Powell Editorials TNA "No Surrender" Hitlist: A.J. Styles captures the TNA Title, Samoa Joe vs. Daniels for the X Division Title, Bobby Lashley vs. Rhino, Lethal Lockdown cage match, Hernandez takes his TNA Title match By Jason Powell Sep 21, 2009 - 12:03 PM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing Dot Net Members are listening to my 59-minute audio review of last night's TNA pay-per-view, as well as the 109-minute first part of my interview with former TNA creative team member Dutch Mantel. You can access all Dot Net Audio by becoming a member for only $5 per month by visiting the Dot Net Members' Signup Page. TNA No Surrender Hits A.J. Styles celebration: They did a nice job of making the title change seem like a major event by having the confetti fall and the fans enter the ring to celebrate with Styles. Here's hoping they go out of their way to show off that image on Impact this week. To TNA's credit, they made all three of their title changes seem important by interviewing the new Knockouts and Knockouts Tag Champions, and by holding the post-match celebration for Styles. It sounds like an obvious move, but WWE drops the ball on this repeatedly. A.J. Styles vs. Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan vs. Sting: I didn't care for the way Sting bowed out at the end of the match to let Styles score the pin on Angle, who was knocked out by Morgan's Carbon Footprint. It just wasn't the way to establish A.J. as the new champion even though it set up the expected Bound For Glory pay-per-view main event of Styles vs. Sting. Nevertheless, the match was solid once the Hernandez silliness concluded. Styles, Angle, and Morgan worked hard and covered for Sting, who must have some type of memory problem based on all the spots the other wrestlers are clearly calling for him. Samoa Joe vs. Daniels: It was nice to see an X Division match get so much time. Both wrestlers rose to the occasion and delivered the best X Division Title match we've seen in months. The train wreck multi-person gimmick matches that usually open the show have featured some entertaining moments, but they made the X Division look like a throwaway gimmick belt. This was much more effective. My only complaint is that the match should have gone on later in the show to create the perception that the X Division Title is important. That said, major bonus points for having the heel win clean via submission rather than needing outside interference to go over. Hernandez vs. Eric Young: I like the way they created an excuse for Young to lose the match in squash fashion. They'll have to cement that by pointing out on Impact that he refused to fight if they opt to go with a rematch at Bound For Glory. By the way, this is not an endorsement of Young's push. He's not over, yet TNA just continues to shove his wannabe Chris Jericho character down the throats of viewers. The sinister smile he flashes at the end of segments makes me groan every time, and the company would be doing Young a favor by scaling back on his push before the fans completely turn on it. Their first clue should have been the "Shut the f--- up" chants he received during a longwinded televised promo. That's not heat, guys. That's a sign that the fans want him to, well, shut the f--- up and go away. Bobby Lashley vs. Rhino: There are two ways of looking at this match. On one hand, it didn't do much for Lashley to battle with Rhino for six minutes. The way to get Lashley over is to feature him in short squash matches. On the other hand, Rhino has shown some signs of life since he turned heel, so I was happy he didn't get squashed. My guess is that TNA has decided they're not going to bank on Lahsley as one of their true top stars because they've finally come to the realization that they can't bank on him to be there because of his MMA career. He needs time off for training and there would just be too many stops and starts to really invest in him as more than just a part-time player. Mike Tenay and Taz: An upgrade over the old Tenay and Don West team. West definitely improved late in his run, but his heel character felt too tongue in cheek to be effective. Taz possesses credibility that West just doesn't have. That said, it would be wise to let West do what he does best by having him sell the upcoming pay-per-views and house shows on Impact each week. Taylor Wilde and Sarita beat The Beautiful People: Normally, I would complain about the length of the match, but it was understandable given that The Beautiful People were missing their best wrestler. They kept the match short for a reason and the decisive finish was a nice touch. A minor hit just for keeping it short under the circumstances and for delivering a decisive finish. TNA No Surrender Misses Herandez cashes in: He looked like a moron for cashing in the Money in the Bank, er, Feast or Fired briefcase and entering a five-way match rather than saving it for a singles match. I don't even mind that he didn't take the cheap route by cashing in after the match because babyfaces should do the noble thing, but choosing a five-way match to cash in made him look like a dope. Worse yet, the live crowd actually lost momentum when he made the announcement. It was an unnecessary moment and a waste of the briefcase gimmick. By the way, I'm fine with having a Money in the Bank-like stipulation, but having the winner carry a briefcase around makes it look like a total rip off. Beer Money and Team 3D vs. Booker T, Scott Steiner, and The British Invasion: The match was boring and predictable before Brother Ray came out. It was just so formula with the babyfaces selling when the heels had the advantage and then taking control when the odds were event. I rolled my eyes at the "This is awesome," chant when the wrestlers were fighting on top of the cage. There was nothing happening up there and the fans just popped for the image of seeing guys fighting on top of the cage. Worse yet, doesn't it make the gimmick of having a roof on top of the cage seem pointless when the wrestlers were able to find a crease to slip out of? For that matter, it also seemed pointless to put the roof on top only to open the door for Brother Ray. All nitpicking aside, the closing minutes didn't make up for the dull action that occurred before everyone entered the cage. D'Angelo Dinero vs. Cody Deaner: The falls count anywhere stipulation felt unnecessary. These two can go in the ring and they should have let them establish their feud and get it to the point that such a stipulation was required. By the way, did the camera man really need to zoom in on Dinero's bare ass? Kevin Nash vs. Abyss: A bare male ass in one match followed by Kevin Nash frying Abyss's genitals with a taser? Someone on the creative team has some issues they need to resolve. ODB vs. Cody Deaner: This was fine for a comedy match and I liked the way ODB toned down her act so that there weren't two over the top characters fighting for attention. However, I just can't get over the fact that the TNA Knockouts Title was used as comedy fodder, especially when they were also trying to establish the X Division Tag Titles as being another sign that TNA takes women's wrestling more seriously than WWE. Dot Net is now on Twitter. Sign up for regular updates at Prowrestlingnet (the dot is not included in the name). Get brief news with quick links to major stories by visiting Twitter.com/prowrestlingnet. HELP SUPPORT DOT NET! 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Styles vs. Desmond Wolfe and Daniels, Mick Foley's frustration builds, Kevin Nash teases that Hogan isn't coming alone, Sting interview bait and switch, Tomko returns WWE Raw Hitlist: Final hype for Survivor Series, Undertaker attacks John Cena, Kofi Kingston and Randy Orton brawl, Vince McMahon and Roddy Piper, Triple H Pedigrees Hornswoggle TNA Turning Point Hitlist: A.J. Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Daniels for the TNA Title, Desmond Wolfe vs. Kurt Angle, Tara vs. Awesome Kong, Amazing Red vs. Homicide for the X Division Title WWE Raw Hitlist: Hype for John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series, Ricky Hatton as guest host, Randy Orton's "hood" line regarding Kofi Kingston, Mark Henry, and MVP Powell's TNA Impact Hitlist: Dixie Carter's speech to the talent crew, hype for Hulk Hogan, the build for A.J. Styles vs. Daniels vs. Samoa Joe, Team 3D vs. Matt Morgan and Hernandez, Tara vs. Hamada WWE Raw Hitlist: Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne host Raw, Chris Jericho vs. John Cena vs. Big Show, Sheamus destroys Jamie Noble, The Miz vs. Evan Bourne, vintage Michael Cole