Or Steamboat could have christened him "American Dragon" himself. I hadn't even thought of that.
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Or Steamboat could have christened him "American Dragon" himself. I hadn't even thought of that.
Nice roster that's extremly diverse and has a good set of coaches. I just hope most get the chance to join Raw or Smackdown instead of just the winner and the rest go back to developmentel. My only problem is now with WWE having only 2 main wrestling brands, the 15 spots that ECW had now have to slot into the already loaded Raw and Smackdown shows.
I've watch bits of FCW recently and most of the guys in this look to have major potential, the only guys I haven't seen are Darren Young and whoever that Daniel Bryan fellow is....I've never actually watch a Danielson match, so lets hope his work is as good as everyone raves about, him and Miz should make for great TV.
From what I've seen David Otunga looks to be the furthest away from being called up, he looked very green from what I saw.
Also It's smart not to have all the major FCW guys in series one, as this show is reported to last as 16 week seasons. Still plenty of talent to fill up next season including Kaval, Henning, Dibiase, Johnny Curtis and a few others.
I actually can't wait for this, but am worried that all the ECW guys will get completely lost on Raw and Smackdown. A third wrestling brand was actually needed for the amount of guys on the roster. But I guess they can always cut plenty of people.
I already hate Heath Slater just from his profile photo.
I can't believe this Otunga guy is dating Jennifer Hudson.
And he loved New York.
Danielson/Miz should be quality television. They could play it Benoit/Eddie-ish in terms of their personalities.
I'm pretty sure they're married.
Heath Slater has a Owen Wilson thing going on.
She's not that big. But it's nice she has meat on her bones.
Yeah, I was actually just looking at a picture of them and they look good together.
http://poponthepop.com/images/galler...vid-otunga.jpg
That's Otunga on the right, if you can't tell.
Glad Hudson shaved then. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to tell them apart.
:lol:
I'm just saying she's a giantess.
I bet she could give Awesome Kong a run for her money.
I didn't know she was from Chicago. Nice.
It'd be great if Otunga came to the ring with his wife's Oscar and used it to win matches. Not cheating with it, but more like the urn 'Taker used to have. He draws his power from it.
:lol: The Power of the Oscar! The Power of the Oscar!
http://www.prairiehomevoices.com/phv...car-statue.jpg
I'm curious how workers will earn spots to the main shows or lose spots on the reality show. Maybe they have to win x amount of matches or lose x amount of matches, and then a replacement (kaval, dibiase, steamboat etc) is brought up.
I think you guys can stop spoiler-tagging everything. It's right there in the thread title. Unless it's simply for secrecy's sake.
I wonder how they'll handle eliminations?
I assume the fans have a say in who gets kicked off?
I'm wondering if several of the rookies will end up feuding at least somewhat with their mentor. Just based on appearance, I would have guessed that Gabriel would be a heel though I've never seen him work before. I almost think Young is being paired with Punk because he has big hair and is black...therefore he can be added to the SES so they don't seem like white skinheads and his head shaving should be fun since there's so much to come off. :)
I wish Low Ki, Hennig, and Dibiase were on the show but oh well. Those guys don't really need it as much, I suppose, so there's good argument for keeping all three off and debuting them on their own.
Do we know how long each cycle will go? I mean if they don't do reruns that's 52 shows per year which could either drag on really long if they keep the same guys/mentors for too long or that's a LOT of rookies coming through every few months if they just constantly repeat it. I'm wondering how they'll handle that.
Well, I doubt it lasts the whole year .. im sure they just take them when they're ready and replace them with some other rookie. That would make the most sense to me. I don't think they should really eliminate people either unless they're just really not progressing at all.
Silverback Ryan Reeves aka Skip Sheffield...can we claim him Rajah's own?
He posted here for a while.
So maybe like a 13 week cycle, so 4 total cycles a year? That's 32 rookies a year, quite a lot as obviously they all can't make it (not that they would anyways)...I think that almost seems like a bit too many. But having the same 8 guys for 6 months could get really old too. I guess it depends on how they do it.
Didn't he get released a few years ago?
Ryan Reeves first competed in the last Tough Enough (the one that was held on SD) and around that time was posting here to get support. He seemed like a nice enough guy from the posts I read of his. He got eliminated fairly early if I remember correctly and then got picked up by the WWE and then released a few years later in developement. I guess they hired him again.
Yeah, Reeves posted here for a really brief time, begging for Tough Enough votes, as I believe 'ryan_reeves' or something like that.
After TE he got signed and put in OVW. He got released from OVW for steroids, I think, and then got rehired a bit later on.
Also, again, there's no need for spoiler tags. Just so we're clear.
Also, I assume Kaval and the others folks are bummed aren't on might be on in the next season, as they're clearly said this is the 'first season' so I would think it'll have a changing roster. Of course, a guy like Kaval could be called up and skip NXT altogether, if they feel he's ready.
I really like the paring of Miz/AM Drag, and Punk being a coach is awesome and automatically gets me interesting in his protege.
One thing I'm sure that this "coaching" won't be all the coaches are doing, I'm sure they'll continue on with their storylines on their own shows, so will we be seeing the rookies on other shows with their coaches too?
Awesome succession of posts.
I think Reeves' username was Silverback Ryan Reeves or very similar. He openly admitted he was pandering to us for votes but he was nice enough and answered any questions we had (as much as he was allowed to anyway) and gave us some basic insight into what we didn't see on TV.
Yeah, his username was Silverback Ryan Reeves. He urged everyone to not vote for Daniel Puder, not even really clamouring for votes himself.
His account was deleted soon after. There is a Silverback Ryan Reeves on the boards, but its not the same guy.
Also MVP being paired with a Cowboy should be fun.
Lol I didn't even notice that MVP's rookie was a cowboy .. very nice. I'm most interested in the Miz/Danielson pair and to see what Jericho & Punk do with their rookies.
Here's a list of questions about the show, most is unknown as of now I assume but we should know a lot more after next week. But maybe some of these have been addressed and I haven't seen it:
1) How long will these 8 "rookies" be on NXT?
2) Will there be "eliminations" of sort like we see on TUF? Will there be a "winner" in the end of will all 8 guys remain on the show throughout their run?
3) What will the "mentoring" involve? Will it be kayfabe or real?
4) Will kayfabe be broken on the show? If not, how to balance the whole reality show aspect of it?
5) Will there be live matches on the show between rookies/rookies or rookies/coaches?
6) Will they be "living together in a house" a la many reality shows including TUF? Or will we only see them in the ring/at the arena/etc?
7) Will mentors more often remain on the same side or feud with each other? If they feud, how do they balance that along with the superstars' other feud(s) at that time being?
8) Will they cycle people through fairly quickly? Will they produce 52 original shows a year with no reruns? If so how can they do that without either burnout/dragging on or cycling too many guys through?
WWE.com says it's a hybrid live event/reality show...Quote:
5) Will there be live matches on the show between rookies/rookies or rookies/coaches?
So that would be yes...
The Press release said it will lead to inherent conflict between rookies and rookies, rookies and pros, and pros and pros...Quote:
7) Will mentors more often remain on the same side or feud with each other? If they feud, how do they balance that along with the superstars' other feud(s) at that time being?
I should have also included rookies vs jobbers in that statement, as I suppose that's a possibility too.
People upset about guys like Dibiase, Kaval and Hennig missing the cut really need to think and realize that this is only season 1, and they can't blow all there tope FCW guys in the 1st season and then leave nobody who is even near being ready for season 2. Looking at FCW's roster, this would be a cool Season 2 lineup...
Alex Riley
Brett Dibiase
Joe Hennig
Johnny Curtis
Johhny Prime
Alberto Banderas
Bo Rotundo
Eli Cottonwood
I think Kaval will skip NXT and just be called up.
I see it as a repackaging of the new talent initiative...
Last year it would have been...
Sheamus
Vance Archer
Tyson Kidd
Yoshi Tatsu
Abraham Washington
Caylen Croft
Trent Baretta
Tyler Reks
I love gimmicks. As a writer, a roleplayer, and a storyteller, character is very important, as it tells you so much about how the story is going to unfold. The same holds true in wrestling. Gimmicks are what sell merchandise, make wrestlers memorable, and can make or break a career. I don't have to point you any farther than Isaac Yankem's transformation to Kane to prove that. But it seems that the gimmicks nowadays are getting lazy and downright boring. The vast majority of wrestlers nowadays are either "I'm of a particular nationality!" or "I'm a cocky jackass!" then you mix in heel v. face and funny v. serious. And that is lame.
So surprise surprise when watching the Roster show up on ECW that each rookie is being introduced with a little hint of a gimmick! I love that NXT is looking to be Kayfabe, which is exciting, but I'm not seeing these characterstics of the rookies (our first hints to the show other than what they look like) being talked about. So let me tune in the old DVR and I'm just going to quote straight from ECW what they had to say about each guy, and then I'll give a couple thoughts on them.
NOTE: This is in no way an opinion or write up of skill in the ring. This is just analyzing their "gimmicks" and setup as they have been presented to us.
Pro: Chris Jericho; Rookie: Wade Barrett
I like this team up, and I like that bit of a gimmick there. Reminiscent of the Million Dollar Man, though in reverse. I can see lots of great story coming out of this idea, even perhaps a repeat of DiBiase buying off Andre the Giant. Him being teamed with Jericho is an interesting match-up, though I'm unsure of how that will work out on paper. Looking forward to seeing it, though.Quote:
Originally Posted by ECW
Pro: Matt Hardy; Rookie: Justin Gabriel
This is a garbage gimmick in comparison with Barrett. Hell, it is barely one. We can guess he is going to be a face. But other than that, he is just a guy who is from South Africa, is charismatic, possibly gay based on the Adam Lambert combat, and has an angel naming scheme to his moves. Hopefully this evolves into something bigger.Quote:
Originally Posted by ECW
Pro: MVP; Rookie: Skip Sheffield
Great. Charismatic cowboy. They might as well have had him wear his hat in the picture, don't know why they didn't. More than likely face. Convict/Cowboy and Black/white may come to play, but I highly doubt it. Again, hopefully more will come from this. Maybe he'll hogtie people.Quote:
Originally Posted by ECW
Pro: Carlito; Rookie: Michael Tarver
This is both a good and bad gimmick. Ex-boxer is a cool thing, knockout specialist is cool, and a tie to Mike Tyson is good for WWE history. But the problem is, he's going to have to back this up. So that means he squashes folks, or his gimmick doesn't hold up. Well, not entirely, but you can see where this could go badly. I like the gimmick, though, and it is certainly better than the last two.Quote:
Originally Posted by ECW
Pro: The Miz; Rookie: Daniel Bryan
From what I know about Danielson, this is a horribly gimped version of him. I smell the "Cattle Mutilation" getting a new "no-nonsense" name ... ugh. Perhaps THIS will lead to Bryan v. the Miz, as a rookie turning on the pro story. You cannot do it a lot, but doing it here would be the best choice. Oh, and no "American Dragon" either ...Quote:
Originally Posted by ECW
Pro: Christian; Rookie: Heath Slater
Ugh. This is the worst of the new style of gimmicks. This isn't a gimmick, it's just a description! Hopefully Captain Charisma can help him get something more to him.Quote:
Originally Posted by ECW
Pro: CM Punk; Rookie: Darren Young
See this is interesting, as CM Punk is without a doubt the guy with the most unique gimmick of all the "Pros" involved. Does this mean that we are going to see by the end of NXT a new Straight Edge Society member? A lot of folks think so, though I'm not positive. I do think our rookie here is getting his fucking head-shaved though. As for Young himself, it isn't the worst gimmick, though really it is just a description. If he goes on to continue to use the "granite" and super-strength stuff, he could be really interesting. Like a stone giant or living statue. That is a cool gimmick. Though it is more than likely me going much farther than they are, and he ends up just a better version of Mark Henry. Or worse, WORSE than Mark Henry.Quote:
Originally Posted by ECW
Pro: R-Truth; Rookie: David "the Marquee" Otunga
Another guy with a better than average gimmick (though that is like calling 6 a big number as compared to 5) leading a guy who is the only one who actually has a "quotation nickname" like the old school days. Unfortunately, that's all we get. Marquee, by the way, is defined as: a tall rooflike projection above a theater entrance, usually containing the name of a currently featured play or film and its stars. That's right, he's David "The Outside of the Theatre" Otunga ...Quote:
Originally Posted by ECW
Otunga's a Harvard Law graduate? That's great. Hopefully the guy can talk. I like his look a lot. I agree "The Marquee" is pretty much a non-gimmick, though.
You think he's going to talk because he is a Harvard Law graduate? Ha! I'd like to see a Harvard Law guy make great speeches. It just doesn't happen! .....
..............
...........ohh nevermind.
The show sounds pretty good (I still don't see how The Miz can help any rookie seeing that he has less than 10 years experience, storyline or not, but that's just me) But I wonder if Jennifer Hudson will make an appearance, she has been to some of the FCW shows to watch Otunga wrestle.
My wife just brought to my attention that Otunga's "The Marquee" could actually be "The Marquise," as in nobleman. That's better, though a french black guy is pretty funny.
"The Marquee" makes sense to me. Guys are always talking about being the "name on the marquee" that makes people come to the shows, but to actually be "The Marquee" means you're bigger than just the names on it. It's kind of like Triple H's "The Game" nickname, where he's not just a "player in the game", he's the game itself.
Just watched my first episode of FCW, the one from this week. I'll probably do a more in-depth review later, but Wade Barrett was on commentary the whole time and really impressed me. Glad he's being paired with Jericho.
I will need to watch these and catch up today when I get home from school and have no work :hyper:
Anyways, I know the Internet is for this, but anyone have links or something to some shows or good matches involving these men?
Thanks. :beer:
Do you have a uTorrent or a similar program? I can link you to the most recent FCW show, featuring:
-A tag match with Skip Sheffield & Big E Langston (who sort of reminds me of a greener Monty Brown/Marcus Corvon) vs. Alex Riley & Vance Archer
-A surprisingly good singles match with Serena Mancini of SES vs. AJ Lee, who is incredibly hot
-Interview with current FCW tag champs Brett Dibiase & Joe Hennig
-Some Norman Smiley goodness.
-Justin Angel vs. Michael "Tyson" Tarver for the FCW Championship
FCW 2010.02.14
Part.1
http://rapidshare.com/files/35100544...-XWT.part1.rar
Part.2
http://rapidshare.com/files/35100551...-XWT.part2.rar
Good questions. Not confirmed or anything, but my opinion...
3. I hope kayfabe. I really don't want to know what really goes on behind the cam, and listen to them plan matches. I think they can be more creative than that by making it feel real. Miz probably can't teach Danielson the ropes, but he can guide him to the top as like a manager.
5. They could do: Two Pro vs. Pro main event where whoever loses will have their rookies go up in an elimination match the following week. I would make it so that someone is eliminated every two weeks so that they don't run through people so fast.
6. I wouldn't mind it. It could show them training at FCW too where rivalries and storylines could develop.
8. Probably the biggest problem when it comes to eliminations. If they make eliminations every second week though, it will cut that number in half. Maybe even save the big elimination match for the monthly PPVs where the two guys with the lowest record go 1 on 1. Orrr, 1 week a pro vs pro 1, 2nd week pro vs pro 2, 3rd week losing pro's rookie 1 vs. losing pro's 2 rookie.
In case some of you weren't aware, even though FCW talk does relate to NXT, there is also an FCW thread:
http://forums.rajah.com/showthread.php?t=138499
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzjZ-p_gU9A[/ame]
Brief interview with Otunga from FCW. Not really sure if its enough to gage how good his promos are, but he seems comfortable on the mic here.
I find it VERY interesting that WWE.com is acknowledging the ''controversy'' with the Miz/Bryan pairing, complete with this blog by The Miz being posted on the front page.
http://fans.wwe.com/themiz/blog/?pref_tab=blog
I knew the Miz/Bryan pairing was going to lead to some sort of feud or storyline. If Miz plays up the "Best In The World" thing, this feud will be excellent.
That could be very fun. Killings will definitely add to his charisma.
As for his in-ring ability, I have yet to see.
Also, I agree that WWE probably considers Danielson as a guy who is ready to go and be on the main roster, but they see this as the perfect opportunity to introduce to the masses in a fresh, new way and spark a feud right away.
:yes:
I don't think "The Marquee" is that bad. If you look at it objectively "The Rock" doesn't sound that great.
He's not even "The Boulder" or "The Stone", it is better than "The Pebble" though.
I thought "The Miz" sounded fucking horrible when I first heard it, and now I love the guy.
And "The Big Show" ? Seriously? And before that he was "The Giant"
I love Morrison.
On his reaction to Danielson and The Miz pairing
Quote:
"When I saw that, I was at the ECW taping, and I actually saw Miz. He didn't know either until he saw the graphic on the screen that he was the 'Pro' and Bryan Danielson was the student," Morrison told IGN.com. "I walked by and said, 'Pssh, he knows more that you do.' And that's pretty much what everyone thinks. It's gonna be interesting and I think that's the point of it."
Firstly, the Rock happened as an evolution of his old gimmick, Rocky Maivia. The Miz is ALSO based off his name. The Big Show was named that because there was already Andre the Giant, and the Giant was trademarked to WCW. Also, these guys ONLY go by their "The nickname" monikers.
"The Marquee" is just stupid and has no relation to those names, or even his own name. Sure I can see it as a "the Feature Presentation" or "the Headliner," but both of those are better than "the Marquee." Hopefully his little name'll get changed as part of the show.
I originally looked at it (the Danielson/Miz pairing) as an insult to Danielson's achievements and an insult to the intelligence of his fans... but the evidence has me convinced... it WAS done on purpose to make a storyline/possible real tension. I'm looking forward to how it will play out. :yes:
Just remember, ECW was canceled so The Miz can teach Daniel Bryan how to wrestle.
Source: Justin.TV
Miz did speak the truth though. Danielson is a better wrestler but Miz is there to show him how to do everything WWE style.
Who is Daniel Bryans?
Bryan Danielson's new WWE name. For whatever reason. ::shrug::
I don't know of a Daniel Bryans.
I'll ask one more time. Who is Daniel Bryans?
dunno could be this guy
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._Danielson.jpg
That would be Daniel Bryan.
I wanted to know who Daniel Bryans was.
Has a roster list been posted? If it has and i missed it i really don't give a fuck, so someone repost it.
INFORM ME NOW.
if i have to find this thing myself i'm neg repping everyone on this page.
i have it set to 75 posts per page. BE WARNED, MOFUCKAS.
CARLITO is a pro? oh for fucks sake.
FUCK YES CM PUNK~!!!!!
Stop the excessive posting, buddy.
http://images.starpulse.com/Photos/P...ito_wwe001.jpg
Be cool, man. Be cool.
Oh man, a gauntlet would be really fun. Have someone like ... I dunno, let's go with HHH. And they go up against him one at a time to see who is the first to pin him or make him submit. That would be really compelling telly right there.
HHH would dominate them all in about a minute tops. Making Daniel Bryan looking the worse since that is everyones favorite.
So I'm watching as many matches from FCW that I can of these NXT guys to get a feel for them. Lemme tell you what I think so far:
Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) - He's got a unique moveset, and is generally entertaining, and pretty good in the ring. I like him a lot more when he uses his suplexes and nutso kicks, and I am very impressed when he gets his Cattle Mutilation combo going, going from submission to suplex to submission to suplex. It is a devastating combo, and should be treated as such instead of how it currently is, which is just a nuisance and damage builder, but not a finisher. Problem is, this guy has the personality of a wet paper bag. I look forward to seeing his development here, as he is not in much need of technical training, just having to learn how to do a WWE style booking of a match. A good match for him is Bryan Danielson v. Kaval (Low Ki), which I'll spoiler below.
Justin Gabriel (Justin Angel) - He is a surprising mix of really fast and really damned slow. His moves he performs quickly with some great movement and style. But getting from move to move is slow as all hell. He needs to clean up a little in the ring. But he's certainly entertaining to watch, and I look forward to watching him in the ring. Unfortunately, he has a style that is your generic Shawn Michaels style, which hopefully will get a moveset change. And he'll need a new finisher, since WWE doesn't like letting the 450 on TV, since it is too unpredictable and is much to likely to get you hurt. If you wanna see a good match, watch Justin Angel v. Sheamus I have spoilered below. Holy shit, that was a good match.
Skip Sheffield - Yip Yip Yip! Oh my god, I cannot believe how much I like this guy. You can tell that he enjoys himself in the ring, and he is good on the mic. He comes across to me charismatically like Mick Foley, except he actually looks like a threat instead of a punching bag. He cuts ridiculous promos before each of the matches I've watched so far, and while they are silly as hell, they are really fucking good. The crowd isn't in to him, but I bet you NXT is going to be a good place for him. A great match for him is going to be below after I talk about his opponent ...
Michael Tarver - The boxer. As boring as that seems, this guy is really interesting in the ring! I really enjoyed his in ring ability, and damnit he can sell a hit. I cannot find a lot on him, and he didn't cut a promo here, but he did look good, and I'm looking forward to seeing more. Oh, and here is Skip Sheffield v. Michael Tarver:
And hell, why not, a tag match with Sheffield in it, doing some great schtick and looking good. He's a loveable "cornfed cowboy monster." Plus, he manhandles Vance Archer, gotta love that. Yip Yip Yip!
Heath Slater - I am 100% unimpressed with him. I don't like his persona, I think he is acting like he has a lot of charisma when he actually doesn't. In the ring he is nothing special. Hell, he's even less than that. This just is a jobber at best. I'd provide a match, but meh. Fun note, Heath Slater is a heel, though he is paired up with Christian, a face. There is only one other guy in our NXT roster that is mix-matched along the face-heel-axis ...
Darren Young - Uh ... I don't know what's going on here. They advertised him as "chiseled from granite" and "incredibly strong." But ... that's not his gimmick at all. His gimmick is ... tall hair. I hate to compare him like this, but really he is similar in the ring to the Rock. And when I say similar, I mean reminiscent of, but he is nowhere near as good as the Rock was. In the long run, he's got decent charisma (though I would like to see him repackaged) and decent moves (though I'd like to see a new moveset) but as of now the most interesting thing is that he is a face, and CM Punk is his pro. Check out this match with Alex Riley (who is MUCH better, but is a heel, and the NXT roster is full-up on heels).
All right, what turned into what I was going to do as a series of posts became one post I editted now 4 times in one night. I think I'm done. I cannot for the life of me find any Wade Barrett matches (though he is a good heel commentator, you'll here the british guy in most of the videos I spoilered), and an Ortunga promo was put up above, so I'll look for a match with him later.
Ahaha, well played Miz. People criticising the Miz/Danielson need to sit down and shut up.
Mike Tarver hopefully will destroy Carlito. I hope he outshines him in all levels.
There are some good matches on YouTube. They have Sheamus/McIntyre, Angel/Sheamus (thanks DC1) and some others. Just watch one and the rest will appear.
I am so excited for NXT!
Thanks for that post, d1, good rundown of the roster, and I will definitely be checking out those videos. :yes:
Bryan Daniels should look like he does in that picture, that's a lot more interesting of a look than his current one.
Also, you can follow Skip Sheffield on Twitter, which is pretty amusing:
http://twitter.com/CornfedMeathead
Since I put up lots of links before, and I've been watching the last week of FCW, I figured I'd put up the Justin Angel v. Michael Tarver Florida Championship match. I find it interesting that Angel is getting backlash from the crowd. He is the face champion, but he's getting boos. Not particularly sure why this is, but I figured I'd point it out. Match in the spoiler cut, starting around the 6:00 mark.
Pt. 2