I was excited to see TNA Impact this week. I had been dreading the new "They" angle, fearing the worst -that the eventually reveal would illicit feelings of complete indifference. Let's face it, TNA has Bischoff, Hogan, Foley, Flair, Sting, Angle, RVD, Matt and Jeff Hardy, Steiner, Anderson -a regular who's who of professional wrestling. These guys are all tops guys in the industry and if anyone is capable of elevating a property and raising ratings based on name recognition alone it is these guys.
My point is TNA doesn't need another "They."
Now, I've been watching TNA since they were broadcasting Impact on Fox Sports Net. I've seen a lot of guys come and go and I've seen the guys who have stayed. The Phenomenal AJ Styles has long stood by TNA and in my mind he is synonymous with the company. Kazarian is one of the most talented and athletic performers in the ring. Robert Roode has come a long ways since the days of "Bobby" and Team Canada. As for James Storm, well, I miss America's Most Wanted but the Beer Money gig just works for him and Roode and the crowd loves them.
As a fan of TNA, the Fortune face turn was pretty much the best possible outcome to the new "They" angle. I've been waiting for TNA to find their creative direction, something they've been struggling with since Bischoff and Hogan came into the company. Now hold on a second, don't go taking that as criticism. For one, I have no idea how much input either Bischoff or Hogan has with the minutia of creative in TNA. Maybe they aren't involved at all. All I do know is that since the beginning of the "Hogan-Bischoff Era" TNA creative has been spending more time setting up new stables and characters and attempting to make the audience invest in story threads that were clearly intended to have their primary pay-offs in the long term. They had to spend the time establishing Fortune as a strong heel faction so that their eventual face turn would have more impact. That sort of development doesn't happen over night.
Anyway, back to Impact. Biscoff and Jarrett gave strong promos and then Fortune hits the ring to respond. I was a bit surprised at first that AJ Styles didn't take the lead as Fortune's mouthpiece given the grooming his mic-work has been subject to under Ric Flair's watch. The surprise didn't last long because Robert Roode completely blew me away on the mic. Somewhere along the line I forgot that this guy could talk, and the promo Roode laid down hit every note that it needed to for me. This segment could not have played out better than it did. The eventual save by the reformed Main Event Mafia just made sense too.
And then, holy shit Hernandez! I don't care what Bischoff is flapping about now, I'm just glad to see SuperMex is back! I can't wait to see a Border-Toss.
And now we're onto the first match of the night. I'm digging the new Bully Ray persona, a natural extension of Ray's past heel characters. It's fun to see him feud with former partner Devon, although I'm not exactly enthralled by the involvement of Devon's kids in the angle. Still, it looks like we're building to one hell of a Street Fight at Against All Odds this Sunday. I'm always happy to see RVD and Samoa Joe in action. I'm still eagerly awaiting the return of Samoa Joe to the main event, something that I can only hope is in the cards. Joe just has such a unique look and his intensity in the ring is just ultra-believable. Glad to see Matt Hardy too. The only person here I don't feel much investment to is The Pope. I try not to be too negative about anything, but there's little about this guy that I'm entertained by. The character seems generic to me, a thug-lite Million-dollar Man, and his mic work is frequently unintelligible. The Pope's in-ring work is typically above-average, but given the general high-quality of workers in TNA this just isn't enough to differentiate him. Anyway, good match and Bully Ray's table fall looked like it hurt!
And now we're back with Jeff Jarrett in the ring. I hadn't quite realized it until just now, but pretty much every one in the opening segment is not only involved in the larger "Immortal vs Fortune" feud, but are also involved in all of their own individual feuds. Not a bad thing, every member should have their own story-lines to help give their characters context. The only downside is now I'm going to be subjected to folks like Jarrett and Karen multiple times in the same night while deserving guys like Eric Young don't get any air time at all.
I'll be honest, the Jarret-Karen-Kurt story line has been kind of uncomfortable for me to watch. I understand the desire to add some real-life flair to the stories, an attempt to make the product "edgier" in a way that appeals to "smart mark" fans. Obviously everyone in the angle has given their approval at some point in the process, but it still feels exploitative. I liked the visual of security forming a physical barrier in the ring, but the angle fell flat for me when Jarrett decided to put custody of the Angle children on the line at the Against All Odds PPV. I suddenly felt like I was watching "Over the Top" with Kurt Angle playing the part of a slightly-more verbose Stallone. For an angle trying to incorporate real-life issues, this latest development just feels ridiculous. I suppose it helps makes the whole angle a bit less uncomfortable though, removing the story just a little bit from reality.
Knockouts match! Angelina and Velvet look good, as always, but I'm not really feeling the Winter story-arc thus far. Always glad to see Tara in action and Madison looked good tonight as well. I was excited to see Rosita make her debut alongside Sarita tonight. Rosita has very defined, beautiful facial features and just oozes personality when she moves, like a dancer. I look forward to seeing her character develop further in the coming weeks. Sarita was solid in-ring, like always. Good job all around.
Kurt Angle - AJ Styles - Robert Roode backstage segment. Roode is out of the main event and Angle is in! A little preview action for Against All Odds!
A heavyweight title defense? At the ten o'clock hour? Okay, let's go! Ken Anderson is always fun to watch. I'm digging the "Asshole" character and fan designation. If I had one thing to suggest to Mr. Anderson, it would be to lose the hat. Makes him look a lot like a generic southern-themed stand-up comedian, which really does nothing for his persona. Whatever though, this was a solid match with Matt Morgan and through his interference Hernandez is established as a possible main-event player.
Next, the X-Divison #1 Contender Qualifying Match. This match was on my list of high points for this episode of Impact for one HUGE reason. SUICIDE! More to the point, CHRISTOPHER DANIELS! Welcome back! I have no idea what happened behind the scenes, but I'm glad the Fallen Angel is back in TNA. I still have the image etched in mind of Daniel's legs wrapped around Styles' neck and face, blood squirting from Styles' forehead, from their Iron Man match years ago. I am so incredibly pleased by this return! The only thing about this match-up that doesn't please me? Robbie E taking the victory, which means the #1 Contender's Match will be both members of Generation ME and Robbie E. An all-heel match? Not exactly sure what my investment in this match is suppose to be.
And now the main event! AJ Styles dressed all in white can mean only one thing! Looks like he even trimmed back the chest hair a bit -maybe next week he'll shave it all and we'll be back to full on Face-mode! I hope AJ has recovered fully from his recent injury and isn't still feeling any negative effects. It has been a long time since I've seen AJ Styles REALLY work a match like he did during his days headlining the X-Division, but I'm not seeing any evidence of ring rust tonight. The Peele and Flying Forearm simply looked phenomenal! Some good teasing between Jarrett and Angle in this match too, doing their best to build some heat before the PPV on Sunday. As much as I'm not completely invested in their storyline, Jarrett and Angle can work!
The Wrap: Super happy to see the return of Hernandez and Christopher Daniels tonight. These two guys are serious workers and I hope they get the pushes they deserve. The Fortune face turn is feeling good, and Robert Roode really stepped up his game tonight so major congrats to him. All together, I'm feeling refreshed on the TNA product as a whole and I can't wait to see the fallout from Against All Odds next week on Impact!
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