Quick hits on WWE NXT
• The next-to-last episode of NXT Season 2 surprisingly focused on a couple of pros rather than the three rookies. There was only one match on Tuesday night’s show, as Cody Rhodes defeated MVP in a bout that went nearly 25 minutes. Downplaying the rookies this late in the competition doesn’t make much sense to me.
• I like both Rhodes and MVP and was expecting a decent match from them, but it really dragged. I often complain about certain televised matches needing more time, but this was one match that should have been cut in half.
• I enjoy playing trivia games, so I thought the segment with the rookies competing in a WWE trivia contest was fun. It got off to an inauspicious start, however. Kaval, Alex Riley and Michael McGillicutty all stood frozen for a few seconds when asked who wrestled in the Iron Man match at WrestleMania XII. McGillicutty finally buzzed in and said, “Shawn Michaels and [long pause] Bret Hart.” It’s hard to believe that none of those guys knew the answer right away, especially McGillicutty, the son of “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig.
• The one question that none of the rookies answered correctly was: What mode of transportation did the Dynamic Dudes use to come to the ring? The answer was skateboards. Matt Striker, who was hosting the segment, said, “None of you remember the Dynamic Dudes? Best of luck in all of your future endeavors.” For those who didn’t get the joke, the Dudes were a WCW tag team in the late ’80s that consisted of a pre-Franchise Shane Douglas and Johnny Ace, aka John Laurinaitis, the WWE executive vice president of talent relations.
• Kaval handled himself well in his verbal exchange with Rhodes in the opening segment. As good as Riley is on the mic, Kaval is clearly the best all-around performer of the three rookies.
• I liked the little shove that Striker gave Riley after Riley tried to yank the microphone out of his hand while Striker was still talking.
Comments
I keep expecting to see Matt Stryker actually retaliate against a rookie but then I remember her doesn't wrestle anymore. But now I can't remember why. The same for Josh.
Posted by: Alonzo | August 25, 2010 4:12 PM
so who went home, I fell asleep.
RESPONSE FROM KE: There were no eliminations.
Posted by: Gregory Asch | August 25, 2010 5:00 PM
Re: the MVP/Rhodes match length...
Just an idea, but after the end of the first round of the trivia Cole made some comment like "Wow, that went quick." From that I got the impression that it went a lot quicker than anticipated thus leaving MVP/Rhodes with a lot of unintended time to fill.
By the way, I agree that Kaval is the best all-around performer, but I think Riley is clearly more entertaining and hope he wins.
Posted by: Bill | August 25, 2010 6:16 PM
I thought Kaval cutting a "you're only here because of your Dad" promo on Rhodes less than 5 minutes after McGuillicutty cut one saying how proud he was to follow in his fathers footsteps was the biggest tipoff how scripted even NXT is. I had been wondering if they had been putting the rookies out there cold, but obviously not.
Posted by: David | August 25, 2010 6:40 PM
The bright side of that 25-min match may be that it gets Jack Swagger out of another program with MVP and back into the world title picture...but prolly not
Posted by: eee | August 25, 2010 7:41 PM
How does the next to last show with only three guys left waste half the show with a boring match between two pro's? Why should anyone care who wins at this point?
God that was totally lame.
Meanwhile some are speculating that Abyss;s "they" will be revealed soon to be the WWE taking over TNA. Maybe with Nexus showing up. That would be something!
KEvin what do you think? Are TNAs days numbered aka WCW about a decade ago? There are enough WWE NXTers around after season two to populate TNA with WWEs needing a push pretty well.
Posted by: AMC | August 25, 2010 8:39 PM
Good Lord, I can't even imagine what watching MVP vs Cody Rhodes for a 1/2 hour would feel like. Did they have a bunch of near falls, or just kind of keep going until Cody hit his finisher? How did you keep from changing the channel during the breaks?
I kind of like the idea of a WWE trivia contest. I do remember the Dynamic Dudes; of course, the most notable thing about them is that they were put in a program with the Midnight Express over Jim Cornette's services. The Dudes were supposed to be the babyfaces, but when Cornette finally turned on him and revealed he'd been with the ME all along, the crowd popped something huge. I think that was the end for the Dudes.
Posted by: Ken Raining | August 25, 2010 10:55 PM
I only saw the end of the match. Was it really that bad?
Posted by: Alt | August 25, 2010 11:07 PM
i liked how wen they were doing the trivia contest and Alex Riley says "boogyboards" all excited Matt Striker just goes "really?" all seriously
Posted by: Bob | August 26, 2010 7:50 AM
I thought the funniest part of the show was when Kaval made that lame attempt at humor about Riley being more about athletic field and not the classroom when he didn't have any points. lol, Cole was right on pointing out how lame that was.
Posted by: Scott | August 26, 2010 9:15 AM
Did you catch Alex Riley calling Miz his "ex-pro?" Any idea why Miz wasn't on the show and why he isn't coaching RIley anymore?
Posted by: Micah Kleid | August 26, 2010 9:37 AM
Stryker's "best of luck in your future endeavors' comment was too funny. I always suspected he'd be a much better announcer than wrestler, and I'm glad that, to date, WWE's Creative team has allowed him to inject his own brand of subtle humor into the ringside commentary. He gets in at least one great quip every week on SMackdown
Posted by: crimson wombat | August 26, 2010 1:57 PM
I must admit, I've started keeping up with NXT recently, but only because I'll be at the live NXT/Smackdown show in B-More on Sept 7. I guess we get the premiere episode of Season 3, huh? I wonder if it will feature 4 guys and 4 girls this time, as the latest rumors indicate. Its also sort of cool not knowing which Pros we'll see that night...
Posted by: Scott | August 26, 2010 7:13 PM
Ok, did anyone else catch the fly landing on Riley while he was doing his in ring promo? i will give him props for not missing a (wing) beat. But, it would also seem to verify that he spews out a little bit of cr*p with what he is saying. Can't believe Kaval didnt take advantage of that.
I think Kaval wins, Riley goes crazy w/ the Miz, and McGillicuty shows up on Smackdown real soon. All 3 are the better talents and all three come out w/ something.
Posted by: Dan | August 26, 2010 9:36 PM
Hey Kev there has been rumors that the Rock could show up at the 900th episode of Raw and that HHH could be reviled as Raw GM because since Batista and HBK have retired the ratings have dropped. Your thoughts .
Posted by: ryan | August 27, 2010 12:13 PM