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The opening video package was great as always, but Christy Hemme seemed clueless in her role this month.
Robert Roode vs. Hoyt was a match that Roode should've dominated, but the amount of offense that Hoyt got was strange to me...When you're building up a "new guy", make sure that the announcers uses the NEW name and make sure the "new guy" looks good...But Traci looks hot as always...
Battle Royal was this month's comedy segment. It was easy to see that Russo & Nash had talked this through. I mean A1, Slick Johnson, a midget & Sirelda in the match. What the HELL was that about? Austin Starr winning could be seen a mile away, but who else could they have win it? It opens up a program with Shelly though
4 way match was a BIG letdown..3D looks uninspired & uninterested in being there and they didn't have any chemistry with the other teams..a BAD match !
Monsters Ball match was one of the highlights of the PPV ! But WHY oh WHY couldn't Joe get a clean victory? Raven looked mighty awful out there too..
Eric Young vs. Larry Zbyzko was one of the lowlights of the PPV, I thought EY was already fired - guess I have to pay more attention to Impact then....Pointless match
Chris Sabin vs. Senshi was another GREAT match from these guys...Not so sure I liked that Sabin won, but at least we get a rematch next month or so..
Christian Cage vs. Rhino was what Vince would call a car wreck match...A good brawl though, and Cage needed the win more than Rhino..
The cage match was by FAR the match of the night and I'm glad that LAX won - but TNA need to NOT hotshot the titles so much. The Gringo Killer move is SICK !!
The Main Event was huge letdown, I NEVER got the feeling that Sting's career was in jeopardy - so it was rather easy to see the result early in the match. Angle did nothing out there, I was hoping he'd have more of a impact on the main event, but maybe I was expecting too much?
Overall the PPV gets a STRONG 7 out of 10, still beats out almost anything & everything WWE throws out there...
- Glenn, Norway -
**********
I thought that was a really fun PPV. A lot of the matches were good to great, and the crowd was into most of the show.
The Angle/Joe tease left me wanting more, which isn't what I want in a PPV, but for what was promised, the company delivered.
I was sorry to see Senshi lose. He's awesome and despite being heelish, the crowd loved him for his effort over an opponent billed from Michigan.
The battle royal was fun and while I liked Austin Aries before the gimmick, I'm glad to see him back because I like his work. And he does look like Ventura with those side burns!
The Monster's Ball match and the beginning of the street fight suffered from poor lighting and bad camera work. The Monster's Ball was rushed, too. I thought when Jake was stopping Abyss from emptying the little bag, he was going to dump out the snake bag and reveal it was all thumbtacks inside, but I guess not, heh. That match was the lowlight of the pay per view for me.
Also not living up to the hype was the street fight, in my opinion. It picked up some steam at points, but the ending seemed kind of "backyard-wrestling" to me.
The cage match, on the other hand, was great. The triple powerbomb/electric chair off the cage was great. And AJ's spectacular dive was even better. The match was so over, it didn't need the last two moves that saw AJ dumped on his head and neck. That was an especially sloppy "Gringo Killer" and I think TNA really ought to ban that move as the WWE has done. It's just career shortening, and when that career belongs to someone as talented as AJ Styles, it really bothers me.
The other matches were fun and just when I thought Sting's slow performance was going to bring down the show, he fired up after the guitar shot and got the crowd into it. It didn't last long after that, but he got a big pop and made the match a positive. He looked lean out there, too, and looked better than he has in a couple years, in my opinion.
Very good show, for me. And now Angle is between Joe and the title. Does that mean Jarrett challenges again next month?
**********
Overall, I'd say this was a really good show. Not amazing, but good. A few outstanding matches, and nothing that really sucked.
My favorite match was Sabin - Senshi. I'm a fan of tag matches, but after several matches with 4 - 8 people in them, I was happy for a singles bout. This match started slow, but built up and by the end, I was on the edge of my seat. It seemed really stiff, which was awesome. I popped huge for Sabin's win. Awesome.
The Monster's Ball match was pretty good, but I couldn't help but be distracted at times by Jake Roberts stumbling around (TNA, please get rid of this guy) and wishing Joe was somewhere higher in the card. I would love to have seen him methodically take everyone out and cut a promo afterwards explaining why he was the best and didn't need to be in a match like this.
The cage match was good, with some really great high spots. I was hoping it would steal the show, but the high spots (especially Styles flying cross-body from the top of the cage) made up for anything I may not have cared for.
The Christian - Rhino match was good. Nothing that floored me, but it was pretty good, with some good spots.
Sting's new look is kind of cool, but where he's lost some weight (or appears to anyway) I was hoping for some more action and more fast-paced stuff from him. Maybe I expected too much, but it really didn't seem like he did anything in the match to make me think he should be the TNA champ when the entire undercard could wrestle rings around him. However, the guitar shot and Scorpion Death Lock were awesome. I wonder how he'll hold up against someone younger, tougher than he is. Here's hoping he steps up.
Eric Lewis,
Riverview, N.B., Canada
***********
Best Match: Senshi vs. Sabin. I said it would steal the show and it totally did. Great performance by both performers. The ending was a little lame with the roll up, as it made Senshi look too strong.
Worst Match: Rhino vs. Cage. I'm sorry but Rhino should have won this one. We didn't get to see a gore. The straight jacket was pretty dumb because he was only in it for a minute or two and didn't put it on Cage. The street lamps were plastic. And worst of all, Rhino loses because Christian puts a bunch of plunder on his back a wails away like a madman. It didn't look like it hurt him at all and he gets pinned in his own match. It made Rhino look really weak. I'm not even that big a Rhino fan, but he deserves better and Christian is not believable as a main eventer.
Best Angle: Joe and Angle. It was awesome and almost seemed real when Angle came back that last time. The build up for this match is incredible, I can't wait to see it.
I liked the Kevin Nash invitational thing. It wasn't supposed to be anything serious but it was very entertaining. I still think Kevin Nash is hilarious "Uh oh, here comes Uganda." he had some great one liners. Sirelda selling the low blow was great although I wish it were a hotter chick getting hit in the crotch!
LAX vs Daniels/Styles was incredible as expected. Styles is the best wrestler on the planet.
Last thing I want to comment on is the Monsters Ball match. I don't know why everybody's hating on Jake the Snake. His interaction with Borash was so involved and randomly hilarious. "Oh I'll let you see the snake" Great stuff. The man's insane. I thought the match was just gonna be something to put Joe over, thankfully I was wrong and Joe didn't get the clean win. Can you blame Raven for not wanting to lay down for the guy. Even though those were the weakest chairshots I've ever seen Raven deliver.
Anyway, great show as (almost) always from TNA. 9/10
Matt Manzella
North Riverside, IL
