Sunday, June 23, 2019

The Ultimate NXT Draft: Picks 61-70

NXT definitely has too much talent, because picks 61-70 has a great mix of established stars and young wrestlers with TONS of potential. I start with a potential pick, and Jonah ends with The Finest.

61. Joe selects Lacey Lane
Joe: Lacey Lane is building up quite the following, and I think she is going to have a big impact when she starts making frequent appearances on TV. She’s very athletic and brings a lot of fire to the women’s division, despite her diminutive size.

Jonah: Lane sounds like a pretty good wrestler and has a good athletic background. She played D II basketball which is impressive considering I tower over her. Looks like a good pick for you here Joe, well done.

62. Jonah selects Danny Burch
Jonah: Danny Burch is interchangeable with Oney Lorcan and I got him 30 picks later. He’s good in the ring, and has a good brawling style. He and Lorcan got over with their wrestling ability and he should continue to do so.

Joe: Jonah, I’m convinced you’ve never seen Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch wrestle. Burch is solid, but Lorcan is FIRE. I hope your organization becomes a reality and you can officially make Marty Jannetty the commissioner, logo, and sommelier.

Jonah: I would absolutely hire Marty Jannetty just to fire him, Vince loves to do it. I’ve seen them wrestle quite a bit and I think they’re both talented, just that they’re equally talented.

Joe: Jonah, it’s impossible for me to believe that. Burch is nowhere near the level of Oney Lorcan, and you even said that Lorcan went too late at pick #32. If you thought these guys were even, why would you wait another 30 picks to take him? Come on, just admit that Burch is fine but nothing special.

63. Jonah selects Ridge Holland
Jonah: Here is an example of a great name change, because Luke Menzies is a terrible name. Holland is a former professional rugby player who’s big and looks like he would kick your ass. He’s also a pretty good looking dude, and he’s taken to wrestling pretty quickly since he’s only done it since 2016.

Joe: One of those picks that’s too early to tell much of anything with him. He hasn’t shown a ton in the ring, not a ton of personality, but at least Jonah thinks he’s cute.

Jonah: If you’re allowed to talk about guys being handsome, why can’t I?

Joe: I’m just making observations; I’m not going to stop you.

64. Joe selects Zack Gibson
Joe: People get so mad at Zack Gibson that they remove their shoes so they can stand in socks or barefoot on a nasty ass arena floor. This is way too low for Zack Gibson as he has an abusive style in the ring that is entertaining, and anybody who can generate that kind of heat is a-ok by me.

Jonah: Man this guy is super British. He did win the second NXT UK tournament and is the current NXT UK Tag Team Champion so he should have probably gone earlier. Also, getting British people to take of their shoes is apparently really easy, no wonder they lost the Revolutionary War.

65. Joe selects Brennan Williams
Joe: Brennan Williams was actually a legitimate NFL player as he was drafted in the third round by the Houston Texans. Things didn’t work out for him in football so he has since made the transition to wrestling. With the NFL background, he has tons of athleticism, and people have really gotten behind him as the “Sultan of Sit.” His big thing is just sitting down really hard in the corner, and I know that sounds stupid, but that’s because it actually is very stupid. Still, it’s really fun to chant, “Holy sit.” With the size and physical skills, he could be special, but there is definite bust potential which is why I was able to acquire him this late.

Jonah: Well Tino Sabatelli was a second round pick so I guess he’s super legitimate. Williams is a big guy with a good look who’s athletic, so plenty of potential there, but the sultan of sit thing doesn’t sound great. I mean no one can ever do it as well as Earthquake did.

66. Jonah selects Noam Dar
Jonah: Man Noam Dar was awesome when he talked about Alicia Fox. Plus we’re boys because he’s from Israel. I mean he’s also a good wrestler, plus him saying Alicia Fox is probably the most charisma I’ve seen from anyone in the last 15-20 picks.

Joe: Can’t deny that I laughed every time Noam Dar said, “Aleesha Faaaaaaaaaaaaawx,” and I was strongly considering taking him in the near future. I feel like he is one of many guys whose potential was hurt by 205 Live where a run on NXT or even NXT UK would have turned him into more of a viable threat. I know he’s been doing NXT UK stuff lately, and he has a very punchable face which is actually a good thing in pro wrestling.

As for the charisma thing, the pick before was a guy who has got the act of sitting down over, and six picks ago was Malcolm Bivens who got a WWE contract strictly based off charisma.

67. Jonah selects Aliyah
Jonah: Aliyah is young, attractive, on TV and decent in the ring. She’s of Iraqi descent, and as we all know I keep it international. She’s got potential and is already good enough to be on TV, plus I just love potential picks.

Joe: I was very happy that you went with Aliyah, who I would have liked to have, but I think her tag partner is significantly better than her.

68. Joe selects Vanessa Borne
Joe: It was clear that now was the time to pounce on Vanessa Borne who I think is very underrated in the ring. She obviously has a good look, but she has shown enough flashes that I think she will be a very good pro wrestler on top of that. I would say both her and Aliyah are still figuring out their characters, but there’s progress, and I’m looking forward to seeing how she develops in the future.

Jonah: This is a good pick, I just like what I have seen a little more out of Aliyah. Borne definitely would have been a pick in the next round for me. She’s got some good potential, I do think she needs to work on her character as “bitchy” has become quite a cliche in today’s women’s wrestling scene.

69. Joe selects Deonna Purrazzo
Joe: 69th pick is a lady, nice. But Deonna Purrazzo is also good in the ring. They haven’t quite pulled the trigger on really giving her a push on NXT TV, but I think she has the skill-set to be an important part of it and would be very surprised if she doesn’t make an impact on the main roster in a few years. I probably waited too long to take her so I feel very fortunate that she fell to me at this point.

Jonah: I was more disappointed in this pick than your other one. Deonna Purrazzo has shown good in ring skills so far. She’s got a good look and just needs a character, well and also some real TV time. Purrazzo is a steal here, good pick.

70. Jonah selects Kona Reeves
Jonah: A tip for the NXT booking team, if you’re going to repackage a guy to try and get him over, maybe don’t have him lose every match he’s in. I’m pretty sure Reeves won his first match back, but has jobbed in every other match. He does put in a good showing against guys much higher on the card than he is, which means the WWE does see some potential and will actually give him a real push at some point. His in ring skills are actually pretty good, and I like his look. I think I said this in our last draft review, but he’s better suited as a creepy heel, his eyes are freaky.

Joe: Is Kona Reeves the next CJ Parker? You can see flashes of something, but the way he’s packaged means that I do not want to see him at all. Maybe he’ll quit WWE (I’m not sure if that’s allowed anymore), go to Japan, and become Milk Stevenson.

Previously in the NXT Draft:
Picks 1-10

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