NXT 2017 Thread SPOILERS

The Ayatolla · 22-08-2015 1:46pm

Andersonisgod wrote: »

I've never seen anything Sheamus do that's in any way compelling. Decent WWE guy who has the same match every night, average on the mic, average personality, he's a walking haircut.

Devitt can only do so much with what he is given. If you give him bland, generic babyface promos to work with he's not going to turn it into gold, not even The Rock or Austin could turn the stuff he's given into gold. It's easy to blame the guy you see on screen deliver the lines but when the creative behind him is so stunted they are hindering him a huge amount.

Saying Sheamus is miles ahead of him though is laughable. As with any wrestler, with the right creative behind him the chances of shining are far higher, in the ring Devitt's ceiling is so much higher, the guy is a founding member of Bullet Club and responsible for much of its early direction while he was the leader, he's a whole lot better than Sheamus.

Don't get me wrong, Fergal has a lot of potential to do on and do great things, but superstars can only blame creative for so long.

95% of wrestling fans have never heard of the Bullet Club. It's irrelevant now. He's in the WWE, his lofty days of Japan are long behind him now.

I'm as big a fan of Fergal as the next guy, but from the outside looking in, it's not great at the moment.

Also, I'm not a fan of the finisher. Maybe it's just me. And the name of it is terrible.

billion dollar baby · 22-08-2015 1:47pm

Well as somebody else pointed out Sami Zayn and Daniel Bryan are given the same bland baby face promos and they manage to make them compelling and watchable. Balor doesn't and blaming the creative is a complete cop out.

The Ayatolla · 22-08-2015 1:49pm

Sheamus shouting "Are you not entertained" to the fans is 100 times better than anything Finn has done mic-wise so far.

CastorTroy · 22-08-2015 1:53pm

Quick question: How big is this venue in relation to Full Sail? I don't mean in the sense of capacity, but just how far the entrance is from the ring. Because as I've said before there are entrances we see in Full Sail that would be really dragged out if done on the main roster. As we saw with Emma's transition. I feel Balor's is the same. I know there are one or 2 others but just can't think right now.

Andersonisgod · 22-08-2015 1:54pm

The Ayatolla wrote: »

Don't get me wrong, Fergal has a lot of potential to do on and do great things, but superstars can only blame creative for so long.

95% of wrestling fans have never heard of the Bullet Club. It's irrelevant now. He's in the WWE, his lofty days of Japan are long behind him now.

I'm as big a fan of Fergal as the next guy, but from the outside looking in, it's not great at the moment.

Also, I'm not a fan of the finisher. Maybe it's just me. And the name of it is terrible.

To me that in itself is a cop out. If creative give him words to say and the words aren't interesting then that's that. You can try with mannerisms, with body language but if what you are saying is dull, and the way you're being produced is limiting you then that's it.

I don't care what casual fans know, anyone with internet access really should be aware that Devitt far more skilled than Sheamus, the man is as dull as dishwater.

Its not great at the moment, I don't blame him. If the company haven't a clue how to get serious, modern faces over then the fault is on their side.

Andersonisgod · 22-08-2015 1:57pm

billion dollar baby wrote: »

Well as somebody else pointed out Sami Zayn and Daniel Bryan are given the same bland baby face promos and they manage to make them compelling and watchable. Balor doesn't and blaming the creative is a complete cop out.

Do they? Zayn probably does but the material he gets is slightly better. I don't think Bryan's face run really revolved around great mic work though.

billion dollar baby · 22-08-2015 2:13pm

It was just a general observation. Usually babyfaces get the same type of promo to deliver. The content will obviously differ a bit based on the individual situation but basically it's same.

I still think it has to do with him not being comfortable showcasing himself by talking. If you look at his career so far he has gotten by without ever having to use his personality. Everyone knows he is gold in the ring as nobody can dispute that. Even the body paint demon aspect is all done through movement. He has never had to use his personality. In New Japan it didn't matter because his ring work was so good it didn't matter how wooden he was on the mic.

But I guess the thing to remember is NXT despite being the best thing about WWE is still a devolpmental at the end of the day and I'm sure they won't call him up until they are happy with him

rovert · 22-08-2015 2:29pm

Balor "redeems" himself when he wrestles feature matches otherwise the TV version of himself is

. He just passed the one year mark in developmental and he's 34 he needs to pull the finger out.

The Ayatolla · 22-08-2015 3:14pm

I don't get all the Sheamus hate. He's a veteran of WWE now at this stage and has reached the lofty heights that Bálor can only dream of. He was never in the Bullet Club though....

Agree with Rovert, time is ticking for Bálor. There was talk he would only need to spend a few months in developmental given the money he was earning. To be honest, he's further away from the main roster than Enzo & Cass, Bayley and the Vaudevillians.

Palo Alto · 22-08-2015 3:48pm

Yep, he's really been shown up badly on his mic work by Steen, no wonder he was fast-tracked.

Love the guy but I could deliver a more convincing promo, and I'm an idiot!

Xenji · 22-08-2015 3:52pm

Is Takeover starting at 02.00 tonight?

The Ayatolla · 22-08-2015 3:59pm

Xenji wrote: »

Is Takeover starting at 02.00 tonight?

Yes. Pre-show at 1.30am.

rovert · 22-08-2015 4:01pm

Xenji wrote: »

Is Takeover starting at 02.00 tonight?

With a pre-show at 1.30.

CastorTroy · 22-08-2015 4:11pm

I know there was the talk of fast tracking Balor but I think it's not just his mike work that stopped that, but also the injuries to Zayn and Itami.
If Balor went now, who would there be to take his place? Owens leaving leaves an opening for the likes of Breeze, Corbin and a couple others. I'd say Crews take Balor's place if things go well.

And that shows up another problem. Looking at the posters above of the matches tonight, it seems to show the tag division as being in better shape than the singles, which is a big change from the main roster. For all the talk with the main roster not having many contenders for the top spot, it's safe to say they're far better off than NXT. For a developmental territory, they don't seem to be bringing too many people onscreen.

rovert · 22-08-2015 5:02pm

Cool video

Jon Stark · 22-08-2015 5:56pm

I think Devitt is the kind of guy who would benefit with an initial heel run. Being the babyface can be hard enough as it is in this hamstrung wwe universe, and that has to be twice as hard for someone like Devitt who isn't a natural promo.

Being the heel lifts those restrictions though and makes it easier to develop promo skill. I mean look at Rollins.

The Ayatolla · 22-08-2015 6:01pm

The Demon Revealed doc is on before the pre-show tonight at 1am.

rovert · 22-08-2015 10:31pm

A new one

Andersonisgod · 22-08-2015 11:24pm

The Ayatolla wrote: »

I don't get all the Sheamus hate. He's a veteran of WWE now at this stage and has reached the lofty heights that Bálor can only dream of. He was never in the Bullet Club though....

Agree with Rovert, time is ticking for Bálor. There was talk he would only need to spend a few months in developmental given the money he was earning. To be honest, he's further away from the main roster than Enzo & Cass, Bayley and the Vaudevillians.

Yes he was never in the Bullet Club, no he was never the ace of NJPW's Junior division, no he is not the next link in the Dynamite Kid-Chris Benoit chain. He's a big tall muscular guy with goofy hair who is in Triple H's good graces who is a steady hand in the ring working a WWE style match but has never shown himself to be capable of anything beyond that. Perhaps I am being pedantic or snobbish about this but in my mind he's a sports entertainer, Devitt is a pro wrestler.

Extenuating circumstances have halted his call up to the main roster. The injuries to Zayn and Itami means that were he called up NXT would have nobody to actually base their programme and special events around. That and there's no point calling him up if creative have nothing for him, why make him just another guy right off the bat.