Worst of Wrestling #2: NXT season 1

Welcome back to the Worst of Wrestling. If you are a connoisseur for crap graps then you’re in the right place! Last time, we looked at one of the most infamous wrestling events of all time. Heroes of Wrestling. It was a rough watch. Everything from production to match quality was terrible and I doubt that there is anything that could possibly be worse. However, I will remain open-minded as today we will not be looking at one show, rather an entire season of WWE’s NXT.

There is a lot to cover here, this will be a lengthy dive so I won’t be doing full play-by-play of matches and segments. I will split this edition of Worst of Wrestling into 2 parts, I will link part 2 at the end.

NXT has went through various evolutions throughout its 15 year lifespan. How did it all start?

Origins

On February 2nd 2010, Vince McMahon revealed that WWE ECW was being cancelled and replaced with a brand new television programme on SyFy. McMahon called this new project a “groundbreaking, original show”. The last episode of ECW aired on the 16th of February. The week prior, the new show name NXT was revealed.

WWE had been using Florida Championship Wrestling as a developmental territory since 2007 and came up with NXT as a way to introduce future stars to a television audience. This was WWE’s second attempt at a reality show after Tough Enough ran from 2001-2004. NXT was not 100% a reality show however. NXT was a hybrid between reality and scripted shows to showcase wrestling ability and personality. I believe all the promos and challenges were shoots whilst the wrestling was scripted. This format of NXT ran for 5 seasons before it was rebranded and rebooted in 2012.

In October of 2010, Smackdown moved to SyFy and NXT moved off the network completely. NXT was instead aired on the WWE website.

The format

The original format for NXT saw 8 members of FCW participate in a competition to become the next breakout star. The 8 wrestlers from FCW were called “rookies” and they were paired up with 8 wrestlers from Raw or Smackdown, labelled the “pros”.

Each episode gives the rookies an opportunity to learn from their mentors, develop their gimmick and build their confidence with a live microphone in front of an audience. The rookies also competed in various challenges which the rookies will want to win to obtain special rewards such as featuring live on Monday Night Raw. In the later seasons, the challenges become more integral to the show and points are awarded for challenges won.

The show keeps us up to date with polls of the contestants. As the show progresses, contestants at the bottom of these polls would be eliminated from the show. It is important to note that being eliminated by the Pros poll is the explicitly the only way a rookie can be eliminated on this show. Season 1 was shortened midway through the season from 17 episodes to 15.

On paper, having a show to give your developmental talent screen time is a great idea to help a wrestler’s progression. However, original NXT very quickly became less about wrestling and more about trashy reality TV.

Personnel

Ahead of the debut episode of NXT, the 8 rookies and their pros were announced.

• Rookie Daniel Bryan Pro The Miz – 10 year veteran Daniel Bryan is more seasoned and successful than his 7 year pro Miz. The Miz is the current US champion and Tag champion.
• Rookie Darren Young Pro CM Punk – The flamboyant Young wrestled the indies for a couple of years before being signed to FCW. He is paired with the Straight Edge Society leader version of Punk.
• Rookie David Otunga Pro R-Truth – Former lawyer and failed actor Otunga began his wrestling career as a signee for FCW. No-Nonsense David is paired with the contrastingly jovial R-Truth.
• Rookie Heath Slater Pro Christian – The One Man Rock Band was trained by Mr Hughes and worked in Georgia based indie promotions before FCW. Christian is coming off his run as the second-last ECW champion.
• Rookie Justin Gabriel Pro Matt Hardy – The South African debuted in 1997 and spent 5 years trained in the United Kingdom. 2010 would end up being Hardy’s last year with the company until 2017.
• Rookie Michael Tarver Pro Carlito – Tarver has 5 years wrestling experience including matches against The Sandman & Eddie Kingston. Carlito would be released from WWE before the end of this NXT Season due to a Wellness Program Violation.
• Rookie Skip Sheffield Pro William Regal – Soon to be Ryback was on the last season of WWE’s Tough Enough and was one of the last 8 finalists. His pro was supposed to be MVP, but he was replaced by Regal at the last minute.
• Rookie Wade Barrett Pro Chris Jericho – Barrett debuted in 2004 and signed a developmental deal with WWE in 2007. Chris Jericho is the Heavyweight Champion at the start of this show.

NXT S1, Ep1 (feb. 23rd 2010)

8 NXT rookies, 8 WWE Pros, 1 Dream.

The video package shows off all 8 pros and their rookies. The theme song “Wild & Young” by American Bang is pretty bad, possibly the worst wrestling TV theme of all time.

The show starts backstage with the 8 rookies stood like idle video game characters. The Miz puts himself over and calls Daniel Bryan an indie darling. Miz tasks Daniel Bryan with going to the ring and cutting a promo. The Miz says “compared to me, Bryan’s personality is as dry as the Mojave Devvert” That is not a typo. If Bryan doesn’t show personality, The Miz will slap it into him.

Michael Cole introduces us to the show, sat alongside Josh Matthews. The “host” of NXT will be Matt Striker.

Daniel bryan promo

Daniel Bryan apologises to his fans and wishes his pro was William Regal. Bryan is interrupted by The Miz who claims he has no charisma. Bryan threatens to make Miz submit right now. They have a playful back and forth leading to Miz challenging Bryan to come up with a catchphrase. Daniel Bryan says if they ever wrestle, Miz has two options “tap or snap”. The fans cheer for that.

The Miz asks the fans if Bryan showed personality and charisma, the fans overwhelmingly cheer. The Miz says Bryan failed and slaps him before leaving.

Matt Striker interviews Daniel Bryan about the “embarrassing” promo. Bryan doesn’t see it that way, he will slap Miz back and he slaps a lot harder. Striker reminds him Miz is his pro and asks why he would say that? Bryan talks about his wrestling experience, but he is cut off by Striker who tells Bryan he hasn’t been in the WWE for a minute, discrediting any prior experience Bryan has. If he wants to be a star he has to listen to the Miz.

You know, the guy mercifully bullied and rejected by the WWE locker room upon arrival.

Carlito & Michael Tarver vs Heath slater & Christian

We get a video package for Tarver. Apparently people call him Mr 1.9 seconds because he can knock out any man in 1.9 seconds. That gimmick will only last a couple of weeks. His dad was Mike Tyson’s sparring partner. We also get a Heath Slater video package who talks about his life long dream to be a WWE superstar. It is all he ever wanted to do. He does a lot of hair flicking and swishing.

This is as basic of a TV match as you can get. Michael Tarver throws some punches. Heath Slater does some moves. Carlito beats down Slater, Christian makes the comeback and wins for his team. Michael Cole praises Heath Slater’s “charisma” which is just being loud and moving around a lot.

Darren Young vs David Otunga

A video package for David Otunga solidifies him as the most unlikable man in NXT. He talks about his fiancée Jennifer Hudson, meeting Barrack Obama and studying at Harvard. He compares himself to The Rock, Triple H and John Cena.

This match goes 30 seconds and ends with a botched spinebuster or suplex thing by Otunga who picks up the win.

Chris Jericho vs Daniel Bryan

World Heavyweight champion Jericho asks Wade Barrett to introduce him. Barrett takes his time blowing smoke up Y2J’s arse. “I just want you to introduce me” Jericho says. Daniel Bryan shoves past the Miz on his way to the ring.

This is only 5 minutes but it is enjoyable to watch. Chris Jericho is mostly in control but we see glimpses of Daniel Bryan’s ability to use submissions and reversals to control a match. There are moments where Jericho actually looks like the worse wrestler here. He botches two moves, one of them catching Bryan’s suicide dive. Bryan lands horribly into the commentary desk.

I didn’t realise we were dealing with heel Michael Cole because he is absolutely burying Daniel Bryan on commentary. Josh Matthews tries his best to put over Bryan, but Cole claims no one has ever heard of him before tonight. Cole goes on a tirade against the internet, twitter and internet wrestling fans. Jericho wins the match with a codebreaker and the Walls of Jericho.

After the match, The Miz gives Daniel Bryan a beat down. The show ends on a video package recapping the show we have seen.

Analysis

Honestly, this was a lot more watchable than I expected. It is clear from the start that the main story for this season is going to be Daniel Bryan vs The Miz. This is smart because you can rely on Bryan to do a lot more than the rest of the guys. Pretty much all of these competitors other than Bryan are actually rookies in wrestling.

The opening segment was awkward and made The Miz look weak. He criticised Bryan’s promo ability before immediately messing up his own promo.

The matches overall were fine. The tag match was okay though we did not see much from Tarver and Slater really. Otunga vs Young was pretty bad and made both of them look weak. The main event match was good.

This is a show made to give developmental talent an opportunity to shine and grow right? Well WWE, maybe you shouldn’t have the voices of your programme ridicule and undermine them. They don’t need to be made to look shittier than they already are.

NXT S1, Ep2 (Mar. 2nd 2010)

We get a video package recapping last week. R-Truth and David Otunga make their way to the ring. Matt Striker calls NXT revolutionary and once again explains what this whole show is about.

David Otunga vs Darren young

The show begins with a dull 10 minute match. Otunga hits a few moves before being knocked to the outside by Darren Young. Young proceeds to dominate for the next 8-9 minutes with no exciting offence. Josh Matthews tries to praise the rookies whilst Michael Cole continues to over-critique them. He credits all of Otunga’s success to his fiancée Jennifer Hudson.

Whilst I don’t disagree, you shouldn’t be telling the audience that.

CM Punk trips Otunga up and helps Darren Young get a cheap victory. DY looks crazed as he celebrates.

The Straight Edge Society leave Young behind as he celebrates. David Otunga shoves his pro R-Truth in anger.

Why??

Backstage Stuff

Daniel Bryan hype package. He highlights himself as an accomplished technical wrestler who values his family and dreams of headlining Wrestlemania. Michael Cole doesn’t care what Josh Matthews or his “little twitter geeks” think of Bryan he stands by what he said. Bryan has to learn to perform on the WWE level. Matthews puts Bryan over for impressing against the world champion Chris Jericho. Cole disagrees.

Daniel Bryan is being checked over by a doctor. The Miz calls Bryan dirt, scum and nothing in the WWE. Bryan’s next lessons is wrestling injured, he faces Wade Barrett next and Miz slaps Bryan on his injured side.

Matt Striker asks Otunga what happened in his match. Otunga blames the CM Punk interference. Matt Striker tells him to deal with it. R-Truth comes in and argues with Otunga, they get into a “scrap” which was just hugging and rolling around. “Hey man these are versace shorts” is a rare funny line by Otunga.

Wade barrett vs Daniel bryan

Chris Jericho introduces Wade Barrett as the new WWE success story. A hype package plays. Barrett talks about being a street fighter, a bareknuckle fighter and wanting to make money. Jericho joins commentary. Bryan has his ribs taped up. Jericho calls Bryan a seasoned talent but he hasn’t wowed the WWE and he didn’t wow him last week.

The match lasts 2 minutes. Bryan fails a springboard due to his injuries and gets planted with Wade’s finisher.

Jericho gets in and attacks Bryan, locking in a Liontamer on Bryan as the fans boo. Cole claims that all of the pros are upset by Bryan disrespecting The Miz and wanting to teach him a lesson in respect.

Since when do the other pros care about The Miz?

More Backstage Stuff

Recap of Christian & Slater’s win last week. Slater is overjoyed about the attention he has received. Christian warns Slater about being overconfident. Slater hasn’t earned the crowd noise yet, those are his peeps. Christian says he likes Heath Slater, but not very much.

Matt Striker asks Justin Gabriel about being with Matt Hardy. Gabriel praises Hardy and calls him his Sensei. “Sensei? Good segue.” Then he asks Matt on his impression on Gabriel. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT MATT STRIKER. Matt Hardy calls Gabriel a young Matt Hardy.

Nope, he is a young Jeff if anything.

Matt hardy & justin gabriel vs william regal & skip sheffield

William Regal is appalled by Skip Sheffield’s existence. His facial expressions are hilarious. Hype package time. Skip calls himself a “crazy cornfed meat head”. He details his lack of any wrestling or fighting experience, he is an entertainer. He asks a lot of rhetorical questions and ends with his catchphrase “Yep, yep, yep. What it do?” Josh Matthews tries to praise his size whilst Michael Cole laughs at what Skip said. Josh Matthews says Justin Gabriel is dressed like an astronaut. Cole claims Regal says that Skip Sheffield has the personality of an open grave.

This match is similar to the opener. A long, drawn out 10 minute match with an overly long beat down segment. Gabriel is beaten down for a while, then Hardy is beaten down for even longer. The story here is that William Regal keeps chewing out Skip for trying to play to the crowd. Regal is caught in a weak looking Twist of Fate. Gabriel wins the match with his impressive 450 splash.

The show ends with Matt Striker saying “hu-huh, Wow! Folks, NXT continues to pro-hab — provide, ‘scuse me, behind the scenes quality in-depth features. One of these men will become a breakout star in the WWE.” Carlito comes in, bites an apple and spits it in Heath Slater’s face. “That’s Cool.” Heath Slater is mad. Matt Striker smirks and says “That’s NXT”

UGHHHHH.

Analysis

Still watchable but a significant dip in quality from episode 1. The matches had nothing to them and they felt poorly put together. Giving the least amount of wrestling time to the best wrestler on the show feels like a rib.

Nothing on this show stood out to me as good or entertaining. The feud with Bryan and The Miz continued and it was fine.

We’re 2 episodes in and I am already losing my patience with Michael Cole and Matt Striker. I want to cease existing.

NXT S1, Ep3 (Mar. 9th 2010)

This week NXT gets pyro! They didn’t get pyro on the last 2 weeks. We start exactly like last week. R-Truth and David Otunga head to the ring. Matt Striker explains the format of the show.

The Miz & Daniel Bryan vs R-Truth & David Otunga

ShoMiz will defend their tag titles against Truth & Morrison at Wrestlemania, it is a nice touch to see that referenced here. The Miz gives Bryan a pep talk. He is 0-2 and proved nothing to anyone so far. If Bryan is the weak link in this team and gets pinned, then Miz will make sure he is kicked out of NXT. “Get it? Got it? Good.” Bryan tries not to corpse, which is becoming a weekly challenge for him.

This is another fine NXT tag match. We get to see a bit more of Daniel Bryan wrestling which is always good. David Otunga got a hot tag and it looked solid. Funnily enough, it was The Miz and R-Truth who botched a spot as Truth failed to move out of the way of Miz’s running knee strike.

Daniel Bryan is in control of Otunga with a heel hook but Miz tags himself in. They argue, Truth dropkicks Miz and Otunga pins Miz after a spinebuster.

R-Truth and David Otunga are fine after their altercation last week I guess, which was not referenced here once.

Backstage stuff

Heath Slater was surprised by Carlito coming in and spitting an apple in his face. If he had an apple, he wouldn’t bite it. He would “chuck it like a fastball 98 mph straight at his face.”

How was Heath surprised by this? I thought he was a WWE fan but he didn’t expect Carlito to spit an apple in someone’s face? He sounds stupid.

Matt Striker interviews The Miz backstage. He asks if Miz let Daniel Bryan down since he was pinned. Miz is the US and Unified Tag champion. A tag team requires 2 people. Bryan comes in and says every partner Miz has ever had has carried him. Michael Cole commends Daniel Bryan for stepping up to The Miz but says he should take a step back before risking his WWE career.

So far, Michael Cole has been very passive and reasonable about Daniel Bryan tonight which is a shocker.

Hype package for Justin Gabriel. He talks about his wrestling style and his sports background. Matt Hardy praises Gabriel. The rookie asks if he should have done anything better last week, Hardy says no, he followed their plan perfectly.

What, getting your arse kicked for 10 minutes and landing 3 moves?

Carlito vs Heath slater

Carlito says “Heath, Slater? Did I get it right?” That popped me. Michael Tarver is wearing a shirt saying 1.9. Carlito says Heath should be honoured he was spat on and should be begging to be spat on again. Michael Cole says “You know, he’s got a point.“

What?!

These two wrestle a fine little match. Carlito dominates but Slater takes advantage of Carlito’s cockiness and scores a huge upset victory.

Heath jumps around like a goof whilst Christian keeps telling him to play to the full crowd, not just the front row.

More Backstage Stuff

Hype package for Darren Young. This is his chance, his dream, his destiny. He is here to have fun and puts himself over as an entertainer.

His Troll Doll hair is fucking ridiculous.

CM Punk is talking about Darren Young to Luke Gallows & Serena whilst Young is behind him. Young respects the straight edge lifestyle and asks why he can’t just be himself. Punk can lead a horse to water but cannot make him drink. Doing things his way will make Young a winner, or he can remain a loser.

wade barrett vs justin gabriel

A short match but fun and engaging. The moronic fans in attendance start chanting USA at a match between a Brit and a South African. Justin Gabriel reverses a Superplex and hits the 450 splash to win the match.

Jericho rushes in and attacks Hardy and Gabriel. He locks in the Liontamer on Gabriel and raises Barrett’s hand to close the show.

Analysis

I think this is the best episode of NXT. I don’t think it is great but everything felt tighter and better structured. The opening tag was a basic TV match but the story between Bryan and Miz was advanced well. The Carlito vs Slater match was also nothing special but it was well built and Carlito worked well. The main event was the best match and it was shorter than 4 minutes long.

I think the main point here is that there was a significantly less amount of burying NXT talent on this show. Michael Cole eased up, Josh Matthews was solid and we did not have to hear from Matt Striker much which is always a bonus.

Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel & Daniel Bryan all looked great here. Heath Slater looked solid too. This episode did the best for the rookies involved, but I am afraid it is mostly downhill from here.

NXT S1, Ep4 (Mar. 16th 2010)

We don’t get a recap video package or pyro this week. We’re kicking off immediately with tag team action. Matt Striker has “huge” news for us. The first round of votes will be completed in 2 weeks time.

CM Punk & Darren Young vs Justin Gabriel & Matt hardy

This is probably the best match we have seen on NXT so far. My main gripe is that it is actually too long. At 14 minutes, the match dragged at points and the action get a bit samey. Other than that though, this was good. It helps that CM Punk and Matt Hardy are involved for sure.

Darren Young is given a bunch of time to get his shit in and it looks solid. Gabriel is proving he is good at selling. The in-ring chemistry between Darren Young and CM Punk is the big story. Although they’re polar opposites they are working together well.

Outside interference from Luke Gallows allows Punk to hit Gabriel with the GTS. Young gets the pin to win. Young celebrates with Punk but turns around into a Gallows Pole. The S.E.S. leave him on the mat.

We see a graphic for the next match. Daniel Bryan vs The Great Khali.

For fuck sake.

Daniel Bryan vs The Great Khali

Michael Cole sarcastically wishes Bryan good luck. Josh Matthews says Cole hates Bryan so much because Bryan is part of a world Cole does not know since he lives in a bubble. Matthews says Daniel Bryan has 11 thousand followers on Twitter. “10 million viewers watch Raw every Monday night” Cole responds.

They most certainly do not.

Michael Cole is back to his usual self, burying Daniel Bryan. He mocks Bryan’s blog where he measures things on a manliness meter. “I’m not gonna take anything away from Daniel Bryan…” YES YOU ARE. Cole mocks Bryan for going to bed at 8pm and not owning a television whilst Matthews desperately tries to get back to the match.

Daniel Bryan gets some offence in but at the end of it all he is squashed here in 2 minutes. If that wasn’t bad enough, Big Show comes out and chokeslams Daniel Bryan too for the lols.

Heath slater vs michael tarver

Commentary are putting over Slater’s win over Carlito last week pretty hard. Watching the intense Michael Tarver come out to Carlito’s music is such a funny dichotomy. In a surprising double turn, Michael Cole does a great job detailing Michael Tarver’s struggle and up-bringing, just for Josh Matthews to bury it and question why he should care for his story.

This is not great, but it is kept short. Tarver is mostly on offence but Slater dodges a shoulder tackle and rolls him up for the 3.

After the match Tarver attacks Slater and hits him with a T-Bone Suplex, which is the first move I have seen him do in 4 episodes.

Skip sheffield vs Wade barrett

Skip is wearing a Steve Austin style jacket with the words “corn fed” written on the front. His trunks read “shoooooot” on the back.

I understand why Vince McMahon kept this guy around for so long.

This is not a good match, made clear by commentary losing complete interest in calling it. There is a moment where it is so quiet that even Chris Jericho walks over in character and shouts at them to do their jobs. Cole & Matthews start popping each other by imitating various commentators.

This 4 minute match ends with Barrett pulling Skip off the top rope and hitting his finisher. These 2 have no chemistry together. Barrett is solid but Skip was not lying when he said he had little in-ring experience to work with.

Analysis

A bigger dip in quality in episode 4. Although the opening match is one of the best in NXT thus far, the rest of the show is way below average. Whilst I understand The Miz is being a heel setting up Bryan vs Khali, who really wants to see that shit? Then sending Big Show, Miz’s tag partner, down for a chokeslam and then to leave? Good heel work but it makes terrible viewing.

The other 2 matches weren’t much better. I understand these are portrayed as rookies so their match quality doesn’t matter as much, but you’re also not going to win anyone over by wrestling poorly.

So far Barrett, Gabriel, Slater & Bryan are the most impressive. Otunga and Young are fine. Skip Sheffield is bad in-ring but ironically entertaining. Michael Tarver sucks.

NXT S1, Ep5 (Mar. 23rd 2010)

We get pyro to open the show. This NXT is taking place during Wrestlemania week. Matt Striker says some stuff. I wasn’t listening.

Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater vs Skip sheffield & wade barrett

This is the first ever all-rookie’s tag match in NXT.

A basic TV tag with very little interesting to talk about. Skip Sheffield has stopped doing the Fargo Strut before his splash which is a good call. Barrett accidentally boots Sheffield and Slater gets the pin to win. Barrett was awkwardly taken out by a botched springboard elbow by Gabriel. Slater took too long getting to the pin and I think Skip looked really weak being put down by one boot.

Heath Slater continues his unbeaten run in NXT.

recap city

We see the same Daniel Bryan hype package we saw a few episodes ago. Then, we see the hype packages for Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker, Edge vs Chris Jericho and Bret Hart vs Vince McMahon.

Oh you want more video packages? You’re in luck. We see video packages for Darren Young, Wrestlemania 26 and John Cena vs Batista.

This block of video packages is 18 MINUTES LONG. That is obscene.

Darren young & david otunga vs Daniel Bryan & Michael Tarver

Darren Young and David Otunga make their entrance for their match which happens right now. SYKE! No it doesn’t. We see The Miz & David Otunga on the red carpet at a SyFy event, another hype package for HBK vs Undertaker and hype for Hall of Fame inductee Ted DiBiase.

This match is not good. They get plenty of time and no one except Daniel Bryan knows how to wisely use that time. Michael Tarver spends 80% of this match arguing with people outside of the ring, 20% throwing punches. Otunga and Young looked okay when wrestling Tarver but once they stepped in the ring with Bryan it became clear how below his level they are.

CM Punk looks completely disinterested on the outside hanging out with the S.E.S. Daniel Bryan transitioning from a guillotine choke into the Labell lock was awesome.

Bryan cannot tag out because Tarver is busy arguing with Luke Gallows. Otunga plants him with the spinebuster and wins the match.

analysis

Episode 5 was the worst episode so far. That doesn’t come as much of a surprise when WWE are far more interested in promoting Wrestlemania 26 than actually producing this show. Only the first and last 10 minutes of this show focus on NXT. The other 25 minutes are video packages.

Not only that, but the match quality was poor. I don’t think these “rookies” have mastered the art of working a tag match just yet. There is nothing appealing on this episode, it is completely skippable. Hopefully once Wrestlemania is out of the way they will actually focus on the contestants.

NXT S1, Ep6 (Mar. 30th 2010)

We get a video package recapping the first 5 episodes of NXT as well as hype for the first pros poll. A display of pyro and a hello from commentary before we head to the ring.

The Pro polls

Matt Striker is in the ring and introduces us to “the most important night in the history of NXT.” It has only been 6 weeks.

The rookies are introduced one by one. Justin Gabriel and Daniel Bryan get the loudest cheers. Wade Barrett and David Otunga get the loudest boos. No one reacts to Michael Tarver or Skip Sheffield.

The rookies will be judged on their win/loss record, their opponent quality, their dedication and their ‘IT’ factor. The results are in and here is the Pros Poll:

1. Daniel Bryan (0-5)
2. Wade Barrett (2-2)
3. Justin Gabriel (3-1)
4. Heath Slater (3-1)
5. David Otunga (3-1)
6. Skip Sheffield (0-3)
7. Michael Tarver (1-2)
8. Darren Young (3-1)

nxt Rookie Reactions

Darren Young says he needs to step it up and the universe will see what he is about. Bryan says his win/loss record isn’t the best and Michael Cole keeps saying he lacks the IT factor. There are people here who look like stars or are married to them but the truth is they can’t wrestle.

Bryan cannot hide the grin on his face saying that to David Otunga.

Otunga admits he lacks experience but he has the IT factor. “Honestly, talking to you is like eating mashed potatoes.” Bryan asks if anyone knows what he is talking about. Bryan mocks Otunga’s silly sunglasses, his stupid jeans and his oversized belt.

For a guy with no charisma, Daniel Bryan sure was able to cook Otunga on the mic.

Matt Striker reveals that another poll will be posted in 6 weeks time. Whoever is last will be eliminated from NXT and that will repeat each week afterwards. The winner of NXT will receive a championship match at a PPV against any champion of their choosing. All 8 rookies will be in a Battle Royal main event, the winner will host Raw next week.

Michael Cole of course does not agree with the polls.

Raw pros vs smackdown pros

Team Raw is Christian, Carlito, The Miz & William Regal. Smackdown is Matt Hardy, R-Truth, CM Punk & Chris Jericho. None of the rookies are present except for Wade Barrett who is ringside. Turns out, Chris Jericho is joining commentary and Wade Barrett will be competing on his behalf. Jericho heavily puts over Wade Barrett.

This is a good 8-man tag. It has its lull moments and it is maybe a touch too long. However, all the men got time and looked good. It was nice to watch a botch-free match. William Regal begging CM Punk to trade rookies was funny. Christian and CM Punk had great sequences together. Wade Barrett shines like a star, pinning Christian after interference from Jericho.

Commentary was painful to sit through. Jericho was great and tried to remain focused on the match. Michael Cole is becoming more of a heel commentator, more focused on throwing “funny” heel jabs rather than calling the match. Josh Matthews overloads Jericho with questions about the rookies and Wrestlemania. It was a mess. Cole calls Daniel Bryan a nerd, Jericho says the pot is calling the kettle black. “The voice of the WWE ladies and gentlemen.“

Michael Cole, Jericho is saying you suck and I don’t think this was kayfabe

NXT Rookie battle royal

Michael Cole calls Bryan a dweeb as he enters and questions why he always wears red.

What issue can he have with the colour red?

Barrett is ganged up on by the other rookies and eliminated immediately. He is angry. Back from break, Darren Young and Skip Sheffield have been eliminated. Daniel Bryan eliminates Michael Tarver. Heath Slater eliminates Bryan as well as himself.

Stupid Heath Slater.

Gabriel and Otunga wrestle back and forth a little. He hits the 450 splash and stands around for a bit. Gabriel tries to eliminate him, but Otunga rakes his face and throws Gabriel out. R-Truth comes out and celebrates with Otunga.

Matt Striker asks how Otunga feels. He says he told everyone he should have been ranked number 1 and he proved it. He is Mr NXT. Otunga says Raw will have the A-List stamp all over it and he wants 427 green M&Ms in his dressing room. “That’s the IT factor” says Michael Cole.

Analysis

An improvement on the previous episode that is for sure. It helps when the biggest segment on the show is 8 professional wrestlers working a tag match together.

I thought the pro polls segment was solid. Based off the criteria that they gave, the standings are all sorts of wrong. In kayfabe, Daniel Bryan should with a 0-5 losing record. Darren Young also does not deserve to be dead last. However, I am happy to see Daniel Bryan rated highly. I thought his brief promo battle with Otunga was fun too and showed that Bryan does indeed have personality and charisma.

The battle royal was a bad match. Painfully generic, meaningless eliminations and boring to watch. Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel looked foolish how they were eliminated. David Otunga makes sense as the winner but I wish it wasn’t him.

NXT S1, Ep7 (apr. 6th 2010)

Pyro display and greetings from commentary. We’re 5 weeks away from the first elimination in NXT. Matt Striker is on the entrance ramp and introduces the rookies.

The nxt challenges

Striker recaps last week and talks about David Otunga hosting Raw on Monday. Otunga had a chance to team with John Cena to win the Tag Titles but he walked away from the match. Otunga says he was the host and he could do what he wanted. He had no interest in sharing the spotlight with anyone. He would rather help NXT pro The Miz retain and gain support in winning NXT and getting a world title match.

That…is surprisingly sound logic.

Striker questions if Daniel Bryan deserves to be in first place. Bryan questions if Miz deserves to be pro, if Otunga deserve to host Raw or if Michael Cole deserves to replace Jim Ross. Bryan says he doesn’t deserve his ranking but he will do his best to be a WWE superstar. Striker criticises Bryan for being humble. Cole calls Bryan a “Pee-Wee”.

Heel Michael Cole storyline is in full effect. Strap in and strap on.

Michael Tarver says Bryan doesn’t deserve his ranking. What Bryan deserves to be, like everyone else is a target. Bryan better stay out of his way, he has played by the rules but now he is a pit bull off the leash. He is the most dangerous man in NXT. Striker calls them all “interesting personalities”.

Matt Striker quips that some of the crowd want one of these rookies to go away. From now, there will be weekly challenges to test their mental and physical abilities.

The Keg carry challenge

Matt Striker says “this…is a keg.” The keg weighs 160 pounds. The rookies have to carry it from the bottom of the ramp, around the ring and back to the starting line. Fastest time wins. Daniel Bryan starts and he jokingly puffs out his chest. “He’s deformed” says Cole.

Daniel Bryan tries to hold back his laughter whilst Matt Striker patronisingly explains the rules of the challenge. Bryan sets a time of 24.9 seconds. Of course Cole ridicules Bryan an egregious amount.

Wade Barrett shatters the record with 14.7 seconds. Justin Gabriel beats it with 13.6. Matt Striker has to be auditioning to be a game show host with how over the top annoying he is here. He introduces everyone like we haven’t been watching them for the past 6 weeks. Heath Slater then sets the record with 12 seconds. Otunga has a weird looking run, he fails to beat 12 seconds.

Then, Skip Sheffield runs it around and be absolutely crossed the line at 11.9 but the clock stopped late at 12.4 seconds. Justice for Skip. Tarver drops the keg twice during his attempt and gets disqualified. Darren Young is the last competitor, he gets 13.6 seconds. Heath wins. His reward? A main event match tonight against Kane!

challenge Analysis

How exactly does being able to carry a keg around the ring prove yourself as a future WWE superstar? It proves that you are strong sure but how many people who are strong, are also not WWE material? A lot.

We’re getting into the challenges portion of NXT and it gets ridiculous from here. The keg carry challenge benefits absolutely nobody. Daniel Bryan is getting buried by Michael Cole on commentary, I am aware it is part of the angle but that doesn’t make it any better.

Michael Tarver looked like an absolute joke dropping the keg so his legitimacy is shot. He should be eliminated right now for that. Skip Sheffield actually won the challenge but the clock ran over so this whole segment is a farce.

To top it off, Slater is rewarded by a main event match he is sure to lose in quick fashion. If the rookies are going to be punished for doing well, then why should they even try in these challenges? You could argue having a tough opponent will benefit Slater in the polls, but it becomes apparent that the criteria for these polls is totally subjective.

backstage segments

We have a recap of Raw. Okay, I take back what I said earlier. There is no logic to what David Otunga did. David Otunga is the guest host of Raw and he is the one who books ShoMiz defending the Tag Championships against himself and John Cena. Then he screws Cena by jumping off the apron and giving the champions the win. I mean, he could have just not booked the tag match in the first place?

If he thinks he is so great, why not just book himself a world title match with John Cena that night? The only logical reason is that Otunga made a deal with Batista to screw Cena so that he could attack him post match. That is not specifically mentioned though so I am not giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Skip Sheffield said he won the challenge and he was screwed. “I am the NXT biggest thing.” Skip says the universe isn’t ready for him, nice guys finish last so he is done being a nice guy.

His voice sounds like John Laurinitis.

Daniel bryan vs darren young

Darren Young defeats Bryan in less than 2 minutes. Michael Cole continues to assassinate Bryan’s character, mocking him for being a vegan. The 2 minutes of action is actually pretty good because Bryan is mostly on offence. Young catches him in a jackknife pin to win. Michael Cole mocks the “internet geeks” for Bryan being 0-7.

Justin Gabriel vs michael tarver

Gabriel defeats Tarver in less than 2 minutes 30 seconds. We get two bad pre-recorded promos before the match. 3rd ranked Gabriel says “it is only up from here” which makes no sense, whilst Tarver goes on a ramble about pitbulls on leashes.

Tarver slowly beats down Gabriel until the South African makes his comeback, hits the 450 and wins.

Wade barrett vs david otunga

pre-recorded promo from Otunga claims that the rookies are so threatened by him that they won’t vote him too high.

Nah bro, you suck.

This is heel vs heel so the crowd don’t really root for anyone. Not like there was much enjoyable action to react to. This was slow and dull. Barrett wins with his finisher after only 3 and a half minutes.

heath slater vs kane

Slater manages to take control of the match early with some strikes and dropkicks but it only gets a 1 count. Kane hits a big boot and proceeds to decimate the rookie. After 4 minutes, Kane hits the chokeslam to win. Kane performed a rest hold spot for no reason because Slater doesn’t even make a comeback.

Analysis

I already went into detail on the Keg Carry Challenge so I won’t talk about that much more. I will add that Skip acknowledged the fact he was screwed out of the challenge but no one else did. That sucked.

If you add the length of the 4 matches on this show together, it comes to about 12 and a half minutes. 12.5 minutes of wrestling on a 1 hour wrestling programme is ridiculous. Essentially the first half of this show is dedicated to the stupid keg challenge. How are these wrestlers supposed to get themselves over at all in such a short amount of time?

Bryan vs Young was solid but Bryan is now starting to look incredibly weak. It is the old WWE way of making a new star look like absolute dog shit and then build them up to take credit for their rise. The other 3 matches were not great. I don’t care what they say, Slater does not benefit from getting his ginger ass beat by Kane for 5 minutes.

I did not like this episode at all.

NXT S1, Ep8 (apr. 13th 2010)

We get a recap of last episode, no pyro. We’re in London, England! Matt Striker is in the ring and introduces the NXT rookies. The fans have made nearly no noise so far which is unfamiliar for a UK crowd. That is how uninteresting NXT is.

catching up with the rookies

Striker reminds Michael Tarver of his list of failures from last week and asks if the pressure is getting to him. “I am the pressure and I am giving it to the rest of the rookies. Whether I win or lose, I will not lose.“

That might be the most outlandish promo I have ever heard. You can even see in his face, he knows that was shit.

Striker reminds Otunga he didn’t want to share the spotlight with WWE champion John Cena last week, but last night on Raw he did. Otunga says that he did the smart thing and shared the spotlight with the WWE champion which no one else here can say.

Absolute nonsense that contradicts his thoughts last week.

Justin Gabriel is then asked how he would do against John Cena, since he defeated Otunga last week. Gabriel thinks the Battle Royal from 2 weeks ago happened last week and he starts talking about how Otunga actually won and he cheated to do so. Striker, wisely, skips past that and asks the question again. He doesn’t know.

3 terrible attempts a mic work, just before we get into a promo challenge

talk the talk challenge

The winner of tonight’s challenge will be able to go create their own entrance theme to stand out from the rest of the rookies. Striker has a bunch of topics, he will give each rookie a topic to speak about for 30 seconds. The fans judge on originality, creativity and staying on topic. Daniel Bryan is first and he smiles knowing this will be a disaster.

Daniel Bryan’s topic is passion. He immediately talks tries to talk about the manliness meter he has, which I assume is something he is passionate about. Matt Striker rudely interrupts him and tells him to stay on topic. Bryan gives him this “are fucking serious” look and ends his promo with “I love England!” Michael Cole, again, berates Daniel Bryan.

Wade Barrett’s topic is blasé. He cuts a solid promo about how non-blasé he is. Justin Gabriel’s topic is about flowers and he bombs. He mentions South Africa and gets booed, how he doesn’t really like flowers and then just stops talking before the time expires. Heath Slater’s topic is cereal. He lists a bunch of cereals that the Brits are not familiar with, the various types of milk you can use and how he doesn’t eat cereal. More booing from the crowd. He criticises the topic.

Winds of Change

Otunga’s topic is sleep. He doesn’t get much of it because his mind is always racing and that is why he is ahead. The only thing sleeping are his competitors. “His promo was putting me to sleep” says Josh Matthews. Skip Sheffield’s topic is rainbows but he completely ignores that and does a bunch of rehearsed lines ending with his signature “yep yep yep“. Michael Tarver’s topic is itchy. Tarver refuses to talk. Finally, Darren Young talks about toothpaste. He claims that a lot of people here don’t use toothpaste and he would rather not be here. Michael Tarver grabs the mic and says Young and Striker don’t know what they’re talking about. He says the fans look like they’ve had one too many Britney Spears, whatever that means.

The 2 rookies who are cheered the loudest compete in a talk-off. Skip Sheffield talks about bubblegum. Instead of doing what he did the first time and ignore the question he decides to ramble on about bubblegum brands, losing the keg challenge and not eating bubblegum. Wade Barrett talks about wind. He mocks Skip’s ability before talking about the “winds of change” which is actually a great segue. He says he will be the first English heavyweight champion. To the surprise of no one, Wade Barrett wins the ‘Talk the Talk’ Challenge.

challenge analysis

This was absolutely brutal to watch. Very few of these guys actually have any experience so they were destined to fail.

First, fuck you Matt Striker for interrupting Daniel Bryan which you never did for anyone else. I think Bryan’s promo was intentionally bad. Either it was booked that way or he did it to be a troll. Gabriel, Slater, Young & Tarver came out of this looking incredibly green and incompetent. Sheffield looked like a moron. Otunga’s promo was mid but tolerable, though it was buried by Josh Matthews. Wade Barrett was the only guy who looked like he knew what he was doing and he cut 2 solid promos.

This segment was a total disaster and most of the blame goes on the godawful, stupid topics they had to speak about.

forgiveness vs hair

We see a recap from Smackdown when CM Punk tried to shave Darren Young’s hair but Rey Mysterio saved him. Backstage CM Punk chews Young out for changing his mind about becoming a member. Gallows says that he threw Young around like a punk, prompting CM Punk to turn and stare at him with disappointment.

Admittedly quite funny.

Punk sets up a match between Young and Gallows. If Young wins, all is forgiven, but if he loses he is getting his head shaved.

Christian vs wade barrett

This was a decent little match between these 2. This was evenly contested, Christian allows Barrett to get a lot in. A distraction from Jericho allows Barrett set him up for the finish, but Slater grabs at Barrett’s foot allowing Christian to transition into a Killswitch to win.

The Miz berates Daniel Bryan and compares him to Susan Boyle. He takes credit for Bryan’s pro ranking and he urges Bryan to take his star power and actually win a match.

Damn I haven’t heard the name Susan Boyle in such a long time.

william regal vs daniel bryan

Although I have had a terrible time in NXT thus far, I was very excited to see this. Not even Michael Cole’s continuous insults could prevent me from enjoying this, I foolishly thought. Michael Cole claims that Regal is smiling to beat up Daniel Bryan. Josh Matthews goes to explain the history between Regal and Bryan but Cole interrupts him and does a half-arsed job explaining that himself. Matthews references Joey Styles who called ECW on his own back in the day.

Regal and Bryan wrestle for only 2 minutes. What we get is fun to watch but the 10 year veteran Bryan is pinned after a running knee and looks incredibly weak in defeat.

Michael Cole revels in Bryan being 0-8. The Miz attacks William Regal, stands Bryan up and drops him with a Skull Crushing Finale.

I hate WWE.

luke gallows vs darren young

I feel bad for the ring announcer who has to constantly call these matches a ‘WWE pro vs NXT rookie match’.

Gallows kicks Young’s ass for the entire match, Young manages to trap Gallows in a roll up to win. After the win, CM Punk raises Young’s hand in victory whilst staring a hole through Gallows. That is the end of the episode.

Analysis

I am losing the will guys. This is getting rough to watch. This week’s challenge was abysmal viewing and I am starting to think it might be on purpose. It made most of the rookies look completely incompetent which is not what you want fans to think of young, rising stars.

Only 11 minutes of wrestling this time, even less than last week. The Barrett vs Christian match was average. Regal vs Bryan was well worked but the booking was bad and Michael Cole is getting worse by the week. The main event match sucked the hardest.

NXT S1, Ep9 (apr. 20th 2010)

No video package or pyro. The host and the rookies are already in the ring as we can see from this wide shot.

There is a large inflatable on the stage. That cannot mean anything good for the rookies.

Rock’em sock’em rookies

Matt Striker says that this week we are testing balance and striking ability in this challenge called ‘Rock Em Sock Em Rookies’.

Terrible name. What does balance and striking ability have anything to do with being a successful WWE superstar?

For anyone who has seen the TV show Gladiators, this is essentially that. 2 rookies will stand on podiums and whack each other with big sticks until someone falls off. The winner of the challenge gets an exclusive feature in WWE.com

What a terrible reward. None of the rookies appear to care anymore. They’re probably praying for this to be over.

In the quarter-finals; Heath Slater defeats David Otunga, Skip Sheffield defeats Wade Barrett, Daniel Bryan defeats Michael Tarver & Darren Young defeats Justin Gabriel.

Michael Tarver eliminated himself and then shoved Bryan around afterwards. Second week in a row Tarver refused to take part in the challenge. The semi-finals will take place a little later.

This was uninteresting at best.

david otunga vs justin gabriel

We get a hype package for Wade Barrett and all of the pros praising him quite heavily. It is far too obvious that he is going to win this.

This match is solid and well worked just not very interesting. Josh Matthews gets on my tits in this one. He mentions that Otunga and R-Truth haven’t been getting along. Dude, that happened in week 2 and has not been referenced or followed up on. Then Matthews argues with Cole about calling it a ‘2.5 count’ and says that is not a real thing. OH MY GOD SHUT UP AND DO YOUR JOB.

Gabriel does some good wrestling, Otunga is mid. Gabriel goes for a sunset flip pin, Otunga asks R-Truth to grab his hands and help him but Truth refuses. Otunga loses. Then, R-Truth goes over to Matt Hardy and high-fives him before pulling this “you just got punked” expression.

Rock’em sock’em rookies, Part 2

Skip Sheffield defeats Heath Slater and Darren Young defeats Daniel Bryan.

Michael Cole calls Bryan a loser and shouts out his “Cole Miners”

I hate wrestling.

michael tarver open challenge

Carlito looks so depressed. He is probably high as fuck right now and wishing he was doing anything else. Commentary mock Michael Tarver for being shit in NXT so far. Michael Tarver says “If silence is golden, then my words are invaluable.” He is done playing by NXT rules and he isn’t here to compete in silly challenges. He feels like a bulldog off a leash and he challenges anyone to come and stop him.

First he was a pitbull, now he is a bulldog. Which one is it?

Skip Sheffield comes out and tells him to shut his mouth and calls Tarver a “nitwit of negativity“. CM Punk comes out and reminds us about Young beating Gallows last week. Punk wants Young to continue his momentum. “Also he is in the finals of the little stick-fighty thing.” This now becomes a triple threat.

Darren Young vs skip sheffield vs michael tarver

We have seen a lot of singles and tag matches so it is nice to see something different. Skip and Tarver double team Young for a long time but they stop each other from getting the pinfall. Eventually their alliance ends and they start fighting. Luke Gallows tries to run in and cost Darren Young the match, but Michael Tarver fails to capitalise and Young wins.

The match was fine but it further buried Michael Tarver and cemented him as the worst rookie on the show.

A hype package for Heath Slater. Christian and Matt Hardy have nice things to say but the rest of the pros have very backhanded compliments.

Rock’em sock’em rookies finals

Both Young and Sheffield are knocked off the podium and the referee decides that Sheffield wins the contest. The video recap looks like a tie so they call a rematch. Sheffield wins the rematch confidently.

Matt Striker asks Skip how he feels. Sheffield quotes Keanu Reeves in the movie Hardball and he will always give it his all in the ring.

Although his character is terrible, Skip Sheffield cuts a better promo than he ever did as Ryback.

This challenge is not as bad as the previous one, but it is not good. It’s so boring and ridiculous to watch. Again, how does this translate at all to being a good WWE superstar?

chris jericho vs heath slater

Heath shows some fight early on before getting dominated for most of the match. He dodges the Lionsault and Jericho allows Heath to get in quite a bit of offence. Jericho goes for the Walls of Jericho, Slater counters into a roll up and gets a monumental win! The show abruptly ends.

Analysis

An improvement on the previous episode. This show is the definition of mid. The challenge was silly and boring. The rookies continue to be poorly presented except for Barrett & Slater who are managing to tread water in this cursed competition.

The matches were not awful but not exciting either. At least the main event saw a pro actually put over a rookie in some way.

It really helps these rookies if the pros that they come up against are willing to give them something. Heath Slater being dominated by Kane for 5 minutes does nothing. However, landing offence on Jericho and even scoring a pinfall does a lot.

end of part 1

The NXT Season 1 coverage continues in part 2 right here.

If you’re crazy enough to go watch all of this yourself, you can find all of the episodes of NXT on WWE’s YouTube.