I always have a hard time deciding how I feel about TNA. Sometimes they get things right and seem like they are getting things together but their very next move destroys any progress they make. I said that I had enjoyed Genesis last month and that it was a good way to start the year. Well, as it has become their cue TNA went backwards tonight. I guess I should have seen it coming when the first man out was tanner then George Hamilton.
I was saddened that Generation Me was not in today’s show. They are truly amazing ring workers and I was looking forward to seeing them. TNA did their best by booking Robbie E against Kaz in a impromptu X-Division Title match but I wasn’t thrilled with Robbie’s work as Kaz carried the match but that should come to no surprise. To be honest, I don’t have much to say about this bout. Kaz was Kaz, great wrestler, Robbie E. was a douche, so mission accomplish, and Cookie was, well insert any adjective you see fit because I can’t come up with one, not without using expletives at least. Kaz deserves to work with better people than those two.
Did anyone else feel their stomach cringe when you saw Steiner’s promo backstage. I had a hard time deciding whether he was butchering his lines or it was just part of his act. In either case, I didn’t like it at all. TNA needs to know the difference between being edgy and being ridiculous. Just because you swear and drink beer doesn’t mean you are cool. Beer Money did their best to salvage the promo and kind of did, but Steiner walking in the background was just too much.
The match that followed was pointless in my opinion. Beer Money should have had a tag title defense instead of teaming up with Steiner. I wasn’t amused by Rob Terry’s posing nor Steiner’s low blow. The highlights of the match involved Beer Money who always seem to bring the Impact Zone alive. It was pretty impressive that Steiner pulled of the hurracarrana of the top rope, I’ll give him that. The match wasn’t bad nor was it great, it just seem like they threw it in there to waste time. The following match would be no different.
Remember when Samoa Joe was relevant? I do, but as the saying goes, you can’t put your arms around a memory. His match with Dinero, who he himself has regressed, was okay but there was no story told. The match seemed to be a mixture of random moves and random appearances. What was Okaito, or however you spell it, there? Pointless and embarrassing. The end of the match was comical to be honest but not in a good way. We got the typical heel handshake-attack move and Okaito just gets punched, further confusing me as to why he is there. I guess the Impact Zone shared my feelings as the studio was dead throughout. I don’t buy Samoa Joe’s character anymore and it’s quite sad to see him how much he has regressed. My best guess would be the program between the two will continue but count me out as an interested viewer.
My mood was quickly changed, however, as I saw Mickie James backstage. She always looks great and I enjoy seeing her in the ring. Madison Rayne is a different story. She isn’t awful but I just don’t see her as champion, though I realize TNA doesn’t have much to offer as far as woman wrestlers. The match was pretty much a repeat of their bout at Genesis, a carbon copy to be exact. Come on TNA. You have a creative team, don’t you?
Do I have to mention Jeff’s promo? The only thing I can say about it is that once again TNA use of expletives is misplaced and redundant.
I feel bad for Matt Morgan. He has all the tools but he just can’t connect with fans, a problem that TNA has in general. Hernandez on the other hand though was great. He cut a good promo and I was shocked at how easily he manhandled Morgan. This is something that I am actually excited about, both can work and I expect good matches from thees two in the following weeks.
I felt like it was the late 90′s when I saw Matt Hardy backstage. This dude needs to change his look. Seriously Matt, do something different. Your gimmick may have been cool in 1999 but times have changed. That’s not to say RVD has changed but his look and style have aged better, though that’s not saying much. I feel like I am writing more about my feelings on the wrestlers tonight than their actual matches but really, can you blame me? Tonight felt like a replay. I didn’t see anything new from either Matt or RVD. Yeah, Matt did a new submission move but that’s not enough. The match was predictable and again, not to repeat myself, felt pointless. Been there, done that.
Speaking of which, we got another Dudley Brothers match, this time with kids involved, great. Listen people, I am not trying to be negative or bash TNA but you have to be honest to yourselves, this was another match that felt like a replay. We’ve seen this before. It’s not a novelty and the addition of the kids was awful. I didn’t feel sorry for them when they got beat up and what was the deal with Bully Ray winning the match by pinning Devon’s son? The aftermath of the match had me yawning. Too drawn out and again fail to make any sort of connection with me. It was a cheap way to try to build sentiment towards Devon and I have never been a fan of storylines involving wrestlers families, which leads me to the next match.
With a ridiculous stipulation in place, Jeff Jarrett and Kurt Angle faced off in a match that was actually the best of the night. However, Karen has no business being in TNA. She is not entertaining and just looks like she needs the spotlight. Apart from her constant interference though, I really can’t complain. Kurt Angle always puts his heart and soul into matches and Jarrett did a good job of keeping up. This was the first match of the night that felt meaningful, not because of the stipulation but because of the effort and the good near finishes. The ending in particular impressed me. The clean win by Jarrett was unexpected and was nicely done. I have always admired Angle and this match solidified that, not because of the match itself, but he showed once again he is light-years ahead of the rest of the roster. His acting left a lot to be desired but I’ll give him a pass on that. This match was a great choice by TNA to put it before the main event as it got the crowd hot in anticipation of the World Title match.
I don’t know what it is about Ken Anderson but his matches always leave me with a bad taste in my mouth. He is great on the mic and he can wrestle to a certain degree but he always seems to be too stiff, perhaps leading to his notorious injury plagued past. His match with Jeff Hardy was just too slow to be an entertaining ladder match. Some of the spots were pretty cool and Hardy obviously knows his way around a ladder but I feel like they could have done more. The Impact Zone was for the most part too quiet for a main event. They also seemed to favor Hardy which is fine but it shows Anderson may not be able to carry the belt. The finish of the match was botched and if it would have been executed correctly, it would have been pretty awesome. Instead we got an anti-climatic finish, which pretty much summed up the night.
Some people may criticize my blog for being too negative tonight but I am just being as real as I can. The whole pay-per-view felt like deja-vu and it didn’t do much to garner interest in the company. It is hard enough that Wrestle Mania is coming up without TNA shooting themselves in the foot… again. Aside from the Angle-Jarrett match I can honestly say I was just waiting for the pay-per-view to end. TNA needs to find an identity. All too often heels become faces and vice versa. Titles change hands too often without building the wrestler that holds the belt. I don’t know where TNA will go from here but you will have to fill me in because I won’t be watching iMPACT anytime soon.
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