The Implications of Survivor Series

As most wrestling fans know by now, the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view occurred this past weekend. And for the first time, the NXT brand was part of that event. Given that NXT is supposed to be the "farm league" of the WWE, it would be odd for NXT come away with the most victories. However, that is exactly what happened. NXT had 4 victories, Smackdown had 2, and Raw only had 1.

For anyone who has been following the wrestling industry, it is not hard to guess why the event was booked that way. It boils down to three letters: AEW. When AEW's Dynamite first debuted in the same timeslot as WWE's NXT, I think most people expected NXT to get the higher ratings. After all, WWE is pretty much a household name, whereas AEW is known more among indie fans. So even if NXT is just the minor leagues of the WWE, is still had better brand recognition. Yet, with the exception of last week, Dynamite has been beeting NXT in the ratings. So it became obvious that the NXT brand needed a push to show that they are the real deal, and what better way to do that than to give them a decisive win in Survivor Series.

On paper, all of this makes total sense, especially when you factor in how notoriously competitive Vince McMahon is. By making NXT stand out, more people would become interested in the brand, and more people would tune in to their television show. But is that really smart in the long run? Here are five negative implications that the WWE may have just created for itself by putting NXT over.

1. Devaluing NXT wrestlers that "move up"

Originally, wrestlers were supposed to hone their skills in NXT. Then, once they have proven that they have reached the next level, they will be "moved up" to either Smackdown or Raw. And when that happens, there would be a sense of excitment. It represents that they made it, and the fans would be happy for them. But now that NXT has been shown to be the superior brands, what are fans expected to think? If a wrestler is moved from NXT to Raw or Smackdown now, fans would see it as a lateral move at best. So there won't be that sense of accomplishment any more, and that wrestler would start their main roster career with no wind in their sails.

2. NXT wrestlers will expect more

There are plans to start touring the NXT show around the country instead of staying exclusive in Full Sail University. So for all intents and purposes, NXT will be run like a third WWE brand instead of being the company's farm system. And with this NXT Survivor Series win, fans will now have that same impression as well. As such, NXT wrestlers will likely start to feel like they deserve more in terms of compensation (and rightfully so). Using baseball as an analogy, any minor league player wouldn't expect to be paid as much as a major league player. But if MLB starts having the same expectation for both major and minor league players and puts them in games against eash other, shouldn't the minor league players expect a pay raise? A few years ago, the WWE can do whatever they want. But now that AEW's in town, talented wrestlers who feel like they are under-valued can find proper compensation elsewhere.

3. Upsetting the Fox network

Smackdown moving to Fox was a big deal. This would be the first time a WWE program was shown on broadcast TV in years. And being a broadcast network, the show was expected to garner a lot more viewers. Therefore, it made sense that Fox paid a lot of money for it. Expectations fell short, though, as the show's ratings are not as high as many had forecasted. To add insult to injury, by having NXT win Survivor Series, the WWE has now devalued Smackdown in an attempt to boost the ratings of NXT on ANOTHER NETWORK! Fox can not be happy about that.

4. Extra hours of TV to fill

A common complaint people have about Raw is that it is too long. Sitting through 3 hours of wrestling is a lot when you consider your average movie is only 2 hours long. Plus, it is hard to come up with original storylines to fill the extra time. Yet, by effectively making NXT a third brand with this Survivor Series win, WWE now has two more hours of TV time per week to fill. In the past, this wasn't an issue because NXT was run autonomously from the rest of WWE. So it was almost like its own company. But now that NXT has been put on the same level as the other two shows, it is hard to imagine that continuing to be the case. Just look at the wild card rule, Finn Balor returning to NXT, the Fiend showing up on both brands, and Brock Lesnar taking the championship title from one brand to another. Despite how often WWE tries to separate the brands, they always get mushed back together in one way or another.

5. Lowers morale for the Raw and Smackdown roster

Yes, I know wrestling is all a work. Everything is scripted, and the wrestlers themselves know that too. However, a wrestler also knows that their worth is what fans think of them. They might be the most athletically gifted wrestler, or they might have the best mic skills. But if the fans don't give two sh*ts about them, their careers are dead. So perception plays a large part in this crazy industry. And by getting destroyed by these supposedly "minor league" NXT wrestlers, it just makes the main roster look bad. Again, in the past, this probably didn't matter. But now that there is another wrestling company around, wrestlers have to start thinking about maintaining a decent on-screen reputation if they ever leave the WWE.

Today is Wednesday, and NXT is set to go head-to-head against Dynamite again tonight. So we will soon find out if WWE's (or more specifically Vince's) strategy worked. Did NXT's Survivor Series win generate more interest in NXT? Will that interest give NXT enough of a boost to win in the ratings? Well, that may be tough, because there is a championship match scheduled tonight between Chris Jericho and Scorpio Sky on the AEW side. We'll all find out how it pans out in a couple of days with the latest ratings from the Wednesday Night Wars.