WWE NXT Season 2 debuted this past Tuesday night, and with it came the arrival of 8 new Superstars from WWE’s Developmental system. Season 2 also features a few other tweaks to the show’s format, most notably, the Fan Vote. Rookie standings will be measured by 50% Pros Poll and 50% Online Fan Voting. This means that the Rookies are going to have to try even harder to make people care about them since there is, at the very least, a sprinkling of reality to this round of the “reality” show. Also, they’ll have to do it faster. This season of NXT will only last 12 weeks as compared to the last season’s 15.
There are a ton of eyes watching this new batch of Rookies after seeing what has happened with the inaugural class from Season 1. Will all of these new wrestlers get the chance to stick around like the Season 1 Rookies have? Or, will their eliminations actually last? We’ll find out in 6 weeks after the first elimination happens. Until then, though, I’m going to take a look at each of the Season 2 rookies based on what we saw this past week.
Michael McGillicutty
The most baffling thing about NXT 2 so far is the names that WWE “Creative” has saddled some of these poor guys with. I get it. WWE wants to own the intellectual property on each of their performers. Fine. But McGillicutty? Really? That’s the best they could come up with? In reality, this guy is Joe Hennig. The grandson of Larry “The Axe” Hennig. The son of “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig. Throughout his entire run in Developmental he went by his real name. It would be one thing if WWE was packaging him without acknowledging his lineage, but so far that family history is his whole gimmick! His major selling point is that he’s the 3rd generation of Hennig…and his name is McGillicutty. It’s stupid. Not only does the name suck, but it sucks so badly that it’s the only thing people are talking about in relation to him, not his famous family. That’s not a good start to a young career.
Husky Harris
See: Michael McGillicutty. This guy is stuck in the same unfortunate position as the aforementioned Joe Hennig. Harris’ real name is Windham Rotunda. He’s the grandson of Blackjack Mulligan, the nephew of Barry Windham, and the son of Mike “I.R.S.” Rotunda. That’s a hell of a heritage. So naturally…Husky Harris. Ugh. At least he got some ring time in this week, and luckily for him, he didn’t look half bad. Still, that name is going to be a huge roadblock if WWE ever wants this guy to be taken seriously.
Jason “Lucky” Cannon
The former Johnny Prime was in serious danger of falling into Harris/McGillicutty territory with his new moniker: Lucky Cannon. For some reason, though, when he made his way to the ring on Tuesday night his title card revealed that “Lucky” was just a nickname. Note to WWE, just go with Jason Cannon. It’s actually a good name. It will help this guy gain credibility. Lucky? Not so much. As for his actual persona, he has yet to have a match but he already bores me to tears. He’s got a boring, Skinny-Braden Walker-style look about him, with the personality to match. I don’t see much promise in him at all.
“Showtime” Percy Watson
Showtime was cracking me up all night on Tuesday. I loved the stupid, toothy smile that he was sporting throughout the whole show. He reminded me of Charlie Murphy’s “Delicious” character from Chappelle’s Show. His glasses schtick was pretty cool too. The Dudley’s used to start matches with their glasses on. Watson’s are tied in the back of his head like a mask. It’s unique, at the very least. He wasn’t half-bad in the ring either. His match was decent and he’s definitely got a ton of personality. In Developmental he was Darren Young’s tag team partner in the South Beach Boys. Clearly, Watson was the star of that team. He’s got the same “South Beach Party Boy” descriptor gimmick that they gave Young. Except that Young has so little charisma they wouldn’t even let him speak for the first month of the show. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Percy Watson. If nothing else, he’ll be fun to watch.
Titus O’Neil
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Holy crap is this guy a dud. He looked completely lost and overwhelmed just walking down the ramp, let alone in the ring. Zero charisma, zero skill, zero personality. Why is he even there? He’s this season’s Darren Young Award Winner for The Walking Entertainment Void.
Eli Cottonwood
He’s 7’1” tall. If history has taught us anything, it’s that height will overcome talent in WWE any day of the week. Cottonwood was constantly described as “weird.” From his interactions with John Morrison, his work in the ring, and his brief promo, I wouldn’t say he’s weird so much as he’s more painfully awkward/socially inept. The guy just looked clueless out there. And even at over 7 feet tall, he’s not that intimidating to look at. Beth Phoenix is bulkier than this dude. I don’t see anything in him at this point, but I’m sure he’ll be around for a respectable amount of time. If nothing else, they’ll just use him to carry around Hornswoggle.
Kaval
My most anticipated rookie of this season: Low-Ki…I mean Senshi…I mean Kaval? Either way, he’s that little dude from Brooklyn who looks like Baraka and kicks like Jet Li. I remember watching Kaval wrestle matches on WWF Jakked and Metal in the late 90s. He’s been around, seemingly, forever. It’s awesome seeing him finally get his proper spot on the main roster. They’ve got him paired up with LayCool as his pros. I’m sure it’ll at least be mildly entertaining watching them interact. But what I’m really looking forward to seeing Kaval progress post-NXT. Supposedly WWE is full-on “Smaller Guy Acceptance” mode, thus the pushes of Evan Bourne, Daniel Bryan, and hopefully Kaval. I can’t wait to see Bryan and Kaval get a chance to work together in a WWE ring on a major show. That’s going to be a huge moment for true wrestling fans. I’d even venture to say it’ll be the biggest “We Made It!” moment since Benoit and Guerrero were given their time in the spotlight.
Alex Riley
This guy went to my high school! He graduated in ’99, a year after my older sister. In his intro video Tuesday night they showed photos of him playing football for our Robinson Rams. Even the jacket he wears to the ring is his actual Robinson varsity letter jacket. I think that’s awesome so I’m by default a fan of his already. As for his actual ability, I can’t say yet. I’ve never seen him wrestle. On the mic, though, he’s great. The promo he cut in his video was really well done and put over his character tremendously. I’m really excited to see how his pairing with The Miz turns out. I think they’ll make a ridiculously entertaining team. I see this guy being one of the frontrunners already.
Overall I think this new class of NXT falls at about the 60/40 mark, compared to last season’s 50/50. I’m really looking forward to seeing the progression of Riley, Kaval, and Hennig (I just can’t bring myself to call him McGillicutty), and I’m excited to laugh at the ridiculousness of Percy Watson. Even Husky Harris intrigues me. I like seeing whether or not guys that don’t fit the cookie-cutter, chiseled mold that WWE craves will actually make it (ie: Trevor Murdoch). As for Cottonwood, Cannon, and Titus? I’ll pass.
What do you all think of the NXT Season 2 Rookies?
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