NXT Is What Raw Should Be.

[STAR PLATINUM $9.99]

I think everyone here can agree that NXT is the best program that WWE has going for it. It has fresh new talent and puts on great matches each week. All the PPV's have been great so far, and Takeover 2 looks to be even better than the last one.

The reason why I think NXT is great is that,each wrestler on there is in a story or is doing something that makes them some what interesting. We get to know there characters, and mannerisms. The show is only 45 minutes yet, you feel like so much was accomplished in those minutes, even more so than Raw. Raw has 3 hours, yet most of the time is focused on pointless segments or wrestlers who are not in any feuds. The main Management should look at NXT, and take note on how to get the crowd to like the characters or dislike them, and being able to get stars over.

Is there any way to get the main creative teams to look at NXT and take some notes?

 

[Creepy Old Man]

Raw has the marquee names. Management feels that alone draws, and so can be lazy with everything else on the show. There's more all-round effort with NXT, but once those performers bond with the crowd, they'll just be another piece of furniture in the apathetic world of Raw. If anything, as time goes on the flagship show's influence will bleed into NXT and turn that program soft as well.

Watching the new Monday Night War series is more heartbreaking than anything else. You realise that now the threat of WCW is gone, Raw simply will not ever be great again. It's nothing to do with the salacious stuff either: angles and performances were just executed to a higher standard. CM Punk showed his true colours this year, but back in 2011 he literally forced WWE to allow a magical moment to happen at Money in the Bank. Yeah, performers (not "writers") have to hold WWE hostage on pay-per-view now just to get the kind of quality we got on tap 15 years ago.

 

[Trill Co$by]

People seem to forget that NXT and Raw are two entirely different levels. NXT, for the most part, is meant to be top of the indies. Which means it's less about the storylines and more about random matches just thrown together and creating something out of nothing. But they're also the first step into WWE. So they add in the weekly shows, give a few interviews, and hope they find a star to bring up. In short, they have a very small market to attend to. And finally, NXT doesn't have overhead that Raw and Smackdown do (USA Network and Syfy). Therefore, they can get away with more than they could with their main shows.

Raw on the other hand is a Sports Entertainment wrestling show that has to appeal to millions of fans in the United States alone, not to mention the fans watching in over 170 different countries. It's got a much stronger market, and they have a much harder overhead. USA Network, at the moment, has geared towards cop shows and syndication shows all which have a PG to TV-14 rating. They're not going to allow WWE to stray too far out of PG, because that's what WWE is... PG.

And plus, Raw is still entertaining. The storylines are consistent and make sense, and the people who should be on (with the exception of Dean Ambrose for obvious reasons) are on the show. Just because the Superstars jobbers aren't on the show, doesn't make it any less of a show. Raw is just fine how it is, and no it doesn't have to be the least of the five shows WWE has.

 

[STAR PLATINUM $9.99]

But thats the problem. Raw story lines aren't that good right now. all we got is Dean ambrose and Brock lesnar that are being booked right. Everyone else are just with lingering doing nothing or not being promoted right. If the creative team would just try harder, kinda like how the NXT creative team does then maybe Raw would be good. They need less writers, or at least more than understand the product, and WWE should really try to make Raw and there main programs more reachable to the outside markets, not just the U.S., which is my problem with the whole Rusev character and story lines. he might draw heat in the U.S. but no one outside cares.

 

[Mudlup50]

Ok as has been mentioned, Raw as a boss to appease in the USA Network. So you immediately have that. You have the face that all the "over" stars are on this show, so why do they need to try so hard. I read somewhere that people think that 1 NXT match stole the show on Raw and I laughed, because of course it did...they're the 4 best guys in NXT. It'd be the equivalent of John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns going to NXT, of course a good match is going to happen. And it's going to be better than the mid card of NXT. Not too mention NXT is run by Triple H if memory recalls correctly, while Raw is still pretty much ran by VKM.

Now you're saying there's nothing going on now, completely disagree.

Cena v Lesnar/Heyman the big PPV feud at the moment
Cena v Authority, they tried taking away his shot, the big Raw feud
Dean v Seth, the feud everyone loves
Dean v Authority, it's the next feud for him and it's being built now
Mark v Rusev, the feud to put Rusev over after his feud with Swagger
Jack v Bo, the feud to put Bo over after his win streak ended
Usos v Dusts, the tag feud right now
Dolph v Miz/Sandow, the IC title feud right now
Sheamus v Cesaro(not too good but it's a feud
AJ v Paige, the Divas championship feud
Brie v Nikki, another crappy feud but it's there
Reigns v Authority
Y2J v Bray

If you discount people with multiple feuds like Dean and Cena, you still have over 10 feuds. If each feud at one match on Raw, Raw would end up being 4 hours each week

And I don't see why nobody out of the US would care about Russia, if there was a list of countries that might cause a world war it'd be Russia, China, North Korea and some country in the middle east. So everyone in the world should hate Rusev, just because they don't target random world leaders to appeal to the 0.4% fanbase in some random country in Europe doesn't mean they're not doing the job correctly.

In terms of booking someone correctly: Lesnar, Ambrose, Rollins, Cena(for his character), Paige, AJ, Usos...you know what, the list is shorter if you say who isn't being booked right. For that list I have: Bray Wyatt, Cesaro(but it's getting better), New Nation and Bo. That's my entire list for people not being booked correctly.

I think we're all overreacting here, Raw is a good product. Most of the problem is the fact that there's too many guys to book on one 3 hour program

 

[Jack-Hammer]

From my perspective, the primary differences between Raw & NXT, aside from the obvious differences in rosters, are found within the different booking styles and visions of Vince McMahon and Triple H.

When it comes to overall consistency, Triple H is someone that's much more stable than Vince. Vince is notorious for changing his mind multiple times over the course of an angle, storyline, gimmick and/or push at any given time. Along with his ego and his ability to hold onto grudges, Vince's flip-flopping is among his most legendary qualities. It's gotten so bad at times that there are writers who have flat out quit due to the stress it causes. I don't mean to imply that Triple H doesn't change his mind or won't change his mind on something, but he doesn't do it in the sometimes willy nilly way that Vince does.

Vince McMahon feels the need to micromanage just about everything, which gives the impression that he doesn't trust people to ultimately do the jobs they're hired to do at times. Based just on what I've seen out of NXT, Triple H simply doesn't operate that way. He's kept in the loop and he approves of what does or doesn't happen in NXT, but he trusts the people he has in place. He trusts the writers, he listens to input from them, he listens to input from the wrestlers themselves, he doesn't change his mind every other day on certain things, he gives angles, wrestlers and storylines actual time to be fleshed out before pulling the plug or making changes without going into panic mode.

If Vince ultimately wanted to, he could ultimately bigfoot NXT if he wanted to. When it's all said & done, Vince McMahon is THE final word on anything concerning WWE. However, he's genuinely allowed Triple H the freedom to overhaul WWE's developmental system and run it, for the most part, the way he wants to. When it comes to Raw & SD!, you can obviously see Vince's input sometimes, much more so than others. For example, the stuff with Heath Slater & Adam Rose's Bunny, the Jerry Springer segment this past Monday, John Cena being booked to look so strong against The Wyatt Family that people were yanking their hair out by the roots, etc. are all examples of booking that have Vince's fingerprints all over them. Vince loves the "sports entertainment" aspect that's clearly reflected in some of the corny comedy and mind numbingly bad dramatic acting we sometimes see. I'm also not implying that Vince doesn't make the right call sometimes or that his decisions are always wrong, because that's simply not the case. Triple H is more of a "wrestling" guy while Vince is more about "sports entertainment" and you can see the contrast on Raw sometimes. Not all the time, but sometimes, it's easy to tell which segments on Raw and SD! were ultimately booked & decided upon by Triple H and which were booked & decided upon by Vince because the tone of the segments are so radically different.

Reports suggest that Vince & Triple H sometimes butt heads over booking ideas, which has led to some inconsistency. Vince trusts Trips, but that doesn't mean they always agree on things, which is natural, but Vince can ultimately overrule Triple H at any given time. I think whenever Vince ultimately steps down and Triple H steps in, those issues of inconsistency will be extremely reduced.

 

[Terry Silver]

Sami zayn annoys the hell out of me...reminds me of seth rogan

 

[Navi]

But thats the problem. Raw story lines aren't that good right now. all we got is Dean ambrose and Brock lesnar that are being booked right. Everyone else are just with lingering doing nothing or not being promoted right. If the creative team would just try harder, kinda like how the NXT creative team does then maybe Raw would be good. They need less writers, or at least more than understand the product, and WWE should really try to make Raw and there main programs more reachable to the outside markets, not just the U.S., which is my problem with the whole Rusev character and story lines. he might draw heat in the U.S. but no one outside cares.

I have to agree with this. I have no idea why they can book The Shield to almost perfection, but when they break it up, Ambrose and Rolins get the same great booking and Reigns gets the shaft so to speak.

The RAW storylines are crap right now, and spending too much time on the Bella twins has been nothing but a fiasco, in my opinion. And that's the main problem with RAW. I've said it before, they expect these people who can't act to actually act a part they're not comfortable doing.

If you've noticed the wrestlers that can actually act Rock, Cena and Ambrose now have in two of their cases part time movie careers. The Rock being the best of it is a huge star right now. Most of the rest, well yea meh.

NXT doesn't expect their wrestlers to act, they expect them to go out there and put on a good match for the crowd, and they do. Unlike that bunch of creeps who inhabit the TNA soundstage, the NXT fans are lively and right into the show. And like Jackhammer said, that's the influence of HHH and not Vince McMahon. They have storylines, but they aren't as convoluted as the ones we see on RAW, because the wrestling is the main part. Not a 20 minute promo that we've heard 100 times setting up a match for later in the night.

I love NXT and find it refreshing and the wrestlers they have are really good. I can't wait to see them on the main roster and what they can bring to it.

 

[stingray11214]

I had the pleasure of watching NXT with a couple of friends tonight. The matches were great. The ladies could actually WRESTLE (Who knew?!?). That hair vs hair match was sick, as well as the fatal 4-way. The commentary booth was fantastic on the pre-show, during NXT and the fallout segments. It really was a pleasure to watch, as it reminded me of the old Territory days.

The problem is that it will be a hard time working in RAW because you are dealing with a "lab rat" situation in NXT. It is a controlled environment in front of 1000-1500 people every week. And, probably like TNA when they were at Universal, a lot of the same people every week. Nobody knows how well what they do in NXT will translate to a major arena in RAW or SmackDown. Full Sail is basically no different than Chikara, EVOLVE or NYWC, except they have the WWE stamp of approval.

What we also do not know is if these guys can handle the travel. Going to Orlando 5 days a week is a lot different than Columbus on Friday, Cincy on Saturday, Louisville on Sunday, and Minneapolis for RAW, and then Timbuktu on Wednesday for the African Tour. Do you think Adrian Neville is going to be able to do all those moves on 3 hours of sleep? Do you think Bayley is going to be jumping around like the Farmer's Daughter on GLOW if she had to do that type of travel?

What they should do with NXT is create an NXT Elite level. Like Little League, let that be the "traveling" team. You can bring them to the smaller arena, VFW halls and High School gyms throughout Florida and the Southeast. You do not need the big arenas for them. Let them EARN that. What it DOES prepare them for is the travel that will entail a WWE Superstar.

These things said, RAW is crap right now. NXT looks hot, because it really is. But, for the situations that they are both in, it is really apples to kumquats. NXT should really be compared to ROH's show, not RAW.

 

[Blade]

What NXT does so well is consistency. You know what you're going to get, and you know it's going to be good. But it's biggest strength is also it's biggest weakness. With that consistency also comes some predictability. Like I said, you know what you're going to get. A couple of squash matches, a couple of ten minute matches, and a promo or two the occasional comedy skit. There's never the feeling that some huge or unexpected is going to happen on NXT. The closest that NXT ever gets to a OMG moment is when someone with buzz makes their debut.

Raw is completely inconsistent and messy. But at the same time, that's kind of what gives the show it's buzz. There's always that feeling that something special could happen, especially around Mania and Summerslam.

Punk's pipebomb, the Shield destroying the Undertaker, the Nexus destroying the ringside area, Daniel Bryan taking over the ring with the Yes Movement. Those aren't things that would ever happen on NXT, because NXT has it's comfort zone that it sticks to. And that's fine. But those moments are what makes Raw so special. If Raw could keep that hint of big stage unpredictability while also incorporating NXT's solid consistency, then it would be a great show.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

They aren't that far off. NXT has a number of squashes. NXT is ran more like an old school Raw episode. I have a feeling if Raw had that many squashes, people would complain. Of course, because it's not on Raw, people don't complain. it's a weird psychological thing where if WWE does it, or if it's on Raw, it's more likely to be criticized.

Raw might be hit and miss, but that's because they're trying things. That's good. I don't mind a train wreck segment. Sometimes those are every bit as entertaining.

 

[Terry Silver]

i dont see the big deal about finn balor and hideo itami. all i see is a couple of little guys going over big guys. its not believable to me. i dont like the ascension but they should man handle these cans.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

NXT doesn't have to worry about ratings, live reactions, or much competition. NXT is safe on WWE Network and in front of a very friendly audience and isn't live.

Those factors alone change the game. Saying "NXT is what Raw should be" is like saying "the New England Patriots are what the St. Louis Blues should be".

Raw has different factors of success. They have to please more people. There is also a higher need to change things not drawing interest, as well as a harsher punishment for failures. They also aren't on the road as often.

On top of all that, think about who watches each product and who WWE is targeting. You're more hardcore than the average person is about wrestling. So, the more "pure" show appeals to you. Who do you think has WWE Network and watches NXT? It's the more hardcore fans. Raw has a much higher percent of casuals. So it has to cater to that.

They are both successful shows because WWE knows what each is supposed to be.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

Probably not, the main creative teams for RAW & SD most likely wouldn't take notes from the creative team in NXT.

I think it's really only two main things that makes NXT so good, & that's the length of the show & the fact that they seem to cater to a slightly older demographic. It's still PG but it's like any other kind of minor league system, it's mostly the hardcore fans that pay attention to all the stats & stuff. & in WWE a lot of the really hardcore fans that pay attention to NXT are adults. & since the only thing that the WWE can really exploit in a PG environment is the intensity & in-ring action, it just kind of turns out to be a better product for the true wrestling fans since a lot of the childish comedy & mainstream b.s. is thrown out or presented in a more underground/edgy way.