This will be a new post PPV feature that will attempt to grade out how everyone who appeared on the PPV did. Teams will be treated as a unit with standout performers highlighted. To see a quick breakdown of the match and who won, just click that wrestler’s name. Let’s get to the Report Card!
Amazing Red: B-
Red did his job exciting the crowd tonight, but he wasn’t memorable. Opening a show that had such a strong top card, the opener could have really carried an exciting feel throughout the night rather than just hyping the crowd.
Homicide: C+
Homicide, again, really missed out. A guy with a great sense of the moment, Cide doing something particularly dastardly here, even in defeat, would have really stood out. He wasn’t bad or anything, just not notable.
Lacey Von Erich is bad and continually holds down their grade. Neither Velvett Sky nor Madison Rayne were bad, they just weren’t good enough to lift Lacey above bad.
ODB: B+
ODB has become the Hulk Hogan of the TNA Knockouts division in the best way possible. Sure she’s cartoony, but she brings an undeniable energy to her matches. The grade is only held down a bit by lack of ring time.
The grouping of teams hurts a bit here, as Sarita was really not notable, while Wilde was excellent. Taylor sold better than I’ve ever seen her, and while her offense was sloppy, getting sympathy is half the battle for a face in a tag match.
The Motor City Machine Guns: B-
The Guns were smooth and flashy and everything they always are in the ring… so how were they so outshined by…
Beer Money, Inc: B+
These guys are just unreal right now. They didn’t do a ton here and still came out the stars of the match. Robert Roode has it and James Storm gets tag wrestling better than anyone since Bobby Eaton. I cannot wait for a MCMG vs. BMI feud.
They looked lost for much of this with no personality or real skill coming out of their side. They were totally overshadowed by two superior teams and didn’t even really garner proper heat as heels to make the finish mean what it should.
Eric Young: Inc.
He came out to look evil, then shocked. Sure, if that’s how you want to use your “top†young heel, TNA.
Kevin Nash: F
I’d love for someone to make sense of his turn. Foreshadowing is an important tool. This wasn’t a shocking turn, it just felt stupid. Nash has been back and forth so many times between heel and face, it takes more than just a belt shot to make an impact.
Awesome Kong: A
Kong is spoiling fans by being so far and away the best female monster wrestler ever that it’s easy to just give her a B and move on, but tonight, in a short match, she delivered the brutality and made Tara a threat all at once – no easy task.
Tara: A-
It’s rare when someone from WWE is made by someone from TNA, but Kong made Tara look amazing tonight and Tara’s such a good wrestler, their feud is a true highlight of TNA. If only this match got more time!
Rhino has really taken to this role as it’s easy to see him as this type of whiner, but 3-D didn’t alter their act enough now that they’re heels and they were as sluggish as usual. Finally, I deducted some points here because this team should in no way have gone over.
The Pope, Hernandez, and Matt Morgan: B+
Oh this is why Hernandez is so good at tags! As soon as Super Mex was tagged in, he went flying around with amazing agility for someone his size, but the real MVP of this team was Pope, who worked great on offense and selling, looking like everything, well, everything MVP isn’t on Raw. Matt Morgan was just kind of there, pulling the rating down by being unmemorable, but not much by being inoffensive.
Steiner carried Lashley as well as anyone has since Cena. He structured a great beatdown and broke out his high end offense to make Lashley look like a killer for fighting back.
Bobby Lashley: B-
This is about the best we’ll get from Lashley: power moves that don’t seem impressive and good structure. It could be worse, but he should be nowhere near where he is on the card.
Kurt Angle A-
Kurt paced himself really well and didn’t overdo the finishers like usual, but his performance, while great, wasn’t flawless. His arm was annihilated, but barely sold, and where the hell did that finish come from anyway?
Wolfe walked into a major promotion from the indies and put on a clinic where everything he did made perfect sense, from the arm work to the lariats to the using then revisiting of moves. He even managed to sell the ankle lock without messing up the pacing- Desmond showed why he’s such a sure star tonight.
Chris Daniels: A+
Anytime you’re part of an arguable five star match, you get an A+. Daniels was the glue guy here, spending a lot of time being beat up and working in transitions around other guys spots. His fundamentals here were top notch and he’s earned his keep and then some.
AJ Styles: A+
The champion was an amazing flier all through this match, making sure every maneuver was as flashy as possible and he stood out for the entire match. AJ Styles was, in short, a main event superstar.
Samoa Joe: A+
It’s been ages since we’ve seen this Samoa Joe. Even his X-Title run didn’t have him busting out the super-quick combinations, evil smirk and perfect timing quite like this match. Everything he did was dead on and of everyone in this, he was the best at giving the match meaning, both by having his big spots countered and countering those of his opponents.
