NXT: Are Things Evolving Too Fast?
By Dean Siemon
With the recent announcement of more NXT tour dates, there might be a concern with how much the WWE’s development brand is growing.
There are a lot of reasons why NXT, WWE’s development brand, has seen a major growth in popularity of the past few years. Think of the talent that has been prepared for the WWE’s main roster; Seth Rollins, Neville and Kevin Owens.
The current crop of NXT superstars includes an all-star list of the past five or six years of the independent circuit, like Finn Balor and Apollo Crews, and mixed in with some experienced veterans who have their respective cult followings from around the world in Samoa Joe and James Storm. Mix it with the vibe from the audience of wrestling fans that have filled the arena at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., and you’ve got a very special product.
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It’s also cool to see that they are starting to do a few big shows with the NXT roster as a way to introduce the stars of the future to the type of schedule that they will have if they are lucky enough to be regulars on Monday Night Raw and Thursday Night SmackDown. But are things growing a little too fast?
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Think about what has made the NXT brand successful so far. It is a small little show that has a crowd that isn’t too big and only tours outside of Florida a bit at a time. The concern is that if they continue to add dates too often, will that luster remain as bright as it has been lately; or will it get worn out and start to lose some of it.
We’ve seen the WWE take something that builds up momentum and they have been known to take a brand and push it to the point over overdoing it. Let’s take the ECW brand for example. They started with just one pay-per-view properly named One Night Stand. It was a chance for the fans to have a true show to relive their past and introduce fans to what used to be. However, they decided to have not only a second annual event, but developed a third touring brand.
That third brand became a little tired with the former ECW stars becoming jobbers and having not a lot of star power ultimately brought its end that included Ezekiel Jackson being the final ECW Champion – not long after Vince McMahon held the title.
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That’s not to say that NXT is going to find itself having to deal with a 70-year-old chairman of the company booking himself to defeat Finn Balor in a three on one handicap match (maybe Triple H does eventually). But there is legitimate worry that the WWE might be trying to make NXT a third brand and while it is competing with Raw and SmackDown in terms of having interesting storylines and fascinating characters, it should be kept at that intimate level with the occasional big show outside of the Sunshine State.
It’s funny that NXT has found itself almost becoming Raw and SmackDown’s biggest competition, but it should be a support system for the future and not a rival.