Knockouts tag team title match now. Already had the result spoiled for me. Should hopefully still be fun.

EY with a double airplane spin with both Gail and Madison on his shoulders.

As expected, pretty ridiculous ending. Rayne hits EY with the title belt from behind, but he falls on top of Gail, who wildly flails but can't kick out from under him.

I don't mind ODB and EY winning the titles (they seem pretty superfluous anyways), but probably could have had a better finish than that.

Problems continue between Kim/Rayne though, and ODB and EY get something to further their "shtick", so the end result is there.

EY then proposes to ODB.

ODB takes the ring, and uses it to propose to EY.

Eric Young accepts by shouting "YES! YES! YES!" and puts the ring on.

Austin Aries backstage and he has just received an E-Mail from Sting!

The X-Division Title match against Zema Ion has been moved to tonight instead of at the PPV! Makes sense!

Frickin' Zema Ion. Stop spraying your hair spray on your neck/chest. Or at least start saying it is something other than hair spray.

Austin Aries DQed for turning Zema's hairspray against him when Zema tried to use it.

Weird match. Heel vs Heel, but Aries pretty much played the part of a Face.

Why the hell is Zema Ion so happy about this? No title for him.

Abyss' brother Joseph running wild looking for Abyss.

Pretty sure I remember that it was revealed that James Mitchell was Abyss' father. And that his half-brother was that Judas Mesias guy.

Is this another half-brother?

WHERE IS THE CONTINUITY?

Bully Ray in the ring now. Calling out Sting. Says he should be number one contender since he beat up James Storm with a chair last week.

Sting agrees to make Bully Ray vs Bobby Roode. Another Heel vs Heel match coming up next!

The straps on the TNA title seem way too long. Noticed it last week too. When Roode wears it on his waist the rest of the strap just flaps about behind him like a tail.

Doing a good job here at least of making it all about the title. Bully wants it, he doesn't care that Roode has it. It's a non-title match, but beating Roode could get him his shot.

Unlike Austin/Zema where Zema seemed not to care about the belt at all.

Pretty good match until James Storm runs in and chases Bully off, and superkicks Roode.

Tag team #1 contender match.

Matt Morgan/Crimson vs. Robbie E/T

Television champ actually on TV. Also, forgot about Morgan and Crimson and their whole "probably gonna turn on each other" deal since they weren't on since the first week.

Morgan and Crimson win. Crimson steals the win from Morgan.

Just break these guys up already. No need to see them get another title shot.

Mr. Anderson returns to help AJ Styles against Chris Daniels and Kaz. I like Anderson's music.

Garrett talking to his mystery partner backstage. WHO COULD IT BE?!!!!

Also, can't believe they are making this Garrett Bischoff angle the main event tonight instead of something to do with Bobby Roode/The Main Event picture.

Garrett with the most generic wrestling gear ever.

BUT OH MY! HIS PARTNER IS JEFF HARDY!

In the words of Taz, "NO WAY!"


This is so unexpected, guys.

Jeff Hardy gives me the jibblies with his face paint.

Commentators talking about how Jeff Hardy is so inspirational and how he turned his life completely around.

While having the camera close in on his facepaint.

Hardy with the hot tag to Garrett Bischoff. Garrett cleaning house. Seems "mad over" with the fans.

And Jeff Hardy pins Kurt Angle, his opponent for the PPV.

Honestly, this is the first week that I would classify the show as "bad". If I had watched this show in the first week, I probably would have tapped out.

Yea, this past weeks wasn't anything special completely predictable. I hate that their still pushing Jeff Hardy as a main eventer, he doesn't deserve to be in a feud with Kurt. I would say after the PPV (I'm sure Jeff is going to win the match) I'd like to see a Daniels vs Angle feud. They would put on some amazing matches.

I actually agree with you, Lock Jaw. This week was pretty... meh.

TNA's done this before, and it really annoys me: Yes, the story running through the show this week seemed to be that Sting was bat-shit insane and doing bat-shit insane things. Yeah, it would make sense that a bat-shit insane General Manager would put on a weird show with guys challenging for female titles and bad guys facing bad guys and money matches being blown on free television. But that doesn't make it good practice. TNA seems to be under the impression that if they're meant to have a bad show, then that's more than acceptable.

That being said, I understand where they are going with most things. The stuff I didn't like, though:

* Garett Bischoff does not seem like a main event player. At all. One day he might be, but he should really be in OVW working on his skills. The tag match did not feel like a close to the show. It felt like one of those "first hour main events."

* I liked that Kazarian seemed to be forced into working with Daniels. I liked that he seems to be doing exactly what Daniels asks him to do, but with an edge almost meant to send a message to Chris, which Daniels sells perfectly. I liked that Kazarian got Daniels disqualified last week, but ultimately won the Gauntlet Match for the team -- kind of giving the big "fuck you" to Daniels while still doing his job. It was pretty awesome, and the pay-off of Kazarian manning up and not playing Daniels' games anymore would have been worth it.

But this week it seemed like Kazarian is happy to be with Daniels? It seems like he legitimately hates AJ Styles and wants to team with Daniels, which would have been all well and good if that were the story from the start, but it wasn't.

* It's just a little thing, but it really, really bugs me -- I seem to remember one of Crimson's biggest moments in TNA Wrestling being choking out Abyss with wire announcing that "They" were coming. So Joseph Parks shows up looking for his brother and Crimson is all "Sorry, man, can't help you." I get that little continuity errors pop-up in wrestling all the time, but it still bugged me that Crimson seemed to be genuinely concerned about the missing Abyss. He could have at least seemed standoffish or suspicious.

In my mind, the saving graces of the show were the performances by Austin Aries in that backstage segment where he called Sting on his shit -- adding a level of "sanity" to the show; and Bobby Roode vs. Bully Ray, right down to the ending. Personally, I felt that while there were better and more obvious things to do (Joe & Magnus vs. Roode & Ray?) that would have allowed the exact same progression of story and gotten more guys over and what have you -- this did do the job and served as completely valid entertainment.

Which version of The Joker is Sting trying to rip off? I...can't figure it out.

The Jim Carey version.

Anyways, didn't do this today. After last week's show, I just didn't have the motivation. Previous weeks I was looking forward to doing this. Was gonna do it tomorrow, but am now realizing I can't. So it might be Sunday before I can ASTOUND you all with my commentary.

Been keeping up with this thread from the start, and while reviews from my peers seem to point to TNA slowly turning their product in the right direction, it still seems they are making alot of mistakes. Frmr GM Jaw was willing and even excited to watch a few of the shows, but not so much this time. Also, I don't see the pay off other than the obvious good wrestling from guys you don't see on the big show anymore.

There was never a Jim Carey version of The Joker, was there? Sting is reminding me of Jim Carey, though.

Kind of felt like TNA was pretty perfect this week. Really decent show again. Bobby Roode is about as good at promo work as Kane Knight is at being an obnoxious fat dude with Asperger's. He's very good.

Kane Knight isn't fat...also...apparently everyone has Aspergers.

AWWWWWWWW SHUCK DUCKY QUACK QUACK HERE WE GO!


Contract signing later between Roode/Sting.

Also, PPV is apparently tonight. So I guess it is a good thing I am watching Impact now.

James Storm coming to the ring right now. His hair seems silky smooth.

Talking about his match at Lockdown and winning the World Title and fans begin to chant "It's Your Time". Where do they even think up these chants?

Now out comes Bully Ray. Funny how Ray has lost so much mass, and James Storm has gained so much.

Just had a thought. PPV is tonight, and it is the start of the beginning of the last show leading into it...

And I know two matches on the PPV.

Roode/Sting
Angle/Hardy

They gave away Zema/Aries on TV last week, so dunno if that is still on the card.

Oh wait, I think there is gonna be a tag title match too.

Ok, so Storm/Ray are apparently having a match at the PPV too.

I like these two guys, they work really well together.

However, I already saw that match in the first week when Storm beat him to become #1 contender.

Instead of now doing this "You aren't going to make it to Lockdown" angle from Bully Ray, they could have been building up to have the #1 contender's match at Victory Road.

Gunner vs Storm now.

Or, apparently not now since here come Al Snow and D-Lo Brown to break things up.

Oh yeah, how could I forget the knockout title match at the PPV also.

Sting puts both Gail and Madison in action tonight! And Madison's match.... IS UP NEXT, PLAYA!








(Note: Sting did not actually say "playa")

Dear Lord.... TNA's horrible voiceover dude.

First thing in this clip

<iframe frameborder="0" width="480" height="240" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/xphdg5"></iframe><br /><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xphdg5_tna-impact-3-15-12-part-2-10-hq_sport" target="_blank">TNA iMPACT 3/15/12 - Part 2/10 (HQ)</a> <i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/WrestlingVidsUploaderHQv2" target="_blank">WrestlingVidsUploaderHQv2</a></i>

Just listen to his voice. Just terrible.

Madison Rayne beats Velvet Sky with a ROLLUP! Pulls the tights.

"The Undefeated" Crimson vs Samoa Joe right now. I predict a no-contest result.

So Lock are you going to actually stay up for the PPV tonight?

Ok, nevermind. Crimson wins with some assistance from Matt Morgan.

Pretty fun brawlers match. Crimson doesn't seem terrible. He pinned Joe with a spear though. Hope that isn't his finisher.

I will be awake.

Austin Aries up next, and he has a bottle of wine/champagne.

Aries celebrating, he is now the longest reigning X-Division champ in history.

Zema Ion out to interrupt the celebration. CAN'T ALL THE HEELS JUST GET ALONG?

Gonna try to break the reign like he broke that poor guy's neck? Why is he getting pushed for botching?

Apparently Zema/Aries is still on for the PPV.

Zema with the most terrible catchphrase "I'm not just F'N pretty... I'm also pretty F'N dangerous!"

Eric Young and ODB talking about where to get married. They decide on in the ring, live on Impact, where nothing can possibly go wrong.

Angle calling Garret Bischoff as Garret BITCH-off. So clever.

Gonna fight him in a five minute match.

Mickie James vs Gail Kim now.

Gail wins after a shot with the title belt behind the ref's back.

I like how women's matches are actually given the time to get me invested in them. And that they can at least run the ropes.

Ok, apparently will be Anderson/AJ vs Daniels/Kaz at the PPV as well.

Anderson/Daniels coming up next. Backstage, Daniels angrily spills Anderson's lemonade.

I like Anderson's theme. Was not so crazy about Anderson when he was in the WWE, though.

Anderson seems to be getting a bit of a gut. MORE LIKE FATNERSON.


Also, one minute in, he has already accidentally bust open Daniels.

MR. ANDERSON! TROUBLE IN PARADISE! JAMAICAN ME CRAZY!

And here comes Kaz! His hair also looks silky smooth.

AJ intercepts Kaz and FATNERSON wins with a Flatliner.

I really have no interest in this whole angle. Don't know why.

Speaking of angles I don't care about...

Here comes Kurt Angle facing Garrett Bischoff in a Five-Minute Challenge Match.

Wait. That made it sound like I don't care about Kurt Angle. I care for Kurt.

To clarify, I do not care about Garrett Bischoff.

Angle toys with a beats up Bischoff for five minutes while no selling all offense. However, when he is ready to finally pin him, Garrett throws him out of the ring. He comes back in and does the Angle Slam, but it is now too late.

Garrett wins the challenge, but still looks like an absolute bitch.

Angle continues the beatdown, and after like 30 seconds in the ankle lock, Jeff Hardy decides to make the save.

Robbie E on TV... and apparently he will be on the PPV with an "Open Challenge"

Storm vs Gunner right now.

Storm with the Codebreaker! Clearly a Chris Jericho wannabe.

Now he wins with a superkick.

Clearly a Chris Jericho wanting to be Shawn Michaels wannabe.

Time for our MAIN EVENT contract signing.

They've been running promo packages all show for Sting/Roode and the bits that are interviewing Sting, he seems like the most normal guy in the world, but then they show him being bat-shit crazy and it seems like it isn't even the same guy. He needs to find some sort of balance.

Well that was easy. They both just signed the contract without even saying a word. They will most likely now say words, though.

Bobby with a great promo. Sting goes banana, beats him up, puts him into blackface, and beats him up some more.

Thus concludes my month-long odyssey into the realm of TNA wrestling television.

I will post my overall final thoughts soon.

Sting only went singular banana?

The most important question is...are you going to pay for TNA's ppv tonight?

Final Thoughts:

As with the WWE, there are some good things and some bad things. Topping the good are names like Bobby Roode, Austin Aries, James Storm, Kurt Angle, Sting, Bully Ray, and the Knockouts Division in general. Also, that Hulk Hogan was only on screen once the entire month.

Topping the bad is their production style (which I got used to, but still don't like), Garrett Bischoff, some of their booking, and Jeff Hardy. Hardy isn't being terrible or anything, but I just find it so ridiculous that he RUINED a main event PPV match, screwing everybody over.... and he comes back and is rewarded by being put right back in as a main event guy and being presented by the commentators as being an inspiring role model.

Now, let us examine how they did in creating hype for their PPV. Let's take a look at...

VICTORY ROAD

Television Champion Robbie E issues an Open Challenge
VERDICT: Pretty much no hype or buildup. Their Television champ was barely on TV, and when he was did nothing but annoy me with his gimmick. I don't know who is going to answer his challenge... and I really don't care. Especially if it turns out to be Garrett Bischoff. Or Rob Van Dam.

Knockouts Championship: Gail Kim(c) vs. Madison Rayne
VERDICT: Looking forward to this one. Don't know the backstory, but at the beginning of the month they seemed like BFFs. Throughout the month their competitiveness and one-upswomanship cost them the Tag Titles, and now they must fight each other. Even though this one is heel vs. heel, I am much interested in it. Certainly more than I have for a WWE Woman's match in years and years.

X-Division Championship: Austin Aries(c) vs. Zema Ion
VERDICT: Zema seems like he is not even on Aries' level. In fact, none of the X-Division people that I have seen seem to be on his level. A heel vs. heel match, but Aries I guess is not "as heel" or something for this "feud". They fought two weeks ago for free and Zema won by DQ. It should be an OK match if Aries doesn't get crippled, but in the end they just seem on different levels and an Aries win is inevitable.

Tag Team Championship: Samoa Joe & Magnus(c) vs. Crimson & Matt Morgan
VERDICT: From the build up, it should be a fun brawling type match... which we already saw in Week 2 for free. But here they are with another rematch.... which really just feels like a stage for the inevitable Crimson/Morgan breakup and brawl. So another match where the victor is pretty much guaranteed unless they want to reeeeeally milk out the breakup and give them the titles again.

AJ Styles & Mr Anderson vs. Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian
VERDICT: I like all of these guys ok (somewhat less in Anderson's case), but this whole angle... I dunno. It just feels like a holding pattern for all of these guys. I don't know who is going to win this one for sure, but it seems like it won't really matter or solve anything.

Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy
VERDICT: Pretty much the most basic buildup/feud you could possibly have. I have already explained my viewpoint of Jeff Hardy.... but I also have a blind love for anything Kurt Angle does. So this one kind of evens out.

James Storm vs. Bully Ray
VERDICT: Should be a good match, but the booking of it was all WRONG. We saw it in Week 1 for the #1 contendership and Storm won. Bully then continues to go after him and promises he won't make it to Lockdown. So all in all... this match is less important and critical then the one they had on TV, because win, lose, or draw, Storm still goes onto Lockdown. They really should have either had the #1 Contendership match on the PPV, or at least officially put it on the line again.

No Holds Barred: Bobby Roode vs. Sting
VERDICT: Actually pretty hyped for this and want to see it.

If I am not going to pay for Wrestlemania, I sure won't be paying for Victory Road.

All in all, I think there actually is enough to get me to keep watching next month... but as I am no longer under obligation to this thread to watch the whole show, I will probably be skipping some segments.

I would also totally go out of my way to watch Victory Road tonight if it was a Free Special on Spike.

As it is, I might tune into a stream if I am not doing anything else. Don't feel the need to deeply search for one though.

Ok, this just came out

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2L-v6Ly8Oww" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

So Bully Ray/Storm will most likely have the contendership on the line. Probably something they should promote on TV and not on the internet 2 hours before the show.

Found a stream.

Bully Ray in the ring, getting massive heat. "We want D-Von" chants. Massive boos.

Bully Ray talking about trending worldwide on twitter.

James Storm got a "chicken legs" chant going on right now.

Storm agrees to put on his contendership.

Pretty great promo exchange that should have been on TV.

And Storm wins already.

Somewhat anti-climactic.

Storm seems mad-over though.

TV: Short promo, long match?

PPV: Long promo, short match?

JB interviewing Aries backstage. Eric Bischoff kicks JB out and takes over the interview.

Zema Ion has such a dumb name. He sounds like some sort of acne medicine.

TNA's only crediible champion Austin Aries... which means he should lose tonight to acne medicine name guy.

YES YES YES! Austin Aries just took a time-out mid match to Tweet.

Ref: What are you doing?
Aries: Hold on, I'm tweeting...

http://www.tpww.net/forums/data:imag...BJRU5ErkJggg==Austin Healy Aries ‏ <s>@</s>AustinAries It's a <s>#</s>GREAT day to be <s>#</s>GREAT...and a <s>#</s>GREAT day to <s>#</s>LiveTweet! <s>#</s>TGMTEL > <s>@</s>ZemaTNA <s>#</s>VictoryRoad

Aries with the win. Booked like a face, fans mad cheering, commentators treating him like a face.... must be a face.

Wrestling and Tweeting

Pretty enjoyable match, but the build up to it would not want to make me have paid for it.

Motor City Machine Guns mysterious-like hype promo. COMING SOON. :y:

:y::yes:

Tag Team Title Match now

Dueling "We Want Morgan"-"No We Don't" chants.