10 Reasons Why WWE's Problems Aren't Going Away

9. NXT Is No Longer The Future

Saudi Trouble
WWE.com

NXT feels significantly less like the future, or the dream alternative, in the wake of All Elite Wrestling.

NXT at its best is an excellent show, but it's an excellent WWE show. The promos are still scripted, and they come off as stilted and functional in contrast to something like Chris Jericho's fabulous improvisations, in which he works out how to be an even bigger jerk in real time. Luxuriating in the freedom, his "Calm down, hillbillies," taunt on last week's Dynamite was a piss-funny byproduct of confidence, experimentation and agency.

NXT angles are often simple, one-sided beat-downs, leading to stand-tall tropes or civil IRL match graphics carried by the reaction of the Full Sail crowd. The presentation of everything is meticulously WWE: unlike the main roster, plots are threaded from A to B to C, mostly, but the entrance music cues, and the blocking of the showdowns, converges to create something scripted and not particularly vital nor extemporaneous.

Too much is patterned down to the calendar; it was odd, when William Regal didn't declare WarGames after the big melee on the Network portion of the USA debut. That is because it was September. Events are contained to that calendar, rigidly, in a way that is revealing. Slighter, technically advanced workhorses are built as stars on NXT, but it's no longer as refreshing.

You might disagree with all this. The numbers don't.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential 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 former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!