Opinion
Mcleod: What Does 2019 Hold For NXT?
What does the future hold for NXT?
Scott Mcleod takes a look at the future of WWE NXT after another exciting Takeover from Phoenix.
Saturday night we saw another great Takeover show with NXT Takeover: Phoenix. While I think there have been better Takeovers but we did get an early match of the year candidate with Johnny Gargano vs Ricochet.
Looking at the show has me wondering what does the rest of 2019 hold for NXT as it’s likely that most of the people on the card won’t be around for much longer.
While in the last few years NXT has established itself as a third brand and not just developmental but being developmental puts a limit on how long people can be there. As soon as someone has big loss the speculation begins whether or not they’ll get called up.
Most of last nights card have been mainstays in NXT for a while now and are approaching the point that there’s not a lot left from them. You have Undisputed Era, Aleister Black, Johnny Gargano, Shayna Baszler, Tommaso Ciampa.
You could say the same about Velveteen Dream but as I’ve covered in another article Dream has more he can do in NXT. He’ll hold the NXT North American Championship before he’s done. Similarly I think Ricochet will stick around for a while, maybe getting a NXT title shot.
Undisputed Era have run NXT for a long time and with them finally losing the tag titles to War Raiders they look prime for a call up. I see them being a post Mania call up as Strong & O’Reilly are due a rematch and Cole was involved in that brawl when the show went off air.
I’ve heard a rumour of Gargano vs Ciampa in a title for title match at the Mania weekend which would be great. I see the loser going up and the winner by the end of the year.
Whenever these guys get called up WWE needs to look who they have currently have on the roster in NXT who could step up when those guys leave. If there was a time to build new stars it’s right now
War Raiders will likely be the dominant tag team for a while as there aren’t many heel teams other than Forgotten Sons. Matt Riddle just screams future NXT Champion to me. He’ll likely have the title by SummerSlam weekend.
You’ve got the likes of Keith Lee, Street Profits, Io Shari, Candice LeRae, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch to name a few all waiting for an opportunity. That’s before the debut of newly signed talent like Kushida, Trevor Lee & Ilja Dragunov. Then there’s Kassius Ohno looks like he may never be called up.
Another thing that would be great is more integrating with NXT UK. We’ve already seen the UK title defended on NXT and recently the likes of Fabian Aichner, Marcel Barthel and Deonna Purrazzo appearing on NXT UK.
It might take a while like it did in late 2016 early 2017 to feel like the same NXT again but that’s why they shouldn’t call too many people up at once. We’ve already seen 6 people get called up and the main roster is crowded as it is. We don’t need more people to get lost in the shuffle.
Call up the people they have a plan for which gives the NXT audience time to get use to the new faces. This way they’ll be more accepting once the old faces finally leave.
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Opinion
Chris King: Is Brock Lesnar Truly Retired?
Brock Lesnar retired at WWE WrestleMania 42, right? Are we totally sure? Chris King asks…
Brock Lesnar retired at WWE WrestleMania 42, right? Are we totally sure? Chris King asks…
At WrestleMania 42, ‘The Beast Incarnate’ Brock Lesnar took off his boots and gloves following his loss to Oba Femi. Lesnar has done it all inside of his twenty-four-year career in professional wrestling. He’s a ten-time WWE Champion and former UFC Heavyweight Champion, and he’s one who ended The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania.
While Lesnar was in the ring, he was visibly overwhelmed with emotion and crying while he thanked the fans in his own way. The Beast even threw up an x to signal to Paul Heyman, his longtime friend and advocate, that this was not scripted and was real. There had been rumors that Lesnar and Oba were supposed to have a series of matches before everything went down at Mania.
‘The Career Killer’ Gunther was doing Heyman’s bidding as he faced Seth Rollins for a favor. For a while now since Gunther retired Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles, the rumor has been Gunther was set to retire Lesnar in his hometown at this year’s SummerSlam event. There’s been no confirmation if Lesnar is truly retired, but on this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, we saw Heyman talking with General Manager Nick Aldis. Later that night following Rhodes’ match against the debuting Ricky Saints, Gunther choked out the WWE Champion. Could this be the favor from Heyman?
I know in the world of professional wrestling we live by the mantra of “never say never,” but what if Lesnar is actually retired and this was WWE’s way of shutting down those rumors about Gunther and Lesnar? What if Gunther’s next program is chasing after the WWE title, and where is Randy Orton at in all of these plans? There are so many questions that need to be answered, hopefully soon!
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Opinion
Chris King: Defend The Intercontinental Championship At Backlash!
With WWE Backlash upon us, Chris King wants to see Penta defend the Intercontinental Championship in Tampa!
With WWE Backlash upon us, Chris King wants to see Penta defend the Intercontinental Championship in Tampa!
This year’s annual Backlash showcase is only a few days away, and while there are many big matches announced, one that definitely should be isn’t on the card. In my opinion, outside of Roman Reigns/Jacob Fatu and Seth Rollins/Bron Breakker, the Intercontinental Championship scene has been stellar over the last month.
Penta has been an excellent champion, especially after his triumphant title defense in a ladder match against JeVon Evans, Rusev, Dragon Lee, and the Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 42. Their ladder match at Mania was one of the best that WWE has produced in a while.
The momentum never stopped, as on the post-Mania episode of Monday Night Raw, ‘All Ego’ Ethan Page made his debut and was quickly inserted into the Intercontinental title scene. Page had a fantastic showing against his longtime NXT rival Evans and picked up a big win in his debut match thanks to an assist from Rusev.
All Ego immediately joined forces with ‘The Bulgarian Brute’ Rusev, who was also vying for the Intercontinental Title in his own right. On this week’s episode of Raw, Page and Rusev defeated Evans and Penta. All Ego pinned the champion, making a huge statement and putting him one step closer to getting a title shot. For the past few weeks I’ve been anxiously waiting to see if WWE was going to add this incredible fatal four-way match for the Intercontinental Championship, but it hasn’t happened yet.
As much as the WWE Universe enjoys witnessing great matches on free television, I truly believe all four superstars deserve the chance to showcase their talents on the PLE. While Penta has done a terrific job as the intercontinental champion, it’s time for a fresh face to hold the prestigious title. Page would make a great braggadocious heel that would help elevate the Intercontinental Championship to new heights!
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Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
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