Pruett's Pause: TNA Impact Wrestling - Championship Thursday features Jeff Hardy vs. Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam vs. Zema Ion, and more Aces and Eights drama

By Will Pruett

- Jeff Hardy's voice over thoughts as he walked through the hallway was awkward. TNA usually does a nice job with the reality-based backstage segments (like the championship arguments). It was odd to see them go in a completely different direction with Hardy's thoughts being audible.

- What if we would have been able to hear Jeff Hardy's thoughts through the whole show? What could he have been thinking as he walked down the aisle creepily with his eyes closed?

- Jeremy Borash and Todd Kenely did a nice job on commentary for the first hour of Impact. It'll be interesting to see if this experiment turns into an every week feature. I'm always up for hearing Borash behind the desk. Kenely wasn't anything special, but he definitely seemed more into the product than Taz.

- I didn't enjoy Rob Van Dam vs. Zema Ion. It was well-wrestled, but it was also less than five minutes. This match could be a really fun one to watch, but seeing Van Dam squash an actual X Division wrestler is disappointing.

- What is the difference between the TV Championship and the X Division Championship?

- Joey Ryan's insertion into the X Division could be fun to watch, but his act still seems too cartoony. He's a fine wrestler, but it's difficult to get into the character as a serious threat to anything.

- I'm not sure that Christopher Daniels and Kazarian needed to call Chavo and Hernandez "Dos Stereotypes" and bring their race into the equation. The feud could be built on so many things, but race did not need to be one of them.

- For a moment it seemed like a Mr. Anderson vs. Austin Aries feud was about to begin. It was then made for this show. Does Mr. Anderson even participate in long-term feuds in TNA? I can't remember his last one.

- How bush-league is it to hear a director say "Cut!" as a scene ends on a wrestling show? This made TNA look extremely bad. There was also an odd time warp when Jeff Hardy was shown back in Hogan's office momentarily. Basically, this was a bad twenty seconds for TNA.

- Devon is fairly awkward as a heel. He is playing an evil stereotype and not an actual person. The scene in the Aces and Eights clubhouse where Devon discussed bringing in girls for undisclosed reasons illustrated this.

- Can we go back to the show after Slammiversary and not do the whole Aces and Eights thing? Jeff Hardy has a time warp. Perhaps TNA could borrow it.

- Samoa Joe continues to defeat people in an impressive manner. I could watch Joe squash an undercard wrestler every week.

- Bully Ray promising to confront Devon made sense of his elimination. I have to wonder why Hogan included him in the selection if he was going to eliminate him for having his mind on Devon.

- Devon and Bully Ray haven't been a team for years. TNA is pretending that they have been recently, which is weird.

- I enjoyed Austin Aries vs. Mr. Anderson. The match was fun to watch and Aries still looks like a star.

- Brooke Hogan is still a bad actress. It's odd to hear her referred to as famous or a reality star. I don't think she really qualifies as either.

- Miss Tessmacher is more enjoyable to watch than Tara, both in the ring and on the mic. I know TNA is into this "Hollywood Boyfriend" thing with the Big Brother guy, but it hasn't impressed me yet.

- Why was Hulk Hogan so okay with Joseph Park fighting Bully Ray, but he now will not let him fight an Aces and Eights member? Is Hulk Hogan technically in charge of Aces and Eights now? How does he have the jurisdiction to make them fight?

- Bully Ray and Devon had a nice exchange in the ring. This was a better promo from Devon, that still seemed like a stereotypical heel instead of a real person.

- Is anyone else wondering why a biker gang wants to be in a wrestling promotion? We're four months into this story and we still don't have a hint as to why.

- The Bully Ray vs. Devon feud never had an actual ending when they first broke up. Is this TNA's way of bringing us that ending now?

- Bully Ray has proven himself to be one of the best bad guys in wrestling today. At this moment, it seems that he may be able to do the same thing with his babyface run. Bully is a remarkable talent that just seems to keep getting better.

- Christian York will be the first truly experienced wrestler on Gut Check next week. There is a definite story to tell there, but given how Gut Check has played out since its inception, I doubt it will be told well.

- Jeff Hardy and Kurt Angle have the most surprising chemistry in all of wrestling. Every time I see that they are in a match together, I am unexcited to watch it. Every time the match happens, I'm on the edge of my seat. I don't know what it is between them, but it is amazing to watch.

- I enjoyed the ending of Angle vs. Hardy with Hardy getting the roll up. I would assume this will be a pay-per-view main event in the next six months.

- Aside from Austin Aries, who are the main event heels on TNA's roster for Hardy to feud with?

- The post-match attack and announcement from Austin Aries was expected. I still don't know if fans are buying into Aries' heel act, but Aries is performing well. I not wish this were happening six months into the future, where it wouldn't seem like such a C.M. Punk ripoff. Aries is too good to be seen that way.

Championship Thursday is definitely an interesting concept. It worked alright on this night, but a deluge of championship matches may not be the best way to present things in the future. Rather than a concept show with championship matches, I would rather see a big match built up as a main event weekly. Anticipation is a good thing.

This show had some good moments, but it didn't feel special. TNA tried some new things, which I commend them for. The new commentary team was fun to listen to. The show felt like the same old TNA chaos, though.

Did you enjoy TNA live? 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.