Maluco
07-12-2012, 12:44 PM
Never watched before, only read results, but sat down and watched TNA for the first time last night. Watched Raw for the first time in a long time and it was awful...I miss wrestling and I guess this was a sign of my desperation. Guess I was finally ready to search for some sort of alternative. These are my very first impressions....
Tourament matches...
Really enjoyed the wrestling in the prelim and tournament matches, but felt like they were squeezing too much in, is this common with TNA? Far too many matches, but I enjoyed them, so not complaining. Could have done the last chance for a title shot on Impact and just had Kash in the Ultimate X match to add a bit of name power.
2 positives:- Enjoyed the background being given on all the stars, feel like I know them better, and LOTS of talent in TNA, feel like they might have a better talent roster than WWE after only seeing 5 matches...
2 negatives:- Certain wrestlers got lost in the shuffle of over complication, shouldn't have bothered with second chance match, and some of the characters were instantly forgettable.
Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle
From what I had read, Joe was just putting people over for a long time. This was a good match and Joe already looks 10 times better because of it. Was surprised at how good Angle still looks in the ring. made me want to see more of both guys.
2 positives:- Joe going over strong, and both guys looked like big stars.
2 negatives:- Bound for Glory thing looks far too complicated, and lots of stars sitting on zero points (including the two in the very next match) makes certain wrestlers look worse than they are.
AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels
Great match with two guys that looked like real stars of TNA. Would have loved to have seen Daniels in WWE earlier in his career. He is the total package. Loved some of the spots and found myself getting really into the match, great stuff!
2 positives:- Great match, and was made all the greater by it being between two stars made by TNA
2 negatives:- Storyline seemed really stupid in the re-cap, and why are they even involved in Bound for Glory thing if they have no points? This wasn't explained, or at least I didn't hear it...
Ultimate X match
This is a unique TNA concept I gather, so was looking forward to this the most and was really disappointed. No idea what happens here and took a real dislike to Xema Ion. Dunno why they are showing his sloppy moonsault over and over again, and dunno why they are building a feud with someone who may not even come back. Disappointing match and lacked any stars to put Ion over
2 positives:- Potential for this match to be great is there and the division has some great talent, really streaks ahead of WWE in this area.
2 negatives:- This match was not a good advert for this concept and I think it looked to be a poor choice of champion (also, overuse of hairspray gimmick, lol)
Austin Aires vs Bobby Roode
Great match and two stars look to be born. Loved this cause it actually felt like a title match and that the title had some value. It was built up really well and actually felt like Aires had achieved something.
2 positives:- Again great wrestling and feel like TNA have created two stars here that I am immediately interested in.
2 negatives:- Again, confusing booking. Shouldn't have given up X Division title for title shot, immediately devalues other title and is a stupid idea, especially for someone who has held it so long. Secondly, don't think Roode has found his own gimmick yet. He appears to be a mix of several old heel persons like HHH and Flair without really standing on his own two feet...maybe this will come with time.
Conclusion
Just my impression obviously and maybe it is obvious to anyone who watches TNA regularly, but after only onw show I was confused with the booking and felt the main problem was that they try and do too much rather than keep it simple. In saying that, there are already several better feuds going on that I can see than in WWE and their talent pool appears to be much deeper, quite a few guys caught my eye.
The wrestling is just better to watch in general and more matches kept my attention. I know it is a big PPV and Raw was just a regular episode, but comparing the two should worry WWE. Saw Supreme's thread about TNA being better and thought he was trolling, but after one show, I can already see the possiblity.
I have always been a WWE fan, but I was impressed and if WWE continue to offer what they have been offering, this looks likes a very good potential alternative if they keep booking simple and focus on their own stars. I hate to say it and almost didn't want to say it, but I was impressed and will definately be giving it another chance.
What about other people, anyone think differently who has watched both? What about people who have watched both longer term, any thoughts?
And for those that are strictly WWE or strictly TNA, any reasons why? Would love to hear back from some people...
Tourament matches...
Really enjoyed the wrestling in the prelim and tournament matches, but felt like they were squeezing too much in, is this common with TNA? Far too many matches, but I enjoyed them, so not complaining. Could have done the last chance for a title shot on Impact and just had Kash in the Ultimate X match to add a bit of name power.
2 positives:- Enjoyed the background being given on all the stars, feel like I know them better, and LOTS of talent in TNA, feel like they might have a better talent roster than WWE after only seeing 5 matches...
2 negatives:- Certain wrestlers got lost in the shuffle of over complication, shouldn't have bothered with second chance match, and some of the characters were instantly forgettable.
Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle
From what I had read, Joe was just putting people over for a long time. This was a good match and Joe already looks 10 times better because of it. Was surprised at how good Angle still looks in the ring. made me want to see more of both guys.
2 positives:- Joe going over strong, and both guys looked like big stars.
2 negatives:- Bound for Glory thing looks far too complicated, and lots of stars sitting on zero points (including the two in the very next match) makes certain wrestlers look worse than they are.
AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels
Great match with two guys that looked like real stars of TNA. Would have loved to have seen Daniels in WWE earlier in his career. He is the total package. Loved some of the spots and found myself getting really into the match, great stuff!
2 positives:- Great match, and was made all the greater by it being between two stars made by TNA
2 negatives:- Storyline seemed really stupid in the re-cap, and why are they even involved in Bound for Glory thing if they have no points? This wasn't explained, or at least I didn't hear it...
Ultimate X match
This is a unique TNA concept I gather, so was looking forward to this the most and was really disappointed. No idea what happens here and took a real dislike to Xema Ion. Dunno why they are showing his sloppy moonsault over and over again, and dunno why they are building a feud with someone who may not even come back. Disappointing match and lacked any stars to put Ion over
2 positives:- Potential for this match to be great is there and the division has some great talent, really streaks ahead of WWE in this area.
2 negatives:- This match was not a good advert for this concept and I think it looked to be a poor choice of champion (also, overuse of hairspray gimmick, lol)
Austin Aires vs Bobby Roode
Great match and two stars look to be born. Loved this cause it actually felt like a title match and that the title had some value. It was built up really well and actually felt like Aires had achieved something.
2 positives:- Again great wrestling and feel like TNA have created two stars here that I am immediately interested in.
2 negatives:- Again, confusing booking. Shouldn't have given up X Division title for title shot, immediately devalues other title and is a stupid idea, especially for someone who has held it so long. Secondly, don't think Roode has found his own gimmick yet. He appears to be a mix of several old heel persons like HHH and Flair without really standing on his own two feet...maybe this will come with time.
Conclusion
Just my impression obviously and maybe it is obvious to anyone who watches TNA regularly, but after only onw show I was confused with the booking and felt the main problem was that they try and do too much rather than keep it simple. In saying that, there are already several better feuds going on that I can see than in WWE and their talent pool appears to be much deeper, quite a few guys caught my eye.
The wrestling is just better to watch in general and more matches kept my attention. I know it is a big PPV and Raw was just a regular episode, but comparing the two should worry WWE. Saw Supreme's thread about TNA being better and thought he was trolling, but after one show, I can already see the possiblity.
I have always been a WWE fan, but I was impressed and if WWE continue to offer what they have been offering, this looks likes a very good potential alternative if they keep booking simple and focus on their own stars. I hate to say it and almost didn't want to say it, but I was impressed and will definately be giving it another chance.
What about other people, anyone think differently who has watched both? What about people who have watched both longer term, any thoughts?
And for those that are strictly WWE or strictly TNA, any reasons why? Would love to hear back from some people...