Impact 1-10-13

After a few good weeks of good shows Impact completely fell off the rails. The Bully-Hogans stuff has been terrible from the jump, but to double down on this garbage and making it the focus of a go home show is ridiculous. TNA has cut down to four PPVS and you figured they’d do a better job of building to PPV, but they pretty much punting on their first PPV and decided to build to next weeks show instead and everyone was worse off.

The World Title match with a far more interesting storyline was relegated to the midcard while the Job squad aka the Aces and Eights are in the Main Event match and the Hogans get the final segment after getting a top of the hour segment. I also don’t care for making great heels like Roode and Aries goofy bickering heels. I think it hurts their cred and fans don’t take them seriously. I did laugh when they were fighting over Hardy’s titles and threw away Hardy’s ugly ass custom belt and went back to fighting over the title.

The tag match was really the only match that got a good amount of time and was pretty solid with Hardy playing the Ricky Morton role to perfection as usual. I would have liked to have seen a better finish as Hardy has Roode beaten. I would have liked to have seen Bad Influence’s interference leading to Storm and Hardy losing. Storm really felt like a afterthought during the match and has felt that way for months. I definitely would have loved to have seen much more of Bad Influence as they got twenty seconds of air time if that.They have been killing it all year and deserved better and should have gotten at least a backstage promo to build up Storm-Daniels at Genesis.

The Bradley-Cage hype videos were good and the match was fine, but they only got four minutes to strut their stuff. Cage looked more polished, but Bradley has a better look. I sure don’t recall Bradley’s short run in the WWE as Ryan Braddock and I doubt many have. I think with some more polish he could be a player.

The X division match was way too short you simply can’t rebuild the division by having three minutes matches.King is fun and everything, but the X division is really going nowhere. I miss the X division being pushed as special like it was from ’02-06.

Knox Vs Sting was a glorified squash could the Aces be a bigger joke? Good to see Mr. Anderson still being cutesy on the mic and playing to the crowd as a heel. Anderson annoys me so damn much. How many times has the Aces taken Angle out? He shouldn’t be back until Lockdown.

The less said the better about the Bully-Hogan stuff the devious look Bully gave the camera makes me hope he turns next week as he is a amazing heel. I find it funny that TNA doubled down on the Hogan stuff after last weeks good quarter hour rating , but gave the knockouts a two minute comedy match after they drew a big quarter hour too. Best part of this segments was Brooke trying to cry and act. That was fun.

All in all, a really bad show with one good match and that’s all.

impact 1-4-12

I really enjoyed last weeks show and felt TNA took a step back this week with a mixed bag show that had a bad first hour and rebounded slightly in the second hour.

I thought the opening segment that had the announcement of TNA’s wrestler of the year was pretty strong. I thought Aries and Roode were great on the mic and I like the whole there is no honor among thieves rivalry Roode and Aries have going on and I figured they were gonna get the better of Hardy this week and destroy the trophy, but for the second week in a row Hardy got the better of the heels which doesn’t make a ton of sense. I thought it was interesting that the match was made into a elimination match as I figured Hardy would pin Roode to retain the title and we’d get Aries-Hardy at Lockdown. Now there might be some intrigue over the fact that Aries might win the title and defend it at Lockout. I highly doubt it, but you never know.

I thought the backstage segment with Bad Influence and Storm was okay, but I thought some of Storm’s comments seemed forced and overly cutesy. Hey at least Kaz got a good line in. I thought Kaz Vs Storm was solid, but short. I figure we’ll get Daniels Vs Storm at the next PPV as TNA teased the match on Impact only to go with Kaz as Storm’s opponent. I hate seeing Daniels and Kaz doing so much jobbing and boy is it weird to not see Styles around when weeks ago in his bitter promo he said he’s not going anywhere.

How bad was Doc’s promo? He really added nothing and his acting was sub-par as well. I would say feuding with Sting is his biggest feud of his career and he didn’t have a good night on the mic. He is already handcuffed being in the new job squad aka Aces and Eights and that didn’t help.

Matt Morgan is supposed to be this big bad ass yet he fakes an injury so not to face Hernandez who he wrestled a hundred times? I don’t wanna see that match, but come on. I really liked Joey Ryan in NWA Hollywood, but in TNA he comes off as so indy and cartoonish. He and Morgan also have no chemistry. Chavo and Hernandez really suck and IMO Hernandez should have been released years ago and Chavo never should have been hired. It is beyond time to pull the plug on both teams.

Man that King-York match was a real botch-fest which is surprising since they both have been around so long. They really didn’t get much time and what we saw was bad. It seemed to me like York was just looking to get his spots in and that’s not what you expect from a vet that’s been around so long.

The Hogan nonsense was unsurprisingly in the usual highest rated segment 9pm and it was as bad as you would expect with Hogan cutting a incoherent promo and suspending Bully over stupid shit. Poor Bully had the best year of his career and is now stuck in a awful angle with the Hogan’s.

Really liked the knockouts tag match as it got good time and Tessmacher has improved, but she really needs to cool it with the trashy moves if she wants to be taken seriously. I continue to feel that Gail is miscast as a heel and the only way to refresh Mickie is to turn her heel IMO.

Main event was better than expected with a good story with Angle taken out and Joe fighting for his life. As bad as a singles wrestler Devon is a awesome tag guy and TNA should just use him in a tag team with Knox or Doc instead of having him wrestle singles matches. Angle coming back was fine and getting some offense, but if TNA really wanted to give the Aces and Eights cred they would have had them beat a bloodied Angle and then do the Sting save, but instead they just jobbed them out again and then had them get destroyed by Sting. The whole post match thing was underwhelming though at least the mask removal added progression. The whole post match stuff gave me NWO flashbacks with Sting destroying the B team.

The announcing was better than usual because Taz was less of a dick to Kennelly and didn’t bully and crap on him for knowing the moves as much as he usually does. All in all, mixed bag show with Bad Influence, Aries and Roode carrying things while the Aces and Eights continue to be jobbers and the Hogan soap opera may never end.

Impact Wrestling 12-27-12

I feel like a broken record by saying this, but this show had really good wrestling, but really crappy storylines.

Bully Ray and Brooke not knowing one week later that Hogan saw them fooling around is ridiculous. I mean I guess storyline wise nobody told them that they were caught on TV fooling around? So dumb…….. just so dumb. Bully is a great act, but even he can’t save this dreck.

Joe Vs Knox was just a squash match, and man the Aces and Eights are one yeti dry humping Hogan away from being the Dungeon of Doom, then again as bad as the Dungeon of Doom was at least they had the Giant, who got a monster push.

The bro off was just awful and a total waste of time. I think Jesse has shown some potential in the ring, but the two Robbie’s are a waste of roster space.

RVD cut a brutal heelish promo on York and then was sloppy as hell in his match with York. I thought York looked good in the match and hopefully he’ll feud with King if or when King beats RVD for the X division title. Man was Taz brutal during this match as he mocked and bullied poor Todd Kennely for calling the names of York’s match. Taz also was all over Kennely during the Chavo-Hernandez vs Bad Influence match mocking him calling the Hart Attack the Hart Attack when Kaz and Daniels used the Hart Foundations finisher.

I can’t say enough great things about Kaz’s impersonation of AJ Styles just classic and as spot on as any impersonation as anyone has ever done and absolutely hysterical. Who knew Kaz had all this personality after being so bland for so long? The tag match was pretty good, but I thought Kaz and Daniels didn’t get enough offense and I hated seeing them losing to a far inferior tag team.

Anderson possibly joining the Aces and Eights? Ugh, I was hoping he was leaving TNA with his contract coming up soon, but I guess not. If the Aces were gonna bring in someone new that they have attacked in the past I had hoped it was gonna be a guy with a ton of potential like Magnus, who also has history with Joe and would get rub by working with Angle and Sting.

Gail vs Tess was a fine match, but man is Gail miscast as a heel.

Aries Vs Roode was a fun heel vs heel match too bad the crowd was dead. Hardy wanting to get revenge makes total sense as Aries paid off the Aces and Eights to take Hardy out weeks ago and Roode put the beat down on Hardy a few weeks ago after Hardy’s match with York.

Next week Joe and Angle vs Aces and Eights in a cage likely means Sting and Anderson get involved in the match.

All in all, not a bad show that had good wrestling, but the Soap opera Hogan storyline and the Aces and Eights really hurt the quality of the show.

impact

I thought there was some pretty good wrestling on this show with bad storylines and really bad announcing last night.

The Devon-Angle match was not very good as Angle is pretty beat up and Devon is a wretched singles wrestler and really can’t carry the load on his own. It is really not his fault as he is a good support player and great tag wrestler, but man once he was revealed as one Aces and Eights well the whole angle has died a slow death not that this whole angle was all that exciting. I mean people were expecting a big reveal at BFG thinking it was a great heel like Bully Ray as the Aces leader, but instead we got a surprise and man did it underwhelm that night and continues to. Devon beating a beat up Angle who was taken out last week and with outside interference does nothing for anyone. Angle really needs to take the next few months off and possibly come back at Lockdown. Angle is both banged up and really stale.

I really like Kenny King as a heel and it’s nice to see the X division have a built in feud instead of RVD just plowing through the division. The problem is while King is doing a nice job playing a dickish heel RVD really showed no signs of being annoyed at King for cheating to win last week or being turned on this week. RVD is the same nothing bothers me whatever dude character he’s always been and that has always annoyed me.

How bad is this Ryan-Morgan pairing? They have zero chemistry and no reason to be aligned. Morgan always gets the short straw and stuck in tag teams.

I love Daniels and Kazarian, but their segment was a rare swing and a miss by them. Storm’s mic work was fine, but that’s about it.

Tara Vs Mickie was a pretty good match not their match in TNA which was the cage match two years ago, but still good. I wish Mickie wasn’t just fodder for Tara with Velvet up next. I rather see Gail turn face and feud with Tara than see Velvet wrestle terribly. Velvet really is TNA’s Kelly Kelly which is sad because Velvet was a great bitch heel with Angelina years ago.

Aries Vs Hardy was a fantastic PPV quality match and I gotta give Hardy credit as he’s picked up his game in the last year. Roode running in and costing Aries the win was predictable, but still well done and the crowd went nuts and were for once engaged in the match.

The Hogan-Bully stuff last week was good with the intense showdown backstage not so this week. Hogan yammering on how much the promotion has grown since he came in was comical, but I bet Dixie bought it 100 percent. Bully and Brooke fooling around and Hogan catching them is more soap opera crap.

Sting is coming back? Wow he’s been gone so long right? Oh wait.

One last thing on the show the announcing is so bad. Kennely spews more cliches than Derek Jeter. Taz is all of the place and mailing it in and is the happy go lucky face announcer until he’s kissing a heels tuchis for cheating and ”doing what he needed to win”. Taz is as bad as Booker T was. Tenay is Tenay. I really wish Jeremy Borash was added to the announce team over Kennely or outright replaced Tenay as Borash adds energy is engaged in the product and knowledgeable. It is too bad Bischoff hates him so Borash won’t get a chance.

All in all, it was a acceptable wrestling show with good wrestling, but the storylines aren’t good and things are moving too slowly.

final resolution

I think the matches that you expected to be good to great meet it’s expectations at least the last two matches did.

The crowd atmosphere more than anything hurt a great Styles-Daniels that told a very strong story and adds much intrigue to Styles story.

Roode Vs Hardy was really good as these two have great chemistry.

The issue was again that the crowd was rather awful. The booking of the Aces and Eights continues to mystify. These guys lose a mid-card match against a team with Brisco and Bischoff on it and then take out two main eventers to end the show. It is like they can’t decide whether to go all in with their push or not and here you are with a faction bereft of talent getting all this air time, but not really beating anyone. I say just team up Doc with Devon in the tag division and forget about the rest of the group.

Man that Kenny King-RVD match stunk to high heaven huh? RVD seems less motivated than ever. I for one can’t wait until his contract is up and hope he goes back to the WWE or retires.

Tara vs Mickie wasn’t their best showing, but not bad for what it was. I am saddened that it’s being just a set up for a eventual Velvet Sky title shot. Velvet is a great bitchy heel, but a awful wrestler and baby-face. I would turn Gail Kim and have her feud with Tara.

Aries and Ray did all they could to have a good match and work around the Hogan’s but the yellow goblins hurt the match IMO. I wish these guys wouldn’t be playing side characters to the Hogan’s when these guys should be battling for the world title.

The tag title match was meh I am sad to see this feud continue as I’d like to see Daniels and Kaz get the titles back. Joey Ryan’s TNA run has underwhelming and Matt Morgan is again stick in a tag team for some reason.

All in all, not a bad PPV with two tremendous matches that made it a worthy watch.

No surrender preview

I don’t believe they will reveal who is behind the Aces and Eights until Bound for Glory which makes sense.

I see no reason for Magnus not to go over RVD, but since RVD has jobbed a bunch lately I see him going over Magnus since I expect most of the heels to win their matches tonight. The match will likely be okay because RVD only mails it in half as much when he wins as when he loses. He is a lot like Lex Luger was at the end of his career in that he competely mailed it in when he booked booked to lose and gave a half hearted effort when he was booked to win.

Kaz and Daniels are the most entertaining acts on the show on a weekly basis and should hold onto them over Styles and Angle. I wouldn’t expect this match to top their awesome match at Slamiversary because Angle is badly injured and likely won’t do much in this match. Kaz and Daniels go on to feud with Chavo and Hernandez while Styles moves on to a feud with Angle or the Aces and Eights.

Dutt Vs Ion should be a excellent match it’s too bad that they got no build to the match at all. TNA should have gotten them on the show last week and pushed back the Snow-Ryan stuff a week.I wish they’d do something with the X division, but I’ve said that for years now. I wonder what the hell happened to Kenny King? From rubbing elbows with Aries to off the show for a month.

I expect Aries to get the better of the arm breaker revealing him as Luke Gallows who says he’s just a foot soldier and the leader will be revealed at BFG.

I really have no clue in who will win the BFG series and I think one day Joe will win then the next minute Bully or Storm with Hardy being almost an afterthought. I will go with Bully Ray going over Storm for the second year in a row when Roode interferes and costs him the match setting up Roode Vs Storm at BFG. I see Joe going over Hardy by choking him out and then I see Bully going over Joe thanks to Joe.

All in all, this should be a very strong card, but since they’re going against Peyton’s Manning’s first regular season game in twenty months I expect this PPV to draw even less buys than they usually do. TNA has done a great job turning Impact into a really good show their PPV build by only announcing matches days ahead leaves a lot to be desired. That said, they have created intrigue with who will win the BFG series and who is behind the Aces and Eights with us all praying it’s not Jarrett or Bischoff. I really am afraid we’ll see something convoluted like Bischoff as the leader and Hardy or Aries turning heel and then I remember Russo is no longer around and hope the TNA bookers don’t pull a Russo with this story line.

game 9

this game annoyed the shit out of me and brought back such bad memories. How many times have we seen the Mets have a lead against the Phillies late and the defense and bullpen blow up?

Besides for Adam Dunn I can’t turn of too many corner OFers that don’t catch that bloop by Rollins. Duda not only is lead footed but he also gets terrible jumps and is apprehensive. I love him as a hitter, but my goodness is his defense rancid.

I don’t think you can put too much blame on Ramirez for the 8th other than that awful 0-2 pitch to Lynn.You can put more blame on Acosta, as he walked two and gave up a double to Pete Orr of all people.

Tejada had a rough game both on the field and at the plate, but he’s been awesome so I can’t get on him too much even if his fielding gaffe was killer.

Terry bringing Batista down two runs was retarded. Batista is not a major league pitcher at this stage and really shouldn’t have made the team. I’m not sure why Sandy even bothered with him.Batista has awful command and is way too hittable.

The only good to take out of this is Pelf after a ugly first pitched well and got a ton of ground balls. Ike getting a homer and a single off a elite lefty is a very good sign. I think he’s about ready to go off.