NXT- Developmental Or Super Indy???

[fw91]

Got into a debate on facebook wrestling group I'm a part of. Pretty much stemmed from the usual "Takeover was better than the main show" claims. My stance that off course it was, but is comparing apples to oranges due to different fundamentals that are involved for both shows. Some saw it as a cop out and the developmental show should never be the better product because the endgame for the talent is always the main roster. However, I think that the fundamental differences (more emphasis on match quality and indy style wrestling on NXT, shorter time between shows for the main roster) create that apples to oranges comparison. I think its easy to tell what talent will make it on the main roster and that the casual fan plays a huge role in the difference amongst the brands.

What say you?

[Captain Stud Muffin (BLM)]

Both

The inherent problem is when/if HHH takes over you see the type of product he wants. Now, will it be able to work after having to do traveling all year round as opposed to how to do in Florida with some traveling loops after taping blocks, maybe. The problem is the clash of styles. In reality, HHH should be teaching the "Vince way" for developmental but he also has a hot product that people want to be apart of

The in ring style can be adjusted. The biggest worry from NXT to main roster is how unprepared they are to read off cue cards and the quality of story. One would think having wrestlers be able to be given bullet points and make it work should work but Vince nor his writers take that approach as they want everything in 100% control

It's a quandary for the wrestlers

[Sparkybob]

I don't watch NXT but as an outside perspective they do a much better job highlighting their stars and maximizing their stories but they don't have to worry about fitting 18 people on a card consistently. They have an advantage of being able to cycle people out before they are either stale or expose which makes it seem like a fresher show.

The WWE has a lot more balls to juggle in terms of who gets screen time and more importantly, making sure wrestlers are getting booked so they get paid.

[Deleted]

More Super Indy last night you only had one developing wrestler in Velveteen Dream on the show.I can’t remember if it was the last takeover or the one before but they did a bunch of established talents vs new guys and I think that should be more of what NXT should be for the betterment of the future of the company as a whole because there’s a bunch of talent that either never or rarely got takeover spots and then get called to the main roster and you see how painfully unprepared they are.Like Mandy Rose she never got tv time or a takeover match she’s been with the company for over 3 years and she really hasn’t improved much or Liv Morgan who was in NXT for a couple years never got a takeover match she was exclusively a babyface so the called her up to the main roster and made her a heel that can be tough for someone with a ton of experience.

[Deleted]

they shouldn't get credit for "developing" people that were already wrestling in indies/ Japan etc

[Doctor No]

It's a main roster/product killing, poorly run developmental super indy.

[RadcapRadsley]

Definitley a super Indy at least in developmental male talent. All the tag teams developed in NXT have flopped and outside of Reigns,Wyatt,Big E and some lowcarder's no one who wasn't already polished in the Indy's has made a Main Roster impact. Even Braun who had no experience before signing with WWE actually developed on the main roster and was only in NXT for a sneeze level amount of time.

[knightboat]

I was going to say Super Indy immediately, but took a minute to think about it. Its definitely a mix of both. Velveeta Dream, Lars Sullivan, Shayna Bazler, all big time nxt talent that has been developed by the system. Not to mention lower card wrestlers like Heavy Machinery, The Street Profits, Moss and Sabitelli have all been helped tremendously by being able to develop. Gargano and Ciampa were semi big deals on the indies, but now theyre bonafide main eventers. So I think its a mix, leaning stronger towards super Indy, but it still does its job developing guys as well.

[ozzyismetal]

Super indy.

The real developmental system in the Performance Centre isn't consumer-facing and tbh I can see why they wouldn't want it to be.

[abjordans]

Super Indy for Takeover, house shows and NXT are developmental. Been like that for a while now, pretty easy model to understand I think.

[Final Countdown Jones]

Simply put it's two separate entities both occupying kind of the same space. Indie guys have always gone through developmental on their way to the main roster, if only to iron out a character and learn the specific style WWE wants out of guys. Now, they're just given a big platform to do things in. But WWE still has a f***load of people under their employ with the primary purpose of teaching them how to wrestle, and the idea is that when they're ready, you see them peek into NXT. Right now we've got Velveteen Dream filling that role, and in the past we've seen stuff like American Alpha vs. The Revival being the showcase of the night featuring exclusively developmental dudes, and the Four Horsewomen before them. It can vary as time goes on and depending on how ready a class is or how many recent indie signings they've made, but I don't think it's completely fair to say they're one or the other. Even stuff like the Mae Young Classic is built on showcasing both indie stars and the developmental prospects they're working on. It's trying to be two things at once, with the super indy aspect drawing eyes and money to help offset the costs of a developmental system that's more intense than ever.

[horseface]

In-house Indy.

[111111]

Its not an "indy" of any description as it is owned by WWE and is therefore not independent.

Its just a different presentation of WWE aimed at more hardcore fans that mainly uses wrestlers that are in a sort of inbetween zone between developmental and main roster, you're not really watching people train on the job as much as when it first started anymore, it's more where people are placed to give them the final polish before making the main roster.

[kidkamikaze10]

The PC is the developmental. As are the NXT tours. NXT is the in house indie.

[Pushed to the Moon]

Aug 20, 2018 0:03:00 GMT -5 @mrbonezone said:

More Super Indy last night you only had one developing wrestler in Velveteen Dream on the show.I can’t remember if it was the last takeover or the one before but they did a bunch of established talents vs new guys and I think that should be more of what NXT should be for the betterment of the future of the company as a whole because there’s a bunch of talent that either never or rarely got takeover spots and then get called to the main roster and you see how painfully unprepared they are.Like Mandy Rose she never got tv time or a takeover match she’s been with the company for over 3 years and she really hasn’t improved much or Liv Morgan who was in NXT for a couple years never got a takeover match she was exclusively a babyface so the called her up to the main roster and made her a heel that can be tough for someone with a ton of experience.

Shayna too. You could even say Tyler Bate too since he's so young.

[Deleted]

Aug 20, 2018 8:56:51 GMT -5 Pushed to the Moon said:

Aug 20, 2018 0:03:00 GMT -5 @mrbonezone said:

More Super Indy last night you only had one developing wrestler in Velveteen Dream on the show.I can’t remember if it was the last takeover or the one before but they did a bunch of established talents vs new guys and I think that should be more of what NXT should be for the betterment of the future of the company as a whole because there’s a bunch of talent that either never or rarely got takeover spots and then get called to the main roster and you see how painfully unprepared they are.Like Mandy Rose she never got tv time or a takeover match she’s been with the company for over 3 years and she really hasn’t improved much or Liv Morgan who was in NXT for a couple years never got a takeover match she was exclusively a babyface so the called her up to the main roster and made her a heel that can be tough for someone with a ton of experience.

Shayna too. You could even say Tyler Bate too since he's so young.

I’m talking a young talent and character developed from scratch Shayna’s been doing this awhile and she’s almost 40 and while young Tyler has been great since before he showed up in NXT.

[Deleted]

Aug 20, 2018 0:15:21 GMT -5 RadcapRadsley said:

Definitley a super Indy at least in developmental male talent. All the tag teams developed in NXT have flopped and outside of Reigns,Wyatt,Big E and some lowcarder's no one who wasn't already polished in the Indy's has made a Main Roster impact. Even Braun who had no experience before signing with WWE actually developed on the main roster and was only in NXT for a sneeze level amount of time.

The three guys you mentioned were also FCW guys for years, back when developmental was actually developmental, so IDK if they even count as NXT.

And Braun I would say counts, since he was part of the PC/house show loop, but like you said, that was only for a little over two years.

[Redbeard's Ghost]

It's exactly what WWE wants it to be - a catch-all for young, non-WWE talent and purely developmental athletes, where they learn the in's and out's of what is expected of them in WWE. The fact that it has become an actual touring brand (to an extent) and financially stratospheric is purely based on the organic popularity of the brand to hardcore wrestling fans.

IMHO, NXT was meant to be a straight developmental that would produce original content for the Network while training future stars. The metamorphosis into "super Indy" came as a result of WWE's ability to sign all of these superstars from around the world. Now they are banking on the popularity of NXT carrying over to NXT UK, and - I believe - NXT Asia in the near future.

Bottom line: people can crack on NXT all they want for "stealing" indy talent, but it's a free market. Wrestlers know that signing with WWE means no more busting their ass to create a brand. They instantly have marketing/production/travel agents/training facilities/consistent income at their fingertips - things that the average indy star simply doesn't have the capability of providing themselves. Not every indy star is the Young Bucks, in that they are creative enough to create their own brand. WWE takes all of that off of their shoulders and immediately injects them into a high-publicity spotlight.

[Heinz Doofenschmirtz]

Aug 20, 2018 17:15:37 GMT -5 Redbeard's Ghost said:

It's exactly what WWE wants it to be - a catch-all for young, non-WWE talent and purely developmental athletes, where they learn the in's and out's of what is expected of them in WWE. The fact that it has become an actual touring brand (to an extent) and financially stratospheric is purely based on the organic popularity of the brand to hardcore wrestling fans.

IMHO, NXT was meant to be a straight developmental that would produce original content for the Network while training future stars. The metamorphosis into "super Indy" came as a result of WWE's ability to sign all of these superstars from around the world. Now they are banking on the popularity of NXT carrying over to NXT UK, and - I believe - NXT Asia in the near future.

Bottom line: people can crack on NXT all they want for "stealing" indy talent, but it's a free market. Wrestlers know that signing with WWE means no more busting their ass to create a brand. They instantly have marketing/production/travel agents/training facilities/consistent income at their fingertips - things that the average indy star simply doesn't have the capability of providing themselves. Not every indy star is the Young Bucks, in that they are creative enough to create their own brand. WWE takes all of that off of their shoulders and immediately injects them into a high-publicity spotlight.

I’m mad that I can only like this once.

[Slanted and Enchanted]

I've kinda stopped thinking about what actually qualifies as a pure developmental talent anymore lol. People have mentioned Dream but even he spent time in notable indie feds teaming with Lio Rush. I'm not going to mention anyone who spent their bulk of time in FCW.

www.wwe.com/superstars -- Filter to NXT roster

Off the top of my head I think Bianca Belair, Lars Sullivan, and Montez Ford have spent 100% of their career under the WWE umbrella. Other superstars who you would associate with the WWE PC such as Cezar Bonnani, Lacy Evans, Kona Reeves, and Aaliyah have also spent some time on the indies (11 years in the case of Cezar).