NXT going to USA in october

[Psykohurricane55]

If you believe the reports, NXT will be start airing on USA as a 2 hours show going head to head with AEW on TNT.

If this is true, this as HHH's handprint all over it. The first thing a mention after AEW's first ppv was that the biggest mistake they made was when cody destroyed HHH's throne with a sledgehammer on the broadcast. The second mistake was when cody was continuing to mention HHH on others shows. Like we all know, if they're somebody that's even more vendictive and competitive then vince, it's HHH.

HHH as never loved when somebody challenge him or his statues in the business. Just look at the CM Punk situation were Vince tried everything to convince him to stay and HHH went out of his way to make his life a living hell. Vince think like a business man, HHH think like a wrestler.

Anyway, if this come true, this could either help or hurt the brand but it will be a true test for the booking because with 2 hours to fill, you got more time to fill which mean their a good chance that you will overexposed the top stars on the brand at some point. But on the bright side, it give them more exposure which mean, they might be able to actually make money with the brand.

Anyway, this will be a interesting story to follow and if it's true, it will be a fun competition to watch.

 

[enviousdominous]

Prowrestling fans can be some very fickle beasts.

My own take on AEW; they're neat-o! I don't see them as being an organization on par with ROH or Chikara, because they just don't have the history. It seems like they want to be associated with smaller indy organizations, because they're promoting themselves as being the same thing -- only with the included aspect of being staffed mainly by former WWE talent. Jon Moxley's heyday was so damn long ago that I can't remember any of his major feuds before feuding with CM Punk, the only memorable part of CZW was when Nick Mondo nearly killed himself taking a slam off of a two story building.

To sit down and watch a two hour block of grown men running into each other, I kind of need more incentive. Like, I'm more likely to sit and watch NXT because they've already hammered out a distinctive style and their gimmicks have more room to promote themselves with having a comparatively small roster. All that AEW is apparently offering me is the notion that Cody is a top guy (which I've never believed), and that Jon Moxley is still cool (while I was never first convinced that he is cool). I'm a Pentagon Jr mark through and through, but I really don't see him as an AEW guy.

HHH is a vindictive asshole, but he's apparently very good at channeling his energy into producing great NXT shows. It's weird, because it's as if his casual focus on NXT has caused it to be consistently more watchable than any of the garbage that the WWE has cranked out for RAW and Smackdown. I imagine that the lack of stress allows him to take more risks with allowing talent like Velveteen Dream and Adam Cole to express themselves freely.

The worst I see coming from all of this is that NXT becomes a more popular concept than any other concept that's affiliated with WWE, and that causes Kevin Dunn and Vince to destroy it by trying to help it.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I'm with you about kevin dunn, but at the same time, i don't think vince coming in to oversees the show would be as big of a problem as fans make it. I remember the last year of wweecw which was technically what NXT is without the indy wrestlers on it and the show was pretty well run and produce pretty good feud along the way plus a lot of major stars in today's wwe roster came out of WWEecw during that last year. So vince does know how to book this type of show. Plus it could help a little bit more for the migration of NXT stars to raw and smackdown if they are booked in the same style instead of having completely different style.

I'm not defending vince because good knows how many time stuff they he approve where god awful but looking at HHH track record, it's not like he's bulletproof either.

Just look at takeover: toronto as a example, probably on of the worst takeover in a long time and he pretty much expose how formulaic nxt as become. 205 live as become a complete failure since he took over and that's not without forgetting some of his early mistakes like bringing mistico(the original sin cara) and kharma to wwe. Those 2 project blew up in his face in a hurry.

This will probably be the biggest test for HHH as somebody that overseeing the production of a show, especially if they go live every week because he didn't have to do so before when they taped four episode in a row, so he had more liberties in how to booked a show plus booking a show for a niche audience is easier then booking it for a mainstream audience which is what vince wants to do by putting NXT on cable instead of the network because outside of the fact that he wants to stop any momemtum AEW as, i'm sure that trying to find a way to turn a profit with NXT as become a priority for him as i'm sure that he didn't like to be losing so much money in ticket sales for nxt toronto.

 

[neildittmar]

WWE moving NXT to the USA network is a mistake, and perhaps a critical one for the brand. If it's (debatably) being done as a counter to AEW (regardless of Cody "calling out" HHH or not) it's even more of a mistake and a pretty shoddy way for WWE to conduct business considering their current industry position.

The mandates for NXT that have resulted in the successful formula thus far are fairly simple:

1. Provide a show for young, undiscovered, or otherwise "new to WWE" talent to get their feet wet, learn the ropes (figuratively and literally) working for the company, and prep those talents for a possible call up to the "big leagues" of RAW and Smackdown.

2. Provide a platform for talent/creative to develop, enhance, modify, or change completely a character, gimmick, backstory, et. al. in an essentially consequence free environment. In other words, a sandbox to be experimental.

3. Provide an option for more experienced talent whose characters have grown stale or need repackaging, redirection, or reinvigoration to elevate themselves and/or elevate the next level/generation of stars (see point 1).

By moving NXT from a subscription based streaming network that essentially requires you to be at least a moderate fan of WWE/wrestling to a nationally broadcast television show effectively violates every one of the mandates I listed above. Far more eyes on the NXT product begets far more responsibilities and restrictions on said product.

On the WWE network, NXT talent/creative can test things out, try new things, and perform "outside the box" in an environment that doesn't have the same restrictions or oversight as the mainline shows. I think most would agree that this is a primary reason why NXT programming feels so refreshing and different. On USA, NXT talent/creative/characters/storylines will be subjected to the same scrutiny that RAW and Smackdown are by viewers, advertisers, and the network itself. Said differently, trying something new and stinking up Full Sail University during an NXT broadcast on WWE Network is one thing... doing the same on a nationally televised program on cable television with advertisers and ratings is entirely another.

The way I see it, WWE moving NXT to USA will ultimately go one of two ways. In one instance, NXT tries to hold true to it's roots, ultimately disappoints the network/advertisers (and possibly mainstream viewers) and ends up back on the WWE network within a year or so to lick it's wounds. In the other instance, NXT essentially becomes "RAW and Smackdown for Rookies" who are pushed too far, too fast in an effort to compete for notoriety, ratings and advertising dollars on the level of the two big shows. Either scenario is bleak and could hurt the brand... possibly irreparably.

 

[JoeMallard]

My biggest worry is that the Takeover events will disappear and the titles will have to be defending on the main ppvs. If that happens, the long term stories that NXT is good at will not happen anymore and the big matches will have to be cut in half. This could also extend the monthly ppvs by a few hours, I don't think anyone would want that. I could see this move completely backfire, but hey, I heard that the move can make them 50 million in add revenue .

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I don't see takeover events disappearing anytime soon especially since this feel like this move was made especially to make the brand known to more fans and being able to actually make a profit with the brand. I also think that while this move was ultimetely made to stop any momemtum AEW has, it's also so that stuff like having to pretty much give tickets away for a takeover event doesn't happen anymore.

I feel like the shareholders see how popular the brand is but they are tired of seeing this brand being in the red all the time and it's all about making this brand a profitable one which will be hard considering the style of product NXT produces which is a complete different content from mainstram wwe.