Reviewing the 1/6/11 episode of TNA.
10 Thoughts on TNA Impact
1. Double J is now being billed as a MMA Expert. That big goofy looking guy in the front row for the last few weeks challenging Jarrett has been funny to watch. Almost falling off the guardrail to get to him. Jarrett basically explains the new tweaks to the Double M-A challenge in ring this time. It was much better to do it this way than in the quick vignette they did after the Amazing Red/”Little” Red segment last week. Kurt Angle returned after this week’s challenge, signing his name on Jarrett’s open contract for a MMA “Exhibition” at Genesis this Sunday. Nice to have Kurt back.
2. Samoa Joe was revealed to be filming The Pope the last few weeks and accuses him of being a scumbag. The Pope stumbled at first, but had answers for everything. It’s not blatantly obvious The Pope is the heel here. Samoa Joe could easily have edited the footage to make him look bad. It’s a great story to explain where Samoa Joe has been during contract negotiations and get him in a new program away from Double J. It also makes sense for Samoa Joe to move on if he is turning heel and given his history with The Pope, makes even more sense.
Line(s) of the Night: Taz on Sarita’s entrance while her partner, Madison Rayne’s music plays
Taz-“Sarita was trying to do the little Mexican dance she does, the hispanic dance. Only this song doesn’t really have the right beat.”
3. Madison’s Crotch Lock Face Stomper is not the same when Madison is wearing pants.
4. Weird that they would give Eric Bischoff’s son, the moniker “Jackson James” when there is already Mickie James. They could easily have given him a different second name since it’s not his real name anyways. Out of all the names to choose from or more likely in this case assign to someone, you’d think you wouldn’t want to choose the same one as one of your wrestling talents. I’m just sayin’.
5. Â I’m so thankful AJ Styles interfered in the Douglas Williams vs. Rob Terry match for very obvious reasons. AJ may be on the verge of turning face as his tension with Eric Bischoff has been reaching a crescendo. Although it could also be a ruse as Fortune needs AJ. Rob Terry needs to be a bodyguard, not taking AJ’s spot in Fortune. You can’t replace a Ric Flair with a Lex Luger. Teasing tension now could also be an out for a future face turn, too in case of another injury to a babyface.
LON: Brother Devon to Bully Ray in the parking lot while security holds Devon back from brawling with Ray.
Devon- “Tell your bitches to move.”
6. TNA continues to produce the best videos around. From the Genesis Main Event video to the Genesis card run down. I can’t stress that enough. When watching a TNA program, the videos alone can bring you up to speed as well as build up the hype to see where it leads. Excellent job by their production team.
LON: Ken Anderson in response to Mike Tenay reminding him of what Matt Morgan gave up in Immortal to stick up for him.
Mr. Anderson-“And I’ve thanked him for that. How many times do I have to…? Do you want me to like hire a marching band or something?”
7. If there was a segment that I would say is must see from this Impact that it would be the sit-down face to face between Ken Anderson and Matt Morgan moderated by Mike Tenay. All of the participants were excellent and it effectively built up the #1 Contenders Match for Genesis. For a match not built around the title, but for getting to the title, they have done a tremendous job. It also really stresses how important just getting a title shot is in the first place. You can’t underestimate how important it is to make the World Title the focus and most important part of competing in TNA. That is what all competitors should be striving for–>To be the best. Period.
8. Kazarian is getting much more mic time which is really elevating his character. It’s exactly what he needs. Same with TNA talent that needs to improve in the ring, too. Velvet Sky can possibly get to the level of the other knockouts if she keeps working hard and working with superior talent to learn how to work better. Rob Terry? I’m not sure how good he can get, but if you do pair him with guys like Douglas Williams on house shows, either he will get better or you’ll finally have the verdict on how valuable a guy like that can be to the future of your company. A great physique is only going to take you so far. Can you go? That is the name of the game. Nobody can ever say he wasn’t given an opportunity to get better. Rushing him into TV time/matches might be a mistake, tho. He needs to build experience with superior workers in non-televised matches in order to be given the proper time to work a match and tell a story not to mention ply his craft and learn the skills better.
9. RVD’s chase of Jeff Hardy continues to be intriguing. At least they are moving the story along and now Jeff is finally interacting with RVD. I still hold my choice of a masked Jeff competing against RVD this Sunday. Jeff using his Willow the Wisp gimmick would be a nice harken back to his early days and build the feud with RVD. There are other choices, but this would be cost effective if they aren’t going to sign any new talent to compete this Sunday. Jeff vs. RVD, even with Jeff under a hood would certainly be a nice treat and added bonus to the PPV card. I don’t think it would be a letdown to anyone expecting Matt Hardy or Shane Helms, since a RVD vs. Jeff Hardy match should be good in any form. It also shouldn’t be surprising since Jeff’s character has been shown to like to play mind games.
10. PPV build up was very strong. There are a lot of great matches this Sunday for Genesis. Even up to the final moments of the program, TNA provided one more piece of tension in the #1 contender’s match. All of the matches have been given strong, strong build up with the focus on the world title chase, rightfully so, being given the most attention. But when looking down the card, TV time has been invested in all of the matches. What makes that so great is while each match may not end up being a home run, there will be the added element of emotional investment. As a wrestling fan and a fan of TNA programming, that is all you can ask. Job well done by TV production and talent. Now it is time for everyone to up their game at the PPV and deliver the goods.
Match of the Night:
Tag Team Champions Motor City Machine Guns vs. Fortune’s AJ Styles and Kazarian
The match was short, but the best of the bunch. The Knockouts match was entertaining, but the last few minutes of this tag match really sealed the deal. As per the norm with MMG matches, fast, exciting and hard hitting action. The outcome further adds to the AJ/Bischoff tension as did the post match beatdown for Beer Money vs. MMG. It served it’s purpose and was the match of the night to me. RVD vs. Double J was riddled with interference and a backdrop to other stories as well as ended in disarray. MMG vs. Fortune gets the nod this week.
In case I can’t get to the Round Table this week, here are my predictions for this Sunday:
1. #1 Contenders Match
Mr. Anderson vs. Matt Morgan
Winner: Mr. Anderson
2. Tag Team Championship
MMG (c ) vs. Beer Money
Winners: Beer Money
3. TV Title Match
Douglas Williams (c ) vs. AJ Styles
Winner: AJ Styles
I think the Immortal tension is a ruse unless Fortune breaks away from them with a AJ loss. I don’t think it’ll happen especially with the hand injury element into play.
4. X-Divsion Title Match
Jay Lethal (c ) vs. Kazarian
Winner: Kazarian
5. Knockouts Title Match
Madison Rayne (c ) w/ Tara vs. Mickie James
Winner: Mickie James
6. RVD vs. Mystery Opponent
Winner: RVD
I think it’s Jeff and will reveal himself to be after a RVD win. Jeff can always reveal he was testing him.
7. Bully Ray vs. Brother Devon
Winner: Brother Devon
Ray gets another post match beatdown in on Devon to continue the feud, maybe someone saves Devon
8. Double M A Exhibition
Jeff Jarrett vs. Kurt Angle
Winner: Kurt Angle by DQ
That is all.
M.C. Brown
You can find me on Twitter as
ShocXwavE
