WWE News: Creation of NXT Championship Is Great for Development of Young Stars

The re-branding of NXT has been great thus far as it has allowed some rising stars in Florida Championship Wrestling to compete on a bigger stage with and against already-established WWE roster members. Things continue to get better, though, as the WWE is set to crown the first NXT Champion.

According to ProWrestling.net, a tournament to determine the inaugural winner of the NXT Championship began on Thursday at the show's taping at Full Sail University Arena in Winter Park, Fla. The tournament started with eight competitors and it featured FCW stars Bo Dallas, Leo Kruger, Richie Steamboat and Seth Rollins, along with WWE stalwarts Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal, Michael McGillicutty and Justin Gabriel.

The tourney has since been whittled down to two wrestlers, although I won't reveal them since the show has yet to air. Regardless of who comes out on top, though, this idea can only be looked at as a positive. There was a lot of speculation that a title might be created in order to complete NXT's new look, and it is promising that the WWE pulled the trigger.

Over the past year or so, the WWE has gone to great lengths to bring in the biggest stars from the independent scene. Many of them currently reside in FCW and now some of them are competing on NXT as well. It would be even better if NXT were televised for a wider audience, but all the exposure that these guys can get is definitely positive.

The NXT Championship is a prop just like any other title, but it should lend some legitimacy to NXT. The show has undergone a lot of changes over the past several months, as it started off like a kayfabe competition before becoming something of a third brand. Now it is almost like an extension of FCW and yet another good marketing tool for the youngsters.

The best thing that can happen to NXT is for it to develop into something similar to WWE's version of ECW. A lot of fans hate the reincarnation of ECW to this day because it was nothing like its predecessor, but it actually served a great purpose as a third brand and developed some guys who wouldn't have gotten adequate exposure on RAW and SmackDown.

NXT may be very similar, but it also adds in guys who aren't even on the WWE roster. If the WWE can secure a decent television contract for NXT, then it should do wonders. In that case, the vast majority of WWE fans will know about the rising stars before they even debut and that will give those wrestlers a better chance to get over and ultimately succeed.

The NXT Championship helps ensure that the show will be taken seriously because it has been looked at as a bit of a joke for the past year. Now it is all about up-and-coming wrestlers putting on great matches and vying for a real title. That will bode well for the show itself and it will help prepare the younger guys for the big time whenever they reach that level.

Although I'm fine with guys like McIntyre, Mahal, McGillicutty and Gabriel vying for the title, I hope that the FCW guys are allowed to control it for the most part. There is nothing wrong with some of the WWE wrestlers trying to win it, especially if Rollins, Steamboat and others are being given the chance to go over them.

As a wrestling fan, I can't help but be impressed with the lengths that WWE has gone to in order to make NXT a success. Instituting an NXT Champion is just another step in the right direction.

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