WWE Star Says NXT > NXT 2.0 Change Was "Necessary"

This WWE man didn't think the old brand was really hitting heights it once did anyway.

Wade Barrett
WWE

WWE announcer Wade Barrett believes the company's change from NXT to NXT 2.0 was "necessary" because the third brand wasn't what it once was anyway.

Barrett told 'Busted Open Radio' that NXT "wasn’t really serving as that traditional developmental show that we once had when I went through OVW or Florida Championship Wrestling". Instead, it was more akin to a celebration of everything great about independent wrestling between 2002-2015 (-ish) with superior WWE production.

That's a fair point.

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Wade is also happy to see "people like Carmelo Hayes, Tiffany Stratton and Bron Breakker" thrive under the new system. He's not sure that would've been the case had WWE still been headhunting some of the best from companies like ROH, IMPACT and other indy feds.

Now, thanks to NXT 2.0, these workers have a better chance to hone their craft and get ready for life on WWE's top shows like Raw and SmackDown in the future. It's worth noting that Vince McMahon's retirement will probs help with that.

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The Vin-man never seemed to get Triple H's vision for NXT, and he clearly couldn't wait to get in there and effect change.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.