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Overall the PPV gets a 6 out of 10 from Norway....The highlight being the Ultimate X match (Again) and the low point was the "jackass stuff" (also again)..
Bobby Roode vs Jobber was an ok squash match...Can't see what people see in Roode...And his new finisher is a move everyone and their mother has used...
Eric Young vs A1 was "just there"...EY is becoming the "Eugene" of TNA...A1 does nothing for me and is pretty boring....He'll fit well in WWE someday...
Jay Lethal vs Petey Williams was OK at times, but the STUPID stupid Jackass stuff ruins the match...Was this the first taste of Russo booking?
Raven vs Runt vs Abyss was a good brawl.....Runt must be feeling sore today....Can't see this program lasting any longer..Raven stepped up his game for this match.
Triple Chance tag team match was a mess with predictable winners...TNA "has" to get as many people on the PPV as possible, so this is what we get.
X Division used to deliver big time, but lately with the pointless Jackass stuff it's just annoying...This watch was great until the crew came out...STUPID is as STUPID does...TNA should listen to the fans when they chant "This is Stupid"...Senshi looked like a moron at times, and I know he's not comfortable with that...
Christian Cage vs Rhino was disappointing with predictable ref bumps...For this feud to continue, the heel had to win...I expect a gimmick match at Bound For Glory.
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Well a lot of thoughts in short little time. I will save the best for last. Russo booking and Angle signing, well, I will get to that. The first match had no business being on this show. Ultra prelim match to be sure. The Petey Williams vs Jay Lethal match was ruined by a crappy storyline that WWE does on a regular basis. If TNA is trying to be an alternative to the WWE this is not the way to do it. TNA's X-Division is what made this company stand out from WWE and they took a Smackdown like storyline and it sucked. Russo booking on this, if it was him sucked. If WWE was working on a promotion with a movie they would've done better than that.
The three way was good. Typical TNA hardcore stuff that wasn't offensive.
I did like the battle royal and I did like the ending to that match. Makes the Naturals a good shot at a title while gives AMW another program they haven't really done before.
The X-Division title match was good but the fans said it best about the ending by chanting "This is stupid." Again another shot in the foot for TNA by making the X-Division stars as meaningful as the WWE cruiserweight division.
Christian vs Rhyno wasn't bad but it could've been better. Again nothing that was offensive but took them a while to get into 2nd gear.
Ultimate X was good but this should've been the main event. This is TNA's hottest feud right now and watching the fans get into it showed. I do think that LAX should've gotten the belts because this program has the ability to go for a while and LAX' heel work could be to TNA what Edge's heel work is to Raw right now.
The main event was good. I don't have a lot of complaints just that it should've went longer. If the Tag team Ultimate X was was so important they needed to spend 15 minutes hyping it then it should've been the main event. TNA on Thursday nights at 8, yeah, great but a Monday slot would've been better especially since the other announcement was Kurt Angle. Now on to my thoughts on that....
I'm happy, excited and scared because Kurt Angle is my favorite wrestler. If Angle was using MMA to swerve us on his TNA decision, good job then BUT if the WWE fired him for his own health then TNA needs to be careful. I'm pretty sure that WWE didn't want to fire their main event star that was going to help carry their 3rd brand. Also I have to wonder how much money it took to sign Kurt. Let's face it Kurt left at the top of his game and I'm sure he was cheaper to sign than others that TNA had bought. Also with Vince Russo's booking I'm scared that the eventual dream match of Samoa Joe vs Kurt Angle will be rushed and anyone who doesn't think that isn't TNA's dream match is mistaken. I'm surprised that Angle was signed because I was for sure he like other standard wrestlers had a no compete clause in his contract that would forbid him to sign with anyone else for a certain period of time. For sure Angle signing will be the talk of the net for the whole week but I have to saw I'm excited about the matches in the future but get scared of one day reading about Kurt Angle like I did Eddie Guerrero. I mean if the WWE fired him for health it HAS to be serious right?
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So I thought it was a pretty good PPV. I wasn't blown away by much, but all the matches were good, in my opinion. I liked the feuds going in, especially LAX vs AJ/Daniels. On the mic, Konnan is gold.
So I thought Ultimate X was good and Daniels took one hell of a risk at the end. The potential to mess that up was huge, but he nailed it. Very impressive.
Some of those fans really went out of their way to whip Jarrett, but it didn't have a main event feel to me. Maybe Ultimate X should have been the main event.
Senshi continues to impress me. Those chops were vicious and I was wondering if there was legit heat in there. But he's vicious. I'm surprised he doesn't knock people out with those kicks too. They're so stiff and his opponents can't be expecting them half the time.
The triple threat match was decent but not very memorable aside from a couple spots. Runt could've hurt himself, he slid right off of Abyss. But Raven hanging Runt was the spot of the match. The table bump was secondary to that visual, in my opinion.
Then there were the main event announcements. Great news about the time slot. As for Angle, I have mixed emotions. I love him and he'll be great for TNA, but I'm concerned about his health just like WWE was, and I hope he doesn't get hurt. At least the TNA schedule is less demanding than the WWE schedule. And at least he's not getting into MMA where people try to hurt him on purpose. I liked that they cut back to let the crowd chant for Angle before the PPV feed cut.
I thought it was an above average show, but the lack of that main event moment brought it down a notch for me.
Dan
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I don’t know why TNA included political figures in the opening montage. Did they get permission?
Eric Young vs. A1 was a decent opener, and I still enjoy Eric’s “don’t fire me segment.†He’s probably my favorite low-card character right now.
Williams vs. Regal was fine, until the Jackass elements came into play. Williams’ supposed flatulence was unnecessary. This sounds like something DX would do.
I don’t know why, but these clashes between Abyss and Brother Runt don’t seem to have me jumping out of my seat. Adding Raven to the mix didn’t do much for me. I think it may be time for Runt to pick a fight with people who weigh less than twice what he does.
For the most part, the Triple Chance Tag Team match was dull, until we were down to the tag match between AMW and the Naturals. That was when the match got interesting. I commend the bookers for putting the Naturals over, and I think they could have some great matches with Styles and Daniels.
The X-Division title match had great action, until the Jackass guys showed up again. The crowd was right to chant “this is stupid!†But it got better when the stunt backfired and Senshi got the pin. Sabin got what he deserved!
Christian Cage vs. Rhino was fine, but could have had a cleaner finish. Perhaps this will lead to a higher stakes match at BFG.
Why did the pre-taped interview with Styles and Daniels have to include an Eddie Guerrero reference?
The ending of Ultimate X was right on the money! What Daniels did was never done before in a match like this, and LAX was able to show that they were capable of a match like this as well. Nice job!
As for the main event of Joe vs. Jarrett, what’s best is that the right person went over. However, this leads me to worry. When these two eventually face each other PPV again, and it’s for the title, I worry that Jarrett will do whatever it takes to beat Joe. Plus, with Vince Russo back in the fold, the possibility of that happening has increased.
No Surrender Started off OK, weakened down for a while, but the rockets eventually revved up. The two matches touted as the most important definitely delivered, but some of the other matches could have been better.
Overall Grade: B-
Speaking of Russo, I think I’ll take the side if the PWInsider guys and do a “wait and see†approach. Will he take TNA to new heights like he did in WWF in the late 90s, or will he dump TNA in the toilet like he did with WCW in 2000? Only time will tell. But I’ll say this: is he makes Christy Hemme fake a pregnancy, I’m outta here!
Here are my thoughts on TNA moving to prime time. I hear that the move will send Impact to 9PM on Thursday. I’ll tell you this right now: the road may be bumpy. First off, there’s CSI, which has blown away every other TV show in the ratings the past few years, until just last Thursday, when it was beaten by Grey’s Anatomy. Also, CSI airs in reruns on Spike, so those who don’t watch Survivor might watch a CSI rerun as a warm up to a new episode. It would be wise for Impact to have at least two replays during the week.
Finally, I hope Kurt Angle knows what he’s putting himself into. If he suffers a career-ending blow, physically or mentally, he’ll have nobody to blame but himself.
Ken Kibby
Benicia, CA
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OK, let me be honest, I never really liked TNA all that much. To me, it is like watching a tribute to WCW. Same storylines, same wrestlers, same results. The stuff that made TNA interesting in the beginning (Ultimate X match, X division, new talent that had not worked somewhere else) have taken a backseat to instant ratings and tired gimmicks. Truth is, that this last PPV was a basic Impact taping except you got two "big" announcements.
1) TNA will have 1, ONE, UNO, JUST ONE two hour taping. WHOOOOOOPIE! Listen, 90% of the time, they don't use the 1 hour they have now. What makes you think an extra 60 minutes of J-E-Double F J-A-Double R- E - Double T (told you I have been watching for a while now) would be exciting. Oh I know, how about 60 minutes of Sting doing the same garbage he did years before WCW closed down. Why do we need two hours of this? I'll make you a bet right now! I bet that during that show, out of the 60 extra minutes you'll get talk for 50 of them. Anyone wanna take that action? I don't care about TNA being two hours, make one hour work before you try for two. And, to claim that you will have a 2 hour TNA only ONCE does not constitute a "big" announcement to me.
2) Kurt Angle coming to TNA. First off, I think Kurt just made the biggest mistake he could have. You fans are not going to follow you because you spit in the face of all of us that believed that you taking time off was for your family and personal health. Well, now we know that is BS. Before this, I saw Kurt as a good guy that could wrestle his ass off and really gave 100%. I know he will in TNA but I just can't get over the fact that he lied to his fans and ignored the INTEGRITY he holds so dear. I would have excepted it if he was on bad terms with WWE and wanted out and ASKED out so he could find work somewhere, but to say you are hurting and need a break so they will give you a easy out was just wrong. WWE gave Kurt anything and everything he could have wanted. Kurt lost a lot of respect. For what? So he can be beat by Jeff Jarrett? So he can wrestle Samoa Joe (who, to be honest, is nothing more then word of mouth rep). There is nothing in TNA for Kurt. He's wrestled HHH, Steve Austin, HBK, Undertaker, John Cena (did I really just put him in this group?), and many others that are light years ahead of anything TNA has. I mean come on, Sting was long forgotten by anyone that isn't a smark long ago.
Anyway, I just think TNA is rushing things and trying to best WWE to soon. You aren't going to beat VINCE with one or two "big" announcements like this.
You can only beat WWE with consistent and quality shows that are different and new, not old and tired.
Eric
Fort Lauderdale
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No Surrender PPV
Eric Young vs A1 – Well this wasn’t going to be anything other than a comedy match so it achieved what it had to. Harmless if unspectacular fun.
Petey Williams vs Jay Lethal – This should have been a great match but the laxative gimmick just killed it. This Jackass stuff is just stupid and makes me wonder if Russo hasn’t been booking TNA all along. Disappointing.
Abyss vs Raven vs Brother Runt – We still don’t have an explanation for Runt ’s turn on Raven, which is very lazy of the bookers. Standard garbage brawl that was a bit sloppy in places. Runt’s double foot stomp onto Abyss from the top of the entrance stage would have been a cool spot if Runt hadn’t slipped off. Nice to see Abyss get the win for once.
Tag Team Battle Royale – I have to say I liked the concept of the teams not being eliminated until both men were gone. A bit of a cluster to star with but the whole story was about AMW cheating their way through this and The Naturals fighting from behind and it was well executed. I’m glad they’ve held off the AMW split but it comes at a price – a major program with James Gang.
Senshi vs Chris Sabin – This was more of a NOAH style Junior/X Division match, and it showed that Sabin can wrestle and is not just a spot monkey that people think he is. However this great match was ruined with an unbelievably stupid finish. I hated this Jackass crap before I like it even less now. The fans chanted “This is Stupid†and they were on the money with that. I hope this garbage is dropped ASAP because it is counter productive. A good match up until the lame finish.
Rhino vs Christian Cage – This match has had one of the best build ups on the card but the beginning that saw them take it to the crowd for the “Jarrett brawl†but one they got it back to the ring, they put something together that was quite good, although the ref bump finish took the shine of it a bit.
LAX vs AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels – Damn! What a match. It’s a shame if this is the end of this feud because both teams work extremely well together and always deliver top notch matches. I liked how they delivered a good wrestling match rather than rely totally on the Ultimate X gimmick but there were enough great high impact spots to make your jaw drop – like the Styles Clash through the table or Daniels leaping across the top of the cable truss. I thought maybe LAX would retain the belts because there are on fire right now but I guess Styles & Daniels vs Naturals will be just as good a match.
Jeff Jarrett vs Samoa Joe – Well, I guess we should say fair play to Jarrett for allowing the fans to get a piece of him but he is still a loathsome figure to watch. Not Joe’s best match by any means and too short to be considered a proper main event despite the stipulation. Still, the right man went over – shame it wasn’t for the title.
Final we have the big announcement. I guess Russo’s appointment was to “ Insider†to be mentioned (although that didn’t stop WCW in 1999) but good on Spike TV for allowing TNA to go Prime Time. Kurt Angle however, I didn’t see coming – well, not this soon anyway. I guess the MMA talk from Camp Angle was a swerve and a good one at that. Is Kurt returning to action too soon? Have TNA made a rash decision by hiring a guy with that much baggage? Or have they capitalized on WWE’s loss? I guess we shall have to wait and see.
Bottom Line – It’s a cliché but this was another solid if unremarkable card of wrestling but it was the non-wrestling stuff that has everyone talking. I just hope that Bound For Glory can live up to its hype.
My Score: 6/10
Cheers
LEE RELPH, UK
