Tony D'Angelo is afraid, alright?!
NXT is WWE's developmental brand. Every Tuesday night, the NXT crew presents a very character-focused TV show as several of the young stars come into their own in terms of in-ring work, promo skills, and character presentation. Sometimes, this leads to vignettes where Superstars like Trick Williams are in their own environment, like a barbershop. Sometimes, it's nearly a direct reenactment of "Rocky III."
On the September 17 episode of WWE NXT, Tony D'Angelo lost a match to TNA star Hammerstone when he simply walked out on the match after seemingly having his confidence shaken. Later, Tony would be confronted by the members of his family, Luca Crusifino, Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo, and Adriana Rizzo. They wanted the truth from Tony D, and he would finally have to admit that he was afraid.
Going further than that, Rizzo would later have a one-on-one scene with Tony that was nearly a word-for-word reenactment of Rocky's statement in the 1982 film that he was afraid to fight Mr. T's Clubber Lang and Adrian or, in this case, Adriana, had to say that it doesn't matter what they believe because he has to carry the fear around.
When did she get so tough?
Notably, WWE ran this angle on a night when CM Punk was in the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. CM Punk has famously said he's never seen a "Rocky" movie.
Perhaps, somewhere along the way, Tony D'Angelo will find the eye of the tiger. For now, Oba Femi is marching towards breaking the record for the longest reign with the WWE NXT North American Title. Learn more here.
Fightful covers WWE NXT live every Tuesday night as it airs on USA. We also have a podcast that breaks down all the action after the show airs on our YouTube channel.
