WWE Want Talent To Join The Main Roster At 25, Not 30 Or 35
WWE’s focus is on younger talent since the switch to NXT 2.0 and the start of the NIL Programme
Mar 30, 2022
WWE’s Next In Line programme (NIL) is in full swing, with WWE procuring the best athletic talent from across North America, and prepping them for life as a WWE Superstar.
Now, in an article by ESPN, WWE's senior vice president for global talent strategy and development James Kimball has confirmed that WWE want to start bringing talent to main roster at a younger age:
"We would like that [age] number to come down, especially on the developmental standpoint. The second you enter our developmental program and then potentially end up on NXT TV and then onto Smackdown or Raw, you want that number to be 25, not 30 or 35."
The NIL is the centrepiece of a shift in focus from WWE, with NIL and NXT 2.0 placing a focus on younger talent that can be moulded in WWE’s image, rather than indie veterans, with the likes of Johnny Gargano, LA Knight, Kushida, and Roderick Strong amongst others above the age of 30 putting over some of NXT 2.0’s younger talent since the move from 'black and gold'.