The #NXT Day: October 9

NXT is in the books for October 9th, and here on The #NXT Day, we have our usual 3 big topics to talk about, which for this week, we’ve made as memes, since let’s face it, memes are in right now, gang.  Let’s get to it.

Oh, Lance Storm, how little we appreciated you when you were on television each week, and how much we miss you now that you’re not.  You have, however, trained some quality wrestlers, and the biggest star of them all (so far) seems to be taking your favorite tag line to heart.

In fact, if last night’s show had a theme, it would be seriousness - we saw a number of top talents competing with a bit more intensity and a bit less frivolity.  

The NXT Day: Thoughts on Last Night's Episode (9/25/14)

Welcome to the first installment of “The NXT Day”, where we take a look back at last night’s episode of NXT, aka the best wrestling show you can find on the WWE Network.  Here on The NXT Day, I’ll share some thoughts on what we all witnessed, both in longer and “quick quips” form as well as pose some ‘discussion questions’ that we can tackle over there on, as Y2J puts it, The Twit-ahh!  I won’t cover everything, since NXT seems to have found the secret to fitting a whole lot of action into a 60 minute show, but we’ll get to the good stuff, at least.

And Here. We. Go.

The Way It Should Have Been

On a recent major event, two wrestlers met in the middle of that very ring.  On paper, it seemed like these two were a fairly equal match, although one seemed to be much more vicious than the other.  Despite this, however, the match was, for all intents and purposes, and squash.  It was brutal.  Moves were repeated.  In the end, one person very simply conquered the other.

Why am I talking about Lesnar and Cena on an NXT blog, you ask? I’m not.  

I’m talking about Mojo Rawley and Bull Dempsey.

NXT Takeover: Fatal 4 Way - Event of the Year!

I’ve always hated how wrestling announcers always seem to say “We are witnessing history in the making!”  Tony Schiavone was famous for this kind of thing.  Every WCW Monday Nitro (Now available on the WWE Network!) was the biggest one of all, or we just witnessed the most amazing match of our entire lives, and even as a 15-16 year old kid, I knew that was horse manure.

Plus (and this is me just being a pain), EVERYTHING is history.  I went out this morning to pick up breakfast for my family, which was, technically, history in the making.  It’s just not a history anyone would want to read.

So I usually get my Teacher’s knickers in a twist about that kind of thing. . .

However. . .

On Thursday night, we saw history in the making.

NXT Takeover: Fatal 4 Way was, in my opinion, the best WWE event of 2014, and I dare say we could go back even further.  On Thursday night, we saw a group of relatively unknown talents show Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, and yes, even Mr. #KidsAndTroops himself, John Cena, exactly how a wrestling card should be done.

From top to bottom, there wasn’t a weak link.  I know this because even the part I liked the least held my interest.  As evidenced by the bruising on my remote’s “fast forward” button, the same can not be said for the last few months’ of Monday Night RAW.

What does this mean, exactly, for the future of NXT and WWE? I’m not really sure.  All I know is I’m as excited to be a wrestling fan as I’ve been since WCW and ECW were actually on television.

As I sat and watched the event in the wee hours of Friday morning, I jotted down some notes.  As I sit here and re-watch it today (a phrase I have not uttered in quite some time), I’ll jot down some more.  I submit to you, dear students, some idle musings and comments on “history in the making”, NXT Takeover: Fatal 4 Way.

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NXT Top Ten Rankings: Edition 3

Welcome to our third edition of the NXT Top Ten.  The last two weeks of WWE’s developmental “brand” proved, at least in my mind, that the best wrestling going on in the company today happens at Full Sail University, both in quality and quantity.  For a one-hour show, NXT always has 3-5 matches per episode and almost every one would fit in beautifully on RAW or Smackdown.

If you’ve missed the discussion @NewAgeInsiders and the #WWEFamily have had regarding NXT, you’re missing out.  Basically, there is a growing belief that NXT should replace Smackdown as WWE’s second nationally televised program.  Break out to 2 hours weekly, move down some of the lesser WWE talent to give them some room to grow and really push it hard.  We’d love to have you join the conversation; as NAI says, be heard!

OK, time for our Top Ten.  As usual, I’ve taken in-ring ability, current character, verbal skills and “It” factor into account.  However, I’ve realized I need to add a fifth criteria, which is “NXT presence / push”.   For example, over the last 2 weeks, The Ascension wasn’t on NXT, which causes them to slip from the top spot.  I’m still as high on them as ever, but I can’t keep them on top in good conscience while others are on WWE Network.

Honorable Mentions

NXT Top Ten: August 9th Edition

I love NXT.   In fact, I think it’s my favorite wrestling show of the week.  RAW has become too long and drawn out, and while Main Event can be fun (haven’t brought myself to watch Superstars yet), NXT is fresh and new.  Each week, I can count on seeing at least one thing I haven’t seen before, which is a rarity when you’re a longtime wrestling fan.

So, we’ll make the NXT Top 10 a bi-weekly segment here at Number Two Contenders.  Remember, this does not take into account any stars with WWE experience; I’m only looking at the purely developmental talents.

I took the following factors into consideration when compiling my list:

-  In-Ring Talent

-  Current character / gimmick

-  Verbal skills / mic talent

-  “It” factor, the je ne sais quoi that draws attention to a superstar.

Honorable Mentions

-  Most people are going to think I’m crazy, but I actually have dropped NXT champion Adrian Neville out of my Top 10.  Part of that is simply because he did not compete on either of the shows between this rankings and the last one.  The other one is that I’m still not sold on where they go with him in the future.  I don’t like his mic work, I don’t see him having a specific character, and guys who are only talented in the ring never get very far in WWE.

The Teacher's Lounge: The Top Ten Talents of NXT

I’m the first to admit, I’ve been very lax with my NXT watching.  With the sheer enormity of content on the WWE Network, the developmental territory kept getting pushed back in my priorities.  However, now that Doc Manson and I are the Number Two Contenders, I had to step my game up.  So, for the last few days, I’ve caught up with NXT, beginning with the show post-Takeover to last week’s episode.

Based on this ‘extensive’ viewing, I now present my NXT Top 10.  Some quick disclaimers before we begin -  I did not consider any talent that had extensive WWE experience; so my apologies to Tyson Kidd, Justin Gabriel and Adam Rose.  This is also based on an admittedly small sample size.


I took the following factors into consideration when compiling my list:
-  In-Ring Talent
-  Current character / gimmick
-  Verbal skills / mic talent
-  “It” factor, the je ne sais quoi that draws attention to a superstar.

I’ll also make two comparisons for each talent, a “floor” of what they could be if they’re just an average talent and a “ceiling” if they win the lottery that is WWE superstardom.

These three came close, but didn’t crack my top 10, so Honorable Mentions go to CJ Parker, Kalisto and Sasha Banks

And here.  We.  Go.