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Best segment the polygraph results with Cornette and Jarrett
Worst match if you can call it a match...the 4 man tag team
Line of the night....by Eric Young...during the polygraph test..."remember the OJ trial, Roe vs. Wade and plead the Fifth Commandment". Classic dialogue. Impact flew by tonight. I love LAX. Hernandez and Homicide are a great team and with Konnan they look dangerous and cool at the same time. Konnan's interview was awesome. LAX is the best thing going in wrestling today. Konnan uses just enough Spanish in his interviews to be deemed credible. Good use of the No Surrender poster when Konnan held it up and AMW's picture was on it. It made it look like nobody expected LAX to go as far as they have. Ultimate X will be a classic with Styles/Daniels vs. LAX. Great concept.
Cornette and Jarrett's segment stole the show. Does Jarrett really have legitimate heat with the Impact crowd or do they pipe that sound in? It sounded legit to me. Jarrett has come a long way since TNA first started on Spike. Cornette does a tremendous job with his role. When he read the results of the polygraph test, it had a momentum to it that only an experienced professional can accomplish. It did the trick. When Jarrett failed, the crowd popped big for it and Jarrett then turned his attention to Eric and how long will it be before Jarrett beats up little Eric? I found it highly amusing. Impact again demonstrated that there is a huge difference between TNA and any of Vince's companies. TNA is the best wrestling show on TV at the present time. No Surrender just got a whole lot more interesting with Jarrett/Samoa Joe with fans serving as lumberjacks surrounding the ring with leather belts. Who talked Jeff Jarrett into doing that type match? I bet you would never see Triple H or Shaun Michaels doing that match. Christian and Ron Killings had a good match but they needed more time but that's the bad thing about TV wrestling. Time constraints are a necessary evil. I thought the show was excellent, great production, great timing. The only thing I really didn't like about the show is the announcing. Don West is just awful and he really brings down Tenay with him. But other than that, Impact continued their streak of good TV and for that, I'm happy. Hope TNA gets more time and a better time slot. By the way Spike, I love your commercials. I also loved the Jackass promotion as I'm a huge Jackass fan.
Alexandro Mayan Gaorgas
San Padres de Reyes, New Mexico
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I was already looking forward to the Ultimate X match (tons more than the Hell In The Cell) and there segment just added to it. Just a side comment but I like what TNA has been doing with the team of Daniels & Styles. Yes they are two singles wrestlers but unlike Kane & Big Show, they have them completely focused as a tag team & have become a great one at that.
I didn't care for the whole Bobby Roode angle except I'll give them credit that it did shed his "Team Canada" image but when I saw Bobby Heenan...it got my interest.
Wow, the tease of the AMW breakup is really getting good. It's reminding me of the old "are they gonna break up" Steiner Brothers or even older storyline involving The Rockers where they ended up breaking up. It's good that even though tag teams like AMW & even The Naturals aren't even in the tag title picture, they aren't forgotten & just put the side with nothing to do.
People can call Eric Young "Eugene II" all they want but unlike WWE, Young knows how to keep this gimmick entertaining & funny and aren't giving it overkill. The way he had Jeff Jarrett looking & him freaking out on the smallest questions was funny. He's a ripoff of Tweek from South Park but a good one at that. I also like how the promos with Shane Douglas/Naturals & Raven were both short & to the point and didn't drag on for 20 mins. paraphrasing the same things they said last week. And I loved the fact that Raven brought it up that WWE didn't creative the Dudley Boyz (even though they own the name) or even Paul Heyman didn't create the Dudleys...RAVEN CREATED THE DUDLEY BOYZ!
Chrisitan vs. Truth was nice but I really wish they would stop taking the commercial breaks during the middle of the match. Take it before the match starts or during the entrances. And the old cocky Christian is slowly back which is always good. He's been used so much better in TNA for the past year than he was in WWE being jobbed out every week on SmackDown. Oh yeah, just incase Killings is thinking about going back to WWE...I got one question for him to consider. Remember your poor run as K-KWIK? Enough said.
The way TNA uses Jim Cornette is the correct way to use the "big authority figure" like Vince McMahon himself used to play until around a year ago. He's not on TV just to get TV time but when he shows up, you know something important is going to happen. However, after the segment...I have one demand & one request.
Request = Make it a title match & give Joe the belt ALREADY!
Demand = JARRETT BETTER NOT BE THE ONE WHO ENDS JOE'S STREAK OR ELSE YOU WILL KILL WHATEVER FANBASE YOU HAVE LEFT NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOUR PRODUCT IS BETTER THAN WWE'S! (Cruiserweight action, tag team division, more wrestling than sports entertainment, ect.)
-Johnny Blaze
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The LAX squash was OK, but those finishers looked really dangerous! I don’t know if they can pull it off in Ultimate X, since Styles and Daniels will obviously be the ones carrying that match.
Hey, Christy, where were you last week?
The eight man tag was fine, and the #1 contenders match set up of No Surrender seems very interesting. I’m waiting for the inevitable AMW breakup.
The best part of the polygraph administration skit was Eric Young. I enjoy that gimmick.
The booking staff better get the Naturals some clean finishes where they look good. If they fail, that will cast Douglas in a bad light as manager and mentor. I would rather see their tandem run for the long term.
Wow, three Christy Hemme appearances and it’s not even 11:30! Not that there’s anything wrong with that! ;)
I enjoyed the Truth vs. Christian match. Looks like we have Cage vs. Rhino at the pay-per-view and Rhino issued the challenge in a very good way!
Then we had our customary Jarrettfest. It dragged on quite a bit. If anyone is going to end Samoa Joe’s undefeated record, Jarrett is absolutely NOT the one who should do it. If I watch the PPV and Jarrett wins this match, then I will be voting POOR on the site’s “what did you think of the show†poll. And I may have to start calling TNA Impact “The Jeff Jarrett Wrestling Show.†Don’t let us down, TNA bookers!
Overall Grade for the show: B-
Ken Kibby
Benicia, CA
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- J-E-Double-Eff J-A-Double-Are-E-Double-Tee is flustered! Eric Young dyed his hair. Eh, ok. Ok setup for hijinks to come, though the "why'd you dye your hair?" joke fell flat.
- LAX vs. The Mulkey, er, Mack Brothers - Hernandez's overhead toss is just brutal. The Cop, er, Gringo Killer and a flying Razor's Edge, and this one is mercifully over. Nice shot of bloody Mack's. Konnan's "no respect" rants continue to work I'd love to see Daniels as a Blue Man :) Instead, he appears to be ready to join Cirque du Soleil with his X-rope climb. Nice feud filler. Does anyone remember the Mulkeys?
- Backstage, Cornette is WALKING...Slick Johnson is ASS-KISSING...Christian is SMIRKING...Christy Hemme is SMOKING...I am SMILING.
- Bobby Roode continues his managerial walkthrough. It's a shock to see how time and illness have ravaged Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, but his sense of humor is still intact. "You and the wife go out and have dinner on me.", "I'm not married", "Well, then give me 10 bucks back...". Outstanding.
- The X-Division faces are enjoying some Jackass 2 backstage. I knew I liked those guys. Nice cross-promotion, looks about 10,000 times better than "The Marine". I spy a Jackass 2 banner in the arena as well.
- 8 Man Tag: AMW+Kazarian+Bentley vs. James Gang+Smiley+Shark Boy - Gail Kim is the hawtness as always. Hooray, BG's spiel get's interrupted! Shark Boy with a bite, Norman with a wiggle, and the fans go wild. Fine for what it was. The AMW guys continue to dissent despite the victory. More Hemme Hotness (tm) as we go to commercial.
- Jarrett and Young prep for the lie detector test. Young interrupts the questions, repeatedly, "Plead the 5th Commandment", hee hee.
- Tenay and the Franchised Naturals chat it up with video package goodness. Seven teams...in a row? Battle royal? The Naturals get PO'd, and with another Hemme bumper, we get TA'd.
- Raven pushes the Hangman's Horror match for next week. I'm liking the extra time they give us to sink in on these gimmick matches (10K Tacks, Barrio Brawl) lately.
- Christian vs. Truth - PPV-quality matchup sez Tenay, and he's right. I'm surprised they didn't save this for No Surrender. Truth gets nasty with his offense. Flying split from the top rope, ouch! After a break, Christian's back in control. Christian's always been a great heel, and he's getting to show it off big-time. I mentioned this last week, but I'll reiterate: I love this matchup because the two guys are so physically similar, and their styles (wild and crazy and HHH-esque heelish) mix very well. Christian with a shout out to his old buddy Edge with a corner-bouncing spear on Truth. Ref bump saves Christian, and a crotch shot and Unprettier later, Christian gets the duke. He sets up for a one-man Conchairto, and here comes Rhino for the save. Rhino issues the challenge for the PPV, natch.
- Back to the lie detector. Showtime gets all the credit from JJ, who pushes the angle that he's gonna get all the time he wants to prep for Sting.
- We're back, and Cornette is MATCHMAKING. Christian vs. Rhino, no gimmick required. Jarrett and Young hit the ring, and Cornette runs through the question list, no to the first two questions, yes to a Zbyszko conspiracy. Guilty Guilty Guilty! JJ's riled, and Showtime books out. Cornette sets up a non-title match (to make it fair for Sting - hey, logic!). Fans' Revenge Lumberjack Strap Match vs. the real Samoan Bulldozer, Joe! The fans knew it. Cornette kicks off the "Joe's Gonna Kill You" chant, and we are out.
Another good week of matches and setups from TNA. Fans' Revenge truly is a unique idea, and one that TNA's been able to build with the X-Pac heat built over the years. Joe's the perfect guy to put in the match, the indy rasslin' version of The Rock, loved whether he's face or heel. I do expect he'll be defeated after Scott Steiner interferes, to set up a Bound For Glory match and get a final rub for Joe. I rate this week's show a solid B.
Aredubya
