Pro Wrestling Power

TNA could really use some momentum going into their Monday, March 8 live show, and before last night, I thought they had it. But Thursday’s TNA Impact show was kind of disappointing to me. I’m not one to complain about too much talk on a wrestling show if it’s done well and with purpose, but it was overdone last night, especially with backstage segments, and it kind of made the show drag on and hurt the crowd’s enthusiasm in the process.

I thought the opening and closing segments were both decent, with the furthering of the Hogan/Abyss vs. Flair/Styles feud, and I like the promotion of that match and the March 8 show in general, but there were several things in between that really weren’t all that hot. And if you even wanted to pick apart the opening segment a little more, Flair wasn’t really on his usual game with his promo, and Styles is average at best on the mic.

The Nasty Boys vs. Team 3D match was a debacle, as both teams looked fat, out of shape and slow. The ending with the 3D on Saggs through the table was cool, but that’s about it.

I feel the same way about TNA’s women’s division, or “Knockouts” as they like to be called, as I do about the WWE’s. Just scrap it altogether. Most fans, including myself, use these matches as a bathroom break or a reason to change the channel temporarily. You could still have women involved as managers and in other miscellaneous roles, but having them wrestle is largely a waste of time.

Eric Bischoff is great as an on air talent, and last night was no exception, but I feel like his angles with Jeff Jarrett and Mick Foley really need to get to the point in the next few weeks, because as of right now, they both seem kind of awkward and lacking in direction. I think they have big things planned for both of these guys eventually, but right now they are both being made to look like fools, even if it is only in the storyline.

The X Division match could have gotten more time, but Kazarian looked good and it would be a great idea to put the X Division championship on him when he gets his shot at the title on April 18 at Lockdown.

I did like the Mr. Anderson/Angle segment, and this feud has really been built well so far. I would have liked to see Anderson take the Global championship off of Rob Terry, but having Angle attack Anderson to further the feud and hand him over for Terry to finish him off with the powerslam and pin was more important on this night. This is going to be a great payoff match, or series of payoff matches, in a feud that could last a few months and put the winner back in the TNA title hunt.

The Kevin Nash and Eric Young vs. Scott Hall and Syxx Pac brawl was anti-climatic, although I will say that it’s probably a good thing that they made it short and had Hall and Waltman come out on top. This will extend this feud into the March 8 show at least, and although last night’s encounter was a minor disappointment, I think many fans will be interested to see how this feud ends up.

Abyss vs. Desmond Wolfe was another very short match on a night with very little actual wrestling. Wolfe has a bright future and I think Hogan and Bischoff have big things in store for him down the line, but he lost to Abyss in a match that could almost be considered a squash.

Being a huge fan of Hogan and Flair, I liked the announcement of the March 8 tag team match at the end of the show, and the overall segment after the Wolfe vs. Abyss match ended came off rather well. Nice blade job by Hogan to sell this feud even more, and Styles and Abyss should both come out looking like much bigger stars after March 8.

This edition of Impact was more of a transitional show to promote March 8 and the next two pay per views. It set some things into motion and furthered some feuds, but unfortunately the wrestling was severely lacking and the show wasn’t very entertaining overall. Still, they have one more Thursday night show next week to set up the Monday, March 8 live show and get back on track with a quality program. They also need to hype up the Destination X PPV more in the next few weeks. But I have faith in this regime and I believe Lockdown will be a huge success, and I think by the summer Impact on Monday nights is going to be a bigger ratings draw than most people in the industry are anticipating right now.