The "WWE NXT" thread ***Contains SPOILERS***

D2D

I'm setting this up so we can talk about the new WWE show that'll be re-placing ECW in 2 week's time, WWE NXT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez5swhDezC0

I think this'll be a very interesting show that should (hopefully) bring in some viewers.

From waltersobchek in the "ECW could be going??" thread:

speculation about what WWE's new NXT show would be like, we finally have some new concrete information - it's got nothing to do with science fiction or conspiracies.

Entertainment industry publication Variety reveals that WWE NXT will be a reality-based show, similar to Tough Enough and UFC's "The Ultimate Fighter," that will feature eight rookie wrestlers from WWE's developmental system (Florida Championship Wrestling) as they work their way towards a spot on the main WWE roster. Each rookie will be paired up with a veteran WWE superstar as their mentor, "with egos often getting in the way, as they learn the ropes of competing in the ring in front of live audiences, creating characters and speaking on camera."

WWE is teasing the series as a window into how the company truly operates.

"These kids crash and burn a lot," said Vince McMahon. "By putting them into this environment we'll find out if they can make it. There's no better way to develop skills than being in front of an audience. And that makes for good television."

WWE sent out the following press release today:

WWE NXT DEBUTS ON SYFY

STAMFORD, Conn., February 16, 2010 – World Wrestling Entertainment and Syfy today announced the next generation of reality television with the debut of WWE NXT, Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 10:00 PM ET/PT on Syfy.

WWE NXT is a hybrid live event/reality show featuring eight well-known, popular WWE Superstars (“Pros”) mentoring eight WWE “Rookies.” These Rookies, who are learning the ropes, are athletes who epitomize pop culture and personify strong attributes – they are opinionated and aggressive – which means inherent conflict between Rookies and other Rookies, conflict between Rookies and Pros, as well as, conflict between Pros and Pros. The trials and tribulations of the WWE NXT cast ensure action-packed, innovative entertainment – WWE Style.

“Once again, WWE will bring something entirely new to the television landscape as WWE meets reality TV,” said Vince McMahon, Chairman and CEO, World Wrestling Entertainment. “As we introduce this brand new franchise exclusively on Syfy, WWE NXT will have a completely different look and feel from our other WWE television programming.”

“Syfy is excited to continue our partnership with WWE, Vince and his team with this innovative live event/reality show,” said Syfy President Dave Howe. “This is a unique combination of heart-stopping entertainment and gritty behind-the-scenes reality. The NXT Rookies take the challenge of our new tagline ‘Imagine Greater’ to heart as they embark on their ultimate dream quest to be the next generation of revered heroes and champions in the fantastic arena of the WWE.”

From Jolt in the "ECW could be going??" thread:

WWE sources have told us that the following talents are scheduled to be a part of the NXT show, which will debut on Sy Fy in the current ECW timeslot next week.

FCW Champion: Justin Angel
Daniel Bryan
Kaval
Skip Sheffield
Joe Hennig
Brett Dibiase
Darren Young
Heath Slater
Michael Tarver

Source - http://www.pwinsider.com/article/451...-show.html?p=1

Kid Nothing

I'm interesting in getting a look at Joe Henning....

waltersobchak

Im interested in seeing Hennig too, He must be pretty good, with being a 3rd generation wrestler and all. The only thing is i think he's in his early 30's, and doesnt really have his fathers "look" per se

waltersobchak

waltersobchak wrote: »

Im interested in seeing Hennig too, He must be pretty good, with being a 3rd generation wrestler and all. The only thing is i think he's in his early 30's, and doesnt really have his fathers "look" per se

No not exactly Mr. Perfect but he tags with DiBiase as the prodigal sons gimmick afaik.
Great way of exposing the new talent.

flahavaj

waltersobchak wrote: »

Im interested in seeing Hennig too, He must be pretty good, with being a 3rd generation wrestler and all. The only thing is i think he's in his early 30's, and doesnt really have his fathers "look" per se

Having a father a wrestler is no guarantee though. Look at David Flair.

waltersobchak

flahavaj wrote: »

Having a father a wrestler is no guarantee though. Look at David Flair.

Yeah very true..

waltersobchak

The following pairings for the WWE NXT show were announced on the final ECW on SyFy show this evening…

* Chris Jericho will be mentoring Wade Barrett
* Matt Hardy will be mentoring Justin Gabriel
* MVP will be mentoring Skip Sheffield
* Carlito will be mentoring Michael Tarver
* The Miz will be mentoring Daniel Bryan
* Christian will be mentoring Heath Slater
* CM Punk will be mentoring Darren Young
* R-Truth will be mentoring David Otunga

As previously reported, the show will feature teams of eight (4 rookies and 4 coaches per team) and be split by who are the heels and who are the faces. So the teams would be…

FACE TEAM:
* Matt Hardy
* Justin Gabriel
* MVP
* Skip Sheffield
* Christian
* Heath Slater
* R-Truth
* David Otunga

HEEL TEAM:
* Chris Jericho
* Wade Barrett
* Carlito
* Michael Tarver
* The Miz
* Daniel Bryan
* CM Punk
* Darren Young

Cant believe they didnt go for Jericho/Danielson that would have been unreal

Memnoch99

I resume Daniel Bryan is actually Bryan Danielson? If so WTF is he doing on this show?

Tricity Bendix

The Miz? REALLY?

Vince McMahon hates us.

Reganio 2

The Miz is.... Deadly . I don't see how you can hate The Miz, except for him being a good heel, he is to quote him Awesome.

Penn

waltersobchak wrote: »

The following pairings for the WWE NXT show were announced on the final ECW on SyFy show this evening…

* Chris Jericho will be mentoring Wade Barrett
* Matt Hardy will be mentoring Justin Gabriel
* MVP will be mentoring Skip Sheffield
* Carlito will be mentoring Michael Tarver
* The Miz will be mentoring Daniel Bryan
* Christian will be mentoring Heath Slater
* CM Punk will be mentoring Darren Young
* R-Truth will be mentoring David Otunga

As previously reported, the show will feature teams of eight (4 rookies and 4 coaches per team) and be split by who are the heels and who are the faces. So the teams would be…

FACE TEAM:
* Matt Hardy
* Justin Gabriel
* MVP
* Skip Sheffield
* Christian
* Heath Slater
* R-Truth
* David Otunga

HEEL TEAM:
* Chris Jericho
* Wade Barrett
* Carlito
* Michael Tarver
* The Miz
* Daniel Bryan
* CM Punk
* Darren Young

Cant believe they didnt go for Jericho/Danielson that would have been unreal

Wonder if Joe Hennig will just be bumped straight up to the main roster

waltersobchak

paddyirishman85 wrote: »

Wonder if Joe Hennig will just be bumped straight up to the main roster

I kind of get the impression they've held some wrestlers back, for the next round of 8 development guys, kinda of a why put all our eggs in one basket sort of thing..

JP Liz V1

Memnoch99 wrote: »

I resume Daniel Bryan is actually Bryan Danielson? If so WTF is he doing on this show?

Yes it is

gimmick

Danielson being "mentored" by The Miz is an insult to the entire industry of professional wrestling. Of course, it may be done from the charisma point of view, something The Miz has in abundance.

Should be an interesting show. I am just wondering how much of it will be worked?

Diabhal Beag

gimmick wrote: »

Danielson being "mentored" by The Miz is an insult to the entire industry of professional wrestling. Of course, it may be done from the charisma point of view, something The Miz has in abundance.

You answered it. I'm sure the WWE know he's "THE BEST IN THE WORLD" to all on the internet. He just needs to be able to cut better promos to make any waves in the WWE.

waltersobchak

I always thought Danielson cut great promos in ROH

CMpunked

This could either become really really good and be a cool thing to watch.

Or it could turn into another tough enough...
Or worse..


Celebrity Championship Wrestling!


I hope not, its a fresh(enough) format.

FutureGuy

gimmick wrote: »

Of course, it may be done from the charisma point of view, something The Miz has in abundance.

You just saved me a massive rant on the topic as this could be a valid reason.

geeky

Fair play to the 'e'. I was really dreading this but now, having seen who's on it, I'm probably more intrigued about NXT than I am about any other wrestling show on TV.

gimmick

waltersobchak wrote: »

I always thought Danielson cut great promos in ROH

I would not say great, but Dragon is far from the worst on the mic. Think Michaleetc... did an article on this and made some very valid points in that regard.

Tricity Bendix

Reganio 2 wrote:

I don't see how you can hate The Miz, except for him being a good heel, he is to quote him Awesome.

I don't hate The Miz, but the thought of him mentoring Danielson is fairly outlandish.

Gerard.C

Hate to be getting mentored by Carlito!

waltersobchak

gimmick wrote: »

I would not say great, but Dragon is far from the worst on the mic. Think Michaleetc... did an article on this and made some very valid points in that regard.

Maybe great is too strong a word,but certainly very good, Then again it could also be very similar to Bret Hart. And how people said he has no/very little charisma and couldnt cut a decent promo. But now since his return everyone realises, actually wait a minute.. he is pretty good. Especially in comparision to guys currently in WWE. He mightn't be the Rock.. but hes certainly no Michelle McCool either

Machismo Fan

Good to see they put someone with Miz that can help his wrestling along.:)

Vince135792003

I am really looking forward to this. It has the potential to be really good I think.

Jolt2007

Great choice for Danielson imo. I was expecting it to be Dean Malenko for some reason, or someone else who was great in the ring but not much else and wouldn't have anything to really teach him.

No Low Ki

Bubs101

gimmick wrote: »

Danielson being "mentored" by The Miz is an insult to the entire industry of professional wrestling. Of course, it may be done from the charisma point of view, something The Miz has in abundance.

Danielson could learn a thing or two from the Miz though. Seriously. Also if the Miz picks up some in ring ability from Danielson than you have a bonified superstar on your hands

JP Liz V1

I liked to have seen HBK or Jericho with Danielson

paddyismaddy

i'm kinda looking forward to this now

Rjd2

Bubs101 wrote: »

Danielson could learn a thing or two from the Miz though. Seriously. Also if the Miz picks up some in ring ability from Danielson than you have a bonified superstar on your hands

I want to see the reaction of the internet if the Miz tries to teach Danielson how to work.:p

starviewadams

So NXT is going to be sort of like WWE's watered down version of the ultimate fighter?

flahavaj

I read it as Danielson mentoring Miz myself.:pac:

Also whither Low Ki? Thought he was going to be on this.

RichieLawlor

flahavaj wrote: »

Having a father a wrestler is no guarantee though. Look at David Flair.

waltersobchak wrote: »

Yeah very true..

Your talking about a former WCW United States champion and World Tag Team champion, wash your mouths out

cleirigh06

My thoughts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2-e1GfxGtc
Btw what the hell is up with The Miz mentoring Danielson
Wtf, I like The Miz and all but there's nothing he can teach Danielson lol

Handsome Bob

I imagine it could be a rather "staged" reality TV show, I think they'll portray The Miz and Danielson as the pair that won't get on and seeing whether or not they'll co-operate will lead to the "big drama" every week on the show. It could even end up as a prelude to a Danielson/Miz feud.

Jolt2007

Now I hope it eventually leads to a stable of Showmiz, Maryse and Daniel Bryan.

Bubs101

I think it'll lead to a tag team with miz and Danielson, similar to the Morrison one with one workhorse carrying the matches and the Miz carrying the promos

flahavaj

Bubs101 wrote: »

I think it'll lead to a tag team with miz and Danielson, similar to the Morrison one with one workhorse carrying the matches and the Miz carrying the promos

I like. I think people would be surprised by Danielson's charisma in that situation. Any man who interrupts the ring announcer while being announced in Liverpool, forcing him to say "even better than the Beatles," is a bit of a legend in my book.

gerrybbadd

Were Joe Hennig & Brett DiBiase not mentioned either?

Whats gonna happen to FCW now, or will they be the entry point from this point (by which i mean, even lower in the feeder system, than they already are?)

dsmythy

LZ5by5 wrote: »

I imagine it could be a rather "staged" reality TV show, I think they'll portray The Miz and Danielson as the pair that won't get on and seeing whether or not they'll co-operate will lead to the "big drama" every week on the show. It could even end up as a prelude to a Danielson/Miz feud.

Yeah i don't see how the CM Punk / Darren Young characters are meant to co-exist either unless there's a major gimmick change. I guess there will be lots of "tension" on the show.

Seems to me that who you are paired up with will make a major difference to whether you can get over or not. Who they are linked with might also give a clue as to who they think has the most potential.

* Chris Jericho will be mentoring Wade Barrett
* Matt Hardy will be mentoring Justin Gabriel
* MVP will be mentoring Skip Sheffield
* Carlito will be mentoring Michael Tarver
* The Miz will be mentoring Daniel Bryan
* Christian will be mentoring Heath Slater
* CM Punk will be mentoring Darren Young
* R-Truth will be mentoring David Otunga

Being with Jericho or Christian good. Being with Carlito very very bad......

Rjd2

dsmythy wrote: »

Yeah i don't see how the CM Punk / Darren Young characters are meant to co-exist either unless there's a major gimmick change. I guess there will be lots of "tension" on the show.

..

Punk shaved his head on Smackdown a few weeks ago, he was the black guy if you can't remember that segment.

gerrybbadd

Rjd2 wrote: »

Punk shaved his head on Smackdown a few weeks ago, he was the black guy if you can't remember that segment.

So it's likely he'll be inducted to the Straight Edge Society, and be on Smackdown each week with CM so.

Rjd2

Lads apologies it was some other black guy that he shaved from OVW.:(:o:o


Sorry about that.

gerrybbadd

Rjd2 wrote: »

Lads apologies it was some other black guy that he shaved from OVW.:(:o:o


Sorry about that.

I didn't see that particular segment anyways. No need to apologise, an honest mistake!:D

Rjd2

Rjd2 wrote: »

Lads apologies it was some other black guy that he shaved from OVW.:(:o:o


Sorry about that.

Who shaved who?
The plot thickens:p

Great idea with the mentors. Low Ki is supposed to be in a storyline with Rey soon (something to do with a Luchador from Rey's past).
I'm surprisingly anxious at what this is going to be like. It can be too down our throats or they might try to overdo a non-kayfabe element.

Ridley

waltersobchak wrote: »

As previously reported, the show will feature teams of eight (4 rookies and 4 coaches per team) and be split by who are the heels and who are the faces. So the teams would be…

FACE TEAM:
* Matt Hardy
* Justin Gabriel
* MVP
* Skip Sheffield
* Christian
* Heath Slater
* R-Truth
* David Otunga

HEEL TEAM:
* Chris Jericho
* Wade Barrett
* Carlito
* Michael Tarver
* The Miz
* Daniel Bryan
* CM Punk
* Darren Young

If that's the case, the face side looks ridiculously outclassed by Punk and Jericho alone.

waltersobchak

From PWInsider
A quick rundown of each NXT cast member's background and work:


*Wade Barrett - Billed as a "former bare knuckle fighter who is obsessed with money and anything he can do to get it." That aspect of his character appears to be a work, although it's possible. He's from Manchester, Great Britain and broke in working for Hammerlock UK. Al Snow helped train him. He's been developmental for a few years and is a solid heel. He'll be mentored by Chris Jericho and will be a heel here as well.

*Justin Gabriel - From South Africa. They compared him to Johnny Damon last night, so they are going to try and paint him as a charismatic athlete. He's the current FCW champion under the moniker "Justin Angel." Angel has been a decent champion but hasn't been the type who can carry a brand on his shoulders. One could make a comparison to Evan Bourne is a good one, but Angel is a little bigger and doesn't rely on high flying moves quite as much as Bourne. He'll be mentored by Matt Hardy and will be a babyface.

*Michael Tarver - A knockout specialist who's father sparred with Mike Tyson. That is legitimate. He's been billed as The "Son of a prizefighter and preacher" has been one of the more interesting characters as of late in Florida Championship Wrestling. His work in the ring has been better too, but that can probably be attributed to the caliber of his opponents. After seemingly going nowhere for a good part of the last year, the NXT opportunity will probably be make or break for Tarver. Tarver will be coached by Carlito.

*Skip Sheffield - An Old Fashioned Texas Boy is how he was described on ECW. A more muscled Ken Anderson is a good description of his ring work, but he seems to genuinely connect with the fans in his current gimmick. His work isn't bad in the ring, but if you see someone of his size and build, it is about what you would expect. If you can enjoy the character then you can probably stomach the work. He'll be coached by MVP.

*Heath Slater - "A Walking Rock Band" from West Virginia. Movement up from FCW has been long over due for Heath. The PG-13 Superstar (because of his early resemblance to Edge) puts on enjoyable matches and can steal the show if paired up with the right person, like he did with Banderas a few weeks ago. Christian will oversee him on NXT as a babyface.

*Darren Young - Most of his character definition was based around his "granite-life physique." Young is longtime Northeastern independent wrestler Fred Sampson, who also worked as "Frederick of Hollywood" for Jim Kettner's ECWA. From an in-ring standpoint, he is still pretty raw and might still need more work in FCW. His work is solid but none of his matches in FCW have truly stood out looking back. In FCW, his South Beach Boys tag team with Percy Watkins is entertaining live (although it probably doesn't feel the same on TV) and there was some shelf life left to it. His hairstyle will make him stand out, similar to how Carlito's stood out early. CM Punk will be overseeing him, so Young will be a heel.

*Daniel Bryan - Described as having "More experience than any other competitor and being a no nonsense competitor.", Bryan is of course former ROH champion Bryan Danielson. From an in-ring technical standpoint, he's going to be far and away the best performer of the cast, having toured all over the world learning different styles and having dozens of incredible matches under his belt. The series will bill him from Las Vegas, Nevada as opposed to his original hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, but he's been in Vegas for some time training in MMA while waiting to be called to the company's main roster. Some fans are up in arms over the idea of him being mentored by the Miz, but it's important to remember he's starting out with a fresh slate and "Daniel Bryan" the character isn't "American Dragon" the character...at least, not yet.

*David Otunga - "Jennifer Hudson's fiancé" is pretty much all they told us about him, although he has also done VH-1 Reality shows in the past, including "I Love NY." That might give him the edge in knowing how and when to play to the cameras and use his facial expressions. He's got a legitimate Harvard Law degree and is billed from Chicago. His work inside the ring has been decent but he's still very early in his development as he took some time off to be with Hudson after her family tragedy last year. He'll be mentored by R-Truth.

Gerard.C

Wade Barrett, the lad Jericho is mentoring, is Stu Sanders of IWW fame as far as I know. Good on him!

dsmythy

Nice round up of the characters by pwinsider. Pity they were found out that their "source" was in fact just plain guesswork as to who was going to be on the show.

cinder

Gerard.C wrote: »

Wade Barrett, the lad Jericho is mentoring, is Stu Sanders of IWW fame as far as I know. Good on him!

yeah that stu sanders all right. fair play to him

waltersobchak

Gerard.C wrote: »

Wade Barrett, the lad Jericho is mentoring, is Stu Sanders of IWW fame as far as I know. Good on him!

And coming to an IWW poster near you soon..:pac: