NXT Reward Ideas

[Jack-Hammer]

I was talking with my brother earlier today and he's only just had the opportunity to sit down and watch most of the NXT episodes he's recorded via DVR. He's a fan of the concept overall, not so wild about the Rookie Challenges, but doesn't think that the Rookies are given enough incentive week in and week out. The grand prize is good and all, but there just aren't enough stand out rewards.

Something I would have liked to have seen happen would be to have all 8 Rookies divided up randomly into two pairs of four. Each pair of fours compete in a Fatal Fourway elimination match and the winner of each match gets $10,000. I think money would be a realistic reward as these are supposed to be guys that are coming up in wrestling, been out on the indy scene, etc. so ten grand is a pretty decent chunk of change. As further insentive to be the winner of these matches, each winner would go up against one another in a match live on Raw in a ladder match. At the top of the ladder is a briefcase filled with say another $25,000. So, a chance to win some serious money, lay it all on the line in a match on Raw and perform in such a match as to have everybody talking about it. With this sort of reward and opportunity, it could really be used to put the heat on the Rookies. The brawl with Darren Young and Wade Barrett was the best part of last week's NXT episode and that kind of competitive edge, the emotion and the pressure is what's missing from the show and I think high stakes rewards could be a way of keeping things interesting and fresh.

 

[Lyson Rayne]

I think they're doing eliminations week by week now, given the eliminations this past week and another being advertised for Tuesday. That should be incentive enough at this point.

No offense, but he ladder match on RAW idea you proposed doesn't seem very effective. Throwing away a ladder match on two rookies most of the RAW audience doesn't even recognize would be a waste. You don't want the rookies to have too much tv time on other shows and take up even more space on a crowded card, and a 5 minute ladder match would just piss people off. The way they're doing it now with their performance ultimately deciding if they stay or leave should be incentive enough. If I had the opportunity to seize my dream like that, I'd work my ass off to win every challenge I could and put on the best showing possible to keep from getting eliminated. That's the incentive, and it's all the rookies should need, kayfabe and in reality.

Obviously this thread is a little old, but I thought it still deserved at least one reply, so theres my thoughts.