10 Problems WWE Caused Themselves With NXT

Shinsuke Nakamura spent a year in NXT. He came in having been a bonafide superstar in Japan, a man who New Japan still references to this day for his work building up the Intercontinental Title. Yet, when he came to the 'big leagues' it wasn’t riding on a blaze of glory, it was to be dropped into developmental because he needed to figure out where the hard camera was.

And true, Nakamura did struggle with that, but it doesn’t change the fact that for a whole year he was wasted in NXT. There were some great matches - although he never eclipsed his debut with Sami Zayn - but was it all worth it? It’s no secret that his body is mainly held together by tape and in a year when he could have been making WWE money and stealing the show, he instead rotted on the Network.

He’s not alone either. Samoa Joe, Sami Zayn, Tye Dillinger, and countless others stuck around on NXT longer than they needed to. For some of them, it paid off. They came up in style and are reaping the benefits. For others, it apparently made no difference at all. NXT gives WWE a chance to waste talent, and they are more than willing to do it.