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TNA Impact Reax #1: "Nobody could be happier than I am that A.J. Styles is back in his element as the Phenomenal One." Jun 20, 2008 - 1:13:18 PM
Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (7.0): Best: Gail and Morgan's video interviews. Worst: Booker vs. B.G. James. If it weren't for the sheer amount of material TNA puts out each week, this would be one of those don't care episodes where nothing of particular significance happened that isn't above and beyond what is already there. The biggest highlight of the night were the expose video interniews with Kim and Morgan. Substitute more of these for the Angle and Lethal-Dutt-Val soap operas and TNA might actually be on to something. Both of these videos gave us insight on how Kim and Morgan came to be wrestlers and arriving in TNA. Where have these been all this time? WWE could also seriously benefit from this kind of exposition interviews. I'm guessing the need for the chair in the Kong-fan match was to book something different than a standard squash, but man, did it make Kong look weak. I could understand the "fan" making the move for the chair as it is something the previous challengers didn't try, or maybe Ryeesha Saeed as she gets frustrated that her charge hasn't made easy mincemeat of her challenger. But Kong herself? It's about time to get the belt off her before her credibility goes down the toilet. The best match was Daivari & Dukes vs. Machine Guns, and TNA had to ruin it by interrupting for A.J. brawling with Tomko. And the further burial of world champ Samoa Joe continues. Something tied to non-champ Kurt Angle, someone who should be anywhere but near a ring at the moment, gets more airtime than Joe does. Normally I'm not one for consipracy theories, but if Booker wins the title at Victory Road, then I'm feeling a fix being in, and I shouldn't. Prove me wrong, TNA, and make your titles important again.
Leonard Tripodi of Kenilworth, N.J. (7.0): Best: Motor City Machine Guns vs. Dux & Daivari. Worst: Jacqueline vs. Salinas. This episode was another good effort all-around. The wrestling action (pay attention WWE) once again took center stage over some forgettable backstage segments, except for the intensity showed by Samoa Joe and A.J. Styles. With the exception of Jacqueline-Salinas, which was just too short to amount to much, every other match had great energy and a nice flow to them. The opening tag match in the World X Cup was solid, with Sabin & Shelley once again providing the bulk of the fast-paced, high impact action that we've come to know from them. If this is an early indication of what is to come, the World X Cup tournament should provide us with some of the most athletic, high risk, and action-packed wrestling action throughout. Awesome Kong wasn't as dominating as usual, and even showed some vulnerability against an opponent who has nothing to lose. But Kong's status as the powerhouse in the Knockout Division is still in tact. The TNA Knockouts seem more important and relevant than the WWE women since most of them are involved in some kind of interesting program. I usually enjoy Lethal's energy and charisma, but that whole segment at the Pink Taco with Sonjay Dutt was a little forced and tedious. I did like the ending spot where Lethal speared Dutt through the metal door, though. As much as I like Kurt Angle, I really don't care for Karen and her constant whining. But I'm sure they will keep her in the high profile storylines. The main event was solid, entertaining, and hotly contested with all four men displaying intensity. I was down on Team 3D last year because I felt they were overused to the point of becoming a tired and redundant act, but in situations like this against stellar opponents, 3D's experience shows and they can still go on occasion. But Christian and Styles were the aggressors and hit most of the high risk spots. Christian has always been somewhat overshadowed in the past, but his confidence and swagger give him that superstar appearance. And nobody could be happier than I am that A.J. Styles is back in his element as the Phenomenal One. His talents were being wasted as a lackey and comedy act while being lost in those faction wars. My only concern on Impact was the minimal TV time for Joe and the whereabouts of The Beautiful People. I was looking forward to seeing Velvet Sky on my TV again this week. Oh well.
David Z. of St. Louis, Mo. (8.5): Best Match (Main Event). Worst Match: Jackie vs. Salanas. Tonight's Impact was a basic episode. Nothing amazing, nothing horrible. I can't however beleive that the World Champion's only appearence on this show was a backstage promo with Kevin Nash. For all the fans who have asked for clean finishes and longer matches on Impact, TNA has for a while given them that. Booker's T win was a basic win to build him up for Victory Road. A basic World X Cup bout. The videos on Gail Gim and Matt Morgan were fantastic. Simple profile pieces and they weren't screaming their heads off. It worked. Mabye it's just me, but Hecter Guerrero's promos are annoying as hell. He's like Konnan in my opinion where he gets himself over more than the actual tag team he's managing. Why Homicide and Hernandez can't talk for themselves is a mystery I've never figured out about TNA. I'm going to like this Robert Roode & James Storm combination cause they're both such good performers. Match them up with LAX, and we're gonna get some great tag bouts. The Kong challenges are getting stale. However, I've seen the whole build to it. It almost needs a climax at this point. Kaz vs. Alex Shelley was a good bout. The Dutt and Lethal stuff was okay. The pink taco is such a dumb name. So we're heading for Angle & 3D vs. Cage& Rhino & A.J. I thought the A.J. attacking guys backstage segments were filmed too fast. They were all just out of nowhere. I understand that unpredictibilty can be good sometimes, but building up can be better business. Okay show.
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