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What is the future of NXT?


Dylan Waco

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Most probably. But he already had a style to tone down to begin with. So yeah, they learnt to adapt.

 

But guys who came straight out of NXT from nowhere aren't exactly setting the world on fire as far as work (or character) go. Funny that HHH always blasted OVW when really, the WWE has been leaning on guys coming from there (Cena, Orton, Lesnar, Batista) for pretty much the last decade, for better of for worse.

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Dave Meltzer confirmed a lot of what we've been speculating here in this week's Observer (only quoting the most relevant sentences of the paragraph):

 

 

They are looking at adding several names from ROH, including waiting for key contracts to expire to go after them. The idea of NXT has changed a lot of late as Levesque loves all the praise he gets for the project in social media. The original idea was to train guys from the bottom to the main roster, but the reality is, they've only had two real successes so far that they've started, which are Wyatt and Reigns, and neither of them came from NXT.... So the idea is to start replacing the indie stars who can deliver great matches with more indie stars, which is a 180 degree shift in mindset, because if they get more guys like that they can continue the good matches and do a touring group....

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Does it seem like Dave's hatred of HHH is hindering us getting the real story on why WWE is all-in on creating an indie company? In the latest Observer he just says that HHH is doing it because he likes the compliments he gets on social media. But in another section he says that HHH has no respect for internet fans. So apparently all of the time and money being put into this is HHH fishing for compliments from people he has no use for.

 

I feel like there's a bigger and more interesting story here than just HHH trying to cover up developmental's inadequacies. He wouldn't need to be going after Samoa Joe and the Briscoes and seemingly every indy guy out there. They think they can make money off of this.

 

edit: beaten to the punch on the quote

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HHH likes the internet when it's telling him how great NXT is, and hates it when they tell him WWE has been a pile of shit for the last year or so. One could argue he's doing a one man good-cop/bad-cop routine to make sure Vince thinks he's on his side about those Damn Millennials.

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As a fan I would love to see the ROH and PWG guys make the big stage even if it the 3rd (although better) level of the WWE. But the reality is that the more indy guys you put on the roster to appease the internet, the less likely you will spend time working on the guys who need the experience like Blake & Murphy and Aiden English and Dash Wilder and others. I mean earlier this year there was all this hype for upcoming guys like Chad Gable and this Shoot Club and this Dylan guy who from all accounts is a monster. Well no need to worry about getting those guys better if you are going to fill them up the Briscoes and Samoa Joe and others who are way ahead of the curve.

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Does it seem like Dave's hatred of HHH is hindering us getting the real story on why WWE is all-in on creating an indie company? In the latest Observer he just says that HHH is doing it because he likes the compliments he gets on social media. But in another section he says that HHH has no respect for internet fans. So apparently all of the time and money being put into this is HHH fishing for compliments from people he has no use for.

 

I feel like there's a bigger and more interesting story here than just HHH trying to cover up developmental's inadequacies. He wouldn't need to be going after Samoa Joe and the Briscoes and seemingly every indy guy out there. They think they can make money off of this.

 

Does Dave *really* hate Triple H? He thinks very highly of him as a worker. I thought Triple H got off very lightly in his Bill DeMott resignation coverage. I mean everything you needed to know was there, but you had to fill in the dots yourself.

 

It certainly makes sense to attempt to monetise the cult following NXT has. But, Hunter is in a no-lose position, because if NXT touring loses money, then it can simply be written off as a developmental expense. There's really not that much money to be made from chasing the indy dollar. ECW touring wasn't profitable in the latter half of 2006 drawing crowds the size NXT would be expected to get. I'm sure talent costs for NXT will be lower than ECW, but this isn't a big money proposition.

 

The real story is that Triple H needs to convince Wall Street that he's the right successor to Vince McMahon. Being able to follow in Vince's footsteps and nationally expand his own brand would be strong evidence that WWE investors should trust him to take over the keys to the castle. Given that NXT's financial losses can be covered up by clever accounting, more nebulous indicators of success like social media buzz and trending stats can be touted in Hunter's favour.

 

Regarding Hunter's relationship with Internet fans, clearly he sees us as whiny children: easy to manipulate, but stomp our feet when we don't get what we want. So, of course, he's going to use us to his own advantage where it suits him best and play to our whims with NXT where it doesn't really matter.

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Mike Johnson is reporting that "NXT has a hold with the 2300 (formerly ECW) Arena in Philadelphia, PA for two dates, Friday 5/15 and Saturday 5/16" and noted that "the timing of the NXT shows would make the Arena the capital for professional wrestling that week as New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor are running the venue on Tuesday 5/12 and Wednesday 5/13".

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Does it seem like Dave's hatred of HHH is hindering us getting the real story on why WWE is all-in on creating an indie company? In the latest Observer he just says that HHH is doing it because he likes the compliments he gets on social media. But in another section he says that HHH has no respect for internet fans. So apparently all of the time and money being put into this is HHH fishing for compliments from people he has no use for.

 

I feel like there's a bigger and more interesting story here than just HHH trying to cover up developmental's inadequacies. He wouldn't need to be going after Samoa Joe and the Briscoes and seemingly every indy guy out there. They think they can make money off of this.

 

Does Dave *really* hate Triple H? He thinks very highly of him as a worker. I thought Triple H got off very lightly in his Bill DeMott resignation coverage. I mean everything you needed to know was there, but you had to fill in the dots yourself.

 

I don't know. NXT ran two sold out shows last week that people on Twitter were calling the best events they've ever been to. Dave's only comment on this big step for NXT was that it was funny the fans cheered for HHH since he doesn't respect them. Meanwhile, a PWG show in front of 400 people gets a big write-up. Feels like there might be some personal biases there.

 

I don't know that NXT's touring is going to have to be saved by nebulous accounting. I guess it depends on the budget. With the talent they're signing, there's no reason they can't draw at least 1,500-2,000 in these markets. I expect both Arena shows to sell out quickly. The San Jose one is more interesting. It's a 5,000 seat venue. My guess is 3,000 with all the fans in town.

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At the end of the day, these two shows, albeit important due to the direction shift of the NXT brand, were just house shows that weren't aired live on the WWE Network (although some matches were taped for later editions of NXT). Dave covered them in greater depth than he would most WWE house show events and it wasn't a negative write-up. He also said in the write-up of the Columbus show: "This was not a local crowd, but people who came in from other places, whether for the Arnold Expo or just for NXT. But it was an all-WWE Network crowd that it was clear watched NXT weekly and were into hating Raw. It's really clever because WWE is now marketing the alternative to themselves. The general reaction to this show is something like ROH is going to be in trouble because you'll have a company trying for the same fan base by using the stars of ROH, with better production values and more money to spend.... Everyone was raving about the show." The big PWG write-up was because he attended the show live. If WWE had announced their WrestleMania weekend NXT show more than three weeks in advance, maybe they too could have gotten a glowing review from Dave.

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NXT is also going to run on the Friday night of WrestleMania weekend at the San Jose University Event Center.

 

The show is actually running head to head with the Ring of Honor show that night. So if we are assuming that NXT is out to destroy indy wrestling we know it first attempted victim.

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