WWE has revamped their entire plans for NXT. The original idea was for Daniel Bryan to win the contest and then defeat The Miz for the United States Title. It became apparent that the underdog story written for him had flopped and so they eliminated Bryan in the first round of cuts, which leaves the path clear for Bryan Danielson to come in. The NXT season has also been cut back by two weeks, which should result in the winner getting a match on the June PPV (Fatal 4 Way) rather than the July PPV (Money in the Bank). Much of the first elimination show was not scripted, with Daniel Bryan and Michael Tarver the only ones who knew in advance that they were being cut. This could also allow them to start a second season before Syfy drops the show in the fall when Smackdown moves to the network. At one point this was going to be a batch of second and third generation wrestlers, including Joe Hennig. WWE then decided that none of these ‘legacy’ rookies would be put onto NXT, with Hennig scheduled to be called up to Raw as part of the Fortunate Sons stable with Ted & Brett Dibiase. However, Brett has since been injured and is schedule for knee surgery on 17 May. This will keep him out of action for several months. The current idea is to have Carlito & Primo Colon associated with Ted until the stable can be started, although they may well still bring Hennig up and have him and Ted feud with R-Truth & John Morrison instead.
Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, 17 May 2010 (subscribe here)
