NXT: 100 Episodes of Awkwardness

[#1-norm-fan]

So I just finished watching the 100th episode of NXT. I stopped watching after it went to the web and just started catching up about a month ago and I was NOT disappointed. It definitely shouldn't be on TV as it's more of a novelty than a traditional wrestling show but there is so much greatness. Here are some random thoughts:

- Creepy Johnny Curtis is awesome and is so above and beyond most of the all time cast it's ridiculous.

- Derrick Bateman may be the most cringe-worthy mic worker I've ever heard. He over acts like a motherfudger and he may also be a 'tard.

- William Regal is oddly quiet sometimes but I like his sometimes self deprecating commentary. He's definitely got a future with it.

- Michael Cole's "I don't want to be here" gimmick hasn't gotten old. The man is hilarious in this setting.

- Matt Striker does an great job as host. His ridiculous amount of love for the show is also amusing to me.

100th episode:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/c2MiQ49L2VA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

lol @ Cole pretending to be shocked by Bateman's appearance.

Also, though Cole burned him afterward about it, I actually didn't think Titus' heel turn promo was THAT bad.

Anyway, post favorite memories of mustache promos and genesis' of McGillicuttys and such.

[#1-norm-fan]

Also lol @ the e-mail Johnny Curtis sent being way too short and Cole calling him on it.

[MoFo]

Season 3 was so good, car crash TV wise.

Wish that was the commentary team on Raw.

[Testicle]

I'm actually kind of surprised that they have let NXT go for the last year or so. It basically ████s on their own product. Seems like Nitro circa 2000.

[Corndad]

NXT the first season was almost a must watch for me. I was always entertained. Great matches and loved the interactions with the Coaches. Loved Miz/Punk/Jericho/Regal as mentors.

Season 2 was ok. Had a few bright spots such as Riley but Kaval leaving shortly after dulled it. Season 3 was Comedy. Still can't believe as painful as it was some nights I didn't miss one. Once it got into this never ending Redemption season I lost interest. I hope they end this season soon and do another Real season with new guys from FCW.

[#1-norm-fan]

I just watched Redemption from beginning to now through a few days. Around spisode 25 was when it started to level out to where it is now. I miss the competition. Lucky Cannon's weird attempts at courting Maryse and his unsuccessful "I'm gonna refuse to do competitions to be 'different' but I'm not very charismatic" turn, William Regal hating JTG for no reason to the point where it forced a JTG heel turn, O'Brien and Kozlov were a good pairing. Good times.

[#1-norm-fan]

And seriously, WOW is Derrick Bateman just awkward on the mic.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Who cares? It only airs in international markets and the internet.

[Lock Jaw]

I like Derrick Bateman on the mic.

[VSG]

I was there LIVE on episode 1 on Mar 8 :$

[#1-norm-fan]

I like Derrick Bateman on the mic.

He was brutal during that wedding. lol. Also, he yells intensely about everything and sounds like a legit special ed kid.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>I love NXT. The stories are fun and the matches are good. It basically is ECW at this point, and it works out. I wouldn't be opposed to an official "season" starting up again with new talent...but the show works as it is.

It's funny to me how all the "rookies" have been on the main roster for a year or longer.</font>

[Supreme Olajuwon]

I love NXT for the simple fact that it brought Wade Barrett, Alex Riley, and Brodus Clay into my life.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Kinda wish they'd bring up new guys though. Have they brought anybody from FCW up? Maybe I missed it.

Can't see how much longer they can keep Seth Rollins down in the minor leagues. Claudio's gotta be ready soon too.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Who cares? It only airs in international markets and the internet.

Probably people in international markets and those that have the internet.

[Destor]

Probably people in international markets and those that have the internet.smart guy right here.

[Evil Vito]

Kinda wish they'd bring up new guys though. Have they brought anybody from FCW up? Maybe I missed it.

Can't see how much longer they can keep Seth Rollins down in the minor leagues. Claudio's gotta be ready soon too.

<font color=goldenrod>I've got a feeling that nobody else is getting called up until right after WM. That's usually how it works. Rollins, Cesaro, and a returning Ryback/Skip Sheffield will hopefully all be on TV by April.</font>

[VSG]

I was there LIVE on episode 1 on Mar 8 :$

[VSG]

Also, MARYSE picture of the day ^

[Anybody Thrilla]

Season one of NXT was some of the best television in history. Remember when CM Punk was disgusted to have Darren Young as his mentor? Daniel Bryan v. Chris Jericho in the first main event? Michael Cole and Daniel Bryan's feud? Wade Barrett winning theme music? :shifty:

[#1-norm-fan]

<font color=goldenrod>I've got a feeling that nobody else is getting called up until right after WM. That's usually how it works. Rollins, Cesaro, and a returning Ryback/Skip Sheffield will hopefully all be on TV by April.</font>

Don't forget Richie Steamboat :love:

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Season One was outstanding...and Season Two wasn't all that bad either, the Pros were "legit" and the show still seemed to have meaning. Was pretty obvious that once Season Three hit that they stopped putting in any effort.

Then when Season Four came around, anybody of remote importance got pulled. No more Michael Cole, and Alberto Del Rio stopped appearing on the show as soon as he won the Royal Rumble despite being Brodus Clay's Pro.</font>

[XCaliber]

First couple of seasons were great but it went all downhill from there mind you the 4th had promise but now that it's been on for like triple the amount of time that it needed to be on if not for Super RAWs (and occasional SD) there'd really be no need for this show anymore for the undercard.

[Emperor Smeat]

It really went downhill almost at the start of season 3 although Cole trashing the contest started a bit in season 2 (only trashed Bryan in season 1).

I actually liked the first 3 seasons and began to lose interest around the middle of Season 4. Johnny Curtis winning was actually a pretty huge shock for me considering Brodus looked the most ready out of everyone.

At least the wedding segment this week kept up the WWE tradition of almost every wedding either falling apart or never lasting once it starts.

[#1-norm-fan]

I loved the beginning of Aksana and Goldusts wedding when Josh Mathews informed Michael Cole that it was all fake. lol

[Mr. Nerfect]

I love NXT. It's still a great show, but I do miss the old format. Seasons 1 and 2 were great. Eventually they have to have someone win, and I hope it is Derrick Bateman. Darren Young is decent, too, but I dunno. I'd just go with Bateman, and have Bateman force Daniel Bryan to be his Pro again. That could be interesting.

[Lock Jaw]

I never liked the format with all the ridiculous challenges and whatnot. Made me tune out.

I watched Season 3 because it was hot chicks doing the ridiculous challenges while the commentators ripped everything apart. Only started watching this season after the whole competition part seemed to go away.

[#1-norm-fan]

lol if Bateman wins after joining the competition randomly with only 2 people left.

[Lock Jaw]

http://i42.tinypic.com/2gwf3lt.gif

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>I'm not convinced there's ever going to be a winner tbh. It's 46 weeks in and Titus has started mentioning that the competitions and redemption points were completely meaningless. They could just as easily move Young, Bateman, O'Neil, Percy Watson, and Maxine onto one of the two main rosters and still continue the show as is...basically another version of ECW.

If they do end the season, I say they end it at Week 52 - a year on the nose.</font>

[Jordan]

Thank you for posting that link, that was brilliant. Hilarious, Cole was just hilarious.

[Jordan]

The rasslin was good too, especially Tatsu and Baretta vs Hawkins and Rekks, good teams.

[#1-norm-fan]

http://i42.tinypic.com/2gwf3lt.gif

lol. It looks like she starts to break at the very end.

[#1-norm-fan]

Just a thought... why would Bateman dress up for the wedding? lol

[#1-norm-fan]

Just now catching up on season 3. The weird, nerdy connection between Bateman and Bryan is hilarious. lol

[#1-norm-fan]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vXHh4fGCMy8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

HAHA WHAT!?

[#1-norm-fan]

lol. Chicks + America

This may have been my favorite moment in NXT history.

[James Diesel]

Rewatching from season 3 to now. I just wanted to see AJ's debut and see more of her since all we get now is her either talking to Bryan or getting ran over by wild Big Show's. Love that during the challenges, Striker can hear the announce team. At season 4, and not digging Grisham's lack of enthusiasm. Like yea, the show sucks, but have fun. Josh and Cole figured it out. Also, didn't know that Jacob Novak and I were from the same hometown. Made us look pretty bad

[#1-norm-fan]

lol. Novak was so awful.

[Jordan]

Thank for making me love this show WWF Fan, so f'n hilarous.

[Jordan]

Jason Bateman and Johnny Curtis are a new era for WWE, total cheese, totally hilarious.

Tyler Rekks and Curt Hawkins vs The Uso's on the latest episode was really good. Rekks and Curt are money, so are the Uso's. (I know their not technically part of NXT but whatever)

I agree with Regal that Trent Baretta is one to watch for sure, his offense is great.

Percy Watson has "it" in the making. I wish he'd just use the Heisman as his finish, it has great creditably to me, looks like it hurts.

Heath Slater really needs a hair cut and a more serious gimmick and I think he'd get over well. He's great in the ring.

I don't even mind Titus O'Neil's cheesy promo style, it's wrestling after all and he is coherent and kinda talented. They kept him around for a reason and I see it. He is good in the ring, but I don't like his finisher. His in ring style is so stiff and realistic looking, so obviously I like that. Maybe that's just him being green i'm not sure but i'm watching.

Overall NXT is a very refreshing show that really is showcasing some good wrestling, and it's interesting to see a crowd not give a shit at the top of the show and get into the love angle with Johnny and Derek and Maxine, or fall for Percy Watson, or bite into Titus, and especially how the Uso's and Rekk's/Hawkins got them worked so loud in their match this week.

Watch NXT if you don't it's very refreshing.

[James Diesel]

Never realized how much they shit on Brodus during Season 4. He's actually trying to win a fucking competition and Dibiase/Maryse are just constantly fucking around. Cole even tried to help him out and he still got fucked over. And then like every show it was Brodus watching Dibiase have a match. So far I've seen three Brodus matches and there's only 4 guys left

[James Diesel]

Also noticed the abrupt switch from Josh Matthews being Josh Matthews to Josh Matthews being Cole Jr. and Todd Grisham being Josh Matthews. Either way it's so damn entertaining

[Tom Guycott]

I haven't been watching NXT in ages. S&G's (well, more like a missed click from catching up on the last couple of weeks of wrestling) made me watch this.

One thing stuck in my head, though:

http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/000/805/689/percywatson_display_image.jpg?1300887245

minus

http://colincallblog.com/image_store/uploads/2/8/6/2/9/ar129645916792682.jpg

=

http://www.rapreviews.com/interview/sticky.jpg
(This is Sticky Fingaz, for suckas who don't know.)

I, for one, think they should capitalize on this. He can come out to "SLAM" and wear a "BACKDAFUCUP!" t-shirt. PG and modern-day relevance be damned!

[James Diesel]

Oh, I get it. They shit on Brodus so that he could switch to ADR. Shows how much I cared about NXT. Can't wait till it gets out of control and the points are completely useless

[XL]

Percy needs the "Showtime" gimmick back. He was great during Season 4, he's nowhere near as entertaining now.

I like that they are making reference to being "stuck on NXT" and seemingly making an angle of getting to the Big Leagues.

With that in mind, I'm hoping that the "agreement" between Maxine, Bateman and Curtis is that, despite their differences, they will team up in an effort to escape NXT.

[James Diesel]

I'd call bullshit if they just ignored the fact that Curtis fucked up the "marriage plans" and just saw the whole thing as water under the bridge.

[XL]

Think of the "Bigger Picture" (not Nexus' Bigger Picture mind you), Jimmy.

They set aside their issues to help each other get to the promise lands of SmackDown (where they will be seen by approximately 200 more people) and it gives WWE another tag team to "use".

[Lock Jaw]

http://cdn.sheknows.com/filter/l/gallery/drew_carey_on_whose_line_is_it_anyway.jpg
"Welcome to NXT, where everything is made up and the points don't matter!"

[#1-norm-fan]

"That's right, the points are like logical arguments to Kane Knight"

[Nicky Fives]

I love everything about NXT except Titus O'Neil..... he is turrible.....

[James Diesel]

"That's right, the points don't matter at all. Just like the second person you ever slept with."

[#1-norm-fan]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UNej_PotCOU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

lol. DAMMIT Johnny Curtis is awesome.

[#1-norm-fan]

And watching season 4, I'm coming down on my hatred of Bateman. When he's being heel-ish or in a serious storyline he's just annoying and out of place but laid back and playful Bateman is alright. I'm afraid this is the only environment where he could work out though.

Johnny Curtis on the other hand is all around amazing.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I have no clue why they turned Bateman heel. He is actually really terrible in the role.

Also, I'm not a fan of Titus O'Neil. I just cannot get into him. Percy Watson has shown moments of brilliance, but other times he is just "there." Also, I really hate how NXT is out of control. It makes no sense and it really bothers me. I miss the old competition format.

[James Diesel]

I loved Bateman during season 4. I feel he was cheated out of the win. And he helped Bryan show a little character. However as we come to a close on Season 4 let's see how well Brodus and Johnny run this finale.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I guess the longer this shit drags out, though, the more of a splash of fresh water it'll be when one of the contestants goes onto NXT Season 6 with a choice of their own Pro against a sea of fresh faces and established WWE Superstars.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I loved Bateman during season 4. I feel he was cheated out of the win. And he helped Bryan show a little character. However as we come to a close on Season 4 let's see how well Brodus and Johnny run this finale.

Curtis was always my pick for winner. He was, in my opinion, the best all-round competitor in the season (second would have been Byron Saxton, in my opinion), and he would have gotten a lot from a proper victory. But then they decided to randomly push R-Truth and dropped the idea of him and Curtis teaming.

[James Diesel]

Is it just me or does WWE speed up the episodes of NXT on YouTube? I noticed during some parts that every sounds like it's coming at you way too fast.

[#1-norm-fan]

I think the older seasons were a little short while obviously this one is too long. As long as it stays in competition mode, I would love 6 month seasons with the competition part just stretched out and the eliminations going every couple weeks over the last half. Maybe have a divas edition every few seasons.

The seasons going by too quick means too many winners getting put on the main brand and there was a danger of that becoming a problem until the season that never ends came along.

[James Diesel]

Yea I prefer competition style, especially since it exposed to several new faces that we need to see. I just hope this bullshit that's going on now gets figured out cause even the insiders have no idea what the fuck's going on anymore

[XL]

I liked the competition aspect, just not the competitions. Some of them were soooooooo cringe-worthy.

I also couldn't understand how/why Curtis won Season 4 but his vignettes before his SmackDown debut sold me on him. The fact that he lost in a squash match to Mark Henry after weeks of build up still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

[James Diesel]

I liked the competitions mainly for the commentating teams having just as hard a time digesting it as we did.

[#1-norm-fan]

That last video I posted should give you an idea of why Curtis won. The guy is likable, fun to watch, he's got a good look and he doesn't seem to be the slightest bit nervous.

And now he's doing a 180 by being horribly creepy and being amazing at that too. He's money.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Curtis is all-round good. He just hasn't stood out yet. Personally, I would not mind it if the dude aligned himself with The Miz and helped him deal with R-Truth -- given that Truth bailed on his partnership with Curtis. Johnny could be a great mid-card heel on RAW.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I think the older seasons were a little short while obviously this one is too long. As long as it stays in competition mode, I would love 6 month seasons with the competition part just stretched out and the eliminations going every couple weeks over the last half. Maybe have a divas edition every few seasons.

The seasons going by too quick means too many winners getting put on the main brand and there was a danger of that becoming a problem until the season that never ends came along.

The Divas season was pretty terrible, and that's because none of the girls had any real talent or ability to carry a show. It really upset NXT's flow, in my opinion. NXT has used hot women successfully in the past -- from ring announcers to co-hosts and girls hanging out with the Pros they are aligned with.

You could have a competition where the winner receives his own valet to help him stand out. Sort of like how Wade Barrett was meant to get entrance music in season one, but they just sort of dropped it. Instead of giving away "immunity points," perhaps have one competition for immunity, other competitions to get you some new ring music, your own spots on RAW and SmackDown! (which has been done before) and all that. So essentially, even during the course of the show, the rookies become Superstars before your eyes.

Also, when a guy is eliminated, there's the possibility that you don't need to kick them entirely off the show. They could stick around and just no longer be eligible for the grand prize, which is a title shot of your choosing. So, for example, Titus O'Neil could have been eliminated in season two first up, but instead of just disappearing, O'Neil could have stuck around with Zack Ryder, who would claim that the WWE Universe made a mistake. But O'Neil takes issue with Ryder's antics eventually (Ryder was a heel doing nothing at the time), and beats him on NXT to establish him in people's minds.

I mean, the idea is that a lot of the rookies end up on main television after the show, right? You might as well keep them around. In addition to Matt Striker as host, you could have Santino Marella on the show as some sort of "scout" for SmackDown!, and Mick Foley doing some scouting for RAW.

If you did have enough female talent to bring onto the show -- you could have different "divisions" so to speak. Perhaps even one for tag teams. You'd only have maybe four women, in addition to the eight men and maybe four teams; but you could split time between them and such. But that could become just as chaotic as it is now.

But basically, I think Triple H, John Laurinaitis or Matt Striker really needs to (kayfabe) step-in and clean NXT up. The active competitors (Bateman, O'Neil and Young) are put into a final round, and the winner (let's go with Derrick Bateman) goes on to the sixth season with their choice of Pro (let's go with Daniel Bryan -- who wants nothing to do with Bateman).

If the WWE was actually against doing that, and they want the traditional sort of WWE show, then I'd still go with a reset, except I'd have everyone cleared off except Matt Striker, Josh Mathews and William Regal. NXT becomes its own WWE brand, with an entirely fresh roster of guys.

* Abraham Washington
* Andy Leavine
* Antonio Cesaro
* Big E. Langston
* Bo Rotundo
* Calvin Raines
* Comacho (who hasn't technically made an in-ring debut just yet)
* Damien Sandow
* Dean Ambrose
* Eli Cottonwood with a new masked gimmick (so he's essentially a new character)
* Kenneth Cameron
* Leakee
* Leo Kruger
* Mike Dalton
* Peter Orlov
* Ricardo Rodriguez (officially entering the WWE as a competitor, as well as Alberto Del Rio's personal ring announcer)
* Richie Steamboat
* Rick Victor
* Seth Rollins
* Xavier Woods

There's twenty male competitors -- enough for over two serious seasons of NXT. But essentially you just have them on a brand, run by Matt Striker "teaching" them how to be WWE Superstars. Occasionally, you can have visiting Superstars come in, like Primo & Epico, for example. They can compete for an NXT Championship, which is simply a marker used to determine who is the best in the brand, which will obviously give them attention from the RAW and SmackDown! General Managers. They can even run angles where a Dean Ambrose threatens to leave NXT with its championship, ala CM Punk when he signed with the WWE and did the original "Summer of Punk" angle. Eventually, if there are enough teams formed, you could have the NXT Tag Team Championship introduced.

Throw in some Divas:

* Caylee Fox
* Juliet Cortez
* Saraya Knight
* Shaul Guerrero

Now, I think that concept could work. It'd need to be promoted by the WWE well, and it is essentially FCW on WWE TV, but it could serve a great stepping stone for getting people invested in new talent. I guess you could have your Derrick Batemans and Usos back -- but if that's the case, then I'd like them to become "NXT exclusive," until they graduate and then join RAW or SmackDown! permanently.

[James Diesel]

Well we saw what happened to the last NXT guy to help Miz. He ends up back on NXT. The only upgrade is he'd get to dance with (and be squashed by) the guy he beat to win NXT.

[James Diesel]

Forgot about Season 2 for some reason. Going back and watching it before I continue on with Season 5. Striker was fucking on one prior to the newer seasons.

[James Diesel]

As in, he had a massive stick up his ass about something. I dunno

[#1-norm-fan]

Curtis is all-round good. He just hasn't stood out yet. Personally, I would not mind it if the dude aligned himself with The Miz and helped him deal with R-Truth -- given that Truth bailed on his partnership with Curtis. Johnny could be a great mid-card heel on RAW.

lol. I'll take "He hasn't stood out yet" as "He is stuck on NXT"

Because that's really the only problem. He stands out on NXT like a motherfucker. But it's NXT... not like you're gonna become a household name there even if you're a million times more unique that everyone else.

[#1-norm-fan]

Forgot about Season 2 for some reason. Going back and watching it before I continue on with Season 5. Striker was fucking on one prior to the newer seasons.

I didn't really notice. He's ridiculously good at his job though. Even if he does tend to lose patience with the rookies on occasion.

[Mr. Nerfect]

lol. I'll take "He hasn't stood out yet" as "He is stuck on NXT"

Because that's really the only problem. He stands out on NXT like a motherfucker. But it's NXT... not like you're gonna become a household name there even if you're a million times more unique that everyone else.

I dunno. I don't even think he stood out in NXT. Still, I think he was the all-round best. NXT stand-outs, in my opinion:

* Daniel Bryan
* Wade Barrett
* Alex Riley
* Percy Watson
* Kaval
* Kaitlyn
* AJ
* Byron Saxton
* Brodus Clay
* Derrick Bateman

Johnny Curtis is in that Justin Gabriel sort of zone -- where he is obviously very good, but it's just not entirely going for him.

[James Diesel]

Haha, back on Season 2 they debut Ashley the ring announcer. The first match: Tag match. Alex Riley/Miz vs. MVP/Percy Watson. Apparently Riley and Miz make a combined weight of 244lbs. while MVP and Showtime make a combined weight of 248lbs.

Great start, princess

[Gertner]

Gotta say, I know he's hated by alot, but Heath Slater has a Miz kind of annoying quality to him that I love.

[#1-norm-fan]

He's awkward on the mic.

[Gertner]

He's definitely a work in progress, but he does have the potential to be an annoying heel. That stupid guitar thing he did after drop kicking Clay in his match was hilarious.

[XL]

Watching Kidd v Barreta on NXT this week I considered whether they could benefit from changing the format to an all Cruiserweight League with it's own title. How would people feel about that?

[XL]

Also, Trent and Tyson should be called TNT.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Regarding Heath Slater, these clips combined never cease to make me LOL:</font>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Zc0S_zPpRFw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Gertner]

It's honestly the only show I watch every week due to the time and day it's on. I wouldn't mind all Cruiserweight, although I kinda like it the way it is.

[Gertner]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cV4dN69TYAE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

There's definitley something to work with here.