I’ve been a fan of NXT, to varying degrees, since the brand debuted back in 2010. I watched when NXT was a quasi-reality competition show, when it was a developmental “territory” with almost all “rookies” on the roster, when focus shifted to putting on “independent wrestling all-star” shows, and I’m still watching now in the NXT 2.0 era.
In the last 11-and-a-half years, I’ve seen ups and downs, all-time classic matches, boneheaded decisions, future Hall Of Famers born, controversies, and just about everything in between.
Right now, I have to make a confession. I have no fucking idea what WWE is doing with NXT.
None.
Whatsoever.
When we were treated to a “Wednesday Night War” between NXT and AEW, wrestling fans all over the globe were excited. It didn’t matter if you preferred NXT or AEW Dynamite… you were excited about the competition, and even more excited about the possibilities that it would bring. Pretty quickly, it became clear that NXT wasn’t going to win the “War.” They might win a battle here and there, but AEW had built up too much momentum and was giving enough wrestling fans what they wanted to see, and they weren’t going to be stopped.
There were 75 weeks where NXT and Dynamite went head-to-head (subtracting the weeks where one show didn’t air or one show aired on a different night due to basketball, hockey, etc.). In those 75 weeks, Dynamite had the higher viewership numbers 63 times, and the higher rating in the coveted 18-49 demographic a whopping 74 times. The only time NXT won that demographic was on December 18th, 2019. That was the episode bookended by title matches, with Adam Cole successfully defending the NXT title against Finn Balor kicking off the episode and Rhea Ripley continuing one of the most amazing “put the rocket on their back and send them to the moon” pushes in recent memory by defeating Shayna Baszler to win the NXT Women’s Title in the main event.
That is as thorough an ass kicking as you’re going to see. Once it was clear that NXT wasn’t going to benefit by competing with AEW, the decision was made to move NXT from Wednesday nights to Tuesdays. That meant that the “Wednesday Night War” was over, but everybody… EVERYBODY… saw NXT and Dynamite still in competition with each other. The shows would still try to stack episodes to top each other, and when ratings and viewership numbers came out for the week, they were still compared. Dynamite has continued to win the viewership numbers, except for a five-week stretch from May 28th to June 26th of this year, when the NBA Playoffs pushed the show to Friday and Saturday nights in later time slots. Even though NXT was pulling in more viewers during those five weeks, Dynamite was still winning, or at least tying, the battle for that 18-49 demographic.
The ass kicking was continuing. Over the last 14 weeks, Dynamite has had over one million viewers 11 times, with two weeks (979,000 on August 11th and 975,000 on August 18th) coming close and a third week (last week’s episode) seeing decreased numbers because of the aforementioned Saturday time slot. In that same 14 weeks, NXT’s highest viewership came during the September 14th episode, when it saw 770,000 viewers tuning in. Of course, the September 14th episode was the debut of the NXT 2.0 revamp, which brought in a 22% jump in viewers and a 33% jump in the 18-49 demographic from the previous week. Unfortunately for NXT, the viewership and key demo numbers are basically back to where they were before the revamp.
By the time you read these words, we will have had six episodes of NXT 2.0 to sit back and watch. I will say this one more time…
I have no fucking idea what WWE is doing with NXT.
There have been so many pieces coming and going in such a short period of time. Adam Cole is now in AEW. Austin Theory is on Raw. Hit Row is on their way to Smackdown, as is Ridge Holland, Xia Li, and Aliyah. People like Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, The Creed Brothers, Xyon Quinn, Trick Williams, Von Wagner, Tony D’Angelo, Joe Gacy, Lash Legend, Ivy Nile, Harland, and Cora Jade are now all over NXT television. For a while, it seemed like every segment of the NXT television show saw someone who was either making their overall debut or showing up under a brand new gimmick.
We knew that NXT was going in a younger direction with the 2.0 revamp, as it was reported ahead of time that just about everything was going to change. New, younger talent. A fresher aesthetic, with brighter colors and lighting. A more “mature” level of content. I just don’t think any of us were ready to see just how different things would become.
You have to start, and almost end, with all that roster shifting that took place.
In the world of WWE, debuts and repackaged characters tend to show up sparsely. If Wrestler B debuts soon after Wrestler A did, it can affect both of their pushes, their heat, and just the general way the public looks at them, especially if one of them is much better than the other. Usually, the only exception to this rule in WWE are the episodes of Raw and Smackdown that take place right after WrestleMania. We’ve seen episodes of those shows where multiple people make their debuts, whether it’s new people to the company or NXT call-ups, and there will be a return or two sprinkled into the mix, as well.
NXT 2.0 is giving us one debut after another after another. In and of itself, that is a problem. Compounding everything is the fact that some (most? all?) of these newcomers simply aren’t “ready” for television. Bron Breakker, as much as I have enjoyed his character thus far, has no business already competing for the NXT Title in a main event feud. Von Wagner has been working near the top of the NXT card, and he might be even further away from being “ready” than Breakker is. The new Joe Gacy character is awful. We only know what The Creed Brothers can do in squash matches. Same for Ivy Nile. Harland is about as different as can be compared to Parker Boudreaux when it comes to the way he looks, and we still have no idea how good he is in the ring. For all intents and purposes, watching a lot of NXT these days is like going to a local independent wrestling show held at the elementary school down the road from your house. You’re not going to see the legends of the business there. What you will see is a bunch of people who you don’t know, and you’ll have to form your own opinions of them after one match.
Where is the middle ground, though?
If you (WWE) don’t want a bunch of “older” talent on the NXT roster, just how much of it do you get rid of? Tommaso Ciampa, the current NXT Champion, is 36 years old and has been in NXT on a full-time basis for five-and-a-half years now. Johnny Gargano is 34 years old, has been in NXT for as long as Ciampa has, and has accomplished absolutely everything there is to do there. Timothy Thatcher? 38 years old. Santos Escobar? 37 years old. Samoa Joe? 42. Roderick Strong? 38. LA Knight? 39 in about two weeks. Kushida? 38. Franky Monet? 38 this week. Candice LeRae? 37 by the time she’s able to return after giving birth next year, if she even wants to return. What happens to people like that? When the writing is on the wall about “older” talent, people like that are obviously aware of it.
Let’s say that Ciampa drops the title to a 24-year-old Breakker at Halloween Havoc next week. Are we then treated to Ciampa trying to become only the second person (Samoa Joe being the other) to win the NXT Title three times? Or is he going to be one of the next to move on from the brand?
What about Gargano, whose contract reportedly has a little less than six weeks left before it expires? People are already penciling him in as a member of the AEW or Impact roster in 2022.
Samoa Joe continues to have medical issues that are shrouded in mystery, which, naturally, sends everyone into wild speculations. He says he’s coming back, but even if he does, how long will that return be for until he’s back on the main roster or gone again?
Shit, we’re two or three steps away from 28-year-old Cameron Grimes being the “old man” of the NXT roster. Even that might not be for long, as there’s a rumor floating around that Vince McMahon wants to give Grimes a bit of a character makeover for a potential main roster spot.
*ahem* As always, I am legally and contractually obligated to mention the fact that Cameron Grimes nearly broke my leg at an independent wrestling show a few years ago. Now, back to the column.
I’m just having a difficult time getting into watching NXT. Look at all of the other shows in WWE and AEW. Raw and Smackdown sure have their fair share of issues, but their rosters are chock full of world-class performers that have “belonged” on television for years now. Dynamite and Rampage episodes are full of some of the hottest talents in the business today. Multiple times in every NXT 2.0 episode, I find myself shaking my head because of a cringeworthy promo or a blown spot, wondering why so-and-so is even on television at this stage in their career, or at the very least, wondering what the hell they were thinking at that moment. An example of that was this week, when Jacy Jayne attempted a suicide dive and nearly made the name literal. She “ran” at the ropes at a speed just under that of a three-legged tortoise, so of course her legs clip the ropes as she dives through them and she falls, face first, to the floor, nearly killing herself in the process. I’ve seen some folks covering for her by saying she was exhausted. To those people, I say that if a wrestler is exhausted relatively early in a match, but they’re not someone who has made a gazillion dollars in the industry like Goldberg, The Undertaker, etc… then maybe they’re not where they need to be. If that spot had happened 30 minutes into a 40-minute main event classic, you can almost… almost… give her a pass.
This should probably go without saying, but it’s not exactly a great thing to watch a pro wrestling television show and wonder why so many people you’re seeing are on said pro wrestling television show.
I will be the first to admit that changes needed to be made in NXT. In my current Drafts folder, I have a column that I started a few months ago about things I would do to “fix” NXT. Some of them were easy fixes that have actually happened by now. I mentioned that the Capitol Wrestling Center was pure, unadulterated dumpster juice as a venue and how it was presented on television due to the piss poor lighting and sound issues. Those have been taken care of. I also mentioned that the trio of Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Road Dogg running things meant that the three top names backstage all basically had the same points of view. A good wrestling creative team is going to have all sorts of different input from all sorts of different people. When three best friends are in charge, a lot of their likes and dislikes are certainly going to overlap. Well, Triple H has been taken out of the picture temporarily. Unfortunately, it was due to a medical issue, but the point remains. I also said the obvious about Karrion Kross… that his time in NXT had run its course and he was better suited for a main roster run. Perhaps I should’ve known better, but after moving Kross to Raw, he has actually been made infinitely worse than anything we saw in NXT.
Changes, sure, but things have veered too far in one direction for me. As I said earlier, where is the middle ground? Surely, there has to be something in between “Independent Wrestling Supershow” and “Watch Rookies Work On Their Craft In Real Time” that we could have.
It blows my mind that NXT was beaten so badly that they had to move to a different night, only to see that beating continue to the point where WWE felt the only thing they could do was change almost every single thing about the brand. That’s some real deal bully shit from AEW, whether you like it or not.
Honestly, I have more to say about NXT, but I think I’m going to save that for another column before I end up going on for 25,000 words here and ranting until my fingertips bleed. Maybe I’ll update that column about how to “fix” the brand and have it see the light of day. For now, I want to hear from you, ReaderLand. I need to know a few things. First, how much you have enjoyed NXT through the years. Let’s narrow that down to how much you have enjoyed the “Takeover Era” NXT through the years. Then, I want to know how much you’ve been enjoying NXT 2.0 over the last month-and-a-half. What are you enjoying, if there’s anything? If you’re not a fan, what specifically are you down on? As always, hit me up in the comments section below, or on Twitter (@HustleTheSavage), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Weekly Power Rankings
- Bryan Danielson vs Minoru Suzuki: You knew Bryan Danielson would be newly energized in AEW, but holy shit, it has gone so much better than I could’ve expected or even hoped for. He’s five matches into his AEW career, and he’s five-for-five with fantastic performances. He’s beating the shit out of people, while getting the shit beaten out of him at the same time. I love the matches, but hate them at the same time, because I worry about him due to his medical history. He’s working a more physical style, and I don’t want to see anything happen to him. For the time being, though, hooray for Bryan Danielson! As for Suzuki, I’m glad that more fans are getting a chance to see him do what he does. With every match he’s having in AEW, I’m seeing more and more people on social media that don’t watch New Japan become fans of his. He deserves that.
- Charlotte Flair vs Bianca Belair: It’s wild to see just how strong the WWE women’s scene is at the top of the card, and that’s with Bayley and Asuka injured, and Alexa Bliss being a spoooookyyyyy supernatural-type character that doesn’t actually have to wrestle. Charlotte is, arguably, and maybe not so arguably, the greatest star in the history of women’s wrestling. Bianca Belair is the type who can make a claim for that throne in the future. This was two mega stars, squaring off and giving us a pay-per-view quality match on television.
- Miro’s Video Package On Dynamite: As the TNT Champion, Miro was “God’s Favorite Champion” and would talk about the joys and bounties that “his” God had provided for him. Now that he is no longer the TNT Champion, Miro had a video package where he essentially cut a promo on God, all but threatening God to give him (Miro) the TNT Title back or that there would be consequences for everyone. That’s as basic an explanation as can be, and I’m really not doing it justice, but it was phenomenal work. After a poor start to his time with AEW, Miro is on fire, not just in the ring, but especially with his character work and promos.
- Becky Lynch vs Sasha Banks: As I said, the top tier of the WWE women’s scene is incredible right now. Charlotte vs Bianca was pay-per-view quality, and so was Becky vs Sasha. The only issue anyone is having with these matches right now is the lack of any real finishes that you can make due to the Draft and the moves that were made there.
- Finn Balor vs Sami Zayn: Due to Sami Zayn’s history of not participating in WWE’s Saudi Arabia events, it was pretty clear that he wasn’t going to win this match and move on to the King Of The Ring Finals. That’s about the only real complaint you can make when two of the top in-ring workers in the business square off. With rumors floating around that Sami’s WWE contract expires at some point before the calendar flips to 2022, one has to wonder if this is as close to the top of the card that he’ll get before he leaves. With that said, let’s just say that the site reporting those rumors… a certain Observer of Wrestling… hasn’t exactly been having a great time recently with their reports coming true, so don’t be surprised if Sami sticks around.
- Bryan Danielson vs Bobby Fish: Another Bryan Danielson match, and another very, very good performance. On the other side of the ring, Bobby Fish had himself a successful first week in AEW, too. More on that in a little bit.
- The Usos vs The Street Profits: With the Street Profits being drafted to Raw, we all knew that they weren’t going to win the Smackdown Tag Team Titles here, but at least the match was still good. These four men work very well together. While we’re at it, though, can we say that WWE is downright atrocious when it comes to making matches that not only matter, but that don’t have obvious endings. You JUST had the Profits sent to Raw, so why the fuck would you continue to have them go after the Smackdown Tag Team Titles?!? It doesn’t take multiple college degrees to put an episode of Smackdown together where you have The Usos simply defend the titles against a team that is staying on the show, or just to have them avoid defending the titles until the Draft moves go into effect and a new team shows up on Friday nights.
- CM Punk vs Matt Sydal: Punk is currently on a similar, yet completely different, roll as the one Bryan Danielson is on. While Danielson is five-for-five in AEW, Punk is now four-for-four when it comes to quality matches. With the AEW World Title picture becoming an incredibly crowded place right now, I have to wonder where Punk goes from here. I know some are expecting him to go after the TNT Title, or to find a partner and go after the Tag Team Titles, but those can be somewhat convoluted journeys. On the other hand, is he just supposed to float around in the midcard for his entire time with the company? I wouldn’t think so. It’ll be very interesting to see what happens. Chances are, he’ll be going after the World Title, but at some point in 2022, once the picture has thinned out just a tad.
- Dante Martin vs Malakai Black: A very entertaining match featuring a major clash in styles. I’m very happy to see Dante Martin getting a chance to really shine as a singles competitor while his brother, Darius, is out of action with a knee injury. The thing everyone will be talking about in this match is what happened when it was over. The little head nod that Black gave Martin had people on social media going nuts. Is he trying to recruit Dante? It could’ve been an out-of-character acknowledgement after a really good match, but it was framed so well that it had to have been something that was planned. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
- “Hangman” Adam Page’s Promo On Dynamite: The AEW crowds fucking LOVE Adam Page. He tied everything together wonderfully in this promo, talking about the confidence issues that he’s had in AEW, and how the support of the fans is what has helped to change his life. They were able to pick him back up when he failed, and now he truly believes in himself as much as the fans do. He was even able to mention the fact that he had to go away for a while, in the middle of the biggest push of his life, to become a father. It was all simple, but it made him an even easier character to root for. AEW has done a beautiful job with Page so far, taking him on this lengthy journey to get where he is now, and we might be on the verge of seeing the fruits of that labor.
- Lee Moriarty vs Bobby Fish: I truly feel that Lee Moriarty is going to be a big star for AEW in the perhaps not-too-distant future. He’ll have his chance. This match was about making both men look good, but also about making Bobby Fish look strong going into his match with Bryan Danielson. It worked.
- Lacey Evans Giving Birth: Congratulations to Lacey Evans on the birth of her second child recently.
This Week’s Playlist: “Easy On Me” by Adele… “The War Inside” by Tom Morello & Chris Stapleton… “Just Keep Jamming” by Anuhea & Ariki Foster… “Here We Go” by Mac Miller… “Therapy” by Mac Miller… “Funeral” by Mac Miller… “Diablo” by Mac Miller… “Insomniak” by Mac Miller & Rick Ross… “Dead Inside” by Nita Strauss & David Draiman… “Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long Long Time)” by Elton John… “Your Song” by Elton John… “Sacrifice” by Elton John… “I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty… “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi… “River” by Bishop Briggs… “Trouble On My Mind” by Pusha T & Tyler The Creator… “Virginia” by Clipse… “Grindin” by Clipse… “When The Last Time” by Clipse… “Comedy Central” by Clipse & Fabolous… “Mr. Me Too” by Clipse & Pharrell Williams… “Ride Around Shining” by Clipse & Ab-Liva… “Hello New World” by Clipse… “Chinese New Year” by Clipse & Roscoe P. Goldchain… “Nightmares” by Clipse, Pharrell Williams & Bilal