By Bushwhacker Barker
 |
| NXT: Where the future begins! |
Although only streaming on the internet in the USA, around the world it is shown on television at respectable times either before or after Raw or Smackdown showing WWE’s willingness to experiment with a third show. If you look at how it has been built up over the seasons, the gimmicks have gone (albeit slowly) with the show now focusing on actual storylines and putting on good matches, hell even the divas matches go down well! It was only the other week when a match between Maxine and Kaitlyn was the main event (if you are wondering who these divas are, in the words of Ron Simmons, watch the DAMN show). It was in fact a good match by diva standards, as it wasn’t a Diva’s “squash” match for once.
It started off as a way of getting the talent from FCW (WWE’s Developmental Territory) onto TV without throwing them in at the deep end. The first series was a tester, with the Pros alone voting to see which rookies could stay and which had to go, hence letting the WWE control which superstars went through. Yet after this, they gave some power to the fans, which got to vote out the stars they didn’t want.
The Immunity points that the competitors had to earn in weekly challenges, such as on assault courses and keg carrying, was one way that the WWE managed to keep control on who could and who couldn’t “go through”.
 |
| Series 1: Welcome Nexus |
We all know how the first series ended, with “Nexus”, ultimately, taking over RAW. Yet, from then on, the other four seasons have created less than 10 superstars, who have gone on to appear on either Raw or Smackdown, between them, with: one winner (cough, Johnny Curtis, cough) only appearing once and losing in less than a minute, and only two more having actually received title shots (neither in a winning cause).
With the only winner to actually go on and win a title being Wade Barrett, it’s safe to say that the WWE didn’t foresee how the fans would react, when the NXT underdogs were thrown into the mix with the big boys such as Cena, Punk and Orton.
With the most successful star to “graduate” through NXT (using the word graduate loosely as he did end 7th) being Daniel Bryan, winning the US Title, the MitB contract and the World Heavyweight Championship to date, it’s clear that the WWE are right to modify the format so that it becomes a 3rd show.
So onto the present day, what is happening now? Different storylines, divas who can wrestle, a good tag team base to work on and some of the best in ring wrestlers I have recently seen - in my opinion it can’t be long until they are considered a real 3rd show and are incorporated into the WWE Draft.
 |
| Awesome tag team, not so awesome Cane |
With the impact Reks and Hawkins are having as a tag team, Tyson Kidd starting to live up to his potential, and the acquisition of the strongest, pound-for-pound wrestler in the WWE in Derrick Bateman, NXT is definitely a show on the rise
Often commentators mention how it is the place to be for tag team wrestling, and they’re not wrong. With many different combinations being used effectively, from Reks and Hawkins, to Percy Watson and A-Ry, it is a very competitive field which could ignite the tag team division once more, especially since Jimmy and Jey Uso are regularly competing on NXT too.
All in all, NXT’s existence has been a roller coaster ride. From being a bright spark in the WWE, to all but completely flopping, it is now on the rise again as a plausible 3rd show which fits right in with the current, PG era. Its great tag teams, roster, and of course GM, William Regal, will ensure that NXT can provide a pool of bright, young talent for the WWE for years to come
No comments:
Post a Comment