WWE Needs To Eliminate NXT
And, as has been written on this author page before, the reactive, grabby counter-booking to Dynamite's long-term booking is a sad and short-sighted strategy that, over time, has chipped away at the idea that NXT is not a WWE product. It is, and the soullessness that comes with it has also created a shift in perception of what a booked, unscripted alternative really looks like.
On the subject of Dynamite, there is not inconsiderable evidence on those undercards to suggest that something like a Performance Center is necessary (in limited instances) as a finishing school of sorts - particularly now, when mass lockdowns make it all but impossible to get those crucial reps in. But - and this mentality is shaped by an arrogance that explains so much - there's a more sinister reason why a Keith Lee didn't just appear on the main roster on day one, and it is because they didn't trust him to. "Development," in this context, is effectively code for control. Regulate. Wrestling legend Minoru Suzuki rather uncharitably described this process thusly:
"So the kids go in, and they train, and their trainers find what the gaps are in their games, and they try to fill those gaps right up. So you have this perfectly smooth, grey lump of boring trash."
That's harsh, and he was building a programme, but it's not inaccurate. The Keith Lee Vs. Dominik Dijakovic series illustrates how backwards it has all become. They got over as a pairing by working bomb blast spectacles they had to physical right to work. With no worthwhile creative on NXT, the fans were left to infer this on Wednesdays when their feud resumed. It wasn't as good.
It was WWE's version of something that worked so well because it was removed from the transition-heavy WWE style. Keith Lee is a WWE wrestler now. Candice LeRae does acting. So, so many of them stare at their hands in disbelief. They aren't better wrestlers or performers so much as they are what WWE wants them to be, whether it suits them or not.
There is no real need for NXT. Except there is. WWE doesn't just gobble up every indie talent with something of a buzz around them.
CONT'D...(4 of 6)