TNA Impact TV Report
March 8, 2010
Orlando, Fla.
Report by Nick D'Achino, Torch Impact specialist

PRE-SHOW THOUGHTS

You can’t underestimate the fact that there were a lot of fans tuning in for this edition of Impact who (a) had never seen much of TNA or Impact or (b) had not watched Impact since the last time they were on Monday.

For example, I know more than a handful of people who watched on January 4, watched the Genesis PPV, and this March 8 edition of Impact was the first TNA programming they watched since then. I also know others who watched on January 4, liked what they saw, but haven’t been loyal viewers because the Impacts they saw post-January 4 "weren’t the same" as what they saw that night. Many of them said they would again sample Impact on this March 8 edition.

Contrary to what those in charge of TNA believe, there are also downsides to going head-to-head. It’s no secret that viewers tuned out of the March 4 Impact at an alarming rate. Isn’t the one saving grace of Vince Russo’s booking supposed to be that it prevents that sort of thing, by the way? Now, if 30 percent of their audience tuned out on a Thursday unopposed, how many are going to tune out and switch to Raw if things get as bad as they did on Thursday again?
　
Let me break down what I believe to be WCW's success with Monday Nitro in the late '90s in 4 points:
　
-- Hot Main Event Angle (NWO Takeover)
-- Alternative to McMahon
-- Big Name Surprises
-- Exciting Cruiserweight wrestling matches

And, no, TNA should strive to be a carbon copy, but as of 2010, there is only one existing blueprint for beating Vince McMahon and TNA would be wise to follow it. Let’s keep those all of those things in mind throughout the night. On with the show…

DETAILED RECAP
　
[Q1]

-The new TNA Impact opening aired. It was a rock song heavy on vocals, and the video featured Hulk Hogan, Jeff Jarrett, A.J. Styles, Ric Flair, Mr. Anderson, Eric Bischoff, Daniels, Kevin Nash, Mick Foley, Kurt Angle, and Rob Terry - basically all the regulars.

-They cut to the Impact Zone with fireworks galore to open the show. Mike Tenay introduced the show, hyping that for the first time in a decade, Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair will wrestle each other. The crowd appeared to be just as excited as they were on January 4. Thankfully, though, there weren’t any of those Hogan “Change” shirts. Taz said the Hogan-Flair match is going to happen "sooner than you think." How does he know?

-Hulk Hogan and Abyss made their grand entrance together. What an odd couple. Hogan got on the microphone and he was angry and didn’t want to wait. The crowd was lively, so lively that they didn’t appear to be listening to a word Hogan was saying as he ranted on Styles and Flair. He tried to turn the reason he wanted to beat up Flair and Styles into a pro-TNA thing, but it didn’t work so well. There were lots of shots of Brooke Hogan in the crowd. Hogan told Flair and Styles to come down to the ring and wrestle.

Hogan: "It's time to put an end to all of this crap. Get your asses out here. Let's get this over with."

I’m surprised. Of all the ways I imagined them opening the show, and all the ways I heard being discussed, this was one I did not consider. There’s probably good reason for that. Is this TNA trying to get double usage out of Hogan and Flair, or is they’re big innovation that they are going to book shows backward?
　
Flair & Styles came out (no escorts) and answered the challenge. Both were wearing robes. Styles looked ridiculous. He should grow his hair out. Dye it at least. If you can’t bring yourself to get a different style for the biggest push of your life, I need to question your passion.

1 -- TNA World Hvt. champion A.J. STYLES & RIC FLAIR vs. HULK HOGAN & ABYSS
　
This would have to be the first opener Hulk Hogan has even been involved in. Abyss overpowered Styles in the opening minute. Styles then tagged in Flair. Flair’s in-ring return was totally overshadowed by the presence of Hogan, and his being treated like such a bigger deal. Abyss unloaded on Flair with chops. He also gave Flair a high backdrop. The fans are supposed to boo Flair, but you almost feel bad seeing a guy Flair’s age and size get beaten up. At ringside, Styles threw his robe over Abyss's head and punched at him. Hogan entered the ring for the first time and he went after Flair. Styles hit Hogan with a Pele kick that Hogan forgot to duck into. Hogan went down to the mat for the first time. Styles stomped him.

The lights went out and the fans popped. When the lights came back on, Sting was in the middle of the ring. Fans liked this. He looked menacingly at Flair and Styles. After soaking in the applause from the crowd, Sting jabbed Abyss & Hogan in the stomach with the bat, and turned on them. SWERVE! It makes storyline sense... WCW storyline sense. If you recall the last year of TNA, it would have made sense for Sting to go after Styles. But, if you recall ten years ago to WCW, and who was in charge of TNA, Hogan and Sting naturally resumed their feud. Styles blasted Abyss over the head with a chair. The guy has already taken too many because he couldn’t even get his hands up in time. Flair then took the chair and hit Hogan with a considerably weaker chair shot to the head. Hogan didn’t get his hands up either, but he’s old, his reactions are slowed. Hogan was busted open. Sting had shocked the world, yada yada yada.

WINNERS: No contest. I doubt Sting shocked anyone outside of the Impact Zone considering no new fan tuning in would have known anything about Sting or his recent motives as of late. If they were going to do this, they should have taken into account the new viewers, and utilized a video recap.

-Sting left the crime scene as Flair & Styles beat down Hogan & Abyss. They had shots of Brooke looking upset at ringside as security entered the ring. Hogan got on the mic and said this thing isn't over and they are going to settle it before the night is over. Thank God. Hogan called for a re-match later in the show, no-DQ style.
　
-Dixie Carter approached Sting backstage. He shoved her against the wall and said he doesn't owe her anything. She looked surprised. This seemed to hint toward another Sting disappearance, as Sting is best in small doses.
　
[Q2]

- Jeremy Borash interviewed Flair and Styles about doing a re-match later. Styles said there are no do-over’s in wrestling. I guess he was trying to imitate Flair. All I know is, if this were Hollywood, and they were doing a casting call for someone to play ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair, Styles would be laughed out of the room if he showed up. Flair quipped, "Sting has finally come to his senses, thank God!“ Ha. Flair held up his fists and showed off the blood of Hogan and Abyss on it. He said if he's coming out of retirement, he's making a statement and promised to send them out in an ambulance this time.

-Abyss was shown in a dark area pounding the wall and yelling “WHY STING?” then it faded to a commercial making it all the more dramatic. Or so it was supposed to. It came off pretty hokey, but I guess that's Abyss.

-Brooke was crying about the fact that Hogan still has to wrestle about his age. She said quote “he'll pretend he's not in pain, but he is and she hates seeing him do this to himself.” She’s not that bad an actress, but there’s going to be a backlash with her being Hogan’s daughter. But you see, everyone knows Brooke is Hogan’s real daughter, so that’s enough justification for TNA.

-Frankie Kazarian stood mid-ring and said nearly two years ago he chose to walk away from TNA. But is back to "reignite the flame of the X Division." Wrong guy to pick for this. A few people chanted “X-Division.” He said that if TNA was going to war, then the X-Division should be leading the way. Daniels came out and completely big-footed Kazarian, going on and on about how great he was, and how he was the leader of the X-Division, because “I am X!” I thought Russo was supposed to be good at scripting promos? What an absurd argument this was to begin with. Regardless, people were applauding Daniels. Talk about a hard crowd to get heat with. Does this crowd dislike anybody on the roster? Then, the actual X Division Champion had the nerve to come out with his British accent and claim he was the leader of the division.

Mike Tenay: “It’s like a revolving door out here.”

Finally, the crowd was angry about something. They chanted “USA” at the foreigner. They essentially did one of the multiple dueling promo bits, a Russo trademark. Thankfully, it topped out at three guys. I’ve seen it get far more out of hand.

Eric Bischoff made his first entrance of the night. Bischoff said when Hogan asked him to help "turn TNA around," one of the things he was excited about was the X Division. He said the division isn't the heart of TNA, it's more like the adrenaline of TNA.

Bischoff: "If I have anything to do about it, I'm going to make it run bigger, faster, and stronger, if ya know what I mean.”

I actually have no idea what that means. Cruiserweight bully? So much talking about what they are going to do. Over two months in, and they are still talking. Just go ahead and do it. Anyway, Bischoff said the match was starting “right now,” and it did.

[Q3]

2 -- X Division champion DOUG WILLIAMS vs. DANIELS vs. KAZARIAN -- X Division Title match

Thankfully all of these guys happened to be in their wrestling gear. This was really fast paced from start to finish. Crowd was popping for the moves. They were pretty impressive. These guys do stuff levels above any of the cruiserweights in WCW used to do for the most part. They may only get about a few minutes a match, but they do about 15 minutes worth of action in that time. Tenay was receiving word in his headset about Dixie Carter having an announcement concerning Sting after the match. They flashed to her briefly in case anyone was bored by the human car wreck. Daniels went for the Best Moonsault Ever on Kaz, but Kaz moved. Williams then gave Daniels a back suplex into a bridge for the victory.

WINNER: Williams in 7:00 to retain his X Division Title. Exciting Cruiserweight Action. Check.

STAR RATING: **

- That wasn’t all though. There was a run-in. Shannon Moore, Jeff Hardy’s friend, ran in and started wrestling Doug Williams. Moore flipped him out of the ring. Bischoff came out and announced Moore would be Doug Williams's opponent at Destination X. So was Bischoff talking about Moore when he said bigger, faster, stronger?

-Borash interviewed Dixie Carter backstage. He asked her about Sting. She said she has signed him to a match later. Borash asked against whom it would be against. She said he'd find out when everyone else does.

3 -- TAYLOR WILDE & SARITA vs. VELVET SKY & MADISON RAYNE (w/Lacey Von Erich) vs. TARA & ANGELINA LOVE -- TNA Knockouts Tag Team Title Match

Tenay said Awesome Kong & Hamada failed to defend the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Titles in 30 days, so management stripped them of their titles and put them on the line against two top tag team contenders. Works for me. The women were screaming like banshees during this match. As Tara went for a Widow’s Peak, Daffney ran in and hit her in the head with a belt. Rayne rolls onto her for the cover and the win. It appeared that every TNA Knockout was out there by the end of this.

WINNERS: The Beautiful People at 2:00 to win the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Titles.

Star Rating: *

[Q4]
　
-Christy Hemme was in the back to interview Pope D’Angelo Dinero. This should be good. Wolfe ran in and attacked Dinero, cutting the promo short before it got started. That gets Wolfe major heat with me. Wolfe attacked Pope with a chain. Pope was on the ground clutching his knee.

-Sting was shown walking down steps.

-Borash interviewed the celebrating Beautiful People backstage. This was goofy. Lacey acted like an airhead and asked if she's a champion, too. Borash said it's time to bring in the bubbly to celebrate. I thought he was just saying that than they actually did. Sky poured it down her throat then immediately spit it out. She then poured the campaign over Borash, then the rest of the girls. They hooted and hollered. My head hurt, and my ears needed a weeks rest.

-Tenay and Taz were shown on camera. They briefly discussed what we had seen so far.

4 -- STING vs. ROB VAN DAM

Sting came out for his match with a mystery man. I don’t know if it was opening the show with the main event, but this seemed anticlimactic by comparison. Sting wasn’t taking his trench coat off. I knew he looked out of shape in that earlier segment. Sting’s music played for a long time while the crowd chanted “RVD." You know that backstage someone was kicking themselves thinking that mean the debut had been ruined. Music played and the initials on the screen said "R-V-D." The crowd cheered. He came out the other way and surprised Sting, Springboard Kicked him, gave him a Rolling Thunder, and scored a surprise quick pin.

WINNER: RVD at 0:10.

[Q5]

It should have ended there. Instead, RVD turned to celebrate, but Sting nailed him in the gut and then the leg with a baseball bat. The crowd chanted "RVD!” trying to inspire a comeback. Sting, for some reason, threw him into the ropes, so Van Dam had to do this hop walk to sell his leg. Sting clotheslined him across the throat with the bat, then left the ring. Sting shoved a referee down on the aisle. The crowd was still chanting “RVD,” so Sting went back to the ring and hit RVD with the bat to the point of overkill. Sting left and the fans chanted “You Suck” while RVD writhed on the mat. “RVD” chant picked up again, so Sting went back to the ring and hit RVD with the bat again. This debut will NOT get over! I don’t know what else his motive could be, as it hasn’t been explained, and I’m sure it won’t be by the end of this show.

Hulk Hogan came out looking the way Bischoff used to look late into Nitro toward the end of WCW. He gave Sting “the point.” Bubba the Love Sponge came out and held Hogan back. Security and referees also stepped in front of him. As Hogan yelled at Sting from a distance, Sting kept hitting RVD with the bat. The wooden baseball bat. No security to be found going after Sting. Hogan finally broke past security and made it near the ring. Sting again hit RVD as security continued to hold back Hogan. This came off utterly ridiculous. Sting even hit Hogan with the bat as security held Hogan back! Overkill. Sting walked up the ramp and again attacked Hogan with the bat, then left. Oh, okay. Hogan was left lying again. The only guy who looked weaker than Hogan was Van Dam. That was probably the worst way you could have possibly debuted Van Dam. If you're going to do that angle, have Sting pick on an undercard guy. You sure as hell don’t have him hit someone with a bat anymore than once or twice.

-Finally the show took a momentary breath as they recapped Sting’s historic heel turn. After Sting assaulted dozens of innocent people with a baseball bat for ten minutes, Tenay revealed that he was not shocked, but “disappointed."

-Nash’s music hit. He came out with his little buddy Eric Young. The camera briefly showed Bischoff seated in a chair backstage, then quickly went back to Nash. It looked like a screw up. A few moments later, they acknowledged it. They are still trying to feud Nash and Hall? This bombed a decade ago. Nash said that for the last month, no matter what he's done, Hall and Waltman have found their way into the arena. They've been busy preventing guys from stopping other guys from getting beat up. He said he got a contract to allow Hall & Waltman to wrestle at Destination X against he and Young. Nash called them to the ring. Tenay wondered if Pac and Hall would show up. Impact went to commercial.

-Impact briefly returned from commercial, and Nash and Hall were shown coming out of a room, and heading to the ring. Then, a commercial break again.

-Due to the long delay, the crowd was entertaining itself by chanting “Hall is wasted!” Pac and Hall came out. Hall said, "Hey yo!" right in Nash's face to a big reaction. He asked if he's got it right that two-thirds of the legendary Wolfpac are in the building. He called Nash a "Big Sellout" instead of "Big Sexy." He asked him if he's a stooge for Hogan. Hall said after what Sting did to Hogan, Hogan clearly isn’t running the show. Hall said he and Pac want in on TNA because it's starting to get cool. He said he's not the smartest guy in the world (he loves that line), and he runs with a guy who isn't that smart, but they have smart lawyers. He said when they beat them, they want some "fat money contracts" so they get their share. Makes sense to me. Nash said Hogan said he can have the match. Hall and Pac have the most defined motives on the whole roster. Hall’s still a great promo. It’s a shame he can’t go anymore.

[Q6]

They cut to Bischoff who told Pac & Hall that if they beat Nash & Young, he'll make sure they will indeed get a contract. But if they lose, though, they have to leave. Nash said he'd see them at the PPV. Hall said, "I'll be the one that looks like Elvis." Nash and Hall shook hands. Nash quipped, "Alive or dead?" Out of nowhere, Pac slapped the piss out of Eric Young, I suppose just for being there and wearing that jacket. That was funny. I’m still not interested in seeing Hall and Nash fight or feud against each other.
　
5 -- SEAN "SYXX-PAC" WALTMAN vs. ERIC YOUNG

Tenay: “This is a fight, not a match!” Okay, I was wondering why it looked so good early on. The bell rang eventually. They wrestled in street clothes. Pac’s offense still looks crisp. Syxx went for a Bronco Buster, but Young moved. Young then gave Syxx a spike piledriver for the pin.

WINNER: Young in 1:15.

-Cut to the parking lot, a bunch of guys in Army Fatigues showed up. Tenay: “US ARMY IS HERE!” Who? Did I miss something? Is this a gimmick?

-After a commercial, they were in the arena. Oh okay, it’s actually the Army. Tenay spoke of Mr. Anderson stealing the medal. No video recap. Guess you can’t use those either when your head to head. He promised to kick Anderson’s ass at Destination X. Mr. Anderson interrupted him on the big screen. He said their issue is between the two of them, not the soldiers who he refereed to as “dropouts.” Suddenly, Angle ran into Anderson and knocked him down. How did he get there so fast?! They did that “pro wrestling brawl and walk” back to the ring, where they resumed the fight. Again we had two guys fighting in street clothes. Anderson tried to bail, but the soldiers stopped him. Angle beat on him some more, then Angle threw him out to all sides of the ring, where the soldiers beat on him. The soldiers didn’t know how to properly throw a guy in the ring, so Anderson kept getting thrown hip first into the apron. Angle then spit on Anderson, and then stood on him with an American flag held high. The soldiers entered the ring and lifted Angle into the air and celebrated as the show went to commercial. Kind of heelish, no?

[Q7]

-Hogan was sitting on a couch. Bubba was there. It was time for Bubba to plead his case to Hogan about why he shouldn’t wrestle. Crowd could be heard chanting “Fire Bubba.” Has anyone else noticed they are unable to put Bubba out in front of the live crowd with Hogan in fear of the crowd turning on the entire thing with “Fire Bubba!” chants? Hogan said this is the biggest night in TNA. Earl Hebner walked in out of nowhere and asked for a second chance. Hogan said no. Bubba insisted Hogan give Earl a second chance because he got a second chance, so everyone deserves a second chance. Hogan then agreed. He asked Earl for a favor. He asked him to stop the match if it gets out of control and he's down and out. Uh-oh. The main event is going to have good drama going in.
　
-They ran down the Destination X Pay Per View lineup. Looks like a good card, short on X Division matches though.

-They showed Jeff Jarrett and Mick Foley talking backstage. Jarrett asked James Storm if he could believe that Bischoff forced them to wrestle each other. Storm said he wasn't forced, he volunteered. Jarrett was upset. Jarrett went through the founder speech. He said he put Storm and Roode together as a team. Is that the story? Storm said it's about what he can do for him now. Jarrett jumped him. Roode jumped Jarrett. Mick Foley jumped in and ordered them to take it into the ring. It didn’t like this at all but at least we haven’t seen any of that crap with Foley and Jarrett going into Bischoff’s office. Thankfully we haven’t been taken into anyone’s “office.”

6 -- BEER MONEY INC. (ROBERT ROODE & JAMES STORM) vs. JEFF JARRETT with Mick Foley as special referee

Beer Money apparently dragged Jarrett to the ring during the break, because they were beating on him when they were back live. Foley was in the ring as a referee looking like an utter goof. Tenay explained the reason the fan favorites Beer Money were doing this was because they wanted to get more TV time. Is there a shadow of a doubt who’s brainchild this was? Jarrett was holding his own against both men, which alone was enough stretched the realm of believability. He banged their heads together, the works. Beer Money eventually took over again and knocked Jarrett to the outside. Foley pulled the barbed wire baseball bat out from under the ring and gave it to Jarrett. Jarrett brought the bat into the ring, but as he was about to use it against Roode, referee “Slick Johnson” yanked the bat away. Roode and Storm gave Jarrett their finisher to end the match. No idea if Beer Money are heels now, or what.

WINNER: Beer Money at 4:00.

[Q8]
　
-Apart from the Sting baseball bat overkill, I’ve liked Hogan drama throughout the night. It continued here as Brooke found her way to the back to plead to Hogan. She was weeping. Either there was certainly some reality in this for Brooke to draw on, or she’s a good actress. Actually the longer it went on the more it became clear this was probably an actual conversation they have had many times. Hogan said that this time he was doing it for the fans, but promised his daughter that after this wouldn’t wrestle again for her. Boy is he going to be a big heel if he ends up wrestling in the future after this. Good segment.

-Flair gave Styles a heel-ish pep talk.
　
-They aired the ring intros for Styles & Flair and Hogan & Abyss. Tenay said they were cutting to the final commercial break of the show and they'd return for the main event. They then went to commercial prior to the match, so Quarter Hour 8 is likely going to be pretty low. Still no sign of Jeff Hardy. He didn't seem to fit into the main event at this point.

7 -- RIC FLAIR & TNA World Hvt. champion A.J. STYLES vs. HULK HOGAN & ABYSS (II) -- No DQ match

There was a lot riding on this main event. Main Event matches and angles tend to define people's feelings on shows overall. ‘Immortal’ Hulk Hogan came out looking anything but Immortal, since he’s got a legit limp, AND he was selling. There was only a minute or so remaining in the final hour at the official start of this match. Overrun baby. At least I’d hope so. Hogan and Flair started THIS VERSION of the match. Flair chopped and punched Hogan. Hogan reversed Flair into the ropes and then back dropped him. Every Hogan-Flair match you’ve ever seen just at a much slower pace. What a semi-charmed life Ric Flair has led. On one hand, he’s 60 years old and can still look reasonably good out there. On the other hand, he’s 60 years old and he’s still got to go out there trying to make guys like Hogan look good. Things spilled to the outside and Hogan was choking Flair with his bandanna in front of Brooke. Broke was cheering. Hogan didn’t seem to be moving much worse then he was a decade ago. Everyone remembers '80s Hogan. This guy could barely move in WCW, or his last run with WWE. That’s why Hogan can still go out there and do what he does. The bar really isn’t that high to begin with. You think A.J. Styles, for example, is going to be able to go out there and do his thing 20 years from now? Doubt it. Hogan knocked Flair off camera momentarily. When he got up, he was bleeding. Hogan took a look at a bloodied Flair, sized him up, and bit him. According to Taz, that was basically just how old guys rolled. It’s how heels roll, actually. Hogan continued to rough Flair up on the outside against the guard rails.

[OVERRUN - Q9]

Eventually, Abyss tagged in and went after Flair on the ramp. Hogan threatened to whip Styles with his belt, so Styles bailed. Abyss threw Flair into the ring where Hogan whipped Flair with it. Flair begged off into the corner, so Hogan stomped on him and choked him with his boot. It’s as if Hogan forgot how to work as a babyface after he turned heel in the '90s. Flair gave Hogan a low-blow for a transition. By the time Flair tagged out, his entire face was covered in blood. Styles worked on Hogan’s legs. Hogan made a hot tag to Abyss. Abyss choke-slammed Styles and Flair. One got considerably more air than the other. I still cringe every time I see Flair take a bump. They can’t possibly expect anyone to cheer on a 300-pound behemoth as he beats up a 60-year-old man. Abyss held up the magical Hall of Fame Ring to cheers from the crowd. Diminutive A.J. Styles punched monster Abyss and knocked him into the corner. Abyss looked to be nearly unconscious from Styles's weak punches. Did he drop the Hall Of Fame ring?

Styles did the springboard clothesline onto Abyss, which only got a two count. Flair chopped Hogan, which Hogan shrugged off. Abyss came back against Styles, also. Hogan went after Styles and whipped him into an Abyss Black Hole Slam for the finish. No “Hulk up?” No Leg Drop? No chance that was Hogan’s “last match.” I’m glad they went with the clean finish. There’s a lot of places they could have been going with this, both good and bad (“You screwed Hogan” anyone?), and they certainly set up several false alarms.

WINNERS: Hogan & Abyss at 8:00.

STAR RATING: ** - Who thought this could even possibly end up being the best match of the night going in? Anything is possible when your longest match is topping out at seven minutes. Match length goes a long way. They didn’t do as many “moves” as the X-Division guys, but this told a good story and the fans were into it.

Post-match: Everyone was feeling good, and it should have ended there. However, Raw was off the air by this point, so Impact probably had its biggest audience of the night. The post-match saw Desmond Wolfe run-in and hit Abyss with a chair. Wolfe then went to hit Hogan, but Hogan blocked it. Flair then clipped Hogan's leg. Hogan & Abyss got beat down. Pope ran in to make the save. Eventually he got took out. More music played. It was Jeff Hardy. He ran into the ring and went after all the heels. The crowd was excited to see Hardy even though him being there made no sense. Tenay started wrapping up the show with chaos going on in the ring. Vintage Nitro. Impact faded to black as Jeff Hardy climbed the top rope. So Hardy was just waiting in the back in the case that things got out of hand, and if they didn’t, he wasn't going to appear? Come on now. I know, I know, wrestling is a stage play. Often a very poorly put together one.
　
POST-SHOW THOUGHTS

They definitely used the January 4 Impact template for putting together this edition of Impact. You wonder how many weeks that continues for though. Going in, I felt this night had none of the magic that the January 4 show had. It’s likely not going to have the ratings either.

TNA remains undefined. For those expecting or hoping against hope for innovation, you didn’t get it. Your not going to get innovation from guys who made their reputation over a decade ago and haven’t given the impression they've learned anything since. For those who were merely looking for a better Impact than last week, well, you at least got that.

As far as my Nitro checklist, I’d say they went 2 out of 4:

-- Hot Main Event Angle - Nada (it was lukewarm)
-- Alternative to McMahon - Nada
-- Big Name Surprises - Check
-- Exciting Cruiserweight wrestling matches - Check (there was one)

All things considered, it wasn’t a bad Monday Night Debut show. As always, it depends where they go from here. If they continue to treat it as business as usual, then they are going to have been better off staying on Thursday Nights. The risk and reward on Monday is so much higher. Obviously, it will be interesting to see how both Raw and Impact helped or hurt each other in the ratings.
　
WHAT THEY DID RIGHT:

-- Use of Hogan and Flair
-- Big Surprises - RVD, Jeff Hardy
-- No Orlando Jordan, Nasty Boys, Val Venis

WHAT THEY DID WRONG:

-- Poor execution of angles - Everything except with Hogan
-- Very little wrestling action - Too many matches, but too short in length
-- RVD’s debut - Getting his ass kicked and left out cold by Sting
-- No Brian Kendrick or Samoa Joe

This was my first Impact report for The Torch. I’m hoping to delve into depth later into the week with some type of column or blog about where I stand on all things TNA. Let me know what you thought below, or it to nick.dachino@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading.

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