There was an interesting moment early in this week’s main event that, when connected with another, made for nice storytelling. Moose, Oba Femi, and Je’Von Evans used a very reluctant Trick Williams as a weapon against DarkState outside the ring. Trick not only took out the crew but looked like his old babyface self for a second. He came back into the ring and, for the first time, looked like someone happy to be a part of the team. Contrast that with earlier where he made it known he possessed Ls to hand out to each of his teammates as soon as this night ended.
When the match reached its climax, that same guy who looked like he found his old spirit reverted back to the person he is now. The TNA champ watched DarkState finish off the Young OG and did nothing when he could’ve lent at least two helping hands. That moment showed a man who might want to come back from the brink and be his old self, but just can’t get out of his way. It added complexity and humanity to one of NXT’s longest tenured wrestlers, something he’s lacked a bit in recent weeks.
The problem is I don’t trust NXT to go anywhere with that because it’s such an inconsistent show. The fact that DarkState was this episode’s main event entertainment illustrates that point perfectly.
The territory still doesn’t have a beat on DarkState. Are they NWO-lite or just another faction? Do they want to takeover NXT or do they just want to wrestle random matches against anyone? Are they a rebel group who management wants eradicated or are they no different than the rest of NXT’s violent offenders? When Oba addressed his tag partners, he noted this was their moment to get rid of the DarkState threat. I asked Oba (which I frequently do while watching tv) how are they a threat? Sometimes they’re on TV, sometimes they’re not. And when they are, their motivations are fluid. To say nothing of them supposedly being so hellbent on taking over NXT that they made a pitstop in TNA.
DarkState is a microcosm of everything in NXT right now. Because this show is basically TNA x NXT, wrestlers come and go. Things that seem important one week are dropped the next only to be a thing later on. There’s no momentum for anything because there’s just too much of everything else rather than telling concise stories that help the talent in Orlando. I can’t get emotionally invested when I know there’s a chance this wrestler or storyline goes nowhere or will disappear for far too long.
There’s a lot of promise on the WWE’s CW show, but it feels squandered right now because it’s unfocused. Which is ironic for a company with a group that calls itself The Vision.
I didn’t like this show. The opening match set it off nicely and while the main event certainly had moments, I just have no connection with DarkState. They’re a symptom of a larger problem facing NXT right now, one I’m not sure how they fix. I understand the business reasons for this TNA connection but answering to so many masters is making a discombobulated show. As Geno said, it doesn’t seem like NXT knows what to do with anyone not named Oba Femi.
That’s not a good thing.
What say you, Cage Siders?
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