By Curtis Shanks, PWTorch specialist

Welcome to the TNA Impact edition of Under the Microscope. We're here to review all those little observations and tidbits you may have missed. This is not a detailed recap of the show, but a review for those of you that saw the show but didn't actually "watch" it.

After last week, we know that Mick Foley got a promotion, Awesome Kong is back on top and Nash, Booker, Sting and Angle formed the New World Ord… I mean the Main Event Mafia. But what else is there to notice? Let's see what we can spot. Cue the opening pyro.

Our first look at Impact tonight gives us a newly re-made Impact zone. This was a much needed makeover in my opinion, as the old set seemed too bland and outdated. The most noticeable change is the move of one of the entrance tunnels. Fortunately they did not do away with the second tunnel entirely, as two separate entrances was smart from a logic standpoint. It's always hard to believe that two feuding wrestlers would come out of the same entrance seconds apart without having some type of backstage confrontation before ring intros took place. If opponents are on opposite sides of the building prior to a match, it is a little more logical that their first attempt at confrontation is in the ring in front of the cameras.

This was the second consecutive week we've gone backstage to see a wrestler watching the previous segment on a monitor. Last week it was Taylor Wilde and this week Jeff Jarrett. The nice difference in TNA with this aspect is something as simple as the angle of the wrestler watching the monitor. Both Wilde and Jarrett are shown watching the monitor head on, like a normal person. This is different from the WWE approach, where you need to watch a backstage monitor standing directly to the side of the TV for the worst possible angle.

Whatever opinion you may have of the content, it is nice to see the Motor City Machine Guns finally involved in a storyline other than being the guys that flip people off. The Guns are one of the most talented tag teams in wrestling right now and are what TNA needs to get back on track in terms of in-ring action. Whether I want to boo them, cheer them or roll my eyes at them, at least they are on TV finally getting a chance to contribute.

To start the show, A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe explain that they were beat down last week and left in a pool of their own blood, yet none of their so called friends from the back came out to help them and stand with them. After the Eric Young-James Storm match, Beer Money began a beat down on Young only to have it thwarted by the Guns. There was no appearance by Styles or Joe to save Young however, so I guess the friendship only works one way.

Mike Tenay does a pretty good job of giving us a background of tonight's two guest stars, Volador and Hiroshi Tanahashi. But let's dig a little deeper. Volador is actually known as Volador, Jr., as his father wrestled under the Volador name. He is also the cousin of fellow CMLL wrestler LA Park. Volador has been a Trios champ in CMLL, a tag title reserved for three-man teams. Tanahashi is well known in NJPW and was ranked 20th in this years PWI 500. He has also held the IWGP heavyweight title (NJPW's main title) on two occasions, as well as the IWGP tag titles.

Thank you Christian Cage for coming out and stating that Booker T just created his Legends title and that it's not a real title. Being a title history buff, I hate it when titles (see Intercontinental Championship) are degraded and used as nothing more than props. This is not the first time we've seen a wrestler create a title in wrestling, though. Most of you think of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Championship, but there have been others. Earlier this year James Storm created the Beer Drinking championship in his feud with Eric Young, although the title was quietly forgotten. Tazz created the FTW (F*** The World) title in ECW after failing to get the World Title from Shane Douglas. And ROH fans probably remember Larry Sweeney naming Sarah Del Ray and Chris Hero the World Inter-Gender Tag Team champions.

Mick Foley references his past with Sting and putting him on the map back in 1991. For those of you that need a refresher, Foley (re)debuted in WCW back in '91 as Cactus Jack. Portraying a heel, he attacked Sting leading to a Team Sting vs. Team Cactus Jack match at Halloween Havoc of that year. Foley later gained a PPV title shot vs. Sting, a Falls Count Anywhere match in which Sting was victorious.

The title TNA is using to describe Mick Foley now is "Executive Shareholder." Not sure exactly what that means, other than that he is the boss and has power in TNA. With Jeff Jarrett being acknowledged as the founder of TNA and Jim Cornett still hanging around booking matches, who exactly is in charge? All three are authority figures, but questions remain with where they stand in the hierarchy and what specific power each of them have.

One of the great things about watching Raw on Monday nights is the fact that it is live. Anything can happen, such as spot-calling becoming audible to the at-home viewers. A taped show has the opportunity to cover up any of these instances, so they are less common. The TNA editing department missed one tonight, though. As Kurt Angle and Abyss were brawling in the crowd I could hear Abyss say, "Into the wall" plain as day. Seconds later, Abyss Irish-whipped Angle into the crowd barrier wall.

Tonight's notable MIAs: Team 3D and LAX. By the way, whatever happened to Sonjay Dutt and So Cal Val?

Numbers crunched harder than an unprotected chair shot to the head: The big news in the internet wrestling world this past week has not been TNA or WWE, but ROH. A regime change and an uncertain future have left many wondering what will become of the fast-paced, high-action ROH product we have become accustomed to. I realize ROH is about more than just the light-weight daredevils, but that was one of their main attractions. The high-risk wrestling style has had an up and down road in the American mainstream wrestling world.

The Cruiserweights took WCW by storm a decade ago, only to have WWE turn them into lower card wrestlers who eventually were pushed into oblivion as their title became extinct. The ROH style grabbed the smart fans attention, but they may face a dumbing down, if not a demise as well. TNA and their X Division are seemingly following the same path. The talk of TNA in 2005 was it's X Division, primarily three guys, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels and A.J. Styles. We all know the division has regressed since then, but what do the numbers say?

Eleven TNA PPVs in 2005 featured an X Division Title match. The average time of those matches was 20:42, with ten of the eleven getting at least 15 minutes. Since then, TNA has had 28 X Division Title matches on a monthly PPV, with 12:44 being the average time of those matches. Of those 28, only six were given at least 15 minutes - three in '06, three in '07, and zero so far this year.

Curtis Shanks is a self-described wrestling nerd. Who else would lay claim to keeping up-to-date on the title histories of over 40 independent and foreign promotions? In the words of Adrian Monk, "It's a blessing...and a curse." Curtis encourages anyone with questions or comments to e-mail him at curtisshanks.torch@gmail.com.

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