By Will Pruett

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- Does any show on TV have a trashier lead-in that Impact Wrestling? Seriously? A trashy show about jail is what I see when I flip over to TNA three minutes early! As if Impact wasn't bad enough half the time, I have to see some of that as well.

- TNA's opening segment was a little different than the standard video package. Rather than make events seem like a movie that happened long ago, they made the show seem like a serial drama. This fit well with the flow of the show. It can use a few tweaks, but it was a nice, different change.

- The impressive amount of star power in the opening match was definitely an attempt at hooking in viewers early. With Sting and Bobby Roode in the ring, as well as all the wrestlers on the outside, the TNA roster was showcased to what may have been new viewers in a new slot.

- I am puzzled by the booking of Sting vs. Bobby Roode. I personally hoped for a Bobby Roode clean win. I knew we wouldn't see one. I assumed that Bobby Roode would at least go over in a huge brawl or with other interference. I just cannot see what anyone gains with Sting making Bobby Roode tap out clean. He already dominated him at Victory Road and only lost because of a poorly placed chair.

- Does Sting need a victory over Roode at this point? I don't see how Sting needs anything. He's Sting and he will be even if he loses for the next three months straight.

- After Lockdown, I predicted that Sting would return and face Bobby Roode at Slammiversary when many said James Storm would do so. I didn't want to be right about this, but I was. Sometimes TNA can't help themselves and it hurts the company every time there is any creative momentum.

- As I think about it, I would almost rather see a King of the Mountain match (complete with penalty box!) at Slammiversary instead of Roode vs. Sting.

- A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels started their current feud in July of last year. Are they attempting to break the record of "most televised matches in one year" or something?

- I've been talking about my love for the Joe Park character a lot, but I realized while watching this show why I enjoy him as much as I do. It isn't all Park. Bully Ray is doing such great work around him that I have to cheer for Park. Ray is a perfect heel and is playing his role masterfully. Park is lucky to have such a great foil.

- What will come of the Abyss saga? Joe Park is now in an actual pay-per-view match (I'm guessing with a comedic sweat-suit). Will Abyss suddenly break out of Joe Park or will it be more subtle than that? I'm intrigued.

- I know that it wouldn't excite the whole audience, but I believe Chris Sabin vs. Austin Aries is something TNA should have promoted far ahead of time.

- Samoa Joe is not amused by this spay bottle madness. Here's hoping for Joe vs. Aries at Slammiversary.

- Chris Sabin and Austin Aries didn't have anywhere near enough time to show what they were capable of. I know that TNA classically errors on the side of short matches, but this was almost criminal.

- Taz as a Gut Check judge is a definite step down in star power from Ric Flair, but it is a wrestler that that TNA knows will stick around for a while. I suppose loyalty is more important to them in this situation.

- The main problem I had with the Gut Check deliberation was Bruce Prichard talking about Joey Ryan being "in character." Why acknowledge that wrestlers are playing characters? They would never say that anywhere else on the show, so why is it okay backstage? All the talk of gimmicks and everything else wasn't anywhere near as annoying as the "in character" moment.

- Is TNA starting their own Hall of Fame simply to be able to call Hulk Hogan a two-time Hall of Famer? They already acknowledge WWE's Hall of Fame, so why do they need their own?

- Well the Impact Zone didn't boo Brooke Hogan out of the ring. They also did not cheer for her. There was an odd mix of both, but I'm going to guess that most fans ran to get concessions.

- Brooke Hogan is an Amazon woman compared to the TNA Knockouts. How are they going to handle that without the Knockouts being overshadowed by her?

- Brooke Hogan was conveniently in what is regularly the highest-rated segment on Impact. It will probably have an even larger bump because it was the traditional start time of the show. Why not position someone meaningful in this segment instead of Brooke?

- The TNA history moment on this show was the debut of Christian Cage. This moment is what got me started watching TNA seven years ago. I've immensely enjoyed and immensely regretted the time since that moment. Christian had a great run in TNA when he was first starting out.

- Once Jeff Hardy was announced the day of the show, the result of the fan voting was a foregone conclusion. TNA did a nice job naming competitors that didn't look too weak next to Hardy, but Hardy's popularity always wins out.

- Devon and Jeff Hardy getting more time for a match than Austin Aries and Chris Sabin makes me ultra-sad. This is Devon we're talking about people! Devon!

- When I heard that TNA was going to have the TV Title defended every week, I was excited. I didn't realize that this would lead to a weekly continuation of the Devon and Robbie E. feud. This is making me rethink my support of this idea.

- I liked the James Storm video package, but I still don't feel like this is the right way to use his character. Taking him out of the in-arena environment and taking him out of the focus of the show has cooled off a very hot character. I hope that they can heat him back up when the time to return comes, but TNA has done poorly with less complicated stories.

- Looking at wrestling as an actual sport (as it is presented on TV), I do not understand how Alex Silva did better than Joey Ryan. Ryan had a tougher opponent, put up more of a fight, and seemed to do better on the mic than Silva. How exactly did Ryan get passed over and Silva get a contract?

- I understand that Taz is supposed to be the new hard-ass judge, but it doesn't really make future wrestlers in the company look good by being belittled by a color commentator.

- It is odd that Taz suddenly takes wrestling seriously when he spends most weeks obsessing about Velvet Sky's pigeons.

- I was surprised to see Christopher Daniels and A.J. Styles in the main event. That match has been made to feel like so much less than a main event for most of the last year.

- It was, however, delightful to see the Tag Team Championship angle being focussed on in the main event of a TV show. In 2012 that rarely happens outside of Ring of Honor (who are too stuck on a dead feud between the Briscoes and Hass and Benjamin to be interesting).

- I was surprised to see Kurt Angle in such a backseat role on the first live show. Angle has usually been presented as a major star. I don't mind seeing him do a little less, simply because he has been overused at so many points in TNA history.

- The final moments with Dixie Carter shutting down the TV show were interesting. It seems like TNA is going with a full-on affair between Dixie and Styles. It also seems like this will require Dixie Carter to act, which is not her strong suit. I hope that A.J. and Dixie can find a way to make it work.

I did not like this episode of Impact. They've produced worse, but I don't know if TNA has produced a more disappointing show in their history. This was a letdown on so many levels. The excitement of live TV was there, but the show was too frantic. TNA gave in to old temptations with this one and it really disappointed me.

The worst decision of he night, in my opinion, was Sting defeating Bobby Roode. I don't understand how TNA could not have achieved the same goal by having a major brawl break out and a non-finish. The match still could have happened at Slammiversary and the story would not be that different. Roode tapping out to Sting hurts his title reign and really undoes a lot of the good done in the last month.

Did you enjoy TNA live? Am I was 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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