Debunking NXT as a Third WWE Brand Myth

Debunking NXT as a Third WWE Brand Myth
May 6, 2017
By Ryan Porzl

NXT was originally conceived in 2012 to be the WWE's Developmental after having previously been a WWE TV Show from 2010-2012. However, the promotion began to catch on with the Internet Wrestling Community by 2015 and now everyone from the people behind the scenes to the fans want to create this illusion that NXT has become it's own brand. They'll easily consider it a third brand along with RAW and Smackdown while wanting wrestlers in their primes to waste their time going there. However, no matter how much the IWC or the people behind NXT want it, NXT is not a "brand" but a developmental promotion and I'll debunk this myth.



There's NXT's Television situation as it does not have a television show on actual television, the show isn't live but taped in advance nor do they regularly tape across the country. Currently, NXT's one hour show is only available on the WWE Network and has been since the Network launched in 2014. If NXT is a third brand then why doesn't it have a national TV deal? RAW & Smackdown both are on national TV for the USA Network but NXT is not. Now I don't expect USA to have a third straight night of wrestling and six hours combined but surely WWE could've found another station that's owned by NBCUniversal like Syfy which aired WWE programming for a decade. NXT can't be a "third brand" or on equal footing when RAW & Smackdown air on national TV and all NXT can get is an airing on the WWE Network. Not only in America but NXT doesn't have any international TV deals anywhere. NXT also doesn't regularly tape TV outside of Full Sail University with the exception of the weekends they're holding a TakeOver special. RAW & Smackdown are ran across the country and even around North America and Europe but NXT does not despite it's supposed to be a third brand. NXT's TV show is not only not live but taped in advance as they tape a month's worth of shows in one night. RAW & Smackdown air live every week. RAW hasn't taped a month's worth of shows in one night since 1997 while Smackdown taped days before they aired. If NXT was a third brand then WWE would likely have it live since it's supposed to be on equal footing of RAW & Smackdown.

NXT doesn't have it's own Pay-Per-Views or appear on the "big four". To date, NXT doesn't do "PPVs" like RAW and Smackdown do. They do TakeOver specials but those aren't monthly and usually piggyback off a WWE PPV. With the exception of the December 2015 TakeOver which was held in England, no TakeOver outside of Full Sail University in Florida has stood on it's own. Every other TakeOver has piggybacked on a WWE PPV by holding it usually the night or two before a WWE PPV and some cases have held it in the same building. If NXT truly was a third brand then they wouldn't need to resort to holding a special in the same building a night or two before a WWE PPV. It should be able to stand on it's own and hold a show in 15-20,000 seated arenas on Sunday Nights like other PPVs. RAW and Smackdown can do it so if NXT is a third brand then it should too especially given the talent they hoard. Speaking of WWE PPVs, NXT wrestlers don't regularly appear on the "big four" (Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, Summerslam, Survivor Series). You never see the NXT Championship defended at a Wrestlemania like you would the WWE World Heavyweight Championship or the WWE Universal Championship. Tye Dillinger was the only NXT participant in the 2017 Royal Rumble. Speaking of the Rumble, they used to have 15 RAW Superstars and 15 Smackdown Superstars in the original split but they're not doing 10 RAW Superstars, 10 Smackdown Superstars, and 10 NXT Superstars in the 2017 Royal Rumble. You don't see elimination matches featuring NXT men and women at Survivor Series. NXT shouldn't be absent from the "big four" if it's a third brand.

There's also the case of the recent brand split which began back in June of last year. In the draft, several NXT wrestlers including Finn Balor, Alexa Bliss, American Alpha, and Nia Jax were moved up to the main roster while Elias Samson, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Tye Dillinger moved up this year. However, no wrestlers were drafted to NXT or went to NXT. If NXT is this third brand, why is it that RAW & Smackdown are the only choices for wrestlers to get drafted? If NXT was a third brand then they would've gotten some RAW & Smackdown guys & girls. Instead, they got nothing while some of their talent were drafted to the main roster. In fact, in NXT's history, the only time somebody goes down there it's usually someone the WWE is doing nothing with and is there to lose to top acts like Tyson Kidd in 2015 although that isn't as common as it was a year and a half ago.

As most wrestling fans know, The WWE's home arena is Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The WWE goes there several times a year and have continued to do so when the split happened as RAW & Smackdown have run there and everyone doesn't expect anything different. However, when NXT went to MSG back in November, they didn't go to the actual arena but the smaller theater attached to the building. If NXT is a third brand then why not go to the WWE's home arena instead of the much smaller theater? If NXT is a third brand then it shouldn't have trouble doing good business in the WWE's home arena. It definitely speaks volumes that WWE didn't have confidence in running the actual arena but chose the smaller theater. The theater is about 1/4 as big as MSG itself which makes it something another company like Impact Wrestling or ROH would run if they could get access but NXT is supposed to be on equal footing as RAW and Smackdown but you would never see a RAW or Smackdown live event, TV taping, or PPV held in the theater.

Nothing against NXT but anyone, WWE management including, who think of it as some "third brand" is delusional to say the very least. NXT is just a fancy developmental and somewhat storage bin to keep wrestlers capable of the main roster away from other companies but that's a whole other article for another day. It's time WWE management, the wrestling media, and the fans stop fooling themselves into thinking NXT is bigger than is or even should be. The sooner people realize NXT is a developmental to prepare talent for the future, the better.