It has been a while since I've done a review, but I want to do this for every TNA PPV. It was a huge show for TNA to make the Aces and Eights stable look somewhat credible, along with something meaningful to happen in the world heavyweight title match. With Bully Ray being a complete face, this match didn't have much buzz coming into it. The card wasn't that strong, but it had a potential show stealer with the triple threat tag team match of Bad Influence vs Guerrero & Hernandez vs Roode & Aries. The Lethal Lockdown match and Kurt Angle facing Wes Brisco had major implications as well. How was this going to go down? I break it down into positives and negatives similar to what I did in June for my No Way Out recap.
This review is brought to you by Mickie James and I. Why isn't she on the card?
Negatives
Kenny King looked off
For the first time since September, the X-Division actually had a good match. Before I get into the positives, there was one negative in the match. Kenny King looked a step behind through out the match. I'm not sure if he was hurt from his first botch when he completely botched a moonsault, but he didn't look like himself. His chemistry with Christian York at times looked really sloppy.
King has been a good addition to the roster, but he was pretty lackluster here. He didn't look like the champion with the way he was blowing spots. He could be legitimately injured from that moonsault, where he crashed into the barricade but that doesn't hide the fact that it wasn't a good performance from him.
Bully Ray Hulk Hogan love-fest has been extremely unbearable
Some may say the segment backstage with Hulk Hogan giving Bully Ray a pep talk was cool, but to me it was like every segment between them before. It was utterly painful and it continues to anger me that Bully Ray is a face. He was on fire as a heel and now he's just the "son in-law" that is some noble warrior. I didn't care for the Andre The Giant reference either, just tried of the whole family angle.
Forget Michael Cole as a heel, Taz is the worst color commentator in years
It's safe to say that Taz has been terrible on commentary ever since he got to TNA. He was mostly a face, but would be mostly impartial. Now that he joined Aces and Eights, it has gone even more downhill. Similar to Michael Cole in 2011, this is the same path Taz is going under. He's stepping over Tenay's commentary and making dumb jokes that make things even more awkward. I like that he's trying to put over the stable that he represents, but it got really over bearing and it's ruining Todd Keneley.
At least Michael Cole was somewhat humorous when he was The Miz's cheerleader. Maybe Taz could go down that route, but right now he's unbearable to listen to and I just can't see how anyone can be enjoying him. The entire PPV was a complete mess with no chemistry between the three man broadcast team.
Taryn Terrell-Gail Kim feud why?
It was only a matter of time before Taryn Terrell was going to get in some feud. Similar to most of the talent that they acquire from WWE's released bucket, she was going to get used in some angle eventually. I'm still not a fan of her spearing Gail Kim and making Velvet Sky look like an afterthought. Aren't they trying to push Velvet Sky as a legitimate champion? Right now she seems to be an afterthought, while Terrell is getting the spotlight for standing up for herself.
It's a decent attempt for her to do something meaningful, but they need to build Sky up more as a champion. This did nothing for her and I'm not sure where she can go from here. Kim did an excellent job though and she continues to be the best woman's wrestler in the world. She isn't very charismatic, but I don't think there is anyone better in the ring than her right now out of all the females in the world.
Bobby Roode Contract Situation
This isn't really a knock on the PPV, but this is a knock on TNA as a company. How do you forget about Bobby Roode's contract when he's one of the top performers? That's really sad how they forget about it and it shows how incoherent TNA management is. They spend more time putting in ideas to put D'Lo Brown in a stable over signing a top three performer in the company.
Even though I'm disappointed to see Roode back in TNA, he was excellent as usual on the PPV. It would be great to see him in WWE because I could see him actually having success, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon. Regardless of the situation, TNA has to be at fault for not signing him when they should have. He has done so much for the company and it's pretty disrespectful to forget about him.
Robbie T is a lost cause
We knew the match was going to be bad, but let's look into the story of the match. Robbie E smashed a portrait over Robbie T's head and basically turned on him. Why would Robbie T wait for Robbie E to get in the ring to attack him? He should have been enraged and chased him around to get his hands on him. It was just a silly match all around and Robbie T looked pathetic.
He is the most non-intimidating big man that I've ever seen in the ring. It was just a disaster watching him try to generate offense and just wait there to attack Robbie E. Also, I'm not sure how much stock to put into what they were doing, but the "Hug it out" moment was pretty lame and stealing another WWE idea.
Lethal Letdown
I've seen some pretty bad Lethal Lockdown matches from watching TNA PPV's. Last year was pretty awful with Garrett Bischoff hitting Eric Bischoff with a guitar to end the match. Despite that awful ending, it wasn't as bad as this year's Lockdown match. It was just a mess all around and I knew it was going to be an issue. When you have big wrestlers in there like DOC, Knucks (Knux or whatever the WWE reject's name is), and Samoa Joe it's going to be hard to find space to work. It was mostly a dud with the spots being limited and a lot of lagging through out the match. The ending with Eric Young hitting the elbow drop on Knucks was pretty random and disappointing.
Someone like Magnus would have been a better option to win here if you were looking at Team TNA since he's young and ready for a push. It was still disappointing to see Ace's & Eights lose like this, because it really hurt whatever credibility they had left at the time. If there was anything memorable in this match, it had to be the Tower Of Doom. It had Garrett Bischoff on top of the cage with James Storm and Magnus ready to double suplex him. Then it had Mr. Anderson and Devon ready to power-bomb Storm and Magnus. To make the spot even better, Joe was there to finish the spot off to make an insane spot.
I know some people will say it's too overused, but to have that many people really make me applaud. That was the only major highlight for me. Sting doing his best Raven impression bringing a bunch of weapons to the match did nothing for me, it was just a way to make the match more interesting even though it really didn't. It was bad all around and it left people shaking their head.
Positives
No RVD stood out in an enjoyable X-Division match
It was refreshing to see Rob Van Dam not involved in an X-Division match. I'll always love RVD and appreciate what he did in the prime of his career, but he brings nothing to the table anymore. He is going through the motions at this point and made me lose interest in the entire x-division. Even though the match had no buildup and it was mostly a spot-fest, I did enjoy the opening match. The last time I enjoyed an X-Division title match was probably Austin Aries vs Samoa Joe at Slammiversary.
That is almost a year ago, which is pretty sad. Aries had a great title run, but now that title is back to being mostly an afterthought. Still it was a good match with Zema Ion really being the man of the match. He was on fire hitting some insane spots and being mostly smooth during the spots. He's really solid in the ring and could be a good face if given the chance. Christian York was solid as usual and did his best to make up for Kenny King's sloppiness.
Joseph Park continues to entertain
Many people have enjoyed the Joseph Park gimmick, as it continues to evolve. The Abyss character was really stale and nobody seemed to care about him anymore. It seems that the new character, he has started to win more fans over. His interviews are funny and his facial expressions are priceless. It's also pretty comical how he sells better than a good portion of WWE main eventers. His match with Joey Ryan wasn't anything special, but nobody expected that. It was still enjoyable and Park continues to put on entertaining performances. As for Joey Ryan, it's a shame that he's not on television more. He would be good in the X-division and should be used there.
Robbie E is still making a stale gimmick very entertaining
The Jersey Shore trend has pretty much ended, but Robbie E is still making it work. It's a shame that he doesn't get much of a reaction, but he's still entertaining and makes people laugh. I wish he was booked more seriously, but the gimmick doesn't really allow him to do so. I'm not sure where his career goes from here, but I wouldn't be upset if he changed his gimmick. He should still be proud of his work and what he's done with a character based off a major trend that ended about a year ago. If you compare him to Zach Ryder, it's clear that Robbie E blows him away in the charisma department and work rate. He did his best to get the most out of Robbie T.
Great video packages
One thing that stood out with me had to be the video packages for a few matches. It shocked me that they even made a video package for the Robbie E vs Robbie T match. It was well done, just like the Wes Brisco vs Kurt Angle match. It impressed me on how good the quality was for these matches and it gave it more meaning to it. TNA has shown in the past that they struggle in the production department. Just last year at Lockdown, they were playing the regular Impact theme during the entrance of the Motor City Machine Guns before they faced Magnus and Samoa Joe. There a few more occasions where they botched in production, so it was nice for a change that the production team actually put together some compelling video packages.Why can't WWE make video packages for mid-card feuds?
Triple Tag Team match delivered as expected
This was expected to be match of the night and and it did exactly that. Just like most people, I don't have much interest in Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez as a tag team. That doesn't mean they didn't work hard last night and got a great reaction. They were clearly working harder last night than usual and they had great chemistry. Bad Influence was on their game as usual from their backstage promo to their in ring work. I've never liked Kazarian, but he has started to improve in all aspects of his character. The match was a bit of a spot fest but what did you expect in a triple tag match? At least it was smooth and had many near-fall moments. The ending was so well booked with the great team of Austin Aries and Bobby Roode winning in the cheap way. The crowd popped huge when Guerrero hit the frog splash, which made Roode's cheap tag and pin give them even more heat. Well done with the booking.
Wes Brisco hangs in there and looks good
The match wasn't anything special, but the fact that Wes Brisco won was good enough for me. You have to look at the outlook of the match before you rate it. Brisco is a rookie that was brought up by his mentor Kurt Angle. Angle is one of the top wrestlers in the company so of course he was going to dominate. It got the point across that D'Lo Brown continues to screw Angle out of success. As ridiculous as D'Lo Brown is in this stable and how bad the stable is, they got the booking right. It was over booked, but Brisco did a good job taking a beating and keeping up with Angle.
Predictable main event, but everything came together
It was another match that wasn't special, although Bully Ray hitting a top rope power bomb was sweet. Other than that, the match felt like a TV match for the most part. The odd swerve of Bischoff and Brisco interfering in the match wasn't needed. The fact that they hit the the Poetry In Motion on both guys was really silly. That was pretty lame, but once again I'm trying to be more positive and the ending satisfied me enough. The swerve was predictable that everyone saw coming, but the execution was so well done. I've wanted Hulk Hogan gone from the company for about a year and half now, but I'll admit he sold the swerve really good. Even though the crowd had plants, the beer thrown in the ring was also enjoyable. Bully Ray cut a great heel promo and reminded me why I loved him from September 2011 to September 2012. The ending had me laughing, but it made me believe that the Aces and Eights have some credibility now. It's also a huge sigh of relief that Brooke Hogan won't be a heel either. She's bad enough as a face, it'll be even worse forcing her to be a heel.
Overall, the PPV was split in positives and negatives. Despite it being split, the PPV was still pretty poor. There was only two matches that was enjoyable, which was the X-Division title match and the triple tag team championship match. The PPV was very storyline driven, which hurt the PPV. Lethal Lockdown needs to be changed for next year because that was awful. The other two main cage matches was mostly for angles with the Aces and Eights. I enjoy characters like Joseph Park and Robbie E doing well with their character, but those matches did nothing for me. Thankfully the Bully Ray heel turn made the show somewhat memorable and has my interest in TNA going forward.
I'm still not going to do to weekly Impact reviews due to my unpredictable work schedule. When it settles down, I'll see what happens. It has my interest and I'll probably watch Thursday's show, especially with the show being in Chicago. I'll be writing a Wrestlemania review, since I'll be there live and the Hall Of Fame. It's a fun time to be a wrestling fan right now, wait John Cena is facing The Rock in the main event? A former UFC champion has to job to an egotistical COO? I'll have to digress for now, but I'll still write a Wrestlemania review up.
In terms of the PPV if you missed it, you should watch the X-Division match, Joseph Park & Bad Influence backstage segment, triple threat tag team championship match, and the last 10 minutes of the PPV with Bully Ray turning heel. That's really it, I'm just trying to save you time. Have a good day.
Follow me on Twitter at @Allen_Strk and comment below for your overall thoughts of the PPV.
This review is brought to you by Mickie James and I. Why isn't she on the card?
Negatives
Kenny King looked off
For the first time since September, the X-Division actually had a good match. Before I get into the positives, there was one negative in the match. Kenny King looked a step behind through out the match. I'm not sure if he was hurt from his first botch when he completely botched a moonsault, but he didn't look like himself. His chemistry with Christian York at times looked really sloppy.
King has been a good addition to the roster, but he was pretty lackluster here. He didn't look like the champion with the way he was blowing spots. He could be legitimately injured from that moonsault, where he crashed into the barricade but that doesn't hide the fact that it wasn't a good performance from him.
Bully Ray Hulk Hogan love-fest has been extremely unbearable
Some may say the segment backstage with Hulk Hogan giving Bully Ray a pep talk was cool, but to me it was like every segment between them before. It was utterly painful and it continues to anger me that Bully Ray is a face. He was on fire as a heel and now he's just the "son in-law" that is some noble warrior. I didn't care for the Andre The Giant reference either, just tried of the whole family angle.
Forget Michael Cole as a heel, Taz is the worst color commentator in years
It's safe to say that Taz has been terrible on commentary ever since he got to TNA. He was mostly a face, but would be mostly impartial. Now that he joined Aces and Eights, it has gone even more downhill. Similar to Michael Cole in 2011, this is the same path Taz is going under. He's stepping over Tenay's commentary and making dumb jokes that make things even more awkward. I like that he's trying to put over the stable that he represents, but it got really over bearing and it's ruining Todd Keneley.
At least Michael Cole was somewhat humorous when he was The Miz's cheerleader. Maybe Taz could go down that route, but right now he's unbearable to listen to and I just can't see how anyone can be enjoying him. The entire PPV was a complete mess with no chemistry between the three man broadcast team.
Taryn Terrell-Gail Kim feud why?
It was only a matter of time before Taryn Terrell was going to get in some feud. Similar to most of the talent that they acquire from WWE's released bucket, she was going to get used in some angle eventually. I'm still not a fan of her spearing Gail Kim and making Velvet Sky look like an afterthought. Aren't they trying to push Velvet Sky as a legitimate champion? Right now she seems to be an afterthought, while Terrell is getting the spotlight for standing up for herself.
It's a decent attempt for her to do something meaningful, but they need to build Sky up more as a champion. This did nothing for her and I'm not sure where she can go from here. Kim did an excellent job though and she continues to be the best woman's wrestler in the world. She isn't very charismatic, but I don't think there is anyone better in the ring than her right now out of all the females in the world.
Bobby Roode Contract Situation
This isn't really a knock on the PPV, but this is a knock on TNA as a company. How do you forget about Bobby Roode's contract when he's one of the top performers? That's really sad how they forget about it and it shows how incoherent TNA management is. They spend more time putting in ideas to put D'Lo Brown in a stable over signing a top three performer in the company.
Even though I'm disappointed to see Roode back in TNA, he was excellent as usual on the PPV. It would be great to see him in WWE because I could see him actually having success, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon. Regardless of the situation, TNA has to be at fault for not signing him when they should have. He has done so much for the company and it's pretty disrespectful to forget about him.
Robbie T is a lost cause
We knew the match was going to be bad, but let's look into the story of the match. Robbie E smashed a portrait over Robbie T's head and basically turned on him. Why would Robbie T wait for Robbie E to get in the ring to attack him? He should have been enraged and chased him around to get his hands on him. It was just a silly match all around and Robbie T looked pathetic.
He is the most non-intimidating big man that I've ever seen in the ring. It was just a disaster watching him try to generate offense and just wait there to attack Robbie E. Also, I'm not sure how much stock to put into what they were doing, but the "Hug it out" moment was pretty lame and stealing another WWE idea.
Lethal Letdown
I've seen some pretty bad Lethal Lockdown matches from watching TNA PPV's. Last year was pretty awful with Garrett Bischoff hitting Eric Bischoff with a guitar to end the match. Despite that awful ending, it wasn't as bad as this year's Lockdown match. It was just a mess all around and I knew it was going to be an issue. When you have big wrestlers in there like DOC, Knucks (Knux or whatever the WWE reject's name is), and Samoa Joe it's going to be hard to find space to work. It was mostly a dud with the spots being limited and a lot of lagging through out the match. The ending with Eric Young hitting the elbow drop on Knucks was pretty random and disappointing.
Someone like Magnus would have been a better option to win here if you were looking at Team TNA since he's young and ready for a push. It was still disappointing to see Ace's & Eights lose like this, because it really hurt whatever credibility they had left at the time. If there was anything memorable in this match, it had to be the Tower Of Doom. It had Garrett Bischoff on top of the cage with James Storm and Magnus ready to double suplex him. Then it had Mr. Anderson and Devon ready to power-bomb Storm and Magnus. To make the spot even better, Joe was there to finish the spot off to make an insane spot.
I know some people will say it's too overused, but to have that many people really make me applaud. That was the only major highlight for me. Sting doing his best Raven impression bringing a bunch of weapons to the match did nothing for me, it was just a way to make the match more interesting even though it really didn't. It was bad all around and it left people shaking their head.
Positives
No RVD stood out in an enjoyable X-Division match
It was refreshing to see Rob Van Dam not involved in an X-Division match. I'll always love RVD and appreciate what he did in the prime of his career, but he brings nothing to the table anymore. He is going through the motions at this point and made me lose interest in the entire x-division. Even though the match had no buildup and it was mostly a spot-fest, I did enjoy the opening match. The last time I enjoyed an X-Division title match was probably Austin Aries vs Samoa Joe at Slammiversary.
That is almost a year ago, which is pretty sad. Aries had a great title run, but now that title is back to being mostly an afterthought. Still it was a good match with Zema Ion really being the man of the match. He was on fire hitting some insane spots and being mostly smooth during the spots. He's really solid in the ring and could be a good face if given the chance. Christian York was solid as usual and did his best to make up for Kenny King's sloppiness.
Joseph Park continues to entertain
Many people have enjoyed the Joseph Park gimmick, as it continues to evolve. The Abyss character was really stale and nobody seemed to care about him anymore. It seems that the new character, he has started to win more fans over. His interviews are funny and his facial expressions are priceless. It's also pretty comical how he sells better than a good portion of WWE main eventers. His match with Joey Ryan wasn't anything special, but nobody expected that. It was still enjoyable and Park continues to put on entertaining performances. As for Joey Ryan, it's a shame that he's not on television more. He would be good in the X-division and should be used there.
Robbie E is still making a stale gimmick very entertaining
The Jersey Shore trend has pretty much ended, but Robbie E is still making it work. It's a shame that he doesn't get much of a reaction, but he's still entertaining and makes people laugh. I wish he was booked more seriously, but the gimmick doesn't really allow him to do so. I'm not sure where his career goes from here, but I wouldn't be upset if he changed his gimmick. He should still be proud of his work and what he's done with a character based off a major trend that ended about a year ago. If you compare him to Zach Ryder, it's clear that Robbie E blows him away in the charisma department and work rate. He did his best to get the most out of Robbie T.
Great video packages
One thing that stood out with me had to be the video packages for a few matches. It shocked me that they even made a video package for the Robbie E vs Robbie T match. It was well done, just like the Wes Brisco vs Kurt Angle match. It impressed me on how good the quality was for these matches and it gave it more meaning to it. TNA has shown in the past that they struggle in the production department. Just last year at Lockdown, they were playing the regular Impact theme during the entrance of the Motor City Machine Guns before they faced Magnus and Samoa Joe. There a few more occasions where they botched in production, so it was nice for a change that the production team actually put together some compelling video packages.Why can't WWE make video packages for mid-card feuds?
Triple Tag Team match delivered as expected
This was expected to be match of the night and and it did exactly that. Just like most people, I don't have much interest in Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez as a tag team. That doesn't mean they didn't work hard last night and got a great reaction. They were clearly working harder last night than usual and they had great chemistry. Bad Influence was on their game as usual from their backstage promo to their in ring work. I've never liked Kazarian, but he has started to improve in all aspects of his character. The match was a bit of a spot fest but what did you expect in a triple tag match? At least it was smooth and had many near-fall moments. The ending was so well booked with the great team of Austin Aries and Bobby Roode winning in the cheap way. The crowd popped huge when Guerrero hit the frog splash, which made Roode's cheap tag and pin give them even more heat. Well done with the booking.
Wes Brisco hangs in there and looks good
The match wasn't anything special, but the fact that Wes Brisco won was good enough for me. You have to look at the outlook of the match before you rate it. Brisco is a rookie that was brought up by his mentor Kurt Angle. Angle is one of the top wrestlers in the company so of course he was going to dominate. It got the point across that D'Lo Brown continues to screw Angle out of success. As ridiculous as D'Lo Brown is in this stable and how bad the stable is, they got the booking right. It was over booked, but Brisco did a good job taking a beating and keeping up with Angle.
Predictable main event, but everything came together
It was another match that wasn't special, although Bully Ray hitting a top rope power bomb was sweet. Other than that, the match felt like a TV match for the most part. The odd swerve of Bischoff and Brisco interfering in the match wasn't needed. The fact that they hit the the Poetry In Motion on both guys was really silly. That was pretty lame, but once again I'm trying to be more positive and the ending satisfied me enough. The swerve was predictable that everyone saw coming, but the execution was so well done. I've wanted Hulk Hogan gone from the company for about a year and half now, but I'll admit he sold the swerve really good. Even though the crowd had plants, the beer thrown in the ring was also enjoyable. Bully Ray cut a great heel promo and reminded me why I loved him from September 2011 to September 2012. The ending had me laughing, but it made me believe that the Aces and Eights have some credibility now. It's also a huge sigh of relief that Brooke Hogan won't be a heel either. She's bad enough as a face, it'll be even worse forcing her to be a heel.
Overall, the PPV was split in positives and negatives. Despite it being split, the PPV was still pretty poor. There was only two matches that was enjoyable, which was the X-Division title match and the triple tag team championship match. The PPV was very storyline driven, which hurt the PPV. Lethal Lockdown needs to be changed for next year because that was awful. The other two main cage matches was mostly for angles with the Aces and Eights. I enjoy characters like Joseph Park and Robbie E doing well with their character, but those matches did nothing for me. Thankfully the Bully Ray heel turn made the show somewhat memorable and has my interest in TNA going forward.
I'm still not going to do to weekly Impact reviews due to my unpredictable work schedule. When it settles down, I'll see what happens. It has my interest and I'll probably watch Thursday's show, especially with the show being in Chicago. I'll be writing a Wrestlemania review, since I'll be there live and the Hall Of Fame. It's a fun time to be a wrestling fan right now, wait John Cena is facing The Rock in the main event? A former UFC champion has to job to an egotistical COO? I'll have to digress for now, but I'll still write a Wrestlemania review up.
In terms of the PPV if you missed it, you should watch the X-Division match, Joseph Park & Bad Influence backstage segment, triple threat tag team championship match, and the last 10 minutes of the PPV with Bully Ray turning heel. That's really it, I'm just trying to save you time. Have a good day.
Follow me on Twitter at @Allen_Strk and comment below for your overall thoughts of the PPV.
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