Since its early stages as a developmental brand, up until it managed to set itself apart and become its own, proper show and beyond, NXT has been jam-packed full of great stories, moments, and rivalries. Some of those have been battles between sworn enemies who were once close friends. However, this is a trope often used in NXT, perhaps to their own detriment, and sometimes it really hurts them when they run with this storytelling technique.

Kevin Owens And Sami Zayn Set Out The Blueprint

The first, notable time this happened on NXT was when newly debuted Kevin Owens turned on his long-time best friend, and new NXT Champion, Sami Zayn. It was a huge, shocking moment to the end of an early Takeover event, which helped WWE’s third brand early on, giving the fans a major feud full of emotion.

Kevin Owens standing over Sami Zayn

The fans adored Sami Zayn, with the Full Sail University crowd in those days being some of the most passionate and involved fans WWE had ever seen. They despised Owens for what he did, and what followed was a great kickstart to NXT reaching greater heights. Owens destroyed Zayn in their match for NXT Championship, winning via referee stoppage, in a match which put Owens over hugely. It helped all parties, and it was something unique at this point.

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Not long later though, in the same year no less, it happened again. Finn Balor, who had won the belt from Owens, was turned on by friend and tag team partner, Samoa Joe. This one didn’t hit as strongly, as it was widely expected to happen, and the pair hadn’t had too much of a history to this point, so the turn fell a little flat. Their rivalry didn’t feel as intense as Owens and Zayn, and it suffered in tension and audience immersion. The pair just didn’t quite click with any smooth chemistry, so it was an underwhelming use of the ‘friends turned into enemies’ device.

Samoa Joe Finn Balor Dusty Rhodes Classic

Gargano And Ciampa Took It To Unreachable Heights

Later down the line, tag team partners Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano entered a hugely personal rivalry, after Ciampa turned on his former ally, following a failed attempt at regaining the NXT Tag Team Championships. The pair had wars with one another, with the feud being made deep and personal, invading homes, bringing up family, and punishing each other in extreme contests that were rich with story. Their trio of Takeover main events were near perfect, completing their feud and cementing Ciampa as the NXT Champion and biggest heel on the black-and-gold brand.

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Tommasio Ciampa Johnny Gargano NXT Takeover

However, the book on this feud was reopened. With some awkward booking decisions on the main roster, which meant that Gargano and Ciampa would have to team up, along with some ill-timed injuries, Ciampa ended up turning face, and the two slowly became allies once more. That was until Gargano turned heel on his partner this time around, resulting in a dud ending to their epic rivalry. They faced off in a cinematic, empty arena match that was long, plodding, and overproduced. Whilst that certainly wasn’t ideal, fans can still look back fondly on the initial story between the friends who turned enemies, but ultimately, that trope hurt it as NXT couldn’t stop returning to it.

Adam Cole And Kyle O’Reilly Failed To Meet Expectations

Within the last year, NXT have tried to replicate what it had with Gargano and Ciampa, by having Adam Cole turn on partner and friend, Kyle O’Reilly. It was a turn that didn’t need to happen, and in hindsight, has benefitted no one. O’Reilly has struggled to find his footing as a face, losing the cocky attitude that made him so good in the first place.

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Adam Cole Kyle O'Reilly NXT

He and Cole were given a trilogy of matches to settle their feud, but none lived up to the hype as they tried too hard to copy the Gargano/Ciampa epics. Given the talent involved, people expected it too, but were instead let down by slow, methodical matches. The problem with going back to this trope, is that it will always be compared to what came before, and with those lofty expectations being sky high, its unlikely that it will be that good again.

Friends Turned Rivals Has Become A Tired Storyline In NXT

This trope has been used so much that when Dakota Kai recently turned on Raquel Gonzalez, everyone saw it coming. Kai herself had turned on tag partner Tegan Nox previously, so it was a matter of when for her turn on Gonzalez. That took away the tension and shock. If NXT didn’t do it so much, then perhaps it wouldn’t have been so predictable.

Dakota Kai Tegan Nox Racquel Gonzalez

The examples given are just the main culprits of where this trope has been clear, but it has been littered throughout NXT’s history; Shirai/LeRae, Riddle/Thatcher, Strong/Dunne. As singular events, they are all done well, but as time has gone on, it has become tiresome due to their being so many, with the recent Cole/O’Reilly and Gonzalez/Kai rivalries being the most obvious and recent examples.