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The COVID-19 pandemic has taken the world by storm and spread like wildfire. Due to the virus, people have been recommended to exercise social distancing and this has resulted in many sporting events getting canceled as it’s never a good idea to gather a crowd during epidemics.
WWE had also scheduled their WrestleMania week for April, and fans were more than excited for the NXT TakeOver: Tampa Bay and WrestleMania 36 events. However, due to the circumstances mentioned earlier, the company was forced to announce that they’d hold WrestleMania without an audience and behind closed doors.
Recently, the company announced that they will hold the event over two days on April 4th and 5th, which could mean that TakeOver will be canceled or postponed under current circumstances.
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With that in mind, WWE should use this opportunity to take some NXT rivalries and matches all the way to WrestleMania 36 this year and make the most out of the circumstances due to the reasons mentioned below.
#5 Canceling or postponing NXT storylines could hurt the brand
NXT has been delivering some great shows weekly, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration if we said that the brand was delivering better shows than RAW and SmackDown over the past six months.
The reason for that has been the fact that NXT has built engaging storylines for months which have stretched on for several weeks and yet they haven’t gotten boring. Adam Cole and Tommaso Ciampa’s storyline took months to turn into a match, and the two men did not disappoint when they faced each other in the ring one-on-one for the first time in NXT.
While the brand has done a great job at keeping storylines going, it has also hit a bump a few times as they’ve started revisiting old rivalries a bit too much now.
These rivalries should come to an end soon, and TakeOver: Tampa Bay would have been the perfect place to watch men like Ciampa and Johnny Gargano settle their differences once again and The Velveteen Dream chase the NXT Champion.
As it could become difficult for the brand to keep up these top rivalries for long, it would be great to have these men and women compete at The Grandest Stage of Them All to settle their rivalries while leaving a mark on the WWE Universe.
#4 NXT is ready for the big stage
NXT was referred to as WWE’s third brand for years. Superstars would wait for the day they’d get ‘called up’ to the ‘main roster’ where they’d get a chance to compete on the RAW and SmackDown brands.
Fans would remember the time when WWE came up with the great Nexus storyline where several NXT Superstars were paired together to take over the main roster and demand contracts.
As time has gone by, NXT has become a separate brand with its own television deal. Last year at Survivor Series, we watched NXT Superstars participate full-time in a WWE pay-per-view and they managed to score more wins than the other two brands, thereby emerging as the supreme brand.
With a great showing at Survivor Series, coupled with the exposure and following NXT has garnered over the past year, it’s safe to say that the brand is truly ready for the big stage.
NXT Superstars are all ready to perform on the big stage, and the Show of Shows could really work off their talent and pull even more viewers.
#3 Avoid any filler segments at WrestleMania
WrestleMania is referred to as ‘The Show of Shows’ and ‘The Grandest Stage of Them All’ for several reasons. It is, by far, the biggest wrestling show of the year and hosts some of the biggest names the industry has ever seen.
We watch several legends make their way back into the mix during WrestleMania season to get a chance to compete at the show, and the production is huge and fascinating.
This year, the event will be held behind closed doors and over two days. This would result in no audiences being present, and the company cannot afford to deliver mediocre or filler matches just to fill up the card. If they host a Battle Royal like they previously have, the could ignite some negative crowd reaction which won’t work well for them during such a time.
Having said that, NXT Superstars and their storylines could do wonders for the WWE at such a tough time. The company has decided that they want to entertain the fans and put a smile on their faces at such a difficult time, and they could raise the quality of WrestleMania even further this year by having some of the best men and women in the industry perform together.
NXT Superstars are used to giving A-grade performances at TakeOver events, and they could bring that energy to WrestleMania where the lack of audience could be covered up with some 5-star matches.
#2 Give their competition a tough time
Every year, WWE tends to come up against more and more competition from the industry and manages to remain the top sports entertainment brand by being more and more creative.
Over the past year, the competition has significantly increased for the company and we’re all aware that even a single slip from the company is met with a lot more negative responses from the fans and other companies compared to times gone by.
Having WrestleMania without an audience will be hard work for the company who has always worked off crowd reaction, and splitting it into a two-day event could make matters better or worse.
One way to overcome some of the challenges would be getting in some NXT matches to ensure the quality of the matches doesn't drop, keeping the overall rating of the show high and proving to the world that the company can pull through any difficult situation.
Having NXT Superstars backstage could also help the company build some storylines behind the scenes for the future. Fans could once again watch Matt Riddle come face to face with Brock Lesnar or Goldberg, and we could even watch another top moment between Roman Reigns and Keith Lee.
These moments will help the company keep up the hype around the show while allowing fans to get something new out of another WrestleMania event.
#1 To build more main event talent
Another thing WWE thrives on doing is building main event level talent. We’ve seen several Superstars from WWE move to other promotions over the past year or so, but none would have been as popular and valuable if they had not been associated with WWE for some time.
It’s important to note here that several top Superstars in WWE today were first trained and ‘developed’ in NXT before they made their way to RAW and SmackDown, and are now regarded as world-class talents. Becky Lynch, Bayley, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins are a few of many such Superstars who learned the tricks of the trade in NXT.
NXT Superstars were given a chance to shine during Survivor Series, and they did not disappoint as they were able to give spectacular performances during the show. During the build-up to Survivor Series, NXT Superstars were the ones who rescued an episode of SmackDown when Superstars were hit by travel delays on their return from Saudi Arabia.
Similarly, NXT Superstars could once again prove to be handy in saving WrestleMania for various reasons mentioned earlier, and the newer stars could get a chance to get much more exposure and become main event talent for the future.
