When one show goes off the air, it is usually replaced with an entirely different show with different producers, actors, directors, etc. It's not very often that a show goes off and is replaced in the timeslot by the same people who ran the previous show. Such is the case for WWE's NXT. This new concept is still being sorted out, but the basicality remains that new talents are being mentored by professionals of at least midcard status. I was anxious to see how the show would develop from week to week, and I think the picture is getting clearer to what they are trying to accomplish but it's still not totally clear. Let's take a look at what progress was made in episode 2 of NXT.
The show began with Mr. Jennifer Hudson........er David Otunga making his way to the ring with R-Truth. Truth is still completely ignoring Otunga in regards to the entrance and it bothers me. I think R-Truth was the worst choice to be a mentor. Anyway, as they make their way to the ring, Matt Striker is in the back to explain the rules a little clearer. So far, the concept is that the show will have an end. At the end, the mentors will vote for which Rookie is best and the winner gets a contract. The catch is that mentors can not vote for their rookie. I'm still not positive how that's going to work, but at least it's some sort of explanation. As for Otunga, he gets a return match with Darren Young and his hair.
The match got a lot more time than last week. I think it's pretty clear that booking matches isn't going to be a strongsuit of the show. However, these guys got some more time to showcase what they got.......and I still don't know what they got. Otunga walks out in sunglasses and looks cool, but lacks that confidence in his ring work. The character disappears when he locks up and you can't do that if you want to be successful. Young is a little better at being a character, but both are very very green. The match ended when CM Punk pulled Otunga's leg near the rope, allowing Young to get the win. It seemed that Punk might help his rookie after all, but as Young began to celebrate, Punk and his Straight Edge Society walked out without so much as acknowledging Young. As for Otunga, he wasn't happy about losing and shoved his mentor as a result. Even though the crowd was more behind Otunga, it seems his outside fame and cocky demeanor that goes with it will make him a heel.
After all that, we got a video hyping Daniel Bryan, which was cool, except that they took clippings about him and changed the name because anyone not naive knows that he wrestled under his real name, Bryan Danielson outside WWE and thus, anything wiritten about him would have used that name. Sometimes it's quite amusing that the WWE tries to make it seem like their world supercedes the rest of the world in terms or reality. After the video promo, Bryan is shown getting taped up in the back when his mentor comes in. He informs Bryan that you have to work through "boo boos" in the WWE and he has a match with Wade Barrett next. Miz and Bryan's relationship is unique in that I think Miz comes off as a fraterntiy brother talking down to a pledge. It really suits him to do it and I like the dynamic that continues to devleop. It's Miz acting like he knows it all and is being a hard ass in the way he teaches, and Bryan is the hotshot that feels he doesn't really need the teaching. Pretty cool dynamic.
A pairing that might go that direction is the Otunga/Truth pairing as before the Barrett/Bryan match, the two argue and brawl in the back. Truth started yelling at Otunga and I didn't understand a word he said. He should probably stick to rapping because that's the only time his speech is coherent.
That relationship is very different than the one developing between Chris Jericho and Wade Barrett. Since both are clearly heels, Jericho has taken a liking to the large Barrett and is fully invested in him. Jericho hyped Barrett before a video was shown to hype him as well. Then Daniel Bryan made his way to the ring........alone. Tough love is an understatement at this point for that kid. Barrett is another story and Jericho sat in with the announce team and hyped the kid the way he'd hype Big Show when they were teaming together. Is there anyone better at talking up somebody than Jericho? Apparently Jericho was right........sort of. After Bryan's injured ribs made him slip off the ropes, Barrett hit an interesting looking slam for a finisher to get the win. To add insult to injury...lliterally, Jericho came in and beat down the world traveler for good measure. I'm not sure why the World Heavyweight champion would have to take cheap shots at a rookie, but I guess it's all in a day's work as a heel. I am impressed with the pairing though as Barrett is a big guy who seems to have a decent power game. I'm interested to see how he progresses.
Despite not having a match on this broadcast, a little segment is shown at a gym with Christian and Heath Slater. These two seem such a logicall pairing as Slater is probably the most obnoxious of personalities like a young Christian. He warns Slater not to get too confident as the cheers he heard were from Christian's peeps. I think this pairing is going to be fun to watch if nothing else, and any excuse to get Captain Charisma some TV time is fine by me.
The main event of the night featured the two men who were not on the first episode, Justin Gabriel and Skip Sheffield. Before that could happen, a backstage segment was shown where Gabriel and Hardy seemed to be on the same page. I figured Hardy could be a good mentor, and when he likened the kid to a young version of him, I figured we might see some high flying action.
Of course, we got the promos for the last two men, and right off the bat, you could tell that both me are to be babyfaces, but Gabriel is a lot more likeable. I didn't know much about either, so I assumed Sheffield was English. He is the farthest thing from it, as he called himself a "Cornfed Meathead". Yes, his nickname is actually that stupid. His look and demeanor remind me of a more inbred looking version of James Storm from TNA, and the Austin-like vest will not work. The only thing he has going for him is his muscular physique. Gabriel on the other hand is smaller and quicker and South African. I can't remember another South African performer, so that could play well in his favor, as long as people can buy a foreigner as a babyface.
The match itself was decent, as Hardy and Gabriel worked well together while Sheffield and mentor William Regal worked ok together, but Regal was working hard to show Sheffield "how it's done". Regal was the perfect person to be a mentor and I'm glad they replaced MVP with him. His style of lecture and learn works perfect for him and with Sheffield playing a face that's still willing to learn, it's a different dynamic than the other 7. Unfortunately for them, they lost, as Gabriel got the pin after a beautiful 450 splash. I'm kind of partial to technical high flyers, so I certainly was impressed by that move. If the kid can develop a personality, he could have a bright future.
I'm still not positive of the direction of the show, but at least we now know each character and what they are about in some regard. I have heard rumors that the winner will get a Raw contract and runner up will get a Smackdown contract, but due to not wanting to admit that Raw is the "A" show, they may just have two winners and let them choose or something. I don't like that this stuff wasn't sorted out before they started the show, but by simply doing promos and matches, they are hiding the fact that the direction isn't yet clear. Hell, we still don't know how long the season will be! Either way, it's an interesting concept for a show and I am enjoying seeing all the different dynamics between mentor and rookie. The main criticism I have, and I hope it's something that improves, is that all the rookies are a bit sloppy in the ring, so I hope the mentors are actually workking with the young guys in and out of character so their matches get more believable. About the only thing that wasn't sloppy was what I'm leaving for you to see. Check out the 450 splash at about the 1:30 mark. It may be as pretty as Evan Bourne's shooting star press.
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