WWE likes to bill itself as the pinnacle of sports entertainment and the wrestling world at large. When big independent stars sign with WWE, they talk about how their ultimate goal was making it to the big show (not to be confused with Paul Wight). It is supposed to be where the best of the best ply their trade. So what does it say when WWEs developmental system holds an outstanding special event three days before WWEs PPV and WWE cant exceed or even match NXTs overall performance? It wasnt even close. WWE writers and wrestlers saw NXTs (R)Evolution and knew that these are the hungry young guns looking to take some peoples spots in the main promotion, and the company laid an egg with Tables, Ladders & Chairs. The womens championship matches exemplify the difference between the two promotions, with Charlotte and Sasha Banks showing they could come up to WWE tomorrow and outshine most of the Divas roster. Both Tag Team Championship matches featured comedy teams, but the Vaudevillains actually function like a credible, championship-caliber team. The NXT Championship match featured multiple ref bumps, but it actually added to the story being told during the match rather than serving as a way to give John Cena a visual victory. WWE knew they had been called out by NXT and couldnt deliver. Thats a poor statement from the pinnacle of sports entertainment.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
