RADICAN'S TAKE VIP - RADICAN: TNA Global Impact DVD Breakdown - Analysis of matches, production, presentation Mar 6, 2008 - 2:20:26 PM

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By Sean Radican, PWTorch Columnist

"TNA Global Impact - Japan" is a collection of interviews, wrestling matches, and footage of TNA wrestlers taking in the culture of Japan in January when TNA took on New Japan Pro Wrestling in one night interpromotional war at the Tokyo Dome in Japan that is sold exclusively by TNA through their website. TNA recently aired a Global Impact special on Spike TV, which featured footage from TNA's trip to Japan, along with the Kurt Angle- Yuji Nagata IWGP Championship match. This release from TNA offers a more in-depth look at the trip, along with six full matches from the show.

The way this release was put together seemed like it was a production rushed out for release on DVD. The main menu brings up six categories: pre-match interviews, New Japan Pro Wrestling vs. TNA, Yuji Nagata vs. Kurt Angle, post-match interviews, and culture. If the DVD had featured all of this footage edited together into a more concise package, it would have made for a better overall presentation of TNA's trip to Japan. Since the footage was presented in this manner, we'll take the journey together through each section of "TNA Global Impact - Japan."

Pre-match interviews: Several TNA wrestlers are interviewed about various aspects of TNA's trip to Japan. I thought these interviews really set up the New Japan Pro Wrestling vs. TNA section of the DVD quite well. Jeff Jarrett kicked things off by talking about how New Japan Pro Wrestling and TNA ended up co-promoting a show in the Tokyo Dome. The highlight of Jarrett's segment occurs when he takes the cameras backstage to where he "hid" before attacking Hulk Hogan several years back. We've all seen the clips of this incident thousands of times on TNA television in the past, but seeing Jarrett walk the cameras through the backstage area like someone putting on a presentation for a serious documentary that was set to air on PBS was unintentionally hilarious.

The other wrestlers interviewed (Kurt Angle, Christian Cage, Petey Williams, Brother Devon, and Christopher Daniels) set the stage for the TNA vs. New Japan theme that ran throughout the wrestling portion of the show. Nearly all of the wrestlers talked about the difference between the US and Japanese fans. Petey Williams's put it best when he talked about how vocal the US crowds were, but the Japanese fans have a lot of respect for the wrestlers and watch the matches unfold like an action movie.

Another theme that ran throughout the pre-match interviews was that all of the wrestlers made the event and each match they were involved in seem like they were important, which TNA doesn't do on Impact when setting up PPVs. Kurt Angle talked about beating Brock Lesnar and detailed the history of the IWGP Championship, which made the belt seem like it meant something. Christian Cage talked about the history of the Tokyo Dome and mentioned how he was looking forward to wrestling in front of the largest crowd ever for a TNA event. Christopher Daniels was shown backstage and mentioned that wrestling for the IWGP Jr. Hvt. Title in the Tokyo Dome was like wrestling in Madison Square Garden. He made the matches on the show, the venue, and the entire card seem like it was monumentally important.

After watching the pre-match interviews, I couldn't wait to watch the wrestling portion of the DVD, but I also felt that the pre-match interviews would have been much more effective if they had been edited into a more concise package that aired prior to the wrestling portion of the show.

New Japan Pro Wrestling vs. TNA: Mike Tenay and Don West introduced the show for TNA Home Video. They were really good announcing the previously unaired matches.

(1) Petey Williams & A.J. Styles & Christian Cage beat Milano Collection AT & Minoru & Prince Devitt. This was an action packed opener. The TNA faction worked over Devitt, who finally made the hot tag to Minoru. Minoru ran wild and then the action broke down. Williams hit a springboard hurricanrana to the outside on Milano. Devitt then hit a big dive to the outside to take out Williams and Cage. Styles then hit a beautiful dive to the outside to take out Milano, Minoru, and Devitt. After a couple of false finishes, Styles hit the Styles clash on Milano for the pin. (***1/4)

(2) IWGP Jr. Hvt. Champion Waturu Inoue beat Christopher Daniels. A great video package in Japanese aired prior to the match. Jeremy Borash did the introduction for Daniels, alongside the Japanese announcer, who introduced Inoue. Tenay explained Daniels was allowed to appear despite being fired from TNA because he had a prior contract with New Japan. Daniels had the advantage for the majority of the match working over Inoue's mid-section, as the announcers further enforced the points from Daniels's pre-match interview where he stated that his experience in big matches would give him an advantage over Inoue. Inoue finally put together some sustained offense during the final minutes of the match and beat Daniels after hitting a variation of the cross-legged brainbuster. (***)

(3) Manabu Nakanishi beat Abyss. A nice highlight package featuring Abyss and Nakanishi aired prior to their match. Tenay said Nakanishi used to be on the WCW roster under a different name. This was the "typical" Abyss hardcore style match, but the crowd's reaction to these men was a lot of fun to watch. Both men brawled up the ramp and the crowd got vocal for the first time as both men exchanged blows. Abyss hit a big slam on Nakanishi on the ramp. Abyss went under the ring and got some thumbtacks to put on the ramp. Of course, Nakanishi cut him off and sent him face-first into the tacks on the ramp. Nakanishi picked up Abyss in the torture rack, but Abyss slipped out and hit a chokeslam for a 2 count. Nakanishi then picked Abyss up and hit a German suplex with a bridge for the pin. (**)

-Abyss looked to have had his shoulder up off the mat when the pinfall occurred, which Tenay acknowledged in the post-match commentary. Tenay also mentioned that New Japan had won 2 straight matches to put over the wrestling as sport theme of this release.

(4) Hardcore match: Team 3D (Brother Ray & Devon) beat Togi Makabe & Toru Yano. Tenay & West talked about how Makabe & Yano were hardcore wrestlers and would be at home in a match against Team 3D. Yano & Makabi jumped Team 3D from behind as they posed on the turnbuckles with their TNA banners. Team 3D fired up a short time later and hit stereo suplexes on Yano and Makabe. This was an average hardcore match that happened to feature Team 3D facing Japanese opponents. Team 3D set up a table, but Yano & Makabe cut them off with stereo clotheslines. Makabe wrapped a chain around his arm and clotheslined Brother Ray. Makabe went up top, but Devon cut him off and also took out Yano. Brother Ray ended up powerbombing Yano through a table from the second rope. Team 3D then hit the 3D on Makabe for the pin. (**1/2)

-Jeff Jarrett came out to act as a witness representing TNA for the IWGP Tag Team Championship match. Jarrett got on the mic and thanked everyone for coming out tonight. He said after the next two matches were over, everyone would know TNA was the best wrestling organization in the world...

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