I don't know if I could think of a worse possibly way to get Daniel Bryan over than what the WWE is currently doing.

I HATE what Cole is doing on NXT. (And I'm not the type to use all caps.) I don't know whether this shtick is his idea or VKM's, but he has single-handedly turned me off to the show. I haven't watched in several weeks, nor will I as long as his act continues. I even wrote to WWE to register my disgust, such is my hatred for this gimmick.

Sorry for the rant. Keep up the great work, Kevin. (Great interview with Lawler, btw.)

Is it a bad sign that I no longer look forward to Bryan's matches? And it kinda makes Jericho look bad, he had that long match with Bryan that was a great match btw, but no name rookies like Sheffield beat Bryan in 2 minutes..

That said.. the video packages with the pros talking about the rookies are really well done and seem like the pros are for real shooting.

"Cole, by the way, is hilarious on this show."

Seriously? I've always thought Cole was a horrid announcer, but his heel shtick on NXT takes it to an entirely different level. It's one of the most annoying things I've seen on a wrestling show in quite some time.

I don't know why but watching NXT is SAD. I guess WWE wanted to replicate a reality based wrestling show similar to the hugely successful The Ultimate Fighter, but some viewers like me do not have that taste..I prefer more technical/mat wrestling which exhibits the true art form as demonstrated by RVD, Kurt Angle, etc.

Any thoughts on who will be the first eliminated? All signs point to Tarver.

RESPONSE FROM KE: That would be my guess.

"Cole, by the way, is hilarious on this show."

Michael Cole is to announcing like David Arquette is to the world Championship. Both are jokes.

If WWE really do not want to do anything with Bryan's streak, then Bryan should face Tarver next week on NXT

At least, Tarver could get a win. This is really becoming uninteresting and senseless with the Daniel Bryan streak.

When are they going to start getting rid of the rookies? They made it seem like it would be a weekly thing about a month ago. That's what happens when you make up the show as you go along instead of creating a time line and a storyboard. The show's boring now, so they need to do something.

Daniel Bryan is done. It's just absurd to think he could be fighting Kurt Angle or Wolfe in TNA. Dixie and Jarrett allegedly said some time ago he would have excellent matches, but they weren't too sure about his personality.

How could David Otunga realistically have sold more programs than Justin Gabriel when he wasted most of his time talking at the start?

That had to be makeup on the Miz's face. Too much paint.

The whole Daniel Bryan angle is of course WWE's way of using Bryan's reputation for their advantage while trashing it along the way so it does not appear that some newbie rookie might actually be at the same level as established WWE superstars. Totally exploitative and disgusting. I hope Bryan is at least being payed well and has some assurance of eventually being put over in the "big leagues". Even if so, I still find it disgusting the way WWE treats its wrestlers as their property to own and use or abuse as they see fit.

I suppose that's always been a part of pro wrestling, but WWE has to make a lot of money. They better take care of the people over the long term that they trounce along the way!!!!!

I'm surprised to hear the negative reactions to Michael Cole on NXT; I personally find his NXT character to be the most entertaining announcer in the entire WWE...but I guess that's what we've come to in the post-JR era...

I totally agree with you on Michael Cole's announcing on the show. But, admittedly, I love irony, so for me, his calling Bryan Daniel a tool is right up there with Napoleon Dynamite's "Idiot!"

Regardless, I can tell Cole has made an effort to learn the rook's characters like the journalist he is. Here, he can actually share that information since the story of the matches is character development. Conversely, telling us what was in Matt Hardy's latest blog would obviously detract from a match on RAW.

Hold up...did a commenter really just say technical/mat wrestling and RVD in the same sentence?

I hated seeing Bryan lose so quickly in the main event, but I had to laugh when he yelled out "Down with capitalism!" while tossing out programs. That was funny.

Whether he wins these challenges or not isn't as important as whether he wins his matches to me, so the fact that he made zero dollars doesn't bother me.

There's something else to consider: before Stryker explained how the competition would work, he said that the idea was to measure the guys likeability. Now of course they wound up measuring how much money the guy could make instead, but I would say everybody who got a free program probably liked Bryan more than anybody else that night.

My guess is that they're going to take Bryan from a guy who can't win anything and slowly over the next few months. Have him win once in a while, barely squeaking out victories. Then he'll get stronger and stronger and make it seem like being on NXT is what is making him so great. Then he'll win the program and immediately enter into a title program with someone like say, The Miz. By then he'll be seen as legit.

"The whole Daniel Bryan angle is of course WWE's way of using Bryan's reputation for their advantage while trashing it along the way so it does not appear that some newbie rookie might actually be at the same level as established WWE superstars. Totally exploitative and disgusting."

I couldn't agree more. I actually watched the first few episodes of NXT and loved Bryan's matches at the time, and I wasn't bothered by his losses. Now he's just being buried on every show. The loss streak would be a great idea if they actually let him show off his skills, but reading about his 2 minute matches every week is causing me to delete the episode from my DVR without watching them.

Its really sad that they are wasting an opportunity to put on quality matches with some of the best in the business. My finger might not be on the pulse of America but isn't that what the fans want to see?

People are trying to find all kind of things to say why a wrestler did this are did that. It is clearly the best man won. Otunga got haters running wild an crazy all over the place. His wrestling gimmick is sooooo affective. He is problemly the most hated NXT because of his gimmick and assureness of his self. He is no more self assureness of himself than any of the other rookies. Otunga just know how to sell his game in a better way. He knew coming into this business and dating a super star how people would feel toward him. So all he did was turned it around and used it for his own use. I think he is a very smart man!!!!

When they started making Bryan look bad at the beginning, it seemed like it was going to be a part of a storyline gimmick. Now, it's gone on for so long that there's actually some damage being done to him.

First, they have him shout "I love England". Now, they have him shout "down with Capitalism"!
Is he supposed to be a Communist? He sure sounds it.
The WWE might think Communism is funny, and it is, but not funny "ha ha", especially not to the poor people who live in a Communist country, like me.
If the Conservatives don't win the General Election on Thursday and overthrow the Marxist-Leninist Mr. Brown, I'm going to write to the U.S. Embassy for immigration documents. Do the U.S. immigration people look favourably on Capitalist rebels fleeing totalitarian leftist regimes?
I might even move to Baltimore, so that I can read Kevin Eck in the paper every morning, though my girlfriend prefers Boston (sorry) and I do like Fenway Park, though I have nothing against Camden Yards.

Norma: No one said anything negative about Otunga, other than saying that it wasn't realistic to act like he sold the most programs. It wasn't. Did you actually read any comments or just assume that "everybody" was putting down your favorite and you felt like ranting even though there was nothing to rant about? The show is scripted. Wrestling is not real.

Any way, this show is pretty ridiculous but I do sometimes enjoy the six minutes or so of wrestling involved. Sadly, the two main guys I was interested in seeing (Tarver and Bryan) have both been booked horribly, though I've enjoyed Bryan's matches and Tarver's screw-loose character (plus he looks cool when he wears that thing over his face like he's about to rob a stage coach or something).

Oh, and Michael Cole is terrible. It'd be one thing to have him hate Bryan if he had any acting ability or subtlety, but he uses blatantly bad logic to put him down. Gem from tonight: "Daniel Bryan doesn't drink soda or eat meat, and he's supposed to be an athlete?"