The Ultimate NXT Draft Review: 1-10

In June of 2016, so now nearly two and a half years ago, Lukewarm Jonah and I got together to do both a WWE main roster and NXT Fantasy Draft. There isn’t a ton of analysis to do with the main roster, but despite me having the Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar, and the greatest wrestler in the world, Shane McMahon, I’d probably give the edge to Jonah on those picks.

But I would like 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. Let’s break it down pick-by-pick, starting with the top 10 today.

1. Jonah selects Finn Balor

Joe: This was an obvious first overall pick. The guy was the NXT Champion, and The Demon was the most undeniably awesome thing in all of WWE. Although WWE is definitely over their big guys must reign mentality, little guys do often get left behind. His shoulder injury happened at the worst possible time, and it’s really destroyed his standing in the company. Without that injury, he could have had a very different run, but now he’s kind of stuck in the midcard with no aim. Hopefully, Royal Rumble turns things around as in, turns him into the leader of an evil group of wrestlers from New Japan called the Missile Gang.

Jonah: Finn is still probably the number one pick in a redraft.  The crowd still absolutely loves him after years of terrible booking, so one of these days he’s going to get another run.  He’s the first Universal Champion, and he’s really in the upper midcard. He’s on the verge of breaking out again and I hear there’s a bunch of sweet wrestlers coming from ROH.

2-3. Joe selects Shinsuke Nakamura and Bayley

Jonah: These picks made me very angry at the time because I really wanted both of them.  But now it’s really turned into who has been booked worse on the main roster? Bayley has won the world title, but had a terrible reign and has been booked as an afterthought for basically her entire time.  Nakamura recently won his first and only title on the main roster the US title, but he won the Royal Rumble and even though he lost 600 or so of his first title shots, he still feels like kind of a threat. The biggest shock about Nakamura is that he hasn’t had very good matches.  At the time of our draft he had just torn the house down with Sami Zayn in NXT, now he puts on average matches with AJ Styles and bad matches with a lot of other people. He’s still oozing with charisma and cool as hell, but his matches are very concerning. Bayley could still be one of the most popular performers on the roster.  When she turned on Sasha for that week, the pop was insane. She’s Becky Lynch on RAW, one moment and the crowd will blow the roof off the house. Still very good picks, but in a redraft, I don’t know about them going two and three, I think they fall a round or two.

Joe: Shit, man. I drafted Bayley, and I’m not even that high on her. Her only really memorable matches happened against Sasha Banks, and this was probably at the height of her popularity. Nowadays, I’m not even sure if she makes my top five women from this draft. She still has a ton of potential, but I have trouble seeing a pathway to her actually reaching it.

As for Nakamura, the charisma is through the roof, but anytime he starts to develop an interesting character, the WWE writers take over, and they have him show Rusev naked and call him a girl. That’s....not great. But Nakamura has also seemed disinterested during a lot of his WWE run, but who could blame him? The WWE had the chance to pull the trigger on him but chose not to, and although he’s still a top guy, he’s probably not going to be THE guy. That being said, he still might be a top three pick if we did the draft again.

4-5. Jonah selects Samoa Joe and Asuka

Joe: Hey, Asuka is finally getting the push she should have gotten a long time ago. Good lord, remember when she couldn’t handle when someone cosplayed as her and lost to Carmella a bunch of times. But no, she’s awesome, and I would totally take her over Bayley.

Samoa Joe has almost done cool stuff, but everything he does just seems to drag on forever and lead nowhere. It’s still exciting when he starts something new as he’s excellent at getting things off to a hot start, but it all just goes nowhere. That being said, this is still a good pick as I can’t see him falling out of the top ten even with a disappointing run on the main roster.

Jonah: I still love these two picks.  Joe is still super over, even though he loses all of his big matches just like Nakamura.  The difference is Joe can go in the ring and cuts an insane promo. They booked themselves into a corner with Asuka’s undefeated streak, then ended it at the worst time, then booked her like crap for a year.  Despite that, people still love Asuka and she’s great in the ring. She’s also got the Nakamura charisma where she’s cool as hell so it doesn’t matter what she says.

Joe: Jonah, your definition of super over is far different than anything existing in reality. Super over guys in WWE are Braun Strowman, Becky Lynch, and Ronda Rousey. If I stretch the definition, it could include Seth Rollins, Rusev, Daniel Bryan, and New Day. Joe is at least two tiers away from that.

Jonah: Joe can realistically be put into the World Title scene at any time and it makes sense, that’s being over.  He’s great on the mic and in the ring. Someday he will be used correctly and get super duper over.

Joe: Getting in the World Title scene at any time, huh? So like Jinder Mahal? I get it.

6-7. Joe selects American Alpha

Jonah: I got fired up writing about how bad the booking of Bayley and Nakamura was but American Alpha was much worse.  They are the best tag team the WWE has had since the Hardy Boys. Naturally, the WWE booked them super boring. They won the titles, but the crowd eventually turned on them because they did nothing but wrestle awesome, which is cool but the WWE forgot that they were charismatic as hell in NXT.  For some reason American Alpha got broken up, Jason Jordan became Kurt Angle’s kid, and Gable is still killing it and is now in another boring tag team. Keep them together and Jordan never gets injured,and American Alpha is dominating the tag team division right now. Another couple of picks that drop in a redraft, I mean I’m not sure if Jordan ever wrestles again, but Gable does have a ton of potential.  Great pick at the time, ruined now by bad booking and injuries.

Joe: I love Chad Gable, because he made piss pants jokes to Drake Maverick, and that makes him cool and not a horribly depressing babyface. I still don’t mind the pick as Jason Jordan just needs to get healthy to be decent, and Chad Gable’s ceiling is still incredibly high. I honestly think that Chad Gable may be the guy I would most want to see in NJPW, and that is why I have no regrets about the pick, because when they actually let him go, he’s still fantastic.

8-9. Jonah selects Hideo Itami and Austin Aries

Joe: LOL, well this didn’t work out as planned for you, Jonah. I was never high on Aries, but I didn’t see it ending that quickly. Hideo Itami is super fun in person, but I don’t think his style when put through the WWE incubator ever really translated on television. I think he might be injured, or he might be active on 205 Live; there’s really no difference. I like Itami, but we’re at the point where any good idea for a Japanese wrestler would go to Asuka or Nakamura, meaning they would need THREE good ideas for Japanese wrestlers for Itami to do something interesting. Can FOUR McMahons come up with three foreign ideas? Spoiler alert: The answer is no.

Jonah: Yeah this one hurts to look back on.  Aries at least put on a year of good matches on 205 Live, his match with Neville at Wrestlemania 33 was the best match on the card.  I didn’t see Aries bailing so quickly, but that’s kind of what he does. Itami is still active on 205 Live, but it’s baffling how they’ve used him.  Remember back when Enzo was the douche king of the WWE and Cruiserweight champ? No one could challenge him for the title because no one could refrain from attacking him.  The general manager then brought out a new signing to 205 Live to beat up Enzo and everyone was pumped and it turned out to be Kalisto, and everyone was confused. Imagine if that was Itami, and he came out and just killed Enzo with a GTS, that would have made him.  Anyways, Itami could still be a star, but he probably won’t be in the WWE.

Joe: I really hope you’re right on Itami, and I would say there is significant hope with the PPV (preshow) matches that the guys on 205 Live have had as well as the recent surge from Mustafa Ali on Smackdown.

10. Joe selects Alexa Bliss

Jonah: I was a huge fan of Alexa Bliss at the time of the draft, but I did not she would ever be a wrestling threat on the main roster.  She’s a great promo, but still a very average wrestler and she’s extremely tiny. This new head of the women’s division is probably the best spot for her, but she’s a five time women’s champion.  She’ll be back wrestling again once she’s healthy. Bliss would move up in the redraft, in the top five or right outside it. Great view of potential by Joe here.

Joe: I think top five might be underestimating it. Out of everyone in this draft, Alexa Bliss has had BY FAR the most success on the main roster. Are we sure she isn’t the number one overall pick in a redraft? But yeah, she far exceeded my expectations, and I think it’s safe to say that she has been the best talker in the WWE since the time of our original draft.

Jonah: I wouldn’t take her number one overall in a redraft, though she has been the most successful person on the main roster.  The in ring talent isn’t there, and I’d be worried that she’s not going to be able to rise above Rousey ever again.

The Ultimate WWE NXT Fantasy Draft

With Smackdown moving to a live show on Tuesdays, there are plenty of rumors about an upcoming brand split for the WWE. Instead of waiting for the WWE to pull off a disappointing draft routine, the ultimate tag team, Lukewarm Jonah and Hott Joe, came together this past week to have an old fashioned WWE Fantasy Draft. Our goal is to create the best possible roster to create a successful, moneymaking product.

We knocked out the main roster in parts one, two, and three, with a review added at the end. But this week, we focus on NXT. With 73 superstars, there is plenty of guys to go through, so we'll break it down to two parts with a review to follow. Let's kick it off with part one. Since I had first pick for the main roster, Jonah selects first for NXT.

1. Jonah selects Finn Balor
The number one pick in an NXT draft is very tough.  There’s a few people who are guaranteed superstars.  I went with Finn Balor for his ability to work both face and heel, a great look, great matches, and that sweet entrance music and awesome entrance.  On my show I’m paying Marvel and DC whatever they need so Finn can cosplay as actual characters instead of being Venom but being called a demon.

2-3. Joe selects Shinsuke Nakamura and Bayley
I feel like I kind of lucked out in not having the first pick in the NXT draft. I think the first three people taken are all on about the same level as they are all hopefully going to blossom into huge stars on the main roster. I think Jonah made the right pick with Finn, because it seems like people are starting to underrate him just because he's been around for a while. Still, I get chills every time Shisuke Nakamura comes out, because he does the weirdest shit, but it is just so damn cool. God bless him. And Bayley is the perfect wrestler to market to children. She sends a positive message, and honestly, if you somehow hate Bayley, you're probably just a less ambitious Hitler. I don't like to drop the Hitler bomb, but yeah, you're basically shitty Hitler if you don't like Bayley.

4-5. Jonah selects Samoa Joe and Asuka
Fucking Joe.  Nakamura and Bayley were in the discussion for number one overall pick.  Nakamura is pure electricity, and Bayley will be the female John Cena for the next decade.  My consolation prizes aren’t bad though.  Samoa Joe is already a recognized star by most wrestling fans.  He’s back to being a motivated monster now that he’s on a real wrestling show.  The guy’s a main eventer as soon as he goes up to the main roster.  Asuka is awesome.  She’s a great wrestler, her strikes and submissions are incredible, and she is very unique.  She has plenty of charisma, she just needs to work on her English, but really, crowds eat her up even if she doesn’t speak.

6-7. Joe selects American Alpha
I knew Jonah could go one of two directions with his next picks, and I'm super happy he went the way he did. It's the way that made the most sense, but I'm deeply in love with American Alpha. Strictly wrestling wise, they are probably the second most fun people to watch just behind Nakamura, and even that's close. Gable is the most naturally gifted chain wrestler since Kurt Angle, and I will gladly take Tiny Kurt Angle anytime. Also, Jason Jordan has found the perfect niche for himself as the hot tag extraordinaire that will do every imaginable suplex to every imaginable thing in sight. They are that perfect mix of dominant tag team that is not so physically imposing that they also can't put people over, but yes, they should rein over the tag division for decades. That's right, decades.

8-9. Jonah selects Hideo Itami and Austin Aries
Fucking Joe again.  I couldn’t pass up Samoa Joe, so I didn’t have the opportunity to take American Alpha.  It’s a hell of a pick.  But again my consolation prize is pretty damn awesome.  Hideo Itami has been forgotten a bit since he’s had a long term injury, but when he comes back he’s going to make a big impact.  He’s Kenta damn it.  Austin Aries has it all, but it hasn’t all been put together yet in NXT.  It will be soon, because he works best as a heel.  He’s a cocky prick, that’s a tough face gimmick to get over.  Once he gets rolling, he’s an easy promotion and someone you can put in the ring with anyone and expect great things.

10-11. Joe selects Alexa Bliss and Tye Dillinger
I feel like Hideo Itami was the last elite talent left on the board, because I just don't see how well Aries translates to the main roster. And by him going that route, that left me with not one, but two Perfect 10s in Alexa Bliss and Tye Dillinger. Dillinger is so over right now, and that is with him still rarely winning matches. I have gotten to see him a lot at the NXT house shows in Florida, and he put on an excellent match with Andrade "Cien" Almas and a really good match with former WWE employee, Alex Riley. Dillinger isn't going to be a World Champion, but he can be a vital cog to make guys look great. And Alexa Bliss is not only very attractive, but she's got insane charisma and is becoming much better at the technical wrestling side of things. It doesn't get much better than locking down both Perfect 10s.

12-13. Jonah selects The Revival
Fantastic old school tag team.  Their gimmick will work great, they’ve been putting on classic matches as well.  They’re no American Alpha, but no one is.  They are however the next best thing, perfect heel team that should be around for a decade.

14-15. Joe selects Nia Jax and Mojo Rawley
So things really start to fall off quickly with the NXT roster. Like, thank god they only have to put on an hour of television a week, because even though that hour always leaves me wanting more, they just don't have the depth to pull it off. Nia Jax has a lot of value, because she's basically the monster of the women's division. It will always be easy to sell a feud with Nia Jax involved. She's still progressing in the ring, but that's what NXT is there for, and there's no reason she shouldn't be able to keep getting better. Then there's Mojo Rawley. He's also getting better, but I still don't know what you do with him. For a guy that big, he never really physically dominates guys like you'd like to see. Still, you should see him in person at small NXT shows; there is nobody better at interacting with children. Like, he puts Bayley to shame. Okay, he probably barely beats out Bayley, but still, he is so pumped up to take selfies with children and sign whatever they want. It's really impressive, and that adds to his value.

16-17. Jonah selects Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa
We decided Gargano and Ciampa were a team, and I was very happy to get them here.  Two big time prospects who, for now at least, are working better as a team than as singles.  They’re both talented enough and have a good enough look to go far either together or on their own.

18-19. Joe selects Carmella and No Way Jose
So I like Ciampa, but I'm super low on Johnny Gargano, as he is basically a sheet of plain white paper to me. The crowd seems to like him more than I do, but I was happy Jonah jumped on those guys. I used the opportunity to further bolster my Women's roster with Carmella who is your classic white meat babyface and can also pair with Enzo and Big Cass when she gets the callup. Then I got No Way Jose, who I'm still unsure of. He's fun; I know that much, but it's too early to really see where we can expect him to go from here.

20-21. Jonah selects Elias Samson and Angelo Dawkins
I like the Carmella pick, but I’m happy to get Elias Sampson here.  He has a good look, his wrestling has been fine, and I absolutely love the heel gimmick of douchebag with a guitar.  If you can’t relate to this heel gimmick, then you probably are a douchebag with a guitar, and everyone else hates you.  Angelo Dawkins is my next pick for a breakout guy in NXT.  He’s been there a long time, he’s young, has great size, and a great amateur background.

22-23. Joe selects Andrade “Cien” Almas and Adrienne Reese
Very happy that Jonah went that way, as I can now start stealing up guys who haven't made their TV debut yet. I wrote about both of these wrestlers a couple weeks ago, and Adrienne Reese is going to turn some heads when she makes her debut. Top rope flipping stunner is all you need to know. and Andrade "Cien" Almas got his first vignette a couple weeks ago, and oh man am I excited for his debut. Basically, if this draft would have happened a month later, he wouldn't have made it out of the top 10. Trust me, you will love Andrade Almas.

24-25. Jonah selects TM61
This was a steal.  I wanted Sampson, so I had to take another singles wrestler last round, but here I get another tag team that has been hugely successful around the world.  These guys will be future stars in the tag division, it’s basically a guarantee.  One final thing to remember, the mighty don’t kneel.

26-27. Joe selects Patrick Clark and Tino Sabbatelli
Well, first off, I'd just like to tell Jonah that he's a piece of shit for taking TM 61 from me. I knew I had to take Almas before the Australians, but it still hurts, and oh, would you look at that? There is a monumental dropoff at this point. Is this too early for Patrick Clark? Well, I would have said so a month ago, but then I saw his new tights that feature his face, a bald eagle, and the White House, and I am ALL IN on hated American, Patrick Clark. Tino Sabbatelli isn't a great talker, and he's not real great in the ring either. That said, he's got the best body in the WWE, and maybe the best body in WWE history. So at least he's really good at working out. After typing this out, I'm wondering if Jonah just put me on tilt with that TM 61 pick.

28-29. Jonah selects Billie Kay and Peyton Royce
Joe had been taking too many NXT women, so I’m happy to get Billie Kay and Peyton Royce.  They’ve shown that they can put on good matches even though they haven’t been winning.  They’re good looking, talented women’s wrestlers.  Very valuable to the future.

30-31. Joe selects Mandy Rose and Liv Morgan
Jonah took two ladies who are good looking and talented wrestlers. I took two ladies who are great looking and still figuring it out in the ring. Liv Morgan has shown a lot, but Mandy Rose is green as grass right now. Still, even she has a lot of natural charisma. I'm increasing my stable of hot chicks, and I definitely wouldn't mind a heel women's stable with these two and Alexa Bliss. I'm officially no longer on tilt.

32-33. Jonah selects Sawyer Fulton and Rich Swann
Sawyer Fulton is big, young, and a two time all American amateur wrestler.  Tons of potential.  Rich Swann has already made a name for himself around the world.  He’s incredibly talented, and once he actually gets some time he will get very over.

34-35. Joe selects Blake and Murphy
This is stupid low for these guys, so I'll take it. I know they're no longer a tag team, but they're serviceable wrestlers, and now that they are on their own, they can get a chance to shine. They might show to be a couple of dullards, but there's a reason they've been on the main show for so long, and I think they can start to show that. Also, one time at a house show, they both clearly decided they were going to oversell everything, and it was awesome. It raised my opinion of them.

And that wraps up part one. We'll be back with the second half later this week.

Finn Balor Is a Can't Miss Superstar

NXT is probably the best wrestling show since WCW Monday Nitro (the early years). Literally, everyone who gives it a shot immediately falls in love with it and is hooked. It's referred to as WWE's Developmental System, but it is really more WWE's Independent Wrestling Show. It's a small arena, rare traveling, and extremely colorful characters that are perfect for NXT but may not yet be ready to translate to the big stage.

One guy, more than anyone else on the NXT roster, who is ready for the big stage is Finn Balor. Now I guess I should just get this out of the way. Balor is awesome in the ring, but that doesn't really separate him from a lot of guys in NXT with Hideo Itami, Sami Zayn, and Kevin Owens around, in-ring talent is not an issue for many guys at that level. The thing that truly separates him is charisma. Finn Balor demands your attention.

Although I love Sami Zayn, nobody has anything close to what Balor has with "The Beast." That crazy full body paint and creepy crawl to the ring will make him an instant hit with any child, and honestly, even as a 30-year-old adult, I think it's pretty cool too. But kids love face paint, so the whole design is going to make them think he's the coolest thing to ever be in a WWE ring. I remember being a child, and I loved all face paint guys, Ultimate Warrior, Sting, Tatanka, and even Great Muta were all some of my favorites, and I don't think them all having face paint was any sort of coincidence.

I was there for WrestleMania weekend, and even at Axxess, everybody stopped to watch Balor, both in his entrance and then his matches. Then, the crowd blew up when he came out in full "Beast" mode at the live NXT show on Friday night. Finn Balor has a presence to him, and just as much as his wrestling, that will translate when he moves up to the main roster.

Where guys like Sami Zayn might be a huge superstar, there is no doubt with Balor. Finn Balor will be a huge superstar. He's got everything it takes, and he is already WWE's golden ticket to a main event superstar.

Still, I wouldn't mind seeing him stick around the best weekly hour of wrestling for a while longer.

Another Date Night Watching WWE NXT

It had been a while since I had treated my wife to a wonderful evening of watching pro wrestling, so it was time for us to go to another NXT house show. Tickets are $10 for general admission, so it is an incredible deal, especially considering that general admission means rows 3-5. Also, even though my wife doesn't really care about professional wrestling, she enjoys watching me, as I do morph into a 12-year-old who has a permanent smile on my face while watching live wrestling. I'm lucky to have found someone who finds it cute and charming instead of sad and pathetic.

Let me just start by saying that I failed yet again to get a picture with Norman Smiley. I truly suck at this, as I saw him out of the corner of my eye as he was walking by and I was giving my ID to get my tickets. I should have just stopped what I was doing to achieve the goal, but I froze, and I never got another chance to express my gratitude to the man who invented the Big Wiggle. I suck, and I must find a way to make this happen.

As for other former superstars there, nobody of note...oh, except Mick Foley was randomly there simply as a spectator. He just sat in the front row by the entrance and watched the whole event. He did nothing during the event and was simply there to watch these guys wrestle.

But let's get to the wrestling with a quick match by match recap.

Anna Brock vs. Bailey
I had never seen Anna Brock before, but she's got some guns on her, and she flexes them a lot. Like that may be the extent of her gimmick, check out my muscular arms. Considering she must be fairly new, it's not too bad of a gimmick, because she does have the arms to pull it off. Bailey was Bailey, who was pretty solid and won the match with a Belly-to-Bailey suplex.

Chad Gable vs. Solomon Crowe
Chad Gable is fairly new, but he has some potential as a legit wrestler who can incorporate that into his pro wrestling. He was fairly entertaining, but the biggest takeaway from this match was that Crowe got rid of his really shitty splash finisher in favor of a submission.

Steve Cutler vs. Baron Corbin
Steve Cutler is a military guy, so you would think he was the good guy, but he came out to metal music, and posed more as a bad guy. He was kind of Lance Storm-esque in persona, but he ain't there with in-ring skills. Baron Corbin took a little offense before powering up and ragdolling Cutler.

Big Cass and Carmella vs. Marcus Louis and Devin Taylor
This was my wife's favorite match, as she was a huge Carmella fan and Devin Taylor lasted one episode on this year's Bachelor. The latter makes sense, but the former really confused me. But my wife is all in on Carmella and also likes Big Cass and Enzo Amore as they have fun sayings and they were 100% over with the crowd. From a personal standpoint, this was the moment where it hit me how gigantic wrestlers are. Marcus Louis is an above average sized wrestler, but he's not considered huge, but he was standing in the corner near where we were sitting, and let me tell you, that dude is huge. He is a massive human being, and sometimes people forget how big wrestlers are, even the guys who aren't considered that big. Unfortunately Taylor and Louis were S-A-W-F-T, SAWFT.

Ty Dillinger vs. Hugo Knox
Ty Dillinger has a new gimmick where he comes out after matches and rates them on a scale of 1-10. He considers himself a perfect 10. Who is Hugo Knox? Hugo Knox is probably my new favorite wrestler. He is a Manchester, England club dancer who has stupid tattoos, polka dot trunks and LOVES to West Coast Dance. Is he good in the ring? No, not really. But the more important question is whether he is totally awesome, and the answer to that one is a definitive yes. Dude danced so hard. He won the match and danced some more. I cannot wait for Hugo Knox to debut on television.

Mike Rallis vs. Bull Dempsey
Who is Mike Rallis? Not sure, honestly. Who is Bull Dempsey? A fat guy with a mean streak. This match happened. It wasn't terrible, but outside of Dempsey hitting his flying headbutt, nothing memorable happened.

Alexa Bliss Vs. Becky Lynch
I remember this being one of my favorite matches of the night. It was a good back and forth match with some of the few rare finishes that I was actually buying. Becky Lynch got the win, because poor Alexa can't get wins on sparkles alone.

CJ Parker vs. Hideo Itami
CJ Parker is who he is. He's fine in the ring; his gimmick is mildly entertaining, and he's basically in the same place he was two years ago. Hideo Itami was a guy who came in with a lot of hype due to being one of the biggest stars in Japan, but he hasn't really been all that impressive so far from what I saw on NXT. That being said, Hideo Itami is AWESOME in person. His style was really cool to see up close, and I finally get why people were so excited about him. Eventually, he is going to start using the GTS, and people are going to freak out. Needless to say, I am fully on board the Hideo Itami bandwagon.

Itami is great, but he's still no Hugo Knox.