With Great Success Comes Great Responsibility: WWE’s NXT Error

PWP’s own, Zack Heydorn, discusses the WWE’s miscalculation of its sure-fire NXT stars.

NXT has been quite the phenomenon since the debut of the WWE Network in 2014. The brand has come a long way from being strictly a developmental arm for the WWE main roster to now being a viable third brand that travels the world and generates revenue for the company. Who would have thought? The brand has even built new stars that are primed to bear the weight of the entire WWE as it moves forward into the future. Guys like Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and Finn Balor each wet their beaks in NXT with WWE training wheels on and are now premiere talents in the company. With great success comes great responsibility though and the WWE needs to be careful with just how big NXT gets and how they treat its superstars upon their arrival to the main roster. NXT ultimately and without debate is still used as a feeder system for the WWE main roster. WWE officials, writers, Triple H, and Vince McMahon have forgotten that simple fact and its hurting talent that have proven themselves to be over acts that can generate money for the WWE.

NXT and the WWE main roster are as different as different can be. Like cats and dogs, oil and vinegar, Bret and Shawn. First, the crowds are vastly different. Raw and SmackDown Live are presented to a live audience of 15,000 people whereas NXT is filmed in front of 1,000 fans. Raw and SmackDown are meticulously written to fit television molds so the WWE and TV networks can make the most money possible while maintaining the most viewers possible. NXT airs on the WWE Network and does not have to conform to the same programming molds and restrictions. A minuscule amount of people actually watch NXT on a regular basis compared to Raw and SmackDown Live. Its estimated that only 20% of the WWE Universe watches NXT regularly enough to experience and know its characters and storylines. That 20% is diehard in nature, but the other 80% is typically what the main roster WWE storylines are working to appeal to. Finally, main roster talents face an incredible amount of pressure to perform flawlessly on a regular basis. Their performance, good or bad, directly affects how much money the WWE makes. Room for mistakes is not there. Though a touring third brand, NXT is a learning environment. Talent, though popular, are still learning to work the WWE style and are finding their place within the corporate WWE juggernaut. They have the freedom to tweak their characters so they can find what works to get them over. Many of them get massively over, but that “overness” is in a vacuum. Its blocked away from all main roster pressures and differences that the main roster brings. All of those differences are ok when NXT is utilized strictly as a developmental arm. Due to the success of the brand, the WWE has mistakenly assumed that the success stars have in NXT will translate seamlessly to the main roster. That isn’t the case because NXT is protected and the WWE needs to be careful moving forward. Greed, laziness, and impatience is leading to proven NXT stars not being able to deliver, reach their full potential, and generate the most money possible for the WWE when arriving to the main roster.

Apollo Crews, The Vaudevillians, American Alpha, and most notably Bayley are each examples of NXT successes not directly translating to main roster success. This is not the fault of the performers themselves, but of management who want to take shortcuts to cash-in on “wow” moments. Seeing NXT stars debut in surprising fashion creates buzz in the immediate present, but doesn’t help the product or that debuting character long term. It’s a short term grab and WWE is handcuffing itself if they continue to work with NXT talent in this fashion.

Take American Alpha for example. Chad Gable and Jason Jordan were as over as you can get in NXT. They main-evented television programs and house show events, and also highlighted NXT TakeOver specials. Looking at their body of work in NXT, they were a layup to succeed on the main roster. NXT and WWE aren’t the same and American Alpha has floundered to shocking levels of disappointment since they debuted close to a year ago. Why? Not enough time was spent establishing them to the main roster audience. In NXT, the audience saw the development of what became a great team. They saw Gable and Jordan grow together as a unit week to week. They bought into their story because they saw it from the ground up. The main roster audience of SmackDown Live was never treated to that story and because of that, didn’t have the base to buy into. 80% of the WWE Universe simply saw American Alpha as two dudes who could wrestle a bit. They weren’t given time on the mic to talk and because of it, SmackDown Live fans had nothing to latch on to like the NXT audience did. American Alpha was hot-shotted to the main roster for a quick “moment” and they were relevant for just a “moment” because of it. It’s bad business and a waste of good talent.

Same thing with Bayley. Her, more so than American Alpha, was Teflon. Based on how over she was in NXT, seemingly nothing could be done to hamper her as she took over the main roster. Not true. Bayley’s rise in NXT took place over a number of years. She got over because fans connected with her and her girl next door, underdog nature. It took time to develop that relationship. Like American Alpha, she was thrusted onto the main roster without a hint of that story being told. Fast-forward a few months and the indestructible Bayley is floundering while on top of the Raw women’s division. Her reactions aren’t strong because fans have not lived her journey by her side like they did in NXT. The laziness that WWE has adopted toward its NXT stars has hindered Bayley’s ability to get over as big as she could have as well as her ability to draw major amounts of money.

The WWE needs to immediately rethink their procedure when bringing made NXT acts up to the main roster. They must see value in the person playing the over character instead of the character alone. The WWE knows that Bayley, the person, can get over with an audience. She proved it in NXT and carried the brand all over the world for nearly a year. The WWE does not know how her NXT character will translate to the main roster due to the fact that simply not enough of the main WWE audience watches NXT. The two audiences aren’t one in the same and the WWE needs to adapt to that fact. Instead of doubling down and assuming the character of Bayley will work anywhere, the WWE needs to assume that the person playing the Bayley character has the ability to make the character work. She still needs the time, patience, and effort of the main roster officials to help her character get over with the big audience. She needs to be given the opportunity to showcase her story to main roster fans so they can live the journey with her like fans did in NXT. Future NXT stars need the WWE to learn from their failure with Bayley.

You know what they say about assumptions, right? These nonsensical NXT assumptions by top WWE brass are hindering clear main eventers and they don’t need to be. If the WWE stays on the path they are on, the white hot NXT brand stars will only resonate whilst in NXT and not once they make their debut on the main roster. The money is on the main roster! It behooves of Vince McMahon to figure this out sooner than later. By throwing this major roadblock in front of NXT call ups and lazily assuming their main roster popularity, the WWE leaves money on the table.

The WWE audience is more fragmented than its ever been. The demographic that watches the product on a regular basis ranges from a five-year-old girl to a 45-year-old male. Everyone in between as well. Even with that drastic demographic to program to, when stories are told the right way and characters are grown correctly, everyone can fall in line and enjoy much of the same thing. It takes time and effort. NXT is shining as the starting point. WWE needs to hold up their end of the deal and not ride the coattails of its developmental brand for a quick payday.