Greetings once again friends! It has been a blockbuster week for the People’s Columnist, as I have received more hits than ever at my blog (itswilltime.wordpress.com, which currently features thoughts on The Undertaker’s impending return) and have had a lot of readership at Pulse Wrestling.
This week, I would like to discuss the impending demise of WWE NXT and what was supposed to be it’s breakout star. If this entire movement seems sudden, that’s because it was. At the beginning of the year, an announcement was made, following many rumors, that ECW was being put out to pasture. It was originally supposed to happen after Wrestlemania, but it was somehow moved up to the month of February.
The concept was advertised as innovative. It was called the next evolution of the WWE brand. None of those things were the cause of the internet’s excitement about this show. Their excitement stemmed from the impending debut of the hottest star from the independent scene, Bryan Danielson. Of course in WWE, he would be known as Daniel Bryan. In what was most likely a move to get to internet fans, Bryan was paired with The Miz, a wrestler who has far less experience than Danielson.
Of course, there were seven other rookies on the show, and that began the problem. The show was only one hour long and was expected to get eight personalities that fans are not familiar with over. On top of that, it seemed that WWE did not know the rules of the competition going in. On the debut show, there were brief moments of greatness. The Miz showed why he deserved to be the pro of a wrestler like Daniel Bryan, who put on a great performance in the ring with Chris Jericho.
As I mentioned before, WWE seemed to have no idea where this show was going. Ere was no schedule for eliminations, no qualifications for what would get a rookie eliminated, and worst of all, no prize at the end of the contest. The rookies, and the audience, had no idea what the men on the show were fighting for. Was it a world championship opportunity? Was it merely a contract? Or was it money? Were were not told.
About a month into the show, we were told that the rookies would be eliminated based on the Pro’s Poll. We were also told that they were fighting for the opportunity to have a title match on Pay Per View against whoever they please. It would have been very pleasant to know from the beginning what they were fighting for.
It was also about a month in that they had the first Pro’s Poll. Of course, the first poll was inconsequential and it featured Daniel Bryan as the number one rookie. Sadly, Bryan had yet to win a match on NXT. As good of a wrestler as he is, there was no reason for him to be the top wrestler on the show. This was another logical fallacy in the NXT world.
The first poll did not matter. All it did was guarantee another five weeks without an elimination from the show. This was the turning point for NXT. It was the moment that promised viewers that they were allowed to tune out. From that moment forward, they were given stupid contests that had more to do with soda drinking than wrestling.
Fans were also forced to watch the burial of Daniel Bryan. It was actually quite sad. What at first seemed to be a “lose so much that the first win gets over” story became an absolute atrocity. Bryan was losing in less than a minute to other rookies. He was portrayed as a great wrestler, but for some reason he could never actually win.
As the first elimination loomed and the ratings began to hit an all time low, WWE hit a panic switch. In one week, they sent home three rookies instead of one. At first it seemed that they were trying to trim two weeks off of the show, but then the last week happened. The season, and possibly series finale of NXT is right around the corner. The hottest rivalry on NXT has nothing to do with any of the final three contestants and has been built through two weeks of confrontations between Michael Cole and Daniel Bryan.
Hopefully Bryan’s career (and the rest of the rookies for that matter) will be able to survive the mistreatment he received on NXT. I do not believe that this concept is worth giving up on. I hope for a second season that includes more backstage elements that truly make the show groundbreaking. I’d love to know what you think! Hit me up in the comments with your thoughts on NXT!
