DeMarco: No NXT At WWE Survivor Series 2020 Is The Right Call

Survivor Series 2020 won’t feature the black and yellow of WWE NXT, and Greg DeMarco is on board. See why he thinks this is the best option.

After Monday’s RAW, something became obvious that many already expected–NXT will not be participating in this November’s Survivor Series. The annual event will be built around a 30th year celebration for The Undertaker and his debut, along with the Raw vs. Smackdown theme we have come to know (and love?) over the past few years.

Now to you, the informed internet wrestling fan, this is no big deal. You already knew about this news above. Here’s the part that may surprise you:

No NXT at WWE Survivor Series 2020 is the right call

Yes, you read that right. The card carrying NXT apologist, second only to our own Bradley Jay, believes the brand is better off not being part of Survivor Series this year. And there are a few different reasons why

NXT Isn’t What It Was This Time Last Year

Look dude, I love NXT. Truly love the brand, love the Undisputed Era, KUSHIDA, Rhea Ripley, Io Shirai, and more. I also loved Matt Riddle (until I knew), Keith Lee, the Street Profits, and more. But let’s face it, the brand has been hurt by main roster call-ups and COVID. It’s just now being rebuilt, and isn’t ready for the Survivor Series stage. Too many big stars are gone, and you also have NXT alum all over the place on the red and blue brands. That’s not even counting RETRIBUTION, which hasn’t really seen it’s members connected to their NXT personas at all.

The NXT Champion isn’t even available

Finn Balor is the reigning, defending (?), undisputed NXT Champion, and he’s on the shelf recovering from his amazing battle with Kyle O’Reilly at NXT Takeover 31. He can’t participate in the Survivor Series card, meaning we’d have either a world champion showdown without him, or one less world title match if last year’s format is followed. Why even call attention to it?

What can NXT even accomplish a at Survivor Series

At last year’s Survivor Series, NXT was on top of the world. Adam Cole was having amazing matches with Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins on WWE television, and all of his Undisputed Era brethren were also holding championship gold. Keith Lee and Matt Riddle were rising stars. Shayna Baszler was the dominant NXT Women’s Champion, and Rhea Ripley was on the rise.

The Black and Yellow Experience waltzed into Survivor Series and did what we all wanted them to do–they won. They won the overall “score” between brands, and their Women’s Champion closed the show as a winner over Becky Lynch and Bayley.

There’s a good chance NXT would walk into the 2020 version and lose every single match. I can’t think of a situation where they’d win, except maybe the secondary champions battle where North American Champion Damian Priest could pin Sami Zayn and keep United States Champion Bobby Lashley strong. That pales in comparison to what happened in 2019. Why even do it?

NXT is already setting up War Games

One of the things that hurt NXT War Games 2019 was the split focus for the NXT roster. Let them focus on one thing–War Games. With the return of Pat McAfee, an Undisputed Era vs. McAfee stable (McAfee himself, Oney Lorcan, Danny Burch, and someone to take Ridge Holland’s spot) is obvious, and it’s the right direction to go. Let it stay that way. Don’t do too much, keep it simple.

WWE Survivor Series is a time honored tradition, and the card headlined by WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns is going to be a banger. War Games can be a really good show as well with almost a month left for NXT to build the card. Let these things exist on their own, and take the time to enjoy them both!