WWE star CM Punk feels "bad for the kids on NXT"
CM Punk is scheduled to appear in WWE NXT soon. The Best in the World recently opened up about why he feels bad for the young talent on the developmental brand.
WWE worked with a few developmental brands over a decade ago to produce future megastars. Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was seen as one of the biggest platforms where the best in the business trained.
In a recent appearance at Fanatics Fest NYC, CM Punk spoke about the young talent in WWE. The Second City Saint noted that he enjoys passing his knowledge on to the rising stars in the company.
He went on to note that the industry has done itself a disservice by shutting off its talent pipeline. He gave the example of the National Basketball Association (NBA), where future stars are hired after they perform at the college level.
"Eventually, you're just going to be hiring people playing street ball because there's no programs in place to, you know, teach fundamentals, or there's no program for young college athletes to go through," CM Punk said. [H/T WrestlingINC]
Instead, NXT has been used as the developmental circuit that is broadcast around the world. While the exposure is great for the upcoming stars, the fact that every little mistake they make gets noticed is very irksome.
"I feel bad for the kids on NXT because they're on national television, so everybody sees from the ground floor," CM Punk said. [H/T WrestlingINC]
CM Punk noted that his generation had the comfort of learning without being in the spotlight. The new generation of WWE Superstars is always under pressure as it has to perform in front of live cameras.
CM Punk said he would love to learn how things work in WWE NXT
During his appearance at the Fanatics Fest NYC, CM Punk spoke about NXT a few times. He is set to appear on the first episode of the white and gold brand on the CW Network later this year.
The Best in the World stated that he would love to work with Shawn Michaels to learn how things work on the developmental brand. He stated that NXT gets left alone, and he would like to see how he can make a difference in the brand.
"Baby steps. I would love to work underneath Shawn at some point. It’s not like I want Shawn to go away, ‘Here, take over.’ I would want to learn from him and see how he operates and how he does things. NXT is sort of left alone. Triple H lets Shawn....he trusts Shawn. From NXT to the main roster are wildly different. I think it’s good to know both systems, and I can learn from everybody," CM Punk said.
CM Punk has already helped many NXT stars, including Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez. An extended stay on the white and gold brand will do him a world of good.