NXT is the birthing place for WWE talent. Over the years, it has helped shape some amazing indie wrestlers for the mainstream, such as Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins. But in recent months, the talent that seems to be easing their way onto the main roster feels somewhat lacking.
Two of the biggest examples here are Enzo and Big Cass. They were huge on NXT and one of the main foundations of the tag team division, but since their debut on the main roster, they barely reached the heights that they should have done, failed to clinch tag team gold, and now have gone their separate ways, with Big Cass due to get his inevitable push and Enzo falling down the card.
Some would argue that Enzo only has himself to blame after throwing out some appalling botches and generating a considerable amount of heat backstage.
Another is Shinsuke Nakamura. WWE don’t have a clue how to push the ‘King of Strong Style’ and as a result the character and gimmick he cultivated in New Japan is starting to fall by the wayside. The WWE style just isn’t suited to the style of wrestling Nakamura excels at, as it became evident when he nearly killed John Cena in one of the worst botches I have seen in a long time.
The same could be said for some of the wrestlers that are currently on the main roster. Erick Rowan and even Luke Harper to a certain extent are struggling to gain any momentum at the moment and are just being used as glorified jobbers. Harper and Rowan worked as members of the Wyatt Family, while the former Shield boys have stormed the promotion as singles wrestlers and have achieved a margin of success.
What I believe the WWE need to consider is possibly moving some of these wrestlers back down to NXT to help develop and cultivate the next generation of talent. When you take on an apprenticeship, you have to take qualifications and also train with someone more experienced to perfect your trade. The same could be said for wrestling.
As it stands, this charismatic ball is training to become a wrestler and although I can watch videos all day long and work on my bumps and moves at home, it is always beneficial to me to chat to someone who has been in the ring before now and seen it all.
Let’s approach this from a different angle.
If Dolph Ziggler was sent to NXT, the trainees there would be able to harvest the knowledge from a wrestler who has held the top belt (even though it was an appalling title reign) and he would be able to part some of his knowledge onto them. The theory behind this is that the newest generation will be able to learn from someone who has been there, done that, and got all the plaudits that go with it. Although he was never an NXT graduate, he is currently wasting away on Smackdown and having an established face on the brand would help not just the ratings, but the up and coming talent.
If that was to happen then we may see younger wrestlers carry themselves better during promo’s, avoid rookie error’s (such as the time Enzo failed to go over the top rope so just tried again) and I strongly think it would improve the calibre of wrestling as they make their way to the main roster.
As it stands, I find myself struggling to get behind anyone that is currently on the main roster. With Bray Wyatt now on RAW and with zero chance of retaining any of his momentum (his win/loss record makes for poor reading) and with Jinder Mahal holding the top belt on Smackdown, the list of wrestlers that I feel I can get behind remains thin. But the thing is, there isn’t anyone on NXT that I would want to see on the main roster.
Having someone like Ziggler there, and also putting great shows on NXT, would help not just the struggling brand (because let’s face it, it is struggling a bit), but would also aid the guys and gals trying to make it in an already cutthroat industry.
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