NXT 5/25 Thread: Jax v Carmella v Bliss for #1 Contender

[Error]

Decent show but not blow away, just advancing down the path to Takeover: RevengEND or whatever.

Thought Nakamura had a solid promo for cutting his first in English that I can remember. Aries still seems out of place to me.

I like TM-61's work but they are a little too goofy at times, IMO. Interesting to see the big debut lose but gives them more room to grow.

I love No Way José. He's fun and sometimes that is all you need.

Love what I have seen of La Sombra so am hyped for his debut. Hopefully I'll learn to spell his name soon.

Main event was good.

[percymania]

Bliss vs Carmella vs Nia Jax? My money is on Jax. Where is Eva Marie and why is she not in this match?!?!?

I was very unimpressed with the debut of TM61. NXT did nothing to build them up before the match. Why should I should care about these guys? They just show up in the opening match and lose. In the long run it may mean nothing, but there's no reason to sugarcoat the truth - that was an underwhelming debut.

I freaking loathe the commercial breaks mid-match on NXT. There's no good reason for it. None.

I wholeheartedly welcome J-Pop/Rock to NXT.

Not sure who this luchador is, but I am intrugued. See, now why couldn't they do that with TM61?

Austin Aries - Please turn heel.

No Way Jose! His days of squashing guys won't last much longer.

Good main event. I think Alexa looked like the star of that match. The staredown with Asuka at the end was great.

NXT continues to be the best show WWE produces.

[häšhtå.gdālėÿ]

Gargano and Ciampa need real music. Their current theme screams generic job dudes.

I've never before seen TM61... Immediately don't stand out at all to me. First impressions and all.

In ring though, I like them a lot. Thorn has a weird in-ring charisma about him.

I don't know what TM61 means, but it reminds me of Pokemon so I'm a-okay with the name.

I fxxxing love Ciampa. (Typed immediately following his flying knee where he launched himself from the ring.)

Ciampa/Gargano's finisher looks deadly... TM61's finisher, not so much.

I'm excited for Andrade. I've never seen him before. But I'm still psyched, because NXT does little wrong.

The Most Ordinary Man That Ever Lived. He lost 98% of his "Greatest" when he forgot his cape in TNA. AA turning heel (as it seems) should be good though. This guy just screams out DBag heel.

Yeah, Shinsuke can speak English plenty well enough to win every title ever. Every single one. Make it happen. Face of the new Smackdown. Face of the entire company.

Nakamura's already proven his greatness. This is Aries' time to step up and shine.

No Way Jose is fun, MAGGLE! I feel like I should hate him, yet I don't.

Jobber looks like a well-bearded Neville.

That variation of his finisher was better than the "kind of Full Nelson Slam" he did last time.

Even Graves likes him. He truly has something special.

Carmella is so adorable.

Alexa plays evil so well.

Sparkle Splash makes me laugh.

Good work by all the ladies. Nia is improving fast.

[pegasuswarrior]

That episode was amazing! Well-rounded and fun! There could easily be three or four independent threads just on this episode. I loved it.

[Zone Was Wrong]

Aries, "I don't understand you!"
Nakamura, " Yeah I don't either"

Ok Nakamura I thought I couldn't love you anymore than I already do.

[Phil Parent]

Nakamura speaks enough English to make his intentions known. And he can emote. In wrestling, like, regular wrestling, that's all you need. We had an American guy in FLI, he knew like 30 words in French, and he was fine to cut his promos as long as we pieced it together for him beforehand. Some Americans in Japan know limited Japanese, but they get understood, just like Nakamura tonight. Just being able to say "I want to wrestle this guy / for this title" in a language is all you need in regular wrestling that doesn't really focus on characterisation and storylines.

But on the main roster, they'll "What" him. And I'm not sure he speaks enough of it to express his MOTIVATIONS. Which is the heart of the thing in the showman style of WWE.

Also, Andrade Almas' nickname is "Cien"? "One Hundred?"

I remember Cien Caras. But Cien on its own is a bit meaningless...

I'm scared shitless of the rumors that NXT in its current form is coming to an end.

On one hand, it may mean Triple H convinced Vince that this style can work. But on Smackdown!, Vince and Kevin Dunn will get their fingerprints and their smart ideas all over our boys and suddenly, Finn/Joe/Shinsuke/Bayley/Asuka/Alpha aren't special no more.

[Dragonfly]

May 25, 2016 22:37:36 GMT -5 häšhtå.gdālėÿ said:

I don't know what TM61 means, but it reminds me of Pokemon so I'm a-okay with the name.

"TM" stands for "The Mighty" (a reference to their original name, TMDK - The Mighty Don't Kneel). "61" is the country code for Australia. TMDK was (and still is, if their site is to be believed) a stable in EPW, their former home promotion in Perth.

[Deleted]

That main event was really good for what it was, that was the best Alexa Bliss/Carmella performance to date, but I think it undid a lot of what Bayley accomplished with Nia last week in that she was getting her ass kicked left and right when I think in this case she should have been Godzilla.

[El Cokehead del Knife Fight]

May 26, 2016 1:00:02 GMT -5 Dragonfly said:

May 25, 2016 22:37:36 GMT -5 häšhtå.gdālėÿ said:

I don't know what TM61 means, but it reminds me of Pokemon so I'm a-okay with the name.

"TM" stands for "The Mighty" (a reference to their original name, TMDK - The Mighty Don't Kneel). "61" is the country code for Australia. TMDK was (and still is, if their site is to be believed) a stable in EPW, their former home promotion in Perth.

They're in Melbourne City Wrestling at the moment.

[Society of the Spectacle]

Few thoughts:

Although I don't think TM-61 is going to last as a name (why not just "The Mighty"? or "Thee Mighty" for a little cheekiness), I thought the duo had a serviceable debut. They got to showcase their teamwork, though I think Thorne stood out a lot more between the two of them from a charisma and athletic standpoint. It wasn't clear if they are going to be heel or face, and putting them against Gargano and Ciampa didn't help distinguish that. However, it was a good match that put all four guys in the spotlight.

The Aries/Nakamura segment was wonderful. Heeldom is where Aries belongs, and using the real-life overshadowing hype from the Nakamura debut is a good vehicle to embrace the heel character. Nakamura's english is solid, and he looks so comfortable on the mic. I think when a lot of workers learn English for a wrestling context, they have a tendency to put unnecessary intensity on certain words (just as a native English speaker would do so if they were told to cut a wrestling promo in a new language) where it sounds a little bit awkward. Nakamura didn't try to say too much, got his point across, and just came across cool, calm, and collected. It was perfect for the moment, and pitch perfect with his eccentric character.

When I heard the triple threat was going to main event, I was a little skeptical. I've read about a few veterans who never liked working triple threats (Stone Cold in particular) due to how chaotic it could get, and how carefully they have to be structured, so with no clear ring general among the three ladies who could be charged with orchestrating the match, I thought it was going to be a disaster. However, all three ladies combined to tell a nice story in the ring. Everyone looked good, and though none of them are at the level of Asuka or Bayley, they made the best of their abilities, and kept the crowd engaged throughout. All three should be proud of their performances.

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

So Alexa vs. Nia Jax vs. Carmella to see who gets to face ASK-UH.

I keep saying this but Gargano and Ciampa would be better used as singles guys. So here comes TM61, formerly known as The Mighty Ducks Klan. Solid workers, but I'm still kinda meh on them. Normally these would be the kind of wrestlers that I like, but I'm not really feeling them right now.

Good confrontation between the women.

Andrade is finally gonna debut! YAY!!!

The Aightest Man That Ever Lived is out here for a promo. And he's frustrated that Nakamura (rightfully) stole his shine. And Aries wants a title shot? Booooooooo. And he's interrupted by someone I actually care about, Nakamura. Okay, so they're gonna wrestle at Takeover. I could live with that. And the crowd is singing along with Nakamura's theme.

Good promo with American Alpha. I can't wait for them to beat the Revival.

UGH, It's No Way Jose. Eff this guy seriously. I will admit that I enjoyed him dancing with the commentators. Tom Phillips is so white and I love it.

Omg, the Aightest Man That Ever Lived is going to wrestle THE F***ING DRIFTER next week? Why does wrestling hate me.

Great main event between the women.

[Ricky Nightshade]

Gonna start calling Gargano and Ciampa's finisher "Indyriffic" because it is.

[ANuclearError]

Phillips and Grave need to come to the main roster together as commentary.

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

Good stuff on debut from TM-61. Just need a bit of that WWE polish in terms of their look (new gear, better entrance graphics) and we'll be off to the races.

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

May 26, 2016 1:00:02 GMT -5 Dragonfly said:

May 25, 2016 22:37:36 GMT -5 häšhtå.gdālėÿ said:

I don't know what TM61 means, but it reminds me of Pokemon so I'm a-okay with the name.

"TM" stands for "The Mighty" (a reference to their original name, TMDK - The Mighty Don't Kneel). "61" is the country code for Australia. TMDK was (and still is, if their site is to be believed) a stable in EPW, their former home promotion in Perth.

Not relevant to anything, but I once went to a ROH show where every single person on the undercard was announced as being from Perth, Australia.

This included a guy called "The Gangster Sampson," a tough gangster type who squealed like a girl when someone tried to do a stinger splash to him in the corner, and then squatted over a downed opponent shouting I'M GONNA SHIT ON HIS FACE!

It was....an odd pre-show.

[Prince Petty]

Gargano and Ciampa should be heels. They both scream 'douche' to me. Not overly impressed with the Aussie guys, but I see a pair of new friends for Murphy, if he and Blake are done. Australian faction for the win?

Cool hype video for Andrade Almas. That's how you get people interested without giving anything away.

Speaking of douches, though, Austin Aries is pure douche. Can't get onboard with this guy at all. He gets go away heat from me. He's got the most 'pro-wrestler' voice and way of speaking I think I've ever heard. Nakamura, on the other hand, is pure awesome. His energy and charisma is crazy.

Man, Full Sail loves No Way Jose. His music and energy is certainly infectious. Also, "I'm glad that you dropped that revolutionary knowledge that 'No Way Jose' is a nickname, Tom." Heh, Graves is great.

Love how Graves and Philips jab at each other. It really reminds me of the way Heenan and Monsoon used to interact.

Carmella and Alexa have so much potential. They're really good characters, but still need seasoning in the ring. Carmella's got the fiery babyface thing working, and Alexa is just excellent as the alpha bitch heel. They managed to show Alexa both as a real opportunist and as someone who can dominate an opponent. Disappointed that Nia Jaxx won, because she doesn't really impress me as a character or a performer. But I hope this segues into a feud between Alexa and Carmella, that can build up both women.

[baracklesnar]

May 26, 2016 0:12:16 GMT -5 Phil Parent said:

Also, Andrade Almas' nickname is "Cien"? "One Hundred?"

Ready-made feud with "The Perfect 10" Tye Dillinger right there.

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

May 26, 2016 8:56:42 GMT -5 Prince Petty said:

Gargano and Ciampa should be heels. They both scream 'douche' to me. Not overly impressed with the Aussie guys, but I see a pair of new friends for Murphy, if he and Blake are done. Australian faction for the win?
.

Yeah, I'm not into TM61 all that much either. To me they're basically "hunkier Blake and Murphy with street cred".

[Error]

Man, I really hope Nia wins the title. The story for Brooklyn would be great.

Bayley trying to regain the title from the woman she got a lucky win over in London, got destroyed my in Orlando and then did the unthinkable by beating Asuka, Nia Jax.

And the more I think about, I almost want Nia to send both Asuka and Bayley to the main roster. Have Nia beat both and build to one of the PC women, maybe Alexa, toppling her.

[Bobeddy]

Carmella, Alexa and Nia are all wrestlers I think have certain areas which they're individually great in, but are then lacking in another area that would push them to that next level. Saying that, the three of them put on an entertaining match and I was pretty impressed.

It's really great watching performers improve over time.