Lost in Translation

Why can’t WWE translate success in NXT to success on the main roster? It seems that most of the gimmicks that are considered over in NXT either lose a lot of momentum when called up to the main roster or they simply bomb and fizzle into obscurity. As a wrestling fan, it is frustrating to see wrestlers get over in NXT with a unique gimmick only to see them essentially wasted once they are called up to Raw and Smackdown.

The Ascension is a prime example of this. In NXT, they were a dominant tag team that owned the division. Once they were called up to the main roster, they were squashed and have since been demoted to jobbers. Another example of this would be Bo Dallas. The guy was a former NXT champion and looked poise to make a splash on Raw and SmackDown. Unfortunately, he was presented as a joke and is rarely seen on television now.

Not all wrestlers are demoted to jobbers or vanish from television. Some just seemingly lose momentum. Bayley was the most popular woman in NXT. Fans loved her and routinely cheered for her with the “Hey Bayley” chant. Since coming up to the main roster, her momentum has come to a halt, and the pops from the crowd are now being filled with a few boos from time to time. Enzo and Cass are also a victim of lost momentum. When they debuted on the main roster, crowds would blow the roof off the arena. They would cut great promos, get the crowd involved, and were easily one of the most over acts in the company. Since then, the promos have gotten weaker, Enzo constantly eats pins, and their credibility as a tag team has been dented as they have never won the tag team titles since being called up the main roster.

While this does not happen to every former NXT star, it does happen quite a bit. It is understandable that not all NXT success will translate to WWE success, but it is odd how often former NXT wrestlers have a hard time adjusting to the main roster. It doesn’t matter if you blame it on the creative team, the booking, or the wrestlers themselves, the fact of the matter is that something is being lost in translation during the transition from NXT to WWE.