Pruett's Pause: TNA Impact Wrestling - Open Fight Night 2, Bobby Roode becomes TNA's longest reigning World Champion, Joey Ryan checks his gut, Sting returns, game show host Hulk Hogan returns


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Pruett Editorials


Pruett's Pause: TNA Impact Wrestling - Open Fight Night 2, Bobby Roode becomes TNA's longest reigning World Champion, Joey Ryan checks his gut, Sting returns, game show host Hulk Hogan returns
May 25, 2012 - 02:41 PM


By Will Pruett

- Why does Hulk Hogan (and presumably Eric Bischoff) love referencing the format sheet? We get it. The show has a script or an outline that you are supposed to go by! It was January 2010 when Bischoff ripped up the format live on a Monday night. All this segment did was make me remember that happening and remember how much that didn't matter.

- Seriously, doesn't the format basically let you know that the script exists?

- Aside from the format stupidity, the opening segment had some really nice moments. It wasn't perfect, but the argument between the four men was actually compelling. This was a nice way to use the game show element, as it created conflict between the wrestlers.

- I'm still not enjoying Hulk Hogan as a game show host. He has a habit of incoherently rambling until he makes his final, scripted point and this style accentuates that.

- The Open Fight Night opening video is still a great touch. Did you notice how there are no clips from inside the Impact Zone on it?

- Gail Kim cut a truly bad promo that proved no matter how good you are in the ring, you still can't manufacture charisma on the mic. Kim seemed completely fake during everything she said, and not in the good way.

- Eric Young and ODB are officially over-staying their welcome with me. They have their funny moments, but those moments are not enough to justify their heavy presence on the show.

- Why do the Knockout's Tag Team Championships exist?

- Hulk Hogan saying "shiz" officially made this show worth watching.

- Rob Van Dam was a nice little dose of continuity that I had completely forgotten about. I figured RVD just called out Gunner because he was an easy opponent to beat, but alas, there was actually a feud there.

- That footage of Gunner reminded me of how hard he was being pushed and how abruptly it was stopped. I wasn't a fan of him during his push, but I did appreciate the effort to establish someone new. It is jarring to think of how quickly he has fallen.

- It's been over a month since Devon has been defending the Television Championship every week. Isn't it time for him to lose it to a talented athlete that is interesting enough to feature weekly?

- The aforementioned interesting athlete is not Garret Bischoff.

- Robbie E. and Robbie T. vs. Devon and Garret Bischoff will be a match I fast forward through. Forget about journalistic integrity, I just can't watch it.

- One of the biggest issues with the "Hogan picks the challenger" concept is that reasons are needed for the babyface challengers being eliminated. How does Hogan justify eliminating them without tarnishing their honor or making them look bad? This was a problem with Jeff Hardy's elimination.

- I once again enjoyed the Joseph Park and Bully Ray segment. I feel that it may be a little heavy-handed, but Park has been crazy entertaining in this role and we all know how great Ray is on the mic. I'm not looking forward to another Abyss vs. Bully match, but the long build has been entertaining.

- Wouldn't the Gut Check concept be more effective if the guy that won it last month was actually on TV?

- Joey Ryan had a sub-par showing in his Gut Check match with Austin Aries. I've seen Ryan a lot on the Southern California indie scene and I can't say I enjoy his act. His match again Aries may be the worst I have seen him have though.

- Hey TNA, I don't want to relive that odd experiment that was Hulk Hogan vs. Sting at Bound for Glory. It isn't a top moment in your company's history, I can promise you that.

- A.J. Styles attempting to keep his record as the longest reigning TNA Champion by competing for the title was a great touch. It's a simple story to tell and TNA got it right.

- Who was Taz kidding? Mike Tenay doesn't have an A-game.

- If you're going to have a long match on TV, try to limit the commercials during it. Styles and Roode seemed to work really hard, but with he constant interruptions for three minutes of poor salesmanship (seriously, Spike TV commercials are the worst), the match felt slower than it was.

- Once again, Bobby Roode won a competitive match with his finishing move. Thank you to TNA for actually allowing their champion to look like a dominant force, instead of a total fluke.

- Why was Bobby Roode using plastic champagne glasses? Would it kill TNA to shell out for glass?

- Every time TNA breaks out the confetti, there is just a little bit too much. Less is more when it comes to paper falling from the sky.

- When James Storm left after Lockdown, I predicted that it would be Sting, not Storm getting the shot and the title at Slammiversary. The return of Sting on this show further reinforced that. I understand why TNA would use Sting to draw viewers into the live show, but I hate that they are bringing back another dated act.

This was another chaotic episode of Impact Wrestling. They try to cram a lot into Open Fight Night and they definitely did that here. The positives outweigh the negatives on this show, but there were plenty of both. It was highlighted by the great Roode vs. Styles match, although the impact of that was lessened by Sting.

Next week, TNA has a lot of work to do. There are only three episodes of Impact Wrestling left before Slammiversary and there is not a single match on that card. They have to get into rapid-fire build mode and use next week as a launching point. Going into the live experiment, I can say that I'm cautiously optimistic about TNA at this moment.

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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