This week's episode of NXT, unbeknownst to viewers, is the last one that will be taped alongside episodes of Friday Night Smackdown.
Beginning next week, NXT will originate from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, just outside of Orlando, and will share taping space with Florida Championship Wrestling, WWE's developmental program. Not only that, but senior announcer Jim Ross will join the broadcast team. Episodes will now be taped in 3 week increments, with the first taping having taken place tonight. What isn't certain is if Ross will replace the extra-busy Josh Mathews, or join Mathews & William Regal at the desk. Ross & Regal have already done some broadcasting together on FCW recently, so there is some chemistry there.
On this week's NXT, no mention was made of this change. For that matter, as I outlined in the NXT report, the storylines that had been running on NXT in recent weeks were mysteriously discarded without any sort of explanation. Then again, NXT has been existing in its own pocket universe of late, with not a single tie-in to either Smackdown or Raw. GM John Laurinaitis has been mentioned in passing, and, save for recaps from the other shows, hasn't polluted NXT with his presence. Yet.
What will make things interesting in the Sunshine State is the fact that in 2 weeks, TNA Impact Wrestling will once again attempt to go live from the Impact Zone at Universal Studios, also in Orlando. While TNA doesn't charge admission for their shows that I know of, they still run the risk of losing fans to WWE with the live events running head to head at least once a month. Granted, TNA is forever trying to compete with WWE, and failing, but at the same time, they're also copying a lot of the mistakes that have been made in the course of its 10-year existence.
And, then, you add to this the news that WWE will copy what WCW did with Monday Nitro a number of years back and expand Raw to 3 hours starting July 23. That means no more "NCIS" repeats leading into Raw. If Vince McMahon thinks Raw's ratings, which went in the tank this week, dipping to 2.9, thanks to the overexposure of Laurinaitis, for one thing, will increase with an expanded show, he's.....well, let's put it this way. He's only proving what some of us already know. He's insane. Shoot, I can remember when Raw was a mere 1 hour show when it started....!
Back to the Florida Wars for a moment. It's just going to come down to who blinks first. I think we know the answer to that one, but for those of us who cover this silliness for a living, all of a sudden, things are proposing to be exciting again, just as long as we can hold out hope that WWE's Uncreative team can finally figure out a way to get rid of "Johnny Ace" and find someone else to be the GM. Easier said than done, considering that the big boss is nuttier than a box of Snickers bars.
Two years ago, TNA tried to move to Mondays, but that didn't even last six months before they backtracked from that idea. What makes them think going live every Thursday will change their luck? Guess what? It ain't gonna happen. For TNA to move forward, they need to put more emphasis on the "home-grown" talent. Sure, Bobby Roode, who's been with TNA since '03, is the current champ, but he tends to be overshadowed by the old boys (Angle, Bully Ray, Hogan, RVD, etc.), no matter what he does. On TV, they may be the only game in town on Thursdays, unless their target audience is close to a computer and can watch Superstars over and over again, but in Orlando, they will have a problem at least once a month. And WWE's out to prove that 1 week a month in Orlando for them trumps 4 for TNA.
The only way around that is if TNA decides to finally, once and for all, take Impact on the road. At this stage in the game, they practically have to. If they don't, WWE might as well photoshop pictures of Jeff Jarrett & Dixie Carter on animated bugs and put them next to a can of Raid, one with either John Cena, CM Punk, or Triple H's face on it. Ballgame over.
For WWE NXT, the challenge is simple. Close the books on the current, overextended "season", and just admit the series now is open-ended, just like Raw, Smackdown, & Superstars. Stop pretending, because it ain't working anymore. The fans know better, and when it comes to Vince McMahon, they've known better for a long, long time.......
