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By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

IMPACT HITS

Start of the Show: After the typical recap and set up video, TNA started Impact off in a different manner than usual. Mike Tenay stood in the ring to introduce the show. He then threw it to Jeremy Borash in the crowd to hype one of the two big matches for the show. He then threw it to another part of the crowd to BG James and Lauren to hype the other. Now, I’m not totally sure what James was doing there. I know that he acted as an interviewer at the last PPV, but we haven’t seen him on Impact since then, so most fans hadn’t seen him in this role before. Lauren would have been fine by herself. I am o.k. with James transitioning into an announcing role, but then why was he in the Gauntlet? I seem to be off on a tangent. I liked this opening to the show. It was different. It was a good way to introduce the two big matches. I don’t think it would necessarily work every week, but once in a while for a change of pace it would be good.

MMGs vs. Lethal & Creed: This was a fun tag team match. I would prefer to see a little more selling and ring psychology, but it still featured a lot of high energy action. WWE often goes the complete opposite direction for tag matches in terms of too much psychology and not enough action. A healthy medium is what makes great tag matches great. This is a case of a solid match. I enjoyed the fast paced action. I don’t fully understand the face vs. face match up, but they planted the seeds of a heel turns for Alex Shelley. They also kept Consequences Creed strong going into his PPV X-Division Title match vs. Petey Williams.

IMPACT MISSES

Undercutting the PPV: The undercutting of Hard Justice started at the beginning of Impact. Mike Tenay called it the most hardcore PPV of the year. The problem with that is that this is the last Impact before the PPV, and they just now decided to bill it in that way? My first thought was Lockdown. Isn’t that the most hardcore PPV? Selling it as hardcore is fine, but not when you haven’t hyped it that way for the last several weeks. Also, selling it as hardcore doesn’t work when you give away so much hardcore action for free three days before the PPV. They even started things off with Jacqueline vs. Roxxi in a Bimbo’s Brawl. What purpose did that random hardcore match serve other than to take away from the special feel of the hardcore PPV? The next bit of undercutting came during the second match, Sanjay Dutt vs. Curry Man. The announcers gave us the rules to Dutt and Jay Lethal’s Black Tie Brawl & Chain match. Turns out the match can end via pin fall, submission, or having your tuxedo ripped off. That is very hardcore, for a porno perhaps. Really there was very little hype for Dutt vs. Lethal at all. There was little hype for Creed vs. Williams either. As I complained about last week, TNA then gave away an 8 man hardcore match, before their hardcore PPV. The announcers tried to sell the New Jersey Street Fight as being what we were seeing in this match times ten, but that line didn’t work. I got my fill of garbage matches right here. I saw Rhino & Christian vs. Team 3D in a brawl for free, so I don’t feel the need to pay on Sunday. I saw plenty of action between Beer Money and LAX too. Homicide might not even be at the PPV, so why should I pay to see it? There was very little hype for the PPV Main Event. And of course, TNA further undercut the hardcore aspect of Hard Justice with the Weapons Gauntlet match to end the show.

Weapons Gauntlet: Speaking of that gauntlet match, this was just ridiculous. First of all, TNA gave no reason why this match was happening. What was on the line? Why were these guys in this match? What were the ramifications of a win or a loss? Second of all, why change the rules of a standard gauntlet? Why add weapons to the mix? Can’t wrestlers use weapons in any gauntlet? If you can’t lose by disqualification, then you can always use weapons, yet the announcers made a big deal multiple times about how this gauntlet was special since the wrestlers could use weapons. Will the next gauntlet not be special as the wrestlers won’t be allowed to use weapons? Third of all, there was very little interaction between wrestlers not already feuding. Fourth of all, what were Kip James and BG James doing in this match? Where have they been? TNA picks 8 wrestlers to be in this hardcore type show case, and the James Gang are among them? Who doesn’t belong? Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Booker T, Matt Morgan, Tomko, Kip and BJ James. I understand that Kevin Nash was supposed to be in the match also, but he was going to be in it in addition to the James Gang. Also, Lance Rock too. He would have been the same as the James Gang in being out of place. The actual wrestling action was o.k., but nothing particularly good. Once TNA gauntlets come down to the final two, when it turns into a pin fall or submission match, the pin fall or submission almost always comes right away. That was the case here. The match just wasn’t good, and really takes away from the ability of TNA to sell this PPV. It didn’t help anyone involved either.

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw, Smackdown, ECW, and TNA Impact each week. Email him at jmezz-torch@sbcglobal.net.

For another view from the original Hitlist author, compare Jason Powell's views to mine by visiting prowrestling.NET's "Hitlist" section here.

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