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.
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.
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