The WWE and NXT Disconnect

Looking at the disconnect between WWE and NXT.

(411mania.com)

The WWE Network launched on February 24, 2014. On February 27 many WWE fans got their first taste of NXT when the WWE Network aired NXT Arrival, a 2-hour live showcase of the best NXT had to offer. Since that time NXT has consistently produced the best weekly television under the WWE banner including NXT: R Evolution; considered by many to be the best US show of the year. 

While NXT has been thriving on their own, when coupled with the WWE, things begin to get a bit jumbled. Simply put: WWE and NXT are not on the same page. 

It’s been a common theme ever since the launch of the WWE Network, but it really showed last week. On Raw, The Ascension made their WWE debut and quickly took out former WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz and Damien Mizdow in just over a minute. Three days later on NXT, The Ascension lost to Hideo Itami and Finn Balor for the second time in less than a month. 

If The Ascension are supposed to be the next great WWE tag team, why are they losing on NXT just days after defeating former champions? 

The problem here is that there is no real call-up process between WWE and NXT. The Ascension pretty much accomplished all they could in NXT and with the WWE tag division needing any help it can get, they were brought up to the main roster. They did their deed and put over Itami and Balor at NXT: R Evolution. That should’ve been the end of them in NXT. Instead they returned just days after their Raw debut to put over Itami and Balor again. All that proved to me was that Itami and Balor are better than The Ascension and should be the ones on the main roster. 

Charlotte also fell victim to the WWE/NXT disconnect this past week. She’s gone through just about every woman in NXT and called Sasha Banks, who she’s defeated twice, her toughest challenger to date. When Banks and Becky Lynch came out to confront Charlotte, Natalya made the save. 

On a recent episode of Raw, Natalya beat Charlotte in less than three minutes. 

Shouldn’t Natalya be considered as Charlotte’s toughest opponent given that she holds a victory over her? The two ladies had a classic match at NXT: Arrival where Charlotte topped Natalya to win the NXT Women’s Title, but overall they are 1-1 against each other. Charlotte should be refusing Natalya’s help against Sasha Banks and looking to avenge her only defeat as champion, even if it was a non-title match. 

This is also a problem with WWE stars going down to NXT. 

Curtis Axel is the latest WWE mainstay to head to Full Sail University in order to have something to do, but the way it happened made no sense. 

Axel interrupted an interview with William Regal, asking for a shot in NXT while mentioning that he’s defeated the likes of Triple H and John Cena. If you’ve beaten Triple H and John Cena, why are you asking for a shot in NXT? Either you shouldn’t be in NXT or you should be in NXT to show them what a true superstar looks like. Axel shouldn’t have to ask for a shot in NXT, he should be “grabbing the brass ring” and immediately going after one of the top guys. 

Axel is in NXT to “add star power” to the company. There are plenty of jokes about Axel not actually being a star, but if he’s not present as a star, no one is going to buy him as one. Essentially begging for a spot in NXT isn’t presenting someone as a star. 

Even since the WWE Network launched in February and more people had access to NXT, there’s been a disconnect between WWE and NXT. 

Paige, Bo Dallas, and Adam Rose were the first three NXT to WWE call-ups. Rose had a short-lived run in NTX and was never going to be more than a midcard player in WWE with his gimmick, but Dallas and Paige were former NXT champions. Paige had a strong debut, winning the Diva’s title from long-reigning championing AJ Lee, but was stuck in a number of terrible feuds following AJ’s departure, had a less than stellar feud with AJ upon her return, and is now just kind of around. Dallas started off his WWE run with a nice winning streak before losing to R-Truth, kind of showing an aggressive side, and then trading fluke wins and legit losses to random midcard guys before getting injured.

Paige and Dallas were a big deals in NXT who are now just bit players in the WWE. 

The next call-up seems to be Adrian Neville, the longest reigning NXT Champion in history. While it’s hard to criticize his his WWE run before he ever makes his official debut on the main roster, early reports don’t seem too favorable. Neville is rumored to debut with a Mighty Mouse gimmick, which is either an homage to a show that peaked in the 1950’s or the lowest drawing UFC champion. Either way, it’s tough to be optimistic about Neville’s debut given his rumored gimmick and WWE’s handling of previous NXT call-ups in the Network era. 

NXT and WWE should be existing together in the same universe. Instead they are working against each other and only hurting themselves.