Unlike this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw, TNA Impact actually features some quality wrestling action and intriguing storylines.
While the overall action wasn’t fantastic, the match between Rob Van Dam and Samoa Joe was light years ahead of anything on RAW this week, and shows fans that TNA, unlike RAW has several legitimate World Heavyweight contenders on its roster.
To see two guys wrestle and get tired out there, on Cable TV, makes you think that TNA understands what the fans want and aren’t about to waste two hours so their advertisers are happy.
Because that’s what RAW felt like this week.
While some of the other matches featured on Impact this week were on the short side, they did the job, as far as leading into the next pay per view. AJ Styles and Kazarian went back and forth for about six minutes before being counted out, and getting a stern talking to from the “Nature Boy†Ric Flair. Soon after, Flair announced the duo will be tagging against mystery opponents at the next pay per view.
Styles and Kazarian as a tag team? Sign our eyes up right now.
Eager to start his own stable, in the vein of “The Four Horsemen,†Flair has so far started scouting Beer Money, Matt Morgan, Styles and Kazarian.
Pretty interesting stuff. All that we can say here is that the industry could use a cool stable right about now, especially considering all the bad ones that have failed over the past few years.
Anyone remember the Main Event Mafia?
Think we just heard someone throwing up in the corner.
Moving on…
Giving TNA an opportunity to start a bad ass group with four of its top young stars, that started out there, would be an interesting idea and one that would showcase why this company is so different from the WWE.
Other interesting and developing storylines include the Jay Lethal Flair angle, which will be a stinker in the ring, but featured a great, livid interview from Flair that probably scared the bejesus out of any small children or attractive women in the Impact Zone. While he can’t compete the way he used to and shouldn’t compete at all, Flair could make one heck of a manager and a great mouthpiece for a faction or big ogre with no mic skills.
This new Flair faction idea is looking better each second.
In the main event, Jeff Hardy proved he’s a step ahead of Mr. Anderson in the ring but on the same page otherwise. Say what you want about the guy but, Anderson is easily the most charismatic wrestler in the promotion right now. People like Joe, Styles, VanDam and Hardy can still wrestle, but this cat is the whole package. Giving him a title run would be a pretty fun endeavor, to say the very least.
We can see it now, signs calling Anderson their favorite a**hole.
However, a rarity nowadays, Anderson doesn’t need a belt to get over, while many of his opponents do, which means he’ll be a worker until TNA feels he’s really ready for the spotlight.
Make no mistake about it, he’s ready right now.
Aside from that, seeing Kurt Angle work his way up the food chain is going to be fun and give a bunch of young wrestlers [The Pope, especially] a chance to go with the best pure wrestler in the sport today. The angle with Kevin Nash trying to get a meeting was fun as well, as listening to “Big Sexy†talk about the “Dungeon of Doom†brought back some great memories.
However, the storyline with Team 3D looks to be a real stinker and unless the ECW dudes that have joined the company over the past few weeks [Tommy Dreamer, Stevie Richards and a healthy Raven and Rhino] this angle will fall faster than Duane Gill’s career.
The same thing goes with Doug Williams, who is easily the worst X-Division champion the company has ever had. Scared to walk up a ladder? Horrible stuff indeed.
Here’s us hoping Brian Kendrick brings some slices of bread with him to the pay per view.
In spite of all of the sidesteps though, TNA Impact this week was a more than watchable show and proved that the company is at least trying to keep an audience.
That’s more than one can say for the WWE right now.
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