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Matches:
Abyss winning in a squash to open up the show was fine, and a smart move in my opinion, to help build him back up before his match with Sting on Sunday. Hopefully Abyss will the match, as a win would help elevate back into title contention, while a loss by Sting really wouldn't affect his standing.
The six-man match was about what you'd expect; too short and no one stood out. Surprisingly, no angles were really pushed here as Sabin and Lynn didn't really have any time together, same thing with Starr and Senshi. Hopefully they'll save Starr and Senshi for a later PPV and let their feud develop. Why exactly were James Storm and Rhino out there? Taking them away would have left the focus on two feuds and a crisper match. As a side note, wasn't Don West right when he called Starr's brain buster a suplex? That finish was weak!
Cage and Styles vs. Joe and Angle was more of a physical segment than match, but I'll give them a buy as the reason for the match was simply to push the PPV main event. That being said, I think the revelation of Scott Steiner's return should have been left as a cliffhanger to lure in some buys for Sunday. End the show right as his face is about to be revealed to try and entice the potential buyers out there who're still undecided about ordering the PPV. This sort of stuff happened all the time during the Monday Night Wars years back and was a good way of building buzz for the next week (or PPV.) Heck, TNA could even pay Tony Schiavone to come in and record the famous "What? We're out of time!" to end each episode.
Angles (forgive me if they're out of order or something is missing):
The Naturals and the Franchise- were is this going, and how long will it take?
Christy Hemme- please, for the love of God, don't have her wrestle Kip James. Put her in with a talented female wrestler and let her show off whether or not she's improved with her training. She's pretty, even without the silicone, and has decent skills on the mic. Don't bury her with a stupid gimmick match.
Eric Young- the whole deal with Traci was worth a chuckle, but are we really going to try and go straight with this? "She loves me"? TNA is getting close to dropping the ball with his character. No one wants to see a serious Eric Young, much less an idiot out-smarted by Robert Roode.
Ron Killings- Rocky Blackboa? What the hell? I see, he's black. Good to know. Does he wrestle for the company?
Team 3d and LAX- putting too much into what should be a straight-forward brawl. Attacking the "uncle" was fine, it reinforces the "thug" reputation for LAX. But now we find out that Team 3d is half-Italian as well, and all for the whole sake of setting up a "Little Italy Streetfight"? Can't they just call it a no-DQ match and be done with it? And the whole Brother Runt interference bit is getting OLD. Konnan was solid on the mic as always.
Sting- this Prison Yard match is either going to a. steal the show, or b. really bring it down and take the crowd out of the show. Why must there always be a stipulation to every match? And Sting, please remove the mask next time before speaking!
Tomko and Cage- putting Tomko next to Cage just shows how much of a discrepancy there is in mic talent between the two.
Styles and Cage- Styles came off as a good novice heel, cocky and confident. Then to have a true pro like Cage put him down to his face (while still coming across as a heel himself) was great stuff.
The PCS- I admit it, I laughed. I'm still holding out hope that this will lead to a serious push (or at least a chance to display some personality) for Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal.
Basebrawl- at least they're trying. Hopefully this'll be kept short.
Bob Backlund- why?
Kevin Butler
Mayfield, KY
**********
I thought that the WSX show last evening was good, but way to short. Hawx versus Tornado was a great opener to get the home audience going. Great action with lots of high flying moves. I am not 100% sure about the way they are using Kaos. Both this week and last week they had him punked out to Alcatraz and Hawx. I understand them attempting to set a story line between the two tag teams or between Kaos and Aguilera and his love for the ladies, but being a fan of XPW, I realize that he has a lot more to offer than being the sacrificial lamb for the table shot. The second bout of the night action in the ring was fast paced between team Dragon Gate and That 70's team. I have seen Horiguchi and Yoshino before but never Ryan and the Machine. Good technical match between the two along with some entertaining spots. Vampiro and Six Pac was what it was. Some stiff shots along with the falls count anywhere is a nice touch. However the exploding coffin is very gimicky and not really necessary. I would have rather seen a clean fall rather than the tombstone into the coffin. I am definitely looking forward to the Filth and the Fury (I am a huge mark for Teddy Hart) as well as Jack Evans. The huge downside to this show is the short timeframe they have to operate in. Because MTV shows 10 minutes worth of commercials during the breaks, it doesn't allow enough time to set up any story lines nor allow the viewers to connect with the wrestlers. The other items that frustrates me is the audience. From initial reviews by the website, I noted that the crowed was primarily comprised of Hollywood extras and future actors/actresses rather than fans. I hate when they pan the crowd and show the facial expressions along with the canned crowd noise. Most of the moves the guys are doing are standard wrestling moves and any fan would appreciate the move rather than acted shocked and in awe. The wrestling itself is great and concept is great with the short music segment followed up with wrestling, but they need more time. It is not like MTV can't give them another half an hour, as opposed to replaying another episode of Jackass or Viva La Bam.
I don't even bother watching the "new ECW." Like the "new coke" it will have a short shelf life. Out of curiosity, I turned it on after the end of WSX and noted that it will be the "new ECW" versus the "old ECW." After Wrestlemania, the "old ECW" player will be released and that way Mc Mahon will have another crappy product.
Ron
Chicago
**********
I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this or not...but I DVR'd the first WSX on January 26. The guide said the show would run from 10:30 to 11:00. When I watched it the next day it looked like the ending was cut off. Last night I watched the whole show from start to finish without recording it. It started at 10:32 and ended at 11:02...thus if I'd DVR'd it again I'd have lost the last 2 minutes and not known who won that last match.
The show was great last night...but for me the matches are too short. Particularly the first match. I love the Human Tornado, and given a longer space of time he would really shine.
Carol
