When NXT was rebranded to NXT 2.0, it came with a decree from the higher-ups regarding who they hire. The word came down that “no more midgets” were to be signed, in favor of younger and taller athletes.

With this decree also came the issue that no more independent wrestlers were to be scouted for hire. This was because WWE wanted to go back to their method of home-brewing athletes from other sports.

With this decree, it was the end of Triple H’s era of NXT as fans had come to love. However, Triple H has implemented a new vision for WWE following Vince McMahon’s retirement, which saw his NXT return.

It isn’t entirely the same as it was before, and still has elements of NXT 2.0, but it’s feeling more familiar. The 2.0 is gone, as is the rainbow color scheme and a focus on backstage promos.

There is still a big focus on character, but there is also a deeper focus on match quality like before. It would also appear that WWE has returned to hiring independent wrestlers, as per Bryan Alvarez.

Gabe Sapolsky on the Hunt

F4Wonline’s Bryan Alvarez reported through his Twitter that WWE talent scout Gabe Sapolsky was seen at a DEFY show this past weekend. This further indicates his reports that WWE is on the hunt for good independent stars once again for NXT.

The photos below were taken at the event, although it’s unclear who on the stacked card Gabe had his eye on.

There’s a lot of great talent on this card, and you never know who can show up in NXT. There is no word on whether the company will maintain its height or size standards, but anything is possible.

Who do you want to see signed with WWE?

The post WWE Reportedly Returns To Scouting Independent Talent appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

“I’ve heard it for a long time [people who say] ‘oh, Hunter’s really fallen from grace after you know, NXT failed.’ And I’m like, ‘what?'”

Alvarez cited the loss to AEW on Wednesdays as the reason for these claims, “Well, we say that because hurting AEW was the goal from Vince and Dunne and everybody when the show was moved to Wednesdays…He was removed from power. I mean, that’s it. They saw that that was the goal and that was the failure.”

Alvarez continued and also defended Triple H and the show he had made famous, “I’m on the same page as you, dude. He was 1000 times better than what we’ve got now with NXT 2.0. But the reason I used the term failure is that it was the task that he was responsible for. So it’s not even his fault. He had all sorts of disadvantages, but they won at the end of the day.”

Storm responded, “But it’s the word again. If your job was to sell a million hamburgers and you didn’t so, we fired you and replaced you. And then told the new guy, ‘yeah, if you sell three or four salads, you’re a success.’ It’s like, ‘what?!’ It’s like you move to Tuesday where they don’t have head-to-head anymore…Maybe the task was the unfair part, not any shortcomings from Hunter.”

Storm pointed out the successful NXT brand and TakeOver shows under Hunter and noted that many stars on the main roster now had gotten their start in NXT under Triple H. 

He said, “NXT TakeOvers was one of the greatest string of quality shows you’re ever going to find. And as far as producing people from scratch, it’s like, sure, there wasn’t a ton. Now there are a few. But again, it’s like, the goal is to put people on the roster that are good. And there was a point where almost every single person on the main roster came through NXT. So he was succeeding at that.”

The two then got into the discussion of comparing the current incarnation of NXT against AEW, for which Alvarez saw no potential in 2.0 rising to meet them in competition or regaining the momentum that its black and yellow predecessor once had. Storm seemed to agree and believed that WWE should never have tried to compete with AEW.

“They should have left NXT on the Network. They should have left Hunter in charge of it, and they should have left AEW alone. Then they wouldn’t have a failure on the record. Instead, they would have the wonderful gold and black still happening and the great string of NXT TakeOvers. It would have been so much better.” (H/T WrestlingNews.com)

The post Lance Storm Believes Triple H’s Version of NXT Was Not a Failure appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

On the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, journalist Bryan Alvarez talked about Atlas’s unfortunate injury that he suffered during his match and noted that the star would need an MRI to know the full severity of the injury. However, Alvarez states that there is every chance that Atlas will be fine and that the injury was only a minor scare. But nothing will be known until the results are reported.

It was mentioned within the same episode that Atlas was seen to be unable to stand during the match for Coles Panama Sunrise finisher and was in a lot of pain. Dave Meltzer noted that the injury came after one of Cole’s kicks to his knee. If he is injured and in need of surgery, then this will have come at a bad time. Atlas debuted just this past month on the December 28 taping of AEW Dark in a match against Serpentico. He would win and be signed soon after by Khan. This match against Adam Cole is his television debut.

Jake Atlas suffered his injury the same night that Rey Fenix did. The now-former tag team champion suffered a bad arm injury after taking a chokeslam through a table outside the ring. His arm could be seen bent at an odd angle after the bump. Like Atlas, the severity of his injury remains to be seen.

The post AEW Star Jake Atlas To Undergo MRI Following ‘Serious Injury’ On AEW Rampage appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

He would not hold the position for long, as he would eventually return to a performer role to face then NXT Champion Karrion Kross for the title at TakeOver 36, where he would win. Unfortunately, Joe would be forced to relinquish the gold before getting a chance to defend it in September due to an undisclosed injury. He has yet to make an appearance since then.
Bryan Alverez had reported the injury to be a work as part of a storyline, as believed by others within the company. Dave Meltzer would then add that Joe had been hired mainly in a non-wrestling role, perhaps given the string of injuries that had previously kept him sidelined for over a year.

Joe can be seen in the photo below at recent NXT tryouts at the Performance Center. For the time being, it would seem that he is working alongside other trainers as they search for newer and younger stars to build from the ground up. However, Joe never announced his retirement or talked of such a thing, expressing an interest in wrestling again when he is healed. At the moment, the door remains open for him to return to the ring once his injury is fully healed.

Samoa Joe at the recent WWE tryouts pic.twitter.com/rHblyMIrFr

— Wrestling News (@WrestlingNewsCo) December 24, 2021

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According to Bryan Alvarez, while speaking on Wrestling Observer Live, Changes may still be on the way, but it’s debatable if they are for the better. Not long after rumors surfaced that WWE may rename the Cruiserweight Title, Bryan Alvarez now believes that the entire brand may be renamed in a complete repackaging. This new show will likely be a B-show in the same vein as Main Event. Alvarez discussed the supposed changes on Yesterday’s episode of Wrestling Observer Live, noting how the higher-ups no longer want smaller talent to be champions. With this new order, it’s not unbelievable that they would want to do away with a division centered on small stars. 

“So, I guess Vince McMahon, Bruce Prichard, these guys don’t wanna see any 205 pounders as champion. So, it’s gonna get a new name. I don’t know what it is. It’s probably just going to be a tertiary show. I don’t know what form it would be. It’s going to be a low-level WWE show that God bless them, nobody is going to watch. But, this is where they will get their experience in front of a live crowd. It’s coming. It’s no longer going to be 205 Live.” (H/T ringsidenews.com)

WWE’s cruiserweight division officially relaunched in 2016 after the great response to the WWE Networks Cruiserweight Classic Tournament. Many of the combatants in the competition were signed to contracts and given a place on the new brand. The purple show became something of an afterthought not long after its inception, however, as the show lacked a lot of the things that made the tournament great. It’s unsure how true these rumors are, so fans will have to wait and see what changes, if any, come to the division.

The post 205 Live Reportedly Set To Undergo Name Change & Rebrand appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

Meltzer noted that he had heard of discussions of the sort as current champion Roderick Strong is set to face off against Joe Gacy, who isn’t 205 lbs., at WarGames after Malcolm Bivens agreed to waive the weight limit for the title. Joe Gacy has stated his intention to make the title “all-inclusive” upon its capture in the lead-up to their match on Sunday.

Meltzer stated in his discussion, “It feels like they’re going to change the 205 Live…I’ve heard they want to ditch the cruiserweight title. The all-inclusive championship. Is that the deal?

In response to the question, Alvarez said it could be renamed instead to the Openweight title. He also noted that it would give the NXT brand three male-exclusive single titles, with the other two being the NXT Championship and the North American Championship. In response, Meltzer noted the change in management of the former black and gold brand. “The old people wanted to make the title legit. So they told everyone in that division to be 205 and under, or they won’t be included. Do you think these guys are going to do weigh-ins? They stopped doing weigh-ins a long time ago. The whole idea of Joe Gacy challenging for the Cruiserweight title and Malcolm Bivens waiving the weight limit…but yeah, that’s from what I understand. The whole 205 Live is not how Vince (McMahon) does things. We’ll see what happens, but they’ve talked about that. I know they’ve talked about changing the whole 205 Live with the Cruiserweight title thing. I don’t know if they’re going to do it in this situation here. It feels like they are because Gacy is getting all kinds of TV time.” (H/T wrestlingnews.com)

Before the cuts started, there were reportedly huge plans for the 205 Live division. However, a wrench was thrown in when several wrestlers were let go last year. Roderick Strong was supposed to be an important factor in said plans, but he has not done much with the title since winning the title from Kushida two months ago.

The post WWE Potentially Dropping The Cruiserweight Title appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

He said of the matter during Wrestling Observer Live, “It’s not like she can’t do both. She has just decided that she is done with NXT. Whatever that means, she says it’s due to family, but this also, again, might not be the last person. Because no matter what you guys think about me and anyone else saying that it sucks, it does. There are people there who have told me that it’s just not fun anymore.” (H/T ringsidenews.com)

This is an interesting comment for Alverez to make. It has become apparent with the over 80 stars and staff released in the past two years that morale has taken a nosedive, both on the main roster and in developmental. With many of the releases being from NXT, WWE has recruited new younger talent to replace the older and more experienced workers hoping that it will attract younger viewers. The thought was that younger talent and a new design for the once yellow brand would garner higher ratings, but the show has seen a decline instead. 

WWE recently sent out a survey to fans asking what they do and don’t like about the rebooted NXT. This could mean they are looking for ways to improve the show and bring viewers back. If this is the case, then perhaps they can implement necessary changes to improve morale amongst the talent and the quality of the show.

The post People in NXT Think It’s No Longer Fun To Work There appeared first on Wrestling Republic.