Friday, March 29, 2024
EditorialThe Pros/Cons Of NXT And How It Affects The Wrestling World.

The Pros/Cons Of NXT And How It Affects The Wrestling World.

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No pictures or videos today, so please get comfortable for a lengthy read. We’ve had the pleasure of NXT for a few years now, and there’s no doubt it has helped WWE considerably with talent development. When the company used FCW and OVW as development territories, they focused more on creating new stars instead of poaching big names from other promotions. They weren’t interested in guys like AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe, and even Daniel Bryan, as WWE seemed content in pushing John Cena, Batista, Randy Orton, and Brock Lesnar to prove they didn’t need anyone to make future Hall of Famers.

This helped companies like TNA Wrestling, Ring Of Honor, New Japan (and others), because they got to keep their big draws as talent didn’t expect much interest. On occasion, wrestlers like AJ & Samoa Joe would poke the bear and talk down WWE’s product on live episodes of Impact. They wanted to prove they were the present & future, and many fans will agree WWE took too long in signing them to a deal. Vince was stubborn, at least til Triple H took over NXT and signed future stars like Seth Rollins, Corey Graves, Adrian Neville, and Sami Zayn. We all know it didn’t end there; since 2014 it’s felt like a never-ending revolving door of surprise appearances.

I’d like to stay neutral on the subject of NXT’s rise today. On one hand it’s absolutely amazing for WWE and it’s fans, but if you’re an outside promotion or someone who only supports said promotions, you might feel mild discomfort for its appeal. My aim is to bring you arguments for and against’, so it will be like I’m debating with myself on this topic. I feel like the pros are more obvious, so I’ll start with them and end with the cons. I’d like to stress I am a big fan of NXT, but I also support other promotions (with varying degree) so please don’t see my cons as burying NXT to seem controversial.

Pros.

1. Important Stage Of Development – Likely the most important impact NXT has had is the way they develop talent. Young aspiring people can make a name for themselves and get advice from some of the biggest legends to ever grace a ring. The Performance Center is a place many want to get to, and when they do make it .. they’ll either sink or swim. I feel like NXT is easily the best development territory WWE has ever made, and the investment has paid off. They get the chance to work hard and get in ring shape, while also getting educated on the WWE style, which has a lot to do with cameras and using them to express yourself to a global fanbase.

However, the most important part of this development is finding the person’s character. Having appeal and being able to provoke reactions (good or bad) are highly sought after. You could be the best wrestler in the world, but if you can’t pick up a microphone and sound convincing .. you ain’t getting far in NXT. It’s a lot more than making good wrestlers, they train you to be a long-time WWE superstar. Characters have a lot more freedom in NXT, they’re able to experiment and see what does and doesn’t work. Only through experience and experimentation can a character become polished enough to work in a main roster setting. Vince does not like to be put in a position where it’s risky to have someone out there who doesn’t know what they’re doing.

Sometimes it’s not about having to develop a character, as it is to take a character which got over elsewhere and teach them how to adapt it to a WWE environment. NXT has managed to teach guys & girls who worked in wrestling promotions, how to cut back to basics and make it more about telling a story, instead of going gung-ho every night for the sake of a 5-star rating. It’s painful to see some of these amazing wrestlers have to limit themselves in a wrestling capacity, but at least they manage to get a job and show the world who they are.

2. Opportunities Galore – Because NXT has to book cards to accommodate to those being promoted to the main roster, and those who have recently signed, the roster is constantly changing. Inevitably it leads to more opportunities to succeed. Stick around long enough, and you might find you’re a Bayley or a Tyler Breeze, long-time NXT superstars who simply must be given something. You could be someone who was on the main roster in mid-card hell, left WWE, made a name for yourself elsewhere, then decided to join NXT to prove you can be the number one guy. That’s Drew McIntyre by the way, if I didn’t make it obvious enough.

Whether you’re a young kid, or someone who’s done it all before, you could be an undefeated Women’s champion like Asuka. You could be a couple of young guys from the UK who get chances to fight for the WWE UK title at NXT Takeover specials. Even if you don’t go on to succeed, just appearing in matches on NXT gives you a selling point. You can go to ROH and say “I worked in NXT for a few years”, and they’ll probably take you. Just being associated with NXT gives you opportunities, even if you don’t do well and have to return to the independent scene. So whether you sink or swim, signing a contract with NXT will give you opportunities down the road.

3. We! Are! N! X! T! – The way NXT is able to get the fans behind the product is leagues ahead of Raw or Smackdown. You get fans who are proud to say they are NXT. You won’t hear many fans say they would cry in happiness to be at Raw or Smackdown. The atmosphere generated by Triple H and NXT is something which really, really helps the talent. Just look at 205 Live .. those crowds are dead. It’s not just about the talent, it’s the way the show is presented. It’s a mindset which you have to stick to, you have to keep reminding the fans how great they are, and how great the product is because of them.

It has to be like .. a family, you have to treat the fans like they are brothers & sisters, and the talent flourish in this environment. They are genuinely happy to be in front of the NXT fans, and there’s no better example of this than when Asuka said goodbye to NXT. Like I said at the start, there’s no media in this piece, but if you really want to see an example I suggest finding her NXT farewell speech so you can begin to feel what NXT means to the fans and to her. Perhaps someone will post it in the comments?

4. You Still Got It! – Whether you’re Jushin Liger, Rhyno, or Mickie James, you can show up in NXT and work with a bunch of exciting young talent. It shows WWE you’re willing to return and do real business. It shows WWE they can still depend on you after all the time away. Both Mickie James and Rhyno got back to the main roster by showing they still had it in NXT. Like I said with the opportunities, NXT is a nice stepping stone which allows older talent to get back in there and not only prove themselves to the higher-ups, but to prove to themselves and the fans they have a few years left in the tank. 

5. Titles Are Important, Including Women & Tag Teams – The main roster still occasionally struggles to balance the divisions, although they have done better in recent times by allowing women to main event PPV. NXT is totally different. Triple H has said before .. he puts the best talent in the main event, those who are killing it more than anyone else. I remember a time when the women were in the main event more than the guys. Equal chances creates competition, which makes everyone work a little harder.

This is another positive of NXT which gives it its appeal. Well-known tag teams like reDRagon (Fish & O’Reilly) know they can jump ship and get air-time. Talents from Japan know they will be treated fair and get the chance to shine. It’s really well-managed, and the fans benefit greatly as we don’t end up with the same names taking up the main event slots each week.

Cons.

1. Less Money Due To Bloated Rosters – We’ve recently heard comments about how some former WWE superstars like Cody Rhodes are able to make more money from working for smaller promotions than if they stayed with WWE. This makes a lot of sense, because WWE has added a lot more talent to their books in the last few years, and it’s going to have an affect on how much money mid-carders make. WWE is a business, it will only pay someone as much as it wants to pay. This leaves talent in a tricky situation, as they won’t get as much exposure elsewhere, but they’d probably be able to make more. Some might have always dreamed of making it in WWE, but when they see what they’re making compared to those who have left? I understand how it can lower morale.

It’s not just about how much WWE is paying, as it is how many other promotions are out there. So many promotions are climbing over one another to sign deals with former WWE talents. The only way some of them make any profit is to feature former WWE superstars. As you can imagine, they can turn up saying “I’ll work for this much”, and it’s agreed upon because they’re needed to sell tickets. Shows like NXT and 205 Live have done something (see below) which makes it difficult for the rest of the industry.

2. Less Loyalty To Wrestling Promotions – Remember the revolving door of talent I mentioned earlier? It has an adverse affect on the rest of the industry. Simply put, why should any talent want to be an Impact Wrestling champion? ROH Champion? IWGP Champion? Why would any young talent with potential want to stay in these promotions if they can go and win the NXT title? Why would they stick around if they know they can make it to WWE’s main roster and potentially make serious coinage?

They won’t, simple as. NXT is so appealing to the point that no one (except probably James Storm .. but look how much negativity he got for going back to Impact!) aspires to be the AJ Styles of TNA. No one aspires to be the Bryan Danielson to the Nigel McGuinness of ROH. Some of these talents know that NXT will take them eventually if they put in good work and stay healthy. They just have to be reliable, and gone are the days when fans can say “Nah, this guy will never leave (insert promotion) for WWE”. They’ve been proven wrong.

3. Taking Fans Time Away From Seeing Other Products – I know some fans are so passionate for all wrestling (sports-entertainment or not) they try to watch as much as they can. However, many fans simply do not have the time to be watching 10+ hours of wrestling each week. Some are probably lucky to see Raw & Smackdown, so they’ll happily stick to that and say things like “who the hell is Asuka??”. They don’t know what’s going on outside of the WWE bubble, and not because they don’t care (actually a lot of them really don’t), but because they have busy lives which physically does not allow them to.

And that’s fine! I mean, don’t think I’m having a dig here, I’m a casual fan of football .. you won’t see me watching every episode of Match of the Day. And the thing is with NXT, if a fan wanted to reach outside of their Raw/Smackdown bubble, they’re likely to jump to NXT and 205 Live first as the products are similar. It’s easier for a casual WWE fan to get into these shows than it is for them to find Impact Wrestling or ROH on television. As a UK fan .. I still can’t watch ROH on TV, and it bleeping sucks. I shouldn’t have to go hunting for it, so I can imagine casual fans finding it even more difficult to find other wrestling promotions if they wanted to broaden their horizons.

To put it simply, Triple H’s NXT took stars from other promotions, which inevitably took viewers away from other companies. They continue to survive, but I believe Impact and ROH have nowhere near the quality they had in the previous decade, and they can only claim to have one, maybe two decent draws at best.

Bullet Club is probably the only thing outside WWE to remain somewhat relevant, but it’s only because Cody can’t help calling out Vince McMahon. Young Bucks can’t stop stealing everyone’s stuff. Kenny Omega just likes working the fans with imaginary Twitter feuds. Finn Balor helps them by selling “Balor Club” shirts and giving AJ Styles the Too Sweet gesture on PPV. WWE has managed to help and hurt Bullet Club in several ways .. but that’s a topic for another day. To end this .. there is no doubt that NXT is taking fans time away from professional wrestling products.

4. What They Learn (& Earn) In NXT Will Not Always Translate – I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking of those who came up from NXT with so much potential, only to be hit with the sour Vince McMahon treatment? How long did it take The Ascension to get back to being on camera regularly? What in the blue hell happened to former NXT Champion Bo Dallas (before he joined Miztourage)?

When I said that talents get opportunities with NXT, it’s not always the case with the main roster. There’s a whole different mentality, and usually the talent don’t get a lot of time to make an impact. If they screw up .. it’s not good. They can’t afford to mess up at this level, which puts the pressure on. While Bayley was a huge superstar in NXT (arguably got bigger reactions than anyone), it did not translate when she moved up. She was pushed to the women’s title .. and the casual fans were like .. nope! She sucks. She’s too nice. Why does she keep hugging everyone? What’s with the tube men? Why should we care?

What is very clear with some talents is they get super over with the NXT fans, but it doesn’t click on Raw or Smackdown as the main audience don’t know how to react. The commentators don’t explain why talents do certain things, and they don’t show how NXT used to react to them. So these guys & girls work their matches .. thinking “I wish I was back in NXT where I could at least get a reaction”. You can see the horror on their faces as they desperately try to get the quiet venue on their feet. Some manage it .. some don’t. Those who don’t are buried .. and not Finn Balor vs. Kane buried, I’m talking Zack Ryder off TV for years buried.

5. Too Many Call-Ups And Getting Lost In The Mix – With the influx of talents in NXT from both sides, and the need for WWE to create new stars, some who had great potential are sometimes called up too soon; leaving their weaknesses exposed. Nia Jax, Apollo Crews, they are just two examples of talents who really needed to spend more time in development, but for whatever reason they were called up. And it’s not their fault, it’s WWE’s for not considering time restraints. You can only have so many on each roster, and if you have too many you’ll find some not getting decent air-time. It sucks for those fans who really want to see them, and I think they would be right to miss the days when they were on NXT each week.

I don’t get it with some, they kept Bayley, Enzo, Big Cass, and Tyler Breeze in NXT for at least a couple of years. It’s not just on WWE’s main roster though, it’s also to do with new NXT signings and the 205 Live roster. Remember Bull Dempsey? He was released from NXT mostly because they signed a lot of new talents and needed space. Remember Austin Aries? He was great on NXT .. looked set to face Bobby Roode or Nakamura for the NXT title. What happened? He got put on 205 Live and was relegated to Wrestlemania pre-shows. And no one’s surprised that he left .. I mean, it seems he valued his work a lot more than WWE did. I feel like smaller NXT guys could be worried when being called up, as they might end up working 205 Live and they might not want to go through it after the positive atmosphere of NXT.

Fin.

To close this piece .. I’d like to say NXT is exceptional. It’s done everything it was meant to do and more. Any WWE fan is missing out if they don’t find the time to watch the next generation tearing it up each week. It’s a big positive, and a logical long-term goal for any young wrestler to aim for. However, it will continue to affect the wrestling business as long as it keeps taking the best talents away from other promotions.

If you are a die-hard Impact fan, ROH fan, New Japan fan, or you just love the indies to death, you will continue to be disappointed when your favourite guys/girls end up leaving for bigger success. You’ll show them respect for making it .. but secretly you’ll wish they could stay.

The rear naked choke hold WWE has on the wrestling industry will continue, even more so with NXT. It’s like a nymphomaniac, it will keep enticing talents in, chewing them up, and spitting them out in the right/wrong direction. It says all the right things, it does all the right things, and no one can stop it. NXT is so damn good it makes WWE even more powerful, and depending on who you ask .. it’s the best thing out there, or it’s a nightmare which will only grow scarier as it potentially equals Raw & Smackdown. Wouldn’t that be nice? Thank you for your time, I am always very grateful for that. See you again soon.

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