By Jason Powell

Dot Net Members are listening to Will Pruett's 52-minute audio review of TNA Impact Wrestling. They are also listening to the Dot Net Weekly and Dot Net Countdown shows, and recent interviews with Bobby Lashley and Shawn Daivari. Join us on the ad-free version of the website via the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

TNA Impact Wrestling Hits

Bobby Roode vs. A.J. Styles: I stand by my take on the way they screwed over the pay-per-view buyers by making them pay to see a main event only to have it continue on Impact. Putting that aside and looking strictly at the television product, this made for a hot start to the television show. Good action throughout their ring time, the right guy went over to keep the title, and Styles looked good in defeat.

The Jarretts fired: Once again, I will look past the frustration of ordering the pay-per-view and having to see the resolution on Impact. The various skits with the Jarretts were highly entertaining. Watching the two of them act like they were wiling to take the fall only to stab each other in the back during their private meetings with Sting was a riot. I'll miss seeing these two on television during their hiatus. They have great on-camera chemistry and I hope they're not off television too long. Bonus points for Sting questioning whether they had actually watched the show, thus explaining why they were oblivious to the games that both parties were playing.

Jeff Hardy vs. Bully Ray: Ray did a good job of setting up the match with his promo. In fact, I hope TNA gets him back into a meaningful role because he's great at what he does. Of course, he served his purpose here, but I'd like to see him in a real program that matters. Roode was decent on commentary and it's good to see the build for his match with Hardy start immediately.

Gunner vs. Jesse Neal: Gunner looked dominant and the stretcher job was a logical way to write off the Neal character since he's leaving the company. I wish this was going to lead to bigger and better things for Gunner, but it looks like they are just building him up to have Garett Bischoff to take down...again.

Overall show: A good night of television. I still don't understand why TNA can't deliver a straight forward, no nonsense pay-per-view for their most hardcore fans, but the television product has improved.

TNA Impact Wrestling Misses

Pope and Devon: Well, at least we finally got the payoff. The concern I have now is where do we go from here? I don't sense much fan interest in Devon's sons. Perhaps they will surprise me with mic skills or some type of in-ring ability. If so, I'll be happy to say I was wrong about this, but right now it just looks like the company is wasting a lot of television time on a bottom of the card saga.

Tag Title Tournament: WCW Battle Bowl revisited? It's basically a bunch of mid and undercard talent being thrown together in makeshift tag teams. It might be interesting if some of the top talent was involved, but the issue I have with the pairings is that I don't really care about most of the characters, let alone the dynamic of those characters teaming with someone on the opposite side of the heel/babyface fence. If nothing else, it was good to see Doug Williams on television again. Whatever happened to his X Division push?

Zema Ion vs. Anthony Nese: The match was entertaining, though I generally question why some heels do crowd pleasing high spots. We learned more about Xema Ion's character this week and I was not impressed. He has a lot of potential, but he was way too over the top on the mic for my taste. Here's hoping he can settle into the heel role because I enjoy his in-ring work. Meanwhile, I don't feel like I know anything about Anthony Nese, as TNA hasn't given me a real reason to care about him yet.

Madison Rayne vs. Traci Brooks: Madison continues to be the most consistently entertaining Knockout character, but I'm just not buying into Brooks as the sympathetic babyface. Even if I can get past the fact that her character slept with Eric Bischoff three times to get ahead and we're supposed to feel pity for her because she was stabbed in the back, I just don't think she's right for the role. She seems as miscast as anyone on the roster. How about a heel turn?

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