I deem this show to be only "fair," with one great match and one that exceeded expectations not making up for several matches that disappointed or were just there.
The Daniels vs. Styles Iron Man Match was really good -- not as "Crazy Spot" oriented as I had expected, but heavy on good nearfalls, chain stuff, and drama. I'm not a fan of the draw-ending-and-subsequent-sudden-death-restart; on the other hand, the visual of Styles, caught in the Koji Clutch as the clock ran out, passing out while blood coursed from his forehead, was something to see.
The Main Event -- Nash vs. Jarrett -- actually was better that I had anticipated, going about 20 minutes and keeping up the pace. My heart sunk at the Billy Gunn run-in, and again at the X-Pac run-in, and I don't really want to see ANY of these four people wrestle anymore, but the match ITSELF wasn't half bad.
Primetime vs. Petey Williams was a disappointment, turning really sloppy at the end. Speaking of sloppy, Jeff Hardy vs. Abyss featured TWO ugly table spots -- I think the second one actually caused Hardy to throw a hissy fit on camera.
The Nascar guy, instead of playing "face in peril who gets the shit kicked out of him by people with more than a week of experience," played "tough guy and fast learner who surprises his opponents with his grappling skill." He got his second pinfall victory in a row with America's shittiest elbow drop, which is preceded by him running in a little circle -- 'cause he's a Nascar driver -- get it?
The rest was pretty much what I expected -- mostly "kind of just there" to "alright."
Oh! Wait! The pre-show featured Team Trinity and Team Traci -- the two new teams that, according to Dusty Rhodes' instructions, were supposed to be BRAND NEW to TNA -- NEVER BEFORE APPEARING. So who does Traci bring in? THE HARRIS BOYS. They now enter the arena on choppers and call themselves the Disciples of Destruction, which I guess is supposed to make them "new." Fuck that!
On the other hand, Team Trinity brought the Phi Delta Slams. These are two BIG FAT guys -- they look more like Dusty Rhodes' sons than Dustin does. I guess they have some sort of "Animal House" gimmick or something. They sucked and all, but at least they were a NEW TEAM LIKE WAS PROMISED.
Anyway, these two teams each had themselves a squash match -- I guess they're saving their mutual encounter for the next PPV and it will be SO EPIC that I don't know if I'll be able to stand it.
--K
Last 5 movies seen: A Trip to the Moon - Dawn of the Dead (2004) - One, Two, Three - Sideways - Oldboy
This was a decent PPV ... the ironman match totally saved it. Like Karlos said, not as big a spotfest as you might think, but it was still a great fucking match. I was surprised that there weren't more pinfalls in the match, but in hindsight, the match made both guys look stronger.
I enjoyed the main event. Many subplots in this one.
And I was actually impressed with DDP. The guy still does good work and is WAY over with the crowd.
Thanks for a great season, Pick of the Week fans...see you next year at Planet Magic in Denmark, WI!
Seeing all the heat Daniels got on Styles, I just KNEW it would go to sudden death (what ironman matches don't?), and Styles would hit his finisher out of nowhere to squeak by w/ a victory.
And color me disappointed by the main. Every time I hope TNA can get away from its Thunder-lite roots...they bring in ex-WWE/WCW guys well past their prime. So now the main feud is half of the OLD Wolfpac (Hall/Nash/Syxx) and half of DX vs. the other half?
At least I can say that around 50% of last night's matches involved at least one wrestler who's wrestled in ACW-NWA Wisconsin.
Star wipe, and...we're out. Thrillin' ain't easy.
THE THRILL ACW-NWA Wisconsin Home Video Technical Director...& A2NWO 4 Life! (Click the big G to hear the Packers Fight Song in RealAudio...or try .MP3, .AU, or .WAV!)
Someone slammed Yokozuna after Lex Luger managed it during the big aircraft carrier challenge. And for some reason my brain wants to say Bret Hart. That CAN'T be right, can it? I know Ahmed Johnson did it a couple of times.