Reviewing the 7/7/11 episode of IMPACT WRESTLING…
1. Just when Taz was complimenting Christy Hemme on being one of the hottest ring announcers she makes one of the most underwhelming introductions of Crimson. There is a difference between announcing a competitor and just saying their name. Later in the show, her long pause before saying Jack Evans made me think she was waiting for a name to flash again on the big screen to remind her who he is. There is no doubt Christy is smokin’. However, she has a long way to go to reach even Lillian Garcia levels as a consistent ring announcer let alone the all time greatest like The Fink. Some of us notice these little nuances that can either add or subtract from the show.
2. While I actually think the Bound For Glory series is actually pretty unique as they update results from the House Shows, it really is undermined by the fact that Crimson is undefeated. Now, if Joe beat him last PPV to end his streak like he probably should have, then having a Goldberg-like push in the series would be irrelevant. It would seem like everyone would be on an even playing field and anyone could indeed beat anyone on a given night. Especially how they are promoting the house show results. However until Crimson loses, it makes the entire series seem just like a background to push him further instead of get the concept over which could have longevity and carry over for events to come. I understand TNA’s desire to really build their stars and they are trying really hard to get not only guys like Crimson and Gunner over, but there are things like the here and now that bear promoting such as Destination X and making wins and losses mean something. Now I know Bound For Glory is in October and there will be at least two PPV chances for Crimson to lose. But before his lead gets too far ahead and becomes laughable then he is going to have to lose at the August PPV whatever type of Justice they want to call it. The actual justice will be in bringing the Series back down closer to an even playing field for me to fully embrace what should continue to be a unique concept that could end up being as important to TNA as the Royal Rumble is to WWE.
3. ODB loses a lot of her luster without her high octane in your face entrance. Imagine the Ultimate Warrior if he just strolled to the ring with no music. Part of her schtick is the music, the raunchiness and sensationalistic nature of this she-beast coming to the ring getting ready to overwhelm the fans and her opponent. Also, someone should tell Velvet Sky that you aren’t going to get much noise or do as much damage if you are chopping someone with a glove on. It defeats the purpose of what a wrestling chop should or could add to the match when it needs credibility.
4. I would question the Brian Kendrick character’s decision to give the mask back to Abyss but I suppose he was to be playing mind games with the Champion not necessarily steal it. Although maybe he would decide taking his beating now from an angry Abyss might be better than facing a fuming pile of Abyss at the show. I thought at least Kendrick should have mentioned something about holding the mask hostage much like Abyss has about holding the X-Title as a prisoner of war. I thought he missed an opportunity there.
5. Great move by TNA bringing in Jack Evans to fill the final slot in the 4-way match at Destination X which will now have him face Zema Ion, Austin Aries and Low Ki. Although part of me thinks the Zema Ion fellow is ripe to take the pin from the more accomplished trio of Jack Evans, Austin Aries and Low Ki. All three of them should be signed in my humble opinion. Although all of the youngsters showed promise including Jack’s opponents Anthony Nese and Jesse Sorenson in the most recent match. They definitely should keep an eye on the young talent which should hopefully inspire any veterans to up their game.
6. Speaking of veterans upping their game, The Pope shined in the limited spotlight he had this week. Definitely more than he has been given in the past weeks and in a better feud for his character, The Pope built on his shady nature further trying to gain Devon’s trust after cheating to knock out James Storm then graciously giving the win(and points) to his partner for the night, Devon. It’s good to see The Pope show such fire as well as up his game when given something better to work with. I definitely count him as one of the ones TNA has botched a push over since the Hulk Hogan regime came on board. And it seemed like they were solidly behind The Pope as a babyface before, too. But if they play Devon as the tough as nails straight man Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) and Pope as Reggie Hammond(Eddie Murphy) to their 48 Hours reference from this week it could be entertaining.
7. Line of the Night:
To Ken Anderson about how he’s not going to get away with screwing Hulk Hogan(and Immortal) anymore
Scott Steiner– “But now that I’m here, I’m going to be doing the screwing.”
A funny pause followed almost like Steiner had to be sure what he said was legal or made sense.
8. Move of the Night:
Jack Evan’s 630 Splash
Evans really is a human video game character. The guy can flip, sell moves and move around the ring with the speed of a cat. That splash is very impressive and definitely makes him a prime candidate to focus and highlight the X-Division around well past the PPV. I’d love to see him and Amazing Red go at it.
9. Notable Matches from 7/7/11:
a. RVD vs. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Jerry Lynn
This one gets the nod from me for best match. Just a Dream match to see these four go at it. Very entertaining action while it lasted and Jerry Lynn really shined proving as the fans chanted he still has it indeed. Daniels was pinned by RVD but that doesn’t make it an automatic for Lynn and Daniels to win. In fact if they go in the direction I think they will with Daniels, then AJ will have to win to make it happen. Although hopefully while AJ could use the win, Daniels definitely could use the heel push afterwards.
b. Jack Evans vs. Jesse Sorenson vs. Anthony Nese
I was impressed by the fast pace, intensity and overall entertainment value to this contest. If we can get consistent entertaining matches like this and the four way on Impact Wrestling every week, then that goes a long way towards separating the brand that wants to be known as putting Wrestling First.
10. Final Show Thoughts:
It took what seemed like years worth of stories, but Immortal finally recruited Mr. Anderson into the fold. The turn became pretty predictable in fact almost felt rehashed(and may very well could have been). Anderson made the tag replacing the Hogan beat down Sting to help Kurt Angle in the main event facing Immortal’s Gunner, Bully Ray, Scott Steiner and Abyss. Anderson tagging himself in, proceeded punch all of Immortal then turned on Angle and gave him a Mic Check, tagged out and let Immortal pin him. Nothing is shocking here. Anderson has been booked like a heel, helped by Immortal in from what I hear or read was an awful ending to win the title anyways, might as well make it official. Plus, if Kurt Angle really is the #1 Contender then after Anderson beats Sting next week, it sets up a natural feud. Is this cutting edge for Anderson? No. Does it make sense booking wise to do this on TNA television? Yes. Although Kurt vs. Anderson has been done. Now with Immortal cronies I see it getting worse not better. The rest of the show definitely seemed better than the last few weeks. We can’t get rid of the Jarretts as they promised to return from Mexico and hopefully the awful Velvet vs. Original Knockouts has really ended despite ODB’s promise to return. But the two notable matches were strong and subplots have been laid down with Bobby Roode’s uphill battle with his shoulder, The Pope/Devon and Daniels/AJ. I think Kazarian/Joe deserved more than just a plug, but we do know there is bad blood there from last week so we’ll see how they do on the PPV, which I expect to be full of some very good match ups. Douglas Williams has an open challenge, by the way, which probably isn’t going to be answered by Kurt Angle unless he is pretty pissed off at Immortal enough to destroy him or anyone in his way if he wanted to crash the party. Jay Lethal would be pretty cool or Homicide if they were options. Homicide would tie into the Mexican America storyline quite nice and Jay would just be good to see back. If it’s Eric Young then it would be to make the TV Title serious again, one would hope. While it would be cool to see Douglas as TV Champion, the feud with Mexican America would bet against it.
IMPACT PLAYERS of the WEEK:
Jack Evans/Daniels/AJ Styles/RVD/Jerry Lynn/Pope/Kendrick
Evans impressed and picked up the big win, the 4 way was top notch, Pope elevated himself from X-Plosion and Kendrick may have outsmarted Abyss while still getting thrashed, delivered a strong promo about fighting for the X-Division this Sunday.
That is all.
M.C. Brown
You can find me on Twitter as
ShocXwavE
