NXT currently has three Championship divisions with the NXT Championship, NXT Women's Championship and the NXT Tag Team Championships, which in reality for the males single's roster means there is only one belt to aim for.

With WWE pushing it's developmental brand to reach it's full potential, they have managed to create compelling characters and rivalries, consequently leading to a great product and talent are now scratching and clawing to get as many minutes as possible.

Whilst that is a positive for the viewer, a problematic situation has arisen for Triple H and his creative team as they must attempt to keep everyone happy even though they have so many superstars vying for one spot, whilst even more are knocking on the door for an opportunity.

Currently NXT has four top tier talents (Finn Bálor, Samoa Joe, Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews) battling over the shows main prize whilst they have a host of other wrestlers showing great abilities and potential, so let's look at whether introducing a mid-card championship could help the situation.

Timing Issues

One main problem to NXT introducing another title belt would be time constraints, as the weekly show only runs for an hour there is barely enough time to set up the storylines for the current set of title's and non title rivalries without introducing another.

Normally storylines rotate around each week and the show will focus on one per episode (since NXT films 4 episodes at once), but adding another championship into the mix could cause some serious rethinking and potentially change the current set up.

The way that NXT is being run right now is working, hence it's incredible popularity but altering things at this early stage in the brands development could prove to be more harmful than helpful.

Feuds over championships dictate more time and attention that a standard feud, so if NXT was to focus upon a mid-card title feud it would need more time to develop in contrast to a normal non-title mid card feud, which NXT currently doesn't have at only an hour per episode.

The Potential Positives

Whilst it would be difficult to time in another storyline over another title, which needs to have great attention dedicated to it for the belt to get over and be taken seriously, there is a lot of good that could come from having another title.

Of course fans gravitate towards the top stars such as Balor or previous NXT Champions like Kevin Owens or Neville but there are plenty of superstars who have not been champion and are way off that opportunity that are just as popular.

Talent such as Bull Dempsey or Solomon Crowe could seriously benefit from a title rein, in their current positions they might not be deemed worthy of the top title, so a mid-card championship such as the main rosters Intercontinental Championship could be a perfect way to solve the problem.

Furthermore, whilst having the mid-card belt the opportunity would be presented to prove they are capable of holding a title and using it to elevate themselves in a similar way to how Owens used the NXT Championship to his advantage.

Having a mid-card title can be used as a stepping stone to the NXT title once they have proven whether or not they can cope under the pressures of being a champion, it is common for the WWE to use mid-card belts in this way, so why not bring it to developmental?

Owning a title adds prestige to a character also, so should a superstar transition to the main roster without winning the NXT title, then they could still say they had been a champion which instantly makes them more credible to the casual audiences who don't watch NXT.

Not only can holding a title add a different dimension to a character, but it can add a new dimension to a rivalry and that is another avenue that NXT would be able to explore with the addition of another title belt.

NXT does a fantastic job of ensuring that talent have a purpose on the roster and watching the different Takeover events that is very clear, the mid-card talent's matches are always done for a reason and that gets the fans invested.

But should they add another championship, those rivalries could intensify and get even more investment from the WWE Universe, a tournament to crown the first champion could create several storylines as well as great matches.

Even though a mid-card title could seriously help the young and upcoming talent that NXT prides itself on, there is no reason it can't also have an old school feel to it, as a way of giving back to long time fans.

For instance, should the WWE decide to bring another title into the mix, is there any reason why they couldn't bring a retired title back from the past instead of creating a brand new championship.

Rhyno has impressed on his return. wrestlingsmarks.com

This way it would allow NXT to pay respect to former superstars and create new historic moments and legacies for an already well respected title such as the European Championship or the Light Heavyweight Championship.

Not only could the company bring back a belt, but they could also award this to the returning superstars such as Rhyno who want to be involved in NXT to help and improve the wrestlers of tomorrow.

Rhyno is a perfect example of someone who would relish a mid-card title run, returning to the WWE's developmental brand for one more run, it's unlikely he will ever gain the NXT Championship as he is not seen as the future, but a title like this could provide a way of the WWE thanking him for his services.

The Potential Negatives

Many fans argue that a mid card title is necessary to aid the continuing development of the brand, on the other hand other members of the WWE Universe have debated that there is no need to add another title, as NXT's current set up is going perfectly.

The way that wrestlers are being turned into superstars and then moved onto the main roster when appropriate has seen incredible success and the method that has been put in place by Triple H has worked without a hitch so far.

Some may not win the coveted NXT Championship, but it has been proven by plenty of superstars ( Tyler Breeze, Rusev and Dean Ambrose to name a few) that you don't need to pick up a championship to move on to the main roster.

Because after all, that is the crucial element to NXT it is a stepping stone to the main roster, and the main accomplishment in NXT is to be told you are being moved whether you are champion or not.

To achieve that aim wrestlers don't need a title rein, but simply need to impress with hard work and by winning over the Full Sail crowd to give the WWE confidence that they will accomplish a similar goal on the main stage.

But the major risk of creating a mid-card championship is that you create the dilemma and possibility of people getting stuck in that mid-card role, something that is frequent on the main roster.

Often on the main roster, good talent with potential can get stuck simply plugging away in the mid-card role such as Wade Barrett or Dolph Ziggler and the worry would be that the same could happen with NXT.

If talent were being perceived as 'mid-carders' then it would make it impossible for fans to take them seriously if they got promoted to the main roster, with fans seeing that they could never get out of the mid-card section in the development stage of their careers.

Overall there appears to be too many drawbacks at the moment to make a strong case for the need for a mid-card title, with the lack of time to develop it and the potential road blocs it could place on a talents career.

However, should NXT ever decide to push the show to two hours a week (which given it's popularity would not come as a surprise) then the argument would be a totally different story...

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Matthew Wilkinson
Huddersfield University in Sports Journalism. Twitter- MC_Wilkinson1