By now, we’ve all heard about the complications that left a majority of WWE superstars in Saudi Arabia following WWE Crown Jewel. What came out of this was something as accidental as it was brilliant, and the end result was NXT saved Smackdown. In doing so, NXT also got a boost in return.
For years, NXT has been considered the best of WWE’s programming, and they finally got to strut their stuff. With no where to turn, NXT superstars were flown to Buffalo to fill the not-so impressive shoes the regulars left.
In short, they were called up from the minors to the big league.
Triple H and Shawn Michaels were on hand, and it appeared Vince McMahon gave him some creative control over the show to install an Invasion angle that played off our nostalgia from the Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) invading WCW and the much maligned WCW/ECW Invasion in 2002 (Personally, one of my favorites, but I’m good with being in the minority.)
Not only did it play off our nostalgia, but they appeared in pretty much every way possible from NXT’s women’s champion Shayna Baszler ambushing and taking out Sasha Banks, Nikki Cross, and Smackdown woman’s champion Bayley following their match, to Matt Riddle and Keith Lee shutting up Sami Zayn, and Tommaso Ciampa getting in the Miz’ face on Mix TV and in a following match all in the first hour.
What was really cool was the fans didn’t seem to know what to make of things as they cheered for Bayley when Shayna Baszler attacked her, but then started chanting NXT as a WWE main roster event got loud for the first time in, well, a long time.
The show’s conclusion following Adam Cole defeating Daniel Bryan cleanly, had Triple H declaring war on the established brands in retaliation for the main brands challenging NXT at Survivor Series. This was off the charts and established the inner promotion rivalry as big brother versus baby brother, with baby brother coming out on top in their first contest.
With this in mind, how about fatal three ways between all the champions? The titles don’t have to be on the line, but it’d be pretty cool. And please, WWE creative, do NOT play NXT like the WCW/ECW Invasion by having them have to cheat repeatedly because they’re “inferior.” Just throwing ideas out there.
Getting a boost
While NXT saved Smackdown, they also earned themselves a boost.
Since premiering on USA network across from AEW (All Elite Wrestling) and igniting the Wednesday Night Wars, NXT has been losing the ratings battle as they and AEW have split the audience. Throw in the World Series, and they’ve had a tough road to carve.
The WWE had tried to make NXT relevant by having Finn Balor return to NXT full time and tease other superstars making the move.
But this changed everything.
Instead of being the kid brother that needs guidance, or the ugly stepchild the family pretends isn’t important, NXT has now proven themselves after dominating one of the promotion’s main brands. For one night, at least.
By invading Smackdown, NXT competed with established WWE superstars and showed what they’re capable of. The fans saw and loved it, and will most likely tune into NXT on Wednesdays to see what’ll happen there.
As the start of a Survivor Series storyline, it’s going to be fun to see who goes where in the coming weeks as NXT will most likely appear on both Raw and Smackdown and continued their surge.
Of course, this is assuming that’s now the plans for WWE. It’s be shame if they were relegated back to being considered the minors because of Vince McMahon’s pride. As for the superstars that may be unhappy with the possibly development, athletes are always having to prove themselves against up and comers to keep their jobs, so congratulations on the growth.
To be honest, this kind of environment for both the talent and creative could be the thing that kicks them out of complacency and into overdrive.
