Projecting Impact WWE Raw and SmackDown Brand Split Will Have on NXT

Wednesday's announcement from World Wrestling Entertainment that SmackDown will go live every Tuesday night beginning on July 19 and, more importantly, that WWE will feature distinct rosters for both the blue brand and flagship show Raw shook the wrestling world to its core.

While the move has generated considerable excitement across the Internet and will open opportunities for Superstars who may not have otherwise appeared on either Raw or SmackDown, it understandably raises questions about NXT.

As the hottest brand in professional wrestling, it features some of the most talented men and women in the industry.

But what happens when WWE's main-roster brands are in need of more Superstars to fill out their lineups? Naturally, they will turn to the developmental roster.

What will that do to NXT, its star power and its ability to maintain the critically acclaimed status it has achieved over the last two years?

Star Power

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Even with the recent losses of Enzo Amore, Colin Cassady, Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin and The Vaudevillains, NXT is still rife with young stars in waiting thanks to Triple H's ability to collect talent from all over the globe to replace them.

Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Bayley, Asuka, American Alpha, Austin Aries and Shinsuke Nakamura make up a nucleus of talent that has formed one of the most complete rosters in the sport.

Unfortunately, when WWE holds its latest draft, it will undoubtedly have to dip into that talent pool in order to fill out its Raw and SmackDown rosters.

That will take an enormous toll on the NXT roster and force Triple H and management to constantly span the globe to find new Superstars to replace those leaving.

Balor and Bayley, in particular, would be huge losses for NXT. From the dawn of the WWE Network, those two have helped define the brand. A large portion of the fanbase discovered NXT with the advent of the network, so they do not necessarily remember a time when Balor and Bayley were not prominently featured.

Taking them away to help strengthen Raw and SmackDown would force NXT to promote two other stars to that level. A quick look at the roster shows a distinct lack of stars who can be for NXT what Balor and Bayley have been over the last two years.

Nakamura is the closest thing to Balor, a charismatic showman whose knack for engaging the audience is one of his greatest strengths. But will he stick around long enough to carry the brand or will he be another casualty of the draft?

Replenishing star power will be difficult for NXT, but as he has proved countless times over the past three years, Triple H has an ability to talk the most coveted free agents in the business into joining his baby.

Adverse Effects?

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One of the biggest issues facing NXT beyond the diminishing of its star power is the continuity of its stories. No brand, no matter how strong it may be, can withstand the cycling in and out of Superstars without being plagued by incoherent stories.

Fans recently witnessed such a thing at TakeOver: Dallas, where Aries defeated Corbin in a fluke, suggesting that the issues between the two would bleed over into the next week's programming. Instead, Corbin was gone for the main roster the very next night, and Aries was left with nothing to do.

That is but one example.

Fans can expect more of the same if NXT regularly finds itself raided of talent. Stories will be incomplete or make little sense, with talent no longer associated with the brand appearing on television because of NXT's taped nature.

Unfortunately, inconsistencies would run wild.

Conclusion

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All of this is dependent upon Raw and SmackDown dipping into NXT for new talent.

If those two brands are sustained using the Superstars already on the main roster, the developmental brand will be fine. It is only if lineups for those brands are thin and in need of a boost in star power that things could become tricky for NXT.

There is no reason to believe that NXT cannot continue to thrive. There is a wealth of talent across the globe all looking for the opportunity to ply their craft under the WWE umbrella, and if NXT gives them that chance, so be it.

Fans have already seen Eric Young and Bobby Roode pop up in recent weeks, not to mention "Cowboy" James Storm.

As talent makes its exodus from TNA Wrestling, the possibility that they feed into NXT and resupply its star power is strong.

Do not forget about the brand's reliance on women's wrestling and tag teams to set itself apart.

There are dozens of talented women out there, particularly working for SHIMMER and SHINE, who could help strengthen that area of the roster as competitors like Emma and Dana Brooke move on up to Raw and SmackDown.

Then there are tag teams, the most prominent being The Young Bucks, who could make their presence felt in NXT and become just as big as the individual wrestlers on the roster.

The draft will most likely provide NXT with its fair share of hardships. It will be up to Triple H and the infrastructure he has put in place behind the scenes to ensure that it continues its run as the most buzzed-about entity in all of WWE.