8 Things That Probably Led To Triple H's WWE Demotion
4. The Risk-Free NXT Format Has Come Back To Haunt Him...
Triple H's vision for NXT worked very well in the context of the WWE Network.
After a few glorious years helmed by Ryan Ward, the show flourished as what felt like an actual alternative to WWE; the Independent scene had not yet exploded into wildly creative, polarising life, and AEW was years away from forming and restoring much of pro wrestling's old spirit and booking mechanisms. Over time, the adventure and experimentation of women's wrestling and the tag team revival receded as part of the savvy quest for critical acclaim that manifested as viable, arena-sized TakeOver shows.
It was at this point - around 2017 - that the NXT TV show depended more on its Independent stars than compelling storylines and emotive character arcs. It became a functional and rather dry vehicle with which to present these stars to a hardcore fan subset eager for a more wrestling-oriented product, but the TakeOver shows only generated real buzz. The Network show was solid, quite unremarkable, and WWE's video production department expertly packaged the story beats in three-minute vignettes. The taped format didn't help the growing notion that the show had become skippable - but nor did the only-solid programmes.
NXT was exhilarating at the destination, but the journey wasn't particularly creative - which may have undone NXT's transition to TV...