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 10, so let's look at picks 11-20 today.
11. Joe selects Tye Dillinger
Jonah: Tye Dillinger is awesome, but very underused, kind of like in NXT. He’s very entertaining and good, not great in the ring. He’s a guy who can be in the midcard for a decade, and could move up if the WWE ever wanted to use him that way. Solid pick, but there are some people below who are better, he probably moves down about 10, 10, 10 picks in the redraft.
Joe: Yeah, Jonah is correct in everything he said. He just never got a chance to get his character over, and now he’s in the abyss of underutilized WWE talent.
12-13. Jonah selects The Revival
Joe: Well, let me just start by saying Fuck The Revival. But these guys had injury issues at the worst possible time, and WWE has not shown any inclination that they are ready to trust them. They can have great tag matches, but despite the WWE having an overload of tag talent, they can’t seem to utilize more than two teams at a time. Hopefully 2019 turns things around as their matches with DIY, American Alpha, and Authors of Pain will go down as some of the best tag wrestling in WWE history.
But seriously, Fuck The Revival.
Jonah: Joe, FTR stands for Forever the Revival. They’ve been retweeted by some young bucks quite often these days so if there was heat it’s all gone. The Revival should be higher on this draft, they’re an incredible tag team, but they’re so horribly used. I could see them making an impact this next year after a shoutout from Seth Rollins. If the WWE fails them miserably, I can see them being great in AEW.
14-15. Joe selects Nia Jax and Mojo Rawley
Jonah: Nia Jax is pretty over and featured on RAW most weeks. She is also really good at injuring people, which isn’t a great skill to have. In her time on the main roster Jax has injured Bayley, Zelina Vega, Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair and of course Becky Lynch. This article isn’t about ragging on Jax, but there has to be a concern if you have a wrestler on your show that isn’t good at keeping her opponents healthy. That being said, she’s a former champ and this is a good spot for her to get drafted. Mojo, oh Mojo,if you came around 10 to 15 years ago you’d be a huge star, but wrestlers have to be able to wrestle these days. Mojo isn’t awful, but compared to the immense talent they have company wide, he stands out as not being great. He could be a great opener, using his hypeness and having fun with the kids. Or he could be a main event heel if they made him Triple M and paired him up with Jay Cutler. In a redraft Mojo falls a decent amount, but he could still have a future.
Joe: Sorry that Jonah is a snowflake who can’t handle Nia Jax getting REAL and hurting people all of the time. But seriously, Nia Jax still has a great presence, seems like a really nice person and is not great at professional wrestling. But with her hanging out with Tamina, she’s basically Ricky Steamboat out there. Mojo won a battle royal once, but yeah, I wish I could have had this pick back.
16-17. Jonah selects Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa
Joe: When I’m wrong, I say I’m wrong, and boy was I wrong about Johnny Gargano. People freaking loved Johnny Wrestling, and I just saw an undersized guy who was fine. Like, definitely good at wrestling, but I just didn’t see anything special. I did like Ciampa, but with them being a packaged deal, I really had no interest in them, and I was wrong. Gargano’s great. Ciampa’s great. But they’ve been around for three years and still haven’t gotten the call-up, and that is my big concern. What is the WWE going to do with these guys on the main roster?
Jonah: Triple H is just waiting for Vince to give him full control before he calls up Gargano and Ciampa, he saw what he did to Asuka and he will never forget that pain. Gargano puts on five star matches basically every Takeover, it’s pretty amazing. His character has become well flushed out, and even though I don’t like the white meat babyface turning evil, it seems to be working out for him. Lost in the talk of how great Gargano is, is how great Ciampa is. He’s the NXT champ, putting on phenomenal matches, and being an amazing heel. No one will survive Ciampa, no one. As a package, these guys are way higher up in the redraft, they’re two main eventers in NXT. At worst, they should be reunited as a dominant tag team who kills it on whatever show they go to. They should have a good showing on the main roster, but who knows with the booking.
Joe: The good news is that WWE has a far better track record with guys who stay in NXT for a long time as opposed to guys who get quick callups, so hopefully they have a plan for them. If they actually did a better job with 205 Live, these guys would be ideal for that show before bumping up to heavyweight, but if you’re pushing a tiny white guy, I feel like Finn Balor and Daniel Bryan are taking most of the opportunities. But yes, they have been awesome, and I really hope the WWE allows them to continue to be awesome.
18-19. Joe selects Carmella and No Way Jose
Jonah: I underestimated Carmella, and she’s a good pick here. She’s super annoying as a heel, so annoying that I didn’t think it was possible for her to be a face, but she’s proved herself as a good face. She’s not excellent in the ring, but she’s passable. She has a good character and she’s entertaining. It’s a solid pick. I thought they were making No Way Jose a guy who was fun outside the ring but could get it done in the ring at the end of his NXT run. On the main roster they’ve decided to not have him wrestle or be on TV, which seems to be hurting his popularity. If you don’t have anything for the guy, leave him in developmental and let him get better, doesn’t seem like rocket science to me. No Way Jose has to drop in the redraft, but at least he’s got potential.
Joe: Yeah, I really have nothing to add to your analysis of either of them except that Carmella is undefeated in matches where a friend cosplays as her opponent.
20. Jonah selects Elias Samson
Joe: Man, I should have paid attention to what I saw in person instead of what I saw on TV with this guy. Elias was always great at house shows, because he would just tear apart the Largo crowd in his songs, but they never let him do it on NXT, and he was super bland. Then, he got a sudden call-up to the main roster and they gave him full reign, and it’s clear that the WWE thinks he has a bright future. This was an excellent pick, and it really wouldn’t be a shock if you told me he had one of the five best WWE careers of anyone on this list.
Jonah: Yeah, super happy with this pick. He’s probably in the US/Intercontinental Championship picture, and I could see him winning it at Wrestlemania. He’s super over, and has actually transitioned to a face, which seemed difficult for him. His heat in Seattle was legitimately the biggest heat any person has had since the Attitude Era. He’s nothing special in the ring, but he’s good enough. He will have a successful career, unless the WWE screws it up royally, which they probably will. Still a good pick here, he moves up a few spots in the redraft.
Joe: I actually think you are underselling this pick. If you had the choice of Elias or Ciampa or Gargano, don’t you have to go with Elias? He’s done it on the big show and gotten over with what the WWE has given him. He’s shown the biggest trait in being a star and that is being so good at being a heel that the crowd can’t help but cheer for you. I almost feel like we need to come together for a rankings at the end of this thing to really find out where guys should go.
Jonah: I probably am underselling Elias a bit. He’s entertaining as hell. He’s got a good shot at being a future world champion.
Previous Installments:
Picks 1-10
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