BRM Reviews the 6/3/2020 NXT

Post Reply
User avatar
Big Red Machine
Posts: 27378
Joined: Dec 16th, '10, 15:12

BRM Reviews the 6/3/2020 NXT

Post by Big Red Machine » Jun 4th, '20, 00:38

MIA YIM vs. CANDICE LERAE- 3/10
They wrestled for a bit, with Candice working over Mia’s back. They brawled on the outside and were both counted out.

POST-MATCH SEGMENT- bad
They brawled up the ramp. Mia got hurricanrana-ed into the LED screen, which supposedly took out a section of the board, even though she hit it WAY too soft for it to feel believable that she took a whole section offline.
Mia eventually made a comeback and took over until Tegan Nox ran out to pull her off. Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai came out to attack the babyfaces and some referees finally came out to break things up. Johnny Gargano came out to check on Candice. Just when things seemed to have calmed down, Candice attacked Mia from behind. Johnny went over as well, but Keith Lee ran out to make the save and the two babyfaces scared the two heels off. We were then told that Regal had ordered a mixed tag match started. This was definitely one of those times where it would have been a lot less annoying to just book the mixed tag from the get-go instead of setting it up by booking something else and giving us a f*ck finish.

MIXED TAG TEAM MATCH: Keith Lee & Mia Yim vs. Johnny Gargano & Candice LeRae- 0.5/10
We got some gaga in the beginning with Lee having to force the heels into the ring, including a spot where they made Candice look like total crap by having Lee basically no-sell her putting him in a sleeper. I can absolutely buy that Lee can walk around with Candice hanging on his back with no trouble, but she’s not just hanging on his back; she’s supposedly applying a move that cuts off your blood-flow (and that’s assuming that heel Candice isn’t taking a shortcut in her efforts to save her husband by using an air choke).
Then the match itself started and we got some okay stuff between Mia and Candice… and it fell off a cliff. I almost gave this a dud just because I hated the booking so much. It started off by spiraling into that horribly cliché bit where the babyfaces are just sooooo much better than the heels that the heels are getting bested at literally every single turn. Gargano eventually managed to escape a Spirit Bomb by stabbing Lee in the face with his car keys (he had them in his pocket because he and Lee were both in street clothes because this match was booked on the fly and they weren’t expecting to wrestle when they came out to ringside). This also distracted Mia enough for Candice to roll her up for the pin.
The heels bailed. Lee tried to crawl after them, but was dumb enough to stick his hand in between the ring steps and the apron, so Gargano kicked the steps and crunched his hand. Gargano then posed with the belt and made out with Candice. No one came out of this looking good.

TOMMASO CIAMPA VS. KARRION CROSS VIDEO PACKAGE- GREAT!

MCKENZIE MITCHELL INTERVIEWS DEXTER LUMIS- weird
She asks him if he thinks The Velveteen Dream will win the NXT Title from Adam Cole at TakeOver: In Your House. Instead of answering her, he goes and gets and easel and some sharpies and starts to draw while we head to our commercial.

MCKENZIE MITCHELL INTERVIEWS DRAKE MAVERICK EARLIER TODAY- odd... but it worked
He rambled on a lot, but that was all part of the point he was trying to get across (that he actually didn’t feel much pressure because he knew that after tonight, he would either be champion or be unemployed, but either way, there would be resolution). This was absolutely not the sort of big babyface promo I was expecting, but it got the point across well.
I absolutely laughed my ass off at him saying “Hi cameraman! I can look directly into you, today!” That right there was a MUCH funnier joke at Vince McMahon’s expense than any of those stupid skits AEW has done with the Dark Order.

NXT TITLE MATCH VIDEO FEATURE- solid
The important news here is that their match will be a Backlot Brawl.

DEXTER LUMIS HAS FINSIHED HIS DRAWING- He’s drawn a picture of Roddy, Bobby, & Kyle tied up in the back of a car, with him driving, and with the TakeOver: In Your House logo in the corner.

ISAIAH “SWERVE” SCOTT vs. TONY NESE- 6/10
A great little six-minute match. Jack Gallagher came out to distract Scott, but he was able to reverse Nese’s finisher into a roll-up to get the win. Gallagher sped into the ring to attack Scott but Scott was able to escape.

#1 CONTENDERSHIP MATCH: Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan vs. Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish & Roderick Strong) vs. Breezango- 7.75/10
The Fashion Police are back. They won an action-packed match. Breezango vs. Imperium should be quite the feud.

POST-MATCH SEGMENT- good
Imperium came out to stare down their challengers… and out behind them came Malcolm Bivens and Indus Sherr. Didn’t see that one coming. I guess they’ll be built up for the next TakeOver.

MCKENZIE MITCHELL INTERVIEWS ROBERT STONE & CHELSEA GREEN AFTER LAST WEEK’S VICTORY- baffling
Chelsea admitted that she was at the hottest she had ever been, and then promptly fired her manager who has helped get her there. WHY? Also, why the f*ck would you break up this act? These two are great together!

ALIYAH vs. SANTANA GARRETT- 3.75/10
Robert Stone came out looking disheveled and told Aliyah that she had to win this match. She lost cleanly.

SO WHO DID YOU SPOT IN THAT PICTURE FROM THE FIRST CLASS AT THE PC?
I found Emma, Corbin, Scott Dawson, Sylvester Lefort, Eva Marie, Simon Gotch, Mojo Rawley, Pac, Sami Callihan, Bo Dallas, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Alexa Bliss!, Viktor, and Braun Strowman (and I see people who I think are Rusev, Big E, and Summer Rae, but it’s hard to tell due to the blurriness of the photo.

WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH VIDEO PACKAGE- GREAT!

CAMERON GRIMES vs. BRONSON REED- 4/10
A short match, but with good big man vs. small man stuff.

POST-MATCH SEGMENT- good
Karrion Kross and Scarlett showed up and Kross proved he could hit one of his two moves on someone who isn’t jobber-sized.

NXT CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE TOURNAMENT FINALS: El Hijo Del Fantasma vs. Drake Maverick- 8/10
They’ve dropped the “Interim” part of the title. Interesting.
They told a great story with Maverick getting his back worked over but refusing to stay down. Eventually he got some momentum and had EHDF on the outside but the two kidnapper luchadors came out to menace EHDF, and Maverick, being the good babyface that he is, dove onto them and kept them from interfering in the match… only to get back in the ring and get superkicked by an ungrateful EHDF, hit with the Fantom Driver and pinned.
The only problem I had with this is that I think the kidnapper luchadors came from the back, which means that there are clearly dangerous, unauthorized personnel running around backstage and no one stopped them. Unless, of course, the faces under those masks are faces that are supposed to be here, and the kidnappings are an inside job.

POST-MATCH SEGMENT- great
Drake is crying and looks into the camera and thanks the fans for their support as the NXT trainees chant for him. He heads up the ramp, and Triple comes out to meet him… with a brand-new NXT contract. This was a great way to give us a happy ending while still getting the belt on the guy they clearly want it on.


This started off very rocky, but after that first bit it managed to be both very good go-home show as well as a show that stood on it’s won, independent of hyping things up for the PPV.
Hold #712: ARM BAR!

Upcoming Reviews:
FIP in 2005
ROH Validation
PWG All-Star Weekend V: Night 2
DGUSA Open the Ultimate Gate 2013
ROH/CMLL Global Wars Espectacular: Day 3

User avatar
cero2k
Site Admin
Posts: 20950
Joined: Dec 16th, '10, 11:32

Re: BRM Reviews the 6/3/2020 NXT

Post by cero2k » Jun 4th, '20, 09:25

i know i know, it's likely my WWE hate that is fueling this, but it rubs me the wrong way they would do a a storyline about people getting fired, when they actually fired people
Image

User avatar
Big Red Machine
Posts: 27378
Joined: Dec 16th, '10, 15:12

Re: BRM Reviews the 6/3/2020 NXT

Post by Big Red Machine » Jun 4th, '20, 10:03

cero2k wrote: Jun 4th, '20, 09:25 i know i know, it's likely my WWE hate that is fueling this, but it rubs me the wrong way they would do a a storyline about people getting fired, when they actually fired people
But he didn't get fired in the end.

Or, if you like, you can look at it more optimistically: This guy cut a promo that was good enough to earn him his job back, even when the company has clearly indicated that they want to cut down on spending. That's meritocracy right there, and a meritocracy is what a wrestling company should ideally be.
Hold #712: ARM BAR!

Upcoming Reviews:
FIP in 2005
ROH Validation
PWG All-Star Weekend V: Night 2
DGUSA Open the Ultimate Gate 2013
ROH/CMLL Global Wars Espectacular: Day 3

User avatar
cero2k
Site Admin
Posts: 20950
Joined: Dec 16th, '10, 11:32

Re: BRM Reviews the 6/3/2020 NXT

Post by cero2k » Jun 4th, '20, 14:30

Big Red Machine wrote: Jun 4th, '20, 10:03 But he didn't get fired in the end.

Or, if you like, you can look at it more optimistically: This guy cut a promo that was good enough to earn him his job back, even when the company has clearly indicated that they want to cut down on spending. That's meritocracy right there, and a meritocracy is what a wrestling company should ideally be.
he was definitely shoot fired, he just got rehired at one point. I sure hope this is the case because if he was never shoot fired, it would piss me off more.
I don't mind him getting his job back for crying on camera, good for him, and stupid for WWE for not knowing what they have. It's the storyline itself that bothers me, like why have a story about someone getting the chance to win his job back when no one else did. And then it ends with Triple H coming out like Jesus with all the gifts so HE is the hero
Image

User avatar
Big Red Machine
Posts: 27378
Joined: Dec 16th, '10, 15:12

Re: BRM Reviews the 6/3/2020 NXT

Post by Big Red Machine » Jun 4th, '20, 18:20

cero2k wrote: Jun 4th, '20, 14:30
Big Red Machine wrote: Jun 4th, '20, 10:03 But he didn't get fired in the end.

Or, if you like, you can look at it more optimistically: This guy cut a promo that was good enough to earn him his job back, even when the company has clearly indicated that they want to cut down on spending. That's meritocracy right there, and a meritocracy is what a wrestling company should ideally be.
he was definitely shoot fired, he just got rehired at one point. I sure hope this is the case because if he was never shoot fired, it would piss me off more.
I don't mind him getting his job back for crying on camera, good for him, and stupid for WWE for not knowing what they have. It's the storyline itself that bothers me, like why have a story about someone getting the chance to win his job back when no one else did. And then it ends with Triple H coming out like Jesus with all the gifts so HE is the hero
Per Hunter, what happened is that he was laid off after the tournament was all booked out. He was given the option to keep working through the end of the tournament and took it. He cut that promo and they decided to run with the story, and the combination of his in-ring performance and fan response resulted in the decision to rehire him.
So basically, it's a combination of Maverick's own skills, and some dumb luck. If I remember correctly, other wrestlers were given the option to keep working during their ninety-day period, too, and turned it down, as was their right.

As for Hunter coming out at the end, you're being too sensitive.
1. Hunter doing this is a pre-established thing (first Cedric in the Cruiserweight Classic, and I think it happened in one of the MYCs, too).
2. That is part of Hunter's job, both as a shoot and in the storyline. Him doing it makes sense.
3. The point of doing it this was to give us a happy ending even though Maverick didn't win the title, and in order to do that, it had to be done publicly, on the TV show. This is the way that it makes sense to do that. You can't possibly tell me you think it would have been better to have Tom Phillips get up and announce that he heard over his head-set that Maverick is being offered a contract anyway, or that it would be better to have Regal show up and do it via Zoom.
4. Claiming that Hunter is the "hero" is only true if you're looking at it in the most cynical way possible. Maverick's performance and connection with the fans forced Hunter's hand. Maverick is the hero. He performed well enough to earn his job back.
Hold #712: ARM BAR!

Upcoming Reviews:
FIP in 2005
ROH Validation
PWG All-Star Weekend V: Night 2
DGUSA Open the Ultimate Gate 2013
ROH/CMLL Global Wars Espectacular: Day 3

User avatar
cero2k
Site Admin
Posts: 20950
Joined: Dec 16th, '10, 11:32

Re: BRM Reviews the 6/3/2020 NXT

Post by cero2k » Jun 5th, '20, 10:23

Big Red Machine wrote: Jun 4th, '20, 18:20
Per Hunter, what happened is that he was laid off after the tournament was all booked out. He was given the option to keep working through the end of the tournament and took it. He cut that promo and they decided to run with the story, and the combination of his in-ring performance and fan response resulted in the decision to rehire him.
So basically, it's a combination of Maverick's own skills, and some dumb luck. If I remember correctly, other wrestlers were given the option to keep working during their ninety-day period, too, and turned it down, as was their right.

As for Hunter coming out at the end, you're being too sensitive.
1. Hunter doing this is a pre-established thing (first Cedric in the Cruiserweight Classic, and I think it happened in one of the MYCs, too).
2. That is part of Hunter's job, both as a shoot and in the storyline. Him doing it makes sense.
3. The point of doing it this was to give us a happy ending even though Maverick didn't win the title, and in order to do that, it had to be done publicly, on the TV show. This is the way that it makes sense to do that. You can't possibly tell me you think it would have been better to have Tom Phillips get up and announce that he heard over his head-set that Maverick is being offered a contract anyway, or that it would be better to have Regal show up and do it via Zoom.
4. Claiming that Hunter is the "hero" is only true if you're looking at it in the most cynical way possible. Maverick's performance and connection with the fans forced Hunter's hand. Maverick is the hero. He performed well enough to earn his job back.
not everyone got a chance to keep working, and surely not everyone got a 'get your job back' storyline, that could only have one outcome. It really isn't like he went above and beyond, he just had the luck that people felt bad for him and made his video trend and not No Way Jose's or whoever's else. Him having good matches is just because he's good and for once, he was given the shot to have it, something that if given to anyone else, would have likely done the same.

I just don't like how Hunter has to make himself the center of attention, I know he's always done it, he always has to put himself over as the benevolent and generous overlord that gives you the thumbs up in the form of contracts like if he was Caesar reacting to the crowd's cheers. It makes the wrestlers look like they're begging for their jobs
Image

User avatar
Big Red Machine
Posts: 27378
Joined: Dec 16th, '10, 15:12

Re: BRM Reviews the 6/3/2020 NXT

Post by Big Red Machine » Jun 5th, '20, 12:38

cero2k wrote: Jun 5th, '20, 10:23

I just don't like how Hunter has to make himself the center of attention, I know he's always done it, he always has to put himself over as the benevolent and generous overlord that gives you the thumbs up in the form of contracts like if he was Caesar reacting to the crowd's cheers. It makes the wrestlers look like they're begging for their jobs
You say Hunter made himself the center of attention, but you're the only one talking about him. Everyone else- and especially the people framing it for us on TV- is talking about Drake Maverick.


And someone who doesn't have a job is begging for the job. That's what a tryout is. That's why you do your best in job interviews. Because you're desperate to get a job.
Hold #712: ARM BAR!

Upcoming Reviews:
FIP in 2005
ROH Validation
PWG All-Star Weekend V: Night 2
DGUSA Open the Ultimate Gate 2013
ROH/CMLL Global Wars Espectacular: Day 3

User avatar
cero2k
Site Admin
Posts: 20950
Joined: Dec 16th, '10, 11:32

Re: BRM Reviews the 6/3/2020 NXT

Post by cero2k » Jun 5th, '20, 13:14

Big Red Machine wrote: Jun 5th, '20, 12:38
You say Hunter made himself the center of attention, but you're the only one talking about him. Everyone else- and especially the people framing it for us on TV- is talking about Drake Maverick.


And someone who doesn't have a job is begging for the job. That's what a tryout is. That's why you do your best in job interviews. Because you're desperate to get a job.
yeah, i have Roddy Piper glasses and see the reality of their rose colored PR stunts. People are talking about Drake because he was the main character of the storyline, and who are these 'everyone'? the reaction i've seen online is mostly negative and only the WWE Defenders are coming out to defend it. The 'people' framing IS Triple H himself, of course he's going to pretend it's not about him. Compare how Cary Silkin behaves when he gives out titles and how Triple H does it, there is a clear difference of vanity with the latter.

If someone is 'begging' for a job, chances are, they're not the best at such job. Begging is not applying or asking, begging implies an earnest plea for acceptance, meaning that it's not the company trying to hire the best of the best, it's not the company going out to hire the best; this is someone who was passed on for not being good enough and the company having to say "ok, you begged enough, here". WWE is telling me that they're not hiring the best of the best and they're hiring those that beg like loyal subjects.

This is example #344 of WWE had a story in their hands, but went with the cheaper version of it. Instead of making him a CM Punk that could walk out the company with a title, they made him a Big Show crying for money.
Image

User avatar
XIV
Posts: 1802
Joined: Aug 19th, '13, 11:38

Re: BRM Reviews the 6/3/2020 NXT

Post by XIV » Jun 5th, '20, 14:37

If you thought Hunter was portrayed as the hero. you watched it wrong.

He came out, gave him the contract, raised him arm and left him to have the spotlight, it wasn’t about “look what I’m doing for him” there was no accompanying speech, just a presentation that looked and felt very heartfelt.
Have A Nice Day!

User avatar
Big Red Machine
Posts: 27378
Joined: Dec 16th, '10, 15:12

Re: BRM Reviews the 6/3/2020 NXT

Post by Big Red Machine » Jun 5th, '20, 15:16

cero2k wrote: Jun 5th, '20, 13:14
Big Red Machine wrote: Jun 5th, '20, 12:38
You say Hunter made himself the center of attention, but you're the only one talking about him. Everyone else- and especially the people framing it for us on TV- is talking about Drake Maverick.


And someone who doesn't have a job is begging for the job. That's what a tryout is. That's why you do your best in job interviews. Because you're desperate to get a job.
yeah, i have Roddy Piper glasses and see the reality of their rose colored PR stunts. People are talking about Drake because he was the main character of the storyline, and who are these 'everyone'? the reaction i've seen online is mostly negative and only the WWE Defenders are coming out to defend it. The 'people' framing IS Triple H himself, of course he's going to pretend it's not about him. Compare how Cary Silkin behaves when he gives out titles and how Triple H does it, there is a clear difference of vanity with the latter.

Except the positions are not analogous in any way, Hunter's job is being the person who gives out the contracts! Cary's job is not "the guy who straps the belts on people." Cary doing it is a nicety, yes, but I could just as easily argue that by doing so, Cary is putting himself in the spotlight and he should leave it to the referee to do it. And I'm sure that's exactly how people would frame it if Hunter was watching a title match from ringside and went to do it. People like Cary, so they don't mind. People don't like Hunter, so they get pissy about this sort of thing.
cero2k wrote: Jun 5th, '20, 13:14 If someone is 'begging' for a job, chances are, they're not the best at such job. Begging is not applying or asking, begging implies an earnest plea for acceptance, meaning that it's not the company trying to hire the best of the best, it's not the company going out to hire the best; this is someone who was passed on for not being good enough and the company having to say "ok, you begged enough, here". WWE is telling me that they're not hiring the best of the best and they're hiring those that beg like loyal subjects.
Drake Maverick isn't the best at his job. If he were, he wouldn't have been cut in the first place. Put he's trying to prove that he's good enough that cutting him was a mistake; that he has enough of a connection with the fans that he can kayfabe draw.
You are taking away all of Maverick's agency here and assigning it to WWE. The reason that Drake got this chance and No Way Jose or whoever else might have put out a video didn't is because his promo was good enough that it made people care. That and the dumb luck of of the tournament already being booked and him having been announced for it is what got him the chance, and then his performances and the reaction to them while he was given this chance resulted in the company deciding that letting him go was a mistake.
cero2k wrote: Jun 5th, '20, 13:14 This is example #344 of WWE had a story in their hands, but went with the cheaper version of it. Instead of making him a CM Punk that could walk out the company with a title, they made him a Big Show crying for money.
Doing a Punk walkout with the title angle would make NO SENSE AT ALL.
1. It completely goes against the promo that got him this big chance. If he wants to be in WWE, why would he walk out after winning his first title. What does that do for him? He'll be unemployed again, and make sure that WWE will never hire him back
2. The Punk angle doesn't even make sense as a comparison because the key element of any angle like that is that the guy walking out is the legitimate champion and even if the company makes a new belt and ha a tournament, we'll all know that the new champ didn't beat the real champion (thus why the company has to eventually bring him back). This was an interim title. The real champion is Jordan Devlin, and this is just a stand-in because Devlin is stuck in Europe, and Devlin has been cutting "whoever wins this tournament isn't the real champion" promos on Twitter since the day the tournament was announced.

Comparing it to the Big Show thing is also completely ridiculous.
1. The storyline there is that Big Show was dumb and bad with his money and thus needs to stay employed by WWE because then he'll have no money, and the implication is that he's not capable of doing anything else. The storyline here is that Maverick was cut by the company because the company felt it had to make a whole bunch of cuts. Maverick did nothing wrong, and eventually proved that WWE did something wrong when they cut him.
2. The Big Show storyline had Big Show being abused and berated by the McMahon. Here, the McMahon in question gives Drake a hug, and a contract and admits that he was wrong.
3. Drake Maverick wasn't even upset about the money. His promo was about how sad he was at having lost his dream job.

And why does the "they had a story in their hands, but went with the cheaper version of it," never seem to get applied to New Japan. I can think of several examples when Gedo went with a MUCH weaker version of a story out of a desire to be risk averse (and brought them up at the time they happened), but that criticism seems to only be applied to WWE by the majority of people who invoke it.
Hold #712: ARM BAR!

Upcoming Reviews:
FIP in 2005
ROH Validation
PWG All-Star Weekend V: Night 2
DGUSA Open the Ultimate Gate 2013
ROH/CMLL Global Wars Espectacular: Day 3

User avatar
Serujuunin
Posts: 2441
Joined: Dec 17th, '10, 19:56

Re: BRM Reviews the 6/3/2020 NXT

Post by Serujuunin » Jun 5th, '20, 17:49

You know, for all of the flack WWE are getting right now for its personnel management, they did a really good job the last f ew weeks getting me invested in Maverick when I was lukewarm on him to begin with, and even though he lost the match, he came out a winner. It's even more powerful if he was shoot fired and then rehired based on his efforts. Removing the story from the circumstances, that is good storytelling.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 15 guests