TNA Impact Hitlist: Booker T, Samoa Joe, Sting, Robert Roode, James Storm, Sonjay Dutt, TNA Knockouts gauntlet match, Jeremy Borash

TNA Impact Hits

Booker T: More of the same and that's no a bad thing. Booker is the hottest act in TNA these days, which is a dramatic change from when he was stuck working as a babyface in mixed tag matches at every other pay-per-view. I'm also happy to see Sharmell back because she's awesome as a heel. Here's hoping she gets more mic time and a stronger personality.

Petey Williams vs. Kaz: A solid X Division Title match that furthered the story of Kaz being a talented performer who just can't win the big one. I just wish they'd pull the plug on the Little Petey Pump gimmick and let him develop his own character. I also wish they'd take more time producing Kaz because his promo was sappy.

Knockout Gauntlet: I mentioned last night that the match itself was very ordinary, but at least TNA recognizes the value of the Knockout Division. The women usually draw good ratings and this was an excellent way to showcase the various personalities in the division. That being said, I wish they would stop doing those segments with the women bitching and carrying on and dedicate that time to cementing their characters. I don't even know who Roxxi is or what her gimmick is anymore.

Jeremy Borash: Good chemistry with Eric Young, as always. Borash is the best backstage personality in the business. He doesn't get as much credit as he deserves for his backstage role in TNA. He's good in small doses and does an excellent job of clowning around in one segment and playing it straight in the next.

Sonjay Dutt: He's playing his role to perfection. I hated the spot where he tricked SoCal Val simply because she'd simply have to watch the show on television to figure out that Sonjay played her. Maybe it will play out that way next week, but I'm not holding my breath. I was bored by the babyface Guru character, but the heel Sonjay has been a lot of fun thus far.

Six-man tag main event setup: I love the way they teased that the match would take place at the pay-per-view next month only to announce that it would be the main event of next week's pay-per-view. It's not something you can do every week because viewers will see through it quickly, but it was an effective way of letting viewers know that they're getting a pay-per-view worthy match on Impact. Plus, it was nice to see the heels gloat about their win at Victory Road because it makes the pay-per-view seem meaningful.

TNA Impact Misses

Samoa Joe: He went ballistic at the pay-per-view and dominated Booker to the point that Sharmell and Sting pleaded with him to call off the attack. Yet because Joe doesn't get the pin or submission he could have had, he is questioning himself because Booker walked out with a title belt he didn't even win? Lousy followup to the Joe vs. Booker finish. I was hoping that the Victory Road match was a sign that TNA creative was out to give Joe his edge back rather than portray him as an unconfident champion.

Robert Roode and James Storm: These guys are trying hard and they have so much potential, but I just despise the Beer Money name. Furthermore, I wish the creative team member with the strap fetish would move on. The focus should be on Roode and Storm winning the tag titles, not whipping the fans. I felt bad for these two because they were trying to intimidate the ringside fans who just smiled or jawed right back at them. The fans are numb to angles where wrestlers beat up planted fans and it's time to move on.

Sting: He wasn't even on the show, yet his stock dropped in my eyes. We've seen Sting turns teased so many times over the years that I just rolled my eyes when Kurt Angle and Team 3D teased that he was joining their faction. I might feel differently if TNA has actually convinced Sting that he needs to turn heel. It would be fun to see him play that role after all these years, but I'm not convinced that he'd be good in such a role.