5 Ways to Fix the WWE Raw and SmackDown Ratings Slump
By Carl Gac
WWE.com
Use NXT as the developmental system it’s meant to be.
We’ve seen the likes of Kevin Owens come up to the main roster and be hits right from the off. His feud with John Cena put him on the map right from the off. But how many guys have come up and got totally lost in the shuffle or be ignored all together?
Neville came up and was given much fanfare, pushed Seth Rollins to the limit in a match on Raw but then seemingly disappeared. The Ascension were one of the best tag teams you could have seen on NXT but came up to the main roster and were forgotten within a couple of weeks. Same with the Lucha Dragons, they’re one of the most exciting tag teams on the roster but are just fodder for the likes of New Day and the Prime Time Players.
You have guys on the NXT roster who could make a lot of money for the company and make big waves in professional wrestling if they were brought up and were used properly. There are so many men and women who could come up and be big stars right from the off with the backing of Vince McMahon, but at times it seems that Vince doesn’t really care about those guys who are getting so many plaudits every week. NXT gets so much good publicity from fans and professionals alike it must be galling for Vince to read that praise when so much negativity is thrown at Raw and SmackDown.
Having recently re-watched some of the NXT TakeOver events again, at the end of ArRival as we saw Adrian Neville holding the NXT Title aloft the camera focused on John Cena in the crowd. Was that a massive missed opportunity? Why not have a way of pushing the NXT Champion as a threat to the WWE Champion? Have the NXT belt be used in a similar way to the Money in the Bank case and the holder gets an opportunity to face the WWE Champ on Raw and you’ll always have the opportunity of a shock match happening.
NXT is meant to be the place to develop your stars of the future. That will not happen if they don’t get the opportunity once they hit the main roster.
Next: Reason No. 5