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TNA Impact Reax #1: "If there wasn't so much Dr. Phil drama happening, tonight's Impact would have been quite good." May 23, 2008 - 3:09:53 PM
Zach Madel of Waseca, Minn. - Age 13 (7.0): Best match: Brother Ray vs. Homicide. Worst match: Booker T vs. A.J. Styles. I thought this was a very entertaining edition of Impact, with some exceptions. The wrestlers seemed physically drained already and that led to some poor performance in the ring. Brother Ray seemed to lean against the ropes a little too frequently during the opening match, which was probably the best because of the wrestling ability of both involved. I didn't understand exactly why TNA used the random audience member storyline to face Awesome Kong, but it could turn into something interesting. The final match (Booker vs. A.J. Styles) seemed to just be a little too forced. They didn't work well together and didn't seem to do well together. For all it was hyped up to be, it seemed to just be a disappointment. What I can't understand is why TNA is making A.J. lose to everyone when he is probably the best wrestler on their roster. The ending was a little violent for my tastes, especially Angle's chair shot to A.J.'s head. It looked like it hit the side of his head, which is probably the worst place to be hit. Overall, I'm excited for next week.
Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (3.0): Best: Joe's picks; Roode promo. Worst: The Angle saga; Kong vs. fan. If there wasn't so much Dr. Phil drama happening, tonight's Impact would have been quite good. What filler wrestling there was took a back seat to storyline all through the night, which would be fine if the stories were decent and sharp. Instead, we have WWE's former finest leaving TNA's finest fallen at their feet and for what? I was completely expecting Matt Morgan to win against Robert Roode. Thank goodness that didn't happen as Morgan does absolutely nothing for me and I still don't know why he's there. And also Roode deserves a kudo for bridging Booker's turn; it fits better that Roode did it since he'd have a better "I told you so" perspective to come from. Sonjay Dutt seemed to be on the verge of a turn then this week he, Jay Lethal, So Cal Val, and the infectious trio are all involved in a really lame promo. I like Sting's interview style; sometimes a quiet casual interview can do more to further a character than a simple monologue promo. But the purpose for that interview doesn't seem to exist, so it feels like filler going nowhere. Awesome Kong needed some direction as it is true that she has basically beaten everyone on the female roster. The fan (I assume plant) idea seems like a good premise as it continues to establish Kong's dominance. Fan or trained wrestler, I would not want to have been on the business end of that Awesome Bomb tonight - that one could have broken a neck or worse. And Mike Tenay should be ashamed of himself, so pushing for the fan to sign the release form when he should be advocating more for the fan not to be involved! Clearly, A.J. Styles is a face now. He finally stuck up for himself in a way that makes him out to be a doofus. Tossing the crown was a nice touch. The beatdown completed the turn but went way too long. No Super Eric, A.J.'s partner, for the save? And Karen Angle couldn't come up with anyone but Kurt? I suppose a case could be made for lingering connections between spouses, but come on. And if Kurt's first priority is the TNA Title, shouldn't he be home recuperating and rehabbing his neck so he can be in prime physical shape to go back after it again? Swinging a chair can't be good for reabbing purposes.
Shane McKinley of Danville, Calif. (4.5) Best Match: Rebirth of A.J. Styles. Worst Match: Awesome Kong. It may not seem like much, but I appreciated the contunity of the angle between LAX and Team 3D. Contunity is not really praticed on Impact. Liked the video package for the King of the Mountain tournament. It was weird, because the show started off strong and then just got stupid around 0:35. Like let's do a comedy skit and then follow it up with creepy monster wrestler. Really, what's the point of these two segments? I don't know who's bright idea it was during the Petey Williams-Kaz video package to give the line that Petey's entire history as a wrestler before hooking up with Scott Steiner was filled with "mediorcity." What? Aren't we trying to potray wrestlers you have employed as the best in the world? I guess fans will believe that he was nothing before Steiner roll around, which is just nonsense. And even if Petey was, I sure wouldn't point that out on my television show. Sometimes it's hard to believe that TNA has been running for about seven years now and yet continues to pull off stupid things that affect things that they seemingly care about most, like "buyrates" and "ratings." The knockouts continue to be the star of the mid-card. Matt Morgan wins the award for "The Most Oiliest Wrestler I Have Ever Seen." Good gravy. I can understand the use of Kong beating helpless women to get over her heel character, but that doesn't mean that it's enjoyable to watch. There's a difference between "jobber who is trained" and "fan who wants to earn money," and in this Kong angle, the illusion of broken. It's something that I simply don't want to see ever again and I don't think it's good for Kong's character. What happens is that TNA introduces a segment that they are going to do week after week before the next PPV, like Eric Young looking for Elvis or a Abyss skit and you certainly can't blame people for changing the channel or fast-forwarding it. I think the stars of tonight were Booker T (his heel character was reasonably explained) and the rebirth of "serious" A.J. Styles. I think that most fans agree that building up 1 unprotected chairshot is more effective than giving out ten unprotected chairshots in rapid fashion (I'm looking at you, Triple "I'm waiting for my pop to die down" H). The blood on Karen's shirt stood out to me. Seems though that Samoa Joe is taking a back seat. I just wish I knew what the status of Angle's neck was. If he needs time to get surgery or to rest his neck, then I'm not sure what he is doing out there. I think tonight you laid down the works for a future Styles vs. Angle, and I'm not sure if Kurt or his buddy Frank Trig (why is on the show again?) needs to be used. All in all, not a very uplifting show to watch. There wasn't really a solid match, and a good chunk of the show was filled with the usual TNA crap. I watch wrestling shows on DVR, and I'm not sure that I would have the patience to watch a wrestling show unrecorded. I am still scratching my head on WWE's great idea on having Paul Burchill in a absurdly long handicap match with Mike Adalme announcing on Raw a few weeks back. I could do without the announcers spelling everything out (and repeating things just in case I was too drunk to catch it the first time), but that's probably not going to change. You could mark this show as a example of poor placing of segments. I'm a stupid trained monkey, but I would think that we would get at least one clean victory by a babyface to boost our spirits. Guess not.
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