Powell Editorials TNA Impact Hitlist: Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Tomko, Christian Cage, Motor City Machine Guns By Jason Powell Mar 7, 2008 - 11:35 AM CLICK FOR BIO Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing TNA Impact Hits Kurt Angle vs. Christian Cage: That’s two quality main event matches over the last two weeks for TNA. Angle and Kevin Nash had a better than expected showing last week and this match was even more entertaining. However, the match and the buildup were not without their flaws. Angle set the tone with his backstage segment that opened the show. Christian cut an entertaining promo, but it was geared toward the pay-per-view and failed to set the “grude match” tone one would expect heading into a cage match. The action inside the ring was very good and there were some innovative spots until that lame finish. The simultaneous fall to the floor looked horribly choreographed and it’s been done so many times in WWE cage matches (and Royal Rumbles) that it just feels like a cheap finish. Worse yet, there was no reason for it given the non-title stipulation. The creative team seems to be paranoid of having their main eventers lose clean under any circumstances. It's not like Angle would not have recovered if Christian had fallen to the floor just a second or two before he did. Fans could have rallied behind Christian because he beat the champion. Instead, this was the equivalent of a cage match draw. Earl Hebner paused before making his ruling and it sent the message that he wasn't really sure who won. Nevertheless, the hard work of both wrestlers was more than enough to warrant a hit. Samoa Joe vs. Tomko: I’m not a fan of the finish because it created confusion in the sense that the referee was calling for the bell when Joe had Tomko locked in a choke hold, which would not have ended the match given the first blood stipulation. At the same time, I also realize the goal was to keep things somewhat even between these two. As much as I piss and moan about the cheap finishes in TNA, I understand why they didn’t offer a clean pin in this match. If TNA continues to build up both wrestlers, this could be a potential money match in the future. I still think it was a mistake to put Tomko with Angle, but I loved the way he blew off the group cheer in the first segment. For that matter, Jeremy Borash putting his hand in and yelling “Angle Alliance” was hilarious. Some of TNA’s best comedy moments have involved Jeremy’s fanboy routine. TNA Impact Misses Rough Cut with B.G. James and Kip James: If you’re going to hype the debut of a supposedly “cutting edge” segment, then don’t feature two of the most stale wrestlers in the business. For that matter, if you expect people to take this new feature seriously, then you need to give it more time than one minute and 22 seconds. This was billed as a behind the scenes look at both wrestlers. Don “Bobby Hill” West even made a comment afterward that seemed to imply that viewers were given a chance to look behind the curtain. In West's defense, I don't know if this segment was shown to the live crowd during the taping, meaning he may have been asked to put it over without seeing it. For that matter, it's his job to sell the matches and angles no matter how bad they might be. Either way, his comments didn't ring true unless you believe Kip spends most of his off-camera time standing in front of a monster truck. At least the B.G. footage looked like it could have been taped in his backyard and fit the mood they seemed to be aiming for. Again, though, the segment was so short that anyone who actually enjoyed it probably forgot about it by the time this overbooked show concluded. Kevin Nash vs. A.J. Styles: Just a sloppy brawl. I was told that one of the differences between this match and Nash’s match with Angle last week is that Angle and Nash called it in the ring, whereas Styles likes to plan his matches in advance. As I understand it, they missed a spot last night and it took them some time to get back to where they wanted to be. In Styles' defense, this is probably one of the few times in his career that he's played the heel role in a match against someone Nash's size. And, of course, it was nice to see a clean finish. Motor City Machine Guns: The battle royal was a collection of TNA’s campiest characters, LAX, and the poor Motor City Machine Guns. Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley are featured on the promotional poster for Sunday's pay-per-view, yet their match was just kind of thrown out there and received no hype heading into Destination X. I don’t get it. I realize these guys spent some time in the doghouse recently, but they’re going to be featured on MTV’s “Made” show on Saturday afternoon, so TNA should have looked past the issues and pushed them hard heading into this show. By the way, did they even bother to plug their "Made" appearance? I'm surprised MTV didn't send TNA a promotional video since they and Spike TV are both Viacom properties. Check back later today for my preview and predictions on the Destination X pay-per-view, and don't forget that the Smackdown Hitlist will be posted on Saturday. BOOKMARK DOT NET AND ADD US TO YOUR RSS • HELP DOT NET: TAKE OUR ADVERTISER DEMO SURVEY CLICK TO RETURN TO MAIN LISTING OR SELECT A LINK BELOW FROM THIS CATEGORY Powell Editorials Latest Twelve Articles ECW Hitlist: Matt Hardy vs. John Morrison, Evan Bourne vs. The Miz, Finlay vs. Mike Knox, Matt Striker's color commentary WWE Raw Hitlist: Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, C.M. Punk, JBL, Santino Marella, Beth Phoenix, Mike Adamle, Cryme Tyme WWE Smackdown Hitlist: Triple H working with new blood, Undertaker and Vickie Guerrero, MVP, Brian Kendrick TNA Impact Hitlist: Kurt Angle vs. A.J. Styles ladder match, Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong in a street fight, Booker T, Kevin Nash, Motor City Machine Guns WWE executive says Raw is the premier brand, shows such as "24," "Lost," and "Heroes" are WWE's true competition ECW Hitlist: Mark Henry vs. Matt Hardy, Evan Bourne, Super Crazy, Tommy Dreamer, Mike Knox, Finlay, Gavin Spears, Todd Grisham and Matt Striker