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[NXT SPOILERS] For OCTOBER 19, 2016


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7 hours ago, Smelly McUgly said:

You're not the target audience for NXT, Gregg. People who are aware of the Nakamuras and Roddy Strongs are. 

And yes, I know that this is different than how it was in 2013 NXT, but 2016 NXT might not be for you if you're not the type of fan that follows the indies and Japan enough to know these guys who come over. 

What you've said points out a problem with WWE as a whole.

I agree that NXT is designed for the more indie-following fan.  But eventually, most of these wrestlers move up to the main roster. They become part of WWE's mainstream programming.  Wouldn't it be in WWE's best interest to sell the wrestlers as widely as possible?  Doing so serves two purposes:  1.) it can help bring in more network subscribers who may not have spent the money otherwise on WWE and 2.) it can help pour a foundation on which to build a character that translates to the MR.  Granted, that could be damaged or altogether undone by poor booking.

Look at the cruiserweights.  They're dying on the purple vine.  But things could have went better if WWE had actually tried to sell Raw and SDL viewers on the new division; maybe more people would be invested. Show highlights of the CWC.  Really push how innovative these guys are.  Promote how they're new on the WWE landscape.  And if you want to see more, subscribe to the network.  Five minutes of that on every Raw and SDL could have made an impression. I'm simplifying a bit here for the sake of time, but what I've mentioned is at least part of the crux that plagues the cruisers.

I consider myself a tweener fan.  I'm more into the widely broadcasted WWE stuff and I certainly don't watch NXT with any regularity.  But I'm aware of several indie workers and willing to give looks to those who catch my attention.  However, it would help if I was given more information upfront.  Give me reasons to care.  We complain when the main shows don't do that.  NXT may do a better job of it, but it's too insular and we see new call-ups flounder partly because of it (again, I acknowledge that poor main roster booking also hurts a lot).

WWE has almost become *too* niche in its approach.  Having all these indie guys around is cool.  But it's reaching a point that the uniqueness of having them come onboard is rapidly diminishing.  AJ Styles is becoming the exception to this, and that's because he went directly to the main shows with no NXT detour.  Nakamura will likely pull it off, too. But more of a medium needs to be found.  I realize that trying to satisfy everyone means no one is satisfied.  But more connection between NXT and the main roster needs to happen.

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The Aries and Strong tag match was a ton(no pun intended) of fun.  There could be a lot of great matches in the near future in the tag division. Cross was over doing it a tad, but she'll figure it out. Billie and Peyton are great I just hope they don't get squashed by Asuka before they can build some momentum.

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3 hours ago, Smelly McUgly said:

What in fuck are you talking about?

I sure didn't claim that Gregg was good enough to be a fan of NXT. I'm just saying that NXT is specifically catering to niche wrestling fans at this point. Gregg isn't a niche wrestling fan, which is fine, but that means that he'll be a bit put off by guys like Roddy Strong showing up and being over because of what he did in Ring of Honor.

This was a particularly random, whacked-out rant even for you, SK.

Even if you think it, there is the same argument you're claiming. 

The biggest problem with that is the same problem: All of geek culture- not just wrestling- has fallen to this "If you're really a fan of this, you'll be obsessed with it, and if you're not absolutely obsessed, then you're not a TRUE fan." It happened in music, it happened in movies, it happened in comics, it happened in TV, and now with NXT it's happening with pro wrestling. 

The only problem with this is that unlike the others, pro wrestling is the ONLY one of those lists where that viewpoint is counterproductive and actually can be proven to actually hurt the talent as a whole. If you're a fan of that one band that came up from the underground to get a top 40 hit and some fans say you're not a true fan for only liking the top 40 hit...well, you can still ignore them and listen to that hit and enjoy it, and they still succeeded. If you're a fan of a superhero movie and some comic geek said you're not a true fan because you can't name the background person on page 12 of issue 123...well, you can still watch the movie or the TV series and enjoy that, and the comic is still more of a success because of it. Even if you turn them off of the whole back catalog by being a snob about it, you can still like the one piece you like and it succeeds.

By contrast- if a pro wrestler who's coming up from the indy scene and you're trying to get a connection to rise the ranks? When the smarks openly fight the casuals and say they're not true fans for loving everything they did in their career like they did...then it would turn the casuals off. When that happens, the performer loses a lot of the connection with the casuals, which directly hinders their ability to make it to the top of their industry and assures they will be a midcarder for life.

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3 hours ago, Burgundy LaRue said:

**Some thoughtful stuff**

Not to shortchange your post, but the points that you make aren't really an issue with NXT. They're an issue with how the company promotes wrestlers coming up from NXT. The presentation of the cruisers is a Vince McMahon issue, not a NXT or CWC issue. Guys like Kevin Owens got over on NXT TV beyond just being known for his ROH or PWG work because he was presented effectively. On the other hand, he came up and was being 50/50d after beating Cena. Zayn's gotten it worse. The presentation is there on NXT beyond just relying on name value. Nakamura comes off as a stud, Joe comes off as a killer, because of how they are booked and presented, and that goes beyond name recognition. All the problems that you point out can go right in the pile with the rest of the problems with how shitty main roster WWE is. 

1 hour ago, SorceressKnight said:

**Some random rant on fans**

Holy shit, no one is arguing that fans like Gregg are shitty because they don't follow every aspect of every indie or Japanese wrestler's career. Your rants are pushing a false premise that is contra to the discussion that NXT is specifically catered for indie fans by the company itself to draw those fans in and away from New Japan or ROH or whoever else might otherwise take their entertainment dollars.

We get it, you hate wrestling nerd fans. Odd, since you're on a board full of wrestling nerd fans, but hey, you do you. 

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No matter what you try to say, it's the same thing  You can cry 'but no, I didn't say that Gregg was a worse fan for not knowing who the NXT people were' all you want if it helps you sleep at night, but any time you're willing to be fine with NXT being booked to one small group of fans, and not being willing for those fans to mesh in a way to let non-hardcore fans like them as well, you are hindering those wrestlers' futures in the WWE and making it a guarantee NXT WILL FAIL in its role.

In order for the NXT stars- even the indy darlings, to truly succeed, they NEED to be allowed to melt a little bit to be bigger stars.

 

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It's not that they're bringing in indie/Japan stars that I have a problem with. They should bring in those people, just as they should develop their own people  But it's so easy to present them to a new audience.

Take Eric Young for instance. He showed up randomly a few months ago and gave a forgettable challenge promo and then had a match for the title. What's in it for someone who doesn't know who this guy is?

But him leading a team of maniacal anarchists? THAT is great. I can get behind that. Imagine if Sanity was his debut?

Or Bobby Roode flipping the "NXT is the place to be!" promo on his head and trying to replace the NXT crowd with captains of industry? Yes, please. That's great.

But binging in Roddy Strong as a mystery partner and having the fans explode is the new "YOUR TEAM SUCKS!" Like... bring these people in, but do so in at least a little bit of a creative manner. People who follow Japan/indies/etc. will still pop, but now you're giving people who don't follow those things a hook as well.

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There's also the possibility, given the way NXT will use the odd part-timer, that Strong isn't on a long-term deal. We pretty much know Young wasn't when he first showed up. James Storm was another example of a guy who didn't stick around.

In those situations, bringing someone in with a "Hey look who this is!" but not doing anything more makes sense, whereas if you've got a guy under contract, you can put more effort into something like Glorious Bobby Roode or a SAnitY.

Alternately, maybe not everyone SHOULD be brought in with the big push and the gimmick. Austin Aries didn't come in as anything other than "look who we signed!" but has built himself into a guy that looks like a future champ based on good work and getting heat.

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