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TNA Slammiversary Hits

Raven and Daffney vs. Abyss and Taylor Wilde: I didn't have high expectations for this match, but it turned out to be the most entertaining match on the show. It wasn't a five-star classic or anything, but it was just a really fun hardcore match with everyone working hard and Daffney taking a surprising bump on the tacks. Here's hoping we haven't seen the last of Raven in TNA.

X Division opener: There wasn't much psychology involved in a match that can be best described as a train wreck. Again, though, it was fun. Granted, I hated the way it was four-on-one to start, yet Suicide was still able to pinfalls in the first five minutes even before it settled into a real five-way match. Plenty of fun spots that the live crowd really got behind. I wasn't surprised to hear the live crowd boo Suicide given that they were in the Motor City and the fans wanted to see Alex Shelley or Chris Sabin win. Given how into the Guns the live crowd was, it cements my belief that the company should have done more to spotlight them on this show.

Beer Money vs. Team 3D: Good action from the two best teams in TNA. I didn't like the way they gave Team 3D so many excuses for losing the match. This was one of the only finishes that seemed up in the air before the show and TNA went so overboard with the excuses that they basically told people they would be losing the match. Again, though, the two teams worked hard and lived up to my high expectations for the match.

Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. A.J. Styles vs. Mick Foley: I'm giving the actual match and the work of the wrestlers a hit, but the finish is another story (more on that below). It was cool to see Angle debut a new look just to shake things up. Styles had some standout spots and worked his ass off. Foley's elbow drop off the top of the penalty box was great. Joe worked really hard despite his various injuries and no one would have known he was hurt had he (via Twitter) and the announcers not mentioned it. I can't think of a standout moment for Jarrett, but he also worked hard and this was a strong pay-per-view main event.

Daniels vs. Shane Douglas: I didn't mind this match as much as most people. It was stuck in the unenviable position of trying to follow up the X Division match, but I liked the way Douglas targeted Daniels's shoulder throughout the match. It wasn't a memorable match, but it was fine for what it was.

TNA Slammiversary Misses

Samoa Joe helps Kurt Angle win the TNA Title: This was a lousy swerve. Did most fans see it coming? Of course not, because there was no logic involved. Joe beat the hell out of Booker T, Scott Steiner, and Kevin Nash, yet there they were cheering him on afterward. Joe attacked Angle before the bell and beat him up throughout the match. Don West's claim after the match that this was all part of the plan was absurd since Joe and Angle had no way of knowing the referee was going to make Angle eligible to hang the belt. I'm happy they're going in a new direction with Joe, but the way they got there was nonsense.

Jeff Jarrett's promo: Jarrett actually said he didn't want to win the TNA Title. I get the idea that he's fighting to regain control of his company, but there was no need for him to say that he doesn't want to win the title. That should be the goal of every wrestler in the company, and having the owner say he didn't want the title cheapens the belt. There was a way to make the same point without directly stating that he didn't want the belt.

Production: I'm not criticizing the work of the camera crew (although the director did miss a pinfall in the main event). Rather, I couldn't believe how dark and dingy the building looked on television. I was excited to see how the major league building would look on television and I came away underwhelmed. Sure, they had to darken the upper deck since no one was sitting there, but why not show shots of the outside of the building or in the main entrance area to get over the fact that they were playing a major venue?

Pre-show match: The British Invasion beat Eric Young and Rhino by pinning Jesse Neal? How was this supposed to get people excited about the pay-per-view? The match was fine, but the idea that the referee let Neal replace Young mid-match was ridiculous.

Mike Tenay and Don West during the tag title match: West has some funny lines and his heel character is an improvement over his babyface cheerleading persona. Of course, I'd rather hear Taz on commentary when his noncompete expires, but I have a hunch they're going to keep him off the broadcast team for a while. The problem I had with the duo during this match was that they were doing their babyface vs. heel schtick instead of calling the match. There's a time and place for the comedy bickering and it's not during the middle of one of the hottest matches on the show.

Angelina Love vs. Tara: I'm not sure why they rushed into a match that could have been built up as a big event a couple months from now. Unfortunately, the match was nothing special. I expected more from these two.

Sting vs. Matt Morgan: Just a minor miss. I didn't care for the way Sting just volunteered to put up control of the Mafia for no reason coming into the match. Worse yet, TNA just hasn't been able to get Morgan over as a monster heel. The match was just kind of there and then Sting missed the big Scorpion Death Drop spot.

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