By: Daniel Wilkenfeld, PWTorch Contributor

One big story is the rise of new talent to the top, with the pending specter of Hogan possibly ready to push them all down. They slowly resetting the veterans/originals feud for the third time, but this time it finally looks like the new talent might end up getting the push (Rhino never stays on top for long—poor Rhino). The biggest story though is that TNA is channeling their 2003-2004 roots and putting a killer PPV line-up togethes; we have eight matches scheduled, none of which immediately jump out as black holes of suckiness.
Since it's been so long since I've psyched enough to do one of these, there are no YTD statistics.

1) AJ STYLES (c) vs. DANIELS vs. SAMOA JOE
TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match

Where We've Been:
This match was, by TNA's own admission, booked without any preexisting motivation, aside from the bookers thinking they'd have a hell of a match. That sounds like good enough reason to me. They're pretending that this is AJ-Joe-Daniels II, as it's the second time they've met for a title in the main event. They've actually met plenty of times in the interim, but that doesn't actually disturb the narrative that much—all of their matches, while not necessarily *****, bottomed out at at least "really awesome ***", so we're almost guaranteed at least pretty awesome. I'm good with that. Since the announcement, AJ's been jumped three times. Joe took advantage of this fact to drive a wedge between Styles and Daniels, suggesting to AJ that his best friend could be behind it. AJ didn't really buy it, but his failure to completely discount the possibility drove Daniels nuts. The last ambush took place while both Joe and Daniels were on camera, so we know that there's someone else involved. This past week's Impact ended with Daniels smirking faintly as Joe choked AJ out.
Where We're Going:
The match should be great. I don't see any need to take the strap off AJ before he's a bit more established as champ, but one of his two opponents could benefit from some wacky interference. There's no way Daniels gets the nod, but they could conceivably give it to Joe and let AJ move on to his mystery attacker.

Both Picks: AJ Styles. I don't see AJ dropping the belt till Angle's good and ready to take it back.

(2) KURT ANGLE vs. DESMOND WOLF
Where We've Been:
Three weeks ago, an unassuming Desmond Wolf introduced himself to Kurt Angle, then blindsided him. Angle called him out for a face-to-face confrontation in the ring, which also saw Wolf leave Angle laying. Two weeks ago they met in the ring, and Wolf debuted his clothesline finisher and sent Angle out in a stretcher. This week Angle called out Wolf again—and Wolf yet again left him laying. Wolf has been clear that he's not here for a mere win, but to take Angle's roster spot. Meanwhile, both men have been cutting some killer promos.

Where We're Going:
This should be a pleasure to watch, as both men can engage in pure wrestling as few can. I assume Angle has to get his heat back here—Wolf has more than made an impact, and a fourth consecutive victory over Kurt is almost unthinkable. They might do the old RVD quick-push-and-slowdown, sending Wolf back to compete in the X Division after a narrow loss to Kurt. I don't see Angle staying out of the main event much longer.
My Pick: Kurt Angle.
Rachael's Pick: Desmond Wolf.

(3)TEAM 3D & RHINO vs. MATT MORGAN, HERNANDEZ, & D'ANGELO DINERO

Where We've Been:
Ever since Beer Money Inc. "took out" (read: hit their finisher on) Booker T at Bound for Glory, Rhino has been convinced that TNA Management is helping new talent eliminate the more veteran performers. He has since seemingly convinced Team 3D, after Matt Morgan and Hernandez targeted Brother Devon's leg in a match. Those of us with more than 14 second attention spans might remember that Rhino and Team 3D were both on the opposite side of this exact same feud eleven months ago. To be fair, they did hang the lantern a bit by having Rhino mention that fact in passing. Anyhow, now they're engaged in what might or might not be a street fight (Brother Ray said that it was, but it's not listed as such on the TNA website) against the two people who represent the future of TNA, Hernandez & Matt Morgan, as well as D'Angelo Dinero because, well, what else was D'Angelo Dinero doing? (This was actually somewhat amusing on Impact.)

Where We're Going:
Hernandez & Matt Morgan are annoyingly decent as a tag team, which does not bode well for either of their immediate prospects of a single's push. Since they still need to work Angle back into the main event scene and Joe probably has another month on top as well, I'd give this at least two more months to work itself through.

My Pick: Hernandez, Matt Morgan, & D'Angelo Dinero. Meaningless matches that are likely to be repeated are hard to predict, but usually the way to keep the party going is to have the faces win the first round.

(4) THE BRITISH INVASION (c) vs. THE MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS vs. BEER MONEY INC.

Where We've Been:
The British Invasion won the titles at BFG. That was supposedly the last encounter between then and any of their opponents, but they agreed to face Beer Money one last time on condition that they'd never get a title shot again. The Brits got themselves disqualified, retaining the titles and ending Beer Money's hopes. Meanwhile, the Motor City Machine Guns won a #1 Contender Battle. Last Thursday, Beer Money were inexplicably given another chance to win their way into this match, which they did.

Where We're Going:
I was actually looking forward to a feud between The Guns and World Elite. I'm not totally sure why Beer Money were re-injected into the mix, except of course that TNA has nothing else for them to do right now. Hopefully that's a temporary problem.

Both Picks: The Motor City Machine Guns

(5) BOBBY LASHLEY vs. SCOTT STEINER
Where We've Been:
Ugh. Bobby Lashley came in and beat Samoa Joe at BFG. Then Scott Steiner started harassing Lashley's life. I've just devoted more attention to this plot than I hope to ever have to again.

Where We're Going:
The most promising part of all of this is that Steiner continues to claim that, despite all appearances, the Main Event Mafia is alive and well. If phase 1 is "harass Crystal Lashley" and phase 3 is "rebuild the Main Event Mafia", I'm at a loss for a phase 2, but maybe Steiner is smarter than I am.

My Pick: Bobby Lashley. It'd be weird to give Lashley the win over Joe then job him out to Steiner.
Rachael's pick: Scott Steiner

(6) AMAZING RED vs. HOMICIDE
X Division Championship

Where We've Been:
A few weeks ago, Homicide got a random non-title win over Amazing Red. He's been going ballistic since he joined the World Elite, tossing chairs around and hitting referees. He got this match by accosting Red's manager, Don West.
Where We're Going:
It's the X Division, so nowhere. Live with it. If the Brits retain though, then I'd expect Homicide to win and bring yet another title into the World Elite fold.

My Pick: Amazing Red
Rachael's Pick: Homicide

(7) TARA vs. AWESOME KONG
Six Sides of Steel

Where We've Been:
At Bound for Glory, Raesha Saeed inadvertently cost Awesome Kong the match. In a reasoned response, Awesome Kong killed her. Now without a "handler" (here's today's trivia question—have they ever referred to a white wrestler as having a "handler"), Kong is out of control, attacking women at random. Tara decided to make a stand for the rest of the women, since she and Kong didn't much care for each other anyway. They've had a few big brawls, so they decided to put this one in a cage.
Where We're Going:
They've been building up this feud for months, only to give us a watered down version of it at BFG. By all logic this should be the blow-off match, but TNA has never been known for ending feuds when they logically should. Expect this to go another month.

Both Picks: Awesome Kong.

(8) THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE vs. TAYLOR WILDE, SARITA, & ODB
Knockouts Tag Team and World Championship Matches

Where We've Been:
The Beautiful People have been feuding with Wilde & Sarita since their meeting in the finals of the Knockouts Tag Team Championship tournament two months ago. A couple weeks ago, while looking for Wilde & Sarita, they came across ODB, who was none too appreciative of their attitude. A brawl ensued, and here we are.

Where We're Going:
The rules for this match haven't been made clear. Presumably if one of The Beautiful People pins ODB, the pinner becomes the new champion. What happens if Wilde or Sarita get pinned is beyond me though—who gets the second belt? Does it automatically go to Sky & Rayne? What if Von Erich is in on the pin?

Both Picks: Wilde, Sarita, & ODB. That way no one will have to make up actual rules for this match.

Daniel is a graduate instructor at The Ohio State University. Those with an answer to today's trivia question will get a shout-out at some point in the near future; submissions can be sent to dawilk316@gmail.com

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