WWE NXT: Will Vince McMahon Put a Hold on Talent Coming to RAW?

Looking at the wave of talent coming from WWE NXT, our excitement should be tempered with cautious optimism.

For weeks, we have been speculating about the inevitable main roster appearance of Finn Balor. Before that, we waited with breathless anticipation for the debut of popular WWE NXT performers such as Enzo Amore and Big Cass, The Vaudevillians and AJ Styles. We were so jazzed to see the stars of NXT that we almost forgot how full the RAW and SmackDown rosters have been for years. It’s easy to get distracted by new faces and the possibilities provided by the grass on the other side. And we all know how that idiom goes.

Barring a mass exodus of seasoned employees from the WWE roster, there are still more than 70 active members between RAW and Smackdown. Perhaps this is the reason why Vince McMahon isn’t as high on WWE NXT talent as we were led to believe. According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the feeling backstage is that Vince’s opinion of NXT is that it is a “touring brand” and he would not consider the talent to be “money stars.” If this sentiment is true, it’s more than puzzling, despite the oft-believed rumor that Vince McMahon prefers physically larger wrestlers to anyone else.

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It would be incredibly short-sighted for Vince to not recognize how insanely over Enzo and Cass are with fans. They have brought a much-needed jolt of energy into the tag-team division and managed to make a catchphrase from the 90s cool again. In the wake of the concussion suffered by Enzo during Payback, the WWE handled his absence beautifully the next night on RAW with Big Cass coming out and using his size and strength to dominate the match. His success was due in part to the overwhelming acceptance they have received ever since being called up from NXT and I refuse to believe that Vince has ever described them as anything less than superstars even if he doesn’t fully understand or embrace their gimmick.

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That same WON report cites the treatment of Tyler Breeze as a matter of concern for many NXT stars. The general feeling amongst the talent is that so long as they are in NXT, they can have more fun and earn more respect due to the smaller roster. They watched Breeze get called to RAW only to suffer the same fate as The Ascension and become little more than a glorified jobber.  I am somewhat biased in this regard because I was never a fan of Breeze or his gimmick. I think his character is flat-out stupid, his mic skills are average at best and his wrestling isn’t all that special. Also, his face looks like a foot.

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I fear that The Vaudevillains will be the next victims of this WWE NXT flood because they remind me of Los Matadores. While their in-ring talent is obvious, they are eclipsed by more mic-savvy entertainers and simply can’t keep up. Apparently, Vince feels the same way so their current push may be their last for quite some time.