10 Things To Expect With Triple H Running WWE Creative
3. Rivalries That Don't Overstay Their Welcome
When reflecting back on the golden years of NXT, one thing that jumps out is how well the brand handled rivalries.
In Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano, Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe, Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens, the Revival vs. American Alpha, Bayley vs. Sasha Banks, and Adrian Neville vs. Bo Dallas, you have just a small sample of how the NXT brand could deliver a pitch-perfect rivalry.
Key to the success of such battles, is that any two opponents or two teams weren't paired together for any longer than they needed to be. These feuds were there to serve a purpose, and wrestlers would move on once said purpose was achieved. For Neville and Dallas, this was all about the nowadays-PAC pursuing the brand's top prize. Once that was achieved, Bo didn't outstay his welcome and spend another three months chasing Neville. In fact, this whole rivalry consisted of four singles matches, with only one of these bouts coming after the Geordie's big NXT Title win.
In comparison, some variation of the Usos vs. Street Profits has been featured in over ten televised matches across the past three months ahead of the tandems squaring off yet again at SummerSlam.
That's not to say the Triple H-led NXT didn't do longer rivalries when needed, and that was again part of the charm of how such conflicts were managed. If Samoa Joe and Finn Balor's beef warranted three TakeOvers matches, three TakeOver matches was what it got. If the situation between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa meant that the rivalry brewed over several years, so be it.
The main roster obviously has more TV time to fill, and thus rematches are naturally more common. Likewise, the purpose of NXT being to get talents ready for Raw or SmackDown means available talent is ever-changing, but Triple H has shown he knows when to call time on a rivalry.