...Let me claim to be an expert for one moment after watching a month of 205 Live (if you'd like me to be the review monkey for that show... lol) and watching that final segment and the double-turn in the end... I'm hesitantly very, very positive about how this turned out. So many wonderful things came from this...
1: Enzo needed a heel turn. While he's being defended for his star power/mic skills/overness, the last three segments he's had with Neville (this, 205 go-home, and a few weeks ago) the crowd sang along but the serious, intense Neville flipped the crowd on him big-time by the end. All three times he got owned on the mic by Neville.
2: Small 205L kayfabe boost. Enzo's match when he got the #1 contendership was really fun as a Cedric Alexander showcase as he eliminated three guys by himself, blasting through Nese and Kendrick and Metalik, before Enzo rolled in and grabbed the tights for the pin. Enzo obviously has about as much credibility as Curt Hawkins so him as a chicken heel run could work if it wasn't so damn overdone. Easily WWE'S most overdone trope.
3: Hey, good segment.
4: They made a baby face star. It's weird to say this out loud but as @TheprofileofJericho and I have talked about briefly, if you flip Neville as a natural underdog babyface against Lesnar, you can easily do that match at Royal Rumble (but he'll more likely go after the IC belt). Between his impressive offense and how well Neville has been built up really well this year you could definitely main event with him (though WWE's heel side is so bleak that who else would he feud with?)
5: They listened to the fans for more than just an entrance, paid attention to their own kayfabe storyline and the strengths and weaknesses of their performers, and took the logical next step to do here in an unpredictable, un-formulaic way that actually was effective. Thank you.
1: Enzo needed a heel turn. While he's being defended for his star power/mic skills/overness, the last three segments he's had with Neville (this, 205 go-home, and a few weeks ago) the crowd sang along but the serious, intense Neville flipped the crowd on him big-time by the end. All three times he got owned on the mic by Neville.
2: Small 205L kayfabe boost. Enzo's match when he got the #1 contendership was really fun as a Cedric Alexander showcase as he eliminated three guys by himself, blasting through Nese and Kendrick and Metalik, before Enzo rolled in and grabbed the tights for the pin. Enzo obviously has about as much credibility as Curt Hawkins so him as a chicken heel run could work if it wasn't so damn overdone. Easily WWE'S most overdone trope.
3: Hey, good segment.
4: They made a baby face star. It's weird to say this out loud but as @TheprofileofJericho and I have talked about briefly, if you flip Neville as a natural underdog babyface against Lesnar, you can easily do that match at Royal Rumble (but he'll more likely go after the IC belt). Between his impressive offense and how well Neville has been built up really well this year you could definitely main event with him (though WWE's heel side is so bleak that who else would he feud with?)
5: They listened to the fans for more than just an entrance, paid attention to their own kayfabe storyline and the strengths and weaknesses of their performers, and took the logical next step to do here in an unpredictable, un-formulaic way that actually was effective. Thank you.
