Four Mistakes the WWE Made With Sanity

A couple of years back the WWE introduced Sanity to the NXT Universe a faction made up of four very interesting and unhinged superstars. Eric Young, Sawyer Fulton, Nikki Cross and Alexander Wolf formed the newest faction on the black and gold brand and the group immediately stood out for being extremely different and possessing a great deal of momentum. Several months later fans witnessed Killian Dane replace Fulton and the faction went from strength to strength becoming a key factor on the roster, however, when we fast forward to the present-day Sanity is no longer and each superstar has gone off to do their own thing.  The WWE had a faction who truly could have brought something special to either RAW or Smackdown LIVE, however, things never quite worked out but exactly what did the WWE get wrong?

Joining Smackdown LIVE at the Wrong time

In June of last year, the WWE universe was introduced to Sanity, the former NXT faction made up of Killian Dane, Nikki Cross, Alexander Wolf, and Eric Young and after their impressive and dominant time on the black and gold brand NXT fans were excited to see what these four superstars were about to bring to Smackdown LIVE. Their intense characters and unique style gave them an advantage and interesting edge but what became clear within weeks of their main roster debut was the timing of their arrival on the blue brand was a key problem. Not only was Nikki Cross kept away from the call-up (something we will discuss later on) but the trio was not consistently booked, fans rarely saw anything from them, and the WWE made little to no effort in allowing fans to get to know these new faces. The tag team division on Smackdown LIVE was growing and it became clear so quickly that the company had no major plans for them. While they had already done so much in NXT it would have benefited Sanity to remain in developmental for several extra months and wait for the perfect timing instead of calling them up with no true direction awaiting them.

Not Calling Nikki Cross up at the Same Time

While the idea of Sanity alone brings something completely different to the WWE with their convincing and entertaining portrayal of unhinged, unpredictable lunatics the one thing that truly gave Sanity the extra edge was Nikki Cross. Arguably one of the strongest and most charismatic stars of the faction she grew to also become the most popular and over and it was of course refreshing to see a female superstar involved in such a big growing faction. Not calling Cross up the same time as the rest of Sanity was one of the very first mistakes the WWE made with this group. The company had taken away one of the biggest unique and exciting aspects of the faction and without her things just didn’t seem the same. There are reasons to support why Cross remained on the NXT roster, however, but her presence on Smackdown LIVE could have invited exciting content and given fans an even greater reason to talk about this new and exciting team.

The Lack of Focus on Eric Young’s Career

Nikki Cross may have been one of the most exciting members of Sanity but there is no denying that former Impact Wrestling star Eric Young was the most experienced. There was, of course, a huge reaction during the NXT debut of Sanity when Eric Young was revealed to be the leader of this new faction. During the early months, Young was the driving force behind Sanity and was a strong part of why they became such a major talking point. He provided the star quality the faction needed to make an impact and draw in the fans, however, upon their main roster arrival the WWE paid zero attention to that experience and star quality Young brought to the table. If we had seen more emphasis on his manipulative skill, the power and control he has over his teammates, his experience and motives then things could have very easily turned out very different for Sanity. The company failed to push Young as the top talent he is and if they had focused more on young being a world champion/ main event style star from the beginning the faction could have received much greater success.

No Focus on Their Unique Advantages

Throughout their time on the Black and Gold brand, Sanity was given the chance on numerous occasions to show what they really brought to the table as a team and their style in the ring catered well to the unhinged and unpredictable characters they portrayed. From hardcore spots to fearless monoverse outside the ring, Sanity was ruthless and dangerous and had all the potential in the world to showcase hardcore wrestling in the WWE today at its very best. From Nikki Cross’ performance in the first ever last woman standing match up to what we saw in War Games from the male members of Sanity, this was a team who had the abilities to bring a much darker and more intense mood to Smackdown LIVE, yet the company again failed these stars. If the WWE had pushed them and given each superstar here the chance to work those big stipulation matches on the main roster, they could have so easily left fans speechless and obsessed with all things Sanity. The group had the edge and the hardcore style on their side but simply not the booking.

It’s clear several mistakes were made when it comes to the handling of Sanity. While their time in NXT was spent very well the WWE dropped the ball massively here and missed out on something very special. If booked correctly and used in the right manner this is a faction that could have changed the game and brought something very new and exciting to the main roster and it’s a shame thing never worked out the way they should have.

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