Email This Article - Contact Us - VIP Sign-Up - Back to Home Page

|

By Curtis Shanks, PWTorch Specialist

Welcome to the TNA Super Impact edition of Under the Microscope. 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. We're here to point our those little tidbits you may have missed, make some random observations, or use a little research to dig deeper into what was on the show. Cue the opening pyro.

Super size me

It's three-for-the-price-of-two this week, as Impact is expanding to three hours to (hopefully) hype the big Bound For Glory PPV this Sunday. This is the first time Impact has aired for three hours, as it was just a couple of years ago when they expanded from one hour to two. While this is our first three-hour Impact special, we've seen plenty of super-sized Raws during that time, as there have been eight since October 4, 2007 (Impact's two-hour debut).

The reasons for the longer Raws have varied. WWE has delivered draft specials, the Slammy Awards, the 15-year anniversary, the 800th episode, the King of the Ring tournament, and some for no apparent reason at all. It's too bad Raw doesn't work like Daylight Savings Time - spring ahead, fall back. An extra hour for WrestleMania hype would be nice in the spring, but right now I wouldn't complain about a one-hour version to spend a little more time watching Monday Night Football.

Happy Anniversary

As the Main Event Mafia opens our show, Kurt Angle perhaps foreshadows the end of the stable by talking about their one-year anniversary. Angle states that "this Sunday at Bound For Glory will mark the one-year anniversary of the Main Event Mafia." Angle is a little premature with his celebration, as the one-year mark will not be reached until next Friday.

The Mafia was formed on the October 23 edition of Impact last year. The anniversary is not any earlier due to the show being taped weeks before as this was the one-hour edition of Impact that aired live from Las Vegas. The 25-year mark for an anniversary calls for silver and the 50-year mark gold. What about the one-year mark? That milestone calls for paper according to the chart. It may be accurate, as the new youth movement in TNA may serve a couple of the Mafia members with their walking papers soon after this Sunday.

High risk, no rewards...for the champ

Ultimate X and the X Division actually get a bit of hype this week, as a cool video is shown promoting "Ultimate X 17" this Sunday. We have seen 16 Ultimate X matches in TNA's history, two of them at a BFG PPV - 2005 and 2007. This Sunday will mark the eighth time the X title has been up for grabs in this style of match. Red's chances do not look good, even with the hyperactive Don West at his side. Every time the X title has been on the line in Ultimate X, a new champion has been crowned. Not a single retention.

He loves me...he loves me not

"Anybody that knows me, and you can testify to this. I have been the biggest Amazing Red fan in the history of this business. I mean, this guy is electrifying!" Those words come from announcer-turned-manager Don West this week. In what could be either an amazingly fun role (no pun intended) or a disastrous one, West will have a new role as Amazing Red's manager. But West's quote doesn't quite ring true with me.

Only a few months ago, then announcer Don West was often heard making fun of Red during broadcasts of Impact. West talked about Red's amazing flying ability as he was tossed around the ring like a rag doll with Kevin Nash. He also talked about his "big mouth" as the reason for attacks by Samoa Joe. Red may have a big mouth, but now he has an even bigger one by his side as his manager.

I can't find Abyss on Netflix

Grab some nine dollar popcorn and try not to step on the sticky spots on the floor, because we're going to the movies with Mick Foley this week. As various clips of Abyss are shown, Foley has a title to introduce each clip playing off the storyline that Abyss is copying his old Mankind character. We get Cheap Imitation, Carbon Copy, and Blazing Rip Off for our first three clips. Foley may be the copycat, as a couple of those titles made me think of some actual movies.

Carbon Copy was an early '80s movie staring George Segal and Denzel Washington. The comedy is about a business man (Segal) in an all-white community who discovers his long-lost black son (Denzel). Blazing Rip Off of course made me think of the Mel Brooks classic Blazing Saddles. If he wasn't interrupted by Abyss, Foley could have picked some other movie titles from the past. There's Knock Off from 1998 starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. We could go with Mimic, a 1997 movie starring Josh Brolin and Mira Sorvino. Or Copycat, the 1995 thriller featuring Sigourney Weaver.

One size fits all

Nice job to TNA by filling the logic gap in the Homicide segment tonight. I looked as though Suicide was coming to the ring after the Daniels vs. Dinero match, but it turned out to be Homicide under the mask. My first thought was "where did the costume come from?" Homicide just had one lying around to wear in this specific instance? But a quick promo informed us that Homicide attacked Suicide in the locker room, leading to the stolen clothes. It was a good explanation, but now I can't stop thinking about a bruised and battered Suicide lying naked in his dressing room. Yuck.

A Cena vs. Orton prequel?

As we went to commercial with over an hour left in the show, Mike Tenay informed us that the main event of Kurt Angle vs. A.J. Styles was up next. This got my hopes up, as I started thinking about a 40 or 50 minute classic to close the show. There was nothing else announced or planned for the show, so that is the direction I thought they were going.

My hopes were dashed though, as Dave Penzer announced the 20-minute time limit during ring introductions. I can't remember time limits being announced in TNA since the Fox Sports days (when they were displayed on the screen for us), but looking back, every match had one. Ten minutes was the ceiling for all the contests this week leading up to the main event. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this was a new addition to the show this week just to explain the main event non-finish.

Long TV main events makes me think of the Cena and HBK hour-long contest from two years ago. That was not to be expected, as WWE did a genius thing so as to not give away what was going to happen. They announced Edge vs. Randy Orton as the main event, only to run out of time due to Cena and HBK lasting until show's end.

TNA has done the long match approach before on TV. There was the cage gauntlet match from earlier this year that went 40-plus minutes. Don't forget the three-way title match from June 28, 2007. Kurt Angle retained against Rhino and Christian Cage in a triple threat that took up the entire one-hour edition of Impact that week.

I'm sure we can squeeze you in

Everybody gets a chance in TNA, as it seems like they pack their PPV cards full of multi-person matches in order to get most of their talents on the card. BFG is no exception as there are 35 individuals across ten different matches scheduled on either the pre-show or the main card. But if TNA holds with that number, it will be the least populous BFG in TNA's history.

Each of the previous two years, forty different wrestlers were in a match on the pre-show or the main show. The year before that, 42 individuals laced up their boots. The first BFG is in danger of losing its record if TNA sticks with 35, as 36 different wrestlers competed on that show.

Numbers crunch - Homegrown talent

We've all been reading lately about TNA switching gears and going with a "youth movement." Guys like Booker and Steiner are out, while guys like Styles and Morgan are in. There have been plenty of WWE retreads and veterans throughout TNA's history, but there have been plenty of homegrown talents that first made a name for themselves in TNA as well. But looking through TNA's title histories how many have been WWE rejects, and how many have been solely TNA talents?

If we add up all the days of all the title reigns in TNA as of October 15, we find that the TNA youngsters have held titles far more than former WWE castoffs. Overall, only 31.6 percent of TNA's total title days (counting each individual person for Tag Title reigns) have been held by a talent who had previously worked for WWE as a main roster member. But the percentage of the overall days a former WWE worker has held a title varies by what type of title you're looking at.

TNA Heavyweight - 74.3 percent
TNA Legends - 64.8 percent
TNA Tag Team - 21.8 percent
TNA Knockout - 15.4 percent
TNA X Division - 7.9 percent

While the overall numbers show the TNA originals have held titles far more, the veteran WWE presence obviously comes from the top - the TNA World Title. And that's not even counting Sting's reigns, as he never worked for WWE. If we take out Sting's numbers, only 16.8 percent of the World Title days in TNA were from their originals - A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe, and Abyss.

Curtis Shanks is a self-described wrestling nerd who, contrary to popular belief, does have a social life. Feedback is welcome as comments, suggestions and questions can be sent to Curtis at curtisshanks.torch@gmail.com.

Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.

For more BREAKING NEWS on WWE, TNA!
VISIT OUR AFFILIATE - PROWRESTLING.NET

For UFC & MMA NEWS & BLOGS:
VISIT OUR SISTER SITE - MMATORCH.COM

Upgrade to PWTORCH VIP: DETAILS & SIGN-UP INFO

(c) 1999-2009 TDH Communications Inc. - All rights reserved.