TNA Sacrifice Hits

Opening shots of the main event competitors arriving: These three videos were very well done. They made the main event wrestlers look important by showing them arriving in limos, and they set the stage for the rest of the show by showcasing Kurt Angle's injury and setting up the Samoa Joe and Kevin Nash storyline.

Roxxi gets her head shaved: TNA advertised a stipulation that some fans probably assumed they wouldn't follow through on. The match was typical battle royal fodder and the ladder match within the battle royal didn't last long enough, but the important thing is that TNA delivered what was advertised. Maybe I'm biased in that I think all bald people should stick together, but I didn't think Roxxi looked bad with her head shaved. By the way, I wish I could have been a fly on the backstage wall when the "Fire Russo" chants broke out. My guess is that Russo was fuming, Jeff Jarrett and Dutch Mantel were chuckling, and Dixie Carter was talking loudly while plugging her own ears.

Samoa Joe and Kevin Nash: Nash is playing his part very well and I'm looking forward to their eventual match. The plan was for this to be a long-term story line. I wonder if that will change due to Kurt Angle's injury. It was hard to tell whether the storyline was being rushed or if this was just another chapter in the long story.

TNA Sacrifice Misses

No announcement regarding Kurt Angle before the show: Cheap move by TNA. They could have announced this on their website before the show. Rather, they waited for viewers to buy the pay-per-view and then told them that Angle was not going to wrestle and the main event would not go on as planned.

Samoa Joe vs. Scott Steiner vs. Kaz: TNA was put in a tough position with Kurt Angle's injury and they inserted Kaz into the main event to insure that it would be a better match. As I wrote last night, they succeeded on that level. It was a solid match. The problem was that it felt like an indy match that just happened to be on pay-per-view. They failed over the last few weeks to make Steiner feel like a credible opponent, and Kaz came across like what he was—a guy they just plugged into the match. The live crowd didn't help matters. In retrospect, I'm surprised they didn't opt to close the show with the finals of the tag team tournament. As I wrote last night, I was hoping they were going to let Curry Man win the TerrorDome match and then let him unmask and reveal himself to be Christopher Daniels just before the main event.

Overall show: A lousy effort. I sympathize with TNA to some extent regarding Angle's injury, but they handled it horribly. They didn't announce it ahead of time and they didn't come up with a replacement that fans took seriously. They continue to push Joe like a meathead spaz who blows up and screams during every promo. Worse yet, they keep having shirtless Samoans show up to hang out with him for no good reason. Is he Siva Afi? What the hell? Can't his family members show up wearing regular clothes like everyone else's relatives? The show had a couple memorable moments, but for the most part it was a flop.

Tag Team Tournament: What was the point of the wild card element of the tournament if they were just going to have the established teams win all the matches? This tournament did not come across well. None of the matches stood out as memorable. TNA did more to establish their Deuce's Wild nickname than the actual tag titles.

Black Machismo: Abort! TNA got a lot of mileage out of the Machismo character. It was a fun gimmick that sold plenty of t-shirts. However, the live crowd's lack of enthusiasm regarding the character suggests that the thrill is gone. Most of the fans remained seated even while Machismo was walking by them during his ring entrance. Sure, the Impact Zone crowd is more jaded than other live crowds that TNA will encounter, but the character has been losing momentum for a while now. TNA can either recognize the need to change or stubbornly stick with the gimmick too long. Here's hoping the shake things up and realize that the comedy filled X Division needs a change.

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