The Official Get Alex Riley Off NXT thread

[A Platypus Rave]

Yeah, Riley is a terrible commentator.

Fire him, promote him to jobber status, push him... whatever... but he is absolutely horrible in his current role.

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

Jul 27, 2014 14:04:03 GMT -5 A Platypus Rave said:

Yeah, Riley is a terrible commentator.

Fire him, promote him to jobber status, push him... whatever... but he is absolutely horrible in his current role.

I'd rather watch A-Ry job for life than do what he's doing now. Sometimes I feel like WWE knows how shitty his commentary and is keeping him there on purpose to turn fans against him.

[MrBRulzOK]

I like him as an analyst on the pre shows. Commentary-wise... yeah, he's not the strongest there. Still, NXT is where people learn to be better at their job. I'd rather he stay down there until he improves rather than have him commentating on one of the main shows.

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

^I like him on the pre-shows, but I hate that the pre-shows have been moved to Stamford because that means he isn't going to have his number pulled for a match (he should at least be on the Wheel of Aggression) or be able to get filmed for fun stuff like the JBL and Cole Show. He has all the personality, energy and charisma in the world and it's being wasted on a show no one really cares about.

Riley deserves to actually be a character rather than just a talking head.

[Kevin Hamilton]

Make him a low level Authority ass-kiss/lackey. Eat pinfalls on his own or in tags with Seth. Volunteers to jump in the way of a Dean attack, that sorta thing.

[Kevin Hamilton]

Alternatively put him with Zeb&Jack.

He has the same sorta varsity All-American look. Run with it.

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

Jul 27, 2014 14:21:21 GMT -5 Kevin Hamilton said:

Make him a low level Authority ass-kiss/lackey. Eat pinfalls on his own or in tags with Seth. Volunteers to jump in the way of a Dean attack, that sorta thing.

Jul 27, 2014 14:26:29 GMT -5 Kevin Hamilton said:

Alternatively put him with Zeb&Jack.

He has the same sorta varsity All-American look. Run with it.

I honestly don't think that being an authority lackey or Rollins' tag partner would play to his strengths. Being a lackey that just ate pinfalls is what hurt him when he was with Miz, because he never really got the chance to work on his craft and improve in that role. Riley's strength is using his athleticism and energy to pop crowds. Throwing that away to avoid getting cheered is something he really can't afford to do when he's trying to compete with the talents coming up from NXT.

I prefer your second idea, since Zeb and Swagger are faces now, and that would play to A-Ry's abilities. But then it has the drawback of drawing the unfair comparison to Swagger's pairing with Cesaro. Resentment over Cesaro's downturn since the Real Americans' break up may lead to Riley getting the "Rey Mysterio at the Royal Rumble" treatment and that really isn't fair either.

I think the safe thing to do with Riley is to let him be what he was before, except more featured and with more chances to show his personality. Just let him job to guys like Del Rio, Rollins, Orton, Bray, and Kane in competitive efforts, while also letting him be the goofy idiot that he is on commentary in backstage skits.

[Abdullah]

Jul 27, 2014 14:21:21 GMT -5 Kevin Hamilton said:

Make him a low level Authority ass-kiss/lackey. Eat pinfalls on his own or in tags with Seth. Volunteers to jump in the way of a Dean attack, that sorta thing.

I honestly get the impression that WWE thinks that too big a role for him. I'm surprised they would even stretch themselves to make him a commentator, given how much he sucks at it.

On a more frivolous note, I'm mildly surprised that no has made a handjob joke yet, given the title of the thread.

[carp (SPC, Itoh Respect Army)]

I honestly don't understand the dislike for Riley as an announcer. I can't understand having ANY reaction to it. He's so forgettable, I don't even know what he's ever said.

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

Jul 27, 2014 15:29:59 GMT -5 carp (SPC, Itoh Respect Army) said:

I honestly don't understand the dislike for Riley as an announcer. I can't understand having ANY reaction to it. He's so forgettable, I don't even know what he's ever said.

As a fan of the guy, I have to say he sounds like an idiot most of the time.

He tries too hard to be a personality and "get over" because he (justifiably) would rather be wrestling. Honestly I think that if he acted the same way he does on commentary, except not on commentary and instead as an on screen character of sorts, such as backstage skits or his own webshow, he would shine.

[The Tee Why]

He just isnt doing something that someone else couldnt be doing, except better.

dead weight

[Kevin Hamilton]

Jul 27, 2014 14:36:24 GMT -5 CATCH_US IS the Conversation said:

Jul 27, 2014 14:21:21 GMT -5 Kevin Hamilton said:

Make him a low level Authority ass-kiss/lackey. Eat pinfalls on his own or in tags with Seth. Volunteers to jump in the way of a Dean attack, that sorta thing.

Jul 27, 2014 14:26:29 GMT -5 Kevin Hamilton said:

Alternatively put him with Zeb&Jack.

He has the same sorta varsity All-American look. Run with it.

I honestly don't think that being an authority lackey or Rollins' tag partner would play to his strengths. Being a lackey that just ate pinfalls is what hurt him when he was with Miz, because he never really got the chance to work on his craft and improve in that role. Riley's strength is using his athleticism and energy to pop crowds. Throwing that away to avoid getting cheered is something he really can't afford to do when he's trying to compete with the talents coming up from NXT.

I prefer your second idea, since Zeb and Swagger are faces now, and that would play to A-Ry's abilities. But then it has the drawback of drawing the unfair comparison to Swagger's pairing with Cesaro. Resentment over Cesaro's downturn since the Real Americans' break up may lead to Riley getting the "Rey Mysterio at the Royal Rumble" treatment and that really isn't fair either.

I think the safe thing to do with Riley is to let him be what he was before, except more featured and with more chances to show his personality. Just let him job to guys like Del Rio, Rollins, Orton, Bray, and Kane in competitive efforts, while also letting him be the goofy idiot that he is on commentary in backstage skits.

Fair nuff, I was just spitballin ideas.

[Deleted]

Jul 27, 2014 14:04:03 GMT -5 A Platypus Rave said:

Yeah, Riley is a terrible commentator.

Fire him, promote him to jobber status, push him... whatever... but he is absolutely horrible in his current role.

SAY IT TO HIS FACE!!!!!!

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}Or don't, because he will begin speaking to you and your skin will melt off.

[mrbananagrabber]

The last three replies all began with "I honestly." Is that a record?

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

Jul 27, 2014 14:14:30 GMT -5 MrBRulzOK said:

I like him as an analyst on the pre shows. Commentary-wise... yeah, he's not the strongest there. Still, NXT is where people learn to be better at their job. I'd rather he stay down there until he improves rather than have him commentating on one of the main shows.

Funny thing is that his commentary seemed better when he first started on Superstars. Now it's gotten worse.

[Threadkiller [Classic]]

I generally find that the best color guys are the ones with legit kayfabe credentials.

Heenan was one of the greatest managers of all-time, as was Heyman (whose team with Jim Ross is still one of the best pairings of the modern era), while King and JBL (back in their respective good periods) were a Memphis Legend and former WWE champion, respectively. Even Tazz could say he was a former tag team champion and ECW triple-crown champion. These guys can relay their own experiences, and odds are, no matter what kind of gimmick match is going on in the ring, they have some frame of reference for what's going on. Regal is a multi-time IC champion, tag team champion, WCW television champion, General Manager, and King of the Ring. He's the best announcer NXT has, and they don't really use him nearly as often as the should.

But what can Alex Riley say? "Well, in my time as Miz's lackey, I saw some shit." I mean, it's not really his fault, but I think if he had more to hang his hat on, he'd have more to talk about, really.

Granted, having credentials doesn't always mean you'll be great (Tensai is a former IC champion and he's as indistinguishable as any of the other Michael Cole clones they've got, and don't even get me started on Al Snow or the rambling color commentary of Jim Cornette back in the early years of Raw), and not having credentials doesn't always mean you'll suck (Jesse Ventura never held any titles, for instance). But still, I think it's part of what's lacking with Riley, and there isn't really any way to fix it now.

[Andy Martin]

Jul 27, 2014 16:28:45 GMT -5 The Tee Why said:

He just isnt doing something that someone else couldnt be doing, except better.

dead weight

To be fair, every commentator on NXT that isn't William Regal is really, really bad. So it's not a Riley specific issue.

[percymania]

SIGN

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

Jul 27, 2014 19:06:09 GMT -5 Threadkiller [Classic] said:

I generally find that the best color guys are the ones with legit kayfabe credentials.

Heenan was one of the greatest managers of all-time, as was Heyman (whose team with Jim Ross is still one of the best pairings of the modern era), while King and JBL (back in their respective good periods) were a Memphis Legend and former WWE champion, respectively. Even Tazz could say he was a former tag team champion and ECW triple-crown champion. These guys can relay their own experiences, and odds are, no matter what kind of gimmick match is going on in the ring, they have some frame of reference for what's going on. Regal is a multi-time IC champion, tag team champion, WCW television champion, General Manager, and King of the Ring. He's the best announcer NXT has, and they don't really use him nearly as often as the should.

But what can Alex Riley say? "Well, in my time as Miz's lackey, I saw some shit." I mean, it's not really his fault, but I think if he had more to hang his hat on, he'd have more to talk about, really.

Granted, having credentials doesn't always mean you'll be great (Tensai is a former IC champion and he's as indistinguishable as any of the other Michael Cole clones they've got, and don't even get me started on Al Snow or the rambling color commentary of Jim Cornette back in the early years of Raw), and not having credentials doesn't always mean you'll suck (Jesse Ventura never held any titles, for instance). But still, I think it's part of what's lacking with Riley, and there isn't really any way to fix it now.

I agree with this. I think that Riley does need to revamp his in ring career a bit since he's still young and healthy and obviously desires to continue wrestling; he even trains at the Performance Center so he's obviously interested in improving his craft. WWE should take this into account if they really want him to flourish. He needs to either be simultaneously wrestling and commentating or they go back to the drawing board, let him wrestle, and try again in 5-7 years. Either way, he needs to be able to say "I've been in the ring with this guy before" or "this reminds me of the time when I faced this other guy" and he just isn't able to do that because of WWE's mishandling him since the day he was called up.