WWE Over The Limit Proves The Method Behind NXT's Madness

Chaos greeted pay-per-view subscribers who hadn't been watching the Over The Limit pre-show on YouTube. A 20-man, over-the-top-rope battle royal was in progress,  which had not been previously advertised.

Michael Cole quickly explained the scenario that had been introduced on the pre-show, specifically that the winner of the battle royal would receive a title opportunity for either the United States or Intercontinental championship.

Eventually the three biggest names in the battle royal were left, and the winner, unsurprisingly, was the returning Christian. Overall, this was a satisfying way to start the show on a high.

However the real significance of this battle royal was the overall quality that was displayed from the roster. Names and faces who are only really recognizable to those who regularly tune into NXT came to the fore and put on performances that both impressed and provoked emotion from the crowd.

Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins stole the show early on before being eliminated by the Great Khali. Their elimination allowed two other NXT graduates, Titus O'Neil and Darren Young, to rise to the challenge and eliminate Khali amongst several others.

Next, Tyson Kidd showed off his abilities by pulling off some well-executed offense against David Otunga and The Miz. Kidd's elimination was met with audible groans from the crowd, who had clearly enjoyed his cameo appearance.

Possibly the most impressive performance came from Michael McGillicutty who was eliminated very early on. Despite his limited time in the spotlight, McGillicutty was able to show his disappointment through facial expressions, and that connected with the fans.

Lower-level talents have been heavily criticized in the past few years for being unable to connect with fans. The same criticism has also been extended to new and returning talent who are not comfortable under the glaring eye of the WWE audience.

NXT has offered a platform where these new, and sometimes green, wrestlers have been given time and space to learn these skills without the pressure of the Monday Night audience. Over The Limit's battle royal is the first sign of this process being successful.

This is great news for the WWE and WWE fans.

Taking just the cream of indie talent is only going to sustain the WWE for so long. There had to be a method of bringing new guys into the fold without forcing them to sink or swim immediately. NXT has finally been shown to be that vehicle, although the idea has had to take heavy criticism to get there.

NXT's move to FCW could start this process of acclimatising new talent to the WWE crowd even earlier. Hopefully this will see more talent rising through the ranks with the audience's support.

The one concern is that these young wrestlers will only learn to play to one audience as NXT is only going to be performed in  one arena. The current batch of NXT stars have been allowed to learn in front of demanding Raw and SmackDown audiences. This may have helped these younger wrestlers connect with those fans on a trial-and-error basis.

What happens next to these NXT graduates is still up in the air. Some, like Reks and Hawkins, look like they are going to find a prominent role on television . Others have yet to break through, which puts them in danger of being released.

Only time will reveal how successful this NXT process will be, but the situation is looking a great deal brighter after this pay-per-view