TNA Wrestling review
It wasn't live this week, but Eric Bischoff got his hair cut!
The matches:
1. Jimmy Hart/The Nasty Boys beat Team 3D/Brother Runt. REACT: I know they tried, but this was ugly. And Hart pinning Brother Ray? At least the tables re-energized things.
2. Kurt Angle/Pope beat Desmond Wolfe/Ken Anderson. REACT: Angle and Pope looked better here. Decent match with the heels beating down the faces. Anderson's "are you bleeding" comment to Angle was great stuff.
3. Daffney vs. Angelina Love is a no-contest. REACT: Quick, but the threat of using the hammer was interesting. And the slingshot into the ramp was a great move. This match set up Tara vs. Daffney, and I thought the whole angle was solid.
4. Scott Hall beats Kevin Nash for $25,000. REACT: Why wasn't there a running five-minute clock? Pathetic. Hall looks to be in better shape. That's a good sign. Taking out Nash's knee and handcuffing him was smart. This wasn't pretty, but it got the job/angle done.
5. Beer Money beats Hernandez with Jeff Jarrett as referee. REACT: One should never beat two, so this was smart. Jarrett gets strong pops. He needs a push. Matt Morgan being upset with Hernandez has intrigue, but it needs to be followed up at the pay-per-view. Maybe Jarrett will lend a hand again Sunday.
6. Jeff Hardy beats A.J. Styles. REACT: Abyss' "Whatcha gonna do" promos and "Hulking Up" are weird. Styles had a great dropkick here. His verbal sparring with Brooke Hogan was strange. Strong main event action, leading to the referee getting knocked out which makes sense if Styles is going to lose here with the PPV coming up Sunday. Hardy winning needs to be followed up on, quickly. Otherwise, it means nothing.
The angles:
1. Styles promo. REACT: He said he "doesn't believe in the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus or magic rings." He's right on one count. He also told Hardy, "You are a nobody," which was funny. Flair telling Hardy to sniff and get high on paint was a "wow" comment. I like Hardy's fans being callled "creatures of the night." Will it stick?
2. The blood. REACT: WWE had Batista bleeding. TNA Wrestling had Flair and Angle bleeding. It was a night for blood. Too much for my tastes.
3. Angelina Love. REACT: Her being mad was a strong promo.
4. Scott Hall and Six Pac. REACT: These guys are jokesters, which I'm OK with.
5. Eric Bischoff. REACT: He remains one of the more interesting characters on the show. It looks like he'll turn on Hogan, as he was upset about not knowing about Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy coming in. I also like how he eavesdropped on Hernandez and Jeff Jarrett.
6. Hogan vs. Sting. REACT: Sting's rafter walk was way too long. Cut it! Bischoff stopping Hogan from hitting Sting with Sting's bat and telling Hogan to "be done with it" has me intrigued.
7. Beer Money upset. REACT: Good character development with them being upset for a depush since Hogan came in.
8. Bischoff vs. Mick Foley. REACT: Wow. I didn't see this coming. First, Mr. Socko on Bischoff. Then Bischoff loses most of his hair. Nice surprise. What will happen next here?
9. Shannon Moore promo. REACT: Strong promo with the "book of dilegaf" mention. I googled it.
10. Ultimate X push. REACT: Nice character development with The Motor City Machine Guns and Generation Me. The "We are the X Box to your Atari" comment was awesome. Nice push for Brian Kendrick, Amazing Red, Christopher Daniels and Kazarian, with an awesome leap by Amazing Red off the ladder.
TNA Wrestling analysis: I thought the show took a step back this week, and not just because it wasn't live. The matches were not as good. Bischoff getting his hair cut is pretty historic, though. Hogan-Bischoff intrigues me. And Hardy-Styles finished a close second to match of the night from either show. TNA Wrestling grade: C+.
Latest headlines and my reacts
Lacey Von Erich in-ring training three times per week. REACT: Good to read that, as she needs to improve.
Later in the week
I'll be back with my PPV predictions for Sunday's show.
