Google News
In a revealing statement, Axel Tischer, a former WWE Superstar who wrestled under the name Alexander Wolfe, divulged that many of his peers in NXT, the development branch of WWE, harbored fears about being promoted to the main roster.
Launched in 2010, NXT was devised as a training ground to cultivate the future stars of WWE. Over the years, it has churned out well-known names like Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch, proving its efficacy as a talent pool.
Dread Shadows NXT Promotions
During the most recent WWE Draft, several NXT stars, including NXT Women's Champion Indi Hartwell, Cameron Grimes, and the NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn, earned their main roster promotions.
However, Tischer suggests that not all viewed this as a positive development. Tischer himself knows the anxiety of such transitions firsthand. As part of the faction SAnitY, alongside Killian Dain, Eric Young, Sawyer Fulton, and Nikki Cross, he clinched the NXT Tag Team Championships with Eric Young.
The team later dropped the Championships to The Undisputed Era. In 2018, SAnitY was shifted to Smackdown during the Superstar Shake-Up, but their usage was mainly confined to live events. Within a year, Eric Young had transitioned to Raw, and Tischer was relocated to NXT UK, joining Imperium.
On the latest episode of So Catch, Tischer candidly discussed his NXT stint and explained why a call-up to the main roster was viewed with trepidation. "A lot of people were afraid of getting a call-up, and that spread to the office, that they say, 'Guys, what the hell?'" he shared.
In NXT, wrestlers enjoy a supportive community, with the organization handling logistics like hotel bookings and food during tours. This protective environment, Tischer suggested, is absent in the main roster. Tischer, who tasted success alongside current Intercontinental Champion Gunther in NXT UK, opined that success in NXT does not necessarily translate into success on the main roster.
"If you present them, somebody who's an awesome wrestler but not charismatic, you do something wrong," he declared. Gunther is set to identify his next challenger for the Intercontinental Championship on the upcoming Raw. Meanwhile, after parting ways with WWE, Tischer has returned to the Independent scene and recently reunited with former NXT associate Killian Dain to compete for Progress Wrestling.
