Don’t see Waller winning either tbh. Think it’s building to a Melo/Bron showdown at the Mania NXT show.
Wouldn’t rule out a Rumble appearance for Bron though.
Don’t see Waller winning either tbh. Think it’s building to a Melo/Bron showdown at the Mania NXT show.
Wouldn’t rule out a Rumble appearance for Bron though.
Last edited by Badger; January 5th, 2023 at 8:43 AM.
Carmello is just so vanilla. He's not a bad wrestler, he can hold his own with the flyers, but he doesn't stand out. Trick Williams helps but he's not the one in the ring for 15-20 minutes. The guy has been a champion in some form pretty much his entire NXT run and I think HBK and co. realized a long time ago he needs the accessories to make up for everything else. I mean, who wins a match with the John Cena legdrop??
If he beats Bronn I won't be shocked but you might as well have had Apollo win it they're almost identical in every aspect.
I don’t think as a Waller cowardly heel reign is a bad idea btw. I just think because Melo has made overtures towards going for the NXT title could mean they’re saving him for Bron and Waller vs Melo in that case would be difficult to pull off in that case unless Melo turned face but not certain if that’s the right call at this point.
I don’t know if I’d go as far as calling him as vanilla as Apollo. He can talk and has personality. Cena’s not done that move in a while (I can’t remember offhand if he did it in the tag match) but it’s hardly the first instance where a signature move for one is a finisher for another) so can live with that. I don’t mind it being used as the finisher for now.
What I think he may be missing though is a more aggressive dastardly edge to him, like how Theory’s finding that now. When he and Trick beat up Wes Lee backstage, more stuff like that would help to give him more heat.
MVP would be a great guy to get heat onto him and Trick and lend his experience. Omos is a lost cause at this point but he could partner well with them. They’ve got similar characters as well “Ballin…nuthin but net.” If MVP was added, that might help with the heat.
Unless things go awry, Theory and Hayes have a very good chance to be pillars for the main roster in the next generation. You could see the glimpses of it for Theory in NXT and he was even more diverse of a character back then than he is now, and Hayes is still finding his way as an all-around act. Theory got pushed/emphasized early in NXT and built off of that, and Hayes should do the same. I have very little concern for either of them in regard to their long-term prospects.
Yeah Hayes can only get stronger and bigger from here really. Hope Waller does too although considering the nuclear heat he had brutalising Johnny Gargano on his way out, he should be bigger than what he is already and I don’t think that’s all down to creative tbh. He has had muscle as back-up before but doesn’t last long. Other than the typical cowardly heel act who likes to draw attention to himself and generic look, what does Waller have that Melo doesn’t. Arguably he needs tuning up if not moreso than Melo does because Melo does. Melo delivers more in the ring all-around IMO.
Wish them both the best but can easily see Waller just being a stepping stone for Bron to step over until a showdown with Melo.
Found New Year’s Evil pretty underwhelming to be honest. Gallus return may be a boost to the tag division but Jinder return?..…meh.
Waller/Breakker with the rope shenanigans just ruined the match flow which is a shame as some of it was decent. I get they’re stretching the feud to Vengeance Day but would’ve preferred something like a double countout rather than a loss for Waller like that.
Dempsey/Hank…ehh.
Battle Royal was a bit meh too. Never really been a huge fan of those types of finishes.
Yeah, this show was loaded with some weird and underwhelming happenings.
Seems like Tony/Stacks are in the process of turning face. i guess that's fine though as I've said, I'm not a fan. Dijak vs. Lee should be good.
No Creeds/Indus Sher match and Jinder showing up was the firstmoment of the night. Odd left turn for the feud. I think I read Veer was injured and that's why they've been dragging this out? Just an odd left turn for this feud to take.
Tag gauntlet was the secondmoment with Gallus returning as it seemed PD were picking their opponent, but then ND seemed to be picking the opponent, but then Gallus just took out a team and took their spot so who's decision was that? And then they won which takes PD out of the equation even though they were building PD/DN for a couple weeks now.
Tiffany being back was probably the highlight of the night for me. She's great. Glad she didn't drop the ditz gimmick. The promo was a little clunky, though.
Like Badger said, the rope break stuff really sucked the wind out of Breakker/Waller. I guess it was sort of a unique/creative way to go about it but eehh...anothermoment.
The Walker/Dempsey stuff was fine.
And then you had the battle royal which was fine except TA basically spelled out the finish earlier in the night so I went into it assuming it was coming down to the two of them, only briefly felt some drama during the final four and when they sort of turned on each other, but then once they were on the corner I could see the finish coming so it wasn't particularly thrilling when it happened.
Business is about to pick up with the Big Strong Boi returning.
It's great how much focus the women of NXT get. Not only is there a strong scene for the singles title but now it seems like they're doing some pairing up to bolster the tag title scene, too. I was hoping Alba and Isla were going to become a thing and I think it's pretty obvious that's who'll partner with Fyre next week. Heel turn for Alba would be refreshing and I'm really looking forward to the Spooky Ladies. Big win for Ruca. The stuff with Electra and Valentina is intriguing, as well. I've liked Feroz for awhile so it's nice to see her finally doing something. Also nice to see Lyra going right into a high profile match to get some spotlight (even though she didn't do a whole hell of a lot in it) and getting something brewing with Cora. Seems like Gigi and Jacey are headed for splitsville come VD which is probably a good move.
I wish there was something in Gallus that would hook me but they look bland, seem to have no personality (rough mic work, too, and I'm not talking about the accents), and their wrestling seems fine but hasn't grabbed my attention, either. That's all only overshadowed more by the awesomeness that is Pretty Deadly and, of course, New Day.
Oof on the finish to Bate/Javi.