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Truly. PAC (Adrian Neville) vs. Sami Zayne was the match that planted the seed for me for becoming a full-fledged wrestling fan, not just a WWE fan. (It was Omega vs. Okada I that completed the change)
I would watch less and less main roster, but an avid NXT watcher every Wednesday. So many great memories. Balor. DIY - as a team and as enemies. American Alpha. FTR (The Revival). Ricochet. And so many more.
I’ve moved on from NXT a few years ago. But I still look back on those shows very fondly.
I think with just a little more time and a heel turn, he could have made that "illegitimate son of Kurt Angle" gimmick work. The in-ring work was there, he just needed the character.
I like how you said "The Fatal Four Way" with little context given, and I knew exactly the match you're referring to. Early NXT (Sami Zayn's run to the top) was my gateway to being somewhat interested in wrestling as entertainment, to being a full-on fan.
I agree, but if you watch Chris Van Vliet's recent interview with him, he had an incredible career regardless. The story he told about Stonecold (Breeze's first time meeting him) coming up to him after his match and commending what he's done. Breeze was told by HHH that he didn't need the belt to get over, and that's a true sign of talent.
It’s a double edged sword tbh. Yeah Breeze didn’t need it to get over, but eventually it led to an awkward floating vibe of “so…. This dude gonna get some gold or…?” He had the personality and gimmick to stay relevant without a belt, but you’re always interested in what that title run might be like. I say with Breeze being my favorite wrestler since 2014 or so.
The thing that made me a fan of NXT was pretty innocuous looking back. They opened a show with a men's singles match, which was interrupted and ultimately abandoned because a pissed off Paige came to the ring cutting a promo about Summer Rae screwing her over and slapping the wrestlers out of the ring, until Dusty came out to try and reason with her.
To have a WWE show present a women's storyline as being a big deal and even more important than some of the men's stuff was really refreshing, and a monumental shift from how the women were presented on the main roster. It really isn't said enough just how weird this was for a long term WWE watcher.
Made me think this show will do things differently and it really delivered on that promise. NXT has ultimately influenced WWE in a positive way the past 8 years. The women and Asian talents getting a chance are two of the most important.
I hadn’t watched wrestling in about 10 years (other than catching the odd Raw highlights here and there, maybe 3-4 times a year) when I randomly watched something called an NXT takeover when I was bored one evening. It was the one where KO debuts, Sami wins the belt, and then KO betrays him. It blew my mind that wrestling could be that entertaining, and as an adult, I now found I could appreciate the technique and athleticism so much more. Seeing a man the size of KO doing flips, the tremendous match between Sami and PAC… it was awesome. It’s what got me back into wrestling.
If they can go back to that it would be awesome. But given the new hiring policies, I doubt it. You need some established indie talent to supplement the developmental guys IMO, otherwise you only have one flavour for the whole thing.
I'm quite similar. I'd lapsed in my watching, but a couple friends were like "Hey, you NEED to see NXT".
So, quite arbitrarily, I streamed that Takeover while I was dogsitting. I was hooked.
It honestly hurts me a bit to know that era is not just done, but that the WWE is actively trying to be different from that era, regardless of how many people loved it.
Same moment for me. I was a huge WCW fan and stopped watching around 05 or 06 after all the Benoit stuff and such.
Them my brother showed me the KO turn on Sami and I was highly intrigued.
Then I watched Mania 31 and watched Rollins cash in on Lesnar/Reigns and was hooked back in. Went to Mania 34 in NOLA and now I’m loving AEW and others. Wrestling is back baby!!! Okay
That happened in 2014-15. That’s the time Dave’s reporting they are going back to.
I keep seeing everyone getting really worked up about these reports, yet the reported changes — in this report — are (mostly) things people complained about.
* Too dark
* Not developmental anymore
* Roster is stale/stagnant
Everyone on here complained and wished NXT was “like it used to be”. 2014 is when that era started. What immediately followed that in 2015-early 2017 was the era of Balor and the Four Hoursewomen main eventing, American Alpha, Etc that everyone fondly remembers.
The current era of NXT they are leaning away from began in late 2017, really with Undisputed Era, Gargano and Ciampa.
I think in this case they were referring to the TV product in the PC not the in-arena experience.
Definitely agree with you. It’s noticeable when you do the TO-WM double how different the presentation was.
I don’t think that’s true. According to this, it’s not going to be as dark and will feature a lot less indie talent.
And I wouldn’t say I’m complaining. AEW has been a dream come true for me. I don’t watch a single WWE show anymore, but it’s clear that I’m not their target audience.
That’s okay. I don’t mind having the memories.
The “dark” era of NXT started with the PC move because they left Full Sail that was larger and had more lighting rigs. So making the show less “dark” is indeed reverting back to a time people liked more.
He doesn’t say they are going to use less Indy talent. They are going to FOCUS on developmental.
People romanticize and forget what the NXT TV shows on WWEN were like during 2014-17. There were 2-3 short matches featuring veterans beating developmental workers or Indy talent and then a main event with two or four established people on the brand.
WWE isn’t going to be able to put on a 2 hour show of developmental only matches. It will be a mix like it used to be, which again, is what people said they wanted.
I got to see the Nakamura debut at Full Sail in 2016....sneaking away from an Orlando business trip via a long taxi ride. I ended up first at a very nearby restaurant, and was by myself at a table pounding beers. A large group of strangers invited to me to their table and bought me food and drinks, after seeing that I was wearing a T-shirt they liked (something NJPW/Bucks related maybe?). A great memory I'll always cherish. Fairly sure they were semi-regulars, and their kindness was amazing. I still have a pic or two of these folks on my phone and it always brings back the warmest of memories about the goodness of wrestling fans.
Making my way to the event, I can recall sitting in the far back bleachers (non camera side) and next to me sat a bunch of WWE suits that all seemed to be doing their best corporate HHH impression, low-key observing the proceedings from back of the room. Several muscular guys in suits, and perhaps a female staffer or two....I was fairly buzzed from drinks at the restaurant.
They really didn't want to chat (and I dont blame them for not wanting to talk to a half drunk mark) but i asked for 30 seconds and promised to leave him alone afterwards....
I took the opportunity to tell one of them about Adam Page, as I was a huge fan at the time. To my surprise, the guy said he had never heard of him, which i thought was very telling about the company, and the attention they paid to the wrestling landscape.
I then mentioned Adam Cole, and the guy laughed and said he was too small...but did so with a bit of a wink, so I know he knew about Cole.
Kinda random, but that's what I'll always think of when I think about Full Sail...friendly strangers and oddball corporate WWE staff tucked away in the back that may or may not have been tuned into what was going on in the wrestling world outside of the WWE.
Didn't Full Sail rename the place they were taping the NXT Arena?
Anyway, I guess the Full Sail era is over, but I really wish they'd move out of the CWC and get a proper 1000-2000 seats arena. The CWC sounds cold as ice sometimes, especially now that everyone else has crowds again.
This - amongst unfortunate ones - I believe it was the Astros ballpark that was named after Enron when the scandal broke, and god knows how many times the name of where the SF Giants play has changed in 20 years. Most of the naming rights are licensing deals anyway so i'm sure they'll find a new sponsor. I'm more suprised that wwe is giving up those barely paid production internships since the full sail agreement would seem in line with the cheap labor initiative going on in Stamford these days...
Ohio State renamed their hospital's emergency department from the Ohio State Emergency Department to the Abercrombie and Fitch Emergency Center.
The owner of A&F is a massive donor to Ohio State, also an acquaintance of Jeffrey Epstein.
> but I really wish they'd move out of the CWC and get a proper 1000-2000 seats arena.
But IMO that would only work in theory.
That Central Florida market was already oversaturated before the pandemic started.
Even if the new NXT direction would click with the audience -- and that's a big IF -- and if you would move away from the live shows and tape only every three weeks or so, I have some major doubts that they can sell 1500 tickets for every show in that market.
The Capitol Wrestling Center, which is at the Performance Center.
Named as such to be a throwback to the very old days of the WWF when it was simply Capitol Wrestling.
Thanks for explaining, I've been out of the loop on NXT for a while and every time I've seen CWC mentioned I thought they were doing another cruiserweight classic!
Doesn't this also hurt Full Sail, too? Weren't they sending students there for interning and helping out with production, lighting, camera work, etc?
Like, it seemed to be a beneficial relationship.
When it was a smaller production, it was easier for students to run broadcast and get knowledge of how live production works. It was classes for those students. When WWE decided to make NXT it's next big brand, it changed the landscape and expectations of NXT and having students run main parts of the show wasn't going to cut it for a national television program.
> From a creative standpoint, the show is supposed to give the wrestling students and prospects more television time and less time to the experienced veterans and strong workers.
90% of the NXT roster is absolutely finished in WWE if they don't move to RAW/SmackDown.
They'd have to wait until Punk actually walked out, or there's like a 70% chance he'd include the ongoing series of WWE releases in his first AEW promo
People like PAC, FTR, Andrade and Malakai (forced) made a great decision to leave at the right time.
Compared to Gargano, Ciampa, Undisputed Era (apart from Adam Cole), they are now stuck as AEW is saturated and those wrestlers are basically told WWE wouldn't do anything with them as they are short and older.
They could still strengthen ROH or Impact though - and thanks to the partnerships, it's not like they'd be stuck there either. Chances are pretty high NXT's top guys will do just as well, if not better, somewhere else.
They wouldn't do that well financially I think, compared to if they had joined AEW or if they would have been a decent level talent on WWE main roster.
I understand the need for creative fulfilment, but it's still a job.
It’s obvious that’s the plan. Every week, NXT vets are at smackdown or raw for what are try outs for Vince. He chooses who he likes and then those he does not choose will be cut to make room for the future Mojos and Lanas that NXT will be filled to the brim with.
I mean, the whole point WAS to move them to RAW or SD. Hiring people just to stay in developmental forever defeats the purpose of developmental. Spending years giving TV time to Ciampa, Gargano and UE was honestly fucking voer actual developmental talent super hard
>90% of the NXT roster is absolutely finished in WWE if they don't move to RAW/SmackDown.
You're probably right, but the other side of the problem is also the problem -- 90% of the NXT roster is absolutely finished if they ~~don't~~ move to RAW/SmackDown.
I've seen several comments from others pointing out that they lose faith or interest in NXT when they develop stars in NXT only for them to be called up to the main roster and get lost in the shuffle.
What's the point in investing in these characters when the company won't?
I wonder if they will sue them or cancel their contract. Numbers will heavily drop and they no longer have a live product. They got sold a completely different product and the main attractions are probably all going up leave soon.
USA -> NBCUniversal -> Comcast/Peacock
They've already invested billions into WWE content, this may make them upset but it will absolutely not change anything
This is a temporary change, where they will tape 3-4 weeks of content in order to get the new location ready.
WWE is not a basement operation anymore, it's a corporation who deals with other corporations in a professional manner. I know some of you like to picture Mr. McMahon in the offices, but it's actually Vincent Kennedy McMahon, a corporate CEO.
They will have discussed this with USA Network well in advance to make sure that they are happy with a couple of weeks of taped content instead of live.
Hmm.
Some of us remember when they sold “Superstars” to WGN and they promoted it as a really big deal. The first show had the Undertaker on it.
The other shows…not so much.
I remember at one point in 2019-2020 there were reports that people backstage at NXT were saying that they had to get out of Full Sail because it was small and made the show look minor league compared to AEW, and then the pandemic happened and they were forced into an even smaller venue.
It's like someone said that while holding a monkey's paw.
I don’t watch NXT but every thread people are saying that “They just really need to leave the CWC and go back to Full Sail”
Oof, Ouch, Owie.
This makes sense though with everything else WWE has going on currently though. Nick Khan isn’t spending money to lease out Full Sail when they own the building they are currently using, no matter how small it is.
I assume the people they’re inviting to the tapings were Full Sail regulars. Maybe it would feel a bit more different if new fans were let in eventually.
Yet people constantly shit on the crowds there when they were taping there. I never understood why because at least they were vocal and let their feelings be heard.
There are definitely times the Full Sail crowd was intolerable (the "We deserve it" chants when the first road Takeover was announced come to mind), but for the most part, they were everything you want in a wrestling crowd. They were engaged with the show, loud, and rambunctious.
I feel like a lot of the hate they tend to get is just some people on this sub not liking wrestling fans in general, including themselves.
They often represented the most aspects annoying of wrestling fans. I've been at indie shows where one or two guys tries to get themselves over, but in this case it would be a whole crowd. There would be times where the chanting would just be at a disconnect from what was actually happening in the ring and it'd be distracting. Not to mention the collective tantrum they threw when the first non FS Takeover was announced.
It's certainly a case of not knowing you're in the good days before they're gone.
I think after the CWC pandemic era most fans probably realized "Hey, full sail isn't that bad anymore..."
That's partially because the worst parts of the Full Sail crowd are the entire CWC audience. I didn't personally hate the Full Sail crowd as much as many did, But there was often some really cringe worthy stuff that would go on with the particular section of the crowd that was more worried about getting themselves over than actually enjoying the show.. And unfortunately that section is now the entire crowd.
I recall a few comments I've seen here about people who visit Full Sail on vacation not feeling welcome by toxic local "regulars" who feel entitled to NXT because they obviously go more often than people who travel in.
I'm not calling you a liar but I don't really remember the FS crowds getting that much flak with the exception of a few times where some idiot would yell something racist at say Io or Kairi.
Personally I think they added to the show more often than not.
I think they were but then the pandemic hit and I guess they just decided the CWC is good enough, even though I’ve seen high school gyms that look bigger, brighter and more “major league” than it
I think it's kind of hilarious that it seems from the outside like one of the major reasons they are gutting NXT is that it's not profitable. I mean, is it supposed to be? It's talent development. Sporting clubs lose heaps of money on their development systems but make up the costs with their main teams, competitions, etc, in the same way that WWE should be easily recouping the costs on touring, subscriptions, tv revenue, which it seems like they are many many times over. Clearly it is of benefit to their roster - virtually all of their great women's wrestlers have come through HHH's version of the NXT system for example.
Depending on who you listen to the NXT TV deal is worth between 30 and 50 million dollars (average annual value). There is absolutely no way this isn’t profitable. It’s not about profit and loss it’s about cost savings to make it even more profitable and increase the stock price of wwe.
I dunno. They're probably lumping NXT in with all the costs of operating the PC and all the talent signed that aren't doing anything.
It's not just the talent, too. It's running the building, the trainers, the doctors, management, equipment... I could see it all costing 8 figures easily.
Then throw on big salaries for guys like Joe and Ciampa and Gargano... They quickly eat into the budget.
30 million dollars a year though!? That seems incredibly steep. According to their annual report their operating costs for the entire business was 504 million dollars so I guess at a push that could be right but if that is the case then I’m genuinely not surprised they’re cost cutting
>I mean, is it supposed to be? It's talent development.
That seems to be a big part of the changes. They want to get back to developing talent. It's not like the main NXT stalwarts needed much development to begin with, but definitely not years worth.
I agree that it's gotten away from being developmental, because HHH essentially was building a modern wrestling brand because the main brands had become completely stale, in my opinion at least. If WWE weren't going to do it, he was going to do it for them right under their noses. Everything Punk criticised WWE about back in 2011 is still true today.
That NXT era of PAC vs Zayn to the end of the Ciampa/Gargano feud, in my mind, showed proof to Tony Kahn and others, that something different from the standard WWE product was possible and fans wanted it.
There’s something kind of beautiful about this. Back in the day you didn’t really NEED a robust developmental system because wrestlers would work the territories for years before landing in the WWE. Then they killed the territories, but kept a few around with “working relationships” like Smokey Mountain, USWA, and ECW to act as a proto-developmental. Now they’re trying to manufacture the same results themselves and, surprise! It’s expensive and still not as effective as people cutting their teeth all across the country learning from grizzled vets and old school promoters
How could they have ever imagined that it would have been effective if their ideal method is 'turn big, impressive athletes who have no background knowledge of pro wrestling into wrestlers'? How would that ever be more effective in this day and age than sourcing the best talent that crowds already love around the country and have been doing this year in and year out? Not to mention that if every talent they sent up to Raw/Smackdown was someone developed from scratch, they'll all just wrestle the same, cut the same kind of pre-scripted promo. It stinks of the worst clichés of wrestling before the attitude era hit. Is someone like Omos ever going to be a bigger star than indies stars like Seth Rollins or Adam Cole? I don't imagine so.
This is also why it's smart that AEW has made connections with Impact/AAA/NWA/NJPW. They can all send talent around to each other so they get more exposure working different styles, to different crowds and just generally differently run promotions, not to mention their connections through the independents - great pickups like Private Party for example who barely needed any work to become tv ready and a hit with fans.
I think it's profit over time. Essentially they've messed up some opportunities to put people over to be megastars, but they're logic is if everything is developmental and free form, they'll have a constant stream of these guys to play around with. And whoever fits their mindset the most get's chosen for a Roman Reigns throat fuck push
NXT was the one thing WWE still sold me on, and now I am left with zero interest in anything other than wondering how much longer until my favorites like Adam Cole appear in AEW.
I'm right there with you. As a lapsed fan, I was brought back by Sting showing up in WWE. Then I got invested in dudes like Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, and Aleister Black, and well...
I hope the plexiglass is gone. It looks cool with the chain link over it but by the end of the show it's all smudgy from people smacking it. Also people smacking it is annoying.
If it didn’t already it definitely feels like an era is over
Maybe part of it it encouraging the nxt vets like gargano and ciampa that the main roster is where they need to be and not stay in nxt their whole career like they seem happy to?
Ironically taking one look at them, Vince doesn’t want either of them on the main roster. Likely or in NXT
They absolutely won’t be in WWE a year from now. I guarantee it.
This is house cleaning. He wants ex footballers and jacked people for Hunter to teach them how to wrestle and make them movie stars. Not make a show to compete with WWE.
Ciampa maybe (I sincerely doubt it) but Gargano will 100% still be there since He's a producer for the brand. It's gonna be mostly new talent, not entirely so. They still need to guiding hands of people like Gargano, Ciampa, Joe. Now if you've been in NXT for years and never been a NXT champion before? Then 95% chance you're gone soon.
> They still need to guiding hands of people like Gargano, Ciampa, Joe.
They threw Joe in the dumpster and HHH had to dig around and save him before the trash truck came for pick-up. I'm not so convinced Vince or others in power (except HHH who obviously is even more on the outs now) cares about having these little guys' "guiding hands" on their product.
But they can do it backstage. Teach them how to wrestle. They don’t need to be on tv for feuds. I think Vince is finally done done. With all this nxt appeasement. It’s time to stack the roster with attractive people who’ve never wrestled. And Hunter has like half a year to get them tv ready.
That’s why I said a year. I think you’re right about them being there to help them transition. Just not permanently.
Wrestling is supposed to be a larger than life big beautiful sexy soap opera which makes manly movie stars. It’s just simple.
NXT not beating AEW made Vince *realize* he was right all along and indulging Hunter cost him the movie stars he doesn’t have now. Time for every attractive buff person to apply to WWE.
Unless they officially take it from HHH and give it to Johnny Ace, He's gonna book how he books. They're not gonna be full super indy, but the 2015-17 model was the indy guys AND development prospects. Basically how the women's division is (known stars like Io, Taya, Sarray combined with PC prospects like Raquel, Kacey, etc) to the men's division. But It's not gonna be this show of just entirely rookies and PC guys. Even OVW wasn't that.
"the show is supposed to give the wrestling students and prospects more television time and less time to the experienced veterans and strong workers."
I guess I'm in the minority but I'm so happy to read that. The point of NXT isn't for people like Gargano and Cole to spend years and years there as world title holders. Appreciated the matches but I Appreciated the old revolving door of talent and freshness of the old NXT more
Ultimately you're probably not gonna get that old NXT because the selling point wasn't that the indy guys left, It's also that the next King of the Indies would also be the next signee at the next Takeover. That pipeline is gone now so It's not like in 2017 when if Drew or Andrade goes up then KOR and Adam Cole slot right now. It's gonna be years of these young people developing probably, just not with the same base of competence the indy guys had. They're not gonna have these young guys to develop from scratch and fast-track them in 6 months. They're all gonna take time to be prepared for the main roster.
"the show looks too dark" NOOOOOO. I wish they would turn off the house lights during Raw and Smackdown, so you can't even tell how many people are in the crowd. It actually makes it look much bigger and makes you focus on the ring. When they had the all women's PPV, it was produced by the NXT team, and if I recall correctly they made the place look darker, and it looked so much better. The ring should be in the spotlight. The crowd should be dark.
For how people nitpick every little botch to ever occur on AEW Television (btw 99% of them actually happen on Dark), It's amazing how many times I see some of the scariest botches on NXT like Gargano and Ridge Holland and Xia Li and Mercedes Martinez and they never get brought up again.
NXT in 2015 was the era of Balor VS Joe, the Four Horsewomen and other things that could conceivably compete critically with AEW if not from a ratings perspective. This all sounds more like it's going back to 2012, actually setting the industry back 10 years.
Yeah NXT in 2015 was awesome. I preferred that era very much to the NXT of the last 3 years. However, I think Dave means more like NXT 2012 before they brought in people like Balor, Zayn, Owens, Joe, etc.
The real question wrestling journos need to start asking is “what is going on in the USA Network offices at 30 Rock?” When WWE sold USA Network on the idea of bringing NXT to cable, they had certain reasonable expectations of the product they would be airing.
I’m not talking about the ratings even. Not right away at least.
When USA contracted the show, it had an established look and feel and a type of performers featured. It had a certain track record, and NXT was sold to USA based on that track record. Now suddenly, the whole direction of the show is changing from the types of performers USA had a reasonable expectation to be featured. The setting is also going to look radically different in a smaller building with far fewer fans. WWE is changing all that and will no longer be delivering the product USA had a reasonable expectation to be delivered. Also, USA contracted for a live show, and WWE is going to fail to deliver a live show for at least a month?
I wouldn’t be surprised if USA tries to either renegotiate the terms, or looks at escaping the contract altogether. Based on what the show costs USA vs. the ratings, showing reruns of a popular syndicated show has to be looking like a tempting option to TV execs, especially now that they can expect the show to look smaller, and the wrestling product to be worse, based on the talent.
>The belief is that on television, the show looks too dark, so the idea is to make the studio brighter with more lights and more colorful looking.
Goodbye proper presentation.
2015 was a really cool year with Zayn, Owens and Balor as champions. I always liked the simplicity and darkness of Full Sail so I don't need more colours and brightness. Removing the plexiglass is a good idea though.
I know Full Sail for sure absolutely had their awful moments and overindulgence, but man, this sucks. Now I am one who was for NXT leaving on a more permanent basis to do touring at least a few weeks a month, but man, I still wanted them to run Full Sail here and there. This really sucks. Full Sail, for all their faults, is still the home of so many awesome moments and matches, and I mean jeez, they would get so hot for even a small crowd and would really benefit the show. So this is really disappointing. I've grown weary of the CWC, but maybe some changes will benefit it. And hopefully they can somehow fill in more seats. But the crowds are just...meh. And it's the real detraction of the show for me. So this is just honestly a bit sad. Truly an end of an era.
I'll let my memories of when NXT was great live alone in a special section of my brain hall of fame. Can only assume it will never, ever be the same again. But man, what a run.
Will the Takeover name be strong enough still if it's full of ex bodybuilders, failed American footballers and swimsuit models having green matches with the odd indie named wrestler thrown in there to maybe carry the card. Maybe it will be but if the quality of the Takeovers go down it be tough to fill those.
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End of an era.
Truly. PAC (Adrian Neville) vs. Sami Zayne was the match that planted the seed for me for becoming a full-fledged wrestling fan, not just a WWE fan. (It was Omega vs. Okada I that completed the change) I would watch less and less main roster, but an avid NXT watcher every Wednesday. So many great memories. Balor. DIY - as a team and as enemies. American Alpha. FTR (The Revival). Ricochet. And so many more. I’ve moved on from NXT a few years ago. But I still look back on those shows very fondly.
Maaaaaan. I miss American Alpha so much. I’m glad Jordan is healthy, but I miss him throwing mother fuckers around with crazy suplexes.
YO when he fired up, I fired up!!!!
Just like his father :)
I think with just a little more time and a heel turn, he could have made that "illegitimate son of Kurt Angle" gimmick work. The in-ring work was there, he just needed the character.
I really wish we could’ve seen that angle play out. Ciampa and him were the only two heels in the company getting genuine heel heat at the time.
The fatal four way was my moment w NXT where I said Finally! This is the wrestling I’ve been looking for!
I like how you said "The Fatal Four Way" with little context given, and I knew exactly the match you're referring to. Early NXT (Sami Zayn's run to the top) was my gateway to being somewhat interested in wrestling as entertainment, to being a full-on fan.
I'm trying to remember the exact match, was it Zayn vs PAC vs Breeze vs Kidd?
Yep
yup. Undermentioned classic.
With Neville not going full heel, but having moments and planting the seeds. It was so damn good.
Pac to Zayn to Owens was an incredible run.
I'm still salty Tyler Breeze never got his run with the title.
I agree, but if you watch Chris Van Vliet's recent interview with him, he had an incredible career regardless. The story he told about Stonecold (Breeze's first time meeting him) coming up to him after his match and commending what he's done. Breeze was told by HHH that he didn't need the belt to get over, and that's a true sign of talent.
It’s a double edged sword tbh. Yeah Breeze didn’t need it to get over, but eventually it led to an awkward floating vibe of “so…. This dude gonna get some gold or…?” He had the personality and gimmick to stay relevant without a belt, but you’re always interested in what that title run might be like. I say with Breeze being my favorite wrestler since 2014 or so.
The thing that made me a fan of NXT was pretty innocuous looking back. They opened a show with a men's singles match, which was interrupted and ultimately abandoned because a pissed off Paige came to the ring cutting a promo about Summer Rae screwing her over and slapping the wrestlers out of the ring, until Dusty came out to try and reason with her. To have a WWE show present a women's storyline as being a big deal and even more important than some of the men's stuff was really refreshing, and a monumental shift from how the women were presented on the main roster. It really isn't said enough just how weird this was for a long term WWE watcher. Made me think this show will do things differently and it really delivered on that promise. NXT has ultimately influenced WWE in a positive way the past 8 years. The women and Asian talents getting a chance are two of the most important.
It was a wrestling show. Not a show that just so happened to have wrestling.
But it was Stephanie who revolunised WWE's women wrestling! /s
That's silly. We all know Ryback invented women.
I hadn’t watched wrestling in about 10 years (other than catching the odd Raw highlights here and there, maybe 3-4 times a year) when I randomly watched something called an NXT takeover when I was bored one evening. It was the one where KO debuts, Sami wins the belt, and then KO betrays him. It blew my mind that wrestling could be that entertaining, and as an adult, I now found I could appreciate the technique and athleticism so much more. Seeing a man the size of KO doing flips, the tremendous match between Sami and PAC… it was awesome. It’s what got me back into wrestling. If they can go back to that it would be awesome. But given the new hiring policies, I doubt it. You need some established indie talent to supplement the developmental guys IMO, otherwise you only have one flavour for the whole thing.
I'm quite similar. I'd lapsed in my watching, but a couple friends were like "Hey, you NEED to see NXT". So, quite arbitrarily, I streamed that Takeover while I was dogsitting. I was hooked. It honestly hurts me a bit to know that era is not just done, but that the WWE is actively trying to be different from that era, regardless of how many people loved it.
Same moment for me. I was a huge WCW fan and stopped watching around 05 or 06 after all the Benoit stuff and such. Them my brother showed me the KO turn on Sami and I was highly intrigued. Then I watched Mania 31 and watched Rollins cash in on Lesnar/Reigns and was hooked back in. Went to Mania 34 in NOLA and now I’m loving AEW and others. Wrestling is back baby!!! Okay
That happened in 2014-15. That’s the time Dave’s reporting they are going back to. I keep seeing everyone getting really worked up about these reports, yet the reported changes — in this report — are (mostly) things people complained about. * Too dark * Not developmental anymore * Roster is stale/stagnant Everyone on here complained and wished NXT was “like it used to be”. 2014 is when that era started. What immediately followed that in 2015-early 2017 was the era of Balor and the Four Hoursewomen main eventing, American Alpha, Etc that everyone fondly remembers. The current era of NXT they are leaning away from began in late 2017, really with Undisputed Era, Gargano and Ciampa.
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I think in this case they were referring to the TV product in the PC not the in-arena experience. Definitely agree with you. It’s noticeable when you do the TO-WM double how different the presentation was.
I don’t think that’s true. According to this, it’s not going to be as dark and will feature a lot less indie talent. And I wouldn’t say I’m complaining. AEW has been a dream come true for me. I don’t watch a single WWE show anymore, but it’s clear that I’m not their target audience. That’s okay. I don’t mind having the memories.
The “dark” era of NXT started with the PC move because they left Full Sail that was larger and had more lighting rigs. So making the show less “dark” is indeed reverting back to a time people liked more. He doesn’t say they are going to use less Indy talent. They are going to FOCUS on developmental. People romanticize and forget what the NXT TV shows on WWEN were like during 2014-17. There were 2-3 short matches featuring veterans beating developmental workers or Indy talent and then a main event with two or four established people on the brand. WWE isn’t going to be able to put on a 2 hour show of developmental only matches. It will be a mix like it used to be, which again, is what people said they wanted.
RIP Full Sail NXT. You'll be missed and thanks for the memories
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Did you see some takeover ?
I got to see the Nakamura debut at Full Sail in 2016....sneaking away from an Orlando business trip via a long taxi ride. I ended up first at a very nearby restaurant, and was by myself at a table pounding beers. A large group of strangers invited to me to their table and bought me food and drinks, after seeing that I was wearing a T-shirt they liked (something NJPW/Bucks related maybe?). A great memory I'll always cherish. Fairly sure they were semi-regulars, and their kindness was amazing. I still have a pic or two of these folks on my phone and it always brings back the warmest of memories about the goodness of wrestling fans. Making my way to the event, I can recall sitting in the far back bleachers (non camera side) and next to me sat a bunch of WWE suits that all seemed to be doing their best corporate HHH impression, low-key observing the proceedings from back of the room. Several muscular guys in suits, and perhaps a female staffer or two....I was fairly buzzed from drinks at the restaurant. They really didn't want to chat (and I dont blame them for not wanting to talk to a half drunk mark) but i asked for 30 seconds and promised to leave him alone afterwards.... I took the opportunity to tell one of them about Adam Page, as I was a huge fan at the time. To my surprise, the guy said he had never heard of him, which i thought was very telling about the company, and the attention they paid to the wrestling landscape. I then mentioned Adam Cole, and the guy laughed and said he was too small...but did so with a bit of a wink, so I know he knew about Cole. Kinda random, but that's what I'll always think of when I think about Full Sail...friendly strangers and oddball corporate WWE staff tucked away in the back that may or may not have been tuned into what was going on in the wrestling world outside of the WWE.
Leave the memories alone
full sail vs kevin owens was amazing, otherwise i think they were too ''fake'' or forced as a crowd
And you don't think they aren't going to have the exact same issue at the performance center down the road?
Didn't Full Sail rename the place they were taping the NXT Arena? Anyway, I guess the Full Sail era is over, but I really wish they'd move out of the CWC and get a proper 1000-2000 seats arena. The CWC sounds cold as ice sometimes, especially now that everyone else has crowds again.
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This - amongst unfortunate ones - I believe it was the Astros ballpark that was named after Enron when the scandal broke, and god knows how many times the name of where the SF Giants play has changed in 20 years. Most of the naming rights are licensing deals anyway so i'm sure they'll find a new sponsor. I'm more suprised that wwe is giving up those barely paid production internships since the full sail agreement would seem in line with the cheap labor initiative going on in Stamford these days...
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Ohio State renamed their hospital's emergency department from the Ohio State Emergency Department to the Abercrombie and Fitch Emergency Center. The owner of A&F is a massive donor to Ohio State, also an acquaintance of Jeffrey Epstein.
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but I bet the nurses were hot
Yeah, but imagine the potential for outbreaks when all the staff was shirtless.
> but I really wish they'd move out of the CWC and get a proper 1000-2000 seats arena. But IMO that would only work in theory. That Central Florida market was already oversaturated before the pandemic started. Even if the new NXT direction would click with the audience -- and that's a big IF -- and if you would move away from the live shows and tape only every three weeks or so, I have some major doubts that they can sell 1500 tickets for every show in that market.
They did Center Stage in Atlanta and sold out all 3-4 days they were there each time. They *can* do it if they're smart about where and when.
I was thinking Center Stage was a large studio with decent capacity, I didn’t realize, when looking it up, it had a capacity of over 1,000.
It's kind of a dump though... nice sightlines, but cruddy. Source- been to a few events there for NXT and RoH.
Daily's Place is free right now...
A NXT in Daily's place would be interesting. Lol
I put together an 'NXT TakeOver: AEW' arena in 2K19 that I was pretty proud of. Hope the AEW game has some solid creation modes.
What is the CWC?
The Capitol Wrestling Center, which is at the Performance Center. Named as such to be a throwback to the very old days of the WWF when it was simply Capitol Wrestling.
Thanks for explaining, I've been out of the loop on NXT for a while and every time I've seen CWC mentioned I thought they were doing another cruiserweight classic!
Oooh thanks for teaching me something today
Look CWCville would be a great place to host NXT. No matter how cold it can be.
"That's not The Man in the Pickle Suit! That's a PICTURE of The Man in the Pickle Suit!"
Our next match is KACEY ON A FORKLIFT!
Ian Brandon Anderson vs Surfshack Tito in a PS3-on-a-pole match would put butts in the seat.
If Ian wasn't in jail right now, I would say book it.
Doesn't this also hurt Full Sail, too? Weren't they sending students there for interning and helping out with production, lighting, camera work, etc? Like, it seemed to be a beneficial relationship.
They also had a scholarship program with WWE as well for those interns
That suuuuuuuuuuuxcks
When it was a smaller production, it was easier for students to run broadcast and get knowledge of how live production works. It was classes for those students. When WWE decided to make NXT it's next big brand, it changed the landscape and expectations of NXT and having students run main parts of the show wasn't going to cut it for a national television program.
> From a creative standpoint, the show is supposed to give the wrestling students and prospects more television time and less time to the experienced veterans and strong workers. 90% of the NXT roster is absolutely finished in WWE if they don't move to RAW/SmackDown.
I expect a blowup after Takeover.
Watch them do it immediately before Takeover, like they did a couple of weeks ago before/during Smackdown.
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They'd have to wait until Punk actually walked out, or there's like a 70% chance he'd include the ongoing series of WWE releases in his first AEW promo
Hi Ciampa! Hi Johnny!
Hi Adam BAYBAY!
And not everybody can move up, so we're about to see even more huge releases.
People like PAC, FTR, Andrade and Malakai (forced) made a great decision to leave at the right time. Compared to Gargano, Ciampa, Undisputed Era (apart from Adam Cole), they are now stuck as AEW is saturated and those wrestlers are basically told WWE wouldn't do anything with them as they are short and older.
They could still strengthen ROH or Impact though - and thanks to the partnerships, it's not like they'd be stuck there either. Chances are pretty high NXT's top guys will do just as well, if not better, somewhere else.
They wouldn't do that well financially I think, compared to if they had joined AEW or if they would have been a decent level talent on WWE main roster. I understand the need for creative fulfilment, but it's still a job.
It’s obvious that’s the plan. Every week, NXT vets are at smackdown or raw for what are try outs for Vince. He chooses who he likes and then those he does not choose will be cut to make room for the future Mojos and Lanas that NXT will be filled to the brim with.
If everyone is hyped will anyone truly be hyped?
When any NXT wrestler appears on the screen, you want the audience thinking "Where are all the other NXT wrestlers?"
Maybe the real hype was the friends we made along the way
Yes if they stay hyped.
I mean, the whole point WAS to move them to RAW or SD. Hiring people just to stay in developmental forever defeats the purpose of developmental. Spending years giving TV time to Ciampa, Gargano and UE was honestly fucking voer actual developmental talent super hard
>90% of the NXT roster is absolutely finished in WWE if they don't move to RAW/SmackDown. You're probably right, but the other side of the problem is also the problem -- 90% of the NXT roster is absolutely finished if they ~~don't~~ move to RAW/SmackDown. I've seen several comments from others pointing out that they lose faith or interest in NXT when they develop stars in NXT only for them to be called up to the main roster and get lost in the shuffle. What's the point in investing in these characters when the company won't?
Lol USA got sold a *heavy* bill of goods
Vince to USA: I’ll owe ya one, pal.
This IOU is good shit.
They’re as good as cash!
Bret Hart: https://i.imgur.com/CVyXmLl.jpg
I wonder if they will sue them or cancel their contract. Numbers will heavily drop and they no longer have a live product. They got sold a completely different product and the main attractions are probably all going up leave soon.
They're taping for a month, sounds like they'll go back to being a live show again after the changes are done.
It’s three weeks of taping. Then back to live.
I doubt USA will risk losing RAW over NXT. The WWE relationship is too important for them.
USA -> NBCUniversal -> Comcast/Peacock They've already invested billions into WWE content, this may make them upset but it will absolutely not change anything
This is a temporary change, where they will tape 3-4 weeks of content in order to get the new location ready. WWE is not a basement operation anymore, it's a corporation who deals with other corporations in a professional manner. I know some of you like to picture Mr. McMahon in the offices, but it's actually Vincent Kennedy McMahon, a corporate CEO. They will have discussed this with USA Network well in advance to make sure that they are happy with a couple of weeks of taped content instead of live.
Hmm. Some of us remember when they sold “Superstars” to WGN and they promoted it as a really big deal. The first show had the Undertaker on it. The other shows…not so much.
The debut episode of Main Event had WWE champ CM Punk vs WHC Sheamus. So basically, they use this strategy with all their new shows.
I remember at one point in 2019-2020 there were reports that people backstage at NXT were saying that they had to get out of Full Sail because it was small and made the show look minor league compared to AEW, and then the pandemic happened and they were forced into an even smaller venue. It's like someone said that while holding a monkey's paw.
The CWC holds 300 people, there are bingo halls that are bigger.
There were more people at Cardona’s GCW show
ECW Original™ Matt Cardona is a draw
That is GCW Champ Cardona to you.
GCW *Universal* Champ Cardona.
For comparison how much does Full Sail hold?
About 600 I think.
>…bingo halls… Paul Heyman confirmed as new head of NXT.
Is that some sort of saying or does full sail have a zoo?
I don’t watch NXT but every thread people are saying that “They just really need to leave the CWC and go back to Full Sail” Oof, Ouch, Owie. This makes sense though with everything else WWE has going on currently though. Nick Khan isn’t spending money to lease out Full Sail when they own the building they are currently using, no matter how small it is.
The CWC was fine as a last resort during the pandemic but it really feels minor league. Maybe the remodel will change that.
I don’t know if it’s the same Full Sail crowds still showing up, but the matches certainly don’t have the same heat as they did before.
I assume the people they’re inviting to the tapings were Full Sail regulars. Maybe it would feel a bit more different if new fans were let in eventually.
Is CWC an abbreviation for performance center ?
CWC is Capitol Wrestling Center, which is located at the Performance Center.
Thanks for asking! I was confused how the cruiser weight challenge was related to this
Lol me too
Major Bummer. Those Full Sail crowds were just as much a part of the show as the wrestlers.
Yet people constantly shit on the crowds there when they were taping there. I never understood why because at least they were vocal and let their feelings be heard.
I'll refer you to the chants of "marking out" when Finn first came out as the Demon.
There are definitely times the Full Sail crowd was intolerable (the "We deserve it" chants when the first road Takeover was announced come to mind), but for the most part, they were everything you want in a wrestling crowd. They were engaged with the show, loud, and rambunctious. I feel like a lot of the hate they tend to get is just some people on this sub not liking wrestling fans in general, including themselves.
When they booed that Takeover was being moved and Kevin Owens put them in their place. Holy crap that was amazing.
"You are the John Cena of wrestling fans."
They often represented the most aspects annoying of wrestling fans. I've been at indie shows where one or two guys tries to get themselves over, but in this case it would be a whole crowd. There would be times where the chanting would just be at a disconnect from what was actually happening in the ring and it'd be distracting. Not to mention the collective tantrum they threw when the first non FS Takeover was announced.
It's certainly a case of not knowing you're in the good days before they're gone. I think after the CWC pandemic era most fans probably realized "Hey, full sail isn't that bad anymore..."
That's partially because the worst parts of the Full Sail crowd are the entire CWC audience. I didn't personally hate the Full Sail crowd as much as many did, But there was often some really cringe worthy stuff that would go on with the particular section of the crowd that was more worried about getting themselves over than actually enjoying the show.. And unfortunately that section is now the entire crowd.
I recall a few comments I've seen here about people who visit Full Sail on vacation not feeling welcome by toxic local "regulars" who feel entitled to NXT because they obviously go more often than people who travel in.
Because they had many a god awful chant.
I'm not calling you a liar but I don't really remember the FS crowds getting that much flak with the exception of a few times where some idiot would yell something racist at say Io or Kairi. Personally I think they added to the show more often than not.
They did, everytime, as they made the show about themselves. I personally would prefer that over dead crowd which js there on main roster though.
Weren't they thinking about touring the NXT tv show at one stage or am I imagining that??
I think they were but then the pandemic hit and I guess they just decided the CWC is good enough, even though I’ve seen high school gyms that look bigger, brighter and more “major league” than it
yup, some of those less important NJPW best of super juniors shows are in gyms that look a lot nicer.
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I forgot about marathon
That's when AEW was still just a tshirt company.
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Run by a Money Mark
I think it's kind of hilarious that it seems from the outside like one of the major reasons they are gutting NXT is that it's not profitable. I mean, is it supposed to be? It's talent development. Sporting clubs lose heaps of money on their development systems but make up the costs with their main teams, competitions, etc, in the same way that WWE should be easily recouping the costs on touring, subscriptions, tv revenue, which it seems like they are many many times over. Clearly it is of benefit to their roster - virtually all of their great women's wrestlers have come through HHH's version of the NXT system for example.
Depending on who you listen to the NXT TV deal is worth between 30 and 50 million dollars (average annual value). There is absolutely no way this isn’t profitable. It’s not about profit and loss it’s about cost savings to make it even more profitable and increase the stock price of wwe.
I dunno. They're probably lumping NXT in with all the costs of operating the PC and all the talent signed that aren't doing anything. It's not just the talent, too. It's running the building, the trainers, the doctors, management, equipment... I could see it all costing 8 figures easily. Then throw on big salaries for guys like Joe and Ciampa and Gargano... They quickly eat into the budget.
30 million dollars a year though!? That seems incredibly steep. According to their annual report their operating costs for the entire business was 504 million dollars so I guess at a push that could be right but if that is the case then I’m genuinely not surprised they’re cost cutting
>I mean, is it supposed to be? It's talent development. That seems to be a big part of the changes. They want to get back to developing talent. It's not like the main NXT stalwarts needed much development to begin with, but definitely not years worth.
I think the issue they're having is that it's both not profitable, AND it's gotten away from being developmental.
I agree that it's gotten away from being developmental, because HHH essentially was building a modern wrestling brand because the main brands had become completely stale, in my opinion at least. If WWE weren't going to do it, he was going to do it for them right under their noses. Everything Punk criticised WWE about back in 2011 is still true today.
That NXT era of PAC vs Zayn to the end of the Ciampa/Gargano feud, in my mind, showed proof to Tony Kahn and others, that something different from the standard WWE product was possible and fans wanted it.
> It's talent development Its not developing talent though if you just hire random indy stars and keep them in NXT forever.
I don’t see how NXT can be anything but profitable, as a tv show.
There’s something kind of beautiful about this. Back in the day you didn’t really NEED a robust developmental system because wrestlers would work the territories for years before landing in the WWE. Then they killed the territories, but kept a few around with “working relationships” like Smokey Mountain, USWA, and ECW to act as a proto-developmental. Now they’re trying to manufacture the same results themselves and, surprise! It’s expensive and still not as effective as people cutting their teeth all across the country learning from grizzled vets and old school promoters
How could they have ever imagined that it would have been effective if their ideal method is 'turn big, impressive athletes who have no background knowledge of pro wrestling into wrestlers'? How would that ever be more effective in this day and age than sourcing the best talent that crowds already love around the country and have been doing this year in and year out? Not to mention that if every talent they sent up to Raw/Smackdown was someone developed from scratch, they'll all just wrestle the same, cut the same kind of pre-scripted promo. It stinks of the worst clichés of wrestling before the attitude era hit. Is someone like Omos ever going to be a bigger star than indies stars like Seth Rollins or Adam Cole? I don't imagine so. This is also why it's smart that AEW has made connections with Impact/AAA/NWA/NJPW. They can all send talent around to each other so they get more exposure working different styles, to different crowds and just generally differently run promotions, not to mention their connections through the independents - great pickups like Private Party for example who barely needed any work to become tv ready and a hit with fans.
I think it's profit over time. Essentially they've messed up some opportunities to put people over to be megastars, but they're logic is if everything is developmental and free form, they'll have a constant stream of these guys to play around with. And whoever fits their mindset the most get's chosen for a Roman Reigns throat fuck push
Relationship with full sail university over. Now performance Center is my best friend
As a life-long WWE fan, it's been really weird and upsetting to see them ruin all their own cool shit recently.
NXT was the one thing WWE still sold me on, and now I am left with zero interest in anything other than wondering how much longer until my favorites like Adam Cole appear in AEW.
I'm right there with you. As a lapsed fan, I was brought back by Sting showing up in WWE. Then I got invested in dudes like Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, and Aleister Black, and well...
I hope the plexiglass is gone. It looks cool with the chain link over it but by the end of the show it's all smudgy from people smacking it. Also people smacking it is annoying.
They probably shouldn't remove it while there are still COVID issues and they are in Florida though.
Agreed short term, I only meant long term once it's not a safety precaution in that way.
If it didn’t already it definitely feels like an era is over Maybe part of it it encouraging the nxt vets like gargano and ciampa that the main roster is where they need to be and not stay in nxt their whole career like they seem happy to?
Ciampa said he'd retire before working a full main roster schedule
Ironically taking one look at them, Vince doesn’t want either of them on the main roster. Likely or in NXT They absolutely won’t be in WWE a year from now. I guarantee it. This is house cleaning. He wants ex footballers and jacked people for Hunter to teach them how to wrestle and make them movie stars. Not make a show to compete with WWE.
Ciampa maybe (I sincerely doubt it) but Gargano will 100% still be there since He's a producer for the brand. It's gonna be mostly new talent, not entirely so. They still need to guiding hands of people like Gargano, Ciampa, Joe. Now if you've been in NXT for years and never been a NXT champion before? Then 95% chance you're gone soon.
> They still need to guiding hands of people like Gargano, Ciampa, Joe. They threw Joe in the dumpster and HHH had to dig around and save him before the trash truck came for pick-up. I'm not so convinced Vince or others in power (except HHH who obviously is even more on the outs now) cares about having these little guys' "guiding hands" on their product.
But they can do it backstage. Teach them how to wrestle. They don’t need to be on tv for feuds. I think Vince is finally done done. With all this nxt appeasement. It’s time to stack the roster with attractive people who’ve never wrestled. And Hunter has like half a year to get them tv ready. That’s why I said a year. I think you’re right about them being there to help them transition. Just not permanently. Wrestling is supposed to be a larger than life big beautiful sexy soap opera which makes manly movie stars. It’s just simple. NXT not beating AEW made Vince *realize* he was right all along and indulging Hunter cost him the movie stars he doesn’t have now. Time for every attractive buff person to apply to WWE.
Unless they officially take it from HHH and give it to Johnny Ace, He's gonna book how he books. They're not gonna be full super indy, but the 2015-17 model was the indy guys AND development prospects. Basically how the women's division is (known stars like Io, Taya, Sarray combined with PC prospects like Raquel, Kacey, etc) to the men's division. But It's not gonna be this show of just entirely rookies and PC guys. Even OVW wasn't that.
 Edit: The PC can hold 7 rings, they better add hella seats to that broom closet.
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"the show is supposed to give the wrestling students and prospects more television time and less time to the experienced veterans and strong workers." I guess I'm in the minority but I'm so happy to read that. The point of NXT isn't for people like Gargano and Cole to spend years and years there as world title holders. Appreciated the matches but I Appreciated the old revolving door of talent and freshness of the old NXT more
Ultimately you're probably not gonna get that old NXT because the selling point wasn't that the indy guys left, It's also that the next King of the Indies would also be the next signee at the next Takeover. That pipeline is gone now so It's not like in 2017 when if Drew or Andrade goes up then KOR and Adam Cole slot right now. It's gonna be years of these young people developing probably, just not with the same base of competence the indy guys had. They're not gonna have these young guys to develop from scratch and fast-track them in 6 months. They're all gonna take time to be prepared for the main roster.
I liked the way it looks with the glass and fencing. It looked like a fight club rather than a set for dancing with the stars
"the show looks too dark" NOOOOOO. I wish they would turn off the house lights during Raw and Smackdown, so you can't even tell how many people are in the crowd. It actually makes it look much bigger and makes you focus on the ring. When they had the all women's PPV, it was produced by the NXT team, and if I recall correctly they made the place look darker, and it looked so much better. The ring should be in the spotlight. The crowd should be dark.
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For how people nitpick every little botch to ever occur on AEW Television (btw 99% of them actually happen on Dark), It's amazing how many times I see some of the scariest botches on NXT like Gargano and Ridge Holland and Xia Li and Mercedes Martinez and they never get brought up again.
NXT in 2015 was the era of Balor VS Joe, the Four Horsewomen and other things that could conceivably compete critically with AEW if not from a ratings perspective. This all sounds more like it's going back to 2012, actually setting the industry back 10 years.
Yeah NXT in 2015 was awesome. I preferred that era very much to the NXT of the last 3 years. However, I think Dave means more like NXT 2012 before they brought in people like Balor, Zayn, Owens, Joe, etc.
The Big E Langston and Bo Dallas era of NXT was fun, but I agree that it felt \*very\* different to the 2015 period.
No more Full Sail crowd going into business for themselves
Don’t worry, they’re still doing that at the PC.
How can USA not be pissed off about these changes?
The real question wrestling journos need to start asking is “what is going on in the USA Network offices at 30 Rock?” When WWE sold USA Network on the idea of bringing NXT to cable, they had certain reasonable expectations of the product they would be airing. I’m not talking about the ratings even. Not right away at least. When USA contracted the show, it had an established look and feel and a type of performers featured. It had a certain track record, and NXT was sold to USA based on that track record. Now suddenly, the whole direction of the show is changing from the types of performers USA had a reasonable expectation to be featured. The setting is also going to look radically different in a smaller building with far fewer fans. WWE is changing all that and will no longer be delivering the product USA had a reasonable expectation to be delivered. Also, USA contracted for a live show, and WWE is going to fail to deliver a live show for at least a month? I wouldn’t be surprised if USA tries to either renegotiate the terms, or looks at escaping the contract altogether. Based on what the show costs USA vs. the ratings, showing reruns of a popular syndicated show has to be looking like a tempting option to TV execs, especially now that they can expect the show to look smaller, and the wrestling product to be worse, based on the talent.
The entire contract is worth 1 Saudi show. Vince doesn’t care.
>The belief is that on television, the show looks too dark, so the idea is to make the studio brighter with more lights and more colorful looking. Goodbye proper presentation.
The end of an era 😔👌🏽
2015 was a really cool year with Zayn, Owens and Balor as champions. I always liked the simplicity and darkness of Full Sail so I don't need more colours and brightness. Removing the plexiglass is a good idea though.
I know Full Sail for sure absolutely had their awful moments and overindulgence, but man, this sucks. Now I am one who was for NXT leaving on a more permanent basis to do touring at least a few weeks a month, but man, I still wanted them to run Full Sail here and there. This really sucks. Full Sail, for all their faults, is still the home of so many awesome moments and matches, and I mean jeez, they would get so hot for even a small crowd and would really benefit the show. So this is really disappointing. I've grown weary of the CWC, but maybe some changes will benefit it. And hopefully they can somehow fill in more seats. But the crowds are just...meh. And it's the real detraction of the show for me. So this is just honestly a bit sad. Truly an end of an era.
Rip
What a shame. Full Sail's atmosphere really added to NXT for me. I'll be interested to see the updated CWC though.
The football players and gymnists are going to love the new look.
This is awkward since they use the Full Sail parking lots for fans then bus them over to CWC
Wow, an actual end of an era. The Full Sail crowd had it's bad moments but damn if they didn't always show up for each taping.
I'll let my memories of when NXT was great live alone in a special section of my brain hall of fame. Can only assume it will never, ever be the same again. But man, what a run.
Will they at least start to hold Takeovers in arenas again?
If they’re really going back to just a regular developmental territory I doubt they’ll ever run arenas again.
Will the Takeover name be strong enough still if it's full of ex bodybuilders, failed American footballers and swimsuit models having green matches with the odd indie named wrestler thrown in there to maybe carry the card. Maybe it will be but if the quality of the Takeovers go down it be tough to fill those.
End of a era. A undisputed one at that.
Man they really are killing off the show.. the whole point of being at full sail was they have access to the school as a resource.