10 Major Challenges Facing WWE In 2021

5. Setting Up The New NXT

Roman Reigns
WWE

Recent reports posited the prospect of an NXT sub-promotion launching in the near future that will look to separate the Wednesday Night USA Network roster from those still in need of significant training and seasoning.

This will do away with the bad faith actors that still refer to the black-and-gold brand as "developmental", but how exactly can/will it function as a successful television show?

If WWE's rationale is that the segments starring newcomers no longer works on a show losing a ratings war, then that's sort of their tough sh*t for starting it. Furthermore, if not enough people are watching those bits, why on earth would more tune in for another show featuring nothing but them?

NXT UK hasn't got much of audience, and thus already feels like the promotion their pitching on home soil. For every Walter/Ilja Dragunov, there's...every other match that's aired on NXT UK in the past two years. It's going to be quite the juggling act - an American version of whatever that show is would surely share its struggles, all while the original NXT needs a bit of TLC in its own right.

(Tender loving care. Christ, no more ladder matches on there for a while, please...)

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett