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I watched TNA as the real wrestling fan's alternative. Until last night, that is. Do the bookers at TNA not understand the concept of parody? WWE uses a fat oily guy because they think a fat oily guy is funny. TNA claims to be using a fat oily guy to ridicule the WWE's childish sense of humor, but they're actually going for the exact same punch line. It isn't parody, it's plagiarism masked as parody which is actually worse. All of their shots at WWE recent 'creative' difficulties came off as nothing but hypocrisy after last night's garbage. They've blown the credit they banked over the years of emphasizing good in-ring work with last night's foolish finishes, pointless promos and drunk Santas. Despite wanting to see Petey, Joe, Angle, AJ, Cage, Daniels and the rest of the high quality workers, I'll be damned if I give this organization another penny to piss me off. Someone call me when bookers stop believing I'm an idiot.
PC
I thought both big time matches didn't live up to the expectations set forth by TNA. I felt the main event was too overbooked with too many run-in's and confusing turns.
I think that truly tainted the victory of Christian Cage.
The Iron Man didn't live up to the pace set by the Turning Point match Angle and Joe had. I thought the many falls hurt the match. When you have two men destined to kill each other...why have so many falls? I thought they really degraded both mens toughness and made the stipulation seem meaningless as.. why would someone tap out fast when a world title shot is on the line? Maybe I am grasping at straws but if it were me and I am not Angle or Joe by any stretch...I would have not tapped at all...I'd take the pain knowing I got a world title match in my future. The first two taps made sense...conserve yourself for the long haul because you can get that back later...good use of psychology but the other parts seemed flawed...maybe it is just me.
The team 3D/LAX match stunk...LAX is better off feuding with other teams that can match their pace. Team 3D are behind the times now and can't keep up with the current stars of today who set a new pace. The ending was dumb too with Runt and the "boozing".
The PCS final...f-ing hilarious. High point of the show as the crowd was very into it and loved Shelley. The comedy/wrestling was awesome and I think they all (the entire PCS combatants and Nash) deserve a round of applause for the great TV they have given the fans.
The X Divison Title match was fun. Loved seeing Lynn in their again and love the way Sabin one. Not every day you outsmart the pioneer. Maybe Lynn is making a comeback?
Women's Division? Lets hope so!
VKM/Christy...went on way to long and honestly made Christy look like a bad actress in a really bad soap opera. Short and to the point is the best way to go.
Where is this Shane Douglas v. the Naturals story going? Could possibly Shane have found a team that will truly embody the essence of the Franchise? only time will tell.
AJ v Rhino is getting better and better because of Rhino's anxiousness of wanting to hurt AJ and AJ's psychology. AJ has truly shined in this feud and I'd like to see the #1 contender stip be put on this feud as that would definitely change the dynamic of AJ's thinking...maybe forcing him to fight Rhino now. But this feud has really shined in my eyes.
The PPV as a whole didn't pass Turning Point...few pot holes in the road to start the year for TNA but gotta give it the learning curve because it is a new year and TNA I believe is trying to start new feuds...but still...thumbs in the middle for this PPV.
Eric Intravaia
Bay Shore, New York
I thought this show came off pretty poorly. There were a few good matches, but even those matches that you thought were going to be great just didn't seem to click tonight. And even the matches that were good had terrible booking. It was a poor to average show all around.
Rhino and AJ Styles just didn't seem to have the ring chemistry tonight. I don't know what it was. There just wasn't a spark. The match wasn't horrible by any means, but I really expected a lot more from it.
The three-way for the X-Division was another match that just didn't click. People have been clamoring to see Jerry Lynn return and when he does, he's just kind of there. He certainly didn't have an impressive turnout. The ending of the match was booked terribly. If Sabin was going to get the cheap heat win, he shoudl have gotten it off of Daniels. Now, once again, the champion lost the belt without being pinned or submitting.
The PCS final match, believe it or not, was the highlight of the night for me. Austin Starr and Alex Shelley really worked well together and showed a lot of fire in the ring. Their match was incredibly good. I think it was easily the best match of the night (and I do include Joe/Angle in that). The stuff at the end with Bob Backlund and the juding was terrible, but the in-ring stuff was incredible. Plus, a program between Starr and Senshi is definitely something to look forward to. Also, I have a major bone to pick with the "oily fat guy," which I'll get to in a minute.
Storm vs. Petey Williams was just there. A bland match. i don't think Storm is strong enough to be a singles wrestler, and as good of a wrestler as Petey is, his character is so bland and sugary-sweet now, you just can't get behind him or care about him. It was interesting to see Jacqueline come out after the match. Looks like they must be starting a woman's division, especially with what we were "treated to" next...
The VKM promo. I wasn't minding the promo at first, because at least it meant that this asinine "war" with WWE was over. If I had to sit through a crappy promo for that to happen, I was great with it. However, VKM showed just how hypocritical TNA can be in their yakfest. First they point out the "oily fat guy," and how stupid that is...how nobody wants to see it. This was ten to twenty minutes after TNA got to have us see an oily fat guy for 10 to 15 minutes. We even got to see cutaways from the amazing match that Starr and Shelley were having so that we could see the oily fat guy at the judges table. So, how does this make TNA better? Then, of course, VKM discussed the borefests that WWE had. They really got the crowd into it, which was interesting and somewhat surprising. So, of course, TNA didn't want to be outdone by the WWE and created a borefest of their own. Christy Hemme's stuff was terrible. I was really happy when the crowd turned on the segment, calling it boring and telling TNA "we want wrestling." I only hope TNA listens.
The Dudley's vs LAX was another match that I expected a lot more out of. Yet, once again, they just didn't click and the match was bland. Then came the unexplained and annoying run-in by Spike. What a cheesy way to end a match. I understand that Vince Russo likes to book it so that everyone comes out looking strong...the losers always have an excuse for why they lost. But this made everyone in the match look weak. LAX looked weak at the end, getting beaten up and then humiliated by a "drunken" Spike. And the Dudleys looked weak because Bubba just stood in the corner and watched this all happen like a dope. I don't think this will ever be the feud that Styles and Daniels vs. LAX was.
Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle was a good match. It wasn't great. I think their first meeting was actually better than this one. (Unfortunately I didn't see the second one, so I can't compare it to that). Tonight was an enjoyable match, but both have had much better. It was worth seeing, but not worth paying for. Unfortunately, the wrong guy won. I really thought this was finally going to be the time where Joe was pushed. Angle doesn't need the push. he doesn't need the title or a title program. They could have really made Joe a top tier star finally, which he deserves. Instead, they gave the win to the WWE guy, leaving their homegrown talent in the dust, crawling his way back to the midcard.
The title match was a mess. These three definitely don't work well together. To have Abyss lose first was a travesty. Once again, TNA made its homegrown talent look incredibly weak. Here's the guy you built up, who is now the champion, in the ring with two others who were built up elsewhere, and you have your guy lose first. He definitely should have at least been in it to the end. And Christian going over just made no sense to me. i'm a fan of Christian, but I could have seen Angle vs. Christian a year and a half ago. I don't need to see it on TNA. It's crazy, to me, that they're going to headline a PPV with WWE stars.
Tonight TNA proved that they have a long way to go if they want to be seen as an alternative in the eyes of the fans. From bad run-ins and poor booking to getting ready for a match with two WWE guys, TNA showed that they have a lot of work to do.
Sean Kimber
