10 Ways NXT Got Its Groove Back

Even the most optimistic wrestling fan would have to admit NXT has had a rough time of it these past few years.

After the golden era of 2015-2018, the show hit a slump following the emergence of AEW in 2019. The Wednesday Night Wars - where NXT went head-to-head with AEW Dynamite - saw NXT routinely drubbed by the upstart promotion, as fans turned away from a show that felt like Triple H was booking a bizarre pastiche of his own wrestling career (drab promos, po-faced presentation and matches so self-consciously epic they bordered on parody).

What followed next was, somehow, even worse.

The neon-splattered NXT 2.0 was a perfect representation of the decaying minds that birthed it. A hopeless attempt by a group of septuagenarian sociopaths to connect with a younger audience, NXT 2.0 was an embarrassing farrago of gimmicks that were hokey at best and downright offensive at worst

Fortunately, however, NXT has seen a resurgence over the past year. For a variety of reasons - from the development of its younger talent, to a generous approach to cross-promotion - NXT has escaped from the shadows of its recent past and emerged as a credible contender in the wrestling landscape once more. So if you're a lapsed viewer, or have never seen the show , let's take a look at why now is the perfect time to dive into WWE's most under-rated program.

Finn Balor, 2016; Gargano/Ciampa, 2018; Adam Cole, 2019.

Like vintage wine to a sommelier, recalling these names and dates can't help but bring a smile to the faces of any wrestling fan. Each of these wrestlers was responsible for making NXT appointment viewing, and they all played a crucial role in turning WWE's developmental program into the hottest wrestling show on the planet.

Unfortunately, like a vintage wine left open for too long, these NXT icons eventually soured and left a bitter taste in fans' mouths.

The implosion of Adam Cole's Undisputed Era faction, which had the potential to be the hottest storyline in NXT history, instead resulted in a sluggish morass of self-indulgent matches; Gargano and Ciampa's legendary feud stretched on too long and ended with the abysmally poor One Final Beat (aptly described by WhatCulture's Michael Hamflett as  "One Giant W*nk); and Finn Balor's return to the brand as an ultra-serious veteran waszzzzzzzz...

These men deserve all the respect in the world for what they accomplished in NXT's black-and-gold days, but they needed to move on so NXT could start building for the future.  Which is not to say that NXT's renovation happened overnight...