By Garrett Kidney
October 25, 2012
Orlando, FL
- Jeff Hardy's inner monologue thing was completely ridiculous. Pro Wrestling is a unique form of TV, it's part reality TV, part sports and a bit of conventional TV thrown in. Some things make sense and others don't, hearing somebody's thoughts doesn't. Nevermind the fact that his little bits on each guy were corny as hell but it was very, very silly. It might've been fine had they had Hardy narrate a video package or something but this didn't work. I commend them for at least trying something different (wrestling needs creativity) but back to the drawing board.
- One change I did really like was the announcing shake up. Todd Keneley did a really good job especially considering this was his first ever show on live national TV. More than anything it freshens up IMPACT a little, gives TNA a chance to give JB (and Todd) some real experience and it just offers a different perspective on the product. Nobody knows the wrestlers better than JB so he brings a different, interesting viewpoint than most others.
- Good X-Division title match. RVD looks motivated, while not everything he did came off it's good to see him changing it up and trying different things. While I'd still like to see more of Dutt and King, Ryan vs. RVD is a decent direction for the division though I'd like to see them explain Morgan and Ryan's relationship. Morgan really should be more than Ryan's backup.
- Kaz and Daniels are so great. I don't mind Chavo and Hernandez being champs, they've done good work since Chavo debuted and Kaz and Daniels are still really entertaining as challengers. TNA do need to establish some new teams though, with Angle and Styles probably being no more there's only three teams in the division (I suppose four if you count the Robbies) and Kash and Gunner don't exactly have much credibility at the moment.
- Another good win for Joe as the Robbies continue their extremely long run of trying and failing to win the TV title. Great finish too with Joe rising from the dead to lock on the match winning Clutch (with a great call by Keneley). Some fun stuff here for such a short match with Rob Terry in it.
- Aries and Anderson was messy. Far too many moving parts in play and most of them seemed to get lost in execution. It was just way more complicated and convoluted than it needed to be. It was a decent match in the end but they could easily do better.
- Then the show took a very good turn for the better with the last two segments. Really strong back and forth between Bully and Devon, two guys who have enough history and chemistry to do some great stuff. Both guys were great and set the stage for a big match next week. I'm adamant that Devon is good enough to surprise people in the same way Bully did if given the chance. He was very good last night and I'm really looking forward to the match next week.
- And then the other highlight of the show, a characteristically excellent Hardy/Angle match. These two have fantastic chemistry together and this is just another in a long line of memorable matches they've had this year. Also the usual official introductions with the added lighting effects lent the match an added gravitas. I love how Angle responds to losing (or winning) matches, his anger and frustration at getting caught by the pin were awesome last night. I'm looking forward to Aries/Hardy II, they had an excellent, physical match at Bound For Glory and I'm excited to see what they can do this time (especially with Hardy looking phenomenal lately). However, Aces and 8s did technically just run away from Garett Bischoff (even if he was being backed up by Wes Brisco).
Closing Thoughts
A better show than recent weeks advancing a couple of stories, making official or at least setting up a number of PPV matches, seeming a little fresher and different with the announcing change, giving a decent hook for next week while delivering a very strong last 40 minutes or so. Not really great but better.
