Before it was a developmental territory, NXT was a game show/wrestling program that ran on the SyFy Network. The premise was that a group of "rookies" would each be assigned a veteran from the WWE roster who would coach them and help improve their skills. Then, fans would vote to eliminate contestants, with the last one left getting a contract and a shot at a championship. Hopes were not high for the third season, though not only was the show cancelled and forced to become an internet-only broadcast, but the entire cast was made up of would-be Divas. Some, like Naomi and AJ Lee, have proven themselves as competent workers, but others, well, didn't. Maxine (who wrestled future Divas' Champion Kaitlyn in what was voted the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Worst Match of the Year) never really got much of a chance. She failed to win the show, then returned on the fifth season of NXT, subtitled "Redemption." After running romance storylines with Derrick Bateman (now Ethan Carter III in TNA) and Johnny "Fandango" Curtis, she finally debuted on Raw. Still, her career went nowhere, and in June of 2012, she requested her release from the company. Today, she is part of the Mark Burnett/AAA production Lucha Underground.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
