Cewsh Scouts NXT 2013: The Next Wave

Leo Kruger

Pros:

- Aura of danger- Tremendous character work- Awesome backstory

Cons:

- Tendency towards dull matches- Doesn’t shine in normal promos- Already 34

Last Year’s Analysis:

Cewsh: Leo Kruger is from South Africa, and is currently working a “Big Game Hunter” gimmick that has main roster written all over it. His gimmick intensity is tremendous, his look is just right, and this act is bound for stardom without a question in my mind. The only thing stopping me from putting my stamp of approval on him is that he just recently really transitioned into his current gimmick and still needs some time to work out the kinks in his in-ring style to make it just right. There may be something special here, but it needs more time to simmer.

Cewsh’s Prospect Grade: B

Ready For Main Roster: Allllllllmost

Cewsh: Leo Kruger is an imperfect prospect. It’s likely that he will never be a really great in-ring performer, and that’s just who he is as a product. He gets the job done, and his character work is first rate, but his matches don’t excite and I don’t think he’ll ever get over based on them. If WWE expects him to become someone who can do that, then they should release him now and accept what they have in him.

BUT, they shouldn’t release him now, because he offers a whole hell of a lot in other ways. There isn’t anybody in NXT right now who carries an aura around with them of danger and THREAT like Kruger does. Simple things like sitting next to the ring and watching matches lead to huge stretches of me watching him to see what he’ll do rather than watching what is in the ring.

That’s a special quality and he has worked diligently at finding the aspects of his character that work. If they have a plan for him when they bring him up, then this man could make WWE some god damned money, especially since he isn’t exactly The Boogeyman in the ring. But he will require more careful handling and carries more risk of failure than anyone else we’ve mentioned here.

Buyer beware.

Cewsh’s Prospect Grade: B

Ready For Main Roster: Yes

Artie: A ravenous South African madman, Leo Kruger is certainly an interesting one. He’s got a unique character, but not a perfect one. I like the direction in which he’s heading, but he needs to adopt a more Kraven the hunter like approach to it. His in-ring work is solid and he has a great look, I just feel like he needs more time to fully flesh out this character and develop all of the little things that could make it a big time gimmick.

Artie’s Prospect Grade: A-

Dennis: Leo Kruger is one of my favorites. He plays this character that could be considered over the top, but never seems forced. The man himself has more ability than he can necessarily show on TV. At many NXT Live Events I’ve attended, he’s had some of the most hilarious Comedy Matches I’ve ever seen. He has a lot more charisma & entertainment value than you may have seen.

The point is, the character he plays is great and he plays it well, but he’s capable of anything that is asked of him. He’s very athletic and talented in the ring as well, with a slew of great matches under his belt both pre-and-post “creepy hunter” persona. He adds lots to NXT events, and I think he has all the tools, but I don’t see where his character could fit on Raw or Smackdown right now, unfortunately. Sometime soon though, I’m confident in that.

Dennis’ Prospect Grade: B+

Ready For Main Roster: He has the tools, the man is ready, but I don’t see where he’d fit right now.

Psycho: He’s been absent from much of NXT TV as of late, but that has not deteriorated his abilities. He runs the ring like it was a state and he was a governor. No match goes without psychology and exciting mannerisms that add more flavor to otherwise bland moments. His speech is…passionate, but a bit goofy.

It mostly work with the twisted personality he’s portraying, but it seems a lot of those are popping up in the WWE. Perhaps his gimmick should have the slightest bit of tweaks? Or maybe I’m just harping on nothing? Regardless, Kruger has a lot of talent that seems to be focused, we just haven’t seen much focus on him since the NXT shift, so bringing him up now would be a bit odd.

Psycho’s Prospect Grade: B

Ready For Main Roster: No?

Well that will do it for part two of our breakdown of the NXT roster. Tune in tomorrow to check out 5 more in depth scouting reports from our varied panel of wrestling scientists, and don’t forget to check out NXT on Hulu so you can see the future of WWE for yourself. Until next time, fellow C.O.C.K.s.