wrestling / Columns

Working Together: The Case For a NXT vs. WWE Event

October 12, 2014 | Posted by Dino Zee

It’s just an idea I had, really. It’s not something I think “should” happen, or even “could” happen- it’s just an idea. There’s probably better ideas out there, too. In today’s culture of answering “A or B” questions with “Option C,” I know that many will tell me that the idea is dumb, and then tell me what should really happen instead. I don’t think this is the next innovation, or that it will save wrestling. I just think it’s something that might be fun, especially during the down time between SummerSlam and Royal Rumble.

As I wrote a few weeks back, when SummerSlam comes to its conclusion, we as fans can basically go into hibernation until the Rumble, and we will most likely not have missed too much. Rematches from SummerSlam, placeholder feuds not intended to make anyone a bigger star than they were before, and Hell in a Cell matches thrown just because it’s October has become the norm. If you had gone into hibernation at the conclusion of SummerSlam last year and awoke at the Rumble, the only real change would have been that the two world titles were merged back into one, and that John Cena again held the championship. Daniel Bryan was still trying to win the title, and Randy Orton was still a big thorn in his side. Overall, though, not much really changed.

So, what if we switched the format of Night of Champions, or simply dropped the Hell in a Cell show in favor of something different? What if, one night each year, we gave the NXT guys a chance to up their visibility? To show that they’re not just the minor leagues?

Hey, remember that match? That was a good time, wasn’t it? An NXT wrestler hanging with a WWE superstar, and even though he came up short, he still won the praise and respect of the crowd? Now imagine if this had happened in front of the larger WWE audience? If this had happened on Raw, or even Smackdown? Sami Zayn would be the name everyone’s talking about. Even with the match taking place on NXT, that match still got a ton of buzz and still got Sami Zayn’s name out there.

And that, to me at least, is the beauty of this idea. You don’t have to have the NXT guys win every match. They can lose. This isn’t the same thing as some sort of “invasion” where you have to keep the invading side strong. No, instead, you simply position this in the same vein as, say, an All-Star game. No NXT titles should be defended. Certainly no champion vs. champion matches. At least, I wouldn’t do that, though I guess it could be done. What if the added stipulations were that if a WWE wrestler he lost, he’d be “relegated” to NXT, and if an NXT wrestler/team won his/their match, a promotion to the WWE roster would take place.

Suddenly, we have a pay per view giving us fresh matchups, with the very real possibility of shaking up the roster at the same time! We don’t need drafts – we’ve got NXT vs. WWE! Now everyone has motivation for the card, regardless of if there’s a belt at stake. You either earn or you keep your place on the main roster.

Another reason I think this could be the time to make this change is the way the market has changed. With WWE losing a lot of its pay per view providers thanks to giving the shows away as part of the Network package, fans simply have to pay that amazing price of $9.99 to have access to the program. So instead of wondering if the NXT vs. WWE program is worth dropping forty to fifty dollars to see, it’s instead simply shown on the Network. There’s no risk involved- provided you’re a subscriber or have friends that are. If you’re already watching the pay per views, then you’ll be watching the NXT vs. WWE pay per view as well.

Again, this is not to be considered an invasion. We don’t need a group of NXT wrestlers showing up on Raw and breaking up a match in progress with a massive beatdown. This isn’t about taking over, or changing the game. It’d simply be built up as the NXT guys wanting to prove that they’re more than just “guys still learning the art” to the guys who have already made it. There’d be no leader of NXT, it wouldn’t be turned into an nWo-style group. You could make it really simple, with either Triple H announcing the new show, or having William Regal appear and laying down a “friendly challenge” to the Authority.

At the same time, you can use the show as an opportunity to give lesser known guys a huge spotlight. Sure, you have them lose their matches, but as long as they can deliver a good enough match, the fans will remember the name. Imagine Hideo Itami, fresh off his NXT debut, getting ready in a few weeks to step into the ring with a Kofi Kingston or a Dolph Ziggler. He’d be expected to lose, but simply getting a chance to show what he can do against an established WWE guy would still be a huge boost. It’d be comparable to the time John Cena came out and challenged Kurt Angle. He lost, sure, but that one match helped to get his name burned into the brains of the fans as someone that deserves your attention.

And again, wouldn’t this be better than something along the lines of Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton in a Hell in a Cell match for no real reason? You could even run the old Smackdown Booker T 2004 storyline where a guy loses his match and is relegated down to NXT. He is at first really arrogant about how he shouldn’t be there, and is better than these guys. However, after a few more close contests (mainly wins), he starts to come around and realize the talent NXT has to offer. Maybe by the time the show rolls around the next year, he’s a proud member of the NXT roster and willing to defend the honor and integrity of the program against another WWE wrestler.

I know, I know… I’m getting a little too “fantasy-booking” with it. That’s never really been my thing. However, I think this idea should be fleshed out a bit, and at least have some ways it can be used presented so I’m not just saying “This would be really cool because it would be neato.” The possibilities that this type of show could bring, however, makes me want to see it. Especially during the dead zone in the fall. We need something to make us thing something unexpected is about to happen. Knowing that with one pinfall or submission, NXT could gain a huge name, or WWE could gain a new talent… that’s interesting to me.

And really, that’s what I as a fan want. Programming that doesn’t feel like everyone involved fell asleep for 45 minutes of a 60 minute creative meeting, and then crapped out the show in 15 minutes. Even if every single NXT guy lost his match and we maintained the status quo roster wise, we’ve still succeeded in building up the prestige of a few guys simply with good performances. To me, that’s worth more than seeing John Cena win another title matchup in a throwaway show.

In the end, like I said, it’s just an idea. One that I think could be fun. Perhaps it ends up as an abysmal failure, but as the popular mantra for passive fans go, we’d have to “wait and see.” In my opinion, it would be a fun shakeup to the usual boredom, it would allow lesser known wrestlers an opportunity on a bigger stage to create a bigger name for themselves, and, if we use the relegation idea, it would allow for surprise roster changes without the drawn out steps of a draft.

Making your talent bigger stars and creating a more chaotic atmosphere? Yes, please.

It’s just an idea I had.

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