[QUOTE="Stone Cold" John Hogan;2718590]I have a couple of theories to why the fans and WWE alike have stoped caring about NXT.
First of all, after the drama and fallout from season one, it was clear that no future season with live up to the first NXT's standards. NXT will always be remembered and associated with Nexus and its birth; there's no way another season could follow them.[/QUOTE]
How could it? The shock of the Nexus storyline was one of the best executed angles in some time. It may have gotten people to tune into NXT for awhile to see if these rookies could make a similar impact, or which may be a good fit for Nexus. But WWE set the bar so high with the angle involving the rookies for season one its hard to imagine another group coming close to replicating its success, as you said.
Secondly, though I hate Kaval, the fact that he became a jobber following his NXT win really devalued the show. People originally watched believing they'd see the 'next breakout star,' but they were wrong.
Again, this goes back to the same idea that was presented in your first point. Wade Barrett has set the bar so incredibly high because of his success with Nexus as the "Next Breakout Star" that its hard to imagine anyone making such an impact. The subsequent burial and release of Kaval certainly didnt help matters either, and the guaranteed title shot seems to mean less and less by the season.
Thirdly, the fact that NXT has been off TV for the past two seasons is a major inconvenience to fans. When fans aren't watching, WWE doesn't care. Also, the reason that though TV station wanted NXT was probably due to its poor ratings.
This, and the fact that WWE inadvertantly admitted to its fans that the show is a joke by virtue of Season 3. The announcers crapped on the show at every opportunity. IF WWE is giving off the impression that they don't care, then why should we as the viewer care?
Fourth, poor characters. WWE only have a limited amount of wrestlers in FCW, and the best were used in the first two seasons. Now we are stuck with the leftovers. On top of that, NXT characters tend to be generic.
There's plenty of talent left in FCW, and I was unpleasantly surprised at the introduction of the cast for Season 4. Seasoned wrestlers such as Austin Watson(Consequences Creed in TNA), Seth Rollins(Tyler Black in ROH), and Richie Steamboat are all still in FCW, while talentless hacks such as Jacob Novak and Conar O'Brian are further de-valuing the show. I understand somewhat why WWE didnt take season 3 seriously, and thats because they've shown little investment in their women's division over the past few years. But there's legitimate amount of talent that could have been used to draw my interest in season 4, and they were left behind.
Another reason for me includes the pros from past seasons. We started with an all star cast including Chris Jericho, Christian, and Miz as pros, amongst others. The only watchable pros this season have been Daniel Bryan and Alberto Del Rio, and even those two havent brought much value to the show as of yet. Chris Masters , Ted Dibiase, and another installment of R-Truth just dont do it for me as wrestlers, let alone credible mentors.
The final thing that's kept me away has been the rediculous challenges. They were a total failure on Season 1, so what does WWE do? They bring them back and make them MORE important by the season, as their value is now for immunity. A novel idea would be to use a wrestling match for immunity points, rather then an obstacle course. I mean, the idea is to earn a WWE contract as a wrestler right? Not to see who can leap hurdles the fastest and walk a balance beam.
You made a nice list of reasons as to why I as a fan no longer watch, and I added a few more of my own. Season 3 held my interest simply for the fact that it was entertaining watching the announcers crap all over the show. They've taken a more serious approach to this season from the episode Ive watched, but to me that hasn't helped the show because the in-ring talent between the rookies and the pros has been poor. Ive lost complete interest in the show, and it has nothing to do with its move from SyFy to WWE.com....
