Wrestling Matters, But So Does Entertainment

It’s hard to deny the fact that this pay per view dragged a bit.

It’s hard to deny that Chyna’s TNA debut was less than stellar.

It’s disappointing that Matt Morgan and Scott Steiner’s match mysteriously disappeared from the card.

However, in spite of all of that, this pay per view had some high-quality matches that ultimately suffered from storylines that didn’t have the punch needed to truly captivate.

If this doesn’t prove that TNA needs some fresh faces in creative, nothing will.

Above anything else, tonight proved that the talent in TNA can still get it done in the ring, but need to kick the entertainment value of their product up a notch. Even hardcore fans of this “sport” want story and while TNA has had too much over the past few months, they barely had any tonight.

Again, it’s a crazy balance, nearly impossible to manage, but TNA has to find a combination that works for them and their fans.

In the end, tonight was missing something.

Matches:

Mexican America vs. Ink Inc: While on the surface this was a simple America vs. Mexico storyline, essentially necessitated by Chris Sabin’s injury, Ink Inc performed well enough in the ring tonight to make it a decent opening bout. Early on, the ladies in Mexican America, Rosita and Sarita, distracted referee Jackson James and got the heel heat to set the tone.

Jesse Neal, who continues to get fan support every time he’s in the ring, sold Anarquia and Hernandez’s offense well, while Moore added some mediocre high spots, including a sloppy asai moonsault to the outside and a better one off the top rope to spice up the action, which until that point, was pretty basic. Hernandez played his part as well with a nice combination of power and submission moves, including a variety of clotheslines, avalanches and a Canadian backbreaker.

However, after Moore was unable to help Neal deliver the team’s finishing hold, Hernandez caught Neal in a falling side dominator maneuver to ensure his team a win.

Brian Kendrick vs. Robbie E w/ Cookie: No storyline leading up to this. This was just about solid wrestling. After a promo from Kendrick that was reminiscent of Harding from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” these two got to work and attempted to make it worth the prior nonsense. This should have been one of the better matches of the night, one that got the crowd going for the real feuds.

It didn’t.

The fact that Kendrick had his robe on for most of the match took away much of the realism and made it hokey, even for pro wrestling. The way the match ended wasn’t solid either, with Kendrick delivering a leg lariat. Both of these competitors have an amazing arsenal of moves. Too bad, we didn’t see much of anything in this bout. The agent that put this match together needs a brain exam.

Mickie James vs. Madison Rayne for the Knockout Title: Another match which didn’t do anything special. It was a pretty routine bout with both competitors using their usual assortment of moves. Tara was the equalizer after she hit Rayne with a loaded glove. Due to those actions, she earned her freedom and helped James keep her title.

Max Buck vs. Kazarian for the X-Division Championship: Again, no storyline here. It was all about the in-ring action. Fan chats of boring didn’t appreciate the game of catch going on, but these attempted to tell a story. Kazarian and Buck hit some quality moves in this match [Buck’s jumping Diamond Dust-type maneuver and the 450 he hit were solid], but the match just had a slow pace. That’s what happens when they’re no feud to set up the in-ring action or the competitors aren’t exactly magnetic. Not even a Kazarian flipping powerbomb to the outside could get the fans going the way that they should have.

Considering all of those high spots, it was weird the match ended with Kazarian hitting the shining wizard as well.

These guys wrestled a solid match here though, quite possibly the best of the night.

Abyss vs. Crimson: This was a back and forth power match that the crowd was into a bit more. Abyss showed his experience [he made the youngster look good] and Crimson did a good job of selling and making the most of every move. Looking forward, this is a definite turning point for the youngster. With every kick-out and power move he hit, Crimson began to earn his stripes in TNA. After nailing a version of the sky-high powerbomb for the finisher, it’s safe to say he’s arrived in TNA. Best of all, this was a match the Abyss put over Crimson and didn’t hurt himself. These guys should continue to work together.

Beer Money vs. Matt Hardy and Chris Harris for the TNA Tag Team Titles: Four great tag team competitors. There was a nice amount of offense from both sides in this match and plenty of shortcuts from Harris and Hardy to get heat. The near-close and hot tags added an extra element to the match, but it would have been nice if Harris was given a promo last week on Impact and the company developed this angle a bit more. Nevertheless, this was a throwback tag team encounter that the company needs to have more of in the future. The exclamation point in the end sealed the deal, as Beer Money hit the death sentence leg drop combo on Harris. Overall, this match was what good tag team battles should be.

Tommy Dreamer vs. AJ Styles: This angle is weird. Dreamer’s motives are still unclear and because of that, it’s hard to get into the action. Regardless of that, Styles brought his A-game and Dreamer sold the way he’s proven he can. After some high spots in the ring, Dreamer and Styles took the match to the outside. All of a sudden, this became a hardcore match and that’s when the action picked up. However, after Bully Ray interfered, Dreamer ended up with the win via the jumping piledriver through the table.

Jeff and Karen Jarrett vs. Chyna and Kurt Angle: After Karen tried to weasel out of the match early in the show, Mick Foley made sure the match took place. Once it started, this match was a huge tease. Angle and Jarrett traded moves and set a solid pace, but that’s not what the fans wanted here. Once she got in the ring, Chyna hit a poorly executed body slam and a suplex that left something to be desired. Soon after, she hit her version of the pedigree on Karen and then used the ankle lock to get the submission win. Overall, while it wasn’t the worst match of the night, it was a letdown. Chyna is not the in-ring competitor she used to be and needs some time to get back to where she once was.

Sting vs. Rob Van Dam for the TNA World Heavyweight title: Nothing is worse than a match between two faces that aren’t exactly over. Sure, these guys have their respect, but neither one is capable of making them scream the way they used to. As a result, they had to take things on the outside [and weren’t counted out for some reason] and take risks to get their attention. While it made for an interesting match, until Sting unceremoniously hit the reverse DDT to end it, this contest proves the company needs to develop their storylines further.

Bottom line: After a promotion’s world title is defended, fans shouldn’t have a pit in their stomachs telling them they didn’t get their fill. A main event is supposed to steal the show, not end up as an afterthought.