Stevie Richards Criticizes WWE NXT for Overly Choreographed Matches

Stevie Richards had a notable career in pro wrestling, working in promotions such as ECW, WWE and he even was a guest trainer for NXT in the past. However, his experience wasn’t necessarily positive and he has now criticized NXT for its overly choreographed matches.

While speaking on The Richards Show, Stevie Richards criticized NXT for making matches too scripted, which he feels stops wrestlers from performing naturally. He said that while NXT gives wrestlers confidence, this can sometimes be a problem because they become too used to following strict instructions. When they move to the main roster, they can look unprepared because they haven’t been taught to think on their feet.

“There’s one word to describe any pro wrestling match, at least the ones that are good and have foundational psychology: struggle. The struggle means it doesn’t always have to be clean, it doesn’t have to look cooperative. The trick is to cooperate without looking like you’re cooperating. That’s not easy. I’m not saying, but if you’re paid to go to NXT or the Performance Center, paid to learn how to wrestle, or even if you just go to the Performance Center, go to NXT, you’re labeled as the next big thing, a great star, or whatever—Brock did fulfill the ‘next big thing’ label—I’m talking about everybody there in this era. Then you get to the main roster, and the weird thing is, I think they instill confidence in the talent at NXT, which is a double-edged sword.

I would love for somebody to give me the confidence to go out there and know I can perform, I can kill it, crush it, and really have a match that people can be proud of and enjoy. But it gets to a point, too, when you’re getting ready to go to the main roster, I’m hoping—but I feel like they’re not doing it—that they’re coaching them very hard, splitting hairs, and really looking at everything they’re doing wrong. I think they just say you’re ready, and they go up there, but they obviously don’t look ready because NXT is so choreographed and doesn’t train the wrestlers.”

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During the time he went to the Performance Center as a guest trainer, Stevie Richards shared a story about working with Otis and another wrestler. Instead of giving them every move to do, he gave them a basic plan with a few key moments and let them figure out the rest. This made for a relaxed and solid match, which Richards thought was the best of the night.

“I’ve been in a match with Otis and this other guy, and got a ton of heat because they were the first match. I gave them a little blueprint and said, ‘Go out there and have fun.’ I did not call the spots to them through the referee earpiece, and everybody got mad at me. You know what they did? They had a solid match, they had fun out there, and they were relaxed because they weren’t waiting for the referee every five seconds to tell them what to do.

They had six things to do: the opening, a little bit of shine to open up with, a heat spot, a bit of heat where I gave them a hope spot—so that’s three right there. They had, not even a double down because they were the first match, but they went right into the comeback—that’s four. Then they had the finish, then the person standing in the ring—not for too long, but enough to get the show. I said, ‘You guys are the most important match because you’re here to set the pace, warm the crowd up, and let them know they’re in for a night of action they can enjoy.'”

Stevie Richards noticed that other matches on the show were all too similar because they followed the same scripted moves and spots. Richards believes that wrestlers should be allowed to perform freely and trust their instincts, instead of always sticking to a script.

“Everybody had a variety type of thing, but I’ll tell you what, for the rest of that show, guess what? Everybody had the same match. Dare I say it: there were superkicks, DDTs, same apron spots, going to the outside. And Otis and that guy, in my estimation, had the best match of the night, which probably had me heat, too, but I was unwilling to compromise what I was taught to pass along to them and just stand there while somebody who doesn’t know more than me tells me how this is supposed to go.”

In professional wrestling, where creativity and spontaneity play a major role, Stevie Richards feels there’s room for improvement. While NXT training helps develop stars, he believes many wrestlers aren’t fully prepared to take the next step because they lack the freedom to trust their instincts in the ring.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.