Tracing the Rise and Evolution of NXT to Cult Phenomenon

NXT apparently isn't aware of the rule that the minor leagues aren't supposed to outshine the majors.

At a pace beyond what anyone could expect, NXT has grown from a kooky offshoot into a WWE cornerstone. That process has seen the developmental system become the company's most consistent show, a launchpad for future stars and a means to revive diehard fans' enthusiasm. 

The slick, electric version of NXT that fans see today and the hammy, uneven mess it once was has as much in common as the Archaeopteryx and the falcon.

WWE's previous developmental systems, from Ohio Valley Wrestling to Deep South Wrestling, produced their fair share of quality wrestlers. They didn't have the viewership and the passionate fanbase that NXT does. That's because Triple H's baby has become more than a talent-funneling system; it's a WWE brand.

Before NXT reached that point, before it struck the perfect balance of soaring toward the future and calling back to wrestling's past, it was in search of identity as much as it was the next great WWE Superstar.

Beginnings

In 2010, WWE decided to drop its watered-down version of ECW. There was little excitement around the third-rate brand which had little to do with the revolutionary promotion that emerged out of the Northeast in the '90s. 

The company, though, had a time slot to fill on SyFy.

To do so, Vince McMahon dreamed up a way to infuse his up-and-coming grapplers with the established veterans. NXT was to be a means for fans to get to know WWE's developmental prospects, to offer something that didn't look or sound anything like Raw and SmackDown. 

"This is an opportunity to show another side you've never seen," McMahon said of the new show to Variety's Marc Graser. 

The concept was to pair prospects, who were dubbed "Rookies," with stars from the main roster, referred to as "Pros." In the first season, Christian mentored Heath Slater, and CM Punk served as Darren Young's Pro.

Wrestling was key, but the show featured any number of physical challenges that felt like something yanked from Survivor or American Gladiators. Daniel Bryan and his peers had to scoot across monkey bars or haul a keg around the ring.

It was an odd way to showcase these men. It didn't show who was most ready to compete at the next level; it showed who would most thrive on a reality show.

In future seasons, the challenges got sillier. 

During the second season, Kaval, Michael McGillicutty (now Curtis Axel) and Husky Harris (now Bray Wyatt) all stood in a row awaiting their chance to kiss an overweight woman with fake sores on her face. 

There was a major disconnect with these elements of the show and the idea that these wrestlers were supposed to be future WWE Superstars. NXT, though, did manage to create storylines that appeared on Raw and SmackDown.

Alex Riley followed his Pro, The Miz, to the main roster, serving as his underling until he broke away post-babyface turn. The entire crop of Rookies from Season 1 famously stormed Raw as the swarming faction Nexus.

The NXT product itself, though, was anything but must-watch.

Meanwhile in Florida, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Cesaro all toiled at WWE's then-developmental branch: Florida Championship Wrestling.

This was just the latest home for WWE's prospects. The developmental base had moved around the country over the years, stopping in Memphis, Ohio, and Louisville, Kentucky. From 2007 to 2011, FCW had its turn as WWE's Triple-A equivalent. 

Only the most dedicated of fans watched this product with any regularity.

It didn't air nationally. Most fans had to settle for seeking out clips on the Internet. Its production value was nothing special.

A rebranding and a makeover would change things forever.

The Move to Full Sail

WWE Developmental's next move didn't require leaving the state of Florida. It did, however, see WWE wipe away the FCW name.

In 2012, As F4WOnline noted, WWE began to phase out the FCW name in favor of NXT.

This wasn't to be just FCW with a glossier logo, nor was it to have the reality show that the first five seasons had. A transformation was underway.

Full Sail University's entertainment venue was set to be the hub of the new NXT. The partnership went beyond that, though. NXT would welcome students from the university, as Full Sail announced on its website, to "have the opportunity to gain real-world experience working with WWE."

They manned the cameras and worked alongside WWE's production crew. 

Students also served as much of the audience. They watched as the grandeur that WWE is so famous for would find its way onto this smaller stage. The NXT TV show was sleeker and more impressive than what FCW or OVW had offered in the past.

Few people beyond those at Full Sail saw it at first.

NXT didn't have a television channel to call home. It aired on Hulu and Hulu Plus. It was something that the kind of fans who order Japanese wrestling DVDs off the Internet sought out and enjoyed.

Bo Dallas was nothing like the personality-lacking figure he was during his brief stay on the roster. He developed a grating persona that channeled Tony Robbins.

Credit: WWE.com

Crowds rallied behind Big E, who demanded a five-count to obtain victory rather than the standard three. The Wyatt Family unsettled audiences with their feral aura.

WWE was putting on a more streamlined, logical product with exciting new talent that only a sliver of the population had experienced firsthand.

Talk of how good NXT was circulated on message boards and social media. Fans knew that they were seeing future stars at work.

The buzz around the show had only begun. 

Arrival, Takeover

On Feb 27, 2014, the WWE Network aired its first live event. NXT acted as a way for the company to work out any glitches with the new streaming service before WrestleMania arrived.

For fans who had long been heading to Hulu each week, NXT Arrival's success was no surprise. 

They had seen Sami Zayn and Cesaro tear down the house before. They knew just how captivating Paige was. They had seen Adrian Neville's rise to the championship over the course of several months.

Being on the WWE Network made the show more accessible. Beginning with Arrival, a wider audience caught wind of the show.

NXT's weekly broadcast became one of the biggest selling points of the WWE Network. It was a consistently entertaining show that followed through with its narratives. Not to mention, it offered a plethora of fresh faces.

WWE followed up with a string of live specials, beginning with NXT Takeover I in May.

Each show surpassed the previous one. A part of that was certainly due to the fact that the performers continued to step up, but the excitement around them certainly helped.

When Charlotte and Natalya collided at the first Takeover show, they created an excitement about the future of women's wrestling that hasn't existed often. NXT promised a future where the women's division wouldn't just be filler or eye candy; it would be a showcase of warriors.

The match received praise from a variety of places, including from Hall of Famer Mick Foley. 

Foley gushed about the bout on his Facebook page:

"

Charlotte and Natalya was so good that a few years down the road, we might all look back on it as the match that showed us all what was possible when two women work as hard, and care as much, and wrestle their hearts out - working in front of the appreciative crowd at Full Sail University as if it was 75,000 strong at #Wrestlemania. They weren't a side dish to be consumed quickly before the real stars arrived. They WERE the entree - perfectly seasoned, something to be savored and thoroughly enjoyed - even upon repeated viewings.

"

He was far from the only spectator thrilled about what has happening at NXT. The word was getting out: NXT was the highlight of the WWE week.

In December, NXT Takeover: R Evolution produced a Match of the Year candidate in Zayn vs. Neville. Grantland's David Shoemaker wrote of the event, "It was snugly situated between two of WWE's tentpole shows, and it was better than both by a long shot."

Steve Austin got into the hat-tipping act as well. During his interview with Triple H on the WWE Network, he put NXT over big time:

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestling News Source) gave NXT the award for Best Weekly TV Show in 2014. That should be expected. Raw has huge moments and the occasional great match; NXT is steadily stellar, a taut, exciting celebration of wrestling stories.

The more WWE lets NXT bleed over onto the main roster, the more people will realize that.

Overlap, Welcoming the Best

To help promote the four-man title bout at NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way last September, WWE invited Zayn, Neville, Tyler Breeze and Tyson Kidd to battle in tag team action on Raw.

You could tell that good portion of the audience hadn't seen these wrestlers before. While the diehard fan had watched their work on the independent circuit and on NXT, the casual fan was looking on with curiosity. The crowd was mostly silent, unsure of how to react.

When Neville hit his patented Red Arrow, gasps echoed through the arena. He likely made more than a few new fans that night. 

That moment wouldn't have happened during the FCW or OVW days. A wrestler then remained unseen until he or she debuted. There were no teaser appearances like this one.

WWE has since found other opportunities to work the NXT brand onto its bigger stage. Zayn clashed with Kidd on Main Event. Charlotte and Sasha Banks collided on that show as well.

This method not only eases the transition folks like Charlotte and Zayn will have once they're called up, but it also sparks interest in what WWE is doing at Full Sail University.

Fans who never tuned in to NXT may change their viewing habits after seeing glimpses of Neville's athleticism and Banks' mat mastery.

The pursuit of new fans hasn't been limited to reeling in casual fans. NXT has given fans of the indys reason to start watching.

The developmental brand has gone on a signing spree in the last year, bringing in some of the biggest names outside of WWE.

Sami Callihan joined Zayn and Neville and became Solomon Crowe. WWE brought in Fergal Devitt and Kevin Steen, renaming them Finn Balor and Kevin Owens, respectively.

Bucking the tradition of shying away from Japanese stars, NXT sought out Kenta (now Hideo Itami), a move that created even more electricity around the product. 

NXT certainly has its homegrown talent, from Baron Corbin to Tyler Breeze, but it has become the place to watch some of the best indy workers in the business.

Fans of Balor can now watch him go up against Kidd and Neville. The fans who followed El Generico and Steen's tremendous rivalry at Ring of Honor can now see it on a different platform, with those men now sporting new names.

NXT's reputation is that it features top-level talent even if it is meant to be a second-tier promotion. In just two years, it has evolved into a WWE mainstay, a way to reinvigorate one's fandom.

More fans will come to know that in time. Greatness like this doesn't stay a secret.