This is the penultimate (next-to-last) TNA Impact prior to their next pay per view, Victory Road, and as I watch the episode (albeit a couple days late), some questions arise that I pose, rhetorically, to anyone interested.
Think of this as part-feedback, part-humor.
When Abyss took the chairs from the front row after scaring away the fans, is there any chance those little kids were even considering coming back? My money says they were crying in their hotel rooms before Hogan even hit the ring. Even at nearly 30 years of age, I still might’ve almost “relieved myself” when Abyss shook the security guardrails.
How much better is TNA when the announcers don’t say anything? The Hogan / Abyss / Bischoff segment was so much better before Mike Tenay started giving us play-by-play. Maybe this is why ECW seemed so awesome when it was only Joey Styles announcing. Taz’s comments during this segment were quite enough to sell the action.
**adsense_4block**
Do any of the fans watching this opening segment remember back when Abyss and Jeff Hardy were fighting over the NWA World Title back during Jeff’s first run in TNA?
AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe, fighting for an advanced spot in the Top 10 rankings? Works for me, though this is the type of match TNA needs to advertise in advance to pull people in. There’s plenty of prior matches between the two to pull footage from.
Abyss targeting Taz… any chance he wants the announcer to be part of the “them” he keeps talking about who is going to take over TNA?
How weird is it to see Jeff Hardy working with Hulk Hogan?
Why is it that TNA doesn’t do more with the Motor City Machine Guns – a team that actually gets a huge response even after going un-used for the better part of the past two or three months? Especially because they’re young, fast-paced (can you say “Total NON-STOP”), homegrown, innovative, hip and can work the mic… One of the best teams in the business today (not that there are any great teams right now)
Is it just me, or are Mike Tenay and Taz completely ignoring the fact that Abyss targeted Taz about five minutes ago? I wouldn’t want them to dwell on it, but at least mention it.
Was Ink Inc vs Motor City Machine Guns not the best tag match you’ve seen for a while in TNA?
Was it not the best match you’ve seen in TNA for a while?
If Dixie Carter wasn’t going to be at her “usual” ringside spot during Impact, wouldn’t she at least want to show up in time for the start of the show?
Did anyone blink when Impact came back from commercial and miss the fact that Dixie Carter was walking around backstage? Wouldn’t it have been a little better to introduce the segment with a quick word from a backstage interviewer looking to get a word with her, and she just keeps walking? Double the length of the segment, quadrouple the impact (no pun intended).
I’ve been a big fan of Samoa Joe since prior to his Ring of Honor World Title reign, but wouldn’t you expect “the Samoan Submission Machine” to have more than just one submission move? I’m trying to remember the last time he tried a submission other than the rear naked choke.
Didn’t AJ Styles get the memo? You don’t attack a Samoan’s head. Any wrestling fan from the early 90’s could tell you that. It doesn’t work, and it just makes them angry.
Before anyone says anything, I realize that The Rock has Samoan heritage and that didn’t apply to him, but he’s also half African American, and their heads don’t have any such cultural shielding.
How awesome is it that AJ Styles not only sold the fact that it was hard to slam Samoa Joe, but he actually sold it with a fall into the corner and an aching back after it?
How sad is it that after AJ Styles has trouble slamming Joe, he still tries for a vertical suplex a minute later? *Failed Logic*
Ric Flair targeted AJ Styles from Day 1 when he stepped foot in TNA he paired with him for MONTHS, and he’s supposedly JUST NOW realizing that AJ Styles is a unique talent? Come on, announcers…
Another really good match on Impact. What’s this world coming to?
Does the big video screen at the end of the entrance walkway ever show anything other than the logo for the next TNA pay per view?
TNA actually hyping a match for next week’s Impact? Fans of pork ribs better learn how to shoot a flying target. AJ Styles vs Kazarian next week, while obviously not a feud ender, should be a must-watch for a couple different reasons.
How long did it take TNA Impact to go from console systems to the PSP?
Dixie Carter doesn’t think this new attitude of Sting’s is like him? Didn’t he shove her a couple months ago? Eric Bischoff doesn’t even mention that?
If Sting has been trying to “sink the ship” “for years”, why does Dixie still keep him in TNA?
So Chelsea doesn’t want to hold Desmond Wolfe’s sunglasses or entrance attire? What does she think her purpose of escorting him to the ring is?
Are we supposed to like THE Brian Kendrick or not? He’s got an insanity gimmick, he attacks Doug Williams (who is trying to kill the X Division) a couple weeks ago and has a match with Desmond Wolfe this week. I’m yet to really see anything by Kendrick which seems like he’s trying to endear himself to the fans.
How awesome is it to see TNA actually progressing the Chelsea / Wolfe storyline during a MATCH on Impact? It’s bizarre to actually watch them do something with matches other than kill time between segments, a welcome change from their style the past couple years.
Why am I hearing that Desmond Wolfe fans actually hate the outcome of the Wolfe / Kendrick match? Don’t they understand that outcomes actually involve more than just a winner and a loser? Wolfe and Kendrick both benefit from that outcome. Kendrick gains some credibility with the win, and Wolfe gets his storyline progressed with Chelsea.
Is there any chance THE Brian Kendrick is actually related to Anna Kendrick? That’d make for some odd situations at family dinners if they were siblings, or even cousins. Talk about a warped family tree.
Why did Tommy Dreamer park his car on the side of a hill?
How much bigger does The Pope look in TNA than he did back in WWE? Not necessarily just muscle, but even height.
How long will it take WWE to start having their competitors do in-ring segments in regular clothes instead of the ring “shorts”? The Pope looks a lot more hip on Impact than Cody Rhodes does on Smackdown based solely on the amount of leg each of them were showing during their segments?
Wow, TNA actually keeping up the feud between The Pope and Ken Anderson for a long-term angle? Blows my mind that TNA’s creative department has a long-term memory.
Will TNA miss the bus on The Pope like they did with Samoa Joe, waiting too long to pull the trigger?
How great was Kurt Angle’s involvement in the segment with The Pope?
How much are you looking forward to the Kurt Angle vs The Pope match at Victory Road, even with just one promo to build it?
A commercial for Deadliest Warrior, followed up by a commercial for Predators? If Deadliest Warrior doesn’t do at least one episode featuring fictional monsters, they’re missing an opportunity.
Ric Flair vs Jay Lethal has been a feud 2 months (or more) in the making, and Victory Road is the first match between the two of them? Something in the TNA creative department has REALLY improved.
Jay Lethal wanted a piece of Ric Flair? Why wait until he has a match to call them out? Flair, Kazarian and AJ Styles were in the ring earlier, why not come at them at that point?
How awesome would a Ric Flair / Matt Morgan alliance be? The guy’s got all the tools, he just needs some refinement and exposure that Flair could help give him.
Did anyone expect this many really good matches on Impact? Morgan vs Jay Lethal was a lot better than any match I recall seeing on Impact in 2009.
How much better does Hernandez seem when he’s got more of his LAX style back?
Why is it weird that Sarita isn’t at ringside for Taylor Wilde’s match, but it’s not weird that The Beautiful People aren’t at ringside for the champ’s match? Isn’t it more of a heel’s style to want outside “support”?
Tommy Dreamer, Rhino, Dr Stevie and Raven show up at Impact, but they wait until it’s 75% over?
Angelina Love shows up after the Madison Rayne match, and wouldn’t this be a reason for Lacey Von Erich and Velvet Sky to want to be at ringside?
Sarita attacking Taylor Wilde backstage… what happened to slow build for feuds? Why would Sarita be THIS angry about something we’ve never seen any sparks about before now?
Does Sting not watch the rest of the show? Did he not see the conversation between Dixie Carter, Hogan and Bischoff?
Bischoff watched Sting leave peacefully, and suddenly he thinks Dixie Carter needs a full-time bodyguard? He was okay with her going up to the rafters by herself to confront sting earlier, what changed?
Why would anyone get into the ring with a guy as big as Abyss who’s holding a weapon like the one held by Abyss with nails sticking out of it? I guess Jeff Hardy at least waited until Abyss was distracted.
How bad would it have been if RVD hadn’t moved the spiked lumber? That’s right where Jeff Hardy fell after hitting his head on the corner post.
How unlucky are those kids in the front row – their chairs stolen by Abyss TWICE in one show?
How great would it be if Abyss started using a top rope chokeslam / urinage as a signature move?
Did Raven / Stevie / Dreamer / Rhino really just show up for 10 minutes and then leave?
Did someone forget to change Abyss’ lighting scheme? I’m still seeing red and yellow.
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If this article gets more than 6 people responding to it, I’ll give one of those individuals a free GuysNation shirt.
Great article, I agree with your thoughts and I noticed the Abyss lighting scheme too, all and all I thought it was an above average TNA.
I’ve always wondered about the in ring segment in your wrestling gear. Is it so we have the “chance” that this segment might result in a match? Pope in street clothes you KNOW this segment isn’t ending in a match. If Cody is in the ring in his gear… then we have the chance a match may be “booked on the fly”.
But the bottom line is Pope and his Hair Beads is hipper than anyone anywhere at anytime.
Hair Bead Fan Club FTW!!!!
That spiked board gave me the chills. I just know one of these days one of those guys is going to get real hurt when a weapon goes bad. I do like Rob Van Dam for the obvious reasons so I’m glad we got to see him though I think he should be around more.
I really think that this question sheet has gotten me pumped for every Impact I watch.