When are NXT stars "ready" for WWE?

[DCLXVI]

This is an interesting topic to me. It's no secret that most of the forum members are big fans of the NXT... we've been teased about The Ascension coming to the main roster for a while, Sami Zayn has wrestled on the Main Event shows and frequently tours for their live events alongside Adrien Neville.

We had guys like Enzo Amore/Big Cass, a little rough around the edges but Enzo dominates on the mic and Big Cass is well... 7 feet tall... and you can't teach that. We also have The Vaudevillains which are on the small side for the WWE roster but are exactly what a tag team should be. I would much rather have them on the main roster as opposed to guys like Los Matadores and even... wait for it, huge fan of both - but Stardust and Goldust as the only Heel tag team unless you count Miz/Mizdow.

All the "indy darlings" or guys who have made it in Japan. Finn Balor is gold.

The women's division, bright as hell... but actual wrestling matches. You have my girl Sasha Banks (who is a star, just wait), Charlotte (already making the transitional jump, think Flair should have introduced her and put her in a high profile match), Becky Lynch who wrestles like a man - a mad man at that, and Bayley who has grown leaps and bounds and is the perfect babyface for a little girl to look up to.

They need to establish talent for the NXT show, but at what time is it no longer time for "development" and time to go into the majors? Much less experienced wrestlers have done it and had success.

Thoughts?

 

[TheICChampion]

While I agree it's about time for some of the NXT guys to step up, there aren't that many who have made it so far that can boast big success, other than the Shield and, perhaps on a smaller scale, the Wyatts. I know not everyone can be a main-event star, and especially when you consider a lot of the guys who are ready are smaller guys who Vince isn't too keen on pushing unless he feels he has absolutely no choice. I feel that while it would be great to see these guys come up and make an impact on the main roster, I feel that most, if not all of them will either fall into obscurity and/or become comedy jobbers sooner rather than later. Not their fault, it's Vince's ADD booking. I really hope I'm wrong, and that guys like the Ascension, Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville make it. I think Baron Corbin has a bright future as well. Kevin Owens, perhaps. I'm just not getting my hopes up too high. Maybe once Vince dies and Cena retires we might start seeing newer guys make their way to the top and a better product overall.

 

[Papa Pillman]

I think the first question of "when they're ready" comes down to the question of the wrestlers background.

If the wrestler's background is not in pro wrestling, or they had very little prior pro wrestling experience, or didn't work the top indy and international companies, then obviously those guys will take longer to become seasoned.

Others who are already "made men" in the non-WWE world of wrestling who get the call only need a short time to get themself acclimated to the McMahon style of wrestling. And I think the depth of that acclimation is overblown- the Bryan's, Steen's, Zayn's, Neville's, Balor's etc. of the world have worked so many different places on different continents against different style opponents that all they have had to do for years is adapt. Hell, Steen's indy career likely took more adapting than the WWE move will, as he was initially trained in the WWE style.

For those types(and this then applies to the WWE creations as well once they're properly seasoned) it becomes of question of when is the WWE and main roster ready for them as opposed to vice versa. They spend a lot of energy developing characters for these guys and getting them over on the network in front of the universe. They don't want to call them up until they have a clear plan of where a guy fits on the current main roster and TV landscape. With no purpose guys experience the sort of limbo that wrestlers like Rose, Langston, Emma, Woods, and to some degree even Cesaro have. While the ones who come up with a plan in place like Rusev, The Shield or Wyatt trios, etc. are able to flourish because their place and purpose on the card is solidified.

Also roster depth is an issue. There is only so much TV time and WWE needs to be able to showcase these guys. They also need enough talent at NXT to make sure that the developmental show is a good TV product for the network. I'd love to see them cut more fat from the main roster, make a mass NXT call-up, and then restock NXT with new indy talent; or conversely just flip some guys, bring up some NXT names and "demote" some main roster names and hope they can make the most of the switch like Tyson Kidd did. But, sadly it doesn't appear either of those plans of action are imminent from the WWE, so we'll just have to be patient and wait until the creative heads have a plan for the load of currently "ready to jump at any time" NXT talents.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

There's a lot of talent in NXT and one reason why they've shined is because Triple H has a different approach to booking than Vince. Trips is more of a "wrestling" guy while Vince's first priority is generally the "sports entertainment" aspect of things. Triple H makes FAR more consistent booking decisions than Vince does, Vince's choices seem downright schizophrenic at times. A guy that's ready in Triple H's opinion might not be in Vince's opinion and when it comes to the main roster, Vince makes the final call on everything that goes on.

In NXT's tag team picture, the Lucha Dragons & Ascension are both highly entertaining. In my opinion, if Vince is someday hoping to find another Rey Mysterio, Kalisto has potential. The Ascension have a unique presence, great chemistry and are a nice mix of straight up brawling and athleticism. As for the Vaudevillains, they're a unique mix of old and new school that I think fans would get into IF Vince gave them some time to develop if/when they come to the main roster.

As far as the women's division goes, Charlotte and Sasha Banks are both stars. They have great presence, are strong in the ring, carry themselves well and can talk on the mic. Bayley is great in the ring and she's taken what could be construed as something of a goofy gimmick and she's made it work. She's also great in the role of a sweet, likeable babyface. Carmella isn't main roster ready, but she carries herself well, she has a great presence and seems to be pretty good on the mic from what I've seen thus far. Another gal to watch is Alexa Bliss as she's crazy athletic. She's not ready for the main roster, but she's come a helluva long way inside the ring.

As far as the singles division goes, again, there's just loads of talent and potential. Sami Zayn is dynamite in the ring, is a great storyteller and is strong on the mic. Adrian Neville is insanely athletic, pretty decent on the mic and is also dynamite in the ring. Finn Balor should be on the roster before long as he's already got what it takes. Hideo Itami will be there once his English is further along. Tyler Breeze is great at his gimmick, has a good presence, can talk well and is good in the ring. Colin Cassidy is a big guy with sort of a rangy build, kinda like Jack Swagger's, and he's also surprisingly good on the mic. Enzo Amore isn't that great in the ring, but I think he could positively thrive as a manager because he's got the stuff on the mic.

 

[Navi]

I really believe that the WWE squandered a lot of time last year. With the injuries to some of their top guys and Punk walking off, it was a good time to fill the roster out with some of the wrestlers from NXT.

It would have given them exposure to the main roster, got them some experience dealing with bigger crowds and we wouldn't have been subjected to the same old, same old every week. When they brought up Zayn, Neville, Kidd and Breeze and they had that tag team match, it blew the roof off the house that night. Easily one of the best matches on the card, because these guys really bring it.

Let's face it the roster is aging, and these guys are hungry. Henry, Big Show, Kane among others are in the twilight of their careers. It would do them good to put some of these new guys over.

Yea it's a fact that some of the ones already called up haven't done so well, Bo Dallas, Adam Rose and Emma. Send them back to NXT for more training and replace them with Steen, Balor, Neville and Zayn. I think all four are ready to go. Steen and Balor just need to get into the WWE way of doing things, Neville and Zayn have been ready to go for a long time now.

The tag team division could also do with the Ascension and Lucha Dragons. And Kalisto will take the place of the absent Mysterio. Charlottle and Sasha Banks are sorely needed in the Diva's division, especially if AJ leaves.

 

[Kamala316]

NXT has been a breath of fresh air, and has given the performers an excellent platform to hone their craft in and out of the-ring while learning the WWE "style" of sports entertainment. That being said, one of the things I think about when watching NXT is this exact question: "Are they ready?" Another thing to think about is the gimmick. Take Bo Dallas, for example. Bo held the NXT title for quite some time, dare I say, he was the "Franchise". He lands on WWE programming (twice), and the crowd could care less. What do you? Give him even more time to get over? Or do you change his gimmick (i.e. - have him join the Wyatt family?)?
That leads to another point: at what point does WWE decide that they've invested enough resources, and a performer doesn't have that "it factor" at that point in their career? Another possible factor might be the influx of new blood on the NXT roster to keep the competition flowing. Take a performer like Tyler Breeze for example. He was in the main event of the last live show, and now, he's pretty much an afterthought. They put a lot of time and effort into his character, but he has yet to really break through. What do you do with him? Keep him around in mediocrity or put your time and effort into someone new like Steen, Kenta or Devitt? (see Thursday's card).
WWE in-ring programming could benefit with some of these young performers, and help them get exposure on the major league level. I worry that if Zayn stays in NXT any longer, his "can't win the big one" gimmick will follow him to WWE, and will ultimately hurt him. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I would love to see WWE introduce a TV title, which has to be defended on WWE programming at least once a week (time limit could make things interesting). You could use this to introduce NXT stars, or bring back superstars who are returning from injury to challenge for the title. This would also allow NXT superstars the chance to get "over" with the crowd by demonstrating what they have in the ring.
Sorry for the rant, I'm all over the place with this post. If you read all of this, thanks. If you didn't, I don't blame you lol. But I think we can all agree that it's time for a roster shake-up for the benefit of both WWE and NXT.

 

[Navi]

NXT has been a breath of fresh air, and has given the performers an excellent platform to hone their craft in and out of the-ring while learning the WWE "style" of sports entertainment. That being said, one of the things I think about when watching NXT is this exact question: "Are they ready?" Another thing to think about is the gimmick. Take Bo Dallas, for example. Bo held the NXT title for quite some time, dare I say, he was the "Franchise". He lands on WWE programming (twice), and the crowd could care less. What do you? Give him even more time to get over? Or do you change his gimmick (i.e. - have him join the Wyatt family?)?
That leads to another point: at what point does WWE decide that they've invested enough resources, and a performer doesn't have that "it factor" at that point in their career? Another possible factor might be the influx of new blood on the NXT roster to keep the competition flowing. Take a performer like Tyler Breeze for example. He was in the main event of the last live show, and now, he's pretty much an afterthought. They put a lot of time and effort into his character, but he has yet to really break through. What do you do with him? Keep him around in mediocrity or put your time and effort into someone new like Steen, Kenta or Devitt? (see Thursday's card).
WWE in-ring programming could benefit with some of these young performers, and help them get exposure on the major league level. I worry that if Zayn stays in NXT any longer, his "can't win the big one" gimmick will follow him to WWE, and will ultimately hurt him. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I would love to see WWE introduce a TV title, which has to be defended on WWE programming at least once a week (time limit could make things interesting). You could use this to introduce NXT stars, or bring back superstars who are returning from injury to challenge for the title. This would also allow NXT superstars the chance to get "over" with the crowd by demonstrating what they have in the ring.
Sorry for the rant, I'm all over the place with this post. If you read all of this, thanks. If you didn't, I don't blame you lol. But I think we can all agree that it's time for a roster shake-up for the benefit of both WWE and NXT.

The problem with any of these NXT guys is this. There seems to be a different audience for the main roster and the NXT roster. When Paige was in NXT she was the anti-diva. When she came up to the main roster some didn't know who she was, and others who did watch NXT didn't like the fact that they took that gimmick away from her. Also winning the title in her first match didn't help. She's managed to come into her own, but it look awhile.

Bo Dallas just looks too much like his brother Bray Wyatt. I guess joining the Wyatt's would have been the natural thing to do, or give him Bray as a manager type figure. Bo isn't that great on the mic, and his BO-LIEVE trademark saying kind of stopped working for me three matches in.

I also think Tyler Breeze might have an issue. He's too much like Ziggler in looks and the fact that he loves himself. Now if they paired Breese and Ziggler up as a tag team, that would be one hell of a couple. Ziggler's star is on the rise though, while Breeze seems to be hanging in the wind. 'no pun intended'

Also agree with you about Zayn. He's been battling Neville for what seems like ever now, and it's time to either take the title or move him up. If he doesn't win this Thursday, I don't see anything more for him in NXT. He's pretty much done it all. If he does win the title though it's time to move Neville, as I can't see him sticking around NXT for too much longer.

The main roster needs some of these guys more than NXT does, and it will let NXT have the chance to bring new wrestlers into the fold.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

The quick answer is that they are ready when the booking committee is ready for them. I really like the way Triple H supposedly has his mind set: the NXT wrestlers won't be called up unless a set storyline is in place for them. That way, months/years of development - and money - isn't squandered by throwing a Scotty Goldman/ Simon Dean etc style character with a gimmick but no actual plan, which is a one way street to the unemployment office.

I even agree with them not throwing NXT wrestlers onto the main roster to fill spots vacated by injury. For the exact same reasons as above. The problems there would increase when the injured wrestlers return and there aren't enough spots.

The other thing is, keeping wrestlers on NXT programming for prolonged amounts of time increases both their exposure and anticipation of their main roster debut. Look at how often people on here speculate about the debut of the Ascension, for example.

I also like the way WWE have used the Royal Rumble match as a way of introducing NXT wrestlers to the worldwide stage. Bo Dallas looked very bland, vanilla two years ago, which gave WWE the impetus to change up his gimmick; Rusev hasn't looked back. Given the stipulation of the NXT title match between Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville at REvolution, I imagine the loser of that will 'debut' at the 2015 Rumble as well.

I'm happy with the direction of NXT, long may it continue

 

[RicSpade]

There are probably a hand full of guys who are ready but it all depends on what creative has in place for newer talent to the main event roster. Kidd is back on the main roster because of his wife and their storyline if she wasn't on Total Divas he would still be on NXT regardless of talent. Ascension are main roster coming soon because the tag division is getting hot and more depth with the Dust brothers, Mizdow, Usos, Cesaro n kidd. Zayn is an amazing talent so is Neville but its just not their time. Look at Fandango he got a huge push by beating Jericho and now he had to be repackaged as some latin lover, Adam Rose flopped as a face which surprised me, so again its timing when the timing is right the newer guys will freshen the roster

 

[Double S]

It's 100% down to the role they can step into I think, so many are talented enough but there's only so many standout spots

Rose was a massive hit in nxt, because he had a great entrance and fun matches, going into raw it was a 30 second squash and it flopped, no one cared for his story with swagger as he was just a guy who came out and did very little

Bray however stepped into a role he could shine at as he had promo time people got invested and became one of the top heels if he had a different situation upon being called up it may have been different

It's why I'm glad some guys arnt called up yet, because the wrong time and it can fail badly, the luchas would be a massive addition to the tag ranks, but right now with miz holding the belts and usos getting most focus they'd just slip to the matadores level, that benefits noone,