NXT Superstar - Daniel Bryan or David "Raw" Otunga
This past Monday night they turned the reigns of Monday Night Raw over to the A-lister, David Otunga. I'll admit, Otunga did a pretty good job as a host in his first time working the crowd of a show besides NXT. He effectively showed that he's got a persona which may even be better than Montell Vontavius Porter's. His speaking parts were done well, and you've got to wonder if the fact he went to Harvard Law School and rubs elbows with celebs has really helped his transition to sports entertainment. While he's ranked 5th in the NXT Pro's Poll, it's hard to see the WWE ditching this guy even if he doesn't win the NXT competition. Let's discuss NXT for today, because at least one guy will be joining WWE out of that show. We can hope for more though.
As far as NXT goes, the format now is becoming very similar to that of the WWE Diva Searches in the past. Last night they had to face a challenge: carry a 160-lb keg of liquid around the ring, and past a line at the bottom of the ramp. The guy who did it fastest would win. Oddly, the winner was Heath Slater, the guy who seems the least likely to beat Wade Barrett, Michael Tarver, Darren Young, Otunga or Skip Sheffield in any sort of strength test. He did it in 12.0 seconds flat, setting an early time to beat. Skip Sheffield came closest by a mere 0.6 seconds or so, but he started late. The strategies the guys used were interesting to see, but I'm not sure NXT wants to make this into a male version of Diva search, especially when fans aren't even voting, and the Pro vote isn't really shown (in terms of how they're voting). It's hard to believe that heels voted for Daniel Bryan to help him become #1, unless heels just despise Miz.
In terms of the NXT wrestlers' marketability factors, Heath Slater seems to me like another Brian Kendrick type. He's not particularly imposing and no offense to his skills, his look is that of a jobber. It's hard to see him becoming a credible WWE star. Most of the other guys do have that look, but if I had to pick 5 to disperse in WWE, I'd go with Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett, David Otunga, Justin Gabriel and Skip Sheffield. Michael Tarver reminds me of an in-shape Big Daddy V, but he could be a viable heel too. Barrett really has the look of a future heavyweight champion, or contender. He's built almost to a Batista/Jack Swagger size. Daniel Bryan has the skills, Otunga has the "it factor". Skip Sheffield's got a cowboy character which WWE doesn't have right now, with JBL gone. It'll be interesting to see who WWE keeps around, because I find it hard to believe 1 guy will win and that some of the others won't resurface in WWE. I'd love for them to keep most of them around, even Darren Young to go after CM Punk. They could really play into the storylines. I'm expecting they are pushing a story with Daniel Bryan going 0 and whatever on NXT, or maybe he'll win his last match, possibly against The Miz. He'll win NXT and the title shot he chooses will be, of course against his hated mentor, The Miz, for the US Title. We'll see...
I find the banter between Michael Cole and Josh Matthews on NXT pretty entertaining. Sometimes I wonder if these guys really don't get along though, or if the point is to make it seem like Cole is being condescending to the newer broadcast partner.
As for David Otunga hosting on Raw, he did a pretty good job the other night in his few appearances. The matches he set up were well done, and putting himself into the main event was a good move. Whenever former or current wrestling talent hosts, we usually get a no-nonsense show (except for Sgt. Slaughter). As for Otunga dropping off the apron at the end when Cena went for a tag, that was a nice surprise, especially after Batista had done the same to Cena earlier in the night. I was wondering how the match would finish with the tag titles on the line. On NXT, Otunga noted that he did what he did in order to gain favor from The Miz, one of the pro's who can vote for him on NXT. By leaving Cena on his own, Otunga basically sealed the win for MizShow to retain their titles. However, will Cena go after Otunga for what he did or focus on his upcoming match with Batista?
Next week's guest host is David Hasselhoff. Not sure how much longer the guest hosts will appear on Raw, but we can only hope Mitch the lifeguard gives us a WWE Divas Baywatch swimsuit match!
As far as NXT goes, the format now is becoming very similar to that of the WWE Diva Searches in the past. Last night they had to face a challenge: carry a 160-lb keg of liquid around the ring, and past a line at the bottom of the ramp. The guy who did it fastest would win. Oddly, the winner was Heath Slater, the guy who seems the least likely to beat Wade Barrett, Michael Tarver, Darren Young, Otunga or Skip Sheffield in any sort of strength test. He did it in 12.0 seconds flat, setting an early time to beat. Skip Sheffield came closest by a mere 0.6 seconds or so, but he started late. The strategies the guys used were interesting to see, but I'm not sure NXT wants to make this into a male version of Diva search, especially when fans aren't even voting, and the Pro vote isn't really shown (in terms of how they're voting). It's hard to believe that heels voted for Daniel Bryan to help him become #1, unless heels just despise Miz.
In terms of the NXT wrestlers' marketability factors, Heath Slater seems to me like another Brian Kendrick type. He's not particularly imposing and no offense to his skills, his look is that of a jobber. It's hard to see him becoming a credible WWE star. Most of the other guys do have that look, but if I had to pick 5 to disperse in WWE, I'd go with Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett, David Otunga, Justin Gabriel and Skip Sheffield. Michael Tarver reminds me of an in-shape Big Daddy V, but he could be a viable heel too. Barrett really has the look of a future heavyweight champion, or contender. He's built almost to a Batista/Jack Swagger size. Daniel Bryan has the skills, Otunga has the "it factor". Skip Sheffield's got a cowboy character which WWE doesn't have right now, with JBL gone. It'll be interesting to see who WWE keeps around, because I find it hard to believe 1 guy will win and that some of the others won't resurface in WWE. I'd love for them to keep most of them around, even Darren Young to go after CM Punk. They could really play into the storylines. I'm expecting they are pushing a story with Daniel Bryan going 0 and whatever on NXT, or maybe he'll win his last match, possibly against The Miz. He'll win NXT and the title shot he chooses will be, of course against his hated mentor, The Miz, for the US Title. We'll see...
I find the banter between Michael Cole and Josh Matthews on NXT pretty entertaining. Sometimes I wonder if these guys really don't get along though, or if the point is to make it seem like Cole is being condescending to the newer broadcast partner.
As for David Otunga hosting on Raw, he did a pretty good job the other night in his few appearances. The matches he set up were well done, and putting himself into the main event was a good move. Whenever former or current wrestling talent hosts, we usually get a no-nonsense show (except for Sgt. Slaughter). As for Otunga dropping off the apron at the end when Cena went for a tag, that was a nice surprise, especially after Batista had done the same to Cena earlier in the night. I was wondering how the match would finish with the tag titles on the line. On NXT, Otunga noted that he did what he did in order to gain favor from The Miz, one of the pro's who can vote for him on NXT. By leaving Cena on his own, Otunga basically sealed the win for MizShow to retain their titles. However, will Cena go after Otunga for what he did or focus on his upcoming match with Batista?
Next week's guest host is David Hasselhoff. Not sure how much longer the guest hosts will appear on Raw, but we can only hope Mitch the lifeguard gives us a WWE Divas Baywatch swimsuit match!
Labels: Commentary, Daniel Bryan, David Otunga, Michael Tarver, Skip Sheffield, The Miz, WWE News, WWE NXT
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