3 Reasons why the main roster debuts of NXT Superstars after Elimination Chamber went wrong
In the aftermath of Elimination Chamber 2019, WWE Universe would have expected the storylines to move forward towards the road to WrestleMania 35.
However, fans were in for a surprise when the COO of WWE, Triple H announced in the opening segment of Monday Night Raw episode of February 18, 2019 that four of the biggest Superstars of NXT (Ricochet, Aleister Black, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) would be making their respective debuts during the episode.
All of the above-mentioned names are, without a shadow of a doubt, some of the best wrestlers in the world right now and have helped to make NXT the global brand that it is today. Their main roster debuts on a random episode of Monday Night Raw came out of nowhere and considering how the episode was booked, the occasion left a lot to be desired.
Let's look at the reasons as to why the move didn't work.
#1 The abrupt reunion of #DIY
The rivalry between two former best friends and #DIY members Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa has been one of the best pieces of storytelling ever shown under the WWE banner. The complexity of emotions and unpredictable nature of the characters involved has catapulted the quality of the show NXT as well as the careers of both the Superstars.
Tommaso Ciampa is the current NXT Champion, who had defeated Gargano for the title after his remorseless and heel tactics helped him win an arduous battle. On the other hand, Gargano was the NXT North American Champion (the championship was won by Velveteen Dream in the 20 February 2019 episode of NXT) and his character was tilted towards being more of a heel in the recent months.
Although Ciampa and Gargano had shared the stage in the closing images of NXT TakeOver: Phoenix, a #DIY reunion wasn't made official and the storyline remained a subject of intrigue and speculation for the fans.
Cut to the Monday Night Raw and out of nowhere these two former bitter rivals reunited in their main roster debut and squared off against The Revival who are the current Raw Tag Team Champions. Furthermore, the heel-face dynamics of NXT did not seem to matter on Raw as #DIY were shown to be the clear faces. The complex storyline of NXT for all of 2018 was turned naively simplistic on Monday Night Raw for the masses.