Unnamed Column About.. Justin Gabriel

When Justin Gabriel debuted on NXT way back in February, not many knew who he was. Those who knew him were used to his FCW name “Justin Angel”. In his debut, we didn’t know much about him outside of a cute smile on what seems to be a nice guy. In other words, “just another guy” to many wrestling fans. On the March 2, 2010 episode of NXT, we got our first chance to see Gabriel in action. I’d be lying if I said that his look was eye catching for all the right reasons. Seriously, what the heck was that white thing?

Gabriel would team with his “Sensei” Matt Hardy to take on Skip Sheffield and William Regal. At first, Gabriel was the cliché rag doll for the much more imposing rookies. But that would soon change to the eyes of wrestling fans. When he hit his 450 splash on William Regal, it was clear that this guy is very athletic. So, after two weeks, we know that he is a South African with good looks, a nice smile and is very athletic in the ring. Fast forward to the April 13, 2010 episode of NXT and a Talk the Talk challenge. Justin bombed. Not just regular “bombed”, but like “two six year olds playing with their big brother’s fireworks on 4th of July” bombed. To be fair, who could cut a promo on flowers on the fly? Hrm.. Nah. At this point, Justin is a South African with good looks, a nice smile, is very athletic in the ring, and is absolutely terrible on the mic.

Justin, despite lack of efficiency on the mic, managed to become the popular NXT rookie of his season. He didn’t win the contest because the Miz called him a “One trick pony.” And who would argue with him? Gabriel spent his matches getting bullied only to end up hitting his 450 splash on his opponents.

There was a ton of speculation as to where Justin would end up. Many people pegged him as a Smackdown mid-carder because the show focuses much more on the wrestling matches. Others thought he wouldn’t fit on Raw because they already have Evan Bourne as their resident “jobber with good looks, a nice smile, and a flashy move”. Well, it wasn’t long before we found out where the young stud would end up.

On June 7, 2010, NXT Season 1 winner Wade Barrett would lead his follow rookies, including Gabriel, on a shocking attack on WWE Champion John Cena. Sure, CM Punk was there, but Cena was the main target to their attack. After destroying the ring and everyone near it, Barrett gave Gabriel the order to hit his 450 splash on Cena. The wrestling world was a buzz as to “why, how, wha..?” about the invasion. The following week, Barrett would explain the reason behind the attack and ask his fellow rookies to apologize. Gabriel would go on to say “no” like the rest of them.

After a several weeks of guerilla style attacks (with most ending with Gabriel’s patent move), Nexus would have their first big match at Summerslam on a 7-on-7 elimination. In what came as little surprise, Gabriel was one of the final members on his team. Barrett would lead to Gabriel’s exit to the match. He did DDT’ing Cena on the floor before ordering Gabriel to do the 450 splash on Cena. Cena would move out of the just before Gabriel crashed to the mat.

The following three weeks, Gabriel found him in matches with some big Raw stars: Randy Orton in week one, 5-on-5 match up on the 900th Raw, and finally Cena the following week. Gabriel didn’t bear well against Orton. He had a much better week the following week when he pinned John Cena with his 450 splash. He would go on to brag about his performance. But, more importantly, his match with Cena raised some eyebrows. A guy that was labeled as a once trick pony actually impressed people in a losing effort.

So, Gabriel has established he can get the work done in the ring. Is he the best talent in the ring? That depends on your taste. However, I feel like Gabriel has made the most progression out of all the Nexus guys. If you look at the little things Gabriel has done, you can see his has a defined character.

When his started the Nexus angle, he seemed uncomfortable. I don’t know if he has been a good guy his whole career, but it certainly wouldn’t surprise me. In fact, the first few times hitting his 450 splash, he looked scared out of his mind. It could be because he has never had that kind of spotlight. It could be that he didn’t want to screw up the move. Hrm.. What would a botched 450 splash look like? I don’t even want to know.


Whatever the motives, he doesn’t exhibit these emotions on his face now. When he goes to the top, he unemotionally stares and licks his chops before delivering the move. This isn’t the only change in Gabriel’s character. This past Raw, Barrett reinforced his role as leader as Gabriel proved he is a blind follower. With tables all around the ring and not a Randy Orton in sight, it seemed like a stupid thing to risk going to the top. But he believed in Barrett’s arrogance anyway and it cost him big time in the end. This isn’t the first time Gabriel has looked for Barrett for what to do. The way he wrestles has also changed since Nexus as started as well. He isn’t a “one trick pony”; he is a risk taker who gets more extreme as the match goes along.

Now, he isn’t officially the number two guy in the group, but the way he has been presented makes it seem like there are bigger and better things in his future. But will his inability to cut a decent promo a problem for him? In his second promo on Raw, his hands were shaking. That isn’t bad mic skills; that’s stage fright or Parkinson’s. I am going with the former as a safe bet. Gabriel will probably never have extravagant promos; as he has acknowledge his English isn’t the best. I do think his charisma and wrestling style mesh really well to cover up any cons he might have.


Do you think Gabriel is ready to be on his own? Over on the FHTH Forums [*cheap plug! (b”)b *], I pretty much called Gabriel’s character spineless, but it is a great catalyst for any possible name change.