NXT

[PEN15v2]

I'm with you on that. Cole vs Gargano at Takeover 25 I hated, but Meltzer gave it five and a quarter stars. They were hitting one another with shit that should have murdered the other guy and they kept kicking out. A Destroyer on the floor wasn't a finish.

I don't at all enjoy the style of wrestling where you hit the guy with everything in the book and they keep kicking out but your finish still gets the job done in the end.

Yeah. In a tag match, it doesn't bother me near as much, but that's because the wrestlers aren't kicking out, but rather having the count stopped by the partner breaking it up somehow. That, I can get into. But it's REALLY hard to take seriously when these spots to the head get kicked out of, while some others are winning matches with a slam?

[Kleckamania]

My fave part of this story was the interview with Myles on his way to the arena, where Keith Lee was near him. That seemed like great foreshadowing, though what I expected from it did not occur. We'll see if there's more to it.

YES! I was convinced Myles would have the win over Cole in the bag, then Keith would come down and cost Myles the title at the end, either aligning with UE as their muscle, or just simply because he was jealous that Myles almost did immediately what Lee hasn't yet. Though that thought made me sad, cause it would mean Keith Lee would drop 3 straight matches. It seems like NXT doesn't appreciate that man as much as they should. He deserves a push imo. I could see him work on the main roster.

[Oliver]

I do think they're setting up for Lee vs Myles, which could be excellent. The little backstage bit following NXT kind of hinted towards that too, and if they're going to slowly burn this first into a firendship and subsequently into a turn for Lee on Myles, I'm all for it.

As far as the Cole vs Myles match goes - I felt that it didn't really sink into being that 'Adam Cole' type of match, which I don't like, and for that I really appreciated it. Whether because it was a TV match rather than a Takeover one I don't know, but it felt like Cole gave enough to Myles to nod towards him being the future, whilst not looking to weak as a champion against someone who is effectively a rookie.

I'd really like to see Cole get a match against someone who can't do that kind of long, overdramatic, mutliple nearfalls, risk taking etc match - Gargano kind of felt like the perfect opponent for that, and if you like that stuff cool. But for me, I'd kind of rather see him adapt to working with someone like Dream, who doesn't have that kind of natural resilience built into his arsenal and also works much more of a storytelling bout than Cole has perhaps done to date.

[Kleckamania]

Yeah I hope they are slow burning a Lee vs Myles feud. It would be entertaining, despite me not liking them having everyone going over Keith Lee atm. As much as I think Myles is a very solid in-ring performer, his gimmick needs a lot of work though- shooting pretend 3 pointers and smiling a lot isn't much to work with.

I always associate the spot fest thing to Gargano. Cole does it too, but not as egregiously. That style is wearing me thin though. Sad thing is, live fans eat it up, so it isn't gonna die off anytime soon.

I think Oli is spot on about Dream losing the NA Strap to Roddie at the first USA Network episode. But then where does that put Dream? Do they finally push him towards the NXT title? I do think he could have some great matches with Cole, but who knows. I'd like to see Cole face a hoss as well.

[PEN15v2]

YES! I was convinced Myles would have the win over Cole in the bag, then Keith would come down and cost Myles the title at the end, either aligning with UE as their muscle, or just simply because he was jealous that Myles almost did immediately what Lee hasn't yet. Though that thought made me sad, cause it would mean Keith Lee would drop 3 straight matches. It seems like NXT doesn't appreciate that man as much as they should. He deserves a push imo. I could see him work on the main roster.

I don't think Keith Lee is underappreciated at all. He's been getting special spotlights, and is essentially one win away from being #1 contender to the NXT title. He lost to Dijak, who is equally as impressive (though I think Lee has more potential in WWE due to his charisma), but other than that, he's well established and credible. His inclusion with the Jordan Myles angle is proof enough to show they have plans for him. WWE main roster might have booked that segment at random and never followed it up, but NXT will. I'm just not sure it'll go since he didn't get involved in the match or aftermath.

I do think they're setting up for Lee vs Myles, which could be excellent. The little backstage bit following NXT kind of hinted towards that too, and if they're going to slowly burn this first into a firendship and subsequently into a turn for Lee on Myles, I'm all for it.

As far as the Cole vs Myles match goes - I felt that it didn't really sink into being that 'Adam Cole' type of match, which I don't like, and for that I really appreciated it. Whether because it was a TV match rather than a Takeover one I don't know, but it felt like Cole gave enough to Myles to nod towards him being the future, whilst not looking to weak as a champion against someone who is effectively a rookie.

I'd really like to see Cole get a match against someone who can't do that kind of long, overdramatic, mutliple nearfalls, risk taking etc match - Gargano kind of felt like the perfect opponent for that, and if you like that stuff cool. But for me, I'd kind of rather see him adapt to working with someone like Dream, who doesn't have that kind of natural resilience built into his arsenal and also works much more of a storytelling bout than Cole has perhaps done to date.

Maybe I paid less attention to the match since it was Cole, but it seemed typical to me. I do like the idea of Cole vs a hoss (Dijak or Keith Lee would be awesome) or vs anyone who can work a match like you suggested would fit the bill.

[comfortablynumb]

This second hour of NXT on the WWE Network is stacked. Walter and Imperium face off with Kushida and still have Riddle/Dain.

[PEN15v2]

While HHH said not much was gonna change, I definitely noticed a difference in the show.

First, Mauro might have been at his worst, reaching Matt Striker levels of annoying pop culture references at the booth.

The wrestling content was definitely higher. The bad side of this was less of the backstage segments. I enjoyed how NXT took advantage of the performance center to tape promos, or use security footage, or use the workout area to advance stories. The massive brawl to end the WWE Network portion was odd. I get that they were likely trying to introduce all the NXT stars to new viewers, but how many new viewers would there be on the WWE Network portion? I would think something like that might have been best for Oct 2, but it wasn't terrible. It was convoluted and silly, but fun. I think it helps because I knew the characters, but if AEW did something like this, I doubt it would connect with me.

The rumored mix of multiple brands seems to be accurate, as a Cruiserweight title contenders match was booked, and the NXT UK champ showed up with his stable (which shocked me, as he's been vocal about not wanting to relocate to the US, so I wouldn't expect too many NXT appearances for Imperium/WALTER).

One thing that hasn't changed, despite going from taped to live, was how they book matches in advance. Now, setting the NXT Women's title match to be against the AEW debut could be a one time thing, and maybe it'll go back to being standard live WWE booking of one week at a time. But if they keep it up, I'll be very happy.

But as for wrestling, I loved the variety. I just thought it was missing some tag team wrestling, especially with the Street Profits having been a regular part of Raw for a couple of months. But, we got women in a feature near main event match in arguably the match of the night (but there were 2 more matches to compete for that), we got women in a match to establish fresh faces (semi-squash, and Aliyah is still somehow green as grass), a decent brawl main event (though it was a letdown after some of the other content we got), a CW contenders match that exceeded my expectations, a tremendous NA title match, a solid establishing match for Dunne...etc. They got a LOT accomplished on this show, and the energy was furious without it feeling like it was nonsense (until the end). They hyped a big match for next week too.


I was very impressed. BUT, it's also very possible they threw everything into the first show, and it'll ease off by the end of October and end up being an average NXT show. Which isn't bad in any way, but usually isn't exciting. NXT's ability was to keep you interested in so much of the roster and stories, delivering a decent in-ring wrestling product with some true highlights once in a while, and building to amazing Takeovers. This was very different, while still getting all that in, but better in a couple of ways.


Will this beat AEW in the ratings? I believe so, but it's impossible to say if this is the show that NXT will stick with. If they keep this up, I think it should win more often than lose. But if this was just a packed show to kick things off, but the plan is for it to slow down over time... then AEW have a fair chance to take the lead.

[comfortablynumb]

It definitely felt like they were pulling out all the stops for this show. I enjoyed that cruiserweight match too. Lorcan can be bland outside the ring but I’ve always enjoyed his work in it.

While watching the brawl I couldn’t help but think Imperium may be involved in War Games even though they are NXT UK. They’d definitely need to make more appearances to build a story but you never know, maybe they worked out an extended stay for Walter for the fall.

[Oliver]

Oh shit, Imperium vs KUSHIDA & BSS in WarGames? Yeah, I'm good with that if it happens.

I liked the show as a whole - as Pen says, I'd have liked a bit more backstage stuff going on to crown it off and make it still feel like the original NXT - this kind of felt like the first live special for me, structurally, as they did a big match then a short match and repeated the pattern. That works just fine, but I would like to see a big more of the NXT character in the show itself.

The only thing I really hated, and hadn't prepared myself for, was ad breaks. Hadn't really factored those into my thinking around the show being live on broadcast TV now. It's not a big thing, but I've always disliked mid-match advert breaks, and having watched NXT for so long without them it felt like a really odd thing to see - the first one during the women's bout was especially jarring as I was just not expecting it.

It's probably going to need a bit of time to really grease it's wheels when it comes to a weekly show, and for sure they can't deliver as many big, built up matches week on week - but I thought it stood as a pretty good introduction to the brand.

[Team Farrell]

First, Mauro might have been at his worst, reaching Matt Striker levels of annoying pop culture references at the booth.

I cannot echo this loud enough. At one point he piled on three, one after the other, for Lio Rush. If they're going against Jim Ross with a guy spewing pop culture references at a thousand miles per hour, eeesh.

I thought it was a pretty good show. I didn't love the concept of the jabroni squad brawl causing a street fight to be called off, though. For a match with presumably no disqualifications, even if things get out of hand and the referee completely loses control, it shouldn't be called off. They booked a gimmick match to try and draw, with no intention of paying off the gimmick. It felt lame to me.

I was a little surprised by the lack of surprises, actually. Walter was a nice touch but like...I guess I just expected more? This was a great NXT 101 with some good matches and an opportunity to establish several people. And maybe that's the plan for the first two week where they only have an hour on USA, and week three head-to-head with AEW they'll pull out all the stops?

Oh well, Arturo Ruas was my favourite part of that Evolve show that they aired, and he and Pete Dunn was all I needed to call this a good show in terms of quality...for my Network audio was several seconds out of sync so the show itself was almost unwatchable.

[LK3185]

Do they need to as you say pull out all the stops? I mean, if they're going for being alternative to AEW and their own product, having Cena or a guy not really associate with NXT doesn't project that message. its a ratings stunt. Which is fine but say they do well without it, you're not going to do better than your other, more important brands regardless. Also have a chance of alienating viewers by having people not connected to the brand on the show.

As a one time thing, sure but not something that is common.

[PEN15v2]

I understand the "pull out all the stops" more as do everything NXT can do. I think they were close to that for the debut. Keep in mind we didn't see much of the NXT champ, tag champs, or the women's champ. They all appeared, but didn't get a mic or get in the ring. There was no Gargano, Ciampa, Jordan Myles, any tag team wrestling, William Regal, Rhea Ripley...etc. So there are more stops to pull for Oct without playing any main roster cards.

[Cult Icon]

I mean this isn't just about being an alternative to AEW; if it were WWE wouldn't have rushed to get NXT on USA as quick as they did. They want to compete and beat them and part of that is beating them in the ratings. And I would guess part of that would involve, at some point, using bigger names in a "ratings stunt" as you call it.

Now would I do it all the time? Absolutely not. But I think we need to keep in mind here that the gulf between AEW and NXT isn't vast. The fact of the matter is that NXT isn't that much more well known outside the hardcore fan base than AEW is. They have an advantage of being on a big station (then again AEW is on one too) and having WWE branding but that's it. I don't believe the casual audience really exists all that much even more but the ones who do aren't going to know who the Undisputed Era, Velveteen Dream, Johnny Gargano, Tomasso Ciampa (when he returns), WALTER and his dudes, Candice LeRae, Io Shirai, Keith Lee and so on are. Those are big names to us but they aren't big names beyond that, and certainly aren't on the levels of Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley, who are easily the biggest stars and draws between both sides. And from what I've heard, one of the few criticisms I've noticed about last night's show (and a similar one I've heard for AEW) is that they didn't really do a good job explaining everyone's back story and assumed everyone watching already knew it. There is definitely going to be a challenge to make people in NXT well known stars out of the gate; provided nothing drastically changes I think they'll do so, but it will be a process, much like it will be for AEW as well. And I don't think using a big name now and then would necessarily hurt that process, especially since you know WWE will want to beat AEW.

It's kind of funny because when you think about it, NXT and AEW are basically the same thing. They're both trying to appeal to the hardcore wrestling fan, their rosters feature a lot of strong talent but few stars and they're both going to be working to build a new audience that isn't familiar with them. They're practically mirrors of each other, which I guess makes it all the more fitting that they're competitors.

[PEN15v2]

They are definitely 2 similar products aimed for a similar fanbase. But they are still very different, and this is great. Whichever one is your choice, it seems like Wednesday nights are turning into a more action based wrestling night. I still prefer the stories on Monday's and Tues/Fridays, with the wider scope, but NXT has been such an amazing promotion to watch grow and innovate, and expand to what it is today. And AEW has a chance to follow suit.

That said, Cult. I think you're REALLY understating or underrating the promotion that being a brand of WWE on USA will benefit NXT, and how much of an advantage that is. That gulf is wider than you realize.

[Cult Icon]

Well we'll find out, potentially as soon as this afternoon (I'm not sure when the ratings come in) if that is indeed the case.

It's certainly an advantage, don't get me wrong. But we need to remember here that NXT has largely been a WWE Network entity, not a TV mainstay the way RAW and Smackdown are. At last check the WWE Network has a little over 1.5 million subscribers; based on the RAW and Smackdown numbers from this week that's still half a million to almost 750K fewer people than watch RAW and Smackdown, and that's if we assume every WWE Network subscriber is watching NXT. It's more likely the viewership is somewhere in the hundred thousands than in the million range. None of which is to say it's bad; it just means that NXT, as of right now, has a lot of really talented people who aren't going to be well known to the "casual" audience right away. Now does that matter? I don't know because, as I've stated before, I'm not sure there's even much of a casual audience left. I just know that it's unrealistic to think the top NXT guys and girls are going to come off as stars like some people on RAW and Smackdown are. They just don't have the same exposure and even with WWE's branding and marketing behind them, it just doesn't seem likely to me that you're getting a huge advantage there unless you just believe the WWE name will be enough.

Again, we'll see. I have been wrong plenty before and I expect I will be wrong many times more in the future!