Believe it or not, TNA has a PPV tonight. I know, I know everyone is too busy paying attention to the CM Punk and John Cena angle and completely forgot about it. Don’t feel bad, I forgot too.
This is a debut column that I’m going to start doing for every PPV. The purpose is to see if the PPV is worth buying or not worth buying.  The way I am going to figure that out  is simple: Each match will receive certain amount of money. For instance, if a match is well-built and should be good, it will receive a high amount. If not, it will receive a poor amount. If it’s really, really bad, then it will be in the red. In other words, it will deduct from the money total. After everything is added up, we’ll see if the PPV is worth the asking value. This PPV is valued at 34.95.
X-Division Championship Match: Brian Kendrick vs. Austin Aries vs. Alex Shelley
This will likely be the match of the night. All three guys are good athletes and since TNA is trying to rebuild the X-Division, I don’t see why this wouldn’t get about 20 minutes. Even though Kendrick needs to put more effort into his matches,  Austin Aries and Alex Shelley are tremendous in a lot of categories when it comes to in the ring; both are very high-paced and innovative, and still very important qualities such as storytelling and psychology. CM Punk vs. John Cena is going to be hard to beat for MOTY, but this match without question could certainty be a MOTYC given time and effort. Price Value: 10  dollars
The Pope vs. Devon
This is one of two matches for the Bound For Glory tournament. For the life of me, I still don’t completely understand how the system works. I think they going on the fly week to week. Anyway, this is a nothing match. Seeing these two put on something classic just isn’t going to happen. Hopefully, it is  kept short and to the point. It could be decent, but even that’s a stretch. Price Value: 1 dollar
Rob Van Dam vs. Crimson
Just when you thought the first Bound For Glory tournament match was bad, behold this one. RVD has been for the most part sloppy and unmotivated in his matches since coming to TNA, while Crimson is more green than grass.  Furthermore, these two are an awful pairing, as their styles are going to clash awfully.  The only intriguing thing in this match is seeing whether TNA continues with this Goldberg winning streak with Crimson. If they are really going to push all the way to the mainevent, they’re making a huge mistake, as  he’s very green and is not connecting with the fans whatsoever. Price Value: 30 cents
Mexican America vs. Beer Money
Mexican America isn’t terrible, while Beer Money is arguably the best team in the world right now. Athleticism, presence, star-power, charisma, mic-skills, in-ring psychology, they just about have all the elements needed when it comes to tag team wrestling. Needless to say, but I hope one day WWE utilizes their tag division and signs these guys. They remind me of a newer Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard team, as they have that oldschool psychology mixed in with an up-to-date move-set. But yeah, this match should be good if booked right. With TNA, it’s hard to say, but I still have faith that they can overcome the bad booking if there is any. Price Value: 6 dollars.
Fortune vs. Immortal
Ugh. When will this feud just end? It’s been dead forever. Just end already. That said, the match itself could be decent. Steiner is pretty awful in the ring and very limited and I still believe Abyss is one of the worst wrestlers in the world (half his fault, half TNA’s fault), but Gunner is an alright worker, Kaz can be good on some days, Daniels is usually better when he’s with AJ Styles, and AJ Styles can make any bad match good with his excellent bumping and flying abilities. He’s the HBK of this era for sure. Price Value: 4 dollars.
Knockout’s Title: Winter vs. Mickie James
Eh. The last time I looked forward to these two working together was at Night of Champions 2008 and the match failed. So, I am not looking forward to this match much at all. Plus, knockout matches only get like 5 minutes these days. And let’s face it, without Scott D’Amoore, this division is on par with the diva’s division. Price Value: 50 cents
Knockout Titles: Rosita and Sarita vs. Tara and Ms. Tessmacher
If this isn’t short, this will be  utterly terrible. As much as I want to give this negative money, I’ll be nice and give it nothing. Price Value: 0 dollars
Bully Ray vs. Ken Anderson
Granted, Bully Ray has been doing some of his best work as a heel since his ECW days. However, unless he’s with someone like AJ Styles, his matches are not great. Ken Anderson is, well, let’s face it, Ken Anderson is terrible. Â I don’t believe in go-away heat, but if I did, Ken Anderson would be on top of my list. His promos are long-winded, annoying and directionless and his matches are scary for his opponent. This might be decent, but I’m holding my breath. Price Value: 1 dollar
TNA Title: Sting vs. Kurt Angle.
Sting’s impersonation of Heath Ledger has been downright awful. By far, it’s the worst gimmick in wrestling right now. I’m not blaming Sting. I am blaming TNA’s creative team for actually thinking it is a good idea. You cannot hate the guy for trying. It would be like someone telling me to impersonate Randy Moss. Something I can blame Sting for is his lack of effort and motivation during his title matches. Quite frankly, everyone has been terrible. If you want to be champion, you have to try and put some effort into your matches. Come on now. Usually I’d have faith in Kurt Angle, but lately he’s been having the most formulaic Angle matches ever with no psychology or purpose in them. His matches are spot-fest, plus I’m scared every Angle match he might die. Price Value: 3 dollars.
Total: 25.80
As you can see,  this PPV is NOT worth buying. There are some possible good matches on this card, but there is not enough substance behind the feuds to really get you emotional invested into. Plus, there are 9 matches on this card, making me worried some things might not get enough time. Mainly, I went by whether the match was going to be good or not, as most of the build for these matches are either nonsensical or lackluster. If you can watch this PPV somehow by not ordering, I’d say go for it, as there might be some good matches on the card. Otherwise, save your money for something else.
Be sure to check out the debut of PDRwrestling podcast, as Matt, owner of the site, and I will talk for 30 minutes about the latest in pro-wrestling this Monday at 11:30 pm est time at this link.
Also, on August 14th at 6:30 est, catch Michael Brennan’s highly anticipated “Booking With Brennan” show at this link. Watch out Eddie Graham, there’s a new booker in town.
