Yep, I found Fridays Smackdown & am reviewing it with the usual caveats applied. I call it how I see it, the views contained are my own and no-one elses. Any feedback on the review will be answered.
2 on 1 Handicap Match - Batista vs Deuce & Domino. Does Honky Tonk Man know these 2 idiots are killing his old gimmick? Badly billed, as this was never 2 on 1. Deuce & Domino were tagging in and out & if it were a proper 2 on 1 match they'd have both been in the ring together from the bell. This actually wasn't half bad. Deuce & Domino sold well enough, Batista looked good & worked well to take the pin in a pretty short match.
Smackdown Diva competition - Eve, Cherry, Victoria & Michelle in an arm wrestling contest. Someone needs to tell Vince this isn't entertaining. Victoria was eliminated. Waste of tv time. Even with the rubbish afterwards.
3 on 1 Handicap match - Big Show vs Chase Stevens, Andy Douglas & Luke Hawx. Well these 3 were always going to job, it was a case of how fast. Big Show got the obvious win, another waste of TV time.
Edge vs Funaki. Was this a joke? When was Funaki EVER going to give Edge any kind of match, especially with Edge's 2 cronies at ringside. Edge won off a Tombstone Piledriver. AWFUL match.
MVP bleats at us on the mic, Chris Jericho kicks his ass.
Kane vs Chuck Palumbo. I wasn't too sure about this match, Chuck seems to have been repackaged in Undertaker's old "American Badass" gimmick which is never going to work for him. This one was way too long by at least 5 minutes and incredibly dull. Either man could have won and it REALLY didn't need the "amble in" by Khali or the walk in by Mark Henry (incidently he is not now & never has been "The Worlds Strongest Man" and WWE are asking to be sued if they keep trying to claim that s**t). Call this match a No Contest, WWE's having lots of these recently. Makes for an even more boring card than it already is.
Tag Championship Match - Jesse & Festus vs The Miz & John Morrison. With the belt on the line & Wrestlemania just around the corner the belt was going nowhere, especially after Festus had made 2 pins in 2 weeks over Miz & Morrison in other matches. Is George "The Animal" Steele still alive? Because he must be as sick as hell of seeing Festus f**k up his old "crazy bastard" gimmick. Miz took the easily predicted win. At least we got to see how Miz & Morrison work and they aren't half bad, they just need a decent team to work against. Jesse is a good worker too and would be much better on his own.
Chavo Guerrero Vs The Undertaker - Chavo had Edge & his 2 b***hes in his corner. Does ECW no longer have it's own show seeing as Chavo's having to work on Smackdown? As far as this match went the best we could hope for was something short with no interference but realistically there was no hope of that ever happening. Chavo & Taker worked each other well enough but the match was too long really with not enough happening. Taker got the obvious win & him being jumped after the bell was so predictable as to be unreal.
Awful show with 1 half decent match on the whole card (the 1st one).
WWE think this kind show is going to sell 'Mania? Their very sadly mistaken if they do.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
My TNA Monthly Catch-up, Mar - Apr 08
Has it really been a month since this last one? Actually it feels slightly longer because it was. As usual the normal caveats apply to the review. These are my opinions, I may swear or use strong language. If my views or method of speech offend or you don't like what I've got to say then don't read this. I will answer any feedback to the catch-up.
Impact 13th Mar 08 - Show opens with Jim Cornette telling us about matches for Lockdown.
Lockdown X Division X-scape qualifying match, Petey Williams with Rhaka Khan (Steiners valet) vs Curry Man. Chris Daniels is certainly having fun as Curry Man & is so over right now it's unreal. This was a really good & even match, it was too much to expect a clean finish with Khan distracting the ref but Curry Man got the eventual win.
Tag Match, Rellik & Black Reign vs The Motor City Machine Guns. This was the heels running things from the bell until Shelley made a nice double DDT. Sabin's mega head scissors looked great, Rellik won off a very hard looking clothesline.
Non-title match, Kaz vs Kurt Angle. This match was mainly Kaz until Angle took the win off the ankle lock. Rubbish match really.
Mixed 6 person Tag Match, Lance Hoyt, Jimmy Rave & Christy Hemme vs LAX & Salinas. This was mostly the guys working each other (quite well for both teams looking a lot better than usual to be honest!) but Jimmy Rave totally didn't want to be involved in the Gringo Killer (Homicide had to try and hook it twice before Rave bailed out to tag Hemme). Salinas must be pretty tough to take that shot from the plastic guitar across the back & Hemme got the win.
Velvet Sky vs Gail Kim. This was a good match for Velvet Sky, Kim was putting her over & selling everything though Sky no-sold a dropkick rather badly. She totally didn't want to sell Kim's monkeyflip out of the corner either (Almost like she didn't trust Kim not to hurt her I felt). Even with the mild ref distraction from Angelina Love outside the ring Kim still took the win. Sky needs to trust the people she's working with more & sell better. The double-team from Love & Sky was better than the match & the action between Kim & Awesome Kong after the match was good too.
Tag Match, Christian Cage & Kevin Nash vs AJ Styles & Tomko. Cage's early powerbomb on AJ was nice as was his tornado DDT on Tomko (well sold too!). This was a half decent match until Team 3d made their run-in with the match ending in a DQ. No-one was mentioning that 3d had been fired at the last PPV though? Has something happened there that I probably fastforwarded through, reversing their firing?
Impact 20th Mar 08 - Show starts with Booker T & Sharmell with Robert Roode & Peyton Banks interrupting.
Tag Match, Scott Steiner & Petey Williams vs Kaz & Eric Young. It was a decent enough match, Kaz & Williams giving the best action by far. Young being distracted by Rellik & Black Reign then taking a nice bump from Steiner who took the win. It would have been better if it were a bit shorter though.
Tomko vs Rhyno. Pretty c**p, Tomko got the won after AJ Styles interfered. The post match stuff was s**t too.
Lockdown X Division X-scape qualifying match, Sonjay Dutt vs Homicide. With Dutt's thing with SoCal Val still ongoing it was pretty certain he'd win this to go onto the PPV @ Lockdown. Dutt's "fall" looked WAY too put on & was an obvious fakeout to get the predictable win.
AJ Styles vs Booker T. This was one of AJ's better matches in recent months, classic moves & Booker selling everything & looking pretty damn sharp with his own moves too. Booker T took the win off a roll-up after Sharmell ran Peyton Banks out of the ringside area with a belt.
Knockout Tag Match, Angelina Love & Velvet Sky vs ODB & Gail Kim. This match is a result of the altercations after Kim's match with Sky last week. Kim & ODB made a good team, Love was the better part of her team selling some great moves & bumps. Sky was having a lot more communication with Kim this week & looked a lot sharper & less sloppy than she did last week so she certainly learned from her mistakes & improved hugely. ODB took the win off a great running powerslam. It was a shame it took them a week to let Roxxi Laveaux take revenge from last week, they could have easily included her in last weeks post match fighting & this week as well.
Kurt Angle sparring session. Ephram Sims, John Davis, Frank Siaso & Corey Chavis jobbing to Angle. (I am sorry if I have spelt names wrong, none were displayed) Tag Match, Team 3d (who are still sacked but working?) vs Rhyno & Christian Cage. It's a bit unfair on Rhyno as he's already had 1 match AND a beatdown tonight. This actually wasn't a bad match but totally didn't need the interference by Tomko & Styles. (It doesn't add anything to the upcoming PPV & a clean finish with Cage & Rhyno winning would have made it even more exciting for Lockdown). Call it a DQ against 3d with beatdowns on half the faces on the roster afterwards.
Impact 27th Mar 08 - Show opens with Booker T & Tracey Brooks beating down Robert Roode & Peyton Banks.
Lockdown X Division X-scape qualifying match, Johnny Devine vs Alex Shelley. With Team 3d at ringside this always appeared like it was going to be very 1 sided against Shelley. Even with 3d leaving after Sting's music scared them off Devine won after using the camera stand as a weapon.
6 Person Mixed Tag Match, Scott Steiner, Petey Williams & Rhaka Khan vs LAX & Salinas. Short & pretty rubbish with Homicide taking the win for his team.
Kurt Angle Spars (yet again). Well we'd already seen this c**p last week but the change this week is he's working 2 of his team mates, AJ Styles & Tomko. 1st minute with Tomko, no win but Tomko was blooded. 1st minute with AJ who never even engaged him. Back to Tomko again, who was a lot more aggressive. Styles back in, at least this time AJ made contact a few times. No pins or submissions made. Sting came back to save Cage, Nash & Rhyno.
1st Blood Match (chosen by fans), Robert Roode vs Booker T. Not a great match, both guys sold & bumped hard. Booker won.
Knockout Womens Championship Title Match, Awesome Kong vs ODB (chosen by fans). A good even match with both women getting a fair chance to show their stuff, Kong getting a rather predictable win though.
8 Man Tag Grudge Match, Team 3d (who are still sacked), AJ Styles & Tomko vs Christian Cage, Rhyno, Kevin Nash & Sting. Basically this is TNA giving you a preview of Lockdown for nothing. This was a nice decently paced match, not too fast but not exactly slow either. Everyone getting involved, even Nash actually looked decent working better than I usually expect from him. Tomko worked pretty hard considering what he'd already gone through earlier with Kurt Angle. Ref Hebner was having a bloody AWFUL match, badly out of position several times (most notably almost getting hit during the Stinger Splash & being totally out of position to count Sting's pin on Tomko). Sting took the win for his team, the stuff after the bell was s**t.
Impact 3rd Apr 08 - Show opens with Team Tomko boring us on the mic.
8 Man Tag Match, The Monsters Of Rock (Lance Hoyt, Jimmy Rave, Black Reign & Rellik) vs The Motor City Machine Guns & LAX. I'm not sure who thought Rock & Rave would team well with Rellik & Black Reign (actually I do, he's a f**kwit called Russo) but I say it was a bad idea as those guys just aren't the type to team with anybody. Mind you I really didn't believe LAX would tag well with Shelley & Sabin as they've feuded so much before in the past. I assumed all the screaming was coming from that noisy b***h Hemme? Hernandez got the pin.
Tag Match, Rhyno & Christian Cage vs AJ Styles & Tomko. Why is it Cage works harder as a face? He puts in more effort & generally has better matches than when he's a heel. This was shaping up to be a good match until Rhyno lost it & gored the ref. The win went to Tomko & Styles off the DQ, 3d ran in to prevent the beatdown but Nash saved his team.
Lockdown X Division X-scape qualifying match, Elix Skipper vs Shark Boy. Skipper was going to job to Shark Boy to put him over some more? He's nicer than I thought being willing to job here. I was assuming the win would go to Shark Boy with his push & with Curry Man already through. Clearly the noisy screamer was someone in the crowd as it was going on in the last match & this one too, security should really be throwing someone like that out of the building for spoiling the event for everyone else. Shark Boy got the predicted win.
1 Fall Knockout Grudge Match, Peyton Banks vs Traci Brooks. Brooks certainly came dressed to wrestle & is always the better & more experienced worker of these 2 (mind you, that's not saying much). Brooks got the eventual win, what's the deal with Angelina Love & Velvet Sky though? They've done over Roxxi, Gail Kim & now Brooks.
Steiner claims his title shot. It's a shame he's got such a f**king s***ty memory, he won an X-Division title shot & stole the other case. F**k you Steiner, hopefully Cornette has a better memory.
Grudge Match, James Storm vs Sting. I'm not sure why Storm is worthy of a main event in any show even if it is against Sting. Sting seemed happy to put Storm over for the large majority of this match but took the eventual win with some help from Matt Morgan who is now the 5th member of Team Cage for Lockdown.
Impact 10th Apr 08 - Team Tomko come out to bore us on the mic.
Lockdown X Division X-scape qualifying match, Jimmy Rave vs Consequences Creed. (They've been doing video inserts of this guy over the last few weeks. A bad idea until he's proved himself because this could easily be Triton all over again). Creed has worked in TNA before (with Ron Killings replacing Pacman Jones) but I can't remember if he was any good or not. He looked ok, selling well for Rave by taking some good looking bumps. Creed took a nice win off his DDT.
Scott Steiner & Petey Williams vs The Motor City Machine Guns. Sabin & Williams started the match off very well, working better together than I've ever seen them pulling new moves every week. Williams got the win but the Guns were the much better team here.
Knockout Match, Angelina Love (with Velvet Sky in tow) vs Roxxi Laveaux. Well this was Roxxi's chance to get a bit of payback for the beatdown she got a few weeks back. This was mainly Love on top & dishing it out to Roxxi with the extra help from Sky outside the ring. Roxxi took a great win off the voodoo drop after causing Love to bump Sky off the apron.
Black Reign vs Super Eric (Eric Young running his c***py superhero gimmick). Reign had the edge at the start jumping Eric, but Eric took the win only to get jumped by Rellik. It took Kaz to make the save but this gimmick is already old & will hopefully die faster than Triton's push did.
Tag Match, Team 3d vs Sting & Kevin Nash. Yet another match that was shaping up to be really good until Tomko & Styles ran in. Sting & Nash get a win off a DQ but a beatdown too only to be saved by Cage & Rhyno, Storm came out for his team & Morgan evened things up.
Lockdown PPV 2008 - X Division Title X-scape Match. Curry Man vs Johnny Devine vs Consequences Creed vs Sonjay Dutt vs Shark Boy vs Jay Lethal (still running the worst gimmick in TNA ever). Basically the match starts out as normal winning of pin or submission until only 2 guys are left then whoever escapes the cage and touches the ground 1st wins the title. Dutt & Lethal were basically acting as a team here against everyone else for the start of the match. Johnny Devine pinned Sonjay Dutt (well that throws that possible feud out of the window for another month then), Consequences Creed pinned Shark Boy (So there goes his push for another month), Curry Man's moonsault off the top of the cage was awesome! Curry Man pinned Consequences Creed off the Spice Rack (which he totally wasn't selling as he clearly didn't trust Daniels 1 iota!). Johnny Devine pinned Curry Man (why Devine didn't let Daniels pin Lethal is totally beyond me, he'd had gotten a huge advantage in escaping the cage that way - utter f**kwit!). Lethal took the win retaining his title by going through the cage door. (Was Daniels hurt because he was still flat on his back in the ring after this had finished?).
Queen Of The Cage Match - Christy Hemme vs Salinas vs Jacqueline vs Traci Brooks vs Angelina Love vs Velvet Sky vs Rhaka Khan vs Roxxi Laveaux. Basically this is a reverse Battle Royal, all the women start outside the cage and the 1st 2 inside then get to fight in a standard match to pinfall or submission. Winner of this will also be declared the #1 contender for the womens title & earn the title Queen Of The Cage. Love & Sky jumped Roxxi (no shock there really). Angelina Love was 1st into the cage with Roxxi Laveaux taking the other spot in the match. At least this was going to be the fairest match Roxxi could get against Love with the cage there & no real chance of outside interference from Velvet Sky. This match was very equal, neither women on top for too long at any 1 time but Roxxi took the win off the Voodoo Drop to become #1 contender & Queen Of The Cage.
Grudge Match, BG James vs Kip James. This is a match of 1st's for BG, not only no classic old school mic intro & up against his long standing partner & friend Kip too. Kip took control from the bell & it was mostly him on top until BG used the low blow. BG took the win off a roll-up after Kip missed the super kick. The post match clothesline swerve from Kip was pretty predictable to be honest as well.
Cuffed In The Cage Match. Basically this is 12 guys (6 tag teams) and only 11 sets of handcuffs, the object being to be the team who don't get handcuffed to win. Lance Hoyt & Jimmy Rave vs Kaz & Eric Young (who got jumped backstage by Rellik & Black Reign so it left Kaz alone predictably setting it up later for Super Eric to come out) vs Rellik & Black Reign vs The Motor City Machine Guns vs LAX vs Petey Williams & Scott Steiner. After starting the match with a big charge Scott Steiner was 1st to be cuffed (by Rellik because everybody ganged up on him).
Young came out shortly afterwards only to go backstage again when faced with Rellik & Black Reign. Alex Shelley was 2nd to be cuffed (by Petey Williams), Chris Sabin was 3rd to be cuffed (by Kaz) eliminating The Motor City Machine Guns. Petey Williams was 4th to be cuffed (by Black Reign) eliminating their team, Homicide was 5th to be cuffed (by Rellik). Hernandez was 6th to be cuffed (by Black Reign) eliminating LAX, Kaz was 7th to be cuffed (by Black Reign).
The crowd were a bit quick chanting "Super Eric" as his music didn't kick in until a few seconds later but his crossbody block off the top of the cage was possibly the best move I've ever seen Eric do in his whole career. Jimmy Rave was 8th to be cuffed (by Super Eric), Lance Hoyt was 9th to be cuffed (by Super Eric). Rellik & Black Reign double teamed Super Eric for a bit but with a bit of misdirection Rellik was 10th to be cuffed (by Black Reign thinking he was cuffing Super Eric). Black Reign was 11th & last to be cuffed (by Super Eric) after taking the super driver to leave Super Eric getting the win for him & Kaz.
TNA Knockout Tag Team Grudge Match, Awesome Kong & Raisha Saeed vs Gail Kim & ODB. This would be the 1st time we've seen Saeed out of the burkha & wrestling since coming to TNA. Actually we didn't see her out of the burkha (which is a shame as I'd love to see what she actually looks like!). Sadly there was no title on the line here but you've got a decent line-up & 1 unknown factor in Saeed. Saeed turns out to be a damn good worker with a good array of moves & able to bump well too. Kim's wicked hurricanrana off the top of the cage on Saeed was f**king incredible. Kong took out her own partner with the spinning fist into a nice dropkick off the top turn-buckle from Kim with ODB taking the win off a frogsplash off the top rope on Saeed to win for her team. Great match!
Mixed Tag Team Grudge Match, Peyton Banks & Robert Roode vs Booker T & Sharmell. Roode was on top from the start, Booker was making him look good (for a change) with Booker selling a very good looking Spinebuster from Roode. I didn't expect Sharmell to do much but it was quite a surprise for her to take the win off Peyton Banks
.
10 Man Lethal Lockdown Match - Team Cage vs Team Tomko. Basically the 1st 2 guys wrestle for 5 mins then 1 other person comes in every 2 mins until everyone's in the ring, only then can anyone be pinned or submit. I think Dusty Rhodes invented this match for NWA/WCW?
Christian Cage started off against AJ Styles. Styles was on top from the bell after sneaking into the cage while Cage was watching Tomko come down the ramp thinking he was their 1st guy. 2nd for Team Tomko was Brother Ray. 2nd for Team Cage was Rhyno. 3rd for Team Tomko was James Storm. 3rd for Team Cage was Kevin Nash just after Cage had been knocked off the outside of the cage by Brother Ray. Cage's crossbody block off the top of the cage was pretty damn awesome (nailing James Storm & Bubba Ray). 4th for Team Tomko was Brother Devon. 4th for Team Cage was Matt Morgan. The 5th & final member of Team Tomko was Tomko saving himself until last. The 5th & final member of Team Cage was Sting. The fight on top of the cage between Storm & Christian was excellent, as was AJ Styles & Christian falling off a ladder through a table on top of the cage! Rhyno eventually won off the gore on James Storm. Great match!
TNA Heavyweight Title Match, Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe. If Joe loses he's leaving wrestling forever. Angle wasn't dressed to wrestle, he was ready for a more MMA style fight with taped hands, feet & ankles. Joe had been training with an MMA guy and they had another doing colour with West & Tenay. This was mostly mat based wrestling, hold & counter hold.
Submission & Counter submission. Nothing super exciting or high flying, nothing fast or frantic either. Joe eventually took the win off the musclebuster to become the new TNA Heavyweight Champion & about time too!
This past months Impacts & PPV more than made up for the awful Russo inspired shows of last month which almost had me stopping watching TNA altogether. Well done on finding the spark again TNA.
Impact 13th Mar 08 - Show opens with Jim Cornette telling us about matches for Lockdown.
Lockdown X Division X-scape qualifying match, Petey Williams with Rhaka Khan (Steiners valet) vs Curry Man. Chris Daniels is certainly having fun as Curry Man & is so over right now it's unreal. This was a really good & even match, it was too much to expect a clean finish with Khan distracting the ref but Curry Man got the eventual win.
Tag Match, Rellik & Black Reign vs The Motor City Machine Guns. This was the heels running things from the bell until Shelley made a nice double DDT. Sabin's mega head scissors looked great, Rellik won off a very hard looking clothesline.
Non-title match, Kaz vs Kurt Angle. This match was mainly Kaz until Angle took the win off the ankle lock. Rubbish match really.
Mixed 6 person Tag Match, Lance Hoyt, Jimmy Rave & Christy Hemme vs LAX & Salinas. This was mostly the guys working each other (quite well for both teams looking a lot better than usual to be honest!) but Jimmy Rave totally didn't want to be involved in the Gringo Killer (Homicide had to try and hook it twice before Rave bailed out to tag Hemme). Salinas must be pretty tough to take that shot from the plastic guitar across the back & Hemme got the win.
Velvet Sky vs Gail Kim. This was a good match for Velvet Sky, Kim was putting her over & selling everything though Sky no-sold a dropkick rather badly. She totally didn't want to sell Kim's monkeyflip out of the corner either (Almost like she didn't trust Kim not to hurt her I felt). Even with the mild ref distraction from Angelina Love outside the ring Kim still took the win. Sky needs to trust the people she's working with more & sell better. The double-team from Love & Sky was better than the match & the action between Kim & Awesome Kong after the match was good too.
Tag Match, Christian Cage & Kevin Nash vs AJ Styles & Tomko. Cage's early powerbomb on AJ was nice as was his tornado DDT on Tomko (well sold too!). This was a half decent match until Team 3d made their run-in with the match ending in a DQ. No-one was mentioning that 3d had been fired at the last PPV though? Has something happened there that I probably fastforwarded through, reversing their firing?
Impact 20th Mar 08 - Show starts with Booker T & Sharmell with Robert Roode & Peyton Banks interrupting.
Tag Match, Scott Steiner & Petey Williams vs Kaz & Eric Young. It was a decent enough match, Kaz & Williams giving the best action by far. Young being distracted by Rellik & Black Reign then taking a nice bump from Steiner who took the win. It would have been better if it were a bit shorter though.
Tomko vs Rhyno. Pretty c**p, Tomko got the won after AJ Styles interfered. The post match stuff was s**t too.
Lockdown X Division X-scape qualifying match, Sonjay Dutt vs Homicide. With Dutt's thing with SoCal Val still ongoing it was pretty certain he'd win this to go onto the PPV @ Lockdown. Dutt's "fall" looked WAY too put on & was an obvious fakeout to get the predictable win.
AJ Styles vs Booker T. This was one of AJ's better matches in recent months, classic moves & Booker selling everything & looking pretty damn sharp with his own moves too. Booker T took the win off a roll-up after Sharmell ran Peyton Banks out of the ringside area with a belt.
Knockout Tag Match, Angelina Love & Velvet Sky vs ODB & Gail Kim. This match is a result of the altercations after Kim's match with Sky last week. Kim & ODB made a good team, Love was the better part of her team selling some great moves & bumps. Sky was having a lot more communication with Kim this week & looked a lot sharper & less sloppy than she did last week so she certainly learned from her mistakes & improved hugely. ODB took the win off a great running powerslam. It was a shame it took them a week to let Roxxi Laveaux take revenge from last week, they could have easily included her in last weeks post match fighting & this week as well.
Kurt Angle sparring session. Ephram Sims, John Davis, Frank Siaso & Corey Chavis jobbing to Angle. (I am sorry if I have spelt names wrong, none were displayed) Tag Match, Team 3d (who are still sacked but working?) vs Rhyno & Christian Cage. It's a bit unfair on Rhyno as he's already had 1 match AND a beatdown tonight. This actually wasn't a bad match but totally didn't need the interference by Tomko & Styles. (It doesn't add anything to the upcoming PPV & a clean finish with Cage & Rhyno winning would have made it even more exciting for Lockdown). Call it a DQ against 3d with beatdowns on half the faces on the roster afterwards.
Impact 27th Mar 08 - Show opens with Booker T & Tracey Brooks beating down Robert Roode & Peyton Banks.
Lockdown X Division X-scape qualifying match, Johnny Devine vs Alex Shelley. With Team 3d at ringside this always appeared like it was going to be very 1 sided against Shelley. Even with 3d leaving after Sting's music scared them off Devine won after using the camera stand as a weapon.
6 Person Mixed Tag Match, Scott Steiner, Petey Williams & Rhaka Khan vs LAX & Salinas. Short & pretty rubbish with Homicide taking the win for his team.
Kurt Angle Spars (yet again). Well we'd already seen this c**p last week but the change this week is he's working 2 of his team mates, AJ Styles & Tomko. 1st minute with Tomko, no win but Tomko was blooded. 1st minute with AJ who never even engaged him. Back to Tomko again, who was a lot more aggressive. Styles back in, at least this time AJ made contact a few times. No pins or submissions made. Sting came back to save Cage, Nash & Rhyno.
1st Blood Match (chosen by fans), Robert Roode vs Booker T. Not a great match, both guys sold & bumped hard. Booker won.
Knockout Womens Championship Title Match, Awesome Kong vs ODB (chosen by fans). A good even match with both women getting a fair chance to show their stuff, Kong getting a rather predictable win though.
8 Man Tag Grudge Match, Team 3d (who are still sacked), AJ Styles & Tomko vs Christian Cage, Rhyno, Kevin Nash & Sting. Basically this is TNA giving you a preview of Lockdown for nothing. This was a nice decently paced match, not too fast but not exactly slow either. Everyone getting involved, even Nash actually looked decent working better than I usually expect from him. Tomko worked pretty hard considering what he'd already gone through earlier with Kurt Angle. Ref Hebner was having a bloody AWFUL match, badly out of position several times (most notably almost getting hit during the Stinger Splash & being totally out of position to count Sting's pin on Tomko). Sting took the win for his team, the stuff after the bell was s**t.
Impact 3rd Apr 08 - Show opens with Team Tomko boring us on the mic.
8 Man Tag Match, The Monsters Of Rock (Lance Hoyt, Jimmy Rave, Black Reign & Rellik) vs The Motor City Machine Guns & LAX. I'm not sure who thought Rock & Rave would team well with Rellik & Black Reign (actually I do, he's a f**kwit called Russo) but I say it was a bad idea as those guys just aren't the type to team with anybody. Mind you I really didn't believe LAX would tag well with Shelley & Sabin as they've feuded so much before in the past. I assumed all the screaming was coming from that noisy b***h Hemme? Hernandez got the pin.
Tag Match, Rhyno & Christian Cage vs AJ Styles & Tomko. Why is it Cage works harder as a face? He puts in more effort & generally has better matches than when he's a heel. This was shaping up to be a good match until Rhyno lost it & gored the ref. The win went to Tomko & Styles off the DQ, 3d ran in to prevent the beatdown but Nash saved his team.
Lockdown X Division X-scape qualifying match, Elix Skipper vs Shark Boy. Skipper was going to job to Shark Boy to put him over some more? He's nicer than I thought being willing to job here. I was assuming the win would go to Shark Boy with his push & with Curry Man already through. Clearly the noisy screamer was someone in the crowd as it was going on in the last match & this one too, security should really be throwing someone like that out of the building for spoiling the event for everyone else. Shark Boy got the predicted win.
1 Fall Knockout Grudge Match, Peyton Banks vs Traci Brooks. Brooks certainly came dressed to wrestle & is always the better & more experienced worker of these 2 (mind you, that's not saying much). Brooks got the eventual win, what's the deal with Angelina Love & Velvet Sky though? They've done over Roxxi, Gail Kim & now Brooks.
Steiner claims his title shot. It's a shame he's got such a f**king s***ty memory, he won an X-Division title shot & stole the other case. F**k you Steiner, hopefully Cornette has a better memory.
Grudge Match, James Storm vs Sting. I'm not sure why Storm is worthy of a main event in any show even if it is against Sting. Sting seemed happy to put Storm over for the large majority of this match but took the eventual win with some help from Matt Morgan who is now the 5th member of Team Cage for Lockdown.
Impact 10th Apr 08 - Team Tomko come out to bore us on the mic.
Lockdown X Division X-scape qualifying match, Jimmy Rave vs Consequences Creed. (They've been doing video inserts of this guy over the last few weeks. A bad idea until he's proved himself because this could easily be Triton all over again). Creed has worked in TNA before (with Ron Killings replacing Pacman Jones) but I can't remember if he was any good or not. He looked ok, selling well for Rave by taking some good looking bumps. Creed took a nice win off his DDT.
Scott Steiner & Petey Williams vs The Motor City Machine Guns. Sabin & Williams started the match off very well, working better together than I've ever seen them pulling new moves every week. Williams got the win but the Guns were the much better team here.
Knockout Match, Angelina Love (with Velvet Sky in tow) vs Roxxi Laveaux. Well this was Roxxi's chance to get a bit of payback for the beatdown she got a few weeks back. This was mainly Love on top & dishing it out to Roxxi with the extra help from Sky outside the ring. Roxxi took a great win off the voodoo drop after causing Love to bump Sky off the apron.
Black Reign vs Super Eric (Eric Young running his c***py superhero gimmick). Reign had the edge at the start jumping Eric, but Eric took the win only to get jumped by Rellik. It took Kaz to make the save but this gimmick is already old & will hopefully die faster than Triton's push did.
Tag Match, Team 3d vs Sting & Kevin Nash. Yet another match that was shaping up to be really good until Tomko & Styles ran in. Sting & Nash get a win off a DQ but a beatdown too only to be saved by Cage & Rhyno, Storm came out for his team & Morgan evened things up.
Lockdown PPV 2008 - X Division Title X-scape Match. Curry Man vs Johnny Devine vs Consequences Creed vs Sonjay Dutt vs Shark Boy vs Jay Lethal (still running the worst gimmick in TNA ever). Basically the match starts out as normal winning of pin or submission until only 2 guys are left then whoever escapes the cage and touches the ground 1st wins the title. Dutt & Lethal were basically acting as a team here against everyone else for the start of the match. Johnny Devine pinned Sonjay Dutt (well that throws that possible feud out of the window for another month then), Consequences Creed pinned Shark Boy (So there goes his push for another month), Curry Man's moonsault off the top of the cage was awesome! Curry Man pinned Consequences Creed off the Spice Rack (which he totally wasn't selling as he clearly didn't trust Daniels 1 iota!). Johnny Devine pinned Curry Man (why Devine didn't let Daniels pin Lethal is totally beyond me, he'd had gotten a huge advantage in escaping the cage that way - utter f**kwit!). Lethal took the win retaining his title by going through the cage door. (Was Daniels hurt because he was still flat on his back in the ring after this had finished?).
Queen Of The Cage Match - Christy Hemme vs Salinas vs Jacqueline vs Traci Brooks vs Angelina Love vs Velvet Sky vs Rhaka Khan vs Roxxi Laveaux. Basically this is a reverse Battle Royal, all the women start outside the cage and the 1st 2 inside then get to fight in a standard match to pinfall or submission. Winner of this will also be declared the #1 contender for the womens title & earn the title Queen Of The Cage. Love & Sky jumped Roxxi (no shock there really). Angelina Love was 1st into the cage with Roxxi Laveaux taking the other spot in the match. At least this was going to be the fairest match Roxxi could get against Love with the cage there & no real chance of outside interference from Velvet Sky. This match was very equal, neither women on top for too long at any 1 time but Roxxi took the win off the Voodoo Drop to become #1 contender & Queen Of The Cage.
Grudge Match, BG James vs Kip James. This is a match of 1st's for BG, not only no classic old school mic intro & up against his long standing partner & friend Kip too. Kip took control from the bell & it was mostly him on top until BG used the low blow. BG took the win off a roll-up after Kip missed the super kick. The post match clothesline swerve from Kip was pretty predictable to be honest as well.
Cuffed In The Cage Match. Basically this is 12 guys (6 tag teams) and only 11 sets of handcuffs, the object being to be the team who don't get handcuffed to win. Lance Hoyt & Jimmy Rave vs Kaz & Eric Young (who got jumped backstage by Rellik & Black Reign so it left Kaz alone predictably setting it up later for Super Eric to come out) vs Rellik & Black Reign vs The Motor City Machine Guns vs LAX vs Petey Williams & Scott Steiner. After starting the match with a big charge Scott Steiner was 1st to be cuffed (by Rellik because everybody ganged up on him).
Young came out shortly afterwards only to go backstage again when faced with Rellik & Black Reign. Alex Shelley was 2nd to be cuffed (by Petey Williams), Chris Sabin was 3rd to be cuffed (by Kaz) eliminating The Motor City Machine Guns. Petey Williams was 4th to be cuffed (by Black Reign) eliminating their team, Homicide was 5th to be cuffed (by Rellik). Hernandez was 6th to be cuffed (by Black Reign) eliminating LAX, Kaz was 7th to be cuffed (by Black Reign).
The crowd were a bit quick chanting "Super Eric" as his music didn't kick in until a few seconds later but his crossbody block off the top of the cage was possibly the best move I've ever seen Eric do in his whole career. Jimmy Rave was 8th to be cuffed (by Super Eric), Lance Hoyt was 9th to be cuffed (by Super Eric). Rellik & Black Reign double teamed Super Eric for a bit but with a bit of misdirection Rellik was 10th to be cuffed (by Black Reign thinking he was cuffing Super Eric). Black Reign was 11th & last to be cuffed (by Super Eric) after taking the super driver to leave Super Eric getting the win for him & Kaz.
TNA Knockout Tag Team Grudge Match, Awesome Kong & Raisha Saeed vs Gail Kim & ODB. This would be the 1st time we've seen Saeed out of the burkha & wrestling since coming to TNA. Actually we didn't see her out of the burkha (which is a shame as I'd love to see what she actually looks like!). Sadly there was no title on the line here but you've got a decent line-up & 1 unknown factor in Saeed. Saeed turns out to be a damn good worker with a good array of moves & able to bump well too. Kim's wicked hurricanrana off the top of the cage on Saeed was f**king incredible. Kong took out her own partner with the spinning fist into a nice dropkick off the top turn-buckle from Kim with ODB taking the win off a frogsplash off the top rope on Saeed to win for her team. Great match!
Mixed Tag Team Grudge Match, Peyton Banks & Robert Roode vs Booker T & Sharmell. Roode was on top from the start, Booker was making him look good (for a change) with Booker selling a very good looking Spinebuster from Roode. I didn't expect Sharmell to do much but it was quite a surprise for her to take the win off Peyton Banks
.
10 Man Lethal Lockdown Match - Team Cage vs Team Tomko. Basically the 1st 2 guys wrestle for 5 mins then 1 other person comes in every 2 mins until everyone's in the ring, only then can anyone be pinned or submit. I think Dusty Rhodes invented this match for NWA/WCW?
Christian Cage started off against AJ Styles. Styles was on top from the bell after sneaking into the cage while Cage was watching Tomko come down the ramp thinking he was their 1st guy. 2nd for Team Tomko was Brother Ray. 2nd for Team Cage was Rhyno. 3rd for Team Tomko was James Storm. 3rd for Team Cage was Kevin Nash just after Cage had been knocked off the outside of the cage by Brother Ray. Cage's crossbody block off the top of the cage was pretty damn awesome (nailing James Storm & Bubba Ray). 4th for Team Tomko was Brother Devon. 4th for Team Cage was Matt Morgan. The 5th & final member of Team Tomko was Tomko saving himself until last. The 5th & final member of Team Cage was Sting. The fight on top of the cage between Storm & Christian was excellent, as was AJ Styles & Christian falling off a ladder through a table on top of the cage! Rhyno eventually won off the gore on James Storm. Great match!
TNA Heavyweight Title Match, Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe. If Joe loses he's leaving wrestling forever. Angle wasn't dressed to wrestle, he was ready for a more MMA style fight with taped hands, feet & ankles. Joe had been training with an MMA guy and they had another doing colour with West & Tenay. This was mostly mat based wrestling, hold & counter hold.
Submission & Counter submission. Nothing super exciting or high flying, nothing fast or frantic either. Joe eventually took the win off the musclebuster to become the new TNA Heavyweight Champion & about time too!
This past months Impacts & PPV more than made up for the awful Russo inspired shows of last month which almost had me stopping watching TNA altogether. Well done on finding the spark again TNA.
Friday, March 7, 2008
WWE Friday Night Smackdown 7th Mar 08
Well, I found this weeks Smackdown and i'm going to review it. be it bad or good it'll get as fair a review as i can give it. the views here are my own. i can't promise to be unbiased but if it's entertaining i'll say so. If it's not, I'll also say so. I won't apologise for not recognising any workers WWE may have hired in the last 4 yrs as I haven't been a regular viewer.
Here goes:- Show opens with Edge & Teddy Long and some bird in a wheelchair (was that Vickie Guerrero, Eddies wife? She got fat!) already in the ring. Edge bores us on the mic, obviously this is wwe's latest version of a piper's pit revamp? Flair comes down to join the yack-fest.
CM Punk, Festus & Jesse vs Chavo Guerrero, Miz & Morrison. Someone wants to tell Festus, George "The Animal" Steele called and he wants his gimmick back. Apart from introducing Chavo & Punk, didn't we see this match last week? And it was f**king S**T then. Query, if Punk & Chavo are ECW guys, what the f**k are they doing on Smackdown? Not a great match, Festus took the win. I'd rate this at a generous 2 thanks to some nice out of the ring jumps.
Batista vs MVP. Before he got to the ring Dave seemed to have taken so many steroids he couldn't work out how to get down the ramp to the ring. It's called a straight line, Dave. As the US title was held up I assume it was on the line? Isn't that an old WCW belt? Used to be called the US Television Title? MVP won off a count-out? C***py win, very weak match, Scored a 1.
Some backstage s**t probably to progress storylines.
Jamie Noble vs The Big Show - In which universe was this ever going to be entertaining? Calling the win for Show before it ever got going. Smacks of "we have no ideas" from Uncreative. This seemed to have no finish after Show waffled to the people. Rule it a no contest as the ref was pulling Noble out of the ring. Scores 0, gets creative called a bunch of c**ts.
The Undertaker vs Edge, Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder in a 3 on 1 handicap match. A match that sounded pointless before the bell rang. This is either for Undertaker to steamroller all 3 guys and injure Edge or for them to steamroller Undertaker and for Edge to injure him prior to Wrestlemania. technically this ISN'T a 3-1 match as Edge and co were acting as a 3 man tagteam. There was LOTS of bad positioning by the ref in this one, he was constantly running to get out of the way.
Taker was the best worker in this match by far showing his usual good work rate selling and giving it out too. Edge got the win off the spear for his team when Taker was trying to double chokeslam Hawkins & Ryder. Scores a 1. Not as many matches as last week. Not any better either.
Here goes:- Show opens with Edge & Teddy Long and some bird in a wheelchair (was that Vickie Guerrero, Eddies wife? She got fat!) already in the ring. Edge bores us on the mic, obviously this is wwe's latest version of a piper's pit revamp? Flair comes down to join the yack-fest.
CM Punk, Festus & Jesse vs Chavo Guerrero, Miz & Morrison. Someone wants to tell Festus, George "The Animal" Steele called and he wants his gimmick back. Apart from introducing Chavo & Punk, didn't we see this match last week? And it was f**king S**T then. Query, if Punk & Chavo are ECW guys, what the f**k are they doing on Smackdown? Not a great match, Festus took the win. I'd rate this at a generous 2 thanks to some nice out of the ring jumps.
Batista vs MVP. Before he got to the ring Dave seemed to have taken so many steroids he couldn't work out how to get down the ramp to the ring. It's called a straight line, Dave. As the US title was held up I assume it was on the line? Isn't that an old WCW belt? Used to be called the US Television Title? MVP won off a count-out? C***py win, very weak match, Scored a 1.
Some backstage s**t probably to progress storylines.
Jamie Noble vs The Big Show - In which universe was this ever going to be entertaining? Calling the win for Show before it ever got going. Smacks of "we have no ideas" from Uncreative. This seemed to have no finish after Show waffled to the people. Rule it a no contest as the ref was pulling Noble out of the ring. Scores 0, gets creative called a bunch of c**ts.
The Undertaker vs Edge, Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder in a 3 on 1 handicap match. A match that sounded pointless before the bell rang. This is either for Undertaker to steamroller all 3 guys and injure Edge or for them to steamroller Undertaker and for Edge to injure him prior to Wrestlemania. technically this ISN'T a 3-1 match as Edge and co were acting as a 3 man tagteam. There was LOTS of bad positioning by the ref in this one, he was constantly running to get out of the way.
Taker was the best worker in this match by far showing his usual good work rate selling and giving it out too. Edge got the win off the spear for his team when Taker was trying to double chokeslam Hawkins & Ryder. Scores a 1. Not as many matches as last week. Not any better either.
Friday, February 29, 2008
WWE Friday Night Smackdown. 29th Feb 08 reviewed
My Review of this weeks Smackdown. I haven't seen Smackdown in over 4 years so this'll be an interesting experience. I'm reviewing it completely open minded. Just like my TNA reviews, the usual caveats apply I'll call it how I see it. I may use colourful language or curse or swear. If it's s**t, I'll say so. I won't apologise for not knowing who certain people are that WWE may have hired in the last 4 years.
I'm in a truly unique position after my review of a recent RAW show, once I've seen this, as an impartial observer I'll be able to tell all you loyal WWE fans exactly what kind of condition the WWE is actually in at the moment and I'll be honest but brutal . So on with the review:-
Show opens with the Wrestlemania news conference. YAWN!
2 on 1 handicap match - The Big Show vs Joey Ryan & Jay Garland. Obviously these 2 guys were jobbers, Show taking the predictable win. Rating? 0
Jamie Noble vs Chuck Palumbo - An overly long match, pretty dull really. Palumbo took the predictable win. Rating? A generous 2.
MVP & Khali vs Batista & Kane - Batista & Kane haven't changed in 4+ yrs, I don't know either of the other 2 guysl. MVP looks like a cheap Booker T impression, Khali smells of Giant Gonzalez wannabe. Not a great match, Khali was very short on moves. Likewise MVP. Batista got the win. Rating? 2
The Miz & John Morrison vs Festus & Jesse - Nobody I know in this one. Festus got the win. Rating? An overly generous 1
Big Daddy V vs Balls Mahony - Daddy V I remember as both face & heel when he was part of MOM. Balls I haven't seen work outside of ECW to be honest. This was actually quite watchable until Undertakers music kicked in. Result? A No Contest. Rating? 3.
Taker then bores us on the mic.
Zack Ryder vs The Undertaker - Taker took the win, very boring match. Rating? An extremely generous 1.
Well this was certainly a short show, they managed to do video packages of just about every star they have.
Thoughts on the state of the WWE.
All the matches were utterly awful and had no entertainment value what so ever.
If this is the best Smackdown has to offer then it's truly died on it's a**e. Rating it against RAW? The Raw show was longer and had the exact same amount of matches that Smackdown fitted into 45 minutes, 4 matches and 1 aborted match with no finish.
If those 2 shows are typical of what WWE is currently offering as a product today then Vince needs to look into finding a new avenue to invest his money in because WWE appears to have quite literally stopped working. It hasn't progressed in 4 years. All the workers I recognised don't seemed to advanced as either characters or in actual amount of talent. None of the new guys impressed me in the slightest and thats really sad as WWE's future lies in developing its new talent.
I'm in a truly unique position after my review of a recent RAW show, once I've seen this, as an impartial observer I'll be able to tell all you loyal WWE fans exactly what kind of condition the WWE is actually in at the moment and I'll be honest but brutal . So on with the review:-
Show opens with the Wrestlemania news conference. YAWN!
2 on 1 handicap match - The Big Show vs Joey Ryan & Jay Garland. Obviously these 2 guys were jobbers, Show taking the predictable win. Rating? 0
Jamie Noble vs Chuck Palumbo - An overly long match, pretty dull really. Palumbo took the predictable win. Rating? A generous 2.
MVP & Khali vs Batista & Kane - Batista & Kane haven't changed in 4+ yrs, I don't know either of the other 2 guysl. MVP looks like a cheap Booker T impression, Khali smells of Giant Gonzalez wannabe. Not a great match, Khali was very short on moves. Likewise MVP. Batista got the win. Rating? 2
The Miz & John Morrison vs Festus & Jesse - Nobody I know in this one. Festus got the win. Rating? An overly generous 1
Big Daddy V vs Balls Mahony - Daddy V I remember as both face & heel when he was part of MOM. Balls I haven't seen work outside of ECW to be honest. This was actually quite watchable until Undertakers music kicked in. Result? A No Contest. Rating? 3.
Taker then bores us on the mic.
Zack Ryder vs The Undertaker - Taker took the win, very boring match. Rating? An extremely generous 1.
Well this was certainly a short show, they managed to do video packages of just about every star they have.
Thoughts on the state of the WWE.
All the matches were utterly awful and had no entertainment value what so ever.
If this is the best Smackdown has to offer then it's truly died on it's a**e. Rating it against RAW? The Raw show was longer and had the exact same amount of matches that Smackdown fitted into 45 minutes, 4 matches and 1 aborted match with no finish.
If those 2 shows are typical of what WWE is currently offering as a product today then Vince needs to look into finding a new avenue to invest his money in because WWE appears to have quite literally stopped working. It hasn't progressed in 4 years. All the workers I recognised don't seemed to advanced as either characters or in actual amount of talent. None of the new guys impressed me in the slightest and thats really sad as WWE's future lies in developing its new talent.
Monday, February 18, 2008
WWE RAW 18th Feb 08 reviewed
Wow! Well having found a new newsgroup service through my ISP I found this show in the tv group so I'm watching it today and reviewing it like I would any other show. The same caveats apply as to my TNA reviews, the views expressed within are my own. I won't apologise for not knowing certain wrestlers as this is my 1st viewing of ANY WWE programming in over 3 years, almost 4 in fact. I call it how I see it, I may use colourful language & have been known to curse and swear so onto the review.
RAW 18th Feb 08 - The Show opens with HHH coming down to bore us on the mic, he's interupted by Randy Orton (looking more like a gay pornstar than ever!), Orton is interupted from his rant by John Cena (still using that s***ty rapper gimmick after more than 3 years?) & Cena's rant is interupted by William Regal (that's some serious hair you got there, Regal!).
Money In The Bank Qualifier match, Jeff Hardy vs Snitsky - Well I've certainly seen both of these 2 before and on the face of it, it's a complete mismatch with Snitsky's size. Snitsky was on top for most of this match which was to be expected, Hardy got the eventual win and still looks a decent enough worker!
HBK (why is JR referring to him as a "young man" ? He's one of WWE's oldest these days!) comes down to announce Ric Flairs induction into the HOF.
Paul Burchill vs Super Crazy - Burchill I've never seen before, Crazy I've seen in WCW and WWE as part of the LWO when Eddie was still alive. The match itself was short and nothing to write home about with Super Crazy jobbing to Burchill big time. Crazy is much better than this match by a long chalk.
Big Show getting his nose bust, Mayweathers 3rd punch (the left) was the killer blow. I don't care what he was saying, its just s**t from "Creative".
Money In The Bank Qualifier match, Mr. Kennedy vs Val Venis. Wow, Val's still working for WWE? No idea who Kennedy is, never seen him before. He certainly likes his technical wrestling as most of his match was on the mat and he got the eventual win. It looks like WWE make their established talent job to the FNG's on a regular basis these days then?
Steel Cage Match - Mr McMahon vs Hornswoggle. Wow, they are stooping low if this is classed as entertaining? The chairman versus a midget? This match never actually happened with the interference of Finlay & JBL. Since no bell ever rang to start this I class it as a No-Contest.
Maria and some a**ehole bloke come down to the ring to bore us on the mic, Maria agrees to pose for Playboy.
Maria vs Beth Phoenix - That Beth certainly does look very masculine doesn't she? S***ty match with Phoenix on top the whole way, Maria got the win though.
Non-Title Match (AKA Cena's Last Chance - John Cena vs Randy Orton with HHH as special guest ref. Well this was pretty much your average WWE match. overly long, no action at all, Cena getting the win in about 15 minutes. HHH pedigreeing Cena was to be expected, likewise the one on Orton.
Well for a show that lasted 1 hour and 30 minutes you got 5 matches (well 4 because Vince's match never actually happened), LOTS of talking & video inserts for Wrestlemania. An average WWE show and their style certainly hasn't changed in the 3 + years I've been away. It doesn't make me want to watch another show, thats for sure.
RAW 18th Feb 08 - The Show opens with HHH coming down to bore us on the mic, he's interupted by Randy Orton (looking more like a gay pornstar than ever!), Orton is interupted from his rant by John Cena (still using that s***ty rapper gimmick after more than 3 years?) & Cena's rant is interupted by William Regal (that's some serious hair you got there, Regal!).
Money In The Bank Qualifier match, Jeff Hardy vs Snitsky - Well I've certainly seen both of these 2 before and on the face of it, it's a complete mismatch with Snitsky's size. Snitsky was on top for most of this match which was to be expected, Hardy got the eventual win and still looks a decent enough worker!
HBK (why is JR referring to him as a "young man" ? He's one of WWE's oldest these days!) comes down to announce Ric Flairs induction into the HOF.
Paul Burchill vs Super Crazy - Burchill I've never seen before, Crazy I've seen in WCW and WWE as part of the LWO when Eddie was still alive. The match itself was short and nothing to write home about with Super Crazy jobbing to Burchill big time. Crazy is much better than this match by a long chalk.
Big Show getting his nose bust, Mayweathers 3rd punch (the left) was the killer blow. I don't care what he was saying, its just s**t from "Creative".
Money In The Bank Qualifier match, Mr. Kennedy vs Val Venis. Wow, Val's still working for WWE? No idea who Kennedy is, never seen him before. He certainly likes his technical wrestling as most of his match was on the mat and he got the eventual win. It looks like WWE make their established talent job to the FNG's on a regular basis these days then?
Steel Cage Match - Mr McMahon vs Hornswoggle. Wow, they are stooping low if this is classed as entertaining? The chairman versus a midget? This match never actually happened with the interference of Finlay & JBL. Since no bell ever rang to start this I class it as a No-Contest.
Maria and some a**ehole bloke come down to the ring to bore us on the mic, Maria agrees to pose for Playboy.
Maria vs Beth Phoenix - That Beth certainly does look very masculine doesn't she? S***ty match with Phoenix on top the whole way, Maria got the win though.
Non-Title Match (AKA Cena's Last Chance - John Cena vs Randy Orton with HHH as special guest ref. Well this was pretty much your average WWE match. overly long, no action at all, Cena getting the win in about 15 minutes. HHH pedigreeing Cena was to be expected, likewise the one on Orton.
Well for a show that lasted 1 hour and 30 minutes you got 5 matches (well 4 because Vince's match never actually happened), LOTS of talking & video inserts for Wrestlemania. An average WWE show and their style certainly hasn't changed in the 3 + years I've been away. It doesn't make me want to watch another show, thats for sure.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
My TNA Monthly Catch-up, Feb-Mar 08
Once again it's that time of the month where I review the previous months Impacts & PPV. I call the action how I see it, the only views expressed within are my own & I have been known to swear & curse - real people generally do. These are reviewed as I watch them so I say what I think, I don't copy & paste others material. If you don't like my views then don't read them. I answer all feedback on the catch-ups. I only talk about stuff I find entertaining or likely to forward the brand of TNA, if it's s**t I'll either say so or not even mention it.
Impact 14th Feb 08 - Jim Cornette opens the show with Samoa Joe's signing. Christian Cage interrupts it.
Brother Devon vs Curry Man (Announcer VERY nearly said Christopher Daniels) & Sharkboy. Bubba wasn't allowed to wrestle this because he couldn't make the weight limit imposed after the last ppv. A short pretty bad match, Devon took the win after Bubba hit Curryman with the scales.
Abyss vs Scott Steiner - a match that never started, Abyss came down to the ring then turned around, walked back up the ramp, took off his mask & walked back down the tunnel. Steiner challenged anyone in the back & Petey Williams took him on. Steiner got the win after his valet interfered.
Non-Title Tag Team Revenge Match, AJ Styles & Tomko vs Samoa Joe & Christian Cage. Cage got knocked out backstage so Joe's partner was Kevin Nash. Tomko got the pin after Kurt Angle interfered.
Rellik vs Eric Young - another classic TNA mismatch that seemed to be a win for EY before the bell ever rang. Rellik took the shock win.
3 Way Exhibition Contest, Jimmy Rave vs Chris Sabin vs Homicide. Man this was confusing enough to know who was wrestling who as they all bought their tag partners & valets with them. S***ty match with Homicide getting a win off interference (of course).
Rhino bores us on the mic.
Non-title Knockout Street Fight - ODB vs Awesome Kong. This one started before Kong even got in the ring with ODB taking it to her. This is the kind of match that ODB actually could win against Kong in. Another badly timed break (NEVER have a break during a match!). ODB sold some seriously hard bumps in this one. ODB's clothesline into Gail Kim was predictable as was Kong's win.
Some seriously AWFUL storyline S**T showing Russo at work. 3 matches ending in interference and this pile of W**K. F**k off Russo!
Impact 21st Feb 08 - Tag Team Title Match, Kip James & Bullet Bob Armstrong vs Tomko & AJ Styles. As BG was injured by Styles at the last PPV, Kip was taking his place here. Bullet Bob made a good start & AJ was selling for him big time. Tomko took the win after Kip hit Bob with BG's crutch & VKM are officially done as a tagteam.
Kaz vs Rellik - no idea why this was booked. Rellik isn't over & him jobbing to Kaz isn't going to help Kaz's push either. Kaz got a clean win but this didn't need the run-in by Black Reign at all.
3 Way X-Division contest to confirm the #1 contender. Sonjay Dutt vs Johnny Devine vs Petey Williams. Predictable win went to Williams in a weak match. Less said the better. Utter S**T. Storyline video b**ls**t followed by interview storyline b**ls**t.
Sharkboy & Curry Man (speaking fluent Japanese backstage!) vs Team 3d. Again 3d were weighed prematch & this week Ray was ok but Devon was too heavy so we got yet another handicap match. This was a repeat of last weeks match so Russo hasn't had any new ideas in 7 days, Ray got the win after Devon hit Sharkboy in the head with the scales.
Knockout Tagteam match - Ms. Jacqueline & Roxxi Laveaux vs ODB & Gail Kim. After last weeks problems this was bound to be another way to further a rift between Kim & ODB. ODB worked this match the best but it wasn't good & it was very predictable with Kim hitting ODB with a dropkick by accident. Roxxi took the win for her team. Kim & ODB fought their way from ring to backstage afterwards. THAT was a better fight!
Non-title match - Kurt Angle vs Booker T. Booker is pretty lucky getting this match. Even at just over 5 mins long this was TOO long. And S**T. Robert Roode interfered & Angle got the win. This was the 2nd week in a row where matches either had bad finishes or wins came off interference. If TNA keep going this way they'll put themselves out of business. WWE won't have to bother.
Impact 28th Feb 08 - Booker T comes out to bore us on the mic.
Tag Match, Petey Williams & Scott Steiner vs Sonjay Dutt & Black Machismo. Another weak match with Williams getting the win after Steiner hit Dutt with a briefcase. Russo's 1 man destruction of TNA continues unabated.
Tag Match - Team 3d vs Curry Man & Sharkboy. This match AGAIN? This is the 3rd time we've seen it. Devon fails to make weight. Ray also fails to make weight. 3d get dq'd for failing weight so Sharkboy & Curry Man win without ever doing anything. Russo rapes TNA again.
Tag Match - Sharkboy & Curry Man vs Rellik & Black Reign. Curry Man got the best of this match but Sharkboy got the win for his team.
Robert Roode comes down to bore us on the mic.
Ladder Match for the World Drinking Championship belt - James Storm vs Eric Young. AWFUL match. Storm won after Jackie got the belt down for him. Yet another nail in TNA's coffin it seems.
Non-Title Knockout Match - Angelina Love vs Awesome Kong. An awful mismatch, Kong is obviously going to win. I was expecting short & c**p. C**p yes, unfortunately not short enough. Kong got the predicted win.
Non-Title Match, Kevin Nash vs Kurt Angle. This match showed how long it's been since Nash worked a proper match. He couldn't sell & he looked awful, Angle struggled to carry him. This was another weak Russo inspired finish with Angle getting the win off a low blow. Possibly the WORST Impact show I've seen since I started watching 4 years ago.
Impact 6th Mar 08 - Street Fight, AJ Styles vs Kevin Nash - Nash got the win. Less said the better.
Destination X Over The Top Battle Royal - The Motor City Machine Guns vs The Rock & Rave Infection (wow, I finally used their team name!) vs Jay Lethal vs LAX vs Black Reign & Rellik vs Eric Young vs Team 3d. Those not introduced on camera are Sharkboy, Curry Man & Petey Williams. Team 3d fail to make weight yet again and are DQ'd before the match starts. Homicide is eliminated by Chris Sabin. Hernandez eliminated Alex Shelley. Hernandez eliminated Chris Sabin. Petey Williams eliminated Hernandez (with an outside assist from Scott Steiner). Petey Williams eliminated Eric Young (after a f**king HUGE assist from Steiner!). Curry Man & Sharkboy eliminated Lance Hoyt. Rellik eliminated Sharkboy. Jay Lethal eliminated Black Reign. Petey Williams eliminated Jay Lethal after a Canadian Destroyer. Curry Man eliminated Petey Williams. Curry Man eliminated Jimmy Rave. Curry Man eliminated Rellik winning the match & got to choose the stipulation for his Destination X match. Sharkboy calls the stipulation if 3d lose they leave TNA and that the match is a Fish Market Street Fight.
1st Blood Match, Tomko vs Samoa Joe - Tomko won. AWFUL match. Backstage b**ls**t.
Rhino vs Judas Mesias - Rhino won. C**P match.
Non-Title Knockouts Match - Salinas vs Awesome Kong. Having never wrestled ANYONE in TNA as yet, how the F**K did Salinas get this match? Even with LAX, Salinas was not going to win. Kong got the predicted win in this short & rubbish match.
6 Sides Of Steel Match - Christian Cage vs Kurt Angle. At best the most we could expect from this match was a quick win. Sadly with 20 mins left in the show that wasn't going to happen. Neither guy is brilliant in cages but Christian is the better worker here and carried the match to be honest. Cage got the eventual win.
Destination X 2008 PPV - 3 way Tag Match to decide the #1 contenders - LAX vs The Rock & Rave Infection vs The Motor City Machine Guns. This wasn't a great match but the Guns made it better by a great deal. They had both the best & took the worst of the match & it was a toss-up if it was going to be them or LAX (again?) to become contenders. The Guns were the best team by a country mile, made the best moves & took the best bumps. LAX took a win they truly didn't earn, work for or deserve.
X-Division Title Match - Petey Williams (with Steiner's valet Rhaka Khan) vs Jay (still running this s**t gimmick) Lethal. As Williams has someone in his corner whose already cheated a few wins for Steiner this one sounded like a foregone conclusion before it started. This match was even, well worked but ran way too long by a huge amount. It was actually clean until Steiners pointless interference & Val trying to point it out slowed the match down at exactly the WRONG time. Lethal got a well deserved win.
Tag Match, Black Reign & Rellik vs Kaz & Eric Young - Here's a match I wanted finished before it even started having seen the participants. Kaz made the best of this match but it was still F**KING AWFUL, the whole EY "Super Hero" thing was a bad idea. Young got the pin that he didn't deserve, Kaz should have got this win as it's him their pushing.
TNA Knockouts Womens Title 3 way Match - ODB vs Awesome Kong vs Gail Kim. The outcome of this was always going to be Kong winning & either ODB or Kim causing the other to get pinned. Obviously ODB & Kim were going to double-team Kong but you knew at some point either Kim was going to hit ODB or ODB was going to hit Kim for Kong to steal the win. When a match is this predictable its not worth watching. Kong took the win off ODB retaining the title after interference from her valet.
Fish Market Street Fight Tag Match - Team 3d vs Curry Man. After Cornette's announcement that if 3d make the weight it'd be the last time they have to but if they don't their sacked you knew 3d were going to make weight which they did. From the start Sharkboy & Curry Man had the best of this match and 3d sold like crazy for them both. This was looked like it was always going to be 3d's match as if they lost they were leaving TNA. This match certainly got Sharkboy & Curry Man over a great deal more than they already were (and that's quite a lot!) but it was just a matter of when 3d were going to get their pin. Sharkboy took the surprising pin off Devon & 3d don't have a job in TNA any more! What are the odds that stipulation is "forgotten" & Team 3d don't lose their jobs especially after the fight with the guys in the crowd?
A Stand By Your Man Strap Match, Booker T & Traci Brooks vs Robert Roode & Peyton Banks - Winner gets to strap their counterpart on the opposing team. Booker was probably always going to win this, especially as both Booker & Brooks had already taken a strapping last week on tv. Roode got shock the win after using handcuffs as improvised brass knucks. Banks got to lash Brooks 10 times. Sharmell came back.
Elevation X, Rhino vs James Storm - Neither guy is bodily suited to this match so why is was booked is beyond me. The fact that this started in the ring & stayed there a long time was a bad indicator of exactly how this match was going to go. Rhino got the win in this AWFUL match.
6 Man Tag Match, AJ Styles, Tomko & Kurt Angle vs Kevin Nash, Samoa Joe & Christian Cage. After reviewing the tapes of Angle's match last week it was decided not to overturn the decision of who got the advantage of 3 on 2 for the 1st 5 minutes. Angle came out after the 5 minutes elapsed & Joe was waiting for him at the bottom of the ramp. Joe took the eventual win in this pretty rubbish match. This has got to have been TNA's worst PPV to date, the women's match was way too predictable & the rest of the card was just scrappy. TNA are way better than this and I hope they remember that.
Impact 14th Feb 08 - Jim Cornette opens the show with Samoa Joe's signing. Christian Cage interrupts it.
Brother Devon vs Curry Man (Announcer VERY nearly said Christopher Daniels) & Sharkboy. Bubba wasn't allowed to wrestle this because he couldn't make the weight limit imposed after the last ppv. A short pretty bad match, Devon took the win after Bubba hit Curryman with the scales.
Abyss vs Scott Steiner - a match that never started, Abyss came down to the ring then turned around, walked back up the ramp, took off his mask & walked back down the tunnel. Steiner challenged anyone in the back & Petey Williams took him on. Steiner got the win after his valet interfered.
Non-Title Tag Team Revenge Match, AJ Styles & Tomko vs Samoa Joe & Christian Cage. Cage got knocked out backstage so Joe's partner was Kevin Nash. Tomko got the pin after Kurt Angle interfered.
Rellik vs Eric Young - another classic TNA mismatch that seemed to be a win for EY before the bell ever rang. Rellik took the shock win.
3 Way Exhibition Contest, Jimmy Rave vs Chris Sabin vs Homicide. Man this was confusing enough to know who was wrestling who as they all bought their tag partners & valets with them. S***ty match with Homicide getting a win off interference (of course).
Rhino bores us on the mic.
Non-title Knockout Street Fight - ODB vs Awesome Kong. This one started before Kong even got in the ring with ODB taking it to her. This is the kind of match that ODB actually could win against Kong in. Another badly timed break (NEVER have a break during a match!). ODB sold some seriously hard bumps in this one. ODB's clothesline into Gail Kim was predictable as was Kong's win.
Some seriously AWFUL storyline S**T showing Russo at work. 3 matches ending in interference and this pile of W**K. F**k off Russo!
Impact 21st Feb 08 - Tag Team Title Match, Kip James & Bullet Bob Armstrong vs Tomko & AJ Styles. As BG was injured by Styles at the last PPV, Kip was taking his place here. Bullet Bob made a good start & AJ was selling for him big time. Tomko took the win after Kip hit Bob with BG's crutch & VKM are officially done as a tagteam.
Kaz vs Rellik - no idea why this was booked. Rellik isn't over & him jobbing to Kaz isn't going to help Kaz's push either. Kaz got a clean win but this didn't need the run-in by Black Reign at all.
3 Way X-Division contest to confirm the #1 contender. Sonjay Dutt vs Johnny Devine vs Petey Williams. Predictable win went to Williams in a weak match. Less said the better. Utter S**T. Storyline video b**ls**t followed by interview storyline b**ls**t.
Sharkboy & Curry Man (speaking fluent Japanese backstage!) vs Team 3d. Again 3d were weighed prematch & this week Ray was ok but Devon was too heavy so we got yet another handicap match. This was a repeat of last weeks match so Russo hasn't had any new ideas in 7 days, Ray got the win after Devon hit Sharkboy in the head with the scales.
Knockout Tagteam match - Ms. Jacqueline & Roxxi Laveaux vs ODB & Gail Kim. After last weeks problems this was bound to be another way to further a rift between Kim & ODB. ODB worked this match the best but it wasn't good & it was very predictable with Kim hitting ODB with a dropkick by accident. Roxxi took the win for her team. Kim & ODB fought their way from ring to backstage afterwards. THAT was a better fight!
Non-title match - Kurt Angle vs Booker T. Booker is pretty lucky getting this match. Even at just over 5 mins long this was TOO long. And S**T. Robert Roode interfered & Angle got the win. This was the 2nd week in a row where matches either had bad finishes or wins came off interference. If TNA keep going this way they'll put themselves out of business. WWE won't have to bother.
Impact 28th Feb 08 - Booker T comes out to bore us on the mic.
Tag Match, Petey Williams & Scott Steiner vs Sonjay Dutt & Black Machismo. Another weak match with Williams getting the win after Steiner hit Dutt with a briefcase. Russo's 1 man destruction of TNA continues unabated.
Tag Match - Team 3d vs Curry Man & Sharkboy. This match AGAIN? This is the 3rd time we've seen it. Devon fails to make weight. Ray also fails to make weight. 3d get dq'd for failing weight so Sharkboy & Curry Man win without ever doing anything. Russo rapes TNA again.
Tag Match - Sharkboy & Curry Man vs Rellik & Black Reign. Curry Man got the best of this match but Sharkboy got the win for his team.
Robert Roode comes down to bore us on the mic.
Ladder Match for the World Drinking Championship belt - James Storm vs Eric Young. AWFUL match. Storm won after Jackie got the belt down for him. Yet another nail in TNA's coffin it seems.
Non-Title Knockout Match - Angelina Love vs Awesome Kong. An awful mismatch, Kong is obviously going to win. I was expecting short & c**p. C**p yes, unfortunately not short enough. Kong got the predicted win.
Non-Title Match, Kevin Nash vs Kurt Angle. This match showed how long it's been since Nash worked a proper match. He couldn't sell & he looked awful, Angle struggled to carry him. This was another weak Russo inspired finish with Angle getting the win off a low blow. Possibly the WORST Impact show I've seen since I started watching 4 years ago.
Impact 6th Mar 08 - Street Fight, AJ Styles vs Kevin Nash - Nash got the win. Less said the better.
Destination X Over The Top Battle Royal - The Motor City Machine Guns vs The Rock & Rave Infection (wow, I finally used their team name!) vs Jay Lethal vs LAX vs Black Reign & Rellik vs Eric Young vs Team 3d. Those not introduced on camera are Sharkboy, Curry Man & Petey Williams. Team 3d fail to make weight yet again and are DQ'd before the match starts. Homicide is eliminated by Chris Sabin. Hernandez eliminated Alex Shelley. Hernandez eliminated Chris Sabin. Petey Williams eliminated Hernandez (with an outside assist from Scott Steiner). Petey Williams eliminated Eric Young (after a f**king HUGE assist from Steiner!). Curry Man & Sharkboy eliminated Lance Hoyt. Rellik eliminated Sharkboy. Jay Lethal eliminated Black Reign. Petey Williams eliminated Jay Lethal after a Canadian Destroyer. Curry Man eliminated Petey Williams. Curry Man eliminated Jimmy Rave. Curry Man eliminated Rellik winning the match & got to choose the stipulation for his Destination X match. Sharkboy calls the stipulation if 3d lose they leave TNA and that the match is a Fish Market Street Fight.
1st Blood Match, Tomko vs Samoa Joe - Tomko won. AWFUL match. Backstage b**ls**t.
Rhino vs Judas Mesias - Rhino won. C**P match.
Non-Title Knockouts Match - Salinas vs Awesome Kong. Having never wrestled ANYONE in TNA as yet, how the F**K did Salinas get this match? Even with LAX, Salinas was not going to win. Kong got the predicted win in this short & rubbish match.
6 Sides Of Steel Match - Christian Cage vs Kurt Angle. At best the most we could expect from this match was a quick win. Sadly with 20 mins left in the show that wasn't going to happen. Neither guy is brilliant in cages but Christian is the better worker here and carried the match to be honest. Cage got the eventual win.
Destination X 2008 PPV - 3 way Tag Match to decide the #1 contenders - LAX vs The Rock & Rave Infection vs The Motor City Machine Guns. This wasn't a great match but the Guns made it better by a great deal. They had both the best & took the worst of the match & it was a toss-up if it was going to be them or LAX (again?) to become contenders. The Guns were the best team by a country mile, made the best moves & took the best bumps. LAX took a win they truly didn't earn, work for or deserve.
X-Division Title Match - Petey Williams (with Steiner's valet Rhaka Khan) vs Jay (still running this s**t gimmick) Lethal. As Williams has someone in his corner whose already cheated a few wins for Steiner this one sounded like a foregone conclusion before it started. This match was even, well worked but ran way too long by a huge amount. It was actually clean until Steiners pointless interference & Val trying to point it out slowed the match down at exactly the WRONG time. Lethal got a well deserved win.
Tag Match, Black Reign & Rellik vs Kaz & Eric Young - Here's a match I wanted finished before it even started having seen the participants. Kaz made the best of this match but it was still F**KING AWFUL, the whole EY "Super Hero" thing was a bad idea. Young got the pin that he didn't deserve, Kaz should have got this win as it's him their pushing.
TNA Knockouts Womens Title 3 way Match - ODB vs Awesome Kong vs Gail Kim. The outcome of this was always going to be Kong winning & either ODB or Kim causing the other to get pinned. Obviously ODB & Kim were going to double-team Kong but you knew at some point either Kim was going to hit ODB or ODB was going to hit Kim for Kong to steal the win. When a match is this predictable its not worth watching. Kong took the win off ODB retaining the title after interference from her valet.
Fish Market Street Fight Tag Match - Team 3d vs Curry Man. After Cornette's announcement that if 3d make the weight it'd be the last time they have to but if they don't their sacked you knew 3d were going to make weight which they did. From the start Sharkboy & Curry Man had the best of this match and 3d sold like crazy for them both. This was looked like it was always going to be 3d's match as if they lost they were leaving TNA. This match certainly got Sharkboy & Curry Man over a great deal more than they already were (and that's quite a lot!) but it was just a matter of when 3d were going to get their pin. Sharkboy took the surprising pin off Devon & 3d don't have a job in TNA any more! What are the odds that stipulation is "forgotten" & Team 3d don't lose their jobs especially after the fight with the guys in the crowd?
A Stand By Your Man Strap Match, Booker T & Traci Brooks vs Robert Roode & Peyton Banks - Winner gets to strap their counterpart on the opposing team. Booker was probably always going to win this, especially as both Booker & Brooks had already taken a strapping last week on tv. Roode got shock the win after using handcuffs as improvised brass knucks. Banks got to lash Brooks 10 times. Sharmell came back.
Elevation X, Rhino vs James Storm - Neither guy is bodily suited to this match so why is was booked is beyond me. The fact that this started in the ring & stayed there a long time was a bad indicator of exactly how this match was going to go. Rhino got the win in this AWFUL match.
6 Man Tag Match, AJ Styles, Tomko & Kurt Angle vs Kevin Nash, Samoa Joe & Christian Cage. After reviewing the tapes of Angle's match last week it was decided not to overturn the decision of who got the advantage of 3 on 2 for the 1st 5 minutes. Angle came out after the 5 minutes elapsed & Joe was waiting for him at the bottom of the ramp. Joe took the eventual win in this pretty rubbish match. This has got to have been TNA's worst PPV to date, the women's match was way too predictable & the rest of the card was just scrappy. TNA are way better than this and I hope they remember that.
Friday, January 4, 2008
My TNA Monthly Catch-up, Jan - Feb 08
Yes indeed ladies and germs it is that time of the month again where I review the previous months Impacts and PPV. Unlike certain people who "write" reviews (if you can call cut N pasting someone else's work wholesale actually writing a review) in these newsgroups I actually watch what I'm reviewing. Also if I don't know something about a worker, I look it up (Evad, take note!) . The views stated within are my own from my very own brain and I don't like something I'll say so, I'm not a sheep. If I feel something is boring or not relevant to the advancement of TNA I won't even bother mentioning it. I am liable to curse, swear and use other such colourful idioms, real people generally speak that way. If you don't like what I have to say then don't read the reviews, its that simple! All feedback on the catch-ups is most welcome and I will respond to every comment made.
TNA Global Impact From Tokyo, Japan 4th Jan 08 - Why was this aired on 17th Jan, almost 2 weeks after the fact? TNA is working with New Japan and we get lots of chatter/background information.
Petey Williams, AJ Styles & Christian Cage were in a 6 man tag which they won.
Abyss had a thumbtack match which he lost.
Team 3d had a tables tag match which they won.
I'd name check the Japs but I never saw any names written down.
Tomko & Giant Bernard (A-Train) fought The Steiner Brothers and won.
Kurt Angle defended his IWGP heavyweight title against Yuji Nagata. This was the only match we got to see all of. The Japs obviously like their technical/mat wrestling as that's what was mostly being done in this match. Any US crowd would have been chanting "BORING" in less than 2 minutes. Angle won off the Ankle lock. A decent display of technical wrestling but it was WAY too long with far too much mat work for a western audience. I would have liked to have seen more of all the other matches and feel this show was a bit of a gyp to be honest. Someone said they were doing a dvd of the whole show, I assume that's why they held back all but 1 match.
Impact 10th Jan 08 - Tag match, Senshi & Elix Skipper vs The Motor City Machine Guns. A fairly short but very good and fast paced match with Shelley & Sabin taking a well deserved win.
Christian Cage bores us on the mic.
Judas Mesias vs Chris Harris - The best you could hope for here was a REALLY short match as neither guy has much talent, I'll be honest I watched most of this on fast forward so it didn't get much of my attention, Mesias got the win.
Tag Match - VKM vs Petey Williams (now being nicknamed Maple Leaf Muscle) & Sonjay Dutt. This is a bit of a mismatch to be honest, 2 X-Division guys against 2 heavyweights. Steiner stealing his Feast Or Fired case back was a bit of a pointless thing (it's already on record who won what, so it doesn't matter who has which case), Williams went off after his case leaving Dutt alone to get the win off Kip for his team. Sonjay kissing SoCal Val (for the 2nd time now) is setting up a match in the future against Jay Lethal.
More boring backstage s**te.
Robert Roode comes out to bore us on the mic. Miss Brooks gets fired (that's the set-up for the superfan/stalker to be his valet then) then gets beaten down by the superfan coming out from the crowd. Roode introduces her as her replacement , Miss Banks. (like I predicted in fact!)
Return Tag Team Match - Lance Hoyt & Jimmy Rave vs LAX with their new valet Salinas, LAX getting the eventual win.
Sharkboy vs Tomko - This whole "injured" Sharkboy angle is very dull and I really can't see where their going with it at all. Tomko got an obvious win in a very dull and short squash match.
Some c**p from The Angle Alliance.
Main Event TNA Knockout Womens Title Rematch - Awesome Kong vs Gail Kim. Isn't this actually Awesome Kong's 2nd rematch? Kong had someone (who is later referred to as Raisha Saeed, aka former WWE worker Melissa Anderson) with her (like she needs the help?) and jumped Kim before the introductions were ever done. Lots of out of ring stuff, Kong going through a wall on the ramp. Kim pulled a great ddt off the top turnbuckle. Ref Hebner f**ked up by getting in Kim's way. Kong made 3 powerbombs and finally wins the title.
Impact 17th Jan 08 - The Motor City Machine Guns & Jay Lethal accept Team 3d's challenge.
Tomko vs Eric Young - Another seemingly pointless match for Tomko who took the win.
TNA Knockout Womens Match - OBD vs Angelina Love. This was a really good match, both women showing good skills and taking great bumps. ODB won off a Davey Boy Smith style running powerslam.
Senshi vs Kaz - Considering the ability of these 2 guys this was an incredibly weak match with Kaz taking the win. Black Reign jumps him afterwards, I don't care why.
Lance Hoyt vs Abyss - This match never really got started with James Mitchell interrupting the match. Abyss won after the restart, and the secret is revealed - James Mitchell is his father. Very Star Wars.
Robert Roode (with new valet Peyton Banks) vs Sonjay Dutt - Sonjay's the better of these 2, showing his talent well but Roode took the win in a poor match.
BG James picks his tag partner, his father Bullet Bob Armstrong.
Angle bores us on the mic.
3 way Elimination Match - AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe vs Christian Cage. Its a bit of a weird one this, If Joe wins he gets a title shot, If Cage wins he gets a title shot but if Styles wins he earns Kurt Angle 2 weeks off. Joe got eliminated for throwing a chair out of the ring that he'd never used. (a bit of b**ls**t IMHO), Cage got the win but this match was far too long for my liking.
Impact 24th Jan 08 - Kevin Nash comes down to bore us on the mic.
Tag Match - James Storm & Robert Roode with Peyton Banks (dressed like Miss Brooks Exactly Like I Predicted!) vs Eric Young & Sonjay Dutt. A really poor match, Roode took the win.
Jay Lethal wins best X-Division worker of 2007. Lethal looks like he finally dropped the Macho Gimmick.
Elix Skipper vs Sharkboy dressed in a Stone Cold Style waistcoat. Both guys worked well, Skipper seemed happy to put Sharkboy over and sold well when Sharkboy was on top. Sharkboy took the win (even his music sounds like SCSA's). Is it just me or does Sharkboy's SCSCA impression sound exactly like BG James?
Gail Kim wins 2007 Knockout of the year, getting a beatdown from Kong too.
1 Fall Street Fight for the X-Division Title - Johnny Devine vs Jay Lethal. Basically a hardcore no rules match. A nice ddt by Lethal onto a chair but Devine got the win and the belt.
2007 Most memorable moment of TNA - Booker coming to TNA wins.
Tag Contest - Lance Hoyt & Jimmy Rave vs Tiger Mask (from New Japan) & Curry Man (AKA Chris Daniels). It's nice to see Tiger Mask back in TNA & even better to see Curry Man better known as The Fallen Angel, Christopher Daniels under the mask. A damn good match with Tiger Mask getting the win from a Flying Headbutt.
Samoa Joe wins 2007 TNA MVP, very well deserved too.
Tag Title Match - Team 3d vs The Motor City Machine Guns vs Tomko & AJ Styles. When the F**K did this turn into a 3 way dance? In the odd rules they said you can't tag you own partner or wrestle your own partner. With rules like that this match was always going to be messy. Tomko got the win and his team retained the belts after AJ left Tomko alone due to helping Karen Angle back to the locker room.
Impact 31st Jan 08 - Team 3d come down to bore us on the mic.
Tag Match - Lance Hoyt & Jimmy Rave vs Petey Williams & Scott Steiner. Hoyt totally did not want to sell the Hurricanrana off Williams. Hoyt didn't want to sell a kick off Steiner either, is he going soft? Rave got the win after Steiner clobbered Williams with one of the cases.
BJ James vs Hernandez - Hernandez got the win after Roxxi threw powder into Kip's eyes by mistake, Roxxi gets fired from VKM.
Judas Mesias vs Corey Chambers (a totally unknown jobber) in a total squash match.
Sharkboy issues an open challenge, no takers.
3 Way Knockouts Match - Roxxi Laveaux vs Angelina Love vs ODB. Not a great match for the girls, Love got the win.
Mixed Tag Match - Robert Roode & Peyton Banks & James Storm vs Sonjay Dutt & Traci Brooks (back to her original name again like I predicted) & Eric Young. A very weak match, Roode got the pin off Young for the win.
Kurt Angle vs Tomko with AJ Styles as guest ref. THIS was a main event? In what universe was this considered worthy to main event? A huge pile of garbage with Tomko taking the win off the worlds slowest 3 count after Christian Cage nailed Kurt with his belt.
Impact 7th Feb 08 - Robert Roode vs Jay Lethal - never started, Roode got jumped by Booker T before Roode ever made it to the ring.
Non-title Knockout Match - Traci Brooks vs Awesome Kong. Well this was going to be VERY short. Expected to be a squash match. Traci got a lot longer out of Kong than most of the women normally do. Kong took the expected win.
A 4 Corners Capture Misty Match - Kaz vs Black Reign. TNA management have officially gone crazy, they may as well have let Vince Russo take a s**t into the ring on live tv. This is a Rat on a Pole match. It's THAT F**KING STUPID! The 1st 2 boxes had traps in them both Kaz & Black Reign finding 1 each (and both totally overselling the "pain"), Black Reign found the 3rd trap, Kaz found Misty winning the match. Black Reign hit Kaz with his darkness falls weapon and reclaimed Misty.
X Division Title Match - Johnny Devine vs Homicide of LAX. Devine was alone but Homicide had the new valet Salinas. Homicide had this one in the bag until Team 3d interfered, match ending a DQ for outside interference.
Tag Match - Lance Hoyt & Jimmy Rave vs Curry Man (AKA Chris Daniels) & Sharkboy (carrying on in his new SCSA persona which I don't much care for). As Curry Man, Daniels obviously doesn't mind jobbing but he's definitely getting over in the mask for sure. Sharkboy took the pin for his team.
Tiger Mask vs AJ Styles - Tiger Mask getting yet another chance to improve TNA/New Japan links. Styles was showing some of his old magic, Tiger Mask showed some great aerial moves (loved that standing moonsault!). Styles took a good win looking better than he has in a while.
Main Event, Christian Cage vs Judas Mesias - How is Mesias worthy of a main event? This was never going to be much to write home about really, was it? Cage is a good enough worker but not even he could carry this match as long as they ran it. Mesias simply hasn't got the skillset to work a match of this length, he's strictly a short match person. Cage took the win, Abyss had chased James Mitchell backstage with his arm wrapped in barbed wire and then came back after the pin to beatdown Mesias with the barbed wire. Styles came down to beatdown Cage as well, Angle had to rescue Styles from a sharpshooter & Tomko had to save Cage from a double team.
Against All Odds PPV 2008 - Tag Title Match - BG James & Bullet Bob Armstrong vs AJ Styles & Tomko. A title match to start off a PPV? Aren't these usually saved until the end of the card? On the face of it the champs looked like they would win but Styles & Tomko have been having problems recently. For 67, Bob works damn well! He's a darn sight more talented than Pacman Jones ever was, thats for certain. He took good bumps off both Tomko & Styles. Both guys sold convincingly for him as well. BG looked a lot better than he has done for a while but Tomko got the win after Styles hit BG in the knee hard. Loved the "Old Age Outlaws" sign in the crowd too.
TNA Knockout Grudge Match - Peyton Banks vs Traci Brooks. This was only going to be a scrap as Banks has never shown any actual wrestling ability yet. Banks has let her hair dye fade (she now has brown hair, having gone from blonde to black like Traci again pretty much like I predicted). Banks did show a few moves but not many. Traci got the better of this, looked better, had a wider arsenal of moves & looked the better trained of the 2 women. Brooks got the eventual win.
Case vs Case Match - Petey Williams vs Scott Steiner, the winner getting both a heavyweight title shot & an X-Division title shot. If we're honest they are STILL dragging out the Feast Or Fired angle here. And that was s**t. At best I was hoping for a really short match with a quick pin. These guys have totally opposing styles and really DON'T belong in a match together. An overly long match, Steiner got the win thanks to a hot black chick distracting Williams.
Drinking Championship Belt Match - James Storm vs Eric Young. Eric Young as a moronic imbecile is WAY old now, can they please kill the "scared of my own pyro" thing? Here's a match that doesn't belong on TV, let alone a PPV. Rhyno gored Storm behind the refs back, Eric Young took the win and retains his belt. Rhyno is back!
TNA Knockout Womens Title Match - Awesome Kong vs ODB. Why was this so low in the card? It certainly should have been higher than the non-title barbed wire match. I so wanted ODB to win this match, she's an ideal person to be Womens Champion. ODB might not have the same height or weight as Kong but she has a huge amount of spirit & fight and I didn't expect her to take a beating timidly from Kong. Is it just me or when ODB screams does she remind anyone else of Bobcat Goldthwait? If Chyna were to consider a comeback she'd have good people to work with in TNA like ODB and Kong. ODB's slam off the top turnbuckle was pretty awesome but Kong got the win thanks to a distraction by Raisha Saeed. ODB had a great match though.
Barbed Wire Massacre 2 - Abyss vs Judas Mesias. Basically a no rope barbed wire match. So serious the main stadium wouldn't let them hold it there, they claimed. So we cross over to The Impact Zone. (This one was SO obviously taped after the last Impact show, the exact same crowd was there. Mitchell had even changed his suit to try & convince us it wasn't the same day). I honestly didn't expect to see Mesias go on the wire very much with his ring clothes. We saw the use of a barbed wire chair, & several barbed wire boards. Hebner was VERY badly out of position after Abyss's 2 Black Hole Slams on Mitchell & Mesias. Abyss got a well deserved win after a Black Hole Slam into a barbed wire board on the canvas.
1 Fall Grudge Match - Robert Roode vs Booker T. Peyton appeared to have recovered from her match with Traci. I didn't expect to see anything fancy from Booker here, just aggression. Booker is in yet another PPV pretty high up the card as well. This match was way too long, getting into silly territory when Roode went backstage. The result was a double count-out (after a match THIS long? Are you S***TING ME?) but Booker took it back to his car.
6 Man Hardcore Street Fight for the X-Division Championship - Team 3d & Johnny Devine vs Jay Lethal & The Motor City Machine Guns. Stipulations are if 3d win, the X-Division disbands. If Lethal & Co win TNA will create a weight limit of 275 lbs for all workers. Obviously this result was a forgone conclusion before the match ever started. TNA were hardly going disband the X-Division who not only fill more than half the TNA roster, they are also one of TNA's biggest selling points so this was always going to be a win for Lethal & Co. The ref was very badly out of position to make a count after the triple Tornado DDT. Lethal & The Guns were ahead until then. For those wondering, SoCal Val is more than able to take bumps, she's been working a few Indy feds for a while (Oh, and FYI her real middle name is actually Elizabeth!). I'm not sure if they were using this to set-up up her eventual TNA in-ring debut to wrestle or for her to become his valet. Lethal took the win off Devine with a flying elbow through a table winning for his team, saving the X-Division & winning the X-Division Title again finally taking it back from Team 3d.
Heavyweight Championship Title - Kurt Angle vs Christian Cage with Samoa Joe as special guest enforcer. Alarm bells should have been ringing, hearing the words Special Guest Enforcer as historically they normally always screw someone out of a title. I assume Joe's role was to stop Styles or Tomko interfering? This match was way too long and way too boring for not only the main event but the Heavyweight title. Joe's main contribution seemed to be stopping Angle using a chair, filling in for the ref when he went down & stopping Styles. Tomko did a backbreaker on Cage while Joe was removing Styles and Angle took the win after reviving the ref once Tomko had gone.
TNA Global Impact From Tokyo, Japan 4th Jan 08 - Why was this aired on 17th Jan, almost 2 weeks after the fact? TNA is working with New Japan and we get lots of chatter/background information.
Petey Williams, AJ Styles & Christian Cage were in a 6 man tag which they won.
Abyss had a thumbtack match which he lost.
Team 3d had a tables tag match which they won.
I'd name check the Japs but I never saw any names written down.
Tomko & Giant Bernard (A-Train) fought The Steiner Brothers and won.
Kurt Angle defended his IWGP heavyweight title against Yuji Nagata. This was the only match we got to see all of. The Japs obviously like their technical/mat wrestling as that's what was mostly being done in this match. Any US crowd would have been chanting "BORING" in less than 2 minutes. Angle won off the Ankle lock. A decent display of technical wrestling but it was WAY too long with far too much mat work for a western audience. I would have liked to have seen more of all the other matches and feel this show was a bit of a gyp to be honest. Someone said they were doing a dvd of the whole show, I assume that's why they held back all but 1 match.
Impact 10th Jan 08 - Tag match, Senshi & Elix Skipper vs The Motor City Machine Guns. A fairly short but very good and fast paced match with Shelley & Sabin taking a well deserved win.
Christian Cage bores us on the mic.
Judas Mesias vs Chris Harris - The best you could hope for here was a REALLY short match as neither guy has much talent, I'll be honest I watched most of this on fast forward so it didn't get much of my attention, Mesias got the win.
Tag Match - VKM vs Petey Williams (now being nicknamed Maple Leaf Muscle) & Sonjay Dutt. This is a bit of a mismatch to be honest, 2 X-Division guys against 2 heavyweights. Steiner stealing his Feast Or Fired case back was a bit of a pointless thing (it's already on record who won what, so it doesn't matter who has which case), Williams went off after his case leaving Dutt alone to get the win off Kip for his team. Sonjay kissing SoCal Val (for the 2nd time now) is setting up a match in the future against Jay Lethal.
More boring backstage s**te.
Robert Roode comes out to bore us on the mic. Miss Brooks gets fired (that's the set-up for the superfan/stalker to be his valet then) then gets beaten down by the superfan coming out from the crowd. Roode introduces her as her replacement , Miss Banks. (like I predicted in fact!)
Return Tag Team Match - Lance Hoyt & Jimmy Rave vs LAX with their new valet Salinas, LAX getting the eventual win.
Sharkboy vs Tomko - This whole "injured" Sharkboy angle is very dull and I really can't see where their going with it at all. Tomko got an obvious win in a very dull and short squash match.
Some c**p from The Angle Alliance.
Main Event TNA Knockout Womens Title Rematch - Awesome Kong vs Gail Kim. Isn't this actually Awesome Kong's 2nd rematch? Kong had someone (who is later referred to as Raisha Saeed, aka former WWE worker Melissa Anderson) with her (like she needs the help?) and jumped Kim before the introductions were ever done. Lots of out of ring stuff, Kong going through a wall on the ramp. Kim pulled a great ddt off the top turnbuckle. Ref Hebner f**ked up by getting in Kim's way. Kong made 3 powerbombs and finally wins the title.
Impact 17th Jan 08 - The Motor City Machine Guns & Jay Lethal accept Team 3d's challenge.
Tomko vs Eric Young - Another seemingly pointless match for Tomko who took the win.
TNA Knockout Womens Match - OBD vs Angelina Love. This was a really good match, both women showing good skills and taking great bumps. ODB won off a Davey Boy Smith style running powerslam.
Senshi vs Kaz - Considering the ability of these 2 guys this was an incredibly weak match with Kaz taking the win. Black Reign jumps him afterwards, I don't care why.
Lance Hoyt vs Abyss - This match never really got started with James Mitchell interrupting the match. Abyss won after the restart, and the secret is revealed - James Mitchell is his father. Very Star Wars.
Robert Roode (with new valet Peyton Banks) vs Sonjay Dutt - Sonjay's the better of these 2, showing his talent well but Roode took the win in a poor match.
BG James picks his tag partner, his father Bullet Bob Armstrong.
Angle bores us on the mic.
3 way Elimination Match - AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe vs Christian Cage. Its a bit of a weird one this, If Joe wins he gets a title shot, If Cage wins he gets a title shot but if Styles wins he earns Kurt Angle 2 weeks off. Joe got eliminated for throwing a chair out of the ring that he'd never used. (a bit of b**ls**t IMHO), Cage got the win but this match was far too long for my liking.
Impact 24th Jan 08 - Kevin Nash comes down to bore us on the mic.
Tag Match - James Storm & Robert Roode with Peyton Banks (dressed like Miss Brooks Exactly Like I Predicted!) vs Eric Young & Sonjay Dutt. A really poor match, Roode took the win.
Jay Lethal wins best X-Division worker of 2007. Lethal looks like he finally dropped the Macho Gimmick.
Elix Skipper vs Sharkboy dressed in a Stone Cold Style waistcoat. Both guys worked well, Skipper seemed happy to put Sharkboy over and sold well when Sharkboy was on top. Sharkboy took the win (even his music sounds like SCSA's). Is it just me or does Sharkboy's SCSCA impression sound exactly like BG James?
Gail Kim wins 2007 Knockout of the year, getting a beatdown from Kong too.
1 Fall Street Fight for the X-Division Title - Johnny Devine vs Jay Lethal. Basically a hardcore no rules match. A nice ddt by Lethal onto a chair but Devine got the win and the belt.
2007 Most memorable moment of TNA - Booker coming to TNA wins.
Tag Contest - Lance Hoyt & Jimmy Rave vs Tiger Mask (from New Japan) & Curry Man (AKA Chris Daniels). It's nice to see Tiger Mask back in TNA & even better to see Curry Man better known as The Fallen Angel, Christopher Daniels under the mask. A damn good match with Tiger Mask getting the win from a Flying Headbutt.
Samoa Joe wins 2007 TNA MVP, very well deserved too.
Tag Title Match - Team 3d vs The Motor City Machine Guns vs Tomko & AJ Styles. When the F**K did this turn into a 3 way dance? In the odd rules they said you can't tag you own partner or wrestle your own partner. With rules like that this match was always going to be messy. Tomko got the win and his team retained the belts after AJ left Tomko alone due to helping Karen Angle back to the locker room.
Impact 31st Jan 08 - Team 3d come down to bore us on the mic.
Tag Match - Lance Hoyt & Jimmy Rave vs Petey Williams & Scott Steiner. Hoyt totally did not want to sell the Hurricanrana off Williams. Hoyt didn't want to sell a kick off Steiner either, is he going soft? Rave got the win after Steiner clobbered Williams with one of the cases.
BJ James vs Hernandez - Hernandez got the win after Roxxi threw powder into Kip's eyes by mistake, Roxxi gets fired from VKM.
Judas Mesias vs Corey Chambers (a totally unknown jobber) in a total squash match.
Sharkboy issues an open challenge, no takers.
3 Way Knockouts Match - Roxxi Laveaux vs Angelina Love vs ODB. Not a great match for the girls, Love got the win.
Mixed Tag Match - Robert Roode & Peyton Banks & James Storm vs Sonjay Dutt & Traci Brooks (back to her original name again like I predicted) & Eric Young. A very weak match, Roode got the pin off Young for the win.
Kurt Angle vs Tomko with AJ Styles as guest ref. THIS was a main event? In what universe was this considered worthy to main event? A huge pile of garbage with Tomko taking the win off the worlds slowest 3 count after Christian Cage nailed Kurt with his belt.
Impact 7th Feb 08 - Robert Roode vs Jay Lethal - never started, Roode got jumped by Booker T before Roode ever made it to the ring.
Non-title Knockout Match - Traci Brooks vs Awesome Kong. Well this was going to be VERY short. Expected to be a squash match. Traci got a lot longer out of Kong than most of the women normally do. Kong took the expected win.
A 4 Corners Capture Misty Match - Kaz vs Black Reign. TNA management have officially gone crazy, they may as well have let Vince Russo take a s**t into the ring on live tv. This is a Rat on a Pole match. It's THAT F**KING STUPID! The 1st 2 boxes had traps in them both Kaz & Black Reign finding 1 each (and both totally overselling the "pain"), Black Reign found the 3rd trap, Kaz found Misty winning the match. Black Reign hit Kaz with his darkness falls weapon and reclaimed Misty.
X Division Title Match - Johnny Devine vs Homicide of LAX. Devine was alone but Homicide had the new valet Salinas. Homicide had this one in the bag until Team 3d interfered, match ending a DQ for outside interference.
Tag Match - Lance Hoyt & Jimmy Rave vs Curry Man (AKA Chris Daniels) & Sharkboy (carrying on in his new SCSA persona which I don't much care for). As Curry Man, Daniels obviously doesn't mind jobbing but he's definitely getting over in the mask for sure. Sharkboy took the pin for his team.
Tiger Mask vs AJ Styles - Tiger Mask getting yet another chance to improve TNA/New Japan links. Styles was showing some of his old magic, Tiger Mask showed some great aerial moves (loved that standing moonsault!). Styles took a good win looking better than he has in a while.
Main Event, Christian Cage vs Judas Mesias - How is Mesias worthy of a main event? This was never going to be much to write home about really, was it? Cage is a good enough worker but not even he could carry this match as long as they ran it. Mesias simply hasn't got the skillset to work a match of this length, he's strictly a short match person. Cage took the win, Abyss had chased James Mitchell backstage with his arm wrapped in barbed wire and then came back after the pin to beatdown Mesias with the barbed wire. Styles came down to beatdown Cage as well, Angle had to rescue Styles from a sharpshooter & Tomko had to save Cage from a double team.
Against All Odds PPV 2008 - Tag Title Match - BG James & Bullet Bob Armstrong vs AJ Styles & Tomko. A title match to start off a PPV? Aren't these usually saved until the end of the card? On the face of it the champs looked like they would win but Styles & Tomko have been having problems recently. For 67, Bob works damn well! He's a darn sight more talented than Pacman Jones ever was, thats for certain. He took good bumps off both Tomko & Styles. Both guys sold convincingly for him as well. BG looked a lot better than he has done for a while but Tomko got the win after Styles hit BG in the knee hard. Loved the "Old Age Outlaws" sign in the crowd too.
TNA Knockout Grudge Match - Peyton Banks vs Traci Brooks. This was only going to be a scrap as Banks has never shown any actual wrestling ability yet. Banks has let her hair dye fade (she now has brown hair, having gone from blonde to black like Traci again pretty much like I predicted). Banks did show a few moves but not many. Traci got the better of this, looked better, had a wider arsenal of moves & looked the better trained of the 2 women. Brooks got the eventual win.
Case vs Case Match - Petey Williams vs Scott Steiner, the winner getting both a heavyweight title shot & an X-Division title shot. If we're honest they are STILL dragging out the Feast Or Fired angle here. And that was s**t. At best I was hoping for a really short match with a quick pin. These guys have totally opposing styles and really DON'T belong in a match together. An overly long match, Steiner got the win thanks to a hot black chick distracting Williams.
Drinking Championship Belt Match - James Storm vs Eric Young. Eric Young as a moronic imbecile is WAY old now, can they please kill the "scared of my own pyro" thing? Here's a match that doesn't belong on TV, let alone a PPV. Rhyno gored Storm behind the refs back, Eric Young took the win and retains his belt. Rhyno is back!
TNA Knockout Womens Title Match - Awesome Kong vs ODB. Why was this so low in the card? It certainly should have been higher than the non-title barbed wire match. I so wanted ODB to win this match, she's an ideal person to be Womens Champion. ODB might not have the same height or weight as Kong but she has a huge amount of spirit & fight and I didn't expect her to take a beating timidly from Kong. Is it just me or when ODB screams does she remind anyone else of Bobcat Goldthwait? If Chyna were to consider a comeback she'd have good people to work with in TNA like ODB and Kong. ODB's slam off the top turnbuckle was pretty awesome but Kong got the win thanks to a distraction by Raisha Saeed. ODB had a great match though.
Barbed Wire Massacre 2 - Abyss vs Judas Mesias. Basically a no rope barbed wire match. So serious the main stadium wouldn't let them hold it there, they claimed. So we cross over to The Impact Zone. (This one was SO obviously taped after the last Impact show, the exact same crowd was there. Mitchell had even changed his suit to try & convince us it wasn't the same day). I honestly didn't expect to see Mesias go on the wire very much with his ring clothes. We saw the use of a barbed wire chair, & several barbed wire boards. Hebner was VERY badly out of position after Abyss's 2 Black Hole Slams on Mitchell & Mesias. Abyss got a well deserved win after a Black Hole Slam into a barbed wire board on the canvas.
1 Fall Grudge Match - Robert Roode vs Booker T. Peyton appeared to have recovered from her match with Traci. I didn't expect to see anything fancy from Booker here, just aggression. Booker is in yet another PPV pretty high up the card as well. This match was way too long, getting into silly territory when Roode went backstage. The result was a double count-out (after a match THIS long? Are you S***TING ME?) but Booker took it back to his car.
6 Man Hardcore Street Fight for the X-Division Championship - Team 3d & Johnny Devine vs Jay Lethal & The Motor City Machine Guns. Stipulations are if 3d win, the X-Division disbands. If Lethal & Co win TNA will create a weight limit of 275 lbs for all workers. Obviously this result was a forgone conclusion before the match ever started. TNA were hardly going disband the X-Division who not only fill more than half the TNA roster, they are also one of TNA's biggest selling points so this was always going to be a win for Lethal & Co. The ref was very badly out of position to make a count after the triple Tornado DDT. Lethal & The Guns were ahead until then. For those wondering, SoCal Val is more than able to take bumps, she's been working a few Indy feds for a while (Oh, and FYI her real middle name is actually Elizabeth!). I'm not sure if they were using this to set-up up her eventual TNA in-ring debut to wrestle or for her to become his valet. Lethal took the win off Devine with a flying elbow through a table winning for his team, saving the X-Division & winning the X-Division Title again finally taking it back from Team 3d.
Heavyweight Championship Title - Kurt Angle vs Christian Cage with Samoa Joe as special guest enforcer. Alarm bells should have been ringing, hearing the words Special Guest Enforcer as historically they normally always screw someone out of a title. I assume Joe's role was to stop Styles or Tomko interfering? This match was way too long and way too boring for not only the main event but the Heavyweight title. Joe's main contribution seemed to be stopping Angle using a chair, filling in for the ref when he went down & stopping Styles. Tomko did a backbreaker on Cage while Joe was removing Styles and Angle took the win after reviving the ref once Tomko had gone.
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