The wrestling world is buzzing about the WWE NXT invasion on RAW. I can’t recall any WWE storyline in recent memory causing this much hysteria. The good news is that the WWE hit a home run. The bad news is that there are more innings to play.
As far as the execution of the WWE NXT invasion went, it was flawless. It was as perfect and exciting an angle as you will ever get these days in pro wrestling. WWE NXT winner Wade Barrett set things up earlier with a promo and the angle itself took everyone off guard. I thought it was a great WWE television moment, but can it be a great angle?
It is funny to me that the WWE has been presented with angles like this in the past and completely ignored them. The most famous being the WCW invasion which was a terrible disappointment as opposed to what it really could have been. Why the WWE chose to pull the trigger on such a hot angle now with NXT rookies is a question that I can’t stop asking.
I hate to be the one that rains on the parade because WWE fans are really excited about the NXT invasion, but I have bad news. This angle is doomed for failure. Quite honestly, I am more disappointed that the WWE wasted such a great storyline on the NXT rookies. John Cena being stretchered out was a great first step, but there is nowhere that this angle could go from here but down.
[adinserter block=”1″]My problem with this angle is that the WWE used the NXT rookies as the invaders. Other than Daniel Bryan, none of the NXT rookies are ready for prime time. At some point here the NXT rookies are going to have to wrestle. Did anyone watch NXT? This is a group of guys where some have potential, some don’t, but none of these guys showed me anything on NXT that leads me to believe that they can go in there and have top quality matches with experienced WWE talent in this kind of an angle.
Let’s call a spade a spade here. Is David Otunga really going to go over Randy Orton? Is Heath Slater going to pin Edge? Is Daniel Bryan going to tap out John Cena? I doubt it and theoretically a group of rookies shouldn’t stand a chance against WWE main-event superstars. Even if they do win their matches, the fans just won’t buy it. There is nothing to sell here in my opinion past a few initial invasion angles which will undoubtedly raise the entire angle to a level that won’t be met by the NXT rookies.
[adinserter block=”2″]It is also an extremely dangerous situation to put the NXT rookies in. If the WWE really thinks any of these guys will have a future in the company, why sacrifice them now? The bar has been set high in this angle. If (and I don’t think they will) the NXT rookies can’t meet expectations, they will be seen as flukes and failures. Nobody can convince me that Wade Barrett and Heath Slater could have an exciting match on pay-per-view against a team like John Cena and Edge, etc.
The bottom line here is that this was an exciting moment, but an angle that can never live up to expectations. At some point the NXT rookies will need some veterans to help carry them, yet that would kill the entire NXT rookies vs. WWE angle entirely. You can’t do invasion angles often, but when you do them they usually turn out to be successful and exciting. Why the WWE would risk such a great idea with guys who aren’t ready for prime time is something that I will never know.
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Maybe one of the "disgruntled" veterans will switch sides and join NXT. I mean they already tried to recruit John Cena himself. Maybe a Bret Hart will join them like Hulk Hogan did for NWO and maybe right during that survivor series fight. Maybe another veteran switches sides. Maybe the NXT starts recruiting like the NWO did. Its a matter of picking the right veterans for the shock value.
I agree with some of your points, but I do not believe the angle is doomed for failure.
I do see the rookies sticking close together to take on all comers, and possibly start picking up more for their stable from the season 2 rookies given the events of the nxt season 2 premire.
On a side note, if anyone caught the FCW main event last night of Daniel Bryan/Heath Slater vs. The Miz/Christian in a tag match, find it and watch it before RAW. Good match, but you'll see where the NXT rookies are headed, they are going to have to rely on eachother for a few weeks. (Maybe Daniel Bryan/Bryan Danielson can teach Otunga a new submission besides the abdominal stretch…..ok, not going to happen but I can dream.)
You can always do this like the straight edge society (and so many others over the years.) Daniel Bryan and Wade Barrett are the leaders, they do ALL the main-card wrestling. The other NXT guys interfere in the main event matches and wrestle the mid-carders and lower. And don't forget, the NXT guys will pick up Low Ki and the other NXT2 wrestlers in the fall.
I think for it to succeed, there has to be more to it then JUST the rookies. There's going to have to be a veteran presence. But pulling that off (that being, a new faction that's out to brutalize everybody and take over) in a way that a) elevates the NXT guys they want to elevate and b) is not just the same ol' shit, is going to be tough.
.-= Billy´s last blog ..The Road Dead Ends Before Omaha =-.
While I agree with your premise I think you need to look at how this could play out positively. Is Skip Sheffield going to go over Cena one on one next week, NO (or at least he shouldn't). While for the most part the rookies are lacking individually, they do have strength in numbers. Picture this…
For the next few weeks they come out and beat down a different Superstar. Next week Edge, then Orton, or maybe Rey Mysterio. Even if matches start one on one, they don't have to end that way. How often did Hall & Nash actually wrestle in the nWo. Most of their matches ended in interference. They usually saved it up for the pay-per-views. Talk starts about who the mysterious mastermind of the group is, that takes a few more weeks. Finally someone (a second tier wrestler like Bourne or Kingston) stands up to them and we have straight one on one matchs. That way the rookies can hold their own a little easier. Also they can be carried a little too by having tag team and six man matches along the way. Now you're into late summer and they have all had a few months of television exposure to polish their act. By then the next group of NXT rookies are ready to come in, maybe as "faces" to fight the NXT "heels".
Also, one last point which I know you know, it's always easier to get over with the crowd as a "heel". I think that's why they brought them in this way.
You make some good points, but I think this angle can still succeed. Even if many of the NXT are still green, it is clear that Daniel Bryan and Wade Barrett are ready for prime time. John Cena vs. Bryan or Barrett at Summerslam would be a great match-up that many people would now be interested in (thanks to the events on Monday). The other rookies can simply play the role of the supporting cast, ala the nWo B-team. They don't all have to be main-eventers. As long as Bryan and Barrett are established as the lead guys, this angle will work well.