WWE Rumors: WWE Brand Split Killing NXT?

After the news was leaked that the WWE was going to have a brand split, the company revealed that it was true. Now, there has been another interesting development that indicates that the WWE brand split might do more than just open up the WWE to more opportunities for wrestlers. 411mania reported on Monday that the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event is no longer listed on sale at Ticketmaster.

While the Barclays Center in Brooklyn still lists NXT Takeover: Brooklyn on their schedule, the WWE has removed mention of it from their website as well. The WWE holds their special NXT Takeover events around the same time as their major shows. An example was the NXT Takeover: Dallas show that took place on WrestleMania 32 weekend. That NXT event sold out. This year’s SummerSlam event takes place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and NXT Takeover: Brooklyn was scheduled for that same weekend.

Interestingly, the next major NXT event is NXT Takeover: The End, the 10th Takeover event and one scheduled to take place at Full Sail University in Florida, the home of the WWE Developmental Center and their weekly WWE Network NXT show. The title NXT Takeover: The End is ominous and is even more curious since it was originally titled NXT Takeover: Revenge.

The main event of NXT Takeover: The End is Finn Balor challenging NXT Champion Samoa Joe. The title of the show made sense as Revenge but The End could also signify the end of the feud between Joe and Balor as well. However, with the upcoming WWE brand split, there is also the chance that this might mark the end of the NXT Takeover events.

For the last two years, NXT has not only been the most watched show on the WWE Network, but it was also considered by wrestling purists as the better product from a storyline point of view. While Vince McMahon has had a hand’s on approach to Raw and SmackDown, Triple H oversaw NXT personally and really nurtured it into a fun and entertaining product week in and week out.

NXT has also enjoyed the arrival of indie stars like Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Luke Harper, Finn Balor, Austin Aries, Sami Zayn, Neville, Kalisto, Samoa Joe, and more, as they all found a new home with the WWE. However, with the WWE brand split coming up, there will be new opportunities for stars to make their names on live television instead of the WWE Network.

Finn Balor has been rumored to move up the WWE ranks ever since A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows signed with the WWE. Bringing him up as the leader of the Balor Club with Anderson and Gallows and feuding with Styles on the WWE main roster could be a major selling feud. Also, Japanese legend and NXT star Shinsuke Nakamura is posed to be a major player as well.

The biggest problem is that the WWE does not have positive results when it comes to the promotion of NXT stars. While The Shield, Kevin Owens, and the Wyatt Family have been stars, former champions Neville and Bo Dallas floundered. Even worse is the treatment of former NXT stars like Tyler Breeze, who was a solid wrestler in NXT and has been a jobber in the WWE. Adam Rose, who was recently released, and The Ascension are two other examples of NXT stars who failed in the WWE.

With the WWE brand split coming, there is room for more NXT stars. Some of them, such as Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, and Bobby Roode are ready to step up to the main stage. Others, such as Bayley and Finn Balor, face a little more of an uphill battle because their gimmicks might not play as well on the big stage of SmackDown or Raw as they do in NXT.

If NXT does die during the WWE brand split, NXT Takeover: The End might be the swan song for the brand. However, there is also the chance that NXT continues on, but the established wrestlers are mixed into the main brands while younger talents continue to grow on the WWE Network. With that, the NXT Takeover events might no longer be viable anyway.

[Image via WWE]