10 Ways WWE Can Fix Their Broken Face/Heel Alignment System
7. Take Pointers From NXT
The most frustrating thing about WWE's inability to book believable faces and heels is that the answers are right under their nose.
NXT's alignments aren't always perfect, but the brand's recent history is full of stunning success stories. Kevin Owens was put over strongly as the most despicable person in the company on his very first night. Bayley's slow-burning underdog story was the perfect realisation of her plucky, spirited character. Johnny Gargano is wrestling's purest babyface in 2017. The Revival were popular, but always had the crowd jeering them by the time their matches ended. The list goes on.
Following these blueprints to a tee won't always deliver the same results on the main roster's bigger stages, but this is one of the many ways in which Raw and SmackDown could learn from their developmental sibling. Characters like Bayley have lost so much lustre in transitioning to the mainstream that they often feel like lame parodies of their former selves.
The dilution has killed their popularity, and while Vince McMahon's pride may prevent him from acknowledging that his son-in-law's pet project creates infinitely stronger faces and heels than the main roster, doing so would go a long way to fixing the problem.