Originally Posted by
Psycho666Soldier
I believe both choices were rather interesting. I had honestly not expected Kevin Owens, but considering the popularity of the main event angle of RAW the month or two, it was a strong option. It also happened to continue the theme of a previous debate, kind of subconsciously boosting the credibility of Romford's choice. Despite my initial doubts on Owens, his first post actually convinced me that Owens was definitely a strong positive for his brand. It seemed inevitable that someone would go with an NXT choice, and while I think there are at least 2 other people you could have went for, Destiny made one of the strongest choices with Rhea Ripley. kdestiny had a bit more recent history to play around with to support his argument, doling out the details on her successes surround Surivor Series and her NXT Championship victory. It was a powerful first post, and I think it definitely forced Romford onto the ropes before the rebuttal.
Romford had made a strong starting point when bringing up NXT's ratings, and I think he made the right call in calling out kdestiny's hyperbole about NXT's equal footing with the main roster. As Romford said, it still feels like NXT is the level below. That said, he sold NXT short by saying they "tried" at Survivor Series, only for Destiny to counter it by reminding us that NXT and Rhea Ripley in particular dominated that night. Overall, I think Romford came up a bit short in his follow-up posts. I think his second post in particular would have benefited from an exploitation of the word limit, as he had little to say in support of his own choice, leaving Destiny the opportunity to rebut less content AND counter Romford's points against Ripley. There was a aissed opportunity to counter Destiny by noting the third hour drop-off is a consistent ratings issue, and less an indictment of those involved with the main event and more against the general state of the show. It doesn't help that I think his given counter to that argument was lacking. For what it's worth, I thought the argument about Charlotte being the one elvating NXT, not Rhea, was a natural angle to take, and a valid point. However, it's a double-edged sword. Because, yes, she is. But destiny's angle includes Charlotte as a piece of the puzzle that Rhea Ripley completed. I do think that some merit needs to be given to his argument that if Rhea was a true boon to her brand, she wouldn't need to defend at WrestleMania against a main roster star. That was actually a masterful stroke of genius that I don't think destiny ever found a way to counter.
But destiny was precise in his counter-arguments. It felt like every point Romford brought up was turned around as a further positive for Ripley. From saying Charlotte needs NXT, to the ratings argument actually looking worse for Owens, to the "Why hasn't the NXT title been defended at Mania before now?" trap that RP set up against himself, if he countered it, his argument won out. The entire way, he continued to boost up his choice of Rhea, and I think he made a strong point that regardless of how much Charlotte is helping NXT, Rhea was the one they had faith to do this with. I think his point about choosing Rhea over the likes of Adam Cole or Keith Lee for this first-time ever declaration was an immense one. And while I spoke on his counters to RP's rebuttals, destiny was able to tear through Kevin Owens as well. The aforementioned ratings drop was crucial, and the idea that it didn't have to be Owens was another argument that RP opened up and destiny closed the deal on. The Cleveland Browns line sort of sums up his point, but I think ultimately destiny made Owens' contributions feel less impactful than what Rhea Ripley had to offer.
A valiant effort by Romford here, but I see the victor as kdestiny
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