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GUEST EDITORIAL
By Paul Lucas of Widnes, England, PWTorch reader

A laughing stock, ridiculed by its own creator, an insult to its audience - the third season of WWE's NXT program was not so much a runaway success as it was an unmitigated disaster.

Relegated from national television to a webcast, the season that made viewers sit through everything from wheelbarrow races to ‘find the flag’ contests may openly appear to have no redeeming features. Despite this, WWE is ready to return with a fourth season of NXT.

Why? Because despite all of its negatives, the NXT format works - and not just in the creation of the Nexus group, but introducing the reigning U.S. champion Daniel Bryan, the main event level heel Wade Barrett, and exciting young talents like Kaval. Even the third season of NXT produced more positives than negatives for WWE going forward.

Let’s take a look at how NXT Season 3 will pay off for WWE just like Seasons 1 and 2:

Depth to the Divas division: It was apparent before the show started that WWE desperately needed more depth to its Divas division if women's wrestling is going to become a draw again as it was circa 2002 during the Trish, Lita, Victoria, Molly, et all run. With Tiffany suspended and subsequently released and Beth Phoenix on injured reserve when the season began, the Smackdown Divas were down to four - Lay-Cool, Kelly Kelly, and the non-wrestling Rosa Mendes, prompting WWE to merge the two women's titles.

It was clear that an influx of new talent was needed, but with the Divas restricted to one segment a week on both Raw and Smackdown there was little time to push new faces. NXT has successfully introduced four or five new Divas to the existing pack and allowed viewers to delve into their characters in a way the audience surely would not have been able to on Raw or Smackdown.

Naomi and A.J. can wrestle: With the exceptions of Natalya, Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim, and Melina, there isn’t a lot of pure wrestling talent among the current Diva crop. Yes, we can all bemoan that they only have five minutes at the most on a typical Raw or Smackdown episode to show what they are capable of, but could the majority of the former models really hang for a 10-15-minute PPV match anyways? Perhaps Michelle McCool and Maryse at a push, but that’s all. In Naomi and A.J., WWE has two talents who are ready for the main roster. Their match against each other on the penultimate edition of the season was possibly the best Divas match in WWE this year.

Personality: Remember when each Diva was defined by her own unique character? Whether it was the faux super hero Mighty Molly or the prudish, "Right to Censor" Ivory, WWE invested time in getting across the personalities of the women on their shows. Unfortunately, in recent years, the Divas have become interchangeable. Yes, we know Lay-Cool have their Mean Girls act and Maryse is a gold-digging heel. But, beyond that? Other than the fact that the faces smile and the heels snub the audience, the audience has little to invest in. NXT introduced "athletic" Naomi, "spunky, nerd-like" A.J., "class clown" Kaitlyn, the "girl on top" Maxine, who, incidentally, has better mic skills than most of the Divas on the roster, and "two-faced" Aksana.

Nikki Bella/Goldust: One of the missed opportunities on Season 3 was failing to further the careers of the Pros who were generally non-existent in their roles. However, the two shining lights were a resurgent Goldust, who was given a new lease on his WWE life thanks to his on-air relationship with Aksana, and the trash-talking Nikki Bella, who shined as a heel and created a new dynamic with her sister for what was a previously floundering act. Even Primo may be able to ride the success of his "kiss" with A.J. during the finale.

Michael Cole: Perhaps this is clutching at straws, but NXT Season 3 really pushed Michael Cole’s heel character to a new level. It seems glaringly obvious that WWE will need an authoritative play-by-play voice to counter his antics sooner or later. So, maybe, just maybe, we will one day be thankful for NXT Season 3 laying the foundation for the return of Jim Ross.

While there’s no denying that NXT Season 3 was at times cringe-worthy, WWE can still turn a negative into a positive by seizing the opportunities laid out above. Of course, whether WWE will ever invest in its Divas division again remains to be seen, but the potential is there.

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