The more things stay the same. We are less than two weeks away from NXT moving over to the USA Network, meaning the show will be on the same level as the two major weekly WWE shows. This changes the status quo for the company’s television product and things will be different moving forward. Or at least they should, though it isn’t clear if that will be the case.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the same system of callups to the main two shows will continue as it has been for years now. Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live will still be seen as the main shows, with NXT viewed as the minor league brand. There is no word on who could be called up, or if someone being sent to NXT would be seen as a demotion.
These callups happened all at once. Check out four big names showing up at the same time on Monday Night Raw earlier this year:
Opinion: This is something that makes sense from WWE’s point of view but not so much from the fans’ point of view. If NXT is airing for two hours a week in the same time slot that SmackDown Live is currently airing in, it is going to be viewed as a major show. Yes it is still the designated minor league show, but how much of that designation goes away when it moves to USA?
Does this designation still make sense? Who are you expecting to move up to the main roster? Let us know in the comments below.
Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews.
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