Alright, so I got this idea to make my own NXT match card the other day. You know, just for fun, maybe post it somewhere or just have it. Seemed simple enough.
Getting Started (or Trying To)
First thing, I figured I’d just use one of those online graphic maker websites. They always advertise how easy it is, drag and drop, templates, blah blah blah. So I found one, signed up, and started poking around. Looked for a decent template that felt kinda like the NXT style.
Man, what a mistake that was. The site was slow as molasses. Ads popping up everywhere, trying to get me to upgrade to premium. Finding the right elements was a pain, the search function was useless. I spent maybe 20 minutes just fighting the interface.
This whole thing reminded me of something else…
It took me back years ago. I was trying to help out a local community theatre group. They needed a simple poster for their play. I told them, “Sure, I can whip something up!” Found some free design software online. Seemed powerful enough. I spent like, a whole Saturday afternoon on it. Got the layout right, picked the fonts, imported their logo, everything.
Looked pretty good, I thought. Saved it. Then, right when I was about to export it to send to them, the damn program just froze. Crashed completely. Okay, deep breaths. Restarted the computer. Opened the program back up. The file? Corrupted. Gone. Hours of work, just vanished.
I felt so stupid. And angry. Why do companies push out this garbage that doesn’t even work reliably? It’s like they don’t care about people’s time. Just throw something out there and hope for the best. I ended up having to use super basic presentation software, like the kind you use for boring office meetings, just to make something for the theatre group last minute. It looked terrible, but it was better than nothing. That experience really stuck with me. Made me super wary of “free” and “easy” tools online ever since.
Back to the NXT Card
So yeah, messing with that slow, ad-filled online match card maker? It brought all that frustration back. I just closed the browser tab. Said nope, not doing this again. Not gonna waste my time fighting with junk.
Decided to do it the slightly harder, but more reliable way. I opened up an old image editing program I have installed on my computer. Not the fanciest one, but it works, and I know how to use it.
- Found a good high-res picture of the wrestlers involved.
- Searched around for a clean NXT logo and maybe a background texture I could use.
- Started layering things up. Put the background in place, faded it a bit.
- Dropped the wrestler pics in, cut them out roughly so they looked decent.
- Added the text. Wrestler names, the event name, maybe a date. Tried a few fonts until one looked bold and clean enough.
- Positioned the NXT logo where it usually goes.
- Messed with the colors and brightness a bit to make it look kind of dramatic.
It took a bit longer, sure. Had to actually think about the layers and the effects, not just drag and drop. But you know what? It didn’t crash. I had full control. No annoying pop-ups. No asking for my credit card.
The Result
In the end, I got a pretty decent looking match card graphic. Maybe not professional level, but it looks like what I wanted it to look like. And I made it myself, using tools I could actually rely on. Sometimes skipping the supposed “easy” way saves you a lot more headache in the long run. That’s my little adventure making an NXT match card, anyway. Just stick with what works, you know?
