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

[Jack-Hammer]

TNA Impact Wrestling - February 23, 2012

Opening Segment - Good, solid promo work from Roode that set something of a tone for what to expect regarding Sting's involvement in the show later on. Again, Roode did a nice job of hyping himself and he seems more comfortable in this role now. I highly doubt Sting is "done" and I see him surprising Roode and maybe beating the snot out of him. All in all, I can't say that I've been a fan of this feud with Sting but Roode did a good job here. Thumbs Up

1. Samoa Joe & Magnus vs. Matt Morgan & Crimson for the TNA World Tag Team Championship - Pretty good 9 minute tag match that told a decent story. The match had some good action, nothing out of this world, but a solid match that saw the champs retain the titles clean after hitting the snap mare/elbow drop finisher on Morgan. The tension between Crimson & Morgan was increased as an ill timed clothesline caught Morgan and ultimately led to him being pinned. I can't say I care much about a program between these two and since they're really the only other team active on the TNA roster at this point, rekindling their feud isn't going to do the tag team scene any good. At any rate, however, a pretty good match. **1/4

Bully Ray & Brandon Jacobs - I didn't get to see this, satellite temporarily lost it's signal, so I can't say much of anything about it. At the same time, I probably didn't miss anything overly special. I'm guessing that it was standard formula with maybe Jacobs coming out to a nice pop and cutting a brief promo before getting interrupted by Ray. Ray probably talked some smack before eventually backing off cowardly. I might be wrong, it's just that's usually how these celeb in-ring promo segments go. N/A

2. Alex Shelley vs. Zema Ion - There was a lot of action in this match but it came off as too spotty and not nearly enough selling. One guy would take what looks like a high impact move, sell it for about 2 seconds and then continue with the match as if nothing happened. The part of the match with Ion stuffing his can of hairspray down the front of his tights was laughably absurd. How could the TNA ref's, as blind as they are at times, miss such a huge bulge in some guy's tights? (insert penis joke here please) Ion eventually sprays Shelley in the eyes, hits a tilt-o-whirl facebuster type move and then a running double knee for the win. They're giving Ion more momentum heading into his match with Aries, but I'm just not seeing the reason to care about this program. There's nobody really to root for and Aries is a good heel for a face to work with. On top of that, we've seen Aries beat everyone in the X Division, including Ion, for months on end. I'd much rather see a continuation of his program with Shelley than watch him feud with another heel, one that's far less interesting than he is. *1/2

Garett Bischoff & Hulk Hogan - They did a backstage segment in which Hogan & Bischoff are sitting around and Hogan is sort of giving Garett a birds and the bees sort of talk about the wrestling business. There wasn't anything particularly bad about this, I just have ZERO interest in this story. It's been incredibly dull, Garett isn't nearly talented enough at this point to warrant a significant push and the guy's been shoved down our collective throats for months. If you weren't into this program before, nothing that happened here will change that. Thumbs Down

3. Gail Kim vs. ODB - This had the potential to be a good match but I was kind of turned off by the mix of all the comedy offense from ODB & Young with Gail Kim's style. There was some pretty decent action at some parts of the match, but I've just kind of gotten tired of ODB's shctick as the over the top parody of the ultimate white trash barfly for a while now. Late in the match, Eric Young poured some liquid courage from ODB's flask into her mouth and she just popped up like Popeye downing a can of spinach. Madison Rayne came out and was "cheering" Kim on and that, coupled with the antics of EY & ODB, made me think that a loss for Kim was coming. However, Kim rallied and hit Eat Da Feet for the clean win a little before the 6 minute mark. *1/2

4. Robbie E vs. AJ Styles for the TNA Television Championship - This is one of those matches that seems completely random and ultimately accomlished nothing whatsoever in my view. Styles suddenly becomes the #1 contender for the TV title after losing a high profile match to Kazarian at the last ppv? Just seems to be very sloppy booking in that sense to me. Also, Robbie E continues to be awful in my book and the title itself continues to mean less than nothing. This also came off to me as one of those matches in which you have two extremely mismatched opponents, yet the company is somehow trying to make it seem as though Robbie E is on Styles' level and actually has some sort of chance here. Styles winds up hitting the Pele Kick late in the match but Daniels & Kazarian come down the ramp. Kazarian attacks Styles, giving him the win via DQ. *

[5. Cowboy James Storm & Jeff Hardy vs. Kurt Angle & Bully Ray - I wasn't all that invested in this match because I knew what was coming when I heard is was no DQ. I knew that the action would soon break down & it'd be all over the place and that Jacobs would make his presence felt. The first half of the match was pretty good, had some solid action all around, and the second half featured the typical chaotic breakdown of action. Predictably, Brandon Jacobs did enter the ring after Bully Ray had taken the Last Call from Storm. By this time, a table had been set up in the ring and Jacobs chokeslammed Ray through it. Storm covered Ray and got the win at the 13 minute mark. There was some good action in the match but, overall, the match in and of itself was just a background for Jacobs to ultimately get the best of Ray while ultimately accomplishing little. **

Sting & Bobby Roode - Sting comes out soon after to address the meaning of the "I'm Done" message on Twitter. Predictably, Roode came out and sold that he was expecting Sting to call it quits, which we already knew wasn't the case. Sting told Roode that all he did was wake him up and he took off the glasses, put some face paint on and revived the Joker Sting character. Sting eventually delivers a crotch shot to Roode and indicated a match between the two at Victory Road. Personally, I couldn't have cared less about this segment. I was never a fan of Joker Sting from the beginning and this thing between Roode & Sting has just dragged on in my view. All the heat Roode has had with anyone over the past few months has been with Sting rather than his opponents like Jeff Hardy & James Storm. With Roode vs. Storm already booked for Lockdown, it seems logical for Roode to go over Sting at VR and, hopefully, put this thing behind them so TNA can focus on developing heat for the Roode vs. Storm match and put Sting more in the background. Thumbs Down

Final Thoughts - Last night's show wasn't all that bad but it wasn't all that good either. I thought it was better than last week's IW, but I wasn't particularly thrilled by anything that went on either. Of the two main promo segments I saw, the opening one with Roode was short & sweet with Roode doing a good job on the mic. The other one, the one that closed the show with Roode & Sting, did nothing for me at all. I'm just hoping that this thing with Roode & Sting ends at VR so that TNA can actually build some heat between Roode and someone who's actually trying to take his title. Wrestling action overall was ok, nothing special. To me, the best match of the night was the tag title match. The two teams worked together and put on a solid, 9 minute match with the heels getting a clean win. Shelley vs. Ion didn't really spark my interest all that much. Ion comes off as a very one dimensional heel and it's hard for me to get excited about seeing him face Aries, yet again, when Aries has been beating him in one match after another for months now. They packed a lot of action into the 4 minutes they had, but it came off more along the lines of an old X Division spot fest in the sense that there was very little selling from both guys whenever a big impact move was hit. Garett Bischoff & Hulk Hogan was nothing worth talking about. Gail Kim vs. ODB could've been better than it was. The comedy antics weren't terrible, but I'm just over the stuff that ODB & EY's character brings. Robbie E vs. AJ Styles felt like a random filler match that didn't do anything but further expose how much of a chump Robbie is and re-establish the irrelevance of the TV title. The main event was ok for what it was, but it ultimately felt like it was nothing more than a prop set up to allow Brandon Jacobs to get the better of Bully Ray. Maybe I'd have been more into it had I been able to check out the interaction between Ray & Jacobs in their promo earlier in the night, even though I doubt that it was anything earthshattering.

Grade: C

 

[SpecialFNK]

Brandon Jacobs choke slamming Bully through the table was awesome! I saw many tweets after it was done by people who were not regular viewers of TNA Impact who thought it was great. that is good news for TNA. hopefully it shows in the ratings.
Jacobs wasn't really smooth on the mic, but that should have been expected.

 

[Papa Pillman]

Bully Ray & Brandon Jacobs - I didn't get to see this, satellite temporarily lost it's signal, so I can't say much of anything about it. At the same time, I probably didn't miss anything overly special. I'm guessing that it was standard formula with maybe Jacobs coming out to a nice pop and cutting a brief promo before getting interrupted by Ray. Ray probably talked some smack before eventually backing off cowardly. I might be wrong, it's just that's usually how these celeb in-ring promo segments go. N/A

It's funny how this shows that some of us have been watching wrestling for too long... You basically nailed the entire segment(aside from Jacobs got a little more promo time than celebs usually get in these type of scenarios, and Ray didn't show his face until Jacobs called him out).

What I will say is that Brandon Jacobs came across as somewhat natural with his surroundings, and displayed a commendable mic presence. Despite being a bit cliche, it was a segment that was definitely better than it could have been.

 

[Self High 5]

Can't be bothered with a detailed analysis, but this was another enjoyable, semi-solid Impact. Couple of observations:

• I'm Scottish and therefore have no interest in American Football or Brandon Jacobs (never heard of him until last week's Impact), but even I really like him. As long as he learns a few moves and how to bump, this could be an enjoyable angle.
  
• The X-Division match while ok, really showed up how much Aries is carrying the division.
  
• I HATE the Robbies. Get the TV title off him and get them in the tag division now.
  
• I cannot understand why they are seemingly setting up a Morgan/Crimson feud. This puts the tag division back to square 1. Champions with no challengers. Keep them together a while longer. They both need to develop and I'm quite enjoying their work as a team.
  
• Also, if there aren't enough teams to sustain a male tag division, what makes them think the continuing farce of the Knockouts Tag belts is a good idea. Scrap them now.
  
• Nice to see Angle back in the ring too.

 

[SpecialFNK]

these are the ratings for this past Impact Wrestling.

TNA Impact on Thursday, February 24 scored a 1.19 rating off a first hour 1.17 rating and second hour 1.22 rating. The second hour rating was the highest of the year and highest since November 2011.

Impact peaked at the top of the second hour, as it usually does, with a 1.26 rating for this week's Knockouts match of Gail Kim vs. ODB. The low point was a 1.10 rating in the second quarter-hour.

Impact finished strong with a 1.21 rating in the eighth quarter-hour, the highest-rated Q8 since the Impact after Bound for Glory in October (18 weeks).

First Hour Break Down

Q1: Impact opened with a 1.15 rating for Robert Roode's show-opening promo, one commercial, and the first-half of the TNA Tag Title match. (down 2.3% vs. 2011-Q1 average)

Q2: Impact hit its low point with a 1.10 rating for the second-half of the Tag Title match and two full commercial breaks, which dragged down the rating, followed by the first-half of Brandon Jacobs's in-ring promo. (down 4.8% vs. 2011-Q2 average)

Q3: Impact bounced back with a 1.18 rating for the second-half of Ray-Jacobs, Alex Shelley vs. Zema Ion in X Division action, and one full commercial break. (up 1.2% vs. 2011-Q3 average)

Q4: Impact scored its highest rating of the hour with a 1.24 rating for videos/backstage segments and the first-half of the Knockouts match between Gail and ODB. There was one commercial, which helped boost the Q4 rating, when TNA typically has two commercials in Q4. It was the highest-rated Q4 segment since November. (up 10.3% vs. 2011-Q4 average)

Second Hour Break Down

Q5: Impact built to a show-high 1.26 rating for the second-half of Gail vs. ODB, one commercial break, and a Jesse Sorensen health update video. This was the highest-rated Q5 of the year. (up 2.3% vs. 2011-Q5 average)

Q6: Impact dropped slightly to a 1.22 rating for A.J. Styles vs. Robbie E. in a TV Title match, plus one commercial break. This was tied for the highest-rated Q6 of the year. (up 5.2% vs. 2011-Q6 average)

Q7: Impact dropped to a second-hour-low 1.17 rating for the first-half of the TV main event (Roode & Angle vs. Storm & Hardy with Brandon Jacobs), and one commercial break. This was tied for the highest-rated Q7 of the year. (up 2.6% vs. 2011-Q7 average)

Q8: Impact increased to a 1.21 rating for the second-half of the main event, one commercial, and Crazy Sting confronting Roode to set up their mach at Victory Road next month. (up 2.8% vs. 2011-Q8 average)

 

[SpecialFNK]

ratings for Impact Wrestling on March 1st.

According to PWTorch, TNA Impact Wrestling on Thursday, March 1 scored a 0.99 (1.0) rating, down 17 percent from a 1.19 (1.2) rating last week. Impact Wrestling went from a near-year-high last week to a year-low this week.

Impact Wrestling averaged 1.33 million viewers, which was down 250,000 viewers (16 percent) from last week's show. Average viewership was the lowest in over one year dating back to Thanksgiving 2010. Other than Thanksgiving, it was the fewest viewers since September 2010.

Impact Wrestling was hit hardest in the males 18-34 demographic. Impact Wrestling declined 37 percent from a 1.02 rating to a 0.64 rating this week in m18-34. Among males 18-49, Impact Wrestling declined 19 percent from a 1.00 rating to a 0.81 rating.

Also of concern was Impact Wrestling declining from a 1.02 first hour rating to a 0.97 second hour rating, highlighted by a 0.90 eighth quarter-hour rating. The second hour rating was also the lowest since Thanksgiving 2010.

Q1: 1.08 rating - Kurt Angle promo, Jeff Hardy attacks Angle and accepts his pay-per-view challenge, Bobby Roode and Austin Aries talk backstage

Q2: 1.03 rating - A.J. Styles vs. Kazarian and Christopher Daniels

Q3: 1.01 rating - Gail Kim and Madison Rayne backstage, ODB vs. Madison Rayne, Bully Ray talks with Aries and Roode backstage, two commercial breaks

Q4: 0.97 rating - Video with Velvet Sky being attacked by Angelina Love and Sarita with Mickie James making the save, Ric Flair talks with Garett Bischoff while Eric Bischoff and Gunner stand by, Roode, Aries, and Ray promo

Q5: 1.04 rating - Sting confronts Roode, Ray, and Aries, Jesse Sorensen video package, Zema Ion pre-tape

Q6: 0.99 rating - Announcers discuss Ion's promo, Ion vs. Shannon Moore, TNA fans video, Velvet Sky and Mickie James vs. Velvet Sky and Angelina Love

Q7: 0.93 rating - James Storm, Samoa Joe, and Magnus talk backstage, Tenay says Abyss is missing, Storm, Joe, and Magnus vs. Roode, Aries, and Ray

Q8: 0.90 rating - Storm, Joe, and Magnus vs. Roode, Aries, and Ray

OUCH!
not even the Knockouts got good ratings.

 

[Self High 5]

Strange Impact this week. Loads of crap and filler (what's with that Aries/Shelley music video?) but what was good, was awesome. Namely:

1) Angle's promo on Hardy. I was honestly pissing myself laughing. Very amusing stuff. "He has lots of hair. I do not." Hardy's piss-weak looking offense was funny for the wrong reasons though.

2) Interaction between Aries, Bully and Roode was great. Was amazing to see hot young talent (plus Bully) acknowledge TNA's rep as an old man's company. Shows they are definately wise to it themselves now.

3) Main event! Oh lord! Joe, Magnus and Aries shaking up the main event. Yes yes yes! More of this. Excellent match and it's nice to see how Joe can still go when he gives a shit. He's still very over with the crowd.

Everything else verged from shit, to total shit. Not surprised at the ratings drop.

 

[Darkshot77]

Impact 3/8/2012

I unfortunately did not get to see EY and ODB win the KO's Tag Titles. I wish i would have seen it. Eric Young has been absolutely hilarious, from the start, I love everything Eric Young has ever done. His interactions with ODB have made for great television. I honestly hoped that they would win the wildcard tournament and beat Crimson and Morgan for the Real Tag titles, but I am not disappointed with Joe and Magnus. I love the move by TNA it helps advance the Gail/Rayne feud and makes for some funny TV. Great Job.

I can not say how amazing Austin Aries is. And I like Zema Ion too. These two could have a great match. But today the match was lack luster. The DQ by Aries hopefully lead to a real match for the title on a PPV. I do not like how TNA awards #1 contender matches on Impact, especially when the #1 contender was decided on a PPV. But I understand that this was probably not the original plan and Jessie got injured. Still I hope for a good match between the 2 at victory road.

The Bully/Bobby match was surprisingly good. I love seeing the "hierarchy of heels" Bobby is a bigger heel than Bully as the crowd was totally behind Ray. Though I think Bobby could even get cheers against Eric Bishoff. Good job advancing the Storm/Roode stuff, but unfortunately that is not the upcoming PPV match, so it is not so good. They should spend a little more time advancing the Storm/Sting match.

TNA managed to put 4 people in the ring I do not care about. Robbie E, T Crimson, and Morgan. Big whoop.

I honestly marked when Anderson hit the ring. I have always loved Ken Anderson. I think this will build to a great Lethal lock down match between these 4 men involved.

For the past 2 weeks on raw we have had Rock v Cena Promos. Last week on Impact we had Bully Ray lay out James storm. This week we have Hardy getting one up on Angle and more Garrett Bischoff stuff. It is good to see fresh stuff in your main event. It is also good to see variety from the heels ending the show to the faces ending the show. TNA nice job tonight and keep up the good work.

 

[Self High 5]

Mostly a pretty poor IW this week. Particularly as it seemed to centre around Garett - still can't wrestle - Bischoff. From Aries, Joe and Magnus in the main event last week, to Bischoff and Gunner. Yuck. Does anyone else get the terrible feeling that Flair is going to lace up his boots soon and put GB over?

The Abyss/Joseph Parks stuff is really interesting and there's potential for a good story there.

Aries/Ion? Dissapointing, but I'm guessing they'll still wrestle at Victory Road due to the finish of their Impact match.

What was most interesting about IW for me though, was the interaction between Bully and Roode. Is it just me, or was Bully almost getting a face reaction for calling out Roode in the manner he did? Maybe I'm giving it too much notice, but when their match started, Bully allowed a clean break from the corner. Not very heelish. After last night, I'd consider Bully more a tweener than an out and out heel. He's no longer Immortal's ass-kissing stooge. He's a tough bastard out for himself. I like it.

 

[JJYanks121]

Mostly a pretty poor IW this week. Particularly as it seemed to centre around Garett - still can't wrestle - Bischoff. From Aries, Joe and Magnus in the main event last week, to Bischoff and Gunner. Yuck. Does anyone else get the terrible feeling that Flair is going to lace up his boots soon and put GB over?

The Abyss/Joseph Parks stuff is really interesting and there's potential for a good story there.

Aries/Ion? Dissapointing, but I'm guessing they'll still wrestle at Victory Road due to the finish of their Impact match.

What was most interesting about IW for me though, was the interaction between Bully and Roode. Is it just me, or was Bully almost getting a face reaction for calling out Roode in the manner he did? Maybe I'm giving it too much notice, but when their match started, Bully allowed a clean break from the corner. Not very heelish. After last night, I'd consider Bully more a tweener than an out and out heel. He's no longer Immortal's ass-kissing stooge. He's a tough bastard out for himself. I like it.

I've gotten the feeling for a while that Lockdown is going to be Hogan/Garrett against Gunner/Flair. Now, this was done just 2 years ago with Team Hogan/Team Flair but we'll ignore that. This is getting over two guys who have little to no chance of getting over on their own!

Honestly, my hope is that Lockdown is bulit in almost an old school Wrestlemania way. Build the other stuff but make sure that unequivocally that the focus is 100 percent on Roode/Storm. That's where it needs to be and where it should be.

Essentially, after next week's Impact and Victory Road, every show should heavily feature those two. Make it all about them. I don't care if it means no one else gets the main event for a month. Who cares? Roode/Storm sells and needs to be the primary focus.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

TNA Impact Wrestling - March 15, 2012

Opening Segment - While I can't say that I'm overly interesting in Storm & Ray, they both did nice jobs on the mic. Storm had more intensity and passion than we've seen out of him in a while. This is what TNA needs to keep doing with him and keep doing it often. He's got the ability to be a top star in the company and he's too good at this point to be runner up to Sting & Hardy. Storm let loose with some classic country music and/or redneck euphamisms. I prefer Ray when he's in a more serious mode and while his calves are impressive looking, it makes it harder to take him seriously at this time when he goes on and on about them. Ray backing down from a challenge put forth by Storm was expected and substituting Gunner didn't come far out of left field. Storm vs. Gunner doesn't excite me in the least, but this was the best Storm has looked in a while. Thumbs Up

Gail Kim, Madison Rayne & Sting - Next up, they show a brief backstage segment with Kim & Madison walking while bickering with each other. Sting, for some odd reason, seems to be staring at a wall and, coincidentally, just happens to be there. I guess he's supposed to be in deep thoughts about his confrontation tonight with Roode. Anyhow, he snaps at Kim & Rayne and puts both of them in matches. There seem to be a lot of heel vs. heel matches heading into Victory Road and I find myself wondering exactly who it is I'm supposed to root for and against. There wasn't anything good about this segment, but there wasn't anything bad either. It was just sort of there I guess. N/A

1. Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne - This was an ok match, nothing particularly memorable or special. Madison strikes me as the more polished of the two inside the ring and while Velvet has improved since her early days, she still seems a little awkward and uncoordinated while her punches, kicks or elbow shots look 100% weak with little to no sense of impact to them. The match goes to about the 4 minute mark with Velvet rolling Madison up for a 2 count, then Madison reverses it and gets the win by grabbing the tights. Madison gets some momentum going into Victory Road. *1/4

Matt Morgan & Crimson - Another brief backstage segment with Morgan with Crimson back in the locker room. Crimson comes off more of a cocky heel, going on about his undefeated streak and how Morgan is responsible for losing the tag titles. Crimson fits better into this role, at least thus far, and seems more comfortable. It's an improvement over TNA constantly hyping Crimson as this silent, intense Goldbergesque type of guy. Again, nothing good here but nothing bad either. N/A

2. Crimson vs. Samoa Joe - Pretty decent match while it lasted with Joe & Crimson delivering a decent, physical singles match going into their tag title bout & Victory Road. Crimson looks to me as if he's improved his ring work and it's nice to see Joe apart of something that's at least somewhat relevant for the first time in a few years. At one point, Morgan jumps up onto the ring apron, only to be pulled off by Magnus. Magnus lands some shots and attempts to toss Morgan into some steps, but Morgan reverses it and Magnus hits the steps. Morgan gets taken out by Joe before Joe gets hit by a spear from Crimson. Crimson scores the win at the 4.5 minute mark. Again, I have no real sense of who to root for here as both teams definitely come off as heelish. *3/4

Austin Aries & Zema Ion - In all honesty, I have to say that I was a bit disappointed here as neither guy really said anything or has really done anything to get me all that excited about their match at Victory Road. Aries did an ok job though not nearly as good as he usually is and the music video looked kinda cool. The music, however, was a huge steaming turd. It was just flat out awful. As Aries touts the fact that he's held the X Division Championship longer than anyone, Ion comes out. Ion..I dunno..the guy just strikes me as a generic heel with a slight dash of the Rick "The Model" Martel put into the mixture. I'm sure they'll put on a good match at the ppv, but this was just a poor segment with poor overall hype of their match in my eyes. Thumbs Down

Kurt Angle - This was a backstage promo segment in which Angle challenges Garett Bischoff to a 5 minute challenge match. He makes a couple of juvenile jokes here and there, nothing really worth talking about. Again, it was simply there. N/A

3. Mickie James vs. Gail Kim - Solid outing between two of the top in-ring workers in women's wrestling today and the best match of the night so far. Mickie & Gail brought some good action and a nice mesh with Gail seeming to be more technically sound while Mickie is the more physical of the two. The ending took away from the match as it was more of the typical nonsense and referee ineptitude that we see so very often. Gail is tossed outside and Mickie is trying to go out of the ring to get her and, for some odd reason, the ref decides to restrain her and tries to push her back. As he's pushing her back, Gail has her title and smacks Mickie in the head, getting the win at the 5 minute mark. A solid match that was taken down by a poor end. **

4. Mr. Anderson vs. Chrisopher Daniels - Pretty good match between Anderson & Daniels with some nice back and forth action. Anderson, to me, looks like he's actually improved in the ring during his time off. He also seems to have put on some muscle mass as he definitely looks heavier. Nothing overly special here, just solid action overall. Kazarian tries to interfere but AJ Styles starts beating him on the outside. Anderson hits the Mic Check for the win about the 5.5 minute mark. **1/4

5. Garett Bischoff vs. Kurt Angle - For me, this match was a pure waste of time. Kurt Angle flat out dominated Bischoff virtually the entire time and toyed with him. He could have pinned him several times but pulled him up. The match did tell a story but I can't say it interested me at all because I'm just not digging Garett Bischoff. Bischoff did last the 5 minutes so I guess, technically, he did get the win. These sort of matches can work and tell a good story when it involves someone that the fans have rallied behind and accepted. The problem is that Bischoff isn't over, nor have fans rallied behind him. N/A

6. Cowboy James Storm vs. Gunner - This match didn't do anything for me. Gunner just seems perpetually stuck in the role of a low level thug that's just nowhere remotely close to the same level as most of his opponents. They did try to make the match look competetive, but it just didn't work for me as I'm just not impressed with Gunner or anything he's done. The outcome was never in doubt and Storm gets the win with Last Call at the 3.5 minute mark. *

Sting & Bobby Roode Contract Signing - The one saving grace for me was Roode's performance on the mic. He did a great job in my view and was actually carrying most of the segment in and of himself. Other than that, it was the same typical contract signing segment you'd expect. Nothing horrible here, but nothing particularly good except for Roode's mic work. Thumbs In The Middle

Final Thoughts - I didn't really care too much for last night's show. There wasn't anything horrible that happened but, for the most part, there weren't all that many good things. I was also pretty bored throughout most of the show. There were a couple of decent matches, the opening promo segment was good and Roode saved the contract signing from being a total loss. Other than that, mostly just boredom or altogether lackluster matches & segments. When I look at the Victory Road ppv, I see a lot of heel vs. heel contests and I have no sense of who to be for or against. As a result, I haven't been pulled into the storylines of these matches, nor have I been made to especially care about one competitor over the other. The show felt like filler and that's the entire feeling I get when it comes to the Victory Road ppv.[/B]

Grade: C-

 

[perucho1990]

It was very funny when Angle didnt sell Garrett moves, good thing that he has creative control over his character, otherwise he would've sold those moves Rock style.
Turn Garrett heel, If the likes of Michael Cole can be entertaining heels, so can Garrett. The Garrett push is pretty much Rocky Maivia 2.0.

 

[donnyp1976]

well i went to last years wrestlemania and i didnt like it to much. Last night I went to an Impact live event in bilouxi and man it was the best that i have ever seen. i was on the verge of totally stopping watching any wrestling on tv. my wife took me last night for my birthday and it was by far the best ever, the way they were attentive to the fans and it had an old school feel to it and it was not like what you see on tv. not to mention i got a few wrestler stirred up. James storm and Matt hardy are the nicest people. Shout out to them both on a job well done and another shout out to TNA IMPACT WRESTLING for putting on an excellent well putt together show.

 

[JJYanks121]

It was very funny when Angle didnt sell Garrett moves, good thing that he has creative control over his character, otherwise he would've sold those moves Rock style.
Turn Garrett heel, If the likes of Michael Cole can be entertaining heels, so can Garrett. The Garrett push is pretty much Rocky Maivia 2.0.

Major difference though......Rocky had talent.

As for yesterday's show, it's a go home show to a PPV that's just kind of there. It needs to just happen so we can get to Lockdown build which should hopefully bring better feuds for the midcard and Sting can go away so that Storm/Roode can be the focus finally.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

TNA Impact Wrestling - March 22, 2012

Opening Segment - This segment started out promising with them showing the aftermath of the Sting vs. Roode match at Victory Road. However, I thought it went downhill pretty quickly. I undersand and accept that gaps in logic are common in wrestling storylines, but this was just flat out 100% stupid. Sting resigns his position and is trying to persuade Dixie Carter to have Hulk Hogan take it up?!?!?! Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't pretty much all of last year revolving around Hulk Hogan helping to "steal" the company from Dixie Carter in the first place? Dixie all but mindlessly agrees with Sting and this angle looks like the latest in a long line that makes Dixie look like a stupid businesswoman. I can understand wanting to utilize Hogan in some way, but this is just mind bogglingly stupid. The segment also dragged on for much longer than it needed to and accomplished little more than...well it didn't really accomplish much of anything except making TNA Creative look foolish, at least in my opinion. Thumbs Down

1. Austin Aries vs. Zema Ion vs. Anthony Nese vs. Kid Kash for the TNA X Division Championship - This was an ok match while it lasted, though spot heavy at times and it felt like it never really got out of first gear. Ion & Nese both looked sloppy at times but there was some fast paced action. At the same time, this feels like something I've seen a dozen times before. We've seen Aries placed in a lot of these triple threat & fourway matches since becoming champ and they're not feeling the least bit special. About the 4.5 minute mark, Bully Ray comes in and pretty much devestates everyone. He cut a brief backstage promo prior to the match saying that he intended to take "hostages". Ray did get some heat back, but it was at the expense of virtually the entire X Division. I just feel there were other ways of going about this rather than Ray decimating these guys. *3/4

2. ODB & Eric Young vs. Sarita & Rosita for the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship - Meh, pretty much a waste of 4 minutes if you're someone that's over the comedy schtick of ODB & Eric Young. If you're not, then you probably enjoyed it. ODB & EY get the win, as if it mattered. N/A

Crimson & Matt Morgan - Crimson is shown backstage watching Matt Morgan's Direct Auto Insurance commercial. Crimson seems much more comfortable in this role than I've ever seen him. He's doing a good job playing a cocky heel that's let his success go to his head. The part where he accused Morgan of trying to launch a Hollywood career at his expense was kind of stupid, but Crimson still did a better job here than I've seen. Morgan shows up, they brawl & security separates them. Nothing special, but signs of improvement from Crimson so this was ok. Thumbs Up

Bobby Roode & James Storm Video Packages - This has easily been the highlight of the show thus far. These vid packages on Roode & Storm were very well done and are one of the very few times a TNA video montage of wrestlers' careers have been on par with WWE's. If nothing else, it was fun seeing how the two wrestlers have changed when compared to their earlier days in TNA. Very nicely done. Thumbs Up

James Storm Promo - Another good promo from Storm here and I couldn't help but think that this is what should have started the show off. A proper Roode vs. Storm feud is what everyone has really been waiting on for months but, unfortunately, it looks as though they're going to start playing second fiddle to the whole Sting/Hogan/Dixie angle. At any rate, Storm does another solid job on the mic here. I was a let down with Roode not coming out and with his "personal legal advisor", William Kelly, coming out to inform Storm that Roode wouldn't be appearing on IW until further notices. Storm super kicks Kelly eventually and while Storm was good, this came off as pretty transparent as an attempt to pull off a Stone Cold Steve Austin sort of moment. Thumbs In The Middle

3. Garett Bischoff vs. Kurt Angle in a Three Minute Challenge - In all honesty, pretty much a waste of time. Just before the match got started, I got a Pepsi out of the fridge. By the time I come back, Angle & Gunner are in the ring putting the boots to Bischoff. Hardy comes out to make the save, yadda yadda. N/A

4. Samoa Joe & Magnus vs. Mexican America for the TNA World Tag Team Championship - While Joe & Magnus looked good, there was a lot of overbooking here. Mexican America has been MIA for months but they get a title shot on their first night back huh? Wow, TNA's tag team picture overall has really gone to the dogs. They worked in an angle with the Repo Games tv show here. Had something to do with MA's car or something? Anyhow, Joe & Magnus get the win at the 5 minute mark. *

5. Cowboy James Storm vs. Chrisopher Daniels & Kazarian - Not much to say here except Storm getting a decisive win. The heels had things pretty much under control until they started bickering, allowing Storm is able to hit both guys with Last Call for the win. This match only lasted about 3 minutes and while it's good to see Storm get a decisive win, this really did bring down Daniels & Kazarian. They've been shown as a couple of guys giving AJ Styles fits for a couple of months now but Storm beats them in a handicap match in 3 minutes? *

Sting, Hulk Hogan & Dixie Carter - I didn't see this segment as I simply wasn't interested. I read about it a bit later and everything went down exactly as I figured it would. Hogan & Sting basically made nicey nice and ******ed each other while Dixie enthusiastically looked on and agreed with anything and everything. Thumbs Down

Final Thoughts - I recorded this show on DVR and only got around to watching it this morning. It's definitely one I wish I'd skipped altogether. In a lot of ways, this episode of IW felt like much of the crap we saw especially during 2010 and most of 2011. Instead of starting things off with a solid build to the Lockdown ppv, which is supposed to be one of TNA's biggest, the TNA GM angle or whatever you want to call it was pretty much all that was talked about. This took center stage while nearly everything else felt irrelevant. Storm vs. Roode, which is one of the most anticipated feuds in recent TNA history, took a distance second to this and it's something we've seen time and time again. The highlights of the show were the Roode & Storm video packages and James Storm's in-ring promo. Everything else just really, really dragged. There were three title matches on the show that were completely forgettable and utterly meaningless. You don't usually get shows with so many title defenses in one night, so this should have felt like it actually registered to some degree but it didn't. TNA has shown a lot over the past 6 or 7 months just how capable they are of having solid matches, storylines & promo segments. They just simply didn't do it on this particular show. The 3/22/12 show felt like a flashback to the bad old days.

Grade: D

 

[Papa Pillman]

About the 4.5 minute mark, Bully Ray comes in and pretty much devestates everyone. He cut a brief backstage promo prior to the match saying that he intended to take "hostages". Ray did get some heat back, but it was at the expense of virtually the entire X Division. I just feel there were other ways of going about this rather than Ray decimating these guys.

I actually thought the match itself was kind of fun. Yes it was a glorified spot bonanza, but the guys knew that they only had less than 5 minutes to work, so four guys aren't going to build much drama or do much storytelling in that time, so instead they just went out a gave the crowd a little acrobatic show off session and gave them a chance to pop for some large spots- I'm not really mad at that for what it was.

As for the ending, I get what you're trying to say(not to mention that Ray has a history of picking on the X-division), it doesn't help any of these X-guys at all. Unless... the little face off between Aries and Ray at the end was intriguing, as Aries looked at Ray with a ", I thought we were cool" kind of look, and Ray seemed to appear to ponder before booting A-double's face in. This could be a great way to play off of Aries seemingly transitioning to more of a tweener(or atleast "the cool heel"), while also making him look like more than a smallish, albeit dominant, mid-carder by allowing him to work a response match with Ray where he could hold his own or even come out victorious.

If this run-in leads to a match between Bully Ray and a pissed off Aries, than I am all for it, and I will think it actually served a purpose beyond just allowing Ray to regain some heat and steam.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Last night's IW was definitely a mixed bag for me.

The Angle vs. Hardy match was a good outing that had some nice spots. It's not a feud I'm particularly invested in, but both Angle & Hardy worked hard and delivered a quality tv match. The ending with Angle being counted out was expected but it didn't hurt the match in my eyes. **1/2

Storm vs. Styles was downright great, especially when you consider that the match was only about 7 minutes. It felt close to 15 minutes, and I mean that in a good way, as they packed a lot of good back & forth action into it. They showed good chemistry together and I'm glad to see James Storm get a clean win over Styles. Styles' stock isn't as high as it has been, but he's still AJ Styles. ***1/4

I was mixed on the Aries & Bully Ray segment. On one hand, Aries showed a lot of fire against Ray. However, I thought they made Aries come across as looking too weak against Ray. Aries spent about a minute or so nailing Ray with piston left hands before taking the power bomb. Aries sold the move very well but Ray just pops up with this look on his face as if the 20 or so right hands & shot to the head from the microphone didn't even phase him. I get that they were building Ray to look like a beast, but they went overboard here. During Daniel Bryan's feud with Big Show & Mark Henry in WWE, even when Bryan came out on the worst end of things, Show & Henry still sold Bryan's offense. They looked like badass while still making Bryan look capable. I like Ray but, I'm sorry, he's no Mark Henry or Big Show when it comes to being a physical monster.

The rest of the show didn't do anything for me. For one thing, there was wayyyyyy too much Hulk Hogan on the show. TNA's gone back to the strategy of having Hogan pop up in every other segment and putting much of the focus on him. The Garett Bischoff storyline continues to bore the crap out of me and the match at Lockdown interests me not at all. I've seen the "I'll leave the company if I lose" stuff a lot in TNA and it's long since lost its kick. As with Sting, most of the heat seems to be between Hogan & Roode rather than Roode & his upcoming opponent James Storm.

The Knockouts match was clunky at times and came off as mostly a waste of time for me. I knew Velvet Sky was going ot be the winner as soon as it was announced she was a participant as she's been chasing Gail Kim. *1/4

While it was nice to see the MCMGs, you can tell that they're not really a priority in TNA. There's virtually no fan fair for their return, which is a shame as they're arguably the most over tag team in TNA history. The tag scene isn't nearly what it used to be and it'll take more than just the Guns to save it. Besides that, while I like the Guns, they've gone as far as they can as a tag team I think. They're both quite capable inside the ring and could be extremely useful in an overall weak X Division.

The main event didn't really interest me. To be honest, I'm just not feeling Mr. Anderson right now. Guy's just not interesting to me anymore and Hogan sticking his nose in here is just more of the overexposure they're doing with him.

Overall, I'd give the show a C+

 

[Self High 5]

I'm a little late, but the last IW was pretty damned good (with some glaring flaws of course).

The in ring action was all very good for TV. Storm vs Styles was excellent. A clean face vs face match is a rare treat. Roode/Anderson and Angle/Hardy were both good for what they were, as was the KO 6-way. I must admit that this was the first I've seen of MCMG, and if that is what they can do in a glorified TV squash against Mexican America, their fued with Joe and Magnus will be phenomenal.

I also like where they're going with Aries/Ray. Should be an excellent fued. I'm wondering whether they're have Ray cost Aries the X Division belt at some point to heat things up?

One of the Bischoffs being written off TV for a while after Lockdown? Very hard to complain about that. Smart money is on Eric, but I'd genuinely rather Garret. Garret has NOTHING without Eric to feud with. He needs to bugger off and train.

The Bad - I was very open to it at first, but I hate Hogan as GM already. His opening promo was awful and rambling. I hate how the stupid old bastard said that he's "been speaking to creative". DO YOU NOT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT KAYFABE AT ALL ANYMORE?!?! Total bullshit. I also hate how much he's inserting himself into Roode and Storm. That IS NOT needed. They have more than enough heat as it is, and a face authority figure constantly interfering (ie reversing the main event result) helps nobody. It kills Roode's heat for a devious win over Anderson. Hogan is a fucking idiot. If a heel GM screws a face, it builds heat, but Hogan doing it killed heat. I'm now officially on the "Hogan is an idiot" bandwagon. That is all.

 

[steve_smith]

I thought the first ever, "Open Fight Night" was a flop. There was one entertaining match (tag team match), everything else was shit. 2 hours and 1 good match (vintage early 2011).

Also, with a good crop of talented under-utilized wrestlers, why does TNA have the TV title on Devon. He is incredibly un-interesting. I was hoping for Bully Ray to take the belt off of him.

And more Garret Bischoff bullshit. That final segment was awful.

 

[SpecialFNK]

I think it would be nice to get the TV title on someone that general viewers would want to watch more on TV, but Devon isn't bad. he does get a good pop from the crowd.

I personally don't watch for the in ring wrestling, so I can't comment on the quality of the matches.

I think open fight night is OK. I like build up with story lines, rather than random challenges. but maybe this can help start feuds. this can be OK for just once a month.
I think it was interesting to see all/most of the wrestlers all together backstage, as if they are all ready to go for whoever is called out.

is Kurt Angle turning face? he had an argument backstage with heels Daniels and Kazarian. then he accepted the challenge of heel Anawhatever from Mexican America.
he still has a match at Sacrifice against face AJ Styles.
I think Angle face would be better, but I also think TNA needs more heels. Crimson turning heel helps, but I think they still need more.

the Gut Check was OK. I wasn't expecting someone great for the first time. Alex Silva looks thin. I doubt he gets a contract. he might be OK for the X division. his look is not impressive to me, he looks too boring and plain. he looks like a thinner version of Jesse Sorensen.

the ending to me was waste. I guess I understand it as Eric Bischoff's send off as in how so many people think of him as shit, so maybe it's fitting. but even then I don't think it should have ended the show.

Hulk Hogan haters are probably going to be upset that he was on air so often, but he is the GM so that should be expected. however I do think TNA could have cut it back. I don't think we needed to see Hogan eliminate a tag team once per segment. TNA's tag team division isn't that impressive. Hardy and Anderson aren't really a tag team. Eric Young and ODB are the Knockouts tag team champions. I did think it was funny when EY had his line of offering ODB to Hogan for a night.

I'm interested to see what the ratings will be, considering the NFL draft was last night. I think it should at least be in the 0.9's but wouldn't be surprised if this is the worst rated show they've had in a while.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

TNA Impact Wrestling - April 26, 2012

Opening Segment - The opening was short and nicely done overall. Hogan was backstage with all the champs in TNA, except for Devon, and he generally did a good job of putting all the champs over and hyping their importance. They didn't go over the line with the tension between himself & Roode, which is a welcome change as I'm loooong since over the Roode vs. authority figure scenario. It might come back, but it was nice to see it gone for one night at least. As I said, Hogan did a good job of putting the champs over without coming off as being bias towards any of them, even if he did lay it on thick a few times such as when he called Joe & Magnus the greatest tag team of all time. Thumbs Up

1. Devon vs. Bully Ray for the TNA Television Championship - An overall solid match to start things off with. Generally speaking, I have mixed feelings on it however, Devon & Ray both gave solid promos and it was refreshing to see the champion make a title challenge to a challenger. They wrestled a good match, in spite of Ray's occassional absurdly comedic overselling, but I wasn't entirely thrilled with a guy who was coming off as a legit contender for the TNA WHC just a few weeks ago losing clean to the holder of the lesser mid-card title. At the same time, however, Devon defended his title successfully in a good match against one of the top heels in TNA. As I said, mixed feelings on the whole thing. Devon eventually scores the win with the modified spinebuster finisher at the 9.5 minute mark. **3/4

Jeremy Borasch & Eric Bischoff - To me, this entire segment was a waste of time. I don't give a piss about Borasch or his online Twitter feud with Bischoff, nor do I care about Borasch pissing & moaning about how Bischoff has treated him and what a douchebag he is. Bischoff comes down and they actually, eventually, have something resembling a match. Bully Ray sneaks up behind Borasch and low blows him, allowing Bischoff to get the pin. Extremely dull and pointless segment in my eyes. Thumbs Down

2. Kurt Angle vs. Anarquia - Before the match, Anarquia came out and cut an annoyingly bad promo as he always does and challenges someone. Out comes Kurt Angle and the two get into it after Hernandez provides a brief distraction. Anarquia gets in a little offense but once Angle gets his feet under him, the match is over in about a minute via the ankle lock. The match was pointless and it has me wondering if we've seen another random character turn. Angle's behaving like a face all of a sudden for seemingly no reason. N/A

3. Robbie E vs. Alex Silva in a TNA Gut Check match - This was an overally extremely disappointing way to kick off this gimmick. Al Snow starts off in the ring and introduces Silva for a bit before Robbie E comes out. All in all, this was basically a 2 minute squash match. Silva got in some offense, basic stuff, but nothing to talk about. Robbie hits an impaler DDT for the win. Lousy way to kick this thing off and yes it's turning out as I thought it would: Silva is in OVW, TNA's developmental territory, so it's unlikely that TNA is going to go out and truly bring in wrestlers that are currently unaffiliated in any way, shape or form with TNA. Waste of time. 1/2*

Hogan and the tag teams - This was another backstage segment in which Hogan was deciding upon who would challenge Joe & Magnus for the titles, which he announced earlier in the night would happen. Hogan talks with the Guns first before Daniels & Kazarian interrupt and make their case. Hogan shoots them down. He talks to Anderson & Hardy, I guess they're supposed to be the disfunctional tag team of the outfit. Hogan mentions that Eric Young & ODB are potentially in the running, saying Young offered Hogan ODB for a night if they got the shot. It's hard to take this seriously when you mention that those two are even potentially in the running. Hogan decided that Joe & Magnus would find out who their opponents are when their match is up. He didn't give the Guns the match as he feared Sabin's knee might be up to it. Pretty big logic hole when you think on it as Sabin's knee didn't seem to be a concern when he & Shelley were booked in a tag title match at Lockdown. Nothing particularly good about this segment or bad, it was just kinda there. Thumbs In The Middle

4. Gail Kim vs. Miss Tessmacher - Prior to the match, Tessmacher comes out and cuts a promo, stating that the world is talking about how she pinned Kim last week. Can't say that I even gave it a second thought. Anyhow, the match was nothing special. It went about 3.5 minutes. Kim was getting some good heat from the crowd and Tessmacher eventually wins with a facebuster. Gail Kim is currently supposed to be feuding with Velvet Sky, so having her job to Tessmacher in this random match could demonstrate the potential downside of the Open Fight Night concept, as these matches could interfere with ongoing storylines. *

5. Samoa Joe & Magnus vs. Jeff Hardy & Mr. Anderson for the TNA World Tag Team Championship - Good back and forth match here between these two teams. Hogan's logic in picking these two, obviously going with the tired angle of the two guys not getting along, was faulty but it still led to a good match. Most everyone hit all their signature stuff and the match went smoothly. The ending comes with Joe countering a Mic Check attempt from Anderson before Anderson rolls him up from the ropes. Joe reaches up and slaps on the rear naked choke. Hardy is outside fighting with Magnus and as he attempts to get into the ring to break up the choke, Magnus is lying on the floor holding onto his leg and preventing him from entering the ring. Anderson soon taps, giving Joe & Magnus the win at the 10.5 minute mark. Afterward, Daniels & Kazarian run out and attack the champs on the ramp, looking to make a statement. **3/4

Eric Bischoff Party - This was one massive, colossal waste of time. There was just nothing good about this segment whether it be the random brawl breaking out or the mediocre promos given. Borasch & Garett Bischoff eventually push Eric into a porta-potty and push it over. Eric comes out covered in fake crap. Shitty segment to close the show, no pun intended. Thumbs Down

Final Thoughts - Last night's show was hit and miss for me. The good was that we had two strong, well wrestled title matches to start off the Open Fight Night concept. It was also good the way Hogan kept putting over the champions and how important the titles are. The Open Fight Night is an interesting concept, it didn't come off as feeling particularly special last night, but they didn't screw it up. I do think, as we saw in the Kim vs. Tessmacher match that these seemingly random matches can hurt & get in the way of current storylines. However, for me, everything else on the show was pretty much a bust. The TNA Gut Check concept started off last night with a kittenish whimper instead of a lion's roar. The Robbie E vs. Alex Silva match was basically Silva getting squashed and not making the slightest positive impression. All they had to do was to make this a competetive match instead of a 2 minute squash and they would've salvaged something here. Even if there's nothing special about Silva, him having a competetive match against a current member of the TNA roster and a former champion would have started the concept off with some teeth. Instead, they literally just plucked a guy out of OVW and had him lose in a squash match to one of the overall weakest talents on the roster. The stuff with Borasch & Bischoff was an awful waste of time, especially the closing of the show. It won't surprise me at all if it turns out to be the lowest rated segment of last night's IW. All in all, a fairly decent show that was really only made so by two good tv matches.

Grade: C

 

[Jack-Hammer]

TNA Impact Wrestling - May 31, 2012

1. Sting vs. Bobby Roode in a Lumberjack Match - Overall, I thought it was a pretty good match though I can't say that I care much for this feud. I got over it a while ago and seeing it rehashed doesn't do much for me. Sting & Roode put on a pretty solid match but, to me, it had more of a "same old, same old" kind of feel with the older guys getting the better of the younger ones. The Lumberjack stipulation was ok, nothing special, but at least it didn't overshadow the match and didn't break down into a chaotic brawl like I expected. Sting gets the win via the Scorpion Deathlock at the 14 minute mark after Roode taps. Hogan comes out afterward and makes a title match at Slammiversary between Sting & Roode. Solid effort all in all, but nothing particularly great, but the live crowd seemed to be into it so that's never a bad thing. **1/4

Bully Ray & Joseph Park - I'm kinda in the middle on this segment. The good was that it featured more good work from Bully Ray on the mic. Even though Ray gets a good amount of cheers, like Daniel Bryan in WWE, he's not out there purposely trying to play the cool heel that it's hip for fans to root for. Abyss is doing a good job with the Joseph Park thing all in all, I didn't think he had it in him, but I'm really getting bored with it. It's shown that Abyss has more to him than what we thought but, at the same time, I can't say the notion of Bully Ray beating up a "lawyer" at Slammiversary interests me all that much. I thought it went on a little longer than it had to, so it's good that Ray is good on the mic. Thumbs In The Middle

2. Austin Aries vs. Chris Sabin for the TNA X Division Championship - While this match was only about 3.5 minutes, it was a damn good 3.5 minutes. The downside to this was that Sabin ultimately came off as just another body put in front of Aries. Aries has had one major problem during his run as X Division Champion: he's not had anybody worth feuding against. Sabin's a talented guy but the fact that they had such a short match is an indicator that there's not going to be anything between him & Aries in the future. The match was fast paced and both guys worked well together. It was a little spot heavy at times, but they didn't go nuts. The end comes with Sabin looking like he was going for an Attitude Adjustment and Aries counters with a modified victory roll for the win. **3/4

Gut Check Segments - The first segment featured Prichard, Al Snow & Taz backstage talking about Joey Ryan. While I like the idea of TNA breaking the fourth wall a little, they're starting to go overboard with it. While we all know that wrestling is staged, it's a turn off when wrestlers all but come right out and say that it is. Unfortunately, that's pretty much what Snow, Prichard & Taz did backstage by going on about gimmicks and staying "in character" and all this. It'll appeal to some but I don't see most fans really clicking with it. At the same time, it was kind of fun to see them pointing out the same sort of positives & negatives about the guy that many of us have mentioned in posts since last week. The second part was later and featured all of them in the ring, including Joey Ryan. Prichard was up first and gave Ryan credit for what he liked and talked about what he didn't. Ultimately, he said no to giving Ryan a contract. Snow was up next and did the tired old routine of basically disrespecting Ryan by saying he doesn't like this or he doesn't like that, but he ultimately votes yes. Taz is up last and I liked the dynamic he & Ryan had. There was some decent tension and I thought Ryan did well on the mic. Taz shot down his promo as not being nearly enough to get a job and heatedly says no. I thought Ryan did a good job on the mic and I'm glad he didn't whip out the old "I've sacrificed so much for this business" or "Wrestling is my entire life" chesnuts that've been done to death. Anyhow, the majority is to vote no and it's kind of a silly vote in my eyes as Ryan is FAR superior to anything we saw from Alex Silva last month. Thumbs Down

Dixie Carter & Brooke Hogan - This started off with Dixie inside the ring hyping this and hyping that. Dixie announces that there's going to be a TNA Hall of Fame and the first inductee with be at Slammiversary. Dixie screws up at one point when she says the wrong date for Slammiversary but, all in all, she seems more comfortable on the mic. She really lost me when she actually said that Brooke Hogan was "born into the business" and that she "has a great mind for the business". Last night, my mom came over for a vist and she watches it sometimes, though she's definitely a very casual wrestling viewer. She's a real "outsider" I guess and she asked me "Why's she in charge of the women? She's never done anything has she?". There was a mix of boos & cheers as Brooke came out. She looked hot and her skirt was so damn short that she had to have someone hold the ropes open for her, otherwise we'd have gotten a splendid view. She said she intends to take it seriously but that they're also going to have a lot of fun with it. As the segment was ending, my mom suddenly had a realization. The name Hogan suddenly clicked with her and said "Hey, is that Hulk Hogan's girl? No wonder she got the job." My mom has her moments, not a lot of them, but she does have 'em. Thumbs Down

3. Devon vs. Jeff Hardy for the TNA Television Championship - The match was ok, kinda dull generally speaking. It never really got out of first gear and given the way Robbie E behaved after the voting was announced, with Hardy getting the most, it was obvious that he was going to interfere here. At least TNA didn't make a supremely bonehead move of actually having anyone but Hardy win the voting. Even if it's not a legit public vote, at least they're giving the impression that it is. Hardy has Devon down and looks to be going for the Swanton Bomb before the Robbies interfere at the 4.5 minute mark. They beat on Hardy & Devon for a bit before the faces rally and send them packing. In this setting, Devon ultimately comes off as looking like someone whose title run is all but over. At the same time, Devon is just on such a low level compared to a lot of the guys worth watching in TNA that coming off as looking like a weak champion is something that can't be helped. *1/2

James Storm Video - TNA showed another well produced video of Storm on his farm. All in all, it was pretty much like the one that we saw a while back. A good thing is that this has the feeling of Storm making a triumphant return before too long, culminating with taking the title off Roode. The downside to all this is that every feud & match that Roode has is going to come off as a placeholder. It's a negative that's dogged Roode's entire run. Still, it was a good video though the idea of Storm being so dispondent over Roode retaining the title at Lockdown in such a flukey way is a bit of a stretch. Thumbs Up

4. AJ Styles vs. Chrisopher Daniels - A well wrestled match from Styles & Daniels, which we all knew it would be. Styles & Daniels are both so crisp inside the ring and have such a strong chemistry that it's almost as if they know what one another is thinking in the ring. It was a fun, fast paced match all in all, though I have to say that I'm tired of watching these two go at it. I'm not putting them down or their abilities at all. The problem is that this is the TNA version of John Cena vs. Randy Orton. Even though these two wrestle great matches against each other, at the same time, it's gotten tiresome seeing them face off. The ending comes about the 11 minute mark with Styles flipped off the second rope and hits an inverted DDT for the win. Afterward, he & Kazarian beat Styles down before Kurt Angle comes out to make the save. Angle does well for a while but the heels finally wear him down and ultimately tie him to the ring ropes. Afterward, Daniels says he has positive proof of an affair between Styles & Dixie and plays an audio tape. In the tape, Styles says something along the lines of that he's going to be in town but for Dixie not to tell "him, meaning her husband, about it. Dixie frantically comes out to the announce table and yells through the headsets. She yes "turn it off, hit the button". As the show is going off the air, she screams "you're finished", which I'm assuming is at Daniels. Like the photos, the audio is dubious at best. A logical explanation is for them to say that Styles is close friends with Dixie's hubby and that him showing up was for maybe a surprise birthday party or anniversary or something. It's something that, like the photos, can be easily explained. I just kinda wish they'd get over this thing and move on because, now, you know that Dixie's hubby is going to be part of this and this soap opera atmosphere is going to be on television a lot. **3/4

Final Thoughts - Personally, I thought last night's show was pretty good. There wasn't anything particularly memorable or spectacular about the show, which I'm sure will cause others to shit all over it, but I thought that TNA generally put on an altogether decent show. All in all, I thought TNA did what they needed to do last night in terms of overall content. They didn't try to shove a hundred different things down everyone's throat at a hundred miles an hour, no silly hijinks, Hogan wasn't all over the place and the focus was kept on the guys doing the actual wrestling. Sting vs. Roode was ok but, as I said, I'm not at all interested in their feud. It's a placeholder feud and while I know the ending set up their match at Slammiversary for the title, this was a good chance at making Roode look like a stronger champion on the first live broadcast of Impact going forward and they didn't do it. Aries vs. Sabin was a very fun match while it lasted, but ultimately came off as inconsequential. Sabin looks like just another guy for Aries to beat. The TV title match was ok, nothing particularly special or memorable. The Styles vs. Daniels match was also fun, not their best effort, but still good. The thing dogging this match is that we've seen these two wrestle sooooooo many times that it seems to have lost it's flavor. Overall, however, solid wrestling action on the show. Bully Ray & Joseph Park felt like a rehash that was saved only by Ray's mic work. Brooke Hogan's debut was flat and uninteresting. Despite the fact that she got so many boos, she actually said "wow, what a welcome" as if she'd gotten a standing ovation at WrestleMania. The Gut Check segments are something of a turn off for me. TNA is going overboard with breaking the fourth wall, the fact that the judges all but came out and said that wrestling is "fake" was a huge turn off. Joey Ryan did a good job in my eyes and the idea that Alex Silva, a guy with FAR less ability than what we've seen from Ryan, got a contract and Ryan didn't only further dampens the Gut Check concept. The Styles/Daniels/Dixie angle is something I just want to see go away. Maybe I'm just so uninterested in seeing this thing dragged out even more or maybe it's the lousy soap opera style segments I see coming in the future. At any rate, it's still the angle that won't end. Not a great show by any stretch and, all in all, I thought it was the wrestling action that kept the show from being a total flop because there are just so many different angles & storylines going on that just simply don't interest me.

Grade: C+

 

[Jay-Mos]

Impact - 7th June 2012

The bit that was my favezies:
The opening of the show carrying straight on from the end of last week.
Dixie does 'distressed' .. yes.
I pop pretty hard for a well placed entrance theme interrupting something in the ring, and this week, Cristopher Daniels' was the best in recent memory.

The bit that was outright shi%:
Brooke blabbering like a clueless a twat.
Wow. This really, REALLY ticked me off.
Maybe she was just nervous, or someone told her to move her hands around to give her the air of enthusiasm, but sheesh, did she go overboard or what ?
Seriously, she didn't stop - once she got going, she was clapping her hands every four f#cking seconds.
There was appparently a backstage Brooke segment that didn't air last week due to "time constraints" .. I'm willing to wager that they could have made time.
The ONLY plus from this embarrassment of a segment was another teaser of a Mickie heel turn - picking right off from, umm .. January. .

Hottest Knockout of the night:
I'm going to surprise myself here and pick Tara.
Her entrance pose where she leans over the top rope was a jaw-dropper.
Speaking of entrance poses, I've got to mention how cool the overhead camera angle is for Bobby Roode when he does his pre-match crucifix on the turnbuckles.

The best in-ring move of the night:
No clear cut winner here, but I'll go with AJ's pelé on Daniels in the main event .. no, not the enzuigiri that dumb-ass Taz incorrectly called as the pelé, but the actual pelé not long after .. oh, and yes, it was from out of nowhere .

 

[Jay-Mos]

Ooops, I missed something out. Wrestling still matters (right?), sooo ..
Match of the night:
Tessmacher vs Tara vs MJ vs Velvet.
The first time in seemingly forever that the Knockouts grab the gold in this category.
There were a couple of minor positional miscues at the beginning, but they're easily forgettable due to efforts of the girls, who were REALLY going for it in places.
Heck, there was even a bit of old-school X-division innovation at one point with a multi-submission tangle.
Mickie (taking Tessmacher's facebuster finisher) and Tara (taking Velvet's DDT and her own perfect moonsault) were particularly worthy of applause .. *stands and cheers emphatically* !

 

[Cena's #1 In My Heart]

None of the matches stuck with me too greatly from this week, Aries/Crimson was decent and continues to show how awesome Aries is in the ring as he dominated the whole match.

The knock outs match was pretty interesting, I forgot who won, wasn't it Mickie? I remembered she just got real physical at the end, like she was pissed that the fans don't think of her as quite a good wrestler.. because she came in with some intensity and kicked the face off of Velvet lol.

The point of my post...

Bobby fucking Roode had perhaps his best heel promo ever... with Hulk Hogan. I loved it. It was almost jaw dropping for me to see Roode basically put himself over Hogan in the live promo, so who knows how much it was scripted and wasn't when it's live.

But you got to love... I'M NOT FINISHED YET... as he yells to Hogan on 3 or 4 different times. Hogan just looking pissed, the crowd expecting something... they started Hogan chants everytime Roode stopped him. I especially loved when he grabbed Hogan and told Hogan to get the hell out of his ring... this was great... Hulk Hogan.. the gm.. the icon.. it doesn't matter.... Roode just layed down some gold.