Posted in: Sports, TV, USA Network, WWE | Tagged: hbk, NXT, NXT 2.0, NXT Reboot, NXT Relaunch, nxt uk, Raw, shawn michaels, Smackdown, Triple H, USA Network, Vince McMahon, wrestling, wwe

NXT 2.0 RIP: It Appears NXT Will Be Evolving Yet Again Very Soon

Last night marked one full year since WWE's NXT developmental brand big farewell to the familiar black and gold color scheme, and with it, a reliable spot for quality wrestling and instead welcomed in the NXT 2.0 relaunch, complete with a loud rainbow-splattered look and a focus on silly gimmicks and lousy comedy.  Well, just one year on, it appears we may be on the verge of yet another relaunch, and if the tease we got at the end of last night's show was any indication of what's to come, fans of the good ol' days of the developmental brand might be pretty happy pretty soon.

After all of the rasslin' was done on last night's anniversary edition of NXT 2.0 on the USA Network, we were surprised with a video package narrated by WWE Hall of Famer and the current Head Honcho down in Orlando, "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels.  HBK told us, "NXT has been and always will be about developing the superstars of tomorrow.  But we always reflect and acknowledge the past.  NXT is constantly evolving with a focus on the future.  Superstars develop and move on, but our message to our passionate fans will never change.  We are NXT."  It was then that the now-familiar multicolor NXT 2.0 logo goes through a metamorphosis into a new gold and white logo of simply NXT.

So what does this mean?  Are we going back to the more ass-kicking days of the black and gold original NXT?  Did NXT 2.0's Green Ranger just evolve into the White Ranger?  We'll learn soon enough.  Obviously, things are going to change with NXT 2.0 mastermind Vince McMahon now retired and original NXT creator Triple H running things.

Does this mean things are going back to two years ago?  Probably not exactly, especially with the recent combining of NXT 2.0 and NXT UK, but something more reminiscent of those good ol' days is likely with a focus on great matches and long-form storytelling over gimmicks and goofy schtick.  It will definitely be interesting to see what Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and a team of their choosing will cook up without Vince hovering over them like a growling storm cloud, and it will be even more interesting to see the innovation out of certain young stars now that they will be more comfortable knowing their character and entire presentation won't be changed upon being called up to Raw or SmackDown.

It's worth noting that next week's NXT 2.0 will be taped tonight down in Orlando.  This could be so that they have time over the next couple of weeks to tear down and build up a new set/arena set-up to debut the new NXT the week after next.  That's just speculation on my part, but I think it makes sense.  Only one way to find out though and that's to keep our eyes on what's going on at NXT, which if nothing else, has certainly gotten much more interesting since 10 pm last night.

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