Problems in NXT
On Wednesday night, we saw perhaps the last match of Finn Balor in NXT. Shinsuke Nakamura and Balor fought for about twenty minutes in what was a really competitive and intense battle. One thing stuck out to me and it could be troublesome. Why did this not feel important?
There was no championship on the line, but did have two of the most exciting talents on the roster doing battle for the first time in WWE programming. NXT Takeover events are excellent, but they do take away from the weeks of programming that are recorded one at a time. Even though I did not read the spoilers for this match, I knew who was going to win. I loved the action and loved the physicality that both men showed, but it lacked something. It lacked that BIG stage that are putting people on the map when transitioned to RAW and Smackdown.
Finn and Shinsuke should have waited until Brooklyn to really get the sense of importance, to get the final goodbye for a guy that has carried the NXT flag longer and stronger than anyone else. Kevin Owens competed in NXT Takeover last year and followed it up at SummerSlam. Finn Balor should have done just this. There is no need for an extensive storyline in NXT when it comes to him. Hell, with three hours of RAW with one roster, some of his feud and storyline with Nakamura could have been spotlighted.
WWE just needs to be careful this time next week. With a few matches already announced for NXT Takeover : Back to Brooklyn, you see that the roster is weaker than ever. Without spoiling any matches, you have a handful of matches where only two look really intriguing on paper. Is it because they are rushing guys to the RAW or Smackdown brand? I think that is a big part of it.
Baron Corbin…never NXT Champion. Apollo Crews…never NXT Champion. Enzo and Cass…never NXT Tag Team Champions. Out of these four guys, only Enzo and Cass have made a consistent impact. They look to have the most longevity right now and that surprises me. It was time for Finn to come up, but it should have felt bigger and more important than what we got Wednesday on NXT. A match recorded about three weeks ago and very little hype on RAW or Smackdown. To me, this is a problem and was a missed opportunity.
