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It can be said that the desire to be “first” is a unique human instinct. If you’ve ever found yourself cutting in line, darting out of your car toward a busy ATM or zooming through a green light with anticipated acceleration, then you know the feeling of being “first”.

This same rush of excitement is what WWE‘s NXT product brings to its audience. On a humid August Friday night (the 23^rd to be exact), I had the pleasure and privilege to be one of the first to enter the Havert L. Fenn Center in Fort Pierce, FL to watch an NXT live show. Despite the small venue, I couldn’t help but feel like I was partaking of something grandiose in both size and stardom. After all, I had been watching these larger than life personalities on the WWE Network (for only $9.99, of course) for quite some time. The production was rather simple. There was no fancy announce table featuring Jerry “The King” Lawler, Michael Cole, and JBL. There were no Diet DEW bottles displayed for the purpose of shameless advertising. There were no elements to connote the grand scale spectacle that is WWE.

However, there was a charm in the air. There was a spark of electricity and a scent of greatness which permeated the makeshift arena. As I gazed upon the black and yellow ring apron bearing the three letters that are synonymous with superior wrestling performance, I knew it would be a night to remember.

From the opening bell which queued the contest between the comical Vaudevillains and the no-nonsense duo known as The Mechanics, I was absolutely enamored! My wife and daughter, who were both in attendance, yielded the highest of critical acclaim for each bout throughout the night. Though she had not previously viewed her work, my wife was thoroughly impressed with the “Bedazzled One” herself–Alexa Bliss.

Of course there were fan favorites such as “The Hype Man” Mojo Rawley in action. There were also unexpected impressions made by up-and-coming NXT Divas Carmella and Kendall Skye. I couldn’t restrain myself from shouting “Finisher Her!” to Skye (in my lowest baritone voice), as she bore a striking resemblance to Sonya Blade from the Mortal Kombat franchise. Kalisto and Solomon Crowe most definitely delivered a spot on performance as well. However, one of the best bouts on the card came in the form of Charlotte versus Bayley. These two ladies know their characters and tell a perfect story in the ring.

Conversely, I would be hard-pressed not to mention my favorite NXT Tag Team of Enzo Amore and Collin Cassidy. Believe it or not, these two are the reason why I purchased a ticket. Enzo’s mic skills are superb and it was an honor to be in his presence and watch him work. He can’t help but elicit a thunderous crowd reaction and as any good fan should know by now: “You Can’t Teach That!” Couple the above with Big Cass’ “S-A-W-F-T…SAWFT!” and you’ve got a winning combination.

On the contrary, the majority of kudos for the night go to Tyler Breeze, Sami Zayn, Tyson Kidd, and the NXT Champion—Adrian Neville. These four guys put on a clinic for professional wrestlers that would have been worthy of any Wrestlemania match card. Each and every one of these superstars is poised, polished, and ready for the grandest stage of them all.

All in all, NXT didn’t require a host of fancy production and shining lights to garner my praises. If anything, NXT reminds of what it means to be a wrestling fan. True professional wrestling fans are a unique gaggle of individuals who believe in might and magic, heroes and villains, and that good will [for the most part] triumph over evil. NXT has brought back the connection that WWE once lost with its fan base. NXT fans get to discover greatness. We get to see our favorites superstars and divas ply their craft at the ground level. We get to see them shine for a small fee before they make it to the “big time”, where the ticket price is practically ungodly. Simply stated, NXT fans get to be first for a change.

Brian Jemison is Writer for CouchRiderReport.net. You can follow him on Twitter and YouTube.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr-Ed Webster

The U.S. Department of Labor/Bureau of Labor Statistics most recently reported a total of 1,651 layoffs and discharges for all industries, as of April 2014*. Unfortunately, many current WWE Superstars will be joining the next round of statistics as they have been released from their current position on the roster.

You might have heard by now that several WWE superstars and have been released from their contracts. The current roster of released personalities includes the likes Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre of 3MB, WWE Diva Aksana, Curt Hawkins, Yoshi Tatsu, JTG, and WWE announcer Josh Matthews. It appears that the WWE is making every attempt to cut cost and maintain a healthy financial balance. After all, it just last month that Vince MchMahon’s net worth took a whopping hit of approximately $350 million. Couple this with reports that the WWE Network’s subscriber base has yet to reach it’s projected 1 million subscribers (current reports state approx. 670,000 total), and one could make a strong case for dropping what has been perceived to be “dead weight”.

On the contrary, one could argue that the talent mentioned above are indeed quality competitors who haven’t been given their fair shake. At least in the case of Mahal and McIntyre, there was a lot that could have been done to escalate their status from a band of jobbers to legitimate competition. Mahal states it best in his own excerpt from a recent interview with Slam Wrestling:

“I was surprised, because we were pretty well booked on everything. We were on a lot of the live events, a lot of the overseas tours. We were always on RAW and Smackdown, and if we weren’t, we would do Superstars or Main Event in the week. So yeah, I was surprised.”

I was quite surprised to read that two of the three members of 3MB, who’ve worked hard to make a lasting impression night after night, have been kicked to the proverbial curb. The major disappointment of these two being released is the fact that they are a legitimate tag team, out of a legitimate faction, with a legitimate gimmick. Aside from The Usos, The Wyatts, and Los Matadores WWE has no believable cohesive tag teams. Tag team wrestling is currently at an overall decline across the board in the industry and WWE has just driven one more nail in the coffin. I’m sorry to say that this was not a smart move.

In addition to the poor decision of releasing a potentially excellent tag team, WWE has cocked back their metaphoric revolver and blasted off its own toe. How did they do this? They fired one of the best analyst in the business today, Josh Matthews. I’ll be honest and go on the record by saying that I never thought much of his Matthews. However, when he was placed in the position to shine during the preceding events of Wrestlemania XXX, I began to take notice. The truth of the matter is that Matthews presents a legitimate and factual style of reporting. He ask all the right questions and facilitates the panel discussions with Booker T and Alex Riley like a true professional. Josh Matthews, unlike Michael Cole or Jerry Lawler, has made me believe in good commentary yet again. I can’t express enough on how his unexpected departure from the company is disheartening.

Overall, WWE is rumored to have placed more individuals on the chopping block. Maybe the show will go on just fine without them, but it burns me up nonetheless. You can expect to read some more vehement rants on why their decisions cut quality talent are born out of pure idiocy. Stay tuned and let me know your feedback. Do you miss the recently departed or are you wishing them a good riddance?

Couch Rider Report~Home of Original Sports Perspective

NXT Delivers Live-Action Thriller, No Filler in Fort Pierce, FL

Creative Differences: WWE’s Terrible Decision to Release Quality Talent