The Ultimate NXT Draft Review: 31-40

In June of 2016, so now nearly two and a half years ago, Lukewarm Jonah and I got together to do an NXT Fantasy Draft. We are going to focus on the NXT roster as the transition from NXT to the main roster or just the progression within NXT provides some fascinating talking points. Although we did a fairly good job, there were definitely some big time misses and some amazing steals. We've already broken down the top 30, and now we get to 31-40 which may be our weakest group of picks throughout this entire draft.

31. Joe selects Liv Morgan

Jonah: Liv Morgan is another very good pick.  I thought she was very talented in the ring, but her gimmick was that she was from New Jersey and she was dating Enzo Amore.  I mean that’s about as terrible as one person can be. Her joining the Riot Squad and never mentioning New Jersey again has been a big step forward for her, and she dropped a couple hundred pounds of worthless crap by breaking up with Enzo.  The future is bright for Liv, the Riot Squad is a super weak evil group, but it has helped Liv move on and I think she’s a great pick. I would move her up in a redraft.

Joe: You’re actually higher on Liv Morgan than I am due to the fact that her only personality trait is pink tongue. I’m not saying she has no personality, just that she has not been given any chance to show one so it’s hard for me to see a bright future. I’m good with the pick as opposed to impressed by it.

Jonah: Not from New Jersey, not dating Enzo, that’s a great gimmick.

32-33. Jonah selects Sawyer Fulton and Rich Swann

Joe: Both gone, but at least they are midcard talents in MLW.

Jonah: I told you Sawyer Fulton was full of potential and you laughed.  Now he’s killing it in MLW after being a founding member of Sanity. If he doesn’t get hurt there, he’s the next Roman Reigns, fact.  Rich Swann was awesome and was a cruiserweight champion. He was super charismatic and excellent in the ring. If this was the NFL, they would have suspended him for two weeks and he would have already re-won the Cruiserweight Championship.  But he got fired for putting his hands on a woman, and even though the charges were dropped, I’m glad the WWE actually showed a little bit of guts by releasing him. However, Swann was a great pick here, he went up to the main roster and won a championship and was over.  Pretty damn good for the 30s.

Joe: Let’s skip over the value that two guys that are gone provided, despite one winning a less prestigious championship than the Hardcore Title and move on to “the WWE actually showed a little bit of guts by releasing him.” Maybe I’m being too cynical, but this gives the WWE WAAAAAAAAAAAY too much credit. Rich Swann was a disposable talent in their eyes, and that is why they made an example of him. It also seems like a very good possibility that they saw him as disposable because they don’t give a shit about black talent. Randy Orton could punt a woman’s head on camera, and he’d still keep his job while WWE says they take these issues on in a case-by-case basis.

Jonah: Randy Orton has a disability, IED, he just can’t control himself.

34-35. Joe selects Blake and Murphy

Jonah: Wesley Blake has been re-branded as a Forgotten Son.  I’m not sure how well the gimmick will go, but at least he’s on NXT TV and winning matches.  There are a lot worse places to be. Also, at least he knocked up Sara Lee. This is about the right place for him to get drafted in a redraft.  Buddy Murphy is the Cruiserweight Champion, he really reinvented himself to become a cruiserweight singles competitor. I’m not sure how far he’ll get or how long his career as a cruiserweight in the title picture will be, but he’s done well for himself.  He definitely moves up in the redraft, if only to talk to him about how to pick up women because he’s been in a years long relationship with Alexa Bliss. The man has literally invaluable knowledge.

Joe: These dudes FUCK, and that makes them great picks. The Forgotten Sons have been forgettable so far, but eh, it’s something. Meanwhile, Buddy Murphy has been stealing the show at the last few pay per views and is probably only behind Daniel Bryan for his ability to wrestle as a heel as he combines some bending of the rules with just straight up wrestling talent. I think he’s going to have a good run at 205 Live, but I’m hoping to see him make the transition to the Raw/Smackdown level in a year or so.

Also, Buddy Murphy’s secret to get hot chicks is that he’s a super buff and athletic guy with an accent. Ladies tend to like that combination.

Jonah: 0 for 3, better move to another country so I’m 1 for 3.

36-37. Jonah selects Sara Lee and King Constantine
Joe: Both gone, but at least Sara Lee got knocked up.

Jonah: The NXT draft was tough when it got deep because Joe actually lives in Florida and I live in the northwest.  That gives me a better life in every single way, except that I don’t get to go to NXT house shows and see the up and comers.  Sara Lee was an attractive wrestler that the fans loved, so naturally she never even made it to NXT TV. She’s still training and did get knocked up by Blake.  King Constantine was 6’10”, 300 pounds of muscle with an impressive amatuer wrestling background. He was undefeated in singles matches in these NXT house shows, so clearly they saw something in him.  I honestly thought he was a future star. He got released and I haven’t found anything on him.

38-39. Joe selects Hugo Knox and Chris Girard

Jonah: Hugo Knox got released and briefly returned to his former career as a professional soccer player.  I assume he just constantly Flair Flopped whenever anyone gets within 10 feet of him like all soccer players.  Chris Girard AKA Oney Lorcan has done a lot better than I thought he would. He was an indy wrestler, but I just didn’t think he’d catch on in NXT.  He’s probably reached his peak in a tag team, but they’re a popular tag team so well done Girard. You move up a few picks in the redraft.

Joe: As someone who saw Hugo Knox in person a half dozen times, I still stand by the pick. The guy had a ton of charisma and was basically a less talented in wrestling but buffer English version of Alex Wright. Are you saying that is not something you would like to see, because it was very much something that I enjoyed watching. But yeah, this did not turn out to be a good pick.

I think you are greatly underestimating Oney Lorcan. Dude got injured and came back jacked and has been hot fire in his matches with Danny Burch. I have no idea if he has any microphone skills, but his wrestling has been so damn impressive that it might not matter. I’m looking forward to seeing how he develops over the next year.

40. Jonah selects Riddick Moss

Joe: Man, I could have had the quickest analysis of Jonah’s picks ever, but Riddick Moss is still hanging around and actually just came back from an achilles injury. He main evented against Aleister Black at a house show in Largo, and he did it due to the Riddick Regimen. I know he’s mostly been known as the less important guy on a tag team with Tino Sabbatelli, but Moss looked massive, and if he can work on a real angle for his Riddick Regimen, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him have a breakout 2019.

Jonah: Riddick Moss, a guy I picked because he was Finn Balor endorsed.  I got to know him as half of the ex NFL player tag team with Tino Sabbatelli which I already mentioned was a good fit for these guys.  I’m glad to hear that Moss is doing well on the house show circuit. He was a very big dude, and I’m excited to see where this new angle goes for him.  First up, taking revenge on Sabbatelli for his butt implants.

Previous Installments:
Picks 1-10
Picks 11-20
Picks 21-30