Samoa Joe
Often referred to as “The Samoan Submission Machine” Joe has built a career on being the best performer, after surviving through and dominating UPW, PWZ, ROH, AAA, NOAH, PWG and TNA he eventually arrived in NXT on May 20th 2015. Joe emerged from behind the curtain as Kevin Owen was administering yet another beating on Sami Zayn, the crowd erupted at TakeOver Unstoppable as Joe made his way to the ring. His stare down with Owens was riveting stuff, it was what everyone had been waiting for, the two however avoided physical confrontation. In the weeks after TakeOver merchandise bearing Joe’s name and image sold out, WWE it seemed had struck gold. His subsequent feud with Owens unfortunately didn’t hit the heights we all expected, after a very mediocre match on NXT in June the two parted ways, Kevin went to the WWE and Joe got stuck in down in Florida.
Although Joe is an accomplished performer, being in a company that is completely foreign to any other wrestling company in the world is daunting. His first forays into the ring weren’t that spectacular, this was not the man that tore the house down in ROH or had match of the year candidates with Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles in TNA. Joe being the consummate professional that he is took this all his stride, he’s survived once, he’ll survive again. He seemed like he was back to his best when he became entangled with Baron Corbin in the summer months, the two had a tremendously physical feud which culminated at TakeOver Brooklyn in August. Joe came out of Brooklyn victorious and looking rejuvenated, he had his swagger back, the following month he teamed with Finn Balor and together they were successful in wining the ‘Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic’ at TakeOver Respect. Then the inevitable happened, a few weeks removed from TakeOver Joe viciously attacked Balor and demanded a title shot. It was now that the workhorse Samoa Joe emerged, the NXT universe finally got to see the reason why fan’s chant “Joe’s gonna kill you” at his opponents. As well all found out in London Joe was unsuccessful, Balor defeated him clean and retained the title.
Joe may have had a slow start but there is no denying how good he is, in the months since Brooklyn Joe stepped up and exhibited why he may potentially be the best wrestler in the world. No matter a face or heel he get’s the respect, Joe’s worked hard for everything and the fans know it. I for one expected Joe to be on the main roster by now, he’s as good as Owens and Styles and collectively they are better than a majority of the main roster. Joe is bigger than NXT, he’s better than NXT, he deserves to face the likes of John Cena, Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt, the potential for Joe is huge. If a post Wrestlemania debut is not guaranteed, then Joe may as well go back to the indies.
American Alpha
What more can be said about the fastest rising tag team in NXT, the team of Jason Jordan and Chad Gable have been unstoppable since their inception. One year ago their relatively unknowns in NXT, a few matches here and there with limited exposure. A year later and Jordan & Gable’s names are on everyone’s lips, they have quickly become the foundation for NXT’s tag team division. What’s great about their story is that the success they’ve achieved, it’s down to their hard work and determination, they wanted the opportunity so they made it. The build of American Alpha has been slow, but in a very good way, for example it was only in January they name themselves American Alpha.
Their team work and relationship has also rapidly improved, when in the ring you can tell their having fun and at the same time tearing the roof off the place. They had limited success in the ‘Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic’ but put in great performances, since then they challenged former NXT champion the Ascension. On November 18th the Ascension made their back to NXT to defend their honour, unfortunately for them the Jordan & Gable were ready for the challenge. The most dominant tag team in NXT history were defeated by the newest and fastest rising team in NXT, the match was impressive and another achievement for Alpha. They would then challenge and defeat former NXT champions the Vaudevillains in another cracking contest, once more showing their worth to NXT and WWE.
Jason Jordan and Chad Gable have had to fight for everything they have up to now, first impressions were that these guys didn’t have it. Now all these months later and they are on the verge of becoming superstars, with an inevitable clash with Dash & Dawson looming in the future their time is now. American Alpha may not be ready just yet, but very soon they will out grow NXT and very soon be living in WWE.
Sami Zayn
Like Joe before him, Sami Zayn has travelled the long road to get where he has, PWG, Chikara, ROH, Evolve and Dragon Gate, he’s been there and done it all. Sami arrived in NXT the full package, promo aside he was ready for the challenge that was WWE. He took to NXT like a duck to water and the audience embraced him and made him one of their own. Zayn since his debut has set NXT on fire, his epic feud with Cesaro was just a taster of what was to come but even that heralded match of the year candidate performances. His time in NXT has been amazing, he’s near enough faced everyone on the roster and beaten them all, at the same time the calibre of the matches have been very high.
His crowning moment arrived in NXT when he finally captured the NXT championship from Adrian Neville, after months of coming oh so close and losing out Sami finally climbed the mountain, it was a great moment for all. His celebration however was short lived, in the closing moments of the TakeOver special newest talent Kevin Owens made his way to the ring to congratulate his best friend, that’s where the celebration ended. Zayn was violently attacked by Owens, the show ended with Sami being powerbombed on the apron. This led to arguably the best feud in WWE/NXT in 2015, Zayn and Owens are real life best friends and with a stormy in ring history gave us moments to remember for a lifetime. Finally they met for the title at TakeOver Rival, it was a brutal contest, Owens pure brutality led to him receiving the title because Zayn could no longer continue.
Zayn’s popularity led to him debuting on an episode on Raw to face John Cena, in a U.S. Open Challenge Zayn and Cena ripped it up. Unfortunately for Zayn and for NXT on his way to the ring he injured his shoulder and would miss seven months of action. Before his hiatus however he would face Owens once more to try and regain the NXT title, at NXT Unstoppable Zayn again suffered a brutal beating from Owens. This time it ended in a no contest as the much more determined Owens prevailed. In December 2015 Zayn returned to Full Sail University, in January he made his debut in the Royal Rumble match.
You could argue that Zayn was ready for the main roster when he signed for WWE, however his time in NXT has been constructive. He’s connected with the fans like no other and is sure to be well received on the main roster. At TakeOver Dallas he is scheduled to face the debuting Shinsuke Nakamura in what will be a moment in history, hopefully following that a promotion to the main roster is inevitable.
There are many more names I could have mentioned, Finn Balor, Baron Corbin, Bayley, Nia Jax are ready for the call up. They have the experience, skills and knowledge to flourish in WWE. New signing Austin Aries is also bigger than NXT, he is worthy for WWE, the former ROH and TNA champion would improve any roster.
NXT has flourished massively since it’s birth, however I think it will soon start suffering from an identity crisis. The question needs to be asked, is NXT a developmental feeder group for WWE or a Brand standing on it’s own?
@Ciaran_1986
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