Brian Damage
It’s Saturday so time for the latest installment of ’This Week in Wrestling’, the 21st of 2018. Today, Brian looks at the history Cody Rhodes has made and could still make this year and shares all the best viral content he’s stumbled upon this week.
Who has got NXT?
Brian
There really does seem to be a not so good trend in the WWE, It all starts when a wrestler from NXT joins the main roster (Whether it be Raw or Smackdown) Most who were once big stars in NXT, become seemingly lost in the shuffle when they get the call-up. We have seen it time and time again, whether it was Bo Dallas, Neville, the Revival, Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, Tyler Breeze, Bayley etc, there seems to be a disconnect with the fans.
What exactly goes wrong? Why are these wrestlers “over” in NXT and for lack of a better word flop or falter on the main roster? I understand the NXT fans are a bit different from the main roster fans. NXT fans appreciate the skill and the artistry more, whereas main roster fans want more character development. Some overcome and succeed, while others just don’t translate well.
Are the fans really the problem though? Is it more WWE creative forcing certain wrestlers out of their comfort zone? Triple H focuses more on wrestling acumen and Vince desires more entertainers. That might explain why a guy like Elias was a dud in NXT but has quickly become a superstar on RAW. Vince likes what he likes and whether we as fans like it or not, he knows how to sift through sports entertainers from wrestlers.
Besides creative not knowing how to utilize true wrestlers, maybe a lack of mystery is also to blame. Back in the day, when a new wrestler would debut for the company, they would first air vignettes and video packages hyping said wrestler for weeks. Vignettes have almost become a thing of the past. Also, NXT might overexpose wrestlers. There is no longer a mystery to who these men and women are anymore. I don’t know if there is an obvious solution to this problem.
While a guy like Ricochet might be able to tear it up down in NXT, I would almost hedge my bet that a guy like Lars Sullivan would become a bigger star on the main roster. The same for a guy like EC3 over a guy like Johnny Gargano. Triple H knows talent, there is no question about that. In WWE’s case, however, talent and being over in NXT doesn’t necessarily equate to success in WWE.
Photo Gallery
Brian
They don’t make WWE t-shirts like this anymore. Thank God…
Wade Boggs and Raven’s Flock
This and other drawings appeared on Reddit. Apparently, they were sketches for an unused WCW animated show. When Eric Bischoff was asked about the show, he claimed he knew nothing about it.
A really cool old school pic of some of pro wrestling’s legends.
Bill Moody aka Percy Pringle aka Paul Bearer goofing around when he was a mortician.
It gives you such a RUSH!
The Wyatt Family drawing, very cool
Lana is the best *clap clap* Lana’s number 1!
It’s true you know…
All previous ‘This Week in Wrestling’ pieces can be read here.
Ring the Damn Bell 
Very good article that really does highlight a lot of problems with the WWE today, especially Vince’s antiquated ideas of what the fans really want. I’ve said this before in regards to Braun’s booking, but if this were the 80’s and 90’s I’d trust Vince more to know what he was doing, not know though.
The same clearly applies for NXT call-ups. The wrestlers you used as examples perfectly fit, as I see someone as money as Ricochet being sent to 205 Live hell, or if not and winds up on Raw, he’ll get booked like Finn Ballor is, or maybe worse, and become the latest notch on Roman Reigns’ belt. On Smackdown, he’ll probably be buried and forgotten by Vince inside of 6 months or less.
But guys like Lars and Killian Dain? Pushed to the fucking moon!
Until Vince steps aside and Hunter takes over, expect the sad and totally unnecessary trend to continue.
LikeLike