New Tough Enough reality series (WWE: Next Gen) debuts April 1st

[Rhood]

WWE: NEXT GEN Docuseries Debuts April 1 on Roku - THE ILLUMINERDI

John Cena and WWE are bringing a new docuseries to Roku. WWE: Next Gen, an eight-part-docuseries, debuts on April 1 on Roku.

theilluminerdi.com

 

[My Spot]

 

[Darkavius]

Going to sound like a hater but why would anyone do this show in 2024? This isn't 2004 where WWE is the only big name in town. If you want to be a wrestler there is more opportunity to be a name than ever and maybe even better money than WWE.

 

[Frank23]

GOAT.

 

[Based God]

Going to sound like a hater but why would anyone do this show in 2024? This isn't 2004 where WWE is the only big name in town. If you want to be a wrestler there is more opportunity to be a name than ever and maybe even better money than WWE.

An average person wanting to be a wrestler will have to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket to get trained in a garage by an indy wrestler, then spend several years struggling on the indies for hot dogs and handshakes hoping to get a sniff of extra work for WWE or AEW and if they do get that sniff of extra work, then it's even more years before they actually get anywhere with WWE or AEW or to make a big enough indy name for themselves that they can make money from indies.

The people WWE is generally signing now are former D1 athletes or MMA fighters or some other type of athlete with zero background that they can train from the ground up at the performance center. These people who get signed from this show will get a guaranteed paycheck while they get to spend their time training at a world class facility and if they make it through developmental they get on TV with the biggest company in the world. If they wash out, they get to start their indy journey as "former WWE superstar", already trained, already with a little name recognition.

No other opportunities like this out there for a fresh trainee with zero experience.

 

[Darkavius]

An average person wanting to be a wrestler will have to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket to get trained in a garage by an indy wrestler, then spend several years struggling on the indies for hot dogs and handshakes hoping to get a sniff of extra work for WWE or AEW and if they do get that sniff of extra work, then it's even more years before they actually get anywhere with WWE or AEW or to make a big enough indy name for themselves that they can make money from indies.

The people WWE is generally signing now are former D1 athletes or MMA fighters or some other type of athlete with zero background that they can train from the ground up at the performance center. These people who get signed from this show will get a guaranteed paycheck while they get to spend their time training at a world class facility and if they make it through developmental they get on TV with the biggest company in the world. If they wash out, they get to start their indy journey as "former WWE superstar", already trained, already with a little name recognition.

No other opportunities like this out there for a fresh trainee with zero experience.

Good points but there has never been an easier time to be an indy wrestler. What you say is all true but a good living can still be made as an indy wrestler. My question to you is you say that if they wash out they get to start their journey as a former WWE star, but statistically how many future wrestlers would be able to say that? Between tryouts, trying to stay on the show and hopefully become a WWE star wouldn't they have a better chance statistically starting in the indy promotions?

I looked at the information about past Tough Enough stars and out of all the years and all the people only about 20 or less of them can use the former WWE superstar label and it mean something. Couldn't they go to these schools that are managed by former WWE talent or get on the indy scene and make connections with former and current talent and statistically have the same chance as they would trying out for Tough Enough? Plus if someone becomes good enough can't they make enough money outside of WWE or AEW and become legends like guys who started from the bottom like Punk, Bryan, Joe and Styles?

 

[Based God]

Good points but there has never been an easier time to be an indy wrestler. What you say is all true but a good living can still be made as an indy wrestler. My question to you is you say that if they wash out they get to start their journey as a former WWE star, but statistically how many future wrestlers would be able to say that? Between tryouts, trying to stay on the show and hopefully become a WWE star wouldn't they have a better chance statistically starting in the indy promotions?

I looked at the information about past Tough Enough stars and out of all the years and all the people only about 20 or less of them can use the former WWE superstar label and it mean something. Couldn't they go to these schools that are managed by former WWE talent or get on the indy scene and make connections with former and current talent and statistically have the same chance as they would trying out for Tough Enough? Plus if someone becomes good enough can't they make enough money outside of WWE or AEW and become legends like guys who started from the bottom like Punk, Bryan, Joe and Styles?

This show isn't Tough Enough. This show is people already signed to WWE NIL deals. Every single one of these people will be on NXT TV within the next year or two unless they get injured or suck so bad they wash out. You have to be pretty bad to wash out on a NIL deal though, NXT TV right now is full of people who started on NIL deals without any wrestling experience.

Do you have examples of it being "an easier time" being an indy wrestler? The biggest indies in the country like GCW, Defy, Deadlock Pro, Beyond etc. are still paying nothing unless you have that "former WWE superstar" label, then maybe you make a few hundred dollars instead of the $50-$150. Some of the biggest indy wrestlers there are have to start Gofundme pages every time they get injured and don't have their $150 pay days coming in.