10 Times NXT Was As Dumb As WWE's Main Roster
8. Solomon Crowe Is A Hackerman
WWE have a weird history with trying to reinvent previously hardcore/deathmatch-proficient superstars into the damnedest characters. CZW Hall of Famer Drake Younger became docile NXT ref Drake Wuertz, Jon Moxley infamously became Dean Ambrose, and former ECW Champion Taz came in to reconcile his feelings with the announcer's table to name but a few.
Another experiment was Sami Callihan, a veteran of the indies, making appearances for HWA, Evolve, ROH, and CZW, where he was a multi-time champion and won the 2012 Best of the Best XI tournament.
Callihan made his TV debut with NXT in February 2015 under the name Solomon Crowe, a hacker who controlled arena electronics using a tablet. A kind of hokey character with an "interesting" look, fans still had high hopes for Crowe but NXT proved to not the place for him to prosper, going on to have a lengthy losing streak with no long-term goals in sight, leading to Callihan asking for his release in the November - less than a year after his TV debut.
An indie star with all the promise in the world, let down by a failed gimmick and lacklustre booking. Doesn't that sound familiar, T-Bar?