-- 2/23 NXT TV Reax

Aaron Jumper of Hershey, Pa., Broadcasting student (8.0): Best: Camera Angles, Making Daniel Bryan the star of NXT. Worst: Matt Striker. I had very little expectations of what this show would be. It surpassed every one that I had. The pairings of pros and rookies don't look to be completely random. Darren Young will obviously conflict with C.M. Punk throughout the show and Punk could "convert" him, Christian has a heel with Heath Slater and I could see after weeks of frustration, Tarver knocking Carlito out. David Otunga is going to be a star. He has the looks of Batista, but could have some personality. Tonight's show clearly was about The Miz and Daniel Bryan. They could have Bryan leave NXT early and somehow get to Raw or continue this for 16 weeks, but I think a Bryan-Miz U.S. championship feud could be great. The Miz is so solid in his role right now, even giving Jericho and Batista a run for top heels. The camera angles were different and therefore I liked it. Michael Cole reminded me of Jerry Lawler when he put down ECW in the '90s. Maybe they could make him a heel and JR could come back to regain his spot. The segments allowed you to care about each wrestler and it was clear who was heel and who was a face. I wasn't an avid ECW fan, but if NXT follows what they did tonight, I will have Syfy on every Tuesday.

Jesse Tamayo of Beaumont, Tex. (1.0): Best Match: Danielson vs. Jericho. Worst Match: Otunga vs. Tan Man. I gave the show a 1.0 with reservations of how the show will look going forward. A couple of things stick out in my mind. Danielson needs lifts in his boots before he is the next Evan Bourne. Second, why would WWE demean any of their wrestlers in a negative light such as calling Danielson boring and lacking personality? The way they keep saying these comments over and over again will stick with the audience and he will have that stigma forever. Before he made his first appearance on TV, he was labeled boring. That is for the fans to decide, not the company who supposedly wants to make money off their wrestlers. It's counterproductive. Remember what Paul Heyman says, "accentuate the positives and hide the negatives." Along those lines, why have the tan man Darren Young on the show if he is going to get squashed? I assume they do want these guys to get over. Maybe it will lead to an angle where he has a character change being partnered with C.M. Punk. There has to be a winner and a loser, but again, WWE was being counter-productive.

Mark of Stoke-on-Trent (8.0): A very enjoyable show with a good, sub-ten-minute main event, some decent character building, and an interesting cast. The rookie/pro dynamic, the new camera angles, the white ring ropes, ringside interviews, and a heelish Cole made this feel fresh compared to the rest of the WWE shows. Daniel Bryan was thrust into a storyline on his debut and carried his end well, but he did look quite small out there; perhaps the new camera angles don't lend themselves to his stature. Putting him in with Jericho was a good way of hiding some of that. The match itself was good and I'd love to see those two work together again. I'll be tuning it next week, but I do have one small complaint: does David Otunga have magnetic palms? If that's how his 'spinebuster' is always performed, he needs to get a new finisher. Opponents running into his hands then falling on their backs just looks daft.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for an "NXT TV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on NXT, click here.

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