I have just finished watching this weeks iMPACT and I wanted to talk about it and what I liked/disliked about it, so I've decided to review it. I'll try and do it every week for iMPACT and if it goes down well then I might move onto doing WWE programming and PPV's. This is going to help me a lot as I'm training to be a journalist and I need to get into the habit of writing, so please bear with me and I would be grateful if you could give me any CONSTRUCTIVE criticism about what I write.
There has been much talk about the state of TNA as they bring in more and more ex-WWE talent into the fold, pushing out the talent which they created and the matches which have made TNA what it is today. This weeks iMPACT shows us both sides of that coin, as the main event showed the quality of having these guys in the company, whereas the beginning of the show was a text book demonstartion on why people are getting fed up with TNA aquiring this talent.
The opening match was going to be a Tag Team match with Team 3D and the Motorcity Machine Guns. Everytime the MMG are in the ring it is guarenteed that the people in the iMPACT Zone and the viewers at home are going to watch a fantastic match. It does't matter who Sabin and Shelley face, the matches are fast paced and entertaining.
So to have Scott Steiner walk down to the ring to confront Team 3D, thus stopping the match before it starts, is like someone handing you a ticket to the Worlds Greatest Fair and when you get there, all the rides are rusted and a health hazard.
Don't get me wrong, The Steiners and Team 3D were great in their day, two of the most entertaining and physical Tag Teams in wrestling; but they're not anymore. Sometimes I find it painful to watch these guys in the ring. Ray and D'von can still do it soemtimes, but Scott Steiner should have hung up his boots a long time ago. This was evident in the WWE where every match he was in stinked up the place and the same goes for TNA.
This is the main problem they have when bringing in old talent, there is no guarentee that they will be able to supply the goods that they are hired to do. I cringe everytime Steiner does any move in the ring as it just highlights the fact that wrestling is faked, something that as a wrestling fan I know but I try to ignore to enjoy the matches.
I felt cheated at not having seen the MMG wrestle, so I was glad that they still got a run out, even though it was against VKM, the worst Tag Team in TNA. Having them lose to VKM was just wrong in so many ways, but to have it a really short squash match puts across the message that it doesn't matter how good you are as a wrestler, people like Kip and BG James will always have the better chances in the company. The arrival of LAX, Triple X and Eric Young & Sharkboy promised to lighten up the mood, but that was cut short as all they did was brawl. Why not have a match there? TNA were renowned for having good quality matches, iMPACT being stacked with match after match after match; but now it's filled with little segments like Karen Anlge trying to talk to the different combatants in the main event and James Storm going to bars to look for Rhino. They don't seem to have a good mix of wresling and backstage segments which is vital to a show that is only an hour long.
The main event made it all seem worth while as this showed why sometimes it is good to hire experienced wrestlers. Christian Cage is one of the best performers out there. He may not be the most technically sound, but he knows how to put on a show and was unbelievably underused by the WWE. I see Sting as the Anti-Steiner. He may not be as good as he used to be, but he is better than most of the wrestlers that have been brought in by TNA as of late. Samoa Joe and AJ Styles are two of the best wrestlers out there today, period. Any match against any opponent, these two guys always deliver, and this match was no exception.
One of the most annoying things that I find about TNA is that they know how to book great matches. They have done it time and time again, but they are going down the road of booking matches with names that will draw.
This is all well and good for ratings for one week, but when people see the match and see how bad those wrestlers can be, they won't come back week in week out to watch your product. Its the main events like this weeks that make people want to come back for more.
It's the little things, like when AJ and Cage squared off and they had the little bit of chain wrestling, that made the match really enjoyable. This match adds to the feud between Samoa Joe and Cage, something that wasn't excuted right the last time around, but has the potential to be good this time.
Having Sting win was a good idea because the Angle/Joe fued needs time to simmer down before they go at it again or it'll just get really stale. It gives Sting something to do as he was in a bit of a limbo, and also presents some good altercations between him and Abyss.
Then the end of iMPACT is what really confused me the most. We have Team Pacman as the challengers for the TNA Tag Team Championship, but Pacman is not allowed to wrestle! Unless they bring in someone else to join the team, I don't see how this is going to work. They attacked Sting, leading to Angle making the save, once again confusing us to whether he is face or heel, something that needs to be sorted out soon. I think it's a case of giving Angle too much control over his charcter, but he doesn't know whether he wants to be a heel or not.
iMPACT hasn't been up to scratch lately, mostly because they dont put enough matches on and too many backstage interviews and segments. This week is much the same, except for the main event which was hitting all the right marks in my opinion.
I'll be back next week with another review as they build up steam for No Surrender. See you later!
nice review, but if ur gonna be a journalist u gotta remember that u cant keep putting ur opinion on the subject, but since this is a forum its ok, and made it better lol
anyway, i agree that TNA isnt doing a good job of keeping balance between the backstage segments and the matches, but its cuz they are going to 2 hours soon so they have to start building up some decent storylines, wich is why they are rushing the show latley
and if they had more time i wouldnt doubt that VKM and the other tag teams that appeared would have a match, but TNA wanted a long main event and still fit in the segments for the storylines, thats why they couldnt continue with it
but i thought this weeks impact was good, the steiner and 3D segment was weak and it was fun to se the MMG but pissed me off watching them job too =/...
though its good to see that maybe TNA will start focusing on the tag team division again, especially now with the 2 hours, they kind of hinted that this weeks IMPACT with that VKM segment, so thats a plus
and say what u will about the ''wwe rejects'' but sting, angle, and chrisitian are 3 guys i thought was a great deal, im a huge fan of sting, always have been, but not just cuz of that, i think sting can still pull off a good match, better than most of nowadays WWE main eventers anyway.... he still can do some amazing stuff, christian is just entertaining and showed off some of his wrestling skills against aj. and we already know how good joe is right?
anyway, i loved the main event, very entertaining match i give it a 4 star, 4 and a half maybe, every wrestler did their job and was entertaining, nobody was carried nobody needed to be carried IMO, i hope TNA keeps this up, they are getting better, cant wait till 3D and VKM leave =D
and i really enjoyed seeing sting win, at first i wanted aj, but after watching sting in the match i was like ''damn hes still pretty good, and sting and angle really is a dream team'' i think its gonna be really interesting to see how they do as a tag
and it seems like angle, like u said, is gonna start becoming a face maybe? if that was tonights IMPACTs intentions then i think they did a good job of it
anyway, it was a pretty good IMPACT.. i enjoyed at least, and TNA made it clear that when getting the 2 hours, the x division will get their time after seeing what shelly had to say... thats the impression i got anyway...
