Remember 2021? Holy shit.
It’s hard to believe that 2021 was five damn years ago, but here we are. 2021 was a mess. The COVID-19 pandemic was in full-force. WWE was running all of their shows in front of screens with people on them. The ThunderDome, remember?
If you blocked that time period out of your mind, I don’t blame you. Here’s another WWE 2021 fact to jolt and shock your memory. That year NXT shifted from their black and gold with skulls era into NXT 2.0, an era that looked like 12 buckets of neon colored paint threw up on the WWE Performance Center.
Things change
The bright pink themed NXT 2.0 was jarring, but it had clear intentions and signaled that things in the developmental brand of WWE would be changing. Immediately, new stars like Bron Breakker, Toxic Attraction, Tony D’Angelo, and others were the fresh faces of the show that had been occupied by stars like Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, and Tommaso Ciampa.
It was tough to recognize at the time, but NXT needed the 2.0 shift. What was supposed to be a developmental brand for the WWE main roster, became an elevated indy promotion that was beloved because of how good the wrestling was. Stars at the top of the black and gold NXT didn’t have a clear path to being top stars on Raw or SmackDown. Worse than that, many of them didn’t even want to try their hand on the main roster because of how comfortable and fun NXT was. It was a massive disconnect that not only led to a stagnant NXT product, but a dull main roster.
Does this feel familiar? It should. NXT didn’t break out the neon paint this week, but they shifted again in a major way. Welcome to NXT 3.0.
In a matter of four months, the NXT that fans had come to know and love lost a plethora of top talents. Oba Femi, Je’Von Evans, Trick Williams, Ethan Page, Sol Ruca, Joe Hendry, Ricky Saints, Lash Legend, Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, Lainey Reid, and Blake Monroe have all been called up to the main roster this year. Add in last year and the developmental brand also lost top talent like Stephanie Vaquer, Guilia, Jordynne Grace, and Roxanne Perez.
From The Takedown on SI
The names in that paragraph were the reasons to watch NXT and now … POOF! They’re gone.
So, NXT does what it does. It evolved and version 3.0 is here. Shawn Michaels, Robert Stone, and Matt Bloom said as much when they started the show this week.
Light the dynamite and heave
The quote from Michaels was, “let’s huck a stick of dynamite in the locker room and see who runs out.”
In other words, “hey audience, you are going to see some new faces out of nowhere on the show this week. Don’t worry. That’s supposed to happen.”
EVIL, Lizzy Rain, Will Kroos, Tristan Angels, Kam Hendrix, and Tate Wilder each made their NXT debuts this week on television. They adopted different parts of the card with EVIL immediately angling toward the main event picture, Rain making her presence felt as part of the revamped women’s division, and the rest holding down spots somewhere in the middle.
The 3.0 evolution this week didn’t just feature brand new faces. It also shined a spotlight on current NXT stars taking over new roles on the show.
Shiloh Hill secured multiple segments on TV and beat former NXT Champion, Ricky Saints in the main event. Tatum Paxley? Nearly the same thing. She didn’t get a main event win, but as Women’s North American Champion, she was cast as one of the top stars. Tony D’Angelo, Lola Vice, and Myles Borne got the same kind of attention as champions on the show.
Smiles all around
Triple H surely is smiling. Michaels too. Hell, even Nick Khan has a grin on his face somewhere.
This is how a developmental system is supposed to work. Build talent and ship them to the main roster. If NXT operates any other way, the system goes haywire. Major league baseball teams don’t leave top bashers hitting in the minor leaguers so they can sell a few more tickets on buy one, get three free hot dog night. That basher gets brought up to the big dance, so they can contribute, or attempt to contribute at the highest level possible.
If a major league ball club is “gutting” their minor league system, everyone in the organization is happy. It means the system worked. Same thing with NXT.
Triple H gutted the brand this week and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
How often do you watch the NXT product? Let us know in the comments!
Subscribe to the Brass Ring Media Newsletter HERE.
Follow Zack Heydorn on Bluesky @zackheydorn.bsky.social.