Why is NXT considered a less mainstream product than Raw?

[Ruthless Pessimism]

"This isn't what I was looking for. They don't even have John Cena on here, it's just a bunch of guys I've never heard of."

[darkjourney]

Its the presentation of it along with the wrestlers. Its only ever gonna cater to a niche audience. A "work rate based" product. . They better not put it on national cable. It will flop like the WBF, XFL, or even ECW did eventually.

Hell Smackdown may even get taken off the air sooner or later. Thats a horrible product too.

[willywonka666]

I've never watched it before, but here's my question which may sound dumb, but again I never watched it, but....

Are these wrestlers going to graduate to Raw and then bring their styles to the table and shake things up, or are they coming and then have to act like everyone else and fans will be upset that what made them special is gone?

[Hit Girl]

Dec 17, 2015 20:18:11 GMT -5 willywonka666 said:

I've never watched it before, but here's my question which may sound dumb, but again I never watched it, but....

Are these wrestlers going to graduate to Raw and then bring their styles to the table and shake things up, or are they coming and then have to act like everyone else and fans will be upset that what made them special is gone?

See Tyler Breeze, Emma, Neville, etc...for the answer.

[This Player Hating Mothman]

I think that there's a lot about NXT that could be translated up to main roster shows for its absolute benefit, but NXT itself is, at its core, a bunch of guys who for one reason or another aren't ready for main roster TV dotted with a select few who are. Your Barons Corbin and your Dana Brookes, who are still learning the craft and are really green, go from people that even the ones who know full well what developmental is meant for will complain about on the internet, to people who can negatively impact ratings. The best place for NXT is one where it's liked by a lot of wrestling fans and easily accessible to anyone, but not put into a situation where it necessarily has to "produce" anything other than ticket sales on a scale it can easily accomplish.

[Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby]

Dec 17, 2015 16:56:41 GMT -5 darkjourney said:

Its the presentation of it along with the wrestlers. Its only ever gonna cater to a niche audience. A "work rate based" product. . They better not put it on national cable. It will flop like the WBF, XFL, or even ECW did eventually.

Hell Smackdown may even get taken off the air sooner or later. Thats a horrible product too.

How is it any more workrate based than what's on WWE national TV right now? NXT is just as much about gimmicks, characters, and stories as WWE proper.

In fact, it does the stories, gimmicks, and characters BETTER than WWE - the stories are more streamlined, have actual character development, have actual endings and status quo changes. In other words, NXT is actually doing all of the things that successful mainstream non-WWE TV shows are doing.

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

Dec 18, 2015 1:54:07 GMT -5 Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby said:

Dec 17, 2015 16:56:41 GMT -5 darkjourney said:

Its the presentation of it along with the wrestlers. Its only ever gonna cater to a niche audience. A "work rate based" product. . They better not put it on national cable. It will flop like the WBF, XFL, or even ECW did eventually.

Hell Smackdown may even get taken off the air sooner or later. Thats a horrible product too.

How is it any more workrate based than what's on WWE national TV right now? NXT is just as much about gimmicks, characters, and stories as WWE proper.

In fact, it does the stories, gimmicks, and characters BETTER than WWE - the stories are more streamlined, have actual character development, have actual endings and status quo changes. In other words, NXT is actually doing all of the things that successful mainstream non-WWE TV shows are doing.

Now now, you know Enzo and Big Cass are 2 of the most over guys purely because of their workrate

[Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby]

This is something I've been trying to word for a while, so I'm just going to go ahead and give it a go...

Treating pro wrestling like a "real sport" within the narrative isn't some silly smark fantasy thing. It isn't something that should be done because it emphasizes workrate, or makes WWE more like Japan, or boosts the indy guys over the homegrown comedy guys.

Treating pro wrestling like a sport within the narrative is essential for making the stories relatable to the audience. People watching know what winning and losing feel like, how important it is to strive for your achievements, how frustrating setbacks to goals are, what it's like to have rivals and allies in their goals.

NXT is doing the "act like it's a sport" thing, without letting that take away from the stories and characters. Enzo and Cass may be goofy, over the top characters, but they are still taken seriously as competitors - as are excellent and over acts like Jordan and Gable, Asuka, Dana Brooke, Bayley, and Samoa Joe. The "sport" approach to pro wrestling actually lets the viewer get invested in the story, in a way that WWE TV just doesn't allow right now.

[gr1990]

Dec 18, 2015 11:31:58 GMT -5 Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby said:

This is something I've been trying to word for a while, so I'm just going to go ahead and give it a go...

Treating pro wrestling like a "real sport" within the narrative isn't some silly smark fantasy thing. It isn't something that should be done because it emphasizes workrate, or makes WWE more like Japan, or boosts the indy guys over the homegrown comedy guys.

Treating pro wrestling like a sport within the narrative is essential for making the stories relatable to the audience. People watching know what winning and losing feel like, how important it is to strive for your achievements, how frustrating setbacks to goals are, what it's like to have rivals and allies in their goals.

NXT is doing the "act like it's a sport" thing, without letting that take away from the stories and characters. Enzo and Cass may be goofy, over the top characters, but they are still taken seriously as competitors - as are excellent and over acts like Jordan and Gable, Asuka, Dana Brooke, Bayley, and Samoa Joe. The "sport" approach to pro wrestling actually lets the viewer get invested in the story, in a way that WWE TV just doesn't allow right now.

Cannot like this post enough. If you tried to pass wrestling off as MMA, fans of legitimate combat sports would laugh at it, the fans who expect theatre and outlandish stuff would be bored, it just wouldn't work. But NXT is far from being that, and I don't think anyone wants it to be.

But people laugh at things like Demon Kane and some of the hokier stuff the Wyatt Family do as well and it stops them investing in the product (particularly when it exists on a show that tries to base itself in reality, rather than something explicitly based in a fantasy universe like Lucha Underground). NXT is the perfect medium between who wins and loses being important and feuds feeling 'real,' whilst still having enough colourful characters and theatricality that it doesn't come off as 'rigged MMA' in the way the likes of ROH have done from time-to-time.

Finn Balor's demon is a costume and a mentality that he channels to help him meet his toughest challenges. Kane's demon is a zombie that is on occasion impervious to pain, drags people through the ring to 'hell' and can be activated by using an ambulance the way Superman uses a phonebox, and he exists on the same show where people's feuds are ended when TMZ reports something that contradicts them. That's a complete mess and it's never gonna lure in anyone new.

[Johnny]

It's so hard to make wins and losses meaningful though due to the number of matches they run through on the main roster. And there's no where to go.

Nxt's wins and losses matter in kayfabe, as the end goal is to leave nxt. In wwe the end goal is the title, but then what? You have to follow it up with 10 years of more character development and achievements. The very nature means you have to trade wins and losses.

[A Platypus Rave]

Dec 18, 2015 13:56:14 GMT -5 Johnny said:

It's so hard to make wins and losses meaningful though due to the number of matches they run through on the main roster. And there's no where to go.

Nxt's wins and losses matter in kayfabe, as the end goal is to leave nxt. In wwe the end goal is the title, but then what? You have to follow it up with 10 years of more character development and achievements. The very nature means you have to trade wins and losses.

not even getting to the needing to move on to the main roster bit.

WWE has 5 hours of main material a week not counting superstars and main event and any other c shows they may have.

NXT has 1.

[SAJ Forth]

Both that it is a network-exclusive, and who is running the main show.

[G✇JI☈A]

I know Smackdown was recorded before Takeover ... But it sounded like Roman Reigns umm no sold the NXT event when he said "Beat up HHH on Sunday, he has not been seen since'.


Except HHH opened Takeover.

[repomark]

NXT is great as it is, there is no need for it to try and become more mainstream.

It is a great show, but ultimately we need to not forget it is still WWE's developmental territory. It is not an alternative to WWE as it is WWE. The goal of everyone on the NXT roster is to be called up to the main roster where the exposure (and money) is exponentially greater.

NXT is superb, and touring the brand is a sign of its popularity amongst us more obsessed fans, and long may that continue. But if they were to attempt to make NXT a genuine second brand on equal footing to WWE and go mainstream, then it would fail as it would then instantly lose its entire purpose for being and everything that sets it apart from main roster WWE.

Can we not just enjoy NXT for the magnificent cauldron of awesomeness it is, rather than trying to make it something it can never actually be nor needs to be?