On a conference call to promote NXT Takeover: XXV, Triple H addressed a lot of questions and seemingly stated that Tyler Breeze is now fully a part of the NXT roster again. As you know, he returned to NXT to feud with Velveteen Dream and the North American Championship. It’s crazy to think of just how different the perception of Tyler Breeze is in NXT as compared to the main roster.
While some might say that NXT makes Breeze a “big fish in a small pond”, that’s not necessarily true. NXT has some incredible talent to it and every cycle of call-ups sees a lull period before a new fresh, exciting crop of talent emerges. Think of 2016, for example. NXT had been gutted of many of its top stars and despite having strong names like Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode front and center, it proved to be a disappointing period to the product, something that Triple H himself was very open about.
However, he was quick to realize his fundamental mistake. It was basically like a cycle. Every time the “hottest free agent” would arrive at NXT, they would get pushed immediately and within months, would contest for the NXT Championship and then win the title as well. While it was exciting to see these names, there wasn’t much going in terms of character development and storylines.
This is when they organically started pushing the likes of Andrade, Johnny Gargano, Aleister Black, Tommaso Ciampa, Velveteen Dream, etc. Once all of them started emerging on top of the card, the product was more exciting, the storylines were more exciting and the matches were more exciting as well.
With Tyler Breeze coming into the mix, it couldn’t be at a better time. Similar to 2016, NXT has been gutted of many top names and someone like Breeze fills that in perfectly. For those who don’t know, Tyler Breeze was a legitimate superstar and title contender during his first NXT run. Working with the likes of Sami Zayn, Neville, Tyson Kidd and later on Finn Balor, Hideo Itami, etc. Breeze rose through the ranks and fans were fully appreciative of Prince Pretty.
He was a narcissist and he stood out – but he had personality and he could hang in the ring with the best of the best. Many had predicted that his main roster run would go south immediately because superstars with flamboyant gimmicks don’t always fair well on the main roster. And it was evident because Breeze hardly ever got a chance from the start.
It seemed as though the perception of him was that of a lower card talent and that’s what he was relegated to, despite having fun segments and stories with Fandango as a part of the Fashion Police. The sad part is that the wider audience never even got to see Breeze’s potential or even a slight bit of it.
But that’s the story of many superstars. Superstars who have thrived in NXT and not necessarily done too well thanks to the overcrowding and overproduction of the main roster. For talent like this, NXT presents the perfect opportunity. There are so many superstars who are currently being underutilized on the main roster that it’s almost a shame.
However, in NXT, they have the opportunity to be big stars and work with a lot more creative freedom and work towards reaching their best potential. It’s clear that NXT and NXT Takeovers offer a platform for superstars to bring the best out of themselves and each other and there are many superstars who could benefit from this.
Triple H has been very open in the past about wanting to do a “reverse call-up”, where superstars who aren’t doing much on the main roster can be flown down to Orlando, where they can work NXT TV tapings. Especially during transitional periods for NXT, it would be majorly beneficial to the brand on the long run to have some bigger names come in and work with the young up-and-coming superstars.
It will drive a sense of hunger in the main roster stars to try and steal the show, proving exactly what they’re capable of. Even if they aren’t permanently in NXT, WWE could definitely start a rotational system where they have underutilized stars go and work NXT tapings and Takeover shows. If they are to work in NXT and earn main roster money, it’s all the more motivating for them. It’s still better than paying them to sit in catering.
More than anything, it could usher in a new era for NXT and benefit the superstars who do get called-up eventually in the long run.
Do you feel that WWE needs to start a “reverse call-up” process with NXT? Voice your opinions in the comments below!
