By Ryan Kester

Bobby Roode and RVD

TNA spent a lot of time giving RVD some focus during last night's show. While I am sure anyone reading this already knows full well who RVD is and his history, this was a nice way of catching new viewers up on the man after he had disappeared for several months. I feel like they could have been a lot better if RVD seemed the least bit motivated to be participating in the process, but I like the core idea behind TNA's methods.

The biggest problem with this feud is that it lacks the gravitas of some of Roode's former rivalries. Before it at least felt like there was something personal when Roode faced Styles, Sting, or Storm, but TNA failed to produce that feeling for this feud for this viewer. I imagine a lot of that has to do with RVD's motivation level, but that doesn't change how the main feud really isn't selling me on Sacrifice.

Jeff Hardy and Mr. Anderson

This feud hasn't exactly come about organically. I have consistently felt like I have been told these two hate each other rather than I have felt that the characters act like they actually do. Some of that comes from the clash of promo styles, and some of that comes from how they are trying to establish hatred while both playing babyface characters.

We may very well get a well-wrestled match from these two at Sacrifice, but TNA again failed to get me excited about one of their top billed feuds heading into Sacrifice.

Bully Ray

Bully Ray has been absolutely phenomenal as of late. He's stepped away from the calfzilla silliness and returned to the bullying heel aspects of his character. He was effective last night, but TNA saw fit to spread him a bit too thin.

Ray is currently involved in two separate feuds even when he isn't called upon to defend Eric Bischoff's name. TNA managed to use his multiple roles effectively last week when he interacted with Jeremy Borash and Austin Aries, but this week Ray was called upon to cut a backstage promo, attack Matt Morgan to send a message to Aries, and have a lengthy promo exchange with Joseph Park. Ray is a great character, but when any character is called upon to handle multiple stories in wrestling, both stories lose a bit of focus.

AJ Styles' Secret

I said in my live coverage that the reveal left a lot to be desired, and I think a lot of that has to do with the actual execution of the reveal. Christopher Daniels, Kazarian, and Styles all played their parts well, but the poor quality photos that Kazarian had to hold up to the camera took away from the reveal. I couldn't even make out whether they were attempting to depict Styles and Dixie Carter hugging or Styles kissing carter's neck in the final picture simply because the quality made it nearly impossible to decipher. In all honesty, the reveal had a lot going against it simply because TNA dragged this story out for so long that there was very little that could have proven satisfactory.

Even with the reveal being personally disappointing, the timing for the reveal was off. Styles and Kurt Angle are wrestling each other at sacrifice, yet the build for their match was kept to two brief backstage promos that couldn't even crest a minute in total length, yet the revelation was given an entire in-ring segment.

Overall Show

Last night's show was a disappointment. There was some final selling for Sacrifice, but none of it felt particularly effective because each point was lost in a sea of talking segments and video packages that were given an equal amount of focus. To put it simply, TNA attempted to touch base on so many fronts that those points simply began to blend together. I don't feel this show provided a solid hard sell for the PPV.

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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