Pruett's Pause: TNA Impact Wrestling - Hulk Hogan makes a major announcement, James Storm goes home, Rob Van Dam becomes number one contender, Lockdown fallout and more
Apr 20, 2012 - 01:55 PM |
By Will Pruett
- It is hard for me to comment on the video package at the top of Impact. While I thought the package was about as well done as it could be, the story it recapped featured one of the worst booking decisions I can recall in the last few years. So while the package was good, the material was awful.
- I'll echo what Jason Powell said on Sunday night about Kazarian's haircut, but I'll say it about Bobby Roode's. Why not make him cutting his hair some sort of angle? This is a major change to a major star's appearance. It should have meant something.
- Does Bobby Roode have a finishing move or is his finisher taking his opponent's finisher in some sort of beneficial way? I'm guessing it is the second one.
- Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed Ken Anderson's promo towards Bobby Roode. I also enjoyed Jeff Hardy's involvement in this segment. Both men did some good work with their given promos and stated their cases well.
- My major issue with the opening segment is how quickly TNA is moving on from James Storm. They built up Lockdown to be his night and now, instead of delivering on that, they are moving away from it as quickly as possible. This build distrust in fans and causes them to be reluctant when it comes time to get behind a new babyface. This is one of many things wrong with the finish at Lockdown.
- Bully Ray and Crimson vs. Austin Aries and Matt Morgan was a pretty decent match. Morgan and Crimson had some good exchanges. Bully Ray was great. The star of the match was Austin Aries. His babyface comeback towards the end after the hot tag made him look like a star. When dealing with a smaller wrestler like Aries, this is the sort of offense he needs. He showed that with any opponent he can shine.
- I don't know what TNA has done with the Impact Zone crowd lately, but they have been an actual decent crowd. Perhaps they have just gotten smoother at sweetening the crowd noise. Perhaps they are giving away a ton of merchandise to encourage participation. Whatever they are doing, it is working and actually enhancing shows.
- Garett Bischoff's promo segment proved just how weak he is on the mic. He cannot stand in front of a crowd and deliver a confident and worthwhile promo. I truly hope that in the coming weeks he is forgotten on the floor of the writer's room, because this push is an embarrassing example of the flaws of TNA's writing team.
- The first time that TNA bleeped the "Bischoff" portion of Eric Bischoff, I thought it was cute. Every other time is was obnoxious. I understand that this stipulation existed, but it is nothing more than dumb.
- There is something sad and ironic about Ric Flair appreciating Eric Bischoff after all of their problems in the late 1990's.
- Kazarian and Christopher Daniels piece of blackmail information actually being about A.J. Styles makes total sense plot-wise. Kazarian turned because Styles did not appreciate how Kaz was protecting him. This was a nice twist that I am fully in support of.
- In an interesting parallel, the first main event of Impact of the Hulk Hogan era (January 4, 2010) was Kurt Angle vs. A.J. Styles. Now, as Hogan tries to change the format and liven up Impact again, that match and feud are being reignited.
- What was with the picture suddenly cutting to black during the Kurt Angle vs. A.J. Styles match? At times this show was like watching an ROH iPPV from a production standpoint.
- I'm sure that Styles an Angle had a really good match, but the commercial break and momentary blackness made that inconsequential. What we saw on TV was basically nothing. Angle has tweeted that this will continue, so we will just have to wait and see what happens.
- The all of the champions in the ring segment felt like another hard reset of the TNA product, much like the full talent meeting with Hogan felt a couple of weeks ago. There are so many things about TNA that harken back to the dying days of WCW, but these are the most egregious.
- I like the concept behind "Open Fight Night" but I am cautious about it. Does it invalidate the need for number one contenders in TNA? Will it cause a chaotic show once a month that is inconsequential compared to all the others? It can be very entertaining, but if grudges move towards "Open Fight Night" and not pay-per-views, TNA will further devalue their pay-per-views.
- The Television Championship being defended weekly is another great idea. It took awhile to get there, but if TNA follows through with it, it should create some good TV. The challenge now is to get the title onto someone else that people will want to see wrestle weekly.
- The introduction of new talent via a reality show concept could also be entertaining. This is one of the items I am most excited to check out next week. How will the judging take place? Who will it be? TNA has an opportunity to do something new, different and very good here, but it could also go horribly wrong. All of the items Hogan announced should be very interesting.
- Velvet Sky's entrance is one of the trashiest things in wrestling today. It honestly makes me not want to watch TNA.
- Speaking of things that make me not want to watch TNA, why are Mike Tenay and Taz the resident objectifying perverts? I know that I have no desire to sit down and watch women's wrestling with my pervy uncle. Why are the commentators for TNA trying to be the pervy uncle of the entire viewing audience.
- What was the point of Tara's booty shake prior to her standing moonsault? Was she watching videos of Eve and saying "that is a great idea" or did she think that acting like a serious wrestler was overrated? Spots like this in women's matches are obnoxious.
- There are a lot of Knockouts in the division, but there tends to be only one story. Gail Kim and her challenger of the month dominate the picture, but there are no sub-stories that matter.
- The Impact Zone crowd is really into Devon, which is kind of odd. I don't see why they are, but that is great for them and Devon.
- James Storm cut an absolutely fantastic promo about his loss to Bobby Roode. If there is one good thing that can come out of his loss, it is this promo.
- Storm may be having a sort of crisis of confidence where he needs to rebuild who he is. This is not a bad story to tell, but I don't believe the time is right to tell it. The crowd still doesn't have a great attachment to him and without that attachment, why get behind him now. Great promo, wrong time to deliver it.
- Roll up night in TNA was complete with the main event. Isn't the entire point of having agents backstage to avoid repeating moments, spots and finishes throughout the night?
- Anderson and Rob Van Dam are the exact same characters they were five years ago. They are in the main event of Impact with another former WWE superstar. TNA needs growth and these stars do not provide it.
- I cannot see a single reason to the least motivated main event star in wrestling today in the main event of a pay-per-view. Rob Van Dam should not be them played by any wresting company given the performances he has put in while in TNA.
This was a pretty good and very newsworthy episode of Impact. TNA is trying something new next week and they hyped it well this week. While I didn't enjoy Lockdown, this was a satisfying followup to it. TNA needs next week to succeed and be the great show that it can potentially be. This is a stagnant product that desperately needs help.
There is still an issue with Bobby Roode and an absolute lack of credibility as champion. There is nothing that makes me want to watch his pay-per-view matches, because every single one of them has ended in an unsatisfying way. Why not let him win a match? What's wrong with a heel champion that can actually wrestle? Beyond that, his feud with Hulk Hogan overshadows every babyface on the show, which is a major error in judgement.
Let's do some good old fashioned talking about this show! Feel free to email me at itswilltime@gmail.com or to follow me on twitter at twitter.com/itswilltime.
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