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  • WWE NXT Breaking Ground Episode 10: Respect; Breeze called up

    Breaking Ground Episode 10: Respect

    Key Takeaway: The first season of Breaking Ground caps off with a really strong episode focusing on the NXT performers at TakeOver: Respect.

    Show Recap: In terms of a single episode, this edition worked better than any other episode of this season, and arguably works entirely on its own as a backgrounder on the NXT performers. Last week left off with fans beginning to line up outside Full Sail University for TakeOver: Respect. From there, we branch off into several parallel paths:

    Jason Jordan and Chad Gable: Gable and Jordan talk about the importance of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic – we get a nice video package explaining Dusty’s death and legacy – and then shift to the excitement of them getting to wrestle on their first TakeOver event. They lose to Baron Corbin and Rhyno, but afterwards get a lot of praise backstage for their performance and view the experience as something to build on.

    Baron Corbin: Before the show, Corbin and Tino Sabbatelli have a nice chat about their shared background as NFL players. Corbin notes how he came in and people didn’t like him because he didn’t come from the indies or pay his dues, but he worked hard and got to the top – basically saying that he hopes Sabbatelli can do that, too. Anyway, Corbin and Rhyno beat Jordan and Gable, then lose to Samoa Joe and Finn Balor in the finals. (There’s a really cool segment with Stephanie and Triple H looking at the trophy and talking about the presentation of the trophy with Cody and Dustin Rhodes before the show.) After the match, we get Cody’s speech and then see Corbin backstage, a bit gutted that a trophy was being presented and he wasn’t part of it. The guy is competitive.

    Dana Brooke: Dana’s mom visits before the show and helps her prepare for the show. She and her mom visit with Tara, the NXT physical therapist, who explains the injury is a pectoral tear and she can work through it. Dana guts out the match with Asuka and does really well, getting praise backstage.

    Apollo Crews: Before the show, Triple H and Apollo talk about a new finisher for him. He has a match with Tyler Breeze, who he repeatedly puts over in interviews, and beats him with his new finisher – which is basically a back suplex spun into a power-bomb. It looks cool.

    Bayley: The show caps off with highlights from the Bayley/Sasha Iron Man Match, which is edited to look like the most epic match in history. Afterwards Bayley and Sasha get flowers and hug and it’s all very nice and emotional.

    After the show, Triple H has a meeting with the agents and producers and praises the show, noting they basically made four acts into stars (Apollo Crews, Dana Brooke, Asuka, and Jason Jordan and Chad Gable) in one show, one of which was somebody who lost. Then he heads to the all-talent meeting, where he praises the talent and says that Dusty would be proud of all of them. Then he calls Tyler Breeze down to the front of the meeting and announces that Breeze has been called up to the main roster, leading to a standing ovation from the assembled NXT talent.

    The episode ends with a montage of updates on how everyone’s doing now: Dana had pectoral surgery and is rehabbing. Apollo and Corbin are still in NXT and working on their promo skills. Jordan and Gable are one of NXT’s most popular teams and might get called up soon. Sami Zayn returned to action on the European tour. Bayley is still NXT women’s champion and beat Nia Jax in London to retain the title in a match Jax dominated. Bayley hopes to get her call-up soon. Tino, ZZ and the others are still working hard at the Performance Center to pursue their WWE dreams. Tyler Breeze made his debut on the main roster, with the last image shown on Breaking Ground being Breeze coming through the curtain and facing the crowd as Michael Cole and JBL react to his entrance on commentary.

    Final Thoughts: This episode was good enough to make me wonder why they spent nine episodes spinning their wheels to get here. It was really focused and somewhat resembled the superb WWE 24 series, which tended to focus on a single event and drill down into the events surrounding it. The emphasis on the importance of the TakeOver events as a means of getting to the main roster really helped make this episode seem really important. The focus on the handful of NXT stars that we’ve gotten to know and care about – rather than random people like Josh, Nhooph or ZZ – really made the episode feel important rather than something crammed with random segments to fill the time. It’d be great if every episode was this focused next season, because then the show could be something special.

  • WWE Breaking Ground episode 7 recap: Of pumpkins, eating dinner, and being human

    Photo: Bayley’s Instagram

    By Ryan Pike for WrestlingObserver.com

    Key Takeaway:

    The focus shifts somewhat from the established NXT stars towards the newcomers in an episode that suffers due to being a bit all over the place narratively, in the sense that nothing really happens.

    Show Recap:

    As mentioned, this week was a bit all over the place narratively, so let’s break it down.

    Carmella got kicked in the head last week by Eva Marie and got a stinger. She manages to avoid a concussion and basically frets about not being to wrestle for a week. She and Big Cass, her boyfriend, carve pumpkins and are generally adorable. After her week is up, she goes through the in-ring workout for NXT’s trainer, Tina, and gets the all-clear. Eva Marie is seen once but never mentioned, so presumably they don’t want to bury the poor girl. The most entertaining part of the episode in in this storyline, where Enzo Amore and Carmella bond (at a dinner after a show with Bayley and Cass) about how loud Cass is at night – he wakes them up at home or on the road by snoring or making too much noise in the bathroom.

    Bayley, Carmella’s best friend, has a performance evaluation with Sara Amato. It goes really well and Amato praises her mentorship abilities, which Bayley says are a product of having Charlotte and Paige mentor her when she was coming in. She and Carmella take Sara Lee, from Tough Enough, on the road with them and begin to mentor her. The big cliffhanger of this episode is Triple H calling a meeting with Bayley and Sasha Banks and teasing a big announcement, which is presumably the Iron Man Match from Takeover (because this show plays fast and loose with timelines).

    ZZ complains about a knee injury but notes he’s down in weight because he’s eating broccoli now. Matt Bloom jokingly praises him for “learning what vegetables are.” Later, ZZ goes to an alligator camp and helps move an alligator.

    The new wrestler from India, Lovepreet Singh, has some growing pains in training because he’s bringing some bad habits – like using punches below the belt to get guys over the top rope in practices – that he needs to unlearn. But he seems coachable and performances well enough in the “internal matches” that they have at the Performance Center to get a spot in a battle royal on a house show. He also has Robbie Brookside over for a traditional Indian dinner and seems eager to pick his brain about the business.

    Tino Sabbatelli also performs well in the internal matches, with Tye Dillinger praising his ability to be a natural heel because he’s so physically gifted. Dillinger gives him some advice about his in-ring persona and playing up his physique a bit. Nhooph continues to develop her in-ring persona for her Aliyah character, working a bit with William Regal on her entrance. Regal notes: “I think the audience has made their mind up by about a third of the way down the ramp whether they’re going to care.” However, Nhooph bombs with her entrance and promo at the internal matches, with Regal criticizing her lack of urgency and the crowd (made up of wrestlers from the Performance Center) jeering her throughout. She’s got some work to do.

    Final Thoughts:

    There were some interesting moments in the show, but nothing really happened. Bayley watched a wrestling match with her boyfriend. Lovepreet ate dinner. Carmella carved pumpkins. But nothing noteworthy really occurred and the show continued jumping around too much for us as an audience to really build a relationship with any of the wrestlers in this episode. This was a pretty flat episode of Breaking Ground overall.

  • WWE NXT Breaking Ground; Eva Marie KO’s Carmella

    Submitted by: Ryan Pike

    WWE NXT Breaking Ground Episode 6: Road Trip

    Key Takeaway: The NXT gang goes on a road trip to Louisville and Nashville in an episode that shines a spotlight on Bayley, Carmella, Jason Jordan and Baron Corbin, then climaxes with Eva Marie kicking Carmella right in the head and knocking her out mid-match.

    Show Recap: Aside from saying goodbye to Cal Bishop, who Canyon Ceman released at the end of the last episode, and making a brief stop to meet new NXT signee Lovepreet Singh in Orlando, the entire episode is spent with the touring NXT crew as they visit Louisville and Nashville.

    A lot of time is spent with Carmella and Bayley this week, really emphasizing that they’re best friends and that Bayley’s success in NXT, and likely recall to the main roster before too long, is pushing Carmella to improve. Bayley gets a new challenge on the road trip: producing a match, as Matt Bloom has her produce a match between Alexa Bliss and Eva Marie in Louisville. She seems to be adjusting to her role as a mentor to the younger talent, but also expresses her excitement in learning new things so she’s not just someone known for hugging. Carmella notes that there’s a big gap between Bayley and the rest of the girls on the roster, and she’s eager to take a leap in her development. She’s fighting a cold and works a match with Eva Marie in Nashville. And mid-way through the match, with her boyfriend (Colin Cassidy) and her best friend (Bayley) watching, Carmella gets her wits kicked out of her by Eva Marie in the episode’s cliffhanger ending.

    Lesser News: Jason Jordan’s excited about his raise. He and Chad Gable get to work with Cassidy and Enzo in Nashville. Jordan feels like his team has momentum and his goal is to get him and Gable to the main roster and established as a dependable tag team that can do anything they need them to do.

    Also we spend a bit of time with Baron Corbin, who still really thinks he should be on the main roster. Bloom’s assessment: “Baron wants all the privileges of being a top guy, but I don’t think he knows what it takes to be a top guy right now.” Specifically, Corbin’s facials aren’t great in the ring, and he notes after being trained to suppress emotions as an NFL player, he’s having to adjust to the differences. Away from the ring, the NXT crew also visits an abandoned sanitarium and Corbin visits an oddities shop with a buddy of his in Nashville, buying a fragment of a human skull. Corbin’s a weird dude, but at least they’re trying to make him seem like a person.

    Final Thoughts: The focus on Bayley and Carmella really helped elevate this show, as Bayley comes across amazingly likeable, even when trolling Jason Jordan when he jokingly asks for an autographed photo. Spending time with the touring crew and focusing on the shows themselves and how they’re put together made the half-hour a lot more compelling than some of the earlier episodes.

  • WWE Breaking Ground Episode 5: Call It A Comeback

    Breaking Ground Episode 5: Call It A Comeback

    Recap by Ryan Pike (@RyanNPike)

    Key Takeaway: A really unfocused episode of Breaking Ground, checking in with a lot of NXT personalities just to remind you that they exist, finishes off with three individuals getting raises from WWE executive Canyon Ceman and another getting released in the last scene of the episode.

    Show Recap: We quickly check in with a few loose ends from last episode. An absolutely gassed ZZ gets a stern lecture from Jason Albert about his conditioning and the need to push himself past his limits to improve. Meanwhile, Jason Jordan steps up and has a strong performance as he and Chad Gable (who is working with an ankle injury) beat the Hype Bros to move on in the Dusty Rhodes Classic and earn a spot on the upcoming Takeover special.

    From there, the episode jumps around a lot.

    Cal Bishop gets back into the ring following his third shoulder injury (and second surgery). They even show footage of his shoulder blowing out in the ring in December 2014 (in his first match back from his first surgery). He says been much more keen with his rehab work and paying attention. He’s about a week away from getting medically cleared. He has an in-ring workout. It goes well, but he’s limited by his arm, and Albert and the rehab trainer express concerns about his ability to lift opponents with confidence.

    Next we check in with Nia Jax. She explains her character by declaring “I am the main bitch and nobody’s going to mess with me.” She does mention that her cousin is The Rock, and that seeing his match at WrestleMania 28 made her want to become a wrestler. She discusses some concerns she has about her size, but also notes that her unique look, size and background help her stand out in a really crowded NXT womens division. We transition to a segment with Nhooph via the revelation that she and Nia are road buddies, which is a web series that we need to see – the tiny young girl and The Rock’s cousin traveling around America wrestling at shows. Anyway, Nhooph gets a ring name – Aaliyah – and has a meeting with William Regal to share her ideas for her character. She wants to emphasize her Middle Eastern background to stand out and Regal encourages her, noting that unless she is thinking and feeling her character and bringing it out through her eyes, fans will see right through her. Tyler Breeze appears, sitting down with the new girls in the ring and going over psychology – what drives their characters, why do they walk the way they do, how do they move or orient themselves – and it seems to blow their minds. (Later on, the coaches praise Breeze’s ability to connect with the new talent and his great attitude given his lengthy developmental tenure.) After a video session where the females sit with Sara Amato and go over old WWE promos, Nia has an evaluation with Amato that goes pretty well.

    The episode ends with Canyon Ceman arriving and everyone freaking out (since in every episode he’s appeared in somebody’s gotten cut), culminating with a montage with Apollo Crews, Jason Jordan, Nia Jax and Cal Bishop being summoned to meetings. Crews, Jordan and Jax each get raises, while Bishop is released to end the episode.

    There’s also a storyline with Tino Sabbatelli getting his brother a try-out that doesn’t go anywhere, as his brother blows his knee out on an indie show five days before the try-out and they have to re-schedule.

    Final Thoughts: The episode attempted to build towards a dramatic climax where they wanted the audience to wonder which talent would get released. Unfortunately, it felt really hollow, as the three wrestlers that aren’t Cal Bishop are all on NXT television right now, so there was absolutely no tension. It was a bit frustrating that they went so far out of their way to sell Bishop as a hard-working guy with terrible luck, while at the same time showing ZZ to be a waste of time and real estate in the Performance Center.

  • WWE Breaking Ground Recap 11/9: Focus on Tough Enough Josh and Tyler Breeze

    Recap by @RyanNPike

    Key Takeaway: NXT heads down to Texas for a sold-out three city tour, while Josh tries to parlay his Tough Enough win into a WWE career.

    Show Recap: The NXT tour of Texas provided the framework for an unusually focused edition of Breaking Ground this week. The entirety of the episode was split between getting to know Josh, who won Tough Enough this summer, and following the NXT veterans on their three-city Texas trip.

    We meet Josh in the gym, where Jason Albert tells him he needs to take yoga because he’s in the rookie class. His big-money contract is briefly mentioned, and Albert tells him to get his banking and living situation set up and then it’s time to get to work. Later, Josh helps set up the ring at Full Sail for the NXT tapings and talks about having a huge desire to get in the ring. He says he has to trust in the coaches and their plan for him.

    Later on, we join Josh at the grocery store. His wife and daughter call (via Facetime) and he talks about uprooting his family from Colorado so he can follow his dreams and how much it motivates him. He’s in the process of finding a place for them all to live so he can move them down to Florida. Later, we join Josh in promo class. He kind-of sucks, and delivers an awkward, meandering promo, trying to use his Tough Enough persona “the Yeti.” William Regal’s obviously disappointed (after 10 weeks on the mic in Tough Enough), advising him to be flexible and to ditch the Yeti thing. The coaches discuss Josh’s lack of progress in a meeting. At the end of the episode, Josh delivers a slightly better version of the same bad promo. Regal looks displeased. Josh doesn’t come across well, despite having a cute daughter.

    The other two-thirds of the episode, focusing on the NXT shows in Houston, Austin and San Antonio, was really good. In Houston, they spent some time with Tyler Breeze and his history – he grew up on WWE and wanted to be a wrestler, but nearly got cut after years in developmental before falling into the Tyler Breeze character. He’s been in NXT for five years, and we get a montage of the 50+ wrestlers who have been called up from developmental since he’s been there. He’s hoping his call-up is coming soon and he seems really into his character, even staying in his persona backstage in Austin when Jason Jordan ribs him about wearing amateur wrestling boots. We hang out backstage as Sara Amato and Adam Pearce produce a show, paying a lot of attention to the Tyler Breeze/Samoa Joe match. Everyone praises Breeze’s match afterwards. There’s some downtime afterwards in Austin for the talent, so Baron Corbin goes to a bar to unwind and watch a band (but he has to deal with fans taking photos with him). Breeze and Tye Dillinger go looking for bats and find some under a bridge.

    The segment in San Antonio spends a lot more time out of the ring. Breeze and Corbin argue about specific details of Texas history at the Alamo. Carmella and Colin Cassady, who seem to be a couple though it’s never stated, go to buy cowboy boots and cowboy hats. Apollo Crews’ sister visits him backstage and marvels at how far he’s come in his career – she says the last time she saw him, he was in Japan. Corbin’s cousin and nephew also visit. At the show, Carmella’s a little blown away that people cheer for her. Corbin loses to Joe (as Breeze did the previous night), and tells a story about his cousin texting him after the show to say his nephew wanted to beat up Samoa Joe because he was mad that he lost. After the show, everyone flies home – including Carmella with a spectacular (and complete in-character) leopard-print neck pillow.

    Final Thoughts: If the goal of the first few episodes of Breaking Ground was to convince you that the NXT wrestlers that make it on TV are hard-working and that the Tough Enough guys are lazy and terrible, mission accomplished. The more time they spend on the up-and-coming NXT television performers – particularly Dana Brooke, Tyler Breeze and Apollo Crews – the more they come across as really likeable, enjoyable personas. Heck, Baron Corbin even seems like a relatable human even though he seems pretty obnoxious at times. But the time spent with ZZ (last week) and Josh (this week) seems wasted by comparison, and it waters the show down quite a bit.

    If only the whole 30-ish minutes were solely devoted to the main NXT crew.

  • Devin Taylor’s fate decided on episode 2 of WWE Breaking Ground

    Submitted by Ryan Pike

    Key Takeaway:

    We open with Devin Taylor getting terminated and the episode closes with questions about Dana Brooke’s NXT future if she can’t keep improving. In-between, it’s another enthralling but unfocused edition of Breaking Ground, with the best part of the episode focusing on a three-day try-out for prospective NXT trainees.

    Show Recap:

    This week’s episode had three general focuses: the women’s division, a three-day try-out at the Performance Center, and Tough Enough finalist ZZ beginning his training.

    The cliffhanger from last week – which NXT talent would be fired – is dealt with immediately, with Devin Taylor getting the heave-ho from Canyon Ceman, who complemented her for how she added to the “culture of the building” before having her escorted out by security. Sara Amato refers to the competitiveness and depth of the NXT women’s group as a “shark tank.” After singling out Bayley as someone who’s excellent and works really hard, the rest of the episode is spent focusing on Dana Brooke. It’s obvious she’s really focused, as she walks us through her daily routine and it’s a lot of working out and training.

    She also goes to the salon with her friend to get her eyebrows and eyelashes done, as she notes talent may be contacted by Triple H at any moment for a photo shoot or another opportunity. Sarah Stock teaches the girls a specific kind of front-bump, using Nia Jax as a base – basically Jax spins them around and they do a front-bump. Dana’s tentative, and Sara Amato mentions that she’s talented but she’s worried she’s plateaued, and if she stalls out in her development she might not have much of a future.

    The arguable center-piece of the episode is a three-day try-out at the Performance Center, which largely gives us a show-long glimpse at how head coach Matt Bloom and William Regal run things. The first day is mostly testing cardio with stuff like Hindu squats, drop-downs and stuff like that, trying to blow people up. The second day is a lot of basic bumps and more cardio testing, and the third day is doing forward rolls and backward rolls in the ring and landing in a fighting ready position. The rolling session led to an amazing William Regal tirade. He began criticizing some individuals for hopping to their feet rather than landing and stepping into a fighting stance. Then, after correcting a handful of individuals, he announces to the entire gym his expectations.

    After watching several more individuals screw it up, he stops the entire session and goes on a tirade, singling out the person in the ring for screwing it up. Of course, this person does it again and does it correctly, and both Bloom and Regal praise him for being “coachable.” Finally, Regal leads the promo try-outs, noting that “If you have the personality of a cabbage, you won’t be here.”

    Highlights include a heavy-set man doing “the worm” and a female delivering a heart-felt promo about her troubled up-bringing which earns praise from Regal for her vulnerability. After the try-outs are over, Canyon Ceman leads a meeting where he and the coaches decide which applicants will be offered contracts – pending background checks and Triple H’s approval.

    Former alligator wrestler and Tough Enough male finalist ZZ arrives at the Performance Center, along with his parents – who want to make sure he’s training somewhere safe. They meet with Bloom, who’s told by ZZ that he’s been “training outside” and hasn’t been to the gym much. Tough Enough winner Josh doesn’t think ZZ has a good enough work ethic to make it, and ZZ himself admits that his cardio’s not that great. In drills, ZZ struggles. He also struggles in the gym, getting blown up, and Mojo Rawley gives him a nice pep talk about getting blown up in the gym and in the ring is how he’s going to get better.

    Robbie Brookside has a chat with ZZ, saying he wants to see some commitment from him and if he sees that, he’ll do whatever it takes to help him improve. He emphasizes to ZZ that it’s a lifestyle, not a job. Later on, Brookside leads the rookie orientation. Bayley, Tyler Breeze and Sami Zayn give introductions to the Performance Center to the rookies (and Asuka, who’s there for some reasons). Zayn admits that he was scared about giving up his independent character, but learned to adapt and encourages everyone to be flexible. ZZ notes that he wants to remain a kid, and then gets scolded by Brookside for screwing around, ending with Brookside saying “Get out of my ring.” ZZ skulks out of the ring.

    Final Thoughts:

    I’m not a big fan of how the program skips around from story to story without following up on much. Granted, many of these stories could be compelling if told in full, but the editing of the show is too scattershot to really have much impact or to establish much of a pace to the narrative. Case in point: unless they were going to really focus on Bayley, I’m not sure what the point was of spending time with her in this episode. Similarly, they spent so little time on Brooke that the “cliffhanger” they left on doesn’t have much of an impact. That said, they really spent a lot of time burying poor ZZ and his lack of focus, maturity and fitness.

  • WWE Breaking Ground debut episode: behind the scenes at NXT

    By Ryan Pike

    Key Takeaway —

    The journey of WWE hopefuls through NXT is profiled in this new WWE Network program. The first episode, while a bit unfocused and sanitized, is a pretty strong debut, showcasing several new faces with dreams of WWE stardom.

    Show Recap — 

    We open with a monologue from Triple H, who lists off the attributes that are necessary to be a WWE superstar. But he notes that without an “it factor,” even the best might not make it. He welcomes viewers to their glimpse inside NXT and the journey of their aspiring superstars. “They’re all just one step away from realizing their dreams. But for some, that one step might as well be a mountain. Some will make it. Some don’t. This is WWE Breaking Ground.” (A tad hokey, but for what they’re going for, this was the perfect opening to frame the series.)

    The first NXT superstar we meet is Bayley, as she drives to work. She muses on her journey from being a dreamy 10-year-old wanting to wrestle to being the NXT Women’s Champion. “Sometimes if I’m driving, I’ll look at the person next to me in their car and just wonder, I wonder what they’re doing with their life, if they’re living their dreams?” She arrives at the Performance Center at the same time as Tough Enough winner Josh Bredl, who’s there for his first day and signs his contract. We then transition to a training montage and some WrestleMania clips, and get a glimpse of Adam Pearce shouting encouragement to WWE hopefuls.

    From this point, Breaking Ground focuses on five individuals: former NFLer Tino “Sabby” Sabbatelli, former NFLer Baron Corbin, 19-year-old female wrestler Nhooph, NXT interviewer Devin Taylor and former independent star Apollo Crews. It doesn’t spent a ton of time on any one of them, particularly given that it’s a 30-minute show, but they do their best to paint a picture of each.

    Sabbatelli, real name Sabatino Piscitelli, played college football at Oregon State and spent time with Tampa Bay, Cleveland and Kansas City before turning to pro wrestling following the end of his football career. He signed with NXT in 2014, and is adjusting to being a rookie and having to prove himself after being an established NFLer. He opens the show sidelined after a concussion in his second NXT match.

    Corbin, like Sabbatelli, is a former NFLer who spent time with Indianapolis and Arizona. He’s been in NXT for three years and based on his experience and his resume, he thinks he should be on the main roster already. Jason Albert, interviewed extensively about Corbin, notes the challenge is keeping Corbin focused and motivated.

    Nhooph began training for wrestling at 16 years of age, and recalls having to lie to her parents about going to her job when heading to her first training sessions. We’re told she’s not improving, and get a wonderful montage of her taking awful-looking hip-tosses. She’s been in NXT for awhile, but the coaches don’t think she’s good enough yet to get a match on a live event yet. Finally, she takes a hip-toss properly and the coaches praise her.

    Devin Taylor is NXT’s ring announcer, who is trying to transition from holding a microphone to actually wrestling. However, we’re told she’s had a few injuries that have slowed down her progress, and she’s been leap-frogged by several other females in the mean-time. We get another hiptoss montage as she trains with Nia Jax. (And they’re awful.)

    Apollo Crews is the former Uhaa Nation, though that name isn’t mentioned on this show. He tells a story about his father, who grew up poor in Nigeria and emphasized the importance of needing an education to be successful – the story’s interspersed with clips of Crews on the indies. He shares a story about his dad saying the only way to be successful was by getting an education, and then getting a nice message from his dad after his NXT debut saying how proud he was.

    William Regal leads promo class at the Performance Center, emphasizing the importance of connecting with the camera. We get a montage of NXT kids doing quick promos, and Mojo Rawley does a strong promo and is praised by Regal. The majority of the promos we’re shown aren’t very good.

    Sabbatelli goes through the WWE’s concussion protocol this episode, which we’re given quite a bit of detail about – basically it’s three weeks of no work, followed by them being eased back into ring-work and getting repeatedly monitored for recurring symptoms. He does a mock match at the end of the episode as part of the evaluation.

    Norman Smiley rides with Corbin and his girlfriend to the Gainsville, FL show and we get this exchange: “We do you think you’ll be out of here, NXT?” “The reality is, I don’t know. You’re the coach, you tell me.” Then it’s quiet in the car. Corbin discusses how he’s not well-liked. Mojo jokingly praises Corbin as he eats food. He replies: “Go do some more workouts while I enjoy this. It sure as hell isn’t his wrestling that’s getting him over.”

    We see some clips from the Gainsville show. Nhooph doesn’t get a match and is bummed out. Bayley has a tag match and is praised by Shatner’s voice-over for her efforts regardless of the size of the crowd – and how that’s a good example for the rest of the performers on each show. Corbin is in the main event, teaming with Tyler Breeze in a losing effort against Finn Balor and Samoa Joe.

    The nextday, Nhooph arrives at the Performance Center. Sara Amato chats with her about card adjustments and apologizes for her match getting bumped from a prior show. Amato and Albert chat about Devin, and about whether she has a future after two major injuries in less than a year. Sabbatelli goes through the concussion protocol in the ring. If he fails it, he could be done. Canyon Ceman appears. He’s the recruiter, and notes that the hardest part of the job is when they have to let talent go, leading into a meeting with a talent in which somebody will probably get cut. The cliffhanger is which NXT talent gets the axe: Devin? Nhooph? Sabbatelli? (I believe Devin got released recently in real-life, but I suppose that all three performers could be released next episode.)

    Final Thoughts

    This was a really strong premiere episode. It provides a really fascinating glimpse into the backstage goings-on and challenges facing aspiring WWE performers. That said, it could’ve been stronger had it spend more time with fewer performers. They never really follow up with Apollo Crews or Bayley, and spending that time with the lesser-known performers might’ve established better connections given how the episode ended.

  • WWE debuts new show Breaking Ground free on YouTube and FaceBook

    WWE is going to be offering the first episode of  “Breaking Ground,” a documentary on NXT, on its Facebook page and YouTube channel on Sunday at Noon Eastern time.

    Future episodes, will be WWE Network exclusives.  The show will be airing regularly on Monday nights right after Raw.  There are currently 10 episodes in the series.

    William Shatner of “Star Trek” fame will be the narrator of the show.

    The show is a behind-the-scenes look at training to be a WWE performer. There will be ten episodes of the series.

    Kevin Dunn will be the producer of the series, which is a co-production of WWE and 3 Ball Entertainment.

    3 Ball Entertainment has produced reality shows such as Bar Rescue, Catch a Contractor and Sweat Inc. on Spike TV, My Cat from Hell on Animal Planet and Extreme Weight Loss on ABC.