NXT and Impact Wrestling Reax - 4/24/14

Read on for my thoughts on last night's NXT and Impact Wrestling.
NXT:
I thought that was as good of a way as any to take the title off Paige without her looking weak. It will be interesting to see who steps up and takes the title. I think NXT some some good Divas, but once you take Paige and Emma out of the equation, they might not have great Divas anymore. That's not a burial of anyone. I'm just not really sold on anyone as being that ready yet.

I'm getting further sold on the pairing of Lana and Rusev the more I see them. This act's gaining ground and I hope it's successful for both individuals.

That was pretty good from Rusev as far as smashing people goes. He's an impressive physical specimen.

I liked the Adam Rose interview. It kind of made sense for Rose to brand Camacho as boring given Rose's gimmick, so I didn't really see it as a needless burial. Rose has got some potential as an act. I'm just not sold on his wrestling skills in this gimmick yet.

Not a bad showing at all by Charlotte there. I think she needed to get the win and look good here with two top Divas leaving. She's the obvious top pick as the new champ despite her inexperience. I think I'd send a Diva or two back down to NXT to work with the up-and-comers. Some of them aren't really doing anything on the main roster.

That was a pretty good match from Kidd and Ryan. It doesn't look like Ryan's going to be back on the main roster any time soon, but it's good to know he's working to improve. He definitely looks better than he did as the generic big muscle.

That was a nice promo from Tyson. He's got potential, but we've known this for years.

Good enough little squash from Dawkins and Breeze. Both men are coming along, but I don't think we "need" Breeze on the main roster yet like some think. The gimmick is good, though.

Cool next step between Neville and Clay. I like NXT's straightforward focus on building feuds without a lot of BS.

Really good main event for featuring some of NXT's top prospects. I see good things for all of the NXT people here. It's just mainly a matter of finding the best roles for them. Could a Breeze/Graves "odd couple" tandem work? They both have good things going for them but are missing something to take them to the next level.

Impact Wrestling:
So, the Magnus/Abyss teaming lasted about a month and a half. TNA doesn't really seem like they have long-term plans these days. Of course some are saying they might not have to bother with those given how things have gone for them from a business perspective the past year.

Good segment between EC3 and Spud. I'm sure EC3 will get eaten alive by Angle at Sacrifice whether this is Angle's last year in TNA or not.

Angle returning and squashing someone who's basically fodder makes sense. I don't know how much more Angle has left in the tank or how long he's sticking around, but hopefully he's still got some good performances left in him.

I could see TNA pulling some kind of fast one with EC3 and Spud escaping the wrath of the former WWE/TNA Champions on Sunday, but I still think Angle and Willow will look like top stars when it's over.

Good Beautiful People segment. I like the act well enough even if it's not really breaking any new ground.

I like Kenny King's new gimmick. I hope he's on his way to a run with the X-Division Title.

Velvet and Angelina are definitely being booked as heels usually are here, so I guess Madison's face by default? Or maybe TNA just doesn't care anymore. I don't know if I would if I was in their position either.

This Anderson/Shaw thing could be interesting. Or stupid. It is TNA after all. Maybe Anderson will find Knux while he's out and about?

Good continuation of the Knockouts division. I wonder if they'll have Brittany become the third member of the Beautiful People to elevate her? That could be cool.

Pretty good match between King and Lashley. I think both guys had something to prove there and made the most of their TV time.

Good post-match.

The Shaw/Christy thing just got so much weirder. I like it, though.

Beer Money make great heels. I'm so ready for them to make their return. They did a good job of explaining why they're back together despite their past issues.

Good match between Aries and MVP. Why are neither of these guys competing at Sacrifice again? MVP could easily make Aries vs. King.

Good job putting over Sanada. I wonder how long he'll be hanging out in TNA.

This could end up really weird with Anderson and Shaw's mom.

Ahhh... good to see Beer Money back together. Good stuff. I look forward to Sacrifice from an in-ring perspective.

Good Magnus promo.

No telling what Anderson will find down there. This is getting pretty creepy.

TNA's goofy cameraman gimmick aside, that was REALLY #&$*ing weird. I almost feel bad for Shaw's character for whatever crazy #&$* has driven him to this. He did tease suicide at Lockdown after all.

Good Knockouts tag match for the length of time it got. I'm guessing Madison survives on Sunday to keep things going in this feud.

Good stuff with Knux and his girl. I'm willing to give him a chance as a babyface.

Good stuff from Abyss, too. It will be interesting to see where they go with him from here.

I liked the promo from The Wolves. I think Sunday will be a fitting end to the feud.

Meh. Nothing too amazing from Magnus and Abyss, but this was just something to move the story along.

Solid ending to get heat on Magnus going into Sunday. I imagine Abyss could be involved in the ending. I can see a three-way feud coming on.

More wrestling coming up.