WWE Superstars Right to Be Frustrated with Difference in How NXT Is Booked

WWE Superstars have every right to be jealous of their NXT brethren.

The developmental prospects are benefiting from sustained storytelling and a product that focuses more on wrestling. Meanwhile, the wrestlers on the main roster often engage in battles that lack any sort of narrative. The members of the Divas division at WWE proper have to be incensed with how much more time, respect and attention the NXT women get.  

That appears to be the case.

According to F4WOnline (h/t Wrestling Inc), there is currently some discontent among Superstars on the main roster over the folks at NXT getting to be a part of tear-the-house-down matches while Raw and SmackDown's performers have to settle for short, inferior bouts.

That feeling may be more about a larger majority of NXT's roster getting something to work with. Too often, WWE's lower-rung stars are just tossed out in front of the camera with no direction. NXT is outclassing the main roster in that department.

A Difference in Storytelling

WWE struggles to keep its midcard relevant. That's most evident when pay-per-view time rolls around.

Looking back at the Royal Rumble, The Usos vs. Damien Mizdow and The Miz felt hollow, a pairing thrown together with no added narrative. That's even with those teams having feuded in the past.

The subplot about The Miz trying to woo Naomi fell away weeks before this match. There was little sizzle as a result.

At NXT, meanwhile, a tag title feud generated more interest in spite of its lower supply of star power. As The Lucha Dragons prepared for The Vaudevillains' challenge at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution, they had to suffer insults from their challengers.

It began with the heels wrestling little people dressed like Sin Cara and Kalisto.

Simon Gotch and Aiden English then continued to needle their enemies. They starred in black-and-white short films that mocked the tag champs. Bringing in the little people in luchador masks again, The Vaudevillains proceeded to create goofy, cartoony moments that would have made Tex Avery proud.

These weren't a part of the greatest angle by any stretch, but there was something to the match other than the match itself. The Lucha Dragons had extra motivation to whip their enemies. 

The Miz and Mizdow had no vignettes. The Usos had no real reason to be riled up. Fans had little reason to be interested.

This kind of attention to the midcard has been commonplace with NXT.

Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey began as a violent game of one-upmanship. Tyler Breeze attacked and angered Mojo Rawley before doing the same to Hideo Itami. These choices have led to matches meaning more afterward.

Breeze vs. Itami at NXT TakeOver: Rival isn't half as fun without Itami looking for payback, without Breeze looking to make up for losing to the Japanese star during the No. 1 contender's tournament.

Several bouts are built on basic wrestling stories, ones that center around revenge and competition. Too often, that's not at play on the main roster.

At last year's Survivor Series, Jack Swagger took on Cesaro, Fandango battled Justin Gabriel, and Slater Gator clashed with Adam Rose and The Bunny. Not one of those bouts had but a smidgen of narrative beforehand.

Swagger and Luke Harper have to be wondering why they aren't in a feud like Corbin and Dempsey's. Fandango has to be flustered that his character just dances while Breeze gets to make music videos.

Both the tag teams and midcarders from the main roster have to watch on as NXT continually makes the smart move to book tournaments, a format that highlights a number of wrestlers at the same time. 

The Diva Divide  

The Divas from NXT and the Divas from the main roster are working with different mediums. The athletic artists who are NXT's female grapplers are getting to paint wall-sized murals. WWE's Divas are trying to spread paint onto canvases the size of postcards. 

At NXT TakeOver: Rival, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Sasha Banks put on a tremendous match, one that served as a showcase for the future of women's wrestling.

NXT fans weren't surprised. Full Sail University has been home to quality action from its Divas division for a long time. A big part of that is the level of talent that NXT boasts, but the ring time the women get is key as well.

The Fatal 4-Way was nearly 12 minutes long. One has to add the last three Divas Championship bouts on pay-per-view to see the women from the main roster to reach that number.

Who can blame Paige, Natalya, The Bellas and company for wondering why there is such a disconnect between WWE and NXT. The women at WWE's developmental system have more developed stories en route to their matches, contests that routinely go on longer than the ones on the main roster.

Even though Raw is three times as long as NXT, it's WWE's little brother who provides its women with more ring time. Compare the ring time for Nikkie Bella and Charlotte, both near the top of their respective divisions, in their last four matches on Raw and NXT, respectively:

Date	Match	Match Time
12/1	AJ Lee and Naomi vs. Nikki and Brie Bella	5:30
12/15	AJ Fox and Natalya vs. Nikki and Brie Bella	2:14
12/29	Nikki Bella vs. Natalya	1:06
1/5	Nikki Bella vs. Natalya	1:16

Episode	Match	Match Time
128	Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks	10:02
131	Becky and Sasha Banks vs. Natalya and Charlotte	4:20
132	Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks	2:21
133	Becky and Sasha Banks vs. Bayley and Charlotte	5:53

Despite being Divas champ, Nikki totaled less than five minutes in her last three bouts. Notice too that she hasn't competed on Raw since early January. 

Nikki's total ring time in that span is 8:06. Charlotte's is 22:36.

Numbers don't tell the whole story, but those certainly speak of how much less of the pie women get once they move to the main roster. There's no surprise, then, that NXT has produced so many more standout bouts than its WWE counterpart.

Naming five outstanding women's matches from the main roster is tough. One has to reach into the last decade to fill it out. For NXT, one need not look further than the last five NXT live specials. Each time out, Charlotte, Banks and their peers get robust stories to build on and ample time to do so once the bell rings.

It's enough to make the wrestlers on the main roster want to stop watching NXT, as it is often the superior product. The ensuing resentment should be expected.

NXT wrestlers work on a smaller stage for a smaller paycheck, but being a part of the superior product is reason enough to be envious of them.

All match statistics courtesy of CageMatch.net.