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MIKE JOHNSON'S THOUGHTS ON TNA UNBREAKABLE AND THE STATEMENT THEY MADE WITH THE MAIN EVENT

Last night's TNA Unbreakable PPV continued the streak of hot PPV shows presented by the company and was exactly the type of show they needed to get a good word of mouth buzz going as they grow closer to their 10/1 debut on Spike TV. There were a string of strong matches, topped with one hell of an amazing main event.

A STATEMENT MADE: AJ STYLES VS. SAMOA JOE VS. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS

TNA sent a strong statement that they are going to be anything but a WWE retread by putting the X-Division championship bout on top to close the show. TNA could have played it safe by putting the NWA title picture on top and just moved along that storyline, but by instead putting the X-Division into a position where it is as important as the belt that the "name" wrestlers chase, TNA upped the value of not just the division, but the entire company as a whole. They presented viewers with the idea that you were seeing something truly special that you can only see in TNA.

The fact that the Three-Way match closed out the show is a testament to the hard work of Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, and AJ Styles. At the same time, TNA came off as a breath of fresh air because they pushed the idea that you can see TNA's special talents in an environment that allows them to succeed, not fail. With the right luck and the right marketing, TNA might just attract the old WCW fans who lost interest in wrestling when the Cruiserweights they loved were squashed and never allowed to advance and succeed. They just might find a home for fans who miss the crazy flying they used to enjoy in ECW. TNA might just find some of the WWE fans who are tired of Paul London (for example) being squashed on TV weekly when he's obviously a special talent, because they are utilizing performers of similar skill levels to that maximum, as opposed to WWE, which "dials down" the performers. If TNA can do this on a regular basis and not hold back the X-Division with political games and bad booking, they have already made a major strategic victory is putting the company on the map.

Unbreakable's main event featured everything that is great about professional wrestling when it's at its best - athleticism, great false finishes, unique and surprising moves, emotion, and a clean finish that delivered, yet left none of the three competitors diminished as stars. In fact, I think it went a long way in cementing both Daniels and Joe as main eventers. That was extremely important as TNA needs new top tier names if they want to instill in new fans that the company is something special and different. If TNA intends to market themselves as the next evolution of the business, they have the crew to do it and a library of great matches to back that claim up.

In the end, TNA also made a statement because the bottom line was the wrestling. They extolled the sport of wrestling in the way that the NWA, ECW, and Ring of Honor have in the past. It was about the emotion and the competition inside the ring. It was about the passion of the performers. It didn't even matter who won or lost in the end, because a match that great creates a hunger for fans to want to see a rematch. If TNA plans correctly, they could get away and come back six months from now with an epic rematch between the three and from there move to a big gimmick match, whether that be an Iron Man match, an Ultimate X bout, or something else.

When the book of 2005 is written, this bout will be on my short list of the best of the year and it should be on yours too - judge for yourself.

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON THE PPV

Pre-Game Show: As Buck Woodward said last night on the Post-PPV wrap in the PWInsider.com Elite Section, It’s amazing how much more TNA gets out of their 30 minute free pre-game show than WWE gets out of an entire hour of Sunday Night Heat….Traci Brooks was a little wooden in her role as interviewer but seemed to improve as the night went on. It will be interesting to see if they put her back with Matt Bentley….The Monty Brown angle is good to see as he’s heading back to the character he originally was. Turning Brown back at Destination X was a completely loony mistake and I’m glad to see that TNA’s current regime is taking steps to eradicate it. TNA did a good job teasing problems between Brown, Kip James, and Jeff Jarrett…Why would Jerelle Clark even stay in the ring and challenge Monty Brown?….Both the Jerelle Clark vs. Cassidy Riley and Shark Boy vs. Mikey Batts bouts were good for what they were and the crowd was enjoying them.

Unbreakable:

Diamonds In The Rough vs. 3 Live Kru: It was weird to see the announcers mention that Simon Diamond has turned around Elix Skipper’s career. How has he done that exactly?….I love Diamond playing the Bobby Knight role, given Diamond’s passionate love for college sports….The six man opener was exactly what TNA needed to open the show, just a quick fun bout. Say what you will about Konnan, but he’s still over when he gets on the mic. I do think Ron Killings could be given something more to do, though….If BG James is back together with 3 Live Kru, why hasn’t he kicked the crap out of Kip James for “insulting his family name?” by taking it as his own?

Roderick Strong vs. Austin Aries: This was as great a match as you were going to get in their time limit. Strong has really been working on his physique and given his penchant for chops, backbreakers, and submissions, is really reminding me of a melding of Ron Garvin and Dean Malenko. He’s easily the frontrunner for most improved wrestler of 2005 in my opinion. Austin Aries had another strong showing and the fans were loving this for what it was, a good back and forth wrestling bout with some hard hitting moves. I thought the mentions of ROH were nice for giving background to each wrestler. In fact, TNA probably put over ROH too much during the course of the evening, but that helps them “make good” with the hardcore fans they turned off during the issues last year.

Monty Brown & Kip James vs. Apollo & Lance Hoyt: When Sonny Siaki came out during the ring entrances for Hoyt and Apollo, I couldn’t help but think in his suit that he looked like Tazz….The story here was the issues between Brown and James and that was done well. Hoyt continues to be over and is starting to find his personality in the ring. He was wisely protected here as this wasn’t a bout where he could really excel and the story was about Brown and James.

Sabu vs. Abyss: Jim Mitchell is one awesome talker. TNA has a great asset in him and it’s greatly helped Abyss’ persona….Sabu looked to be really on and I was happy to see that. There were some great surprising spots here including the belly to belly by Abyss, who was standing through the ropes, on Sabu, sending him crashing through the tables. I also thought the build to Sabu taking the thumbtacks was well done. I was legitimately surprised at Sabu being cleanly pinned by Abyss but it was absolutely the right booking decision. A fun match!

Petey Williams vs. Chris Sabin: Another fun match. They did a lot to build off each other and put on some great spots. Sabin’s dropkick while standing on the floor to Williams (sitting on the apron) was a great visual. I enjoyed the teases of the finishers a lot too. A fun match!

NWA Tag Team champions The Naturals vs. America's Most Wanted vs. Chris Candido Memorial Cup winner & Alex Shelley vs. Team Canada: This was the one bout that I thought went a little too long and didn’t get over the way I expected it to. The loss of Waltman hurt the match, but gave Alex Shelley a chance to try and set himself apart by going alone. I thought Shelley looked good in what little he had a chance to do before being eliminated. The idea of Johnny Candido hopping the rail and tagging in was a sound one, but really didn’t get over with the crowd….I liked that America’s Most Wanted (who apparently are heels now based on the pre-match interview) were eliminated before their showdown with The Naturals….Eric Young put in another good performance and really reminds me of Eddie Gilbert.

Bobby Rude vs. Jeff Hardy: Rude’s promos have really improved…Hardy seemed to be trying here but there is no real spark to his fire anymore. This was fine for what it was and really how Hardy should be used, to put over the new talent. The Jeff Jarrett appearance puts the heat on his storyline with Hardy.

NWA champion Raven vs. Rhino: This was the ECW style hardcore weapons match complete with blood….I thought Rhino’s promo before the match where he ripped on “Hollywood b*tches” telling him what to do was one of the best he’s ever done….They incorporated some of the spots they did together on a WWF PPV years ago with the shopping cart, but it didn’t hurt the match. They have a few interesting storyline points coming out of here – Why would Cassidy Riley distract the referee when Raven has the pin? Where does Jarrett’s interference leave him and Rhino? The Jarrett intrusion also leaves an out for a future Raven vs. Rhino bout. This was a good brawl, although it’s funny that after all these months of TNA pushing themselves as a family friendly company, we have a pizza cutter across the forehead, unleashing blood. You have to love professional wrestling.

Overall, a show well worth your replay dollars when it runs this Tuesday. With the promise of Jushin Liger and an Ultimate X match next month, Bound for Glory is already shaping up as well.

Mike Johnson can be reached at Mike@PWInsider.com.

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