By Rich Twilling

Today's Rundown: Flair, Abyss, Hogan, Rankings, RVD, Styles, Sacrifice, Anderson and Pope, Knockouts and X Divisions, Morgan, Hebner, Team 3D and The Band

Ric Flair: I am buying Flair and everything he did throughout the show. He was very good in the opening segment while displaying his personal hatred for Hulk Hogan and what he did with his Hall of Fame ring. His documentary promo near the end of the show was awesome.

Most importantly, he opened up the entire bag of tricks during the main event. Sure, Flair cannot work like he used to (obviously), but the man has an amazing ability to get himself and more importantly, his opponent over. His second WWE run was Flair as a mid-card guy, but Flair felt like a main eventer last night.

Abyss wins two Hall of Fame rings: I am selling this. I was convinced from the start that Abyss as a top guy wasn't going to work, but I was willing to watch it with an open mind. It doesn't help that Flair is absolutely correct when pointing out how ridiculous the ring storyline is. Abyss can be a contributor to TNA, but he is just not a main event guy.

Hulk Hogan takes one of the rings: I'll buy this for now. Hogan said he would give the ring to somebody next week. Hopefully it isn't just some random wrestler who also should not be wearing a Hall of Fame ring. This ring storyline needs to go away.

TNA ranking system: I will sell this for a few reasons. First of all, it is decided by fan voting only. Secondly, there will always be the question of, "Is it legit?" Finally, the voters are given the ten wrestlers; they cannot vote for anyone on the roster.

I thought this would have been an opportunity for TNA to really differentiate themselves as a wrestling product. They have a "sports like" atmosphere in other aspects of their product, so why not this?

If Eric Bischoff, Dixie Carter, and Hogan put together the rankings themselves with "help" from the fans (to keep them involved), then there could be some actual incentive for winning matches. This is just a popularity contest.

Rob Van Dam: I will buy him opening the show with Hogan because the title change from last week was a huge deal. RVD's promo reminded me of the ECW RVD and not the WWE RVD, which is a good thing. The crowd chants his name during his entrance and they are into him as the top guy. Now he just needs to appear on more than just the opening segment of the show.

A.J. Styles: I will buy him as well. I thought his promo during the opening segment was the best one he has ever done. He had anger, conviction, and confidence in his voice. He might get stuck in a holding pattern because I'm guessing they are not going to put the belt back on him anytime soon, but hopefully he isn't lost in the shuffle.

Building toward the PPV: I'll buy this. Styles wants his championship back but also has a program ready with Jeff Hardy. They could go with a triple threat match if they wanted, but they have options. Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting has been set up nicely. They also introduced a solid upper mid-card program (see next entry).

Mr. Anderson and The Pope: Pope's promo was a little generic, but the crowd is into him. Anderson transitioned nicely from Kurt Angle and is still the same great character with Pope. I hope they don't derail Anderson as a long program for the TNA Championship with him as the heel is something he is ready for.

Knockouts and X Division: I'll buy both of them. I mentioned in my audio that the Knockouts Division doesn't have a lot of depth right now, but at least it has direction and a couple of ongoing programs.

The X Division will never be what it once was (most likely), but adding Samoa Joe to the mix is a good thing for both parties. The crowd is starting to appreciate these guys a little bit and Joe is the glue to bring the entire thing together.

Matt Morgan and the tag team championships: Normally, I wouldn't like something like this, but I'll buy it. Morgan is entertaining and his search for a partner has been interesting. Sure, I would rather see the belts on actual tag team, but Morgan has made this alternative a good one. If they are reuniting LAX, hopefully they do it soon and get the belts off of Morgan and whomever he chooses to be his partner.

Referee Earl Hebner: Will someone please just kick his ass? Why is he getting in a shoving match with Ric Flair? Why is he changing a finish to a match that he called when he never saw anything that took place to cause him to make the change? Ugh.

Team 3D vs. The Band feud: I'll buy it this week. The injury angle with Syxx Pac and Nash saying they will bring somebody else in adds a little bit of intrigue. We'll look at this on a weekly basis, but for this week, it was solid.

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