PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

LOOKING AT THE 'ERIC YOUNG IS THE DUMBEST WRESTLER IN THE WORLD AND THINK OF THE GROUND THAT COVERS' EDITION OF TNA IMPACT

With Samoa Joe's TNA World title victory over Kurt Angle in a bout that some feel took the sport of professional wrestling a step towards evolution at the Lockdown PPV in Lowell, MA, TNA followed up on the PPV by running yet another fast-forward edition of TNA Impact, complete with two title changes, a loveable undercard babyface coming off like an absolute idiot and more.  Thoughts on the show:

*Samoa Joe's first promo as TNA champion was good, as long as the company allows him to be the champion he promised to be - one that has a title reign determined by his hard work and good matches.  I like the idea of cleaning Joe up by putting him in a suit.  It harks back to the days where the World champion looked like the smoothest pimp daddy around.  Scott Steiner coming out to interrupt the champion was right out of Monday Night Wars playbook Rule #345.  At this point, such angles are so pedestrian, it's ridiculous.  Even worse was Kurt Angle coming out and informing Joe that he had a rematch clause while Joe looked confused.  I understand the point of all this is to give exposition to the viewing audience, but the last thing your new World champion, the guy you are building around, to be, is befuddled.  

*I have mixed feelings on the company giving Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe away on Impact.  Obviously it's being done to try and create a buzz and some ratings, but it's also the biggest marquee bout the company has right now, so don't you want to put that on PPV?  I thought Angle pushing the bout as taking place "live, next week" on Impact was pretty slick.  While it won't be live, how many people watching the show actually realize that?   I'd even promote Impact like it was live every week for the hell of it.  Angle and Joe don't have bad matches, so this should be a good treat for fans who don't order PPVs.  TNA should really think about doing an Angle vs. Joe DVD release down the line.

*Jay Lethal vs. Johnny Devine was a solid bout to close out their rivalry.  I thought the idea of Petey Williams using the Feast of Fired briefcase to get the title was OK, but it's something that fans have seen a number of times before, just not in TNA.  I'd like to see TNA get away from concepts that have been done elsewhere, because it only makes them look like they are copying WWE and that's the furthest thing from what TNA needs to keep growing.  Williams slamming Lethal's head into the case and his promo was good, though.  

*Awesome Kong vs. Roxxi was a great TV match.  Roxxi is a really strong in-ring performer and has come a long way from her abjectly awful debut as a valet for the James Boys.  She showed a ton of fire and you can see the fans see her as being on the cusp of reaching the upper tier of the Knockouts division.  She and Kong put together a great TV bout with Kong coming off looking like a monster and Roxxi coming off well as the underdog babyface.  Great stuff.  What was with the makeup on Raessha Saied?  She looked like Scott Steiner's valet under there.

*Lauren is a huge step down from Crystal and I hope TNA gets her the hell off my TV.  Hot?  Absolutely.  However, she's about as useful as Mike Adamle on an ECW broadcast because she comes off like she's reading material fed to her and didn't even have the understanding to sell for Salinas when she was getting torn down verbally during the LAX backstage promo.

*The TNA Tag Team championship situation is just awful.  I don't know who thought this was a good idea but you could see from the looks of everyone in the building, it was absolutely dreadful in their eyes.  I have no problem with Kaz and Super Eric winning the belts, but first Tomko and AJ Styles are protesting that Eric Young and Super Eric are the same person, so he won't admit to it, they should get the belts back.  One, any idiot can see they are.  Two, if they won't admit to it, who cares?  Three, why is Tomko suddenly subscribing to the silliness in TNA when his entire character is built around being the guy who rolls his eyes at the goofiness?  When Eric Young came out and literally gave up his championship belt because he didn't want to give up his gimmick (one that is, admittedly, great for kids and one TNA should be selling plush dolls of), there was no reason for Kaz not to beat the living hell out of his own partner, turn heel, and walk off.  So, instead he's not lost his belt and the titles are vacant.  

*To review, In one fell swoop, TNA neutered Kaz, put Jim Cornette into a credibility reducing situation, transformed Eric Young from a fun undercard gimmick for kids into a blithering idiot, and ended the reign of AJ Styles and Tomko, who were GREAT as a team, for no real reason.  Not to mention LAX is shafted, AGAIN.  I'd love for someone to explain how this works out for the best for anyone involved.

*I should hate Kurt Angle sobbing in the back over losing his dressing room because he isn' the champion, but I laughed at it.  The problem is, wasn't this guy the shootfighter MMA wrestler just a few days ago at Lockdown?  His performance was hysterical here, as always, but it was such a fast swing of the pendulum, I wondered if I missed some sort of vignette, because earlier in the night, he was the smug bastard getting his rematch, smiling as he put his sunglasses on, and walked out.  Having him pissed he lost his dressing room and swearing to get the belt back next week while ranting about how TNA was disrespecting him over one loss might have been more in tune with what they were doing with him.

*Matt Morgan's in-ring promo was a good way to set his direction and persona.  I like that they are using his old "Blueprint" moniker from Ohio Valley Wrestling.  Hopefully, they have a nice program in mind for him going forward.

*Did anyone catch Kevin Nash glaring at Samoa Joe while Joe was cutting his backstage promo, commenting he was going to have his title reign defined by his wrestling, not his politics?  That's what you call foreshadowing.

*The Team 3D vs. Christian Cage and Rhino bout was solid.  I'm curious to see where they go with the teased Team 3D breakup and if they'd go through with it.  Devon didn't fare well as a singles wrestler in WWE (Rev. D-Von anyone?), but Bubba Ray did OK as a babyface.

*Jim Cornette cutting the promo on the Knockouts was good stuff.  I miss the old Cornette rants and it's a shame there's no place for him as a heel performer here.  I think a heel Motor City Machineguns managed by Jim Cornette is something TNA is really missing the boat on.

*The Lockdown revenge six man tag left me with mixed feelings.  First, as sad as it is to write this, Robert Roode has taken a huge step backwards in the last two weeks.  He went from feeling like a guy on the verge of making that next step to another mid-card guy.  He really needs to do something truly dastardly to get the heat back in his feud with Booker T.  Sadly, Kip James vs. BG James in the ring is nowhere as intriguing as their Rough Cut segments were.   Sting and James Storm facing off makes sense on paper, but didn't Sting beat him in a singles bout, not to mention Storm was the guy pinned (BY RHINO) in the Lethal Lockdown?  This felt more like we needed to get six guys on television than it did a major grudge match was going down.  There just wasn't enough focus on the bout until late in the episode for it to be effective.

So, overall, if you taped the show, you'll want to see Joe's promos, check out the Williams title switch and pay close attention to Kong vs. Roxxi, which was great stuff.  Here's to hoping next week's episode, centered on the strength of Joe vs. Angle, is a rebound towards what made the Lockdown PPV so solid.

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

 

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!

• Tweet