wrestling / Columns

Watry Q&A: NXT vs. WWE, CM Punk, Being A Fan, More

September 5, 2018 | Posted by Justin Watry
CM Punk WWE AEW Image Credit: WWE

No introduction this week. Everybody is talking about All In except yours truly. I didn’t watch the event nor did I attend live in Chicago despite having the opportunity. Let’s go!

Backstory

Once a month, I reply to the comment section. No cuss words or insults allowed. These are the best/worst from August 2018.

Previous Q&A

notsoheavyd2: I will always say Rock/Cena is the modern version of Andre/Hogan. If they could have gotten 2 matches out of Andre for Wrestlemanias 3 and 4 they absolutely would have. (It’s not even hard to write the scenario for it.)

Considering The Rock vs. John Cena did back to back record breaking WrestleMania main events I would tend to agree. Obviously the first encounter was the more anticipated and built up, but a lot of folks like to rip the rematch for reasons unknown to me. It was not only another one year LONG TERM story; it could actually be argued that this was a two year LONG TERM story. We like to whine and complain over short-term garbage and stuff being thrown at the wall last minute…well, here you go. Rocky and Cena played their parts beautifully and as big as the first match was, everything was upped another level with the WWE Championship involved. Two of the biggest names available going at it for the richest prize in the industry. Certainly smells like a WM worthy main event to me, but please go ahead and tell me all about CM Punk for the 392,175th time…yawn…

lazaruslong: Honest question, what is your issue with cursing? I haven’t seen it address in a recent column here on 411 (I’ve read most since you came back), and I only rarely visit the other website you write for. And is your use of “Heck on a Deck” more of a fun thing as a result or you outright refusing to write the first word?

Heck on a Deck started as joke because I don’t swear. Readers seemed to dig (hate) it, so the phrase stayed. Could just write HIAC but meh. No fun in that.

Truth be told, I just don’t swear – online and here in Wisconsin. As stated a million times, there is no gimmick. You can ask my brother, sisters, friends, co-workers, and everybody in between. I do not cuss. You just have to be creative and compelling to tell a story without what, five specific words? Pretty easy. Dropping F bombs and using four letter curse words in every sentence does not make you ‘cool’ or ‘hip’ or whatever. No different than a movie being rated R just for pointless gore, language, and nudity. Who cares? Zero reason to do it other than to do it.

Mae Young Classic Preview

Rad Radford: Anyone else click on his article by accident?

YEAH, TEN YEARS STRONG BAY BAY!

FLIPwatcher: any news why crystal was announced then was not included?

I took a shot in the dark, went to the most reliable looking Facebook page of hers I could find (Twitter was private) and asked that very question. No reply.

Summerslam Preview

Tommy B: “Name me the WWE Match Of The Year for 2018! Not NXT. I mean WWE…go!

Cedric Alexander vs Buddy Murphy

Didn’t see it.

Voice of Logic: What you need to know before Sunday Night…

We needed to know Watry is excited…

Well…

Takeover Brooklyn/Summerslam Reviews

REID50: Not everybody watches every independent promotion out there. It doesn’t make a person any less of a wrestling.

Exactly. I’ve never seen a Matt Riddle match, so I guess I need to stop watching the profession I love and have followed my entire life. Shut it down folks. Forget the countless hours and dollars spent on this industry; I don’t know who Matt FREAKIN’ Riddle is, so I’m done…

HockeyFan13: I honestly think they do not care about who gets booed and cheered. If the fans want to side with Beck – They will.

Agreed. I know readers get upset when I bring this up, but WWE’s market cap is nearing seven billion. That is BILLION. New record highs every day. They don’t care about who is getting cheered or booed. That is the least of their worries in 2018, especially on the heels of $2 billion in television deals – just in the United States alone. Becky Lynch is talented; that is what matters and what WWE is (finally?) recognizing. Heel or face, who cares? Give her the spotlight.

Papa Smurf: Based on her doodles, I’m convinced Watry is dating a 13-year-old girl. Chris Hansen would like you to take a seat and have some cookies while going over some chat manuscripts. Also, all the “ha’s” makes me think Watry might secretly being Akira Tozawa.

First off, shout out to my buddy for the Akira mention. Ha! Secondly, I am only posting this comment, so my girlfriend reads your post and laughs at you Papa Smurf.

Differences In NXT/WWE

Navi: HEY!

You don’t LISTEN to valid feedback and criticism!

When you give valid feedback and criticism, I’ll listen. My email and Twitter page is not hard to find.

Johnny Royale: don’t forget the NXT announce team doesn’t have Cole, whom the entire audience is tired of.

I have mentioned this before, but I rarely even pay attention to the commentators. It is only a day or two after the shows that I find something online about ‘mistakes’ or dumb comments made during the broadcasts. In the moment, I just try to watch the show. As for the NXT/Cole thing. doesn’t he help produce behind the scenes? Kind of ironic, huh?

DEBATE ON BEING A WRESTLING FAN VS BEING A WWE FAN

I won’t post all the comments to save my sanity, but I will say this: I watch “only” NBA, NFL, MLB, WWE (mostly), UFC and all the other major sports. Does that mean I don’t like football, baseball, basketball, wrestling, mixed martial arts and so on? Silly argument. I love all of those sports.

Cognac&Conversation: Pretty sure NXT does have sponsors. They always plug some action figures, toy cars, or Tapout I think…

BTW I might be the only one on earth who liked Alexa Bliss’ first gimmick. Great entrance theme too. She’ll probably never do it again, but it was also potentially marketable if they kept her as a face.

Very true. NXT does indeed have sponsors, just not at the level or importance or the main WWE product. The Alexa Bliss gimmick I was referring to was her ‘Southern’ gimmick. More of that unaired footage we often don’t see in developmental. Agreed on the sparkling stuff.

memphis b-rad: WWE is sports entertainment. NXT is

Meanwhile, WWE can claim a near two hour gauntlet match in 2018 and many Match of the Year candidates, while NXT currently has a “Whodunit?” story line along with EC3 and Velveteen Dream fighting in a pool. ALL wrestling is sports entertainment.

Mike Tremayne: NXT is absolutely still a developmental program. It isn’t even questionable.

I and others have questioned it for years. By one definition, it is. By many other definitions, it is not. That means it is at least up for debate.

Darren Runne: NXT is WWE. Article should be differences between NXT and the main roster.

Talk to the man who posts the column then…because that isn’t me.

Cheap Plugs

Watch Big Brother on CBS and follow me on Twitter at @JustinWatry – thanks for reading.

article topics :

CM Punk, NXT, WWE, Justin Watry