Cewsh Scouts NXT 2013: The Champions - Part 1

Welcome to the Cewsh Institute for Careful Observation and Contextual Knowledge. Here we take our jobs very seriously as the foremost wrestling scouts on the internet. Previously, we have brought you detailed breakdowns of both the NXT roster and the New Japan Pro Wrestling roster, and today we’re here a year later to retrace our steps and evaluate the new recruits and blossoming prospects of WWE‘s developmental program, as well as revisiting our evaluations from last time.

We have 16 men and women here who will be judged by their pros and cons, and will be assigned a grade based on their potential as WWE prospects. We will also be rendering judgement on whether or not these individuals are ready for full time main roster competition. Today, we’ll be breaking down the first four of these, focusing on everyone holding gold in NXT at the moment. Joining me in the venture are my esteemed colleagues: Psycho, Artie and Dennis.

Psycho joined us last time, Artie is new to NXT but is very enthusiastic about it, and Dennis is so familiar with the product that eating the cupcakes he brings to shows has become a rite of passage for new talent. Together, we will put our lab coats on, carefully evaluate strengths and weaknesses, and try to find out just exactly who the stars of tomorrow will be. Are you ready for some hardcore fact mining and grueling tape watching? No? Well then lucky for you that we did it all for you.

Bo Dallas (NXT Champion)

Pros:

- Good babyface fire
- Solid on promos
- Lots of experience in a WWE atmosphere with a wide variety of opponents

Cons:

- Prone to dull matches
- Small
- Perhaps the most hated man in NXT

Last Year’s Analysis:

Cewsh: Bo Dallas is a second generation guy, and like most of those, he seems to be ahead of the curve in terms of comfort in the ring. His matches, especially during his FCW Heavyweight title reign, were real show stealers, and that’s no surprise with how great he is at firing up in a match. He’s one of a rare breed of guys who just seems to naturally click as a good guy early in his career, and that’s an insanely rare and valuable commodity, but I worry that he’s plateaued in his development since his title reign. There’s something missing from the whole package to take it to the next level.

Cewsh’s Prospect Grade: C+

Ready For Main Roster: No

Cewsh: Bo Dallas is kind of a weird story. The son of Mike Rotunda and the brother of Bray Wyatt, Bo has been a main event fixture in WWE’s developmental system for years now, back into the FCW days. He’s been in the system longer than almost anyone else in the company, and yet you’d never guess it. Because, even after all these years, he doesn’t seem anything like a finished product.

His character work is often awkward and spotty, his matches drag in the middle and depend upon hot finishes to carry them, and over the years, he has been the focus of tons and tons of hate from the majority of the fanbase for his blandness and excessive push.

Currently, they’re trying him out as a heel who acts like a traditional babyface and mugs for cheers, and he’s getting Cena-like reactions from the crowd on a much smaller scale. But I don’t think it’s the kind of thing that can translate easily to the main show, and he’s shown himself to have huge trouble getting over conventionally.

If the reports that WWE is planning to put a time limit on the amount of time people can spend developing is true, then I think Bo Dallas will be, and should be, a casualty long before he ever figures out what he is as a performer.

Cewsh’s Prospect Grade: D+

Ready For Main Roster: No

Artie: The less talented of the two Rotunda brothers, we’ve already seen Bo taste a bit of the WWE spotlight with a Royal Rumble performance and a few sightings on RAW & Smackdown. Bo seems to have a good sense of ring awareness and a fairly good look, but boy oh boy is he devoid of personality! He’s already been in developmental for five years and still speaks into the microphone with no conviction or sense of personality.

The WWE seems intent on bringing him up to the main roster, but I feel that he’ll flop horrendously without a manager and a mean streak. He’s recently started flirting with the prospect of turning heel due to the negative reactions from the NXT audience and I believe greatly that he could flourish in the role. Given his current status, I cannot see him on the main roster just yet, but with perhaps another year of work and character development, Bo Dallas could be something special.

Artie’s Prospect Grade: B-

Dennis: Ahh, Bo Dallas. The WWE seems determined to push this man, this man that everyone seems to hate. The man with the face of a female child, and the ultimate troll face grin. The crazy thing is, he’s not that bad. He’s very sound in the ring. He can have good matches. But a combination of being noticeably less gifted than his older brother, Bray Wyatt, and WWE’s relentless persistence in pushing him has led to fan backlash.

People boo poor Bo Dallas out of every building NXT runs. Here’s the plus side… they’ve finally noticed it and instead of going the obvious route and having him turn, thus having him go from boring face to boring heel… they have turned Bo Dallas into a “Babyface that doesn’t know he’s a Heel” that acts oblivious to the fans’ jeers. And you know what? It’s making the goofy lookin’ guy grow on me.

Dennis’ Prospect Grade: B

Ready For Main Roster: No

I don’t think so, not yet. In a normal situation, I’d say he needs to step it up to avoid the “been in developmental too long” round of releases. However WWE’s hardon for him may save his job for a couple more years. Maybe between then and now he’ll be ready, though.

Psycho: Last I spoke of Bo, I didn’t have much to say about him. Things haven’t really changed much. His mic skills have almost become more atrocious except one instant where he got serious on Big E. Langston. His wrestling is actually better than most give him credit for, but everything about the guy is just underwhelming. The personality is plastic, and the fans don’t want to connect with him. Perhaps as a heel, he could make some strides, but trying to pitch him as a baby face has failed tremendously. Though, things are looking like they are heading that way, so we’ll see how things progress.

Psycho’s Prospect Grade: C+

Ready For Main Roster: No