NXT needs to be leveraged as WWE’s third brand

We are past the point of thinking of NXT as just “developmental.” This is now the place where maligned WWE main roster names can thrive with fresh new opportunities.

Relegation is a term that is often used in the world of soccer and comes with negative implications. But, creatively it could be applied to the WWE Universe and done so in a way that will create compelling content for fans each week. NXT is perhaps the most consistent show produced by WWE each week, and now is the time for it to become a true third brand within the organization. One way to help that process is by moving some stars over to that show; this would be a great benefit for all the parties involved.

Each Wednesday on the WWE Network, there’s one hour’s worth of content that continues to be some of the best work from the organization, week in and week out.

NXT is the brand where fans first became familiar with the personalities that are known as Sasha Banks, Finn Balor, Becky Lynch, Andrade Almas and more. Unfortunately, many NXT alumni are struggling to find their place on the main roster.

Perhaps wrestlers would benefit from not only staying in NXT but moving them and some other names to the brand to give them a fresh look to fans hungry for good WWE content.

SmackDown and Raw have long been the top two destinations for anyone on the WWE roster. But maybe it’s time for a change. NXT is widely considered some of the best content created by the company due to its brevity, presentation and creativity that is frequently missing on the top shows. Then there’s the NXT TakeOver showcases that consistently receive more acclaim htan the major WWE PPVs that air just a day later. NXT is the place within the WWE that is giving the fans more of what they want – and that is great wrestling action, mixed in with compelling storylines.

That must be enticing to some of the talent on the main roster. There’s a long list of men and women that are left out of major storylines, lumped together or completely missing from each show every week.

Imagine a situation in which they were moved back and forth between either SmackDown and Raw to make appearances on NXT. These shifts could be either long or short term. The outcome has the same potential: freshen up talent that has become “stale” on the main roster while making NXT more of a legitimate brand instead of the “little brother” amongst the group. As the backstage leader of NXT, Triple H already sees the weekly show as more than just a developmental stop.

"“I think you can be at a place where you can see main level talent stay in NXT. We are also at the point where you can see some talent that have been on Raw and SmackDown for periods of time, who have had some success or haven’t for whatever reason, who aren’t being utilized, go back to NXT. A talent who doesn’t get a lot of exposure on SmackDown and moves to Raw, it could be a game-changer for them, and suddenly they can do something different. I do think it (NXT) is a third brand.”"

Imagine surprise appearances by main card talent that never appeared in NXT. Names such as Bray Wyatt, Zack Ryder, Curtis Axel, Heath Slater and more making a quick stop to face off with the main attractions on the brand today.

There’s even space for people like Tyler Breeze, The Revival, Luke Harper, Bray Wyatt and others to make their way back to NXT for big storylines that could infuse additional excitement around those within the brand, while giving a fresh look to some of those that are frequently misplaced and underutilized on the main roster. The WWE has a large amount of talent on their roster and this is an opportunity to get more eyes on that talent to please the WWE Universe.

We have seen examples of where this has worked. Both Tyson Kidd and Natalya were involved in intriguing storylines around the WWE NXT and Women’s titles, respectively. Cesaro and Sami Zayn had one of the best matches in the brand at that time. Zayn even paid that moment forward when he welcomed Shinsuke Nakamura over from Japan.

The issue becomes whether this movement causes some people on the NXT brand to be overshadowed. There’s an opportunity to move the show to two-hours on the WWE Network without losing the feel and brand awareness it’s built today. Creative for that brand has shown how they can properly manage to more with what was initially considered “less” than what was on the main roster. It would be intriguing to see what that same group could do with more time and even more talent on their hands.

WWE NXT should no longer be looked at as a developmental brand. Even though these men and women are “called up,” – that is just a phrase. These talented individuals in front of the camera and behind it have successfully built NXT into the premiere piece of content that the WWE creates. Now is the time to leverage it a bit more for those that are pushed to the background as members of the main roster.