10 Most Desperate Ways WWE Got You To Watch

7. Here's Some NXT Guys!

NXT Call Ups
WWE

In a development loaded with irony, given the discourse surrounding a certain promotion's method of debuting new talent, WWE in 2019 debuted four talents at once on the main roster in 2019.

Vince McMahon's promise of change failed to materialise, and fans didn't connect with the last round of NXT talents that were called up to brush paint on rust. EC3, Lars Sullivan, Lacey Evans, Heavy Machinery and Nikki Cross barely even debuted. EC3 didn't talk, Lacey Evans didn't wrestle, and you can't remember a single thing that the other three acts did, be honest.

Ricochet, Aleister Black, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa followed mere weeks later, balls-deep into WrestleMania season i.e. when you were theoretically meant to care most about the existing roster as they entered the "season finale" of WWE programming.

The tacit implication was some self-own; WWE with unashamed desperation all but said "You're bored as f*ck of everybody else because we can't book, so here are some new faces, leave us alone".

Ricochet was a man who did flips.

Aleister Black in the words of Michael Cole via Vince McMahon was "moody".

Ciampa and Gargano meanwhile, despite being involved in a blood feud, were brought up as #DIY. And yes, Ciampa looked at Gargano funny, and he did the same thing when invading SmackDown alongside Adam Cole, but looking at an opponent with one eye doesn't count as continuity.

It's no wonder he was mentored by Shawn Michaels.

 
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Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK 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 AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE 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!