5 Reasons why WWE NXT is not a part of Survivor Series 2020
Last year, WWE booked a huge Survivor Series event by bringing in the NXT brand for the first time to take on RAW and SmackDown. All three brands had some great matches — and even better invasion angles before the show — that saw NXT win the entire affair.
While the WWE Universe expected NXT to take part in Survivor Series once again this year, WWE delivered a shocker this week on RAW as they announced only matches between RAW and SmackDown would be taking place at the event.
This means that NXT could be out of this year’s Survivor Series, keeping many of its young and talented Superstars out of the mix. While a huge opportunity for several of the newer stars may have been taken away by the company, there may be several good reasons why WWE has decided to go forward with Survivor Series without NXT this year.
Recently, Orton spoke to Sportskeeda and had a message for the NXT roster. You can check it out in the video below.
Keeping that in mind, we will look at the five reasons why NXT may not be part of this year’s Survivor Series.
#5 To have a shorter WWE Survivor Series event this year
It seems like WWE has been booking shorter pay-per-views for the past few months to ensure that the fans stay interested in the product with no live audience in attendance.
At WWE Payback, only seven matches were contested on the main card. WWE Clash of Champions saw only the titleholders have matches at the event without including any other matches. WWE Hell in a Cell earlier this month only had five matches announced for the night, and WWE ended up adding a couple of more matches to increase the length of the event.
WWE even decided to host WrestleMania 36 on two nights instead of one to ensure that the fans remained interested in the show without any live audience. The move turned out to work well for the company.
Similarly, WWE might be looking to reduce the runtime of Survivor Series by having RAW and SmackDown compete without adding NXT to the mix. The fans at home could possibly have more interest in a shorter event without the third brand involved, particularly without a live crowd at the show.
Last year, with NXT’s inclusion, both the men’s and women’s elimination matches went on for nearly half an hour each. With only 10 Superstars from RAW and SmackDown's men's and women's rosters involved, respectively, WWE can cut down the time and ensure that the PPV does not run too long.
Last year’s Survivor Series hosted a total of 10 matches during the event. This year, WWE could wrap up the event with six to seven matches to ensure the quality of the show remains high.
With no live audience in attendance, WWE could aim to make the show shorter and more impactful while relying on the ThunderDome once again.