4. The Creative Team
The WWE is the McMahon familys bread and butter, which is fair enough, given how Vince McMahon has transformed the company from a regional promotion into an international powerhouse over the space of thirty one years, absorbing or putting most of his rivals out of business in the process. As a part of the creative process, however, Vince is prone to engaging in executive meddling making decisions based on his own personal preferences rather than those of his products fans. Its a practice that may continue as his son-in-law Triple H gradually takes over the company, given how frequently the 13-time former World champion has been accused of burying talent to further his own career in the past, though the recent pushes given to internet favourites such as Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler may hint at him being more content to listen to the companys customers (who are always right, as the famous marketing saying goes) than his predecessor. Either way, Triple H appears to take a hands-off approach to NXT, being invested in the concept but content to give the shows team of dedicated personnel, as well as the wrestlers on the roster themselves, a degree of free reign in the development of the characters. Hall-of-famer Dusty Rhodes functions as commissioner and creative director, drawing from his experience of booking for Jim Crockett Promotions (the precursor of WCW) in the eighties. He and the shows other writers are aided by their knowledge of the business and its fanbase, in stark contrast to the former soap opera writers that have been a part of the Raw and Smackdown writing teams in recent years. Together with the input of the wrestlers themselves (Bray Wyatt, for instance, who is currently making waves on the main roster following his debut a few weeks ago, was largely the brainchild of his portrayer Windham Rotunda, who was previously burdened with the awful Husky Harris persona by others), the creative team have succeeded greatly in creating a show that although associated with the WWE, feels very different.