CALDWELL'S TAKE CALDWELL'S BLOG: Machineguns vs. Beer Money delivers yet again, and TNA gets it right with one key element
Aug 12, 2010 - 9:22:14 PM
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By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor
Motor City Machineguns vs. Beer Money delivered yet again during tonight's Impact. The two teams delivered a four-star-plus tag match that was a reminder of when TNA had the best tag division in pro wrestling during the mid-2000s.
Ironically, on a show that TNA billed as "all wrestling and no promos," the match could have used a pre or post-match interview to reinforce the significance of the series and capture what the victory meant for the Guns trying to establish themselves as top stars in TNA. Apparently that's what Reaction is for.
As for the match, there was great athleticism, nearfalls, back-and-forth, combination spots, and the sense of two teams battling for something significant (the TNA tag titles). The match was also enhanced by TNA finally capturing facial expressions.
Chris Sabin has great, money-making facial expressions playing up his gritty, underdog babyface role. Yet, most people would never know it considering TNA's production team rarely captures facial expressions during matches unless a wrestler stares directly into the hard camera.
Last month in the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter, I wrote about TNA missing Sabin and Alex Shelley's expressions on the July 15 Impact after being at the TV taping for Match One of the series. Facial expressions to capture emotion are so vital in 2010 when most of the audience has seen all of the highspots, moves, and tricks in the playbook by now.
During tonight's season finale, TNA effectively captured the Guns's facials to enhance the story in-between close nearfalls and big spots during the match. All it took was a simple camera cut to capture Sabin and Shelley's reactions during key moments of the match.
TNA would be best served to make this a permanent adjustment rather than continuing to rely on an inefficient style of 18 camera cuts per minute that often-times loses the emotion of match action.
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