The Rise & Fall Of WWE NXT
The latest NXT doomscroll has informed a take that will likely get louder in the weeks and months to come now that every title on 2.0 is in the possession of somebody exclusively of the brand new era.
It's time for the letters themselves to go.
This isn't as damning on Triple H (unlike just about every decision Vince McMahon has made in the last 18 months) as it might first sound. In its current form, the black-and-gold brand's mostly-awesome legacy simply cannot be tied to this. Certainly no more than the Full Sail era could in any way be connected to Wade Barrett, Keval, Kaitlyn and Johnny Curtis' pyrrhic victories on the original format. The visceral euphoria of a TakeOver is past tense, and so too should be the initials.
Bron Breakker smashed a logo to pieces but proudly holds aloft a belt adorned by the very thing he destroyed. It's not just the big yellow X - none of the pieces fit anymore, and while NXT's rise felt as much for the consumers as it did 'The Game', its fall seems firmly rooted back in the command of a Vince McMahon determined to have one last go at promoting big lads, generations after they've been wrestling's primary concern.
"Death of NXT" has been far too familiar a phrase over the last few years. It's time to at least let those that loved it mourn its passing in peace.