By Hubert O'Hearn, Torch specialist

-- 6/25 TNA IMPACT HITS & MISSES

IMPACT HITS

The Angry Beards - On an Impact filled with many fair-to-good Hits and one big Miss, there was a good burst of energy to start the show. After a short Brother Ray vs. Brutus Magnus match, we had a Main Event Mafia in-ring celebration of Kurt Angle's victory in the King of the Mountain match. More on all that later, but things really took off in a positive way when Mick Foley and Angle got in each other's grills. Wrestlers in promotions large and small should run the tape because this is exactly how a face-to-face confrontation should play out: angry, intense, yet controlled. Each man had a definite purpose stated clearly: Foley wants his re-match and Angle wants matches for the MEM. Incidentally, I like the freshening of Angle's look with the beard and hair on his head. It's the first time we've seen a hirsute Angle since Steve Austin walked out on Raw all those years ago.

Team 3D's Greatest Hits - Something TNA has done exceptionally well is keeping Team 3D fresh. I read a great line years ago about Warner Brothers cartoons that said, "A little Pepe LePew goes a long way." Brother Ray and Devon are like that, capable of becoming stale quicker than yesterday's breakfast toast. But when used correctly, they are a definite first ballot Hall of Fame team. Impact gave us the best of Team 3D. The hot start of Brother Ray and Brutus Magnus showed us the revenge-seeking kill mode of the former. This was really well shot too, with the two fighting mostly out by the crowd barrier, very near the handheld cameras. Anyone who thought that wrestling punches and bumps are "fake" should be shut up by the close-up footage. Later, we got a good glimpse of both Ray and Devon's promo skills when they interrupted the Beer Money vs. Booker T and Scott Steiner confrontation. (Incidentally, what are they going to call the Booker/Steiner team? Steiner Heat? Harlem Pump?) Ray and Devon imitating Steiner's um... unique promo style was laugh-out-loud funny.

Finally, in dealing with Mick Foley in his office we got to see Team 3D as pros with their objective being the World Championship. This is as it should be. Headliners should be concerned with being champions. Period. All other storylines, grudges and angles should be secondary to that. There were some nice touches in the scene. I liked Brother Ray hefting Foley's barbed wire bat with an unspoken expression on his face that read, "You know, this might be fun to use." And when Foley said he would do something for them that he had never done for any other wrestler, Ray responded with perfect timing: "Shower?"

Wolfpac Reunion Party Canceled - Every time I watch Sting since the MEM was founded I keep thinking what a shame it is that he didn't find this intensity on the mic 20 years ago. Not that he hasn't had a great career, because God knows he has, but in basketball terms he's the Philadelphia 76ers. Great franchise. Great players. Won some championships. But not the Celtics. Anyway, although some will shriek that, "See! See! There goes TNA referencing WCW again!" the confrontation between Sting and Kevin Nash at the end of the show was absolutely right. These guys do have a history, the real wrestling fans know that history, and even if they don't it's not like you have to be Federico Fellini to work out the subtle subtext that Stinger and Big Kev used to ride in the same posse. And for all the complaints over the years about Nash's workrate, no one's ever argued with his promo skills. It nicely led into the beat down of Sting by the MEM.

Quick Hits - It was a good thing giving Nash and Steiner singles wins. That's been a long time coming ... I'm intrigued to see Sarita in three weeks. If they have a Knockout who can wrestle in a lucha style, as the short video implies, they'll really catch lightning in a bottle ... The testing of the waters of Robert Roode as a singles face was an experiment worth trying and trying again.

IMPACT MISSES

I have three short ones before getting to the big Miss.

10,000 Tacks Match - The Daffney vs. Anonymous Taylor match was too short for one thing, but for another I keep wondering why TNA didn't give this at least a one week build-up. I can't remember a women's match with tacks on TV. Why wouldn't you promote it? Were they afraid Spike would change its mind? Then again, how can something called Spike object to tacks? Lost opportunity.

Blind Referees - I could so write this every week, but among the pet peeves I've mentioned over the last few weeks are referees being as deaf and blind as Tommy before he breaks the mirror. And yeah, the distracted referee not noticing evils behind his back has been around since Lou Thesz was in rompers, but for the love of Mike ... how in blue heck can you not notice Steven Richards tasering Abyss in the middle of the freaking ring!?!

Match Coming Up Between Sharmell and Jenna Morasca - Oh. Good. God. No.

Joe Gets the Bret Hart Treatment - Remember how WCW in the start of its death throes did heel/face turns on Bret Hart oh, like every five minutes? Remember how that didn't work? Well, I guess Samoa Joe can definitely be mentioned in the same sentence as Bret Hart.

*Sigh* Look, you know I'm a big fan of TNA. It's why I write about it every week. I write about things I like. That's why writing is a pleasure for me. I'm going to get absolutely no pleasure from the next several lines.

The MEM guys, as much as I enjoy their act, do have a great future behind them. Same with Foley. I'm absolutely glad he's there, but is it very likely he'll be active in five years? Doubtful. There is one guy - one - on the whole roster who could - could - have a shot at being the next big thing in wrestling. If not Austin/Hogan/Rock big, then at least Sting big. And that's Samoa Joe. He's unique in a good way. He can be half of the Great Feud that TNA needs. Bring in Ken Kennedy or Ken Anderson or whatever he's going to call himself and set them off against each other and there's a license to print money.

But after a nearly perfect three week build, Joe's been blown all to hell by a last-second swerve in the King of the Mountain match. Kurt Angle did as good a job as anyone humanly could to explain Joe's turn, but hands up everyone who believed it? Yeah, I didn't think so.

In really simple terms, back when I was taking playwriting in university and screenwriting in college, there was one absolute truth that shone out at me. No matter how absurd the situation, if the audience is going to buy into your story the characters must follow an internal logic. They will do what they would naturally do.

That said, of course heels can become faces and faces can become heels. But just like in real life where a sudden tragedy can turn a righteous businessman into a slobbering drunk, there has to be a reason for the change. What was Joe's purported reason? Supposedly he wanted more money. Oh. So then by implication TNA doesn't pay well, looks minor league, and why doesn't he just steal the "millionairess" Jenna Morasca away from Nash and make money the old-fashioned way: marry it?

No, instead we're back to Joe being led around by Kurt Angle this time. Last year it was Kevin Nash. In a few weeks it'll be Taz. And they'll turn Joe again but no one will care, because no one will believe anything he does.

Damn. He's in a horrible trap in real life. If Joe jumped to WWE he'd be buried. Vince doesn't seem wild about putting over wrestlers from other companies and Joe does not have the jacked up build that Vince likes. ROH would be a step backwards at this time. TNA is the only company where Joe can achieve the top spot. Now stop jerking him around and let him do it!

Hubert O'Hearn is a new PWTorch Specialist covering TNA Impact with a weekly Hits & Misses column. You can read Hubert's Hits & Misses column and Chris Reed's new TNA Hits & Misses column weekly on PWTorch.com

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