Has NXT curtailed the surprising debuts in WWE??

[Prince Vee]

I guess there might've been few threads started over some time about this same topic but I felt like it needs to be discussed. So I'm posting from my perspective..

What we haven't seen in a long while is a surprising Debut in WWE. Apparently just for promoting their company and to advertise and market the contract signings of superstars from all around the world. Lately we've seen the contract signings of Prince Devitt (aka Finn Balor) and Kenta (aka Hideo Itami).

This obviously creates the anticipation among the WWE universe that when these stars would debut on TV! Instead WWE put them in their developmental territory NXT!

NXT is certainly for the developing talents who've never had much of the television focus in their early careers. For instance, when a superstar wrestles a match in the WWE ring, they hit their signature moves in such a way that both the audiences and the camera can catch that action. But these experienced stars had so much time working in front of Camera. So that might arise a question what they're still doing in a developmental show?

The most important thing about these Experienced campaigners is they never make any surprise debuts anymore. For example, they streams tons and tons of promo about their debut on TV and on their website as well. Those stars include Adam Rose, The Ascension, Bo Dalas, (Adrian) Neville and some more. The only star who's debut was a surprise is Paige and it was two years back and it the divas division and we know in WWE divas division is an obvious disdain!

What this have curtailed is the Surprises, goosebumps, excitement and many other adverbs that you can include later..

They could've made Neville's debut when Daniel Bryan or John Cena called for a challenge or When Seth Rollins rejected his match against Dolph Ziggler and asked for a new opponent. They had lost the impact factor of it..

We're missing a lot these days but we're getting complacent as well. Aren't we going to see anymore surprising debuts? Is this the end of them all? Has it been completely curtailed?

 

[Seosa]

You have to remember that in today's age with so many casual fans at shows, surprise debuts lack the punch they once had. You kind of need NXT to bring some exposure whereas in the past most fans 'knew' who it was and reacted positively.

 

[Navi]

I think the bigger issue is that most of these guys have come from the indies, so hardcore fans know who they are as soon as they're signed, but casual fans don't have any idea.

We were at a house show here in Toronto a couple of months ago, and as usual it was full of Canadian content. The group sitting around us didn't have a clue as to who Tyler Breeze was, a woman who I didn't know asked me, and I told her he was from NXT. She had no idea what it even was. Same thing happened when Sasha Banks came out.

So when casual fans don't know who the performers are it's hard to debut them on mainstream TV. Sure half the audience in the arena will know Neville and Owens, the ones who have the network, watch NXT, or are members of the IWC. The rest sit there like bumps on a log wondering who everyone else is cheering for. And you can't really blame them. Paige kind of got the "Who the fuck is this person" when she first debuted as well. It took a little while for fans to warm up to her.

So unless they start hyping up NXT more than they do, or showcasing these guys on RAW and SD, you'll never get surprising debuts.

Personally I'm waiting for Balor to come up, with his entrance and the face paint he'll get over right away. It blows you away on a small stage, I wonder how well it will go over in a big arena.

 

[bioshock]

Heck I miss the days of watching Nitro to see Luger show up, or Hall and Nash. And so on. Those are the kind of things that made wrestling so good back then, WCW didn't promote Luger, Hall and Nash in the very least. Or what about Hogan at Bash at the Beach 96. If that was WWE like it is now, they would of done a month worth of Hogan promos coming back. So then when he does return its not shocking its expected.

All like so with Sheamus, his return was totally expected. Heck the heel turn was expected, but why did they need to do promos for a month for his return? Everyone that knows wrestling knows Sheamus, and every casual fan knows Sheamus, so why ruin his big returning by spoiling it with promos hyping his return. Its what made Royal Rumbles of the past so good, having no clue who might come back. They did that with Cena a while back when he won, it worked it was nice and unexpected. But now they do just spoil them all. I get why they do it. But its not needed every time.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

Don't forget about The Shield's debut, or even Big E's. There's a way to find a happy medium between getting exposure on NXT and having a surprising debut. Not every guy should receive such a major character overhaul upon debut, but no one saw those debuts coming. We're expecting debuts the night after Mania now, and we're also anticipating who it's going to be.

Neville and Bo Dallas (before his second debut) had seemingly "graduated" from NXT. They had held the title, lost it, and seemed ready for bigger things. Rollins, Big E, and Paige all debuted while still holding titles. Not saying the pattern here is only title holders get called up, but that added some shock to move. Lucha Dragons working Main Event and Superstars (whatever the C shows are) gave away their debut outright. Were we any less impressed with Kalisto on the Raw after Mania?

Big debuts are hard to pull off in today's WWE. Not everyone should have a shocking debut as it would eventually lower the impact when the mindblowing ones occur. If everyone is coming out of left field and dropping jaws, where is there left to go up?

I think some of the bigger names in NXT right now will get that shocking debut treatment. Balor, Owens, and Itami would all be good candidates. I think Zayn will have vignettes before debut as he'll more than likely work babyface. We saw Itami in the battle royal at Mania, so I doubt he will. Owens or Balor will likely leave goosebumps when they hit the main roster. Look for a shocking debut this summer or fall, feels like we're overdue.

 

[HashtagHeel]

With out a WCW, there is no more surprise debuts really. I can't really think of a WWE debut that was a huge shock since guys from WCW stopped showing up. If Prince Devitt were to make his debut on WWE TV, nobody would really be shocked, because a majority of the people wouldn't have a clue who he was. Even when guys get hyped to debut like original Sin Cara or Adam Rose, it's still nothing too special compared to what debuts used to be like. It's just one of those things that evolved with the wrestling industry. Debuts just don't mean as much as they used to, because so many guys just come and go I guess.

 

[Navi]

Debuts just don't mean as much as they used to, because so many guys just come and go I guess.

Who has come and gone lately? I can't think of anyone except AJ Lee. True they only feature certain people at a time, but the rest of the roster is still there, and we see them at house shows. I don't see the WWE as a revolving door.

 

[whoopin' ass]

I think it is yes and no like a lot of people said. For anyone who follows wrestling, the moment the sign with NXT you know they are going to be on Raw or Smackdown eventually. The actual debut might be a little surprising since you don't know exactly when that will be but with NXT, no one signs up and then appears on Raw the next week anymore - they all go there first so the surprise is gone. However, I think those numbers are getting smaller and wwe is aiming for the more casual audience who watches the shows but that's it - doesn't look online or watch other promotions. For these people, the debuts are a surprise but like most wwe surprises today, not in a good way. Because they repackage everyone, they ignore the history of them. Imagine when Ric Flair came to WWF as the Real World's Champ if they called him Ricky Flare and ignored his history, not acknowledging he was a World's Champ elsewhere. Would it have had the same punch? Not even close yet that is what they do now with the guys coming up from NXT. So even though it is a surprise when someone debuts, it is a surprise only because it is someone new on the roster - most people don't know who they are otherwise so it isn't a big deal unless they really push them hard which doesn't happen often.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The issue is more the "window" that appears to be the pattern now. They don't debut until certain points of the year, namely before Survivor Series, At The Rumble or the night after Mania.

There isn't really any change up in those times at the moment and it's really starting to show. Guys like Balor or Breeze may well be ready now but are artificially waiting for a fixed time of the year rather than getting the chance when they are ready.

Of course the needs of NXT as it's own entity is part of the problem, as they're now a touring concern they can't just sent all the talent up to the main roster and leave themselves short. Unfortunately it is difficult to find the right medium. Breeze would be perfect to bring up now or in the immediate aftermath of the MizDow split to partner The Miz... but they're not doing it... sure Neville seems to be getting the "push to the moon" to match his gravity defying gimmick, but can they really not throw Breeze in there too? Or Balor to be Neville's partner against Sheamus and Barrett? Are we really gonna have to wait till much later in the year or even next to see Balor, Breeze or Itami debut properly?

In terms of keeping a suprise, they have proven they CAN do it in recent years, but the extra costs and hassle invovled are diminishing returns... once Jericho's rumble return was done it's nigh on impossible to do better in terms of pop for a "shock return" and even then, it didn't translate to a stellar run.

 

[FromGlasgow]

It was one of the things I loved about wrestling seeing all the big names back in the day debuting with the WWE and the excitment hearing they signed with the company from one of the other big companies or territories it really mixed things up and each debut gave a whole list of instant dream matches, Now they have already wrestled each other several times in NXT its nothing new and not as many potential dream matches.
I never got why TNA roster never really got much of a look in from the WWE with a possible exception of Samoa Joe I think they have missed out on a lot of good talent over the years.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The E:60 doc was really interesting about this and showed a bit of the process that goes into putting a talent up.

The one thing that it did illustrate is that it IS possible to buck the system, as Adam Rose clearly did... he went from being "on the bubble" for release to main roster within 12 weeks... that's pretty unheard of. Sure you could say it was rushed and it killed him on the main roster, but he's still not "terrible", just not main event... realistically he never was going to be.

So I rephrase and say surprises are possible, but you have to be VERY good to avoid one of the windows I mention above... if anything Adam's case may be the cautionary tale of "don't rush anyone", and arguably that's why he's still fine on the main roster despite not being what was hoped for... the mistake was with them, not him.