[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by BigCrippyZ The issue though isn't who has the advantage or who's trying harder or hardest. If it was, just based on pure money alone WWE has the clear advantage and WWE is spending way more money than AEW. The issue is which promotion is most effectively working to actually consistently put on quality shows and build for the future. WWE simply isn't doing that, and it's not because NXT is necessarily bad, but simply because NXT at the end of the day is meaningless. Nothing that happens in NXT matters because NXT is a stepping stone to the main roster or the road to elsewhere/indies for the talent. That's because everything that happens or that gets successfully built up or over in NXT becomes meaningless when the talent gets called up to Raw or SD, or they eventually get released to go elsewhere. That's why I don't give a shit about WWE, including NXT. It's not because AEW is "cool" currently, and thus WWE is a "heel" promotion. With rare exception, I wasn't really watching any WWE product prior to AEW, including NXT, and I'm likely watching even less now, if that's even possible. Meanwhile, watching AEW, at least for the time being, while not perfect or always great, feels easy, different, and fresh, and I don't feel like it's meaningless or a waste of time, or that I'm being treated like an idiot by the talent or the folks in charge. Comparing WWE (NXT included) to AEW however, outside of Jericho, Cody, Moxley, (a little bit about) Pac, and Jake Swagger/Hager (who is not actually listed on their roster), I have no clue who most of the AEW talent is. Still, they're actually building guys up to be potential future main eventers/title contenders. MJF, Omega, Page, Darby Allen, have all been made to look like potential future main eventers who can compete with the main event guy's that I do know more about. They've also actually all got some character development and differences too. The only way WWE makes any legit long term changes is if WWE starts to get slaughtered and lose money and viewers to their competition, or, if Vince dies and no one who shares his vision of what is supposed to happen creatively on the main roster is allowed to take over. Neither of which are likely to happen based on who he's surrounded himself with, (yes men and folks who share/agree with his vision,) and thus who will likely be chosen to replace him.

I wouldn't have disagreed before this AEW/NXT thing started. I'm on record here basically saying "Who cares? They're going to ruin her anyway" when people were speculating on what Asuka was going to do on the main roster. But that dynamic changes somewhat now that NXT is a USA Network property.

You might be right about the replacing of Vince. I'm probably smoking some good shit to think that Triple H running NXT is an audition/proving ground. But it might be. I mean, people were predicting Vince's fingerprints all over NXT when it was first confirmed for USA and that didn't happen, because it doesn't make sense. There seems to be some sliver of common sense coming out of that little building in Full Sail.

When it comes to promotion, I just think that the subtle approach by NXT early on, at least, has been intentional. They want people to slowly discover it. They want to be able to pump up promotion later. If they went full speed into this, they are still going to get beaten by AEW early on, but there's also nowhere to go. That's my point with this. I think people who are rubbing their hands at AEW busting ass out the gate and beating NXT when they're hot and NXT is not are kind of sleeping on just how much NXT is saving -- big stars coming in, big promotion, crossover angles, big things happening on the show itself.