Does NXT Hold The Key To The Future Of Wrestling?

By Paul Casey

NXT is ostensibly the minor leagues of WWE; in reality, it is so much more than that.

I have watched wrestling for a long time; over 20 years. And I don’t know if I have ever been so hopeful for the future of the sport than I am now. Triple H has assembled a rich group of talent, combining Indie veterans and entirely new creations, many from sports backgrounds. NXT is filmed in the Full Sail University—WWE’s training ground—in Florida and the crowd has the old ECW feel, only without the misogyny and blood lust. This is a kinder, more mature audience who are just as likely to appreciate a great women’s match as they are a kendo stick extravaganza.

Let me start with one reason why NXT is great: it collects basically every great Indie talent in the world and puts them in one place at the same time. These include (Prince Devitt) Finn Balor, (PAC) Adrian Neville, (KENTA) Hideo Itami, (El Generico) Sami Zayn, (Kevin Steen) Kevin Owens, and Samoa Joe. These are people with years upon years of experience making their name. From Ring of Honor to New Japan, they have fought the best in the world and know how to move a crowd. Watching Adrian Neville battle Sami Zayn is a joy, as is watching Finn Balor tag with Samoa Joe for the Dusty Tag-Team Invitational.

Let me suggest a second reason why NXT is great: Bayley and the women’s division. Here for the first time, maybe ever, you have women allowed to tear the house down. Not in a “here are some women pretending to tear the house down but who are more concerned with their appearance” kind of way, but in an honest-to-goodness, genuine barn-burning, slobberknocker kind of way.

Bayley may be my favorite woman in wrestling ever. “I’M A HUGGER!” She combines all of the best things about being a babyface in the same way as Hulk Hogan and John Cena. She actually makes a difference to people’s lives and helps them get through bad times.

In fact, let’s talk more about Bayley. She is not the usual Diva, or even the usual WWE Superstar. She looks a little odd. She isn’t built like a tank. She’s a hugger. One of the things I believe in, in wrestling, is that there is nothing better than a pure babyface for making the world seem a little bit nicer. Hulk Hogan made you believe that he stood for something great with his prayers and his vitamins. John Cena makes you believe he really believes in his “Never Give Up” slogan. And what’s more, there are hundreds of thousands of kids going through shit that look up to them.

It always seemed a very mean spirited thing for people to shit on Cena because he wasn’t exactly what they wanted. That he means so much to so many young people—and quite a few not so young people—should be enough for people to respect him. The same goes for Bayley. She connects with the young fan in a meaningful way and this should be revered by all true wrestling fans because who amongst us wasn’t lured into wrestling by the magical and righteous energy of a babyface? If you say that wasn’t you, I don’t believe you.

I loved Hulk Hogan and I still do, even if he is a complete and utter ass at times. Bayley is from the Hulk Hogan school of babyfaces. She makes you believe in her battles. Her work with Sasha Banks during their 30-minute Iron Woman match was on the level of Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. You couldn’t stop from cheering and whooping because they made you believe in the story, especially when Bayley came good in the end. Their match is worthy of match of the year.

After going to a live show in Dublin, I can also safely say that wrestling is in good hands with its younger fanbase. I sat behind two young kids, probably about twelve and nine years old, and both of them were up on every chant. They cheered and whooped for Cesaro, for god’s sake! They knew when to do a NXT chant, they knew when to break into a “let’s go Dudley” chant. They were up on their history and they both appreciated how amusing it was for me to be doing a “New. Day. Rocks” chant. They really, really cared and it was great to see.

NXT is the best thing WWE have done in forever, and it makes me joyous to think of how many people are converting to wrestling because of it. The way in which it is utilizing the talents of Indie folks and revolutionizing how big event women’s wrestling works is driving NXT to be a power for change.