NXT Is More Than Just The Developmental System Of WWE

In the past couple years, WWE has experienced a phenomenon that it previously had not encountered since the company bought WCW in 2001. Numerous new superstars have poured into the main roster of WWE, many with illustrious backgrounds and rivalries which took place outside of WWE, and have become stars of the company. From Kevin Owens to Samoa Joe, Raw and Smackdown have been permanently affected by people who have come from outside of those brands. While many of those new superstars have come from a variety of different backgrounds such as Ring Of Honor, the independent wrestling scene, or Impact Wrestling, they almost always have one thing in common. They all came up to Raw and Smackdown from NXT.

Ever since NXT’s introduction, the show has been treated as a developmental system for new talent. The brand is seen as a stepping stone to the “main roster” shows of Raw and Smackdown. I think everyone can agree that it has succeeded in this role. People like Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Samoa Joe, Sami Zayn, Neville, and Kevin Owens have all come up through the ranks of NXT to successfully join Smackdown or Raw. At the same time though, a strange thing has occurred to some of NXT’s brightest stars. Some of NXT’s best and most popular talents, such as Bayley, Bo Dallas, or The Ascension, have floundered once they have reached one of WWE’s flagship programs.

It seems hard to believe that it is those competitor’s faults that they have failed on the main roster. Bo Dallas was one of the longest-reigning champions in NXT history. The Ascension were an incredibly dominant tag team who ran roughshod over every other team on the brand. Bayley was one of, if not the most, popular competitor in the brand’s history. Why then did these stars of NXT end up failing or floundering on the main roster?

The answer is simple. NXT has grown to be more than just the minor league of WWE. It has evolved to become its own standalone brand and product. It has shown all the signs that it should become an equal to Smackdown and Raw.

The reason why the likes of Bayley, Bo Dallas, The Ascension, and many more have not succeeded on the main roster as expected is because of the unique environments that they were in before they joined one of the flagship shows. It’s become obvious post Superstar Shakeup that each brand of WWE television has its own unique identity which affects its stars. I think that everyone would agree that The Miz has not found the same level of fan support and success as he did when he was on Smackdown as of late. That’s because Smackdown provided The Miz with a variety of relevant competitors to interact with which could truly bring out the best of his character. He was able to take his rivalries with Daniel Bryan and John Cena to new heights while a member of Smackdown. Now, on Raw, he’s primarily been stuck with a tired rivalry with Dean Ambrose before moving on to a fight with Jason Jordan which has an embarrassingly low amount of energy to it compared to his Smackdown feuds. Similarly, Heath Slater and Rhyno, one of Smackdown’s breakout tag teams last year, have been largely absent from TV once they joined Raw. When they have been on television, they seem to get relatively strong reactions, yet their role has never developed to anything close to the part they played on Smackdown. In fact, one could argue that Smackdown in of itself has been significantly worse than its previous incarnation before the Superstar Shakeup. That’s because Smackdown has a certain brand identity and environment that it had crafted for itself that was altered by the brand shakeup.

That same thing has been happening to NXT on a much more frequent basis. Competitors have been moved off of NXT at an extremely high rate, which has harmed both the product and the competitors, because it has altered the environment that the competitors strived in. Now truthfully, some superstars have flourished once they have moved to one of WWE’s primary programs. Some too, have flourished after switching between Raw and Smackdown. The problem is that every competitor is “suppose” to leave NXT to join Raw or Smackdown. WWE is not taking into account any of the variables that have been listed when they move a competitor off of NXT. That’s what has led to the downfall of some of NXT’s brightest stars.

With all this being said, I think the solution is for NXT to be treated as an equal to Raw and Smackdown. It’s obvious that certain competitors were able to find a whole new level of success on NXT that they might not be able to find on Raw or Smackdown. In addition, there are assuredly several superstars who could benefit from competing in the unique environment that NXT creates. Sure, some competitors will still end up being harmed by the inevitable next round of Superstar Shakeups. The difference will be that those competitors, if they were unable to find success on a different brand, could be moved back to NXT without it being considered a demotion. NXT has all the factors of a standalone brand. It tours around the world. It has it’s own unique managers, wrestlers, stables, and championships. It has its own approach to rivalries and storylines. It’s about time then, that it truly gets the credit it deserves. We can all see that NXT is an equal to Raw and Smackdown, so it’s about time WWE starts treating it that way.