6 Ups And 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (Mar 16th)

2. A Great Day To Be Great

Cutting a good pre-recorded promo isn't the hardest thing in the world - just look at Randy Orton. When the future WWE Champion hurt his shoulder in 2002, he turned heel via a series of "RNN" (Randy News Network) videos that would air on Raw, interrupting other superstars and offering Orton the chance to update viewers as to his condition. Orton's performance in the videos was compelling enough that people started to think he was a great promo. Unfortunately, the past 13 years haven't really born that out. Austin Aries was in a similarly advantageous position on NXT, delivering a "live via satellite" interview from the comfort of a green room. There's no telling how many takes it took, but Aries knocked his promo out of the park, warning Baron Corbin that he made a huge mistake when he attacked him and that, come April 1, Corbin would learn a lesson. Aries was brilliant as the babyface veteran, and he was great at building up interest for his match with Corbin. While this promo wasn't necessarily an accurate measure of the promo skills of "The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived," it was still an excellent segment.