The main strength to Impact right now (consistency) NXT does a better job of than TNA. It's a guaranteed solid-to-great show every week with virtually no filler crap or Hogan.
There's a lot of variety and very little wasted time. Start off with a well-built (fan-freaking-tastic) rematch. Next segment: Showcase a new tag team! Next segment: Divas' tournament. Next segment: Fairly well hyped title match. Variety. Consistency.
Maybe it's the lack of being able to smart-mark the hell out of it. Maybe it's because it's a self-contained show and it feels like a hyped-up TV match instead of a lackluster PPV match, but the NXT Title matches always get me pumped, even though Big E doesn't do that much for me (unless he's in a long match) and Bo Dallas is the master of X-Pac Heat. (Wonder if when he said "I don't know what to say", that was a cue :haha
But the booking... oh, boy, the booking. Cesaro was a boss at playing a big bully character, especially for someone his size. He got a lot of offense in, but they really put over Zayn's toughness. Cesaro gets the win, but poor wittle ol' Zayn looked so good in defeat here that both men got put over in one segment. Then there's a squash, but since the Trailer Park Boys are debuting that's fine, and the simple dynamic of sticking that hilarious French manager with him that doesn't belong at all makes the act really compelling. Then Bayley does a great job of playing up the happy-go-lucky upstart babyface to remind the fans that Alicia's a heel, so next round when Paige defeats her (not a spoiler, just an assumption) she'll beat a jerk AND a former Divas' champion for whatever that's worth. Then the main event solidified Bo's heel turn and let Big E move on from NXT.
WHY CAN YOU NOT DO THIS ON RAW? IT'S EASY! Just hope they don't touch the Dallas character, this is gold.
