James Caldwell, Torch Assistant Editor (4.5)

I couldn't push this to a thumbs up show, as there were some glaring issues with Impact that off-set the positives. The show requires a scale to balance an evaluation of the PPV sales pitch and the TV drama aspects of the show.

The "Before the Bell" pre-show TNA put online did a much better job hyping Samoa Joe vs. A.J. Styles and the PPV in general than this week's PPV lead-in. TNA is obviously not concerned with PPV business, as they'll apparently gladly take their 20-30,000 buys and call it a month. Waiting until 90 minutes into the show to even show the TNA World Hvt. challenger at the PPV and really mention the PPV title match was a clear indication to viewers that the headline title match really isn't that important, so it's obviously not worth your $34.99. WWE sent a similar message to viewers with the Survivor Series build-up in November when Triple H and Shawn Michaels were busy goofing off with Hornswoggle rather than conveying to viewers that a WWE Title match was important. WWE ended up with terrible buys and Survivor Series has now been scrapped.

As for the actual Joe-Styles hype, their promo exchange was going just fine until Styles was scripted to remind viewers that Joe has turned heel and acted like an idiot and now turned pseudo-face again just in the last nine months. Suddenly, Joe wasn't likable again after TNA took him off the air long enough for viewers to forget about all that non-sense. Styles and Flair were supposed to be the heels you want to pay money to see get their comeuppance, but the issue became muddied and Joe looked like a jerk anyway. Why can't there just be a likable top star in TNA that fans can rally behind and spend money hoping that person will actually fight for them without having to question whether another turn is coming or be reminded of them acting like a jerk in the past?

The eight-card stud tournament was effectively built up, but the tease of Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Anderson had so much more potential to actually be a PPV selling point if TNA established the bracket and tournament ahead of time instead of waiting until three days before the PPV to suddenly try to build some issues. They could have done a tremendous amount with Matt Morgan and Hernandez being paired off against each other in the first round of the tournament, but because they waited until the final episode to book the tournament, there was no time to flesh out those issues. The "Before the Bell" format of sit-down interviews would have been perfect for Hernandez and Morgan to be shown on-camera in pre-tapes talking about putting their feelings aside and putting the tag belts aside and just going out there to see who the better man is in the ring going for that big singles title. That's good, interesting, intriguing TV with the added bonus of...wait for it...helping sell a PPV! Same could have been done with Abyss and Mick Foley talking in pre-tapes about having to face each other in the first round if TNA established the brackets ahead of time. Alas, it wasn't the case.

Matt Morgan vs. Suicide was a dumb, dumb, dumb booking decision. First off, Morgan selling for Suicide never should have happened. Morgan should never have been taken off his feet in that match. Build up Morgan as a monster! TNA should have put someone more expendable not associated with the X Division - with its own PPV next month! - in that slot to take the fall. Perhaps Brutus Magnus begged his way back into the tournament qualifiers and Bischoff forced him to wrestle Morgan and Morgan squashed him in ten seconds with Magnus playing a comedy heel bumping like a fool and standing out with the joke on him and Morgan reinforced as a babyface with a mean streak. Also, Suicide in that spot continued to reinforce the idea that the X Division is not credible, is not at the same level of heavyweights on the roster, and is not worth watching on TV, much less spending money to see on PPV next month. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy that TNA has continued to use an excuse not to feature the X Division on TV. It's horribly inefficient and a waste of the entire X Division roster.

Greg Parks, Torch Columnist (5.5)

When Hulk Hogan was champion in the WWF, even though he wasn't great in the ring, he had the mic work and the presence to make up for it. I feel like his mic work is really bad right now, like he's reading scripted lines that he doesn't believe and trying to suck up to the TNA fans as much as possible. Saying "crack-a-lackin'" in his opening promo just didn't sound natural. The Pope continued his ascent up the TNA ladder and is one of the few TNA characters I enjoy seeing inside and out of the ring.

Matt Morgan reminds me a lot of Jim from The Office in that sometimes he comes across as so smug, you want him to be taken down a notch occasionally. The difference is, Jim for the most part IS likable, but Morgan hardly ever is. I don't feel bad for the Suicide character being downplayed lately. Christy Hemme is really good as a backstage announcer, for what it's worth. Doug Williams looked good as well. I too thought it was a travesty that they waited so long for A.J. Styles to appear on the show, especially a go-home show. And Hulk Hogan attacking Syxx and Hall was no surprise either.

Curtis Shanks, PWTorch.com Contributor (7.5)

Solid show from TNA this week, but it left a bad taste in my mouth as the show ended. I liked most every segment up until the last one. I've long applauded TNA for their unpredictability, but tonight's main event segment could be seen coming from a mile away. The Hogan swerve didn't creep up on us a take us by surprise. Rather, it was trudging its way toward us with a cowbell around it's neck yelling and screaming and trying to get us to notice before it actually arrived. This story has no place in the main event segment of a go-home PPV hype show. Hall and Waltman aren't on the card, and this had nothing to do with what's being hyped for this Sunday.

Other than the last ten minutes, I enjoyed this show. Taz and Mike Tenay did a superb job of building up the different storyline scenarios with all the first round matches in the tournament. The Knockout match was good, and placed in a very smart spot (top of the second hour, to get channel changing viewers from the previous hour). There was zero build up, but the X Division title match was fun to watch. Doug Williams' finisher is great, and he could fit right in with some of the guys who occupy the division. The promo exchange between A.J., Joe and Flair was good, but should have been what closed the show.

There was good mic work all around tonight. Anderson and Wolfe (the Super Maxi Pad line was classic) were fun, but Eric Bischoff was tops. This show would have been scored a point lower this week if it wasn't for him. His sarcastically heelish tone without going all-out bad guy is one of the best parts of the show each week.

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