A Lot Of Little Things Can Make A Big Difference

[Jack-Hammer]

I was watching last night's episode of NXT and I thought it was a shining example of the difference in general, overall consistency between NXT and the main roster. I'm not saying that I enjoy every single little thing that goes on, that every storyline is some masterpiece or every match is a classic. However, NXT reminds me of something that TNA was at one point a long time ago: an alternative to WWE. There are a lot of little things that happen in NXT that could improve things overall on the main roster, in my opinion.

Time Management - Given that NXT is only 1 hour each week, one thing that the show is able to do with almost no effort is making the most of the time it has. Last night, for instance, saw the continuance of the major storylines going on in what felt like a simple and natural way. There's very, very little filler in NXT. Even squash matches that are shown on NXT actually have a purpose other than filling a minute or so of air time.

Commentary - One of NXT's biggest differences from the main roster has been the consistent quality of commentary. The commentators in NXT don't waste time by trying to make lame jokes, especially while there's a match going on inside the ring. The commentators actually do what commentators did in the old days: they keep the focus on the match itself, the story being told in the match, hyping the wrestlers involved in the match and hyping the product as a whole. Watch NXT for a month and compare the commentary to Raw or SD! and you'll be wanting to reach through the television and gouge out Michael Cole's eyeballs before ramming them down Lawler's throat after he tells another corny joke that MIGHT have been funny when Leave It To Beaver was on the air. Though, to be fair, it's not entirely their fault because, sometimes, they're only doing what Vince tells them to do.

Promos - I'm not saying that there aren't good promos that are cut on the main roster, we all know there are, but few of them have the same organic and natural feel that we see on NXT. The reason for that is simple: promos in NXT aren't scripted as they are on the main roster. Vince is sooooooo obsessed with feeling like he has to have every single little detail under thumb, it's as though he's worried a wrestler is suddenly gonna go off the reservation and say something like "You know what...fuck this place and fuck you Vince, I quit." If a wrestler truly wanted to do that, all the scripting in the world wouldn't be able to stop them. Even though there's like a 5 second time delay in "live" programming, thanks a lot Janet Jackson, there probably wouldn't be enough time to edit out a lot of what the wrestler said. And besides, even if there was, it'd be on the internet within a matter of seconds. Someone would load a video of great quality onto YouTube or Twitter or Facebook. Again, I'm not saying that every NXT promo is some classic, but there's a freshness to them that you don't see a lot on the main roster.

Champions Look Good - I don't know if this has happened in NXT, I can't recall if it has or not but I don't think it has, but one thing you see in NXT are champions booked consistently to look strong. One thing that bugs me half to death on the main roster is wrestlers earning title shots by pinning the champion or forcing him/her to submit. Even if the match is great, it still gets under my skin. The format used to be a wrestler had to defeat other top contenders in order to earn a title shot, not beat the champion himself/herself. If you beat the champion by pinfall or submission, that's supposed to mean that you're the new champion. If that's happened in NXT, I honestly don't recall. For instance, two of the three champs in NXT had matches last night, they won their matches, and they helped make their opponents look good. It's such a simple concept and, in my opinion, it's one that works. Every once in a blue moon, and I mean once in a blue moon, it's fun to see a wrestler get a non-title win over the champ and possibly earn a title shot, but it's done way too often on the main roster. I also hate seeing mid-card champions lose to main event talent so often on the main roster. For instance, while Dolph Ziggler & Randy Orton had a helluva match last night on Raw, Ziggler didn't need to lose. They could have still had this little game of "I'm better than you" between Orton & Rollins by having strong matches that ended in something like a double count out or double disqualification. Nothing would have been settled between them but nothing was settled anyway since both won their matches.

 

[GeminiGarlord]

Yup agree with almost everything.

Although I won't necessarily say that NXT commentary is "old school", on the contrary, it's quite sport-entertainment-y, but delivered way better than in raw and from people that seem to be trained exactly for that.

Also NXT would really need 20/30 minutes more for promos, it's the only thing it lacks (quantitatively, not qualitatively)

But yeah, It is basically the best product WWE put out in a long long while.

 

[L@RISANO]

Whilst I agree with the majority of what you said JH, I don't agree with the notion that Dolph Ziggler shouldn't have been pinned because he is a MidCard champion.

At the end of the day, both Orton and Rollins are Main Event Superstars, Dolph Ziggler isn't. Thus, them beating him clean reinforces the fact that they are better than him. In addition, there is no indication that Ziggler is in line for a Main Event push soon, so I actually think being able to hang in the ring with the above mentioned guys actually could be a plus rather than a minus.

As for the loss to Rusev...wasn't that on SmackDown?
And even then, I think that sort of(unfortunately) means that Rusev might be in line for a Main Event level feud soon enough, and thus he might never fight for the US/IC title, though that seems to be logical for his gimmick(US title vs Sheamus).

 

[DCLXVI]

My major agreements with this are the natural flow of the story lines that are not confusing - you pretty much go in understanding who's fighting who and why (a concept lost on WWE lately), time management (do we really need the dreaded 20 minute opening promo when you have a roster of hungry talented guys going after TV time) and COMMENTARY (Oh God the commentary). The commentators on WWE seem detached and like they don't give a shit and do not enhance the product - they basically shit all over it (especially JBL). I do like Renee Young's commentary and William Regal had the best as in actually calling and describing wrestling holds from a wrestler standpoint.

 

[enviousdominous]

If you've ever worked a managerial position, you really learn how sometimes less really is more.

I've found that two people working on a time crunch can get a lot more done with better quality than five people with all the time in the world.

My point is that at one time TNA was only surviving day to day on their ability to make every show happen as if it was their farewell show. Their thing really wasn't promos or goofy commentary, they were all about giving 110% in the ring and sending the crowd home more excited than they were before they arrived. Then TNA found mainstream fame and had enough room to make some questionable business decisions, and we ended up with Hogan crawling around a blood soaked ring trying to find the razor he dropped.

NXT hopefully recognizes that there is huge appeal in a low-key presentation. Some people just want to watch some pro-wrestling that actually involves wrestling. It will become trendy just like anything else, but hopefully won't try to be any bigger than what it is. It's a safe alternative to the WWE like MC Jack-Hammer said. Keeping it as a haven for IWC obsessed indie stars is the smartest thing the WWE could do in terms of nurturing future talent. Hopefully this all means that performers will have more experience before they're thrown on national tv.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

NXT being "trendy" isn't the key and saying it is would be doing it a dis-service. The reason NXT works so well is it is FOCUSED, GOAL ORIENTED TV. TV built around the wrestlers themselves rather than the WWE Universe and TV constraints.

Those on NXT are the "future" of the WWE as we will hear ad nauseum from announcers going forward. On the main roster, you have the stars, the middle guys and those who are fed to them but on NXT EVERYONE is there with a view to stepping up in one of those roles to the main roster so no one is there to be wasted or misused. Once a "class" graduates to the main roster, the guy losing every week at the minute, if they have progressed and done well will be the next "bigger guy". Look at Tyler Breeze... he was jobbing as Mike Dalton but a repackage and he's now one of the next in line for not only promotion but a push once he gets there.

NXT's storylines are actually designed for a goal rather than to "fill TV time or build a PPV", take the recent 4 way for the title. Neville was ALWAYS going to win it, it was designed to make him the "hunted" and a credible champion when he escaped with the title, it was designed to make Zayn the underdog and fuel his "never wins the big one" gimmick, Breeze was being prepared for a fast track to the main roster, so putting him in the feud got him in that shop window and Kidd was there to sow the seeds of the current angle with Nattie and their fake divorce for the Diva's show. 4 guys in the feud, 4 different reasons for being there but each episode and appearance built those specific goals. The only reason Breeze hasn't moved up with Miz I am sure is cos Miz-Dow stunned them by getting over so well, not cos of any failure on his part. Neville can now either drop the title to Zayn or more likely keep it until Mania where he drops it in some kind of 4 way scenario with Devitt, Kenta and either Steen or Zayn involved. NXT WILL be involved at Mania this year, that much is guaranteed.

The main roster guys don't get built the same way, there if you are pushed, you get the monster push till it dries up or creative run out of guys to feed to it... It's why Rusev was suddenly thrust against the Rock... Once he beats Show, who else is there who really is a match?

My honest view is NXT in it's current form won't last for long... it'll get too big or will get rebranded into WCW on a TV deal... the groundswell for WCW nostalgia is building and WWE will want to capitalise... It would be a mistake but not cos NXT is perfect or it wouldn't work as WCW... just that by doing so would mean the constraints of TV, getting ratings etc which NXT doesn't have to worry about right now... it's WHY they can do what they do and do it well... the talent can grow in tailor made storylines which benefit winner and loser rather than ratings... the moment you introduce ratings and advertising into the equation... the lightning in a bottle will dissipate.