NXT 2.0?

With NXT not showing any sign that it will come to an end and have a definitive winner, is it time to move on to the next level of NXT?

THE HISTORY:
When Vince McMahon and the WWE conceptualized the NXT show, is it possible that they had no end game in sight? NXT started in February 23, 2010, replacing ECW. After a 4 year run, ECW was not producing the same ratings, which prompted Vince McMahon to make a decision that ECW was going to be replaced by a new show which would be the “next evolution of WWE; the next evolution of television history”. On February 9, 2010, it was announced that the title of the new show was going to be NXT, and that the last ECW show will be on February 16. So on February 23, the world was introduced to NXT.

NXT is a hybrid of reality television and WWE scripted programming.

Be A Bully… oops, I mean Star!

In recent news after Summerslam, on August 19, 2011, Lisa Wright, Managing Director of Council for Unity, wrote a letter to the be a STAR Alliance (beastaralliance.org) questioning their affiliation with the WWE.  The letter was sent after she received an e-mail, which pointed out the “fat jokes” regarding Vickie Guerrero, apparently referring to Monday Night Raw when Vickie Guerrero was at the announcer’s booth and Jerry Lawler was making fun of her weight.  Ms. Wright was showing her concerns because the Council for Unity is one of many companies which affiliated with the be a STAR Alliance.  The following is her statement:

Wrestling With Character

I love “sports entertainment”.  The term “sports entertainment” was coined in the 1980s by the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE) as a term referring professional wrestling.  Understanding this term is important for those getting into professional wrestling and much more for those transitioning from the independent wrestling circuits to the nationwide televised wrestling companies like WWE and Impact Wrestling.  In the Indy circuit, the wrestling character may or may not be depictive of a person being heel or face.  The entertainment value in the indy circuit deals more with in-ring skill and psychology on how one person was able to triumph over the other person.  Many independent shows are not done frequently so building a story-line arc between shows is not that important.  In contrast, being on television shows on either WWE or Impact Wrestling, the audience remembers the last acts that were done in the previous show, so continuity of the characters in the storyline is vitally important.  Sad to say, though some wrestlers have been put into storyline, their character is so dry that the story does not get over, and much more, the wrestler never ascends to the next level.

For WWE to grow, they need to...

INTRODUCTION

The WWE (formerly known as the World Wrestling Entertainment) is a wrestling company juggernaut.  In the 1980s to 1990s, Vince McMahon swooped up the hottest talents from the various wrestling territories, which led to the demise of these territories.  Not being able to match the then-known “WWF” money to keep their talents and being limited to a small portion of the American market, many of these territories closed shop.  In the 1990s, WCW became the biggest challenger to the WWF/E with ECW being the alternate wrestling show for the wrestling fans.  ECW was the first to fold and the company eventually was bought by the WWE.  WCW followed after losing ratings, corporate management changes, and bloated payrolls for their talents.  It too was eventually bought by WWF/E.  By early 2000s, the newly named WWE became the only wrestling show to watch on TV.  Due to the lack of variety, the TV ratings for WWE slowly dwindled, and have maintained that constant number over the years, only slightly going up or down weekly.  Since moving from private-ownership to a corporation