Well part of why my cited example about HBK and Austin worked is that they had motivation to win (the tag titles in that case).

With this NXT example - which was a carbon copy of many, many instances before it - it was just to put them in a match with nothing on the line and then do the "CAN THEY GET ALONG?" thing. Not only that, but apparently if they don't get along as predicted then the match just automatically gets stopped without an ending anyway. That's stupid and pointless.

Yup, agree on all counts.

I think what we don't grasp right away is that they're working with a fairly limited roster. This is development after all. We probably don't really notice this as much because it's just a one hour show. There's probably a limited amount of guys/girls they're confident putting on TV right now.

But yeah, I'm assuming they'll grow the division by a team or two fairly soon. Same thing with the divas, especially if Charlotte is leaving anytime soon. Although it looks like Emma's back.

I for one am surprised that setting Emma up to do tag matches with Santino/Fandango for 3 minutes didn't get her over to the degree she got consistent work up there.

Seriously though, I think Emma's rather good and hope whatever tweaks they are looking for get made and she has some nice run at the main level.

Given NXT's success they should hire more talent. But I'm not sure how successful Vince and co. perceive it to be.

I suppose it's tougher to know contract details with development, so maybe some of these people aren't around (and I see that the trainers are listed for some reason), but it does seem like they have enough bodies signed up to do something with them.

http://prowrestling.wikia.com/wiki/C...current_roster

Yeah, they should take that Dusty Rhodes guy and team him up with Steve Keirn. Call them the Fabulous Dreams.

But seriously, when you take the trainers out, realize that the teams are listed twice (as a team and each individual), plus maybe injuries, and maybe an error or two, there's not a ton left that aren't doing anything.

Okay, fair enough.

(I would call them the Dream Skinners.)

Good show; what I enjoy about house shows is that they're completely wrestling focused. In other words, they cut out a lot of the things that makes 3 hours of Raw so painful. It was a marky yet pretty involved crowd which also added to the experience.

Will quickly recap the results, but what surprised me was this: Every single match was won by the nominal face(s). I'd never seen that before.

Dolph def. BNB in a non-title match to open the show. Excellent wrestling, but it's still depressing to see what the IC title has devolved into.

Matadors + Sin Cara def. Titus O'Neal, Curtis Axel, and Fandango. Utterly forgettable.

Natalya def. Alicia Fox. Skipped this to go buy some t-shirts.

Daniel Bryan def. Bray Wyatt in a 2 out of 3 falls match. This one played out in almost reverse fashion from the Bryan/Sheamus 2 out of 3 falls classic the month after Wrestlemania a few years ago. Briefly, Wyatt gets DQ'd in the first fall for using an illegal kendo stick, but then quickly takes advantage of DB being down to hit a Sister Abigail and score the second pinfall. DB rallies from being hurt and wins the 3rd and the match.

New Day is just so painful to watch. Still, they scored a win over the Rhodes brothers.

Dean Ambrose and Luke Harper put on a fun match; Dean with a sneaky (yet non-distraction) rollup to win.

Main Event was Seth Rollins vs. John Cena in a street fight. Excellent 20+ minute match that featured 2 x tables broken, including a final AA that ended the match. It was clear from the Royal Rumble, but Seth Rollins can absolutely carry a main event match. It's also pretty unfortunate that out of the Shield, Reigns gets the push despite being the worst wrestler and giving by far the worst promos of the three. Here's hoping Lesnar can carry him, but I'm not optimistic. I'm also coming around to John Cena as a worker. He could be so, so much fun if they didn't manage his character so tightly.

Was this the Loveland show?

Las Cruces.

Ahhh, gotcha. They had a Sunday afternoon show in Loveland, CO I thought about going to.

I can't quite figure what they're doing for an announcement tonight. Seems like they're going to force Reigns to jump through some hoops to keep/re-earn the WM title shot, but that doesn't sound like anything that will actually help their cause.

If HHH is going to start screwing with Reigns, I'm not at all convinced that the crowd would side against HHH on that.

Anyone know how good a Denver crowd normally is?

I always just assume that if it isn't Midwest, Northeast or Canada, the crowd will probably be a markish and lame one. But I don't know much about Denver specifically.

Reigns to put his WM main event spot on the line tonight vs. a broomstick.

I know the shock da world, "shake wwe to its core" stuff was just hyperbole and wwe been wwe, but if the announcement really is just a match then that's pretty lol even by their standards. Especially if its a match where the result is obvious.

GOATUngna on the Raw pre-show!

Yeah, it seems more likely to me that HHH strips Roman of the title shot and then makes him re-earn it.

I'll be happily surprised if it's anything besides pretending that Roman's title shot is in danger.

They should have another rumble and book it the same

He should re-earn it vs. Bryan at fast lane, turn heel, and cheat to win. This would be the best outcome.

Probably but that should lead to something with Bryan. That something should be Bryan beating him for the belt at SummerSlam or the other SS and that's not going to happen.

If they're determined to have Reigns beat Lesnar, the heel turn between now and then is absolutely going to be necessary. Even a crowd full of casuals is going to support Brock over Reigns right now.

Another Reigns interview where he sounds like a heel

http://www.sportsworldnews.com/artic...h-it-video.htm

I can't believe they even keep teasing at this Curtis Axel thing. Dude has been jobbing in NXT.