NXT Season 3, Episodes 1 to 5
I really enjoyed WWE’s NXT Season 1. Season 2 was definitely a step down, but I was still pleased with it. And now we’re in the all-female Season 3, which only had four episodes air on TV before becoming a web exclusive (at least in the US) last week. I think there are some positive aspects to it, and so far, I like most of these girls better than the current crop of WWE Divas. But I have a feeling this show will die soon, with Michael Cole ballroom dancing on its grave.
The Rookies:
I love that Naomi is very athletic. She moves very well in the ring, and definitely has a lot of promise. She’s pretty good at speaking, too. Very vibrant and outspoken. Out of all the girls, she seems to be the full package. I’d love to see her make it to the main roster, assuming she doesn’t get Gail Kim’d.
Kaitlyn seems to be the one they’re grooming to be the winner. If not, there sure are an awful lot of parallels to Daniel Bryan. She’s not bad in the ring or on the mic, but she didn’t really seem to stand out to me until she began rebelling against Vickie. I don’t think she deserves to win over Naomi, though.
AJ moves pretty well and seems very comfortable in the ring. She definitely has promise. I like that she’s so bubbly and excited, but the “Hey I’m a nerd” thing is slightly off-putting. I don’t see her winning the competition, but I would like to see more of her. And she’s too cute to turn away completely.
Maxine isn’t bad in the ring, but she seems a bit off at times. On the mic, however, she’s been pretty dull. For the only heel in the mix, she really doesn’t stand out much. Which I find a bit surprising, because her promo video was pretty strong. In the chat room for the first web-exclusive episode, everyone was shocked that she wasn’t the first eliminated. Frankly, I suspect it’s solely because they didn’t want to drop their only heel in the first elimination. Either that, or they want to continue her Hornswoggle feud.
Aksana has been decent in the ring. She plays the clueless foreigner pretty well, but she doesn’t stand out much beyond that. Her storyline with Goldust has been kind of interesting, so I expect her to stick around as his new Marlena. I almost wonder if she’s going to marry him for the green card and then betray him somehow, but that would be a quick way to ruin her character. She’s too cute to be evil.
Jamie scares me. She’s thin as a toothpick, but as ripped as Schwarzenegger. She’s not terrible in the ring, but she does seem a little stiff. Her promos are also a little scary, and they certainly don’t seem very PG. Of course, she’s already been eliminated, and I don’t particularly miss her. I’d be surprised if they brought her back for anything but announcing. I preferred Savannah, though.
The Pros:
For an all female season, only half the pros are actually female wrestlers. And the most experienced and talented of those three is… Kelly Kelly. Derp. Then we have two men. For a male competition, Goldust would make a great mentor, but this really limits the kinds of matches we can see. And last, but only least in wrestling skill, is Vickie Guerrero. I love her dearly, and she has been one of the best things about this season. But as a fan of actual wrestling, she’s just not a good choice. Also, Michael Cole is trying to ruin her.
Webcast:
I like that they’re trying to turn this web-exclusivity into an experiment in increased interactivity, but there are still a few kinks that WWE needs to work out. Most importantly, the quality of the stream is awful. Although it did have the advantage of the ringside announcers being nearly inaudible, while the rest of the show was at normal volume levels. The idea of having a live chat is also nice, but since it’s below the video window, it’s nearly impossible to participate in it while watching the show. Can’t they put it on the side instead of the static ads? I did glance at the chat during down periods, and it definitely was cool to see others’ live thoughts, but I didn’t do any chatting myself. I liked the pop-up polls at the end, too, and the “rate your experience” thing was kind of neat (I think my score averaged out to 3.5). But, yeah, it could use some improvement.
Miscellaneous:
A lot of the competitions have been pretty stupid, but some were still entertaining. I think I liked the flag one the best. The obstacle course was decent, and the wheelbarrow thing wasn’t that bad either. The talking ones were all hit-and-miss. I didn’t hate the musical chairs as much as I probably should have, but the dancing was just a waste of time (and another excuse for Cole trolling).
On that note, I don’t really want to talk about Michael Cole anymore than I already have. Because then I’d have to think about him. But I do wonder why Vince McMahon seems to be intentionally trying to sabotage one of his products. It’s not ECW anymore; he created this one! I seem to remember him announcing the concept for the series personally, no less.
CM Punk is such an amazing announcer. Oh my goodness. I wish he could have been a permanent replacement for Cole, but, again, Vince McMahon is a sadist.
Overall:
I would still like to see more of this show, but it definitely won’t shock me to see it vanish after this season. And it would be such a waste. Building new stars is something WWE needs to do, and this show has been a big help in doing that.
I don’t know about the series’ international availability, but Americans can check it out on Hulu or WWE.com. Help me rub it in Vince’s face and stop the Cole trolling!
this came as a shock to me, but how can you actually like something as stupid and fake as WWE is beyond me. aren’t you feeling that your intelligence is being insulted while you watch it? can’t believe it, a person with high critical thinking and intelligence like you…
That’s a question I’ve been meaning to answer for a long time. I’ve actually been planning to write a big post about it sooner or later, but I keep putting it off or not having the time. I guess this is good motivation to finally get started on it.