-- 1/14 TNA Impact Reax

Adam J. Grammas of Westchester, Ill. (6.0): Best: Return of Angelina Love. Worst: Daniels-Morley? Obviously to get Generation Me over, they had to win, but I don't like the idea that it was at the expense of the Guns. Between that and the beat down of Lethal Consequences, TNA made the X Division look like disposable players. I never thought the masked man would be Tomko. He looked too small to be him. The way they set it up, it looked like he'd be A.J.'s next big challenge after Angle, but then Styles soundly defeated him. I thought it was a great way to get him in the main event mix, so maybe they'll find a way to keep him there. I did like the return of Angelina Love a lot. They handled it very well. The spear on Sky got a huge pop, so I'm guessing Love is the face here? Apparently "The Band" is the new name for the NWO so Vince doesn't sue. I just hope Robbie Robertson doesn't sue. (I hope there's fans old enough to get that reference.) Why is Daniels being wasted with Morley? And why isn't Daniels the face? The fans want to cheer him! I was very shocked to see Joe go down so quickly. Wolfe hasn't really beaten anyone clean so far and they started with Joe. Interesting. I liked the show better watching it last night. Maybe I need to watch again.

Luke Fleeman of Tulare, Calif. (7.5): Best Match: Motor City Machine Guns vs. Generation Me. Worst Match: None. This was a pretty good show. It started and ended strong with good wrestling matches, and I thought they did a good job mixing in the older guys with the established TNA talent. A.J. was definitely elevated because Kurt Angle and Ric Flair were both interested in him, which really built him up more. Also, they focused on the PPV with an interest in developing it, and several of the developing feuds had some kind of rationale behind them. The wrestling was pretty good, and I thought almost everyone did well. The promos were good and everything made sense. Hogan scaring off Jarrett was a great segment, but Jarrett kept screwing up the timing by spouting out lines when he shouldn't. I also figured Hogan would be on more. Several storylines are being built up, and I hope TNA sticks with them. The only real weak points were towards the middle of the show when Eric Bischoff had several consecutive segments. They weren't bad, and he was good, but it slowed the show down some and overexposed him a bit. When Scott Hall said he wanted to drink all of James Storm's beer, it was funny, but also a little sad. Jarrett definitely looked like a chump, because he did not seem like a good talker, and he looked like even less of a star with Hogan in front of him. Impact was definitely better than Raw this week, which encourages me when watching TNA's "changes" with cautious optimism.

Brad of Missouri (6.5): Best: Anything Bischoff, GenMe vs. MCMG. Worst: Nasty Boyz, Tomko. This wasn't as exciting as the live Impact, perhaps because we knew it wasn't live. But in terms of a compelling wrestling show, it was clearly better than anything else the rest of the week. I love Bischoff's scene-stealing charisma. Hogan is being treated as an attraction, which may prevent over-exposure. The opposite is in effect for Knobs & Saggs, who are painful to watch. Not that Team 3D is anymore artistic, but I really hope they bounce their butts away quickly. The Tomko reveal was a HUGE disappointment. Why not have Jeff Hardy under the hood, setting up a monster Styles vs. Hardy match?! All these surprises and Tomko is the two-month storyline reveal? Regardless, this show had so much going on that I enjoyed, though. The Guns-Generation Me, Angelina's return, and the Pope set up another compelling PPV card for Genesis and far more compelling than the Royal Rumble. McMahon had better take this seriously.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "TNA TV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on Impact, click here.

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