Smark Out Moment

It has been just over a year since Newcastle-born Adrian Neville had his first match on the NXT TV show, and I have been a fan of the man ever since. His incredible finishing maneuver, which got him the win over the now future-endeavoured Sakamoto, has to be seen to be believed. If you aren't watching NXT (Why are you not watching NXT?!) or never saw Neville as PAC on the indies then you are in for a real treat right here:


Yes, he really did just hit a Corkscrew Shooting Star Press, and he can do many other awesome things alongside that. Neville is one of the best wrestlers not just on the NXT roster, but in the whole of the WWE and pro wrestling in general. You're not going to find too many guys who can do the sort of things Neville can do in the ring, even if WWE does reign him in a little bit, probably so he can maintain his health for his long-term future with them and/or because they don't want too much in the way of indie-style 'flippedy-flip' wrestling. However, even if he's never going to be as flashy or as fast-paced in WWE as he was in Dragon Gate, Neville definitely still deserves the title 'The Man That Gravity Forgot'.

Adrien Neville as PAC pre-NXT wrestling El Generico (who is definitely not Sami Zayn, right?)

After that awesome debut match, Neville quickly got paired with fellow Brit Oliver Grey, who went from jobber to champion with Adrian as they defeated The Wyatt Family in the final of the NXT Tag Team Championship Tournament. Grey was good, and we may get to him on Scouting Talent when he returns from injury, but Neville was the star of the team, finishing matches with his 'Red Arrow' and clearly winning over the Full Sail crowd.

Neville went on to have very good matches with both Antonio Cesaro and Sami Zayn later in the year, the latter probably being the second best match in NXT history. As an Englishman myself, it's great to see such a talented British wrestler stand out in the way Neville does.

So the guy is pretty good right? Dead certainty to be called up to the main roster soon? Well, I wouldn't be writing this if my argument was going to be so one-sided, and it's no fun just declaring 'So-and-so is the best thing since sliced bread). No, Scouting Talent is all about the nit-picking, and Adrian Neville has his fair share of nits (there's some cream you can buy for that Adrian).

That hair is full of lice, clearly

Probably the main reason as to why Neville is still waiting to be called up is his mic skills. To put it bluntly, they are lacking. Neville has had several chances to get on the mic on NXT, but he has never delivered a promo that I still remembered a week later. I don't doubt that he's working hard back at the Performance Center ('Centre' in real English) to nail his promo technique, but he still isn't there just yet. He showed some improvement in his interactions with Bo Dallas on last week's episode, so he is certainly not a complete 'charisma vacuum'.

Not pictured: charisma

To be fair, Legolas was awesome

After I compared Bo Dallas' face to a Doctor Who monster two weeks ago, I feel bad for ragging on about another wrestler's facial features, but it is something you notice immediately; Adrian Neville looks like an elf. From the pointy ears to the pseudo-Legolas hairdo, Neville looks like he leapt (or Corkscrew Shooting Star Pressed) straight out of a Tolkien epic. And just like Dallas' looks, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. You may have heard of a guy called Daniel Bryan. He's getting pretty popular. Bryan is a similar size to Neville and has facial features often compared to that of a goat, but that has only helped him be more relatable than the muscle-bound hosses of WWE because they see him as a 'normal guy'.

Neville has that same kind of relatable charm that Bryan has, as well as the amazing wrestling ability. Sure, he has a few issues, but NXT is where he can iron them out, and compared to most of the other developmental talent, he has very little ironing to do. Now, if Neville can get his mic skills up to a decent level (and creating an amazingly chant-able catchphrase wouldn't hurt either), we could be seeing a future main eventer in The Man That Gravity Forgot.

Neville will be in a ladder match against Bo Dallas for the NXT Championship on February 27th at the NXT live special for the WWE Network. That looks very well set up for an Adrian Neville title win, so make sure you watch that, because you will not want to miss it.

What do you think about Adrian Neville? Does he have what it takes to be a big star in WWE's future, or will he just be another casualty of the developmental system?