Sure, the feud between AJ Styles and Abyss had been a bit cartoonish.  Boiling down to a rehash of Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan, Styles and Abyss had basically become caricatures of their “idols” rather than characters in their own rights.  But when the bell rang, the two returned to their usual styles which was a breath of fresh air.  So they had a good, conclusive match to end the feud and move Styles on to D’Angelo Dinero, right?

Oh, no.

As the match continued, Ric Flair entered the area in a wheelchair (apparently crippled from being chokeslammed through the stage last week) and sprayed mace in the referee’s eyes.  No ref, no way to lose the belt, right?  AJ took the opportunity and laid out Abyss with the belt, but Hulk Hogan would take care of business by wheeling Flair to the back and bringing Earl Hebner as the new referee.  After all, it’s not like Earl Hebner was paid off by Flair to screw over Kurt Angle a couple months ago, right?

Abyss kicked out of Styles’s 450 Splash and began Hulking up, complete with big boot.  But unfortunately, when you mix the power of Hulkamania (by way of magic WWE Hall of Fame ring) with the power of Abyss, the ring apparently can’t handle it.  Abyss chokeslammed Styles through the ring, leading Hebner to throw the entire mess out.  Hogan tried to give Abyss the belt, but Hebner would have none of it.  And that’s when things really got silly.

Ric Flair got yanked into the ring and sprayed with the mace.  Blinded, he began crawling around (because he’s crippled, if you recall) as Desmond Wolfe came into the ring.  He was beaten, then sprayed, and now blinded himself, he tripped over Ric Flair and fell into the hole in the ring.  That’s right – best worker in the company has no match on the PPV, but gets a slapstick comedy bit.  Finally, Flair fell into the hole himself, and Abyss and Hogan celebrated their title match loss moral victory.

Makes you want to stay tuned for what comes next, huh?  The rest of the show after the jump.

• Kazarian defeated Brian Kendrick, Amazing Red and Daniels to secure an X-Division title shot in an excellent match.  The finish came when Kazarian superplexed Daniels off a ladder, but kept his legs hooked in the ladder to stay on and grabbed the contract.
• Hulk Hogan finally got around to telling Eric Bischoff to knock off the hijinx with Mick Foley and Jeff Jarrett.  Bischoff promised he would on Impact.
• Tara defended her title after dodging a shot from the belt then hitting Daffney with the Widow’s Peak.  Daffney managed to escape with Tara’s spider, so it looks like this one isn’t over yet.
• Rob Terry defeated Magnus (who has removed the ‘Brutus’ from his name) in about a minute to defend his Global championship.  Uh, okay.
• The Motor City Machine Guns defeated Generation Me in the Ultimate X match.  This match was incredible, but with these two teams would you really have expected anything else?
• To the surprise of absolutely no one, Kevin Nash turned on Eric Young and gave the Band the win, securing their jobs with TNA.  Syxx traced an outline of Young in spraypaint on the mat, which stayed there for the rest of the show.
• Doug Williams defended his title against Shannon Moore, but you probably don’t care, do you?  After the match, Williams denounced the style of the X-Division and called Moore a clown.  To demonstrate the point, he stole some lipstick from a fan and drew on Moore’s face.  Good stuff.
• Hernandez and Matt Morgan defended their titles when Hernandez dodged James Storm’s beer spit and pinned him for the win over Beer Money, Inc.  Morgan, who was nailed by the spit, took his anger out on his partner, hitting a Carbon Footprint and laying the titles over his fallen form.
• Kurt Angle defeated Mr. Anderson by hitting him with the “warrior medal” then locking on the ankle lock.  Can this feud please be over now?

Looking back
So this show was kind of a mess, wasn’t it?  While the X-Division stuff was quite good, the rest of the show dragged.  Unfortunately, it’s that rest of the show that TNA seems to be focusing on.  The main event finish was something so ridiculously silly that it would have been hard to watch 15 years ago.  The main title of the company should be taken seriously and held with prestige.  Instead we get Hogan vs. Flair by proxy, and TNA seems determined to make the presentation just as silly as the concept.  D’Angelo Dinero, who was the highlight of last month’s PPV, wasn’t even on the show!  I’m betting Desmond Wolfe wishes that he had that kind of luck.

It should be noted that no titles changed hands at this show, which is impressive being that five of the six of them were on the line.  Styles retaining was predictable, as was Doug Williams over Shannon Moore.  The only questionable choice was to keep the tag titles on Matt Morgan and Hernandez.  The breaking up of the team creates a feud in itself – there is no reason to have the tag belts involved.  Beer Money could have gone on to the Motor City Machine Guns while Hernandez and Morgan move onto a feud all their own.  This makes me think that MEM will be getting the titles sooner than later.

Other random thoughts:

• I like the thought of a program between Kazarian and Doug Williams.  Kazarian’s got a good babyface move going and Williams is a natural heel.  The two will do quite well together.
• Neither Jeff Jarrett nor Mick Foley were on the show.  I can’t say that’s a bad thing.
• I swear that I heard the match between Tara and Daffney was supposed to be first blood.  I actually prefer that it wasn’t.
• No more Brutus for Magnus?  Could we be seeing the epic return of Brutus Beefcake?  God, I hope not.
• Why doesn’t someone just jump up from the mat and grab the X in the Ultimate X match?  Just saying.
• So now the Band is officially staying in TNA.  Keep Scott Hall out of the ring, and I don’t really care.
• Shannon Moore does look like a clown.  I am behind Doug Williams on that one.

So we move on from here and hopefully we get Abyss and Hulk Hogan out of the title picture.  It can’t get much worse, right?

Right?

Destination X is advertised as a spotlight for the X-Division, though in its previous four years, there really hasn’t been any more focus for them than any other PPV.  It’s really more of an excuse to bring out the Ultimate X Match, which can be both very good and very bad, depending on the circumstances.  Let’s not forget the year the ‘X’ kept falling off of the chain until they finally called the match.

But enough history.  Let’s run down the card.

TNA World Championship Match
AJ Styles(c) (w/ Ric Flair) vs. Abyss
AJ Styles turned on Kurt Angle at Genesis and took Ric Flair as his mentor.  Ever since, he’s been pretty much a dick to everyone.  The two called out Abyss after Hulk Hogan gave him his WWE Hall of Fame ring, which Abyss seems to believe holds the power of Hulkamania within it.  Since getting the ring, Abyss has been coming out to Hogan’s old WCW theme, using his speaking patterns (brother) and even Hulking up at opportune moments.  In this, the feud of Hogan vs. Flair continues without either man having to compete.

But this is really just a way to fill time.  D’Angelo Dinero was named #1 contender for next month’s PPV, so Styles and Flair banged up his ankle to keep him away while this program went down.  Dinero has been occupied with Desmond Wolfe, while Hogan and Flair took the spotlight to launch Impact on Monday nights.  And it actually hasn’t been too bad of a program, and certainly more entertaining than it probably had any right to be.  But after this show, the Dinero program begins again, so there’s no way that Abyss will be leaving with the title.

TNA Tag Team Championship Match
Matt Morgan and Hernandez(c) vs. Beer Money, Inc. (James Storm & Robert Roode)
Hernandez apparently realized what many fans had been saying for some time and decided it was about time to give Beer Money some recognition.  Unfortunately, his agreeing to this title match didn’t sit well with his partner Matt Morgan, and since then the two have been drifting apart.  On last week’s Impact, Hernandez got put into a handicap match against his opponents, and Morgan just watched him lose.  It’s almost certain that Morgan will be turning on Hernandez, and sooner rather than later.

The only outside factor here is Jeff Jarrett, whom Beer Money turned heel on by agreeing to go with whoever can get them success and money faster.  They volunteered to Eric Bischoff to take on Jarrett in a handicap match and beat him down.  I could just as easily see Jarrett not getting involved, though.  His fight’s with Bischoff – Beer Money just happen to be the hired goons.

It doesn’t make sense to leave the titles on Morgan and Hernandez.  Losing will cause the split between the two and Beer Money will really shine as heel champions.  I just can’t see it not going that way.

TNA X-Division Championship Match
Doug Williams(c) vs. Shannon Moore
This match was originally supposed to be Williams vs. the recently “returned” Kazarian, but Eric Bischoff held that match at Impact, in which Williams successfully defended his title against Kazarian and Daniels.  Shannon Moore appeared and attacked Williams, and this match was created.  The only setup between the two was a lousy bit of mic time from Moore on Impact.  He is apparently supposed to be the face here, but he came off as a pretty big douche.  Williams himself seems to be more involved with Rob Terry (see below).

I don’t really see why Moore is getting the shot here – it’s not like he’s a big get by TNA.  The match will be fast and probably exciting, but Williams will retain.

TNA Global Championship Match
Rob Terry(c) vs. Brutus Magnus
In case you had forgotten, the Global championship used to be the Legends championship, renamed by Eric Young.  Rob Terry of the British Invasion captured the title at a house show in his native Wales.  The tension between him and the British Invasion began at Final Resolution when he snatched a Feast or Fired case that held a shot at the X-Division title.  When it came time to cash it in against Amazing Red, Doug Williams and Brutus Magnus demanded that Terry give his shot to Williams, who won the belt.  When Terry captured the Global title, Magnus demanded that Terry award him the title, but that was the last straw.  Terry attacked Magnus and severed his ties with the BE.

There hasn’t been a lof of buildup for this match (nor this title, really).  Neither Terry nor Magnus were on the go-home show.  As Terry is being pushed as the face, and Magnus is really second banana to Doug Williams, I think Terry is going to retain and move on past the breakup feud.

First Blood Match for the TNA Knockouts Championship
Tara(c) vs. Daffney
It’s really impressive how much the Knockouts division has changed.  Gail Kim and Awesome Kong are gone, and Angelina Love has left and come back, and is now embroiled in a feud with her former stable that never seems to go anywhere.  After an awfully booked feud with ODB, Tara came out with the championship.  In a match against Daffney on Impact, it was assumed that Tara would get the win, but instead Daffney got herself DQ’d and savagely beat on the champ.  Since that point, Daffney has developed a vicious streak, taking out ODB in the process.  It’s a far cry from being the valet of Dr. Stevie and Raven.

Unfortunately, the stipulation makes me think that Daffney will be the one losing, as she has shown herself more than willing to take weapon bumps and be busted open.  I think Tara will overcome the challenge and either continue the feud or move on to someone else.  Hamada, maybe?

Ladder Match for #1 Contendership to the X-Division Championship
Brian Kendrick vs. Amazing Red vs. Kazarian vs. Daniels
Over the past few weeks, there seems to have been a move to try to re-establish the X-Division.  With its stars slipping in and out of other feuds and non-X-Division people holding the title (looking at you, Kurt Angle), there seemed to be no ‘division’ left.  To spearhead this, Frankie Kazarian has dropped the Suicide gimmick and gotten straight into the mix.  Unfortunately, his title shot was lost when Daniels re-entered the division and said he was more worthy.  A three way match was made and Daniels lost to Doug Williams.  To decide a new contender the two were thrown in with Amazing Red and Brian Kendrick, neither of which doing much, but exciting talents in the ring.

This match is going to be fantastic.  All four are amazing in the ring and will do unbelievable stunts in this match.  Expect tons of highlight reel moments coming out of this one.  As for a winner, I think that Kazarian will continue following his momentum and snare the win, leading to a better program with Doug Williams.

Ultimate X Match for #1 Contendership to the Tag Team Championship
Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) vs. Generation ME (Jeremy & Max Buck)
For those not familiar with the concept, the Ultimate X Match is where four poles are set up on the corners of the ring and two wires are run over the ring in an X shape.  In the middle of those wires hangs a large X.  Whoever can climb out to that point and snare the X gets the prize – which in this case is a tag team title shot.  This match is traditionally reserved for an X-Division title shot/match, but there’s no reason why it can’t be used here with four X-Division talents are involved.

The Machine Guns have transitioned back into a cocky heel role which they cemented with some good mic time on the last Impact in which they are ready to take what they believe to be their due.  They don’t see Generation ME being worthy of title shots, but unfortunately they came up as the losers to GM when the latter debuted in TNA.  Both teams are very exciting to watch and have had excellent matches with each other.  The Ultimate X can only make the two shine brighter.

I think the Machine Guns are going to pull off the win here.  Shelley and Sabin can transition between cocky heel and cocky face without much effort to balance against who they’re feuding with, so I can see them working against Beer Money.  Of course, Generation ME could pull it off and do another ‘proving their worth’ feud, but I don’t see that at this point.

The Band (Scott Hall & Syxx) vs. Kevin Nash & Eric Young
You may recall that back in January, Scott Hall and Syxx showed up to reform ‘The Band’ with Kevin Nash upon Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff’s arrival in the company.  Hall was booked to team with Nash at Genesis, but couldn’t compete, so Syxx took his place.  Since then, Hall and Syxx have turned on Nash and have been demanding contracts with TNA.  Despite having been there on every show since January.

Nash has resolidified his partnership with Eric Young (who magically returned to being a babyface) and the two have been working to keep Hall and Syxx out of TNA.  It comes down to this match – if Hall and Syxx win, they get TNA contracts.  If they lose, they’re gone for good.  I’ve been calling for the swerve for some time now, and I think this is the perfect place for it to go down.  Nash’s whole game was to get his buddies hired, and now that they’ve got it on the line, it’s time for him to turn on Eric Young and get Hall and Syxx in.  Then the Band feuds with Eric Young and whoever he can find to back him up.  What’s Rhino doing now?

Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Anderson
Kurt Angle supports the American troops.  If you don’t believe him, just check out the “warrior medal” that an injured soldier gave him.  Mr. Anderson doesn’t seem to like that Kurt Angle supports the American troops, so he stole the “warrior medal”.  Then Angle got it back.  Then Anderson bloodied him with it.  Then they decided to have a match at the PPV.  I hope they hang the thing on a pole.

I’m bored with this feud.  If you want to know a winner, then I’m going to go with Kurt Angle.  Disagree with me?  Why do you hate America?

Worth buying?
I can’t believe I’m actually typing this…but yes.  The lineup is as strong of a show as TNA has put on PPV since I started following every week.  With the exception of Nash and Young vs. The Band, all the matches will be good, with some probably being quite excellent.  Each match has a reason for being on the show, and the whole thing doesn’t feel like a throwaway.  And all this with two weeks of set up.  See?  It can be done.

Unfortunately, WrestleMania is next week, and I can’t justify ordering two PPVs on one month’s cable bill, so I won’t be seeing it live.  I will be looking for results and covering it here, though.

Welcome to our live coverage of TNA Against All Odds from the Impact Zone in Orlando

Ric Flair vows to tear Eric Bischoff’s skin off his body, particularly if he attempts to screw A.J. Styles out of the title.

We open with the first round of the Eight Man Stud tournament.

The Pope vs. Desmond Wolfe – Chelsea is back with Wolfe.  Pope won with the DDE, which is the running double knees to the back.  Short match, but good.

Flair came in Bischoff’s office.  Flair wants to know why Eric made himself a referee.  Ric said he’s the only wrestling God in TNA.  Eric accused Flair of threatening him.  Eric said Ric has a referee who can’t be bought.  Eric vowed to call it right down the middle.  Eric then told Flair to keep his distance.

Jeremy Borash is back as an interviewer.

Matt Morgan vs. Hernandez

Match wasn’t that good, in particular Hernandez doing a crossbody off the top, and who knows what was supposed to happen because it looked like a mess.  But they got right back into it.  Good finishing sequence as Hernandez did his big dive over the top, but sold like he injured his left shoulder.  Morgan then refused to take a win via count out and opened the ropes for Hernandez to come in.  Morgan then threw Hernandez’s “injured” shoulder into the post and got the pin holding the trunks.

So Morgan vs. Pope is up later.

Kurt Angle just apologized to Hulk Hogan since Hogan saved him at the end of the show.

Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Anderson

Mr. Anderson won with the mic check.  Anderson used Angle’s chain to bust him open.  Later he exposed a top turnbuckle and when Angle went for a charge and Anderson moved, Angle knocked himself out on the exposed turnbuckle and the mic check was the spin.  Anderson spit on Angle after the match.  Well below standards of an Angle PPV match, but still the best match so far.

Bischoff is in with Foley and Abyss.  Bischoff told them no shennanigans.  If he thinks this match is fake, Abyss has to unmask on Impact.  Foley wants to know what a shennagin is.  Bischoff said it would be a no DQ match and that one has to use a barbed wire bat on the other.  If nobody uses the bat in the match, then the mask comes off.  Foley agreed to use the bat.

Mick Foley vs. Abyss

Abyss kept refusing to use the bat.  Foley poured thumb tacks all over the mat.  Abyss refused to choke slam him on the tacks.  Foley went to use the bat on Abyss but Abyss ducked and used a black hole slam on the thumb tacks for the pin.  So they never used the bat.  Abyss was picking thumb tacks out of Foley’s back after the match all distraught at what he did.  Match was telling a story, but except for chants of “Use the bat,” the crowd didn’t react.  Work was pretty bad.

Team 3-D vs. Nasty Boys

Another bad match.  They tried.  They stalled enough to make this the longest match so far on the show, which is scary.  Fans wanted tables but no tables tonight.  Finish was a 3-D on Sags and Bubba had him pinned.  Jimmy Hart showed up and threw a helmet to Knobs, who hit Bubba with it and Sags got the pin.

Eric Bischoff had a meeting with Samoa Joe.  Joe said he’d take care of AJ if Bischoff would take care of Flair.  Bischoff then told him to take care of his temper.

The Pope vs. Matt Morgan

Pope advanced as Morgan missed the carbon footprint and Pope used the double knees and a splash off the middle rope for the pin.  Pope worked the match as the babyface.  Crowd wasn’t much into the match until a spot where Morgan nailed Pope with a clothesline late.

Anderson said he’s the guy going all the way and he beat the best wrestler in the world already.  Said he’s winning the title at Lockdown.

Abyss vs. Mr. Anderson

One has to think Anderson is winning becauase Abyss vs. Pope makes no sense.  Anderson pulled Abyss’ mask around in front of his face and then used the mic check for the pin.  Match was okay, but never seemed to really get going.

A.J. Styles was out there doing a Ric Flair interview.  Then Flair did his interview only making Styles looking like a copy.

A.J. Styles vs. Samoa Joe for the TNA title with Eric Bischoff as referee

Hulk Hogan in his first appearance on the show up to this point, told Bischoff that he couldn’t screw Styles out of the title, saying with the Hebner controversy that the officiating has to be straight.  Bischoff was all mad about.  Joe has new ring music.  Styles was wearing a Flair style robe coming out.

Long match.  Easily the best thing so far.  Finish saw Joe use the muscle buster, but Flair distracted Bischoff.  Flair pulled Bischoff out of the ring and wouldn’t let him back in.  Bischoff KO’d Flair with one punch.  Joe then dragged Bischoff back in.  Joe started shoving Bischoff, then turned around into a Pele kick and Styles clash.  Bischoff counted super slow but Joe didn’t kick out.

Flair told Bischoff to raise Styles’ hand.  They explained that Bischoff could have DQ’d Styles when Flair interfered but that wouldn’t accomplish anything.

Mr. Anderson vs. The Pope for the April title shot in the tournament final.  Scott Hall & Sean Waltman beat up Pope backstage.

Match didn’t have much heat most of the way.  Mostly Anderson working on Pope’s ribs that were injured in the pre-match attack.  Very good finish.  First, Anderson kicked out of the double knees to the chest.  Anderson took over, and then called for the mic from the ceiling and called his shot, saying he’s one mic check away from winning the tournament.  He gave the mic check, but Pope kicked out.  Crowd was really into the last minute.  Anderson did the forward fireman’s carry drop, but missed a Kenton bomb (swanton) off the top and Pope used the double knees to the back for the pin.

credit: Wrestling Observer

And suddenly, Dinero’s upset win over AJ Styles a few weeks ago on Impact doesn’t seem so strange, does it?  After defeating Desmond Wolfe and Matt Morgan, Dinero proceeded into the finals, but was attacked by Scott Hall and Syxx during an interview.  Despite the hinderance, Dinero overcame Anderson, who himself beat Angle and Abyss to make it to the finals.  Anderson managed to hit the Mic Check on Dinero, but missed his Kenton Bomb, leaving him vulnerable for the DDE.

The other big story of the event was the championship match between Samoa Joe and AJ Styles.  Before the match, Hulk Hogan warned Eric Bischoff not to screw over Styles.  Of course, that would have been my cue for Bischoff’s turn against Joe, but it was not in the cards.  With some Ric Flair assistance blocked by Bischoff, Samoa Joe became frustrated with the ref distraction and got in Bischoff’s face.  The distraction allowed Styles to get some sneak offense in and hit the Styles Clash for the win.  Bischoff was reluctant to count the three, but did it.

As for the rest of the show…

• Jeremy Borash was back as a backstage interviewer.  I suppose we’re just going to ignore Bischoff pushing him off of TV then.  Okay.
• Matt Morgan defeated fellow tag champ Hernandez and seemed to be teasing a heel turn in the process.  Hernandez was selling a shoulder injury, but Morgan refused to accept a count out win over his partner.  He then won the match by slamming the injured shoulder into the turnbuckle and holding the tights while pinning.   What a bastard.
• Kurt Angle said he would never doubt Hulk Hogan again.  That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.
• Anderson picked up the win over Angle by slamming him into an exposed turnbuckle, then hitting the Mic Check.
• Eric Bischoff told Foley and Abyss that their match would be no DQ and if they didn’t use a barbed wire bat, Abyss would be unmasked.  Abyss picked up the win by slamming Foley onto thumbtacks, but the bat was not used.
• The Nasty Boys defeated Team 3D after using the WABAC Machine to go to 1991 and grab Jimmy Hart and bring him to the present.  Okay, maybe not, but Hart did come in and help the Nastys get the win.  I suppose this travesty feud will continue.
• Dinero defeated Morgan and Anderson defeated Abyss in rather rushed matches.  Nothing of consequence to mention, really.
• AJ Styles debuted new entrance attire – a Ric Flair-ish robe with an AJ Styles-ish hood.  I like it.
• The Band attacked D’angelo Dinero backstage – it looks like Hogan forgot to lock the door again.

Looking Back
In the small picture, this was a pretty good PPV.  Styles got the win over Joe, making him look better as a heel champion, and D’angelo Dinero got the #1 contender spot.  Honestly, I can’t think of any person who’s more talented, over and deserving of this title shot.  I hardly ever get to write this, but good for TNA for pushing a deserving talent.  Just keep Orlando Jordan out of this feud.

As for the big picture, less than half of the TNA roster was on this show.  There were no Knockouts.  No X-Division.  You had a tournament for a future match.  Shouldn’t you have just had the FINALS on the match and book the rest of the roster on the show?  The MIA competitors were: Alex Shelley, Amazing Red, Angelina Love, Awesome Kong, Brian Kendrick, Brutus Magnus, Chris Sabin, Consequences Creed, Daffney, Daniels, Doug Williams, Dr. Stevie, Eric Young, Generation Me, Hamada, Homicide, James Storm, Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett, Jesse Neal, Kevin Nash, Kiyoshi, Lacey Von Erich, Madison Rayne, ODB, Orlando Jordan, Raven, Rhino, Rob Terry, Robert Roode, Sarita, Sean Morley, Sting, Suicide, Tara, Taylor Wilde, Tomko, Tracy Brooks and Velvet Skye.  That’s 14 people on the show (17 if you count Flair and the Band) and 40 people not on the show.  41 if you count Shark Boy.

As for the random thoughts:

• Welcome back, J.B.  Does that mean we’re done with Bubba the Love Sponge?  He’s been MIA for the last few shows.
• I guess a heel Matt Morgan is fine, but he’s super over as a face.  At least they’re actually bothering to turn him rather than just having him be a heel with no questions asked.
• Angle got busted open during his match.  No one came down to fix the cut.
• I may be wrong, but unmasking Abyss seems like it would completely ruin the character.  Kind of like making him whiny and child-like ruined the character.
• Hey, Nasty Boys – bringing back Jimmy Hart doesn’t help your argument that you’re in TNA specifically because you’re Hogan’s buddy.
• It’s funny that Hulk Hogan is a selling point for these PPVs since the only thing he did was tell Bischoff not to screw AJ Styles.  Totally worth the money.
• Why is Bischoff involved in a feud with Styles and Flair?  Every other aspect of his character is a heel.

This show was a good night for Dinero, but still a glaring example of a lot of things that are currently wrong with TNA.

Two major storylines going into the PPV are not being dealt with on the show itself.  One is the return of Angelina Love and her feud with the Beautiful People.  The BP have been geeing the best of Love at every turn, and it looks like they will continue to do so for at least another month until the next chance for a payoff to the feud.  Lovely.  The other is the random attacks from the Band (Scott Hall and Syxx).  This is apparently TNA’s attempt to relive the stellar nWo invasion of 1996 WCW, but it’s come off as more of a lampoon.  Hall has become a bloated caricature of his former self and Syxx wasn’t taken seriously in his heyday…12 years ago.  Neither are scheduled on the show, but they’ll probably be lurking about.  Of course, last month, Hall WAS scheduled for a match and didn’t wrestle, so that’s not saying much.

As for the card:

TNA Championship Match with Guest Referee Eric Bischoff
AJ Styles(c) (w/Ric Flair) vs. Samoa Joe
Last month, Styles defeated Kurt Angle by turning heel and joining up with Ric Flair.  He has since been tailored as the new Nature Boy, a role so out of character for him that he comes off as a small child playing dress up.  Referee Charles Robinson pulled off the act better back in 1999 WCW.  Samoa Joe took offense to AJ Styles turning his back on TNA to take the “easy way out” with a heel manager to get glory faster and challenged him to a match.  If this seems familiar, you might recall a few months ago when AJ Styles took offense to Samoa Joe turning his back on TNA to take the “easy way out” with a heel stable (Main Event Mafia) to get glory faster and challenged him to a match.

And, for no particular reason, Eric Bischoff told AJ Styles that he would be the special referee for the match.  Now, in theory, the fans are supposed to believe that this would give Joe the edge, as Styles and Bischoff have not seen eye to eye lately.  However, Bischoff has kind of, sort of been playing a shady character, so it’s pretty obvious that this will be a swerve to put the odds in Styles’s favor.  It would be different if Kurt Angle was the special referee, but Bischoff?  The biggest swerve here would be if Bischoff called it right down the middle.

This seems to be a time-killing feud until something better comes along for Styles to do, as well as getting rid of Joe’s Feast or Fired case – one of those little hangovers from the pre-Hogan days.  Styles has got the story going, Joe doesn’t.  Styles will retain.

The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) vs. Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon)
God, they’re really going through with this match, huh?  When Hulk Hogan took over TNA, the Nasty Boys showed up and bullied their way into the Impact Zone.  Unlike the Band, though, Knobbs and Sags were allowed to stay.  Team 3D came in and asked the question all the fans were asking – the Nasty Boys?  Really?  Unfortunately, the Nasty Boys have stayed and have basically been trading brawls with Team 3D for over a month.

The feud, presumebly, is that the Nasty Boys see Team 3D as a copy of themselves.  To this, I would disagree.  Public Enemy was a copy of the Nasty Boys.  Team 3D have lost any kind of characterization they once had and now swing back and forth from being grizzled veterans to being grizzled douche bags.  The Nasty Boys are nearly 20 years out of their prime and it shows.  This match will be awful, and hopefully Team 3D will knock the Nastys out of TNA for good.

8-Card Stud Tournament for #1 Contendership
I’ll handle each of the first round matches individually, then sum up my thoughts on the whole thing.

Desmond Wolfe vs. D’Angelo Dinero
Both Wolfe and Dinero have been on hot streaks lately, but Wolfe has definitely been getting more lead-up to this event.  The Pope will put on a good show, but he will go down to Wolfe.

Hernandez vs. Matt Morgan
This is interesting because Hernandez and Morgan are the reigning tag team champions.  I suspect that this match will go to a double count-out, draw or double DQ to save some time on the show (there are 9 matches booked) and it will spark some animosity between the two, leading to an eventual split of the team.

Mr. Anderson vs. Kurt Angle
Last month, Kurt Angle was screwed over in his title shot with the stipulation that if he lost, he would get no more shots at the title in 2010.  Since then, he’s had a rematch for the title and is participating in a tournament to decide a #1 contender.  Whatever.  Mr. Anderson has been on a hot streak, but he’s been getting the best of Angle lately, leading me to think that Angle will pick up the win here.  It makes more sense…but of course, this is TNA.

Abyss vs. Mick Foley
Mick Foley, no longer having any kind of booking power, was fired by Eric Bischoff.  Then he came back and Bischoff wanted him to stay, but Foley himself wanted to leave.  So to keep the guy he just fired, Bischoff threatened to punish Jeremy Borash and Abyss in Foley’s stead.  Foley agreed to be a team player, but as a form of punishment, Bischoff put him in the tournament for a potential title shot.  Uh, okay.  His opponent is Abyss and the two have been ordered to actually fight.  This might be a big deal if not for that Foley had just put himself into a match against Abyss a couple months ago to toughen him up.  Anyway, I see Abyss taking the win here.  Foley has no reason to move on.

As for the rest of the tournament…
I think the finals are going to end up being Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe.  As Wolfe and Anderson are the only two heels in the tournament (actually, Wolfe is more of a tweener) it would make sense to have one of them in the finals.  Angle has the most storyline against the champion, so I see him moving on.  So you have Angle, who fought two hard-fought battles against Anderson and Abyss, taking on Wolfe who got a BYE in the second round.

The winner is a tricky pick, though.  I would say that Angle fights back and Against All Odds, takes the win from Wolfe.  But I also have to consider that the Band is lurking around and beat up Angle on Impact this week.  They’ll probably try to interfere in the match, but Hogan will come out to stop them, brother.

With Styles almost certain to retain (in my mind), it wouldn’t really do to have a heel go after the title when they are so desperately trying to make Styles himself work as a heel.  Therefore, with Hogan’s help, Angle will take the tournament and get another title shot he’s not supposed to have.

Worth buying?
Not at all.  Even if they had a redo of the WrestleMania XII Iron Man Match on the card, you still have to get past the Nasty Boys vs. Team 3D to get to it.  The tournament matches are likely going to be quick until the finals.  Styles and Joe will be good, but we’ve seen them have tons of good matches together, and the swerve ending is almost certain to go down.  Save your $40 and go buy 4 copies of the TNA video game at Wal-Mart.

Crowd rejects ‘change’, AJ retains with help from Flair, Mr. Kennedy debuts

Abyss vs. Mr. Anderson(Kennedy.. KENNEDY!) is next

He came out as a face but he’s turning heel by the end of this match.

The crowd was really into his announcing himself, but a few minutes into the match this thing went South in a hurry.  Crowd didn’t react much to anything in this match other then an “overrated” chant.  Abyss brought a chair into the ring but ref Slick Johnson took it away from him.  Anderson pulled out Brass Knux and hit Abyss and pinned him.  He went from being Buddy Rogers to being Billy Rogers in ten minutes.

There’s like 45 minutes left in the show with only Kurt Angle and A.J. Styles left.

They ended up going 29:00.  Really good match, with both doing all of their moves, as well as Angle using the Styles clash and Styles using the Olympic slam.  The finish of the match saw Angle get the heel hook and Ric Flair (at ringside most of the match) pulled ref Earl Hebner out of the ring.  Styles tapped but no ref.  Angle went after Flair and in chasing him out, Styles clotheslined Angle.  Flair then threw the belt into the ring and Styles went heel by hitting Angle with a belt shot and held the trunks for the pin.  So the whole deal now is Angle can’t get another title shot.  The finish came off really good.  Aside from the main event, overall this was one of their weaker PPV shows.

credit: Wrestling Observer

The main event, however, was exactly what was advertised.  Kurt Angle and AJ Styles put on another amazing match with an ending that may not have come as a surprise to many.  During the match, Ric Flair came down to ringside and eventually pulled the referee out of the ring while Angle had Styles in his ankle lock.  Not getting a win for making Styles tap out, Angle yelled at Flair, only to get blindsided by Styles.  Flair slid the title belt into the ring and Styles cracked Angle with it for the win.

Still champion with a new heel demeanor – AJ Styles.  What’s that mean for Tomko?

Comments on the rest of the show after the jump.

• The show debuted a new/old look for the Impact Zone.  The six-sided ring – the defining characteristic of TNA – is no more.  Along with the four-sided ring, the entry ramp is elevated and straight from the entryway to the ring.  Think Clash of the Champions circa 1994.
• Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff came out to start the show, but Hogan got booed and chants of “We want six sides!”  He gave the whole schtick of being ‘wrestling’ over ‘sports entertainment’ and declared war on Vince McMahon.
• Amazing Red’s mystery opponent was actually the debuting Brian Kendrick.  How about that?  Red defeated Kendrick to defend his X-Division title.  And apparently no Don West.
• In a promo that was described as “incomprehensible” Scott Hall and Syxx played paper-rock-scissors to decide who would tag with Kevin Nash, despite that Hall had been ANNOUNCED as the opponent.  To no one’s surprise, Syxx won and Hall got to duck out of another TNA PPV appearance.
• Val Venis Sean Morley did his usual thing, giving Brooke Hogan his towel (who would have thought she could score front row seats?).  Daniels again told him to cut the crap, and again had to yell at the fans to keep them from cheering him.  Morley won the match with the Money Shot.  Fans were chanting for Brooke to sit down, as well.
• Tara recaptured the Knockouts Title with two straight falls in the 2-out-of-3 falls match.  Brooke Hogan tried to help Tara up during the match, if you cared.  I’ll get back to this one in the comments.
• Matt Morgan and Hernandez defeated the British Invasion for the tag team titles.  Told you so.
• Bobby Lashley stormed into Eric Bischoff’s office, but as fate would have it, Abyss just happened to be in there with a chair.  Lashley got dropped and the match was off, but as fate would also have it, Hulk Hogan just happened to have someone who could take on Abyss in Lashley’s place.
• Desmond Wolfe outwrestled D’Angelo Dinero by wearing down his knees, and thus preventing him from getting the DDE going.  He capitalized on his opponent’s weakness and took the match.  Wolfe was led to the ring by a valet whom the commentators could not identify.  How does she get a job if she doesn’t present her name?
• Eric Bischoff pulled Jeremy Borash from TV and promised him a job as a vendor or something.  Here’s hoping he becomes a janitor and finds the WCW Television title in a trash can.
• Brace yourself for this one, my friend.  Beer Money beat the Band.  Seriously.  On TV and everything.  During the match, Scott Hall came out and started beating on a plant fan.  Syxx went out to stop him, leaving Kevin Nash prone for the Last Call.  They didn’t even get beaten down for it.
• Abyss’s mystery opponent was Ken Kennedy Anderson (called it!) who defeated Abyss after resorting to brass knuckles hidden in his tights.  He announced himself for both the intro and the finish…finish.

Looking back
It’s bad enough when you find yourself in a huge mess putting a show together.  Once you get to it and you still have a huge mess on your hands?  It’s time to look for a new direction.  Genesis has made TNA look sloppy and unprofessional.  They continuously declare war on the WWE, yet they still have shows plagued with last-minute re-writes, bait and switches and all around awfulness.

• Hulk Hogan needs to do something drastic and soon if he means to keep himself a face.  The TNA fanbase seem to be losing their blind faith in him at an alarming rate.  The thought that TNA is quickly becoming WCW is less of a joke and more of reality with every show.
• I like Brian Kendrick and Ken Anderson, don’t get me wrong, but just how many WWE guys are they going to be bringing in?  TNA only has a weekly two hour show and a pretty full roster before Hogan arrived.
• It’s time to cut losses and get rid of the Band.  Scott Hall has once again passed on a scheduled PPV appearance.  If I was a paying customer, I would have been pissed.  Of course, I never expected him to wrestle.  Look at the shape he’s in.  When the nWo returned in 2002, Nash, Hall and Syxx were still in good shape.  They all look old and worn now.  Nash didn’t look like that a month ago.
• Do we really need references to both Brooke and Nick Hogan?  Brooke’s star is past faded and Nick is now known for his lack of driving skills and the jail time received for it.  So, of course, put them in TNA and have them beat up Lethal Consequences.
• Morley over Daniels?  What the hell?  Daniels is good on the mic and amazing in the ring.  Morley is playing a gimmick a decade past its prime.  And this isn’t ‘sports entertainment’?
• Tara beat ODB in two straight falls.  Why in the hell did ODB beat her two weeks ago?  Damn it!
• Is Lashley done in TNA?  Wow, that was fast.  He went from being one of the biggest things on the show to being yanked from his PPV match.  Oh, and I’d have been pissed at this had I paid for the show.
• Wolfe/Dinero was an excellent showing of two good talents.  What’s up with the nameless valet?
• So now we lose Jeremy Borash, the one good backstage interviewer with talent?  Does this mean we get more Bubba the Love Sponge?  He hates Haiti, by the way.  I’m betting Borash will stay around and have something to do with Mick Foley’s return.  If Foley comes back, that is.
• Beer Money wins!  Beer Money wins!  I don’t care if it had an odd ending.  Beer Money won!
• No offense meant to Ken Anderson, but how does a brass knuckle shot take down Abyss?  Have you seen the kind of stuff that guy has gone through over the years?

This is not good, TNA peeps.  Not good at all.

Since last month’s Final Resolution, TNA has only put out two new episodes of Impact and turned the company completely on its head with the much-touted arrival of Hulk Hogan.  The only announced match for the PPV was scrapped, then the entire card was announced on the episode four days before the show itself.  Many of the matches are either rematches from the past couple weeks, matches thrown together with no setup, or featuring a mystery opponent.  Anyway you look at it, it’s a mess – and not a good start for the “new” TNA.

But let’s run down the card, shall we?

TNA Championship Match
AJ Styles(c) vs. Kurt Angle
This match was originally announced on TNA’s website before the Hogan arrival, but was quickly scrapped by Eric Bischoff and moved to the main event of Impact.  Angle and Styles stole the show with an amazing match which Styles won, finally proving that he had the ability to beat Kurt Angle.  The match was so good, in fact, that it was reinstated on the show with the stipulation that if Angle loses, he will not get another shot against AJ in 2010.  So even though we’ve already seen it and the tension of AJ proving himself is resolved, we’re supposed to pay to see it again.  Oh, and Ric Flair apparently has his eye on Styles.  Don’t forget that.

My prediction
The stipulation makes me think that Angle will be taking Styles down.  The way many of the longtime TNA guys have been handled, it wouldn’t shock me to see AJ lose the belt and slide down the pecking order.  Tomko will probably get involved, leading to a feud between them while Angle goes on to fight the Band or the Nasty Boys.  Or something.

TNA Tag Team Championship Match
The British Invasion(c) vs. Matt Morgan and Hernandez
Morgan and Hernandez got this match by squashing Raven and Dr. Stevie in less than a minute.  There is no setup to this match and neither Doug Williams nor Brutus Magnus have appeared on Impact since Final Resolution.  There is no setup here.

My prediction
Morgan and Hernandez over here.  They’re big guys who are getting pushed on TV.  Simple as that.

TNA Knockouts Championship Two out of Three Falls Match
ODB(c) vs. Tara
Tara defeated ODB for the championship last month, then ODB won the title back on the first return episode of Impact, and now we have this.  The story is dull (ODB says Tara is a WWE Diva) and neither woman appeared on Impact last week to set up this match.  Nothing we haven’t seen before.

My prediction
ODB retains.  Three title changes, all two weeks apart from one another?  That seems odd even for TNA.

TNA X-Divison Championship Match
Amazing Red(c) vs. ???
Here’s an interesting way to book your match.  Don’t even tell us who the hell it is.  Amazing Red also didn’t appear on the last Impact to set this up or toss out an open challenge.  Nothing.  Just this.

My prediction
I think it’s going to be Jeff Hardy and I think Hardy is going to win.

Beer Money, Inc. (James Storm and Robert Roode) vs. The Band (Scott Hall and Kevin Nash)
On the return episode of Impact, Storm and Roode were amongst those found knocked out backstage for no reason whatsoever.  Last week, they challenged Scott Hall and Kevin Nash and got beaten down for it.  And here we are.

My prediction
Nash and Hall will win with a squash, and it’s a real shame.  Nash looks like he’s 60 and has the speed to match.  Hall is ridiculously out of shape and speaks mostly nonsense.  Storm and Roode are far superior talents, in both of their primes.  But Hall and Nash are the nWo and they’re going to win.  Welcome to the new TNA.

Sean Morley vs. Daniels
I didn’t hear this one announced, but Wikipedia says it and that’s good enough for me.  Morley did his old Val Venis schtick in the ring and Daniels beat him up for it (thankfully).  That’s it.

My prediction
Even though Morley is one of the guys that came in with Hogan, I see Daniels getting the win here.  Daniels could use the bump more and Morley hasn’t been anything more than a jobber for more than half a decade.

Bobby Lashley vs. Abyss
This is basically a match to keep everyone working.  Lashley came out two weeks ago and announced (through his wife) that he was quitting TNA.  Unfortunately, you apparently can’t get out of TNA without it being Hogan approved, and “The Boss” couldn’t get a meeting with the boss.  So he demolished Consequences Creed and Jay Lethal last week.  Which got him booked in a match with Abyss.  Okay, sure.

My prediction
Lashley.  Hands down.

Desmond Wolfe vs. D’angelo Dinero
Two weeks ago, D’angelo Dinero beat Desmond Wolfe clean.  The following week, Wolfe beat Samoa Joe clean.  So now we get a rematch of Wolfe vs. Dinero and Samoa Joe does not appear on the show.

My prediction
I don’t really care.  I suppose I’ll go with Dinero again.

Worth buying?
Oh, god no.  This card is a huge mess.  We get the promise of Hogan debuting on TNA PPV and a mystery introduction of someone that could be a title contender.  I’m thinking either Mr. Kennedy or Rob Van Dam.  Either way, it won’t warrant dropping any money on this pile.

So it’s been two weeks since Final Resolution, and what do we have set?  We went a week without Impact, and then the four hour show featuring the Knockouts.  Well, ODB won that match, so she’ll be taking on Tara at the PPV, right?  Nope, that match was set for this week’s Impact.  We’re at the halfway point and nothing’s even been started regarding the PPV.

Actually, one match has been announced.  AJ Styles will be defending his TNA Championship against…Kurt Angle?  Are you serious?  Where in the hell did that come from?  I thought Lashley won a tournament to become the #1 contender.  What about Desmond Wolfe?  What about Daniels?  Where did this decision come from?  It was announced on the TNA website and just happens to go along with the promotional poster that’s been out for a while now.  No storylines.  No lead-up.  Just there you go.

I would like to say that TNA really dropped the ball on this one, but this is par for their course.  It is absolutely incredible that TNA can be so consistently inconsistent with pretty much everything they do.  They haven’t even started promoting it and I already know I will be skipping Genesis.

The main feud going into the show is that Hulk Hogan is coming to TNA in a couple of weeks.  Wait…there was actually storylines going on?  Really?  Who?  Styles and Daniels?  You mean Brian Knobbs and Brutus Beefcake, right?  No?  Okay, fine.  AJ Styles beat Sting a couple months ago for the TNA Championship and it was a big deal.  Finally, the heart and soul of TNA had the belt!  Well, then Hogan got signed and as a stipulation in his contract, became the heart and soul of TNA, so Styles hit the back-burner, and so did the TNA Championship.  His longtime best friend Daniels went heel on Styles and there was this whole deal with a mystery attacker that got dropped, picked back up, then dropped again.  Anyway, here’s the sum up: Styles = good, Daniels = bad.  Got it?

Anyone who’s watched TNA for a while has seen Styles and Daniels compete before.  This is not new ground being tread.  Did the two have an excellent match?  Of course they did.  They can do little else.  Back and forth action, crazy spots, a cool move where Daniels goes for a Frankensteiner, which just happens to put him in perfect position for a surprise Styles Clash.  Surprise!  Styles retains his title.

How long do you think AJ will have the belt once Hogan hits the show?

Rest of the show below.

• The British Invasion retained their tag team titles against the Motor City Machine Guns.  I’m indifferent to that, because I like both of these teams a lot.  I just wish the BI would break their ties to whatever’s left of the World Elite.  And more Sabin and Shelley, please.
• Tara defeated ODB for the Knockouts Title.  Now I love ODB, but I have to say that her reign killed all the momentum this division used to have.  The Cody Deaner debacle was bad enough, but we just spent a month of Tara crying and ODB flipping between face-ish and heel-ish.  Compound this with the stars of the division like Awesome Kong and Hamada being busy with the tag team belts (which have stretched the division too thin).  Get the rest of the Knockouts back in this thing and get it going again.
• Let me very quickly comment on the ridiculousness of the Feast or Fired Match.  Why in THE HELL would anyone go for a briefcase knowing that they could be fired for it?  Why not just wait and try to earn a title shot some other way?  Oh well – the participants were Consequences Creed, Jay Lethal, Cody Deaner (ugh), Beer Money, Rob Terry, Kevin Nash, Kiyoshi, Homicide, Shiek Abdul Bashir, Eric Young and Samoa Joe.  That’s right – out of 12 participants, half of them are in the World Elite.  And Eric Young already has a title.  Anyway, when all was said and done, Kevin Nash gets the tag title shot (Outsiders, you say?), Rob Terry gets the X-Division title shot, Samoa Joe gets the World title shot and Abdul Bashir gets fired.
• In the 8-man elimination bout, Hernandez survives the 5-minute grace period and even eliminates Rhino while it’s 4-on-1.  Jesse Neal and Hernandez were both DQ’ed for using chairs and Suicide and Dinero both went down to Team 3D.  Matt Morgan, being booked as the star he has the potential to be, eliminated first Devon, then Ray, both with the Carbon Footprint.  And this is good.
• After several near-falls, Bobby Lashley defeated Scott Steiner in a Last Man Standing match.  From what I’ve read, the ending was slightly botched when Kristal threw a pipe to Lashley, but he missed it and stalled a bit before winning by cracking Steiner with it.  No surprises here.
• Mick Foley and Abyss defeated Raven and Dr. Stevie in a “Foley’s Funhouse Rules” match, which basically means “hardcore rules”.  Normal hardcore match with crazy weapon shots before Abyss pins Raven with the Black Hole Slam.
• Desmond Wolfe and Kurt Angle needed all three falls in their best-of-3 series with Wolfe getting the first pin, Angle winning the submission fall and then winning the whole shebang by escaping the cage.  Apparently, Wolfe bled quite a bit in the process.

Looking back:
I don’t know how much TNA is going to change once the Hogan-era starts on January 4th, but this may well be the last time you see it like this.  Of course, this in itself is different from how it was before the Hogan announcement, so there you go.  Styles and Daniels was exactly what you would think (which is excellent) but nothing really stellar.  I don’t think much more will be coming out of this feud.  As for Wolfe and Angle, I really don’t like that Angle pulled the victory in both PPV matches.  Wolfe looks like a punk, and now Angle leaves him behind to continue his reality-TV drama with Jeff Jarrett.  What a waste of such a powerful debut.  At least Matt Morgan is still getting pushed – a win over both members of Team 3D is good.  Hernandez looked good going 4-on-1 for 5 minutes as well.

Is Mick Foley a face?  Is he still doing his ‘paranoid about Hulk Hogan’ thing?  Then why is his thing still going on with Abyss, Dr. Stevie and Raven?  Is the World Elite still a group?  They got mad at Rob Terry for taking a case, even though Abdul Bashir took one as well.  Consistent much?  But let’s just complain that Cody Deaner didn’t get the fired case.  He should have.  Fire Cody Deaner, please.  Fire him right now.  I like the idea of Rob Terry getting the X-Division title shot – new blood in the division (or what’s left of the division).  What I don’t like is Samoa Joe getting the world title shot.  Samoa Joe gets title shots all the time.  He got one last month, in fact.  Why not give the shot to someone like Eric Young who would be more of a surprise?  Hell, maybe even give it to Robert Roode.  So Joe became virtually the #1 contender for the belt, even though Lashley won the honor for a future date, and Daniels had it at the PPV.  So Joe became the #3 contender.

Well, I’ve lost interest in TNA.  The buildup to Hogan has not done it for me.  No Impact this week, and next week we get an 8-Knockout tournament.  See you then.

Bound for Glory both did and did not fulfill this goal (assuming, of course, that this was the goal).  They definitely provided anything they could think of in this match – seven different titles were on the line (giving TNA only one less belt than all three WWE brands combined) and all but one match had a gimmick or stipulation.  The card wasn’t presented exactly as advertised, but for the most part, it went off quite well.

The main event saw Sting and AJ Styles fight in what was advertised as ‘possibly’ Sting’s last match in TNA.  They had a pretty good contest that saw Styles pick up the win and Sting decide he wouldn’t retire yet.  So everyone’s happy!  AJ Styles gets his win over Sting to legitimize his title reign and now both men can move on.  Good stuff.

As for the rest of the show?

• D’Angelo Dinero did not make it to the Ultimate X match, but apparently had to leave for ‘personal reasons’.  The Motor City Machine Guns replaced him, with it explained that their win over Lethal Consequences on the pre-show won them the spot.  I wish this had been announced, because it would have made the show that much more appealing.  Amazing Red took the match, but not before Daniels took a sick bump off the top scaffolding, courtesy of Suicide.  Apparently, he’s okay.
• The Beautiful People lost to Taylor Wilde and Sarita, so it looks like the Knockouts Tag Team titles will continue being pointless for the forseeable future.  Seriously, if you want to get the belts to mean something, put them on a team that can talk and make them hunted for.  I like both Wilde and Sarita, but they’re doing nothing for the titles.  The match only lasted three minutes – that’s absolute crap.  Both teams are better than that.  These titles should either be taken seriously or dropped.
• Eric Young betrayed Kevin Nash and pinned him for the Legends title, also going over Hernandez.  This was probably the least shocking thing that could have happened, but I’m really glad it did.  While I see no point in the Legends title (it was a belt Booker T created for himself), having Eric Young steal it from Kevin Nash helps get him and the World Elite over as a stronger unit than the Main Event Mafia.  And it gives Young a title to tout.
• The TLC Full Metal Mayhem match made my predictions look awful.  Booker T and Scott Steiner went out when Booker sold an injury and was taken out on a stretcher.  With rumors flying that this would be his last match in TNA, this could be what they use to dismiss his character from the show.  Team 3D took the IWGP titles and left the match, leaving Beer Money and the British Invasion to fight over the TNA titles (explaining why one team can’t grab both belts).  The British Invasion get the TNA tag titles, giving the World Elite the meaningful tag belts and even more clout in the company.  Good finish.
• The Knockouts title match was a little strange as a ‘fan’ grabbed Tara, seemingly killing the pace of the match.  The finish came when Raisha Saeed slid a chair into the ring, which ODB used to pin Awesome Kong.  This is the latest in a long line of Saeed screw-ups which I’m always sure will lead to the removal of the character (since she’s wrestling as Alyssa Flash as well), but it never seems to happen.  Perhaps this time.
• Hey, look at that – Bobby Lashley beat Samoa Joe.  It ended when the referee called for the match as Samoa Joe had apparently passed out in a hold by Lashley.  Good for him.
• The Monster’s Ball match did not live up to the hype.  In such an ‘extreme’ style match, it was pecuiliar that Mick Foley was not even busted open.  Mick Foley!  Dr. Stevie and Daffney got banged up, though, with Stevie hitting thumbtacks (weren’t they banned?) and Daffney getting slammed by Abyss through a table covered in barbed wire.  Damn.  A spot went down in which Abyss neglected to kick out of a pin, leading to a three count which was subsequently ignored – though it confused the hell out of everyone.  Abyss won the match by using an unconcious Dr. Stevie’s arm to count the pin.  How clever.
• While Matt Morgan did not defeat Kurt Angle, he certainly looked like a star in the match.  The two had excellent chemistry as they went back and forth, with Morgan breaking several ankle locks and kicking out of an Angle Slam.  Angle rolled him up for the win, and shook his hand for such an excellent match.  It looks like Angle and the remnants of the MEM will be going face after this show.

Looking Back
This was definitely the big show for TNA, and most of the matches were worthy of it.  The Knockouts Tag Team title match was pointless, and the Monster’s Ball match was quite dissappointing, but matches like the Ultimate X and Angle vs. Morgan more than made up for them.

And unlike Impact did for  it, this show makes me want to watch more TNA.  Let’s see where they go from here.