Friday, March 29, 2024
EditorialWWE Back to School: Superstars Who Should Go to NXT & PC...

WWE Back to School: Superstars Who Should Go to NXT & PC or Graduate

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August and September is the typical “back to school” time for most of the country. As someone with teaching experience, that’s always on my mind—now more so than ever during this pandemic, for all the wrong reasons, sadly.

But rather than have a debate about whether or not it’s insane teachers are expected to add another monumental task to their jobs by combating COVID along with everything else, let’s try to spin this topic into something WWE related.

Lately, school hasn’t been in session quite the same as the WWE Performance Center was used to film everything for Raw, SmackDown, Main Event, 205 Live and the pay-per-views, rather than running normal operations. I’m sure WWE had Zoom meetings for promo class and told students to study tape and such, but it isn’t quite the same.

Now that WWE has the ThunderDome at Amway Center and has moved out, some of the usual business will probably resume, even if it isn’t all back to the way it used to be.

But with this theme of “back to school” in mind, I started thinking: which main roster superstars should take a trip back down to NXT and/or hit up the Performance Center to learn how to be better performers, and which stars from the black and gold brand are worthy of graduating up to the main roster in this upcoming draft?

Ready to Graduate: Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae

What is there left for Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa to do in NXT? That is going to be a running theme with some of these graduates in that they’ve accomplished all their possible goals and are now just spinning their wheels on a smaller platform.

I know both of these guys have stated that they would rather stay in NXT, but I think that will be something they regret in hindsight. NXT doesn’t need them. The entire point of NXT is to build stars up so they can move on to the bigger stage. Having Ciampa and Gargano stick around prevents two more people from getting those opportunities.

It also robs everyone of some amazing feuds. I do want to see Ciampa vs. Randy Orton but I’m not going to get it if he’s forever in NXT. The most we’ll get is one match and some brawls if they happen to line up with the right championship at Survivor Series. That’s not good enough.

Both these guys against Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, etc. Ciampa against Bray Wyatt in some dark feud. Gargano against Dolph Ziggler. I want these matches!

Gargano can be the next Daniel Bryan, but his underdog story needs something to strive for. Winning the NXT Championship again means nothing in comparison to winning the WWE or Universal Championship.

And while you’re moving Gargano up to the main roster, you might as well do the same with Candice LeRae. If she’s not the next NXT women’s champion, she’ll have been on that brand long enough that she should’ve won the belt already and missed the mark. She’s good enough that WWE wouldn’t have to worry about her being called up too fast and not ready for the in-ring work, that’s for sure. If Alexa Bliss and Carmella could come up when they did, so can Candice.

Trade to NXT: Chad Gable / Shorty G

I really hate crapping on Chad Gable, because I’ve been a staunch supporter of his from his “ready, willing and Gable” rally towel days. As part of American Alpha, he was fantastic, and if he were just a little taller or could cut better promos, WWE would have at least made him a midcard champion by now.

But that hasn’t happened. Instead, he’s been Shorty G and his career’s going nowhere with that awful gimmick. He looks ridiculous, he’s a loser whether he’s heel or face and it’s just not working out.

If Gable were to cut this nonsense act and go back to his roots as just Chad Gable and part of the NXT roster, he’d be a big fish in a small pond (short joke unintentional, but appreciated) in a way that he’s virtually never going to be on Raw or SmackDown.

At least in NXT, he could win the North American Championship. I don’t have any faith he will win the United States or Intercontinental any time soon while dressed like a someone’s 1990’s inspired create-a-character in a basketball game.

Ready to Graduate: The Undisputed ERA

Echoing similar thoughts to Gargano and Ciampa, what else is there for The Undisputed ERA to do? I highly doubt Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish are all going to win the NXT Championship, nor would it be worth keeping Adam Cole down there just to watch all that happen.

And yes, I know full well WWE could mess them up just like everyone else once they get to the Raw and SmackDown creative. But if we keep everyone down in NXT just to avoid that problem, no one will ever be successful like the plenty of others who did turn out okay, like Andrade, Owens, Braun Strowman and so on.

Cole is a guy who could have great programs with tons of people. Fish and O’Reilly need to have matches with The Usos, The New Day, Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura and others. Strong could be just as viable a midcard champion as anyone else on the red and blue brands.

Pull the trigger. If not, we’re just continuing the cycle of Cole fighting for the NXT title with his three pals backing him up on repeat and they’ll never go further than what we’ve already seen.

Trade to NXT: Bo Dallas

I’ve mentioned this in the past here or there and I’m sticking to it. Bo Dallas should return as part of The Robert Stone Brand, get a repackaging, start to be more serious and become a main event star on NXT.

His only time he could be taken remotely serious was when he was in NXT. Even when he was a comedic character of sorts, he could still win matches. Once he got to Raw and SmackDown, that went out the window and he turned into a complete buffoon.

That was fine for some funny stuff here and there with The B-Team, but that’s no longer a thing. He can’t rely on the Curtis Axel tag team crutch anymore. Both that and Social Outcasts are kaput. Unless he does something drastic like this, WWE will surely just tag him up with someone else and have him continue to job into oblivion.

Dallas is young enough that he can turn his career around. Hopefully, he’s been training these past few months while he’s been away and can come back looking in better shape than ever to help facilitate that process, too.

Give Dallas a chip on his shoulder to prove he’s got a bright future. Have him take out some people like Drake Maverick, Jake Atlas, Ever-Rise and such. Then, move him up the card slowly, but surely, and have him win the NXT Championship down the line for reign #2.

After one more run with that belt where he’s not the butt of the joke, he could come back to Raw/SmackDown and be a legitimate guy again.

Ready to Graduate: Kona Reeves

I think we’ve seen about all we need to see from Kona Reeves to get the gist of what his ceiling is.

He’s got some size on him and he’s obnoxious. When he was just Noah Potjes, I thought he might go somewhere. Now, I think he’s the guy to replace Bo Dallas as the annoying jobber on the main roster.

What’s the worst that could happen? He sucks? That hasn’t stopped plenty of other people from hanging around a long while.

Which show he’d be a better fit on depends entirely on what WWE’s plans are for the draft. My gut says Raw would be the go-to option, though.

Trade to NXT: Titus O’Neil

Just as I think we know what Reeves is working with, I think we’ve seen enough from Titus O’Neil to know he’s never getting any better and his best times are behind him.

This little stint he had this past week on Raw Underground could have been the start of something new, pushing him as more of a brawler and a tough fighter, instead of a goof.

It wasn’t.

Instead, he looked kind of tough for a brief moment and lost a fight to Riddick Moss. None of it matters and none of it will go anywhere. That will go down as probably the best moment of the year for Titus, save for his random reaction to the Firefly Fun House match.

Put him in NXT. Have him be one of those veteran guys the younger talent beats up. He’ll at least serve more of a purpose in that role than showing up on one episode of Raw every couple months to lose or jobbing out on Main Event (which should just be cancelled altogether).

Ready to Graduate: Rhea Ripley

WWE screwed Rhea Ripley this year. She had all the momentum in the world and was an incredibly hot act. Then, for whatever reason, they decided to have her lose to Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania.

Absolutely nothing positive came about from that. Flair didn’t help the NXT ratings. Ripley didn’t get her win back at all, let alone in some way to make her look better than if she had just beaten Flair. Io Shirai is champion, sure, but that could have happened with her beating Ripley, anyway.

WWE knew this was a risk, but didn’t care. Flair was more important, yet again. Since then, Ripley’s been a waste in NXT. She’s been sidelined with other feuds or doing nothing at all, rather than just being champion again. Even if she were to win the title from Shirai, it wouldn’t mean anything and she’d just be back at where she was last year, but with less intrigue.

Just move her up. Build her in the coming months. Have her win the Royal Rumble in 2021. Put the belt on her at WrestleMania. Make up for these mistakes.

Trade to NXT: Mickie James

If the way WWE’s treated Mickie James since her return is any indication, she’s never going to be valuable to them on Raw or SmackDown ever again. She’s there to show up once in a while, lose, eat up time and that’s it.

It’s unfortunate and entirely a waste of someone with as much talent as she has to offer. So if she’s not going to be a priority on the main roster, why not utilize her as a trainer in NXT?

She is certainly more than capable of teaching the women in the Performance Center how to wrestle a match, as she managed to do so in an era where she wasn’t even supposed to be that skilled!

Plus, she’d fit into the big fish/small pond type scenario, too. She could always win the NXT Women’s Championship and it would never feel like a jobber was champion. Likewise, she could lose to anyone and it would feel like that win was a big deal for whoever beat her.

Ready to Graduate: Mia Yim

Sometimes, you don’t win the championship before you go to the main roster. Becky Lynch never did and look how she turned out.

Mia Yim going to Raw or SmackDown just makes sense. She can hang around in NXT for a while, sure, but what good would it do? It’s not as though she doesn’t know what she’s doing. She’s a veteran who is more than trustworthy not to make an ass of herself on Raw and SmackDown.

Fresh faces on those shows is vital to keeping interest in these divisions. Plus, she could be on the same traveling schedule as Keith Lee, which is better for both their morales and to not cross-contaminate when it comes to COVID interactions.

Trade to NXT: Dolph Ziggler

Make him a teacher! Give him all the younger guys to work with. He can put on a great match with damn near anyone and he’s already fought everyone there is to fight on the main roster multiple times.

I don’t know about you, but I would be infinitely more interested in Ziggler vs. Oney Lorcan than for him to fight Rey Mysterio again, for instance.

This checks off many other things already spoken about: big fish, helps teach people who could use a coach like him, gives him something new to do, allows his title wins to boost those championships and it can rejuvenate his character as he’ll have a different focus rather than just cutting the same promo about how he’s underrated in the ring and whatnot.

Ready to Graduate: Pete Dunne

Pete Dunne could stick around in NXT UK forever, for all we know. Maybe he’s like WALTER and has no interest moving to America. That would be a shame, though, as he’d just cycle through the same opponents every few months and never break the mold.

I’d like to see what Dunne has to offer on Raw or SmackDown—preferably SmackDown. Let’s pair him up with people he wouldn’t normally fight. Give him a chance to show off his droll character that is different from others on the roster. Put him in a feud with Daniel Bryan about pure wrestling. Give him a run with the Intercontinental Championship, even.

We know he’s great in the ring with the right dance partners. Let’s see if there are others out there who can make magic with him other than just Tyler Bate and Adam Cole.

Trade to NXT: Jaxson Ryker

In June, Jaxson Ryker killed the push of The Forgotten Sons with one tweet that the group has yet to recover from. Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake distanced themselves from his opinions, but that hasn’t resulted in WWE bringing any of them back in any form.

Clearly, there’s hesitation to using this group. But I think you can get around it by having Cutler and Blake return without Ryker and sending him back down to NXT with a different gimmick. That way, you keep him out of the problem and you tone the characters down for Blake and Cutler where it won’t rub people the wrong way.

Or, alternatively, maybe you want to steer into the skid. Maybe you want to keep Ryker in that role and have him be a really hated heel. In that case, send him back to NXT and have him be the sole Forgotten Son, while you repackage Cutler and Blake as a different tag team on the main roster.

Ready to Graduate: Honorable Mentions

Obviously, you can’t bring everyone up to the main roster at the same time. That would leave NXT with no one left on that roster. But I do feel as though a good number of talent has reached that mark where I’d be comfortable with them being on Raw or SmackDown and not thinking they’d drown.

  • Arturo Ruas could make a name for himself in Raw Underground.
  • Austin Theory was doing fine on Raw. Why bother sending him back to NXT?
  • Cameron Grimes seems to be doing well enough and could grow more on the main roster similar to what Elias did.
  • Dominik Dijakovic is rock solid and just missing the right personality quirks.
  • Damian Priest is doing great. He’s only improving on a consistent basis.
  • Legado del Fantasma is a wonderful trio. I’d buy Santos Escobar as intercontinental champion, wouldn’t you?
  • Drake Maverick would probably become a go-to jobber, which would suck, but he could do the part fantastically if he’s okay with that and maybe even get a midcard or tag title run out of the situation. Big, big fan of the guy.
  • Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, Jake Atlas, Velveteen Dream (minus all the other issues, of course) and more have the tools.
  • I don’t think Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox need any more improvement, nor does Io Shirai. I wouldn’t say the same about Chelsea Green and Vanessa Borne, though, and yet, they may actually already have been called up.

Performance Center Training:

Some people shouldn’t necessarily leave the main roster for NXT, but could still use some lessons at the Performance Center.

Nia Jax springs to mind. One injury is happenstance. Two injuries is coincidence. How many times has she been too reckless with someone by now? She’s had more than enough time to learn the ropes while on the main roster and it’s clear she’s still struggling. Perhaps some legitimate training sessions are needed to work out how she can be less dangerous.

Liv Morgan is someone who has made progress, but I think still needs to brush up on the fundamentals. She’s just not all that great and I don’t have much faith she’ll get better without that proper training.

Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir need to be part of this Raw Underground and on the same brand as Shayna Baszler. It was the right call to move them up to Raw at this point. However, I’m not seeing them as full-fledged Superstars at this point, are you? I don’t even think they’ve thought much about their characters and how they can be anything but their names, let alone how to showcase that in a match.

It’s not just the women, either. Mojo Rawley could use more time at the Performance Center to find what his style should be. It seems like he’s all over the place, not knowing what to do unless he’s the energetic bull in a china shop. If WWE doesn’t want to let him be that type of loser babyface, then he needs to re-calibrate, as his current character is awful and has had more than enough time to prove itself not to be.

This may be controversial, but I think Elias could use some PC time, too. Think about it. All the best things he does is with his guitar and not in the ring, right? Can you remember a single great Elias match? I can’t.

Who would you shift around with the NXT, Performance Center and main rosters? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!

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