7 Things WWE's Main Roster And Creative Team Can Learn From NXT Rival

6. Book More Guys Against Each Other Who Have Pre-Established Chemistry

A huge part of what makes NXT so great is that it's basically a show where you're guaranteed that a bunch of indy and globally-travelled veterans who know each other incredibly well are going to have great matches against each other on a bigger stage. Any permutation of Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Solomon Crowe, Adrian Neville, Hideo Itami and Finn Balor are going to have amazing pro wrestling matches with each other because they've literally done it zillions of times before. Add in WWE main roster stalwarts Cesaro, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Daniel Bryan into that mix and oh my, you're going to have something special when they get into the ring with each other. Have you heard of the phrase "familiarity breeds contempt?" Maybe if VInce McMahon didn't likely believe it so much, we'd be able to get more TV matches featuring wrestlers who have great pre-established chemistry with each other. John Cena and Randy Orton's "great matches" against each other have become fairly commonplace. As a template though, it should firmly establish the idea that guys who have wrestled each other tens (or hundreds) of times can absolutely tear the house down every time. In an era where fan support for the product is at a low, throwing the fans a bone on the mid-card might stem the tide of fan apathy for the product. Similar to WCW in 1998 (a company not entirely sure of what's happening in the main event), a rock-solid mid-card can make a world of difference.
Contributor
Contributor

Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.