WWE: 3 Reasons Why NXT Stars Have Trouble Getting Over on Main Roster

With the recent main roster debuts from WWE NXT, the bigger question remains the same.  How will they make an impact?  And is longevity in the cards for them?

It’s something that WWE fans have seen time and time again.  Talents that find substantial success in NXT just can’t seem to find their footing once they step onto the main roster.  Some will get lost in the shuffle, and eventually their star fades out.  It’s a tragedy considering NXT is thriving.

The likes of Neville and Emma are recent NXT alumni that have parted ways with the company as of this writing (assuming Neville and WWE are in talks).  Then there are former NXT Champions such as Samoa Joe and Finn Balor, who have flirted with the top of the card time and time again, only to barely hold their heads above the mid-card surface.

There are a variety of situations and reasons as to why talents haven’t matched their success in NXT.  Granted it takes time for a Superstar on the main roster to build onto their careers and eventually, their legacy.  However, it is frustrating when fans know the potential of said talents not being fully realized on Raw or Smackdown.  How could a talent have so much success on NXT, the developmental brand, only for them to flounder when they make it onto Raw and Smackdown?

With Balor’s savage behavior on social media and Joe’s recent push in re-entering his feud with Roman Reigns, could fans see change as 2017 comes to a close?  With the moderate success of those such as Elias, and even greater success stories such as Kevin Owens, there is some hope out there.  Braun Strowman comes to mind, which he has been built to the moon with his character.  But even he isn’t immune to the missed opportunities and mistakes of the main roster.  Cesaro used to be in and out in storylines, and now is enjoying great success with Sheamus as The Bar.

With Owens, Sami Zayn is crawling out of the NXT black hole he had constantly found himself in.  The Women’s Division saw revival in the last two years thanks to Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Alexa Bliss to name a few.  The dominance from Absolution and the Riott Squad brings interest and intrigue as the weeks bring more build to their respective brands.

However, there are talents such as Apollo Crews, who brought a lot of hype to the main roster.  But he has yet to enjoy any kind of success that was bound to happen for him.  Former NXT alumni, such as Bray Wyatt, suffer from terrible booking (not including his feud with Orton) time and time again.  Then, there are injuries that seem to happen at the most inopportune times.  Again, Balor suffered from that instance as well (One can see a theme here; it’s ironic at best) as he became the first Universal Champion.   Upon Zayn’s main roster debut, he got injured in his first match on the main roster.

There are instances where a Superstar has been brought up too early.  Crews is one, along with others such as Nia Jax.  Jax has fared well considering her surprise draft onto Raw last summer.  But it hasn’t worked out as well for others.  Baron Corbin made his main roster debut in last year’s Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but it took until later this year for Corbin to make any kind of impact and prove his worth to the Smackdown brand.

As a developmental brand, NXT ensures that their Superstars’ talents are honed and that there should be a smooth transition as they go on to the main roster.  One can argue that fans are impatient when it comes to their NXT favorites, wanting to see their fruits of their labor.  But when various reasons halt a talent, it’s hard to take that in stride considering.  With that being said, WWE also can’t rely on their much older veterans forever.

There are varieties of reasons as to why a NXT alum doesn’t achieve the same kind of success once they make it onto the main roster.  In this column, I will be exploring the top three reasons why NXT talents can’t get over on the main roster.