Impact review:
Kurt Angle beating A.J. Styles, The
Motor City Machine Guns beating Beer Money and Rob Van Dam beating Abyss really
stole the show Thursday night. All three of these matches were great in their
own unique ways.
Angle beats Styles. REACT: This was an
awesome opener between two of my favorites and two of the best in the business.
The pace was fast, and even though we knew Angle would win since he would have
to retire if he lost, we had numerous suplexes and a great moonsault off the top
rope. The tap by Styles was quick, but that's a minor
complaint.
Angelina Love beats Madison Rayne to retain the
Knockouts Championship. REACT: This was one of the better women's matches on
television in recent memory. I like the angle with the mystery biker
chick.
Matt Morgan beats D'Angelo Dinero and Mr.
Anderson. REACT: A surprising fast pace and a surprise winner.
Jeff Hardy beats Shannon Moore. REACT: Decent
match. No complaints here.
Motor City Machine Guns beat Beer Money. REACT: Not
only is this the best feud in tag-team wrestling, it's one of the best feuds
overall. There were numerous high spots, and the right guys won this awesome
series of matches.
RVD beats Abyss. REACT: This match was better than I thought it would be. The ladder spots were impressive, and the sunset-flip powerbomb was great. The rolling thunder onto the barbed-wire board and later the Van Terminator leading to the frogsplash finish was superb. Eric Bischoff sure was quiet as the referee.
Hulk Hogan talks. REACT: Hogan saying RVD is the "hood ornament of TNA and
is taking this company to the top" takes a hit since RVD is taking some time
off. And Sabu being the "most dangerous man" in wrestling? No.
Fortune gets the best of EV2. REACT: This is so much like The Nexus vs.
WWE's seven, but it's an angle with different characters. It seems here Fortune
is really outnumbered, though, as EV2 has the support of TNA wrestlers and
management. I was blown away by the amount of blood that is in angles
here.
Impact analysis:
Three great matches and no bad matches. A little concern over where
things are going, but at least there was some progression. Grade:
B+.
Reaction (debut
show): First off, I thought the show was wonderfully produced and put
together. The announcer had a great voice. However, I thought we'd see more
interviews and less "Reaction," but that is the name of the show. It basically
was aftermath of the story lines from the two-hour Impact show. I am willing to
give this show another viewing, as I like the concept, but much of it seems
overkill.
TNA Wrestling headlines and my
reacts
Bischoff said he doesn't believe the fake Twitter Hogan is a TNA employee, but probably "a 16-year-old dweeb." REACT: Agree. And poor Christopher Daniels, presuming it's not him, as the "dweeb" claimed to be him.
Hogan has another surgical procedure on his back. REACT: This is happening
a lot, but Hulk obviously is in lots of pain.
Movie on Mick Foley being produced. REACT: I can't see this doing well.
Foley tweets on Twitter that Luna Vachon lost everything wrestling-related due to a house fire. REACT: Sad to hear. If you can contribute, her address is P.O. Box 5813, Spring Hill, Fla., 34611.
A.J. Styles photo: Courtesy of TNA Wrestling
Movie on Mick Foley being produced. REACT: I can't see this doing well.
Foley tweets on Twitter that Luna Vachon lost everything wrestling-related due to a house fire. REACT: Sad to hear. If you can contribute, her address is P.O. Box 5813, Spring Hill, Fla., 34611.
A.J. Styles photo: Courtesy of TNA Wrestling
WWE
Superstars: Good to see The Usos get a win, but strange to
see Tamika with them still since she's in a new angle with Santino Marella. Big
win for Chavo Guerrero over Chris Masters, and a strong women's match in
Michelle McCool's win over Kelly Kelly.
The Miz on George
Lopez: The Miz did karaoke for House of Pain's "Jump Around" and he
blew away the earlier performances this week of Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth and David
Otunga. He truly is "awesome."
WWE headlines and my
reacts
Ricky Steamboat expected to make a full recovery but will never wrestle again. Steamboat reportedly can't lift anything heavier than 5 pounds. REACT: Sad to hear that. Strange how this all happened has quieted down.
Mickie James upset with conclusion of Piggy James angle and unsure if company officials were poking fun at her weight. REACT: I agree on the first part, and I don't think they were poking fun at her.
In his upcoming autobiography, Chris Jericho said Chris Benoit had a peculiar sense of humor and that it "wasn't always easy to be his friend. You had to take the good with the bad when it came to his friendship." Jericho also said, "My gut feeling was Chris had killed them (Nancy and Daniel.)" REACT: Nothing surprising here.
Shawn Michaels and his wife Rebecca open a Family Fun Center in Bulverde, Texas. REACT: I wonder if Bret Hart will make a visit.
