NXT - The story so far.

Author - MrCraiggy

SPOILERS!! - Some people reading this may not have seen NXT and will not know some of the events I am referencing, and so I post this spoiler warning.

Okay, so, for those of you who know me, you'll know that I am a HUGE wrestling fan. But, to the extent that I actually want to wrestle, and have trained to do so in the past, and do hope to do so again in the future (Watch this space) and so I understand a lot about the business and how it works. This being said, I've always found shows such as WWE's NXT program, and it's previous incarnation "Tough Enough" as a little confusing. I've never understood how much is legitimate reality tv, and how much is already decided beforehand like in other shows such as Raw and Smackdown.

So, the premise for NXT is 8 "Rookies" compete against each other over several weeks, the winner getting themselves a WWE contract (Or with the first season, everyone getting a contract, aside from poor Daniel Bryan). They are accompanied on their journey through this exhibitioning process by a WWE superstar assigned to them as a "Pro" mentor. Now, this is a fun idea, as it allows for bonus interactions between rookie and pro, which can make for some good TV. I refer again to last season with The Miz and Daniel Bryan.

So, this season's rookies are as follows:

Alex Riley - Riley is your classic 'Jock' character. A brilliant college athlete who thinks he's better than everyone else and plays up the bully aspect of his character. Now, Riley is very entertaining in my opinion. He's good both in the ring and on the mic. His character comes over very well and it just plain works... However, that being said, at the moment it just feels like it's a little bit too familiar... Can somebody say "Jack Swagger clone"? I knew you could... I've noticed recently, he's played up the prementioned 'bully' aspect of his character, which draws away from the Swagger similarities, so I'm hopeful for Riley, but I'm not sure he'll make it all the way. Riley's pro is The Miz, the only returning Pro to season 2, and they work very nicely together.

Eli Cottonwood - Well, what can we say about Eli? He's BIG standing at seven feet tall, he is a giant in the ring. So why doesn't this work for him? Well, as far as giant characters go (Like Andre, Big Show, Khali) Eli's tiny! Not in height, oh no, but he's pretty thin for a big guy, and so just doesn't carry that same intimidation factor that other big guys seem to possess... Plus, I dunno, he just moves awkwardly in the ring. Also, his Pro is John Morrison, who I adore as a Superstar! But, again, Eli's going for a sort of sick, twisted, destroy everything in his way gimmick, which just doesn't gel with Morrison's flamboyance and entertainment factor. Not a good pairing, despite Morrison's awesomeness. I expect Eli to be voted off soon.

Husky Harris - This guy is one of my picks to win! I love him right now. I've loved him since the end of season 1 when they showed promo videos of the season 2 rookies. As soon as I saw his promo, I knew I'd like this guy. Husky Harris is what is referred to as a 'Legacy' wrestler, meaning that someone in his family, usually dad or grandad, was a professional wrestler. In Husky's case, both! This makes him a third-generation wrestler, but recently he's taken this down the heel (bad guy) route by trying to, and I quote, "make an impact" by proving he's not his daddy/grandaddy, he's his own man, and he's better. This works excellently with his Pro, Cody Rhodes, who has a very similar angle, also being a Legacy wrestler. Husky's a big guy, weighing 295lbs (That's 21 stone people) he's no lightweight, but DAMN can this guy move! I have a huge amount of respect for him, not being the smallest guy myself. Husky's fast, agile, and jumps like a cruiserweight should, much like myself, so VERY high hopes for him!

Kaval - Kaval is this season's top indie worker (The indie circuits in wrestling basically being the smaller companies that don't get TV time often but have big cult followings) who the WWE are trying to make look rubbish. Last season's being Daniel Bryan (Or Bryan Danielson as he was on the indies). Kaval (Or Low-Ki as you may know him) is a martial arts, striking master in the ring and is, quite frankly, tiny. His motto rings true though: "It's not the size of the fighter, but the size of the fight he will bring." Secretly, I want Kaval to do well, and so does everyone else who has any knowledge of wrestling outside of the WWE, but deep down I feel he's just going to get brushed aside. His pros are the diva team of Laycool. Now, Divas are the title given to the WWE's womens wrestlers. That's right, he's being mentored, by women... The ridicule begins... Don't get me wrong, Laycool entertain me, but no, just no...

Lucky Cannon - Lucky, a very fitting name. He was saved from elimination this past week by winning the rookie challenge and thus gaining immunity from the poll. Now, Lucky's another guy I like. He's the epitomy of the babyface, or 'face' (good guy). Handsome, clean shaven, athletic... He's not had much luck (ironically) in the ring so far though, but has shown some decent in-ring ability. His Pro, Mark Henry, I think is just happy of the extra screen time... Nothing to say here. This Pro/Rookie team doesn't do anything good or bad for me, he's just there...

Michael McGillicutty - A long name, granted, but MMG is our second Legacy rookie this season, and is showing the other side of the legacy coin by dedicating his wrestling and doing it for his dad, the late "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig. I like MMG. Like his dad, he's an excellent in-ringer and can work a mic too... His Pro, Kofi. Well, I like Kofi, but sadly, this is just another throwaway pairing I think. Kofi's huge right now, the fans love him, so I think WWE just put him as a Pro to pull in more viewers. Michael McGillicutty is my second pick to win!

Percy Watson - Oh dear... Remember Erkel? Right, now imagine Erkel but bald, athletically built, and with a slightly less annoying voice. That's Percy Watson. Honestly, I don't know how he's doing so well... Sure, he works well, he's very athletic and pulls off some very nice looking moves, but he prances around like a Night Fever reject and insists on wearing the stupidest glasses and always bearing his teeth in a goofy grin... Seriously, he annoys me, and I hope he's voted of very very soon. His Pro is MVP and, sure, they work well together, but I just can't get excited about this teaming as Percy annoys me so much!!

Finally, there's Titus O'Neil, but I'm not going to say anything about him, because he was the first to be eliminated, and rightly so. He's a former NFL player who thinks he can get by in the wrestling business because he's muscular... No! Stop it! Bad WWE! Tie this in with his stupid pose of sticking his arms up to look like the goals of an american football field and then braying like a horny wilderbeast, this just didn't work... So I'm glad he's off. His pro was Zack Ryder, who again, does nothing for me. He's entertaining-ish, in the sense that he's a good heel (bad guy) who the crowd enjoy watching lose, and can work, plus has some very interesting ring attire, but it just felt like the WWE ran out of mid-carders (a term used for wrestlers who's matches are in the middle of the show, or 'card', often good, but not great, or not great yet) to use as Pros so just slotted him in.

So, that's my first rundown of the current season of WWE's NXT. Finally! A reality show that excites me! But again, is it reality, or is it just a work?

To conclude, Husky Harris or Michael McGillicutty to win!

I hope you've enjoyed this. It's a break from the norm I guess, and I know you're not all wrestling fans out there, but this is something I'm very passionate about and again, for those who know me, you know how I love sharing my passions.



That's Mr Craiggy, signing out for now!

NXT is the property of the WWE and all character gimmicks and everything else, just to be on the safe side, is copyrighted to them. Please don't kill me Vince...