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

[TellMeWhy]

Impact was quite good and has been going good for a while. It's funny how the critics are no where to be found to break the show piece by piece and segment by segment with a holier than thou approach as always and give it a D- rating when they see fit. As soon as the show starts showing progression, they lurk back into the darkness. I guess those are the haters for you. They come out like scavengers when the hate is available to do what they do best which is hate.

Anyway, TNA is pretty good. I hope they keep it up so the haters will have nothing more to say and will be shut down as much as possible. Anyway a big thumbs up to TNA for the rebranding effort and the entire Impact Wrestling campaign. I can now safely say that once again Impact is showing consistency and is now my favorite show of the week again. If this is the path Impact wrestling will continue on, I look forward to the journey every Thursday.

 

[Weems2k]

I think it's funny how when TNA first started the Impact Wrestling campaign that it would be all wrestling all the time right off the bad. Little do "they" know that this is a gradual thing with is just starting to come through now.

 

[MB1025]

I think it's funny how when TNA first started the Impact Wrestling campaign that it would be all wrestling all the time right off the bad. Little do "they" know that this is a gradual thing with is just starting to come through now.

Exactly and that is what Eric Bischoff said. He said changes would come over time and that they would test different ways to structure and produce the show. The people who watch and usually don't enjoy Impact Wrestling are starting to enjoy more things about it and that is a good thing. As long as they keep going with a formula that works they can pull old and new viewers into it.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

TNA Impact Wrestling - July 7, 2011

Opening Segment - I'm a little mixed on the opening of the show. I thought it came across generally as just kind of lackluster, a little blah. Ray was good on the mic as usual, Steiner did his part but I simply do not see what TNA, or anyone for that matter, sees in Gunner. I just think they've tried to move him up too high much too fast. However, the opening did basically set up the main storyline of the night with Anderson's decision of whether or not to join Immortal and it set up a pretty stacked main event. Nothing groundbreaking or particularly great, but it ultimately did what it was supposed to do. Thumbs In The Middle

Crimson vs. Bobby Roode - Pretty decent match generally speaking with some good back and forth action. I will say that Crimson looked pretty crisp in the match and generally looked more comfortable I thought. It told a good story with Roode selling the shoulder injury and giving him something of a reason for losing the match. It was obvious that Roode wasn't going to win this match as TNA seems bent on making Crimson as close to the next Goldberg as they can. The match ends a little before the 5 minute mark with Crimson hitting Red Sky, what he calls his version of the Sky High, for the win. This was a Bound For Glory Series match and it netted Crimson an additional 7 points, putting him in the lead by 10 points. **1/4

Abyss & Brian Kendrick - I didn't care for this at all. Kendrick's zen philosopher gimmick just doesn't do anything for me, nor has it ever. I just tune out whenever he starts on this stuff. Abyss has been terrible as X Division Champion and to be completely honest, I'd actually forgotten he was X Division Champion until last night. How pityful is that? We've got an X Division ppv coming up and the reigning X Division Champion is the least relevant participant. Kendrick stole Abyss' mask, Abyss came down and got it back, he listened to Kendrick wax philosophical for a few minutes before tearing him apart. Come to find out these two have a match at Destination X and this did absolutely nothing to make me want to see it. Abyss obliterated Kendrick, no sold everything Kendrick did and basically used his entire move set here. I won't be at all surprised if Kendrick gets an upset victory to win the title at Destination X, but it means nothing at this point. Thumbs Down

Jack Evans vs. Tony Neese vs. Jeff Sorensen - I'm sure I'll probably be in the minority here but I wasn't super into this match. Don't get me wrong, there was a lot of action and some good fast paced energy but I guess the unfamiliarity with the wrestlers involved did play a part in it. I know everyone is going gaga over Jack Evans but, to me, he just came across as another spot monkey with a few very flashy and exciting looking moves. From an overall standpoint, Tony Neese is the one that impressed me the most. He has a good look, has a lot of athletic ability and showed some good general all around presence in the ring. Predictably, Jack Evans did get the win after hitting the 630 splash, which did look extremely cool, a little before the 6 minute mark. **1/2

Sting & Kurt Angle - Sting's new character seems to be something that you either love or hate and I definitely hate it. I dunno, it just hasn't clicked with me and is such a cheesy rip off of Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker that it just doesn't work at all for me. Angle mostly stood around looking confused and letting everyone that he didn't trust Sting and that Sting is nuts. I dunno, just a lackluster segment all around featuring a Sting character that I'm just not into. Thumbs Down

Velvet Sky vs. ODB & Jackie - Generally speaking, I thought it was a pretty decent effort all around. I can't say that I especially cared about the match but I thought it was better than what we've seen as of late. Velvet picks up the win at the 4.5 minute mark after ODB accidentally hits Jackie with a steel chair. According to ODB & Jackie, they'd leave if they lost but I don't expect that to stick. I'm just hoping this feud ends. *

AJ Styles vs. Chrisopher Daniels vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn - I thought this match was a bit of a let down. The action was crisp, the energy was high and all 4 of them worked well together but I thought the thing was too short generally speaking, there was a lot of no selling during the match. This is a match that I think could've headlined the Destination X ppv. Give them 20 minutes or so and just let 'em go. Ultimately, however, I thought this 7 minute version was a little watered down. RVD hits the Five Star Frog Splash onto Daniels to pick up the win. While I was generally pretty entertained, it wasn't quite as good as I was hoping for. **1/2

Matt Morgan & James Storm vs. The Pope & Devon - Fairly decent match though I didn't really care about it all that much. The match had a pretty standard, though good, formula and I thought all of them did a pretty solid job. However, the ending sorta sent a mixed message. For instance, Matt Morgan pulled James Storm off the pin as it was only the single winner that gets the points and it gave a hint that Morgan felt the BFG Series is important. However, the ending was anti-climactic. Pope cheats to knock out Storm but doesn't pin him. Instead, he lets Devon get the pin and the 7 points. If you don't give a shit, why're you in the BFG Series? *1/2

Kurt Angle vs. Immortal - Pretty lackluster main event here that didn't do much more than make Immortal look like a buncha chumps that don't belong in the same ring as Kurt Angle. I thought Sting was also supposed to be in this match? Anyhow, nothing that happened during the match in terms of action or near falls meant anything because everyone was waiting for Anderson to come out and make his big decision. Angle held his own against all the Immortal guys during the match and rallied himself in the closing minutes to look like he might wind up winning. Anderson came to the ring and I knew immediately that he'd joined Immortal. He hits Angle with the mic check, allowing Immortal to get the win. *1/4

Overall Show - For the most part, I thought Impact Wrestling was a pretty decent show last night. It had it's up and downs but it was a decent 2 hour wrestling program. I thought the opening segment was kinda luke warm but it did a nice, basic job of setting up things for the night. The stuff with Brian Kendrick & Abyss did nothing to make me want to see the ppv. Abyss is the X Division Champion and he's the least relevant part of this Destination X ppv. The first match with Crimson vs. Bobby Roode was solid and told a good story. The X Division triple threat match was pretty good also, though Jack Evans just comes across as another spot monkey to me rather than a star. The Four Corners Match with Styles, Daniels, RVD & Jerry Lynn was also a good solid match, but I thought it could have been much better. The rest of the action on the show was pretty mediocre in general. Anderson joining Immortal came across as lackluster and, personally, I kinda thought it made Anderson look weak. He's threatened by Bully Ray, Steiner & Gunner at the beginning of the show to join them and he ultimately winds up doing just that. Right now, it just seems like the TNA World Heavyweight Champion is just a bit player and the match with Sting seems like an afterthought. Meh. It wasn't a great show, but it follows the trend of episodes of Impact Wrestling with solid wrestling action and focus on something other than Immortal.

Grade: C+

 

[Nate DaMac]

Not a bad episode of Impact tonight. Some decent, albeit short, wrestling matches save for the main event. The BFG series is progressing nicely and Kurt Angle is back in the main event picture. There was some weak shit as well, like the women's match which is to be expected and Mexican America is absolute dogshit on the microphone, though they're fun to watch in the ring(when Hernandez isn't trying to fucking murder people.)

I don't care about this Austin Aries guy. I know the indy marks are creaming their britches about him being on TV but I really don't care. But if they're building up to a feud with he and Shelley, I'm all for it. I like some good X-Division matches. Just not a whole fucking PPV of it.

The whole Clowns Attack shit was kind of fun as well. I didn't really think it was Fortune for some reason but once it was revealed it was a bit obvious. Felt like a moron after that. Kurt could have at least changed his shirt before interfering in the main event though. How was that supposed to be a surprise?

Really don't care for Sting being the world champ again. I love seeing Anderson get fucked over, but I don't see the reasoning behind giving him these little nothing reigns. Just seems like a cheap way to pad Sting's stats if you ask me. At any rate, Hardcore Justice seems to have a decent main event lined up with Angle vs Sting. Anderson would have been just as good but at least it has been a while since we've seen Angle & Sting go at it. Sting looked a bit better in the ring tonight other than that atrocious Scorpion Deathlock. Maybe he'll be able to keep up with Angle. Anderson certainly wasn't getting nothing out o him.

Overall it was a decent show. I'll give it a C.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Impact Wrestling - July 14, 2011

Opening Segment - I didn't particularly care for the opening of last night's show at all. It started out with more of the long winded stuff we're used to hearing/seeing when it comes to Immortal. Mr. Anderson falling in line like a good little lackey just really flies in the face of most of what they've done with the guy over much of this year. I know some people are really enjoying The Joker...I mean Sting but it just doesn't do anything for me. It feels like a ham fisted, cheap ass rip off and they're not even remotely trying to disguise that. The evil clown invasion force was just plain stupid in my view. The whole thing reminded me of Doink the Clown and his little midget clowns on a bad acid trip. It just didn't make me especially care about seeing the main event and that's not a good thing as it's a bout for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. It just seems like such a silly contradiction when you take into account that there's this serious tournament going on to determine who'll be #1 contender for the title at the biggest TNA ppv of the year. Thumbs Down

Bobby Roode vs. Samoa Joe vs. The Pope D'Angelo Dinero - Generally speaking, I was kinda disappointed in this match. There was some pretty good action though it was mostly from Roode & Pope as Samoa Joe spent half the match lying on the outside. Basically, about 4 minutes of this 6 minute triple threat match was turned into a singles match and it's just not an interesting formula for me. The ending was kind of fun with Joe locking in the rear naked choke, Roode kicking off the turnbuckle and knocking Pope to the floor then shifts his weight and rolls over onto Joe. Joe still has the choke on but his shoulders are down and the ref counts to 3 an instant before Roode starts to tap. The follow up with Joe getting in Earl Hebner's and Hebner not being intimidated just reminded me of how lame of a badass character Joe actually is. Roode gets the win and finally gets on the scoreboard with some points for the BFG Series. *1/2

Immortal Backstage - This backstage segment with all the members of Immortal back in Hogan's office wasn't good but it wasn't bad either. It's just one of those segments that's just there and takes up some air time. Bischoff gets in Abyss' face for not putting an end to the X Division at Destination X and goes on and on for a bit before Jeff Jarrett & Karen come through the door with luggage and sombreros, etc. They're coming back from "vacation" in Mexico where Jarrett has been competing in AAA. Jarrett says he has something that'll lift their spirits and opens a briefcase containing the AAA World Heavyweight Championship. The belt looked like refried shit, it really did. It's also not the title I've seen in the past when I've caught AAA on occassion. It actually looked nice but this thing looked like something someone put together in their garage for their backyard wrestling league. Thumbs In The Middle

Austin Aries vs. Shannon Moore - This match was alright but I wasn't all that impressed with what I saw. The kind of energy and drive we've seen in X Division matches over the past month or so simply was not in this match at all. The match was able to establish Aries as a cheating heel as he had to hit Moore with the chain connected to the book he carries around for the win. Nothing wrong with that as it's what heels do, though I'm not at all surprised to see that Aries isn't getting the hate that someone like Miz does for doing the same thing. After all, Aries is an internet darling that indy fans spray their shorts over. The guy's a talented wrestler but I just wasn't all that impressed with the showing here. At least he did get the win and the seeds have been planted for a potential fed with Alex Shelley. *1/2

Tara vs. Madison Rayne - For the most part, typical Knockout filler in my view. I do think they did a decent job of telling the story of their rivalry during the match but the whole match had a tongue-in-cheek feel with the whole present thing and Madison's attention constantly wavering from her opponent towards said present. Madison gains control and decides to open the present Tara brought for her, which of course was the damn spider, Poison I think is the name of it, that we haven't seen in a while. Madison freaks out like she's holding a live electrical wire even though the spider is safely contained within a glass or plastic box and can't possibly get to her. Tara comes up from behind and hits Widow's Peak for the win at the 3.5 minute mark. 3/4*

Kurt Angle Promo - I thought Angle did a solid job of drawing attention to the main event match and bringing up his own history with both men was a nice touch. The rest of it was your standard I'm gonna beat your ass and walk out of the ppv the next World Champion stuff. It was over with quickly, it was simple and it was to the point. Thumbs Up

Mexican America vs. The British Invasion - Before the match, Anarquia gets on the mic and delivers another mind numbingly boring and downright annoying promo. The match itself was alright, though nothing particularly special. Neither Hernandez or Anarquia are particularly strong in their ring work, they just looked downright sloppy at times here. It was nice to see the Brits on tv though it's sort of a reminder as to how far the tag team scene has fallen in TNA. Six months ago, we had Beer Money vs. the MCMGS and now the top contenders for the tag titles are either a British team that we've barely seen on television the past 3 or 4 months and a Mexican team that just plain can't wrestle. Mexican America picks up the win after Hernandez delivers an elbow drop to Douglas Williams and rolls Anarquia on top of him for the win. Mexican America are now the #1 contenders for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. *

Revelation of the Killer Clown Assassain Squad - They'd shown segments of Sting's clowns taking out members of Immortal all night backstage and outside. Gunner was out in the parking lot and I just couldn't help but think how stupid he looked. Gunner is not a badass. I'm sorry but TNA has not established him as that sort of guy. It just hasn't happened no matter how much they've tried to ram the guy down our throats. I saw him standing there with the steel pipe while the clowns all surrounded him while he was talking smack and the whole scenario was just 100% ludicrous to me. It came across as an extremely lame B movie scene with a "hero" making a last desperate stand against overwhelming odds with a guy playing the "hero" that isn't cut out for it. Gunner blocks the bat of one of the clowns and the vibration of the impact through the pipe hurts his hand and causes him to drop it. Then, they beat his ass before revealing themselves as AJ Styles, Chrisopher Daniels, James Storm & Kazarian. Not really a bad reveal but I honestly didn't give a shit who the clowns were. Thumbs Down

Mr. Anderson vs. Sting - I thought this came across as a typical, overbooked TNA WHC tv main event. Ref bumps, outside interference, subpar wrestling from the two official competitors in the match, etc. Bully Ray and one of the clown minions wind up in the ring fighting each other while the ref is down and Sting eventually hits the Scorpion Death Drop on Anderson. The ref recovers and Sting wins at the 9 minute mark to become the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion. The other clown minion is revealed to be Kurt Angle. *1/2

Overall Show - Last night's show seemed very much like the Impact Wrestling of old and that's a bad thing. From top to bottom, nothing on the show really clicked for me. I thought most of the content on the show was dull and just completely lackluster compared to the energy and fire we've seen over the past several weeks. Sting running around with his Joker imitation still does nothing for me and the evil clown minions were just stupid. I guess because the clown masks had fierce expressions means that they're edgy or some shit. I thought the wrestling content on the show was pretty piss poor. The triple threat BFG Series match followed the usual TNA formula, which means it was quite short and one wrestler spent most of the match on the outside while the other two guys wrestled. Ausin Aries vs. Shannon Moore was also nothing special, kinda lackluster actually and I was disappointed. At least they gave Aries the win and established him as a cheating heel, but he just wasn't all that impressive in this match. The Knockout match between Tara & Madison Rayne was typical filler. A decent story mixed with some cheap comedy. Mexican America vs. The British Invasion was also nothing all that special and served mostly to show that the tag team scene in TNA is at an all time low. The main event between Sting & Mr. Anderson was the typical clusterfuck we usually see in World Title matches on TNA television. Sting wins the title and I can't say I care anything about it. Sting just isn't able to consistently perform at a high level and Anderson is given yet another meaningless, mediocre World Title run. All those months of build up of trying to get Anderson to join Immortal and on his first "official" night with the group, he drops the World Championship? Just a lousy show all around that had very much the old TNA feel to it.

Grade: D

 

[Cosmic Hate]

I guess I was the only one who was impressed by that twist with Fourtune being the clowns?

 

[marker]

I didn't like this impact. It was boring. However I was very surprise that they made Sting champ again. I don't know why. Whatever.

Also, when a clown showed up during the main event, I thought it was jeff hardy. In fact, I would prefer hardy over angle. Again, whatever. I just hope that Anderson wont start crying and screaming constantly about his n-th rematch.

 

[Matth3w]

Great show this week. Like Jack Hammer, I'm not a fan of Joker Sting either; I'm not sure if this plans to continue until October, but whatever. I won't nit pick. Hopefully Shannon Moore isn't involved in this Shelley/Aries angle.

Also, Tara is the hottest knockout. That is all.

 

[Daniel]

TNA Impact Wrestling - 14/7/11​

I'm a bit bored so I fancied doing a quick review. I say "review", it's more a loose collection of thoughts strung together by the concept of chronology. But that's what a review is, right? Right?

Opening Segment
Immortal come out in tuxedos. Tuxedoes? Tuxedi?! Google Chrome is saying these are all wrong. Anyway, Abyss' tuxedo makes me laugh heartily. Hogan and Bischoff talk for a bit. Why can't they hand the mic to one of the wrestlers behind them and help them get over? Anderson comes out and talks a bit. If there's one thing I've gleaned from this segment, it's that Immortal look stronger than they have done since Fortune left. Also, I don't miss Matt Hardy. I'm like what Sting is doing at the moment. It may be a shameless rip-off of the Joker, but hey, it works. He introduces some clowns standing in the rafters. This is TNA. I'm not even going to bat an eyelid at it. Overall, the championship match is hyped nicely here, but the focus is still far too heavy on Immortal.

Bound For Glory Series - Bobby Roode vs. Samoa Joe vs. "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero
It was a triple threat TV match. That's it. There's no doubt in my mind that these guys could do better, but it's just TV. So it was fine. The ending was awful, mind you. Just very sloppy. I mean, Joe having a submission on Roode while Roode had a pin on Joe should be a pretty easy finish to do. But somehow (and I don't whether this was the fault of Hebner, Joe or Roode) they fucked it up. **

Immortal Backstage Segment
Hogan and Bischoff are backstage speaking to Immortal just in case you wanted to see more of them. The Jarretts are back and this is where my head starts to hurt. Jeff shows off his AAA World Title and the rest of Immortal are surprised despite the fact that guys like Anderson and Abyss where on the show where he won it. I understand it as a storyline, but it's just strange. If you watched both AAA and TNA you'd be incredibly confused. Oh, and Karen won't shut the fuck up. Thumbs Down

Austin Aries vs. Shannon Moore
Despite not liking Shannon Moore, I enjoyed this match. Very short, but enjoyable. A nice "official" debut for Aries. Just some good X Division action, really. It ends when Aries takes the "book of DILLIGAF", Moore takes it back, Aries grabs the chain instead and then hits Moore. A really good ending as it showed what Aries is capable of and makes him look hard to beat. Shelley comes out for some reason at the end. I'm not going to question it because a potential Shelley/Aries angle makes me feel all tingly. *1/2

Tara vs. Madison Rayne
I'm gonna level with you, I skipped this. I mean, why would I watch it? Tara has a spider or something and Rayne runs away. Yep, next.

Kurt Angle Promo
About as pointless as a segment can get. Why does he need a segment to say that he'll win the world championship? Nothing of any note happens here. It showcases a big TNA flaw - they're giving something more time that it needs. Angle could have said this in two minutes backstage. They give him six minutes, an entrance and an exit. Completely pointless. Thumbs Down

Mexican America vs. The British Invasion
Another enjoyable match. Well, enjoyable until the finish. I love the British Invasion. They can talk, they can wrestle and they have charisma. They're also British like me so that's cool. So yeah, it's all going well, and then Rosita comes out and distracts the ref for what seems like forever, Hernandez breaks up a Magnus pin and gets Anarquia to pin Magnus. Yep, it's as shit as my ability to explain it. **

Clowns/Gunner Segment
I wasn't even thinking of who the clowns were. Not in the slightest. After beating up Gunner, they are revealed to be Fortune (minus Roode). Can someone tell me why Fortune are doing this kind of shit? Four talented guys in the form of Daniels, Storm, Styles and Kazarian. Why not give them an angle instead of being Sting's lackeys? Unless this begins another Fortune/Immortal feud. In which case, why are TNA doing this kind of shit? Thumbs Down

Mr. Anderson vs. Sting
This match was actually OK. OK until, just like the previous match, the end. There was a ref bump, then Bully Ray appeared, and then the lights went out, and then Sting disappeared and a clown appeared. Something like that. Basically, take the fact that I couldn't recall it is an indication of how bad it was. However, the match which preceded it was decent. Certainly the best between Sting and Anderson. But is that saying anything? No. No it isn't. Oh, and Sting won, devaluing the title further But you knew that, right? *1/2

Overall Show
Overall, this was woefully average. Bordering on bad, actually. The wrestling (bar the endings) was better than what we normally see from TNA on TV. The factors which make in borderline bad however, are the fact that feuds haven't really been furthered, Sting won the title and there's still far too much pointlessness. I'll give this a 4/10.

 

[A Mod's Best Friend (aka Bitch)]

Worst Impact in a long long long time.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Impact Wrestling - July 21, 2011

Opening Segment - Generally speaking, the opening of the show did nothing for me. Sting is out there doing his Joker thing and it's still every bit as bad as it's ever been. I give Sting all the credit in the world for doing his best with what he's given, like any real pro should, and not piss and moan about it but it's just not working. At times, the character just comes across as awkward and it just seems below Sting's dignity. Angle comes out and does his thing and we hear yet more of the mutual respect society TNA has going on. Whenever two guys that are faces are about to square off, they've always got to say something along the lines of "I have nothing but respect for you". We saw it with Styles & Daniels, we saw it with RVD & Lynn and we've seen it time and time again. Even though they're both faces, where's the conflict? I see little reason to care that Sting's the champ and that Angle is the #1 contender. Bully Ray & Anderson come out and instead of making things better, I think it just came off as worse. The names that Anderson & Ray call Angle & Sting sound like something you'd expect to hear from a couple of 14 year old high school freshmen. Rather than coming across like a couple of edgy tough guys, they sounded like they were talking smack in homeroom. I've got no problem with swearing or lude jokes or anything like that, but it has no impact in TNA anymore because it's done soooooo much. Pretty underwhelming segment that didn't particularly make me care about the main event. Thumbs Down

Rob Van Dam vs. Scott Steiner - This match was surprisingly decent, much better than I thought it'd be. RVD hit all of his signature spots and Steiner did his stuff as well. I thought the pace dragged sometimes when Steiner was in charge, the guy barely can move after all, but a lot of his moves still have impact. I didn't buy into them trying to put Steiner on RVD's level in this match as he's just simply not there anymore. However, he did the best he could and that's always something. RVD comes up with a roll up for the pin at the 5.5 minute mark, giving him 7 points in the BFG Series. **

Mickie James, Velvet Sky, Angelina Love & Winter - Overall, I thought the segment was pretty decent. It feels like it's been such a long time since any sort of relevance was put on the Knockouts Title that it was a nice little surprise. As with the opening segment, you've got the mutual love/respect fest going oin with Mickie & Velvet and I thought that took away from the segment. I'm not worried about them "having a good match", make me care about the fact that you're going to be wrestling for a championship. Angelina & Winter came out and it's good that Angelina is no longer the drugged out zombie that she's been forever. Declaring herself a contender for the title was a nice touch and is easily the most relevant thing that Angelina has done or said in many months. Not a great segment but not a bad one either. Thumbs In The Middle

Tara & Miss Tessmacher vs. Sarita & Rosita - Before the match, they were shown brawling backstage and Tenay hyped a video from a cell phone showing the brawl the two teams had last week. I did like that he worked in Sarita's legit facial injuries into the angle by saying that she had broken orbital bone & jaw. Even though she's actually got facial paralysis, it still fit in. As for the match itself, pure clusterfuck. Much of the match had all 4 women in the ring at the same time with Earl Hebner standing around with his thumb up his ass instead of trying to break it up. Well, he did break it up a few times for some odd reason even though he lets it go most of the match. The women look hot, I will say that for them but there was just chaos all over the place. Madison Rayne interferred in the match and tried to help Sarita & Rosita get the pin while the ref was distracted. Tara winds up hitting a powerbomb on Sarita for the win and she & Tessmacher become the new TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions. 1/2*

AJ Styles vs. Matt Morgan vs. Samoa Joe vs. Gunner - This match was a huge letdown in my opinion. I'd actually been looking forward to this match but, as with most gimmick matches you see on Impact Wrestling, it was extremely underwhelming. It was pretty good while it lasted but a 5 minute ladder match? Really? Arguably the most popular gimmick match in wrestling featuring some big players in TNA that could have possibly brought the house down and all they get is 5 minutes? Styles, Morgan & Joe were all pretty good out there but Gunner looked as though he simply did not belong out. I suppose that might have to do with the fact that he didn't belong out there with those guys. Morgan climbs the ladder and retrieves a clipboard with a paper attached to it with the number of points the match was worth. *1/2

Eric Young & D-Lo Brown - I loathe Eric Young's character, I truly do. He's out in "Hollywood" looking to find celebrities to defend the TV Title against. He thinks he finds Cee Lo Green but it's just D-Lo Brown. D-Lo talks to Eric for a bit, says he understands the gimmick and all this. Eric rolls him up, counts 3 and declares himself the winner. This waste of air time is something that could have been put into the ladder match. Thumbs Down

Brian Kendrick vs. Alex Shelley - This wasn't a great match but I thought it was pretty decent. Shelley controlled the vast majority of the match and just looked to be so far out of Kendrick's league that I almost felt sorry for Kendrick. Kendrick came out of the match looking like an even weaker X Division Champion than he did coming into it. The highlight of the match was Shelley hitting Sliced Bread on Kendrick out on the apron, it looked pretty sweet and Kendrick was down for the count. Austin Aries sneaks out to ringside, grabs the belt and hits Shelley with it as he's climbing back into the ring. He ducks down onto the floor, Kendrick covers Shelley and gets the win at the 5.5 minute mark. The match was alright, nothing particularly special, but they did a good job of injecting Austin Aries as the top heel in the X Division and his means of doing so, costing a beloved babyface a championship win, always works. **

Mexican America & Beer Money - I was a little mixed here. I hate Mexican America, the guys just flat out suck in the ring and on the mic. Beer Money came out and while Storm did a good job on the mic, I was turned off by the thinly veiled racial comments. It seems that whenever someone confronts Mexican America in the ring, some stereotypical comments are made as they're from Mexico. Stuff like border jumping, green cards, getting jobs like "cutting grass", etc. At the same time though, Storm put himself over as an ultimate kinda country boy and sounded extremely passionate. Definitely channeling some Dusty Rhodes & Stone Cold Steve Austin. It's just unfortunate that I believe Mexican America will be the next tag champs. Thumbs In The Middle

Sting & Kurt Angle vs. Bully Ray & Mr. Anderson - Lousy main event that did accomplished nothing more than make Anderson look like a chump even more than they've already done the past little while. Anderson takes a few suplexes, is hit with a Stinger Splash, then gets the Angle Slam and is pinned at the 3.5 minute mark. 1/2*

Overall Show - Generally speaking, I'd put this week's show about even with last week's. That isn't really saying very much because last week's show was pretty bad. The promo segments were iffy at best. The opening segment just did nothing for me. There's no real conflict between Sting & Angle, they did nothing to make me care about their match at Hardcore Justice and the segment failed to make me care about the main event for the night. The Knockout segment was overall pretty decent. It had it good points and bad points. Mexican America & Beer Money was also in the middle. While Storm's mic work was great, the semi-racial stuff just seemed cliche` and unnecessary. Mexican America themselves are just bad. Wrestling wasn't all that much to write home about this week. RVD vs. Steiner was better than I thought it'd be, the X Division Championship match was alright, the Knockouts tag title match was a chaotic cluster, the main event was completely lack luster and the ladder match was just a huge disappointment. Of all the matches on the card, the ladder match should've been great but it was the biggest letdown, lasting all of 5 minutes. I will say this though, TNA didn't feature long winded promos from non wrestlers on the show last night. Hogan & Bischoff were nowhere to be found so maybe it was a little better than last week.

Grade: D+

 

[Papa Pillman]

I actually thought the ladder match last night was pretty entertaining, I just wish it would of got a couple extra minutes. Also, the Kendrick/Shelley title match was really well worked IMO.

One other thing... How fuckin' good is James Storm?? He saved that segment last night with an outstanding promo. Somewhere down the line, a feud between a heel Roode and a babyface Storm is going to make TNA alot of money.

 

[CaptainFantastic]

I only saw the first half hour or so, and then the last 45 minutes, so I can't comment on the whole show (sounds like I missed some good matches, dammit), but what is the point in having a main event shorter than an interview with one of the knockouts?

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I only saw the first half hour or so, and then the last 45 minutes, so I can't comment on the whole show (sounds like I missed some good matches, dammit), but what is the point in having a main event shorter than an interview with one of the knockouts?

That seems to be a pattern that's been going on for at least a month now, if I'm not mistaken. Can't say I'm a huge fan of it. Sure, time is irrelevant but I always pictured the Main Event being THE match of the night and I often don't care for it (or enjoy it) as much as something else on the card.

Reading the spoilers for this week, though, it seems we have ourselves a C-C-C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER and a proper Main Event.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

K, for my TNA reviews I'll just do a pros and cons type of thing. I watched the show late at night so I fast forewarded through the knockouts stuff.

Opening segment:
Cons: Not a fan of Sting as the Joker. He looks silly and it being a blatant ripoff is pretty lame. Sure wrestling is full of ripoffs, but they're usually a lot more subtle. Kurt Angle is fine, kinda just there, I think he needs more spice to his character. Anderson says "biatch" which I haven't heard since 2000, my theory is that living in florida with all the retirees and tourists have skewed his perception on what is modern.

Pros: At least Sting has changed his character. Bully Ray is a lot better character than what Bubba has been doing for the past...well most of is career minus ECW and the first year of WWF.

RVD vs Steiner
Cons: RVD still doesn't know how to sell. RVD still has the exact same moveset. I don't normally rip guys for moveset, but when your gimmick is that you do cool moves, you have to update it. RVD still has that stupid fuckin undercut haircut that makes it look like he crawled out of an early 90s martial arts movie and his airbrushed attire still looks like something tweens worse in the early 2000s.

Pros: They didn't do anything awful. It was basically a WCW/ECW mash up match. Both guys' primes are in the rearview window but they both did all their signature stuff (minus a frankensteiner which wouldn't make sense in this instance). Match wasn't intelligently put together to make me think "that was clever" but it was what I think it was supposed to be. Something to get viewers to say "hey that's RVD doing the rolling thunder" or "hey that Scott Steiner doing the bicep flex elbow drop".

Didn't watch either knockouts segment. Kinda weird having 2 in a row though.

4 Way Ladder match
Cons: before the match Gunner's promo was pretty generic. Why isn't he looking at the camera? Is it because he's looking at the interviewer? I don't find him convincing because he's not looking at the camera. Eye contact (camera) conveys confidence. The match itself could have been accomplished in a regular fourway. Seriously. WWE just had MITB, a ladder-based PPV, where both of their ladder matches were pretty good. You basically shit on your own product by having a midcard tv match as a ladder match. It's not for a heated feud, it's for points. The match itself was very anti-climatic though. It was like they were halfway in and Morgan got tired of being out there so he climbed the ladder and won.

Pros: nobody died

Eric Young and D-Lo
Cons: I hate it when TNA breaks the fourth wall. Earlier in the show Sting said "this is the part of the promo where I...", then Anderson's shirt says "wrestling is real, people are fake", now D-Lo says "I understand the gimmick". Seriously, we all know it's scripted, people who hate wrestling know it's scripted, you don't have to basically shout THIS IS SCRIPTED every segment.

Pros: EY is entertaining. I enjoyed the segment. Just looking at the amount of text given to each part you'd think I hated it. I didn't, I just wish I could explain why I thought it was funny more. Just did, EY is crazy and everywhere, D'Lo as the straight guy worked.

Kendrick vs Shelley
Cons: Fuckin Shelley. Okay, he does all this cool, complex submission and roll up stuff. However, he does it incredibly fast and clean. So 1) it looks fake as fuck and 2) the audience doesn't have time to digest it. Then Shelley sells like he's a character in a mortal kombat game. I don't give a shit how many cool moves he does, he doesn't sell and he doesn't give the audience time to digest it. His shit is really fake looking and hokey.

Pros: Brian Kendrick. Kendrick understands the value of slowing things down and I believe Kendrick when he's hurt. I think if you were to teach a young wrestler the difference between being a successful smaller spottier guy and just another smaller spottier guy, this is a prime example.

Mexican America/Beer Money segment
Cons: okay, who am I supposed to like? Do I like the Mexicans who hate white people or do I like the racist redneck? I mean, storm said "spanish luchadores before you" first off, I'm pretty sure Lucha Libre happens in Mexico, where there are MEXICANS. Second, I don't even know, just jesus fuck "I'm from Tennessee and as merican as they get". Goddamn really? I'm supposed to get behind a guy from Tennessee who sounds like the typical annoying racist hick?

Pros: Both sides were very convincing. Maybe in real life the Mexicans hate America and in real life Storm is racist. Roode did a fantastic job at keeping a presence too. Stern look on his face, strong posture, etc. Super Mex could learn a thing or two from that. He should stand pretty much constantly flexed when not talking with a more pissed off look on his face. Maybe the point of the story isn't to cheer or boo either side but kinda look at it and say "this is what happens when mexicans fight with a hick and his rich buddy".

Sting/Angle vs Bully Ray/Anderson
Cons: Kinda short main. It's not too bad to have a short main because your TV show should have a continuous feel to it and not a feeling of completion (that way you watch next week) but the final feeling you get should be excitement, not "meh".

Pros: Angle actually won with the Angle slam, so that's good that maybe he's trying to build his moves up as legitimate finishes again. Match wasn't special but it wasn't unwatchable either.

Overall the show was average I'd say. Some good ideas but then they do shit that just makes you want to punch someone. I really REALLY despise the whole acknowledging that it's fake shit. The ladder match was self-defeating. How about a battle royal with all the guys in the competition? It felt like TNA tried getting viewers by going "look we have a ladder match!!!!" so people may have watched it but then it looked really second rate. It's okay not to have a super amazing match on your TV show because that's not what it's for, but you don't advertise a match that is typically at least a stunt show and have it be that mediocre. Consecutive women's segments was annoying, but I didn't watch them so maybe it was awesome. Still, I think you need to be constantly mixing your show up.

Basically if things were tweaked a bit, it'd be a real solid show.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I really liked this show. Better than last week.

I'm not going to go into detail and give it some letter as a rating, I'll just tell you that the only thing I didn't like was anything involving the KO's. I know that this Velvet Sky storyline is to promote TNA and the bullying campaign so whatever. Not a fan of it.

Other than that I liked all the matches.

One thing I'm loving about the show is how a story is told from the beginning of the show 'till the end. Tonight it was Sting's whole deal. Sting is just too good. How people hate on him is beyond me. He's cutting better promos than 90% of TNA and WWE's roster combined. The only people that can out-do him on the mic or get to his level are Bully Ray and Punk.

But like I said I love this storytelling that's going on. Sting was excellent throughout the night and I didn't see the end coming with Sting ending up not being the Exec., I thought it was a great twist. Something didn't add up with Sting being the Network Rep, even though it would've been hella fun if it was a permanent thing.

EY is hilarious. Matt Morgan cut a great promo and put over the series like a million bucks. Alex Shelley, Aries and Kendrick were gold tonight. Especially Aries.

Overall, good matches, great promos, awesome story throughout the night, sweet show.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Impact Wrestling - July 28, 2011

Opening Segment - For me, the opening of the show was something of a rollercoaster. One good thing about it is that it told a story of Hogan basically wanting to recruit Angle to Immortal so he'll take out Sting for him. One bad thing is that it was yet another promo from Hogan in which he goes on and on about what he did 25 years ago. However, a good thing about that is that Hogan sounded more passionate and more believable last night than probably at any other point since he came to TNA. After all, he was putting himself over and he loves doing that more than anything. A bad thing, however, was that it looked as though they're building up to a Hulk Hogan match and I have ZERO interest in that. The vast majority of the time, his matches were like watching paint dry when he was healthy so I can just imagine how bad it'd be now that he can barely move. Some good stuff here as well as some bad. Thumbs In The Middle

Rob Van Dam vs. Gunner - Pretty decent 6 minute match last night. This was a match in the BFG Series and it was better than I thought it'd be. While they tried to make it seem like Gunner was on RVD's level, I just didn't buy it for a second. He's just not there, not anywhere close. Still, there was some good action in the match with Gunner doing mostly some basic stuff while RVD hit most of his signature spots. RVD gets the win and 7 points after hitting the Five Star Frog Splash for the pinfall. **1/4

Immortal & Sting - This backstage segment didn't really do much for me. It was mostly filled with a lot of stuff going on that just turns me off right now. Bischoff is backstage pissing and moaning at Abyss for not "killing" the X Division at Destination X as well as getting a memo from "The Network", yes they're back to doing that crap again. Jeff Jarrett is standing around with the AAA World Championship on his shoulder putting in his two cents worth here and there, harmless really. I just can't get over how cheap the AAA Title looks. Bully Ray takes it upon himself to volunteer Anderson to take out Kurt Angle. Anderson actually asks Ray why he's "picking" on him. Wow, Anderson goes from a near Stone Cold clone at times to now little more than a generic lackey. Here comes Sting dressed in a bright red suit with is face painted and carrying something in a cage. It's official: the Sting character is now a fully legit, 100% rip off of The Joker. Sting announces that he's the new "Network Executive", they're doing that crap again now too, and books Anderson's match with Angle as a cage match and that Fortune will be at ringside. I can already tell that the main event is going to be one overbooked clusterfuck that'll feature another faction brawl. Thumbs Down

Brian Kendrick, Alex Shelley & Austin Aries - As with the opener, some good and bad here. The good was that I thought Aries came across sounding and acting like a star. He was very comfortable on the mic, gave a smooth delivery and just gave off a cool vibe. He saved this segment from being a complete train wreck. The bad was mostly everything else. I found myself wishing that someone would cut Brian Kendrick's vocal cords. He comes across as a complete idiot while he's trying to wax philosophical. It was nice to see Shelley but he seemed dangerously close to being a stooge out there, at least that's what it felt like to me. He touched on the greats of the X Division and that's all well and good, nothing wrong with that. Putting over the X Division's greatness would've had a much harder punch if the X Division hadn't spent nearly 3 years as being completely irrelevant. His "translating" for Kendrick was a little funny. However, I thought Shelley should be downright furious with Aries. Aries cost him the X Division Title last week and he acts like he doesn't give a shit throughout the vast majority of the promo. He's too busy lecturing Aries about the "rules" of the X Division. He actually says that it's "ok" that Aries cost him the X Division Championship as that he would be facing Kendrick & Aries in a 3 way at Hardcore Justice. Just some lame stuff from Shelley as he treated the X Division Title like a real afterthought. Abyss came to the ramp and did his thing, threatened Kendrick, said he was gonna kill the X Division and invoked his rematch clause for tonight. Sting pops up on the screen behind him and makes the match an Ultimate X match. Austin Aries saved this segment and Shelley is so much better than how he was used here. He came off sounding like a chump instead of a passionate competitor that should be fired up at his rival for causing him to lose a match for a, supposedly, prestigious title. Thumbs In The Middle

Matt Morgan - This was a short Hervey Cam interview with Morgan as he talks about the torn pectoral injury that's gonna keep him out for a while. Morgan gave solid delivery and he came across as genuinely emotional and disappointed. He sold his passion for the World Title very well too. Short, simple and well executed. Thumbs Up

Crimson vs. Bully Ray - Can't say that this match did much for me. It was an extremely slow pace & 99% of it was Bully Ray punching, kicking, choking or chopping Crimson after jumping him before the bell rang. Crimson literally had no offense in the match until the last few seconds. He blocks Ray going for that Full Nelson Powerbomb he does, hits an elbow and then catches Ray in Red Sky for the win at the 3 minute mark. So basically, he just beat Bully Ray with one move. I thought it made Ray look incredibly weak here, which is a shame as he's probably the best heel in TNA at this point. 1/2*

Tara vs. Winter - Generally speaking, it was decent for what it was. I thought it was above average compared to what we usually get from the Knockouts, but it still wasn't anything especially good. There was some decent action between the ladies and they worked hard. The ending of the match was sloppy as all hell. Tara goes for the Widow's Peak and one of Winter's feet kinda sorta catches Earl Hebner. It wasn't a fully blown ref bump, just enough to keep him distracted for a bit. Winter kicks Tara kinda low and them hits an extremely botched tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. She was struggling just to hold Tara into the position and it's a move that she consistently botches. Girl needs a new finisher. Winter gets the win about the 3.5 minute mark. *

Brian Kendrick vs. Abyss - What this match accomplished more than anything was rendering yet another gimmick match in TNA irrelevant. Last week, we had a 5 minute ladder match and we had a 5 minute Ultimate X match this week. I thought the match also did little more than make Kendrick look like someone that shouldn't be champ. Kendrick has looked extremely weak during his feud with Abyss and he hasn't been booked to even look stronger since becoming champ. Abyss dominated most of the match, tossing Kendrick around and no selling the vast majority of his offense. They made very little use of the Ultimate X structure in and of itself and the ending just makes Kendrick look more like a fluke. Kendrick does get the win when Abyss goes for a chokeslam. Kendrick reaches up as he's being lifted, grabs onto the title and pulls it down for the win. Underwhelming match and lousy use of what is supposed to be TNA's signature gimmick match. *

Velvet Sky, Traci Brooks, ODB & Jackie - I have no clue what happened here and, quite honestly, I don't care. I saw Velvet standing there in the ring with Tits McGee by her side, damn you could float to China on those things, calling out ODB & Jackie. I'm assuming that Jackie & ODB kept bitching about how they were fired and Velvet told a story about how she was picked on or something. I went for a Pepsi and a pee break. N/A

Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Anderson - The vast majority of the match was pretty good while it lasted. It was still on the short side for a gimmick match of its type at 9 minutes, but it was good mostly while it lasted. Good action from Angle & Anderson with a few nice spots here and there. Anderson hits the Mic Check at one point and Angle hits an Angle Slam off the top, both were good near falls. Soon after, however, the shit hits the fan. Here comes Immortal and they begin brawling with Fortune. For some damn reason, here comes Mexican American and interjecting themselves here. I guess they're going to be aligned with Immortal now, further signs that they're probably going to be the next TNA World Tag Team Champions. Anderson asks for a chair and the two of them end up brawling. Angle winds up hitting another Angle Slam on Anderson for the win. It was actually a pretty decent match but TNA couldn't resist making it more in line with the typical clusterfucks they have for main events and that hurt the match some in my eyes. **1/4

Overall Show - I thought the show was better than it's been in the past couple of weeks. Not a great show by any means, but there were a couple of bright spots here and there. The opening with Hogan & Angle was hit and miss for me. It looks like they're prepping for a Hogan match, possibly a Hogan face turn or both. Good, passionate delivery from Hogan but I'd expect no less as he was putting over what he's meant to the business. It's what he does best. The backstage segment with Immortal didn't do anything for me, just more stuff revolving around "The Network" and Sting's awful character. The X Division promo segment was also hit & miss for me. The hit was Austin Aries, who I thought did extremely well on the mic. He sounded like a star while Shelley came off almost like a stooge and should have been extremely pissed that he was standing within a few feet of the man that caused him to lose an X Division Championship match last week. Brian Kendrick was awful as usual. As far as wrestling goes this week, there were a couple of decent matches. RVD vs. Gunner was a solid 6 minute match and the main event was doing just fine until another overbooked faction brawl took place. The BFG Series match between Crimson & Bully Ray just made Ray look weak in my eyes. Crimson hits him with a single move and gets the win, so how can Ray not look weak? The Knockout match was ok for what it was, but Winter needs a new finisher as she consistently botches her tilt-a-whirl backbreaker or slam or whatever it's supposed to be. The Ultimate X X Division Championship match was a complete bust. This used to be TNA's signature gimmick match but now, just like every other gimmick match in TNA, it's impossible to be excited about it. After all, we had a 5 minute 4 way BFG Series ladder match last week and a 5 minute Ultimate X match for the X Division Championship this week. To top it off, the match really wasn't any good at all. It was a waste of a gimmick on Abyss and Kendrick continues to look like a guy that's where he is as the result of a remarkable string of flukes.

Grade: C-

 

[Papa Pillman]

For some damn reason, here comes Mexican American and interjecting themselves here. I guess they're going to be aligned with Immortal now, further signs that they're probably going to be the next TNA World Tag Team Champions.

I think that Mexican America was merely capatalizing on the chance to "soften up" Beer Money. I don't think any type of alignment with Immortal was being hinted at.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I'm going to do a similar review as last time. Only now I'll basically jot down random thoughts as stuff happens and that will be the pros and cons.

Before I start I will say that aesthetically TNA doesn't look good. I was uneasy about it last time too. The new look. The blue and black theme almost puts you in a depressed mood to begin with. Smackdown was that way and added a brighter post and secondary colors. I know people will say "well it's all about what actually happens". However, wrestling has always been as much about how things look as the story being told. Especially on mainstream TV you have to look professional. I suggest TNA slowly adds more brightness to the screen over time. Maybe white guardrails and more crowd/ring exterior lighting. Something to brighten it up a bit. Even during the opening promo there were shadows all around the wrestlers. I don't wanna watch wrestling in the dark, brighten it up.

Opening Segment
Pros: Saw some old tourists marking for Hulk. I'm really surprised they don't draw more touristy people with the old guys there. Then again the rest of the Impact zone smartass fans probably scare them off. I like the "maybe you wanna go back to the olympics because you didn't pin the guy" stuff. A little deeper than the average "brother jack dude man yea" stuff Hogan says.
Cons: Hogan looks old as shit and says "damn" a lot, like he's trying to cuss more. What the fuck? Are they using canned crowd reactions? At least on Smackdown they aren't as noticeable. Son of a bitch are they promoting Hogan vs Sting? Is Hogan pissed he had to (poorly) put over Sting at Starrcade '97? Shitty ass "hidden" backstage cameras. Make it look more fake than it already is. IT'S PRO WRESTLING, PEOPLE KNOW IT'S A SHOW, ACT LIKE IT'S A FUCKING SHOW!!!

RVD vs Gunner
Pros: Tazz puts over Gunner as a Marine or some shit. That's good because that automatically gets you over with the wrestling audience. RVD is still about as over as he has always been. Maybe being the same exact guy as you were in 1997 is the point of RVD? Like those old guys who do the same show in Vegas for 50 years. Not the most artistic thing but if it works and makes money I'm all for it. Competitive match. A lot of moves. Not a lot of substance behind it like long term selling or storytelling but RVD hit all his shit and Gunner looked strong. By that I mean literally strong, like he could lift a lot of weight. A bang bang opener is good. Donno why RVD is bitching about not being used right. When all you do is hit the same shit you've ever hit and don't tell a story in the ring or sell anything long term you're basically a prime guy to be opening shows.
Cons: I'm gonna rag on Van Dam for looking so stupid everytime I see him. Undercut haircut? Check. Stupid ass ying yangs and dragons that 12 year olds wore in 1998? Check. Stupid ass airbrush shit toothless white trash people get at county fairs? Check. Gunner needs to emote more. He's not big enough to be a physical emotionless beast. He's strong looking and has long hair, so he already looks intense. He should study some early Randy Savage when he was huge as to how to look intense and scary and still sell at the same time. You don't sell it like a small guy by curling up and moving away. You sell it like a wounded Tiger. You hobble and swing wildly at anyone who gets close to you. Kind of a good example as to why TNA needs a developmental territory. Gunner has the look and physicality to be good. He just needs to learn how to sell and tell a story. Then again, putting him with RVD, a guy who made a career out of getting over by bumping and doing cool moves and really not giving two shits about selling or telling a story probably wasn't the best thing to do either.

Backstage segment
Pros: sting is more beatlejuice than anything, which I love beatlejuice so there's that. they all seem to be having fun with the segment, some more than others. I admit I laughed at Sting looking at Kennedy and going "ya still pissed off?" Iunno, good timing on the line I guess. I also loled at "ARE WE A TEAM OR WHAT!?!?!" then Hulk "...no". Good timing again. If nothing else this is like what a pro wrestling nursing home/looney bin looks like.
Cons: Goddamn that hidden camera bullshit. So I guess TNA has a "cracked door" policy? Also yea, I'm sure the network was so blown away by the huge buyrates Destination X got. O well, why not. Why not stroke the ego of the minority of your audience and tell the majority of your audience who doesn't get behind X guys that everyone watches it. Maybe it'll work. Fucking cage match? This better be a joke. Or else you're running a ladder match and a cage match on consecutive TVs with any real hype or build or reason. Better be some "sting is crazy lol" bullshit.

ROH, TNA, and WWE small guys have a segment:
Pros: Even though I'm pretty sure Kendrick is ripping a character that I've seen (in movies) I can't put my finger on it so that means it's obscure enough to be okay. Lol "the threeway at hardcore justice" yea I've seen that one, that's with the girl and the dude and the other dude and they....I'm excited and scared for a threeway with these guys. Shelley and Aries could fuck it up by not selling a goddamned thing and doing a bunch of spots too quick so it looks like a gymnastics exhibition, or Kendrick could sell his ass off and convince the other guys to slow it down a bit and make their stuff look spontaneous.
Cons: I don't like that they use smarky lingo. Are they basically using these segment to appeal to smarks? I mean yea, these wrestlers do appeal more towards them. However, Kendrick in the ring and all of them on the mic can appeal to both types of fan without doing that. I hate Abyss. I really do. He's like the biggest (literally) attitude era mark. Bastard child of Kane and Mankind who has backstage stroke. Okay, it must be a joke, Ultimate X?

Matt Morgan
Pros: He wasn't in a meaningless ladder match.
Cons: Stop trying to blend the reality line every segment. Not everyone can pull it off. "this was about the title, no politics no nothing just wins....it broke my heart, this is real no bullshit". Fuck. You can't talk about fake wins and losses and then talk about 'this is real no bullshit'. It'd be like making a movie about Lincolns' assassination only you throw in shit like Robert E Lee shot him but Lincoln survived.

Taz/Tenay catch everyone up
Not really a pros and cons thing here. What are they doing with Joe? I mean really. He's a monster, then "dude come on, you're not the same joe" he gets pissed, then back to "dude you used to be a monster" then he gets pissed. Why this shit over and over? He's samoa fucking joe, he is pro wrestling.

Bully Ray vs Crimson
Pros: I'm impressed with Bully Ray's work. Not like "he's awesome" but "wow, I can actually watch one of his matches now".
Cons: didn't we this guy earlier? O wait, that was another big intense green guy who needs work. bubba's jabs are still shit. I REALLY don't like Crimson. His tatoo pattern belongs on a douchy affliction shirt, his in ring ability belongs in a developmental promotion, and his charisma, well I don't know where that belongs because I didn't see any.

Eric Bischoff leaves his door cracked again. Bischoff, has always been an awesome on screen charcter.

Winter vs Tara
Pros: Well, both girls tried hard. They were more a victim of shitty booking in this. Both have strengths, but they have the same strengths. Need to be told it's okay to sell shit an not prove you're "an actual wrestler unlike those models in the WWE". They both have the drive and athleticism to do so, just realize it is entertainment.
Cons: Winter has an incredibly masculine jawline. Not really a flaw I guess, just really unattractive to me. Go to Spencers at your local mall and whip the fat girls in there into shape and you get these girls. In fact, I'm pretty sure Spencers is where they got their attire. Or go to a shitty rock concert (by that I mean literally, shitty rock bands like Avenge Sevenfold) and you'll see these girls. Again, maybe not really a "con" but something that I notice. Maybe I need an "other observations" area. Yes, good job, just promote Ultimate X and your cage match like it's going to be special just to let people down. Why not say "we're going to execute a terrorist on live TV" and then not do it. Bumps and moves don't impress me, especially not when you're not even going to try to win after doing a standing moonsault or sell the moonsault for that matter. If I want to see a moves exhibition I'll chill out at my local wrestling academy and watch the students practice shit. Both girls look a lot alike in terms of gear and act a lot alike in terms of presense. They both look like they'd love those shitty Tim Burton movies that he copies and pastes every year. Goddamnit give me a reason to care about this match please!! Lol a low blow? I know that getting kicked in the clit probably hurts, but really? Punch her in the tit or something.

Kendrick vs Abyss ULTIMATE X I'M EXCITED I HOPE THIS IS A 20 MINUTE EPIC STUNTFEST LIKE I REMEMBER THEM!!!!
Pros: Okay, every fucking person on this forum watch the first part of this match. Kendrick runs all over the goddamned place and does the "stick and move" stuff to Abyss, it takes about 10 hits and Abyss gets phased, then Kendrick goes for the belt, you know ACTS LIKE HE WANTS TO WIN. Then Abyss catches him, he wriggles loose, hits him 10 or so times again, gets Abyss wobbly, then TRIES TO WIN, then Abyss finally hits him and Kendrick sells it like he's knocked out. So right away you get that Kendrick has to be perfect to win this because of how much bigger and stronger abyss is and you get that Kendrick actually wants to win and not randomly jump off of tall shit for the fuck of it. That's why Kendrick has been in the WWE and guys like Aries and Shelley haven't. Kendrick runs this "ratio" I call it all match long. Sells the shit out of even just a punch and always has fluries of shots, not expecting Abyss to actually sell any of Kendrick's strikes all that much. It's a real shame they had to fuck this up by putting it in an Ultimate X match. Kendrick could have really brought out a great match with Abyss.
Cons: Abyss is like 6'5" in real life, no joke. Then again to Taz, everyone probably looks 7'. lol some spot mark chanting "this is awesome" because the mere thought of a highspot from the structure is giving him a woody. I get that this was supposed to showcase how X guys are athletic and can do shit big guys can't. However, you just kicked the Ultimate X match in the balls.

EY segment
Pros: Funny and entertaining as always from EY
Cons: Yea none really, good job.

Woman segment:
Pros: I heard "crash the backdoor" or something like that...got the wrong idea. We should play a guessing game as to how many of these women still have CM Punk's dna in them somewhere. I would say another pro is that no one died but I think those in attendance probably wish they did. Seriously...what the fuck?
Cons: What the fuck? Why does anyone care about this? Women's segments are a segment. Cut it to one. Who cares if you have a lot of women you think are good. They aren't over. No one gives a shit about this segment. Instead of having 2 mediocre women's segments, have 1 good one. Velvet Sky with a sob story is hilarious. What happened? She get raped? Nope, she was a runt. Translation "I was a small girl" ooooo so fucking awful to be a small girl. How is that supposed to draw sympathy? This sounds like the beginning of a joke, a lesbian, a black woman, a ****e, and tracy brooks' tits walk into a bar....Even the canned audience doesn't give a shit.

5 guys walk into a bar....they all leave the door cracked so a camera man can catch what they're saying.

Bischoff's door is cracked again. He'd be a shitty president "Mr. President are we going to war with North Korea" "No...yes...how did you..." "you left your door cracked open, always do. lol why did they have the canned audience pop for "it was all in my head"? Do they not have a laugh track or something for Sting?

Cage Match anderson vs angle
Pros: Nobody died
Cons: Angle vs Kennedy devalued Benoit vs Angle by doing the same spots. I really fuckin hope they don't devalue THAT match too (which I attended live). It being a cage for no reason already is a con though. Send this show to people who think Cena vs Rock needs to be a gimmick match. Gimmick matches for no fuckin reason are ridiculous. Is this a cage so Angle can pretend it's real and he's in the UFC? So, Mic Check isn't his finish? Must not be, otherwise why did Angle kick out 5 minutes into a TV match that was thrown together? Whaaaaat the fuck. Did Kennedy just kick out of a top rope angle slam? Jesus fucking christ. I don't care if it was supposed to be a back suplex, you don't do anything that could be misconstrued as your finish, especially not from the top fucking rope and have the guy kick out. They turning bully ray face because he's finally over again?

Overall a clusterfuck. Funny that Jack-Hammer thought Kendrick was awful "as usual" even though he actually sold and told a story. Guess I have an advantage actually having been educated by guys like Harley Race and Terry Funk and listen to other actual pro wrestlers analyse a match. Maybe Kendrick should have done a million spots and not sold anything a guy twice his size did.

Well, they could have accomplished a lot of the same things without all the bullshit. You don't get a match over with bumping and highspots and you don't get stories over with gimmick matches. You do it through emotion and storytelling and little details. A lot of little details (like what Kendrick was doing) add to the performance and people get behind it.

 

[Alittude]

I was entertained quite a bit during the show and that's all I can ask for. When I watch TNA I view it with an open mind and don't try to compare it to WWE or anything else that I've seen before and just watch it for what it is. Sting really is doing magnificent in this roll and even if you don't like it because it's a rip off or whatever you have to admire the work he's put into it, he has it down.

I actually liked Hogan and Angle's segment and yeah Hogan was less embarrassing as usual and showed some real emotion. The Sting-Immortal stuff was pretty hilarious the whole night and I liked Sting's position of power(even though it was his own manifestation)and felt it added a new dimension to the episode.

I have to say I am officially in love with Austin Aries. He absolutely killed this segment and actually made you believe he was that damn good. Looking forward to the triple threat and I hope he wins as his character is coming along nicely.

The main event wasn't bad at all and I hope the end leads to Anderson leaving Immortal soon which it seems like will happen and hopefully they do it well. I'm looking forward to Hardcore Justice so the show did what it was supposed to do this week in my opinion.

 

[Boneduster]

Hi guys me and the legendary Reggie Tillar (h9uable) Talk about TNA and TNA fans. It's a good listen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frC75S27h_0&feature=feedu

 

[Doubleo13]

This Weeks impact was better then last weeks.

What i liked


Roode Vs Hernandez:

was a good match was the match of the night in my opinion, showed why Roode should be a main eventer, carried Hernandez in my opinion.

Shelley Vs Aries:

was a good match wish it would of went longer, loved the spinning Figure four by Shelley. Cant wait til Aries and Shelley fued to take off evan more for more good matches.

RVD and Crimson vs Scott and Gunner:

was another nice match, could of went a little longer but liekd how they set up RVD vs Crimson First vs Second in the series.


Sring and Angle Contract signing was pretty good dit is nice to, not see a brawl or some one going threw a table.


Now what i didnt like

Devon vs A.J. Styles:

would of been a good match but Devon is slow and him getting, the win not cool and him having alot of points he should have non. Styles should of won.

Bully ray segments didnt need three sof them .

Joe Vs Pope:

Could of been better, i think Joe should of won and gotten some points but it is setting up for the old joe to return or somthing.

Madison Rayne vs Miss Tessmacher:

was a typical knockouts match nothing impressive.


the openiong segment why must Tna have brawls eery week.


All in all was a good impact if i where to rate it i would give it a 6.5 out of 10

 

[Zeven_Zion]

Sweet show, as always. And as usual I have to say that the KO's are just .. ugh. Just scissor, will you? God damn ...

- I liked pretty much everything else from the promo and match side. Not having Bischoff and Hogan around was refreshing but also kind of a let down, I enjoy their stuff. I bet the IWC popped a boner for it, though.

- Shelley and Aries are just out of this world. This is the type of action the X-Division needs. Aries is unreal. Reminds me a lot of CM Punk except that Austin's better in the ring. Aries will get there, though. He should just wait for his contract to be up, whine about his position within the company, show them why he's invaluable and have management do anything in their power to suck his dick as hard as possible. You go, Austin!

- I loved the tag match between RVD/Crimson and Gunner/Steiner. Can Gunner sell the fuck out of a spear or what?

- D-Von beating AJ was ... different. I can understand why some people would be fuming over it but it wasn't a clean win and it shows you that the series are completely unpredictable. D-Von wins matches. If that's not a shocker what is.

- Roode vs Hernandez was fine, nothing fancy but damn every time I see Roode wrestle I remind myself of how much I can't wait until he starts Main Eventing. Roode has World Champion written on his forehead.

- Didn't know James Storm was so high in the BFG Series rankings. When the hell did he get so many points?

And I just want to point out how moronic the Impact Zone is. You have Hernandez in the ring against Robert Roode and they chant "USA". Did these inbreds forget that Roode is Canadian and Hernandez is from Texas?

... is it me or do they look a lot like AJ? Anyway, good show, keep it up. That's what she said.

 

[Rasha]

Agree with a lot of Zeven's points. I was actually halfway through a running diary but it just wasn't going well so I dropped it. Some nights you have it, and some you don't. Kinda' like Impact!


THE GOOD

- Shelley/Aries... wow! More of that, please.
- Only one Knockouts match and/or segment.
- Joe's post-match promo was intense! I hope his actions live up to it.
- Roode/Hernandez was better than I'd have thought.


THE BAD

- Sting/Angle segment should have been at 10:00, not 11:00. Closing the show with the RVD/Gunner vs Steiner/Gunner match would have been a more energetic ending.
- Too many Bully Ray segments. Did we really need the intro segment, the backstage phone call, AND the final segment with Anderson?
- Tessmacher? You're going to have one KOs match that night, and Tessmacher is one of the contestants? That killed my interest instantly.
- Can we either move the Pope/Devon story along or just kill it? We've been stuck at Phase One for a month.
- When all of Fortune comes out, Kazarian is the LAST guy I want to hear from. Worst mic worker of the group.
- Speaking of Fortune, are they feuding with Immortal or not? They had the opening segment, but then they all had other stories and angles. You can't have a hot stable feud if you never fuel the fire.