NXT lost its lustre the evening it debuted on the USA Network

There was a time, not that long ago, that the top promotion in pro wrestling was considered to be NXT

Then, two big things happened around the same time. AEW Dynamite debuted on Wednesday nights, positioning it as direct competition to the black and gold brand. The other thing was NXT moving from the WWE Network to the USA Network.

But the crazy part about this situation was that the move to USA was a much bigger detriment to NXT’s brand than AEW has ever been. And there are a couple of very good reasons for that, ones the WWE probably should have seen coming.

NXT before the USA Network

The growth of NXT is one of the biggest success stories in the modern history of pro wrestling. From where it started to where it has ended up is the difference between night and day, and has been a complete surprise to everyone involved.

In its earliest stages in 2010, NXT was a competition show that featured “rookies” who were in training in FCW. They would face off on NXT for spots on the main roster. Essentially, it was a way to introduce fans to the next generation.

But in 2012, FCW was shuttered and NXT became the developmental brand for WWE. It operated out of the Full Sail University campus in Florida. Under the guidance of Triple H, NXT would quickly move to being a weekly wrestling program on the WWE Network.

From there, the growth was astounding. Some of WWE’s biggest stars came through the NXT developmental system. That includes Bianca Belair, Sasha Banks, Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan who were all main eventers at WrestleMania 37.

Going through NXT does not guarantee success, though. Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe and Finn Bálor were all superstars on NXT, but floundered on the main roster. WWE even recently made the unbelievable and unexpected decision to release Samoa Joe.

In recent years, NXT hasn’t had quite the same feel to it. What used to seem like a solid in house alternative to WWE’s blah programming on the main roster started to become a little blah itself. And that’s not all AEW Dynamite‘s fault.

NXT on the USA Network

In September 2019, NXT made one of the biggest moves of in its history by moving to the USA Network. It was suddenly two hours long and had a vibe that was much closer to Raw or SmackDown than fans were used to.

A big part of that change was the fact that viewers suddenly had to deal with commercial breaks. When NXT was exclusively on the WWE Network, that wasn’t an issue at all. But commercials are the name of the game on the USA Network.

This was just a small part in the change of the tone of NXT, which used to feel like something that was only for fans in deep enough to subscribe to the WWE Network. Suddenly, it felt more mainstream and a lot less cool.

But the recent NXT: TakeOver: Stand and Deliver event proved that NXT can still put on an incredible show. It’s not that NXT has really changed all that much since moving to the USA Network but the perception of it certainly has.

AEW Dynamite hasn’t helped that, not that it was trying to. Until NXT’s recent move to Tuesday nights, the two shows were in direct competition on Wednesdays for the better part of two years. Dynamite won virtually every ratings comparison between them.

While AEW certainly stole some of NXT’s viewers, the move to the USA Network changed the way their fans felt about the program. It became part of WWE’s mainstream offerings instead of being in opposition to it. AEW capitalized on those counter WWE vibes by simply existing.

In the end, NXT still offers some of the best wrestling in the world. Being on the USA Network was a positive evolution in many ways, though the brand did lose a lot of its charm because of it. And charm is something AEW has in spades.