By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

NXT HITS

Format Partially Explained: I give WWE credit for sort of revealing the rules of NXT. At least we know that the eight pros will be voting for the winner somehow and at some time. We also know that the pros can't vote for or against their own protégé. Does that mean that they will vote for one winner? Or does that mean that at some point they will start voting against rookies to eliminate them until it comes down to one? Clearly, the format is still up in the air. However, I am glad that they at least made more of an effort to explain how the show will work this week. I am also glad that they are not opening the vote up to the WWE Universe. However, the winner should be determined in a match. However the vote goes, it should ultimately come down to the two "vote winners" having a match to win the show. They still need to fully explain the rules and the duration of the show.

Jericho on Commentary: Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan was a solid match to introduce Barrett in the ring. Bryan's injured ribs allowed him to play the part of a jobber here to help make Barrett look strong, while also getting sympathy (plus most of the commentary was focused on him). What really made this enjoyable was listening to Chris Jericho on guest commentary. He did a very nice job of talking about both rookies. He talked about actually coaching and giving advice to Barrett which was a nice touch. I also loved his line at the end when Josh Mathews said something about how we still don't know the extent of Bryan's injury, and Jericho called him an idiot and said that we know the extent of his injury since it just cost him a match.

Hardy & Gabriel vs. Regal & Sheffield: This was a good tag match. Unlike an earlier match on the card (more later), it made sense to give this match this amount of time as it involved two established WWE stars in addition to their two protégés. It was also nice to see William Regal in the ring on a Tuesday night as he seldom wrestled on ECW the last few months. He did a great job as the player/coach during the match, as he performed well in the ring while at the same time shouted instructions and advice to Skip Sheffield. We didn't see that from Matt Hardy in this match, or Christian or Carlito in a similar tag match last week. Also, the match built really well to the sudden comeback by Hardy and the beautiful 450 splash by Justin Gabriel.

NXT MISSES

Young vs. Otunga: This was an ok match, but it dragged. Doing a 10 minute match between two rookies like this is not a very good idea. The crowd hasn't had a chance to know them yet. They have barely been introduced and we hadn't seen more than 30 seconds of either of them in the ring before this match. So, the crowd was pretty dead. Both looked fine in the ring, but Darren Young didn't help getting the crowd into the action with three identical boring neck vice holds. This may continue to be a problem on NXT early in the "season" as it will take time for the fans to learn signature moves, finishers and personalities of eight rookies at a time (where they don't have jobbers to help get them over). Also, Young's finisher looked weak. And, after last week it seemed like CM Punk moved too far away from totally not caring to actually cheating to help his rookie win.

Otunga - R-Truth: Clearly WWE wants some of their pro-rookie parings to get along, and others to not. That is fine. But, the tension between David Otunga and R-Truth in the second week of the show was forced. Let Otunga's frustrations with his mentor grow over the weeks to a boiling point. Instead, they are already fighting each other too quickly.

Skip Sheffield: I don't follow FCW very closely, so I have no idea if this guy has been a heel or babyface in developmental. I took an instant disliking to him. I'm giving him a Miss for this initial impression (yes, I gave Zack Ryder a Miss for an initial impression too and I have become a fan, so the same could happen here), because I think he should be a heel, but I also am under the impression that he thinks he should be a babyface. If he is going to be a heel, then ok. But if he and WWE think that he is a face, then they've got issues. He reminded me of Ricky Ortiz's early ECW run with his Ricky O Rally Towels and trying to get the crowd behind him. WWE positioned Ortiz as a face, but he should have been positioned as a heel (which he was for a short time after switching to Smackdown). They need to do the same with Sheffield.

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's WWE Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw, Smackdown, NXT, and Superstars each week. Email him at jmezz-torch@sbcglobal.net.

For another view from the original Hitlist author, compare Jason Powell's views to mine by visiting prowrestling.NET's "Hitlist" section here.

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