James Caldwell, Torch Assistant Editor (6.0)

Alas, Season One has finally ended. This was a decent and entertaining finale with WWE trying to put a bow on the first season of their latest experiment with a reality show trying to get over some new talent. Honestly, Skip Sheffield had the biggest impression of any Rookie featured on the show with his dry "I don't care" response to who should win NXT. It was a matter of timing and delivery making his comment stand out and summarizing the first season of an overall poor attempt to create the type of show WWE advertised 15 weeks earlier.

Wade Barrett winning was no surprise. The suspense was gone weeks ago after Daniel Bryan was eliminated to set up the Bryan-Cole-Miz feud. It was also fitting that the final match on NXT had no bearing on the outcome of the NXT contest since WWE never established the importance - or lack thereof - of winning matches. David Otunga was the first wrestler eliminated from the three-way match, yet Justin Gabriel was the first of the three remaining Rookies eliminated from the competition. It was one of those things where WWE decided things and told the audience this is how it's going to be, so accept it.

The next season of NXT looks much weaker than Season One, just based on the pairings and names given to some of the NXT Rookies. The roster of Pros is really head-scratching with some weak candidates selected from the pool of potential Pros. That pretty much captures the lack of depth on the WWE roster right now. We'll see if WWE will make the necessary tweaks to the Season Two format to make this show bearable for another 15 weeks.

Tony Donofrio, PWTorch.com Contributor (6.5)

A solid way to end season one. The right choice was made based on who was left and despite there only being one match during a 60 minute show, it kept my interest throughout. I was surprised to see that NXT has been green lighted for a second season that will start next Tuesday. But, let me start with this edition. The three way dance (don't call it a triple threat match, there is a difference!) was a strong match to close out the season. I thought that Justin Gabriel might win the match, more as a consolation prize than anything. But, the match and the night was about Wade Barrett, as it should've been. He was the best in the ring and later on even tore up David Otunga with his promo. I also liked the bickering at the end with the pros and wish we would've seen more of that throughout the season.

As for the lead in to season two, I was not happy with the overall choice of the pros and get more disgusted all the time with WWE's decision to give the wrong guys generic names. From Evan Bourne (Matt Sydal) to Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) to Mike McGillicutty (Joe Hennig) to Husky Harris (Windham Rotunda)...the list could go on. For some guys, it's more annoying than anything. Guys like Danielson and Sydal, WWE wants to trademark names for them that are unique. That's annoying, but I get it. However, 2nd and 3rd generation wrestlers shouldn't be renamed (at least not their last names). They went out of the way to tell people that Kofi Kingston's rookie was Curt Hennig's son, yet he has a ridiculous name. Same goes for Rotunda. Jimmy Snuka, Jr. (Sim Snuka) was allowed to keep his surname...even if he was adopted, yet Hennig and Rotunda can't?

As for the pros, some of them could use the extra bit of TV exposure. Guys like Zack Ryder, John Morrison, and Cody Rhodes definitely fit that profile...especially Morrison and Ryder, who get lost in the Raw shuffle. However, for LayCool to be pros to a guy like Kaval (Low-Ki) is laughable. That is even more ridiculous than The Miz being Danielson's pro in season 1. Just barely, but it is. I like that fan voting will be a part of season two. Obviously, if a character connects to the audience, that's something that you'd think that Vince McMahon would want to capitalize on. That's a win-win for the fans and Vince's business. Here's hoping that WWE will capitalize on the momentum of the past few weeks of season 1 and use that to stabilize and grow season 2.

Greg Parks, Torch Columnist (6.5)

The last few weeks of NXT, it felt like WWE found (or was finding) their groove. I thought the idea of two pro's polls on the show was patently absurd, as I don't think a 60-second promo by each guy would be enough to change the opinion of what happened the previous several weeks on the show. The three-way final match was fine, but Justin Gabriel taking Barrett's knees to his gut on the 450 splash was particularly brutal.

Having the previously ousted contests on the show would've been more impactful had the eliminations not taken place within the last few weeks. I'm not sure the point of the pros arguing on the stage, but damned if it wasn't entertaining. As for next season, Kaval being teamed with LayCool could make for some good TV if WWE plays it out that way and puts more emphasis on the relationship between the pros and the rookies.

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