By Eric Gall, Torch specialist

-- 5/24 TNA SACRIFICE PPV HITS & MISSES

PPV HITS

Foley's car - TNA has shown the "earlier today" footage of wrestlers arriving at the arenas to make this curveball enjoyable. Jarrett's hummer, Sting's sports car, and Angle's super-limo provided a nice contrast to Foley's jalopy. This is a nice nod to Foley's legendarily stingy nature.

Don West - West has been making the most of his heel announcing position. From making Bashir's sentiments seem somewhat understandable to his complimenting Dr. Stevie's therapy, West has added an intelligent and humorous element to the show. His anti-Jarrett commentary especially stands out. West is turning into one of TNA's strongest assets.

Six Man Tag - Call it a spotfest, but it was a fun one and a good way to get the show started. The easily pleased Impact Zone fans gave it a "This is awesome" chant. I don't know about that, but up until the end, this was a joy to watch.

Knockouts Monster's Ball - Okay, hear me out first. The match itself was too short and not all that great. However, Daffney's character is incredible; there's no one else like her in the company, or in the business, for that matter, and she makes the most of her limited camera time. Dr. Stevie is an enjoyable heel character, and his whipping of Abyss and threatening Taylor with a thumbtack powerbomb is a good source of heat. Lauren's developing well as more than just the backstage interview girl, too. The segment was all over the place and chaotic; sometimes that's bad, but here, it was a whole lotta fun.

Booker vs. A.J. - This match had a good amount of time devoted to it, and A.J.'s pained moans added an extra touch of drama that you don't often get in a regular match. If this match was five minutes shorter than it was, I probably wouldn't have given this a "Hit," and I'm not one of those people who feel that short matches aren't good ones, either. Both AJ and Booker seemed to have turned it up a notch towards the end, and the finish with Sharmell and Jenna Morasca gives both feuds a new dimension.

Main Event - Everyone showed up, but Foley really delivered, especially with his mid-match commentary giving us some laughs. The match had decent intensity, and there wasn't too much I could complain about considering the participants. There was some confusion about the stipulations, though, with the ref unsure of whether to award the belt to Sting (see Misses).



PPV MISSES

Six Mag Tag Ending - While I gave match itself a "Hit," the ending left a lot to be desired. I absolutely hate the spot where a referee kicks a wrestler's hand off the rope in an attempt to stop a sunset flip. Any other move would be broken up by a hand grabbing the rope; why not this one? Also, matches that directly end based off of this spot kill a lot of their momentum.

Eric Young's post-match sulking - This was a big minus. I've felt the moment Young started being booked as a serious wrestler, moving away from his goofy but sympathetic fool, was the moment he started losing his steam as a character. I really don't think Young's slow heel turn is anything many people are really going to care about. I certainly don't.

Video Packages - One thing TNA clearly falls behind is in video production. Relying on the same announcer voice, package after package, show after show, is a sign of being asleep at the wheel here. Isn't Dave Sahadi still supposed to be working his magic here?

Samoa Joe vs. Nash - I don't know why this wasn't as good as it could have been. Maybe Nash just isn't into it anymore, but this was a short match that never really got into gear. I doubt anyone will really remember this match a couple days from now.

Sacrifice Stipulation Confusion - Was this a title match or not? Yes, I know Foley put the belt up for grabs as his "sacrifice," but wouldn't that be at risk in EVERY title match? It seemed a little fishy when I saw the printed stipulations that only the wrestler pinned would be the one losing his sacrifice, but I reasoned that maybe I hadn't paid attention to all the details on Impact. Even the referee was unsure about awarding the belt to Sting until he asked Jarrett. Not a strong way to end a show.

Eric Gall is a new PPV Hits & Misses Specialist covering TNA PPVs. Contact Tony at ericgall@optimum.net

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