By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

IMPACT HITS

Rough Cut: This was a nice follow up video to last week's which featured Hernandez. It was nice to learn something about Homicide's background and to see where he came from as a wrestler. These segments humanize the wrestlers which can be a good thing if done well. It will be interesting to see where the story goes from here as Homicide and Hernandez form a team. I will be curious to see if Konnan's name is mentioned. I also am still hopeful that TNA will go somewhere with this talented team.

Machine Guns vs. Joe & Styles: As you would expect from these four, this was a good tag team match. It only went 8 minutes and was interrupted by a commercial, so it could have been better. I wouldn't have minded seeing more of it. It was fast paced and featured good back and forth action. It never got dull, and neither team took a prolonged beating. Therefore it wasn't a typical formulaic tag match. There was a lot of energy. It was good to see Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin hold their own against Samoa Joe and AJ Styles. It also fit well with their storyline.

Team 3D: This is two weeks in a row with good mic work from Brother Ray and Brother Devon. Last week it was on guest commentary, this week it was in an interview with Lauren. It is nice to hear Devon actually getting more mic time now that Obama has won the election. He can talk. He might not be as good as Ray, but he is solid on the mic. What I find really interesting here is the dynamic that Team 3D is playing between being babyfaces in their feud with the heel Tag Team Champions Beer Money, while being heels in their desire to be part of the Main Event Mafia. It is a problem however that this dynamic is being handled better in this midcard act, than it is being held in the main event act.

IMPACT MISSES

Shoving Rhino Down Our Throats: There were parts of the opening segment that I liked, like Booker T doing away with the stupid accent and the fact that Rhino would stand up for his friend Christian Cage. However, everything else was bad. There was a lot of swearing in that segment. The real problem is that Rhino hasn't been relevant in a long time, but now we are expected to take him seriously as the possible leader of the Young Lions? I'm not saying that Rhino can't over time be rebuilt while a storyline can organically develop with him becoming the leader of the TNA Originals. But, that is not what is happening. Instead we are getting him taking over with headache-inducing screaming promos trying to encourage the guys to step up or something. I could do without the ECW reference. I could do without the war metaphors. To top if off, one of the two lame main events announced for Turning Point (more later) is Rhino vs. Kurt Angle. I can't buy him as the leader yet, and I don't buy him as a threat to Angle yet either.

Over-Crowded Segment: Every week, Impact features at least one segment that is too crowded with short segments. Typically these segments feature four different scenes, videos or matches, all bunched together. This week, it featured five which is why I have to hold it up as a Miss. It started with a Suicide video. I'm not really sure where they are going with that. Then there was a video of last year's Feast or Fired match, announcing that it will be returning soon. This is one of the stupidest TNA gimmick matches and doing it again is a mistake, especially if you are reminding us about how bad it was before. Then came the scene in the returning Jim Cornette's office (more later). Then came a short Knockouts tag match, Christy Hemme & Sojourna Bolt vs. The Beautiful People. Then came the good Rough Cut video mentioned above. That is three videos, a backstage scene, and a match all crammed into one segment.

Who's In Control?: I really want to know. It was nice to see Jim Cornette back this week, but his role has to be defined with the presence of Jeff Jarrett and Mick Foley. He talked to referee Shane Sewell about going over his head to Jarrett and Foley, and warned that Sewell isn't a blip on their radar. Does that mean that they only run the upper card of TNA? Does Cornette only have power over the mid and lower card? Traci Brooks is still in charge of the Knockouts. That is about the only thing that is clear. Jarrett even added a stipulation to a match that Foley made. So, does that mean he is higher than Foley? What is the pecking order? Who is in control of what?

Foley's Announcements: Mick Foley failed to get me excited about his co-main events for the next PPV. The first is that Sting, Booker T, Kevin Nash and Scott Steiner will face Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, and two partners of their choosing. That in and of itself is fine. There is a definite intrigue built into it to find out who Styles and Joe will pick. Will teams lobby for the spot? That was good. I don't really care for the 8 man tag format with such big stars and having it be one fall. That is lame. But, what put this announcement into the Miss column is the fact that Sting's World Title will be on the line and that if his team loses, he will lose the Title to Styles. That makes no sense. Let me say this very clearly: singles titles should never ever be defended in tag team matches. That is how you end up with David Arquette as World Champ. I think I like this stipulation a bit better than if whoever gets the pin gets the Title, but not much if at all. I already mentioned not being high on Rhino vs. Angle. Rhino just stepped into this storyline and is getting a main event match with Angle? It is too soon. It would work better with even a few weeks of build. Instead, there was less than one episode of build to the announcement. It just doesn't work for me. Neither of these matches makes me want to order the PPV.

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw, Smackdown, ECW, and TNA Impact each week. Email him at jmezz-torch@sbcglobal.net.

For another view from the original Hitlist author, compare Jason Powell's views to mine by visiting prowrestling.NET's "Hitlist" section here.

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