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

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Inconsistency and Bad Booking

Of course, these two factors go hand in hand.  This reason has got to be the number one reason as to why many NXT talents suffer the inevitable fate of being obsolete (no pun intended, I swear) and eventually released.  It seems that the creative team is careless when it comes to the new talents and it painfully shows in most cases.

One of the most recent cases here is Emma.  Emma had a hand in seeing the Women’s revolution getting started thanks to a good feud with Paige in NXT.  She had returned to NXT just after a year on the main roster.  There, she turned heel and there was promise in her new direction.  The company then came up with a model character, Emmalina during her time off from injury.  Her return was plagued and the vignettes played for weeks on end.  Even after returning, she was vocal about her position in the company, from not liking the Emmalina character to complaining about TV time.  For Emma, her time in WWE went down from there, and was released in October, 2017.

Wyatt was mentioned previously, and it is still flooring that the company failed to capitalize on a character such as him.  In a world where kayfabe has all but ceased and desisted, Wyatt brought the mystique back to WWE programming that could take fans on this journey much like what the Undertaker did through his career.  Wyatt is a complex character, and one Superstars and fans ought to fear.  However he had a big loss record, which killed any kind of momentum Wyatt could have had.

The company attempted to make things right with the character, giving him redemption in his feud with Randy Orton late last year, leading into WrestleMania.  This was Wyatt’s best feud, producing some of his and Orton’s best work in years.  The final showdown for them, The House of Horrors match, did neither man any favors.  Once the program was over, Wyatt has been back to square one.

The subject of direction can be brought up as well for Wyatt as he engaged in a feud with Balor this summer.  Balor returned from injury earlier this year, however he is nowhere near the main event scene like he was previously.  There was no commitment to making the feud succeed, and that further hurt Wyatt in addition to Balor.  The idea looks great on paper and brings great conversation, but the execution was just terrible.

The company’s handling of Nakamura is perhaps one of the biggest disappointments for fans.  Nakamura was one of Japan’s biggest stars, and it was big news when he made the jump to Tampa to start in NXT.  Nakamura found considerable success in NXT, and there was substantial hype that accompanies him.  Nakamura’s personality and character connects with fans on a bigger level, and his rockstar persona is larger than life.  Since coming onto the main roster, Nakamura hasn’t enjoyed near the success he has had on NXT.  That, my friends, is just terrible.  Rumors of a Royal Rumble win will be pleasing indeed, but will his momentum continue afterwards?

Overall, just lack of concentration and inconsistency hurts the talents more than helps the talent.  Others such as Banks and Bayley doesn’t benefit from flip flop booking.  Bobby Roode made the main roster transition from NXT after SummerSlam, hopefully his direction is a slow burn for now.