Corey Graves Criticizes Cooker Cutter Wrestling In NXT 2.0

NXT 2.0 debuted back in September last year and it promised an entirely new outlook on the product. While it did introduce a lot of changes, not all of them were necessarily good. Corey Graves also criticized one key aspect of the product.

With a fresh look and coat of paint, came a new sense of direction which has seen a new set of WWE Superstars, especially the likes of Bron Breakker. However, not many talents haven’t connected with the fans.

The in-ring product also needs work according to many fans. While speaking on WWE After The Bell, Corey Graves criticized the in-ring product, stating that many wrestlers wrestle the same.

“Almost to a person, everyone that came to the ring or had a video package followed be an entrance, is unique. I love the off-site shoots NXT has been churning out. It’s cool. This isn’t a cinematic masterpiece. It’s not Oscar-level performance, but it’s an opportunity for everyone to get their chops about them, get comfortable in different environments, in front of more cameras and really complete themselves and figure this out. I noticed this problem. Once the bell rings, everybody wrestles the same way. The example I’m going to give you is the first one I noticed and that was Giovanni Vinci. I love the presentation of Giovanni Vinci. I think it’s cool. I get it, from the vignettes hyping his return, the music hits, he comes out with the snapshots, the photography, the Gucci-inspired wrestling gear.

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Ten seconds in, if I’ve never seen him before, I know who Giovanni Vinci is. Once the bell rang, Giovanni Vinci was no different to me than the guy in Imperium [Fabian Aichner, Vinci’s former persona]. Later on in the show, Roxanne Perez, who I think is going to be a big star. Very capable, very talented. I love her personality, her fire, her energy. She doesn’t wrestle much different than Jacy Jayne or ‘insert superstar here.’ It’s a concern of mine that, to make a truly get WWE superstar, character has to permeate every step of the match. You have to wrestle with your own skillset. Everybody in NXT, this is what is going to get blown up, I’m sure. Everybody in NXT, in my opinion, from my perspective, is a better wrestler than I ever was. They are all better athletes than I am. They are better athletes than some of the guys and girls on the main roster. The potential is all there. It’s just a matter of maintaining the persona and personality from bell to bell.

You should be able to turn on a match and get into the match and understand who is who and what they’re about, what they bring to the table, and why they are different than their opponent

The overall product has improved by and large in many ways but there are still aspects that can be made better. We’ll have to see if NXT does improve in the coming months or not.

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