TNA Impact Wrestling Hits & Misses 3/1
By Teddy Panagiotopoulos, PWTorch specialist

IMPACT HITS

-- KURT ANGLE-JEFF HARDY: The opening promo with Kurt Angle was a nice change of pace from the usual Bobby Roode talking segment to start the show. The “reasons” Angle had for hating Jeff Hardy were comical, but created an excuse for Angle to challenge Hardy at Victory Road. I am surprised nothing was mentioned about their past prior to Hardy joining Immortal in 2010 or even when Hardy returned last fall and Angle believed Hardy should not be given another opportunity in TNA.

But, nonetheless, Angle was a bit ridiculous and, without question, over-the-top with his reasoning for costing Hardy the TNA Title several weeks ago. Hardy's interruption and subsequent silent assault on Angle was well done as it made the audience believe Hardy had enough with the malarkey Angle was saying. This feud should continue beyond Victory Road and should set-up Team Angle vs. Team Hardy at Lockdown.

-- HANDICAP GAUNTLET MATCH: After a good start with Hardy and Angle, Impact continued on the positive trend with A.J. Styles facing both Christopher Daniels and Kazarian in a gauntlet match. Although they have wrestled countless times against one another, Styles vs. Daniels never gets old and they put on a good match. It was not on the same level of their classic matches, but both Styles and Daniels have more “miles on the tires” and have incorporated more storytelling in their matches to compensate for not having to take many unnecessary risks to get the crowd invested.

I liked the twist ending with Kazarian delivering his finishing move to Styles, disqualifying Daniels in the process, before pinning Styles himself to keep his secret a mystery. The story has evolved from Daniels controlling a sympathetic Kazarian to doing his bidding into Kaz refusing to take Daniels orders with Daniels losing control even though Kaz is still aiding him against Styles to keep the mystery unsolved.

-- OCCUPY: IMPACT: TNA Champion Bobby Roode rounded up Bully Ray and X Division champion Austin Aries backstage to respond to Sting's actions on last week's Impact. Roode, Bully, and Aries each provided their own examples for why they are displeased with Sting as the authority figure in-charge of Impact. I thought Aries shined in this segment because his presence on the mic, which has been consistent since he returned last July, was on the same level (if not above) both Roode and Bully Ray. To quote Joe Pesci, Aries was “dead-on-balls accurate” when he pointed out his absence from the main event picture since returning to Impact.

The attempt at a work stoppage by the trio was humorous, but it was quickly extinguished when Sting joined the proceedings. Roode and Aries displayed a nice range of emotion in the sequence of taunting Sting prior to his threat to begging off when he considered stripping them of their championships. I also liked the decision to involve Austin Aries, Samoa Joe, and Magnus in the main event to shake things up since you can only rotate Roode, Ray, James Storm, and Jeff Hardy with different tag partners for so long.

-- SIX-MAN TAG MAIN EVENT: As mentioned earlier, it was very refreshing to see Aries, Magnus, and Samoa Joe involved in the main event. Seeing Magnus mixing it up with Bobby Roode is hopefully a sign of the future when Magnus continues to move up the ladder in TNA. Plus, Samoa Joe belongs in the mix with the best in the company and to have him involved in something meaningful was a nice sight. It also adds credibility to the X Division and Tag Team Championships when the respective champions are mixing it up with the World Champion, the #1 contender, and another top challenger in Bully Ray.

I did disagree with Storm getting the pinfall over Roode since it is going to devalue the visual of when Storm pins Roode to become the World Champion. The very end with Ray attacking Storm with a steel chair will presumably lead to Ray vs. Storm at Victory Road to keep Storm momentarily preoccupied until his showdown with Roode at Lockdown. Overall, a satisfying ending to Impact.

IMPACT MISSES

-- ZEMA ION VS. SHANNON MOORE: I thought the backstage segment with Zema Ion showing no remorse for injuring Jesse Sorensen was fine because it built up Ion as an arrogant heel who looks to injure the competition on his way to the X Division Championship. The miss, though, was for the forgettable match between Ion and Shannon Moore. Since Ink, Inc. ended with the departure of Jesse Neal from TNA, Shannon has been stuck in limbo and is in a desperate need of a character overhaul. However, the lack of depth in the X Division, coinciding with the untimely injury to Sorensen, has possibly forced TNA into using Shannon Moore more to fill the void.

TNA should attempt to build up the rest of the division by having multiple feuds going on at once, instead of just one feud going on for the championship. With the lack of talent in the X Division, and the tenth anniversary looming, this would be the opportune time for TNA to bring back some of the talent who helped to build the Division in the early years of the company. Who wouldn't want to see Elix Skipper, Petey Williams, Sonjay Dutt, among others, back in TNA?

-- THE KNOCKOUTS: This week, the Knockouts were featured in two matches and backstage segments throughout the night. The first match between ODB and Madison Rayne did not last long, but it was solid action. I don't think the ODB-Eric Young comedy should belong in the same sequence with the Knockouts Title program and with Madison currently the number-one contender, it makes little sense for Rayne to lose to ODB weeks before her match with Gail Kim.

Next, Sarita and Angelina Love faced Velvet Sky and Mickie James. I am happy to see more of Sarita on TV, as she is one of the better wrestlers in the division, but her alliance with Angelina has never been explained. Why isn't Winter teaming with Angelina? Or, therefore, Rosita with Sarita? It is lazy when you automatically assume all heels would get along and even lazier when you think all babyfaces should co-exist as well. In this case, Mickie played second fiddle to Velvet Sky, who looks to be the next challenger for Gail Kim after Madison Rayne.

While the tag match was better than the majority of the Divas matches WWE airs, it seemed to be missing that added intangible. Similar to the X Division with the #1 contender a heel, it feels as if the KO division is at a standstill when the championship feud is focused on two heels.

***

Final Thoughts: Despite a drop in ratings to a 2012-low, Impact continues to be an entertaining two-hour show with more focus and better storyline development than in recent memory. TNA is still in the midst of a transitional period and it is going to take more than three weeks before everything is straightened out. I will be interested to see if the rating is a one-week setback and not the start of a concerning downward spiral. It is ironic for the rating to be on the decline when the in-ring product is (finally) improving, but there is the possibility of fans moving on from Impact after years of little improvement. If that is the case, then TNA has a lot of work ahead of them to bring back old fans and reach new fans who will commit to following the product every week.

[Torch art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]

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