The Ultimate NXT Draft Review: 62-73

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 first 61, so we will finally close it out by going over the last twelve selections.

62-63. Joe selects Mada and Steve Cutler
Jonah: Mada looked cool as hell and apparently trained Jason Mamoa, sadly he was released.  Steve Cutler is in the Forgotten Sons. He was an NXT jobber forever, and is recently seeing some success as a member of the new group.  He’s a veteran, and as I mentioned I’m a huge mark for vets. He’s on NXT TV and actually winning matches since he’s a Forgotten Son, so he does have some potential going forward.

Joe: Jay got all of the attention, and nobody paid any mind to Lil’ Stevie. He truly was the Forgotten Son.

64-65. Jonah selects Babatunde Aiyegbusi and Carolyn Dunning
Joe: I’m going to go out on a limb and say Carolyn Dunning is no longer with the WWE since she hasn’t had a match in nearly three years since being signed. That is bad, but Babatunde Aiyegbusi is good. He is 6’10” and he can move fairly well. He doesn’t have a wide array of an offensive moveset, but he’s gigantic and competent. They have really slow played his development as he has been hitting up the house show scene for over two years without making his NXT debut, and I would guess that he will make a huge impact in 2019. I haven’t seen a ton of charisma, but he shows flashes, and at that size, he’s pretty much guaranteed to make the main roster.

Jonah: Carolyn Dunning is just patiently waiting for a track to explode on, but yeah she’s probably no longer employed.  I had actually heard of Babatunde since he was signed to the Minnesota Vikings the year before he went into wrestling. I knew he was a physical freak, which is a good thing in the WWE.  He has already made his main roster debut as the highlight of The Greatest Royal Rumble. Lio Rush also used to ride around on his shoulders, and that’s a gimmick that would get over anywhere.

66-67. Joe selects Terrance Jean-Jacques and Danielle Kamella
Jonah: So Terrance Jean-Jacques is a former Iowa wrestler and he beat his pregnant girlfriend and was released.  As I learn that the WWE takes domestic violence more seriously than many other sports, he’s a MMA fighter these days.  Danielle Kamella is Vanessa Borne who is an NXT wrestler with a character who is on TV. She mostly loses, but nice pick here to get a wrestler who is still developing.

Joe: This was my worst round of the draft. Vanessa Borne might be interesting, not even touching TJJ.

68-69. Jonah selects Jerome Turner and Bianca Blair
Joe: Jerome Turner has never had a match, so I’ll assume he’s done wrestling. Bianca Belair might be the second best pick in this entire draft, as she is UN-DUH-FEA-TED and totally awesome. She’s also married to Montez Ford which makes them the couple that the WWE wished John Cena and Nikki Bella were. She’s fantastic in the ring; she’s fantastic on the mic; she’s just fantastic, and the WWE will have to really try to mess up her career.

Jonah: Jerome Turner is just putting in the work at the Performance Center, waiting to be unleashed.  Bianca Belair is un duh fea ted, and that is a fact. She’s a physical marvel in the ring and she has great charisma.  She should be a future star especially if she’s whipping fools with her braid.

70-71. Joe selects Adrian Jaoude and Nikola Bogojevic
Jonah: Adrian Jaoude is Caesar Bononi’s tag team partner, so you’ve reunited this team.  He’s a BJJ practitioner, and gets on TV. He was also 8-3 in MMA, with his last fight being a loss to Roy Nelson which seems like a size mismatch.  He’s also 41, so he needs to get called up on the quick. Nikola Bogojevic is the other half of Heavy Machinery so way to reunite them as well. Big dude, can do the worm, good enough in the ring, and the charismatic one of the tag team.  Heavy Machinery would have a nice jump in the redraft, while Jaoude is picked before all the people who retired.

Joe: HOW DARE YOU CONFUSE ADRIAN JAOUDE AND ANTOINE JAOUDE. Antoine is over the hill, but Adrian is a spry 37 so has plenty of time to reach his full potential. There is some hope for Jaoude as he and Bononi have occasionally been hanging around Taynara Conti, so they could create a formidable stable. I still definitely could have done better. Through the main roster and NXT draft, I loaded up on talented ladies and thought I was full of them which caused me to miss out on Bianca Belair and Jonah’s last pick.

But at least I didn’t let Otis Dozovic slip through my fingers. I still don’t think Dozer has a high ceiling, as even with his charisma, it’s more goofy than important. Basically, I think he’s George “The Animal” Steele. That’s a hell of a career, but I don’t really see the guy challenging for world titles.

Jonah: What is A. Jaoude the John Anderson of Brazil?  Sorry to mix up your guys Joe, clearly he’s very important.

72-73. Jonah selects Macey Estrella and ZZ Loupe

Joe: I think what this shows is that WWE is super fucking good at finding and signing talent. Macey Estrella is now Lacey Evans and may have debuted by the time this is published. She was nearly the last pick in the draft, because all I knew was that she was a tall blonde lady. I’m not the biggest Evans fan, but she definitely has enough talent to last on the main roster for quite a while, so good for her.

At least I knew that ZZ had no future in wrestling as he sucked on Tough Enough and apparently sucked after Tough Enough as he got released before he could shit the bed in front of an audience.

Jonah: Lacey Evans is a good female wrestler who is main roster bound.  She’s pretty, jacked, and has an original character. It should work. It’s kind of hard to not end up with the worst wrestler when you have the last pick in the draft, but ZZ had some show on the WWE Network for awhile, so at least he was on TV.

Previous Installments:
Picks 1-10
Picks 11-20
Picks 21-30
Picks 31-40
Picks 41-51
Picks 52-61

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 NXT Draft Review: 41-51

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 40, and now it's time to author the next 11 picks.

41. Jonah selects Alexander Wolfe
Joe: He has made it to Smackdown, so that’s a nice accomplishment, but he may be the least important person on Smackdown. Earlier, I mentioned Street Profits being The Black Rockers. Well, Sanity is Goth Rockers, with Killian Dain as Shawn Michaels, Eric Young as Marty Jannetty, and Alexander Wolfe as Leif Cassidy, and only Leif Cassidy as there is no Al Snow run to follow.

That was unnecessarily mean as he is very solid, just has been given nothing to make him memorable in any way. I doubt many people even know he’s German.

Jonah: Hey Wolfe made the main roster and that is impressive.  He’s also a former NXT Tag Team Champion. He looked great in that War Games match, he does have some real potential if they ever use him in any way.  Joe mentioned that he is German which is great for the expanding Europe market, but making his gimmick anything German probably won’t go well, a little bit of German culture goes a long way Joe.  The crazy thing is Sanity will probably be tag team champs on the main show at some point, so I think he’s a future tag champion. At 41, that’s a good pick, and really this probably where he deserves to go even if he did already make the main roster.

Joe: Jonah, have you not been paying attention? German thoughts from the 1930s are all the rage in America today. Alexander Wolfe could be the babyface the oppressed white heterosexual males need to fight for their cause.

42-43. Joe selects Aliyah and Thomas Kingdon
Jonah: Aliyah has become a new heel in the lower card of NXT.  She’s getting some TV time and has a gimmick of a rich spoiled girl.  She’s got potential and you never know what she could become in the future.  She’s good enough in the ring and super young. A nice potential pick here. Thomas Kingdon is huge and working at a 24 Hour Fitness.

Joe: Aliyah has had more gimmicks and turns than anyone in NXT history. That seems to give her less aim, but maybe she’ll just become a construction worker and join up with Heavy Machinery on the main roster next month. I’ll just take your word on Thomas Kingdon as I’m not even going to waste my time looking him up.

44-45. Jonah selects Dylan Miley and Josh Woods
Joe: Josh Woods is gone, but the Dylan Miley pick worked out okay for Jonah. He’s now lurking around as Lars Sullivan. Sullivan is going to be interesting, because he plays the monster, but he’s really just a beefier Rusev who has solid charisma but not to the level of Rusev, but he’s American, so his charisma will likely get seen as much higher since he doesn’t have an accent. This is obviously incredible value as he can make a strong case to be in the top ten. I would have liked to see him get some more seasoning in NXT as these quicker call-ups do not have a great history. It will be interesting to see what they do, as he could be a monster on the level of Lesnar or Strowman, or he could end up doing shitty comedy bits and be depressingly underutilized.

Jonah: Dylan Miley looked like a buff George “The Animal” Steel, that’s a good look.  He’s now known as Lars Sullivan and he’s going to the main roster as a monster. He had a good NXT career and he moves up a ton of picks in a redraft.  Great wrestling pick, but he’s a racist so that really bums out my excitement over this pick. Josh Woods won the ROH Top Prospect Tournament in 2017, so he was still a good pick, he’ll be back in the WWE in five years as a huge indy signing.

Joe: Jonah, can you hear me? Are you still living in reality? What have you seen from Josh Woods that makes you think he’ll be a huge Indy signing in five years? I actually like him, and although anything could happen, this is an insane take.

Jonah: In five years Triple H will be signing everyone he can from ROH, that’s just a fact.  He probably renames the WWE NWA-ROH.

46-47. Joe selects Bronson Mathews and Tucker Knight
Jonah: Bronson Matthews won Tough Enough and was hated by everyone, he got released.  Tucker Knight is half of Heavy Machinery and despite looking like garbage at the Portland NXT show, he found gear and a wrestling style that worked for him.  Heavy Machinery is on their way to the main roster so great pick and a higher pick in the redraft.

Joe: Not my best round as Mathews is gone, but Tucker Knight is going up to the main roster so that’s nice value. Still not sure what kind of impact they will have on the main roster as I definitely have doubts about how well they will be used. Either way, I can’t wait for six months of Heavy Machinery vs. The Ascension before it comes to a head on the Vengeance preshow.

48-49. Jonah selects Jeet Rama and Kishan Raftar

Joe: They have not done anything with Jeet Rama, and they released Raftar, but at this point in the draft, you’re basically throwing darts hoping somebody will work out. These darts didn’t hit a bullseye, but he does have some of the greatEST steals coming up later.

Jonah: Good news, Jeet Rama is still signed to NXT.  The WWE needs an Indian superstar, and I can guarantee that Rama is better in the ring than The Great Khali and can pretty confidently say he’s better in the ring than Canadian Jinder Mahal.  If he’s still got that moustache, he’s gonna be over like Rover. Kishan Raftar was released and retired this year, cutting my Indian developmental guys in half.

50-51. Joe selects Gzim Selmani and Sunny Dhinsa
Jonah: These random names are better known as AOP, The Authors of Pain.  Well done on the pick here as they are former NXT Tag Team Champs and former RAW Tag Champs.  They have everything that could make a real monster tag team. They’re The Ascension except physically intimidating and better in the ring.  They were obviously better with Paul Ellering than Drake Maverick, but having some sort of a manager makes tons of sense. Make AOP a real monster tag team and they will be great for the next decade.  I think these guys move up to the top 20, maybe the biggest jump of anyone in the redraft.

Joe: Yeah, definitely a fan of the AOP pick, and although they have had a slow start, they are massive, strong, and have shown they can go in the ring. It would take a lot of things to go wrong for them to not be one of the better tag teams for years to come. Thank God they had cool masks, or otherwise, they may have slipped by.

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

The Ultimate NXT Draft Review: 31-40

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 30, and now we get to 31-40 which may be our weakest group of picks throughout this entire draft.

31. Joe selects Liv Morgan

Jonah: Liv Morgan is another very good pick.  I thought she was very talented in the ring, but her gimmick was that she was from New Jersey and she was dating Enzo Amore.  I mean that’s about as terrible as one person can be. Her joining the Riot Squad and never mentioning New Jersey again has been a big step forward for her, and she dropped a couple hundred pounds of worthless crap by breaking up with Enzo.  The future is bright for Liv, the Riot Squad is a super weak evil group, but it has helped Liv move on and I think she’s a great pick. I would move her up in a redraft.

Joe: You’re actually higher on Liv Morgan than I am due to the fact that her only personality trait is pink tongue. I’m not saying she has no personality, just that she has not been given any chance to show one so it’s hard for me to see a bright future. I’m good with the pick as opposed to impressed by it.

Jonah: Not from New Jersey, not dating Enzo, that’s a great gimmick.

32-33. Jonah selects Sawyer Fulton and Rich Swann

Joe: Both gone, but at least they are midcard talents in MLW.

Jonah: I told you Sawyer Fulton was full of potential and you laughed.  Now he’s killing it in MLW after being a founding member of Sanity. If he doesn’t get hurt there, he’s the next Roman Reigns, fact.  Rich Swann was awesome and was a cruiserweight champion. He was super charismatic and excellent in the ring. If this was the NFL, they would have suspended him for two weeks and he would have already re-won the Cruiserweight Championship.  But he got fired for putting his hands on a woman, and even though the charges were dropped, I’m glad the WWE actually showed a little bit of guts by releasing him. However, Swann was a great pick here, he went up to the main roster and won a championship and was over.  Pretty damn good for the 30s.

Joe: Let’s skip over the value that two guys that are gone provided, despite one winning a less prestigious championship than the Hardcore Title and move on to “the WWE actually showed a little bit of guts by releasing him.” Maybe I’m being too cynical, but this gives the WWE WAAAAAAAAAAAY too much credit. Rich Swann was a disposable talent in their eyes, and that is why they made an example of him. It also seems like a very good possibility that they saw him as disposable because they don’t give a shit about black talent. Randy Orton could punt a woman’s head on camera, and he’d still keep his job while WWE says they take these issues on in a case-by-case basis.

Jonah: Randy Orton has a disability, IED, he just can’t control himself.

34-35. Joe selects Blake and Murphy

Jonah: Wesley Blake has been re-branded as a Forgotten Son.  I’m not sure how well the gimmick will go, but at least he’s on NXT TV and winning matches.  There are a lot worse places to be. Also, at least he knocked up Sara Lee. This is about the right place for him to get drafted in a redraft.  Buddy Murphy is the Cruiserweight Champion, he really reinvented himself to become a cruiserweight singles competitor. I’m not sure how far he’ll get or how long his career as a cruiserweight in the title picture will be, but he’s done well for himself.  He definitely moves up in the redraft, if only to talk to him about how to pick up women because he’s been in a years long relationship with Alexa Bliss. The man has literally invaluable knowledge.

Joe: These dudes FUCK, and that makes them great picks. The Forgotten Sons have been forgettable so far, but eh, it’s something. Meanwhile, Buddy Murphy has been stealing the show at the last few pay per views and is probably only behind Daniel Bryan for his ability to wrestle as a heel as he combines some bending of the rules with just straight up wrestling talent. I think he’s going to have a good run at 205 Live, but I’m hoping to see him make the transition to the Raw/Smackdown level in a year or so.

Also, Buddy Murphy’s secret to get hot chicks is that he’s a super buff and athletic guy with an accent. Ladies tend to like that combination.

Jonah: 0 for 3, better move to another country so I’m 1 for 3.

36-37. Jonah selects Sara Lee and King Constantine
Joe: Both gone, but at least Sara Lee got knocked up.

Jonah: The NXT draft was tough when it got deep because Joe actually lives in Florida and I live in the northwest.  That gives me a better life in every single way, except that I don’t get to go to NXT house shows and see the up and comers.  Sara Lee was an attractive wrestler that the fans loved, so naturally she never even made it to NXT TV. She’s still training and did get knocked up by Blake.  King Constantine was 6’10”, 300 pounds of muscle with an impressive amatuer wrestling background. He was undefeated in singles matches in these NXT house shows, so clearly they saw something in him.  I honestly thought he was a future star. He got released and I haven’t found anything on him.

38-39. Joe selects Hugo Knox and Chris Girard

Jonah: Hugo Knox got released and briefly returned to his former career as a professional soccer player.  I assume he just constantly Flair Flopped whenever anyone gets within 10 feet of him like all soccer players.  Chris Girard AKA Oney Lorcan has done a lot better than I thought he would. He was an indy wrestler, but I just didn’t think he’d catch on in NXT.  He’s probably reached his peak in a tag team, but they’re a popular tag team so well done Girard. You move up a few picks in the redraft.

Joe: As someone who saw Hugo Knox in person a half dozen times, I still stand by the pick. The guy had a ton of charisma and was basically a less talented in wrestling but buffer English version of Alex Wright. Are you saying that is not something you would like to see, because it was very much something that I enjoyed watching. But yeah, this did not turn out to be a good pick.

I think you are greatly underestimating Oney Lorcan. Dude got injured and came back jacked and has been hot fire in his matches with Danny Burch. I have no idea if he has any microphone skills, but his wrestling has been so damn impressive that it might not matter. I’m looking forward to seeing how he develops over the next year.

40. Jonah selects Riddick Moss

Joe: Man, I could have had the quickest analysis of Jonah’s picks ever, but Riddick Moss is still hanging around and actually just came back from an achilles injury. He main evented against Aleister Black at a house show in Largo, and he did it due to the Riddick Regimen. I know he’s mostly been known as the less important guy on a tag team with Tino Sabbatelli, but Moss looked massive, and if he can work on a real angle for his Riddick Regimen, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him have a breakout 2019.

Jonah: Riddick Moss, a guy I picked because he was Finn Balor endorsed.  I got to know him as half of the ex NFL player tag team with Tino Sabbatelli which I already mentioned was a good fit for these guys.  I’m glad to hear that Moss is doing well on the house show circuit. He was a very big dude, and I’m excited to see where this new angle goes for him.  First up, taking revenge on Sabbatelli for his butt implants.

Previous Installments:
Picks 1-10
Picks 11-20
Picks 21-30

The Ultimate NXT Draft Review: 21-30

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 20, so let's tackle picks 21-30 today where things went REALLY well for me.

21. Jonah selects Angelo Dawkins

Joe: I love the Street Profits, so much so that I saw them win their first Tag Team Championships at an Evolve show. They are so much fun, but Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins are the Black Rockers, and sorry, Angelo, you ain’t the Heartbreak Kid. It’s still a fine pick, and we are in the 20s, so it’s not like you can look up at the Moon, have a Dream, and come up with The Idol this late in the draft.

Jonah: The Street Profits are amazing, that’s a fact.  That being said, there are obviously better choices made after this.  In a redraft, Dawkins by himself probably falls about 10 spots, however if The Street Profits are kept together the Early 20’s is probably where they should go.  He’s half of a super over tag team, and while Ford is the better of the two, Dawkins is no slouch.

Joe: In comparison to Montez Ford, Dawkins is the definition of slouch. He’s fine, but if the Street Profits broke up, I do not see a path for him that leads to the main roster.

Jonah: Dawkins brings the swag like nobody can, don’t mean to brag what about it yeah?

22-23. Joe selects Andrade “Cien” Almas and Adrienne Reese

Jonah: Geez Joe, you saw my pick of Gargano and Ciampa and felt like you needed to hit two home runs at some point.  I knew you wanted Almas badly, so I let you have him like Tyson Kidd in the main roster draft. I like you too much to break your heart.  These are obviously both amazing picks, so let’s talk about Andrade’s first 6 months or so on NXT TV. I described him as being dressed as a member of Los Boricuas who joined the American Males.  His finisher was a running tea bag. He was floundering badly. Then came Zelina Vega to save the day. Almas was one half of my favorite wrestling match ever against Gargano at Takeover, so he’s obviously recovered.  On the main roster he’s been putting on great matches against main eventers in losing efforts, but he should have a bright future. If Almas comes with Vega, he may very well be top 5 in a redraft, at least top 10. Adrienne Reese is better known as Ember Moon, another great wrestler.  She was overshadowed by Asuka when they were both in NXT, but she still carved out a good spot for herself. She won the NXT women’s belt and gets good TV time on RAW. She’s not Almas, but she’s still a future Women’s champ on the main roster and moves up a good amount in a redraft. I like her more than Nia Jax for instance, so I think she’s in the 10-15 range in a redraft.  Excellent round Joe, almost as good as getting Gargano and Ciampa in the same round.

Joe: Interesting talking point. Who will have the better WWE career, DIY or Almas and Moon? At this point, I’m probably taking Moon over someone like Bayley, because the crowd seems to like her, but they have been given no reason to care about her. But if the fans are given a reason to care, the pop that she gets on her finisher could make her a special talent. Almas is great in the ring, has a great look, has a great presence, but his ceiling is pretty low since he doesn’t speak English as his first language. As someone who has thoroughly enjoyed jumping into NJPW, I disagree with this concept, but it is the WWE way. I still think he’s a future World Champion, but more of a transitional champion as opposed to a champion who runs the division for six months. DIY is already telling their most interesting story in NXT, and it’s tough to capture that sort of magic twice. I would still say those picks would have the higher ceiling but also a much lower floor.

24-25. Jonah selects TM61

Joe: Had we done this a couple weeks ago, this still would have been a solid pick as I really liked The Mighty as a heel tag team to counter balance all of the love that most NXT guys get. Then, we found out that Nick Miller had been released by the WWE, which really hurts their chances at tag gold. I think Shane Thorne is the better talent, but right now, I have no idea what the future holds with this pick.

Jonah: Not sure why Nick Miller got released, hopefully he requested it.  I looked at this pick and was still pretty happy with it when we started talking about reviewing this draft.  Sure the guys missed some time due to injury, but they were still one of the best tag teams in NXT. Absolutely crushed it against AOP in the finals of the Dusty Classic and they looked bound for stardom.  They went heel, got their dope name of The Mighty back and things seemed good. Apparently, another guy from their stable of The Mighty Don’t Kneel just got signed, so maybe Thorne will be tagging with him soon.  He’s still got a decent chance at a future career, so this isn’t a terrible place for him to be taken, but you crushed it with one of your next picks.

26-27. Joe selects Patrick Clark and Tino Sabbatelli

Jonah: What can you say about Patrick Clark?  He was a random guy who lost Tough Enough at this time.  He turned into the Velveteen Dream, one of the best characters in NXT.  He also crushes it inside the ring. I like that he’s still in NXT because he’s super young, and you might as well let the guy get as good as possible if you don’t have any plans on the main roster.  He’s frequently mentioned as one of the guys in NXT that full timers and legends want to work with. He’s a top 10 pick in the redraft, almost a guaranteed star, though it will be depressing to see how the main roster screws him up.  Tino Sabbatelli was in a rising tag team with fellow ex NFLer Riddick Moss and they were doing pretty well. The team made sense, they had their gimmick down, and they were improving in the ring. Naturally, the team got broken up for no reason and I don’t think Tino has been on TV since.  Good potential, good look, great entrance music, just get the tag team back together and they will make the main roster.

Joe: I’m not saying it will happen, but if you told me Velveteen Dream had the best career of anyone on this list, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least. His progression has been absolutely incredible, and you can tell that this guy understands wrestling psychology far better than most and fully embodies his character in promos and in the ring. There’s not much more to say about him except that he’s incredible.

Even as a heterosexual male, I can recognize that Tino Sabbatelli has an ass that don’t quit. His workrate is a different story.

Jonah: Velveteen Dream is in the running for number one pick, but Balor might still edge him out.  Dream will be awesome.

28-29. Jonah selects Billie Kay and Peyton Royce

Joe: Every time I make a prediction for the women’s division, it involves The IIconics going over, so I love this pick more than any reasonable person should. They are Australia’s greatest treasure, and I am so happy they are in our lives. My heart tells me they are top-10 picks, but my brain says this is probably right around where they should be. But they’re great, and if the world ever catches on to how great they are, the sky is the limit.

Jonah: The IIconics are a good pick.  Billie Kay and Peyton Royce are better in the ring then they show on TV, and they are IIconic outside of the ring and on the mic.  If the WWE ever gets their long rumored Women’s Tag Belts, the IIconics have to be in the championship scene all the time. At least one of them will win the World Championship at sometime, possibly both.  I’m surprised by Joe thinking this is a good place for them, I think they move up in a redraft. They’re not top 10, but they should be top 20, they’re good wrestlers and characters on the main roster. They will be successful in the future.

30. Joe selects Mandy Rose

Jonah: Mandy Rose, I figured she was blond Eva Marie so I didn’t care about her.  I was wrong. Rose isn’t a horsewoman or Asuka or Ember Moon, but she certainly isn’t Eva Marie.  She’s decent in the ring and she has an amazing look. I could do without Corey Graves having a heart attack every time she comes out, but she’s a good character.  Eva Marie who can actually wrestle at an average level is a great place to be. She’s improved wildly and could end up being very good in the ring, while still having an incredible look.  She’s not going to be Trish Stratus, but remember this was the path that Stratus took. Started out as eye candy, worked hard to be a real wrestler. Rose definitely moves up in the redraft at least a few spots, and only a few spots because we have so many people moving up.

Joe: She’s already right there with Trish Stratus. Trish came along during my formative years, so I can never say anyone lives up to her, but realistically, they’re the same. They’re both attractive blondes, right at the same level of in-ring work, and both have a very natural charisma. Trish developed hers to a higher level, but Rose isn’t far behind. And where Trish was at the ceiling of in-ring work, that same level is probably slightly below average these days. I could have just said attractive blonde, and you could assume a big push coming in the next couple years.

Previous Installments:
Picks 1-10
Picks 11-20