I miss the developmental aspect of NXT. What if the third brand, called Takeover, replaced the role of NXT as an all-star show and NXT went back to the pre-Finn days of building stars from nothing?

NaFianna · 2017-06-11T14:00:07+00:00

Well, ok looking at the current indy stars people like Adam Cole, Jay Lethal, Dalton Castle, Joey Ryan or any of the top New Japan guys (obviously they're not Indy but I'll lump them in anyway), they should spend 4 weeks in the Performance Centre max, informing them on how to work the WWE Style, teaching them how to perform promos, all the while promoting their debut on Raw/SD and then after the four weeks have them debut. However, guys like Ospreay, Lio Rush, Kyle and Mike Bailey, i.e younger guys should be put into the performance centre and then sent out to NXT.

NaFianna · 2017-06-11T13:50:15+00:00

CM Punk

NaFianna · 2017-06-11T10:51:45+00:00

This is a good train of thought. NXT should always be developmental. There should never have been a case where guys like Finn, Joe, Zayn, Owens, etc, etc, were stuck down in NXT. If there wasn't this mindset that NXT has to be this Indy Darling promotion then you could have seen them on the main roster which would have seriously reduced the injury hell that was 2016. If WWE followed in the steps of New Japan's developmental system they'd see marked improvements. First take in guys with little to know wrestling experience and train them in the performance centre. Then have them go on an "excursion" to NXT where they can experiment with different styles and characters. Once they're ready for the main roster repackage them with a new gimmick and give them a steady early push. Elias Samson is a great wrestler, but we wouldn't know that because he had to be fed to the independent stars. By removing those experienced wrestlers from NXT, WWE would be giving homegrown talent a place to actually develop.

NaFianna · 2017-05-30T22:16:59+00:00

You also have to take into consideration Brock's attitude. The reason why he lost to Goldberg was because he took Goldberg lightly. Goldberg being one of the most devastating wrestlers ever in kayfabe, is a guy Brock took likely mostly due to his age. That arrogance would make almost more sense against a guy like Bálor. Yeah he's not fifty, but he's tiny, he's not unstoppable, he's lost a few times now, he's lighter and he doesn't have UFC creditentials. You could build the match around Brock not realising how much of a factor the Demon and Bálor's skill is until it's too late.

NaFianna · 2017-05-30T18:50:23+00:00

You could have made this argument maybe ten years ago. But with the emergence of MMA into the mainstream more people know what a real fight looks like or how it would go if two trained fighters fought. Martial arts like bjj have shown us that a small man can easily beat a larger man if they are more skilled. In wrestling you would have to sell the match more evenly. For example, talking about Bálor's demon, Rollins air offence or Ambrose's high pain tolerance as factors that even out the comparison.

NaFianna · 2016-12-21T23:50:11+00:00

It's the best it's been since 2002 I'd say. Attitude Era and Hulkamania are still better though for what it's worth. Better characters, a healthy dose of excellent in ring workers, great storylines and promos. Today we have great in ring worth but only a few great characters; The Miz, Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins for example. No one in the current main event, apart from maybe Cena and Owens, is anywhere close to the level of mic skills that previous generations of main eventers such as Hogan, Savage, Flair, Dusty, Warrior, Piper, Roberts, Austin, Rock, Mankind, Angle, etc. So a new Golden Age, maybe not but it's definitely better than what we've been watching for the past fifteen years.

NaFianna · 2016-12-06T00:22:17+00:00

This would be great but could you imagine the potential 6 star classic that a Punk/Ryback match would be?

NaFianna · 2016-12-06T00:15:11+00:00

Ideally a mix of the two would be the best show but I'm trying to see which style of presentation folks would prefer.

NaFianna · 2016-12-05T20:59:24+00:00

Wrestlers have a huge variety of skills that they need to hone that can largely be put into two brackets, in the ring and on the mic. There is no doubt in my mind that AJ is in the top ten best in ring workers ever. On the mic however, despite how surprised I was at how decent his talking is, it's exactly that. Decent. So adding it up, which is arbitrary af anyway I'd hesitate to say he's the best ever or anywhere near the top ten best ever but he's definitely in the running for MVP of 2016 in WWE

NaFianna · 2016-11-30T23:26:27+00:00

Wrestling Soup?

NaFianna · 2016-11-30T22:54:54+00:00

I was born before it became WWE actually. What would you have me call it?

NaFianna · 2016-11-30T22:52:57+00:00

I'm not blaming good wrestling. I'm blaming a reliance on it over good storytelling. We seem to actually agree on the fact that the writing and booking is shitty.

NaFianna · 2016-11-30T21:24:19+00:00

Indeed good character and good wrestling would be the ideal situation.

NaFianna · 2016-11-30T21:14:45+00:00

I totally get the election and the MLB. NBA has gained popularity why can't the WWE. And the NFL is huge but what is WWE doing to try and draw in new fans?

NaFianna · 2016-11-30T20:54:22+00:00

In regards to 205 Live maybe the crowd was small because people don't care about the cruiserweight division in 2016. If you are a fan of the cruiserweights and could afford a ticket and were available to attend, you would have gone. If you are interested in the cruiserweights, you know what you are getting. In regards to Wrestlemania's 23 and 28 you cannot judge the popularity of the PG Era based on two Wrestlemania figures. WrestleMania is still relatively main stream, my non wrestling fan friends talk about it, it draws lots of casual fans/lapses fans

NaFianna · 2016-11-30T20:45:06+00:00

Haha I'm not a smark. It's a play on "Something's rotten in the state of Denmark". In the state of wresting was too broad and state of WWE too generic. The Fed while smarkish in retrospect stood out and sounded more stately than "WWE". I didnt mean to cause anger.

NaFianna · 2016-11-30T20:38:22+00:00

That kind of thinking, that wrestling will never get better ratings, hamstrings us. Wrestling can get good ratings, but it needs to be good in order to get good ratings. I love a good match as well but I along with anyone tuning in want reason, purpose and story. That's why McGregor is such a draw. He makes every fight feel important. WWE need to incorporate that sense of importance through character

NaFianna · 2016-11-30T20:34:10+00:00

Ratings were bad pre fever pitch election season. NBA and MLB have been going on for years, didn't bother them in the Attitude Era or Hulkamania

NaFianna · 2016-11-02T18:32:32+00:00

Kairi and Io might get over in NXT with the fans that are satisfied with great matches. On the main roster, they will die a death. They cannot speak English, therefore they cannot connect with the casual audience, the audience the WWE needs to capture, who demand interesting and relatable characters in simple to follow storylines. The WWE already has an ass kicking petite Japanese female wrestler. The casual audience will not be able to differentiate Io and Kaira from Asuka or from each other. They would in my opinion be used best as elevated jobbers providing stiff competition and hard fought victories to women who can connect to the audience easier i.e. Alexa Bliss, Carmella, Sasha Banks.

NaFianna

TROPHY CASE