We're at picks 91-100, so there are three options at this point: Proven commodities from overseas, potential picks in developmental, and Dan Matha. You best believe I loaded up on the last option. But Jonah is leading off today.
91. Jonah selects Alexander Wolfe
Jonah: Boy do I love Germany, it seems like there’s something in their past that means I should hate them, but I just can’t put my finger on it. The guy is a former NXT Tag Team Champion and made it to the main roster before the WWE forgot Sanity existed. His performance in the War Games match shows he can really go in the ring, so I love getting him here.
Joe: I like Alexander Wolfe, but I don’t see much of a future for him unless he goes full Wolfe and has people howl throughout his matches.
92. Joe selects James Drake
Joe: It was gutsy to wait this long to take Zach Gibson’s talented tag partner, but it paid off, and I was able to unite these Grizzled Young Veterans. I obviously think Gibson is the better of the two, but Drake is a no brainer this late in the process.
Jonah: Shit Joe, you want to talk about Marty Jannety? James Drake’s ceiling is Leif Cassady from the New Rockers or if he gets really lucky, one of the guys from Los Boricuas not named Savio Vega. I guess he’s OK, but he’s at his ceiling right now.
Joe: I think James Drake would be happy to be Al Snow, a man who has won 32 titles in his career, including eight title runs in the WWE. Also, he could be a super awesome coach on Tough Enough UK. Thanks for selling this pick for me, Jonah. I agree; I did do a great job.
93. Joe selects MJ Jenkins
Joe: When I drafted Jenkins, Jonah said he thought she was the next Bianca Belair. This surprised me, because I was not that high on Jenkins (although I like her a lot), and if I thought she was the next Belair, she would have gone 50 picks earlier for me. I’m hoping Jonah is right, because that would likely make this the best pick of the entire draft.
Jonah: I said it looked like they were trying to make Jenkins the next Bianca Belair, big difference. I said that because I thought I read she was an accomplished amateur athlete, but now I can’t seem to find that information so maybe I was hallucinating. It does look like she was in TNA for one match, so maybe she’s got some good potential, or maybe she wasn’t even good enough to make it in TNA’s joke of a women’s division.
Joe: Directly from the text, “MJ Jenkins reminds me of Bianca Belair.” This pick is un-duh-fea-ted.
94. Jonah selects Jessi Kamea
Jonah: Jessi Kamea is a real WWE homegrown wrestler. She started wrestling at the Performance Center, and has put up some decent showings in her matches including the Mae Young Classic. She’s a good athlete and was a college volleyball player so she’s 5’10” which makes her tall in the women’s division. She’s been playing a plucky, nerdy babyface gimmick and that will get over easily because we’re all huge nerds.
Joe: I haven’t been able to get into Jessi, and it may be that she’s just too green for me to enjoy. Also, she doesn’t seem to have a real character as her actions are all generic to me. There is still plenty of time to evolve, but it’s all projection at this point.
95. Jonah selects Omari Palmer
Jonah: Omari Palmer is also a very big guy weighing it at over 300 pounds. He played college football for Syracuse, so I like his athletic ability. I can’t find anything about his wrestling, but size and athletic ability are a good combo for wrestling.
Joe: You just beat me to Palmer. Is he the next Keith Lee? Super unlikely, but he’s big and likely athletic so he probably has the highest ceiling of anybody that was left on the board.
96. Joe selects Mark Andrews
Joe: Just a happy-go-lucky Welsh dude that the crowd seems to thoroughly enjoy. We’re at the point where there is going to be a lot of NXT UK picks, so at least I got a guy who has shown some aptitude.
Jonah: Andrews is a little guy who performs fun aeriel maneuvers. I didn’t take him because his spot seems like it’s as far as he will ever get, and I’d rather gamble on an unknown with potential than a lower midcarder for life. The good news, he’s a good wrestler so I mean at least he’s got that going for him.
97. Joe selects Jinny
Joe: Jinny is kind of like Aliyah and Vanessa Borne but British.
Jonah: She is, but at least she now has Jazzy Gabert as an enforcer so this could be leading to a push for Jinny.
98. Jonah selects Kavita Devi
Jonah: Kavita Devi is an Indian professional wrestler, so she’s got to win the title before the next India tour comes around. She was also in the Women’s Royal Rumble and is a former weightlifter. I bet she can do some cool power spots in the ring.
Joe: I’ve never seen Kavita, so I’ll just assume everything Jonah said is factual. I did do a Google image search and learned that she has trained with Great Khali, so watch out for that chop.
99. Jonah selects Wolfgang
Jonah: Wolfgang doesn’t have the WWE look, but he’s a pretty big guy and he seems to always be towards the top of the card in NXT UK. He fought Adam Cole for the North American Championship so they must like him. If we’re talking about guys who are already accomplished instead of guys with potential, this is way too late for him to go.
Joe: I know the game has changed, but every time I look at Wolfgang, my first thought is, “1980s jobber,” and it’s really tough to get over that.
100. Joe selects Dan Matha Dorian Mak
Joe: Dan Matha, who debuted years ago with weeks of vignettes leading up to his arrival, promptly got annihilated by Samoa Joe, but he is somehow still around. He’s still big, and now he’s all about that drip, which makes me think of Ol’ Drippy, and I really want Dan Matha to embrace the Ol’ Drippy gimmick. From what I’ve seen, there is nothing really wrong with him, but it’s really tough to imagine much success for him after that debut. Dorian Mak, on the star written all over him.
Jonah: That massive roid backne might drip, but it’s probably not penicillin. Matha absolutely has the look, but he’s been around forever and can’t make TV, I’m assuming that means he’s pretty garbage in the ring.
Joe: He’s been tagging with the Riddick Regimen lately, and that team is going to start out as the drizzling shits in most people’s eyes, but they are going to grow like a staph infection and infiltrate our hearts...and I guess in this scenario, kill us, because you really don’t want staph in your heart. But it’ll be fun while it lasts.
