10 Serious Problems With WWE Right Now
3. The NXT System Is Flawed
Over the past couple of years, WWE has managed to make developmental territory NXT into the hottest brand in wrestling. While the group is having trouble drawing money on the road, loyal fans love the product. In fact, many of the most often cited criticisms for Raw and Smackdown don't apply to the typically straightforward NXT.
Unfortunately, trying to keep NXT strong has created its own problems for WWE. Ostensibly, a developmental territory is supposed to get wrestlers ready for the big time, but NXT is more than a developmental territory - they tour, run shows in large arenas, and have a show than fans around the world can watch. The old rules don't apply.
As a result, NXT needs star power, which means that wrestlers end up staying there way longer than they should. It took Finn Balor two years to get to Raw, while Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura are both on the brand despite being more talented than 95% of the main roster superstars. Smackdown, especially, could use one or both of those men, but instead, they're busy spending their late 30s in development.