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The past six years have seen NXT enjoy remarkable growth. From a training facility and a wrestling promotion that only the local market and the most die-hard of pro wrestling fans paid much attention to, NXT grew into one of the most popular wrestling brands in the world and a cornerstone of the WWE Network.
Yes, NXT set the stage for Superstars like Bray Wyatt, Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, Baron Corbin, and many others to advance to the highest levels of WWE's main roster. It has also established its successful brand, though, with talents like Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, and Adam Cole becoming some of the best known and respected wrestlers in the world today, independent of appearing on RAW or SmackDown.
It was revealed that NXT is going to jump to the USA Network for a regular, live weekly television series broadcasted on the USA Network starting from 18th September.
USA Network is the long-time home of Monday Night Raw and had hosted SmackDown in recent years before word came out the blue brand moves to FOX this fall.
What will it mean for the Yellow and Black brand to follow suit to one of the national cable networks with one of the highest rates of market penetration in traditional television today, and will it be a good thing?
This article takes a look at five key reasons why NXT moving to the USA Network will be a good thing for WWE's developmental brand.
#5 A smoother transition to the main roster
One of the stated goals of the NXT product as part of WWE's Performance Center is to prepare talent to shine on the main roster.
Whether the talent at hand is inexperienced and genuinely getting trained to wrestle, or a veteran of smaller wrestling promotions adjusting to the WWE ring style, working the hard camera, acclimating to a WWE sized ring, everything about NXT is, on paper, built to get stars ready for Raw or SmackDown.
However, for all of this infrastructure that seems to make sense for preparing Superstars, isn't fool proof. For every Seth Rollins or Kevin Owens who went from the top of NXT to a sustained position as a top tier talent on the main roster, others have struggled. Take Shinsuke Nakamura or Bobby Roode. They were long-time NXT Champions whom the NXT brand was built around. While they've each had their moments on the main roster, they've also each peaked as US Champions thus far, and often as not seemed lost in the shuffle.
Some fans fear Vince McMahon taking a more hands-on role with NXT as they have sealed the TV deal with the USA Network.
However, a bit more input and involvement from McMahon earlier may well facilitate him getting more familiar with NXT prospects, and those prospects acclimating to his leadership.
The net result may well be a smoother transition from one level of WWE to the next, setting up the best of NXT to truly carry their momentum to the top of the main roster.
#3 The chance for the NXT style to have a greater impact on the main roster
NXT is currently considered by most fans to be a niche product, particularly given the issue of accessibility. Fans need to already be subscribed to the WWE Network or to seek NXT out on Hulu to follow the brand, and so it is very much set up for hardcore fan consumption. At least in theory, the main roster is more geared toward casual fans and a mainstream audience.
But what if NXT's move to the USA Network leads to it catching on even further?
Several hardcore fans already largely seem to favor NXT over main roster offerings for the focus on the in-ring product, more straightforward storytelling, and the fresh faces regular showing up on the Yellow and Black brand.
But what if this isn't just a matter of hardcore fans favoring a product more geared towards them, but rather the WWE Universe favoring the style NXT promotes?
It will be interesting to see if this might be the case, but if it is, we could conceivably see some of the key elements of NXT rub off on RAW or SmackDown in the years to come.
#2 More time to showcase talent
The current NXT product has an hour-long weekly television show and multiple TakeOver specials over the year.
With only one regular hour to work with and TakeOvers typically only featuring four to six matches, the opportunities for talents to get much screen time is highly limited. That's all the more so the case when top NXT Superstars have been having longer tenures in developmental as of late, with people like Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, and Adam Cole starring on top of the brand for two to three years running.
The result? Several higher-profile new signees have trouble getting regular TV time or featured programs. The situation is even rougher for less established talents who don't have followings from international or smaller promotions.
We now know for sure that NXT's weekly television show would expand with a move to the USA Network. This is little surprise given the foundation of what has happened to date, including the network pushing RAW to three hours. As Eric Bischoff has discussed more than once on the 83 Weeks podcast, wrestling has historically been a ratings draw for cable networks, but not great lead-in programming in the sense that wrestling fans don't tend to stick around for what's airing next.
As such, having at least a two-hour block of wrestling programming is key to making the product worth a network's resources. That extra hour could see several additional talents get time to ply their trade and develop experience on the air.
#1 More eyes on TakeOver specials
NXT TakeOver specials have been one of the truest gems of the WWE Network. These recurring shows have consistently wowed audiences with hard-hitting matches that are given sufficient time to tell satisfying stories.
Despite all of the buzz that the TakeOver brand has among hardcore wrestling fans, they don't necessarily have the attention of more casual fans, and particularly those who aren't yet subscribed to the WWE Network.
Having NXT on the USA Network invites the largest audience that the developmental roster has ever had. Surely, the show will still make its way to streaming services (albeit, perhaps, with a lag), but being on one of the highest-profile cable networks in the world opens the NXT product to many, many more eyes.
If NXT can maintain its momentum and reputation for excellent wrestling, it could very realistically translate to more interested parties seeking out TakeOver specials, and awarding this acclaimed series of events the degree of attention it so richly deserves from a wider range of pro wrestling fans.
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