10 Major Differences Talents Face Transitioning From NXT To WWE

8. Travel Schedule

Life on the road goes hand-in-hand with being a big-time professional wrestler. Anyone that has any hopes or dreams of one day making it to the WWE needs to expect and embrace a lifestyle of constant travelling. No doubt, often the hardest part of being a WWE performer is the rigorous touring schedule. Though it pales in comparison to what it was in the 1980s and 90s, the WWE superstars and divas of today are on the road for at least 80% of the year, even more when you take into account their "off-day" appearances. Airplanes, rental cars, hotel rooms, room service, and tour buses become the norm for pro-wrestlers and, as anyone that has done any sort of traveling in their careers know, that aspect alone can drain the life right out of you. But WWE superstars then have to go out, get into character and perform like mad men and women in an effort to entertain the crowd and put on an exciting show. To drastically understate the obvious, it's a tough, tiring job. Make no mistake, working for NXT is no walk in the park. It requires major sacrifice, dedication and commitment to the craft much like the main roster, but one thing that is lacking is the brutal travel schedule that WWE talents face. Yes, NXT recently began touring outside of Florida, but their live events still usually take place in the Sunshine State. Even when they do travel outside Florida, it's nowhere near as frequently or as incessantly as the talents seen on RAW, Smackdown and PPV. More often than not, NXT talents get to sleep in their own beds. With that said, traveling is the nature of the beast and NXT talents that come up to WWE will face a significantly busier road life.