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IMPACT WRESTLING THOUGHTS: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE WOMEN WASHING CARS AND IMAGINE HOW BOBBY ROODE'S FAMILY FEELS ABOUT HIM WHEN HE DOESN'T LEAVE A GOOD TIP WHEN EATING OUT

By Richard Trionfo on 2011-12-02 12:48:16
This week’s episode of Impact Wrestling presented an interesting mix for its viewers. If you are fan of the Knockouts you got to see a few segments with some of them in bikinis washing cars and you got to see a Street Fight. If you are fan of families in turmoil you can see how the Roode family who were so proud of what Bobby had done going into Bound for Glory consider him on par with Hitler, Stalin, and Darth Vader in the way that he eventually won the World Title. We saw a friendship dissolve between Austin Aries and Kid Kash over the X Division Title. We also saw the Number One Contender for the Tag Titles determined. The continuation of Immortal’s quest to take care of Abyss turned into a mission to bring him back into the fold. We also got to see what happens when Garett Bischoff is not on the show.

I thought this show was okay with a few good things, especially the main event and Bobby Roode’s mic work. However, there were a number of things that were not as good, but there has been worse on television from the wrestling companies.

The one thing that I can say about this show is that it was better than Smackdown.

Here are my thoughts on the show:

Are they suggesting that Bobby Roode has walked out on his family now that he has won the championship?

If Sting thinks that the inmates are running the asylum, shouldn’t Sting be at the Impact Zone every week? Isn’t that the job he was given by Dixie Carter when she got control of the company returned to her? Maybe TNA needs an interim general manager of Impact?

I thought Bobby Roode did a good job during the opening segment with Sting. He showed a lot of poise and attitude. I liked that he was ignoring Sting’s message to present his own agenda. I liked the reaction that Bobby had to A.J.’s music playing as he made his way to the ring. I also liked how he was trying to suggest that Sting is fighting A.J.’s battles since Sting brought him out. After everything that Roode has done to bring some significance to the title, he is placed in a Triple Threat Match that is more of a handicap match? Why does Sting hate his company’s champion so much?

What better way to utilize the talents of the Knockouts than to have them wash cars because that is what people want to see when they watch wrestling. If Madison is so buddy buddy with Karen, why is she being treated as poorly as the other women with whom Karen has an agenda?

If we are to assume that there are situations when the wrestlers are being filmed and it is not supposed to be something that they know is recorded, why was Madison posing for nobody when she revealed her bikini? How long before she turns on Gail?

If Jeff Hardy is going to be in a Triple Threat Match, why would the cameraman/interviewer’s first question be about strategy since it is every man for himself? Shouldn’t Jeff be talking about how he wants to win the match, that is assuming he wouldn’t be interrupted by the man who Hardy defeated three times at Turning Point. The brawl between Hardy and Jarrett was okay. I liked that once Jarrett lost the upper hand, he ran away because he has been trying to find the opportunities when Hardy is vulnerable and not when they are on equal footing.

With all of the things that have been taken away from Bischoff and the rest of Immortal and the biggest problem that he has is the situation with Garett? Didn’t Eric cause all of those problems? If you don’t want your son to be a ‘star’ in wrestling then don’t bring him in? Didn’t you sign Garett to be a referee so your agenda could happen? At least we did not hear what he was saying to Ray because they were in the back.

Then Bischoff talks to Ray about Abyss and everything they did to treat him like crap and now they want him back as part of Immortal? Didn’t two of your men wrestle against Abyss at the last pay per view? At least Ray tried to talk some logic to Eric. Then Eric wants a man who sent Abyss through a table and just commented on how what Abyss did after going through the table was something that he never saw in the time that he has been wrestling to go talk to him?

I thought that Angelina and Winter had issues with Tara, Brooke, and Velvet but they are all washing cars together? I wonder if things will break down into a water fight at some point since there are six women wearing bikinis? And if there is such a water fight, I wonder if it will accidentally spread to where Karen is standing and yelling at them?

Speaking of the situation with Karen and the Knockouts, shouldn’t she have issues with everyone who is not Gail Kim . . . or Madison (at times)? Where are Rosita, Sarita, or Toxxin to do the same as well as any of the other Knockouts who might be in the company? If Karen does not respect her assistant, would she also be a person who she would want to humiliate?

Maybe I missed something over the last few months, but doesn’t Devon hate Dinero for the way that Devon’s kids are acting towards Dinero? It isn’t like two men who don’t like or respect each other have never been tag team partners (or even the current tag team champions) but if they are going to be a team much longer, shouldn’t Devon consider changing his name to Sting for ignoring the signs?

Why wouldn’t the team that does not have anyone in the match try to break up every cover since they will lose the match as well as the team being pinned? If you have watched TNA the last few weeks, would you have ever thought that Mexican America was the former tag team champions? Even though Mexican America has not been booked so well since losing the titles a few weeks ago, at least they got to do something in the match other than stand on the apron and get thrown to the floor in the opening brawl. I think Jesse and Shannon were in the match for a total of fifteen seconds and the only thing they did was have Jesse spear the man who is not in the match and then take a spinebuster for the pin.

Where were Devon’s kids to celebrate with Dinero . . . and their father?

In this world there are a few guarantees and they are death, taxes, and a good Austin Aries promo. I liked how he went with the fans reaction and told them to boo loudly but since the fans will do the opposite of what the heels want, they stopped their booing. I like how Aries is so humble about how much he has accomplished in his return to the company. Just like with Bobby Roode earlier in the show, I liked how Aries was shocked that someone would interrupt his promo.

I thought Aries and Kash were good during their time together in the ring. I liked how Kash was trying to suggest that he was doing all of the work during the match at Turning Point only to have Aries get the win. However, if there is a Triple Threat Match, you don’t have any partners.

I liked the handshake between Aries and Kash. You knew something was going to happen when you have those two men in the ring. I don’t remember seeing a time when both men are trying to double cross the other and both men punch the other at the same time. I almost expected to see Jesse Sorensen run out to shake both hands to get into the match.

Austin Aries calling Kash out for a sucker punch was hilarious because he did the same exact thing.

I liked A.J.’s comments about the Triple Threat Match. He did not treat this as a handicap match and he is looking to win the match. Unless A.J. was talking about people that he respected, why wouldn’t the person who holds the main championship in the company that you work for be at the top of your list?

While Gunner was assaulting people in the gym looking for Garett, he mentioned that Garett has embarrassed him twice. If that is the case, why did Bischoff send him to take care of Garett? Did he think of the rule of three in wrestling where you do something a third time, you get a different result than the first two? We have seen that this theory was disproven recently on television.

Shouldn’t the men who were assaulted by Gunner be filing charges against him

Did Scott Steiner break the fourth wall of wrestling by telling us that ‘Parts Unknown’ is somewhere in the United States? He did say that Abyss is a ‘red blooded American’ when him and Ray were trying to figure out how to deal with the latest cunning plan and crazy caper.

What do you have to do to retire from being a freak?

I liked that ODB started off the Street Fight by meeting her at the top of the ramp instead of letting Mickie be on even footing. This match was better than I thought it would be. I liked how ODB countered the head scissors that Mickie usually hits from the turnbuckles into a power bomb. Wouldn’t a trash can shot to the head normally knock out most men? How was Mickie able to kick out of the cover so easily? After all of the brutality with the weapons in the back, I don’t know why they turned it back into a normal wrestling match. If it is a street fight, why did ODB take so much time to consider using the chair and then why did she wait for Mickie to get back to her feet before trying to use the chair? The Van Jamesinator was a nice move, but is a chair more devastating than a trash can?

I was surprised that there was a very vocal ODB chant during the match.

It was a bit strange to see a Knockouts Street Fight on the same show as TNA’s chance to remake the car wash scene from Bring it On.

I thought the James Storm interview segment was good until Kurt Angle interrupted. I did like how James was not answering Angle’s questions and how he was very brief when he talked about getting revenge.

If James Storm is ‘not cleared to wrestle’ how can there be a ‘tentative’ match between Angle and Storm for the pay per view? And they are doing a concussion angle right after Mickie James took a trash can shot to the head.

It is a nice job by TNA security to let two women walk around the backstage area without any problem. At least they got two segments on the show while Samoa Joe and Douglas Williams got to wrestle on Xplosion.

With all of the hype throughout the show of the way that Bobby Roode’s family is ashamed of him for what he did to win the World Championship, I was expecting an ‘Intervention’ type segment. I like how they interviewed his ‘former friend’ while looking at how Roode won the title. We have seen so many situations where family members will support each other regardless of the situation, but they are making it seem like Bobby Roode won the title and then went out and hunted endangered animals while smoking and committing war crimes against humanity. He cheated to win a title that he was cheated out of himself. I have seen families of convicted murderers show more support than Roode’s family and ‘former’ friends.

I thought Bobby Roode’s comments after the video package of how disappointed they are in him was great. It was the perfect reaction.

I was not a fan of the Television Title match, but not for what happened in the ring. Why didn’t Rob Terry try to trip Van Dam on the Rolling Thunder since it was right in front of Terry? At least Terry tried to interfere and it was able to distract Van Dam. As soon as Eric Young came out, this match went off the tracks. Why is it that referees in TNA are more interested in things that have nothing to do with the match than doing their job and refereeing the match? At least Hebner was out of position long enough to allow Christopher Daniels to run out after Van Dam hits the Five Star Frog Splash to take his time to hit Angel’s Wings and leave without being seen.

If we are to assume that the segments with the Knockouts were broadcast ‘in real time’ even though it was recorded ‘earlier today’, did they take more than an hour to wash one car? They will never be able to earn enough money for that trip to Nationals. At least it only took three segments for the Knockouts to realize that they hate each other and break down into a water fight. What took the wrestlers so long to come outside to watch this? I figured TNA security was sitting around watching this take place.

It has been almost a month, but I still think that Madison Rayne is coming to the ring when they start playing Bobby Roode’s music.

I liked the start of the match with Roode telling Styles and Hardy to wrestle so they can show that they aren’t conspiring against him. Of course Hardy and Styles did not wrestle so Roode was right that the fix was in. I almost wanted to hear Roode ‘pull a Daniels’ and demand that Jeff and A.J. stop punching him. Why was the referee trying to stop Styles and Hardy from attacking Roode in the corner? Are there disqualifications in Triple Threat Matches in TNA? Guess the last name of the referee. I did like that we had a significant sequence with Hardy and Styles wrestling even though the reason did not make complete sense. Since the title was not on the line, why would Roode get back into the match after Hardy and Styles started wrestling each other? He should have let them work over each other and let Hardy try to weaken Styles for the Iron Man Match at Final Resolution. There was some good action during the usual Triple Threat situations when one of the wrestlers is outside the ring resting. I liked the way that the cameraman did not focus on Styles setting up for the springboard forearm. Roode’s reaction told you that something was going on and seeing Styles come into the shot enhanced things. I also liked the spot with Roode sending Hardy into the ropes when Styles was setting for another springboard move.

The finish of the match was a little iffy. Again, assuming that there are no disqualifications in a Triple Threat Match (which is iffy based on what Brian Hebner was doing earlier), why did Jarrett have to hide after interfering? Why did the referee turn away as he was looking at Jeff Jarrett coming into the ringside area through the crowd to crotch Hardy on the top turnbuckle? Did he find a nickel on the mat? The one thing I did like about the finish of the match was the fact that A.J. was a half second too late in trying to break up the cover so Roode would be able to get the win. There are so many times when it appears to be impossible for a person to break up a cover but somehow do it. This was a situation where Styles had time to break it up, but he couldn’t. It added a little more realism to the situation.

Earlier in the night, Sting warned Jarrett that there would be consequences that he might not like if he got involved in Hardy’s match. How is having Karen handcuffed to Sting a bad thing for Jarrett? It isn’t like he can’t have someone else in Immortal help him out. It isn’t like Karen is going to climb the cage to help out her husband.

It looks like we know one half of the main event at Genesis after Sting’s announcement about what happens when Jeff Hardy wins his match against Jarrett.

Recommended Segments: Bobby Roode’s promo at the start of the show; Austin Aries’ promo; The ‘Why Bobby Why’ video package (for the wrong reasons) and Roode’s reaction; Main Event. (for pure T&A [not TNA] reasons, you might want to check out the car wash segments)

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