Quick hits on WWE NXT
• We’re down to the final three, as Aksana was eliminated on Tuesday night’s episode of NXT. I was surprised she lasted as long as she did. Seven weeks ago, I ranked the original six rookies based on their potential to make it as a WWE Diva, and I had Aksana last. The top three on my list – Naomi, Kaitlyn and A.J. – are the three who remain.
• There were two singles matches involving the four rookies and – believe it or not – both of them were decent. Naomi defeated Kaitlyn, and A.J. beat Aksana. Naomi once again showed that she is by far the most athletic of the bunch. A.J.’s impressive flexibility was on display, as Aksana put her in a modified Camel Clutch in which A.J.’s feet were nearly touching the top of her head.
• When it was revealed that Aksana had been eliminated, she pretended to faint. Then she said “somebody make mistake” and that she was going to “Mr. McMahon’s office and write a letter to re-vote.” On her way up the ramp, her “husband” Goldust served her with divorce papers.
• After Aksana was eliminated, Michael Cole said, “Well, there goes the only entertainment left on the show.” Yes, Aksana did love to “entertainment us.”
• Cole’s commentary throughout the show was absolutely hilarious. At one point, he turned his back on what was going on in the ring and began chatting with some fans at ringside. He also held up signs during the program that said: “Stop the pain,” “I hate NXT” and “Eliminate me.”
• When Josh Matthews confronted Cole about some of his comments, Cole shot back by saying, “What are you going to do, be the typical babyface announcer?”
• In one of the competitions, the rookies had to guess how their pros would complete the following sentence: When I first saw my rookie, I thought she was (blank). For the muscular Kaitlyn, Vickie Guerrero answered, “A man.” That was funny.
• There was a “Diss the Divas” segment, in which each rookie had a minute to cut a promo on the other competitors. Naomi’s promo was easily the best, and the audience selected her as the winner. Aksana’s broken English and gibberish was so bad it was good – well, almost. A.J.’s promo fell flat. Cole was chanting “boring” during it and the crowd booed her. It’s funny how the announcers keep saying every week how much the fans love A.J., but I recall her being booed on more than just this occasion. Kaitlyn started to cut a decent promo, but Aksana attacked her and she never got to finish it. “This is a mess. This is a train wreck,” Kaitlyn said.
• Nikki Bella cut a heel promo on the rookies that wasn’t bad. Alicia Fox, however, was terrible on the mic when she tried to do the same.
Comments
I know NXT (this season in particular) is basically completely irrelevant and inconsequential, but it is still a wrestling show produced by a wrestling company. I think a little humor from announcers is a good thing but Michael Cole has effectively - along with NXT itself - jumped the shark. I don't mind Cole trying to be a heel announcer, but it should not be at the expense of talent. Especially talent that is struggling to get over. Some of it can be funny but why is Cole saying “What are you going to do, be the typical babyface announcer?" RUSSO DID THIS STUFF A DECADE AGO. And it was one reason that company tanked. Suspension of disbelief is even harder to achieve now that kayfabe is gone. Why would you want your lead play-by-play guy running down the talent and acting like a buffoon on all the shows and basically telling wrestling fans that (at least parts of) what they like is boring or crap or whatever. Cole has had his moments in the past couple of months (hugging A-Ri was a personal favorite) but generally he's not funny enough to justify it. He practically ruined the JR segment on Raw. I just don't think running down talent and ragging on your product is a good way to go. And I don't think even MORE insider Russo-type jokes and references is going to help.
Posted by: Jeremy W | November 17, 2010 10:34 PM
This whole thing is just so weird. Here you have the announcers openly mocking the whole thing, even though it's the WWE's show. It's not like anybody forced them to produce NXT. But they clearly have lost faith in the concept. I feel a bit sorry for these girls.
Anyway, I hope AJ wins. I've got a soft spot for "nerd girls" like her, and she's a real cutie. I think hooking her up with Daniel Bryan might be a good move, since they've also tried to label him a nerd.
Posted by: Ken Raining | November 17, 2010 11:57 PM
I'm stoked you actually watched & reviewed this week's NXT, because I thought the competitions were genuinely fun and the matches were above par.
I was especially surprised, in a good way, to see such a relatively solid match between AJ and Aksana. Nicely done on both their parts.
Naomi continues to be the standout... hope she wins, because she deserves it.
I don't even know where to begin to talk about how stunning Kaitlyn is-- although her legs, as Naomi pointed out, are as good a place as any-- but unfortunately Kaitlyn is STILL awkward and clumsy in the ring. She works hard to be charming, but next week she oughta go.
Posted by: Jules B. | November 18, 2010 1:35 AM
Too bad. Aksana's eastern european golddigger babe persona was getting over with me. She had me laughing more than most of the rest of WWE (save Santino perhaps) has of late. I guess I am just a sucker for comedy done in cliched foreign accents.....
Who will entertainment me now?
Posted by: AMC | November 18, 2010 10:06 AM
Unless Cole is auditioning for his own show or something, he needs to tone it down a lot. It's gotten to the point, especially during the Swagger/Bryan match on RAW, where he distracts you from the match (what most of us tune in to see). At first I liked Cole's new personality, but it's quickly turning into a disaster. He needs to realize that he's there to help facilitate the stories and angles. Furthermore he needs to go back and look at what his partner used to do. The King was great back in the day in the heel role, his work with the Hart's and ECW in the 90's come to mind.
One last thing to tack onto my rambling, I'd love to know what the wrestlers think about all of this. I wouldn't be surprised in the least to see Cole with a black eye one of these days.
Posted by: Bill H | November 18, 2010 1:18 PM
To Jules B:
Kaitlyn has only been wrestling for a few MONTHS, so i think her ability to wrestle, is perfectly fine, considering she was thrown into the fire... Her Charisma and mic skills is what gets her over, not her wrestling, aka Jon Cena...
Posted by: CJ | November 18, 2010 1:44 PM
NXT has become a hilarious show - sometimes intentionally even - and with interesting matches. If I was the WWE, I'd find a reason to keep all of the final 4 contestants on for a few weeks longer. They've developed an oddly compelling chemistry - along with their pros.
Posted by: Ruzious | November 18, 2010 2:22 PM
NXT reminds me of WCW and TNA for all of the wrong reasons.
Posted by: The Nature Boy | November 18, 2010 8:07 PM
Thanks for keeping your promise!
For the haters of this show: if you hate it, why are you still watching it?
For Michael Cole: I can't wait for the day when all NXT alumni confront him on the show, tar/feather him and send him crying all the way back to RAW..
For the would-be Divas: Those girls are working their tails off, and they have twice as much to prove. I liked AJ in the beginning, was torn between Naomi and Kaitlyn, but clearly Naomi has the upper hand, in mic and ring skills. Kaitlyn needs a little more time to grow.
Thanks again Kevin, and keep 'em coming!
Posted by: Draven | November 19, 2010 9:09 AM
Does anyone know the song they´ve played during the Cena/Nexus video package?
Posted by: XDreamItchy | November 19, 2010 1:21 PM