A WWE producer has stressed the importance of match reps, warning that fewer bouts today are slowing wrestler development.

Speaking on Dan Marston’s podcast, former WWE Tag Team Champion Tyson Kidd (TJ Wilson) compared LA Knight’s workload to what he’s seen on the independent scene.

“The experience and the reps people get at that level lead to exponential improvement,” Wilson said. “It’s almost unbelievable how much they grow , it’s remarkable. But that’s where things get a little tricky now. I saw that LA Knight had the most matches in WWE last year with 64. Then I did a seminar and asked some guys how many matches they’d had, and one said around 100 in a year.”

He broke down the long term impact, noting how quickly the gap grows over time.

“I told him, ‘In three years, at that rate, you’ll have 300 matches. Meanwhile, our most active guy would be at about 190 just doing the math,’” he added.

Wilson warned that limited schedules could leave some talent far behind.

“That’s why we’re going to start needing people with that level of experience. If our most experienced guy has that many matches, what about someone only getting 15 a year? In three years, they’d still be under 50. That’s a huge gap in development.”

WWE’s reduced house show schedule has only added to the issue, cutting down one of the traditional ways talent gained valuable in ring experience, a concern also raised by John Cena in a recent interview.