Don't get me wrong, I think he's awesome too. But in a WWE where they've been giving us Roman vs Brock and Brock vs Cena and Brock vs Goldberg, etc for YEARS now, I just don't see how a guy like VD ever gets a role on the main roster beyond something like what Finn Balor is doing now.

I hope I'm wrong though.

That spot at the beginning of the clip, right after the cartwheel? Pretty sure, just from looking at it without any other information, that it was meant to be a splash. Given the close proximity and the fact that he never left his feet, I can't see how an attempted diving headbutt would end up looking like that.

Oh I thought you were talking about the spot at 1:23.

The one at the beginning is really sloppy, but it's not that bad. He at least lands on the guy.

It's not nearly as bad of a botch as Aleister Black/Lars Sullivan for example.

It would be difficult to not land on the guy when you're just falling from directly above him. It's less that it's some all-time terrible botch than that it's funny because of how goofy-looking it comes across; it really strikes me as though he somehow forgot that jumping is generally part of a splash, so he just never left his feet. For some reason it's always just been one of those minor oddball moments that has stuck in my mind.

I like NXT but my main gripe that makes me routinely dip out for periods is that it's so obvious the wrestlers are all getting the same instructions as far as presentation.

So many of them do the same routine on the way to the ring with slight variations. It reminds of me of Scorpion, SubZero, and Reptile in Mortal Kombat.

Kassius Ohno is still around!?

The famed Cypress Hill lyrics come to mind--

fat boy on a diet

don't try it

check yo ass like a looter in a riot.

Bizarre episode of NXT.

*Completely lost in the shuffle Nikki Cross battles debuting wrestler (holy **** that chick was ripped).

*Completely lost in the shuffle Kassius Ohno battles debuting wrestler

*Two debuting wrestlers. Keith Lee seems like a star already. Glad this wasn't a complete squash though. Barthel showed a ton of potential too. And using Dvorak's New World Symphony as a theme was awesome.

*Two women who don't really get a lot of screen time in a MYC qualifier. Result was a little surprising, as they've been low-key pushing Borne, while (future main roster champion) Conti has been doing ~nothing lately.

I still liked the episode (and anything with a Velveteen Dream segment is good by me), but it was pretty odd.

PPV Saturday.

I'll be watching. And drinking. That's a can't miss combo.

I'm watching this week's NXT and VD came out.

Man, what I wouldn't give to have seen a feud with him vs 2016 NXT Nakamura. Wouldn't that be fun.

The card is pretty stacked. Should be fun.

Imo Main Roster Nakamura >>>> NXT Nakamura


NXT Nakamura sucked ass at every point after his first match.

Main roster Nakamura was super boring until like four months ago, imo.

Eh, don't really think I agree with this.

He got a MONSTER pop from winning the rumble. (I will concede that some fraction of that was due to the fact that he was "not Roman Reigns")

Also you might be understating how terrible his NXT title run was. It's a damn good thing the tag division was on fire during that time.

The Balor/Joe/Nakamura main event scene was legit the worst NXT ever was and its not close. Nak has honestly been super lazy in the ring for his entire run aside from hisnfirst match and that last bit of the RR vs Roman

I made a thread for Takeover.

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/2...n-4-a-1720422/

Heel Nak >>> Face SD Nak = NXT Nak

Still can't believe how much the Johnny Gargano storyline mirrors what Impact is doing with Eddie Edwards, right down the obsession, the insanity, both ending up in the title picture and both of their wives starting in the women's division during the angle.

Just a reminder that VD is the best professional wrestler in the world today.

What's the general state of the quality of the weekly NXT product these days? Now that I'm using Hulu a fair bit, I might be bothered to keep up when new NXT eps drop.

Vd and Gargano had a takeover quality match last week.

This week was filler except for an amazong Ciampa promo.

Overall its probably the best wrestling show on tv

NXT is still great.

Women's division is meh.

Tag division is a step down from the AOP/Revival/DIY peak, but very good.

Men's division top to bottom might be the best it's ever been. The midcard is absurdly stacked right now.

HOLY **** ARE THEY BUILDING TO TOMMASO CIAMPA VS VELVETEEN DREAM?

NXT is absolutely on fire right now. Takeover looks stacked, and there are only three matches announced.

Anyone in for the PPV tonite? Starts at 7 EST (?)

I don't follow NXT (probably a leak), I didn't even know there was a Takeover tonight until someone told me a few hours ago.

Then I saw Ciampa/Velveteen Dream was on the card, and I'm definitely in.

👍👍👍

One of the annoying things WWE does for people that follow closely is that at PPVs they constantly show video packages that summarize the past few weeks of shows.

BUT, for those of us that don't follow closely, these are great for just jumping in and watching a PPV and understanding the stories.