81. Joe selects Denzel Dejournette
Joe: A college wrestler? That’s all I need to know in order to take somebody. Wrestlers are ideally suited to transition to the pro wrestling ranks, and Dejournette showed good athletic ability while at Appalachian State. And yes, I am such a wrestling nerd that I did not need to look up this information on Denzel as I watch college wrestling like Jonah apparently watches Impact wrestling
Jonah: Well getting someone with an amateur background at this point is a good pick, but Appalachian State sucks. Back in the days when there were NCAA football games, they were one of the few teams my mighty Vandals could beat on a sim. I don’t care that they’ve since become a pretty decent football school, they’ll always be NCAA football game jobbers to me. Anyways, Denzel has the size and background to do well in the WWE, this is a good potential pick.
82. Jonah selects Nick Comoroto
Jonah: Nick Comoroto has the look. He’s a big, hairy, muscular dude who looks like he would rip your head off. In the last draft I took Lars Sullivan because he looked awesome and that worked out well. Hopefully Comoroto isn’t a huge racist, though it wouldn’t affect his career.
Joe: I can’t believe that you didn’t mention that this guy’s name is Freak Beast, and his theme music will rock your ass off. Unfortunately, he reminded me of The Renegade where he’s trying to be a scary jacked dude, but he’s not quite ripped enough to pull it off. I was still disappointed that I didn’t get him, because I start laughing every time I think about Freak Beast.
Jonah: Freak Beast!
83. Jonah selects Karen Q
Jonah: I love diversity, so I drafted another female asian wrestler. She was in ROH and TNA as well as a bunch of other independent leagues for years before coming to the WWE so I take that as a good sign that she can actually wrestle. Her gimmick appears to be super Asian stereotype right now, but we can change that.
Joe: I dropped the ball on this one. Karen Q is a very good pick here as she actually has a lot of talent in the ring. I was super racist and didn’t bother figuring out which person I didn’t like between her and Xia Li, and I paid the price. I will be rooting for Karen Q to make me rue the day I passed on selecting her.
84. Joe selects Kassius Ohno
Joe: This is one guy that NXT has not helped out. His original run in NXT, highlighted by his feud with William Regal, was phenomenal. But he didn’t look the part, and there was no sense sticking around. Then he looked even less the part, and WWE brought him back, and it feels like Bull Dempsey had a better run than the second iteration of Ohno. Still a very big guy who is very talented and actually has the skills to cut a good promo. I feel like it would be pretty easy to find something more for this guy.
Jonah: I love Chris Hero AKA Kassius Ohno, but he’s old and fat. He’s definitely underused, but really he was brought back to put over younger wrestlers. The good news is that he’s really good at wrestling so he’s a perfect job guy. He’s also a good promo as Joe mentioned. His talent makes him a top 20 pick, but his age and physique drag him down.
85. Joe selects Saurav Gurjar
Joe: This is a massive Indian man who looks like he could play the bad guy on TV or in the movies, and you may remember him from the hit show, Mahabharat, where he played Bheema, you know, the Second Pandava, Son of Kunti and Vayu, husband of Draupadi, Hidimba. It’s an unforgettable role for all of us Mahabharat Fans out there. I only saw him as part of a tag match, but with his size, he could definitely make an impact.
Jonah: He is a big Indian man, and that Indian market is important. I mean they made Canadian Jinder Mahal World Champion just because of that fact. He could also be the next Great Khali who is also a former world champion despite being less mobile than I am.
86. Jonah selects Fabian Aichner
Jonah: Fabian Aichner is a big dude who moves like a cruiserweight in the ring, probably because he was a cruiserweight in the Cruiserweight Classic before he added 30 pounds of muscle. Really, if we’re talking about taking talented wrestlers late in the draft Aichner is near the top of that list. He’s big enough to be taken seriously and is great at flying around the ring. He’s playing evil foreigner heel now, but if you gave this guy a real gimmick and push I think he would be legitimately successful.
Joe: I think the story of 30 pounds of muscle is bullshit, because he doesn’t look that much bigger, but maybe he put on a lot of fat with it. I actually saw him have a really good match with Shane Strickland when he won the Evolve title, but other than that one specific instance, Aichner hasn’t done a ton for me. At this point, he’s a solid pick; I just don’t have much faith in him for more.
Jonah: I think he looks thick and his ariel maneuvers have impressed me, I’m very happy with the pick.
87. Jonah selects Tegan Nox
Jonah: Tegan Nox is a super talented wrestler who has had two bad knee injuries. She’s still recovering from the second one, but as Joe talked about much earlier in the draft, medical science and all. If Nox heals up, she will be a main eventer in whatever show she’s put on, probably NXT UK. This is really a steal that I was only able to have because of her health.
Joe: I will admit that the only thing I know about Tegan Nox is she was a commentator on the WWE PC Combine that I watched for like ten minutes before realizing it was maybe the most boring thing ever. After doing a cursory Google search, this seems like a good pick and one that slipped through the cracks for me since I had not seen her in person.
88. Joe selects Daniel Vidot
Joe: Vidot is a former professional rugby player who has the athletic chops and build to make it in WWE. Although I did not plan to get every Australian available, I might have done so by pure happenstance. He was signed in May of 2018, and has just started wrestling singles matches. He’s yet to get his first win, but I did see him lose to Rik Bugez once, but Bugez was the only thing memorable in that single match I saw.
Jonah: Vidot is going to get destroyed in the battle of the former rugby players whenever he faces off with Ridge Holland. Also Australia is a pretty cool country, I was even able to find a sports bar where I could watch the American football playoffs there. Anyways, this guy sucks.
89. Joe selects Mohamed Abdelfattah Fahim
Joe: I could almost repeat everything I said about Vidot, just replace rugby with boxing, and Australian with Egyptian. Also, he has never been rocked by the Bugez. But yes, I did just draft two guys with a combined zero victories.
Jonah: He’s a decent sized guy who was a former boxer and kickboxer. He’s also Egyptian and I love that diversity. I was going to take him very soon, so I have faith in this pick.
Joe: I feel like you love foreigners a little TOO much. There aren’t a ton of great foreign success stories where they became international stars. Kazuchika Okada might be the best wrestler in the world, but most wrestling fans don’t know who he is, and when he wrestled in Impact, he was a nobody.
Jonah: WWE is the only sports entertainment brand enjoyed across the world, or whatever Michael Cole said 10 times to try and justify the fact that they keep taking that sweet Saudi blood money. I do love international talent.
90. Jonah selects Marcel Barthel
Jonah: This guy is super German, I mean wow, he looks like he should come out in lederhosen. But he’s got decent size and I like what I’ve seen from him in the ring. He actually has some talent. On my show I’m bringing back all the super popular old gimmicks and making him the new “Das Wunderkind”.
Joe: I waited a little too long on snagging Barthel as he is good enough to be in the stable, Ringkampf, with WALTER, which is about as glowing of an endorsement as one can get in my eyes.
Previously in the NXT Draft:
Picks 1-10
Picks 1-10
No comments:
Post a Comment