How Did WWE Botch Shinsuke Nakamura but Strike Gold with Elias Samson?

Shinsuke Nakamura and Elias Samson were worlds apart in NXT, but under the bright lights of WWE, Samson is somehow outgunning the living legend. 

Nakamura is a world-beater and wrestling icon whose towering successes in New Japan Pro Wrestling and NXT made him a shoo-in to seek and destroy on WWE's main roster. 

Elias Samson was a middle-of-the road character dubbed "The Drifter." This appropriately described the wavering interest level that NXT fans had for a truly developmental prospect who was a surprise choice to be called up to the main roster. In fact, Samson's one shining moment in NXT was as his one-night-only alter ego, El Vagabundo. In what would prove to be his sendoff at NXT Takeover: Orlando, El Vagabundo received the type of ironic support from the Amway Arena that helped build NXT into a live-event spectacle. 

Samson seems to have somehow ridden that momentum right onto the main roster, but this time around he isn't an ironic heel. In fact, at the moment, Samson just might be the top heel in WWE based on the type of overwhelmingly negative crowd reactions wrestling villains are supposed to receive. 

Each week, Samson uses the time-tested formula of insulting local fans, but with a musical twist. And each week, fans have become more and more livid in ways that are reminiscent of responses to Ravishing Rick Rude's rage-inducing pelvic thrusts. 

With so much cynicism and entitlement polluting pro wrestling audiences these days, some have wondered whether Samson is getting the "right type of heat," as if a heel needs to be enjoyed or beloved in order to be effective.

This is garbage logic.

You know what the wrong type of heat is for a heel? The male cheers that reign down when Kevin Owens' music hits. At that point, the all-important aspect of good vs. evil, which is instrumental to most great wrestling matches, is compromised. 

And as Samson grows into a truly impressive performer who is destined to receive those pesky cheers for effective heel work, Nakamura seems lost. 

One minute he's The Artist. The next, he's The Rockstar. Nakamura has described the WWE ring as his "playground." With so much unnecessary over-branding, Nakamura is becoming WWE's version of a NASCAR driver.

WWE books Nakamura to exploit his one true weakness, as he is made to cut long-winded promos in a language he does not speak fluently. 

I was once convinced that Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline (h/t YouTube) was physically incapable of having an unbiased, negative opinion of Nakamura. But even he couldn't hold in his criticism while reviewing Nakamura's debut match against Dolph Ziggler at Backlash, calling it "underwhelming" and saying it "was just there."  

Bryan Alvarez followed up by saying the match "did not do [Nakamura] any favors," and the former NXT champion "came off as totally overhyped." 

The surprising differences in early success on the main roster has much to do with WWE's philosophies with these two Superstars. In Samson, Raw is simply allowing him to exist exactly how he did in NXT, and it's connecting with fans. In Nakamura, SmackDown Live is tinkering with an already successful template, seemingly setting him up to fail with by putting him in a questionably booked match that opened Backlash after several weeks of main event-level promotion. 

The current trajectories of these two members of NXT's class of 2017 also speak to a disconnect between main-roster fans and those who attend live events at NXT. 

Using the same exact gimmick that played to apathy in NXT, Samson has somehow found his calling on the main roster. Nakamura, who seemed as close to a can't-miss prospect as it gets, has yet to do so.

With the recent struggles of Bayley and Sasha Banks, perhaps this is evidence of WWE getting over-excited about successful acts in NXT. WWE jumped the gun by crowning Bayley a world champion early in her run on the Raw roster despite the fact that her appeal is as an underdog who constantly comes up short. 

Sasha Banks enjoyed similar early success but quickly came crashing back down to earth. She is currently one-half of an awkward pairing with Rich Swann of the haunted cruiserweight division. 

Whether there is a disconnect or not, there's nothing wrong with WWE using the exact same principles and concepts that worked at a lower level and allowing transcendent stars to do the rest. 

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.