By Jason Powell

Dot Net Members will be listening to Will Pruett and Ryan Kester's audio review of TNA Impact Wrestling later today. They are already listening to the two-hour Dot Net Weekly audio show. Join us on the ad-free version of the website by signing up for membership now via the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

TNA Impact Wrestling Hits

Sting and Eric Bischoff confrontation: Make no mistake about it, I'm tired of the power struggle, too much focus being placed on authority figures, and the way so many pro wrestling television shows open with lengthy talking segments. However, I am actually enjoying Sting's new Joker-inspired antics thus far. I'm not sure where they're headed with this version of Sting and that's not a bad thing. Sting has improved as a performer even though he's at a point in his career where he could have continued to coast and get by on his name value, so I appreciate the effort.

X-Division introduction videos: The raw indy footage was cool, but the brief mic work from the three participants were effective in giving us a quick introduction to who they are, what their background is, and that competing in the X Division is important to them. Well, at least that was the case with the first two guys. Dakota Darsow showed charisma on the mic, but everything he said was straight out of a cliche indy heel script. That said, he could become a good talker with more time.

Matt Morgan and Crimson vs. Beer Money: Good storytelling with Roode playing up the shoulder injury. This was a good television match, and it was nice to see more of the focus on Morgan than Crimson. By the way, Crimson is supposed to be Amazing Red's "little brother," but he looks more like Morgan's malnourished younger brother. It was good to see the tag matches in the Bound For Glory Series only give points to the person who wins the match for his team, as that should lead to some interesting moments when tag partners bicker over who gets to win the match and the points.

Samoa Joe: A good night for Joe on the mic. He was very good in the segment with A.J. Styles and then did a nice job with his facials while reacting to Christopher Daniels slighting him. His line about the Real Housewives of Fortune got a laugh out of me, and the attack on Kazarian was effective. I must say that I'd much rather see the three-way with Styles, Joe, and Daniels than a Styles vs. Daniels singles match.

TNA Impact Wrestling Misses

Bound For Glory Series: I really want to like this concept because I like the idea that a series of matches leads up to the company's biggest show of the year. I like the way the series matches play out at the house shows, and TNA has done a good job of promoting the next show's series matches. However, there are just too many questions that have gone unanswered thus far. I don't think it's nitpicking to ask how many matches each wrestler will work, when the series ends, or why submissions are worth more points than pinfalls. And those are just a few questions that come to mind. If TNA wants viewers to invest in this series, then they have to show viewers that they have committed themselves enough to answer the obvious questions.

Sting vs. Abyss: They completely lost me when Abyss stopped to read "The Art of War" book during the match. He just continues to come across like a complete doofus, not an intimidating monster. I really hope they take the X Division Title away from him before Destination X. That has the potential to be a great show and there's just no reason to have him carry the strap going into the show. I don't even care if the idea is to have Kendrick beat him for the belt at the pay-per-view. As good as Kendrick is in the ring as as much as I think he could be effective in the right role, he's just not playing it now. Sadly, he'd be near the bottom of the list of true X Division wrestlers that I'd even want to see get a title reign.


Bully Ray vs. Scott Steiner: I noticed the chain in the corner when the match started and I just never got over the fact that it remained there throughout the match. Furthermore, Steiner searching for Bully Ray backstage doesn't mean anything anymore. Steiner loses so frequently that it seems like he has more bark than bite. Meanwhile, the monster Abyss running away from the chain swinging Steiner backstage and then trying to be the voice or reason? Ugh.

Zema Ion vs. Federico Palacio vs. Dakota Darsow: As much as I enjoyed the introduction videos, they never provided us with a real rooting interest. Darsow was heelish, but the other two were similar. Fortunately, Ion delivered some flashy crowd pleasing moves and made a decent first impression, but his gear was screamed indy even more than the other two guys.

Mickie James vs. Winter: Do the Knockouts just brawl now? I realize this was a street fight, which begs the question of why Angelina Love had make sure she hid her interference from the referee? Good effort from both women, but I'd like a little logic with my brawls.

Jackie and ODB vs. Miss Tessmacher and Velvet Sky: More of a brawl than a match. Did someone really write "kick to the vagina" as the finish to the match on the format sheet? Did I really hear ODB tell Tessmacher that she's terrible?

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