Evidence Post for 2016

[morbane]

Nominations are now closed, so please do not add evidence for fandoms that have not already been mentioned here.

Please use this post (or its Dreamwidth equivalent) to submit evidence to help us consider fandoms’ eligibility for Yuletide 2016.

It’s a good idea to comment on this post if:

• The fandom you have nominated is closely related to another

Comments

[apgeeksout]

Fandom: NXT
Possible issue with the fandom/characters: Closely-related to World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE
Evidence for why this fandom/characters should be considered eligible:

Is it published in a different medium?

Yes. NXT is a weekly program that streams online on the WWE Network (a paid subscription service) and on a slight delay on Hulu; other WWE programming airs on basic cable and pay-per-view.

Is it marketed as a separate series or distinct sub-series?

Yes. NXT is the "developmental territory" for the main WWE roster, analogous to the minor league affiliates of an MLB team. Performers/characters are in training for and may eventually graduate to the main roster, but are in the meantime having matches the results of which don't impact the other levels of the company. In addition to the weekly episode, the promotion runs its own schedule of house show live performances separate from the main WWE roster, and t-shirts and other merchandise for NXT characters are sold in a separate NXT category in the official webstore.

Does it focus on different characters, or characters with only minor roles in other canons?

Yes. NXT has a separate roster of performers/characters and the storylines that take place within NXT don't effect the events of Raw, Smackdown, pay-per-view, or other main roster programming. Even when characters move on to the main roster, their histories (rivalries, alliances, accomplishments, etc.) at NXT are often not adopted as part of continuity for their appearances in other WWE programming.

Does it make sense even if you don't know much about the other canons?

Yes. Because there's little overlap in characters and even less carry-over of on-going storylines between NXT and main roster programming, it's possible (and not uncommon) for a viewer to be pretty dedicated to Raw/Smackdown/PPV without following NXT at all & vice-versa.

Relevant AO3 stats:

AO3 treats the NXT fandom tag as synned with the "World Wrestling Entertainment", but the handful of regular writers in the fandom tend to be consistent about tagging for NXT separately, and search on AO3 for "NXT" turns up 251 works with NXT in the tags or description, many of which are <1000 words. None of the characters likely to be nominated under NXT are tagged in more than 1000 AO3 works of any length; most will range from not having an existing AO3 character tag to appearing in a double-digit number of fics.

NXT was eligible as a separate fandom from WWE in both Yuletide 2014 & 2015 and the 2015 & 2016 rounds of Night on Fic Mountain, which uses similar rules to determine fandom size/rarity.