander no more, just call me Rusev. Once the Bulgarian Brute now an illegal immigrant to Russia. Well maybe he is marrying Lana. They two actually do date and believe it or not that is a shoot. The most jumbled and confusing debut I can recall in the WWE in a long time.

Triple H’s baby of NXT is not having a great success rate in the last few months. No doubt he can’t be thrilled about that and it should have an impact on how fast they are to look at any other new stars. You can take that as bad or good news for current members of the NXT roster depending on how you look at it.

It maybe time to re-access how they are debuting these talents cause the care that was taken with The Shield and the Wyatt’s has not been afforded to these recent NXT call-ups.

IWCP Episode 8

Back a little late, but for a little longer as we talk about the news of the week in wrestling. Myself and Chris Walder talk about Mick Foley's comments about WWE, The next NXT Special Event and a lot more. Also we have Steve Muehlhausen from Between the Ropes website to talk about the crossover between MMA and WWE and if we ever get a four horsewomen invasion



Thanks to Steve and make sure to check out his great work along with Brian Fritz over at Between The Ropes. Also make sure to give a like on Facebook. The 10 Count will be back in effect on Sunday and will more people read that than watch the TNA PPV something to wonder about.

Ronda Rousey In WWE Just A Matter Of When Not If?

The WWE always loves main stream attention and they have a history of not being afraid at bringing outside people to pop a rating. It seems that every scrum of late for the UFC’s Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey includes some WWE talk. She was in attendance at UFC 171 and in the 11 minutes or so she took some of that time to talk about loving the WWE and not being opposed to be involved in it although with her schedule it likely doesn’t make sense. She also talked with school girl like enthusiasm about meeting CM Punk after her most recent victory at UFC 170. Have a listen to the media scrum from MMA Fighting Website:



While we joked on the IWC podcast about bringing her in for Wrestlemania this year that likely makes no sense given Rousey’s schedule. Summerslam would seem to make a ton of sense being in L.A but that also appears to be around the same time Rousey expects to jump back in the octagon. So if she is preparing for a fight that likely is not going to work. Wrestlemania 31 up in San Francisco might make a ton of sense.

I seriously wonder if people in WWE have her on the radar because if they don’t they damn well should. You bring back Batista, in part, based on a movie roll, a guest slot for the most famous women’s fighter ever and a movie star in her own right, this needs to happen for WWE. 

More than that Rousey unlike some guests that get thrown into the WWE world is a legit fan and a legit threat physically. She may not come alone either as she has a group of female fighters that make up her group they have named the 4 horsewomen. This is just something waiting to be exploited by Vince McMahon.

WWE may already have a storyline waiting for this to all come together. Ric Flair’s daughter Charlotte currently in WWE Developmental at NXT has recently taken on her dad’s history in storyline. They have even gone to the point of calling her the “Dirtiest Diva in the Game” as a play off her dad’s famous catch phrases.  A storyline involving Rousey’s 4 horsewomen rolling into WWE even for a short one off appearance could fit in with all of this perfectly.

Am I obsessed with the idea of Ronda Rousey and WWE coming together? Yup I am, but as crazy as I am about it this does make sense if you can make it happen. WWE got a big boost back in the day from Mike Tyson, there is no reason to think they couldn’t do it again with Ronda Rousey.

I think the idea of her getting into a match of any kind is never going to happen but to see her involved in a way like Tyson was is something I could totally see happening.

It doesn’t seem like Ronda’s love for Pro Wrestling is going away despite true MMA only fans perhaps rolling their eyes. In the same way they do when CM Punk talks about wanting to fight in MMA or at least teasing the idea of it.

Rousey recently met Punk at her fight which was a rare public appearance for Punk since leaving the WWE after the Royal Rumble. If Punk was part of the WWE when and if Rousey were to come around he would only be helpful in making this happen you have to figure.

Not sure what strictly WWE fans would think of Rousey but as she has proven in MMA she is cool with playing the heel if it works out that way. I have a feeling the WWE fans that are also MMA fans would embrace this has something pretty big.

But the biggest reason the WWE would do such a thing is Ronda Rousey brings with her a ton of media interest and her own built in fan base and haters as well. Whatever Ronda Rousey does these days seems to draw a ton of attention. You can make the argument she is the most famous female athlete on the planet today. 

IWC Podcast Back Talking Mania, ROH, And Divas Oh My

Week two what you gonna do brother! Well I will tell you we talk about Daniel Bryan and his road after Wrestlemania. TNA's return to PPV that was called Lockdown but by looks of the crowd maybe it should have been Lockout. While TNA struggles ROH seems to on the rise? Talk about the lack of knowledge about the Mania under card. Does a Battle Royal work in 2014 as a concept. In addition what former WWE Women's Champion is not a fan of the term Diva. We look at the state of Diva's Division in WWE.


If your enjoying the show please let people know about as we are trying to get this podcast off the ground and build an audience and a fanbase for this. We have some guests were trying to book for the upcoming weeks that we hope you will enjoy.