Report: WWE NXT Still Internally Viewed As 'Developmental'

The first Monday Night Raw back in front of fans this past week was a largely enjoyable show, but two segments featuring stars moulded in WWE NXT had a large portion of the audience scratching their heads.

NXT Champion Karrion Kross made his main roster debut on the show. Kross, who had been undefeated in 18 months since debuting in WWE on the black-and-gold brand, was rolled-up and pinned by Jeff Hardy for his first defeat in a match that lasted less than three minutes.

Elsewhere on the card, former NXT Champion Keith Lee made his return to action after a five month absence, only to be cleanly beaten by WWE Champion Bobby Lashley. Not the biggest injustice but still a clear indication of how Lee is considered within the promotion.

Those two instances are just the latest in a long line of NXT talent being 'mistreated' on the WWE main roster - at least, that's the opinion of hardcore NXT fans. A new report from Jon Alba gives an indication as to why.

Alba reports that sources have indicated to him that NXT is still officially looked at internally as WWE's 'developmental' territory, rather than the promotion's third brand.

NXT Executive Producer Triple H and his team have worked hard to promote and sell NXT as WWE's third brand in recent years, with many fans enjoying the wrestling product on the black-and-gold show over Raw or SmackDown. However, it seems the powers that be still see NXT more as a training facility than an actual wrestling promotion.