Is Vince trying to kill NXT?

[DBSoT]

http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/wwe/Bac ... mmick.html

Essentially, the report says that NXT star Kalisto is being groomed for a Gay Hair Style Gimmick. So the best Lucha wrestler they have had since Mysterio is being given the Rico gimmick. This could also be a death shot to the Tyler Breeze character, as its very similar and the average person would make comparisons. Also I don't want to ignore just how ignorant this gimmick is. Essentially Vince and I assume Kevin Dunn, can only write a gay character if they are flamboyant. Yet they have a gay wrestler on staff that is never used and wouldn't need to be an over the top gay character to get over. My biggest gripe here is that this is the 4th time WWE has tried to destroy debuting NXT talent.

Adam Rose- Great as Leo Kruger, forced to be a raver.
Emma- The writers completely misunderstood why people loved her in NXT and they stuck her with Santino.
Paige- Though not as bad, she was brought out to fast out of necessity for a shit Divas division.
Bo Dallas- Guy was over on NXT, over on the main roster, and then we don't see him for how long. The undefeated streak gimmick had legs and they squashed it.

Add to this the report of Adrian Neville getting a Mighty Mouse gimmick on the main roster. If I was an NXT talent I would prefer to stay at full sail. Vince or Dunn is trying to destroy something great and it is really starting to make me mad.

[EmperorWu]

The Kalisto thing I find truly mind boggling. Haven't they spent years trying to find a lucha guy to place Rey and his sales? If I remember correctly his sales where at number 2 at one point. Now they find a guy who probably has the best shot of coming to his level and they want to change his gimmick? To something that could destroy him permanently no less. He has great high flying moves, better than Mysterio in over 10 years if not period. What little mic time he's had he's been ok and could easily improve. Hell he even has a great chant to go with him. His mask looks fantastic, those would sell like hot cakes. They should be so happy at his potential. What the hell? I don't get it...

[Str8Shooter]

I read the Kalisto thing earlier and laughed out loud, I figured it had to be made up. I thought he already looked pretty badass with the mask and stuff that he had.

WWE doing anything with a minority type gimmick like this is destined for disaster and likely will end up with WWE forced to apologize publicly for something.

[Hanley!]

I don't think it's Vince trying to kill NXT characters on arrival. It's probably just a consequence of him having a terrible mind for the wrestling business these days. He's not tapped into modern culture and he doesn't understand what kinds of characters can get over. He probably thinks he's doing these guys a favour.

Another part of the problem is probably that he's looking for new midcard or lower card wrestlers for his show, and he's trying to give them gimmicks to match. He's probably not considering that some of these guys could grow into main event wrestlers if they're not stuck with an obvious midcard gimmick at this point. Vince has never been very good at looking to the future, and he's getting worse at it all the time.

When Bray Wyatt went from NXT to the main roster, he had a gimmick that could grow with him. Many of the other NXT gimmicks are the same. When looking at someone like Bo Dallas, that's not a gimmick that could reach the top on the main roster, so they could have considered repackaging him. Though his shtick would still have made for decent mid-card fare. They could have gone further with him, but it seems Vince didn't understand the character.

Long story short, I don't think Vince ever considers longevity. He just thinks about the reaction that he wants to get on day one. And half the time he even fails at that.

[DBSoT]

^I would question that this would even work in any storyline from day one.

[Daz]

There's certain gimmicks in NXT that'll never get over on the Main Roster. One of them was Emma. that sort of thing worked in an intimate environment where you can see the progression. On the Main Roster, it was bound to fall on it's face. The same will happen to Bayley, unfortunately.

I actually hated the Leo Kruger gimmick, with a fiery deep burning passion, and don't mind Adam Rose at all. Seriously, people like a Kraven the Hunter wannabee with a dodgy accent? Again though, whilst it was fun in the smaller environment with a more enthusiastic crowd, Rose was always gonna struggle to take off on a bigger stage. It's died a death.

Kalisto' gimmick is broad enough to go from NXT to WWE without getting lost in translation. He's tremendous in the ring, exciting to watch, and can replace the mask sales of Rey Mysterio if they push him right. The shameless use of Sin Cara in recent weeks shows that they desperately want. And seeing as they appear to be breaking up at least two tags teams in the next few months, why the fuckety fuck aren't they bringing up the Lucha Dragons as a duo?

The gay stereotype, making him play a gay hair stylist is just silly. If only because it has a limit shelf life. How does a gay hair stylist translate to an in-ring role? How does it play into the actual wrestling part of the gimmick, over than using hair spray to win matches? Why does he have to be gay to be a hair stylist? The fact that all these questions are being asked, should give away the fact that it's a poor idea to begin with.