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The WWE and it's creative staff has endured a lot of criticism over the last few years, none more so than following the recent Royal Rumble pay-per-view in January. The premature elimination of Daniel Bryan coupled with the weak showings of Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler as well as a poor finale to the 30-man main event spectacular which saw Kane and the Big Show attempt to choke each other only for Roman Reigns to eliminate the 2 before rather easily disposing of Rusev saw the entire product greeted with a chorus of boos. The man who bore the brunt of the abuse was Roman Reigns who, after winning the Royal Rumble, was met with frantic abuse from those looking on.
The abuse he received was undeserved and represented a point at which fans became completely overwhelmed with disgust at what they were watching. Since then, the WWE and Vince McMahon have tried to save Wrestlemania by trying to force Daniel Bryan into the main-event via taking on Roman Reigns at the inaugural FastLane pay-per-view this coming Sunday. One will have to wait and see if that works out in WWE's favour going forward. However, despite the current negativity towards the product as a whole, WWE's future remains bright if the current NXT product is anything to go by.
Currently plying their trade in the WWE development system are the likes of Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville, Finn Balor and Kevin Owens. On top of that, in the Diva division, we see the likes of Charlotte and Sasha Banks among other fantastically talented women. It is not just the talented athletes and performers in NXT that sees such promise for WWE's future, but the way the developmental system is booked is a breath of fresh air. Take the current rivalry between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. It all began when Zayn FINALLY won the NXT championship from his rival Adrian Neville some time ago. Following that victory, the entire NXT roster came out to congratulate Zayn, all being led by his long-time friend Kevin Owens (or Kevin Steen for those familiar with his work on the indy circuit which I am not). Following an emotional embrace, Owens proceeded to viciously assault Zayn which sparked what could be one of the best rivalries of recent memory.
Most recently, Kevin Owens battled Sami Zayn for the NXT championship (which has become more valuable than the WWE championship through the successful booking of NXT) at NXT Takeover: Rival. The match ended with Owens punishing Zayn so badly that the match had to be stopped and Owens won the match, and the championship, by KO. Not only did this elevate Owens as a monster and violent heel (bad guy for those not familar with the terminology), but it also cemented Zayn's place as a gutsy, brave and resilient performer. Job well done all round.
The Kevin Owens - Sami Zayn match-up followed what was an outstanding show which outlined just how superior the current NXT product is to the WWE product. Prior to the main-event, we saw Finn Balor (look him up on YouTube and watch some of the entrances he has performed as part of his gimmick as well as some of his matches, they are spectacular) take on the Geordie, Adrian Neville, in a match which would see the winner (Finn Balor) become the number one contender to the NXT title. That match was incredibly entertaining and added prestige to the NXT title as a result of how hard the 2 men worked to become the number one contender.
However, it was a match pitting Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Bayley and Becky Lynch against each other in a Fatal-4-Way match which demonstrated the potential of those in NXT (both performers and creative staff alike). For so long, it was the women's division that has been overlooked and rather ignored by Vince McMahon and the main WWE creative staff. However, under the control of Paul Levesque (Triple H), NXT's women have not suffered such treatment from those in the boardroom. The NXT diva division has become one that boasts a group of performers which are tremendous athletes which have been able to demonstrate their ability. They are able to do that because they have been given the chance with Levesque at the helm.
This is where the hope lies for WWE. Eventually , Vince McMahon will leave the WWE (hell, he is 70 in August). Once he does, his real-life son-in-law Paul Levesque will take over and, from there, we will see a Renaissance in the way the WWE book their performers, whether they be male or female.
Levesque has long voiced his intent to shift more attention to the Diva division as well as wanting to change Monday Night Raw back to 2 hours instead of 3 (which cannot come soon enough). He has also voiced his intention to introduce feuds which last longer than just a month ago (an intent which can be seen in how WWE treated the recent Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose feud which ran for the whole summer before it ended at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view). All of this intent and policy of Levesque can be seen in how he handles NXT which contains all of those characteristics mentioned.
Upon taking over the WWE proper, whenever that may happen, Levesque will see the careers of Paige, Charlotte, Bayley, Sasha Banks, the Ascension, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and others reach levels never before anticipated. There is no doubt in my mind, therefore, that the future of the company is indeed in very safe hands.
The abuse he received was undeserved and represented a point at which fans became completely overwhelmed with disgust at what they were watching. Since then, the WWE and Vince McMahon have tried to save Wrestlemania by trying to force Daniel Bryan into the main-event via taking on Roman Reigns at the inaugural FastLane pay-per-view this coming Sunday. One will have to wait and see if that works out in WWE's favour going forward. However, despite the current negativity towards the product as a whole, WWE's future remains bright if the current NXT product is anything to go by.
Currently plying their trade in the WWE development system are the likes of Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville, Finn Balor and Kevin Owens. On top of that, in the Diva division, we see the likes of Charlotte and Sasha Banks among other fantastically talented women. It is not just the talented athletes and performers in NXT that sees such promise for WWE's future, but the way the developmental system is booked is a breath of fresh air. Take the current rivalry between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. It all began when Zayn FINALLY won the NXT championship from his rival Adrian Neville some time ago. Following that victory, the entire NXT roster came out to congratulate Zayn, all being led by his long-time friend Kevin Owens (or Kevin Steen for those familiar with his work on the indy circuit which I am not). Following an emotional embrace, Owens proceeded to viciously assault Zayn which sparked what could be one of the best rivalries of recent memory.
Most recently, Kevin Owens battled Sami Zayn for the NXT championship (which has become more valuable than the WWE championship through the successful booking of NXT) at NXT Takeover: Rival. The match ended with Owens punishing Zayn so badly that the match had to be stopped and Owens won the match, and the championship, by KO. Not only did this elevate Owens as a monster and violent heel (bad guy for those not familar with the terminology), but it also cemented Zayn's place as a gutsy, brave and resilient performer. Job well done all round.
The Kevin Owens - Sami Zayn match-up followed what was an outstanding show which outlined just how superior the current NXT product is to the WWE product. Prior to the main-event, we saw Finn Balor (look him up on YouTube and watch some of the entrances he has performed as part of his gimmick as well as some of his matches, they are spectacular) take on the Geordie, Adrian Neville, in a match which would see the winner (Finn Balor) become the number one contender to the NXT title. That match was incredibly entertaining and added prestige to the NXT title as a result of how hard the 2 men worked to become the number one contender.
However, it was a match pitting Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Bayley and Becky Lynch against each other in a Fatal-4-Way match which demonstrated the potential of those in NXT (both performers and creative staff alike). For so long, it was the women's division that has been overlooked and rather ignored by Vince McMahon and the main WWE creative staff. However, under the control of Paul Levesque (Triple H), NXT's women have not suffered such treatment from those in the boardroom. The NXT diva division has become one that boasts a group of performers which are tremendous athletes which have been able to demonstrate their ability. They are able to do that because they have been given the chance with Levesque at the helm.
This is where the hope lies for WWE. Eventually , Vince McMahon will leave the WWE (hell, he is 70 in August). Once he does, his real-life son-in-law Paul Levesque will take over and, from there, we will see a Renaissance in the way the WWE book their performers, whether they be male or female.
Levesque has long voiced his intent to shift more attention to the Diva division as well as wanting to change Monday Night Raw back to 2 hours instead of 3 (which cannot come soon enough). He has also voiced his intention to introduce feuds which last longer than just a month ago (an intent which can be seen in how WWE treated the recent Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose feud which ran for the whole summer before it ended at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view). All of this intent and policy of Levesque can be seen in how he handles NXT which contains all of those characteristics mentioned.
Upon taking over the WWE proper, whenever that may happen, Levesque will see the careers of Paige, Charlotte, Bayley, Sasha Banks, the Ascension, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and others reach levels never before anticipated. There is no doubt in my mind, therefore, that the future of the company is indeed in very safe hands.