Things may become clearer next year, but for now, if only to give RAW and SmackDown half a chance, consider this a celebratory goodbye to an old era.Īlso, since TLC is under two weeks away and WWE haven't announced a single match yet, it's probably safe to publish this now. It's the main roster this week, but the talent won't be paid main roster money this year. The marketing is selective and conditional on what WWE wishes to achieve at any given point, which doesn't help to clarify what 'kind' of show NXT is. In storylines, NXT defeated RAW and SmackDown, but the subtext was of far greater importance: NXT is superior to AEW.īut, while Tommaso Ciampa welcomed AJ Styles to the 'main roster' a few weeks back, in a cheeky nod to the irony that has engulfed the dreaded call-up, Triple H has marketed NXT on USA as the existing 'No BS' alternative to the main roster, while also, for years, quite reasonably maintaining that it is a brand in its own right. This was the very on-the-nose and very successful theme of Survivor Series weekend NXT proved itself the superior brand in storylines. That is the message WWE is intent - desperate - to send to a disenfranchised, fading base lured by the buzz surrounding All Elite Wrestling.
