Beginning with the second 'season' of NXT, the Score here in Canada is showing it on Thursday nights at 8 pm, meaning I could have three hours of wrestling on Thursdays if I chose with TNA Impact on at nine. I tend to tape and watch Impact on Friday during the day, but maybe I'll begin subjecting Michelle to its pure fucking awfulness...For those who don't know, NXT is a little different from Raw and Smackdown. It replaced the C-show/brand in the WWE, ECW, earlier this year. It's meant to be part typical wrestling show, part reality show... kind of. There are eight 'rookies' paired with eight pros where, by the end of the 'season,' one rookie will win and be given a WWE contract and title shot at a PPV. Last week, Chris Jericho's rookie Wade Barrett won the first round of competition, but, on Raw this week, all of the first group of eight rookies attacked John Cena, CM Punk, and everyone ringside, destroying the ring and some of the surrounding barriers, so this episode had that hanging over its head.
But, from what I've read, not much was done with that.
Anyway...
I came in partway through a match between MVP & Percy Watston and Cody Rhodes & Husky Harris. It didn't wow me, but it was only two or three minutes at the end of a match.
After, we got a promo video for Mike McGillicutty aka Joe Hennig, the son of Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig). The choice to not have Hennig arrive with his real name is mystifying since that's something that can be traded upon and was one of the big reasons why he was signed to begin with. The WWE had a big hard-on for second- and third-generation wrestlers, often using their family names to get them over. A goofy name like Mike McGillicutty makes little sense. Husky Harris is another third-generation star and his name seems to be a message: you're fat. Oh, Vince...
This season of NXT makes me laugh since at least the first season had some veteran pros like Chris Jericho, William Regal, Christian, CM Punk, and Matt Hardy. This season has Mark Henry and, then... MVP? Definitely a step down as far as the 'pros' go. I mean, Zack Ryder? He's barely around as it is let alone enough to be worth believing as a pro who can advise a rookie. And that's not meant as a slight against Ryder since I like his work and he's obviously a pro, but it's not just about literally being a pro, it's about having that veteran appearance.
Before the final segment of the show, they replayed the attack from Raw and... I love it every time I see it. Especially Bryan Daniel yelling "You are not better than me!" over and over to the beaten and broken John Cena. He really isn't. And a little kid yelling "Mr. King!" at Jerry Lawler. So good.
The episode ended with this season's pros beating up their rookies to send a message. I'm a little disappointed that we didn't get new information on last season's NXT gang, but this established the new group and had a... somewhat appropriate response. Nothing impressed me, but we'll see what happens with next week's episode, which I plan to watch in full.
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