The WWE pros have spoken and ranked their preferences among the 8 rookies through the first six weeks of competition. As always, I see things a bit differently, so without further ado, here are how I see the rankings through the competition so far:1. Daniel Bryan (Pros rank: 1)
No surprise here with as much as I've marked for Bryan before and during the competition. The pros agree with me, and it's probably because outside of that one springboard botch in the second week against Wade Barrett, Bryan has been the most ring-ready of any wrestler in the competition. Not only that, but he keeps proving Michael Cole and the narrative that says he doesn't have "it" wrong every time he opens his mouth. If Daniel Bryan isn't a future WWE superstar, then this contest is a sham because no one is a future WWE superstar.
2. Justin Gabriel (Pros rank: 3)
Gabriel has really impressed me the most out of all the rookies when it comes to in-ring talent. His motions are fluid, his spots are crisp and I think he has a money finisher when it comes to the 450 splash. Granted, we haven't heard a whole lot from him outside the ring outside of a few segments here and there, and I have questions about that, but as Rey Mysterio and Jeff Hardy have proven, you don't need mic skills to get over in the bigs if you can fly like Gabriel can.
3. Skip Sheffield (Pros rank: 6)
Honestly, Sheffield is being underutilized. Here's a guy who is a musclehead, but is a talented musclehead, and yet, he's being eschewed for the dull David Otunga. (I said it) Sheffield has an innocuous cowboy charm that would make him a teriffic dullard foil for a sharper face wrestler out of the ring. In the ring, I think he has some growing to do, but I think he has a handle for the WWE main event style that not many other rooks in the competition do. Plus, he has a neat catchphrase already. Give this man more time to shine, and he'll get over pretty quick, yip yip yip what it do. Shoooooooooot.
4. Wade Barrett (Pros rank: 2)
I want to like Barrett more than I already do. His look is fantastic, especially with the blazer and the rose coming to the ring. I've already gotten an inkling as to how well he can talk due to some of the FCW clips I've seen of him on color commentary. He's also good in the ring (albeit with a terrible finisher). However, my overall impression of him based on NXT programming alone is that he's really stiff. It doesn't look like he's comfortable in the ring at all. The contrast between him and a guy as fluid as Gabriel is as stark as it was in the skin color when Sheamus and R-Truth were in the ring at the same time at Survivor Series. I hope he loosens up a bit, because if he does, he'll be a lot better off.
5. Michael Tarver (Pros rank: 7)
Tarver's another guy I think they're not really giving a fair shake. He was featured the first week and then he's been lucky to get any sort of TV time afterwards. I don't know whether it's a function of how they view his mentor, Carlito, or whether they really don't see anything in him. I certainly wouldn't put him in the top half of the rankings because of what I've seen, but I think he's got more than what they've let him show. They also have rarely touched upon his 1.9 second KO punch, which might be able to get him over.
6. Heath Slater (Pros rank: 4)
This is about the only thing about Slater that I find unique. Other than that, he's kinda garden variety. Nothing that really stands out. I guess the hair toss could be a signature spot, but other than that, I don't see what the big deal is about him. Meh.
7. David Otunga (Pros rank: 5)
They keep shoving his "it" factor down our throats, but other than his really good intro studio segment the first week, what has he done to show this? Bang Jennifer Hudson? I mean, when he had his big chance to show his on-his-feet thinking and run down Bryan this past week, he compared listening to him to "eating mashed potatoes". You mean that it's an enjoyable experience, since mashed potatoes are an awesome food? He's awkward in the ring too, and I submit to everyone who said Sheamus didn't get any heat when he first entered into his program with Cena... what the fuck heat does Otunga get when R-Truth's theme song isn't playing? The answer is... not a whole lot. I bet if he didn't have muscles or wasn't engaged to Hudson, he wouldn't be in the competition at all.
8. Darren Young (Pros rank: 8)
And I agree with the pros on their last-rated wrestler as well as their top one. Young isn't terrible, but he's not really what I'd call good either. I think he might be underutilized too, but at the same time, he kinda messed up on some strikes a few weeks ago. I'm willing to forgive him for that since he's still green, but what is he doing to play up his Jersey Shore-type party boy character other than look like a microwaved Wishing Troll? All he seems to do is just walk around trying to get Punk's attention, and he doesn't really do it in an engaging way.
As for the show this past week, I liked it a lot, more than any edition of it since the premiere. I think what's really been lacking so far is the heat between the rookies, and we started to see some this week between the two favorites in Bryan (the wrestlers' choice) and Otunga (McMahon's choice). I also like that the winner gets a PPV title shot, which makes winning NXT mean something in the face of multiple guys making the roster. I mean, I don't see only one guy making the big leagues and one guy only. In fact, I think all of them have potential to not only get to the bigs but to do something when they're there (yes, even Otunga and Young).
However, six more weeks until the first elimination and then another seven weeks after that might seem a bit overkill when compared to other reality shows. Then again, this isn't like other reality shows, and I'm glad that this go-around will get around 20 weeks of time to get noticed by the WWE audience. I have to say, with every passing week, I become more and more a fan of NXT and get less and less sad at ECW's passing.
Photo Credit: WWE.com
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