Big E: #5 in the Wrestling Weekday Top 10 Wrestlers of 2015, presented by ESO-PRO

Image credit: WWE.com. 

Since Wrestlemania, it's hard to argue that The New Day have consistently been the most entertaining part of Raw week after week. Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and a trombone have all had amazing moments, but the true star of the show has been Big E. With his preacher-style presentation, crazy lines and always impressive in ring skill, he is easily one of the top up-and-coming stars in WWE.

Long time viewers of NXT knew exactly how great Big E can be on the microphone and followers of him on social media know that he's just plain crazy much of the time. As Lauren Price puts it in her nomination: “Glad that New Day has given a chance to show his personality and wit on the main roster vs being stuck as someone’s silent bodyguard.”

NXT Advent Calendar Day 11: Proof of NXT's power with the TLC card

One look at the TLC card shows exactly how far former NXT talent have came in WWE. Out of the twenty-three talents announced as wrestling on the card, a full thirteen of them have served as NXT regulars at some point in their careers. Of those thirteen, four are former tag team champions, two are former women's champions and two are former NXT champions.

Image credit: WWE.com.

So here is the rundown of the card from bottom to top and a few thoughts on the NXT talents involved.

Alberto Del Rio is back!

The big story going into Hell in a Cell last night was the mystery of who would be John Cena's open challenge opponent on the card. Dozens of names were put forward, but WWE made the decision not to make fans wait long as John kicked off the pay-per-view.

The man that answered pretty much proved a surprise to everyone.

Image credit: WWE.com.

Alberto Del Rio left WWE under less than favorable conditions, fired after punching a backstage worker after the worker allegedly made a racist joke. WWE showed zero tolerance and released him just weeks short of his contract expiration. Suddenly the four time World champion was gone from the promotion that made him a huge star.

WWE comes Live From Madison Square Garden this weekend

WWE seems ready to continue its counter programming to other company's big weekends as just hours before Bound For Glory they will put on Live From Madison Square Garden as a WWE Network exclusive. And while the card isn't as deep as many WWE pay-per-views of late, it certainly has plenty of talent to offer a good show on a different night than WWE's usually Sunday shots.

The big match is of course the kick-off of Brock Lesnar's "Go To Hell Tour" as he takes on The Big Show. While Show has knocked off several stars to show off his power building up to the match, I don't see their battle being much more than an extended squash by Lesnar. Lesnar has moved well past the threat of even a giant and it makes no sense for him to have an extended battle with Big Show just a few days before he takes on Undertaker inside Hell in a Cell.

The New Day are the best thing going!

Image Credit: WWE.com.

It's hard not to acknowledge how good Kofi Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods have been in the last several months. Since their post-Wrestlemania push, they have done everything in their power to get over as a grating but well oiled unit built around taking titles and pushing their own cause to the masses.

Look no further than their most recent campaign, the important #SaveTheTables campaign.

Introducing the WWE Top 10!

I like Top 10 lists because I am someone that enjoys being on the internet regularly. The internet may in fact be about half list at this point, but as this blog has developed, I felt it was important to have a way to express who I feel are the important players in WWE and the other corners of wrestling for any given month. Because of this, I have conceived a regular Top 10 list for every Wednesday, starting today. WWE will receive a list the week after every major pay-per-view, while NXT, TNA, ROH, Japan, the indies and Lucha Underground will all see lists filling the spaces in between. So stay tuned for a look for the countdown every week starting right now, with your WWE Top 10.

The Cosmic Wasteland has elevated Stardust's game. Image credit: WWE.com.

With great talents and great matches, Night of Champions proved to be a solid transitional PPV

Surprisingly, response to Night of Champions online seems lukewarm at best. I personally enjoyed the card, which I think featured solid matches from top to bottom, even from the feuds I find less than interesting.

I'm already a huge fan of this unit. Image credit: WWE.com.

I especially enjoyed the opening kickoff match as the team of Stardust and The Ascension, a.k.a. The Cosmic Wasteland, may be the best thing WWE has done in quite some time. While I think they are probably an after-thought for WWE's writing staff, the unit works so well on so many levels that I hope they have a long life as a faction, and one that comes with the much-needed push Stardust deserves. I personally would love to see his new unit lead him to a feud with John Cena for the United States title.

Night of Champions promises a lot, but will it deliver?

I'm going to be honest, Night of Champions has one of the best looking cards WWE has put on in months. But I'm also honest that often the weaker cards are the shows that turn out better as the stars and writers are forced to push a bit harder. So while on paper, I'm optimistic about the show, it is anyone's guess what it will actually bring.

Still with Sting, the Dudleys, The New Day, Braun Strowman, Kevin Owens and super-indie wonder John Cena all in action, I see a lot of potential here.

Image credit: WWE.

My run down of the complete card is after the break.

What a Summer for Wrestling Fans!

It's been a while since I posted anything on the blog, in fact I haven't posted since before SummerSlam. I was simply overwhelmed with the sheer amount of wrestling there was. Each of the three events from the WWE visit to New York were at least 2 hours long, which meant a total of 8 hours plus of WWE entertainment from the Barclay Center.

I have to agree with Nick that the return of the Dudley Boyz was a great move for the WWE tag team division. Every team in the WWE had a unique brand and style, but none of them came off as dominant or powerful. The Dudleys have always been one of the most over and popular tag teams in the history of professional wrestling and I was happy to see them back in action. I'd love to see a Dudley Boyz VS Vaudevillians match at Wrestlemania this year. Yes, I am a big fan of the Vaudevillians, I love the gimmick and style of wrestling they use to promote the gimmick. Everything from their intro to their finishing pose makes me laugh, in a good way. Okay, so let's break down everything that has happened so far.

The Dudley Boyz return is exactly what the WWE Tag Team division needs

Last night on Raw, Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley returned to lay out WWE Tag Team champions The New Day in classic fashion. It was a huge surprise on a very solid episode of RAW, and it revitalizes the tag team division in a matter of seconds.

Just over a full decade after their last appearance at One Night Stand 2005, the Dudley Boyz immediately took up where they left off against Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman. They took out Kofi Kingston and Big E, before delivering a Wassup and a 3D to Xavier Woods. After a staredown with Titus O'Neil and Darren Young, they left the ring to the cheers of fans.

Xavier Wood gets a 3D through the table. Image credit: WWE.com.