6. Breeding Ground For NXT
Ever since the launch of the WWE Network in February 2014, the popularity of WWE's NXT brand has grown so much that Triple H, the brains behind the brand, no longer calls it a developmental system. As unexpected as the growth may have been, the primary focus of NXT is still to get the talents prepared for the main roster. That being the case, there is still no clear strategy for how to properly introduce the WWE audience to the characters of NXT. In some cases, there seems to be little strategy or planning done for some of the call-ups (The Ascension and Adam Rose come to mind) whereas others have been thrown into high-profile programs immediately upon being brought up (Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, Charlotte, Paige). Why not make SmackDown the unofficial bridge between NXT and Monday Night RAW? The WWE tested these waters somewhat with their most recent call-up, Tyler Breeze. While history will be the judge as to whether or not Breeze's transition to the main roster is a success, I think starting the NXT graduates out on SmackDown makes perfect sense. Again, like many of the suggested improvements, it all comes down to how motivated WWE is and how far they really want to take SmackDown. Being the B-show, the benefits for the NXT stars include performing in front of crowds that are bigger than the Performance Center but not necessarily as big as your average Monday Night Raw audience. It would be less of a shock to the athletes to gradually move from NXT to SmackDown before heading to RAW and it would likely see an increase in support for SmackDown by the loyal NXT audience.