By Curtis Shanks, PWTorch specialist

Welcome to the TNA Impact edition of Under the Microscope. We're here to review all those little observations and tidbits you may have missed. This is not a detailed recap of the show, but a review for those of you that saw the show but didn't actually "watch" it.

After last week, we know that ODB is obsessed with Hugh Hefner, Angle and Jarrett know how to build to a match, and Samoa Joe is taking time off with Brother Ray. But what else is there to notice? Let's see what we can spot. Cue the opening pyro.

Mick Foley opens tonight's show, only to have the Main Event Mafia come out and interrupt him. Foley tells MEM members Booker T and Scott Steiner that he is putting them in a match latter in the show versus A.J. Styles and Brother Devon. Booker and Steiner were the only members of the MEM in wrestling gear with the other three in the usual suit and tie attire, so it seemed as if a logic hole was created as they should not have known they were competing in that match.

However, Kurt Angle made reference to how Booker and Steiner were supposed to compete against two "jobbers" instead. This was a nice little touch by TNA to give a reason as to why they would be in their ring gear, despite not knowing about the match until it was announced.

During both matches that TNA's newest roster member, Kiyoshi, has been in, Mike Tenay has made reference to The Great Muta, Kiyoshi's trainer. Muta has been wrestling for over 20 years and is regarded as one of the greatest Japanese wrestlers of all-time. Muta began his career in New Japan Pro Wrestling, later going on to compete in All Japan Pro Wrestling.

Muta worked in the U.S. as well, competing in WCW and World Class Championship Wrestling. He was well-known for using the moonsault, a move we've seen Kiyoshi attempt in both of his TNA matches. Muta also uses various colored mists on his opponents, with each color having a different effect. In his career, Muta has won eight world titles and ten tag titles, including one WCW reign with Vampiro.

The Main Event Mafia has the unique distinction of being comprised solely of former world champions. Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash, Booker T, Scott Steiner and Sting have many world title reigns between them. The Frontline can boast world titles of their own, as A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe and Rhino, as well as supporters Mick Foley and Jeff Jarrett all are previous world champs as well. That leaves Abyss as the only person currently in TNA who has held a world heavyweight title but is not involved with the current MEM vs. Frontline storyline.

There were a couple of interesting things to notice during the beat down that ensued after the Booker/Steiner vs. Styles/Devon match. After Devon was subdued backstage, the MEM began a beat down of Styles in the ring, setting up for the Samoa Joe treatment we saw last week. The beat down went on for about three or four minutes before members of the Frontline finally ran out to save Styles. Where were they at during all of this? I understand that TNA may have been trying to show us that they may not have been close to the entrances, and it may have taken time to get to the ring. But if two guys in my stable were in a match with a devious group like the MEM, I would be watching intently, ready to run out in a moments notice to help out.

Aside from the tardiness of the Frontline (maybe they were enjoying the rides at Universal Studios), also interesting to note about the beat down segment was the absence of one individual, Sting. Sting has been portrayed as the tweener, and has shown intentions of not being as hard-core as the other MEM members. This was obvious tonight, as there was no sight or mention of Sting during the entire segment.

Tonight we see the announcement that Mick Foley will be returning to the ring in a six-man tag match at TNA's Genesis PPV next month. TNA will probably build this up as a big deal, as it has been quite some time since we've seen Foley in a match. We've seen Foley announce on Smackdown, get beaten down by Edge and aid Jeff Jarrett at "Bound For Glory," all since his last match. But in-ring returns are nothing new for Foley.

Foley was first forced into retirement in early 2000 after losing a cage match to Triple H, only to return two months later to compete in the WrestleMania four-way main event. After his match, Foley moved to a non-wrestling role as the WWF commissioner. But a Foley in-ring return has literally become a yearly occurrence since 2004.

Foley returned at the beginning of '04 for a feud with Randy Orton on Raw. The next return was a forgettable one, as he faced Carlito in a Taboo Tuesday match in '05 where the fans chose which gimmick Foley would use (Mankind won). The '06 return saw Foley face Edge in a great hardcore match at WrestleMania, with Foley actually wrestling all the way up till August of that year. In June of '07 he returned to confront Vince McMahon, only to be destroyed in a match by Umaga. Foley teamed with Hornswoggle and compete in the Royal Rumble to begin '08, and now we will see yet another Foley return at Genesis to ring in '09.

No detail is too small for the Microscope. Sometimes we discuss things that don't really affect a wrestling promotion, or things that some may not give a damn about. Tonight we have one of those instances. It may have just been the choice of outfit, but it appeared as though Roxxi has recently "developed" in one aspect of her game. It is the holiday season, so Roxxi may have said "all I want for Christmas is my two front (insert your own innuendo here)."

It wouldn't be TNA without a holiday themed gimmick match to accentuate Christmas Day. Tonight we get a Santa's Workshop Knockout street fight, an eight-woman tag match. Actually, it should have just been called that - a tag match. Despite being billed as a street fight, there wasn't one instance of a weapon being used in the match. The only "no rules" part of the match was the absence of tags towards the end of the match. I'm not a hardcore match junkie, but if you bill something as a street fight at least give us some trash can or table spots.

Last Saturday night, WWE gave us their yearly "Tribute to the Troops" special on NBC. While this column is about TNA and Impact, I would like to take this opportunity to thank WWE for everything they do to support our military. Whether you are for the current Iraq/Afghanistan situation or against it, the troops themselves should still be supported, and WWE does a remarkable job with this every year with their tribute. We criticize and complain often in the wrestling world, but this is one opportunity we should simply say "thank you."

Numbers crunched harder than an unprotected chair shot to the head: 2009 is almost upon us, as this was the last Impact of 2008. Last week we summed up what we've seen on Impact this year by looking at title matches, gimmick matches, and long matches. But there is plenty more to look at when discussing what we've seen so far this year. So what else do the numbers say?

The go-to guy for Impact matches this year has been A.J. Styles, as he leads the way with 33 total matches. Second place goes to Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, and Booker T with 26 matches apiece. Next on the list are Eric Young and yes, Jimmy Rave, both with 25 matches on Impact this year.

Looking at wins and loses, Awesome Kong leads the way with 22 wins against only three loses, the two occasions she dropped the Knockouts Title and tonight's tag loss. Rounding out the wins list is Styles with 20, Christian Cage with 19 and Booker with 18. Sting's Impact record this year is only 8-2, as he has not been used much for match purposes on TV. He actually began the year with his eight wins, with both loses coming within the last month - a loss to Rhino in the main event, and last weeks loss in a cage match vs. Styles and Samoa Joe. The Rock 'n' Rave Infection are at the other end of the spectrum when looking at success this year on Impact. Lance Rock is a pitiful 2-17 while poor Jimmy Rave is 3-22.

Tonight's show was the first time TNA has aired an original TV show on Christmas Day. The only other time the TNA schedule coincided with December 25 was in 2002, year number one. That was during the weekly PPV era, and TNA opted to take a two-week hiatus for Christmas Day and New Year's Day rather than air new shows.

Next week will once again be a holiday edition of the Microscope, as we usher in 2009 with another TNA Impact. Here's hoping all of you had a safe and happy Christmas Day, and best wishes for the rest of this holiday season.

Curtis Shanks is a self-described wrestling nerd. Who else understands what Matt Striker is talking about all the time. Feedback is welcome, as comments, suggestions, questions and video game cheat codes can be sent to Curtis at curtisshanks.torch@gmail.com.

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