8 Ways NXT System Might Be Setting Up New WWE Superstars To Fail

4. Sillier Gimmicks Prosper On NXT

This is partly to do with the crowd, and partly to do with NXT's willingness to let characters and storylines grow slowly. Look at Emma. She started in NXT as a self-deluded heel, a clumsy dancer who thought that she much more graceful than she was. The NXT crowd, having a better overall sense of humour than most wrestling crowds in the world, warmed to her and began to cheer her. Slowly but surely, the fans respect for her in-ring talents and for her perseverance with a silly gimmick got her over. Really over. Her weird dancing became a mini-phenomenon and as he stomped to the ring the entire audience would be mimicking her. On the main roster she was a major flop. Anyone not familiar with her toil and graft in NXT simply saw her as more WWE-brand 'wackiness' and dismissed her poorly-showcased but considerable wrestling skills. Teaming her with old joke Santino Marella didn't help either. Emma has now returned to NXT to rediscover herself. It's a cautionary tale that more out-there wrestlers NXT wrestlers like Tyler Breeze, The Vaudevillians and Enzo & Big Cass would do well to heed. Of course, there was another thing that crippled Emma's chances before she started...