What If? – NXT Stayed Black and Gold

TheChairshot.com asks the question…What If? Rey Ca$h discusses what if the NXT never changed from Black and Gold!

In my 30 years of wrestling, there has been nothing I’ve enjoyed more than the original wrestling version NXT. I can still remember so fondly hearing those opening cords of that Coheed and Cambria song, back when you could only watch the show on Hulu. These were the early days of WWE’s new Performance Center, and seemingly every major Independent star was being signed and showing up every other week.

Whether it was Adrian Neville or Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn or Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe or Shinsuke Nakamura…this period of NXT means more to me than any other time watching wrestling in my life. Eventually, the show would get so good and so popular that it would become more than a developmental system – it became a de facto third WWE brand! Eventually becoming known as Black and Gold based off of their color scheme, NXT would become the darling of not only the WWE, but all of wrestling.

With Triple H at the helm, running the program and booking the show, there was a care shown to the roster and the show that became undeniable. Eventually, NXT would get so big that it would get booked in major arenas alongside WWE PLEs, get showcased at Survivor Series 2019 as an official third brand, and would get a prime time TV slot. And this is where the story would start to change.

With the creation of All Elite Wrestling, this became the new alternative among wrestling fans, and WWE noticed this immediately, starting a Wednesday Night War by moving the show from the WWE Network online to cable to combat AEW. The fight was never a fair one – NXT, although popular and loaded with top level stars, was always intended to be the developmental show – and NXT lost pretty handily. This loss would not only force NXT to have their day and timeslot moved, but it caused the powers that be to rethink the process.

As previously noted, NXT was always supposed to be a developmental show. Its sole purpose was to give newly trained rookies, Indy veterans, and foreign talent a chance to train, learn, and understand the WWE system. Unfortunately, they became a victim of their own success as they started focusing on established talent more so than the newer crop of stars. Concurrently, the stars that were being called up from NXT to the main roster weren’t having the success that the original crop of stars had. There was a stark disconnect in how NXT stars, booked and coached by Triple H, were used and viewed on the main roster by not only Vince McMahon but the fans as well.

A change needed to be made. Enter NXT 2.0. With Triple H taking time away due to a medical emergency and Shawn Michaels taking control of the brand, the decision was made to rebuild NXT back to what its original purpose was. No more focusing on Indy legends and known entities. The show was now built around relatively unknown, homegrown talent. And it took a while for the new vision to gain traction, but 5 years later, the success rate has been striking.

You can’t watch the current version of WWE (and even AEW) and not see someone who came up from the new NXT 2.0 era. But even with the success, I can’t help but wonder. What if NXT never pivoted from Black and Gold and stayed the course?

The first thing that would absolutely have happened is that there wouldn’t have been a mass exodus of talent, be it because of releases or people not resigning. Adam Cole and the Undisputed ERA come directly to mind. For Cole specifically, there was a fear of him going to the main roster because of concerns that Vince would change him completely and wouldn’t know how to use him correctly. If Black and Gold stays, I believe that it stays on its third brand trajectory.

Another possibility and probably the biggest change is that the new crop of wrestlers that have come from 2.0 wouldn’t be here. With the focus still on established stars, there wouldn’t be the time, care, and focus for these stars. So that means people like Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Trick Williams, Tiffany Stratton, and Roxanne Perez would likely not have made it.

There’s also the discussion of what would happen with Triple H. He had to step away from the brand due to his medical issue, opening the way for Shawn Michaels to take over, but would Triple H stay the course? This year or so time frame also coincided with Vince McMahon having to step away from WWE. Triple H was the obvious person to take over the creative duties for the main roster, but if NXT was the same as it had always been, would he be so willing to give it up? Would he make it a fully fledged 3rd brand? As we’ve seen with the addition of Evolve, there were always plans for another developmental show at a lower level than NXT, so does Shawn take that over?

The real gem in this entire story and situation is the WWE Performance Center. Whether it was going to be connected to NXT or Evolve, it’s the most important asset the WWE has. So much so that the WWE films NXT from there now. Will the way that they recruited athletes to the PC have changed if Black and Gold stayed? I think the answer is an unquestionable yes. Black and Gold looked for something drastically different than 2.0, and they were competing with companies like AEW and TNA for talent, instead of searching for college athletes.

It’s near impossible to think of the WWE without what NXT has done for the company. Over 70% of the current main roster started in NXT. Yes, that includes the BIGGEST stars in the company – Roman Reigns, Rhea Ripley, Seth Rollins, Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Gunther, Bayley, and so many more. So imagine how different that list looks if NXT is changed in any way. Now think about this year’s WrestleMania. If NXT 2.0 never happens, there’s a very good chance that you never have Oba Femi, Trick Williams, Je’Von Evans, Lash Legend, Stephanie Vaquer, and many more who weren’t on the show but should’ve been (Tiffany Straton and Giulia come immediately to mind).

Luckily, this isn’t something we’ll ever have to find out. But as much as I may love the old NXT, the new NXT has been one of the best things to happen to the WWE. Without it, there’s no telling how different things could be.

FIN