WWE has often been criticized for the way in which NXT superstars are brought up to the main roster. In the past, the black-and-gold brand has been raided whenever Monday Night Raw or Friday Night SmackDown needed new roster members, and this has sometimes come at the expense of NXT ‘s plans. According to Dave Meltzer, though, the company has adopted a new approach.
As quoted by WrestleTalk , the journalist discussed WWE’s new plans on the latest episode of the Wrestling Observer Radio . According to Meltzer, all call-ups will be planned well in advance. Furthermore, this should avoid any more situations like the one faced by Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, who were called up amid a long-term rivalry on NXT , only to become tag team partners on the main roster.
“Right now the idea is, because NXT’s on television, that will happen no more, that any call-up from NXT will be planned out months in advance, so he has plenty of time to finish up, do the storylines, and all that, as opposed to before when Gargano and Ciampa were feuding and building to being put back together, and then they’re a tag team.”
Gargano and Ciampa joining the main roster was an unpopular decision among the WWE Universe. The pair teaming up didn’t make logical sense, but it also led to Ciampa suffering a long-term injury that prevented their NXT storyline from ending on a satisfactory note. However, NXT superstars being promoted without a plan in mind has been common in recent years.
https://twitter.com/NXTCiampa/status/1217478043423465474
Of course, now that NXT is airing live on the USA Network, it’s effectively a third official WWE brand. The roster members have also been mingling with Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown in recent months, with the brand being represented at Survivor Series and tonight’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
Now that NXT is enjoying a mainstream spotlight, it would be unwise of WWE to raid the brand without a solid plan going in. NXT has also been tasked with competing against All Elite Wrestling on Wednesday nights, and the show needs all of its star power in order to succeed in the ratings war.
However, fans can also expect to see more main roster superstars return to the black-and-gold brand down the line. As The Inquisitr previously reported, more superstars are expected to follow Finn Balor to Full Sail in an effort to reinvigorate their careers.
