By Ryan Kester

Bobby Roode vs. James Storm

Roode and Storm wrestled a good match last night that was unfortunately terribly received by the live crowd. The audience sat on their hands for much of what was going on, and it took away considerably from the work these two men were producing.

I went into this match expecting a screwy finish so I was not at all surprised when it arrived. To be honest, this is what is needed in this leg of the feud. I think it would have been more convincing if these two locked up last month with a screwy finish and this was when Storm would go over, but this is the best thing that could have happened with the way the booking went. Storm now has something he can use to get the crowd invested in his pursuit and he has a legitimate argument for asking for the return match. I hope TNA gives these men more time in the coming weeks to tell their story as the build for this match was put on the back burner on too many an occasion for authority figure drama.

Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy

This was the match of the night for me. It was the classic Kurt Angle cage match with a series of finisher and stolen finisher spots coupled with convincing near falls, but there's a reason why Angle returns to that formula so often. It works.

I wish the storyline that preceded this match was a bit more convincing and reflective of the intensity these two displayed with their ring work. It makes it difficult to buy into a match when the reason for the rivalry was Angle being a disgruntled father. That being said, I still enjoyed the match last night and thought it was one of the highlights of the evening.

Lethal Lockdown

This match was ok. Several of the participants got some good spots in and some of the rivalries were at least featured in part. However, this match obviously served as a means to get Garett Bischoff over, and I don't feel that TNA will find success in that endeavor. He has been hindered so much by this premature push that his character is damaged. Further hard pushes like this will only cause that negative feeling to fester and grow.

Still, the match featured moments for the Austin Aries and Bully Ray feud and AJ Styles and Mr. Anderson's feud with Kazarian and Christopher Daniels that TNA can use in video form to further those feuds. I simply find it difficult to be positive about an event that is continuing a push with a guy I find no entertainment value in whatsoever.

Samoa Joe & Magnus vs. The Motor City Machine Guns

This was another very well-wrestled match and one that I very much looked forward to heading into the show. All four men put on a great show and the clean finish was nice to see. They are keeping both teams babyfaces, which is where I think they are at their best, now TNA needs to find some convincing heel teams for them to face off against to keep the division lively.

Crimson vs. Matt Morgan

This is an inverse of the Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy match. I enjoy the story that went into this match, but I really have yet to see a Matt Morgan and Crimson match to be particularly appealing.

Last night was no different. The two men simply have styles that mesh terribly and it leads to some slow moments and uninspiring spots. I am enjoying the heel Crimson character more, and I think it's in the best interests of both men if they move on to feuds where they can find some better chemistry.

Gail Kim vs. Velvet Sky

I was worried going into this match that Velvet Sky was still green in the ring and that TNA had been hiding that recently with tag matches and heavy editing. It appears that my reservations were justified, as Sky had several spots where her timing was off and it showed. Still, she is markedly improved over where she was a few months ago, and I hope she continues to improve. Her looks is obviously appealing, so she just needs to get her wrestling ability to match before she can be relied upon to work a PPV match.

Where will TNA go with Gail Kim next? It feels like she has beaten everyone in the division already, and TNA has really been suing a revolving door of challengers as of late with very little storytelling involved. They are beginning to adopt WWE's model of a women's division, and I hope they correct that quickly.

Overall Show

Last night's show did not feel special. There was some good wrestling in some of the matches, but the live crowd could not have been more lifeless and the announce team failed to make it feel like anything mattered. TNA was making some great progress at the start of the year, but in the past month they have taken several colossal steps back and are knee deep in the same old issues that caused their product to become stale in the first place. I hope, for their sake, that they can turn things around in the near future to make the product fresh again because what we got last night isn't cutting it.

If you have any questions or comments or just wish to chat with a fellow wrestling fan about whatever, then feel free to email me at ryan.kester@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter at @TheRyanKester.

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