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

[FlyHigh2K12]

Another solid impact, much better than last week as it featured less attacks. The aces and eights angle needs to be different from past stable angles, their needs to be an innovative reason for the attacks. The one reason I can think of comes from the idea being Jeff Jarrett is the leader. Jarrett feels betrayed due to not being the first inductee into the hall of fame and feels disrespected, therefore he shows the same respect to TNA that they showed to him through these attacks.

Onto the show...

All matches that took place were good, especially the Aj Styles and Storm match which was expected. However, I feel they should have potentially kept a match this good for PPV. Also, were's Devon? The title just started meaning something and was defended every week but now its just faded. Also alot of stars missing, Hardy, Joe, RVD and Mr. Anderson.

Gut check segment was good, I did like the promo he did, especially the bit referring to Taz's past. Also really enjoying the Joey Ryan angle, slowly hes ticking off each judge, next week an attack on Pritchard? I hope this is the start of a interesting angle for Ryan.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Pretty sweet Impact I gotta say. We had some great matches on there Storm was AJ was great stuff, except for the finish of course... and Bully Ray vs Angle wow Angle made Ray LEGIT Angle even had to resort to the (always missing) armbreaking moonsault of doom.

Also good to see Kenny King remains in TNA!

Like what Roode is doing, badass brawling with Storm then comes back and smacks Kenny King around.

Chavo's debut was cool, wasn't keen on the idea of "the fans call me a legend" but still good debut and it seems we have created two new tag teams awesome stuff I love my tag teams!

Also did you see Bruce Pritchard walk out during the Aries-King-Dutt segment then realise he was on camera and then try to hide thanks for the good laugh Brucey!

Only two gripes with this show: 1. No Joseph Park. And 2. some weird continuity during the Aries picking X Division guys segment. They changed clothes and shirts were lost/gained that was kinda jarring and surprised they didn't realise this and reshoot the whole segment. Was a funny one though with Aries' dialogue.

 

[Infinity]

I just saw last week's show... the ending was terrible. How in the world can James Storm survive the ankle lock for like 2 minutes, then just kick Kurt in the face, nail the superkick and pin him clean? I expect better psychology from Kurt, but damn.

and no Aces & Eights attack left me feeling empty. =(

FYI, Wes Brisco was sitting ringside for the match this time. Coincidence???

 

[Jack-Hammer]

TNA Impact Wrestling - August 17, 2012

Opening Segment - I'm kind of mixed about the opener last night. Aries continues to do a good job of putting over the title and of being champion in and of itself. He put himself over as well, but he didn't try to go over the top with it. Then Jeff Hardy's music hits, interrupting Aries, and he came down to the ring. Everytime Hardy tries to speak on the mic, he just sucks the energy out of a segment. The man simply cannot cut a promo. His charismatic presence extends to his look & somewhat freaky ring gear, but that's about it. Bully Ray comes out and he & Hardy hype their match later on in the night somewhat but most of the rest of the segment was Ray doing his schtick with conspiracy theories involving James Storm and Aces & Eights. I just kind of tuned it out as it's all the stuff I've heard before and I'm just not digging Aces & Eights personally. It has all the earmarks of the kind of faction wars/corporate power struggle storyline that we've seen time and time again in TNA. Thumbs In The Middle

1. Samoa Joe vs. Magnus in a BFG Series Match - I can't say this match did much for me. The pace seemed slow and I just had the sense going into it that Magnus wouldn't really pose that much of a challenge. The match did tell a pretty decent story of Joe & Magnus sort of feeling each other out, which went along with Magnus' brief backstage promo prior to the match. The end comes about the 3 minute mark with Joe rolling Magnus up in a modified Oklahoma Roll for the clean win and 7 points. After the match, Joe is slowly making his way up the ramp, slapping five to a few fans there, when Magnus comes up behind him with a chair. He swings it and Joe kinda blocks it with his left arm before selling an arm injury. He shoots Magnus a hateful look as Magnus retreats to the other side of the ring. I guess we just saw a heel turn for Magnus and it already has the look of him being a typical cowardly heel. *1/2

Madison Rayne, Earl Hebner & Brooke Hogan - Pretty lame segment here featuring a very lame angle. Madison is in the ring celebrating her championship win when she calls out Earl Hebner, the object of her affections it seems. After a while, Brooke Hogan comes out and chastizes Hebner for a bit before delcaring he won't be reffing anymore Knockouts matches. Rayne then insults Brooke and goes on for a bit about how she's a typical Hogan before Brooke storms the ring, forcing Madison & Hebner to bolt. Nice way to make your women's champion look like a complete wuss. A few members of Aces & Eights storm the ring and backs Brooke into a corner. Before anything happens, several TNA wrestlers storm the ring and the A&E boys bolt heading into commercial. Brooke was pretty bad here. She's alright in brief, backstage segments like what we've been getting but she just doesn't have it in longer settings out there in front of a crowd. Thumbs Down

The TNA Alliance - As they come back from commercial, Sting is still in the ring with Bully Ray, Jeff Hardy, Austin Aries & Kurt Angle. Sting goes off on how they tried to attack Brooke Hogan, even though they never laid a finger on her. Sting reminds everyone that next week is Open Fight Night and he challenges Aces & Eights to I'm guessing either a match or just a brawl to start things off next week. Nothing particularly good or bad about this segment for me. If you're into Aces & Eights, then this was fine. If you're not, then it's just something to bear and get through. N/A

AJ Styles, Chrisopher Daniels & Kazarian - This is a brief backstage promo segment that initially shows Daniels & Kazarian standing around holding an issue of the Spider-Man comic book. They mention that they're featured on the back cover and that one of the writers is going to make them into characters in a future issue. What happens next is one of the dumbest fucking things I think I've ever heard. Styles comes out and they get into their whole thing about the baby daddy drama. Styles then says that in his match tonight against Daniels, he'll admit responsibility for being the father of Claire's baby if he loses. If he wins, he takes a paternity test. What???? Holy shit...TNA has finally reached the bottom of the barrel for reasons to justify yet another Styles vs. Daniels match. Why wouldn't Styles take a paternity test in the first place??? So if he loses this match, he's just going to blindly accept responsibility??? Has TNA brought Vince Russo back and put him in charge of this storyline? Thumbs Down

2. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels in a BFG Series Match - While the stipulations of this match were beyond asinine, Styles & Daniels put forth a very good match. I thought it was the strongest match I've seen them have in a while. They always put on good matches but, as I've said before, his feud has become the John Cena vs. Randy Orton of TNA. We've seen it so many times that it no longer feels special. That being said, both men worked hard in this match and put forth one of their better efforts together. The live crowd was into it and both wrestlers got in a lot of offense. Initially, the ending comes with Styles trying to suplex Daniels back into the ring. Kazarian jerks his leg out from under him and uses his weight to hold his leg down, allowing Daniels to get the win. As the ref stands up, he sees Kazarian slither out from the cover of the apron and I guess has a moment of clarity. He restarts the match and Styles lands the Pele Kick for the clean win about the 16 minute mark. I guess Styles now takes a paternity test and picks up 7 points in the series. ***1/4

Bobby Roode Promo - Another promo segment I'm a little mixed on. Roode's delivery was fine, but I kept getting the feeling that this was a very similar promo to the James Storm losing his mojo & doubting himself angle that we saw earlier this year. To me, Roode just didn't really seem to have a lot of energy out there. Maybe that was the point, I dunno. As expected, Roode pretty much blamed everybody for what happened. He continued to call Aries' first win a fluke, he said it was Sting's fault, the fan's fault, etc. Given how his match ended controversially, it's not as though Roode's complaint doesn't have viability. The ref assigned to the match did make the call for Roode winning the match. The refs down at ringside couldn't agree and Earl Hebner doesn't exactly have a lot of credibility going as far as being impartial these days. Roode just trailed off eventually, let the mic drop and left the ring. It wasn't the follow up I think a lot of people were wanting, but it did set up a grander follow up at another time. I don't think we got all we wanted, so we're left wanting more. Thumbs In The Middle

3. Madison Rayne vs. Miss Tessmacher for the TNA Women's Knockout Championship - This match featured a special referee assigned by Brooke Hogan. Taryn Terrell came out wearing very short black shorts and a ref style shirt that looked more like a bikini top. For anyone is isn't familiar with her, she used to be Tiffany in WWE. She used to be engaged to WWE wrestler Drew McIntyre before she got drunk in their hotel room one night and beat the crap out of him allegedly. TNA hired her for her looks because it's certainly not her wrestling ability. She was one of the weaker Divas on the WWE roster. As for the match itself, pretty lame stuff in my eyes. As expected, drama with the ref & Madison played a part here. The ending comes with Tessmacher hitting her finisher for the win at the 2.5 minute mark, regaining the title. So what exactly was the point of all the Earl Hebner crap and taking the title off Tessmacher just so Rayne could have a cheap 4 day run? 1/4*

4. Jeff Hardy vs. Bully Ray in a BFG Series Match - Good effort here from both guys to close the show. While I still prefer listening to him talk than watching him wrestle, Ray is significantly better than he uses to be. Being in shape has certainly helped out in that area. There were a few good near falls in the match, such as when Ray lands big urinagi and Hardy hitting the Swanton Bomb for a fall of his own. I have to say that I think TNA is going to the well too many times in these BFG Series matches when it comes to having guys kick out of finishers. They've done it so very much during the series that it no longer gives those matches a special kick. Less is more when it comes to that in my eyes. Aces & Eights hit the ring briefly only to be chased off the the TNA main eventers. Hardy then hits Twist of Fate on Ray for the win & 7 points about the 11.5 minute mark. After the match, Ray floors Hardy with a clothesline and grabs his chain. He calls James Storm into the ring and shoved him, prompting Storm to go for the Last Call. Ray gets out of the way, causing Hardy to eat the move. Aces & Eights then jump into the ring and start beating up James Storm. The show eds with A&E putting the boots to Storm. **3/4

Final Thoughts - Something of an up and down show last night in my eyes. The promo segments on the show were ok, but they felt like they were missing something. Neither the opening promo or Roode's promo were bad, but they weren't all that good either for me. The Madison Rayne/Earl Hebner angle continues to be a drag and I just wish it'd end. Brooke Hogan also just can't cut it in her role in my eyes. She just doesn't have the ability. The Styles/Claire angle just got even dumber with Styles agreeing to admit he's the father & take responsibility if he couldn't beat Daniels or taking a paternity test if he lost. It's idiocy at it's worst. This is a sign that TNA needs to end Styles vs. Daniels. When you come up with such lame justification for another match in a feud, it's time for the feud to come to an end. Fortunately, however, the match itself was damn good, one of their better matches in this feud in my eyes. The main event of Hardy vs. Ray was a very solid match, better than I was expecting to be quite honest, to close the show. I kind of wish that TNA would lay off all the finisher kick outs in the BFG Series matches. The ending with Storm ultimately getting beaten down by Aces & Eights put to rest the, in my opinion, lame assumption that Storm is with them. The evidence against Storm never really held water and I think Bully Ray was really the only one who truly championed the theory. It was a fairly heavy Aces & Eights episode last night that helped to set up the big confrontation next week. If you're into it, then great. If not, then it's just something to get through. For me, the two strong wrestling matches on the show saved the show from being a dud as there were too many downright stupid and/or uninteresting things featured on the show.

Grade: C+

 

[thatotherguy]

A couple more subtle things I noticed.

1) Last night was a big day for people getting caught using the ropes for leverage. It happened to Daniels so much to the point where Taz said that next time Daniels should just tell the ref he would be cheating and get it over with (I thought that was pretty funny) and Taryn Terrell (who I couldn't care less about) caught Madison doing it as well.

2) Last night saw TNA going all out to make us believe that James Storm was the leader of Aces and Eights including a more aggressive attitude, coming out to watch the Hardy/Ray match and ... a suit jacket. It's a small point but it seemed very out of character for him, almost as if they were cementing a change in behavior.

 

[Jay-Mos]

Impact Wrestling, 16th August 2012

Favourite in-ring move (offensive):
Daniels applying a tilt-a-whirl Koji clutch on AJ from an STO position.

Favourite in-ring move (defensive):
After a nice short exchange of missed moves, Samoa Joe countered a Magnus roll-up by smoothly leg-scissoring his arm and attempting a crossface.

Best sell of a move:
Magnus' orbiting head-wobble and jellified collapse after taking a cornered enzuigiri from Joe.

Hottest Knockout of the night:
Tessmacher - for her backstage pre-match stretches.

Funniest thing of the night:
Hands down (though in this case, dumb ass down), it was when Brooke Hogan stumbled and subsequently fell over on the entance ramp .. Brooke D'OHgan.

 

[thesquaredcircle]

I think it was a solid episode. The opening segment set up the main event nicely. Samoa joe vs magnus was a solid 4 minute match. I liked the way the magnus finally showed agression and attacked joe. The madison rayne segment was average mostly because of hogan. I think the aj styles match was great but the explanation of the match was pretty stupid. Why wouldn't aj get a paternity test in the first place. The bobby roode promo was very good and roode sold it well. I think it was good that tessmacher got her belt back because she is a much better champ. The main event was a good tv main event. I am really intruiged by the A8'S story line also with them getting challenged and attacking storm. I think it was a good show with some good to great matches.
I'm gonna give it a B.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

TNA Impact Wrestling - August 23, 2012

Opening Segment - Last night's opener didn't really do much for me. It featured Sting along with the alliance of TNA wrestlers basically calling out Aces & Eights. Two members come to ringside and are invited into the ring before getting promptly beaten up. One of the guys, with fake blood smeared on his lips and gasping for breath, smiles & thanks Sting for helping him get his "patch" and promises that they're all in for a long & painful night. I laughed at this because, to me, it's just kind of silly as it looks like TNA might be going for some weak ass play off of the Sons of Anarchy with the whole motorcycle gang stuff. The pledge's words seem to indicate that a big wild brawl is coming at some point. Thumbs Down

1. Miss Tessmacher vs. Tara - Tessmacher comes out and, with it being Open Fight Night, calls out Tara. The match was ok for what it was, can't say I was overly thrilled by it, but it looks like they're setting up a whole teacher vs. student thing between these two. The match goes for about 2.5 minutes with Tara getting the clean win via the superplex. The two hugging afterward only seems to further indicate that this is going to blossom into a feud between teacher & former student. *

2. AJ Styles vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Robbie E in a BFG Series match - Prior to this match, Sting has all the participants gathered backstage and informs them that it'll be a threeway since Pope is out injured. He informs Robbie T that he's not gonna be at ringside. As for the match itself, personally, I thought it was kind of boring. Robbie E spent the vast majority of the match getting treated like the scrub that he is by Styles, RVD or sometimes both simultaneously. Styles & RVD worked a lot of the match in a 1 on 1 situation and, to me, they just didn't click that well. RVD seems soooooo much slower than he used to be that the pace felt like it dragged on. The end comes with RVD hitting the Five Star Frog Splash on AJ Styles only for Robbie E to sneak in and quickly roll RVD up for the win at the 13 minute mark. The ending made this match feel like a complete throwaway in my eyes because Robbie E has absolutely no chance whatsoever in winning the thing. A loss to Robbie E won't hurt Styles or RVD in the BFG Series standings but, again, it only makes the match come off as a throwaway without any real meaning. This win gives Robbie E 12 points in the BFG Series. *1/2

3. Jeff Hardy vs. Robbie T - Pretty much a three minute filler match that didn't serve a purpose other than bringing out Jeff Hardy. The live crowds continue to dig Jeff Hardy so I guess this was to give them something of a thrill. Not much to be said about the match with Hardy getting the win via the Swanton Bomb. 1/4*

AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels & Kazarian - This segment marks the end of the horrific Claire Lynch/AJ Styles baby daddy storyline. This promo segment, in my eyes, sucked every bit as much as the rest. It's just been a lousy angle from the beginning and the only good thing about this marks the end of it. Daniels & Kazarian do their schtick of ragging on Styles for a while. Kazarian needs to talk as little as possible because the guy sucks. He's talked about his concern for Claire & the baby and for Styles to man up and do the right thing and all this & that but calls the baby Styles' "damn demon seed" in the promo. Eventually, a woman dressed in a power suit is walking down the ramp and I immediately know she's some sort of attorney. She's carrying a black folder in her hand and I swear that I know what's coming the moment I saw it. The attorney reads a statement from Claire in which she confesses that the whole thing is a scam designed to ruin Styles' reputation. The statement says that Claire basically put a roofie into Styles' drink and then posed for the pictures with him while he was unconcsious. The statement also goes onto read that she isn't pregnant, nor was she ever pregnant. The lawyer leaves & Styles attacks Daniels & Kazarian. Thumbs Down

Gut Check Video - This video segment features Kris Lewie. I enjoyed this video, to be perfectly honest, because it seemed to show something a bit different. The guy talked a lot about his family and kept his focus on them rather than going into the usual "I've sacrificed so much for this business" generic schtick that we usually hear. The guy said he had charisma but I didn't really get that vibe from him in the video and he looks like he's out of shape. Still, the guy seemed a little different. Thumbs In The Middle

Sting, Aces & Eights & Hulk Hogan - This is a brief backstage segment in which Sting, in his full Joker mentality, confronts three members of the group. He talks crazy for a moment before tossing the bat behind them. Hulk Hogan catches it and swings it. Evidently it was a helluva swing as he took all three guys down with one blow it seemed. For some reason, Hogan was making some sort of weird grunting & snorts that I guess are supposed to pass for growling noises. He threatens one of them with cutting his heart out and feeding it to his dog if he ever even looks at his daughter again. Sting exclaimed "Hollywood, you're back!!" as Hogan was in the Hollywood Hogan look with the stubble and all. Meh, didn't do much for me. The fact that he's back as "Hollywood Hogan" will probably only cause speculation that he's the leader of Aces & Eights. Thumbs Down

4. Kris Lewie vs. Gunner - This is a Gut Check match. I have to say that I was extremely unimpressed with anying I saw from Lewie. He was slow, awkward, his timing was off and the guy is definitely out of shape. As has become usual, Lewie gets in a flurry of offense in the beginning of the match but it becomes obvious that he's just outclassed once Gunner gets his feet under him. The match went about 2.5 minutes but Lewie already looked like he was gassing. He needs to drop a few pounds and/or hit the gym. Gunner picks him up on his shoulders and delivers his finisher for the win. I had a little hope for this guy, I just felt a bit of a different vibe from the guy in his video package, but he's turned out to be completely unimpressive in every way inside the ring. 1/4*

5. Mr. Anderson vs. Bully Ray in a BFG Series match - A pretty good match that had some piss poor logic to it I thought. It was announced that this would be Anderson's last BFG Series match, which means he'd need 10 points to break into the top 4 and stay above the read line, so he'd need a submission win. Anderson & Ray had good solid match, nothing particularly extraordinary. The ending kinda left me shaking my head a little as Anderson gets the clean win via the Mic Check. The fact that they didn't want him to win via submission, thereby having a chance to stay in the BFG Series, didn't make much sense. Why not just give Bully Ray the win & the points instead if they were going to go that route? **1/2

The Big Brawl - The show closed out with the big brawl between the two sides of the TNA alliance and Aces & Eights. I'm sure some absolutely loved this and I don't blame anybody for that. To me, it just serves as another reminder that TNA is going back with the lame & tired faction wars theme. They've done it so many times that it's long since lost it's vibe for me. Granted, it's been a while since it's happened but the signs are all there. There were probably about 20 guys or so in total brawling here and there, some backstages and some in the ring, etc. If you're digging Aces & Eights, then nothing happened here to change that. If you're not, then nothing happened here to make you interested. Thumbs Down

Final Thoughts - Personally, I thought last night's IW was the weakest show TNA has put on the entire summer. For me, it felt like an episode of when the show was damn near unwatchable. As I feared, TNA seems to be very much heading back down the road of another nWo themed faction wars in which a group of wrestlers seeks to take charge of everything while a rag tag alliance of TNA wrestlers, some faces & some heels, seek to stop them. It'd be alright if TNA hadn't done this a dozen times before. There was no build or hype to the next ppv and everything seemed to revolve around Aces & Eights. The wrestling content on last night's show was the weakest it's been in months. Tara & Tessmacher seem to be starting a program together, at least that's how it looked last night. The BFG Series matches felt like throwaways in my eyes. The threeway match, to me, felt dull and the pace just seemed to drag on. Giving Robbie E the win & 7 points in the series comes off as giving your dog a treat after having it put down. Anderson vs. Bully Ray was a better effort and the best match on the show in my opinion, but the ending didn't make any sense. Anderson needed 10 points to stay alive in the series, but they gave him the win & 7 points. If they weren't going to keep Anderson around, then why not just give Bully Ray the match and 7 additional points? The Styles/Lynch angle seems to have finally come to an end, hopefully. The climax & end was every bit as nonsensical & convoluted as the rest of this storyline has been. As usual, the latest Gut Check participant was wholly unimpressive, maybe even more so than most of the others. Personally, I think TNA needs to revise this concept. The big brawl at the end of the show between A&Es & the TNA alliance served it's purpose for delivering a wild fight that went all over the place. As I aluded to earlier though, it just didn't do anything for me as TNA seems to be going step by step along the old faction wars formula. Hulk Hogan's return tonight in the guise of Hollywood Hogan will probably only start discussions as to whether or not Hogan is ultimately behind Aces & Eights. From top to bottom, in my eyes, just a bad show and easily the weakest TNA has put out in some time.

Grade: D

 

[unknownvicelord5]

I personally like the theme TNA is going now this is the reason I was watching tna during the old mem world elite/frontline riot and foutune vs immortal. Y'all gotta understand most of the minds behind wcw is now working with TNA and this gang warfare is what made me and plenty others watch wcw back then especially if its not one sided (nwo black and white vs wcw)

 

[thedreffect]

Hogan took 1 bat swing and took out 3...count em, 3 people. Just a bad backstage angle.

 

[unknownvicelord5]

Shoot I gangbanged before I took out 2 dudes wit a bat before didn't kill em just knocked em out but he was doin a lil too much wit the growling haha

 

[Chrome]

Hogan took 1 bat swing and took out 3...count em, 3 people. Just a bad backstage angle.

Yes, when Hulkamania runs wild, not even 3 large men can stop it! BROTHER!!

I have been loving TNA all summer thus far, last night was no exception. The Robbie T match was a bore, I am happy the AJ storyline is over.. why people are dissapointed is beyond me.. we ALL wanted this storyline to end. LOL And the fans breathed a collective sigh of relief. Thank you TNA for ending that pain! Worst actor ever, and even for wrestling a dumb poor taste story, and such a crap choice of victim, too many people know AJ is a solid familly man so it just never made sense. However for me the end of the show with that brawl was great!

A double with a broken arm though seems to have been the target all along.

 

[Jay-Mos]

TNA Impact, 23rd August 2012

This was not only the worst show since Impact went live, I'd have it down as the worst Impact of the year.

Favourite in-ring move:
Indicative of just how bad this episode was on all levels, my favourite move of the night was a chop. Yeah, that's right, just a plain ol' open handed chop - by Tara to Tessmacher.

Best sell of a move:
AJ Stlyes.
Robbie E hit him with a running back elbow, which didn't fully connect .. and AJ sold that ugly pup like he had been smacked-up on the jaw by a fully swung sledgehammer.

Favourite kick-out:
RVD took a fireman's carry neckbreaker from AJ Styles. He immediately went lifeless .. then did a nice comical kick out from the pin - not so much kicking out, but more like acting that he had just been brought back to life by a heart resuscitation machine.

Gut Check contestant:
Awful .. '0 out of 3 judge score' awful.

Hottest Knockout:
Sheesh, I'm scraping from the bottom of the proverbial barrel here, but Tessmacher (as I've only recently noticed) does some class mid-orgasm moaning noises when delivering moves .. or receiving moves .. heck, she even did them when she was guest-commentating a couple of weeks ago.

Chillest Dude:
Robbie E.
If you hadn't actually seen the match - or any of his matches, for that matter - and just saw him with his arms raised in victory, you'd be convinced he was a stud.
(It should be said though, that I really like Robbie E, so I'm ridiculously happy for him whenever he gets a chance to do anything)


Random Stuff:
1: Jack-Hammer called this already (but it's dumb enough to be worthy of another mention). Anderson was 10 points away from having a chance to qualify for the BFG finals. A submission win was needed. He won by pin. Given that he has actually won a previous match in the series by submission, this was ultra-dumb.
2: I don't have a sad statistacal list of favourite PPV promotional packages, but if I did, the one for No Surrender would instantly be tops.
3: Hulk Hogan, Sting and the silly woman who interrupted the 'whose your daddy?' sketch. There you go - three people who, on this night, were worse than Claire Lynch on her worst day.
4: How did AJ's daddy-test even work? Like, did he have to beat one off to give a clinic his sperm sample? If that's the case, then sorry AJ, but Daniels & Kaz got the last laugh.

 

[Jay-Mos]

TNA Impact, 30th August 2012 ..


Favourite Move of the Night:
(Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles)
AJ went for a slingshot crossbody to Joe on the outside of the ring, but Joe caught him hard with a demented punt kick to the ribcage.

Best Sell of a Move:
RVD (vs James Storm)
Storm did a running-jump DDT on RVD, who absorbed it in a way that would make Booby Roode proud - he didn't only remain balanced on his head for a seemingly impossible amount of time, he threw in a good bit of leg-cycling action too !

Chillest Dude:
Samoa Joe.
He's been putting on amazing matches lately, and deserves a lot of credit for that.

Hottest Knockout:
Nobody did anything notable, so Madison Rayne wins by default.

Funniest thing of the night:
Hulk Hogan fumbled his words on the mic in the opening promo: "the first thing that I would like to do, is thank Sting, mahhn, for running the show with his SPERM HAND, brutha !"



Random stuff:

The MMA/Bellator fighter, Muhammed Lawal (King Mo), is set to debut for TNA in October .. I fully expect him to be behind Aces and Eights.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

I thought Bruce Pritchard was gonna have another heart attack when he went "GUUUUT CHEEEEEECK"

I really enjoyed this Impact but am disappointed Styles did not beat Joe but man Joe is awesome right now, their match was the best of the night (I know many will think ANgle HArdy was better). The psychology was great with the unstoppable Joe's only weakness being his arm. Styles hits him with the Pelé in the arm and tries to get the arm submission.

The best part of the match was when AJ ran at Joe with a flying forearm then Joe caught him and said "Sit your ass DOWN!" then Uranage'd his ass.

 

[Pimpin]

Finally got down to watching Impact on the DVR, and it was incredible just like it has been for pretty much the whole year. I know the Aces and Eights storyline is a mixed bag for most, but I really am enjoying that and intrigued as to what direction they plan on going in. Some might bitch and moan about there being only four matches on the show, but when three of those matches were that damn good for free television - what's there to complain about?

Match of the night - AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe: Easily the best for me. AJ is awesome as usual, but damn, was a fire lit under Joe's ass or what? He's been kick ass as of late. But really dug the psychology of the match and that Uranage spot was awesome. Definitely a highlight. Damn good TV match.

I give this Impact an A. Very good show for them and it proves just why going live is the best thing for TNA. Good stuff.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

TNA Impact Wrestling - September 6, 2012

1. Jeff Hardy vs. Samoa Joe in a BFG Series match - Pretty solid match to start the show off with. The match had some good solid action even though the outcome was pretty much evident with Taz & Tenay mentioning that whomever is in first place in the BFG Series after tonight gets to pick his opponent at No Surrender. If Joe wins, he takes over 1st place from James Storm and you just got the sense that wasn't going to happen. Let's be honest, Samoa Joe has spent most of the past 3 years or so kind of wandering aimlessly around TNA and the company wasn't suddenly going to up and change all of a sudden, so you knew Hardy was going to win. I thought the ending of the match was a little on the weak side. Hardy allegedly catches Joe with Whisper in the Wind, even though it looked like he either missed him by a mile or just barely, and I mean just barely, made any contact. But, being the pro that he is, Joe sold the hit to his arm before Hardy put him into some weak looking submission hold. I thought Hardy was going for the Anaconda Vice but all he did was cradle Joe's head like he was about to breast feed him while putting Joe's "hurt" arm between his legs. Joe taps after a few seconds and gives Hardy the win at the 12 minute mark, giving Hardy 10 points for the submission. **1/4

Samoa Joe & Magnus - After the match, Joe is being interviewed by Christy Hemme when they're interrupted by Magnus. Magnus does a good job of heeling it up here by sort of extending the olive branch of friendship & respect while simultaneously running Joe down and blaming him for losing the tag titles. After shaking hands, Magnus walks back a few feet before attacking Joe from behind. It'd be nice to see something happen with Magnus as the guy's got potential. Thumbs Up

Championship Thursday Segment #1 - We've seen this a few times in the past in which the contenders sit around in Hogan's office and talk about why they should be next in line for title shots. In the first go around, AJ Styles shows up late to the meeting and is eliminated but not before he basically runs down whatever makes up the TNA tag team picture these days by calling them "slapped together" and not real teams. But I'm sure Styles & his partner, whomever that might've been, would've been a "real team." Gunner & Kid Kash and The Robbies tried to run down Chavo as a has been, which just kind of made me roll my eyes. While Chavo isn't a superstar by any degree, he is compared to these guys. I dunno, it just doesn't do anything for me when four scrubs try to run down someone that's done more than all of them combined. Thumbs Down

2. Tara vs. Gail Kim - Prior to this match, they do a segment backstage with Tara, Brooke Hogan & Gail Kim. Tara is told by Brooke that she faces Tessmacher at No Surrender before Kim interrupts and does her thing, so Brooke makes a match between them. All in all, a decent effort from the Knockouts in the match. Like the first match, it was obvious who was going to take it, but the match had some pretty good action for the 3.5 minutes it lasted. Tara ultimately gets the win via Widows Peak. *3/4

Al Snow & Joey Ryan - I'm mixed on this segment. Joe Ryan did a good job in my opinion and continued to show why he's the only one of the Gut Check partipants that actually should've gotten a yes. Al Snow bores me to death and just strikes me as one of those guys that hasn't really done anything in wrestling, yet they try to pass off as being a star in the past. Snow announces that Ryan will have another shot at Gut Check and that he'll have to face him in the ring. I can't say that I'm overly thrilled about seeing Al Snow wrestle again. He slaps Ryan and Ryan complains that he doesn't work for TNA and that he's going to sue, which I thought looked kinda weak. Ryan will probably wind up beating Snow and getting a contract. It's not much of a payoff, but it's pretty much what was expected. Thumbs In The Middle

Austin Aries' Interrogation Segment #1 - I thought these segments were painfully bad. When I first heard Hogan say that Aries was going to be allowed to persuade this guy to talk, I just had a sinking feeling in my gut that they were going to resort to some cheesy B movie tough guy bullshit. That's pretty much what they did. The first segment started with a security guard dropping the guy that attacked Aries into a chair while he's handcuffed. I found myself wondering exactly how this came about. I mean, did the guy just suddenly show up at IW all by himself and was taken into custody by a lone security guard? Anyhow, Aries tries to go all Punisher on this guy and it just doesn't work at all. Aries doesn't have the look or the vibe going for him to be some sort of sadistic prick that tortures a guy to get answers. I'm sorry, but he just doesn't. It only makes the whole thing come off even cheesier. Thumbs Down

Championship Thursday Segment #2 - This was the second segment with Hogan whittling down the next batch of potential challengers. Hogan ultimately eliminates Gunner & Kash because they've taken the debate too personally. The hell? I thought being passionate & letting everyone know beyond a shadow of a doubt as to why you should be next in line was really the whole point of these segments. So that leaves Chavo & Hernandez and The Robbies. Gee, I wonder who'll get the title shot. Thumbs Down

3. Rob Van Dam vs. Bully Ray in a BFG Series match - Kind of like Hardy vs. Joe, this was a pretty decent match in which you already knew the outcome before the bell rang. There was some good action with RVD hitting most of his spots. RVD continues to look much slower and a little more awkard than he used to but Ray does a good job of selling his moves. The end comes with RVD going to the top to go for the Five Star Frog Splash before...yep, you guessed it...stopping to do his little RVD pose. In the meantime Bully Ray gets back to his feet and RVD leaps from the top with Ray catching him in a modified Bully Cutter for the win at the 8.5 minute mark. It maeks me wonder if TNA is going to turn RVD as he's lost a lot of matches lately, due in large part to him looking like a complete idiot posing during crucial moments in the match. Ray gets the win and RVD is out of the BFG Series. **1/4

Austin Aries Interrogation Segment #2 - Yeah, I thought this was even more embarassing than the first. Aries is backstage slapping the guy before using a pair of pliers on his tongue. Hogan shows up & talks Aries down before he starts to beat on the guy for a bit before someone from Aces & Eights calls Hogan. Hogan demands that they bring the guy that they're calling the "arm breaker" meet them at the end of the show and face Aries at No Surrender before hanging up. Thumbs Down

Cowboy James Storm - Great promo work from Storm and probably the highlight of the show for me thus far. Storm portraying the blue collar country boy works great as it's something that's helped get a lot of guys over in the past. Storm delivers a passionate promo while putting over his recent history and the fact that he's now in first place in the BFG Series. He calls out the other three remaining guys and they come out onto the stage. Ultimately, Storm picks Bully Ray to face at No Surrender saying that Ray ended his chance for glory last year, so he'll end his this year. Good stuff from Storm and I think TNA really needs to get truly behind him. Outside of Bully Ray, I think Storm is probably the best guy on the mic in TNA right now. Thumbs Up

Championship Thursday Segment #3 - Hogan is backstage with the two remaining teams and ultimately gives Chavo & Hernandez the shot, much to the dismay of The Robbies. Nothing good or bad about this segment, it was just completely predictable. After all, nobody's gonna give a shit about a tag title match featuring The Robbies and everyone knows it. N/A

4. Christopher Daniels & Kazarian vs. Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez for the TNA World Tag Team Championship - I thought this match was ok. I can't say that I was exactly excited about it but I thought they put forth a decent effort all in all, even though there were a fair amount of botched spots. The crowd popped for the spots they were expected to and it ultimately came down to the heels cheating to retain. Daniels hits Hernandez with one of the belts, allowing Kazarian to get the pin around the 15 minute mark. The match was ok, I personally thought it dragged a little bit, but it was ok. **

Hulk Hogan & Austin Aries - After the match, Hogan comes out and does his posing thing on the ramp for a few minutes before announcing that the tag champs will defend their titles at No Surrender against AJ Styles and his "real tag team" partner Kurt Angle. Aries eventually makes his way to the ring with his victim in tow, I think they called him Mike, and called out the "arm breaker" again. He doesn't show so Aries starts beating on Mike again before arm breaker eventually shows up. He then takes out Mike with a foreign object before Aries attacks him. This arm breaker guy throws some really weak looking, fake ass punches and he & Aries brawl to end the show. Thumbs Down

Final Thoughts - Tonight's show had its share of ups and downs. The ups consisted of overall pretty solid wrestling action and a great promo from James Storm. The two BFG Series matches were pretty good and had some good action. You knew who was going to win each match before the bell rang, but they still delivered pretty decent matches. The Knockout match was ok, nothing special, but ok for the time they were given. The tag title match wasn't great, but it was also ok. Nothing really great, but overall decent action. I thought the rest of the show was pretty much a bomb. The Championship Thursday concept, to me, is already off to a dull start. I know #1 contender matches have been done a whole lot but I still like them better than listening to a room full of guys bitching about why they should be next in line for a title shot. It didn't work with the tag team titles tonight I think, in part, because TNA's tag team scene is extraordinarily weak right now. Gunner & Kash and The Robbies have zero credibility so Chavo & Hernandez were the only two left. The interrogation segments of the Aces & Eights member by Austin Aries were awful. I'm not putting Aries down, I don't think really anyone could've pulled it off because it was so cheesy. Aries doesn't have that tough guy, sadistic badass aura about him nor the look, so that didn't help. In all honesty, I don't think I could care less about seeing him waste his time facing this arm breaker guy at No Surrender. Aside from the BFG Series matches, nothing else really got any hype for the ppv. At the last minute, they suddenly add three matches to the card for the ppv without any real hype. RVD faces Magnus, Kurt Angle & AJ Styles get a shot at the tag titles and Zema Ion defends the X Division title against Sonjay Dutt. Last night's show was pretty decent but it was weak by go home show standards.

Grade: C+

 

[Jay-Mos]

TNA Impact, 6th September 2012

Match of the Night:
Hernandez & Chavo vs Daniels & Kazarian
Oh, so TNA does remember how to put on a good tag match !!
There wasn't a bad bout on the night, but the tagger wins, and it's not close.
Daniels and Kazarian ("2icide", anyone?) looked more gelled than I've seen them before. So much so, that I'm on the cusp of comparing them to the Machine Guns.
Chavo was out of sync a couple of times with Hernandez, but they still combined well for some sweet spots in the match.

Favourite Move:
Al Snow gives Joey Ryan a solid slap in the face.
Okay, there were more 'technical' moves elsewhere that I could have gone for, but in terms of my biggest reaction to anything .. this was LOUD !

Hottest Knockout:
Tara.
Check out the furious energy she unleashed after hitting Gail Kim with The Widow's Peak.
.. WOW.

Chillest Dude:
Joey Ryan.
Despite Al Snow continually trying to interrupt Joey's promo, Joey was completely unfazed and kept delivering like he was the only guy in the ring with a mic.

Taz is a Tool, Part One (of too many):
Mike Tenay compared the last Impact BFG matches to the last day of the NFL regular season, with No Surrender being the equivalent of the NFL playoffs.
Taz agreed .. then made at least three seperate remarks later, that were completely oblivious to what he had agreed with earlier.
Taz is a Tool, Part Two (of too many):
Taryn Terrell was too blonde to immediately bother counting a pin attempt at one point in the Knockouts match.
Taz, to my surprise, actually noted the delay. He then went on to backtrack and dribble excuses about Taryn being out of position, when in reality, she was standing right above the pin attempt, looking down at it.

Random Thought:
Umm .. how did Aces and Eights get Hulk Hogan's mobile phone number ?!??

Funniest Thing of the Night:
Daniels and Kazarian on the Impact Post Show.
With class self-praise about having "the wiggle that makes grown women giggle", "the hips that ladies want on their lips" and "the rear that makes the girls cheer", these guys are gold.
My faaaavourite line, however, was by Kazarian, when he alluded to wrestling fans on their computers having one window open to post stupid comments about wrestling, with another window open for "granny-loves-a-tranny.com".
Yes, he actually said that.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Random Thought:
Umm .. how did Aces and Eights get Hulk Hogan's mobile phone number ?!??

There have been allusions to someone being "on the inside" letting Aces & Eights in and out, and we know the leader is going to be someone established who would obviously know Hogan and would have his number, him being GM of Impact.

This impact was enjoyable but I will agree with Jack Hammer that the torture segments were shitty. Hogan and Aries did nothing wrong per se, and I liked how it was cleared up that the guy was a TV crew member, but the whole thing with torturing him to get info and the pliers not a fan of that at all. But I liked the trade off they did at the end.

Jack Hammer I also agree with you on James Storm's mic work he is my favourite wrestler right now! His promos are superb and yes he is a great blue collar hero!

Loved the tag match between D&K against Chavo and Hernandez this was PPV worthy IMO I marked out a couple of times. That tag finisher C&H did, with the hurricanrana I actually thought for a split second they were going to win! And Hernandez always impresses me.

 

[FlyHigh2K12]

Despite Bully losing again, I truly believe he is "Destined for Greatness" one way or another.

I think Bully will either some how get into the title match to make it a triple threat match or Bully is the leader of Aces and Eights.

Also see a triple threat, possibly ladder match between Styles/Angle, Chavo/Hernandez and Kaz/Daniels for the Tag Titles.

Overall another solid impact which had great matches, also the heel turn of Tara was much needed and well done, setting up the revenge match at BFG.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

TNA Impact Wrestling - September 13, 2012

Opening Segment - Pretty solid opener for the most part. Aries continues to do a good job of putting over how important is is to be TNA WHC. He eventually calls out Jeff Hardy and, for me, the energy just dies down. Hardy's lack of promo skills just has that effect in my view. I know he gets tons of cheers, and rightly so, but I usually groan whenever he comes out for a promo. Aries pointed out that Hardy's a man of few words basically and it kind of turned into too much of a lovefest for me. I'm hoping that'll change as we get closer to BFG as I do think there needs to be some tension between the two rather than the standard "I have nothing but respect for you" babyface feud. Bully Ray comes out and talks smack to both guys before Aries puts him in his place by reminding him that he's been soundly beaten by both men despite his boasts. It sets up a match later in the night between Hardy & Ray. Not really a great segment but good enough. Thumbs Up

1. Zema Ion vs. Sonjay Dutt for the TNX X Division Championship - This match didn't really do a thing for me. The majority of the offense consisted of Dutt doing one variation after another of a head scissor/hurricanrana take down. Ion himself got in very, very little offense. There were definitely a few move marks in the crowd as, for some reason, some tried to get a "this is awesome" chant started. I have no idea why. At one point, Dutt hits his finisher, which I do have to say looks pretty sweet, but Ion is able to break the pin by getting his foot on the ropes. Dutt heads back to the top only for Ion to shove his feet off, causing him to straddle the turnbuckle before falling backward. Ion rolls him up and gets the three about the 3.5 minute mark. After the match, Ion goes to work on Dutt's shoulder for a while, including putting him in the cross armbar that Alberto Del Rio uses. The match ultimately made Ion look kind of weak and his win looked like a fluke. *1/4

Daniels, Kazarian & Hogan - They show a brief backstage segment with Daniels & Kazarian sitting in Hogan's office sipping their drinks while waiting for Hogan. Hogan come in and congragulates them on their win at No Surrender. He tells them that they now have to decide to gets the next title shot. He tells them that they'll both be in singles matches tonight with Daniels taking on either Chavo Guerrero or Hernandez and Kazarian taking on either AJ Styles or Kurt Angle. Hogan states that if either one of them loses, then the winner will have earned a tag title shot for their team at BFG. Not a good or bad segment, one that was just kind of there. However, I immediately had a sense that both the tag champs would lose their matches. NA

Bobby Roode & James Storm - An ok segment that featured Roode coming out and explaining his reasons for costing Storm the BFG Series. It was pretty much what we expected in that he felt that Storm shouldn't have the title shot if he himself couldn't. Storm comes out and they fight for a bit before going to commercial. Nothing great her but it did its job of further setting up their clash at BFG. Thumbs Up

AJ Styles vs. Kazarian - Good solid television match between these two. Both men worked hard and delivered a good effort even though the outcome seemed to be fairly obvious. To me, it's also getting a bit stale seeing these two go at it. Just like with Daniels, Kazarian & Styles don't have that fresh spark as they've gone at it so many times, though they do still put on solid matches. The end comes with Styles ultimately delivering the Styles Clash for the win just a bit past the 10 minute mark. Again, it was pretty obvious that Styles would get the win here and I've little doubt that Daniels will lose his match as well, thereby probably putting all three teams in a threeway situation at BFG or a #1 contender match between the two next week. **1/2

Hulk Hogan, Brooke Hogan & Joseph Park - This was a brief backstage segment where Hogan is telling Brooke that he wants someone around her at all times to watch her, including mentioning that he'll hire bodyguards. Park comes in and tells Hogan he has some leads on Aces & Eights and all this and that. He asks Park to stay behind with Brooke while he heads out to the ring. Park sits on the desk a little awkwardly beside her while Brooke giggles girlishly. I hope they're not going to go with a budding romance angle between these two. I didn't really get the logic here. If Hogan is so worried about Brooke's safety, then why did he leave her in the care of a non-wrestling "lawyer" that won't be able to protect her? Why not just take her out to the ring with him? Thumbs Down

Jeff Hardy & Bully Ray - There was a brief backstage confrontation between Ray & Hardy with Ray insulting him and all this and that. Hardy ultimately speaks up and tells Ray that if he beats him, then he can have his spot against Aries at BFG. There are a couple of ways of looking at this. On one hand, this gives their match some sense of meaning. On the other, if TNA just simply has Hardy drop his spot to Ray, then it'll be a huge middle finger to the fans who've invested time in the BFG Series and bought the No Surrender ppv to see the outcome of the BFG Series. NA

Hulk Hogan - In all honesty, I had no idea what really took place here. I knew that Hogan would come out and confirm the match and I figured he'd pretty much talk about Aces & Eights and that they'd send some sort of message to Hogan on the big screen. I went to fix myself a little snack because I've honestly got little to no interest in this whole set up. I looked it up online later and the scenario I thought would happen was what took place so, for me personally, I didn't miss anything. NA

3. Chavo Guerrero vs. Christopher Daniels - Pretty decent match, though nothing particularly special. There was some decent action and I just kind of rolled my eyes a few times during the match as Chavo continues to, whether he does it intentionally or not, ride the coat tails of the deceased Eddie Guerrero. He uses the Three Amigos suplex in this match, late in the match, that ignites an "Eddie, Eddie" chant. As I figured, Chavo gets the win at the 6.5 minute mark after hitting the Frog Splash. Pretty basic booking with Chavo getting a bit of redemption for his loss this past Sunday and putting his team back in the title picture. **

Miss Tessmacher & Tara - This bored the crap out of me quite frankly and Tessmacher kinda looked like an idiot. I don't see how anybody couldn't see Tara's heel turn coming from a mile off. Tessmacher was booked as being clueless. Tara puts her over for a bit before talking about their friendship before ultimately eating a clothesline from Tara. Tara then hit Widow's Peak and left her laying. Tessmacher didn't get much of a response and she's someone that's having trouble connecting with fans now that she's not really doing her stripper bit. Thumbs Down

TNA Power Players Segment - This was a backstage segment that featured pretty much the top people in TNA right now in terms of authority figures. Hogan, Dixie, Brooke, Al Snow, D-Lo and Pritchard were all there. The segment did nothing for me as it was just so cheesy and overdone with everyone basically saying that they're suspicious of everyone else being a member of Aces & Eights. At one point, after Pritchard says something, the camera pans around to each individual in a very very cheesy little bit that comes straight out of some lame old murder mystery drama. It's fairly obvious that none of them are Aces & Eights members but I guess TNA wants to waste time trying to convince us that one of them might be. If it does turn out to be one of them, the only one in which it could be interesting would be Dixie Carter. But, then again, I don't think she has the chops to pull off being a heel authority figure. If it's Hogan, it'll look extraordinarily stupid considering he's been leading the charge since they threatened his daughter. Having it be any of the other four will generate no impact. Thumbs Down

4. Jeff Hardy vs. Bully Ray - A strong main event that wasn't bogged down with interference from Aces & Eights or Austin Aries' presence or any of that. Ray & Hardy worked hard and delivered a very good match that ultimately helped to establish Hardy as a worthy challenger. There was some good action and a few good near falls from Bully Ray. What ultimately made this most interesting for me was wondering whether or not TNA was going to flip the bird to all those fans who'd spent money on No Surrender by having Hardy just drop his #1 contender spot to Ray. The end comes with Hardy ultimately hitting the Swanton Bomb for the clean win at the 13.5 minute mark. ***1/4

Final Thoughts - Overall, a pretty solid 2 hour wrestling show that did a good job of ultimately setting a pace for the hype towards Bound for Glory. The promo segments on the show, or rather the ones that I saw, didn't wow me but did their job in ultimately setting things up heading towards the ppv. Wrestling action was pretty good in general with the X Division title match being the only real flop, there just wasn't anything there to speak of and I just don't see Ion as a star. It was good to see solid attention put on the tag titles during the show with the two singles matches. Styles vs. Kazarian was a good solid match that delivered an expected outcome. Chavo vs. Daniels was an ok match with an expected outcome as well. I figure that the champs will defend in a threeway dance against Styles & Angle and Chavo & Hernandez at BFG or there'll be a #1 contender's match between those two teams, which would kind of render the matches tonight moot. The Aces & Eights storyline continues to do nothing for me and there were a couple of lame segments keeping it at the forefront. Tara turning on Tessmacher was nothing really to speak of either. Roode & Storm set up their match with an expected fight. The main event was a lot of fun and I'm pleased to see Hardy retain his spot here. I honestly don't think Bully Ray is out of the running, however, as I think they'll find some way of inserting him into the title picture yet, possibly in a threeway, because there's just no real fire that I can see to Aries vs. Hardy.

Grade: B-

 

[Jay-Mos]

My favourite bit of the night was ...

Tara heel turn !!

Yeah, sure .. from the very moment the segment started, it was screaming heel turn (let's be fair though, there was initially at least a debatable chance that Tessmacher could turn, not Tara).
Once it was a 100% certainty that Tara was gonna go baddie, it was quite funny how they kept prolonging it - with me thinking 'Oh, here it is .. no? Ah, well NOW she's gonna smack her .. no?' for the longest time, right up until I had forgotten what I was even waiting for .. THEN she clobbered her !!

The crowd being pro-Tara was pretty neat, I've got to say.
You can imagine the production crew cursing the live aspect of the show, as you KNOW that if it were pre-taped, they would dub the crowd to eliminate the cheers ; )

TNA Power Players Segment
At one point, after Pritchard says something, the camera pans around to each individual in a very very cheesy little bit that comes straight out of some lame old murder mystery drama.

How stupid was that, huh ?
I mean, what-the-unmitigated-f#ck were they thinking; for not only filming it, but airing it too ?!!
They tried a 'similar' thing once in Ring Ka King (when a big sumo guy debuted, the camera freeze-framed on all of the shocked faces of Jarrett's crew) but the difference is it genuinely worked great in Ring Ka King .. as opposed to looking completely ridiculous on Impact.

As for the actual Aces and Eights conspiracies ?
Despite Impact feeding us yummy red herrings at every opportunity, I still say it leads to King Mo.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

TNA Power Players Segment It's fairly obvious that none of them are Aces & Eights members but I guess TNA wants to waste time trying to convince us that one of them might be.

Did you not think D'Lo was stirring the pot in that segment? Telling them to open the gates and face them. I think they will go the route of revealing him as the inside man. I also believe he is the big guy going around with the hood.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Did you not think D'Lo was stirring the pot in that segment? Telling them to open the gates and face them. I think they will go the route of revealing him as the inside man. I also believe he is the big guy going around with the hood.

Not really. It could merely have been D'Lo playing the dense guy of the group that thinks all out, pure physical force is the answer. I've seen this little scene in dozens of movies or television shows and each character has an role. As I said, D'Lo may be simply the dumb brute of the group. Dixie is the concerned leader that doesn't know what to think. Pritchard is trying to be the voice of reason. Al Snow is the one who gets insecure/angry merely at being accused of possibly being the inside guy. Hogan tries to be the polarizing force to keep everyone in check and Brooke rides his coat tails. This whole thing felt like a scene from some mystery dinner theater performance.

However, even if it does turn out that D'Lo is a guy on the inside that's working for Aces & Eights, so what? D'Lo Brown is a nobody whose career highlight was being carried as part of a faction by The Rock back in the Attitude Era. Bruce Pritchard is pretty much a nobody as well that's spent the vast majority of the past 20 years working behind the scenes. Nobody cares if another executive goes bad. The highlight of Al Snow's career involved carrying around the head of a female mannaquin. Brooke Hogan hasn't been involved in wrestling long enough to have a bowel movemtent, so her being on the inside won't do much. I've seen the girl act and she doesn't have the chops to be a bad girl. If TNA does go the route of Aces & Eights having someone on the inside, revealing that someone as D'Lo will generate very little interest. The only ones in that segment that would generate a buzz would be Dixie Carter and Hulk Hogan. It makes little sense for Dixie as why would she want to take over something that's already hers? If it's Hogan...Hollywood Hogan leading a heel faction for the purpose of taking over the wrestling company. *yawn* How many times have we seen that? Plus, it'll only make Sting & Dixie Carter look like complete, 100% fools for allowing Hogan another chance in the first place.

This is a can of worms TNA should just avoid altogether.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

TNA Impact Wrestling - September 20, 2012

1. AJ Styles & Kurt Angle vs. Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez - Prior to the match, Angle cuts a promo and explains the tag title situation for a moment before calling out Chavo & Hernandez to settle who really should be #1 contenders for the tag titles. The match itself was pretty good though I have trouble buying Chavo & Hernandez as being two guys in the same league as Styles & Angle Their careers up to this point don't suggest it and they haven't done nearly enough in TNA to do so either. The match had some good action with both teams looking strong. The ending was something I saw coming even before the bell rang and Kazarian & Daniels come out on the stage only confirmed it. They interefered at the 12 minute mark resulting in a no contest. Predictably, here comes Hogan out with his baseball bat and ultimately makes the tag title match a threeway at BFG. This is ultimately the route I expected them to go, so it should be a good match. **1/4

2. Evan Markopoulos vs. Douglas Williams in a Gut Check match - Whenever I think TNA has hit bottom with this concept, they somehow manage to sink down a few more inches. This kid looked awful and Williams made him look like a chump. He got in a very brief amount of offense and what he did get in wasn't anything to speak of. Taz kept trying to fill some air time on commentary by talking about how much heart the kid had. The fact that he kept repeating himself suggested how little he really had to say about this kid. The match went about 3.5 minutes, longer than most Gut Check matches, but that's mostly because Williams was playing around with the guy. Williams gets the submission victory and another one bites the dust. If the Gut Check competitors we've seen during this concept, minus Joey Ryan, are thought of by TNA recuiters to have potential, then TNA needs to fire a bunch of people. NA

Cowboy James Storm & Bobby Roode - I'm a little mixed on this whole segment. Storm did a nice job and delivered with good intensity. He ripped on Roode for a few minutes before Roode's music hits. Roode, to me, seemed a little subdued and he basically said that he was done with Storm even though Storm challenged him to a match. He walks backstage only to be stopped by Hogan. Hogan tells him that he's been challenged and that he has to fight before essentially threatening to fire him. As they come back from commercial, Roode walks back out and Storm leaves the ring. They begin to brawl all over the Impact Zone. It was ok, mostly just a punck & kick fest. They briefly got into the ring only for one or the other to be tossed back out onto the floor. They brawl for maybe 6 minutes before the ref calls for the bell. I'm a little confused about this as I thought Storm wanted a brawl. Both guys did a good job but I think this feud has lost a ton of heat. I think TNA could've made some real money from this feud and I think this is the one people were ultimately hoping would main event BFG. Thumbs In The Middle

Austin Aries & Jeff Hardy - This was a brief backstage segment in which Hardy is doing whatever it is he does with Aries coming up to him. Aries puts over their upcoming match while Hardy mostly just nods or says yeah. Aries says something to the effect of this match not being about Hardy coming after his title but about him coming after Hardy. He puts over Hardy's career and says that it's the kind of career he wants. There wasn't anything good or bad here really, it was just one of those segments that's there. If they're trying to build tension between the two, I just don't see it happening without somebody going heel. NA

Tara - Tara cuts a promo inside the ring explaining her actions last week. She mentions something about seeing things differently thanks to her new "boyfriend" that lives out in Hollywood. Tara basically wants to be in the spotlight and she's not in it, so she's jealous of Brooke Tessmacher. Tara calls out Christy Hemme for a fight, as it's Open Fight Night. She bullies her for a bit before Tessmacher comes out and chases Tara off. Again, nothing good or bad here. Just trying to lay some ground work for their match at BFG. NA

Hulk Hogan - Hogan comes out to the ring to cut a promo. Earlier in the night, Hogan got a call from Joseph Park and Park said that he had the evidence and that he was bringing it to him. He got another call later from Aces & Eights saying that they had Parks. Hogan's out in the ring now and does his thing for a bit before informing everyone that the group wanted Hogan at their "clubhouse" next week. Hogan said he'd oblige but, as a show of good faith, he wanted them to release Parks. The group appears on the big screen, which featured some cheesy background music. They inform Hogan that if he comes to the "clubhouse" that it's "clubhouse rules". They then take a sledgehammer to Parks' laptop. Parks looks at the camera and informs Hogan that it's ok as everything is in his head. Parks then gets laid out with a "ballpean hammer" with Hogan looking on in dismay. Cheesy from the very beginning. I guess now we're gonna see Hogan followed by cameras to Aces & Eights headquarters next week where he'll beat up a dozen guys single handedly before the managed to get the best of him in sheer numbers. Thumbs Down

4. Austin Aries vs. Bully Ray - Prior to this, Aries comes out and cuts a brief promo in the ring. He talks about all the focus being on Hardy rather than on him, so he declares that he'll one up Hardy every opportunity he gets. He intends to start by beating Bully Ray. He calls Ray out and Ray answers, stating that he doesn't have the skills to beat him. The match itself was pretty decent, not nearly as good as their match several months back, but a decent effort that told a good story. They worked hard and delivered some fun action. Towards the end, TNA returns to an old chesnut we haven't seen in a long time on IW main events: the ref bump. We used to see it almost on a weekly basis, so let's hoping it won't be a constant companion going forward. Aries slaps his submission on Ray and Ray taps, but the ref is out. And yes, the ref is Earl Hebner. As Aries checks on the ref, Ray wraps his chain around his hand and punches Aries out with it. Hebner comes to, makes the slow count and Ray gets the win at the 12.5 minute mark. As Ray was going to keep attacking Aries post match, Jeff Hardy comes out to make the save. Hardy picks up the title belt and is holding it as Aries comes to. Aries flips out and starts yelling at Hardy and they bicker to close the show. **1/4

Final Thoughts - If I had to describe tonight's show in a single word or phrase, it'd be "meh". All in all, just a lackluster effort that didn't do too much to build my interest in BFG. The only thing that did really build my interest is that it looks as though TNA might be turning Aries heel. While Aries feels more natural as a heel, it doesn't seem that TNA has had him as a babyface for long and he gets good responses from the fans. But, they need some heat with his feud with Hardy so this might be the only way of getting it. Wrestling action on the show overall was pretty lackluster as well. The opening tag match had decent action but the ending was so predictably dull that I almost wish they'd have made the match a threeway in the first place instead of having the two contender teams have a match. The Gut Check match was pretty damn lame and the latest Cut Check competitor continues TNA's string of densely mediocre development talent we've been introduced to. Tara's heel turn, while not bad, isn't particularly interesting either and her feud with Tessmacher does nothing for me. Storm & Roode has a pretty good segment, not great though, and I'm not as into this feud. I think TNA has allowed this feud to lose a LOT of steam, but at least they gave a decent brawl as a start towards building some of it back. Aces & Eights continues to come off as a cheesy Sons of Anarchy rip off. The main event match was pretty decent and looks as though Aries might go heel. I'm hoping that there was some purpose to this, like a heel turn or some means of generating heat in the Aries/Hardy feud. With a win over Aries, I'm still convinced that Ray will be involved in the title match at BFG in some way. There were a few productive moments on last night's show, but not too many and there wasn't a lot of energy. With their biggest ppv being right around the corner, TNA needs to jack up the energy and sense of urgency over the next few weeks.

Grade: C