The Ultimate NXT Draft: Picks 41-50

Yesterday, we left off with an Australian, and today we start with one while finishing with someone totally forgettable.

41. Joe selects Jermaine Haley

Joe: Jermaine Haley, who used to be known as Jonah Rock, also comes to the WWE from the land down under. He is the opposite of Vink as he is most certainly not a body guy, but he has built up quite the reputation as an incredible wrestler who knows how to put on entertaining matches. I’ve only seen a little bit of his work online and the one time he squashed Rik Bugez in 30 seconds, but the splash from the top rope looked great, and I think he has the talent to make an impact.

Jonah: He’s a big dude with the dopest former name ever. Again, if he was listed as Jonah Rock he would have been taken by me 5 rounds earlier. Anyone with the name Jonah Rock will be a huge success.

42. Jonah selects Killer Kelly

Jonah: Close to the talent level of Toni Storm and Rhea Ripley, but not booked nearly as well. Killer Kelly is another woman I expect to legitimately be the future of women’s professional wrestling. Fun fact, she’s the first Portuguese wrestler in the WWE. Great look, great gimmick, great name talented in the ring, great pick.

Joe: I have never seen Killer Kelly wrestle. I saw one photo of her on Google Images and made her my lowest rated female wrestler. She just looked like a jobber to me. Maybe it was a bad angle?

Jonah: Must have been, she’s a long ways from unattractive.

43. Jonah selects Cezar Bononi

Jonah: Cezar Bononi was named the future star of NXT in 2017, he’ll get there soon. He’s a good looking big dude with lots of muscles. He’s got the Brazilian market on lock down too. I went really international in my picks, so I’m happy that my show will dominate internationally. Anyways, Bononi has a good look and he’s good in the ring, honestly he should break out of the pack soon.

Joe: Jonah, your optimism about the WWE developmental talent is a wonderful contrast to your hatred in the abilities of the people tasked to actually develop that talent. Bononi is fine, but do we know he’s good in the ring? What’s your favorite Cezar Bononi match?

Jonah: You know me, Joe, ever the optimist. My favorite match of his was against Andrade, and Andrade is a stud, but he’s still a handsome Brazilian.

44. Joe selects Jordan Devlin

Joe: Although Jonah was busy scooping up ladies from every country he could find them, there had been 26 picks since the last male wrestler from NXT UK was taken in Tyler Bate. I broke the streak by going with Jordan Devlin who is endless energy in the ring and put on a really fun match with Finn Balor during NXT UK’s first Takeover event. If they are willing to bust out Finn Balor as a last second surprise replacement, either Finn or WWE management must think pretty highly of him, and I think that it is well-deserved in what I have seen from him so far.

Jonah: He’s a poor man’s Finn Balor, which I assume means he still does pretty darn well with the ladies. I’ve only ever seen him against Finn Balor, and that match was pretty good, but Finn Balor is pretty good against everyone. Honestly, this is a solid pick here, not much trash to talk.

45.Joe selects Wesley Blake

Joe: I dream that one day Wesley Blake will revert back to Beautiful Blake, who I don’t believe ever made an appearance on WWE television but absolutely stole the show at a small event in Largo, Florida where he wore white jeans and called everyone garbage about two dozen times. Worst case scenario, he can be my Bizzaro Hangman Page.

Jonah: Blake is a really good wrestler who couldn’t make it on tv for a few years after he dropped the tag titles. Honestly his new gimmick is pretty stupid, but whatever gets him on TV is a good idea for him. This Beautiful Blake gimmick sounds like a license to print money, I mean he knocked up and married Sara Lee, so maybe there’s something to it.

46. Jonah selects Drew Gulak

Jonah: I really like a gimmick of a cruiserweight who hates ariel maneuvers. He’s also a very talented mat wrestler and his Powerpoint presentations were amazing, he was “Boring” Lance Storm done even better. Plus he’s got a good look. The fact that he can’t get a push isn’t his fault. If only there was somewhere he could go where being a good wrestler who happens to be a little smaller wasn’t a bad thing. I’m very happy with this pick.

Joe: I like Drew Gulak too. He’s solid, high floor, low ceiling guy, but nothing wrong with having a guy like that on your roster. I was definitely considering him in this range.

47. Jonah selects Sam Shaw Dexter Lumas

Jonah: Here’s a guy who will make his NXT TV debut soon. He’s a big guy with a good look who played a “crazy” character well in TNA. Does his brand new name mean he will be a crazy Dexteresque character in NXT? We’ll see, but he’s got the talent, look and experience to do well.

Joe: It 100% means he is going to play the character of Dexter. WWE has the subtlety of a shovel to the face. I saw this guy once in person, and I did like him. He was different than most of the other talents which is always something that will pique my interest. I was hoping to snag him later, but it was not meant to be. Also, Jonah, I’m kind of amazed you know this much about TNA, but also that you are sticking with TNA instead of calling it by Impact Wrestling. I do not watch it and am still convinced that it is TNA, and that it has six-appeal.

Jonah: I will never call TNA anything but TNA, you shouldn’t have worn that pitard if you didn’t want to be hoisted by it.

48. Joe selects Trent Seven

Joe: Trent Seven is just fun to watch. It’s goofy and stupid, but it’s always fun, and he has plenty of actual skill to mix in the goofy with good wrestling. Sometimes it’s good to just have fun wrestlers, and him dropping this far is kind of incredible.

Jonah: I like Trent Seven, but he’s so old he trained Tyler Bate. He’s also pretty chubby, and I don’t need any old chubby guys on my roster. He’s charismatic and a good wrestler, but you can have him.

Joe: I’ll admit, having the chance to see him on back-to-back nights when Progress did their US tour really turned me around on him. I was more on your side with things, but seeing the guy in person made me a fan as everybody enjoys watching him wrestle. He also seems to understand psychology more than 95% of the WWE roster.

49. Joe selects Akira Tozawa

Joe: And here’s a guy who can kick your face off, and could be the modern-day Tajiri with the right push. Akira Tozawa is definitely one of those guys that is best appreciated in person as opposed to on TV.

Jonah: They really should have kept this guy in Titus Worldwide, because he needs a mouthpiece. He’s good in the ring and this is a good pick for Joe.

50. Jonah selects Jaxson Ryker

Jonah: Apparently I’m super high on former TNA wrestlers. In all fairness, they were really good at signing excellent people, just not using them correctly. He’s a big dude who looks intimidating and intense. He’s also a former NWA World Champion. He’s not the greatest wrestler in the world, but he’s certainly passable. I’m guessing he’ll get a pretty big singles push after he breaks away from the Forgotten Sons.

Joe: “He’s certainly passable” was my strategy on Jaxson Ryker in this draft. I would have continued to pass on him, because he’s not very good at anything outside of balding.

Previously in the NXT Draft:
Picks 1-10

Picks 11-20

Picks 21-30

Picks 31-40

The Ultimate NXT Draft Review: 52-61

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 51, and we are now at the penultimate portion of the list with picks 52-61.

52-53. Jonah selects Chris Atkins and Dallas Harper
Joe: Chris Atkins got released, and even though Dallas Harper’s twitter says he is NXT signed, he hasn’t wrestled for two years, and the man hasn’t tweeted for 21 months. Is Dallas Harper alive? Dallas, if you’re reading this, please tell us that you’re fine, or better yet, OH SO FINE.

Jonah: Chris Atkins, good look, good size, got on NXT TV in losing efforts but that seemed like a good sign for the future plus he’s Australian.  He got released and he’s done with wrestling. Dallas Harper is still 6’9” and oh so fine, but I can’t find any article that says he was released.  So he may still be employed, and if he is, he’s the next Roman Reigns.

54-55. Joe selects Dan Matha and Nikki Storm
Jonah: Dan Matha is one of my favorite wrestlers because his only TV appearance was heavily hyped all night, then he got destroyed by Samoa Joe.  It was amazing. He really needs to get off the gas if he ever wants to make the main roster, or just avoid every drug test ever like Jinder Mahal does.  Nikki Storm is someone that I couldn’t believe I didn’t take in the draft. My brain just crashed and I thought she got taken earlier. It’s embarrassing.  Nikki Storm is Nikki Cross, a very talented woman’s wrestler who is actually held back by the group Sanity. Still, she’s a great wrestler and has a great character, she will be a future champion on the main roster where she is headed.  Also, fun fact, she’s incredibly pretty out of her crazy makeup and get up. Check her out in her past roles, stunningly beautiful.

Joe: Yeah, I have not been a big fan of Dan Matha, but apparently all the new rage for the kids is the “drip.” I’m not sure what drip means, but Dan Matha says that he goes drip, drip, drip. I assume it doesn’t mean he has a drippy dong (Almost Heroes reference), but I do have to assume that it’s related to Ol’ Drippy, one of the greatest side characters from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. If his new gimmick is that he’s mold, I am ALL IN.

Fun fact: The main reason I drafted Nikki Cross is because she was going by her real name early on at NXT house shows which is Nikki Glencross. Well, my wife heard Nikki Breadcrumbs, and I would very much get behind a wrestler with the last name Breadcrumbs. But yeah, she’s got a great character and is fun in the ring. I don’t have high hopes for her immediate future as the WWE can only have one woman’s storyline going on at a time unless your Dad dies where they can do a second shitty storyline, so I’m kind of hoping her debuting soon means after WrestleMania.

Jonah: Ol’ Drippy is the best face character in the past 20 years, he heals the sick.

56-57. Jonah selects Daria and Kenneth Crawford
Joe: Incredible picks by Jonah here. Daria is now Sonya Deville and although they haven’t done anything important with her yet, they have given her good losses where it wouldn’t be shocking to see her get a big push in the next year or so.

As incredible as that pick is, it ranks nowhere near how good the Kenneth Crawford pick is, as that man is now known as Montez Ford. If we redid this draft, there is NO WAY that he makes it out of the top ten if I can draft him as a single wrestler as opposed to being stuck with Angelo Dawkins as well. Montez Ford has natural charisma and incredible athleticism. He is still just scratching the surface, and even though I shit on Angelo Dawkins, I do love Street Profits, and I think it has been very valuable for Ford’s development. Still, I want to see them break up as I really would love to see an NXT singles run for Montez, because that is really where he can unleash his full potential. The sky is the limit, and as much as I hate to admit it, this is the single best pick in the draft.

Jonah: Yeah I got back on the winning track with this round.  Sonya Deville will probably be a Women’s Champ at sometime. She’s a good talent just middling along right now due to booking.  She’s also an open lesbian, and I like diversity in my picks. She’s got a good shot at being the first openly gay champion in the WWE.  Montez Ford is awesome, he’s super talented in the ring to go along with his crazy charisma. Hopefully he doesn’t get stuck on 205 Live, he’s a star.

58-59. Joe selects Cezar Bononi and Noah Kekoa
Jonah: Cezar Bononi is on NXT TV, he loses almost every time, but he “puts in a good showing” in a loss.  Usually that means that they have future plans for the guy. He’s got good size, a good look and is good in the ring.  Noah Kekoa is Kona Reeves, The Finest, I guess. He’s on TV, has a character, but also loses pretty much all the time. The Finest is a gimmick that doesn’t fit him well in my opinion.  I think he should be a Patrick Bateman American Psycho type, there’s something about his eyes, they’re disturbing. Anyways, two wrestlers that are still signed and have some potential, good picks.

Joe: I have seen signs of potential in Bononi. No idea whether it will turn into anything, but I would probably take his ceiling over Kona Reeves who basically has the talent of a modern-day Virgil. Maybe he becomes EC3’s butler?

60-61. Jonah selects Uriel and Gabriel Ealy
Joe: I haven’t seen the twins in months. They seem like nice guys, but their in ring work so far couldn’t blow a feather away.

Jonah: One of the twins got released which probably isn’t a good sign for the other.  They’re big guys so I thought they’d get a tag team push, guess not. Gimmick of a guy who has a twin we never see sounds like a fun one to me, let’s give it a try.

Previous Installments:
Picks 1-10
Picks 11-20
Picks 21-30
Picks 31-40
Picks 41-51

The Ultimate WWE NXT Fantasy Draft - Part 2

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, we had to break it into two parts, with part one earlier this week. So let's see what Jonah and I did for part two.

36-37. Jonah selects Sara Lee and King Constantine
Sara Lee, female winner of Tough Enough, great prospect.  Already known to a large audience from being on Tough Enough.  Now we’re getting really deep into the draft.  Joe had the advantage living in Florida, but I tried to come out swinging.  King Constantine is the total package.  Number one, he’s got an awesome name, he’s shredded as all get out, he’s a multiple time medalist in amatuer wrestling, and he’s an evil Russian.  After a year or two more of developing he’ll be ready to make his main roster debut and Putin will have probably declared war on us by then.

38-39. Joe selects Hugo Knox and Chris Girard
Chris Girard is a classic indy guy who is getting his chance in the WWE. He's going to be a good worker, and we'll see what he can blossom into when given an opportunity. Hugo Knox is a bodybuilding Brit who likes to dance. That is my jam right there. I laugh every time I see him, but it's definitely laughing with him, because he's basically dancing like he's at the club in the middle of the ring. He'll likely remain as the guy that I love way more than anybody else, but I'm still good with that.

40-41. Jonah selects Riddick Moss and Alexander Wolfe
I actually did my research on these guys.  Riddick Moss is endorsed by Finn Balor.  If Finn says you’ll be good, I believe him.  He’s also 6’2” 250 lbs. So Finn says he can wrestler and he’s got a good look.  Alexander Wolfe has made it on tv a few times as an enhancement talent, but he’s gotten in some offense.  I’ve read a lot of people praising his work, and he’s also the only German to be employed by the WWE so he expands my market into Germany as well.

42-43. Joe selects Aliyah and Thomas Kingdon
Aliyah is another attractive lady who is super young but has gotten a decent amount of matches for her age. She was highlighted on Breaking Ground, and it's clear that the WWE is excited about her potential. Kingdon is just a massive human being. No clue about anything else that he brings to the table.

44-45. Jonah selects Dylan Miley and Josh Woods
Holy crap have you seen Dylan Miley?  He’s 6’3” 285 lbs. Built like Rusev.  He’s raw, but he certainly has the look of a freaking monster.  Josh Woods has a good look, like the partial mask he wears during his entrance, then takes off after his entrance.  He’s also a 4 time All American, and a former National Champion.  That screams superstar to me.

46-47. Joe selects Bronson Mathews and Tucker Knight
Bronson Mathews won Tough Enough and seems to be really disliked by almost everyone in the WWE. Welp, we're at pick 46, so what else do you want me to do? Tucker Knight originally had trunks that looked like a diaper wrapped with duck tape. I think he got rid of those, but he was the only guy left who has gotten TV time, so I think that is worth it.

48-49. Jonah selects Jeet Rama and Kishan Raftar
I felt kind of bad not taking Tucker Knight since he’s from my hometown of Portland, Oregon, but I’m just not sold on him.  Jeet Rama is a big dude with an athletic background and a sick moustache.  He’s also Indian and teams with fellow Indian Kishan Raftar.  Raftar is also a big guy who was an amatuer wrestling background.  Most importantly, they’re Indian.  If The Great Khali can get India interested, imagine what these two can do.

50-51. Joe selects Gzim Selmani and Sunny Dhinsa
So these guys are actually a tag team, and they have these awesome masks that they wear out to the ring. They are basically Executioners. I have watched them wrestle the Ealy Brothers, and it wasn't very good. Then I watched them against TM 61, and it was really fun. There's something here, so we'll see how far they can go.

52-53. Jonah selects Chris Atkins and Dallas Harper
What happens when you look up Chris Atkins?  You find a picture of him flexing making Arnold look tiny in comparison.  He was also trained by Sgt. Craig Pittman, and he’s Australian but clearly cooler than Murphy.  Dallas Harper made his debut by talking down to the crowd and telling them that he’s 6’9” and oh so fine.  That kind of confidence gets you a spot on my roster.

54-55. Joe selects Dan Matha and Nikki Storm
Dan Matha is a large human being. That’s really all I know about him. Nikki Storm tore it up on the independents and once she debuts, she’s probably going to get a significant push to make an impact. I feel stupid for letting her fall this far, but I’m happy to have benefitted from her falling.

56-57. Jonah selects Daria and Kenneth Crawford
Daria was also on Tough Enough and is a former MMA fighter.  That bodes well for her technical abilities.  She’s also apparently friends with Maria Menoudos, so I assume they’ll be future partners in a Wrestlemania match.  Kenneth Crawford was a marine and I’m a big mark for former military members.  USA USA USA.

58-59. Joe selects Cezar Bononi and Noah Kekoa
I’ve never seen Bononi wrestle, but I did once see him cut a promo. It wasn’t good, but English is at least his second language, and even though he struggled a little, he powered through, so I was pretty impressed with the big man from Brazil. Noah Kekoa got beat up on NXT television a few weeks ago, so he is a wrestler that exists.

60-61. Jonah selects Uriel and Gabriel Ealy
Identical twins and they’re a tag team?  Look out Bashams and Neo Nazis who are in charge of TNA’s production here come the Ealys.  Once they get called up they’re definitely squashing the Usos to establish their dominance.

62-63. Joe selects Mada and Steve Cutler
Mada was on Tough Enough. Did he win? Well, no. Second place? Nope. Third? Nah. I honestly don’t even remember how early he was eliminated at this point, but he’s a big dude, and it doesn’t get much better at pick 63. Steve Cutler was in the military, I think I heard that somewhere, so let’s go for it. I’ll also make up that he’s cousins with Jay Cutler. The bodybuilder, not the quarterback.

64-65. Jonah selects Babatunde Aiyegbusi and Carolyn Dunning
I was more excited than anyone should ever be about drafting Babtunde Aiyegbusi.  There was a lot of hype about him last year.  In the wrestling world?  No, in the NFL when he signed with the Minnesota Vikings.  Clearly that didn’t work out but he’s a physical freak and that’s never a bad thing.  Carolyn Dunning was a model and a bodybuilder.  Like Joe says, can’t have enough good looking women on your roster.

66-67. Joe selects Terrance Jean-Jacques and Danielle Kamella
Terrance Jean-Jacques is a former Iowa wrestler, so he’s totally my jam. He only lasted a year, but enough Iowa rubbed off on him to become the third NXT champion with Iowa ties. Maybe you’ve heard of Seth Rollins and Big E Langston? Yeah, Iowa people are the best. Danielle Kamella has done a bunch of media things, so she should have some charisma on the microphone.

68-69. Jonah selects Jerome Turner and Bianca Blair
Jerome Turner was signed because The Rock said they should sign him, The Rock.  He’s big and a former boxer.  Also, The Rock.  Bianca Blair will be the number one heel in all of professional wrestling within a year.  She’s a crossfitter.  The gimmick I will give her is that of a crossfitter who talks about nothing but crossfit.  Straight cash homey.

70-71. Joe selects Adrian Jaoude and Nikola Bogojevic
Jonah, saying a crossfitter who talks about nothing but crossfit is redundant, as that is the very definition of a crossfitter. Anyway, these are foreigners with amateur wrestling backgrounds, so I’m guessing at least one of them will be the next Iron Shiek. Also, I didn’t want ZZ. God, I am so happy to not have ZZ.

72-73. Jonah selects Macey Estrella and ZZ Loupe
Macey Estrella has a professional wrestling background and was on the SWAT team and a former marine.  Again, I mark for the troops and being a SWAT team member her gimmick is Michelle Rodriguez from SWAT.  ZZ Loupe was the last person available.  He’s famous so I guess that’s a good thing.

We'll be back tomorrow for our final review.