By Hubert O'Hearn, Torch specialist

-- 6/4 TNA IMPACT HITS & MISSES

IMPACT HITS

Midcarders Rule! - This was a really interesting episode of Impact in that it wasn't dominated by any particular individual or faction. Instead, there was a good balance across the roster in promos, matches, and filmed pieces. Dare I say it - and obviously I do - but TNA did more for its mid-card in one episode than WWE has done in the last month. Let's look at two specific examples ...

Daffney Reset - What an excellent job the TNA writers did in putting together an interview and a historical piece to make sense of Daffney's character developing out of the "Governor" angle. This shouldn't be rare, but in wrestling logic and continuity tend to go together like ham in glove. Therefore, when it happens, when a character is given a clear and understandable reason for being a whack job, you just kind of wonder why that doesn't happen all the time. Daffney also has a unique wrestling style that was reasonably displayed on the Thursday night show against Taylor Wilde. (In tribute to RD Reynolds, I'm henceforth dubbing Taylor Wilde as Anonymous Taylor until somebody writes her a character.) It's not beyond the imagination that TNA could plausibly put together an all-Knockout PPV in the near future. Now there would be some interesting buyrates.

Eric Young Reset - You have no idea how pleased it makes me to give EY a Hit. I'd been pessimistic about where TNA was going with him - he was in Samoa Joe's trunk last month for God's sake. But they finally gave him an extended in-ring promo and Eric went at it with full, believable intensity. There was also a nice bit of editing showing some of the idiotic angles and characters EY has been stuck with over the years. Just as with Daffney, Eric Young's snapping makes sense. I do have a problem with the promo, but I'll get to that in the Miss section.

Tune in Next Week - If it wasn't the height of self-delusion and rampant egotism, I'd almost think that wrestling bookers pay attention to on-line columns. Mick Foley's announcement of next week's matches and the tease of whatever hardcore punishment he has in store for Jeff Jarrett again makes so much sense that you have to wonder why this doesn't happen all the time. This has maybe been the single most common complaint against Impact that it gives away great matches with no build-up and lo and behold Jarrett, Russo and company have paid attention. I'm expecting dogs to start walking on their hind legs and cats to start writing poetry any day now...

Chris Sabin - My friend Geoff, who is as big a wrestling fan as there is, said something back when Kevin Nash was mentoring (sort of) the X Division. "Well, at least Chris Sabin has a character now." And it is developing into the kind of character that could - repeat could - turn into the next Shawn Michaels. In the backstage interview with Lethal Consequences, Sabin had the same kind of ironic detachment that Tomko had during his all-too-brief push in TNA. And Sabin's in-ring work against Beer Money was bang on, particularly how the awkwardness of teaming up with Consequences Creed was handled. That too is something that happens so rarely that when it does you wonder why it doesn't always happen. Two guys who have never teamed together are thrown into a match as partners. Why wouldn't they bang into each other and muff spots? Nice work.

IMPACT MISSES

Lauren Chews the Scenery - Chewing the scenery is an old acting term that means going over-the-top. I have liked Lauren's work as a backstage interviewer very much in the past. She was professional and natural. Now she's trying to "react" and "emote" and "show us how she feels." Stop that. Stop that right now! Put those bad toys away because someone's going to lose an eye! Seriously, what she needs to do when paired with someone like Daffney is to under-play while Daffney is over-playing. (And why in blue hell don't wrestling companies have someone to teach people these skills? This is a multi-freaking-million dollar business here!)

Double J all Day Every Day - As I've written before, I admire Jeff Jarrett. He will never have the popularity of a Hulk Hogan, but he's done something the Hulkster never did - have his own company. Applause applause applause. But holy sweet mother of Jesus is there anybody on Impact who Jeff's not feuding with? Foley - feud - check. Angle - feud - check. Eric Young - feud - check. Etcetera etcetera etcetera, as the King of Siam used to say. That was the thing I didn't like about EY's promo. He did a great job with bad lines. Again with the daughters and the late wife and the promoter dad. Blah blah blah. We've heard this before and not long ago either.

Think about how EY's promo would have been even more effective if he'd unloaded on Foley for being this arriviste who strolls into the company and becomes accidental champion while he, Eric Young, had been pretending to be paranoid of pyro! Now there's a money promo. No, Jeff Jarrett has to cure himself of Triple H disease. Pick one feud and stick with it and let the other kids play.

Hubert O'Hearn is a new PWTorch Specialist covering TNA Impact with a weekly Hits & Misses column. You can read Hubert's Hits & Misses column and Chris Reed's new TNA Hits & Misses column weekly on PWTorch.com

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