4 reasons why NXT should be involved in the WWE Draft in the future
NXT is WWE's developmental program, and it is usually involved in one way deals during the draft that has been used to shake up RAW and SmackDown. NXT should no longer be seen as simply a developmental brand. Instead, it should be viewed as its own unique brand, especially recently, with NXT Takeover events being better received than the main roster PPVs. Even former NXT Champion Johnny Gargano has spoken about how NXT is the main roster.
However, it always seems that NXT talent is constantly being siphoned up to RAW or SmackDown with no one going the other way. While NXT has done a fantastic job at constantly replenishing their talent pool with some of the best independent wrestlers available, the chance to wrestle at NXT should be available to main roster members who wish to return to NXT or those on the main roster who could benefit from time down in NXT.
More than these two points, bringing NXT into the Draft and Shake-up will advertise NXT to a wider audience and make NXT feel more important. Consider how excited many wrestling fans when WWE held the first-ever Worlds Collide tournament, for the first time we saw superstars from Raw, Smackdown, 205 Live, and both NXT and NXT UK face off against each other.
The new and unique match-ups that could be found in these situations alone are a good enough reason for NXT to be treated with the respect it deserves. Here are 4 arguments as to why it's time for WWE to pull the trigger and include NXT in future Drafts and Shakeups.
This is even more important now that NXT has been put on USA and is no longer going to be treated as simply the development brand.
# 4 The Possibilities for Dream Matches
WWE has continuously teased its audiences with the allure of dream matches, from the unlikely between Undertaker and Sting to the possible future dream matches like Finn Balor and Adam Cole, not to mention the dream matches the WWE has already produced, such as The Rock versus Hulk Hogan and AJ Styles versus Daniel Bryan.
In NXT, WWE seems to have a stream of top independent talent coming through its doors. Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, Shayna Baszler, Candice LeRae, and Io Shirai are some of the great names that currently wrestle in NXT. Imagine the possibility of seeing Johnny Gargano go up against Daniel Bryan, or any of the talented females in WWE facing off against the likes of Baszler, LeRae or Shirai.
This was briefly a reality when the WWE introduced the fantastic Worlds Collide Tournament early in 2019. The series event, which took place during Royal Rumble Axxess, saw wrestlers from NXT, NXT UK and 205 Live facing off against each other. This spawned a miniseries which also included wrestlers from Raw and Smackdown.
If NXT was included in the Draft and Superstar Shake-Up process in the future, more of these dream matchups could become reality for the fans.