How to Build New Stars?

[acthechamp]

I have a question.

 

I am running a real life mod and playing as WWE. We have NXT has as development for WWE. My concern is, how do I bring in top talent and have their popularity/momentum match up? Like, if I wanted to bring in Jay Lethal [who has sh*t popularity in the game] and make him a big star on the main roster pretty quickly -- without hurting his momentum or his popularity growth? [kind of like how Kevin Owens joined WWE and beat John Cena on the first night, AJ Styles debuting into the Royal Rumble and becoming a huge star etc.]

 

Right now, if I put him in big segments, it always turns off the crowd... And I don't get how to get past that.

 

Thank you.

[lois lily]

Essentially the game does reflect real life in that way. If Jay Lethal joined WWE now he probably wouldn't go straight into the main event.

 

That said get him to destroy others who made much popular. Give him a big win on a PPV etc. All things help. I cocked up my game and ended up with no challenger for AJ Styles title in my WWE game. So had four weeks to build up Finn Balor. Stuck him in angles at every show with more popular stars. Gave him a run of victories. By the time the PPV rolled around his pop had gone up about 12 points overall in the space of a week. I did a test and had him best styles for the belt and it gave him a huge boost. That said he was a upper mid carder when I started and his push was pretty unrealistic. But does work.

 

But TEW mirrors real life that there isn't really anyone in the world who could join WWE and be an immediate main eventer now a days.

[acthechamp]

Essentially the game does reflect real life in that way. If Jay Lethal joined WWE now he probably wouldn't go straight into the main event.

 

That said get him to destroy others who made much popular. Give him a big win on a PPV etc. All things help. I cocked up my game and ended up with no challenger for AJ Styles title in my WWE game. So had four weeks to build up Finn Balor. Stuck him in angles at every show with more popular stars. Gave him a run of victories. By the time the PPV rolled around his pop had gone up about 12 points overall in the space of a week. I did a test and had him best styles for the belt and it gave him a huge boost. That said he was a upper mid carder when I started and his push was pretty unrealistic. But does work.

 

But TEW mirrors real life that there isn't really anyone in the world who could join WWE and be an immediate main eventer now a days.

 

To counter that, as I mentioned... AJ Styles essentially came from out of the WWE and went straight to top matches with Jericho, then main evented back to back PPVs, and is now feuding with John Cena, the top star.

 

And Finn Balor, just came from NXT and went straight to the "main event" of SummerSlam.

 

Another point regarding that... The RAW that WWE put on after Battleground is considered one of the best RAWs in history (unanimous praise), but it ended with the main event of Finn Balor beating Roman Reigns clean -- no way that match gets a B+ rating or better in Finn's debut in TEW, therefore the whole show's rating would get dragged down A LOT. Know what I mean... whereas in real life, that show probably gets an A rating from almost everyone that I know that follows WWE. I understand it's subjective, but I hope you kind of get my point.

 

But I couldn't just place Jay Lethal in NXT and then bring him to the main roster and put him in the co-main event of the second biggest PPV of the company and have my shows get super strong ratings. That's just not going to happen.

 

I appreciate your tips though, about pushing Finn. I need to figure out the right methodology here without hurting my show rating.

[MachoManOrton]

To counter that, as I mentioned... AJ Styles essentially came from out of the WWE and went straight to top matches with Jericho, then main evented back to back PPVs, and is now feuding with John Cena, the top star.

 

And Finn Balor, just came from NXT and went straight to the "main event" of SummerSlam.

 

Another point regarding that... The RAW that WWE put on after Battleground is considered one of the best RAWs in history (unanimous praise), but it ended with the main event of Finn Balor beating Roman Reigns clean -- no way that match gets a B+ rating or better in Finn's debut in TEW, therefore the whole show's rating would get dragged down A LOT. Know what I mean... whereas in real life, that show probably gets an A rating from almost everyone that I know that follows WWE. I understand it's subjective, but I hope you kind of get my point.

 

But I couldn't just place Jay Lethal in NXT and then bring him to the main roster and put him in the co-main event of the second biggest PPV of the company and have my shows get super strong ratings. That's just not going to happen.

 

I appreciate your tips though, about pushing Finn. I need to figure out the right methodology here without hurting my show rating.

 

In TEW terms AJ Styles probably had B+ to A- popularity before he came to WWE though. Also in TEW terms you could say WWE is tweaking their product a bit to rate performance a bit higher, so the Balor match doesn't necessarily need to be crapped on.

[Romans_Brass_Shovel]

To counter that, as I mentioned... AJ Styles essentially came from out of the WWE and went straight to top matches with Jericho, then main evented back to back PPVs, and is now feuding with John Cena, the top star.

 

And Finn Balor, just came from NXT and went straight to the "main event" of SummerSlam.

 

Another point regarding that... The RAW that WWE put on after Battleground is considered one of the best RAWs in history (unanimous praise), but it ended with the main event of Finn Balor beating Roman Reigns clean -- no way that match gets a B+ rating or better in Finn's debut in TEW, therefore the whole show's rating would get dragged down A LOT. Know what I mean... whereas in real life, that show probably gets an A rating from almost everyone that I know that follows WWE. I understand it's subjective, but I hope you kind of get my point.

 

But I couldn't just place Jay Lethal in NXT and then bring him to the main roster and put him in the co-main event of the second biggest PPV of the company and have my shows get super strong ratings. That's just not going to happen.

 

I appreciate your tips though, about pushing Finn. I need to figure out the right methodology here without hurting my show rating.

 

Ive debuted MANY people in big matches against proven guys. I just always have them lose the match. If you push lethal as a upper Midcard and put him in a 20 minute match with one of your most popular guys, it should deliver. Not 5 stars. But it should be a decent main event.

 

I'd say debut him in a big time match like that. If you want him to be heel then have him face a big time Babyface on your TV show in an Open match. It's ok if he loses. If you want him to be a face then have him face a top heel with a tainted loss.

 

Then get him in a program. Have him win TV matches and a PPV or two and he will be right there in the upper Midcard range, ready to swing into the main event.

[acthechamp]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="MachoManOrton" data-cite="MachoManOrton" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42380" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>In TEW terms AJ Styles probably had B+ to A- popularity before he came to WWE though. Also in TEW terms you could say WWE is tweaking their product a bit to rate performance a bit higher, so the Balor match doesn't necessarily need to be crapped on.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Styles having B+ or A- doesn't make sense in US. The mod I'm using has John Cena as a B+ [came from TEW 2016 Mods] -- which also doesn't make sense, so maybe your point is valid haha.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Romans_Brass_Shovel" data-cite="Romans_Brass_Shovel" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42380" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Ive debuted MANY people in big matches against proven guys. I just always have them lose the match. If you push lethal as a upper Midcard and put him in a 20 minute match with one of your most popular guys, it should deliver. Not 5 stars. But it should be a decent main event. <p> </p><p> I'd say debut him in a big time match like that. If you want him to be heel then have him face a big time Babyface on your TV show in an Open match. It's ok if he loses. If you want him to be a face then have him face a top heel with a tainted loss. </p><p> </p><p> Then get him in a program. Have him win TV matches and a PPV or two and he will be right there in the upper Midcard range, ready to swing into the main event.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Great tips. Really helps. Thank you very much!!</p>

[Bigpapa42]

<p>You cannot replicate everything the WWE does in the game. Not without consequences. </p><p> </p><p>

The Kevin Owens situation can be replicated in game, relatively successfully. Owens/Steen probably had mid-D popularity on the indy scene, give or take. His spell in NXT gave him a wider audience and he probably was somewhere between C- and C+ at the point he moved onto the main roster. C+ is a bit low for a National company for a main eventer, but its someone who can get pretty solid grades against the right opponent. What made the Owens situation different was that he debuted against Cena... and won. To do that in TEW, it would be pretty much guaranteed that Cena would be annoyed or worse at taking that loss. </p><p> </p><p>

Finn Balor would be relatively similar. He probably gained more popularity in NXT than Owens did. Again, he's not coming onto the main roster with enough popularity to be a strong headliner on his own. But the fans won't reject him in bigger matches against a more popular opponent. </p><p> </p><p>

AJ is a weird situation. Because through the later part of his time in TNA, it didn't seem like he had strong popularity and he didn't "draw" for them. But its TNA and no one does. His time in Japan and his WWE run so far would indicate he came in with pretty strong popularity levels in the US. Maybe not quite as high as MachoManOrton says, but not WWE midcard levels either (mid Cs). </p><p> </p><p>

Taking Jay Lethal - an indy star at best - and asking him to be a star for a national level promotion without any build doesn't really make any sense. You need to give them some build. Which is easily done in a number of ways. Whether its trough NXT or some of the things that Roman mentions.</p>

[acthechamp]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Bigpapa42" data-cite="Bigpapa42" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42380" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>You cannot replicate everything the WWE does in the game. Not without consequences. <p> </p><p> The Kevin Owens situation can be replicated in game, relatively successfully. Owens/Steen probably had mid-D popularity on the indy scene, give or take. His spell in NXT gave him a wider audience and he probably was somewhere between C- and C+ at the point he moved onto the main roster. C+ is a bit low for a National company for a main eventer, but its someone who can get pretty solid grades against the right opponent. What made the Owens situation different was that he debuted against Cena... and won. To do that in TEW, it would be pretty much guaranteed that Cena would be annoyed or worse at taking that loss. </p><p> </p><p> Finn Balor would be relatively similar. He probably gained more popularity in NXT than Owens did. Again, he's not coming onto the main roster with enough popularity to be a strong headliner on his own. But the fans won't reject him in bigger matches against a more popular opponent. </p><p> </p><p> AJ is a weird situation. Because through the later part of his time in TNA, it didn't seem like he had strong popularity and he didn't "draw" for them. But its TNA and no one does. His time in Japan and his WWE run so far would indicate he came in with pretty strong popularity levels in the US. Maybe not quite as high as MachoManOrton says, but not WWE midcard levels either (mid Cs). </p><p> </p><p> Taking Jay Lethal - an indy star at best - and asking him to be a star for a national level promotion without any build doesn't really make any sense. You need to give them some build. Which is easily done in a number of ways. Whether its trough NXT or some of the things that Roman mentions.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Right, I guess that's the point I was hoping would be different, and unfortunately, it seems that you're right. It would be next-to-impossible to replicate what WWE did with Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Finn Balor etc. in this game. Disappointing, but it seems like that's true.</p><p> </p><p> I will do more build, but it's just a little frustrating, if you get me. I see WWE doing it with little-to-no problem, but I can't do the same exact thing without suffering major issues and turning off major stars.</p><p> </p><p> Thanks anyways, though.</p>

[Guest skinsfan55]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Bigpapa42" data-cite="Bigpapa42" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42380" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> What made the Owens situation different was that he debuted against Cena... and won. To do that in TEW, it would be pretty much guaranteed that Cena would be annoyed or worse at taking that loss.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Actually, with Cena's personality/loyalty, and with his status as a gatekeeper type the impact would probably be minimal, which I think can be replicated pretty well in TEW.</p>

[Bigpapa42]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="acthechamp" data-cite="acthechamp" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42380" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Right, I guess that's the point I was hoping would be different, and unfortunately, it seems that you're right. It would be next-to-impossible to replicate what WWE did with Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Finn Balor etc. in this game. Disappointing, but it seems like that's true.<p> </p><p> I will do more build, but it's just a little frustrating, if you get me. I see WWE doing it with little-to-no problem, but I can't do the same exact thing without suffering major issues and turning off major stars.</p><p> </p><p> Thanks anyways, though.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Well, TEW is intended to a game where decisions have consequences. So you absolutely can emulate the WWE in that regard, but just have to accept it will come with some other things you have to deal with. </p><p> </p><p> And you cannot know that the WWE doesn't have consequences from these decisions. For one, they aren't exactly at a high point business-wise by a lot of measures, so that can be seen as a linked negative consequence of some of their booking decisions. And for all the dirt sheets give us, maybe Cena was annoyed at having to put over Owens. Or maybe Cena did it without getting annoyed because he got something else in return - that kind of negotiation that may happen in reality isn't in the game at this point.</p>

[lois lily]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="acthechamp" data-cite="acthechamp" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42380" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Right, I guess that's the point I was hoping would be different, and unfortunately, it seems that you're right. It would be next-to-impossible to replicate what WWE did with Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Finn Balor etc. in this game. Disappointing, but it seems like that's true.<p> </p><p> I will do more build, but it's just a little frustrating, if you get me. I see WWE doing it with little-to-no problem, but I can't do the same exact thing without suffering major issues and turning off major stars.</p><p> </p><p> Thanks anyways, though.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> To take WWE in real life and put it into TEW they have been losing viewers fairly steadily. WWE do what you say. But I wouldn't say with no problem. They will ultimately suffer the same consequences we do for booking those that are unknown. </p><p> </p><p> I think what is hard with all real world mods is how they reflect the world now. Before WWE was a power house and there was a lot of talent in the world. What we have in real world mods is WWE is very popular but not a huge pool of stars to sustain that popularity. So living in a knife edge ratings wise week to week we need to decide to play it safe or do you roll the dice. Essentially if you believe lethal could be bigger than cena big in the long term then perhaps it worth taking the short term hit. Like I mentioned I managed to build Balor up in 4 weeks with some very favourable booking. We're talking book that would make reigns booking in real life look like he was being held back. </p><p> </p><p> I don't think in real life a guy like jay would actually debut near the main event. You could even argue that styles coming and feuding with Jericho was maybe even upper midcard by TEW standards.</p>

[Bigpapa42]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="skinsfan55" data-cite="skinsfan55" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42380" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Actually, with Cena's personality/loyalty, and with his status as a gatekeeper type the impact would probably be minimal, which I think can be replicated pretty well in TEW.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> True. Though his personality is going to depend on the exact mod and even the most positive and loyal person will still gripe if they have to lose to someone far enough below them. I honestly don't know where Owens would have been in TEW popularity terms at that point, but once its 4 or 5 full grades, that positive personality matters less. Same with the Gatekeeper status in his contract, if that is the kind of contract he was given.</p>

[acthechamp]

<p>I'm not saying I would necessarily want Lethal to be in the main event, feuding for the top title... But come in, where he can essentially be a strong midcarder to upper midcarder. </p><p> </p><p>

On another note, I want to bring in Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Roode from NXT, and their popularity is pretty low there too [for US, at least]. Not sure how to bring in Nakamura and push him almost straight to the top.</p><p> </p><p>

Thanks for your responses, everywhere. It's really helping me think, especially since I played so much TEW 2010, none of TEW 2013, but am back at it in TEW 2016. <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p>

[Romans_Brass_Shovel]

<p>If that's all you want then just push him as a Midcard off the jump. Have him lose an open match against an upper Midcard and then give him a winning streak against jobbers. Then set him in a feud with another Midcard and play it out. He will quickly jump to upper Midcard if you keep him winning though. So it's best to know where you want someone to be and keep them there.</p><p> </p><p>

If you only want him as a Midcard then make sure he doesn't win against more popular guys. You can always have him lose to a slightly less popular midcarder too.</p><p> </p><p>

To answer the Cena vs KO situation. I believe that Cena may have small problems with putting him over for reasons listed above. He won't be furious but probably upset. You'd have to make sure to keep him strong just like they did in RL by having it take two pop up powerbombs to pin him. Also you have to deal with Cena losing a good chunk of popularity. Though you should be able to get it back quickly with the right booking. KO would also get a good bump in his popularity and won't lose as much if he loses to Cena twice in a row like real life. I'd just make damn sure never to have a ME lose to someone with less than 60 pop. Not only will they be furious. It's just poor booking.</p>

[lois lily]

I think one thing that TEW will always struggle to replicate is the real life conversations that can happen. In real life you can turn round to cena and say look you'll lose the first match but win that next two. So in TEW they'll just get annoyed as you can't explain the wider picture and storyline plans. But I think that would be extremely hard to implement.

[d12345]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Bigpapa42" data-cite="Bigpapa42" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42380" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>True. Though his personality is going to depend on the exact mod and even the most positive and loyal person will still gripe if they have to lose to someone far enough below them. I honestly don't know where Owens would have been in TEW popularity terms at that point, but once its 4 or 5 full grades, that positive personality matters less. Same with the Gatekeeper status in his contract, if that is the kind of contract he was given.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Actually I remember someone (could have even been Adam himself) posting about how there is a way to replicate the Razor Ramon v 1 2 3 kid storyline via friendships this year. Obviously not the case here with Cena and Owens, but having a loyal gatekeeper Cena who is best friends with Owens lose the match may not piss him off.</p><p> </p><p> Also with all those things, as long as Cena is kept strong and protected you might get away without pissing him off anyway.</p><p> </p><p> FURTHERMORE if he has been treated like gold the anger from the loss to Owens wouldn't be enough to move him into annoyed territory anyway.</p>

[21maxwell]

<p>I push them slowly but surely, from lower midcard up through the ranks. Might take 8-9 months, but it's a natural push. Wins up the card, then storyline victories from Upper midcard onwards for me.</p><p> </p><p>

Here's Apollo Crews for me after he came up from NXT. </p><p> </p><p>

<img alt="bd6d9ae92d1f727f6144a97a6d9f1b28.png" data-src="https://i.gyazo.com/bd6d9ae92d1f727f6144a97a6d9f1b28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p>

[lois lily]

Apollo Crews is a right pain in my game! Constantly putting down others in ring skills! No chance he's getting pushed!

[James Casey]

<p>It's best to remember (and I'm not good at this) that you can only get a few people significantly over at any time. Right now, WWE is giving the ball to Balor, Enzo & Cass and to some extent Zayn and Cesaro.</p><p> </p><p>

Until the booking team loses interest (in about 3 weeks, usually) those are the guys getting the hard sell in terms of winning matches (Balor over Reigns, Zayn over Owens), looking highly competitive against much bigger names (Zayn/Rollins), or going toe to toe on the mic with legends (Enzo against Jericho, and to some extent Cena).</p><p> </p><p>

Bear in mind, too, that there's a difference between momentum and overness. The New Day and Enzo & Cass have incredible momentum, but aren't anywhere near main event level in popularity. Momentum makes it easier to gain popularity, but being treated like a star* on a <em>consistent </em>basis is how you get to the top tier of overness.</p><p> </p><p>

*Star in this case being someone capable of beating (even <em>likely</em> to beat) others at their level. Kevin Owens is a midcard star, as he's likely to beat a Cesaro, Kof, Enzo etc. but aside from Cena doesn't do well against the top stars. Rollins is Raw's top star and is likely to be pushed as such for the forseeable future with very few, if any, losses over the coming months.</p>

[Lex Star]

<p>I've noticed that the big talents in my developmental territory seem to gain a fair amount of Popularity because I broadcast my developmental's shows on my own Network.</p><p> </p><p>

The last person I called up was Jacob Jett and he debut at Upper Midcard in my National sized company. His first match on the main roster, he won my United States Championship (which is my floating title, below the World title, above the Television title) in a B rated match with Mr. Lucha III.</p><p> </p><p>

Logan Wolfsbaine is my current developmental champion, and if I called him up right now, he would be auto-pushed into the Upper Midcard as well. I am currently waiting for the AI to have him drop the title until I call him up though.</p>

[acthechamp]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Lex Star" data-cite="Lex Star" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42380" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I've noticed that the big talents in my developmental territory seem to gain a fair amount of Popularity because I broadcast my developmental's shows on my own Network.<p> </p><p> The last person I called up was Jacob Jett and he debut at Upper Midcard in my National sized company. His first match on the main roster, he won my United States Championship (which is my floating title, below the World title, above the Television title) in a B rated match with Mr. Lucha III.</p><p> </p><p> Logan Wolfsbaine is my current developmental champion, and if I called him up right now, he would be auto-pushed into the Upper Midcard as well. I am currently waiting for the AI to have him drop the title until I call him up though.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> What do you mean broadcast your development's shows on your own Network? How do I do that? I'm WWE and have NXT as my development territory. I would like them to gain popularity. How do I show them on my Network?</p><p> </p><p> Thanks!</p>

[NarrZiss]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="acthechamp" data-cite="acthechamp" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42380" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>What do you mean broadcast your development's shows on your own Network? How do I do that? I'm WWE and have NXT as my development territory. I would like them to gain popularity. How do I show them on my Network?<p> </p><p> Thanks!</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> You go to your "Office" -> "Child Companies" -> "view own broadcaster". There you can give your Development Company a new deal for their events or for their shows. You also can create a new show under "TV controls" and "create new show" and then give this new show a new deal.</p>

[DevinTEW13]

I always found it rather easy to build popularity for a new guy whom I wanted to play an important role on my roster. The very first thing I do is give them a feud with someone who has the pop to keep it decent or if not have a feud place them in an angle with a big name. It gives whoever I'm trying to push a nice shot of momentum in my eyes if there able to hold their own in a war of words with one of my big names. Then I have a formula of 2 angles and 1 match a show. It keeps them winning and allows them to be seen a little more than usual. If they have a push like say opener...then I force them as lower midcarder to give more leeway to how much I'm using them. When the PPV arrives angles and more angles. They are then placed in all 3 angles I run surrounded by big names in hype vid promos and then the match against a much popular opponent its an open match where they are protected/kept strong. It usually works out with me have a bona-fide uppermidcard guy or low main event level guy.

[kn23m]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Bigpapa42" data-cite="Bigpapa42" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42380" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>The Kevin Owens situation can be replicated in game, relatively successfully. Owens/Steen probably had mid-D popularity on the indy scene, give or take. His spell in NXT gave him a wider audience and he probably was somewhere between C- and C+ at the point he moved onto the main roster.</div></blockquote><p> I wonder how you come up with this number/grade?</p><p> WWE Raw is watched by 3+ million people each week in USA, while NXT are shown only on WWE Network which at best has a little bit more than a million subscribers from USA, so at best is watched by a million, which is 1/3 of Raw weekly audience or in other words more than 2/3 of people who watch WWE Raw weekly didn't have a clue what was that "fat guy" when he first showed up on Raw!</p>

[CQI13]

There's Youtube. Hulu. Not to mention word of mouth causing you to look up the guy.

 

I had never seen Owens before NXT. Not once. And that first "match" he had cemented him for me. Looking at him and Zayn, I would take Owens every day.

 

I remember watching Zayn in NXT and thinking this is pretty good. That feud with Cesaro especially. But Owens comes in, does what he does, and immediately I think "this guy's a star."