What's the story?
NXT has become the goal for many wrestlers outside of the WWE. However, many fans believe there are some talents who don't need NXT and are, in fact, hindered by being forced to join the company's developmental territory. Edge and Christian tackled this subject on recently, explaining the importance of NXT.
In case you didn't know...
Most of the current stars that are flooding the WWE's main roster right now came through NXT. From the men to the women, to the tag teams, the majority of the talent on Smackdown and Raw came through the company's developmental territory.
Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Authors of Pain, just to name a few, all spent years in Orlando, Florida, working in front of the highly opinionated Full Sail crowd. It's not just possible, it's incredibly probable that most of WWE's best and brightest might not have become the stars they are today had they not gone through NXT.
But, when a Samoa Joe or Bobby Roode come to the WWE, some fans feel that they would best be suited being sent straight to the main roster instead of working with the future of the company.
The heart of the matter
On the latest edition of the E&C Total Pod of Awesomeness, Edge and Christian discussed the importance of NXT, explaining how important the WWE's developmental system is for up and coming stars.
Christian exclaimed that he wished NXT was around when he was still performing.
The NXT thing is kind of the thing to do now when you come in, right? There are a few guys that pass through like an AJ Styles, but you look at a guy like Samoa Joe or Finn Balor; those types of guys that went to NXT and had strong runs and got their feet wet and are doing really well. I would've liked to have experienced the whole NXT thing.
Edge went on to say that, while stars like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe didn't need to go through NXT, the territory is great for guys who didn't earn the name they did outside of the WWE.
AJ Styles, he's very well established, very well known. Outside of the WWE, he might be the most recognized wrestling name in the world. Samoa Joe as well. They still have it set up where people make their bones in NXT. You have a guy like Tomasso Ciampa who is going to be huge, but he had to go there first. He went to NXT and made his bones.
Edge and Christian would go on to praise NXT Champion Tomasso Ciampa for his incredible heel work, which they believe might not have happened had he gone straight to the main roster.
What's next?
Edge, reportedly, will be a part of Smackdown 1000, which takes place on October 16. However, Edge has denied ever hearing of his attending the event, though that could just be an attempt to keep his return to the Blue Brand a surprise.
Do you think it's necessary to put top indie talent like Adam Cole and Ricochet in NXT before their main roster run? Who would you shoot straight to Raw or Smackdown? Let us know in the comments below!