NXT: The true flagship of WWE
Following the death of ECW in 2010, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) formed their new brand NXT — an offshoot of its reality show of the same name.
The intent had always been to turn NXT into a talent development programme for young wrestlers who would eventually progress onto the ‘main roster’ – as the WWE likes to call it – featured on their flagship show RAW and secondary show SmackDown.
As mentioned, NXT originally followed the format of a reality show, with most of their young talent or “rookies” having a prominent superstar from the main roster as their mentor. As the season progressed, the rookies who won more challenges would save themselves from being eliminated. Think American Idol, only instead of singing, it’s a bunch of people in tights completing obstacle courses.
However, the days of hopscotching through tires and rolling barrels around the ring would soon come to an end and by 2012, NXT became a brand on its own, with WWE superstar Triple H at the wheel. The reality show format was cut and pretty soon NXT finally gained its own identity.
Since then, some of WWE’s best stars have come through NXT. The likes of Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Aleister Black, and Shinsuke Nakamura all started their WWE journey in NXT. And while their individual talents and career histories are commendable, a large part of their success in the main roster was due to NXT.
As a veteran of the game, Triple H showcased his ability to take over and start producing a show that would soon be on par with RAW and SmackDown. The storylines he crafted over the years, and the superstars he pushed to the top definitely showcase the brilliance of “the cerebral assassin”.
With the addition of their own pay-per-view (NXT: Takeover), NXT garnered a cult following, aimed towards those tired of poor storylines and matches on RAW or SmackDown.
Airing on Wednesdays, almost every segment of a regular episode of NXT feels more polished and exhilarating than some of RAW’s best performances in recent years. However, the main goal still remains to keep NXT as the development in-house show, with the final aim for all superstars involved in the project to move up to the main roster.
But we’ve seen them fail. NXT, whether it was before Triple H took over or after, has always turned up a sizeable amount of talented superstars, but upon entering the main roster, they became a shadow of their former selves. That is usually the complaint with the main roster in general, as it isn’t run by Triple H, these young talents who succeed in NXT are buried (a wrestling term for having their career come to a halt) by Vince McMahon.
We’ve seen it with the entirety of the faction called Nexus and stars like Tyler Breeze. Even some of the ones still in the main roster like EC3, Apollo Crews, and Lars Sullivan seem to be stuck in a loop with no proper character development or place in their respective shows.
But back at NXT, these superstars were fan favourites. As we saw when Tyler Breeze returned to NXT, after a failed run on the main roster, he was greeted to huge fan support. Consequently, his match in NXT: Takeover XXV against Velveteen Dream was one of the best bouts of the night.
Maybe it’s time we acknowledge NXT for what it is, a proper flagship wrestling show in its own accord. Even without the level of marketing that RAW and SmackDown gets, and fewer PPVs, NXT is able to hold its place amongst the giants.
Comments