Will NXT become the new "Smackdown"?

[xTUGx]

So for years, Monday Night RAW had a competitor brand namely Thursday/Friday Night SmackDown and both brands had its own roster. And occasionally conflict occurred between these two brands for supremacy as well as respect. RAW guys wanted to be better than SmackDown guys and SmackDown guys conversely wanted to be better than RAW guys. This lasted up until around 2012 when WWE decided to merge the two brands to make what is now referred to as the 'Main Roster' and in turn despite all their attempts to differentiate it from RAW and legitimise it, it takes no genius to realise it is as meaningful as WWE Superstars bar the fact that the card for Smackdown features higher draws than Superstars. It is obvious to see that it merely plays as a recap show in preparation for the upcoming RAW. But I am totally retracting from the point of this thread.

You see, over the last three years WWE's development system NXT has grown in its popularity as well as its draws. Now it has evolved to the point where guys like Rhyno who have been in the business for years, choose to go there as it is no longer really thought of along the lines of FCW.

What's more, in recent weeks, we have seen the emergence of a one Kevin Owens on the main roster with the NXT title over his shoulders. Over that time, as champion, he has beaten John Cena. Moreover, on Smackdown as well as on Raw we have seen NXT title open challenges.

So the purpose of this thread is for three main queries:
1.) Is NXT really a development system anymore, because to me it seems like it is evolving into something which only the top talent of the roster manage to get on.
2.) Will it evolve to the point which it appears to have some sort of rivalry with the main roster, as we are already seeing signs of this with the Owens v Cena rivalry.
3.) Will NXT get so big to the point where WWE will have to create another development system for the lower superstars. With this query, I know there is the Performance Centre in which they can train and have matches, but NXT is already doing live shows. And the number of people checking it out on the Network is huge. So, for people, up and coming who say haven't wrestled in the indies, or on any platform other than in front of trainers at the Performance Centre, will it eventually be that they will need to have a development system for these guys to evolve because realistically, the buzz NXT is having means that people trying to transition from wrestling with trainers to wrestling in front of audiences will literally be 'thrown into the deep end'.

I am very interested in hearing your views, whether you agree with me or not, NXT is becoming a very popular show and eventually it will get to the point where it cannot be thought of as a development system.

 

[TheICChampion]

1. Yes, it is developmental in the sense they're using it to train newer guys in all the aspects of sports entertainment, and in the case of guys coming from other promotions, making sure they've adapted to WWE's style of wrestling. And besides Rhyno and a few other guys, all of whom really aren't considered 'top talent' of the main roster, who else has really gone down to NXT because they wanted to? I know Cena hasn't. What about Orton? Hmmm...maybe Kane...no, not him either. Any members of the Shield? Daniel Bryan? I think MAYBE Ziggler. Which top talent has gone down to NXT on more than a one-off?

2. Sure, maybe, if Triple H ever takes over. This Cena vs. Owens feud may be testing the waters, but until Vinnie Mac dies (he ain't ever gonna retire) there won't be a rivalry, and even if there is, it won't be so much a rivalry as a completely one-sided affair with WWE coming out on top in all but maybe a few instances.

3. Good question..that I don't know the answer to. I guess they'll still be in NXT but until Triple H is sure they're ready for it they won't put them on the show. With NXT going live now I guess they could always test the waters like they do on the main roster by putting the newer superstars and divas in those environments and see how they do before getting on the network.

 

[Messiah]

Yes it's still developmental, only on a bigger stage. It's bigger than FCW but all those guys main goal is to get to Monday Night RAW and WrestleMania, none of those guys will headline Mania stuck in NXT and none of them will be WWE Champion being in NXT either.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I believe NXT is.....and will remain....their chief developmental vehicle. The addition of a few veterans like Samoa Joe and Rhyno might give the impression WWE is looking to create another Smackdown, yet it seems more of a wise business decision. At certain times, several of the performers who are ready to 'graduate' to the main roster will go up at approximately the same time. One of those times is right now; Neville, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are making their move. This not only depletes the NXT roster, but forces the subtraction of their top people, who must be replaced by those below them.

So, it's better to have some well-known veterans populate the NXT roster to ease the transition and not leave the brand with a dearth of talent. But as long as NXT stays the course of being the 'minor league' set on developing the stars of tomorrow, the concept will remain as originally conceived.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

No, because in your example its clear its two brands trying to outdo one another at the same thing.

NXT is branded to be an alternative and stand-alone brand, catered towards a niche audience.

 

[King Patrick Star]

NXT is a development system. Evolving into something else and gaining popularity are two different things in my opinion.

I don’t believe NXT will evolve to the point where it appears to have some sort of rivalry with the main roster. I think the John Cena / Kevin Owens rivalry is a standalone rivalry that will not turn into Brand vs. Brand.

NXT will not get so big that the WWE will have to create yet another developmental Brand. That would defeat the purpose of the current developmental Brand. If the NXT SuperStars are that good, they would be moved to Smackdown. If the NXT SuperStars are that great, they would be moved to Raw.

NXT will always be thought of as a developmental system / minor league, because NXT is for the NeXT WWE SuperStars of the future. That’s why it’s called NXT. These Legends that go to NXT are there to help developed the “rookies”. If they are ready, they will be called up. Here’s a breakdown of how I view WWE TV.

Raw (the “starting lineup”)
Smackdown (the “bench”, the true “B” show)
SuperStars (the current version of Heat)
Main Event (the current version of Velocity)
NXT (the “rookie” show / the “minor league”)

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

There's a few problems with this idea.

-- NXT is a developmental show. It happens to be a pretty good and popular, but it is still a developmental show.

-- Only smarks (including me) like NXT. That's the truth. Casual fans don't care about NXT. If you polled WWE fans on NXT, over half wouldn't know what it was.

-- Wrestlers are only there to develop until they get to the main roster. If you're in NXT, it's only a matter of time until you "graduate" to the main roster.

In short, I don't like your idea. One reason NXT works is because it is simple. Don't ruin it by giving it too much exposure.

 

[SJ5522]

NXT format of being developmental shouldn't change, but NXT should be given SmackDown's timeslot. SmackDown is dead, if they have a good match on SD, they'll do it on Raw next week, no storyline progression anymore - can't we bin it?
As mentioned Superstars and The Main Event are supposed to be like watching Heat or Velocity. Except that they're not even to that level. Tune into Heat and you could watch guys like Lance Storm & Tajiri. Tune into Velocity, Brian Kendrick and Paul London. it was a treat to tune in - far from today when we're apparently supposed to be interested in The Ascension v Axel & Sandow, Fandango v Adam Rose. Scrapping SmackDown would help these shows (though only the one should survive, really) become watchable again

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

As everyone has stated NXT is the developmental show. It still is and will always be. IMO it should stay as the developmental show.

WWE is a muti-million sports-entertainment company and without a question, it's not just the top of the mountain of the wrestling world, it's a whole different level, another planet if I may. NXT is your spaceship to that planet, which arguably sets NXT as the top wrestling brand in the world. And it should stay that way.

A feud between NXT and the main roster of the WWE is a lose-lose scenario.
Who wins?
If the WWE guys win, then it proves that those NXT guys are just some chump-rookies trying to beat the best. And when the time comes to succeed, they'll never make it, because of the beating they received (See: Nexus & Barrett, Wade).
If the rookies win, then it's a huge slap in the face of the main roster. Having your biggest names lose to some "rookies" is bad bussiness. Yeah, I know, the NXT wrestlers aren't really rookies, but in WWE's dictionary, rookie is someone who the casual fan doesn't know.

NXT could replace SmackDown!, but not as a brand, but as a show. I mean, Smackdown has become useless. 3 hours of RAW are at fault for this. The writers only care to promote RAW and never seem to care for Smackdown. It's like a replay show. So, that's why NXT could replace it. But will it? I doubt it. WWE cancelling Smackdown would be an acknowledge that the creative team sucks and that 3 hours of Raw is bad, which means it's WWE admitting deafeat. Not happening!

NXT will and should stay as the developmental system. But they really should tone down the amount of wrestlers joining the main roster. They make everyone seem so important on NXT and when they come up, they become jobbers. So much wasted talent (Adam Rose, Bo Dallas, Big E.). Given the fact that they can't even find something for people like Orton or Bray or Ambrose or Harper to do, they won't find for guys like Zayn and Neville either.

 

[Faaahn Daaahn Gooooo]

nxt is still developmental and should remain such. they have their house shows to develop the talents that arentt quite tv ready yet. trying to do nxt v wwe would fail cuz wwe would demolish nxt(due to vince)

 

[TempestH]

NXT format of being developmental shouldn't change, but NXT should be given SmackDown's timeslot. SmackDown is dead, if they have a good match on SD, they'll do it on Raw next week, no storyline progression anymore - can't we bin it?
As mentioned Superstars and The Main Event are supposed to be like watching Heat or Velocity. Except that they're not even to that level. Tune into Heat and you could watch guys like Lance Storm & Tajiri. Tune into Velocity, Brian Kendrick and Paul London. it was a treat to tune in - far from today when we're apparently supposed to be interested in The Ascension v Axel & Sandow, Fandango v Adam Rose. Scrapping SmackDown would help these shows (though only the one should survive, really) become watchable again

No. Part of the reason why NXT is as good as it is is because it isn't on TV. They are free to push fresh talents on NXT because they don't have to worry about ratings.

People on the main roster like Tyson Kidd, Alex Riley, and Zack Ryder are able to go down to NXT to rejuvenate themselves when they aren't getting booked on main roster programming BECAUSE there's no fear that them being featured will cause the ratings to drop.

The moment that NXT gets put on regular television, they will change it in order to make it more appealing to casual fans and sponsors.

 

[Faaahn Daaahn Gooooo]

nxt most definitely should not take smackdowns spot. thatd be a huge huge fail. nxt is still developmental.

 

[AdamJumba]

Last year it had the potential of being the new Smackdown. Balor's rise to stardom, The Ascension, Cesaro, KO debuting, and of course Neville vs. Zayn feud.

But now that KO's on the main roster and we can expect Samoa Joe and Finn Balor to be their atleast before WM (Maybe even before the year's end), then who is there to carry the brand? Especially with Zayn and Itami injured.

 

[R-Buck]

Nope. Best thing they could do is hand SmackDown back over to Heyman and make it its own promotion. Totally different style than RAW. But I think they're content doing the RAW extensive/recap format.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

The problem I have with NXT is ....it's better than Smackdown. That shouldn't be the case when you have main roster guys on the show but, fact is fact. Smackdown just SUCKS ! I hate it now, it's like they don't give a rats ass what happens on Smackdown and just recap RAW throughout the commercial riddled program.

I'd rather watch NXT in Smackdown's place to see the future stars do their thing instead of the crap they put on there calling it the main roster. Somebody call HHH to clean up Smackdown and make it a better show. In fact, let The Game take over everything and just step aside Vince, step aside.

 

[Dagger Dias]

If by "becoming the new Smackdown" you mean becoming the next secondary brand, then yes I can see that happening. It may be time to retire the Smackdown brand soon. It's all just Raw recaps, rematches, and random tag team matches nowadays anyway. NXT can be the second main weekly show instead. With NXT's growing popularity we are getting closer and closer to that point every single day. The NXT Takeover Brooklyn event will be a big test for the brand to see how they do in larger venues. If that show does as well as Raw or Summerslam in the exact same location, then it is proof that Trips is on to something with NXT. This is just wishful thinking and in being realistic, the show might not do as well as expected. If it doesn't, then we still get to see NXT in developmental brand form on The Network. Fingers are crossed that it DOES do well and one day grows to where it DOES become the true #2 brand.

We could someday see NXT being its own brand. We would have a red brand and a yellow brand with Raw and NXT being on par with each other like Raw and Smackdown were during the brand extension. Make the US or Intercontinental Championship NXT exclusive while keeping the titles the brand already does, and they are set. We could see the PPV calendar change to where we have 6 shows that are dual-branded (The original Big 4 plus Night of Champions and Money In the Bank) while the other shows become 3 Raw exclusive ones alongside 3 NXT exclusive events.

The final question that remains is, what would they do about NXT's original purpose, the developmental training brand? They could always bring back Heat and call it that while showing its footage on The Network or if they'd rather use a more recent name there's always Arrival, which would fit as that was the first NXT Special's name and this show would follow in the footsteps of what NXT was originally supposed to be. Finally, create new titles for the top male wrestler and top diva for this show, eventually also a set of tag team titles. Now they have a developmental brand, NXT gets to be its own brand to increase its popularity even further, Smackdown gets to ride off into the sunset (it has outlived its usefulness), while Raw remains unchanged. Everyone is better off all around. Problem solved.

 

[Navi]

I have to agree with Dagger on some of his points, but there are problems associated with it as well.

First of all they should be using NXT to promote Network subscriptions, and hopefully the upcoming event in New York will do that. A lot of fans who don't presently watch NXT will get the chance to see just exactly what they are all about, and what they're missing. Which in some cases is better than the main roster.

The problem with putting replacing SD with NXT is that you take it of the Network though, and what should be an excellent sales tool becomes nothing more than another wrestling show. I'm sure it would draw viewers as most who don't already have the Network would watch, but it would be a gamble.

What they should do is change up SD not replace it. With the size of the main roster, we are only seeing a small portion of it on RAW, and they are wasting another 2 hours of TV time by just showing us replays. Put the wrestlers that we don't see on RAW on SD. Don't make it a brand split, but feature those guys. Put Ryback on there and have a IC open challenge every week against wrestlers like Luke Harper and some others who are being totally wasted right now.

The WWE could easily fill 5 hours a week with different matches and they choose not too. That's why viewership is down for SD, also the fact that here in Canada SD now airs on Wednesday nights at the same time as NXT. Quite honestly I would rather watch NXT, than another tag team main event featuring Kane or Big Show.

It time to go back to the drawing board and start spreading out the wealth so to speak. Use SD as another launching pad for NXT talent coming up, they have to start giving fans an incentive to watch the show. As it stand right now especially with summer people just have better things to do. You have to make them want to stay home and watch.