While the matches this week on Impact were much better than previous weeks, TNA’s creative direction is puzzling. Between Earl Hebner telling Mr. Anderson he’d suspend him in the first segment [refs have that type of authority now?] Orlando Jordan’s cross-dressing and Winter’s hypnosis ability, this show is far too wacky to take seriously.
What happened to the company that was more about excellent wrestling than silly entertainment? While TNA’s creative direction has always been inconsistent, at least there were great matches, even on Impact. Now the show continues to feel like a 1999 WCW clone, minus the quality in-ring work. Even if you’re a hardcore fan of this company, it’s becoming harder and harder to digest this show on a weekly basis.
With no real feuds in both tag team divisions and no competition in the X-Division and TV title scene, TNA is a complete mess right now. Their top stars are on television way too much right now, while the mid-carders are essentially wasting away.
Why did TNA have all six members of their main event fight in the ring at the mid-point of the show, knowing that they’d be back on the show in less than 45 minutes?
They could have used that time to develop a youngster like Gunner or have Samoa Joe wrestle The Pope.
At this point, it just seems like the creative team behind TNA has no idea what they’re doing.
This fact was further cemented when Hulk Hogan threw Mr. Anderson into the steel cage during the main event. This company has no idea if Hogan is a heel or not. They don’t know what to make of Anderson either. A true shame considering that the two of them are capable of entertaining fans- if only the right person would write the storylines and book the matches.
Matches:
Shannon Moore vs. Scott Steiner: The night’s first contest that didn’t start until 9:27. Eric Young and Orlando Jordan announced a four-team tag match for Lockdown during the contest. Your usual squash match, Steiner destroyed Moore with a variety of belly-to-belly suplexes and a frankensteiner for the win. After the match, Doug Williams and Magnus came to the ring and started some trouble of their own. Could they be the mystery tag team slated for Lockdown?
Max Buck vs. Jeremy Buck: With the absence of the Motor City Machine Guns on Impact for quite some time, this was a match that TNA needed and must have more of in the future. Even though it wasn’t very long, it showed what these guys are capable of and proved that TNA has some of the best young wrestlers in the business. The elder Buck ended up getting the win with a version of the Diamond Dust, but both these kids have talent and need to be marketed differently. This Hardy Boyz rip-off doesn’t do them justice.
Velvet Skye vs. Winter: One of Skye’s better matches, it remains to be seen if these two can support any type of in-ring feud. In spite of Skye’s amazing looks and Winter’s charisma, they still have a long way to go before they can hold their diminutive weight with some of the more talented Knockouts in TNA. On another note, Angelina Love looks to have lost about 10 pounds over the last few episodes of Impact. Having problems with her weight over the years, lets hope it’s nothing serious.
Kurt Angle vs. Rob Terry w/Jeff Jarrett: Terry delivered some punishment, but was still beaten with an Angle Lock- nothing special here. The end of the match wasn’t anything to marvel at either, as cops arrested Angle after Karen Jarrett faked a domestic violence call. Snore.
Rob van Dam, Sting and Mr. Anderson vs. Matt Hardy, Abyss and Bully Ray: A mess of a steel cage match. Was it a tag match or a tornado tag match? It felt like the Immortal team wasn’t making tags at all while RVD and Sting were. Seeing Anderson sit on the outside didn’t help matters either. Again, these guys are on TV far too much and by the time the main event was on, you didn’t care what happened. When six of your company’s top stars make you feel that way, it’s not good.
Christopher Daniels’ return made the match a worthwhile one, as he is one of the best athletes to ever grace a TNA ring. If used properly, this guy could spice things up a bit, but before you get yourself excited, ask yourself a question. When was the last time that happened?
Ric Flair’s comments after the match towards Daniels make it all too easy to confirm those notions.
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