The Ultimate NXT Draft: Picks 11-20

It has been three years since Jonah and I did an NXT Fantasy Draft to make our picks of who are going to be the next great superstars in the WWE. Then, about six months ago, we reviewed all of the picks to figure out what went right and what went wrong. We realized three things through this process. First off, very few wrestlers are in NXT from that original draft, and even the ones that are have changed dramatically over the last few years. Second, and more importantly for the strategy of this draft, is that we realized we cannot rely on WWE success to determine the strength of our selections as many of their creative decisions do not optimize their talent. So this draft is not predicting future success as much as it is drafting the wrestlers that we would want to build our organization around. Finally, we decided to be inclusive in this draft so not only will we have NXT and all of the wrestlers at the Performance Center, but we will include everyone over in NXT UK and even 205 Live since all of them are still working to progress in their career.

Today, we continue the series with the wrestlers who fell just beyond the top 10 picks.

11. Jonah selects Shayna Baszler

Jonah: She’s the NXT women’s champ and a very talented wrestler to boot. She’s not a great promo, but she’s not terrible either. She gets her point across through actions rather than words which works well for her. Baszler clearly made the transition from MMA to pro wrestling very smoothly, and she has good worked strikes as well as a strong technical wrestling ability. She’s a great heel, who generates lots of hate, but the good pro wrestling kind of hate. While Baszler was never anywhere near Ronda Rousey in terms of MMA, she may end up surpassing her in professional wrestling.

Joe: I would say that I’m actually a bigger fan of her promos than you seem to be. Her promos fit her wrestling style where she is a bully, and even though she can get mumbly in her promos, it totally fits that this is the bully that you can’t say anything to, because she will kick the crap out of you. She’s been the Women’s NXT Champion for quite a while, so it’s pretty easy to make the case that she should have been the first woman taken. Obviously, I am not making that case, but it’s not due to any flaw I see in Baszler, just the ceiling that I see in Belair.

12. Joe selects Io Shirai

Joe: There were only a small number of women that I really valued highly in the WWE system. There’s many more with potential to wow, but I wanted to get some guaranteed women that could carry my fantasy organization. I think it’s fairly safe to say that Io Shirai is the best women’s wrestler in NXT, and she might simply be the best women’s wrestler in the world. I’m not going to get into all of the arguments for other ladies in the WWE and around the world, but all you really need to know is Io Shirai OWNS. Now that she has unleashed her sadistic side by attacking Shayna Baszler after their Takeover match, I am really excited to see where things go for her. The sky is certainly the limit for this Genius.

Jonah: We need to get further down the list so I can actually shit talk some of your picks. I really wanted Shirai, she’s extremely talented. She does have the same issue Kushida does in having English as her second language, but that’s really her only downside. It’s actually an incredible compliment to NXT that I’m not sure if she’s the best women’s wrestler there, but she’s definitely one of the top ones. I see her challenging for the newly formed women’s trio belts with Kairi Sane and Asuka in 2022.

13. Joe selects Candice LeRae

Joe: This is me drafting with my heart instead of my brain. Now don’t get me wrong, Candice LeRae wasn’t going to fall much further than this, but even I have to admit that Pete Dunne was probably the way to go with this pick if I was picking logically. But Candice LeRae is responsible for me falling in love with independent wrestling.

Back in 2015, my brother and I went to our first WrestleMania. This was before Indys took over WrestleMania weekend, but I did find out about the WrestleCon Supershow. They announced some of the names that would be there, but there were also a lot of surprises. Most of the names meant nothing to me, because I was fully a WWE guy at the time. I was most interested in nostalgia, so needless to say, my mind was blown when Disco Inferno was in the opening match as I thought he was a big enough name to main event the card. The matches were fun, and I was seeing things that were definitely blowing my mind, but nothing compared to the tag match.

The World’s Cutest Tag Team, Joey Ryan and Candice LeRae, took on the World’s Dudest Tag Team, Caleb Konley and Zane Riley (in drag). I didn’t know matches like this happened. I didn’t know women could be competitive with men. I didn’t know women could suplex men by their testicles. Most of all, I didn’t know wrestling could be this fun. Candice was the star of the match as she absolutely laid it all on the line and just went balls (ovaries?) out. Pete Dunne is objectively great, but I’m good to stick with the blonde girl.

Jonah: Joey Ryan? Whatever happened to that blonde girl he used to hang out with? He really needs her watching his back. LeRae is great, the only downside is that she hasn’t really been able to show her full skill set in NXT yet. They need to show she’s a real threat and a real wrestler, but Mrs. Wrestling should have a bright future ahead of her.

14. Jonah selects Pete Dunne

Jonah: Pete Dunne is straight up awesome. I’m sure this will get a big reaction out of Joe, but he’s as good as WALTER in the ring, and he has that same presence where he just feels like a big deal when he shows up. People just love the guy. He’s also only 25 years old. I think he has a real shot at becoming the first British WWE World Champion.

Joe: I am not about to dispute that Pete Dunne is awesome. That dude straight up owns. He’s phenomenal in the ring, and if Candice LeRae didn’t mean way too much to me, I would have taken him earlier. I have no issue with you saying he’s as good as WALTER in the ring; in fact, he might be better, but saying he has the presence of WALTER? Come on, now. WALTER walks into a grocery store, and people stop scanning items; Pete Dunne walks into the grocery store, and people ask him if he needs help reaching the top shelf.

Jonah: Pete Dunne is one of the most over people in all of NXT, that’s presence. He’s a badass without being big, that’s presence.

15. Jonah selects Toni Storm

Jonah: I’m not sure if this pick was a bit of a shock or not, but Joe had taken some talented women and I needed to make sure I wasn’t left behind. Storm was specifically mentioned by Becky Lynch as someone she would like to face at Wrestlemania in the future. She was a quarter finalist in the first Mae Young Classic and won the second. She’s the current WWE UK Women’s Champion and is incredibly over. She is beautiful, talented in the ring and over at the ripe old age of 23. She’ll be one of the top women’s stars in the WWE for the next 10 to 15 years once she moves to the main roster. She’s from New Zealand, so there’s nothing keeping her in the UK. Put it down, in a few years she will be a very early pick in a WWE mock draft.

Joe: I definitely expected Toni Storm to go in this range. She’s good in the ring and still has a lot of potential for more. I saw her live in one match, and since her opponent was garbage, the match kind of left a bad taste in my mouth since I was expecting to be wowed. I think that’s more the struggle of being a woman on the independent scene than anything against her though. She’s quite good, but I felt better about some other women on the roster.

16.Joe selects Shane Strickland Isaiah Scott

Joe: When we first started this draft, his name was still Shane Strickland, but he has been fully taken over by the WWE machine to become Isaiah Scott. You can call him whatever you want, but the guy has been one of the top independent wrestlers out there for the last few years. Jonah already hinted at it in the Matt Riddle portion of this draft, but seeing “Swerve” take on “The King of Bros” at Defy in Seattle was without a doubt one of the best matches I have ever seen, and it may very well have that top spot in my personal rankings. Anyway, I have personally seen Strickland have many great matches, some against well known guys like Cage, and some against some surprising names like Fabian Aichner and Jimmy Havoc. He’s awesome in the ring, and he has a persona that translates very well to WWE. It’ll be interesting where he gets slotted in early on as he won a ton of titles on the independent scene, but it never seemed like he reached the peak “indy darling” status. My only immediate hope is that he gets to keep the “Swerve” nickname. He’s an immense talent, can have great matches with anyone and could be somebody who Jonah deeply regrets not taking in a year or two.

Jonah: This one hurt. Isaiah Scott, AKA Shane Strickland AKA Swerve AKA Killshot is awesome. He’s incredibly talented in the ring, I mean he’s the other half of my favorite match that I’ve seen in person. His persona is good, but to be honest, his promo skills need some work. I guess it isn’t a huge deal when you’re that good in the ring, but if his promo skills develop in NXT he’s an early pick in our next draft.

Joe: I think he has shown a good amount in promos, especially with some of his work in MLW. I also admire the guy for starting a podcast to just get himself talking more; it’s a really great way to build comfort and piece ideas together verbally.

17.Joe selects Kacy Catanzaro

Joe: This was the last woman’s wrestler that I rated very highly on my list, and it is still a ton of projection, but the agility and balance is so ridiculous compared to anyone I have seen in women’s wrestling that she could be a true game changer. She is very small as I’m pretty sure she’ll be looking up to Alexa Bliss, but the athleticism is so out of this world that her potential is out of this world. Also, right now, I have only seen her strength used to support her own body weight, but considering how strong you have to be to succeed in American Ninja Warrior, it wouldn’t shock me if she showed some freakish strength in her matches at some point. And since I had my four horsewomen (everything is some variation of the Four Horsemen when describing four people in professional wrestling), I took some time off and let Jonah take the next seven ladies in this draft.

Jonah: Athleticism is off the charts, really unbelievable stuff. I actually remember watching her on one of the only episodes of Ninja Warrior I’ve ever seen, she can do things that 99.9% of people can’t, just like her boyfriend Ricochet. What a fun mixed tag challenge team they would make. She’s cute and can clearly play the underdog, book her like a female Rey Mysterio and things will go well for her.

Joe: I don’t think she has a 20-year-old kid that can stand around the back with her for months for no reason, but I love the idea of Catanzaro vs. Samoa Joe.

Jonah: Talk about a new money gimmick for Ricochet.

18. Jonah selects Tyler Bate

Jonah: Bate is a guy who seems to have gotten a bit lost in the shuffle of WALTER and Pete Dunne, but man can he still wrestle like a boss. He’s another guy with that same natural charisma, he got over by touching his moustache. He’s also crazy strong, especially for his size, he can really play off that by deadlift suplexing guys much bigger than him and getting those Cesaro pops. I’ve been a big fan of youth so far and Bate is the youngest of them all at 22.

Joe: Yeah, I probably would have taken Tyler Bate with my next go-around, but Catanzaro was the last woman that I felt like I needed to get. Bate is incredible in the ring for his age, and although his only discernible personality trait is, “has mustache,” currently, I think he will develop more of a persona as time goes on.

19. Jonah selects Mia Yim

Jonah: Yim is a talented wrestler who has experience performing for a “national” company in TNA as their world champion. I think her character is interesting and unique as it’s very different than what is usually seen from Asian females in professional wrestling. Her uniqueness and her wrestling talent will eventually lead to at least an NXT Women’s Title run for her, and she’s 29 meaning she has plenty of time left to succeed on the main roster as well.

Joe: Jonah, you love the ages of people. I do like Mia Yim as I think she’s very good, but I haven’t been wowed by her. She had a very entertaining series of matches with Bianca Belair, but I’m certainly not ready to crown her a future NXT Champion, a belt that Becky Lynch never obtained.

Jonah: As a guy who can barely walk at my age, let me tell you that age does matter. I draft for the future.

20.Joe selects Tommaso Ciampa

Joe: Neck injuries are scary, but modern medical procedures have elevated the chances of a full recovery. In real life, I am hoping for a full recovery from Ciampa, who has been through a lot of tough things, and deserves a positive break. As for my fantasy organization, this pick makes sense at this point since I really don’t have any reason to believe Johnny Gargano is better than Ciampa, so I’m getting an extra top-5 pick at best, top-10 at worst. Ciampa is really great at telling a story in the ring, and yeah, I just hope he gets healthy in real life, because he’s always been a pleasure to watch.

Jonah: Ciampa fell too far, he’s awesome in the ring and very charismatic, but man has he been hurt a lot. It’s not just his recent neck injury, but his old knee injury that worries me as well. I love Ciampa and I hope he comes back healthy and stays healthy.

Previously in the NXT Draft:
Picks 1-10

Independent Wrestling Is on the Verge of Being Cool

Last weekend, I made what is now becoming an annual trip across the country, from Tampa to Seattle, to watch independent wrestling (and see my brother). This trip was pretty incredible as I was able to see two top notch shows with Progress traveling in from the United Kingdom for their first ever US tour, and Defy putting on another incredible local show where they continue to gain buzz. These shows were so good that I realized that it went beyond great pro wrestling shows; they were simply incredible shows, and I truly believe that pro wrestling is on the verge of being considered the best live entertainment option for regular folks. That's right; pro wrestling might actually become...cool?

I know you are laughing at me right now, and I'm not even mad about that. It's totally understandable, and I was hesitant to write this post, because I knew how outlandish the idea was at first glance, but I also 100% believe that going to pro wrestling will not only be acceptable, but a desirable weekend night out.

When I talk about pro wrestling, let me make it clear that I am not referring to the WWE. The WWE has, by far, the most talent in the world, and I would be fine if I never saw another WWE arena show again in my life. They are the ketchup of the pro wrestling world; popular mostly because availability and reliability, but you're rarely wowed by ketchup. WWE is fine, but WWE is not nearly as fun.

Instead, I am talking about independent wrestling. Many independent wrestling shows are 21+ which means there are no children there, and drinking is not only allowed but encouraged. The value of the former is that independent wrestling is allowed to put on a show for adults. They will cuss, be sexually provocative, and occasionally fly into the crowd. The value of the latter is that everything is better when you can have a beer of seven.

I have been fortunate to see some really awesome events. I love sporting events, but they all have their issues. Baseball can be slow, football is always slow, basketball and hockey are great, but they have their fair share of blowouts, soccer ain't too bad, but it ain't too great either, and golf is nice because you get to be outside and walk around, but it isn't that much better than just a day at a park.

On the cultural side, I have seen great bands, entertaining plays, and even a few musicals, but even at their best, they can't compare to pro wrestling (although Steel Panther does come close).

Here's the thing: Pro wrestling is the best of both worlds. First off, it involves insane athleticism. I know they are not necessarily competing against each other, but instead with each other, but you get the same high of watching people compete. Also, with them competing together, they can do far more to put on a better show. When going to a sports contest, you are lucky to see a handful of memorable athletic feats, but you will likely see at least that many in most live wrestling matches. And if your only argument is, "Durr, it's fake," all I can say is that it may be predetermined, but there are certain things that you simply cannot fake, and you and I would both likely vomit from pain and exhaustion if we were put through a five minute wrestling match.

Oh yeah, it also adds the characters and built-in drama that you would see on stage. Are some of the characters over-the-top and cheesy? Of course they are, but let's take a step back and recognize that rapping Alexander Hamilton and singing cats are as stupid as anything pro wrestling has done, and people seem to be just fine with that. Oh yeah, and every single performance is unique. I haven't seen Hamilton, but I can tell you how it ends. In wrestling, the script changes, and even though it is predetermined, you WILL pick a wrestler to cheer for. It's logically stupid, but it's just like a TV show or movie, where you find characters you pull for, and characters you want to see horrible things happen to, and doing it live adds so much fun.

And although I mentioned it being scripted, it's much more of an outline, and the outline is basically, start off like this, do a bunch of cool shit in the middle, finish with this. That do a bunch of cool shit in the middle is not only awesome, but you can help influence it. If you see two brutal chops to a man's chest that are so loud and hard that it sounds like a shotgun blast, you can start a "One more time" chant to get that poor wrestler even more abused. When you see something great, you can repeatedly yell "This is awesome." And if you see something disturbing, it is more than acceptable to chant, "You sick fuck" at the wrestler. Let's face it, we'd all be happier if we got to call people sick fucks more often.

Now, I must admit that Defy and Progess put on INCREDIBLE shows. They had it all; action, drama, comedy, and over the two nights, I probably saw two matches that I would consider average, where everything else was good to "OH MY GOD, I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT IS HAPPENING." I'm a fan of brutality, so seeing a guy from Austria named WALTER (it's in all caps so you know he's awesome) brutalize opponents will always appeal to me. There were also genetic freaks like Brian Cage, possibly the next big thing in all of wrestling with Shane "Swerve" Strickland, incredibly crazy luchadors like Bandido, and even some comedy with Trent Seven. Shit, man, this show even bucked the stereotype that wrestling is only for backwoods rednecks by having well-respected women wrestlers like Toni Storm and, GASP, positive representations of homosexuals with the tag team of Sexy Starr. When I type all of that out, I refuse to believe there is a person out there that wouldn't want to see an independent wrestling show.

Not all independent shows are going to be at that level so you may not see that great of variety of amazing wrestling, but you would be surprised at how many places have incredibly good shows. You can find a great show in any major city, and even if you live in a smaller city, there is always independent wrestling. Sure, you might not be watching future superstars, but the beer is probably cheaper, and that's tough to beat.

Considering the cost of live entertainment, you can definitely find an affordable show, and there is no such thing as a bad seat, because they are always in very small buildings. The shows I went to were about as expensive as it gets, but there are very few shows that you can't get into for $20 or less. I went to a show in Tampa where I was in the third row, and if I did a 180 in my seat, I was bellied up to the bar - best of both worlds.

Will you watch some things and think, "Oh, that is so stupid?" Yeah, of course you will. Even I think some things are stupid, and there are pro wrestlers that I simply don't care for. But on the whole, you are going to find way more things to like than not. At its best, you're giggling with excitement at what you are seeing, and at worst, you are giggling at the performers, but either way you're smiling and having a good time. All I'm saying is to give it a chance, because I would hate to see you realizing five years down the line that you could have seen the most incredible combination of athleticism and drama, but you were too much of a nerd to realize how cool it was to go to a wrestling show.