Finn Balor may be at the forefront of an emerging trend in WWE. He is taking slightly less money by going back to NXT in exchange for more overall flexibility to spend time with family and have more free time to do things that contribute to his own personal happiness. I’d take that deal because it sounds like it would have a great likelihood of making a positive impact on mental and emotional stability.
NXT has an advantage from the perspective of how much time it requires. NXT superstars only work one event per week as opposed to four on the main roster, and it’s always taped in the same location: Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida. Jon Moxley of AEW, who formerly worked for WWE as Dean Ambrose, made headlines recently complaining about WWE’s travel schedule and said that he thought it was too much. It may be smart for WWE to look for ways to reduce the travel schedules of its top superstars. This will improve their quality of life as well as keep them with the company rather than leaving for competing companies like AEW.
The cruiserweight division seems to be fully integrating as a part of NXT, which will significantly add to the depth of the roster. The Cruiserweight Championship has officially been recognized as an NXT title, so I would assume this means that 205 Live on the WWE Network will be scrapped. This is a smart business move because the show was simply lacking star power so even diehard fans didn’t have much of a reason to be interested. The in-ring work was fantastic, but it failed to engage fans in its storylines.
Rhea Ripley actually gives off the vibe of a credible challenger with the capability of taking the NXT Women’s Championship from Shayna Baszler. As for Bianca Belair, she has challenged for the NXT Women’s Championship before and has quietly built herself back into form over the past couple of months. My bet to win the title and begin a new era for the NXT women’s division is Rhea Ripley.
Tommaso Ciampa never lost the NXT Championship and he was a fantastic champion, so it only makes sense that he would return to claim what is rightfully his. In the meantime, it will be great just to see him in action again against Angel Garza next week.
Congratulations to Lio Rush on becoming Cruiserweight Champion immediately after seeking a 10-month hiatus from WWE. He will definitely provide the ability to cut excellent promos that hopefully strike a chord with the WWE universe – more so than Drew Gulak, and he is also every bit as good in the ring (hopefully they are not as annoying as those of Enzo Amore).