Reviewing the 4/14/11 episode of TNA…
1. While Mr. Ken Anderson may be an asshole, I wouldn’t label him as stupid. Yet he did come across as such by at least not bringing a pipe to the ring with him as he stared into the eyes of Immortal and mouthed off to them.
2. Not sure where Taz was going when he called the 4 way match between Crimson/Douglas Williams/Jesse Neal/Orlando Jordan a match up with potential captains of their teams. If anything it was a sidekick match. Obviously, OJ might be the smarter of the two of his team, but I’d say EY is the captain, even if he is nuts. Steiner mentors Crimson and Shannon is the veteran of his team. If anything, the only one Taz would have been right about being a captain is Douglas Williams.
3. It definitely makes sense that Abyss would take out his revenge on Crimson for taking him out of action. Just exactly why TNA had him do it here at this specific moment, I’m not sure. I think the attack might have meant more at the PPV. Of course, Abyss will be busy this Sunday as will Crimson. But Crimson may retaliate Sunday so that could be why it’s playing out now to provide justification for Crimson getting involved in the Immortal vs. Fortune match. Crimson should match up well against Abyss in a feud and with Abyss’s spot in Immortal, it should be high enough in profile to really elevate his character if done right.
4. It’s funny that during the Abyss vs. Cowboy James Storm match that they announced that the Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett match at Lockdown will be a best of 3 showdown Ultra Male rules. With Immortal winning their series for a Lockdown advantage 2-0, somehow I don’t think the same will be happening at Lockdown for Kurt Angle. What should be a fight to the finish one fall final showdown between Kurt and Jarrett looks like it will be dragged out to help Double J save some face. While not the biggest show of the year which would make it worse(ex. Wrestlemania), wrestling promotions or sports entertainment promotions need to understand the value of giving a great finality after building up a feud for the climax. I don’t see Angle escaping a cage as a blow off to the feud. I see Kurt making a bloody Jarrett scream and tap to finish the match as the logical end to the feud. If Kurt doesn’t decisively win at Lockdown, then they might as well label the PPV and this feud Letdown.
5. TNA did an excellent job advancing their feuds and storylines as they race towards this Sunday. With Mickie’s promo against Madison and the tension between Madison and Tara reaching a boiling point, the Knockouts title match should be a good one. Strong/Intense promos and body language by all the women involved. After being ran over by Madison and Tara there is that added injury/uphill underdog battle angle they can work with Mickie James. I expect the women to deliver this Sunday and for Mickie to walk away, much deserved, with the strap.
6. Winter’s drugging/brainwashing/hypnotizing of Angelina Love would make even Dr. Mindbender, of Cobra/G.I. Joe fame, jealous. Angelina’s attack on her BFF Velvet Sky after she called out Angelina was pretty cold and calculating with no signs of hesitation or remorse. Definite trouble in hottville.
7. It is funny when Eric Bischoff says “Son of a Bitch”. All I can think of is “Son of a Bisch” then hope they’d go right to a shot of TNA referee Jackson James.
8. Line of the Night:
a/b. To Hulk Hogan and Immortal in the ring
Mr. Anderson-“Look at these guys. All these sheep. Just a swinging from your nuts.”
Mr. Anderson-“At the end of the day, I gotta look myself in the mirror. And when I do I say ‘Mr. Anderson. Anderson. You really are an asshole.’ Ya know what? I’m okay with that. The rest of these guys? They have to live with the fact that they know that they’re just up YOUR asshole.”
c. To RVD on a potential offer from Hulk Hogan
Bully Ray-“Let me put it in terms you can understand. This time the grass IS greener on the other side. And there’s less seeds, too. That’s always good, right?”
9. Match of the Night:
Cowboy James Storm vs. Abyss
Storm looked as best as he ever has as a babyface in singles competition. Showing great fire, hitting big moves and the crowd was behind him big time. This really elevated the match for me as there wasn’t too many stand out matches, in fact, while there was a fair share of action and hype for this Sunday, official in ring action was sparse. With Cold Blood Matt Hardy defeating Kazarian earlier and with Abyss’s win here, it gives Immortal the one man advantage every interval as they’ll get the jump on double teaming their opponents at Lockdown. I thought both guys put on an entertaining match and the follow up at the end of the show was really good as Storm showed great intensity and fire about letting his team/AJ down, promising not to do that this Sunday.
10. Final Show Thoughts:
TNA really does an excellent job when it comes to go-home shows on the Thursdays before PPV’s. This show was no different. I don’t like the Ultra Male rules for the Angle/Jarrett Lockdown match, but I suppose we are stuck with them. Most of the other matches, some more than others, received enough hype and TV time for the fans to be emotionally invested in the cage matches at Lockdown. The X-Division match would be the only one I thought they actually failed in their hype for this week. Unless Angelina and Velvet were going to be locked in a cage this Sunday, it might have made more sense to have an X-Divsion segment to hype that match instead and save the segment of the Beautiful People feud for when they can actually build towards a PPV match or at the very least stave it off a week if they have to. I will say it was smart to add some ambiguity to the World title match by teasing a possible RVD turn to Immortal to give some mystery to the main event TNA World title match. With Jeff Hardy being Immortal’s ace in the hole for the last big three way for the title at 10-10-10, there is reasonable speculation that Rob could do the same. Even if it doesn’t happen, it’s always good to shake things up and it adds an extra layer of drama to the equation.
Show MVP:
Sting
Sting definitely came across as a leader and the icon that he is when he stood up to Hogan/Bischoff and did the right thing, even if Anderson is an asshole.
That is all.
M.C. Brown
You can find me on Twitter as
ShocXwavE
