By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

IMPACT HITS

MEM Take Over Impact: This was a nice change of pace for Impact. Sure, the nWo did it back in the day on Nitro, (I told my brother that the MEM was nWo-ing Impact, and he said, "oh they're taking it over.") but that was a long time ago. The concept wasn't without its flaws. It wasn't totally clear how Kurt Angle had the power to run the show, but I guess Jim Cornette basically let him. It set up the first half of the show to be different than usual. There was quite a bit of humor with Booker T and Kevin Nash, I mean Black Snow and Chet Lemon calling the action, Scott Steiner as the ring announcer, and Sharmell as the back stage interviewer. The bit had started to ware a little thin, but TNA smartly had Mick Foley return to take over the show again about half way through.

Booker & Nash: Booker did get annoying after awhile with his voice calling the action, but I think that was the point. They were amusing on commentary. I enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek way that they pretended to be different people, particularly when Booker left to have his match. We weren't supposed to take them seriously, and I didn't. It was fun. I liked how Booker took a mic into the ring with him during his run in so he could keep calling the action. On a more serious note, I liked how Booker pointed out that Petey Williams is still dressed like Steiner. That is something the actual announcers should have picked up on last week. Speaking of the actual announcers, I also didn't mind getting to listen to announcers other than Mike Tenay and Don West.

Steiner as Ring Announcer: Scott Steiner made me laugh out loud multiple times during his stint as the ring announcer. I loved his line covering for flubbing some of the Knockouts' names that he hadn't slept with any of them, so how is he supposed to know their names? I also liked his comment about how Rudy Charles and Andrew Thomas both have two first names. His request to Barack Obama to move the wall from Mexico's border to Canada's was great. I wouldn't mind having someone like Steiner add some humor to the show as a new type of ring announcer each week.

More Sting - Angle Tension: TNA did a good job in a short scene in Angle's office teasing more tension between Kurt Angle and Sting. Sting was upset about having to be in a handicap match against Team 3D (if he didn't want to be in the match, why did he have to be? Another flaw in the concept, but I still liked it). Angle had a good come back about Sting being able to beat two opponents. It was interesting that Angle had justified the match as a way of evening the odds and not being too unfair. It was also interesting to see Angle come to Sting's aid in the match itself. Could it be that Sting's threat to Angle worked?

LAX vs. Angle: This was a good, but not great handicap main event. It was nice to see LAX continue to get ring time with the MEM. Homicide looked good in the ring with Angle. They could have a very good one-on-one match if given a proper build. Hernandez continues to impress with his power and surprising agility. I don't really understand why the referee would allow him to come in without a tag and beat up Angle for as long as he did, but he looked good doing it. There is also a problem with Angle being able to defeat LAX without any help or cheating. But, at least he scored the pin on Homicide, considering Hernandez is still in line to get a World Championship match in the future.

IMPACT MISSES

Early Breakneck Pace: Four of the five Hits above at least partially happened before the second commercial break. There was a lot of content in that time. TNA actually had more content in the first half of the show, with four commercials (as opposed to six in the second half). But, the real problem was that there was just way too much happening in that time. The show started with the MEM's introductory video, then the scene in Angle's office with Cornette, then the Impact opening, then Booker and Nash introduced the show, the Sharmell interviewed ODB, then came Kongtourage vs. ODB, then another scene in Angle's office, then the first commercial break. After the commercial came Sharmell's hilarious interview with the referees, then their match vs. Booker, then a MEM Cross the Line video, then another scene in Angle's office. The show slowed down after that, but it was a headache inducing first two segments.

Abyss With Weapons: TNA has done a solid job over the past several months of playing up the fact that Abyss has stopped using weapons. They could have done a much better job, but now is not the time to talk about that. For now, the focus is on how poorly TNA treated the end of that angle. Abyss just started using weapons again. Not on Matt Morgan or anyone else who has wronged him, but on Scott Steiner. Abyss' use of weapons should have been saved for the PPV. He could have ignored Mick Foley's stipulation and just went after Steiner without the weapons. They could have played up the fact that he still isn't using the weapons. "What will it take for the old monster in Abyss to come back?" The answer would eventually be revealed (either in a post-match promo or as a surprise) that it will take actually having Morgan in the ring for the monster to be back.

Return of Suicide: I hate to sound mean, but I was happy when Frankie Kazarian got hurt so that Suicide couldn't be on any more. The whole thing is so lame. Mike Tenay called him the mysterious character from the TNA video game. That line alone tells you everything wrong with this idea. Will Suicide stick around for a year, only to get the Fired briefcase? Or will Christopher Daniels finally get back to being himself?

European Tour Video: In general, making TNA look big with a video of their European tour is a good idea. However, when the footage of the tour contradicts current tv storylines, it becomes less of a good idea. We are supposed to believe that the reason Samoa Joe hasn't been on tv for the last few weeks is that he was injured by the MEM. But, last week he was seen healthy and wrestling in the United Kingdom. Jeff Jarrett can't run TNA, because his ankle was destroyed by Kurt Angle at the last PPV, but he looked healthy in that video. Also, touting your biggest attendance ever is good, but when that attendance is only 8,000 it just underscores the fact that the company isn't that big or successful.

Cowboys: This cross promotion was shameless, like when they used to have the pros on before Pros vs. Joes. What a waste of tv time. They crammed so much into the first half of the show, just to make time for Lauren to interview those two cowboys? That was lame.

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.

We suggest these recent related articles...

10/5 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Natalya vs. Paige, Owens vs. Cara, Stephanie McMahon, Sasha Banks, Xavier Woods

COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: The History of Foam Hands in Pro Wrestling

9/28 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Kane's Split Personality, Divas Revolution, Heyman & Big Show, Reigns vs. Wyatt