[Official] TNA TV Shows Aftermath, Review & Ratings Thread

[D-Man]

From the TNA fan perspective when you say it is the shittiest show on TV immediately all of your credibility is shot.

Actually, my credibility is NOT shot. Maybe if you fucking blind marks would learn how to READ as you wipe your tears from your eyes you would have seen this:

Say goodnight to the shittiest show on television in my home.

This means that my opinion is merely subjective and I'm entitled to it. If I feel that it's the worst show that I watch on TV then like I said earlier, just take it across the chin and move on.

I have PLENTY of credibility, hence the reason why I didn't say it was the shittiest show on TV, PERIOD. But you guys just love to pounce on everyone that doesn't agree with you. I think that makes YOUR credibility shot. So enjoy wallowing in your misery.

I've tried to like their product... really I have. Matter of fact, at one point in time it was fucking incredible. But something has gone seriously wrong over the past 6 months in my eyes and it's going to take a lot for them to dig out of that hole. There are too many holes in their plots, too much wasted TV time, and too many risky moves from a company that doesn't have the right or the fanbase to take such risks yet. Thursday's show was a perfect example of that.

And before you sit there and try to compare this to WWE, save your breath. This is not a comparison to WWE. This is my view on an individual TV show that I find to be not entertaining.

Like I keep saying, that's one man's opinion (and apparently many others in this thread). Don't like it? Too bad. Move on.

Any point, valid or otherwise, will be ignored because you are obviously overstating everything.

No, I gave my opinion that you obviously don't like and are ********* over.

Having emotional scars from when people used to criticize WWE in its low period is not an excuse.

Now you're putting thoughts in my head and words in my mouth. Again, another example of a blind TNA mark not reading my posts in order to validate their own. Typical.

But actually stop watching and commenting on every little facet of the company if you do not like it. I do not regularly watch WWE program and I sure as hell do not try and review every wwe show anyway.

Check the thread, Copernicus... this is my first review here. So how am I reviewing every show?

Why would I waste my time and everyone elses? We get it you do not like it. Move on.

And I get it... you don't like the fact that I don't like it. Take your own advice instead of trolling my posts and responding every time I give a negative opinion on your pro-wrestling love child that is TNA.

 

[The Prince of Phenomenal]

@D-Man ok we get it u don't like TNA u liked it but u don't anymore why r u talking about it i can't sit through RAW anymore but i watch smackdown from time to time and i don't comment on both why? because i don't like them but on the other hand i like TNA why? i don't no i just do so i overlook the cons and focus on the pros and i will not tell u the pros because u don't like it it's ur opinion and i respect it. so my point is when u like something u have the right to criticize and discuss the product when u hate it as much as u do just do us all a favor and stay out of our section

 

[D-Man]

@D-Man ok we get it u don't like TNA u liked it but u don't anymore why r u talking about it i can't sit through RAW anymore but i watch smackdown from time to time and i don't comment on both why? because i don't like them but on the other hand i like TNA why? i don't no i just do so i overlook the cons and focus on the pros and i will not tell u the pros because u don't like it it's ur opinion and i respect it. so my point is when u like something u have the right to criticize and discuss the product when u hate it as much as u do just do us all a favor and stay out of our section

No, I won't. I appreciate that you respect my opinion, but this is a discussion forum. Therefore, we're going to discuss the product... positive or negative.

When the WWE was at its lowest point a few years ago, I had to read through countless negative threads started and posted by hundreds of posters on this site. It never feels good to see one of your favorite shows getting knocked by other people but I'm not the only one that feels this way. Many have pointed out the flaws that we witnessed on Thursday evening.

As a matter of fact, if you want to take some positive out of this, I was such a fan of TNA and am so disappointed that it brought me to write this. I know they're capable of so much more but they continue to disappoint me as the weeks progress. They need to simplify their product instead of trying to always do these left field shockers and twists. But I digress.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

There are plenty of posts in which the WWE gets constantly criticized and outright hated, but I think it's important to remember that his is a forum with which to discuss and voice one's opinion of pro wrestling. That means, whether it be positive or negative, let's hear what you've got to say.

That's all well and good, but the problem is that some TNA Cast Members simply can't abide the fact that someone criticizes their favorite wrestling company and have to immediately attack whosoever does so. It's sad, it honestly and truly is. As with D-Man, I've watched TNA for a long time, almost since they started airing on Spike, and I do think it used to be much better than it currently is. One reason why I tune in each week to iMPACT! is to hope I'll be entertained. I do want TNA to succeed, I want to see it grow because another strong company on national television is only going to be a good thing for pro wrestling. But I'm not going to pretend that I think that the vast majority of what I see on TNA programming is good if I don't think it is. Nor should D-Man or anyone else for that matter. This past week on iMPACT! had a few things I generally liked. Generation Me didn't cut a great promo but they did pretty well for their first time out. They weren't awful and I gave them a thumbs up for effort if nothing else. Hardy vs. Angle was a great match. I enjoyed watching the match in and of itself, but I do understand the criticism some have for the ending of the match. I do think it, to some degree, made the match somewhat pointless.

If someone doesn't like what they see and voice it, then you have hopeless marks that will immediately attack and throw around ridiculous insults like "oh you don't like TNA then you're not a fan of real wrestling" or "you don't know what real wrestling is" or outright trying to put words into someone's mouth and accuse him/her of saying something that they didn't say in desperate attempts to support your own opinion as to why that poster has no credibility or any of that other juvenile nonsense. And then, of course, you have the old reliable desperation of always trying to make something a WWE vs. TNA situation. What that means is that if you voice a negative opinion of TNA, then someone will just start to voice a negative opinion of WWE. If someone doesn't like the WWE, fine. EVERYBODY is entitled to their opinion no matter what it might be, so whatever flops your mop. But, reacting to criticism with criticism doesn't necessarily negate any good points someone makes. Insulting D-Man or WWE for instance might make you feel better, but it doesn't automatically erase any points he's made.

 

[TellMeWhy]

Listen D-Man & Hammer, I'm not gonna read through all the posts and break you both down from limb to limb and destroy your arguments but my problem is that people like you 2 come into the TNA section and dog TNA because you expect TNA to be on some super saiyan standards or something but yet you 2 clearly do not hold WWE in that same regard. You two clearly have double standards. Why do you give a company that has about 4 generations of experience and maybe a total century of history such a pass like the trash they produce for you on RAW yet you expect an 8 year old company to have some super magic and be flawless. I'm not saying to lower your standards for TNA wrestling but to sit there and call Impact the shittiest show for a booking issue when you watch GARBAGE which you cannot defend, absolute GARBAGE on RAW just every Monday is extremely hypocritical and just 2 faced.


D-Man sat up here in his post and called out TNA fans for last Thursday's show which I enjoyed so Jack-Hammer don't sit up here and talk as if anyone is "defending blindly". You Hammer shouldn't be talking because about 90% of your posts on WWE has you excusing them so you are a mighty lawyer yourself. D-Man called out TNA fans to enlighten him because he didn't enjoy the show and made it out to seem as if all TNA fans and everyone out there weren't supposed to enjoy the show so I responded. So don't sit up here when someone else in retaliation calls you WWE fans out on your BS as well because it was your fellow avid WWE follower who came in here and used the word "TNA fans" showing he is an outsider. So yeah, no one is dragging this into a TNA vs. WWE thing. Your fellow D-Man came in here with the anti-TNA attitude here to challenge TNA fans so as a result I challenged WWE since he's so loyal to them.

Clearly D-Man your post made it very clear that you do it just to dish it out on TNA for how WWE used to get dogged out a few years prior. So clearly when you make these type of posts in this section, you are here playing for Team WWE with a very bias viewpoint. If the past Impact was a WWE show, I can guarantee you 100% that you wouldn't sit here and say you're finished with WWE and are no longer interested in their product, superstars, management, etc. You wouldn't say that. Just stop with the double standards! If you hate TNA just say it. Don't try to blend in and pretend as if you're a fan because like how you say that TNA fans can't defend Thur's show, there is NO WAY IN HELL you can defend the travesty that was last Monday's RAW and try to pass off IMPACT as the worst show you watch. Go ahead and enlighten me.

 

[D-Man]

Listen D-Man & Hammer, I'm not gonna read through all the posts and break you both down from limb to limb and destroy your arguments but my problem is that people like you 2 come into the TNA section and dog TNA because you expect TNA to be on some super saiyan standards or something but yet you 2 clearly do not hold WWE in that same regard.

Or you could go with what I already explained a few times... the show has not been entertaining me nearly as much as it did over 6 months ago. I'd trust me on that one. I have no reason to knock the product for no reason. I want the company to flourish so bad that I can taste it. Shit, as a wrestling fan, who doesn't want REAL competition??

D-Man called out TNA fans to enlighten him because he didn't enjoy the show and made it out to seem as if all TNA fans and everyone out there weren't supposed to enjoy the show so I responded.

Have you ever heard the phrase, "When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me"? I didn't make anything "seem" like anything. I didn't enjoy the show.

Like I said already, this is a discussion forum. That means that these threads are subjective and open to any criticism. If I feel froggy enough to state my opinion on the shows then I'm going to jump.

So don't sit up here when someone else in retaliation calls you WWE fans out on your BS as well because it was your fellow avid WWE follower who came in here and used the word "TNA fans" showing he is an outsider. So yeah, no one is dragging this into a TNA vs. WWE thing. Your fellow D-Man came in here with the anti-TNA attitude here to challenge TNA fans so as a result I challenged WWE since he's so loyal to them.

That's more like an immature defense mechanism to me. I call you a name so you say, "I know you are, but what am I??" An eye for an eye won't make the product in TNA any better. But if it makes you feel better to tear me up for having an opinion then suit yourself. Your defense tactics are only making you look stupid in the end.

Clearly D-Man your post made it very clear that you do it just to dish it out on TNA for how WWE used to get dogged out a few years prior.

Not at all. The point of my statement was to let all of you know that whimpering and crying because someone doesn't like your prescious TNA is reinforcing the fact that you guys probably know that it has flaws. But you're all so busy being in denial that you're afraid to admit it.

When the WWE was trash, I admitted it sucked. I kept trying to see the positive in it all but I NEVER sat here and knocked every person that came into its threads and had an opinion.

So clearly when you make these type of posts in this section, you are here playing for Team WWE with a very bias viewpoint. If the past Impact was a WWE show, I can guarantee you 100% that you wouldn't sit here and say you're finished with WWE and are no longer interested in their product, superstars, management, etc. You wouldn't say that.

I call bullshit here. Who are you to put words in my mouth? I'm severely disappointed in TNA's product. It makes me sick to see the dogshit they've been putting on TV. And I've been watching it since it had weekly PPV's as its weekly broadcast. I'm a HUGE fan of TNA, but now I'm throwing in the towel. The only interest I have in it is seeing if it can dig itself out of its hole.

If the WWE's product was this bad, I'd turn it off, too. Trust me... I have.

Just stop with the double standards! If you hate TNA just say it. Don't try to blend in and pretend as if you're a fan because like how you say that TNA fans can't defend Thur's show, there is NO WAY IN HELL you can defend the travesty that was last Monday's RAW and try to pass off IMPACT as the worst show you watch. Go ahead and enlighten me.

Last Monday's Raw sucked my sweaty nuts. But one bad week doesn't really phase me. It can't be perfect every week. But that's for another thread.

I can't remember the last TNA broadcast that made me satisfied, excited or entertained. And I don't hate TNA... I'm disappointed in TNA. So much talent and such shitty writing and execution.

Seriously, stop putting words in my mouth. I have no reason to embellish or lie to anyone. I'm giving you dirty, rotten truth here. Anything less wouldn't give me the strength or the nerve to write anything at all.

 

[The Prince of Phenomenal]

listen as i said b4 as long as you watch u have the right to criticize if he doesn't watch u can fight with him as long as u want he has an opinion like every buddy else and he has the right to say it as long as he watches the product because if he hates TNA so bad and thinks it's shit and he is willing to sit through two hours of what he calls the shittiest show on TV then he has earned the right to complain as long as he gives TNA his rating TNA doesn't care about what he thinks and we should do the same because not every buddy likes what u like i for one enjoy TNA simply because i love it and i don't care if ppl hate it

 

[shattered dreams]

I'd trust me on that one. I have no reason to knock the product for no reason.

And we have a reason to support it for no reason? TNA is not paying me shit. I merely state my opinions. Generally, I enjoy the majority. When you come in here and basically say it is impossible for anyone to enjoy the product knowing full well there are a million plus that do what do you expect? If your claim is we are inherently biased by our enjoyment then why are you not inherently biased by your lack of enjoyment.

That's more like an immature defense mechanism to me. I call you a name so you say, "I know you are, but what am I??" An eye for an eye won't make the product in TNA any better. But if it makes you feel better to tear me up for having an opinion then suit yourself. Your defense tactics are only making you look stupid in the end.

Pot. Meet the kettle. The best part is he claims you are immature because he called you a name first. What about the person that resorted to name calling in the first place?

Seriously, stop putting words in my mouth. I have no reason to embellish or lie to anyone. I'm giving you dirty, rotten truth here. Anything less wouldn't give me the strength or the nerve to write anything at all.

Your definition of the "truth" is what pisses people off. Your truth is simply your opinion. Yet you turn around and bash people for giving their opinion which is what they believe. Why is what you believe more important than anyone else? You continually attempt to put words in peoples mouths to support your biased "truth." Your opinion is TNA is shitty our opinion is TNA is enjoyable. Why is this so hard to move beyond?

 

[D-Man]

And we have a reason to support it for no reason? TNA is not paying me shit. I merely state my opinions.

But I didn't start this debate. All of you did when you jumped on me for giving my review in this thread. Stop playing the victim here.

Generally, I enjoy the majority. When you come in here and basically say it is impossible for anyone to enjoy the product knowing full well there are a million plus that do what do you expect?

More words stuck in my mouth. When did I say it was "impossible for anyone to enjoy the product"? I have only stated my own personal opinion. Stop lying to back up your views.

Pot. Meet the kettle. The best part is he claims you are immature because he called you a name first. What about the person that resorted to name calling in the first place?

Oh, so I resorted to name-calling first?

Quit being such marks and just enjoy the show if you are indeed a true wrestling fan.

If wou want to overlook all of that and continue supporting the PG show, then know that you are an EXTREEEEEMEEEE hypocrite.

Tell me another bullshit story.

Your definition of the "truth" is what pisses people off. Your truth is simply your opinion.

My truth is that people in this thread are obviously showing this disdain for the product. And that's my opinion?? It's in black and white, pal.

Yet you turn around and bash people for giving their opinion which is what they believe.

Wait a minute... I bashed you??? This debate started because LetEmKnow attacked ME for having an opinion. Man, you're really making up a ton of shit just to back up your claims. Take your own advice... pot, kettle...

Why is what you believe more important than anyone else? You continually attempt to put words in peoples mouths to support your biased "truth."

When I've stated my opinion I've said "My opinion is...". But when I've stated truths like the negative reviews in this thread, I've stated truth. Are you illiterate that you can't read that?

Your opinion is TNA is shitty our opinion is TNA is enjoyable. Why is this so hard to move beyond?

Answer your own question. It's you guys that have the obsession with attacking ME for giving MY opinions.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Listen D-Man & Hammer, I'm not gonna read through all the posts and break you both down from limb to limb and destroy your arguments but my problem is that people like you 2 come into the TNA section and dog TNA because you expect TNA to be on some super saiyan standards or something but yet you 2 clearly do not hold WWE in that same regard.

Listen, in all the times we've argued, you have never, NEVER, N-E-V-E-R, broken down nor destroyed any of my points of view. You've always been too busy attacking me because I don't hold TNA in the same regard as you do. Big difference between that and destroying the credibility of someone's point of view.

You two clearly have double standards. Why do you give a company that has about 4 generations of experience and maybe a total century of history such a pass like the trash they produce for you on RAW yet you expect an 8 year old company to have some super magic and be flawless. I'm not saying to lower your standards for TNA wrestling but to sit there and call Impact the shittiest show for a booking issue when you watch GARBAGE which you cannot defend, absolute GARBAGE on RAW just every Monday is extremely hypocritical and just 2 faced.

See, this is a perfect example of what I was talking about. Because I'm not that wild about the product that TNA puts out, that seems to make me some sor tof hypocrite. You can attack Raw all you like, you're more than entitled to your opinion of the WWE. The entire point that D-Man has tried to make is that not everyone thinks the TNA product is all that great, nor should they be expected to keep their opinions to themselves. If you think that TNA is this golden beacon of what wrestling is supposed to be, more power to you. But it's beyond immature to attack someone because their opinions might not coincide with your own.

D-Man sat up here in his post and called out TNA fans for last Thursday's show which I enjoyed so Jack-Hammer don't sit up here and talk as if anyone is "defending blindly". You Hammer shouldn't be talking because about 90% of your posts on WWE has you excusing them so you are a mighty lawyer yourself.

You do defend TNA blindly. Rather than actually having a conversation and discuss what some perceive as TNA's faults, you attack them rather than trying to convince them that they might be wrong. If you can convince me I'm wrong, then by all means do so. I'm an open minded sort of person and would listen to any of the points made. But you don't do that, you'd rather sling insults rather than attempt to persuade anyone that you're right and they're wrong. As I said, I'll state my opinion on something whenever an opportunity presents itself and I think I have something worth saying and there's not a fucking thing you can do about it.

 

[Dogfingers]

Are the TNA idiots getting up in arms because someone has dared post in thread clearly marked 'TNA Aftermath and Review' sensibly criticising the product? I'll be damned.

 

[TellMeWhy]

Listen, in all the times we've argued, you have never, NEVER, N-E-V-E-R, broken down nor destroyed any of my points of view. You've always been too busy attacking me because I don't hold TNA in the same regard as you do. Big difference between that and destroying the credibility of someone's point of view.

Most of the time I don't give your replies the time of day or I can easily dissect all your rebuttals limb to limb like how I did when you tried to argue that Hogan wasn't a good wrestler and shut you down. Most of the time, I give your replies a free pass because I just choose not to embarrass you.

See, this is a perfect example of what I was talking about. Because I'm not that wild about the product that TNA puts out, that seems to make me some sor tof hypocrite. You can attack Raw all you like, you're more than entitled to your opinion of the WWE.

No no, you become a hypocrite when you don't hold the WWE to the same regard and overlook lots of things they do because "it's only WWE or what can you expect from the WWE" as some would like to put it but yet the same people come in here and try to dissect everything in TNA down to the booking and to even nitpicking a spot on the screen. That is what I hate. I hate double standards and most WWE fans as yourself clearly have double standards. That's what I do not like. Be fair across the board and treat all wrestling with the same scrutiny because if you don't and play favoritism, then guess what? It makes you a complete mark.

The entire point that D-Man has tried to make is that not everyone thinks the TNA product is all that great,

And not everyone is saying that he should feel that it's great. Everyone knows TNA hasn't been A+ perfect for the past few years and no wrestling show is perfect but why make a review and attack TNA fans in the process? You and people like D-Man will sit there and say things about how you want TNA to succeed or will sometimes say that you are fans of TNA but yet use words like "you TNA fans". WTH impression do you think you're making here?

nor should they be expected to keep their opinions to themselves. If you think that TNA is this golden beacon of what wrestling is supposed to be, more power to you. But it's beyond immature to attack someone because their opinions might not coincide with your own.

But wait a minute, isn't that what your partner D-Man came in here and did with his initial posts on his last review of Impact? He attacked others who may have liked Impact and in the process he indirectly attacked me which is why I made a rebuttal.

Here is proof if you don't believe me:

try and defend that one, TNA fans. Please, enlighten me on how there is ANY logic in that. Defend your wonderful show and tell me how great everything is when nothing on the show makes sense.

Don't sit up here and tell me D-Man is simply posting a review of the show. He called out every TNA fan in the process who enjoyed the show and guess what he got an answer. So don't make it seem as if he's some innocent victim that was attacked from no where. He put up a challenge and it was answered.

You do defend TNA blindly. Rather than actually having a conversation and discuss what some perceive as TNA's faults, you attack them rather than trying to convince them that they might be wrong. If you can convince me I'm wrong, then by all means do so. I'm an open minded sort of person and would listen to any of the points made. But you don't do that, you'd rather sling insults rather than attempt to persuade anyone that you're right and they're wrong. As I said, I'll state my opinion on something whenever an opportunity presents itself and I think I have something worth saying and there's not a fucking thing you can do about it.

If I defend TNA blindly, then you try to prosecute them blindy on a daily basis as much as you can. I've seen you make posts in the WWE section speaking down on TNA when TNA could be completely irrelevant to the conversation. All you do on this forum is try to talk up WWE as much as possible while doing the reverse for TNA. This is why I call you out so much because you're extremely TWO FACED. The thing though is that it's not only you. Most WWE fans like you are completely hypocritical and have a double standard when it comes to WWE & TNA. You try your best to always backhand TNA and you do this simply to "get back at TNA fans for all the years they talked up TNA and talked down WWE". That is what you're doing here and your problem is that I see right through it. This is why I come at you the way I do because I know your objective and know that you are clearly bias.

 

[JJYanks121]

No no, you become a hypocrite when you don't hold the WWE to the same regard and overlook lots of things they do because "it's only WWE or what can you expect from the WWE" as some would like to put it but yet the same people come in here and try to dissect everything in TNA down to the booking and to even nitpicking a spot on the screen. That is what I hate. I hate double standards and most WWE fans as yourself clearly have double standards. That's what I do not like. Be fair across the board and treat all wrestling with the same scrutiny because if you don't and play favoritism, then guess what? It makes you a complete mark.

I wanted to interject on this whole fight because this particular one is a microcosm of the entirely ridiculous issue that has grown in the IWC. Why is it that everyone has to "take a side". Why can't people just be wrestling fans anymore, being critical of everything and/or enjoying everything to a fault? Clearly, you have to like one or the other based on the arguments presented, and I'm not sure that's fair. However, let's see what we can dissect here.

Your first point is asking D-Man to hold both companies to the same standards when being critical of the product, yet you made an excuse in a previous post about "WWE being around for a few generations, but TNA is an 8 year old company". How is that holding them to the same standards? That is asking him to be more sympathetic to the young TNA product. However, there's a flaw in that logic. TNA Impact was born in 2005, making this the 5th year the show has been on the air. Raw began in 1993, making 1998 their 5th year. At that time, Raw was peaking with Stone Cold on top and was in direct competition with a highly profitable WCW, who by the way was in their 3rd year of producing weekly, episodic TV. Let's also compare this to regular TV. If a show isn't made well in year 1, it's yanked. By year 5, any show needs to be run well and have great stories, acting, etc. to get ratings and stay on the air. To say that TNA is young and gets a free pass when no one else in the history of television has gotten a 5 year free pass is ridiculous. The ONLY thing they get a pass on is set quality because they are confined to the Impact Zone, and I was debating giving them a pass on that, because if the talent budget was less (which I think would still draw the same ratings-see 2009), the company might be able to afford a risk in trying to take their show on the road. However, getting a pass on show execution as it pertains to storylines is ludicrous considering they employ men who have been in the business for a lot of years. Thus, hold both companies to the same standard and give no one a free pass. Then, go ahead and compare the two if you like. You might see things differently.

And not everyone is saying that he should feel that it's great. Everyone knows TNA hasn't been A+ perfect for the past few years and no wrestling show is perfect but why make a review and attack TNA fans in the process? You and people like D-Man will sit there and say things about how you want TNA to succeed or will sometimes say that you are fans of TNA but yet use words like "you TNA fans". WTH impression do you think you're making here?

I hope you don't think I'm picking on you, but the "you TNA fans" thing is brought upon by TNA marks. Those who defend the product even on its worst day and go out of their way to criticize the WWE product even on its best day. It is my belief that the anti-WWE crowd has made it their business to sell TNA as better than WWE. I know you have nothing to gain by doing so, but that's not to say it isn't done. In retaliation, anyone who remotely enjoys WWE gets testy and defends it, to which you call them a mark and the war is on. With that said, if one of these "WWE marks" as you call them chooses to watch Impact, isn't that good? It helps the ratings, doesn't it? But that person does have free speech and has the right to like or dislike an episode or anything within it. Are some people too critical? Sure. Even I have been guilty of that. However, we all have the right to like or dislike whatever we choose.

If I defend TNA blindly, then you try to prosecute them blindy on a daily basis as much as you can. I've seen you make posts in the WWE section speaking down on TNA when TNA could be completely irrelevant to the conversation. All you do on this forum is try to talk up WWE as much as possible while doing the reverse for TNA. This is why I call you out so much because you're extremely TWO FACED. The thing though is that it's not only you. Most WWE fans like you are completely hypocritical and have a double standard when it comes to WWE & TNA. You try your best to always backhand TNA and you do this simply to "get back at TNA fans for all the years they talked up TNA and talked down WWE". That is what you're doing here and your problem is that I see right through it. This is why I come at you the way I do because I know your objective and know that you are clearly bias.

We have to get past these perceived biases. These shows air on different days and can have the exact same people watch them. Those same people can like parts of each and dislike parts of each. There is very little reason to martyr one and bash the other, and that goes for either side. Here's the way I see it: If you choose to watch one show and not the other, enjoy that show and ignore the other. If you watch both, you are supporting both products, whether you speak positively or negatively of any or all segments on any show. Thus, everyone needs to stop taking sides and just watch wrestling programming to, you know, enjoy wrestling programming. Hell, I am paid to be critical of wrestling shows and I'm not nearly as brutal as most people on this site. The reason though, is that I'm not trying to get a rise out of marks for the other company, whoever it is I might be supporting. Both sides of this argument should cease and desist, and continue to watch whatever shows they please.

 

[TellMeWhy]

I wanted to interject on this whole fight because this particular one is a microcosm of the entirely ridiculous issue that has grown in the IWC. Why is it that everyone has to "take a side". Why can't people just be wrestling fans anymore, being critical of everything and/or enjoying everything to a fault? Clearly, you have to like one or the other based on the arguments presented, and I'm not sure that's fair. However, let's see what we can dissect here.

Yes I actually do enjoy TNA more than any other wrestling companies but you don't see me going into RAW threads just thrashing their shows and thrashing the people who may have liked the show like our friend D-Man did here.

All I'm saying is I watch WWE but I don't go in RAW threads and do that. And at the same time because I watch WWE and have seen some of the most ridiculous, stupidest, and trashiest shows I have a bit more tolerance for wrestling in general because of it. I take that tolerance and incorporate it into all the wrestling I watch because WWE has set the bar for stupidity and trash in my eyes but the point I'm making is because of that I hold everything to 1 standard. I watch TNA & WWE and judging TNA as a whole being objective as possible, I think TNA is good-decent product. D-Man has sat through deaths via limo, katie vick, an interracial old/young couple giving birth to a hand, little's people court, and some of the most pathetic segments in the history of prowrestling, etc. This guy watches a show with a bad booking decision and he wants to act like it's the worst thing he's ever seen. D-Man wants to tell me that all episodes of the past 6 months have been intolerable but yet RAW has with all the stupid guest hosting. Something doesn't add up in my book. I call double standard.

Your first point is asking D-Man to hold both companies to the same standards when being critical of the product,

Yep

yet you made an excuse in a previous post about "WWE being around for a few generations, but TNA is an 8 year old company". How is that holding them to the same standards?

What I'm saying is that since D-Man is bias, he should at least have a bias with logic. If he's going to be bias which he clearly is then he should at least be more bias in favor towards TNA but instead he has it in reverse. He has more tolerance for WWE and gives them more of a pass which I don't get because WWE should probably be closer to perfect than TNA since they have decades of producing television. Instead he's harder on TNA as if TNA needs to hit it out of the ballpark with only 5 years of producing national tv versus decades. Like I really don't know what type of standards these people set for TNA but I do not get how people are more tolerant of WWE over TNA. Like I said, if Smackdown were putting on the same exact shows as TNA was for the past 6 months and put on the same exact show as TNA Impact did this past Thursday Night, he would not give it the same criticism. In fact, he would probably call the show solid if he had a match of the same quality of Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy on free tv without a winner.

That is asking him to be more sympathetic to the young TNA product. However, there's a flaw in that logic. TNA Impact was born in 2005, making this the 5th year the show has been on the air. Raw began in 1993, making 1998 their 5th year. At that time, Raw was peaking with Stone Cold on top and was in direct competition with a highly profitable WCW, who by the way was in their 3rd year of producing weekly, episodic TV. Let's also compare this to regular TV. If a show isn't made well in year 1, it's yanked. By year 5, any show needs to be run well and have great stories, acting, etc. to get ratings and stay on the air. To say that TNA is young and gets a free pass when no one else in the history of television has gotten a 5 year free pass is ridiculous. The ONLY thing they get a pass on is set quality because they are confined to the Impact Zone, and I was debating giving them a pass on that, because if the talent budget was less (which I think would still draw the same ratings-see 2009), the company might be able to afford a risk in trying to take their show on the road. However, getting a pass on show execution as it pertains to storylines is ludicrous considering they employ men who have been in the business for a lot of years. Thus, hold both companies to the same standard and give no one a free pass. Then, go ahead and compare the two if you like. You might see things differently.

The difference is those companies were far established before those tv shows were produced. Even though TNA has people with experience, they are still for the most part people with experience who may have never worked together with each other who have come together for a common goal. Therefore, people with experience in TNA are even sort of like on a new learning curve and are learning as they go. It's still a learn as you go process in terms of finding a workflow, chemistry, and things as formatting which are all things which help bring a stability and direction to a product. WWE has never had to quite deal with that because they are a very well established and firm entity so the challenges they face versus the challenges that TNA face as an aspiring company are indeed different.

I hope you don't think I'm picking on you, but the "you TNA fans" thing is brought upon by TNA marks. Those who defend the product even on its worst day and go out of their way to criticize the WWE product even on its best day. It is my belief that the anti-WWE crowd has made it their business to sell TNA as better than WWE. I know you have nothing to gain by doing so, but that's not to say it isn't done. In retaliation, anyone who remotely enjoys WWE gets testy and defends it, to which you call them a mark and the war is on. With that said, if one of these "WWE marks" as you call them chooses to watch Impact, isn't that good? It helps the ratings, doesn't it? But that person does have free speech and has the right to like or dislike an episode or anything within it. Are some people too critical? Sure. Even I have been guilty of that. However, we all have the right to like or dislike whatever we choose.

Everyone has free speech however I have free speech as well. D-Man came in here with an attitude and almost if not an intent to challenge and or get a rise out of TNA fans such as myself. You say TNA fans try to sell TNA as better than WWE but yet you ignore that WWE fans and most of the WWE Universe do the same thing. If you look under TNA youtube videos, there are always a group of anti-TNA rhetoric, WWE >> TNA posts, and all types of promotional flame wars. Hell look at my red rep on here. WWE marks for the most part are responsible for that. If I went into their section and put something like what D-Man wrote in here about RAW or Smackdown, my userCP would probably be flamed with all types of homosexual pictures, insults, etc. WWE fans are not the victims here. Most of the time they are the ones antagonizing from where I stand.

We have to get past these perceived biases. These shows air on different days and can have the exact same people watch them. Those same people can like parts of each and dislike parts of each. There is very little reason to martyr one and bash the other, and that goes for either side. Here's the way I see it: If you choose to watch one show and not the other, enjoy that show and ignore the other. If you watch both, you are supporting both products, whether you speak positively or negatively of any or all segments on any show. Thus, everyone needs to stop taking sides and just watch wrestling programming to, you know, enjoy wrestling programming. Hell, I am paid to be critical of wrestling shows and I'm not nearly as brutal as most people on this site. The reason though, is that I'm not trying to get a rise out of marks for the other company, whoever it is I might be supporting. Both sides of this argument should cease and desist, and continue to watch whatever shows they please.

I agree. This is a very well written post.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Most of the time I don't give your replies the time of day or I can easily dissect all your rebuttals limb to limb like how I did when you tried to argue that Hogan wasn't a good wrestler and shut you down. Most of the time, I give your replies a free pass because I just choose not to embarrass you.

Yes but, what I said was that you NEVER disect any rebuttals. If you can destroy my arguments, go ahead and try. I simply don't think you can as it's always easier for you to simply sling insults. As for Hulk Hogan, I stand by my opinion that he wasn't a good wrestler. He was a great draw of course, but that's not the same as being able to put on a great wrestling match.

No no, you become a hypocrite when you don't hold the WWE to the same regard and overlook lots of things they do because "it's only WWE or what can you expect from the WWE" as some would like to put it but yet the same people come in here and try to dissect everything in TNA down to the booking and to even nitpicking a spot on the screen.

Give me an example of this double standard. If your definition of a double standard is me criticizing, say, EV2.0 while not criticizing The Nexus, for example, that's not a double standard, that's merely liking one group more than the other. It's personal preference, not a double standard. I look at EV2.0 as a group of overrated has-beens, never-wases and never-will-bes. I don't find the vast majority of them to be particularly interesting or talented whereas The Nexus is a group of young, unknown wrestlers that are a blank slate with their careers ahead of them.

That is what I hate. I hate double standards and most WWE fans as yourself clearly have double standards. That's what I do not like. Be fair across the board and treat all wrestling with the same scrutiny because if you don't and play favoritism, then guess what? It makes you a complete mark.

As I said, let's see an example of this so called double standard. Liking the angles, storylines and general wrestling content of a company more than another isn't a double standard. You clearly prefer TNA to WWE and that's not wrong, it's your opinion, and we both know that you've said negative things towards the WWE in the past and that's all well and good. So, why is it that you can scrutinize the WWE product, watch it, decide that you don't like what you're seeing but have a problem whenever one does that with TNA?

And not everyone is saying that he should feel that it's great. Everyone knows TNA hasn't been A+ perfect for the past few years and no wrestling show is perfect but why make a review and attack TNA fans in the process? You and people like D-Man will sit there and say things about how you want TNA to succeed or will sometimes say that you are fans of TNA but yet use words like "you TNA fans". WTH impression do you think you're making here?

I don't demand perfection, nor have I ever and if you tell me that you've read a single post in which I've expected any wrestling company to be perfect then you're a liar, plain and simple. I do want TNA to succeed, but when I see something I don't like about TNA, WWE, Lucha Libre USA, AAA or whatever, then I'll speak up and say something about it. I do want TNA to succeed but if what I think they're putting out is crap, then I'll say so and that goes with wrestling in general.

I

f I defend TNA blindly, then you try to prosecute them blindy on a daily basis as much as you can.

For some unknown reason, you seem to believe I have some sort of agenda against TNA. I want TNA to succeed. I tune into TNA iMPACT! every week in the hopes of watching an enjoyable 2 hours of wrestling. Most of the time, I don't enjoy it the vast majority of the show. I don't watch TNA to decide to hate on it, I have far better and more important things to do with my time than simply watching a television show to do nothing more than rag on it. If I just outright despised TNA as much as you say, then why is it that I don't just rag about everything going on with it? Why do I always compliment guys like the MCMGs and Beer Money? Why didn't I simply take a giant shit on the great best of 5 series of matches they had? Why didn't I rag on a good match between Kurt Angle & Jeff Hardy last week? Why don't I run AJ Styles into the ground every opportunity I get rather than calling him, arguably, the best in-ring competitor active in American pro wrestling today? Why didn't I outright pan The Whole F'N Show that TNA put on several weeks ago? If I hate TNA so much, why I did I call the last Guns/Beer Money match in the best of 5 series the best match of the week? If I'm an outright TNA hater as you claim I am, then why don't I rag on everything and anything to do with TNA. Your arguments that I despise TNA or have some sort of agenda or that I have some sort of double standard are all in your head and are baseless.

This is why I call you out so much because you're extremely TWO FACED. The thing though is that it's not only you. Most WWE fans like you are completely hypocritical and have a double standard when it comes to WWE & TNA. You try your best to always backhand TNA and you do this simply to "get back at TNA fans for all the years they talked up TNA and talked down WWE". That is what you're doing here and your problem is that I see right through it. This is why I come at you the way I do because I know your objective and know that you are clearly bias.

You can believe whatever you want kid, I'm not going to try and convince you otherwise because your mind has long since been made up and nothing I could say will change it. I don't want to see TNA fail, I just don't like most of what I see on TNA. The fact that I like the WWE more doesn't make me any less of a wrestling fan, nor does it mean I have some sort of bias or double standard. It simply means just that: I like the WWE more than TNA right now. That might very well change someday, I'll freely and openly say that right now. But, if I don't like what I see, I'll say as much so you might as well just accept it, see a shrink about it, run and cry to your mother about it or whatever because I will ALWAYS speak my opinion.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Let me extend an olive branch so everyone can start off on a new leaf, by reviewing a new episode of Impact.

Tonight's episode was much better with building up the story lines between now and Bound For Glory. RVD showed up and wasn't high like he was on the phone interview last week. He was actually pissed and selling the injury pretty well. Abyss didn't burn off anyone's genitals so that was a relief. Too bad they had to remind us from scenes from last week.

Rob Terry vs. Abyss: Nothing to really talk about here since both of these guys don't really mesh well. It did set up RVD vs. Abyss and Bound For Glory, RVD's title shot against the winner of BFG, and The Pope's anger about Eric Bischoff.

The Pope: The Pope had a point about Hardy and Angle being in the main event when they didn't win their match, but they weren't pinned. Pope was actually pinned by Anderson. I don't know exactly what Pope knows that Bischoff and Nash and Sting don't know, but at least he is in a semi main event story.

Chris Sabin vs. Jeremy Buck: I didn't like the finish here since Sabin was outnumbered from the get go. Jeremy and Max had him at a disadvantage and an injured Sabin was still able to get the pin. Heels or not, GenMe aren't convincing anyone that they are a threat.

Hamada & Wilde vs. The Beautiful People (TNA Knockouts Tag Titles):
Didn't we suffer through this match last week? Lacey is nice and she isn't bad on the mic when she shows emotion, but there is no reason to see her in the ring again two weeks in a row. You would think with editing TNA could edit some of the botches in this match. Once again Madison Rayne comes out with the huge biker helmet. This is getting old.

Dixie Carter announced a $100,000 battle royal at the October 7th live edition of Impact: She also announced that the change, surprise, or whatever would take place that night. She has been talking about this for months now, but hasn't made a huge fuss lately. I don't have high hopes for what this change will be.

Samoa Joe vs. The Pope: Nothing really classic about this match, just the same Jarrett, Nash, and Sting run ins we are used to seeing every week. Pope's new involvement is interesting, but I'm still not thrilled about another tag or even possibly a six man tag with these men in it.

Mr. Anderson promo with Kurt Angle: This was a good promo which set up the main event nicely. You would think that Jeff "Nero" Hardy would come out since he is kinda in the main event also. Anderson is still being too nice. He has a cockiness in him, but he still kisses Angle and Hardy's asses too much to be only weeks away from the biggest match of the year.

Fourtune/ EV.2: First off, even though it was out of place I loved the ice down challenge or whatever it was called. I never heard of it before, but it was entertaining to see The Nature Boy act like a drunk fool. Who brought the Smirnoff Ice anyway? Kazarian? The Lethal Lockdown match between Fourtune and EV 2 should be decent. Hopefully this will be the final chapter in the feud and in EV 2. There is no reason Fourtune shouldn't go over here. This feud needs to end so Fourtune can go on to bigger and better things.

Sabu vs. AJ Styles (Ladder Match): Once again the competitors in a TNA ladder match are competing for a high school bathroom hall pass key. The match was alright, but there was way too much interference. It was obvious that AJ would win the match after the whole Fourtune crew came out.

Abyss: Abyss wasn't as corny or annoying this time around. The camera never shows him actually take out RVD or Hardy so could this all be a work from the 3 men? Maybe not, but it is interesting that the camera never shows anything. For some reason Ink Inc. came down after not being seen in weeks to attack Abyss. They will probably be forgotten next week. I don't think I'll watch part 3 of the sobbing Jesse Neal ReActiion story tonight.

A much better show than last week in terms of setting up the show. There weren't any matches that were great though. Nothing could top Hardy vs. Angle from last week. Even though the finish was pretty lame. Next week should hopefully be a decent show leading up to the live special and the PPV event so nice they named it thrice. 10. 10.10. Bound For Glory.

 

[D-Man]

Rob Terry vs. Abyss & RVD Promo
I swear, if only Rob Terry was a better wrestler. This guy's look completely shatters the majority of professional wrestlers that I have seen. However, with huge muscles comes the huge lack of agility and synchronicity with the opponent, but I digress. Not to mention the fact that you could've heard a mouse fart in the arena because it was so quiet in there.

The match was only for the purpose of letting us all view Abyss as a major threat. They squared him off against (visually) the biggest threat on the roster. We all knew Abyss would probably get himself DQ'd and the match was a bit sloppy at points, however effective. The storyline with Abyss and RVD is one of the best that TNA currently has. Afterward, they officially annouced RVD vs. Abyss for BFG.

The Pope interruption
I normally love this guy's promos but I just didn't understand his point. Most of it just seemed like rambling to me. The guy is SO over as a babyface... why turn him heel? I don't think it matters because the Pope is one of the rare talents in the wrestling business that can talk leagues around other wrestlers. I'm sure that I'll get comfortable in his new heel role once he starts rolling because a talker like the Pope can recite the dictionary on a microphone and convince me of anything.

Anyway, Biscoff caves in and has Pope face Samoa Joe later on that night. If Pope wins then Biscoff will consider making the BFG match a fourway. Um, what??

Chris Sabin vs. Jeremy Buck
I've got to agree with Kenny Powers here. Sorry, but Generation Me isn't convincing me that they are effective heels. All they are showing me is how they can jump a tag team champion when he's bandaged up like a mummy and limping from multiple injuries. How is that making them look strong at all? This match never should have happened since Sabin was injured, anyway. I would've preferred GenMe to take on a random tag team, and have Sabin interfere only to get overwhelmed by the numbers game. But to place Sabin in a match when he can barely walk to the ring was just foolish.

Backstage reactions to Pope
I actually really like how Jarrett overhears Pope's bitching and accuses him of having too much ego. However, I still don't know why Pope is going heel.

Hamada & Wilde vs. TBP (TNA KO Tag Titles)
It seems to me that TNA is trying to shove Lacey in the ring as much as possible in order to give her experience. But why do this on your flagship program? She is nowhere NEAR ready for live shows. The perfect role for her was a color character in TBP where she showed off her looks and gave us comic relief. Even though her promo was very effective (and a bit shocking), it was completely nullified when she was shoved in the ring. Now she'll only be remembered for her extensive chain of botches and horrific selling in her match with Hamada and Wilde. I don't really need to go over the match... I think everyone will agree that it was absolutely horrendous.

Dixie Carter announement
Dixie hyped up the Impact that will air before BFG. It's a great way to get hype for the PPV show and I love the $100k prize to the winner of the battle royal. That gives all involved parties incentive to win without having to build a "storyline" around it. Using money as motivation for pro-wrestlers to win matches has been lost for a while. I'm glad TNA is using it again.

Then we had to sit through another hyped up announcement about "big changes... not a surprise, but big changes." Well if it isn't a surprise to anyone then why build it up?? I'm so fed up with Dixie's empty promises. They've got more holes in them than Swiss cheese.

Samoa Joe vs. The Pope
I'm sure I'll get crucified by my fellow TNA fans for saying this but this feud is just stupid to me. The whole Jarrett, Nash, Sting, Samoa Joe thing is just a waste of time for me. I know why it started but I don't get where it's going. Probably because Hogan was originally supposed to be involved and now he's hospitalized. But either way, it just seems like this feud has turned into nothing but a bunch of match interruptions, run-ins, and sloppy battling outside of the ring before, during, and after matches. I really hope they open this storyline up soon. Anyway, Pope loses and won't be considered for the main event at BFG anymore.

Mr. Anderson and Kurt Angle promo
As much as I love Anderson, his promos, and his entire persona, I think he's taking this "ass hole" thing WAYYY too far. The joke's been beaten into the ground, pissed on, and walked all over. But once you get past all of that, the guy cuts a great promo with Kurt. It gave excellent buildup for the three-way match at BFG. However, where was Jeff Hardy while this was going on? I know he got massacred by Abyss later on, but it would've made more sense if they stressed that the attack happened DURING the promo. Maybe they did mention it and I missed it... oh, well.

Fourtune
Ric Flair chugged a Smirnoff Ice beer. That's a win, in my opinion.

When these guys aren't acting like king shits of the world and are actually interacting like a tandem of men with a common ground and common bond, I love Fourtune. But when they just stand in a ring and cut separate promos about how they have all of these personal relationships with everyone, it makes us lose sight of what we're looking at. How about we talk more about the matches and less about the correlation between them and other wrestlers? Well, this segment wasn't exactly that, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

Backstage segment with Nash, Sting, and Pope
So, Miss Tessmacher is a ****e and has banged Pope and Nash. In addition, she gives good pillow talk and has been leaking information to the guys and now they want to compare notes. Ok, they've got my interest.

Sabu vs. AJ Styles (Ladder Match)
I got a phone call and missed what these guys were trying to grab off the ladder. What was that thing, anyway? I think it was a key... probably to the Lockdown cage. However, the match itself was decent. A typical ladder match with typical spots and Fourtune/EV2.0 interference. This feud is nothing super special but everything we expect it to be.

Abyss promo
I can't wait until "they" is revealed, but not because I'm excited. I'm getting seriously annoyed with being shouted at by Abyss and the word "they" being stressed 90 times during his promos every week. And he really needs to stop spitting on the cameras. Anyway, now he wants to "slaughter" RVD. That's great for the kids.

Anyway, I know what the purpose of this promo was. I just wish it finished during Impact. Once again, they bled the show into Reaction. At least this week, the split between the shows made sense. Whether you saw Ink Inc make the save or not, you could still watch both shows separately and the point was made. However, I didn't see why Ink, Inc needed to make the save. They have absolutely nothing to do with this feud. It should be focused on nothing more than RVD and Abyss. But, I guess that since they're trying to jerk out our tears with Jesse Neal video packages, are trying to push him, and Tenay spoke about the relationship between Moore and Hardy, I guess they're interference is justified . I hope it pans out... I kind of like Ink Inc as a tag team. It's a very original concept, very modern, very easy for many to relate to, and those two are pretty decent wrestlers.

Conclusion
This show PISSES on last week's show. It wasn't "excellent" but it was definitely good. They squeezed a lot into this show and it all worked. The buildup for BFG was done well in this show. I think it had all the elements required for three weeks prior to their premier PPV show. The wrestling during the show was mediocre at best but every match had purpose (besides the KO tag team match and Samoa Joe vs. Pope). One of the better shows TNA has put on in the past few months. Let's hope they keep the momentum going into next week.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

TNA iMPACT! - September 23, 2010

Abyss vs. Rob Terry - I can't say that this match did much of anything for me. These are two wrestlers that just don't mesh all that well together. The match was extremely slow and choppy throughout. How much the crowd is into a match doesn't have an effect on me as far as whether or not I enjoy a match, but I couldn't help but notice how quiet the Impact Zone was for this match. Abyss lost via DQ after, mostly, smacking Terry around for about 4 minutes. This was kind of like a TNA version of The Big Show vs. Kane or either of those guys vs. the Great Khali. Thumbs Down

RVD - Prior to the ending of the match, RVD makes his way out through the crowd limping and heavily bandaged, carrying a chair. RVD picks up the mic and, surprisingly, actually gives a pretty decent promo compared to his usual standards. RVD actually seemed to generate some degree of emotions during the promo, something that's extremely rare, and he sold the various injuries sustained at Abyss' hands really well. RVD calling Bischoff to the ring and demanding a shot at whomever the TNA World Heavyweight Champion is after BFG and demanding a match with Abyss was pretty much a given. Generally speaking, it wasn't a great interview but it was head and shoulders better than what we usually see from RVD promos. Thumbs Up

The Pope & Eric Bischoff - This interview segment didn't really click with me all that much. Pope calls Bischoff a con man and complains about Angle & Hardy's presence in the main event at BFG as neither of them pinned the other. On one hand, the Pope's stance that neither Hardy or Angle won his match is true. On the other hand, both Pope & Bischoff neglect to mention that Pope was pinned by Anderson, so his presence in the TNA World Championship match at BFG really should be something of a moot point. Pope goes on about his accomplishments in TNA, such as gaining the pinfall in the 8 man tag match he competed in not long back or pinning Angle, but neither Bischoff nor the Pope did anything to really make me wanna buy into the argument because The Pope isn't in the league of Angle or Hardy when it comes to accomplishments or star power in general. I just thought it came off as sounding kinda whiney. Thumbs Down

Chris Sabin vs. Jeremy Buck - The match in and of itself was pretty solid for a 4 minute match. I was surprised to see that the match wasn't bogged down with high spots, pleasantly surprised at that. I like that they did have an actual wrestling match instead of a spotfest because being labeled a spot monkey can bog wrestlers down in the long run. I wasn't that crazy about the ending, however, as Buck should have gone over against an injured Sabin. If TNA is trying to build Generation Me to seem like threats to the Guns as TNA World Tag Team Champions, then they dropped the ball last night. The post match beatdown was alright and stealing Sabin's championship belt was a nice touch. Not wild about the ending, but the match in and of itself was pretty solid. Thumbs Up

Taylor Wilde & Hamada vs. The Beautiful People - If this match had featured Angelina Love teaming with Velvet instead of Lacey Von Erich, this would have actually been a pretty decent Knockout tag team match. Velvet was pretty decent in the ring as was Hamada, Taylor Wilde was crisp and smooth but Lacey is just so far below these three when it comes to in-ring ability that it's obvious to anyone that can see. Lacey is the Rosa Mendes of TNA Wrestling. Very nice to look at, but that's about it. During the match, they tried to make it look as if Lacey had Taylor Wilde right where she wanted her, but I didn't buy it at all. Lacey's not good enough to make it remotely believable. Madison Rayne interferes and causes Lacey to get pinned about the 4 min 20 sec mark. I never really thought I'd say this, but I think I'm just kind of burned out on The Beautiful People. They've been the centerpiece of the Knockout Division for months on end, they're out there every week doing the same repetitive stuff. If Mickie James heads to TNA, it can only be something of an improvement. Thumbs Down

Jesse Neal Vinyette - This was a nice little vinyette TNA did with Jesse Neal. It goes over some really personal stuff in his life, such as his time in the Navy and the death of his friend. I'd like to see TNA do more stuff like this. Thumbs Up

Dixie Carter Announcement - Dixie announced that on the live episode of iMPACT! on October 7, there'll be a $100,000 battle royal featuring every wrestler that's booked to have a match at Bound For Glory. The $100,000 money prize gives the battle royal something of an old school feel to it. It reminds me of various gimmick matches I saw when I was a kid in which the winner wins a hefty amount of cash. Of course, I don't expect anyone to actually get any money but it's a nice little touch. It'd also be a nice little way to give a final push and hype for BFG. Thumbs Up

Samoa Joe vs. D'Angelo Dinero - This match just didn't really hold any interest for me, I thought it was kind of boring really. The match in and of itself was pretty basic stuff in general until Jarrett, Sting & Nash came down to ringside and started brawling. Joe gets the win about the 5 minute mark with the rear naked choke before going out and brawling with Nash & Sting. I do like that this means that Dinero won't be just thrown back into the World Championship main event at BFG, but I still don't care about this thing with Jarrett, Nash & Sting and I just found the match to be kind of dull. Thumbs Down

Kurt Angle & Mr. Anderson - I thought this was a pretty good promo segment from these two. I definitely like Anderson better as a heel, but he was pretty good on the mic last night. I also liked the fact that he didn't say asshole every 5 seconds during the promo as that shit's long since lost its luster with me personally. Anderson put over Angle well, maybe outright kissed his ass a little too much, and Angle did make himself to look sympathetic. When you think about it, pro wrestling might really be just about all Angle's got left. The business, at least to some degree, did help cost him his marriage, I dunno what his relationship with his kids is like, his ex is now married to a guy that he works with and sees all the time, etc. On one hand, it's odd that Jeff Hardy wasn't out there as well but I'm not complaining as mic work isn't exactly one of Jeff Hardy's great strengths. Thumbs Up

AJ Styles vs. Sabu - This match was a ladder match, with a key dangling from the hook, with the winner giving their respective factions a one man advantage during their Lethal Lockdown match at BFG. As far as ladder matches go, I thought this was extremely weak. The usage of the ladder in and of itself as a weapon or to be used with spots, which generally ranks among the highlights of ladder matches, was practically zero. I didn't sense much of a good meshing between Styles & Sabu and, predictably, there was interference from EV2.0 and Fortune. They all brawled at fought around the ringside area while Styles & Sabu continued the match and took a lot of attention away from the match I thought. When it comes to in-ring work, Styles has been so watered down as a heel that it's almost hard to watch at times. I'm not saying that to put him down, it's just that Styles is capable of sooooooo much more than he's generally been showing in the ring for months now. Sabu has the match won only for James Storm to hit him with the beer bottle and practically help carry Styles up to the ladder where he unsnaps the key about the 15 minute mark. They should have just booked a standard match between these two as it would have been better than the weak as dishwater ladder match they had. Thumbs Down

Abyss - iMPACT! closed last night with Jeff Hardy, presumably, being beaten down in the locker room by Abyss, even though the camera doesn't show us anything. Abyss carries an unconcious Hardy out to the ring. Abyss kept doing the "They" and "Janice" shit while breathing heavily into the mic like he's on the verge of an orgasm stuff that he normally does. Van Dam came out after Abyss called him out, got a few shots only for Abyss to put him down. Abyss was beating down RVD and it would have been a solid ending to the show if not for Ink Inc. showing up and running Abyss off. Ink Inc.? Really? Two mid-card guys that haven't been seen in forever running off THE monster heel of TNA? Abyss needs to lay the both of them out next week. Overall, the segment was ok. I do think that the run in of Ink Inc. made little to no sense and didn't do Abyss any favors either. Thumbs Up

Overall Show - I thought iMPACT! last night was a generally better show than usual. They hyped the BFG main event and live iMPACT! well and basically moved along the major storylines that they've got going on right now smoothly. I still don't care about the vast majority of these feuds, but TNA did a good job with moving them along just the same. For the most part, wrestling content on the show was mediocre. The only match I really got all that much out of was Chris Sabin vs. Jeremy Buck and it wasn't spectacular or anything. There were some good promo segments on the show and I thought those coupled with the general hype for BFG, 10/7 and the smooth flow of the storylines made the show passable. It wasn't great, but I thought it was better than usual. C

 

[Joe's Gonna Kill You]

ReAction

I thought yesterday was another fantastic episode of ReAction. The segments were all interesting and helped to build the feuds. Reaction does a great job of building feuds and they did that yesterday. It was a very entertaining Hour of Reaction all the backstage were done well and it continues to be one of the better things in TNA

A+

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Rob Terry VS Abyss

I wasn't too excited about this match, and I was kind of glad that it didn't go too long. RVD is shown backstage. He's being restrained by security and Jeff Hardy. Abyss snaps, and he hits Terry with the steel steps. The Monster goes on a rampage, until RVD makes his triumphant return.

RVD Returns

RVD does a good job at selling the attack from Abyss and Janice. He's wearing a lot of bandages, and he's walking like a 90 year old man. RVD is holding a chair, and eventually, Abyss goes away after security gets in between these two. Rob calls out Bischoff for a talk. RVD wishes all three men in the championship match at Bound For Glory good luck. RVD wants Abyss at Bound For Glory, and Eric makes sure to grant his wish. I enjoyed the match between RVD and Abyss at The Whole F'N Show. It wasn't great, but it did deliver. I'm sure that the outcome of this match will play a huge part in the "they" storyline.

The Pope Isn't Happy

The Pope decides to voice his displeasure with his current status in TNA. He says that Bischoff is full of crap, and he whines about being held down. Bischoff doesn't want to have it out in front of the fans, so he tells Pope to talk to him in the back.

Lacey explodes in the dressing room. She throws a tantrum in front of Velvet and Angelina. She's still pissed about what Madison did to her last week.

The Pope and Bischoff argue backstage. Pope wants in the title match at Bound For Glory, so Bischoff decides to make him an offer. If he can beat Samoa Joe, Eric will consider placing him in the match.

Jeremy VS Chris Sabin

Bryan Hebner wasn't going to have any foul play, so he ejected Max from the ringside area.This was pretty short, but this match wasn't bad. Sabin did a good job of selling the shoulder injury, and of course the obvious beat down came after everything was over. Sabin got the win, but he couldn't over come the numbers game.

Lacey and Velvet head to the ring.

Recap of The Pope's bitching, and Jarrett's explanation as to why Pope is where he is from ReAction from last week.

TNA Knockouts Tag Team Title Match- Lacey & Velvet VS Hamada & Taylor Wilde

I don't think this tag match was as bad as last week's match. Lacey still looked horrible here, and she did this weird move on Taylor while on the top rope. It looked like she was trying to strangle her with her crotch, and then she turned into this very awkward hurricanrana. Madison comes from behind, and she hits Lacey with Tara's biker helmet. Angelina comes out for a stare down with Madison. I'm really tired of seeing this every week. Wilde and Hamada had yet another victory, but AGAIN, everything gets overshadowed by Beautiful People Drama.

EV2.0 shows up. I almost changed the channel when I saw this.

Jesse Neal's story is shown. Look, Neal's story is inspirational, but I just don't think too many people care about this guy.

Dixie joins Tenay and Tazz. She announces the $100,000 battle royal for the live edition of Impact on October 7th. Tenay and Tazz try hard to become excited about it. They talk about changes in TNA.

Pope VS Samoa Joe

I was anticipating this match, and things were going good, until Jeff Jarrett shows up. Jarrett comes out to cheer on Joe, and then Nash and Sting show up to attack Jeff. While this is going on, Joe chokes out Pope.

Joe rushes to Jarrett's aid, and another brawl erupts between the four men. I just can't get into this storyline. Sting's quest to rid TNA of the "cancer" has become stale to me. Also, you have to wonder what role will Hulk Hogan play in all of this when he returns.

Tommy Dreamer is with EV2.0 backstage. He talks about Sabu beating AJ in the ladder match later tonight.

The Asshole is on his way to the ring.

Mr.Anderson/Kurt Angle Segment

Anderson calls out Kurt Angle. Anderson talks about not being in the business for politics. Anderson talks about swinging from the boss's sack. I'm guessing this was a shot at WWE. He says it's impossible to do this with Dixie because.... well she's a woman. Angle talks about determination, and he says he will not lose.

I enjoyed this segment. When Kurt Angle becomes serious, he is so fun to watch. The look in his eyes when he told Anderson he won't lose was so fierce. I'm still not too crazy about the triple threat match, but this was a good segment between these two.

Ric Flair gives Fortune a pep talk about the match with EV2.0 at Bound For Glory. He gets AJ in the zone for his match with Sabu. Flair gets "iced," so he has to chug a bottle of Smirnoff Ice. Smirnoff Ice? Really Flair? Surely you could've pounded something stronger. Flair chugs the Smirnoff, and while I do wish he would've drank something stronger, I have to admit, this was very funny.

The Shore is coming in two weeks. The Shore TNA? I hope they don't plan on dragging this thing out for too long.

Nash and Sting talk to Pope about "information" backstage. Apparently, Tessmacher is the key, and now Pope is aligned with Nash and Sting. Wow, now I'm almost completely turned off by this storyline.

EV2.0 VS Fortune recap is shown. Dreamer continues to whine.

AJ Styles VS Sabu- Ladder match

Flair and Matt Morgan are in AJ's corner, and Mick Foley is out to show his support for Sabu. I've never liked Sabu, but this match was pretty entertaining, until the melee took place. Morgan and Flair take out Foley on the outside, and then all hell breaks lose. Members from both stables hit the ring and outside for a brawl. Sabu gives us one of his death defying moments by diving on security and Dreamer. Sabu almost wins this, but James Storm whacks him with a beer bottle. Storm literally helps AJ up the ladder, and Fortune has the advantage for the Lethal Lockdown match at Bound For Glory.I didn't like how this thing ended, but I know this was just another way to advance the storyline between these two stables.

Abyss Snaps.....Again

Jeff Hardy and RVD talk backstage. Jeff wants to win for Rob, and be the first to give him his title shot. RVD walks away, and guess who shows up.....Abyss! It sounds like Abyss is whipping Hardy or inflicting some type of other brutal punishment on him. Abyss carries Hardy to the ring with Janice. Abyss gets on the mic and bashes RVD. He warns about the arrival of "they" again. RVD hits the ring. He tries, but Abyss is just too much for him.

Just like last week, the ending of Impact spills over on to ReAction. Abyss is about to cause more damage, but Ink Inc comes down for the save? I know Moore has the connection with Hardy, but this TNA's biggest storyline, and now Ink Inc gets involved? Abyss spits all over the camera, and threatens Dixie Carter. He says she will be unemployed eventually.

This episode of Impact wasn't too great, but it was far better than last week's terrible show. I was glad that I didn't have to hear Tommy Dreamer cry again, and Generation Me didn't cut a promo. AJ VS Sabu was the highlight of the night. I really don't care that much about The Beautiful People anymore. Their drama dominates Impact every week, and it's just getting old now. It seems as if Pope is now officially with Nash and Sting. I don't know how Tessmacher is going to fit into all of this, and Hogan is still on the shelf, so there's still a lot of stuff that needs to be covered here. Still, I'm not crazy about this storyline. Then there's the BIG storyline involving Abyss and "they." We'll probably have to wait until Bound For Glory to understand this whole thing in it's entirety, because TNA is being real secretive when it comes to the clues. But hey, at least we get to see Abyss torture more people every week.

 

[klunderbunker]

Impact
Date: September 23, 2010
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Taz, Mike Tenay
Episode Title: They Say….Only the Strong Will Survive

After the two and a half hours that accomplished nothing at all I’m really not sure what we have left for this week. We’ve got three shows left before BFG and I’m not sure what they’re going to do until then. The rating is likely going to be low tonight due to shows like The Office and Grey’s Anatomy coming back on tonight. Show’s on so let’s get to it.

We recap the events of last week with Dixie being pissed off at Eric for no apparent reason other than we have a three way dance again since her idea didn’t work.

We immediately go to a match.

Abyss vs. Rob Terry

RVD is trying to get to the ring but is held back. Great to see that the guy that was stripped of the title is back in time for the PPV but isn’t in the title match for no apparent reason. Also great to see that a torturer is out there in a ring and everyone is fine with it. Terry hits his spin kick but gets taken down by a clothesline.

Terry counters something into a World’s Strongest Slam and a powerslam. And we have dueling chants already. Chokeslam crushes Terry for two. This power vs. power thing is kind of working for me here. We cut to RVD and Hardy in the back where RVD is trying to get in. Back in the arena Abyss pulls the guard rail apart and hits Terry with it, giving Terry the win.

Rating: C-. This was FAR better than I expected. The big beatdown is a good thing to see as it fits Abyss being crazy, but seriously Terry could be used for so much more. The power vs. power thing was working for me here but then again I like Terry. Decent enough match to start us off here and it plugged an angle, more or less making the show already better than last week.

RVD comes through the crowd and has at least 8 body parts bandaged. He brings a chair with him and blasts one of the security dudes with it. Abyss is forced out and the former champion, as in the more recent one, limps into the ring. Van Dam wants Bischoff here now as we take a break.

He’s mad at Eric who is already out there when we get back. RVD is mad about the tournament which is his title. He wishes all three good luck, including saying Anderson twice in a funny moment. This is serious RVD here. His doctor says he’ll be cleared to wrestle by October 10, which of course is the day of BFG. The match is of course made for BFG with about zero prodding needed to make Bischoff say yes. We needed a break to get to this? Ah ok Bischoff has more to say. Ok no he doesn’t. Or does he?

Pope comes out and says he’s awesome. He says that since Angle and Hardy didn’t win and are in the title match, he should be in also because he didn’t win. Bischoff is a con man apparently and he wants to discuss this in the back in private. Sounds like Sidious.

The Beautiful People want the tag titles. Of course they do. Lacey sits behind them and SNAPS about Rayne and Tara. Kind of awesome actually.

Pope wants to bitch about things even more so Bischoff makes it Joe vs. Pope tonight and if Pope wins he might make it a 4way. Ok then.

Jeremy Buck vs. Chris Sabin

Should be good. Max is thrown out immediately. This isn’t as fast paced as you’d expect actually but it does have some spots in it that are. Jeremy goes for Sabin’s neck and shoulder which is taped up. Full nelson goes on which is a logical move. Tornado DDT is blocked as Sabin gets an enziguri and a very quick rollup for the pin. And it’s another two and a half minute match. Max runs out for the beatdown post match. Double elevated DDT to Sabin. They steal his belt after the match.

Rating: N/A. Too short to mean much here but it wasn’t bad at all. They’re pushing Gen Me very well as a heel team which is something that is needed. The Guns need to retain at the PPV but this has been a pretty decent buildup I’ve thought. They’re making the challengers seem like a threat which is the most important thing they can do. This was more storyline advancement than a match, which is fine at times.

Knockouts Tag Titles up next.

Before the match Jarrett and Pope bitch some more.

Knockouts Tag Titles: Taylor Wilde/Hamada vs. Lacey Von Erich/Velvet Skye

Hamada gets a big kick on Velvet and her face is absolutely hilarious. Moonsault misses of course but it would have landed on her legs anyway. These titles remind me of the way tag titles were defended back in the 70s. There are no stories or anything like that here. We just have champions and they fight whoever the two girls we can get together are in a random title match.

Lacey can’t even get on the second rope properly. Rana out of the corner is in slow motion and Hamada makes a save after the pin is kicked out of. This is PAINFULLY sloppy. Madison runs in and hits Lacey in the back with the helmet. Not that she goes down or anything, but a kick from Taylor gets her the pin. Angelina comes down and looks great. She stares Madison down.

Rating: F+. If the girls weren’t hot this would be a total failure. Everything was pointless, the moves were sloppy as hell and the ending was just horrible. The whole match didn’t work in the slightest and showed how bad the division is at this point. At least they’re incorporating some more people now and Mickie should help a good deal. Just horrible here though.

EV 2.0 is here. Oh freaking great.

We get a video package about Jesse freaking Neal of all people. Yeah because SO many people care about him. This is something worth putting on TV?

Dixie Carter is on commentary as we send out get well wishes for Hulk Hogan. She makes a battle royal for the live Impact with everyone on the BFG card for $100,000. Ok then.

D’Angelo Dinero vs. Samoa Joe

If Pope wins he’s in the BFG main event. Joe has absolutely nothing to win here so he’s pissed off. Total dominance by Joe so far. Pope makes a comeback and hits the worst atomic drop ever, getting him up maybe 3 inches. Snap powerslam by Joe gets two as momentum shifts one more time. Pope gets in position for the DDE but Jarrett comes out because Pope bitched about him earlier. Cue Sting and Nash to beat up Jarrett. Joe grabs the Clutch and gets the win before joining the fight. More or less he was like “oh wait have to make him tap real fast. Time to fight now.”

Rating: D. Another boring and bad match that went nowhere at all, only serving to set up a bigger angle afterwards as we still wait for resolution somewhere. These two don’t work together well at all and they looked kind of horrible here. Pope’s bitching is now done and Joe has no direction for the most part. He’s in the feud for no apparent reason other than Jarrett said BE IN THIS FEUD WITH ME and Joe just kind of got into it. Another pointless match and seemingly pointless segment here.

Dreamer is in the back with EV and we get two matches announced. Lethal Lockdown with Fourtune vs. EV 2.0 at BFG and Sabu vs. AJ in a ladder match for the advantage in Lethal Lockdown tonight. This took 30 seconds.

Anderson is here to talk of course. You knew it wasn’t to wrestle. He calls out Angle and sucks up to him of course. Angle says he loves this business and that maybe he is crazy for trying to do what he does. They shake hands and the segment ends with no Hardy or even a mention of him by the wrestlers.

Flair gives Fourtune and AJ a pep talk, saying how he needs to get them the advantage tonight for BFG. They do some weird drinking game with Flair that makes no sense to me but whatever. Ah apparently he had to down a Smirnoff Ice and this is hilarious for some reason.

Shore is still coming. This makes my head hurt.

Nash talks to Pope, in his FIFTH appearance in 90 minutes. He and Sting talk to Pope about Tessmacher who is a key to this whole thing somehow?

We get a package on Fourtune vs. EV 2.0, which makes me shake my head. It’s 2010 and ECW is the focus of a major storyline.

Sabu vs. AJ Styles

This is a ladder match and DREAM match according to Tenay. Whose dream would that be Mike? Sabu goes for the ladder so AJ stops him. I’ve never gotten that thinking process as AJ has to get it too later. We keep getting told this is a dream match although it’s not my dream for sure. AJ shows some very nice psychology by constantly keeping the ladder from Sabu, the weapons master.

The ladder is constantly thrown to the floor and kept out of the ring until AJ can get some shots in with it. And here’s Foley coming down to the ring as we go to a break. Flair and Morgan are here as we’re back. Without going into details, EV and Fourtune all come down and it’s a bit wild brawl while the match is still going on. Sabu pushes the ladder over and then does a big dive to the floor where he takes out security and Dreamer, missing Fourtune entirely.

Roode stops him from winning the match but takes a GREAT Gore. Last Call takes Rhyno down and both guys go up the ladder. Down goes AJ but Storm cracks Sabu with a beer bottle and helps AJ up the ladder to get the key for advantage in the Lethal Lockdown match.

Rating: D. Total mess here as it once again becomes about Fourtune vs. EV instead of having the match be the focus of things. The ladder aspect here meant nothing at all as it was just there to add onto the hardcore aspect. This would have been much better off as a no DQ match or something like that. As a normal match it would have been decent but as a ladder match it’s pretty bad. Sabu didn’t botch much at all though so things are looking up for him.

Jeff talks to RVD and is glad he’s back. Jeff looks nervous about something and Abyss jumps him after RVD leaves. Abyss talks about taking Jeff to the same place RVD went and we hear something hitting Jeff as we go to a break.

Video on Abyss with a soundbyte from Eric while the Beautiful People’s music is playing in the background.

Abyss comes out with Hardy out cold over his shoulder and is holding Janice. No blood it seems on Jeff though. He says he’ll stop RVD’s breathing at Bound For Glory and the rest of his usual stuff. Abyss says Janice wants RVD tonight. Van Dam comes down with a chair and gets his ass kicked. Abyss holds up the board and Impact is over. We start ReAction with Abyss still holding the board up. Ink Inc makes the save.

Overall Rating: C-. Well the show didn’t suck and it’s LIGHT YEARS ahead of last week, but it’s still nothing great. Some stories were kind of advanced, but if Ms. Tessmacher winds up being the key to this whole ordeal, some people are going to be PISSED. It would indeed be shocking, but there’s a big difference between a shock that people are interested in or makes sense and a shock for the sake of a shock. I’ll readily agree I never would have expected her but at the same time that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing. Now granted it’s too early to tell for sure, but if it’s her then a lot of people will be furious. However I don’t think they’ll give that away this early so my money would be on her just being a piece in the game rather than leader.

Overall the show was decent but really nothing special as a lack of good wrestling again kind of hurts it. They’re really cutting down on the in ring time but the matches at least all had a point. This is a definite step up for TNA but not by much. Anything is better than last week’s though.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Tonight's show is pretty much in the same place it was last week. Nothing really new or exciting to announce or add to Bound For Glory besides the hype for the Before the Glory live special next week. The 4 corner divas match was announced for the Knockouts title and a tease for a six man tag match with Hogan possibly returning to the ring at the PPV.

TNA has been doing a good job of letting people believe Bischoff and Hogan are the bad guys even though its still confusing as hell. Pope, Nash, and Sting are in on it and Mr. Anderson thinks Kurt Angle is in on the conspiracy. Even Vince Russo talked about the conspiracy on ReAction. Next week should be an interesting show with Hogan's and Russo's appearance. Not to mention the Foley vs. Flair last man standing match.

I enjoyed Flair and Foley's promo against one another, but it just felt ridiculous. I was expecting much better from two of the best promo men in the business. It seems like Flair and Foley are trying to see who is crazier then the other. I love seeing The Nature Boy uncooked and uncensored, but less is more sometimes.

AJ Styles vs. Brian Kendrick could have been a decent match up if Kendrick wasn't treated as a total lunatic. The difference between Kendrick and Foley or even Brian Pillman is that their crazy man gimmick worked. No one seems to care to listen to Kendrick's crazy man gimmick in TNA.

There wasn't much to talk about as far as matches are concerned. Dreamer and Rhino got a victory over Beer Money and GenMe defeated Ink Inc. Nothing special there. Mr. Anderson got a win over Samoa Joe and there was no clear winner in the cage match with Angle vs. Abyss.

This show was just so so. Hopefully the live edition of Impact next week will have something for viewers to sink their teeth into besides just a battle royal and a Beautiful People tag match.

 

[Joe's Gonna Kill You]

I thought tonight's show was decent nothing was bad but nothing was great either. Their were some decent matches. Dreamer & Rhyno vs Beer Money was decent for the time giving. Gen Me vs Ink. Inc was good not special but good. I really enjoyed the promo from Foley and Flair and it actually got me interested in their match next week. AJ vs Kendrick was decent and it was nice to see the TV title actually defended. I actually enjoyed the Main Event and it was pretty considering it involved Abyss.

Grade C+

 

[Jack-Hammer]

TNA iMPACT! - September 30, 2010

Opening Segment/Kurt Angle & Abyss Brawl - I’m a little mixed on this. On one hand, Angle delivered a solid promo inside the ring putting over Anderson and Jeff Hardy. Angle using this time to hype the main event between him and Abyss was also solid and made sense. I would have just preferred for Angle and Abyss to have a war of words instead of fighting. TNA has done so many brawls in such a short span of time that I’m honestly sick of them. It’s a card that TNA has played to death over the course of the past few months and I’m tired of them. A brawl is supposed to be something that’s sort of special, something that’s saved in order to give a match or feud a little extra kick. But a brawl is simply par for the course in TNA and it didn’t make me all that interested to see these two fight. Thumbs Down

Beer Money vs. Tommy Dreamer & Rhino - This had the potential to be a fairly solid tag team match. The match in and of itself was ok, nothing overly memorable or spectacular. What ultimately killed this match for me was the Lumberjack portion of the match. Beer Money brought out the rest of Fortune as their Lumberjacks while Dreamer & Rhino brought out EV2.0 for theirs, so of course it’s all going to boil down into yet another brawl between the factions. Dreamer & Rhino get the win about the 5.5 minute mark while both sides get into a brawl. There wasn’t all that much use of the Lumberjacks in this match as they’re intended. The match was little more than an excuse to have another long, drawn out brawl like we’ve seen a dozen times from these two factions already. Thumbs Down

Ric Flair & Mick Foley - I’m sure that there’ll probably be a lot of people that really loved this but I thought it was just kind of sad. There was great energy from both of them but the sight of them beating the shit out of themselves to make themselves bleed just struck me as very sad. All the shouting and screaming they were doing, Flair running around and doing his thing honestly made me think I was watching a couple of old, homeless winos arguing over a bottle of booze in a paper bag. I know a lot of people love Ric Flair, I do too as a matter of fact, but I have no desire whatsoever to see him and Foley in a Last Man Standing match on next week’s live iMPACT!. Thumbs Down

Generation Me vs. Ink Inc. - I thought this was a pretty decent tag team match between these two teams. I expected it to be some sort of spotfest but I was pleasantly surprised. I like that TNA has actually been having guys that are well known for spots to actually have wrestling matches lately. The match wasn’t overly spectacular, but it was a solid 5 minute match with Generation Me picking up the win. The MCMGs came out post match and ran GenMe off with the Guns getting the tag title belt back that Generation Me took last week. As I said, nothing overly great but it was a solid outing. Thumbs Up

Mr. Anderson vs. Samoa Joe - This was a surprisingly weak and easily forgettable match here. The Pope came out to do commentary before the match and I thought served as more of a distraction from the match than anything else. There’s really not much to say about the match in and of itself. This could have potentially had a big match feel to it even though there’s virtually no chance that Anderson would have lost. Anderson gets the clean pin at about the 4 minute mark. Thumbs Down

Bischoff, Pope, Nash, Sting Promo - The only part about this segment that I enjoyed was Eric Bischoff’s work. Bischoff is really at his best on the mic when he’s tearing into someone. As for the rest of it, I’m just sorry that The Pope and Samoa Joe have been dragged into this bullshit. The only thing I’ve liked about this angle that’s featured a lot of the remaining “old guys” in TNA is that it’s kept them out of title scenes. I haven’t cared what this whole thing has been all about for a while and nothing was done last night to make me care. Thumbs Down

Knockout Segement - The Beautiful People are in Miss Tessmacher’s office backstage and it’s basically a big shouting match. Eventually, it was announced that there’d be a four way match at BFG for the Knockout title between Madison Rayne, Tara, Velvet Sky and Angelina Love. The Knockout title is a joke, so I don’t particularly have any interest in this match at all. Shit, to one degree or another, this comprises about 99% of what we’ve seen regarding the Knockouts on TNA over the past several months anyhow. All the mingled shouting and bleeped out curse words between the bimbos made me feel as if though I was watching Jersey Shore or an episode of the Real Housewives or something. Thumbs Down

AJ Styles vs. Brian Kendrick - This has the potential to be a pretty good match, but I just don’t take Brian Kendrick seriously. I honestly don’t know what people see in this guy. This whole Zen/Ninja/JedI thing he’s doing, coupled with his incomprehensible promos, is extremely lame. With Flair and Matt Morgan out by ringside, the outcome was completely obvious even before AJ Styles got his robe off. This was a match for the TNA Television Championship and, like most title matches we see on iMPACT!, it was treated as if it were nothing. Styles gets the win via the Styles Clash after Morgan interferes. Thumbs Down

Kurt Angle vs. Abyss - In general, this was a pretty good outing for these two. They worked pretty well together. I wasn’t particularly interested in this match, but I think it was a pretty good main event overall. The spot with Angle leaping off the cage and being caught in the Black Hole Slam looked pretty ridiculous and Angle landed awkwardly. Abyss ripping the cage door off it’s hinges was corny and just looked extremely weak to me. The one real letdown about this match for me as that there wasn’t a finish. How do you have a steel cage match without a finish? I know that both wrestlers have big matches at BFG, but booking a gimmick match like one as time honored as a cage match without a finish just really rubs me raw. Still, that aside, the match was generally pretty good and that had a lot to do with Kurt Angle. Thumbs Up

Overall Show - I thought that this week’s show was weaker than the one TNA put on last week. Last week’s episode was far from great, but it was pretty decent. This week’s show felt more like normal to me. I do think that TNA has done a very good job thus far of hyping BFG and next week’s live episode of iMPACT!. Aside from the GenM vs. Ink Inc. match and Kurt Angle vs. Abyss, I didn’t really care all that much for last night’s show. I’m no more interested in Fortune vs. EV2.0 than I’ve ever been, I still don’t care about whatever in the frig the thing with Nash, Sting, Bischoff, Hogan, Jarrett and whoever else has got going on, it was the same old same old with the Knockouts, a championship match that meant nothing against a ridiculous opponent and two old men making fools out of themselves with their crazy rantings. D

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Kurt Angle/Abyss Brawl

Kurt Angle is shown backstage. He's talking to Hulk Hogan on his cell phone. He tells the Hulkster he will take out Abyss tonight. Once Angle gets to the ring, he cuts a promo about the triple threat match at Bound For Glory. He vows to take out Abyss. The Monster comes out, and the brawl begins. This of course went into the backstage area, where Abyss and Angle traded low blows. Security broke this up, and the only thing that excited me about this whole thing was seeing D-Lo Brown again.

Tommy Dreamer & Rhino VS Beer Money-Lumberjack Match

Members from EV2.0 and Fortune were at ringside as lumberjacks, so you just knew another brawl was coming. Dreamer and Rhino picked up the win to help gain some momentum for EV2.0 in a very quick match, and then the big brawl erupted...again. I've grown tired of seeing these two stables go at it. I don't want to see EV2.0 win at Bound For Glory, but I hope this will end after next Sunday, because I just can't get into this feud. After the brawl dies down, Mick Foley calls Ric Flair into the ring.

Mick Foley & Ric Flair Go Insane

I was at a loss of words as I watched this last night. We all know about the past between these two, and man did they go nuts last night. Flair and Foley screamed at each other the entire time, they busted themselves open, and Flair beat up Foley's new book. Flair talks about his Wrestlemaina 24 retirement match with Shawn Michales, and he says he will bring his family to next week's show, so they can watch him end Foley in a Last Man Standing match. Flair looked as if he was having a nervous breakdown, but Foley did show a lot of emotion here, and I always enjoy hearing him cut a promo. Although, I'm not excited at all about the Last Man Standing match. I enjoyed their I Quit match from Summerslam 2006, but I think next week's match will terrible. Both men really can't go in the ring anymore, so I don't expect this to be a good or decent match.

Ink Inc. VS Generation Me

Not a bad match from these two teams. This didn't remind me of the Beer Money VS MCMG series, but the match was solid enough. After the match, the Guns come down and retrieve Sabin's tag team belt.

Samoa Joe VS Mr.Anderson

The Pope joins Tenay and Tazz for commentary. He brings Nash and Sting with him. Pope dodges a bunch of questions about his affiliation with Sting and Nash. As far as them match goes, it was okay. Anderson hit the Mic Check for the win, but I just couldn't focus on the match. The camera kept showing Sting, Nash, and Pope. Joe kept looking at all three men the entire time, and most of the commentary wasn't even focused on the match. After the match ends, Nash goes down to the ring. He tries to recruit Joe, but Joe doesn't accept his offer. Security breaks up another brawl.

Nash, Sting, and Pope Talk About The Conspiracy.....Again

Nash, Pope, and Sting run down Bischoff and Hogan. They talk about how they have everyone fooled. Sting was probably the best on the mic here, but how many times have we heard this type of promo? Every week it's the same thing, and now the Pope sounds just like Sting and Nash as far as promo content goes. Pope just adds a little bit more swagger and style to his promos. That's the only difference. Sting propses a six man tag team match for Bound For Glory......The Pope, Nash,and Sting VS Jeff Jarrett, Samoa Joe,and Hulk Hogan. Bischoff comes out with Tessmacher. He says he's disappointed in Pope. He calls out Nash and Sting for being selfish, and he says things were the same in WCW. Bischoff says Hogan will be on Impact next week to answer the challenge. Umm, yeah, I don't think Hogan is going to wrestle after having sever back problems recently. I wonder who the mystery partner could be?

More Beautiful People Drama

So we're backstage, and Miss Tessmacher is trying to find a solution for the drama between The Beautiful People. There was a lot of arguing, cursing, and name calling between these five women. Tessmacher announces a Fatal Four Way for the TNA Knockouts title at Bound For Glory. Tara, Madison, Velvet, and Angelina will be going against each of other for the gold. This is something else I'm tired of seeing. Beautiful People drama has dominated TNA for a good while now, and I think this stable has become VERY stale. Also, WHAT ABOUT TAYLOR WILDE AND HAMADA?!?! They are the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions, but they are constantly overshadowed by The Beautiful People. They might not even have a match at Bound For Glory, and if they do, it might be a dark match.

AJ Stlyes VS Brian Kendrick- TNA World TV Title

Styles was pissed at Kendrick for taking it to him earlier in the night, and he has a chance at revenge in this match. Flair comes out still covered in blood. He goes to the announce table, and he continues to threaten Foley. Yeah, I think we got the point earlier. You want to destroy him. I don't think you need to say anything else Naitch. Anyway, Morgan and Flair are at ringside, so you just know Kendrick is going to get screwed here some how. Flair distracts Earl Hebner, and this allows Morgan to interfere. Styles hits the Styles Clash for the win. This was a short match, and you knew the interference was coming sooner or later, so I just couldn't get into this. This could've been good, but it just felt pointless, and you knew AJ wasn't going to lose the title here.

Abyss VS Kurt Angle-Steel Cage

This was the highlight of the night. This match was pretty intense, and Angle bled a lot. Abyss countering Angle's leap off of the cage into the Black Hole Slam looked awesome. This spilled over on to ReACTION. Abyss went nuts. He attacked Bryan Hebner, ripped the door off of the steel cage, and he went for his favorite weapon, Janice. Kurt Angle had threw this weapon out of the ring earlier in the match, but now Abyss had it back. Angle fights back, but Abyss is too much. Luckily Mr.Anderson comes down for the save. There was some tension between these two(most of it came from Angle) and this helped build more hype for the title match at Bound For Glory.

Everything just fell flat for me last night. The Flair/Foley segment was more entertaining than a lot of other stuff on this show. The Beautiful People drama is soooo painful to watch now, and TNA could at least show Taylor Wilde and Hamada during a backstage segment every now and then. Angle VS Abyss was the highlight of the night. Still, I'm not too excited for Bound For Golry, but hopefully next week's show can be worth watching, because it's the last one for before Bound For Glory, so hopefully TNA can do something better than this episode of Impact.