Without going too deep into spoilers (get those here, if you'd like), the Thursday, April 28 NXT taping at Full Sail has triggered a reaction among fans that could be described as something on the scale between anxiety and anger.
The focal point of this is the debut, already spoiled by WWE, of former TNA stalwart Eric Young. Following quickly after the inclusion of Austin Aries, with Bobby Roode teased at TakeOver: Dallas and perhaps even because 37 year old former TNA World champ Samoa Joe is on top of the NXT card, EY was the straw that broke the camel's back for a lot of fans who've been less in love with NXT in 2016 than they were a year ago.
Reasons why Triple H and team are turning to the stars of Impact for their in-house competitor to / feeder system for the main roster share a lot in common with why fans are worked up about a show jokingly dubbed NXTNA on Twitter last night. So let's take a look at both to try and figure out how freaked out we should be...
Developmental?
A common refrain, and one I've made myself, is something along the lines of "I thought this was supposed to be about creating new stars, not rehabbing old ones".
This is probably the most rational criticism we can level against based Haitch, because NXT has fairly objectively failed to create new stars in the men single's division who weren't already on the cusp of stardom elsewhere. Outside of Baron Corbin, the legend of NXT is built on guys who came in with buzz from other promotions and were then pushed by WWE using pretty much the same character, moveset, etc., just under a new or modified name.
We may feel grumpy about Roode or Young getting a title shot, but do we really want to see Elias Samson or Tye Dillinger - as entertaining as some find both guys - as NXT title contenders? The failure to make new stars exists, but pretending it doesn't isn't the answer. Bringing in some veterans while you try again is better than nothing.
Main roster needs
In addition to Corbin, NXT also sacrificed the other guy they've been grooming for a top spot to Raw and SmackDown when they sent Apollo Crews "up" for the post-WrestleMania show. While Crews is still largely the same guy Uhaa Nation was in Dragon Gate USA, and could have used more time at the Performance Center, there's no disputing he was someone positioned for the main event in Full Sail.
There's a reason no one has ever tried to turn a developmental territory into a globally televised and touring promotion, and this is it. Trips will never know when a rash of injuries or new philosophy behind the scenes on the main roster will cost him a handful of top performers. That's all well and good when you're running 300 seat venues in Florida or Kentucky. It's a whole nother ballgame when you're a selling point for a streaming service and playing 3000 seat arenas all over the world.
NXT has been experiencing some pushback from the Sunshine State fanbase who've followed them since the Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) days. Complaints have rolled in during the last few cycles of shows in places like Largo that ran at the same time as ones in bigger buildings in Cleveland that the locals were getting the scraps - meaning Performance Center wrestlers who haven't been on television yet.
Satsifying their various constituents requires a lot of talent. With Vince cherry-picking their roster, they had to turn somewhere for workers.
The competition wises up
A reason why WWE swooped in and signed four guys from New Japan is because they were one of the last major companies who hadn't figured out they needed to lock up their top acts or NXT was going to.
Same reason Hunter's deal with Gabe Sapolsky makes so much sense. EVOLVE doesn't have a company like Sinclair or producers like Robert Rodriguez & Mark Burnett to back long-term or lucrative contracts for their guys, so Gabe & Haitch struck a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Point being, the days of snatching up an Owens, Zayn or Neville without a fight are over. The biggest independent names in recent recruiting classes have been international stars. Ring of Honor, Lucha Underground and others are taking care of their top acts before WWE can bring them in - and many of those acts are realizing that they're more likely to have a spotlight on stages not already occupied by capital-S Superstars.
Global Cruiserweight Series (GCS)
We're all champing at the bit for the new tournament show set to debut on WWE Network in July, so we should factor that in to our criticism of NXT - because the former is definitely impacting the latter.
One of the guys getting buzz at house shows all over the United States, Manny "La Sombra" Andrade, is being held back for the GCS. Ditto Rich Swann. Guys WWE might try to get in exclusive contracts and push like Zack Sabre, Jr. or even ones already working part-time in NXT like Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano are in a holding pattern until the show tapes and probably airs.
Some or all of those names should be fixtures on Wednesday nights come the Fall. They are being used extensively on live shows, which combined with the right storytelling in the tournament, means they can arrive on NXT ready for major programs rather than needing weeks of vignettes or squashes.
Shinsuke Nakamura
We're all pretty fired up about Swagsuke in WWE, right? Well, he's kind of a loaner for NXT, just to get them through this transition period. That seems clear by virtue of the fact they're not putting him in the title picture.
Nakamura is the loud explosion to distract you from the rebuilding the brand is going through. But that means he's not something they can use as keystone piece, because - unlike some of the main roster promotions - they know he's not theirs to keep.
The "TNA Stink"
If, even at 36 years of age, Eric Young was coming in from Lucha Underground or New Japan, would the complaints be as vocal?
Most rational folks would admit that if these guys were coming from a promotion that hadn't been the butt of the internet's jokes for the last five years, it would be a lot easier to spin their time in NXT as "dream matches". But because, through no fault of his own, EY was booked as a Daniel Bryan knockoff for a short while in 2014, we suddenly have no interest in seeing him wrestle Samoa Joe?
Look, I don't want to attack fans who are concerned about a product Triple H tells them is "theirs" whenever he's allowed on a microphone at one of its shows, but shouldn't we judge this based on whether or not it leads to good matches and stories and not because it isn't what we dreamed of?
If Young vs. Joe turns into a six month long feud full of lackluster action, I'll join everyone in complaining.
But if EY, Aries, Roode, et al are truly in the company as "player-coaches" who will help sell tickets while teaching (formally or informally) the right way to do business...
Laugh about TNA all you want, but how many wrestlers are there in the world with experience working for a nationally televised company that travelled internationally? Who don't have any track record of substance abuse or outside drama? These guys have value, both to NXT as a developmental program and in-house competitor.
They're also not the first veterans WWE has brought into the Performance Center, and we don't know how they'll be used yet. Will they be booked like Titus O'Neil, Tyrus or Rhyno? Those guys getting title shots didn't doom the promotion, and it's unlikely Young getting one will, either.
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I get and even share the concern brought about by Young's debut, and have been fairly critical of the shows on either side of TakeOver: Dallas. But it seems to me like this is both a function of NXT trying to be something we've never seen before (a reason why we admired it in the first place) and part of the plan to get them through a transition period.
This is not to say that there's not reason to criticize Trips and team about failings in their model. There absolutely are. A lot of the above reads like excuses for those failings, because they are. But unless someone has a time machine, all they can do is move forward while trying to make adjustments to the model. The use of stable, talented hands with name recognition like the Impact crew seems like a reasonable tool to use toward that end.
As someone who's followed NXT from its earliest days, I'm going to give them a chance on this latest phase in their evolution. I'd encourage you to at least discuss the situation with the best darn wrestling community on the interwebs before doing one of the things the IWC does best...
Freak the f*** out.