For men like John Morrison, MVP, Kofi Kingston, and the rest of the NXT season 2 pros, excitement and opportunity must have defined their feelings on being chosen for such a job. After all, everyone remembers the great teachers, and with Chris Jericho successfully mentoring Wade Barrett to a season 1 victory, everyone is gunning to outshine that tandem. However, everything changed when all of season 1's rookies took extreme action less than 24 hours before NXT season 2 began. The role of pro changed dramatically, as perhaps this season's rookies will carry with them the same angst that last season's had, leading them down a path of destruction that none of us quite understand. Would this set of rookies follow their predessesors, or did the pros learn a lesson on how to deal with this crop of greenhorns? From what I saw, this set of pros was not about to sit back and let history repeat itself. Smart move.
This debut episode featured introductions for all 8 rookies by their pros, and being the man I am, I made initial judgements on each. These judgements come from the introductions, matches or promos they had, and general feelings on their appearance and demeanor. They are as follows"
Husky Harris - The name fits. He is quite husky, though athletic for a fat guy. His accent is very southern, but his character is driven. Given the family legacy and his solid initial ring work, I think this chunky child of IRS has a bit of potential.
Eli Cottonwood - He probably should be called Twigwood, because that's the only thing I could think of when he first appeared. He's gotta be about 7 feet tall and 120 pounds! Surprisingly though, his work in the ring wasn't awful, and his ugly mug might actually benefit him as a big monster heel. In order to be that though, he needs to gain quite a bit of weight, as right now, it looks like a stiff breeze could knock the kid over.
Percy Watson - Who invited Bubba Gump's retarded brother? This dude has such big gums and a goofy smile, I can't imagine his parents not being siblings. While he took a beating well in the ring and hit a nice looking finisher, I can't take him seriously with that face. Perhaps they'll run a storyline where Percy and Eugene are revealed to be both brothers and cousins. That's about all I can see in his future despite a decent body and pretty good workrate.
Kaval - Short, weird voice, and we haven't seen him work yet. Granted, I know he can work from seeing him in TNA, but to the WWE audience, he's the boy-toy of Laycool who's voice is a bit too deep for his diminutive frame. I'd let his ringwork do the talking, as at this point, it's hard to take him seriously. Keep him off the stick as much as possible and let him do what he does best, wrestle.
Titus O'Neill - Biggest disappointment of the day. As a Gator, I was hoping for big things from the former defensive lneman, but outside of doing the chomp during his entrance, he was quite unimpressive. He is slow in the ring, and the quality UF education that should have been evident in his promo work was not, as his lines made absolutely no sense. Couple that with him barking (a UGA trademark), and color me disappointed with one of my early favorites. He has a lot or work to do to win back my affection.
Lucky Cannon - This season's Heath Slater. Solid look, especially facially, but an awkward tattoo ruins the babyfaced hopeful superstar. It's hard to buy youthful exuberance from guys with huge tattoos, but Cannon does have a solid look and did fine in his short time on the mic. I'll get a better feel for him once I see him in the ring, but he could do big things on NXT.
Michael McGillicuty - It truly beguiles me that his promo makes it clear that his grandfather and father are both Hennigs but he is going under this stupid McGillicuty name. However, it seems that this kid is talented enough to overcome it. We haven't seen him wrestle yet, but his work on the mic and his look are both positives at the moment, as well as his family legacy. If this kid isn't the favorite................
Alex Riley - This kid is. No family legacy here, though he claimed to have a solid childhood. I like the character he has created for himself in that he was the popular sports star who had it easy. That's an easy character to hate, but I fear it will be too gimmicky to ever make it truly big. At this point, he reminds me a lot of Zack Ryder, which isn't a bad thing. He can clearly work the stick, and if he's decent in the ring, he certainly has all the pieces to put together an NXT Season 2 victory.
After introductions and 2 mediocre rookie/pro matches (Morrison/Cottonwood vs. O'Neill/Ryder and Harris/Rhodes vs. MVP/Watson), the pros and rookies are brought into the ring for a final segment. Standing in parallel lines, the pros stare at their rookies as Matt Striker asks all the rookies about the attack that season 1 perpetrated. Most answered that while it may not have been right, it certainly made an impact. The end of the segment saw Matt Striker welcome the rookies to the WWE, and just when it looked like the pros would embrace the rookies, a slap from Layla started an onslaught by the pros, which ended with the ring cleared of rookies except Titus O'Neill, who was lucky enough to receive a "World's Strongest Slam". Clearly, this set of pros was sending a message to these rookies. Whether it was simple inititation or punishment for the sins of those before them, this attack showed that the pros would not sit back and let a bunch of rookies run rampant again. It should be interesting to see if this beating leads to more respect from this season's pros, or if it causes mutiny even earlier, leading to season 2 joining season 1 on the frontline of the war they have started. If nothing else, the winds of change that Wade Barrett promises are certainly swirling, and we are all lucky enough to be seeing them unfold before our eyes.
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