WWE's NXT: Why It Is Not a Complete Waste of Time.

We are now into the third season of WWE’s NXT, a Tough Enough like search for WWE’s “Next Breakout Star”. The show (well, mostly this all Diva’s season) has been heavily criticised by some and enjoyed by others. There is also a large majority of WWE fans that simply do not care, and to be honest, I usually fall into the 'Simply Do Not Care' category. The show, which debuted back in March, was devised to replace ECW, but as we all know, Vincent Kennedy McMahon is one of the smartest businessmen on the planet.  I believe the whole show was devised as part of a bigger plan.

This plan was to bring in several new wrestlers to the main roster at once in order to shake everything up a little bit and create a new breed of Superstars. And what better way to do it than to introduce a new show which would place a group of “Rookies” onto a large platform and give the people at WWE an idea of who the fans would appreciate seeing on the main roster the most?

The idea of NXT is relatively simple; 8 wrestlers, hand picked from WWE’s developmental territory FCW, would spend a couple of months battling it out with each other on the mic and in the ring. These “Rookies” would have Pro’s, 8 handpicked WWE Superstars, who would coach them throughout their journey. After a few weeks, the fans and the Pro’s would decide who will be sent home and the last episode would see one man being crowned the “NXT Breakout Star”. He would be placed on the main roster and given a title shot. The remaining seven men would be sent back to FCW, sans WWE contract.

Or so we were led to believe.

I mean, let’s be serious here. Looking at Season 1 of NXT, did we really think Justin Gabriel and David Otunga were just going to be sent packing, for us never to see them again? It was never going to happen that way. The easy solution WWE Creative devised?

Round up all Season 1 rookies, give them all contracts on the main roster and have them desecrate Monday Night RAW week after week in an NWO like storyline.

It would introduce EIGHT new guys to the current roster at once and create a new, exciting angle. Kill two birds with one stone.

What was the alternative? For Wade Barrett to be the only one to gain a contract, leaving the remaining 7 men to return to FCW and eventually come down to the main roster at a later time, only to be placed in the midcard in awful storylines and then be future endeavoured within two years. Wade Barrett, the winner, would only end up losing in the end anyway. Sure, he’d get his title shot, but then Creative would go on to badly misuse him and waste all of the potential there. Plus, he wouldn’t have much credibility when coming up to the main roster either, being the winner of a wrestling ‘reality’ show. Think about how much of a shame that would have been.

Furthermore, despite Daniel Bryan being ‘fired’ following Tiegate, he was brought back only a few months later to be pushed to the heavens by becoming the United States Champion within months. How often do we see this happening to newcomers?

Then Season 2 of NXT. Kaval won, moved over to Smackdown, only to lose his first two matches. Exactly. This is just a prime example of how easy it is for the NXT guys and girls to become jobbers, eternally lost in the midcard. And it’s a shame, because Kaval is an extremely talented guy. Hopefully, Creative turns this around soon, and gives him a chance to shine.

But look at the rest of the Season 2 cast. After attacking Kaval on the final episode, most disappeared for a while, despite Michael McGillicutty’s talk of a “Genesis”. Most people assumed this would go on to be Season 2’s answer to Nexus. I’m not surprised it didn’t, as that attack was a mess. Botching and no selling all over the place, it was like watching a Kelly Kelly match. Afterwards, Alex Riley would get a contract anyway and appear on RAW as The Miz’s personal assistant. At Hell In A Cell, Husky Harris and McGillicutty interfered during the Cena/Barrett match and cost Cena the match.

It looks as if these two are going to become part of Nexus, giving them both contracts on the main roster and big pushes, while reinvigorating the stale Nexus storyline. Two birds, one stone. I’m not at all surprised with Lucky Cannon, Eli Cottonwood and Titus O’Neil not being given contracts on the main roster, as all proved themselves to have little wrestling/mic skills. I honestly hope it stays this way. When it comes to ‘Showtime’ Percy Watson, who knows what the future holds for him?

So following NXT Season 2, three of the seven ‘losers’ were given contracts and are doing more than the ‘winner’ Kaval is. Funny how that works.

And now we’re onto Season 3, a season made up of only Diva’s. It’s no secret that Vince McMahon is unhappy with the Diva’s at the moment, with several being released this year and Tiffany (Taryn Terrell) being suspended for a short while. Many believe that this is the reason behind a Diva’s season, and I fully agree.

All of the girls (apart from Kaitlyn) were picked straight from FCW. Granted, not all of them are amazing wrestlers, but AJ Lee and Naomi Night are a hell of a lot more talented than several of the Diva’s on the current roster. I have no doubt that both women will be brought up to the main roster anyway, regardless of the outcome of Season 3. Another sure bet is Kaitlyn, who, despite having the least in ring experience, is being given the most screen time. Seriously, she’s already involved in a love triangle storyline with Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero. How many of the Diva’s on the main rosters have an angle right now? Very few.

I have a feeling some of the other girls will find themselves on the main roster too, in an attempt to shake the Diva’s Division up a little bit too. It’ll be easier as well, with there only being six Diva rookies, and coupled with the rumours of McMahon wanting to release a few of the current Diva’s in coming months, it looks like there’ll be room for them.

Is there a problem with NXT working like this? I can see why people would disagree with the results, but I think what they are doing is great. With many of the older guys retiring and getting older each day, the WWE needs to be prepared. Bringing a whole load of guys and girls up to the main roster at once, like with the Nexus, is preparation at its finest. It’s giving us new main eventers, new champions, and new storylines whilst giving the most talented of the FCW roster the pushes of their careers.

Let’s face it, without Nexus, the past few months of the WWE would’ve been god-awful. Without NXT, Nexus would not have happened. The show itself may be unwatchable at times, but the aftermath is definitely worth the couple of months of green matches and lame promo’s.

-Leva Lies.