Let’s take a look at 6 NXT superstars, where they were earlier in 2021, and where they are now. 

6. Karrion Kross Then: I was never a fan of Doomsday Saito, but I’m also not blind. He came in with arguably the biggest push in NXT history. He squashed Tommaso Ciampa and won the NXT title TWICE before taking his first loss. He had the look, the eye candy, the entrance. He could work a hot 8 minutes. He should have been Goldberg 2.0. Instead…

Karrion Kross Now: He will go down as one of the most poorly handled call ups in WWE history. Separated from his eye candy. Told to wear a mask. Wrestling on Main Event?!?! I don’t know if anyone ever went from “can’t miss” to “future endeavors” as quickly as Kross.    

5. Johnny Gargano Then: Johnny Wrestling was the leader of the Way. Not just a faction, a family! He was the paranoid, overprotective father of Austin Theory, his doofus son, and Indie Hartwell, his lovestruck daughter. Knocking on doors. Snapping pencils. Gargano obliterated the notion that he was only a babyface and proved he could do whatever he wanted to do, on the mic and in the ring.   

Johnny Gargano Now: Johnny is wrestling a Smackdown dark match. Gargano is one of the most respected and accomplished wrestlers on the planet. He deserves better than working a match designed to show management what he’s got. They have FOUR YEARS OF MATCHES to see what he’s got. This is simply WWE doing what they have always done because fuck you, that’s why.

4. Kyle O’Reilly Then: He was as hot and as over as anyone in NXT. Traveling a 15 year journey to the top. Proving he’s more than a tag team guy. More than a sidekick. The fans loved him. The story was great. He kicked off 2021 with a MOTY candidate against Finn Balor at New Year’s Evil and followed that up with a mega feud against Adam Cole.  

Kyle O’Reilly Now: He’s the hapless sidekick to a rookie who is greener than a bag of limes.  Not only is he wrestling a dark match, he’s losing a dark match. If anyone has earned the right to bypass the old school hazing, it’s O’Reilly. Why did WWE let Cole go if they were ultimately going to prove him right? 

3. KUSHIDA Then: His victory over Santos Escobar for the Cruiserweight title was one of the feelgood moments of 2021. It felt like a reward for him as well as for the fans who consistently and loudly chanted his name. WWE never cared about the Cruiserweight title, but KUSHIDA did everything he could to make it relevant and respected.   

KUSHIDA Now: He’s in a tag team with Ikemen Jiro because of course you stick two Japanese guys together. And give them one of the worst names in tag team history, Jacket Time. It’s only a matter of time before they cross paths with Toxic Attraction and poor KUSHIDA is screaming Time to Jacket! I hope he’s released before then.

2. Ember Moon Then: I don’t know if this was her intention, but I admired Moon for her message of body positivity. She was not built like a traditional female superstar, but that never stopped her from showing her natural body. And it didn’t hurt that she was as good as anyone in what used to be the best women’s division in wrestling. 

Ember Moon Now: It took three women to replace her. Nobody in Toxic Attraction can wrestle worth a crap, but gosh their tits are edgy. I wish Moon well in her future endeavors. If she still has the desire to wrestle (I hope), I know she’ll find someplace that will appreciate her for what she is and what she can do. 

1. NXT Then: The best in-ring performers in the world are given the time and opportunity to tell compelling in-ring stories. Every Takeover is a must-watch event, and we were almost guaranteed to see at least one MOTY candidate.  Week in and week out, they proved that good things happen when you let wrestlers wrestle.  

NXT Now: Green ass rookies are playing poker, teaching college courses and yelling fuck because curse words are EDGY!!! No match from 2.0 will sniff any best-of list. Characters devoid of personality are given four minutes to plod through a meaningless match against an equally boring and meaningless character. In less than a year, NXT has gone from must watch to removed from my Peacock watchlist. Thankfully, I still have NXT UK…for now.