TNA wrestling post game

The biggest night in wrestling in a long, long time did not disappoint. So much happened on both TNA Impact Zone and RAW, there is no way I can cover it in one post. Since TNA kicked the night off first at 7 PM. I am going to start with them and cover RAW in the next post. TNA's big promotional push and jump to Monday night has centered around that fact that Hulk Hogan is coming and he’s coming not alone. This was quickly proved even before the show officially started so let’s take a look at what happened.

During the UFC unleashed show with about 10 minutes left to go, we see a promo for TNA where a trademark Hulkster yellow sports car pulls up outside the building. Could it be Hogan? Nope, but it was one of the biggest surprises of the night. Jeff Hardy steps out of the car along with Shannon Moore. This really surprised me since Hardy is facing drug possession and possible drug trafficking charges and might be facing a long period in jail if found guilty. Jeff Hardy without a doubt is one of the best performers in the business, and I’ve felt like he has been misused for years by WWE. There is a reason he didn’t ever get a good run at the title until late in his career, and that is his unfortunate inability to stay clean. He had seemed to clean up after a fire destroyed his house, and was given a title run and even helped CM Punk get over before taking his break from the WWE. As I mentioned he fell into trouble again with drugs, and I actually wonder what his future could be with the company. It may only be a short term because of the drug charges. Shannon Moore was also surprising, and I’ll admit that I know little about him. I have heard good things but I believe he has had tryouts with both companies and failed to catch on at either. Hopefully this time he can, and he certainly fits in the TNA youth movement that I feel is their strength.

The show begins with TNA showcasing their X-Division. While I felt this was a good move since their smaller weight class is more developed than WWE, they did make a mistake in my opinion. They put all of their talent in a steel cage that was made of thick bars that made viewing the match next to impossible. They had some camera angles that worked but most didn’t because of the cage with was a shame because they had a lot of talent in the ring. The match consisted of the Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Saban and Alex Shelly), Homicide, Kiyoshi, Consequences Creed, Jay Lethal, Suicide, and Amazing Red. That’s a lot of talent and maybe too much in one match because it was hard to follow the action. These guys are the bulk of TNA’s young talent and deserved to lead off. The match did provide the one mishaps of the night. Welcome to live TV TNA. Homicide attacked everyone with foreign object and was supposed to climb out the top of the cage then fight Jeff Hardy. Unfortunately this proved too tough a task for the wrestler and he could not and he eventually fell from the top of cage. They cut to Jeff Hardy's entrance and then back to Homicide who was let out of the door. The two battled and Hardy prevailed then climbing to the top of the cage to announce his presence to the TNA world.

In between matches, we get a boring ass interview with Kevin Nash. The only thing good about this was seeing Christy Hemme. She is now an interviewer only and retired from the ring, which is too bad because her skills had improved and was actually fun to watch. Nash has been stealing money from this company for about 5 years now, and likes to brag about it, which he does here. He often says he will go wherever the money is highest and the work is the least. We’d all like that Kevin bur somehow you’ve managed do it. Why TNA sticks with this washed up act, I’ll never know. He can’t really wrestle anymore, and his latest bit is that the NWO is back together in TNA. Real original.

The next match was for the Knockouts (Women’s) Division title between Tara and ODB. Here is another spot where TNA has the edge on WWE. Most of the Divas in the WWE are good looking but only few of them can actually wrestle. That is not the case in TNA; almost all of the girls can wrestle. This was a good bout as opposed to the one RAW served up opposite it but I’ll talk about that in the next post. Tara (formerly Victoria) who I feel was always misused by WWE since she wasn’t supermodel pretty, came in as champ but did not leave that way. ODB got the win. I’m not much on her really, she is talented and can wrestle but her drunken biker chick act gets old for me quick. Anyway she is the Knockouts champ again.

We get the biggest surprise of the night when a white stretch limo pulls up and Ric Flair hops out. I had heard rumors of this but didn’t believe the retired Flair would actually go to TNA. I love Ric Flair and will enjoy watching him in whatever they decided to do with him but I’ll admit his best days are behind him. I hope he doesn’t take away from the younger talent. He didn’t wrestle but supposedly spent most of the show in TNA world champ AJ Styles locker room. I know Flair needs money so it is likely that he will stick with the show for a while, some of the others I’m not so sure.

Next we get a video piece on Mic Foley who had been barred from the building. That’s the story line they have for him, and I guess it’s a good one. Even though he is younger than Flair, Foley’s best days are behind him because of all the hardcore matches. He hasn’t really been a wrestler in my mind for quite some time, he's more of a personality. I enjoy him but he is another guy trying to hang on to a paycheck.

Bobby Lashley and wife come out and tell us that wrestling fans suck and he wants his release to go to MMA. This is a who cares storyline but casts Lashley as a villain that I guess they feel they need. He’s talented but he really has not proven himself to me yet. Meanwhile the Beautiful people Velvet Sky, Madison Rayne and Lacey Von Erich are having a strip poker match in back. This seemed like a gimmick that Vince would pull and was mostly a throwaway to get them on the show. Angelina Love is rumored to be back with TNA after leaving due to visa troubles. I wonder whether her replacement Lacey von Erich will survive this since she has yet to prove herself in the ring. I hope she will since I have a soft spot for anyone named Von Erich. Later an unnamed Val Venis shows up to join the game, which caused me to roll my eyes, I guess any out of work WWE talent has a chance at some work.

Speaking of out of work talent, Scott Hall and Shawn Waltman show up outside and talk their way in. I sincerely hope these two don’t stick. They are both more washed up than Nash. Both have had trouble with rehab and the law. We have our NWO reunion story line forming, let’s hope it doesn’t last long.

It’s about 8 pm and time for RAW to start, so Cue Hulk Hogan to keep people from jumping to RAW. Hogan makes his way to the ring to cheers from the crowd and daughter Brooke. Then he announces that he is a partner with Dixie Carter who owns TNA and they are taking down Vince and going to be number one due to the young talent in the back. Although this was dramatic, I chose to watch the Bret Hart Showdown with Shawn Michaels on my other TV. The former NWO member claiming they are here for the party and it’s business as usual interrupts Hogan. Hogan informs them that is not the case, and puts them on notice and everyone else that they have to earn their spot. “If you can’t work the mic and wrestle, head up north”, he tells them. Eric Bischoff arrives to play his typical jerk character and we get plenty of shots of a worried Dixie Carter in the stands. The NWO retreat while Sting makes an appearance in the rafters as usual and we finally get another match. While I love Sting, I am not sure how much he has left in the tank, but I am sure it is more than the NWO.

TNA again shows off its superior women’s division with its tag team champions Taylor Wilde and Sarita vs. Awesome Kong and Hamada. I’m surprised that Vince didn’t think of having tag champs for the women but it is probably because they don’t have 4 women that can all wrestle. Let me just mention here, that it is a shame on the biggest night in wrestling Gail Kim appeared nowhere. She jumped to WWE for the better pay and worse working environment for women. She single-handedly kept Women’s wrestling going during one of the worst periods for it. She lobbied to create the knockouts belt and I would have liked to see her perform but Vince is wasting her. It is too bad because she is a great talent. The tag belts change hands in a solid match. I like Hamanda and Sarita’s styles but Taylor is a bit Vanilla for me. Awesome Kong is big and that’s about it. She’s a good villain, I’ll give her that and she can move despite her bulk.

Foley tries to get in the building again along with the Nasty Boys. I guess I should have seen that coming since Knobbs is friends with Hogan. We get a squash match where the Blueprint Matt Morgan and Hernandez flatten Raven and Dr Stevie Richards, which I was glad to see since I’ve never thought much of Raven and Richards. The most interesting thing about the match was Daffney accompanying that duo to the ring. She is being underused by TNA. Her crazy girl gimmick with Goth makeup and huge back tattoo is unique I think and she deserves a push in the women’s division. Her feud with Taylor Wilde was only a dud because Taylor lacks personality. Daffney is natural foil for the Beautiful People and would go great in a crazy girl battle with Tara. Right now, she is just eye candy but I’m glad she is working because I loved her back in WCW.

Next I get a surprise when a new character I was not familiar with the Pope D’Angelo Dinero has a great match with another up and comer Desmond Wolf. The Pope gets a surprise victory since thought TNA was higher on Desmond coming off matches with Kurt Angle. The Pope can work the mic already and would seem to be a breakout star in the making. His prematch interview is interrupted by Orlando Jordan. Who? Exactly. Another unknown out of work WWE talent, but least he is younger

Various TNA stars such as Rhino have been attacked backstage by person unknown at this time. Jeff Jarrett shows up to make an impassioned speech about the company he founded. It was good to see him and I believe he still has it. While Jeff is speaking, Hogan interrupts him. Hulk puts Jarrett on notice by telling him to lace up his boots and see if he can hang with the young guys. This splits the audience with some backing Hogan and some people backing Jarrett, which I’m sure, will lead to a showdown in the ring sometime in the future.

Daniels gets an interview and nothing else to do. This surprises me but I think they are still playing the angle that he is the masked guy that is attacking AJ Styles. Foley gets in the building finally.
Abyss and Samoa Joe have a solid match. The announcers say that they have never wrestled each other before. Since both are TNA veterans I find that hard to believe but it must be true. I’m not much on either of these homegrown talents. Samoa Joe is talented but he is just another monster character like Abyss. They have they place I suppose.

Lashley’s wife confronts Bischoff about his contract to no avail. Beer Money get attacked back stage by persons unknown. The Nasty Boys get in the building and trash Team 3D's locker. Their absence is curious as Cena's on Raw. Jeff Hardy and Shannon Moore leave with contracts but Jeff is not sure he wants it. (Drug charges, you know?)

We finally get a main event that is great. AJ Styles and Kurt Angle put on a match that was fit for a pay per view. Ric Flair makes an appearance at the ring entrance and the masked man who is after AJ tries unsuccessfully to interrupt the match. Both wrestlers throw every trick in their books at each other and AJ gets a well-deserved win.

Hogan comes out and declares both the best wrestlers in the business, and he’s probably right. His speech is interrupted by a stagehand telling him Foley is backstage. We cut to Foley confronting Bischoff and telling him that he will not work for him and threatens to clock Eric. The NWO arrives to give Foley a beat down, and Hogan comes in and we close with a close-up on his face. This leaves us unsure of whether he is with the NWO or not. Hogan doesn’t like the bad guy role so I would guess not.

This was a solid first show that I was surprised had as much going on as it did as I typed this. TNA has their work cut out for them, but I can’t find anywhere online that says this change to Monday is for good so we'll see how that plays out. Vince has made it easy for them too by having crappy shows and not fully developing any new talent. WWE will have to raise their game, which should result in better shows, and TNA will have to get better too. I believe RAW would have lost the rating war tonight if not for Bret Hart. TNA needs to jettison the junk ex-WWE talent and stick with their developing stars. The NWO needs to go quickly. Hogan is fine and still has star power but I don’t need to see Val Venis or the Nasty Boys again. If Hardy can straighten himself out legally and personally that would be great. As for Ric Flair, well I have a soft place in my heart for him since I’ve watched for about 30 years now. I just can’t say anything bad about him. I’m not really sure if TNA is ready for this but we’ll see. This was much longer than I thought. Raw review will have to wait until Wednesday since it is 2:45 am as I type this line.