TNA: In the Zone for 9/14/06
Greetings and salivations, fair readers. Welcome to the skewed vision that is TNA: In the Zone. Once again you will be subjected to my opinions, as I spread them willy nilly, with no care for human life.
This week starts off with AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels getting a match against Maverick Matt and Kazarian. These two have been booked like jobbers lately, and I don’t like it. They are talented workers, and deserve better. This week, they get it. They show some decent offense. This makes AJ and Daniels look even stronger when they win. This is the point that I have been trying to make for the last few weeks. Had this match been a squash, then AJ and Daniels would have looked good, but beating a team that has a chance top win makes them look great! This match really allowed both of these teams to play to their strengths, and I really enjoyed it.
As an aside, the announcers were talking about LAX during this match, which makes sense with the Ultimate X match coming up. However, Don West should refrain at all times from attempting to use “hip” lingo. His quoting of Konnan (LAX is going fifty-one-fifty) sounded SOOO dumb. It was like Archie Bunker showing up on the Steve Harvey Show.
I ignored the Jeff Jarrett stuff backstage. I am VERY disappointed that Eric Young has been relegated to being Jarrett’s stooge. I guess he was getting over too much, thus he needed to be put back below Jarrett. I f*cking hate that guy (Jarrett, not EY).
Next we get a treat. Alex Shelley versus Chris Sabin. These guys define the X-Division for me. Both are young, energetic, and have attitude. A short way into the match, Senshi comes out to scout Sabin for their upcoming PPV match. Near the end of this match, we find Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal shoving Johnny Devine into a shopping cart, and rolling him down the ramp. The impact with the ring looked PAINFUL! I guess Johnny Knoxville must have paid a lot to get this sort of advertising.
By the way, Sabin won the match. The Jackass stuff really took away from what had been a good match.
They air a taped promo between Christian Cage and Rhino. Really good, intense stuff here. These two are hitting on all cylinders.
Okay… Hangman’s Horror match between Abyss and Raven. Anyone who knows me will tell you what a huge mark I am for Raven, but he is looking both tired and hurt here. I really fear that the end is coming soon for this fantastic entertainer. There are a few times during the match that Raven of old shines through, and I find myself marking out like a ten-year-old. At one point, Raven looks like he may have suffered a broken nose. He keeps on going, though. Eventually, Abyss hangs him up, though, to get the win. It’s okay, really. Raven still rules.
After the match, Runt comes out and helps Raven up, only to Acid Drop him, and badmouths him to boot. Where is this story going? I dunno.
Last up we get the first ever TNA Town Hall Meeting. Cornett is so great on the stick. He has fans up at ringside, making them feel like a part of the show, and that is great. He re-instates Hebner as a referee, and calls out Samoa Joe to talk about the Fan’s Revenge match. I really believe that Joe has turned a major corner. The fans will not let him be a heel, and that sits well with me. Zbysco comes out to get in Cornette’s face, giving Joe a chance to punk him out with a leather strap. This was a great segment till Jarrett comes out and beats a “fan” with a chair. The days of having plants in the audience are over, and they really insulted my intelligence with this one.
All in all, we got a couple good matches, and a bunch of set-up stuff. Decent enough show. For working through the pain, though, and giving us his all, Raven is In the Zone.
Go Scotty!
Dougie
icarusfallz@yahoo.com
