411’s WWE Breaking Ground Report: Episode 1

411’s Breaking Point Report: Episode 1

-Since I had the pleasure of covering Tough Enough, it only makes sense that I give WWE’s newest reality show a look. For those that complained about the lack of in ring training with Tough Enough, this show should fill the void.

-Triple H starts it off as he talks about what it takes to become a WWE Superstar. He talks about how world class athletes can fail and that having a look, passion, and drive still may not be enough. We are about to witness a personal journey of some men and women who are one step away from realizing their dream. Some will make it and some don’t….this is WWE Breaking Ground.

-William Shatner is the narrator for the series and the opening montage basically shows this will be about the guys and girls at the Training Center and NXT.

-We start with Bayley and she talks about wanting to be in the WWE since she was young and saw Trish and Lita in the ring.

-Next is Tough Enough winner Josh and they show him arriving at the Performance Center and signing his WWE contract on 09/09/15.

-We quickly meet the head trainer and coach in developmental, Matt Bloom (Prince Albert, A-Train, Tensai). We get footage of him working guys and girls through drills at the Performance Center. They are also additional coaches and trainers working with all of them including Normal Smiley (Big Wiggle…woo).

-Shatner introduces us to Tino “Sabby” Sabbatelli who has a background from the NFL. He was drafted in the 2nd round and had a 7 year career. They show stills of him playing with Tampa Bay. He has been sidelined from action in NXT thanks to a concussion. His 2nd match ever in NXT he suffered the concussion and is working his way back through the protocol.

-Baron Carbin is next and we get shots of him riding his Harley. He played in 4 consecutive NCAA Football Championship Games and had a stint in the NFL as well. For those wondering he played for Division II power, Northwest Missouri State and they actually played for the DII Title 5 consecutive years from 2005-2009. I know this because I graduated from a DII school, California University of PA and we ran into the 2009 Northwest Missouri State team in the semi-finals. Anyway, Corbin likes the fact that he doesn’t need a team in pro-wrestling and that his goal is become the WWE Champion. He has been in NXT for 3 years and feels he should already be on the main roster.

-Now to the women and we met their coach (and overall assistant coach), Sara Amato (Sara Del Ray) and she talks about how training is her real passion. She has been with the company for two years and we see footage of her training some future Divas. One of them is the youngest of the group, Nhooph, who had her tryout last year and is only 19 years old. She had to hide the fact she is training to be a wrestler from her parents because they are so against it. She is anxious to have her first real match with NXT, but the coaches don’t think she is ready yet. We see Bloom and Sara work with her on how to take a hiptoss properly.

-Bloom tells us how hard it is as they have to keep a fire burning through the long days while seeing their peers getting called up or used more.

-Next we hear from Devin Taylor and she has been in NXT for 2 years. She has been used to do interviews in the backstage, but has been training to become a wrestler as well. Sara tells us that Devin has had back injuries and that while fighting those other girls have passed her and moved on to better things. They discuss trying to get her a live match and Sara tells her they will see what they can do.

-We are few days before a show in Gainesville and Bloom has some back and forth with Corbin. He worries that Baron is going to be the guy that continues to get angry when guys get called up before him. Bloom asks him about a zit on his face, and Corbin says it is a burn as he face planted the mat trying to do standing moonsault. Nice!

-Apollo Crews next and he talks about how his father came from Nigeria with nothing. His father believes that having an education and going to law school or med school is the only way to be successful. Crews talks about his independent career and we get footage from his work in Evolve, showing the working relationship they have with the WWE now. He does say that when he made his NXT debut, his dad called him and told him he was proud.

-Back to Sabby and he works alone in the ring to see how he has progressed from his concussion. The WWE has a 3 week protocol with concussions before guys can work a match again. He is at 3 weeks and now they have to see if he has any setbacks. Bloom hypes up Sabby and talks about how things have been harder for him than he figured. Sabby shows off his vertical leap in impressive fashion and wants to push himself to jump a little higher, but Bloom talks him out of it. He agrees that it wouldn’t have been smart and Bloom puts his ego in check by telling him it wasn’t impressive anyway, which Sabby agrees.

-William Regal shows up to teach the entire NXT roster tonight’s class: developing a character. Regal tells us he is a detail freak and that his goal is to teach them to have a purpose for everything they do or don’t even bother doing it. They show a montage of the crazy things the WWE has had him do and that includes his awesome “He’s A Man” theme song which makes this show amazing already. We see various guys and girls cut promos and Regal is impressed by the craziness of Mojo Rawley as he knows that he believes every word he just said.

-We are on the road to the NXT show in Gainesville and Norman Smiley rides with Corbin and his wife. Smiley has been working with Corbin and is one of the few that has gained his trust. Corbin talks about having an ego and how he soon realized he had dues to pay coming from the NFL. They have a conversation about when Corbin will get called up the roster and neither is sure.

-At the arena everyone takes part in the time honored tradition of setting up the ring. In catering Rawley and Corbin take shots at each other. You can tell Corbin is a loner and is kind of a dick, but that works for him.

-All the talent is brought to the ring and the card for the evening is read. This is fascinating stuff as the reactions are real whether they make the card or are left watching. The Main Event is announced with Samoa Joe and Balor taking on Tyler Breeze and Corbin. Norman tells everyone to be safe and have fun. Devin is left off the card, but she knows her time will come.

-It is show time and Shatner tells us that Bayley brings her best no matter if a crowd of 50 or 1500. We get footage of her and Carmella putting on a decent match before getting to the Main Event. Corbin values the time he has put into this and he knows when he is at Mania or is WWE Champion it will all be worth it. It is still surreal to not only see Samoa Joe on WWE TV wrestling, but now included in a show like this.

-The next morning Nhooph is sat down by Sarah and explained why she was bumped from the card. It was a priority thing and Shatner says that at 19, she just may not be ready.

-Back at the Performance Center where Bloom and Sara talk about Devin. He asks Sara if Devin’s body is built for this business considering her 2 major injuries in less than a year. Bloom says that he is brutally honest and that some of these people only have a ceiling in NXT and some not even that high, but it will be up to them if they make it.

-Sabby is ready to take his concussion test and gets to do some in ring work with another guy. They do some basic stuff while a doctor watches. Shatner goes over how if Sabby doesn’t pass this test, it could be the last time he is inside a WWE ring.

-We cut to Canyon Ceman who is the lead recruiter for the WWE and he is the one that gets tasked with letting talent know they are cut. We end the episode with him talking to some unidentified person saying that “I think you know why I am here.” Well that is certainly a cliff hanger!

-We get previews of the rest of the episodes and overall it does look like an interesting series.