-- 12/17 TNA Impact Reax

Luke Fleeman of Tulare, Calif., grad student (5.0): Best Match: Daniels vs. Wolfe. Worst: Jarrett Saga. This Impact had some bright spots after last week's fiasco. There were a number of decent matches with time and build-up, and things that happened last week were important this week. Wrestlers seemed to legitimately care about titles and title shots, and the January 4 Impact was stressed. I think that considering how bad they are with consistency and coherence, having any semblance of sense makes it worth a 5.0 rating. Also, the Daniels vs. Wolfe match was a great 10-minute match and Raven biting Abyss made me laugh out loud. The biggest problem was that the Jarrett Saga has to be the least compelling wrestling angle ever. I don't feel bad for him, I don't feel like I missed him, and I doubt anyone knew he was gone. I think it might be possible that they are using his comeback to lower expectations, so when Hogan returns it will seem even bigger. Having a lot of the show devoted to Mick driving around and flying around, and then helping Jarrett, was a drag, and was a sad spectacle. I am sure Dixie Carter is happy she was on TV, and that she got to scold Jarrett, but the whole angle stinks. I would be more interested in an angle of him being forced to leave again.

JT Talley of Asheville, N.C., student (4.0): Best Match: Daniels vs. Wolfe. Worst Match: Three-Way Knockouts tag match. Well, there was nowhere to go but up after last week's abomination of a show, though that's not saying much. This Jarrett-Foley-Angle-Carter business is ridiculous. It's now become more distracting than the ever-present plugs for the impending Hulk Hogan arrival. Viewers really don't need to be forced into watching the sordid behind-the-scenes activities involving Jarrett's personal life; it's just yet another thing taking away from what should be the most important aspect of the show: WRESTLING. The ODB-Roxxi match was well-done; the non-title win sets up the returning Roxxi as a credible threat down the line for the Knockout Title, and the match set an appropriate build to the ODB-Tara match at Final Resolution. The same can't be said for the stagnation in the Knockouts Tag Title picture. How are you supposed to have a tag division when you've really only have two well-defined teams (Sarita/Wilde and the Beautiful People)? I can't see Kong as part of any tag team pairing, given her reputation as a one-woman-force of destruction. What happened to the pushes behind Hernandez and Matt Morgan? This pointless feud between the "Team 3D Wreckin' Kru" and the haphazardly cobbled together "Team Morgan" is doing absolutely nothing for anyone involved (including me, the viewer). The "Black Machismo Invitational" seems to exist simply to bury Jay Lethal. At least Tatanka actually looked capable in the ring, as opposed to Jim "I Ate An Anvil" Neidhart. Good promo by the MCMG's to try and put some sort of emphasis on the Tag Title match at Final Resolution, despite Christy Hemme's distractions. I hope they put the belts on those guys, as I know I'm not the only one that thinks they are criminally under-used. Daniels-Wolfe was a great technical wrestling match, but it was hampered by the typical blurry, shades-of-gray Russo booking that I've sadly come to expect in TNA. Who was I supposed to root for? The main event was mostly a wash. Way too much stuff going on at once (I recall Taz even apologizing for giving the audience a headache), with TNA obviously scrambling to emphasize multiple PPV matches at the last second. Not to mention the babyface return of Tomko to the ring; they've effectively destroyed that "mystery man attacks A.J. Styles" storyline that they had going for weeks. At least they managed to get some decent hype going for Wolfe-Angle and Daniels-Styles at the end of the show. I want TNA to do well. But barring some major overhaul when the Hulkster shows up (live, brother!) on January 4, I don't see the clouds parting on the horizon.

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