WWE Needs To Eliminate NXT

Kieth Lee Damien Priest
NXT

NXT has much to do with this feeling because the debutants that should function to create new chapters have already gathered considerable dust. This isn't helped, of course, by the fact that the 75 year-old Vince McMahon is now largely incapable of effectively promoting the smaller and faster talent he isn't predisposed to getting behind in the first place.

It's easy to be snarky, if one is disillusioned by the system, but it's very easy to be reductive about it because the approach is so basic now.

Sign name indie talent > give them a new name, depending on the direction of the wind on any given day > give them a preposterous nickname, like the 'Archer of Infamy', in lieu of an authentic-feeling, three-dimensional character > iron out perceived flaws that quite often are selling points > train them in the anti-art of cutting scripted promos > in a final lick of polish, carefully curate an entrance pose that often no-sells the situation they find themselves in and breaks the spell of suspended disbelief.

Doesn't matter if the story dictates an immediate, pissed-off beat-down. There's a hard camera to work.

What's dumber is that NXT is more pointless than that; even Vince McMahon doesn't consider it fit for purpose. The system exists to develop his talent so that they reach a level by which they can start on TV, except, when they arrive on TV, Vince attempts to configure an out-of-the-box product, rendering actual years a complete waste of time.

NXT in parallel has also relinquished its position as the cool main roster alternative, and exists now, quite desperately and pathetically, to siphon viewers away from what is ostensibly its replacement: AEW Dynamite.

CONT'D...(3 of 6)

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!