©Wrestling Goons Radio 2014
Is Being Called Up To The Main Roster A Good Thing Leaving NXT:
By: Brian Compton
In a time of plummeting ratings and stale storylines, you may find yourself clamoring for more NXT
talents to be called up to the main roster of WWE, in an effort to revitalize the current RAW and
SmackDown shows. But what if the answer is not adding to the main roster but rather, rebranding it?
What if, by removing pieces of the puzzle, it helped you see the picture for what is really is? These
questions are by all intents and purposes, rhetorical. However, there is one question I will ask you, that
resonates with not only the fans but with the wrestlers themselves:
What does it really mean to be called up to the main roster?
For some, being called up to the roster is their opportunity to showcase their talents for the world; for
others, the desire to remain in the intimate surroundings of the Full Sail University, amidst hundreds of
loyal and diehard NXT fans, is greater than the instant stardom that may very well await them on the
other side of the metaphoric curtain. This of course, depends, on who you ask
 |
| NXT Champion Finn Balor live in Houston, Texas |
Finn Balor, (or if the battle wills his primeval nature) The
Demon, is the current NXT Heavyweight Champion and has
gone on record as stating:
"What we're doing at NXT right now is groundbreaking. It's
revolutionary. For me, it's like a Renaissance period in wrestling,
and I want to be involved in NXT, I don't want to go to the quoteunquote
main roster.”
The picture above is from the NXT live event that took place for the first time ever in Houston, TX. I was
fortunate enough to have front row seats to the event and the experience was one that I will forever
remember. The intimate settings was one of solidarity and division amongst the crowd once common
enemies were formed. There was something truly special in the air that night as is for every night the
NXT wrestlers step into the ring.
Although, the success of the NXT is undeniable, some believe that the answer to the declining Raw and
SmackDown ratings is calling up some NXT talents to breathe some fresh air into the stifled storylines
and lackluster matches. However, I challenge you to look at the situation from a different angle; take
NXT’s rapid success and use it to improve the current product by implementing the ideas, not the talent.
I will be writing another article to address how I would revitalize the current product so look for that
soon. But it’s simple really, you can grow you roster without adding to it, simply utilize the talent that
you have and emphasize the characteristics of the NXT brand to the main roster to where we look back
and remember how it revolutionized the wrestling industry by becoming the standard for what wrestling
should be
I don't want to get called up, so to speak, because I believe that we at NXT are building
something together that is going to be looked back on in 10 years the same way that we
looked back on the ECW period as being revolutionary at that time, and this is something
that I want to be involved in.”
-Finn Balor
Brian Compton is an editor and cohost for Wrestling Goons Radio. Trademarked 2014
