The John Report Wrestling Blog

NXT 5.48 Review
By Lonestar

Just a few quick bits of business before I get to the review. First of all, I did watch the Royal Rumble live and I’ll be talking about my experience in a column I’m currently writing. Second, NXT was finally posted at nxt.wwe.com some time while I was writing this review a few hours before my deadline. I only got to see the show because of a very grainy upload of the episode to youtube. Apparently international viewers got to see NXT as usual but in the USA it was held back for as-of-now unexplained reasons. I apologize if I missed the subtleties of facial expressions or incorrectly called certain moves. With that out of the way, let’s get on with the show!

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NXT 5.47 Review
By Lonestar

Who’s got two thumbs and is going to the Royal Rumble on Sunday? This guy!!! I’m only days away from attending my first ever WWE live event and all in all I’m about as excited as a starving dog in a bacon factory. My friends and I will be seated somewhere between the rafters and the sky so the chances of us appearing on TV will sadly be slim. However, if you do happen to spot a tall, skinny dude with glasses cheering awkwardly for C M Punk, it’s probably me.

In case you’re curious, my predictions for the PPV, the weekly review of NXT and possibly even some pictures of hot chicks are all after the jump.

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NXT 5.46 Review
By Lonestar

After the opening WWE scroll NXT airs a rather lengthy video package summing up the Bateman/Curtis/Maxine feud. Once the cameras roll in the arena Lilian Garcia introduces Michael Cole, who will be at the commentary desk (replacing William Regal and joining Josh Matthews) for this 100^th episode of NXT. In other news I hate life.

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NXT 5.45 Review
By Lonestar

Alright, as the guy who had to review both their seasons of NXT I may as well say something about the Funkasaurus segment from Monday Night Raw that featured both Naomi and Brodus Clay. First of all, I think not using Brodus as a giant monster is a missed opportunity but holy crap whatever this Funkasaurus routine is could be amazing. While I like my serious wrestling just as much as the next guy I also appreciate the change of pace that a bit of silliness and overall joy can bring to the world of professional wrestling. Funkasaurus turns Brodus Clay into a unique attraction in the current WWE and if I know Brodus like I think I do he’ll give it his all and sell people what could have been an awful idea. I like the fact that he has dancers to accompany him, I like his pyro and his silly music, and I love all the random crap he said during his squash of Curt Hawkins. “Should I get him!?” was my easy favorite. Naomi as one of his dancers is also probably a waste of her wrestling talent but oh my god did you see her in that red outfit!? Damn! Red is definitely her color.

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NXT 5.44 Review
By Lonestar

Happy New Year Cantonites and welcome to the NXT Review. I’ve been out of town as of late and haven’t caught the past couple of Raws but I’ve heard a bit of the commotion over ratings and main event segments and hypocritical internet fanboys thanks to this wonderful website. Now, it’s hard to delve into this topic without getting one’s hands dirty and since I’ve got NXT to talk about I’ll avoid the conversation for the most part and just make one little point. If you don’t enjoy John Cena or his current feud in the main event spot please, by all means, change the channel. This isn’t a “like it or get out” argument, it’s a simple fact of life; changing the channel and lowering the rating is the only way the WWE will realize that maybe they should try to support someone other than Cena for the long haul.

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NXT 5.43 Review
By Lonestar

Oh where oh where is that cad William Regal? Someone please tell me where my favorite self-deprecating Englishman has gone and why I once again have to listen to Thing One and Thing Two at the NXT announce desk? It’s not that Striker and Matthews are all that bad by modern WWE standards but it’s just twitter references and random observations at this point, a lot of noise without much substance. Regal had his faults but he at least managed to be humorous and put over the talent a bit. So much for that. Oh right, if you were among the handful of people wondering about poor Jack Korpela, I believe he left the WWE. All the best in your future endeavors Jackie Boy.

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NXT 5.42 Review
By Lonestar

Ah December. Now’s the time of the year when the WWE likes to sit back, relax and HOLY SHIT-BALLS, DANIEL BRYAN IS THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!!!! Who would a thunk it, huh!? D-Bryan and Punk are on top of the wrestling world, showing once again that if you’re just that damn good and that damn dedicated you really can be a success in an incredibly competitive industry. One would think the “internet” would be throwing an all-out crazy virtual block party with these two on top and Zack Ryder finally becoming US champion, but assuming that a vast network connecting millions of people shares the same opinion is like assuming that all Texans like football. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the previously quiet members of the IWC that weren’t big fans of Daniel Bryan have suddenly become very vocal now that one of the most prestigious titles in professional wrestling is around his waist. When asked to comment on the situation, thejohnreport.net founder, editor, and head writer John Canton had the following to say.

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NXT 5.41 Review
By Lonestar

Oh man, is it NXT time again already? The past week just flew by for me, but before I get to the show I found a little piece of “news” to discuss, courtesy of the Wrestling Observer & re-written on Rajah.com.

Triple H Making Big Changes to WWE Developmental

WWE’s developmental system is on the verge of undergoing some major changes in the coming months – and it all has to do with how WWE calls up their talent to the main roster.

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NXT 5.40 Review
By Lonestar

Greeting Cantonites. One of the more enjoyable aspects about NXT is watching the newest and freshest WWE talent show us what they can do on a bigger stage. This season has stepped a fair bit away from that aspect of the show, which has caused me to watch a bit of FCW when I get the chance. Recently one of the big matches on the program was a three on three tag team bout featuring quite the spread of talent, including Seth Rollins (Tyler Black), Antonio Cesaro (Claudio Castagnoli), and Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley), who I’d like to point out is so fucking good that C M Punk recently went down to Florida and wrestled him. Anyway, rounding out the heel team was FCW 15 Champion Damien Sandow, a name I wasn’t all that familiar with. Sandow surprised me, displaying a solid submission game and a character that was part pompous aristocrat and part creeper. Even more surprising was the fact that Sandow has been on WWE TV before as a tag team wrestler named Aaron “Idol” Stevens. Yes, one of Michelle McCool’s teacher’s pets. That guy.

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NXT 5.39 Review
By Lonestar

January 29th, 2012. The Royal Rumble, St. Louis, MO. Lonestar in attendance, probably in the proximity of the rafters. This……will…..be……AWESOME!!!!!!! St. Louis will never get a WrestleMania but dammit, the Royal Rumble is the next best freakin’ thing. Better yet, rumor on the net says it’s going to be a traditional (read, good) 30 man royal rumble and not that overblown 40 man crap we got last year. Best of all, unless Punk’s title reign gets “WWE’d” my first ever WWE live event will feature my current favorite wrestler as the champ. Hell yes!

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NXT 5.38 Review
By Lonestar

Greetings Cantonites, and welcome to the Thanksgiving edition of the Lonestar NXT Review, which is like the normal review but sleepier and stuffed with overrated food. Now’s about the time where good little American boys and girls say what they’re thankful for, right before their parents go out and buy them all sorts of crap they probably don’t need. In honor of such a tradition I will attempt to list five things about NXT 5 that I am thankful for.

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NXT 5.37 Review
By Lonestar

Before I get to tonight’s episode there are a few items of business to take care of. First of all, Darren Young is back on this week’s show and apparently has not been eliminated. I don’t think that’s a spoiler considering he’s on the picture for the full episode on WWE’s own website. Second, last week, while on commentary, Matt Striker basically said that he is in charge of NXT and essentially has the powers of a general manager. Thanks for clearing that up, WWE. Now, will this season ever end? Better yet, is Vince even aware that this show still exists?

NXT Opening:

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