WWE.com: Leaders of the New School - The NXT Five

[Steveweiser]

www.wwe.com/shows/wwenxt/wwe-nxt-sami-zayn-adrian-neville-fergal-devitt-kevin-steen-hideo-itami-interview-26641720

Sitdown interview with "The NXT Five" - NXT Champion Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn, Hideo Itami, and the men currently known as Fergal Devitt and Kevin Steen.

[dreidemy]

Great interview
Nice to see Sami as a Locker Room leader on NXT

" STEEN: Did you always want to come to WWE? Because things are different in Japan.

ITAMI: When I started, I didn’t think about WWE, but my dream became bigger and bigger.

STEEN: Maybe you also came to WWE to take back the Go to Sleep. (Laughter.)

ITAMI: I hope! (Laughter.) "

Oh shit . . .

[Steveweiser]

The following names are all mentioned in this article...

Jimmy Jacobs
Adam Cole
Kenny Omega
Kota Ibushi
The Young Bucks
Kyle O'Reilly
Johnny Gargano

Yep, times have certainly changed.

[Hawk Hart]

I know they've done it for a while but it's still really strange to see indy worker, companies, and angles get mentioned in stuff like this.

[Abdullah]

How NXT makes me feel, in general.

[Martin: #TeamBella Treasurer]

*The term Geordie refers to an inhabitant of the Tyneside region of North East England. Neville himself hails from Newcastle upon Tyne.

This made me chuckle

WWE.COM: At the same time, you’re competing for a main roster spot with bodybuilders and amateur athletes with no wrestling background at all.

Damn near choked on my lemonade there. I thought that was the one line we all knew but would never be brought up!

[________ has left the building]

While I like the idea behind it, I can't help but to feel playing towards smarks is going to backfire.

[Abdullah]

Sept 18, 2014 9:26:47 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

While I like the idea behind it, I can't help but to feel playing towards smarks is going to backfire.

How so? I feel like the NXT product is pretty balanced in that regard.

The website has been smark-friendly since at least 2011 though.

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

Sept 18, 2014 7:22:37 GMT -5 dreidemy said:

Great interview
Nice to see Sami as a Locker Room leader on NXT

" STEEN: Did you always want to come to WWE? Because things are different in Japan.

ITAMI: When I started, I didn’t think about WWE, but my dream became bigger and bigger.

STEEN: Maybe you also came to WWE to take back the Go to Sleep. (Laughter.)

ITAMI: I hope! (Laughter.) "

Oh shit . . .

Well, now they have an excuse to bring back Punk for one night.

[Just call me D.j.m.]

Sept 18, 2014 9:26:47 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

While I like the idea behind it, I can't help but to feel playing towards smarks is going to backfire.

I'm inclined to agree.  Conspiracy time.

I'm not exactly sure who it was, but I know I've heard multiple people in the business preach the idea that indy guys and "Internet darlings" will always be over, so there's no need to do anything with them.

All of this hype and now them being dubbed "The NXT Five" is a bit...unnerving.

[Mayonnaise]

Sept 18, 2014 9:26:47 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

While I like the idea behind it, I can't help but to feel playing towards smarks is going to backfire.

If this was something I thought was coming from Vince or was going to be used on RAW, I'd agree but this just seems like Joey trying to get some extra hits on .com before the end of the month. 

[________ has left the building]

Sept 18, 2014 9:30:45 GMT -5 Abdullah said:

Sept 18, 2014 9:26:47 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

While I like the idea behind it, I can't help but to feel playing towards smarks is going to backfire.

How so? I feel like the NXT product is pretty balanced in that regard.

The website has been smark-friendly since at least 2011 though.

There lies the problem. It's not translating into money for WWE. Even with NXT receiving rave reviews online, it is not making people buy the Network to watch it. Smarks are generally the ones when it comes to ppvs and other online content to seek out streams that may give their computer a virus just to watch for free. Or wait until someone uploads it on Youtube and sites like that. I love that they acknowledge wrestlers' pasts and other promotion. But I don't want to see them pigeonholed themselves as IWC Central.    

[Slanted and Enchanted]

[rowdy426]

Sept 18, 2014 9:41:43 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

Sept 18, 2014 9:30:45 GMT -5 Abdullah said:

How so? I feel like the NXT product is pretty balanced in that regard.

The website has been smark-friendly since at least 2011 though.

There lies the problem. It's not translating into money for WWE. Even with NXT receiving rave reviews online, it is not making people buy the Network to watch it. Smarks are generally the ones when it comes to ppvs and other online content to seek out streams that may give their computer a virus just to watch for free. Or wait until someone uploads it on Youtube and sites like that. I love that they acknowledge wrestlers' pasts and other promotion. But I don't want to see them pigeonholed themselves as IWC Central.    

Then those smarks will turn around and complain that the guys THEY support aren't being pushed/featured, while the guys who drive PPV buys and income, like John Cena and such, are featured... and they don't understand why their opinions don't matter.

I don't mean to generalize, but you brought up the idea that the fans that support indies are the same ones pirating WWE... well, now that their guys are being brought into a bigger stage, these people should be willing to embrace it, rather than keep their pirate mentality.

[Abdullah]

Sept 18, 2014 10:00:47 GMT -5 rowdy426 said:

Sept 18, 2014 9:41:43 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

There lies the problem. It's not translating into money for WWE. Even with NXT receiving rave reviews online, it is not making people buy the Network to watch it. Smarks are generally the ones when it comes to ppvs and other online content to seek out streams that may give their computer a virus just to watch for free. Or wait until someone uploads it on Youtube and sites like that. I love that they acknowledge wrestlers' pasts and other promotion. But I don't want to see them pigeonholed themselves as IWC Central.    

Then those smarks will turn around and complain that the guys THEY support aren't being pushed/featured, while the guys who drive PPV buys and income, like John Cena and such, are featured... and they don't understand why their opinions don't matter.

I don't mean to generalize, but you brought up the idea that the fans that support indies are the same ones pirating WWE... well, now that their guys are being brought into a bigger stage, these people should be willing to embrace it, rather than keep their pirate mentality.

I think it was one discussed that pirating is a relatively small aspect that works against WWE, which is why they haven't battled it with full force. I could be wrong though.

["Gentleman" AJ Powell]

I dunno if they're pandering to smarks particularly, rather giving us a nod whilst letting everyone else see that these dudes are going to be awesome.

[miffy]

Hold on, NONE of these guys were banned from professional rugby for unnecessary roughness?

[pepsitwist]

The adage about smarks is old hat IMO, the internet is so big nowadays, I mean the market for people to watch wrestling is bigger than ever, it's not about appealing to a narrow demographic, but understanding the changing nature of your audience. Hence why they sign guys like this, because there is a clear demand that a wrestling company always needs great wrestlers.

[Bub (BLM)]

Sept 18, 2014 10:00:47 GMT -5 rowdy426 said:

Sept 18, 2014 9:41:43 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

There lies the problem. It's not translating into money for WWE. Even with NXT receiving rave reviews online, it is not making people buy the Network to watch it. Smarks are generally the ones when it comes to ppvs and other online content to seek out streams that may give their computer a virus just to watch for free. Or wait until someone uploads it on Youtube and sites like that. I love that they acknowledge wrestlers' pasts and other promotion. But I don't want to see them pigeonholed themselves as IWC Central.    

Then those smarks will turn around and complain that the guys THEY support aren't being pushed/featured, while the guys who drive PPV buys and income, like John Cena and such, are featured... and they don't understand why their opinions don't matter.

I don't mean to generalize, but you brought up the idea that the fans that support indies are the same ones pirating WWE... well, now that their guys are being brought into a bigger stage, these people should be willing to embrace it, rather than keep their pirate mentality.

The supposed "smarks" are the ones who jumped all over buying the Network. Do you think Joe Casual dropped money so he could watch This Tuesday in Texas and NXT? It's time to stop treating the internet fans like little bridge trolls.

[Deleted]

WWE.COM: Are there any other misconceptions about your generation?

NEVILLE: With guys that come from the indies, people think we find it hard to adapt to this style, but I say the opposite is true.

ZAYN: All you do on the independents is adapt.

STEEN: Yeah. That’s a great point. People think it will be hard for us to learn the WWE style but that’s the first style I knew how to do and then I had to adapt to the Ring of Honor style, because it’s for a different kind of fan. You need to do different things to get a reaction out of those 200 people that are there, but I was trained by a WWE wrestler, so that’s the first style I learned. The adaptation process isn’t going to be as strenuous as people think just because we’re from the indies.

That's what I always thought was crazy about WWE worrying about guys being "too indie" or whatever. Guy who work the road adapt like crazy and could easily pick up the WWE style.