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CHIVERTON'S NXT SCOUTING REPORT: Super in-depth review of NXT brand following "Takeover," including new Rankings

Sep 18, 2014 - 11:04:07 PM
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NXT Rankings & Evaluation
By George Chiverton, PWTorch NXT specialist


Roll up, roll up ladies and gentleman, boys and girls and welcome to the biggest week NXT has had since its Full Sail inception. NXT had a huge show in Takeover 2, a big conference call on its future, and all but confirmed rumors on the signing of Willie Mack. Let’s get to the latter first.

Willie Mack has not reached the heights on the independent scene that the likes of Kevin Steen, Sami Zayn, and Chris Hero have. However this is not for a lack of talent. If anything, his talent is the reason he didn’t achieve more as WWE has signed him just four years since debuting on the top tier of the independent scene through Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. In this relatively short time he scored victories in PWG over both Steen and Hero, while also teaming with Zayn (then El Generico) to form the team "Two Husky Black Guys," who went all the way to the finals of PWG’s DDT tournament in 2012.

Essentially the guy was pushed to the moon inside PWG and although he made a big impact there, he never won the PWG Title, losing to Kevin Steen in the one shot he was given. He also never went to the likes of ROH where many independent wrestlers have found superstardom and hence will likely not get the same treatment that Devitt, KENTA and Steen received on their signings.

So, how does Mack stack up to these names? As a wrestler, the guy is pretty incredible. He is most easily comparable to Kevin Steen in many ways with both of them being big dudes who aren’t exactly the stereotypical WWE build. However, where Kevin Steen is a big dude who occasionally shows flashes of athleticism (e.g. by casually busting out a 450 splash) Willie Mack is a big dude whose entire offense relies on flips, kicks, and enziguiris. If you start with some Alberto Del Rio, add in a little A.J. Styles, and then apply that to a 5'10", 280 lb. African-American, you start to get the picture.

In short Willie is great in the ring, has a great look and seems to have the natural charisma to suggest he will also be good on the microphone (although that’s a side of his game I’m yet to experience). He may not be a marquee name, but it’s certainly a good signing for the future and at just 27 he has plenty of time to grow and make an impact on the main roster. All in all this is good business for WWE and best of luck for the guy.

I think its best now that we take a look at "NXT Takeover 2," a show which made waves within WWE. From the moment that the four men in the main event were put on Raw it was clear that WWE was putting a lot of eggs in the Takeover basket. Given that WWE is relying on the likes of Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn for the future, you’d guess that’s not a bad plan. Let’s get to NXT.

NXT Takeover 2 Evaluation

- The show started with updated graphics, which they did a great job with as always. Making special titles for "Takeover" just adds to the prestige of the event and makes for a great way to build hype from the off.

- Up first were Sin Cara & Kalisto (who have become the "Lucha Dragons") with new music, which played on Kalisto’s lucha chant. After a recap of how they got to the final (a smart move to put things in context for the non-regular viewers), The Ascension made their badass entrance. This is a big test for them from my perspective as they have yet to prove they can really perform in a long-form match.

Sin Cara and Viktor started with Cara bouncing all over the shop before being blindsided by Viktor off a distraction by Konnor. Konnor then tagged in and drove Cara kidneys-first into the apron on the outside. They moved into the ring where The Ascension started to pick apart Sin Cara. As they did so, the commentators argued about whether the Luchas had a chance. Byron argued that Ascension were too dominant to which Renee argued that Ascension had never faced the likes of the Luchas ever before.

Cara eventually reversed a powerbomb with a huracanrana before Konnor took out Kalisto to steal away the hot tag. After another reversal from Sin Cara, followed by an enziguiri, before he slowly made his way to Kalisto. Konnor and Cara exchanged a fantastic and innovative sequence where Konnor did everything he could to stop the tag before Sin Cara’s quickness saw him flip over the big mag and tag in Kalisto. Kalisto went mental around the ring which brought Full Sail to its feet. I was worried the Luchas may struggle to get over against fan favorites The Ascension, but with their cool, crisp offense, there was no way the crowd could stay indifferent.

There was a great series of spots with the Luchas flying over the top only to get caught before landing on their feet and flying again. It was total carnage! Kalisto and Viktor were in the ring after all of it with Kalisto flipping off the top rope to avoid an attack only to take a bit STO from Viktor. This set up Konnor coming in for the Fall of Man, but Cara held onto Konnor from the outside and took him out the ring. Viktor then got reversed by Kalisto, who hit the Soleil del Sol (a nice reference to his independent career) which was good the win. New tag champions! The crowd went nuts as the new champs jubilantly hugged and celebrated.

This was as good of a tag performance I’ve seen in a ten-minute match. The Lucha Dragons really seemed like they laid everything on the line with every move and their execution was utterly flawless. The Ascension were also really solid in their roles and started to look the total package they always should have been. This was a great match and great, feel good start to Takeover.

- Renee got a reaction interview with the new champs, who were happy and all that. A nice finish to the match although I would have preferred this slightly later in the show as I think it would have done a better enforcement job. Better than nothing for sure, though.

- On camera, Tom Phillips sent out a heartfelt tribute to those affected by 9/11.

- There was then a video package on Neville’s title reign and what the title meant to him. He closed out talking in the third person about himself in quite a heelish way. Me thinks they may be getting to heel Neville vs. face Zayn soon. We’ll see.

- C.J. Parker time. Great. Although I like his character his wrestling just isn’t there yet. Baron Corbin was in the ring I presume to get squashed. I’m a big fan of the big man and he has shown flashes of that elusive X-factor while being squashed in the past. Erm. As I was writing that, Corbin destroyed C.J. That was bloody great. It was nothing but a huge clothesline and an amazing swinging sideslam facebuster-thingy before Baron gave a look to camera and then walked out. Oh yes! Now that’s a debut. Yummy stuff.

- Tyson Kidd’s video package was next, which really made him look like the total heel he has become. His line where he was seemingly describing the other competitors before turning all the compliments on himself was particularly great with the video overlay.

- Up next was Enzo Amore vs Sylvester Lefort in their hair vs. hair match. Sylvester had some new insufferable entrance music perfect for a heel. There was then some backstage camera footage of Enzo and Colin Cassady spilling some sort of liquid on a poodle, which caused its fur to come off. Poor pooch, but, yeah we get the message: the stuff in the bucket gets rid of your hair. Enzo made his full entrance and his hair was looking awesomely heelish. He then cut a promo on Lefort’s future haircut. Good fun stuff to start a slightly silly match.

The commentators argued about Enzo’s hair before the two men locked up. We were notified Baron Corbin was trending worldwide, which wasn’t surprising given his explosive debut. Enzo played around in the early stages avoiding all of Sylvester’s offense before eventually being caught with a jawbreaker from the apron. They then settled into a resthold which almost led to a comeback for Amore, but Sylvester got the better of proceedings and soon he was celebrating over a downed Amore. Amore made a brief comeback only to be distracted by Marcus Louis on the outside and clotheslined by Lefort. The Legionnaires tried the same move again, but Cassady saved his partner which led to the roll-up and the win for Amore. Drake Younger called for the bell to bring a very forgettable match to a close.

After the match, Lefort tried to do a runner, only to be caught by the Jersey lads. Where Louis was in all this I have no idea. Oh wait there he is. He made the save only to be deserted by Lefort, who legged it backstage. A French person surrendering, eh? Well, I never. Sorry, that’s my English prejudices coming through. Blame my granddad. Anyway, the bucket of goop was dumped onto Louis before he bailed to the back. I’m sure we’ll see the consequences of that in the near future. Renee was shown going wild on commentary, which was hilarious.

- It was then Tyler Breeze’s turn to say why he should be NXT champion with shots of his opponents covered in hashtags. The best of which was Neville, which had #HOBBIT written over it. He was then backstage getting a massage.

- The commentators had a chat about all the people watching worldwide including a mention that fans from Japan were watching for the first time. The camera lingered on them slightly too long, which left them awkwardly smiling while they waited for something to happen.

- William Regal was brought down to the ring looking dapper as per. Full Sail responded well. He introduced KENTA, which led to a great video package. Regal made a full introduction and out came the Japanese machine looking suave in a suit. If you want to know my thoughts on him they’re all here, but for now seeing him in a WWE ring was amazing. He took the mic and he talked a bit of English before cutting a promo in Japanese. He then swapped to English saying, ‘This is dream come true. I’m happy to be here in WWE and on NXT, because I’m starting over. In tribute to one of my hero I will be known as Hideo Itami. My goal is to be NXT champion.’ Not exactly fluent, but credit where credit is due for him learning an English script this early into his time in America.

The Ascension's music hit and they came down before tossing Hideo (that will take some getting used to) out of the ring. They took the microphone and began to demand a re-match, but Itami was already back in the ring and de-blazering. He ducked a clothesline from Konnor before just smashing both men with kicks. He then hit a double dropkick to the men climbing up the apron. He then went outside and grabbed a chair. He set it up in the ring and simply sat down. Renee did a great job by saying, ‘This is his house now,’ before the Ascension bailed to the back. Regal raised his arm. This was a great, great debut for KENTA/Hideo Itami and its fantastic how quickly he’s got into action. His charisma and badass-ness in getting a chair, getting into the ring, and sitting down was everything he is about in one action. Let’s hope he is about next week (and the week after that (and so on)).

- Bull Dempsey vs. Mojo Rawley was next after a video package on their feud. They started high pace, but a ‘We Want Steen’ chant rather summed up my sentiments and the problem with letting people know there is better in the back. I’ll write about that more later. Anyway Bull did some brawling before Mojo tried a corner attack, only to get steamrollered with a clothesline. Bull then went to the top and hit a diving headbutt for the win. He then did it again after the match to re-enforce his dominance. This was all fine; it’s just neither seem quite there yet and both are missing an X-factor.

- Enzo Amore was upset backstage that they hadn’t seen bald Marcus Louis yet. They found him backstage, towel on head, and Colin carried him to the ring. In the ring they did the big reveal to show an eyebrowless and mostly hairless Louis, with only the odd ugly tuft. The crowd cheered, but there was definitely the sense that Marcus hadn’t done anything to deserve this. Still, they had to pay off the earlier segment at some point, so it’s fair enough.

- Up next was ‘the first of two main events,’ Bayley vs. Charlotte, which was a great way to put the women’s title on equal terms with the men’s. The video package showed Charlotte picking Bayley as her opponent before Bayley was introduced to the audience. The backing music on her interview was a track called Blue Blood by Heinz Kissling, a fact I only know as I recognized it from ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.' Whoever came up with the idea to pair her interview with that music is a genius.

Bayley put across her peppy, naïve but feisty character before they then showed her path to the match as the underdog, focusing in particular on her overcoming of Sasha Banks. She got teary in her interview saying she just wanted to be the best. Charlotte’s introduction then came in where she was a badass talking down Bayley’s crying saying ‘welcome to the real world.' Bayley compared her potential win of the title to Shawn Michaels’s first world title win. This was the best package of the night and seeing Charlotte framed as such a heel while Bayley was such a face was great.

Bayley made her entrance with streamers on her arms and new music. Charlotte came in looking a million dollars as per. She may be the best champion in the WWE right now. Drake Younger was ref again and although I promise one day I’ll not mention it, for now it’s just too cool to see him in a ref uniform in NXT to not mention it.

Bayley rejected a handshake and charged Charlotte into the corner. Bayley came out fighting, but when she went for a backslide, Charlotte sat out cracking the back of Bayley’s head on hers. Charlotte settled into her usual dominance with a figure-four headlock, slamming Bayley’s face first into the mat. Bayley bridged into a pin forcing Charlotte to break, but Charlotte hit a dropkick to stay on top. Charlotte hit a chop, Bayley tried a chop of her own, and Charlotte hit a huge chop to send Bayley to the mat. Wooo! Charlotte again locked on the figure-four headlock, rolling over Bayley to repeatedly slam the sprightly lady over and over again. This was fantastic heel wrestling from Charlotte.

Bayley out of nowhere reversed into a pinning combination only to get dropkicked again. This sort of spot repeated with a pinning combination for Bayley only drawing a big knee from Charlotte. Bayley continued to struggle to get any traction on Charlotte before Charlotte started to taunt and patronize her. Bayley fired up and hit some big forearms. Bayley missed with a corner attack, though, and Charlotte was once again on top. Charlotte went to the top, but Bayley was up and after some shenanigans Charlotte was seated on the top. This lead to a big Frankensteiner and Bayley finally had her opening.

Bayley went for a Hugplex, but Charlotte spun around it and executed a schoolboy (or is it girl in this situation?) which whiplashed Bayley’s head into the bottom turnbuckle. This allowed Charlotte to go up top again and this time successfully (although very awkwardly) hit a moonsault. Bayley kicked out again, which should have been a big moment but the execution on the moonsault was not all that. Bayley stared angrily up at Charlotte, who got furious at the underdog. Charlotte popped up and bang, Natural Selection for the win.

Minus the botched moonsault you won't see a better dominating heel performance from anyone, male or female, in a very long time. Charlotte is a star. This along with the video package putting over Bayley at the start of the match made this a perfectly-executed conclusion to this storyline. Well done NXT, Bayley, and Charlotte.

- After the match, Sasha Banks made her way into the ring past Charlotte to taunt and beat up the downed Bayley. Charlotte pulled her off before raising her title as if to say not in my yard. I love her presentation so much. She’s not exactly face or heel, she’s just in charge. Think Flair in NWA and, yes, I know that’s a big statement, but she is good.

- Sami Zayn was the last man to be profiled with quotes from D-Bry and Seth Rollins to back him up. They showed him losing before he said he’d keep coming. I think showing him winning a couple would have been nice here but otherwise all four video packages were tasty.

- Oh hey, Hideo Itami is on next week! So glad I asked.

- Main event time and although I did my best to avoid the results, I know this match was an epic. There was a solid 35 minutes left in the show, so there was plenty of time for action. Breeze was out first to a good reaction, then Zayn to a raucous chorus of Oles, then Kidd complete with over-sized hood and beats headphones, and, finally, Neville, who got nothing in particular. Hmm, this could be the start of something.

Formal ring introductions saw Breeze get a good cheer, Zayn get a big ovation, Kidd get solidly booed, and Neville get mainly cheered with the odd vocal male being slightly ahead of the curve and booing. The four men stared each other down as chants broke out around the crowd. This had that big fight feel and the sense that this was the conclusion of a lot of creative work.

Zayn and Breeze paired off and spilled to the outside, as did Neville and Kidd until eventually the faces got the better of the heels and went into the ring to go face-to-face. This is the way you get the big money match between Zayn and Neville for sure: just tease it. And here come the heels to take the faces apart once again and out to the outside. The four men continued to brawl with Zayn taking a cheeky selfie on Breeze's phone before throwing it away. Zayn was then in the ring with Kidd and delivered a full-shot DDT before locking in the Koji Clutch for an early submission. Breeze was in quickly to break this up, though. Breeze was then outside getting chopped up the ramp by Neville, but the Englishman then had his leg chop blocked from behind by Kidd. Breeze and Kidd then double-suplexed Adrian on the stage, before doing the same to Zayn on the ramp. The alliance was formed for now.

In the ring, the two bad guys continued to work over Zayn, at one point using him as a battering ram to knock Neville off the ring apron and maintain their numbers advantage. As one may have predicted the alliance broke when Breeze went for a pin, which caused Kidd to kick him in the face. The whole time Neville was trying to get into the ring, but kept being caught out and sent to the outside.

Kidd hit a neckbreaker for a two, and then resisted a brief comeback attempt from Zayn with a clothesline. Kidd’s offense was nasty, with boots being shoved into Zayn’s face. He hit a leg drop onto a suspended Zayn on the second rope, before punting Neville on the outside in a biiiiiiiiig way. The then hit a delayed dropkick on Zayn who was tied to the tree of woe in the corner. After a two count, Zayn was put into the corner and tried to come back with a slap, but Kidd kept him controlled with slaps and strikes.

Suddenly, having been tossed out one time too many, Neville came barreling into the picture and beat up Kidd. Then in came Breeze, who was taken out by Zayn who then hulked up ready to drive to the outside. He was stopped by Neville though who hit a huge spaceman moonsault, vaulting off the top rope to get a huge amount of air.

This left the two friends staring each other down. They exchanged a look like let’s do this before Neville came charging in Leeroy Jenkins-style (too nerdy? I guess so) ducking a clothesline from Zayn and smashing him with kicks and strikes at a massive tempo. Zayn was shell-shocked. A ‘This Is Wrestling’ chant broke out as Neville began tumbling into the corner to hit an attack. Zayn attempted to catch him and hit a Blue Thunder Bomb, but went a bit too low on catching Neville, causing Neville to dangerously fall over his shoulder. Neville fortunately landed flat on his back.

Kidd broke up a subsequent pin and lifted Neville into the corner to try a superplex. He was knocked off the top by Neville, though, but Kidd had the wherewithal to push up an oncoming Zayn, vaulting him into Neville on the top rope sending him to the outside. Breeze made a cameo again before getting sent to the outside again. In the ring, Kidd hit Zayn with a spinning Fisherman's neckbreaker for a close two count. Zayn kicked out and sat up shaking his head.

Kidd was up and looking for the kill. They hit a gorgeous sequence that led to a big Tower of Doom spot that no fatal four-way would be complete without. Zayn fell onto Kidd, only to get a really close two count, which drew a ‘That was three’ chant from Full Sail. Zayn made his way to his feet, showing his trademark resilience and anger. He beat Kidd into the corner before charging at Neville in the other. He ran right into a huge boot, though, and Neville ascended the ropes. He staved off an attack from Kidd and then hit a Shooting Star Press onto Zayn.

Breeze came from out of nowhere to send Neville to the outside and then go for the pin. The two count made Full Sail explode. Zayn looked disorientated, but exhausted, and needed the ref to assure him it was two. He slowly made his way to his feet as Breeze got refocused in the corner. He charged across the ring for the Beauty Shot, but Kidd pushed Zayn out of the way and caught Breeze for a Sharpshooter.

Breeze was about to tap out, but Neville slid himself under Breeze's hand to stop him from hitting the mat for a tap out. Does that work? I don’t think that should work? Whatever, this is awesome I don’t care. Zayn then broke up the hold. Neville and Zayn started trading bombs, both exhausted. Neville was backdropped to the outside, before Zayn caught an onrushing Kidd and T-bone suplexed him into the corner. Zayn emerged from the corner walking slowly, hyped up, and the crowd went ruddy mental, sensing this finally may be his time. He then charged Kidd in the corner, only to switch to a suicide dive onto Neville on the outside, which sent Neville flying over the guardrail. Zayn was straight-up and it was electric. All the frustration of Zayn coming close but not quite getting there on so many occasions seemed to create that rarest of things: a perfect wrestling moment...

Zayn sprinted and dived through the turnbuckle hitting his trademark Heatseeker DDT on Breeze. Zayn was up going crazy beating his chest, feeding on the audience before sliding into the ring and hitting the helluva kick. This is it! One, two… no! Neville, from the outside, pulled the ref from the ring to stop the three count! Huge boos from Full Sail as Neville stared down Zayn. Zayn, infuriated, went outside only to be met by a massive superkick from Neville. Neville then took the chance to go to the top and hit the Red Arrow for the win. Wow. What a match, and what a way to make a heel. The commentators discussed the ethics of what Neville had just done as the camera cut to Zayn looking absolutely gutted. They showed replays of the match before going back to the ring, where Zayn looked totally dejected. It was a little heartbreaking I must admit.

So, let's break down this match of the year contender. The storyline coming in was perfect, and everyone had a unique identity and motive which centered, and this is crucial, on the NXT Title. When every man went for a pin they were trying to achieve a conclusion to their struggles which had often carried over months. Zayn, in particular, was the most compelling character that wrestling has created in a while. So, how did this translate? The match followed a similar path of fantastic storytelling. Kidd was the veteran early on, keeping ring control and isolating his opponents to almost win. Then, Neville was the dangerous champion who was frustrated and sent to the outside early before eventually doing everything he had to to win. Zayn was the underdog who got beaten down for the whole match only to have his moment at the end while finally Breeze, whose role was my personal favorite, was a dangerous assassin coming in to take advantage after being invisible for the rest of the match. The spot where he came in and took everyone out was particularly great.

This base then was then built on with an incredible athletic contest punctuated by acting performances and facial expressions which were Golden Globe-worthy (let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here). The look between Neville and Zayn was one of those great moments which will be a crucial part of video packages and the final story arc which leads to Zayn finally winning the title and Neville moving on to bigger (although maybe not better) things on Raw. What a match that will be and what a great, action packed fatal four-way. I’m exhausted.

- Overall Reax: Well, that was a great show. Two hours of NXT just did more for me than many months of Raw and this demonstrates how good a show can be with the right amount of planning, foresight, and trust in the talent. One hour of programming a week has also meant people aren’t bored of seeing these stars and in the case that they are, e.g. Mojo Rawley, they convert that heat into a character arc. There’s a lot to be learned for the rest of WWE here.

Also, the Luchas winning the Tag Titles was great, the debuts of Baron Corbin and KENTA were fantastic, the women’s title match was outstanding, and the main event was "hair on the back of your neck" good. The hair gimmick and the Bull Dempsey squash weren’t good, but a bit of a comedown was necessary, so fair enough in all. Let’s do some rankings, shall we?

Post-Takeover NXT Rankings

(1) Sami Zayn
(2) Charlotte (NXT Women’s champion)
(3) Adrian Neville (NXT champion)
(4) Tyler Breeze
(5) Tyson Kidd (debut)
(6) The Ascension (+)
(7) The Vaudevillians
(8) Lucha Dragons (NXT Tag Champions / Debut)
(9) Bayley (+)
(10) Enzo Amore
(11) Alexa Bliss
(12) Sasha Banks
(13) Colin Cassady
(14) Becky Lynch
(15) Bull Dempsey (-)
(16) The Legionnaires (+)
(17) CJ Parker
(18) Mojo Rawley

At the top I was all ready to put Charlotte absolutely top with her brilliant heel performance, but then Sami Zayn gave me a moment I’ve already texted my girlfriend about (I don’t know how I have one, either). Just a minute of heart-racing adrenaline which was as good as any wrestling I’ve ever seen. Then the disappointment of his loss, which he acted out expertly, has set up a huge storyline and undoubtedly the biggest match in NXT history.

Tyson Kidd has finally made his debut also on my list, as I wasn’t sure whether he was just dropping into NXT or, as it has turned out, he was going to restart his career in NXT. He has undoubtedly done well exploring new characters and has always been a great wrestler, but for me he will struggle to get into the absolute upper echelons due to the fact he is now broken goods. He needs to almost have some time off and come back dominant if WWE plans to do something meaningful with him. For now, though, he’s a great asset to NXT and the gatekeeper to contending for the title.

Most improved position wise is Bayley, who has shot up following a great performance and better creative work behind her which placed her in a context which allowed her character to shine. She’s found her fit in NXT and she’s a very strong babyface. She has all the appeal of Eugene, but without the offensive undertones related to mental health.

I struggled on where to put the Lucha Dragons at first, as their in-ring work certainly justifies being above The Ascension and The Vaudevillians. The thing that just, and I mean just, puts the other teams ahead is that they are the whole package to an extent that the Luchas aren’t yet. Don’t get me wrong, they’re close, but the Vaudevillians bring joy to my heart whenever they come out and the Ascension are ready now to go to Raw and take the Tag Titles. That’s enough justification for their positioning and it’s great to see how the team of Konnor and Viktor have progressed.

C.J. and Mojo are propping up the bottom of the rankings now with a solid, if not thrilling performance from the Legionnaires moves them up marginally.

Finally, Bull Dempsey is going to suffer due to changes in NXT from a new problem I’m going to call "nice butt ugly face disorder." This is nothing to do with him personally, but now that WWE is announcing big signings such as Devitt and, in this case, Steen they have an issue if a Superstar isn’t up to standard in the ring. When wrestlers like Bull who look like Steen but aren’t even close to him as a wrestler are put out there, the fans will demand better, which gives people like Bull no chance in hell. In essence Bull vs. Mojo was the ugly face of NXT that you’re constantly hoping will give you a glimpse of that sweet Steen.

This is representative of the larger problem with NXT becoming a third brand as Triple H discussed during a conference call last week. Those wrestlers that need time to develop like Bull and C.J. (although he had been around WWE development for a while now) will simply be wiped out. Now this could simply be a case that WWE starts using the independent scene to develop this talent while they simply take the cream off the top, which is all well and good, but you’ve got to wonder about the health of the indie scene as a consequence of that. We’ll see in time, but I can tell you now, those wrestlers that continue spinning their wheels will simply be eaten up by the more developed indie talent.

Anyway, I love NXT and this was a show I will be watching back a couple of times. I hope to be seeing y’all next week chaps, but if you have any comments or questions then feel free to tweet me @GeorgeChiverton. Thanks for reading.


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PWTorch editor Wade Keller has covered pro wrestling full time since 1987 starting with the Pro Wrestling Torch print newsletter. PWTorch.com launched in 1999 and the PWTorch Apps launched in 2008.

He has conducted "Torch Talk" insider interviews with Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Steve Austin, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Eric Bischoff, Jesse Ventura, Lou Thesz, Jerry Lawler, Mick Foley, Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Bruno Sammartino, Goldberg, more.

He has interviewed big-name players in person incluiding Vince McMahon (at WWE Headquarters), Dana White (in Las Vegas), Eric Bischoff (at the first Nitro at Mall of America), Brock Lesnar (after his first UFC win).

He hosted the weekly Pro Wrestling Focus radio show on KFAN in the early 1990s and hosted the Ultimate Insiders DVD series distributed in retail stories internationally in the mid-2000s including interviews filmed in Los Angeles with Vince Russo & Ed Ferrara and Matt & Jeff Hardy. He currently hosts the most listened to pro wrestling audio show in the world, (the PWTorch Livecast, top ranked in iTunes)


REACHING 1 MILLION+ UNIQUE USERS PER MONTH
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PWTORCH STAFF

EDITORS:
Wade Keller, editor
(kellerwade@gmail.com)

James Caldwell, assistant editor
(pwtorch@gmail.com)

STAFF COLUMNISTS:
Bruce Mitchell (since 1990)
Pat McNeill (since 2001)
Greg Parks (since 2007)
Sean Radican (since 2003)

We also have a great team of
TV Reporters
and Specialists and Artists.

PWTORCH VIP MEMBERSHIP

PWTorch offers a VIP membership for $10 a month (or less with an annual sub). It includes nearly 25 years worth of archives from our coverage of pro wrestling dating back to PWTorch Newsletters from the late-'80s filled with insider secrets from every era that are available to VIPers in digital PDF format and Keller's radio show from the early 1990s.

Also, new exclusive top-shelf content every day including a new VIP-exclusive weekly 16 page digital magazine-style (PC and iPad compatible) PDF newsletter packed with exclusive articles and news.

The following features come with a VIP membership which tens of thousands of fans worldwide have enjoyed for many years...

-New Digital PWTorch Newsletter every week
-3 New Digital PDF Back Issues from 5, 10, 20 years ago
-Over 60 new VIP Audio Shows each week
-Ad-free access to all PWTorch.com free articles
-VIP Forum access with daily interaction with PWTorch staff and well-informed fellow wrestling fans
-Tons of archived audio and text articles
-Decades of Torch Talk insider interviews in transcript and audio formats with big name stars.


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