-- TNA IMPACT ROUNDTABLE REVIEW - JULY 29 EPISODE

Wade Keller, Torch Editor (3.5)

At least in the end they set up a match for the ECW... I mean EV2 PPV of Dreamer vs. Raven... I wonder if the chair to Abyss's head by RVD (tossed, not swung) is a sign of things to come on Sunday?... Does anyone care about who "they" are anymore?... Eric Bischoff's announcement about "PPV-quality action" on TV doesn't really make sense? Impact usually features 3-5 PPV-quality-match-ups in terms of name-value every week. What's so different about this upcoming show, which they didn't even get around to explaining any further? There has to be some reason the same matches that usually last 3-5 minutes are suddenly going to last 8-20 minutes, right?... If I never see security guards elevated into wrestling matches again, I'll be happy... Anytime someone doesn't beat Kazarian decisively in less than two minutes, I'll assume Rob Terry could kick their ass, too...

Why does a wrestler get to change the name of a title belt on a whim, and then have the promotion officially recognize it? Shouldn't they take ten extra seconds to just say Styles lobbied the championship committee for the change and they agreed with him and authorized it?... If they put half the effort into making their show make sense as they do trying to get Eric Young over, they'd be in better shape... The Bubba change of heart was suspiciously sudden. Is something going on there or was it just forced for the sake of getting the Dudleys back together in time for the EV2 PPV?... Shouldn't Tommy Dreamer have said what EV2 stands for?... Jeff Hardy is a perfect example of how if you treat someone like an every-day wrestler, they'll become an every-day wrestler in the eyes of viewers. So much of how someone gets over has to do with how the promotion treats them. Seeing Hardy isn't treated as any more special than anyone else, so everyone is on this same plain and they're all relatively ineffective as an ensemble. It's like watching the NFL if everyone was 8-8 or the NBA if everyone was 41-41 or the NHL like it actually is...

James Caldwell, Torch Assistant Editor (2.5)

This show was a complete mess. The first hour might have been one of the worst hours of TV that TNA has produced all year. The second hour was stronger to give this show some redeeming value, but the product remains a mish-mash of segments and matches with no clear direction. It's a tough spot for TNA trying to promote another brand at the same time trying to get over their own brand. But, it's on TNA for putting themselves in this spot where the TNA brand has such little value in the marketplace at this point.

The best example of how out-of-touch TNA is with what's drawing right now was a throwaway line by Tommy Dreamer in his show-opening promo. Dreamer offered a quick dig at the Nexus angle in WWE, with the idea to seem "cool" for taking a dig at the competition. It had the opposite effect of exposing that TNA simply doesn't get it. What WWE has managed on Raw the past two months is nothing short of remarkable to take seven green Rookies with no PPV matches and no major championships on their resumes and turn them into a ratings draw, plus potentially having the residual effect of boosting Season 2 NXT ratings. Instead of taking digs at the Nexus crew, TNA should be learning how WWE has pulled off a hot angle involving wrestlers who, gasp, weren't on national TV in 1999 and never sniffed WWE, WCW, or ECW in the Attitude Era.

Hulk Hogan in the same ring with the ECW crew was a sight to behold. Who would have ever guessed that Hogan would be selling for anything related to ECW? Mark down the date that Hogan was in the same ring with the out-of-shape ECW crew endorsing their TNA-sponsored PPV. Is it a reflection of how far Hogan's stock has dropped since coming to TNA or the ECW guys simply finding the right money mark to give them another national TV spotlight, with Hogan just happening to be in the right place at the right time?

It was never more obvious than on this show that TNA's product is aimed at one person, Dixie Carter, and not the audience. This show was such a mess that I'm not sure what wrestling fan TNA was trying to market the product toward. It's about making sure Carter keeps that twinkle in her eye and she feels like an important of the show by having the main stars thank her, refer to her, or give her a proverbial pat on the back. Eric Bischoff was clearly going through the motions - compare his enthusiasm on the January 4 Impact to his demeanor seven months later being in the middle of a failed product now focused on building up another brand (ECW) - yet he made sure to mention Dixie in his "big announcement."

Some of the high points of the show were the latest round of the Machineguns vs. Beer Money, Matt Morgan's improved mic work parodying Mr. Anderson to keep their feud going, TNA dropping the Global Title in favor of a TV Title, and no indecipherable promo exchange involving Jeff Jarrett and Kevin Nash.

Regarding the TV Title, I don't have confidence in TNA protecting the title on TV, especially when they decided to keep the Legends-Global-TV lineage rather than simply dropping the Global Title and introducing a separate TV Title. When wrestlers are changing the name of a title and calling their own shots, it's an example of a failed booking approach. Also see: TNA attempting to utilize their make-believe Rankings system last week, then no mention of the Rankings this week, plus no mention of the "PPV quality" Jeff Hardy vs. Samoa Joe from last week, Samoa Joe at all, or any follow-up on the Hardy-Joe draw result. It's little oversights, inconsistencies, and general lack of follow-up that add up over time. The result is a product that isn't connecting with the audience, a brand that isn't over, and declining or stagnant TV ratings.

Greg Parks, Torch Columnist (4.0)

To TNA's credit, they kept the EV2 presence to a relative minimum on the show. That has its advantages and drawbacks, the main drawback being it's tough to hype a PPV featuring these guys when they're not featured an awful lot. Then again, it would be a mistake to give them tons of TV time when many of them will be one (or two, or three) and done with the company after Hardcore Justice.

Seeing Hogan pander to the fans through the ECW guys was just sad in so many ways, and you knew he probably didn't believe a word he was saying. Love vs. Sarita wasn't much and it was really no surprise Love won to become #1 Contender, since the storyline that is set up involves her more than Sarita. I'm not sure about the partnership between EY and OJ, but they seemed to have toned down Jordan's character quite a bit.

The Machine Guns vs. Beer Money was once again the match of the night. Kazarian losing to Rob Terry cleanly in about a minute after taking a shot at Nexus and talking big in his promo earlier is just laughable. Not sure what TNA's fascination is with turning security into actual wrestlers. Tommy Dreamer vs. Abyss was your typical Abyss garbage brawl, and it wasn't even that entertaining.

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