CALDWELL'S TAKE VIP - CALDWELL: TNA Global Impact DVD Missing Clear Voice, Ultimately a Letdown Mar 6, 2008 - 2:22:46 PM

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TNA's "Global Impact: Japan" DVD release will probably go down as one of the most popular TNA DVDs to date. It comes at a time when PPV buys are stagnant, a lower percentage of TV viewers are buying PPVs, and the TV product is widely regarded as a joke that only a handful of people are laughing at.

The Spike TV special in January was well-received by TNA fans and critics who were frustrated with the direction of the TV product. The supplemental Global Impact DVD, which chronicles TNA's "invasion" of New Japan Pro Wrestling for the Jan. 4 "Wrestle Kingdom II" show at the Tokyo Dome, was supposed to be the light amongst the darkness. It was to be TNA's sign of hope in this era of lackluster TV and over-booked PPVs.

I won't say I was disappointed with the DVD, but I wasn't impressed. Without a doubt, it's worthy of purchase because of the abundance of footage and great matches featuring TNA wrestlers. But, it's more of a supplement than a standalone DVD product.

The problem is that TNA rushed the product to market and they didn't take the time to do it right. It's like your Uncle Ned pulling out the projector and running slides of his recent vacation to Florida without any sophistication to the storytelling.

When I first popped in the DVD, the first thing I noticed was no "Start Movie" option. That was the first sign of impending disappointment. Instead, TNA's start screen is broken down into five sections: Pre-match interviews, Matches, Angle vs. Nagata, Post-match interviews, and Culture.

It seems to be organized well, but the DVD lacks a voice from the producers and editors. It's as if they saw the amount of footage available, and decided to make the project as simple as possible by creating a basic, supplemental product to the TV special.

When I watch a wrestling documentary, or even a documentary in general, I prefer to watch a story unfold that incorporates a voice from the people putting together the facts, analysis, and opinions on the subject matter. After watching this DVD, I felt TNA missed an opportunity to create a historically-significant story of TNA wrestlers heading overseas to Japan.

Instead, the footage was arranged in a simplistic manner that someone with little knowledge of the topic could have put together. I came away with the impression that five different people took the pre-match interview footage, wrestling footage, the Angle vs. Nagata match from Spike TV, post-match interviews, and hand-cam footage of the wrestlers eating sushi, and laid it out step-by-step without any interaction between the five categories.

The result is a very broad and general look at TNA's trip to Japan. It's severely lacking an overall theme to unite the five categories. It would be like five TNA agents putting together five different matches for a PPV, but there not being the one person to oversee how all five matches come together to fit the overall theme of the PPV.

Sure, all the elements of a story are there, but the DVD lacks a moving story that shifts the characters, matches, and behind-the-scenes footage into various positions to show how the storyline threads came together on this trip. I wanted to hit "Play Movie" and see a story unfold that took bits and pieces from all five different categories with some narration to tie the footage together.

The best example surrounds the IWGP Title controversy. The story is that Brock Lesnar was stripped of the IWGP Title by New Japan, but he kept possession of the belt. (Sounds like the X Division situation last year with Lethal and Devine.) New Japan then recognized a new IWGP champion, and Angle later won physical possession of the belt held by Brock Lesnar in Antonio Inoki's rival IGF promotion.

Kurt Angle gives his side of the story throughout the DVD, but TNA fails to establish the significance of events. Sure, Angle talks about the controversy during the pre-match interviews, Mike Tenay and Don West talk about it during the Angle vs. Nagata match, and then Angle, Jeff Jarrett, and the media talk about it during the post-match interview. But, the story is re-told in three different categories, and the significance is lost on the DVD.

We are also told about the Japanese culture, and we hear about pro wrestling being revered by fans, but TNA's presentation lacks a defining voice to tie these elements together to explain why the IWGP Title situation involving Kurt Angle matters to the audience.

Granted, this is a TNA production, and their goal is to present their stars in the best light, but without a literal and figurative voice to question Kurt Angle's statements, there is a muddied picture of why there is even a controversy. Why is the Japanese media recognizing Nakamura as the IWGP champion, and considering Angle a "fake" champion? The elements of the story are on the DVD, but without context to put it all together, the story lacks true meaning.

One of the strong points on the DVD is Jeff Jarrett's opening interview that gives a...

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