The One Faction WWE Need To Push In 2019
The aforementioned War Raiders/Black examples are too easy to stumble upon. Way too easy. There's a precedent for this, but the supply lines were drastically different back when WWE were trying to make "Superstars" out of "rasslers". In quotations there for Vince McMahon himself - his need to repackage virtually everybody he hired was frustrating, but broadly justifiable. The Chairman wanted ownership not just over the persona he had in mind but the person portraying it. The more they invested in his vision, the more they became locked into his investment.
In 2019, this happens the moment they walk into the company's futuristic Orlando gym. "Property Of Performance Center" is literally written across their chests in promotional t-shirt shots of smiling rank-and-files called Trevor and Steffanie before they're permitted to shine as Ricochet and Tegan Nox. The indoctrination occurs in front of an audience, rather than before they're exposed to one.
NXT's on-screen product miraculously remains unstained by that known, cold reality. Unchanged by an ever-changing roster. Unchallenged in its position as the best all-encompassing product in the world. And crucially, it's still significantly accessible for all to see.
WWE purists are welcomed in from the mundanity of the main roster via talent trades and shared space on the Network. New Japan loyalists are well-serviced with elite level workrate and a brand of Sports Entertainment that writes to inform and enhance the enjoyment rather than hijack it. Intergenerational lightning rod Dave Meltzer showers most major shows with his divisive stars, but comments section curmudgeons typing "FDM" with one hand are buying TakeOver tickets with the other. The TakeOver cards are routinely the hottest prospects in that particular town, too - the Barclays Center Raw and SmackDown tapings following WrestleMania had seats to spare in comparison to the jam-packed Friday night delight.
This is tragically why one of the show's hottest acts should be airlifted off of the fantasy island now, even if choppy waters await. WWE loves the numbers game, and it's time to revisit an old trope to make four new stars in one foul swoop.
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