FCW/NXT: Part of the Problem?

[bxbigshow]

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Question: Does FCW and by extention NXT hurt WWE's future stars by showcasing them too early in their development?

I ask this because in a recent thread regarding releasing current RAW members, quite a few Nexus members were suggested. The reasoning being that they are either too green in ring (Otunga/Slater/Tarver), on the mic (Slater/Tarver), or lacking in personality (everyone except Barrett and for some reason Gabriel).

Other FCW alumni were mentioned also, Yoshi Tatsu, Ted DiBiase, Alex Riley; lack of character/in ring work mentioned as reasons.

So I'm wondering, watching these guys in the first few years of their development, would you expect them all to catch fire and become the next Sheamus/Barrett? And even those two plied their craft overseas for years before signing with WWE.

I understand that before FCW Vince had OVW to work with new talent. And I know that the graduates from there weren't all recieved well upon arrival. But what I saw in Cena, Orton, Batista, and Brock Lesnar was better ring work and better promo skills. Cena, within months transitioned into his rapper gimmick, but he held his own initially in ring with Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho.

Randy Orton took only a few months to improve in the ring and while he did benefit from an injury to do this...showed great character in his injury updates.

What I'm saying is that these early too green months and in some (DiBiase) years weren't showcased for all of us to see.

Has FCW via YouTube and NXT hurt our perception of the new talent tha comes to WWE?

In case it hasn't been made clear in the post, I feel that they have.

 

[wushady]

For the most I think FCW and OHV before it has been a great thing for WWE. OVW has produced tons of phenomenal stars like Cena, Orton, Batista, Lesnar, Benjamin, among others. All those guys spent many years there before the were ready for the big time. FCW has done a great job too with guys like Kingston, Ziggler, Swagger, Barrett, Sheamus, and the Hart Dynasty.

As far as NXT I Agree some where brought up way to soon or just don't have what it takes to make it on the main roster. Like Heath Slater he has been in FCW for almost four years before going on NXT. Most of the guys from NXT wont be around long. With they exception Bryan, Barrett, Kaval, Henning, and Otunga if his ring skills improve.

I definitely get what you mean. I think calling guys up to NXT too soon is a huge problem especially the current diva NXT. As a whole I think FCW is one of the best things WWE has it has help established many new stars.

 

[WeAreLasers9097]

What? You call Tarver green on the mic but not Otunga? You call Slater green in the ring? That's absolutely ludicrous. Opinions aside, however, I don't think that being called up too early is the problem, but rather the WWE's build, and generally, us. People like to bash the wrestlers that don't do anything for them, but jump right on the bandwagon when necessary. Yoshi Tatsu is a fantastic worker, but they turn him down because he's not used. Ted DiBiase was the hottest thing in Legacy, but they hopped on the wagon because he was knocked down a notch by the writers. If you bothered to watch NXT, Alex Riley was without a doubt, up there with Kaval, but just because he is Miz's lackey somehow brings the impression he's boring? I agree partially, that the Nexus were brung up too early, but that's not the main problem.

 

[bxbigshow]

What? You call Tarver green on the mic but not Otunga? You call Slater green in the ring? That's absolutely ludicrous. Opinions aside, however, I don't think that being called up too early is the problem, but rather the WWE's build, and generally, us. People like to bash the wrestlers that don't do anything for them, but jump right on the bandwagon when necessary. Yoshi Tatsu is a fantastic worker, but they turn him down because he's not used. Ted DiBiase was the hottest thing in Legacy, but they hopped on the wagon because he was knocked down a notch by the writers. If you bothered to watch NXT, Alex Riley was without a doubt, up there with Kaval, but just because he is Miz's lackey somehow brings the impression he's boring? I agree partially, that the Nexus were brung up too early, but that's not the main problem.

To be clear, the examples of Otunga, Slater, and Riley were mentioned in the previous thread I alluded to. This isn't nescessarily my views on them, I was citing the reasons given from the other posts.

While I feel that Alex Riley might be ready and deserves a roster spot, it has been mentioned that his lack of actual ring time has lessened people's inital opinion on him.

Otunga has a better chance of getting over because of his personality before his ring work. Does that make him the next Jericho/Miz/HHH/Rock? No. But if both attribute where on a scale, right now his presona outweighs his wrestling acumen.

As far as Slater goes, it was mentioned that he's been in FCW for four years, yet his name was brought up for the reasons mentioned. So in 4 years and you still look like an actual rookie in the ring, your character is still non-didtinct?

 

[Lionshare]

i don't fcw is the problem, is just the wwe call them too fast these days, just look at Mason Ryan, he was offered a development contract a couple of months by the wwe, fast foward today he is the reigning champion in the fcw and is starting to appear in smackdown by squashing chavo, this is just because he looks as a batista clon. If you have the "looks" (vince's looks i mean), you'll get insta-pushed, no matter if you are too green on the mat and the mic.
Most of them fail when they get the push of their lives, just like Drew, sheamus case is a rare one these days.

 

[PhD]

I'm a little confused by your post. While I would agree that being called up too early can hurt a someone's chances of getting over long term, I don't see this as being a flaw of the developmental system, but rather over management overzealously trying to find the next big star by putting people in a sink-or-swim environment. You seem to be suggesting that FCW did an inferior job of preparing people for the big shows when compared to OVW, which I don't really get since everyone at FCW is handpicked by the WWE to train workers in their style.

I think we can all agree that a negligible amount of fans actually watch FCW on youtube, so I don't see how that's a problem. And while it is true that NXT showcased the growing pains of several competitors, many of them have ended up back down in FCW anyway. And can we also all agree that NXT has benefited several people, not least Barret, Bryan, Kaval, and Riley, all of whom appear to have rosy futures with the company?

I would agree that the RAW roster in particular is full of guys who really can't cut it; I personally cringe everytime I see Otunga walk down the ramp for a match, because I know I'm going to see shoddy work, and every time Slater opens his mouth I know it's going to be that same stupid hillbilly drawl trying to fake a heel promo. Yes, these guys are dead weight, and it'll be nice to have them gone next spring, but it still won't stop management from doing stupid stuff by calling up the Ted Dibiase's of the world with less than a year of development under their belts.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The only real problem I think is that the WWE has brought some of them up before they were ready. With so many older and established names either gone, on their way to being gone or going to be gone within another few years; the WWE has pushed a lot of young talent quickly in order to fill the void. I think that it would feel differently and would be at a slower paced elevation if the WWE had started really focusing on building and pushing young talent a few years ago.

Overall, I think that David Otunga is a good example of someone that's not ready. Otunga is easily the weakest link of Nexus when it comes to in-ring ability. He's just not on the same level as any of the others. Neither is Michael Tarver really but he seems much more comfortable to me than Otunga does.

Overall, however, I don't see FCW or NXT as being a problem at all. There've been a few questionable choices by management when it comes to some of the talent they've called up, but that's not the overall fault of the developmental system that the WWE has set up.

 

[Next Jericho]

Wait you are calling Heath Slater green in the ring but are saying Cena, Orton and Batista where better in the ring when they first started, well that is not the way I see it. For example I am going to chose John Cena because I remember his early career, one of John Cena's first matches were against Kurt Angle (Now Kurt Angle is a great wrestler who can make anyone look like a million bucks) then John Cena was getting told he can't wrestle by the live audience only two or three years later now how is more green when they first started Slater or Cena?

You have not got good example's here a bad point you made was saying Batista had great in ring skills and great mic work when he first started well we all know that is not true because if you remember the build up to wrestlemaina 21 Bastisa vs HHH because the build up to that match was to make Bastisa not in the ring that much and to only give him a few words a night so what was happing there if he was so good in the ring and so good on the mic?

So with two good examples of how your FCW/NXT is better than OVW then I am saying that FCW and NXT do not hurt by showcasing there taltent to early

 

[Remix]

Question: Does FCW and by extention NXT hurt WWE's future stars by showcasing them too early in their development?

In the case of FCW, absolutely not. FCW is an environment where wrestlers cen learn how to work. Whilst there the guys improve alot. How can they not when they're taught by guys like Ricky Steamboat and Dusty Rhodes?

NXT could go either way, because with the exception of the divas and a couple of guys like O'Neil and Otunga they were pretty much ready to be called up, and those who weren't were axed pretty early on. But then, people were called up to ECW too early too, so it's all relative. Nice idea but it was completely impossible to sustain for too long. I'm not surprised it's being axed.

I ask this because in a recent thread regarding releasing current RAW members, quite a few Nexus members were suggested. The reasoning being that they are either too green in ring (Otunga/Slater/Tarver), on the mic (Slater/Tarver), or lacking in personality (everyone except Barrett and for some reason Gabriel).

There's a reason for them being greener than most of the Raw roster, they're newer than them all. It trakes time for you to get used to such a different environment from NXT and FCW. Given time they'll adapt and fit in. Most of them won't be stars, but there's nothing wrong with being a career midcarder.

Other FCW alumni were mentioned also, Yoshi Tatsu, Ted DiBiase, Alex Riley; lack of character/in ring work mentioned as reasons.

You know who else came from FCW? Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Cody Rhodes, Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio and Drew McIntyre. The quality of people coming out of FCW is directly proportional to how good the people going in are. FCW can teach you how to work, but it can't teach charisma to someone who has none (e.g. Lucky Cannon) or someone to wrestle who has no athleticism (e.g. Eli Cottonwood)

So I'm wondering, watching these guys in the first few years of their development, would you expect them all to catch fire and become the next Sheamus/Barrett? And even those two plied their craft overseas for years before signing with WWE.

No. Not everybody could be the next Sheamus/Barrett, just like not everybody could be the next Brock Lesnar. If you've got the potential to be great, places like FCW can bring it out of you. If you don't have that much potential, only what you have can be brought out. It's that simple.

I understand that before FCW Vince had OVW to work with new talent. And I know that the graduates from there weren't all recieved well upon arrival. But what I saw in Cena, Orton, Batista, and Brock Lesnar was better ring work and better promo skills. Cena, within months transitioned into his rapper gimmick, but he held his own initially in ring with Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho.

If John Cena worked in FCW instead of OVW, he'd have come out just the same. He'd have worked a different gimmick down there, but he'd still have been the great worker his is today. FCW can't take a Lucky Cannon and make him a John Cena, no matter how hard they try. OVW had its fair share of misses too, by the way.

Randy Orton took only a few months to improve in the ring and while he did benefit from an injury to do this...showed great character in his injury updates.

Scripted, and irrelevent to the discussion.

What I'm saying is that these early too green months and in some (DiBiase) years weren't showcased for all of us to see.

What the fuck are you saying here?

Has FCW via YouTube and NXT hurt our perception of the new talent tha comes to WWE?

It certainly hasn't affected mine.

i don't fcw is the problem, is just the wwe call them too fast these days, just look at Mason Ryan,

Why do I think this is the start of a badly informed post?

he was offered a development contract a couple of months by the wwe, fast foward today he is the reigning champion in the fcw and is starting to appear in smackdown by squashing chavo,

The FCW title is meaningless. Someone can hold it and not come up until years later and then get fired (This is EXACTLY what happened to Eric Escobar). Holding the title doesn't mean you're going to get called up imminently.

And he's working on HOUSE SHOWS. Alex Riley was wrestling house shows a few years ago and wasn't called up. Wade Barrett was wrestling dark matches in 2007 and wasn't called up. House shows are, like the FCW title irrelevent.

this is just because he looks as a batista clon. If you have the "looks" (vince's looks i mean), you'll get insta-pushed, no matter if you are too green on the mat and the mic.

That's probably part of the reason, yes. But that does not mean that he'll get called up in a heartbeat. Sheamus was in developmental for two years without gimmick or look alteration (the only change he's made to his since signing a contract is dropping his surname and changing his nickname to "The Celtic Warrior" from "The Irish Curse"). Just because Mason Ryan looks like a superstar doesn't mean he'll be treated like one and be called up next week.

Most of them fail when they get the push of their lives, just like Drew, Sheamus case is a rare one these days.

Learn how to use full stops. And that's the case for any wrestling company which gives massive pushes to people who aren't ready for them, regardless of where they were trained.