As it stands, we have fully entered a new era of NXT. Gone are the days of 2.0 holdovers and Black and Gold aesthetics. In their place is a revamped women’s division and the rise of some of the best young talent in American professional wrestling.
Newly signed stars like Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer, and Zaria complement younger wrestlers still learning on the fly, such as Kelani Jordan, Sol Ruca, and Roxanne Perez. The talent pool of NXT’s women’s division is undeniable as we approach the end of 2024. One could argue that NXT now boasts the best women’s roster in American wrestling.
However, this strengthened women’s division comes at a cost—specifically, the booking of NXT’s men’s division. The division lacks top-end talent after call-ups of stars like Bron Breakker, Ilja Dragunov, Carmelo Hayes, and Dijak.
As a result, it relies heavily on newcomers and mid-carders to fill the main event scene. Trick Williams’ rise from Carmelo Hayes’ sidekick to NXT’s top star has been a success story. Still, his challengers since winning the title at Spring Breakin’ in April have been underwhelming, and it’s not getting any better.
After winning the title and being Dragunov’s last feud before his main roster call-up, Williams did not wrestle another match until over a month later and had his first title defense 47 days later against newcomer Ethan Page. Less than a month later, Williams lost his title to Page in a Fatal-Four Way match also involving tenured veteran Shawn Spears and high-flying youngster Je’Von Evans, ending his first world title run at 75 days, and only three matches, one of which was a tag team match.
Page’s subsequent reign, while more prolific, did not fare significantly better in terms of matches and seemed more like a temporary placeholder to transition the title back to Williams. While Williams’ reign lasted 75 days with three matches, Page’s 86-day reign included four singles matches, one being a sub-five-minute victory over Dante Chen on NXT TV. These two title reigns generated no new feuds, and, apart from Page facing TNA star Joe Hendry at No Mercy, no major long-term stars emerged, except for Trick himself and, arguably, Je’Von Evans.
Following Williams’ second NXT Championship win over Page in October, things got even more dire. After defending the title in a rematch at Halloween Havoc, Trick was attacked by Ridge Holland, who emerged as his next challenger.
Throughout his career, Holland has never been known for his wrestling ability and has never shown much upside as a singles star. Yet, here he was, sizing up to the NXT Champion over far more exciting talent. This led to Holland and Page facing Trick and ECW original Bubba Ray Dudley in a tag team match on NXT TV at the famous ECW arena.
Usually, this match would exist to give Trick a big moment in front of the Philadelphia faithful and let him rub shoulders with a legend of Extreme. However, he lost the match by being pinned by Holland, inevitably setting up a future title match.
Somehow, it gets worse, as Ridge Holland’s feud with Andre Chase was merged into this championship feud, with Chase putting his Andre Chase University students on the line against Holland for a chance at an NXT Title shot at the upcoming Deadline show. Ever since its inception in 2021, Chase U has become one of the most popular parts of NXT programming, with fans not being able to get enough of Chase, University MVP Duke Hudson, Riley Osborne, Thea Hail, and the student section, often seen in backstage segments and the crowd during every NXT show.
Being part of Chase U helped each individual’s career, as Chase became one of the most beloved motivational babyfaces on the brand. Hudson slid in as the loveable jock after a flailing heel run on NXT 2.0 and feud with Cameron Grimes, and Hail and Osborne started their TV careers with a controlled direction as part of the University.
Unfortunately, Chase University as we knew it came to a screeching halt as Holland defeated Chase despite interference from Hudson, Hail, and Osborne, removing them from the faction and earning his title shot at Deadline.
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In the 13-year existence of NXT as the third brand of WWE, Ridge Holland vs. Trick Williams may be the most underwhelming title match on a big stage. While Trick Williams is very good for his experience level, he is not fit to be the leading worker in a match, as he is quite green and struggles to keep up with more experienced opponents at times.
He makes up for this in the charisma department, being one of the best talkers in any company, but he needs the right opponent to make his strengths stand out, such as Pete Dunne and Ilja Dragunov. As for Ridge Holland, he has never been known as a singles star and is much better suited for a midcard role, similar to the one he occupied as part of Chase U and the Brawling Brutes in the last two years.
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What makes the lack of singles upside in the NXT Championship division is that the NXT roster has solid male talent that is either being underutilized or not used at all. Looking at the roster, two wrestlers stand out above everyone: Je’Von Evans and Oba Femi.
Ever since debuting from the WWE’s Next In Line program at NXT Spring Breakin’ 2023 and winning the NXT Breakout Tournament in January 2024, Oba Femi has wreaked havoc upon the NXT men’s division, holding the NXT North American Championship for a record-setting 273 days before dropping it to Tony D’Angelo. During this run, Femi delivered fantastic match after fantastic match as he faced Dijak, Wes Lee, Ivar, Duke Hudson, Otis, and TNA’s Hammerstone, taking them down one by one and gaining rave reviews from the NXT crowd and online audience in the process, with many lauding him as the future of not only NXT but WWE as a whole.
With his overwhelming presence, aura, promo style, and catchy entrance chant, nothing is suggesting that Femi will not be pushed to the moon and handed the NXT title on a silver platter in the future. That is unless he gets called up to the main roster.
As for Evans, his story is a little different. Scouted from the Indies at only 19 years old after holding the Deadlock Pro Wrestling World Championship at only 18 years old, Evans has become the darling of the NXT audience with his relatable promos, fan-like attitude, and incredible skills in the ring.
Seriously, this kid can fly with the best of them, and he’s currently the youngest WWE superstar on any brand. Combined with his young age, this singles upside makes him a perfect candidate for the main event scene, either now or in the future.
Along with Femi and Evans, standouts like Tavion Heights, who just returned from a successful stint in Pro Wrestling NOAH’s N-1 Victory tournament and became a fan favorite with the Japanese crowd, would be a surefire hit in the main event whenever the time is right. Additionally, up-and-comers like Charlie Dempsey, Duke Hudson, Eddy Thorpe, Malik Blade, Keanu Carver, Nathan Frazer, Noam Dar, Axiom, Saquon Shugars, and Uriah Conners are more than competent enough to step up a rung if their name is called.
With an inevitable WWE Draft coming up due to Raw’s move to Netflix and some of NXT’s talent being destined for the main roster sooner rather than later, the time to step up may come quickly. Finally, with WWE recently implementing their WWEID program to scout talent from the Indies, along with the college athlete to WWE superstar pipeline remaining as strong as ever, Indie darlings such as Jack Cartwheel, Bryce Donovan, Ice Williams, and online fan favorite Cappuccino Jones can hopefully inject some new blood into the NXT men’s division once their time comes.
The current NXT main event scene may look bleak, but there is hope for the future and plenty of good talent. However, the question remains whether NXT head booker Shawn Michaels can utilize and book them according to their skill level.
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