What Is the One Problem with NXT's Invasion Special?
When NXT general manager Ava announced the Invasion special during the No Mercy broadcast, fans responded with positive fanfare and excitement. However, one of the issues with this special is the timing of the event and the fact that there is not enough time for a proper build for an event of this caliber. Also, I personally dislike that this event is being shown on TV rather than given the Premium Live Event spotlight. However, this will be a monumental night for both the NXT and TNA brands, yet the event is scheduled for October 7th, a week from now, and will air on the CW Network. I believe this is a missed opportunity to build a storyline between the two brands.
When the rumblings of an invasion storyline were planted, wrestling fans responded with excitement because many of us, such as myself, were not even born yet when the first Invasion happened in April 2001. That storyline spanned a couple of months leading into the Invasion PPV in the Summer of 2001 and continued through November 2001, ending at the Survivor Series PPV. Now, 24 years later, both companies have a chance to put the adequate spotlight on both brands and showcase the future of the WWE in NXT and superstars of the TNA roster. However, with only a week until the event, they are throwing a card together to hype up the event. Of course, having five-on-five Survivor Series elimination matches is fun, but there has to be a proper build to this. Let both rosters interact with each other for a month and have the payoff in November; it could have been part of Survivor Series weekend in San Diego. NXT superstars such as Trick Williams and Kelani Jordan are already holding TNA World Championships. Having TNA stars such as Mike Santana, who has been feuding with Williams for months, and Indi Hartwell win the belts back for their brand on Invasion would have been the perfect ending point to this storyline.
Another match announced for Invasion so far is the winner-take-all match between the NXT Tag Team Champions, DarkState, taking on the TNA Tag Team Champions, The Hardy Boys. This should be another fun match, but if built properly, it could have had some momentum behind it. A veteran tag team taking on a young group that has been terrorizing both rosters is a perfect storyline for these two teams. Now, it just looks like the Hardy Boys will win the NXT Tag Team titles and, therefore, will be back on WWE TV again. I understand that most wrestling fans will watch this special due to the excitement of seeing brand warfare, but there has to be a proper build to it, rather than just throwing the card together just for the sake of it.
Overall, I do not doubt that Invasion will deliver, but as a wrestling fan, you don’t just show up to watch a show because your favorite wrestlers are performing. You show up because of the stories that are being told, and fans want to know what happens next. Both companies should also want the most eyes on the product as possible. TNA, in particular, should have wanted this event on a streaming service because this would have been great for them, for a bigger audience to see their stars perform under the WWE banner, and both companies would get far more exposure with an event of this caliber on a streaming service rather than live television. Yet, the special is almost here, and even if both companies missed the mark on this one, fans will certainly hope that this event will create moments for wrestling fans.
