Post by Talon Thorne on Apr 16, 2008 19:18:40 GMT -5
TNA 101
March 18, 2008
By Talon Thorne
Welcome to another version of TNA 101. We will tackle the iMPACT Report Card as well as the first ever “War of the Words” and finally some news bits. Here we go.
iMPACT! Report Card
“The End of Joe?”
March 13, 2008
Action
-I liked the Petey Williams vs Curry Man Xscape Qualifying Match. There was solid action and the interference made sense. It looks like Curry Man will challenge Jay Lethal in the Xscape Match along with many other wrestlers.
-The Rellik and Reign vs Machine Guns tag match was okay up until the commercial break. The break killed off the momentum of the match. On any other day I would have been pissed that the Machine Guns lost to the two monsters, but knowing that they have an unprofessional outlook on wrestling, I figure they will keep on losing. I like Rellik’s other mask more than the one he used on this night. I am not sure how I like Super Eric. I like how is changes up the character but I don’t think the fans will devote to his character long term.
-I enjoyed the Kaz vs Kurt Angle match but though the commercial break did hurt it a little. TNA needs to place their commercial breaks during entrances or before matches. The only matches that can be broken up by commercials are those that have 10 or more minutes of viewed action. I liked how this match established that Angle has a vicious submission move as good as Samoa Joe’s Clutch. The Angle Promo after the match was good as well.
-I wasn’t happy that the Rock N Rave Infection beat LAX since they are the #1 Contenders. I guess it isn’t so bad especially since Christy Hemme pinned Salinas.
- The Knockouts match was the weakest of the show. Some moves were botched. I also heard Gail Kim call for the clothesline. The post match beatdown was okay however. I felt too much went on first with Love and Sky then with Kong then with ODB. Felt rushed that’s all!
-The main event was good with the exception of the commercial break. I am excited for Lockdown in a month! I enjoyed the post match beatdown. Team 3D joins Tomko and AJ Styles for Lethal Lockdown. I like the added effect that all four heels attacked Nash’ knee with a chair and Christian Cage laid over Nash’ knee to stop a permanent injury.
-TNA went with the 6-Match format agin this week. To me TNA has a better pace with the 6-Match format plus we see a biggr portion of the roster in action. I prefer the five match format since it allows the 5 matches more time for wrestling. I like seeing TV Matches get the time of PPV Matches as it feels more real. As one who gets into fan mode, I would wonder why PPV Matches and TV Matches don’t go the same time. (By the way about 12 minutes of wrestling went to commercials this week)
-We got about 38 minutes of wrestling. About 15 minutes had the commercials not been involved.
Entertainment
- The opening segment was good with me. It is good to see the fans behind Samoa Joe. Cornette announces that a 4 on 4 Lethal Lockdown Match will take place at Lockdown. The captains are Christian Cage and Tomko. I like TNA putting Tomko as captain as it puts him in the spotlight once again (Team Tomko). Cornette announces both men have until the Live Episode of iMPACT! to come up with their teams. Cage cut a nice little promo running down Tomko leading to AJ Styles, Kevin Nash, Tomko and Christian Cage all brawling. Good opening to iMPACT!
-The Scott Steiner and Petey Williams segment was okay. I am curious about the initiation of Petey Williams.
-I hated the Team 3D/Jim Cornette segment because of a few reasons. They called TNA a sinking ship (what if the fans of TNA take it to heart and listen to some of these idiot Internet Fans who make the same claims?) Also they referred to Shark Boy being a Stone Cold ripoff when the shouldn’t talk about other stars from other companies. I wonder if Jim Cornette will regain control of TNA!
-All the Samoa Joe stuff on the show was excellent from the video package to the in-ring promo. I really got the feeling that Joe wants that World Belt and he will do anything to get it. I love how he is implying that he doesn’t want to be in TNA if he can’t be the best in the company. Great segments! Good promotion for Lockdown already.
-The tension builds with Rhino and Christian Cage. I throw out the prediction that Rhino joins Team Cage.
-I am enjoying this crush AJ has on Karen. I also like that Tomko is getting pissed that AJ isn’t focused.
- The first time I watched iMPACT, I completely missed the Austin “Consequences” Creed Vignette. I heard that there was one so I watched the replay on my Tivo and saw it a second time. It appears he will be coming on April 13th (Lockdown). Fans should “Prepare to face the consequences”. I am excited for this.
-It makes sense that Karen wants a separation since they have been arguing for the past eight months. As long as this isn’t a screwjob or as long as it doesn’t get in the way of the Main Event for Lockdown I am fine with it. Thank god the bombshell wasn’t that Karen was pregnant. The segment was short and okay. I like how this didn’t phase Kurt since he was so distracted on Samoa Joe and their match.
-I liked the TNA Roughcut segment. This is what kind of element I wanted from Global iMPACT! but wish TNA would do it with someone else besides for Kip and BG James.
-The date of Black Machismo and SoCal Val was funny. I felt bad for Black Machismo after Sonjay Dutt intervened and stole SoCal Val.
-I guess Angelina Love and Velvet Sky are now heels. They are the pretty people of TNA who hurt the ugly ones. Roxxi is coming for you guys now.
-One thing I would have liked but was absent from the show was an update on James Storm after his fall from Elevation X. Personally I think TNA should either turn him into a badass heel or into a babyface. He would do great in either role.
Six Points of iMPACT!
1) Team Tomko- Tomko, AJ Styles and Team 3D beat down Team Cage- Christian Cage and Kevin Nash
2) Kaz vs Kurt Angle, an iMPACT classic
3) Karen wants a separation and Kurt doesn’t care
4) Samoa Joe cuts an awesome promo about how he doesn’t want to be in TNA if he can’t be World Champion.
5) Black Machismo, SoCal Val and Sonjay Dutt go out on a date
6) Curry Man Qualifies for the Xscape Match at Lockdown
Armchair Booking
-It makes more sense that Jim Cornette just make Kevin Nash, Christian Cage’s partner since Cage was already going to do it anyway. There was no mystery as who Cage’s partner would end up being.
-The commercial placement on this show was HORRIBLE. I hate seeing shorter matches being broken up by commercials. TNA was on a role until this week about their commercial placement. Put commercial breaks before matches or during entrances.
-There was NO mention of the Live Edition of iMPACT in two weeks. They mentioned March 22nd being the biggest episode of iMPACT but never mentioned why. I would have mentioned it multiple times during the show.
Grade: B
Overall Thoughts: While not as good as last week in my opinion, it is another edition of an improved TNA Product. I think that if TNA corrected their few problems we would be in for an excellent show. The commercial breaks hurt the matches. Otherwise this show was pretty good.
Show Rating: 1.1
March 18, 2008
By Talon Thorne
Welcome to another version of TNA 101. We will tackle the iMPACT Report Card as well as the first ever “War of the Words” and finally some news bits. Here we go.
iMPACT! Report Card
“The End of Joe?”
March 13, 2008
Action
-I liked the Petey Williams vs Curry Man Xscape Qualifying Match. There was solid action and the interference made sense. It looks like Curry Man will challenge Jay Lethal in the Xscape Match along with many other wrestlers.
-The Rellik and Reign vs Machine Guns tag match was okay up until the commercial break. The break killed off the momentum of the match. On any other day I would have been pissed that the Machine Guns lost to the two monsters, but knowing that they have an unprofessional outlook on wrestling, I figure they will keep on losing. I like Rellik’s other mask more than the one he used on this night. I am not sure how I like Super Eric. I like how is changes up the character but I don’t think the fans will devote to his character long term.
-I enjoyed the Kaz vs Kurt Angle match but though the commercial break did hurt it a little. TNA needs to place their commercial breaks during entrances or before matches. The only matches that can be broken up by commercials are those that have 10 or more minutes of viewed action. I liked how this match established that Angle has a vicious submission move as good as Samoa Joe’s Clutch. The Angle Promo after the match was good as well.
-I wasn’t happy that the Rock N Rave Infection beat LAX since they are the #1 Contenders. I guess it isn’t so bad especially since Christy Hemme pinned Salinas.
- The Knockouts match was the weakest of the show. Some moves were botched. I also heard Gail Kim call for the clothesline. The post match beatdown was okay however. I felt too much went on first with Love and Sky then with Kong then with ODB. Felt rushed that’s all!
-The main event was good with the exception of the commercial break. I am excited for Lockdown in a month! I enjoyed the post match beatdown. Team 3D joins Tomko and AJ Styles for Lethal Lockdown. I like the added effect that all four heels attacked Nash’ knee with a chair and Christian Cage laid over Nash’ knee to stop a permanent injury.
-TNA went with the 6-Match format agin this week. To me TNA has a better pace with the 6-Match format plus we see a biggr portion of the roster in action. I prefer the five match format since it allows the 5 matches more time for wrestling. I like seeing TV Matches get the time of PPV Matches as it feels more real. As one who gets into fan mode, I would wonder why PPV Matches and TV Matches don’t go the same time. (By the way about 12 minutes of wrestling went to commercials this week)
-We got about 38 minutes of wrestling. About 15 minutes had the commercials not been involved.
Entertainment
- The opening segment was good with me. It is good to see the fans behind Samoa Joe. Cornette announces that a 4 on 4 Lethal Lockdown Match will take place at Lockdown. The captains are Christian Cage and Tomko. I like TNA putting Tomko as captain as it puts him in the spotlight once again (Team Tomko). Cornette announces both men have until the Live Episode of iMPACT! to come up with their teams. Cage cut a nice little promo running down Tomko leading to AJ Styles, Kevin Nash, Tomko and Christian Cage all brawling. Good opening to iMPACT!
-The Scott Steiner and Petey Williams segment was okay. I am curious about the initiation of Petey Williams.
-I hated the Team 3D/Jim Cornette segment because of a few reasons. They called TNA a sinking ship (what if the fans of TNA take it to heart and listen to some of these idiot Internet Fans who make the same claims?) Also they referred to Shark Boy being a Stone Cold ripoff when the shouldn’t talk about other stars from other companies. I wonder if Jim Cornette will regain control of TNA!
-All the Samoa Joe stuff on the show was excellent from the video package to the in-ring promo. I really got the feeling that Joe wants that World Belt and he will do anything to get it. I love how he is implying that he doesn’t want to be in TNA if he can’t be the best in the company. Great segments! Good promotion for Lockdown already.
-The tension builds with Rhino and Christian Cage. I throw out the prediction that Rhino joins Team Cage.
-I am enjoying this crush AJ has on Karen. I also like that Tomko is getting pissed that AJ isn’t focused.
- The first time I watched iMPACT, I completely missed the Austin “Consequences” Creed Vignette. I heard that there was one so I watched the replay on my Tivo and saw it a second time. It appears he will be coming on April 13th (Lockdown). Fans should “Prepare to face the consequences”. I am excited for this.
-It makes sense that Karen wants a separation since they have been arguing for the past eight months. As long as this isn’t a screwjob or as long as it doesn’t get in the way of the Main Event for Lockdown I am fine with it. Thank god the bombshell wasn’t that Karen was pregnant. The segment was short and okay. I like how this didn’t phase Kurt since he was so distracted on Samoa Joe and their match.
-I liked the TNA Roughcut segment. This is what kind of element I wanted from Global iMPACT! but wish TNA would do it with someone else besides for Kip and BG James.
-The date of Black Machismo and SoCal Val was funny. I felt bad for Black Machismo after Sonjay Dutt intervened and stole SoCal Val.
-I guess Angelina Love and Velvet Sky are now heels. They are the pretty people of TNA who hurt the ugly ones. Roxxi is coming for you guys now.
-One thing I would have liked but was absent from the show was an update on James Storm after his fall from Elevation X. Personally I think TNA should either turn him into a badass heel or into a babyface. He would do great in either role.
Six Points of iMPACT!
1) Team Tomko- Tomko, AJ Styles and Team 3D beat down Team Cage- Christian Cage and Kevin Nash
2) Kaz vs Kurt Angle, an iMPACT classic
3) Karen wants a separation and Kurt doesn’t care
4) Samoa Joe cuts an awesome promo about how he doesn’t want to be in TNA if he can’t be World Champion.
5) Black Machismo, SoCal Val and Sonjay Dutt go out on a date
6) Curry Man Qualifies for the Xscape Match at Lockdown
Armchair Booking
-It makes more sense that Jim Cornette just make Kevin Nash, Christian Cage’s partner since Cage was already going to do it anyway. There was no mystery as who Cage’s partner would end up being.
-The commercial placement on this show was HORRIBLE. I hate seeing shorter matches being broken up by commercials. TNA was on a role until this week about their commercial placement. Put commercial breaks before matches or during entrances.
-There was NO mention of the Live Edition of iMPACT in two weeks. They mentioned March 22nd being the biggest episode of iMPACT but never mentioned why. I would have mentioned it multiple times during the show.
Grade: B
Overall Thoughts: While not as good as last week in my opinion, it is another edition of an improved TNA Product. I think that if TNA corrected their few problems we would be in for an excellent show. The commercial breaks hurt the matches. Otherwise this show was pretty good.
Show Rating: 1.1