By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

IMPACT HITS

Double X vs. M.C.M.Gs.: This was a good high energy fast paced X-Division style tag team match. That doesn’t mean that it didn’t have problems. The double team moves by Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin were fun to watch, then I thought about how ridiculous it is to have all four guys in the ring at the same time for so long. The match was not very long, but it was exciting while it lasted.

Roode Finally Hires Stalker Fan: The entire segment between Robert Roode, Miss Brooks, and Jim Cornette was not very good. But, I am so thrilled that Roode finally fired Miss Brooks and hired his crazy stalker. This was handled so poorly and drawn out so long that it doesn’t really mean anything at this point. Plus, it was ridiculous that a fan would be able to jump a wrestler and attack her with a chair without security coming out to stop her. Yes, in the end it turned out she had been hired by Roode, but there is no way security would have known that. That was stupid. This whole thing is stupid. But, I am still giving it a reluctant Hit just because I am happy to see them finally advancing this storyline.

Build to the Main Event: TNA did a very good job building to the Main Event. They made a big deal about having a Knockout Title match as the Main Event. They had a nice video package on Awesome Kong vs. Gail Kim at the PPV. Although they were cheesy, the few wrestlers talking about the match to throw to commercial breaks were a decent touch, as was the tale of the tape. I would say that having the formal introductions for the match was nice as well, but Jeremy Borash looks too foolish 99% of the time to have him be on in this serious role.

Main Event: The Main Event itself delivered a good match. It got off to a decent start with the brawl on the outside, that ended in the nice spot as Kong crashed through the wall as she tried to destroy Kim. After the commercial the match moved to the ring, and got better. Kim got in some believable offense against the much larger woman. Her tornado DDT is a good example of using her agility to her advantage. There were some nice nearfalls towards the end of the match for both wrestlers. The match suffered from being too short (it deserved at least 5 more minutes) and by being interrupted by a commercial break. After their long feud, a more climactic ending was in order. So, I was not thrilled with the match. It definitely was not as great as it could have been. But, it was still a good t.v. Main Event.

IMPACT MISSES

Impact Titles: Whoever came up with the idea to give Impact episode titles should be fired, but the same can be said for multiple members of the writing staff. The titles give away the major theme of the show, but that theme should be organic. How did TNA know to title this episode “Prince for a Day” before Kurt Angle arrived at the Impact Zone and announced that AJ Styles would be crowned a prince? This has been a problem with most of the titles. They underscore the fact that Impact is not live and is over produced. Wrestling shows should seem like they are unscripted, but these titles serve to remind the audience how scripted they are.

Too Much Happening: This opening mess was supposed to be a thing of the past once Impact got a second hour. However, TNA lied when they said they would slow down. Before the first commercial, we saw a PPV recap, the opening title, Crystal interviewing Robert Roode, the Impact intro video, the above mentioned tag team match, which ended with Christian Cage doing his Triple H impersonation of acting like a jerk and destroying a tag team, then cutting a promo, then a scene in Jim Cornette’s office with Chris Harris and Samoa Joe complaining, then a scene of the Angle Alliance arriving at the Impact Zone. That is way too much content for one segment of the show, and the pace never slowed down much the rest of the night.

VKM vs. Williams & Dutt: This was a boring tag team match. Petey Williams is playing his new Maple Leaf Muscle role well, but that was about it for this match. It is sad that TNA insists on having a big lame wrestler like Kip James easily over power a two-on-one attack from the smaller more talented wrestlers. The whole Scott Steiner sneaking to the ring to steal William’s case was stupid. Neither team worked well together. In the end, Kip demanded BG’s decision next week. This followed James Mitchell’s demand that Abyss reveal his secret next week. Neither is a good selling point for next week.

Continuity: Crystal was following Christian in the back with the mic and a camera as he looked for AJ Styles. As they walked, he told her to follow him, because he wanted this to be documented. That was the last time we saw them together the entire show. In fact, the camera immediately stopped to find AJ Styles and Jeremy Borash hiding. Crystal was seen several more times, in none of which was she documenting Christian’s search for AJ. Where is the continuity?

Shark Boy: Please get this guy off the t.v. When his music hit, I said out loud, “oh God no.” This gimmick is so ridiculous. I don’t get it at all. It goes far beyond idiotic. And, can someone explain why the security guards were the ones to put him on a stretcher after his match?

Marlena the Mouse: Here is another TNA joke that will only be understood by a small part of their audience. Give it a rest already.

Coronation: The idea behind the coronation was silly as there is no royal connection with the Angles, so why is the newest member of the Angle Alliance a prince? What happened to Robert Roode? Is he still a member of the Alliance? The segment never got going as everyone involved seemed to be going through the motions. I was particularly confused by Samoa Joe’s interruption. He went from wanting to kill Kevin Nash earlier in the show to calmly stating that he should be the #1 contender. This ultimately boiled down to Cornette announcing a #1 Contenders triple threat match next week, Joe vs. Christian vs. Styles. What about Petey Williams (or Scott Steiner)? When do the Feast or Fired winners get their title shots?

Who Do I Cheer For?: Can someone tell me who the top babyface of this company is? Can anyone name a babyface in this company? Maybe Tomko? Christian still acts like a heel and comes out from the heel entrance, so he isn’t a face. Joe comes from the face entrance, so I guess it is him, but his whining attitude is hardly going to rally fan support. Chris Harris falls into the same category. Booker T is in the middle of a go nowhere feud with Roode, and he wasn’t even in the Impact Zone this week. Scott Steiner acts like a fool. Kaz is feuding with Black Reign. I want someone to cheer for, but I’m not seeing anyone. Who am I supposed to root for in the triple threat match next week?

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's Hitlist Specialist, providing his point of view in the Torch's hitlist format for Raw, Smackdown, ECW, and TNA Impact each week. Email him at jmezz-torch@sbcglobal.net.

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