As DeMott explains it, at least, some developmental talent saw the changes that came with the move to the Performance Center as punishment, as a lot more was being asked of them. In some cases, the differences were pretty extreme.

“Unfortunately, there were guys and girls in the system that had been there six years and no one knew their names,” he explained. “When I got to FCW, there was four people on their roster, on their attendance list, that no one had seen in a year and a half.” He added that he would always ask talent if they would go to the Performance Center if they weren’t being paid, and 90% said no.

“It was the long game,” he continued. “And this is where it got muddy, because you had some independent guys making a great living, made a name for themselves, came into NXT or came into the Performance Center, and they want to know, ‘Why do I have to do this again?’ And my answer was, ‘If you’re happy where you are, and you’re making money, you’re making your schedule, you’re loving life, and you’re loving wrestling, this is not the place for you.’ I was very honest. But if you want to be here and get the opportunity to be who you can be and who you want to be, this is the way it’s done.” It took a lot of one-on-one conversations with talent to convince them to stick with the system after previously having made a full-time living on the indies.

“If this isn’t for you, I get it. Go have fun at what you’re doing,” he said. “You don’t have to be here.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Developmentally Speaking” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.