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TNA Impact Reax #1: "This Impact was by far the worst of the entire year." Oct 5, 2007 - 4:11:08 AM
David Moore of Concord, Calif. (5.0): Best match: Gauntlet/mainevent. Worst match: Everything else sucked! From the intro song and video still being generic to the first hour being complete filler... This Impact was by far the worst of the entire year. The gauntlet and the mainevent were great, but the rest was really horrible. And I'm not usually one to cry Russo, but that women's segment with Leticia and that other woman announcer has "Russo" written all over it. Same crap from WCW's dying days! I'm usually very happy with Impact, so for me to be saying all this has got to tell you something. This Impact simply sucked and I have to say something. The start of the show made no sense. Why was Abyss coming out to save Rhino at the beginning? Why was Rhino even fighting with Raven and Black Reign? Have they forgotten the program that these guys were in with other people? Just dropped the old stories without any closure? The matches were boring, besides the gauntlet and mainevent. I was hoping for more X-Division action. I will be surprised if most of the audience stayed tuned in for the second hour, I almost felt like changing it and I never change it. The second hour was great; seems like they should've stuck with the one hour format, especially if they were gonna air that garbage that they did the first hour. Too much filler, not enough important stuff. Over-all the two hour Impact didn't make any impact (pun intended).
Donnie of New York (3.0): Best match: Main Event. Worst match: Rhino vs. Black Reign... What the heck was that, TNA? Luckily I'm a wrestling fan because the people that came over to watch the show for the first time either left or fell asleep 15 minutes into the show. I didn't get at all interested myself until the Raven promo. The Angle-Sting build up was just awkward and weird and was actually what turned my friends away. Pacman Jones needs to desperately go away NOW! But the main event almost made up for such a lousy two hour crapfest. Oh, and congratulations goes out to Don West for not screaming at us through the entire show!
Bluestreek (8.0): This is why TNA needed two hours. Some ideas are good, some are bad. Now with two hours, TNA is finally putting on a better show, but that's not to say it was perfect. James Mitchell with his own stable is always a good thing, but I'm still not that high on Black Reign bringing a rat to ringside. I don't get it. Dustin and Rhino are two examples of good workers that didn't get a chance in WWE, so this to me was a good way to show that you don't need a million high spots or a bodybuilders physique to be a good wrestler. The run ins afterwards were unecessary and could have had the same effect if it were taped in the back. Also, why did Sting run in at all? Shouldn't he be concentrating on Angle? Speaking of Angle, why was he messing with Sting's kid again? Oh, to get the dark Sting back, that's right. Wait, why does he want to face Sting from 1997? Doesn't he know that he singlehandely took out the NWO back then? Oh, he does! Nash told him and he still wants to bring him out! Are they stealing from WWE on that one with the HBK-Hogan Summerslam match a few years back? Either way, I'm only interested in the match itself now (barely), the storyline is long gone. Raven with Mitchell is probably the only thing I enjoyed from the first segment(s). Raven is a master on the stick and is finally getting time to re-develop his character. Now, with Mitchell, he gets the big M tattoo of success, and hopefully will be able to put on a great showing at Monsters Ball. Womens match was pretty good, but a tad bit short. Kim and Moore are better than that, and we all know it. The guys shouldn't have been out there, as it just crowded my TV with extra faces I didn't need to see. The gauntlet was entertaining, and it showed the newcomers to TNA (if there are any that actually tuned in) that you never can tell who is going to win until the end. When the match started, I was thinking Kaz, and later I thought either Shelley or Harris. By the end, I wasn't sure, as Young doesn't usually go over without some kind of distraction or interference. It showcased the mid card talent, and maybe next week we can get some promos from MCMG, Rave and Hoyt, or even Young. But overall, I was highly entertained by the match. Why did they destroy their X-Division champ for a worthless segment? Was I the only one who thought Pacman might actually hit someone with the chair? Technically, he wouldn't be making any physical contact. The match was an attempt at comedy, and a way to show the Truth that TNA's crowd still likes him. It succeeded only in making me want Tomko to kick the shit out of Pacman at the PPV (on accident, of course). The main event was probably the best eight (or six) man tag they've had in a while. Junior showed why TNA showed interest in him by working a solid match, and is so over with the Orlando crowd it's not even funny. Give me more Hernandez pulling old school Undertaker dives, and I'll stay a happy man. TNA put a match that would blow any recent Survivor Series match out of the water on free tv, and that's why we love TNA. I'm glad that they used the second hour properly, and I hope they keep it up. Overall, I thought it was a very good show, and while a few segments could have been axed all together (I'm looking at you, Kurt), TNA is putting it's best foot forward to show that they aren't backyard wrestling or a bunch of little guys flipping around like idiots without selling between moves. They finally are starting to get it, and I hope they keep it.
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