Flip through any social media channels and you’ll find a lot of complaints about Triple H’s booking practices on the main roster. One such issue is the idea that Black male talent are struggling to get time in the spotlight, which data has supported for years. However, that’s not the issue in WWE NXT. That fact has translated to WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event where John Cena’s final night in action shines a bright light on the surging Black talent in WWE NXT.
The December 13 edition of WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event features Oba Femi taking on Cody Rhodes. Je’Von Evans and Leon Slater (a TNA Wrestling superstar) facing off against Dragon Lee and AJ Styles. Bayley has a showcase one-on-one match against Sol Ruca. That’s quite the slate of names from WWE NXT. Three performers who many would call the “future” of both the men’s and women’s division. Knowing they will get their time on what is being presented as WWE’s biggest show of the year is a huge moment.
Where WWE NXT shines, the main roster struggles
While fans are rightfully praising WWE NXT for the diversity throughout its roster and weekly television, that does not overwrite the fact that WWE sees this as a developmental territory, not on the same level of WWE SmackDown or Monday Night Raw. The idea that fans should just take what happens on NXT as the best that can be offered is far from the truth. SmackDown and Raw feature several of the best performers in the business like The New Day, Street Profits, and Carmelo Hayes. Even though each of these superstars are fan favorites, the booking they’ve faced in the last few years hasn’t been the best received.
The Street Profits won the tag team titles, but their reign couldn’t get time on any PLE. The New Day were involved in one of the best storylines when they teased a split just to turn on Big E. That led to a title run that took months to occur, then amounted to nothing of substance. Fans are pushing for Carmelo Hayes to win his first title on the main roster, all the while Bron Breakker, Lyra Valkyria, Tiffany Stratton, Giulia, and Stephanie Vaquer have held gold of their own.
John Cena knew that his last appearance was going to draw in a wealth of attention. So he was intentional about taking that attention and putting it firmly on the future of the company. That future includes NXT standouts Sol Ruca, Oba Femi, and Je’Von Evans, plus a performer in Leon Slater who will certainly get a lot of attention from WWE when his TNA Wrestling deal is up. This is an amazing moment and hopefully one that builds to long-term momentum for each of these names, and all the other performers of color on the main roster.