How Long Until WWE Ruins The New NXT Call-Ups? A Scientific Study

An Inconvenient Truth.

by Michael Sidgwick
Tommaso Ciampa Aleister Black Ricochet Johnny Gargano
WWE

Context & Background:

Holy sh*t, WWE just called up four of the best professional wrestlers on the planet— and very few people in the arena cared!

Don’t blame the crowd. Blame the professional wrestling promotion, and look at the adjective: promotion. The idea is, or was, to p r o m o t e talent and the contests in which they perform. The action itself isn’t incidental, or even secondary, but you don’t serve that sh*t cold. Nobody will eat it.

“Can you feel it?” Triple H said to open Monday Night RAW. “Can you feel it in the air? We are on the Road to WrestleMania!” he followed up, and he could have fooled us, because the direction of the current main roster is so uncertain that we have no idea yet of what WrestleMania 35 might look like. Also, since four new NXT acts debuted on the show, this felt almost like the RAW After WrestleMania. The putrid RAW upper midcard is such that this drastic measure was taken. Bobby Lashley, Jinder Mahal, Elias, Baron Corbin…none of these performers are remotely worthy of a feature singles WrestleMania match, and thus, they are afterthoughts.

But how long until Ricochet, Aleister Black, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa become afterthoughts?

“I am about to pour gas on the fire,” Triple H continued, before announcing the call-ups. Triple H and Vince McMahon, in mentality, are like oil and water. Bearing in mind who is in charge, we know—with certainty—what’s going to happen to that fire. This is going to happen. Don’t think that this won’t happen. Triple H flubbed his line, momentarily racked, perhaps, by a terrifying vision of the future. “Let me try that again,” he said. But there are no do-overs in WWE.

The first impression is everything.

CONT'D...(1 of 5)

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!