My TNA Catch-Up, Genesis PPV 2010

Ladies & gentleman, presenting my FINAL original TNA Catch-Up. I very clearly stated a few days ago if the 6 sided ring went so did I. It was no idle threat. This will the last TNA new show I review. Anything appearing after this point will be reviews of old shows in order to fill the gap of shows I never reviewed when I started watching TNA.

Show opens with the lights being kept right down as Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff come out to reveal what most fans had already guessed & speculated about - the ring is now changed to a standard 4 sided ring. The Impact Zone redesign now also features only 1 entrance tunnel. Hogans welcome to "the brand new Impact Zone" got a massive boo and a "We want 6 sides" chant & Hogan told us we're stuck with it whether we like it or not. Taz marked for the 4 sided ring & Mike Tenay avoided commenting at all.

X Division Championship Match, Amazing Red vs An Unknown Challenger - Who turned out to be Brian Kendrick, how the f**k is he worthy of a title shot coming into the company from nowhere to get a title shot on a PPV too! Kendrick had an ok match but Red got hurt at least twice (his Cross Body off the top rope onto Kendrick on the floor also hitting the guard rail & his Head Scissors where he hurt his leg) but Amazing Red took the win to retain his title off The Code Red.

Backstage segment of Hogan & Bischoff lecturing Waltman, Hall & Nash to win.

Sean Morley vs Daniels - Morley is pretty lucky to be getting a PPV match as his very 1st match in TNA, I dont recall ever seeing Morley wrestle against anyone who wasn't jobbing to him as Val Venis in the WWE so I have no idea if the guy can even work or not. I found it hard to believe Daniels was going to job here but he kept the match on the ground & fairly slow so Morley didn't look like a complete cunt at least, Daniels did sell hurt as Morley was hitting a few power moves (what were the fans chanting when Daniels had the Koji Clutch on? It must have been funny because others were laughing & smiling at it). I think Daniels hurt either his right knee or ankle landing the missed BME but Morley took the underserved win off a Big Splash they were calling The Money Shot which he managed to f**k up on his 1st attempt.

Knockout Championship Match, Tara vs ODB - The stipulation (that I missed by fast forwarding through the introduction) was its best 2 out of 3 falls. After the mini brawl opening Tara had a great start nailing the Standing Moonsault & later hitting ODB with a lovely kick to the head that was very well sold, Taras Slingshot Legdrop only got a nearfall though. ODB hit a Fall Away Slam but Tara capitalized with a fast Small Package to take the 1st fall.

ODB started the 2nd segment off trying to use sheer power but Tara sidestepped a Splash answering with an elbow to ODB then Tara hit the Tarantula to stretch & wear out ODB, the Body Scissors weardown on Tara was a slow move at the wrong time so both women had clearly gassed & were taking time to rest. Tara managed to kick out after ODB hit a lovely Running Powerslam & after ODB checked her pulse for about the 15th time during the match Tara took the win after hitting The Widows Peak.

World Tag Team Championship, Hernandez & Matt Morgan vs The British Invasion - Has SoCal Val been sacked? Because there appears to be a new ring valet. Very poor match, Morgan took the win off The Carbon Footprint & we have new Tag Team Champions.

Backstage segement Abyss visiting Eric Bischoff, Bobby Lashley jumped Abyss who knocked him out. Hogan gets upset but tells Abyss he'll get a better match after having knocked out his slated opponant.

Desmond Wolfe (and unknown lady friend) vs D'Angelo Dinero - Wolfe has changed his ring gear and was wearing silver leggings with a purple wolf logo on them instead of his standard dark blue trunks. I assume Dinero hurt his knee doing the Slide Over through the ropes mid match? This match was too slow, too long, dull as hell & Wolfe took the eventual win off the Lariat Clothesline.

Backstage Segment, Bischoff tells Jeremy Borash he's being taken off tv until further notice. Christy Hemme interviews Ric Flair.

Tag Match, Kevin Nash & Scott Hall vs Beer Money - Or so we thought until Sean Waltman (who they are calling Syxx-Pac) came out with Nash so it appears Hall no-showed for a TNA match yet again, this match was going nowhere with Beer Money on top until Scott Hall came out as a distraction then Hall dragged a "fan" (clearly a plant as Waltman was getting himself into position on the apron to run & "stop" Hall) out of the front row & started beating him up which distracted Waltman to stop it so James Storm nailed Nash with a Super Kick & Robert Roode took the win off a Bridging Suplex. Nash looked very pissed off after the match. Dear Eric Bischoff, cheap heat is S**T heat!

Abyss vs Mr Anderson - Anderson was better known as Ken Kennedy in WWE where he was released for various violations of their drug programme as well as being accused of being too stiff by WWE workers. This match was too long, very dull & Anderson took the win after using Brass Knucks on Abyss.

World Heavyweight Championship, Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles - Billed as having a 60 minute time limit, its a shame there was only 33 minutes left of airtime when the opening bell actually rang. The match had been going nowhere for about 15 minutes when Ric Flair came down to ringside to watch, business did pick up for about 2 minutes then slowed right back down to a snails pace again. Angle actually hit the Styles Clash on AJ (which I'll admit was pretty cool) who returned the favour a few minutes later by hitting Angle with the Angle Slam, this thing looked over with about 6 minutes to spare when Angle put AJ into the Ankle Lock on the verge of tapping out & about 2 seconds before Styles started to tap out Flair yanked Ref Earl Hebner out of the ring to the floor so he didn't see Styles tap out leaving Angle giving Flair angry eyes. Flair suckered Angle into the ring & Styles hit a nice Flying Clothesline then threw Styles the belt who then nailed Angle in the head with it. Flair threw Hebner back in to make the worlds slowest 3 count and AJ Styles retains his title to become a heel with Ric Flair.

Again I must repeat this is the final new TNA show I will be reviewing. I have been reviewing the show every month, fortnight then weekly since 2007 and I did not like the idea of Hogan & Bischoff taking over as I feared his ego & cronies would destroy the show. By aquiring talent like Anderson & Morley as well as getting rid of TNA's iconic 6 sided ring has left me with nothing but hatred towards the company I used to be very passionate about. TNA has lost possibly one its most prolific free reviewers (I doubt there are many who have reviewed as many shows as me who dont get paid for it) and it upsets me that under Hogan the company will most likely crash & burn. It has been my pleasure to write these reviews and I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I did writing them.

Peace out - Ray Daley.

My Weekly TNA Catch-up, Impact 14th Jan 2010 reviewed

Tag Match, Generation Me vs The Motor City Machine Guns - Generation Me were previously known as The Young Bucks, Nick & Matt Jackson but here they are going under the names of Max & Jeremy. Max has the dark hair so we can tell them apart, clearly some of the crowd knew who they were as they were putting out a "Young Bucks" chant. Frankly this was a fantastic match with far too many great spots to call & even Taz marked out for them saying "Who are these Young Bucks", Generation Me took the well deserved win after finishing off Shelley with 2 awesome Moonsaults and if this is the calibre of new talent everyone in the X Division is seriously going to have to raise their game.

Kurt Angle comes out to praise AJ Styles, after they talk Styles gets jumped by his mystery masked man who finally reveals himself to be Tomko which we knew weeks ago.

Non-title Knockout Tag Match, The Beautiful People (with Lacey Von Erich) vs Hamada & Awesome Kong - Angelina Love was in the crowd & Madison and Velvet greeted her but Lacey looked really annoyed through a forced smile. This wasn't much of a match & Kong took the win off a Sit Out Awesome Bomb, Love hopping the guardrail wasn't entirely a surprise neither was her jumping Von Erich but her jumping Sky was quite unexpected so it looks like Love is back a week later than rumoured.

Various backstage stuff.

Tag Match, Lethal Consequences vs Team 3D - or rather not as Bobby Lashley came out & jumped Lethal Consequences during their entrance. I guess this was part of Lashleys attempt to ask for his release, its a c**p storyline & no-one cares about it. Team 3D did eventually come out, hit the 3D on Creed and took a rather pathetic & meaningless win. Brother Ray cuts a promo on The Nasty Boys & Hogan & The Nasty Boys jump Team 3D in their own locker room.

Sean Morley (probably better known as Val Venis to WWE fans) comes out to talk, Daniels interupts him then floors him.

Tag Match, Matt Morgan & Hernandez vs Beer Money - After the match Morgan & Super Mex had on last Mondays special I am amazed they are even employed as it was so terrible. This match was going nowhere so clearly Russo decided it was the perfect moment for a run-in & sent Big Rob out to waylay Hernandez. Morgan fought him back up the ramp and we heard the bell go in the background and Mike Tenay said the match was being thrown out as a double DQ.

Sean Waltman, Kevin Nash & Scott Hall came out & Waltman got a kicking but Nash soon levelled the field with his size. Black shirt security & the refs kind of broke it up then Eric Bischoff came out & booked Hall & Nash vs Beer Money at this weekends PPV.

Desmond Wolfe vs Samoa Joe - D'Angelo Dinero joined Taz & Tenay at the colour desk, this match was pretty dull. Joe was ok but Wolfe didn't do much and took the win off Towers Of London.

Backstage segment between Jeff Jarrett & Hulk Hogan finally making an appearance on the show after an hour, Bischoff shoots on Jarrett.

Heavyweight Championship Match, Tomko vs AJ Styles - Ric Flair joins Taz & Tenay at the colour desk, Kurt Angle came out to shake hands with Flair & watch the match which was really dull. Styles took the win off the Pele, Tomko jumped him post match but Angle made the save.

To be honest this weeks show wasn't very good apart from the X Division tag match, this weekends PPV will have to be awesome to keep the spark alive. I assume after the PPV they will tape 2 weeks worth of Impacts because TNA will be in England 2 weeks after the PPV. Although it'd be way cool if they decide to do Impact live from England on a Thusday because they will be in my hometown of Coventry ;-)

My Weekly TNA Catch-up, Impact 7th Jan 2010 reviewed

Basically all TNA did was replay Mondays show. So all you are getting here is the same review I wrote for Monday.

Finally its the show everyones been talking about, the TNA debut of Hulk Hogan. We have a new announcer in the shape of Bubba The Love Sponge (who I have NEVER heard of) & as far as the alterations to the Impact Zone set go all I noticed different was the bleachers go higher up & the colour desk has been moved even further back parallel to the face entrance tunnel.

Non-title Steel Asylum Match, Chris Sabin vs Alex Shelley vs Homicide vs Kiyoshi vs Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed vs Suicide vs Amazing Red - This was looking like it'd be a really good match when Homicide went apes**t & started using an extendable baton on everyone so the refs ruled it a no contest, Not a very good way to kick off the 1st Impact of 2010. This result got a MASSIVE "bulls**t" chant from the crowd. I guess Russo just had to show everyone he's still in charge.

The appearance of Jeff Hardy was more than welcome & if he's back for good its great to see him back in TNA if he can stay off the junk this time. Hardy made a nice chair shot then nailed an excellent Twist Of Fate on Homicide on the ramp. We also saw Shannon Moore backstage as well, we all remember what happened with him in TNA last time don't we? No? He toured the UK with them then went back to the US & right back to WWE.

Knockout Title Match, ODB vs Tara - Again the announcer was made to emphasize the 20 minute time limit just to let everyone know Russo still has the reigns here, ODB jumped Tara as she took her top off but Tara held her off & nailed a lovely Running Clothesline. Tara made some nice Kicks & Punches until ODB caught her leg but Tara answered with an Enzuigiri then a Scoop Slam but only got a near fall off the Standing Moonsault, ODB was stretched out after Tara hit the Tarantula on the rope then made a nice Springboard Legdrop over the top rope for another near fall. You had to question what the f**k the guys in the camera truck were doing cutting to a shot of the cage when ODB made the Schoolboy Roll-up with a handfull off Taras trunks as an assist to take the win to recapture her title but this wasn't a bad match, just not long enough. Tara nailing a postmatch Widows Peak was kinda predictable.

Backstage shot of Nature Boy Ric Flair arriving in a white limo. WOO! Video package of Mick Foley being denied entry to the Impact Zone. Bobby & Kristal Lashley come out & call out Hogan asking for Lashleys release from TNA. Apparently Bobby can't speak for himself as Kristal had to make the speech for him, its the 2nd time she's done that by the way. C***py segment of The Beautiful People playing Strip Poker. Shots of Scott Hall & Sean Waltman being denied entry to the studios but they do eventually get inside.

Finally after 37 minutes of show Hulk Hogan comes out (to his classic NWO Hollywood music dressed all in black) but he completely blanked Hall & Waltman as he came down the ramp, Brooke Hogan was in the crowd too. Both Waltman & Hall jumped the guardrail but Hogan let them in the ring to talk. Hogan tells them no more gravy train (thank f**k!), Hogan talking about "doing the right thing for the business" is clearly selling out to marks though so he's clearly been reading the internet on our opinions of him. Kevin Nash comes out as also gets told no more old school gravy train for him either.

Waltman & Hall take off their jackets & start facing off to Hogan like their going to fight then Eric Bischoff comes out telling Nash, Hall & Waltman "everybody has to earn their position in this company" the constant shots of Dixie Carter in the crowd showed a very nervous looking face. Bischoff brought his own script with him, presumptious fucker. And it was nice to see Sting in the rafters after Hogan & Bischoff were done.

Knockout Tag Championship, Awesome Kong & Hamada vs Taylor Wilde & Sarita - Sarita & Hamada made a nice start to this but Wilde made a big no-no by making signals to Hamada off the top turn buckle to check she was ready to do a spot, I'm not sure who thought it was a good idea to semi-interupt this match to show that The Motor City Machine Guns had been jumped (I'm guessing by Hall, Waltman & Nash?) but the twin Suicide Dives by Wilde & Sarita onto Hamada & Kong on the floor might have been a little badly advised as Hamada had been limping & clutching at her upper thigh mere moments earlier.

Coming back from a badly timed break Hamada & Kong had taken the upper hand (and TNA REALLY need to stop doing that split screen on insanely tiny screens), Hamada was definately injured as she was limping again when she tagged Kong in, Wilde made a nice Jawbreaker on Kong tagging in Sarita to nail a beautiful Springboard Dropkick on Kong. Hamada practically begged Wilde to kick her out of the ring to get a moments respite leaving Kong to work the champions on her own with Kong powering out of Saritas Hurricanrana only to miss a nearfall on Sarita herself when Wilde made the save leaving the fans chanting "This is awesome" (something you certainly didn't hear over on RAW during their show!).

Wilde took a vicious posting from Hamada outside the ring who had to push Kong forward to reposition her (Ref Slick Johnson also had to feed Kong instructions to move into the correct position too) so Hamada could nail the Missile Dropkick off the top turnbuckle on Sarita which allowed Kong to make the pin so Hamada & Awesome Kong are new Knockout Tag Champions.

More of The Beautiful Peoples Strip Poker Game, former WWE star Val Venis joins them but he's not named though. It appears I have to make an apology & a correction, Big Rocco & Sally Boy are still working for TNA as we saw them denying Mick Foley entry to the studio closely followed by Knobbs & Saggs The Nasy Boys also being denied access.

Raven & Dr. Stevie (with Daffney) vs Hernandez & Matt Morgan - Extremely short & extremely s**t, Morgan took the win off The Carbon Footprint on Stevie & if this is the quality of matches Hogan & Bischoff are going to be offering us in the future then I see a massive exodus of people watching TNA to watching anything else including Knitting shows. This means Morgan & Hernandez will get a title shot on the next PPV.

Backstage interview with D'Angelo Dinero & Christy Hemme in what is her new full time job, they get interupted by Orlando Jordan but I needed Taz to tell me who the f**k he was because I sure didn't recognise the c**t.

Desmond Wolfe vs D'Angelo Dinero - Very poor match where both guys were equally as dull, Wolfe went for Towers Of London but Dinero powered out to take the win off a Small Package.

Backstage segment where we see Jeff Jarrett entering the building then they show that Rhino has also been attacked backstage. JB interviewing AJ Styles only to be interupted by Bischoff telling Styles his title is on the line for the main event tonight. Jeff Jarrett comes out to the ring to a rousing reception where he looked very emotional but Dixie Carter looked like she couldn't care less. Hogan goes heel against Jarrett (it was Russo that ran the company into the ground Hogan) getting himself a "bulls**t" chant from the crowd. Foley finally makes it into the Impact Zone.

Abyss vs Samoa Joe - Abyss was scheduled to meet Rhino but he obviously got beaten up backstage earlier so Hogan & Bischoff made this match on the fly. Joe started off well & just went like crazy nailing a kick to the head of Abyss out of nowhere, both guys had a very good match & it seems Joe is back to his best form now the "insane Joe" gimmick is done with. After nailing Abyss in the head with a chair Joe took the win off the Rear Naked Choke Hold.

Another backstage segment, Kristal Lashley talking to Bischoff then a shot of Beer Money who had also been attacked. Bubba The Love Sponge sneaks The Nasty Boys into the studios who then go on to destroy Team 3D's dressing room, its also sounds like Jeff Hardy & Shannon Moore now have TNA contracts.

TNA Heavyweight Title Match, Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles - I'm not sure why the announcer bothered telling us this had a 60 minute time limit as the show only had 21 minutes left on the air by that point anyway. This match had only been going for a few minutes before Russo decided it needed a run-in & sent out Styles' mystery attacker (who everyone knows is Tomko anyway) but Angle sent him out to the floor over the top rope with a clothesline and this match carried on as if nothing had happened. This match was far too slow & overly long for the sake of it, Angle had Styles in an Ankle Lock when Ric Flair came out to watch from the ramp (I'll assume Bischoff or Hogan thought that was a good idea but it totally ruined the flow of the match) & after a 4th or 5th Styles Clash AJ Styles took the win off the 450 Splash.

Angle made a very nice show of respect to Styles post match then Hogan came out seriously putting both Angle & Styles over big time. Backstage segment of Foley looking for Hogan only to find they've put Hogans name on Foleys old office & Bischoffs in Foleys old chair, show closes with Foley getting the shit beaten out of him by Nash, Hall & Waltman.

So it seems certain rumours were true (appearances by Flair, Hall & The Nasty Boys) whilst others were complete bulls**t (Appearances by RVD Or Sid Vicious & the return of Angelina Love).

It appears yes there was an Impact, all they did was replay Mondays show.

My Weekly TNA Catch-up, Impact 4th Jan 2010 reviewed

Finally its the show everyones been talking about, the TNA debut of Hulk Hogan. We have a new announcer in the shape of Bubba The Love Sponge (who I have NEVER heard of) & as far as the alterations to the Impact Zone set go all I noticed different was the bleachers go higher up & the colour desk has been moved even further back parallel to the face entrance tunnel.

Non-title Steel Asylum Match, Chris Sabin vs Alex Shelley vs Homicide vs Kiyoshi vs Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed vs Suicide vs Amazing Red - This was looking like it'd be a really good match when Homicide went apes**t & started using an extendable baton on everyone so the refs ruled it a no contest, Not a very good way to kick off the 1st Impact of 2010. This result got a MASSIVE "bulls**t" chant from the crowd. I guess Russo just had to show everyone he's still in charge.

The appearance of Jeff Hardy was more than welcome & if he's back for good its great to see him back in TNA if he can stay off the junk this time. Hardy made a nice chair shot then nailed an excellent Twist Of Fate on Homicide on the ramp. We also saw Shannon Moore backstage as well, we all remember what happened with him in TNA last time don't we? No? He toured the UK with them then went back to the US & right back to WWE.

Knockout Title Match, ODB vs Tara - Again the announcer was made to emphasize the 20 minute time limit just to let everyone know Russo still has the reigns here, ODB jumped Tara as she took her top off but Tara held her off & nailed a lovely Running Clothesline. Tara made some nice Kicks & Punches until ODB caught her leg but Tara answered with an Enzuigiri then a Scoop Slam but only got a near fall off the Standing Moonsault, ODB was stretched out after Tara hit the Tarantula on the rope then made a nice Springboard Legdrop over the top rope for another near fall. You had to question what the f**k the guys in the camera truck were doing cutting to a shot of the cage when ODB made the Schoolboy Roll-up with a handfull off Taras trunks as an assist to take the win to recapture her title but this wasn't a bad match, just not long enough. Tara nailing a postmatch Widows Peak was kinda predictable.

Backstage shot of Nature Boy Ric Flair arriving in a white limo. WOO! Video package of Mick Foley being denied entry to the Impact Zone. Bobby & Kristal Lashley come out & call out Hogan asking for Lashleys release from TNA. Apparently Bobby can't speak for himself as Kristal had to make the speech for him, its the 2nd time she's done that by the way. C***py segment of The Beautiful People playing Strip Poker. Shots of Scott Hall & Sean Waltman being denied entry to the studios but they do eventually get inside.

Finally after 37 minutes of show Hulk Hogan comes out (to his classic NWO Hollywood music dressed all in black) but he completely blanked Hall & Waltman as he came down the ramp, Brooke Hogan was in the crowd too. Both Waltman & Hall jumped the guardrail but Hogan let them in the ring to talk. Hogan tells them no more gravy train (thank f**k!), Hogan talking about "doing the right thing for the business" is clearly selling out to marks though so he's clearly been reading the internet on our opinions of him. Kevin Nash comes out as also gets told no more old school gravy train for him either.

Waltman & Hall take off their jackets & start facing off to Hogan like their going to fight then Eric Bischoff comes out telling Nash, Hall & Waltman "everybody has to earn their position in this company" the constant shots of Dixie Carter in the crowd showed a very nervous looking face. Bischoff brought his own script with him, presumptious fucker. And it was nice to see Sting in the rafters after Hogan & Bischoff were done.

Knockout Tag Championship, Awesome Kong & Hamada vs Taylor Wilde & Sarita - Sarita & Hamada made a nice start to this but Wilde made a big no-no by making signals to Hamada off the top turn buckle to check she was ready to do a spot, I'm not sure who thought it was a good idea to semi-interupt this match to show that The Motor City Machine Guns had been jumped (I'm guessing by Hall, Waltman & Nash?) but the twin Suicide Dives by Wilde & Sarita onto Hamada & Kong on the floor might have been a little badly advised as Hamada had been limping & clutching at her upper thigh mere moments earlier.

Coming back from a badly timed break Hamada & Kong had taken the upper hand (and TNA REALLY need to stop doing that split screen on insanely tiny screens), Hamada was definately injured as she was limping again when she tagged Kong in, Wilde made a nice Jawbreaker on Kong tagging in Sarita to nail a beautiful Springboard Dropkick on Kong. Hamada practically begged Wilde to kick her out of the ring to get a moments respite leaving Kong to work the champions on her own with Kong powering out of Saritas Hurricanrana only to miss a nearfall on Sarita herself when Wilde made the save leaving the fans chanting "This is awesome" (something you certainly didn't hear over on RAW during their show!).

Wilde took a vicious posting from Hamada outside the ring who had to push Kong forward to reposition her (Ref Slick Johnson also had to feed Kong instructions to move into the correct position too) so Hamada could nail the Missile Dropkick off the top turnbuckle on Sarita which allowed Kong to make the pin so Hamada & Awesome Kong are new Knockout Tag Champions.

More of The Beautiful Peoples Strip Poker Game, former WWE star Val Venis joins them but he's not named though. It appears I have to make an apology & a correction, Big Rocco & Sally Boy are still working for TNA as we saw them denying Mick Foley entry to the studio closely followed by Knobbs & Saggs The Nasy Boys also being denied access.

Raven & Dr. Stevie (with Daffney) vs Hernandez & Matt Morgan - Extremely short & extremely s**t, Morgan took the win off The Carbon Footprint on Stevie & if this is the quality of matches Hogan & Bischoff are going to be offering us in the future then I see a massive exodus of people watching TNA to watching anything else including Knitting shows. This means Morgan & Hernandez will get a title shot on the next PPV.

Backstage interview with D'Angelo Dinero & Christy Hemme in what is her new full time job, they get interupted by Orlando Jordan but I needed Taz to tell me who the f**k he was because I sure didn't recognise the c**t.

Desmond Wolfe vs D'Angelo Dinero - Very poor match where both guys were equally as dull, Wolfe went for Towers Of London but Dinero powered out to take the win off a Small Package.

Backstage segment where we see Jeff Jarrett entering the building then they show that Rhino has also been attacked backstage. JB interviewing AJ Styles only to be interupted by Bischoff telling Styles his title is on the line for the main event tonight. Jeff Jarrett comes out to the ring to a rousing reception where he looked very emotional but Dixie Carter looked like she couldn't care less. Hogan goes heel against Jarrett (it was Russo that ran the company into the ground Hogan) getting himself a "bulls**t" chant from the crowd. Foley finally makes it into the Impact Zone.

Abyss vs Samoa Joe - Abyss was scheduled to meet Rhino but he obviously got beaten up backstage earlier so Hogan & Bischoff made this match on the fly. Joe started off well & just went like crazy nailing a kick to the head of Abyss out of nowhere, both guys had a very good match & it seems Joe is back to his best form now the "insane Joe" gimmick is done with. After nailing Abyss in the head with a chair Joe took the win off the Rear Naked Choke Hold.

Another backstage segment, Kristal Lashley talking to Bischoff then a shot of Beer Money who had also been attacked. Bubba The Love Sponge sneaks The Nasty Boys into the studios who then go on to destroy Team 3D's dressing room, its also sounds like Jeff Hardy & Shannon Moore now have TNA contracts.

TNA Heavyweight Title Match, Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles - I'm not sure why the announcer bothered telling us this had a 60 minute time limit as the show only had 21 minutes left on the air by that point anyway. This match had only been going for a few minutes before Russo decided it needed a run-in & sent out Styles' mystery attacker (who everyone knows is Tomko anyway) but Angle sent him out to the floor over the top rope with a clothesline and this match carried on as if nothing had happened. This match was far too slow & overly long for the sake of it, Angle had Styles in an Ankle Lock when Ric Flair came out to watch from the ramp (I'll assume Bischoff or Hogan thought that was a good idea but it totally ruined the flow of the match) & after a 4th or 5th Styles Clash AJ Styles took the win off the 450 Splash.

Angle made a very nice show of respect to Styles post match then Hogan came out seriously putting both Angle & Styles over big time. Backstage segment of Foley looking for Hogan only to find they've put Hogans name on Foleys old office & Bischoffs in Foleys old chair, show closes with Foley getting the shit beaten out of him by Nash, Hall & Waltman.

So it seems certain rumours were true (appearances by Flair, Hall & The Nasty Boys) whilst others were complete bulls**t (Appearances by RVD Or Sid Vicious & the return of Angelina Love).. I don't think Impact offered a great deal more than RAW did but we will see how the audience figures reflect in the morning. My only question is will there be an Impact this Thursday on not or are they sticking with Mondays?

WWE Monday Night Raw 4th Jan 10 reviewed

With your special guest host Bret "The Hitman" Hart returning to RAW after 12 years & he calls out HBK to discuss the Screwjob & they bury the hatchet with a handshake then a hug. Bret also calls out Vince but he doesn't come out. Backstage he tells someone he'll call Bret out later. The colour guys announce Divas Champ Melina is injured & has been forced to vacate her title so they'll have an 8 woman event to decide the title. Erm hang on just 1 minute, didn't TNA just do this very same thing mere days ago? Talk about stealing ideas from the competition but thats taking the piss!

1st round Divas Tournament, Maryse vs Brie Bella - Not a very good match at all where Maryse was double teamed left, right & centre, the Bellas did switch near the end but Maryse took the win off the French Kiss (a rather nice looking Inverted DDT).

Fatal 4 Way Match, MVP vs Jack Swagger vs Carlito vs Mark Henry - Neither Carlito or Henry were introduced as the show took a break once Swagger came out & the match was already under way when they came back from commercials. The winner here will become #1 contender for the US Championship, why the fuck should we care who is #1 contender for that joke of a title? Its only the old WCW US TV title anyway. Its never had ANY prestige EVER! Piss poor excuse for a match where MVP won off the Piemaker when Swagger finally decided he'd sell it.

Unified Tag Title Match, Degeneration X vs The Big Show & Chris Jericho - Was Jericho taking the mickey out of Hulk Hogan during this match doing the hand to the ears thing? Extremely poor match, HHH took the win off Jericho after HBK hit Sweet Chin Music meaning Jericho is on his way back to Smackdown.

Non-title match, Sheamus vs Evan Bourne - Not a great match, Sheamus took the win off what Scott Hall used to call the Razors Edge, I assume they haven't given his finisher a name yet? How about The Celtic Cross? (And if you use that WWE I expect to be paid for it!).

The colour guys pay their respects after the recent passing of Dr Death Steve Williams from throat cancer.

Kofi Kingston vs Randy Orton - Kofi had a great match, Orton was so so but Orton took the win off the RKO.

Vince McMahon comes out & refuses to call out Bret Hart, Mike Tyson as next weeks guest host gets no pop at all. Bret comes out anyway & Vince even mentions the punch in the locker room after the Screw Job. Vince says he wants to nominate Stu Hart for the WWE Hall Of Fame this year. The swerve during the celebration (where Vince kicked Bret in the gut) was totally predictable BTW. WWE completely telegraphed that one.