No Surrender Aftermath/Review Thread

[klunderbunker]

No Surrender 2010
Date: September 5, 2010
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Taz, Mike Tenay

The main thing tonight is the semi-final matches in the world title tournament. They should be good but the rest of the card seems a bit lackluster. It’s not bad but I just don’t really care about what I’m seeing here. Dreamer vs. AJ on PPV? Really? This should be ok though as TNA PPVs can often surprise you. Let’s get to it.

We open with shots of the four guys in the semi-finals getting here earlier in the day. The video is your standard let’s hear from all four guys and get their opinions on the tournament. Nothing special at all but the idea works.

Tag Titles: Generation Me vs. Motor City Machine Guns

Ok so apparently London Brawling isn’t here so this is your replacement. Shelley and Jeremy start us off with some very nifty mat work. Shelley is in shorts here which is a weird look on him. Taz implies the challengers have an attitude now, which probably means a heel turn. Apparently Generation Me are Christian athletes. Nothing wrong with that, but interesting that this comes up just around the time they turn heel.

The fans call them the Bucks of course because they have to be smart right? Oh wait that’s the last name of Gen Me here right? It is as we prove again how stupid the name Generation Me is. Young Bucks is hardly a bad name. Shelley with a reverse Boston Crab into a surfboard. They’ve both been in there the whole time and just as I say that Sabin comes in.

We crank it up as Max hits an INSANE backflip into a Diamond Cutter. Neckbreaker on Shelly on the apron and Shelly may have a bad neck now. It turns into a gymnastics routine, which is always fun if nothing else. These are perfect choices for openers as they’re very exciting and gets the crowd going. I’d prefer them in the middle of the show though as they can breathe life into the show later if things start to drag.

The ring looks a bit smaller than usual here for some reason. Sabin gets the hot tag and it’s on again. Springboard Tornado DDT gets two. Cue R-Truth’s opening line as this is the part where we crank it up. Sabin and Max slug it out in the ring and another tornado DDT is blocked. Gen Me kick the hell out of Shelley and set up for More Bang For Your Buck. In a very innovative counter, Jeremy goes for a superkick but Shelley grabs it and throws the foot into Max’s head. Skull and Bones end it clean.

Rating: B. Solid opener as always between these two. They know how to just make things exciting and fire up the crowd, which is always a great thing to see in the opener. The Guns are without a doubt the best team in the world today and highlight the division about as well as anyone can. Very fast paced match that has me wanting to see the rest of the show.

Post match Gen Me jumps the Guns and beat up Shelley and continue the focus on his neck, including an elevated DDT to the floor. We get an X thrown up from the referee for dramatic effect. Nice to see them as heels for once. Shelley walks off with some help.

Taz and Mike welcome us to the show, 25 minutes in. They run down the main points of the card, which we’ve already bought.

X Division Title: Sabu vs. Douglas Williams

They say that this is the only singles title match tonight, which means the TV Title still isn’t on the line, which is a good thing. These X Factor things are again annoying. We get all these things already but we need a Powerpoint presentation to tell us them again? The Bombay, Michigan thing always makes me chuckle. Williams out moves Sabu to start as Sabu isn’t sure what to do here.

He’s one of those guys that can be decent in the ring but when he gets bad he gets really bad. It depends on how insane he goes I guess. We start on the mat a lot which is a nice change of pace. Slingshot legdrop is kind of a slingshot double boot as it sets up the one arm camel clutch. That name always makes me chuckle.

A table is set up at ringside but we get into the ring before it can be used. The fans of course aren’t happy about us sticking to actual wrestling. Taz talks about his rivalry with Sabu, which is a good thing. I’ve long since thought Lawler needs to remind fans that he used to be a wrestler and even a world champion. Most young fans probably don’t know that and it probably would give him credibility.

Sabu brings in a chair but does nothing with it again. Triple jump moonsault is just barely ok as it gets two. Loud Sabu chant which will be validation to keep him around according to Dixie. We hit the mat again and Williams uses some insane spinning chinlock. This hasn’t been great but it’s no trainwreck at all. Sabu goes No Mercy with a springboard back elbow. Williams kicks the chair into Sabu’s balls and gets a gutwrench suplex for two.

Sabu goes for a big assisted dive but can’t quite get it so he just jumps, and I use that word loosely, over the top. Williams is put on the table but Sabu goes through it instead. Was there a point to that being in the match at all? I mean what did that add at all? Hebner tries to get rid of the chair, allowing a belt shot to the head of Sabu to make Williams retain. Well at least he kept the belt.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t bad really. It’s no classic or anything, but this was much better than I was expecting. Sabu didn’t go completely insane and as usual, it was far better that way. Williams definitely should have won and thankfully he did. This was definitely a passable match and a nice surprise in a way.

Anderson says he’s going to preach tonight and gets the crowd to say they’re assholes. I hate that gimmick.

Madison Rayne vs. Velvet Skye

Madison in leather is something I could get used to. Tara interferes almost immediately as we get a *********ion chant. Damn I hate this crowd at times. Rayne goes for the head of Skye to start as this isn’t as good as expected. Knees to the crotch of Madison makes Taz wonder if that would hurt.

Are there any Knockouts other than the BP and Tara? If there are they never appear on TV. Tara goes for the helmet but Love makes the save. And then Velvet just gets a DDT to get the win. It was as abrupt as it sounds.

Rating: D. This just didn’t do it for me. It was on the exact level as a Divas match with very little wrestling but then again who cares about that when you have boobs? That was only half sarcasm mind you. The division has more or less died over this year and it didn’t get any better here. Pretty bad match.

Hardy, who looks a little blue, says tonight is for RVD. Well of course it is.

Abyss vs. Rhyno

This is falls count anywhere. Rhyno hits a nice dive to take out Abyss and we head to the back. They fight out near the amusement park as Taz is talking about a corndog. I haven’t had one of those in forever. Back into the Impact Zone as it’s your standard one punch knocks you three feet match here. The man beats goes into a trash can to give Abyss control.

The fans want Janice, once again proving how annoying they can be as they cheer the heel. Back on the floor again as Rhyno throws Abyss through part of the stage, where he is followed by Rhyno. The fans chant WE CAN’T SEE, which is true actually. We cut to Tenay and Taz, as I’m guessing Abyss needed a Twinkie break or something. And here comes Rhyno through the other side of the stage.

That gets two for Abyss so he rips apart the guard rail. Rhyno avoids it and hits a running clothesline because the Gore wasn’t appropriate there I guess? The fans chant for Rhyno, showing how fickle they are. Gore misses and a chokeslam onto a trash can gets two. He gets Janice but a Gore puts him down. Naturally it gets two, proving that the Stevie Kick is more powerful than the Gore. Black Hole Slam only gets two which is a surprise. Rhyno gores the guard rail and a Black Hole Slam ends it.

Rating: D+. Just a run of the mill weapons based match. Rhyno kicking out of the first Slam and Abyss doing the same with the Gore were nice surprises but they got no talking or reaction at all. This wasn’t horrible, but at the same time this just didn’t do much for me. Decent little weapons match, but the falls count anywhere portion was pretty pointless at the end of the day.

We recap Jarrett/Joe vs. Nash/Sting. I still don’t get the point of Joe being in this but whatever. This is one of the aspects of the THEY storyline, which isn’t a good thing as it needs to be toned down, but whatever. That and political storylines rarely work in wrestling, so let’s keep doing them right? This video is like 4 minutes long for no apparent reason.

Samoa Joe/Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting/Kevin Nash

Hogan isn’t here again, once again proving his worth to the company. Nash and Sting have the Wolfpack music going here. Sting and Joe start as we talk more about the vague references to things. Taz talks about the politics, which are RIVETING, yes RIVETING I say, to the casual fan that doesn’t get that meaning. Sting in a TNA shirt just looks weird. Joes takes down Nash with a big running jumping kick.

Nash comes in as we talk about how there is no Impact this week. Great to know that on a PPV rather than the TV show but whatever. Nash hits the side slam which is one of my favorite moves. And now we talk about politics and behind the scenes stuff, which makes my head hurt. I watch wrestling for wrestling, not a political drama. Stinger Splash and Jarrett is in trouble.

The crowd cheers for Sting, yet again not getting the point of being fans. Double clothesline and Sting and Jarrett both go down. Hot tag to Joe and the cleaning of house begins. Jarrett gets the bat and pops Sting a few times to a semi-heel (as heel as you can get in TNA that is) and the Clutch from Joe ends it as Sting is out.

Rating: D+. Not bad here but too short to mean much. The idea is that Jarrett shouldn’t have used the bat but did anyway due to insanity or something like that. It’s more overdoing an angle which is the last three months in a nutshell. Yet again a lack of answers which will lead to them just saying the same things over and over again.

We talk about AJ vs. Dreamer, which is the idea of EV 2.0 vs. Fourtune. The video really shows how messed up this feud is as most fans are likely to agree with Fourtune rather than the ECW guys. At least I do.

AJ Styles vs. Tommy Dreamer

I Quit rules. AJ hides behind the ramp to jump Dreamer as he comes through the curtain. Not a bad idea I guess. Shame that it doesn’t work though and we’re off and running. Styles shouts that Dreamer sucks while Dreamer chokes him. Dreamer gets a seated full nelson as he goes No Mercy as well. This has been more or less all Tommy so far, which gives me hope for AJ.

Styles takes over and goes for a figure four on the ramp, but Dreamer pops him with one of the lights that he rips off the ramp. Well that’s different. Crossface with….something across AJ’s mouth doesn’t quite work. Running clothesline while Dreamer is up against the ring. I don’t get how this is worthy of being an I Quit match already but whatever. There goes the padding on the floor which is old school heel stuff here.

Styles Clash on the concrete is blocked and AJ is in trouble after a shoulderbreaker. The fans cheer both guys. Can we get them a lesson in fandom? Semi-Pillmanizer to AJ’s arm and then Dreamer wraps the arm around the chair. AJ pulls a fork out of nowhere and goes for Dreamer’s face, resulting in another crossface. We head to the floor for a bit as Dreamer wraps AJ’s arm around the railing. AJ wraps Dreamer’s ankle around the railing because he’s a copycat. This of course doesn’t work either as we head back into the ring.

Figure four goes on but Dreamer rolls over. Figure Four on the post as I wonder what the post actually adds to it. AJ is kind of obsessed with that hold as he uses it for the third time in like 2 minutes. Dreamer finds the fork AJ had earlier but a Pele sends him to the floor. Suicide dive but AJ jumps into a kendo stick shot. Dreamer gets a crossface with the kendo stick around AJ”s eyes, but it breaks before he quits.

AJ gets another fork (has he been chilling with Abdullah lately?) and apparently stabs Dreamer in the eye with it. A thumb in the eye and a fish hook hold on the mouth makes Dreamer quit. The ending looked great as they continue to try to make AJ a heel no matter what they do. Shame he still gets cheered because HE WRESTLES LIKE A FACE.

Rating: C+. Very brutal and violent match, but again was there a point to having the stipulation there other than to have violence? I know they want it to be like ECW but do they want it to be that aspect of it? I wouldn’t think so, but then again I’m not TNA thank goodness. This was ok, but it just got a bit out there near the end.

Angle says he’ll win.

TNA World Title Tournament – Semi-Finals: Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy

Pope vs. Anderson goes on last? Really? Ah wait make sure we get Dixie a quick cameo. The fans are split here, which makes sense in this match at least. Long feeling out process to start which implies a long match. SICK powerbomb from Angle off a reversal but no cover. The fans think this is awesome three minutes in after one big move. They’re improving I suppose.

Angle is dominating for the most part here but Hardy keeps getting out. It’s rare to see a mostly face vs. face match but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Angle with a reverse bearhug, which more or less equals sitting on the mat with a waistlock on Hardy. Slingshot dropkick misses first but not the second time. The fans of course tell Hardy that he fucked up because Heaven forbid he makes ONE mistake.

Belly to belly from Kurt as he still can throw one of those. Hardy gets a Stunner and Diamond Cutter which is of course called a Twist of Fate. How awesome is that running suplex that Angle does once in awhile? Angle slam sets up the ankle lock but Hardy gets out. Here are the Rolling Germans.

Moonsault and Whisper in the Wind both miss (as in there was no contact on the latter but Angle sold it anyway for two) so we head to the floor. Very solid match so far as they’re doing a slow build pace which is usually a good thing I think. Swanton hits Angle while he is on the floor so everyone is dead. Nice spot, drawing a Jesus Christmas line from Taz. Dixie is concerned and she looks like Morticia Adams.

Back in the ring and they slug it out. Kurt wins, getting a German before an awkward looking Frog Splash for two. The fans think this is awesome and for once they might have a point. It’s pretty damn good at least. After even more back and forth stuff, Angle takes two Swantons and manages to kick out.

A third gets knees and there’s the Angle Slam for two. We head to the floor again which lasts for about 4 seconds. Sorry for all the play by play but this is a very good match so it’s hard to make jokes. Ankle lock goes on forever (as in like a minute and a half), but Jeff doesn’t tap. There’s the bell, and it’s a time limit draw. There was no countdown or a time limit announced at the start of the match or anything, but what difference should that make?

Crowd COMPLETELY turns on this and boos the hell out of it. Cue Bischoff to add five more minutes. His ankle is dead though so there you go. Ankle lock goes on again but Jeff shakes it off. Naturally he’s mostly fine now and starts the comeback. Solid stuff again here as Jeff takes over.

So much for that as Kurt hits an Angle Slam off the top for two. I would have bet on that as being the ending. Hardy somehow sends him to the floor and Angle BARELY gets back in to avoid a count out. O’Connor Roll gets two and there’s a double clothesline. No pin though after Angle gets two at the very end so FIVE MORE MINUTES!

Ok is there a reason they just didn’t have one big long match? Jeff’s ankle is more or less done but Angle rams into the post. Angle is busted open after hitting the steps on the floor (allegedly). You know because there aren’t any steps in the ring so they had to be on the floor. Wow that was a stretch for a joke.

Hardy more or less puts on a Walls of Jericho and the blood is pouring out of Kurt’s head. Kurt reverses into the ankle lock but Jeff is in the ropes. Apparently being in the ropes for about 5 seconds doesn’t count anymore as Angle pulls him back to the middle of the ring and puts the ankle lock on for about 30 seconds but no tap.

Bischoff wants someone to look at Kurt’s head. This is pretty clearly filler as we need to spend time. Eric declares the match a no contest due to the cut. You have got to be kidding me. Also, do they really think Anderson vs. Pope is going to be able to follow this?

Rating: A-. Match was GREAT, booking is idiotic. This is a way to set up a triple threat or something (because they’re an alternative to WWE right?) like that. This was a great in ring performance though and one of Jeff’s best matches ever. This would be an A+ if not for the constant stoppages and the flat out stupid booking, but that’s TNA for you I guess: you have something great so you overbook it to hell and back.

Pope does a pretty stupid interview about enemas.

TNA World Title Tournament – Semi Finals: Mr. Anderson vs. D’Angelo Dinero

Shouldn’t this be for the title? They start on the mat as I wonder why this is on last. I guess so they didn’t have that idiotic ending end the show? Pope works on Anderson’s shoulder which plays into their feud, so there’s some continuity. I have a little trouble taking a match seriously when the fans all chant WE ARE ASSHOLES. Anderson can’t really use the arm at the moment which is some nice selling.

Anderson works on Pope’s shoulder as this is a very slow paced match. Pope blocks a top rope suplex and Anderson goes to the floor. This has been pretty good but the slow pace is hurting it a bit. We hit the near falls aspect of the match and it’s still entertaining. Mic Check is blocked so Anderson hits it 2 seconds later for two. Crowd is pretty much dead mind you. DDE misses and Pope jumps into the Mic Check to end it. Anderson advances to the finals to fight….uh someone. Big F Bomb by Anderson after the match.

Rating: B. Pretty good match here with nothing notably bad and a totally clean ending which is nice. The crowd was just DEAD after the previous match though which is a bad thing and it hurt the match a bit. This was good though and much better than I expected from these two.

Overall Rating: B. Pretty solid show I thought. Nothing is really horrible other than the booking in the Angle/Hardy match. The matches all worked and have been built up to an extent on Impact. The PPVs are usually far better than Impact and this was no exception. With a great match in the first semi-final and some good stuff for the rest of the show, how can you really complain here? Solid show and I liked it FAR more than I expected to.

 

[TruckaHoganFan]

i gave the show a B+. what fucked it up for me was the awful submission of Sting to Joe with a bullshit sleeper hold, no sighting of Flair, Sabu fucking up his match with Williams, and booking Pope & Anderson after Angle & Hardy. TNA knew how the Angle/Hardy match was gonna turn out which was brilliant on their part but then they go and fuck it up by thinking Anderson/Pope were gonna have some awesome match. i like both these guys and i know TNA is pushing Pope & Anderson but cmon on, when have either one of them put on a 5 star match in their careers ? if this is truly Russo's doing, i think TNA should make a change because some of these decisions are just plain awful. kudos to Angle for selling his frustrations by cursing out Bitchoff on the way out. are they gonna start pushing a "screwjob" angle ?

 

[llennellV3]

i gave the show a B+. what fucked it up for me was the awful submission of Sting to Joe with a bullshit sleeper hold, no sighting of Flair, Sabu fucking up his match with Williams, and booking Pope & Anderson after Angle & Hardy. TNA knew how the Angle/Hardy match was gonna turn out which was brilliant on their part but then they go and fuck it up by thinking Anderson/Pope were gonna have some awesome match. i like both these guys and i know TNA is pushing Pope & Anderson but cmon on, when have either one of them put on a 5 star match in their careers ? if this is truly Russo's doing, i think TNA should make a change because some of these decisions are just plain awful. kudos to Angle for selling his frustrations by cursing out Bitchoff on the way out. are they gonna start pushing a "screwjob" angle ?

Yup, I said it last night right after the Angle/Jeff match: this should had been the main event. I knew there was no way in hell Anderson/Pope could even come close to their match. Also having Anderson already won his qualifying match first would had created a better feeling for us already knowing one of the finalists (Anderson) and us waiting to see the second finalists.

Show 6.8

MMG Vs Gen ME 7.8

Sabu vs. Doug Williams 5.6

Madison Rayne vs. Velvet Skye 4.4

Abyss vs. Rhyno 4.9

Samoa Joe/Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting/Kevin Nash 5.0

AJ Styles vs. Tommy Dreamer 5.3

Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy 9.7

Mr. Anderson vs. D’Angelo Dinero 5.2

 

[jimivy]

if TNA would have Jeff and Kurt be the main event people (internet marks) would have said bullshit on the finish. I think the finish was different and now made us wonder 3-way or main event on 10-07 show? Good stuff by the crew last night. I agree on the Knockouts match, but it was still decent I think with having the weakest of the all knockouts in it. The Rhino and Abyss match was good.

To call bullshit on the booking for stuff like Jarrett/sting angle just once again proves that the internet marks want instant gratification and like old school fans know it is the whole story that makes an angle great. please wait and enjoy what you will see at 10-10-10.

 

[TruckaHoganFan]

if TNA would have Jeff and Kurt be the main event people (internet marks) would have said bullshit on the finish. I think the finish was different and now made us wonder 3-way or main event on 10-07 show? Good stuff by the crew last night. I agree on the Knockouts match, but it was still decent I think with having the weakest of the all knockouts in it. The Rhino and Abyss match was good.

To call bullshit on the booking for stuff like Jarrett/sting angle just once again proves that the internet marks want instant gratification and like old school fans know it is the whole story that makes an angle great. please wait and enjoy what you will see at 10-10-10.

so u agree with the way Joe won the match with a bullshit sleeper hold ? cmon dude ! now granted, due to Sting's shoulder issues i could understand him not being put into a Muscle Buster by Joe but jesus, they end it with a sleeper ? it's bad enough we as fans still gotta see that waste JJ in the ring and while i'll always be a fan a Nash, he's a shell of himself. he's great for TV but moves way too slow & gingerly in the ring. all i'm saying is make some of these match endings, especially those with the aging vets, entertaining and believable.

 

[llennellV3]

if TNA would have Jeff and Kurt be the main event people (internet marks) would have said bullshit on the finish. I think the finish was different and now made us wonder 3-way or main event on 10-07 show? Good stuff by the crew last night. I agree on the Knockouts match, but it was still decent I think with having the weakest of the all knockouts in it. The Rhino and Abyss match was good.

To call bullshit on the booking for stuff like Jarrett/sting angle just once again proves that the internet marks want instant gratification and like old school fans know it is the whole story that makes an angle great. please wait and enjoy what you will see at 10-10-10.

Yeah, I too thought that might had been the reason they didn't have it last. But, marks complaining or not, that match deserved the main event. But yeah, I'm sure they have special plans for 10-10-10...I just don't see a triple threat between Kurt/Anderson/Jeff or any one-on-one out of the 3 topping this match....I hope I'm wrong.

B4G is their biggest PPV, it seems like it would be shaping up by now. U know, like heading on to Wrestlemania you kind of already know what to speculate months ahead. All we KINDA know so far is The main event, and that "THEY" will be revealed. Maybe yet another match with the now heels Gen Me and MMG.

 

[Dogfingers]

The opener was an outstanding match, if im gonna nit pick not enough close falls. But still, absolutely great. Their tag division is on fire.

Sabu Williams was pretty poor, Taz did a great job of covering Sabu’s many botches. The right man went over though

Womens match was dire, worthless and no one cared. No surprise considering the shitty confusing booking it’s endured

Jeff Hardy is fighting for RVD. Will everybody just get out of his arse please.

Rhino and Abyss had an OK brawl that took way too long to get going.

Joe and Jarret v Sting and Nash was a dull tag match. No one has a clue, not even the commentators what is going on with this story line.

Styles and Dreamer had a good I quit match slightly hampered by the idiot referee not putting the mic to the mouths of the wrestlers. We knew they weren’t gonna quit if they can tell us.

Angle v Hardy was incredible. Easily Hardy’s best match in TNA, it was thrilling, full of suspense and featured a shocking Swanton Bomb to the outside. The stupid lots of 5 more minutes hurt it slightly and the no contest result was disappointing. Still an incredible effort from both parties. Angle sold the hell out of that Swanton Bomb.

Dinero v Anderson was ok, nothing special. I love Pope on the mic but I don’t think either are that special in the ring.

 

[dogmanx23]

I give the PPV a 7/10.

I thought the first match was great. The Gen Me turn is something I want to see play out. They are a nice young tag team but with Motorcity being the babyface tag team, Gen me has no tv time. Hopefully now they do.

Sabu vs Williams was boring. Can they put the x-division title on someone who actually can do the x-division style.

Best part of the womens match is the BP entrance. BEST ENTRANCE IS IN THE BIZ!

Rhino vs Abyss was Ok. Nothing great, nothing bad.

Joe/Jarret vs Sting/Nash was boring. Joe had some nice spots tho, the guy needs more tv time. To those criticizing the storyline because you have no idea where its going, since when is that a bad thing? So a storyline is good only if you know what the outcome is? Ill admit it seems a strange story but would like to see where it goes before i call it a waste of time.

Styles/Dreamer match was good. Ref was a moron but other then that it was a good match.

Angle vs Hardy was amazing. Stop crying about the ending. I swear people always look for a negative when it comes to TNA. The match was great and that ending just says next PPV 3 way dance or maybe 4 way if RVD comes back. Why is that a bad thing?

The last match was ok to me. Kinda hard to follow a possible match of the year match. The post match interaction seemed a little weird tho. Seemed like they were really pissed at each other or something.

 

[Dogfingers]

I give the PPV a 7/10.

Can they put the x-division title on someone who actually can do the x-division style.

What exactly about Doug Williams isn't X-Division? The guys a damn good matt wrestler. The X-division isnt all about ludicrous stunts and flips.

To those criticizing the storyline because you have no idea where its going, since when is that a bad thing? So a storyline is good only if you know what the outcome is? Ill admit it seems a strange story but would like to see where it goes before i call it a waste of time.

Generally we should know what they're fighting about, it gets people interested in matches. Its not about the outcome, its about the motive for the match. And I'm pretty sure even TNA dont have a clue about this one.

Angle vs Hardy was amazing. Stop crying about the ending. I swear people always look for a negative when it comes to TNA. The match was great and that ending just says next PPV 3 way dance or maybe 4 way if RVD comes back. Why is that a bad thing?

Because Fatal 4 ways don't sell and dont have a satisfying outcome. It's way to easy to get a cheap victory. No one really gets put over because of the very nature of the match. A one on one has a big match feel to it. There has to be a decisive winner and a loser. Four ways don't share this psychology. They are a cop out.

 

[goodlay]

MCMG/GenMe - Lame that London Brawling couldn't be here but GenMe is still a damn good replacement. This was pretty solid, but it wasn't nearly as good as their recent match on iMPACT. The GenMe heel turn sounds pretty stupid, but it came off pretty well on TV. They actually got pretty good heat. I guess they could have a straight edge heel gimmick, but it is just going to reek too much of CM Punk and won't come off as very original.

Douglas Williams/Sabu - What is up with Doug's new music? Doesn't fit him at all. Sabu botches more than Batista in this one. For an X Division match, this was pretty lame, but this is what we've come to expect from the X Division with Hogan/Bischoff. As a standard wrestling match it was just okay, not great but not bad. I would have liked to see Doug go over clean rather than have to cheat to win, but whatever keeps the title off Sabu.

Velvet/Madison - It's still damn weird seeing Tara on Madison's side. And it still doesn't make sense, but whatever. Velvet/Angelina entrance is easily the best in pro wrestling. This match wasn't as terrible as I was expecting. Both girls can actually go in the ring when they aren't screaming and pulling each other's hair. I would guess this is probably leading to Velvet/Angelina vs Madison/Tara at BFG. Meh.

Abyss/Rhino - This was the weakest match of the night for me. There was hardly any weapon use, and no blood. They chased each other around for a little bit, fought in the ring, and fought under the ramp which was fucking ******ed seeing we couldn't see it and we just had to listen to Tenay guess what was happening. And isn't the point of a Falls Count Anywhere match for the match to end, you know, not in the ring? At least Abyss got the win here.

JJ and Samoa Joe/Nash and Sting - This match was all about the storyline, which im fine with. What im not fine with is the fact that Nash/Sting and Jarrett don't seem to give two shits about it, so why should I care about this storyline? The fact that it has absolutely no direction doesn't really help either. But the match itself was actually decent. Joe was the highlight, obviously.

AJ/Dreamer - Im liking AJ more and more as a heel. Nice heel tactic by AJ at the beginning, as he hid behind the entrance ramp and tried to hit Dreamer with his belt as Dreamer was making his entrance. Taz and Tenay talk about how Dreamer has never said I Quit in his life. Some cool spots here with Dreamer hitting AJ with a stage light and choking him with the wire. Dreamer doing a crossface with a kendo stick, and AJ gouging Dreamer's eye with a fork. That last one sounds stupid, but it came off really good on TV and it looked fucking brutal. AJ gets a good rub by making a guy like Dreamer say I Quit.

Angle/Hardy - Wow. Just wow. I thought this had MOTY potential before hand, but actually watching it was just something else. The Hardy haters can officially shut up. And don't tell me it was all Angle, because look at Angle/Hernandez, that match was shit. Angle can make just about anyone look good, but to have a match of this caliber, the other guy has to pull his weight. The problem here was the overbooking. Okay, im fine with a triple threat at BFG, but did you really have to stop the match 3-4 times? It stopped when the first time limit ended. Then after another 5 minutes. Then after another 5 minutes. Then after Kurt's cut. If you wanted a triple threat you could have just had Bischoff come out after the first time limit and said "We have to have a winner. This will be sudden death." Then have the match stop after 10 minutes or so because of Kurt's cut, or because of Hardy's ankle injury. Way more simple. Still a fantastic wrestling match though.

Anderson/Pope - Even with the no contest finish, this still should NOT have been the main event. There was just no way in hell that this was going to be able to successfully follow a match of that caliber, even if this was just as good. The crowd was just burnt out, and so were all of us watching the PPV. This match was way too slow for me too. It was still a good match, and the psychology was definitely there, but it just had HHH/Orton syndrome when they had to follow HBK/Taker at WM 25.

I liked this show. MCMG/GenMe was a damn good opener, AJ/Dreamer was pretty solid, as was Pope/Anderson, and Hardy/Angle was a legit MOTY contender. I wasn't expecting much out of this show, so I was pleasantly surprised. I think it sets up BFG pretty well, and Anderson/Hardy/Angle should be pretty damn good.

I like how TNA swerved us with the semi-finals, seeing that they seemed to be extremely predictable. Though with no iMPACT this week, the 9/16 edition of iMPACT needs to be damn good. But back on topic, this was one of the better PPV's of the year and it was a solid show overall. B- for No Surrender.

 

[CyDeez]

I give the show a C-... I actually didn't like it too much at all. I guess I just expected more. But I was really impressed by Jeff Hardy. That was the best he has looked in a long time. He actually looked into it and interested. One of the better matches of the year in wrestling. Hopefully they go somewhere good with this no contest ending. Otherwise they only ruined TNA's MOTR!

 

[ctln4rko]

I am really disappointed that london brawling was replaced. they had a great look, but their replacement was generation me, so it was a face vs face match. i wanted a clear winner with angle and hardy- not a no contest. it is really hard for any wrestling company to survive 4 MONTHS with no champion. No shock Anderson won- Pope is just not ready to have a title because he's not built up enough. Champion potential, but not yet. Most likely, TNA will have a fatal four between Pope, Angle, Hardy and Anderson.

 

[The Viper Orton]

I felt the wrestling was bad for a Pay-Per-View build up for Bound for Glory. There were only two good matches (but damn they where very good). And the end up results where much better as 3 Heels won (because heels never win in TNA PPV). But again a wrestling ppv and you have better wrestling on TV, WTF? OK Amgle Hardy was great but all others including GenMe vs MCMG was mediocre because especially MCMG match was worst than impact.

Here are my ratings

Show 6.7
Between a 6.5 and 7, but Angle vs Hardy pushed it up alot

MMG Vs Gen ME 7.5
great match, but when seeing Beer Money vs MCMG 5 series and how the fifth outcome four very great matches left me wanting more from this match. At impact it was a better match, hell I would give the impact match an 8.5.

Sabu vs. Doug Williams 4.0
Too many slops from Sabu, thank God Doug won.

Madison Rayne vs. Velvet Skye 6.0
I was happy that velvet wrestled in a 1-o-1 match, however I felt both couldve done much better in the match. I mean rayne wreslted better on her other matches. But it was very.... bitchy. My marks went for the entrance because Taz is correct, it is the best entrance in the buisness

Abyss vs. Rhyno 5.0
The pros of the match, Abyss won, didn't hit Rhyno after the match, because in the last 1 or 2 months he did it 3+ times. Wrestling under the tunnel or watever was stupid, and it looked like it couldn't been broken with a punch from a normal guy, it looked like a 2 layer thin wood. And then wouldn't it have been better if they wrestled inside then outside, I mean comeon why end it inside and call it falls count anywhere, just call it DQ match

Samoa Joe/Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting/Kevin Nash 5.0
WTF is with the stoyline, I get Wolf Pack I get Joe getting TV time, but Jarret is pissing me off. Im bored with him interupting Nash and Sting for no reason. However 1 very big positive thing "Hogan let Joe wrestle and sat this one out, WOW" The guy pushed his ego a side for a sec even though he should have not come last week at impact.

AJ Styles vs. Tommy Dreamer 6
Got a 5 not a five for two simple Reasons : 1) AJ won 2)I thought it wouldve been very bad but it was mediocre (much better than impact ones)

Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy 9.3
I'm a Jeff hater, but he had a great match, his best match in TNA. For people who don't think that angle carried him, why didn't have any other great match, Hardy ussually stepps up big when he faces great wrestlers, and Angle is a great one (so angle can have a 10 match with others but hardy can't). I gave alot of negatives, sorry. THis match was very very very good and enterntaining and saying great is not enough.
Not a 10 for 1 reason and replay the match and youll notice it, The beginning was boring, and it took a but more than the usual to continue.

Mr. Anderson vs. D’Angelo Dinero 6.5
Shame it was the ME, I mean I thought they would have had something special to put it after kurt's match, but dissapointing, nothing interesting, Impact and reaction build up started 2 weeks ago after DD came back. I mean TNA acted like it was HHH vs HBK that they can just fight after 2 small build ups and let it ME.

 

[Kenny Powers]

I don't understand the complaining by some that thought this show was supposed to be as big as Bound For Glory. Nothing is going to be revealed until that time, whether we like it or not. There were only a few matches that I didn't care about, but overall I was pleased with the PPV. Anyone that was complaining about wasting their precious time watching this PPV for free online really has issues. People exaggerate too much about TNA or WWE and pick a little flaw and blow it out of proportion.

Anyway, the semi final tournament match between Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy alone was worth the price of admission or the price of wasting a Sunday night. Its not like there were other PPVs or games on last night anyway. I didn't like the overbooked aspect of the match either. If there had to be a winner then why was there a time limit? If Ric Flair and others can bleed like a pig, then why was the match stopped because Angle had a cut?

Anderson vs. Pope wasn't a bad match, but it should of been before Angle vs. Hardy. The crowd was pretty flat and exhausted after Angle vs. Hardy. I do like the stipulation of seeing either Hardy or Angle or both vs. Mr. Anderson at Bound For Glory. If it does turn out to be a triple threat main event, I don't how some can compare it to WWE. It seems like TNA can't accomplish anything without being compared to the WWE in some shape or fashion.

Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne, and Samoa Joe & Jarrett vs. Sting & Kevin Nash didn't do anything for me. Velvet got the pin on Madison for some reason and I just don't care about seeing Nash, Jarrett, and Sting in the ring anymore. Joe caused Sting to tap out so at least its good to see Joe being built as legit again.

I was disappointed to see Wolfe and Magnus out of the tag match, but these things happen. Generation Me and The Guns had another high flying match up. Generation Me got some heat by actually attacking the guns afterward becoming heels. I don't know how a baby face team like GenMe can be convincing as heels, but at least they are given something besides a generic Hardy Boys gimmick.

AJ Styles vs. Tommy Dreamer in an I Quit match was the second best match of the night I thought. It was very violent and it accomplished what it needed to. Dreamer gave Styles everything he had and Styles made Dreamer say I quit. No member of Fourtune lost tonight and they remain strong going into Bound For Glory.

Abyss vs. Rhino was your typical brawl. These two have done it before so there wasn't anything new or special to it, but they still gave the fans what they wanted. Abyss reigned supreme leading up to the PPV next month.

Williams vs. Sabu was an oddly mixed match up, but I think Sabu was able to hold is own. I was more impressed with him at the Hardcore Justice PPV then this one, but he was still able to mesh his style well with Williams. Williams overcame the odds and was the right winner to leave this match up.

Overall this wasn't a bad PPV. Nothing outstanding happened besides the Hardy vs. Angle main event. Pope vs. Anderson was a let down, but the matches were better then I thought they would be.

 

[shattered dreams]

I think the comments on the hardy-angle match sum up the differences between how people look at wwe vs tna. In TNA even when something is quite good there is this borderline obsession with perfection that makes people become fixated on the details, not the whole picture. HBk-TAker at WM25 in TNA would have resulted in people complaining about their age beforehand and the fact it did not go on last afterwards, and probably some whining about the camera spot being overbooking as well. Why are people so desperate to fixate on these details that are irrelevant in the larger picture?

 

[Rayne]

I think the comments on the hardy-angle match sum up the differences between how people look at wwe vs tna. In TNA even when something is quite good there is this borderline obsession with perfection that makes people become fixated on the details, not the whole picture. HBk-TAker at WM25 in TNA would have resulted in people complaining about their age beforehand and the fact it did not go on last afterwards, and probably some whining about the camera spot being overbooking as well. Why are people so desperate to fixate on these details that are irrelevant in the larger picture?

Did you even read this thread? Hell, I have to hunt around on the whole boards to find people saying anything negative about this match. (The only gripe I have is interrupting the match twice for a time limit that wasn't mentioned beforehand and served no purpose within the match. It's like finding a fly in a fine glass of wine.) The response from people in this thread is overwhelmingly positive.

You certainly have enough crazy explanations to make for TNA's non-sensical booking without inventing situations where you can defend them. Hardy/Angle is a very solid match of the year contender, but if people don't shout that from the heavens and forget about that WTF?!?!? stoppage, it's not enough for you. Ugh.

 

[Geeker]

Well I just read the results I wasn't able to get the PPV but,

I was upset about the Sabu/Williams match. I knew going into it that Willimas would win but from what I read Sabu misses a table and then gets clocked in the head and that does him in. Hes a friggin ECW guy and a lot more of that happened to him from another ECW guy at the last PPV and that match was pretty epic.

My gripe is that it seems like just because its a specific match people become more superhuman. And not just this match it happens all the time. Whay sense does it make for anyone to be able to take multiple chair shots in one match and then be laid out after just one in other matches? TNA and WWE both do this and I find it hilarious. Like they are questioning our intelligence or something.