Greg Parks, Torch Columnist (8.0)

In a vacuum, this was one of the most entertaining pro wrestling shows ever. But for building for the future, the jury is still out. Way too many Hogan cronies and old-timers got the spotlight, while guys like Samoa Joe (meaningless match against Abyss) and Beer Money (laid out backstage) weren't fetaured. It's only one show, and really, the purpose was to create a buzz and intrigue, so in that way, the show was certainly successful. Props on giving Kurt Angle and A.J. Styles a ton of time, and they paid TNA back for that confidence with a great match.

The Jeff Hardy surprise was no doubt the most intriguing. I couldn't help but shake my head at the money and opportunity he was throwing away with WWE, but Hardy has always played to the beat of his own drum. Money clearly doesn't mean as much to him as his freedom to do what he wants. His indictment today muddies the water on his future in TNA. Call me crazy, but of the other cameos/debuts/returns, the Nasty Boys were one of the better ones. They may not be able to go in the ring, and their prospective feud with Team 3D makes me feel like reaching back for negative stars, but they're entertaining in a ridiculous sort of way.

Hulk Hogan's debut was big, but he and Jeff Jarrett giving two rah-rah speeches were one too many. It just got sappy with Hogan trying to tell his former running mates that things aren't going to be the same as they were before. They did set the table for things in the future and with the ratings in, one wonders how long Spike TV will wait to pull the trigger on a full-time Monday night run.

Curtis Shanks, PWTorch.com Contributor (8.5)

TNA came out with guns blazing during the first salvo this week. Some of their guns were nothing but pea-shooters, but others packed an extremely large punch (Hardy, Flair). At times, this show looked like TNA and WCW got drunk and had a love child, but I was still pleased with the overall result. I'm not terribly excited for Venis or Orlando Joran, and even less excited for The Nasty Boys. But guys like Hardy (and maybe RVD and Kennedy) could give a nice injection to this company. Hogan and Flair are past their prime, but just from a character/storyline standpoint think of all the huge ground-breaking dream match-ups we could see if they decide to lace up the boots again.

This show gets a strong rating from me, not for it's overall content, but for my extreme excitement for the wrestling industry right now. If a couple more debuts are on the way, TNA could draw some interest from a lot of casual fans. I was psyched for this show, but am even more excited for what the future can hold. Imagine how a hyped show like this abound with rumors would perform in the ratings without competition from Raw. I worried that bringing in guys like Hogan and Hall and focusing on the past would hurt the future. But the homegrown talents are still as strong as ever. A.J. Styles getting the clean victory over Angle in the main event proves this.

One of the most intriguing things for me is that TNA didn't use up all their ammo in the first wave. Not every question was answered tonight, as there are plenty to be answered in the coming weeks. Plenty of seeds have been placed, as they did a great job of getting viewers to want to tune in in the future. Some things were hit and miss, as there was a lot going on in three hours. But that was to be expected with this type of show. Don't run out of steam and keep the intrigue coming, and we may see more of you on Monday nights TNA.

Shawn Valentino, PWTorch.com Contributor (9.0)

This show got off to a really rocky start but recovered to be a rousing, entertaining show that had plenty of excitement and signs of hope for the future. Let us start with the bad. The Steel Asylum match was an atrocity and the negative reaction from the audience should inform the company that audiences do not need to have meaningless, unnecessary gimmick matches thrown at them. Kevin Nash appeared to be sleepwalking through his promo announcing Hogan's return and it was so clumsily delivered that it almost made me change the channel. The Poker match with the Beautiful People and the constant references to ratings were also badly presented. Jeff Jarrett, giving the same lame speech about being the Founder of the company and giving wrestlers a chance was also a gag-inducing spectacle. Hogan putting him in his place came off as awkward and I hope they clear up their direction on that front. The lowlight of the show was the commentary, as I don't believe they did a good job in selling the surprise and excitement of some of the arrivals. Mike Tenay is not a good lead announcer, and Taz is a below-average color guy who is just going thru the motions. If they want to make changes, start with the commentating team.

The rest of the show, however, was tremendously fun. There appeared to be a high-energy big-event feel in the Impact Zone. Hogan, love him or hate him, can fire up a crowd like nobody else. Regardless if you believed what he said, he showed why he is the biggest attraction in wrestling history. The small arena seemed louder than the bigger audience Bret arrived back to. I really enjoyed the segment with Bischoff, Hall, Nash, and X-Pac. There is so much history there and I enjoyed how Hogan stated his agenda that this would not be like the dying WCW and this time they were going to make it about the young guys. Bischoff was also exceptional here and I believe he has always been a highly underrated on-air presence.

The match between Styles and Angle was terrific and an excellent way for TNA to present the strength of their athletes. They were given adequate time, ended with a clean finish, and also left the fans thirsting for more action. The other surprise cameos such as Flair, Hardy, Nasty Boys, Venis, etc were solid but nothing noteworthy. Perhaps they should have saved one or two of those for a later show? I understand, however, that they were trying to make a huge splash and I was genuinely surprised at seeing Hardy. Of course, like Raw, the key to this show is the followup. Is Hogan serious about making this about the young talent or will his ego take over again? If they continue to present shows like this where the older talent is used in limited doses and the young guys are spotlighted, we may have some compelling programming coming up.

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