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WWE NXT is feeling “back to brand” and that’s exciting

By Raphael Garcia

AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 09: Paul Michael Levesque aka 'Triple H' attends Featured Session: The Women’s Evolution in WWE and Beyond during the 2019 SXSW Conference and Festivals at Austin Convention Center on March 9, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Samantha Burkardt/Getty Images for SXSW)
AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 09: Paul Michael Levesque aka 'Triple H' attends Featured Session: The Women’s Evolution in WWE and Beyond during the 2019 SXSW Conference and Festivals at Austin Convention Center on March 9, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Samantha Burkardt/Getty Images for SXSW) /
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The move to Tuesday nights has been a success so far for WWE NXT. Many will point to the television ratings as proof of such. While these can be one metric, they are not the end of the conversation. Overall, the content on Tuesday evening has been much better and the response across social media has been positive. It is still early, but if this is the direction that NXT is moving in, then fans should be excited about what is to come.

There was a feeling after NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day that the brand was moving back in the right direction. Triple H even mentioned it during the post-event press call.

“You could look across this card and say every match on this card can steal the show. It was that kind of card and across the board, they didn’t disappoint,” Triple H said during the post-event media call (audio from Fightful). “I felt like this was a TakeOver that felt like it was back to the beginning and back to the brand.”

“Back to the brand” is an important line there because that is what it feels like in this initial shift to Tuesday nights. Fans are seeing important mid-card feuds such as Isiah “Swerve” Scott and Leon Ruff. The women are getting stronger booking on NXT than they are getting on either SmackDown or Monday Night Raw. There is more than one person booked well on the roster, creating intrigue in multiple matches rather than television hours that can be skipped.

Even more important, shows are being promoted a week in advance, building excitement for what is to come and establishing stories more than a week at a time. The May 11 episode already has two big title matches with Raquel Gonzalez defending against Mercedes Martinez and Kushida defending against Santos Escobar in a two-out-of-three falls match. That alone is the foundation for another great episode, but the fact that things are being announced days rather than hours or minutes in advance is 180-degrees different than “main roster” WWE.

Could all of this be turned around in a moment of shotty booking? Yes, that could easily happen. Just look back to how the women’s tag division was booked when Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler defended against Dakota Kai and Gonzalez. Even that moment has been “repaired” in sorts with how both Gonzalez and the women’s tag titles have been booked sense, but it is still not perfect. Plus, the booking around Karrion Kross has not been excellent as well, but with names like Pete Dunne, Finn Balor, and Kyle O’Reilly still placed as challengers, things can get good at the top of the card very quickly.

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WWE made the mistake of trying to counter-program All Elite Wrestling and was soundly defeated. Moving NXT to Tuesday was the right direction, giving wrestling fans a starting point to the quality WWE booking that many have spent years begging to see. The masses can only hope that the early success seen here can translate over to Monday and Fridays as those shows continue to lag. Either way, NXT truly feels “back to brand” and everyone should enjoy the content.

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