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Pruett's Pause: TNA Impact Wrestling - Bully Ray is reinstated, Dixie Carter makes a major announcement, Wes Brisco and Garett Bischoff revealed as bikers, and more!

Posted in: Pruett Editorials, MUST-READ LISTING
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Feb 1, 2013 - 12:00 PM

By Will Pruett

- Every time TNA goes on the road or tapes overseas, I compliment the environment of their shows. This one was no exception. The show looked great and everything seemed a little bigger when it was given room to breathe.

- One odd thing TNA did on this show was not show entrances for most talent. They came back from commercial and talent was already in the ring. Why, in front of one of the largest crowds in company history, lose out on those major entrance pops?

- Christopher Daniels and Kazarian did a nice job getting the U.K. crowd to hate them. They walk a fine line between comedy and being main event heels, which can be dangerous. This was another week where they were the most entertaining thing on TNA television. Can we just teleport the Tag Team Championships onto them?

- Magnus' return was one of the few great pops TNA allowed to air on this night. He's always had something about him on the mic and a whole lot of charisma. Now is the time to push him hard as a homegrown TNA star. He's good enough in the ring and great at the other elements of his game.

- By calling out Devon for a match, I have high hopes that Magnus will be in Lethal Lockdown this year. Don't ruin my dreams, TNA.

- While I like what TNA did with Magnus on this show, it also highlights the continuing problem of Aces and Eights' incapability to win matches. Why is anyone afraid of them?

- I've praised Joseph Park constantly since his first match. I think he may have lost me last night. It wasn't one particular thing he said, it was actually one particular face he made. He can always get me back, but he kept making a very silly frightened/disgusted face and I couldn't get past it.

- Robbie E. is a very good comedy heel for TNA.

- I like Bobby Roode. I like Austin Aries. I don't know if I like Bobby Roode and Austin Aries as a tag team. I definitely know I'm not into most of the comedy they're doing. TNA needs more top heels, especially since their heel biker gang is 85% failure. Allowing these two to drop down to tag team comedy is a huge loss for the roster.

- I reserve the right to go back on what I said about Roode and Aries if they end up truly going on a mission to capture every title and almost get there. It would still make them look strong and it could be a fun story going into Slammiversary in June.

- Chavo Guerrero is terrible on the mic. He's also not great in the ring. Aside from tributes to his uncle, what exactly is he good for?

- We saw a show opening recap of the wedding, then saw another recap just before the actual segment. After we saw two replays of it last week as well, I'm ready to move on from it.

- Bully Ray, as much as I believe he is being miscast and misused, is still doing great work. His babyface promos are really good and his work with Brooke Hogan is actually making me like Brooke Hogan. I really wish he were still a heel, but I'm starting to come around to the babyface Bully.

- Sting begging the crowd to chant for Hulk Hogan was a little weird. They complied and I'm sure it was a cool moment for Hulk, but shouldn't they have been chanting for him without all the encouragement?

- Hogan lifting the ultimately unfair suspension of Bully Ray generated a pop from the crowd. The announcement of the tag team tables match did as well. I don't mind this resulting in a tag match to kick things off.

- Impact going on the road full time is the best possible news for TNA. While I'm sure it will be a costly measure, it will make the show feel so much bigger and better.

- Let's face facts; TNA has trouble selling out small arenas. I would like to see them change up where they produce wrestling. They don't need to go to arenas too large for them. They can produce wrestling in smaller nightclubs and bring production values to smaller buildings. They would still have a hot crowd and a fun atmosphere. I'm not saying they should do this every week, but they should consider it on occasion.

- I'm excited to see what TNA on the road on a weekly basis looks like, no matter what they do. It'll be great for the entire company to have different fans (who don't randomly and pointlessly chant for Devon) giving them a live perspective on the TV product

- Tara and Jesse vs. Velvet Sky and James Storm was okay, but it was sad to see Storm this far down the card. The Knockouts division is pretty much all comedy right now (there seems to be a little too much comedy on the TNA roster) and James Storm should be above it.

- I still don't like the Jeff Hardy injury angle. I also hate the idea of TNA falsely advertising Hardy to their most loyal fans. I would be livid if I had been a fan with a ticket overseas.

- I liked the video recapping the past Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Anderson cage match. TNA occasionally remembers their history and it's a fun walk down memory lane. The match at Lockdown 2010 was actually pretty great.

- The commentary on this show was pretty obnoxious. Taz is trying too hard to be a heel. Mike Tenay overplayed the main event as a "classic" match. There are too many weird things they do to name. This team isn't working and the new Taz character definitely isn't helping.

- Seriously, would it kill TNA to allow Jeremy Borash to call a show?

- The cage match, although Mike Tenay believe it's a classic, was a letdown. Kurt Angle tried to work his standard formula, which is occasionally compelling in a 20 minute match, but was almost silly in a 5 minute match. Mr. Anderson lost his first match as an Ace and/or Eight. It was a weird match from a storytelling standpoint and from an action standpoint as well.

- How did Kurt Angle never see Wes Brisco and Garett Bischoff's turns coming? The reveals were odd since they took their own masks off. The beatdown was weak. The worst part of this was Bischoff's "Yes, I am evil" face, which he made for far too long.

- Are you ready for awkward segments with Garett Bischoff verbally degrading strippers in the clubhouse/trailer?

This show really fell flat as it went on. It was an exciting episode at the beginning, but then it dropped down into the depths. Hopefully the other four episodes taped overseas are more compelling than this one. This show wasn't without its moments but the overall package really fell flat. Being overseas or on the road won't fix all of TNA's problems.

Did you enjoy TNA this week? Am I way off? Feel free to email me at itswilltime@gmail.com or to follow me and chat me up on twitter at twitter.com/itswilltime.

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