Oopps. This was supposed to run last Friday, as it applies to last week's TNA Impact episode, but it was mistakenly never posted. We will print Reader Reax on this week's Impact later today as the reader reviews come in.
Dan Strauss of Goodhue, Minn. (6.0): Best: Knockouts Tag Match. Worst: Use of Sting. I've loved the Stinger my whole life so I'm still behind him and I like his character. But the storyline surrounding him is puzzling. They seem like they're trying to hard and then overdoing it. Having all the announcers overkill it is like having your parents point to the sky because they swear they see Santa. (My apologies to the PW Torch staff if any staff members still believe in Santa.) After tonight I am completely sold on the TNA Knockout division. Call me old-fashioned, say what you want, but I just have never gotten into women's wrestling. I really don't know what TNA does that is that much better than WWE but it works. Both promotions have their ladies wear really skimpy attire (at no objection to me). I guess TNA just gets their women down to business and provides good wrestling. They provided a great main event. Joe and Booker's storyline progressed, but I don't know if that's good. They've put so much into it but I really don't know if anyone cares. Overall an average show I guess.
Shane McKinley of Danville, Calif. (4.0): Best Match: Knockout Division. Worst Match: Sting Hype/Tease. TNA's video game looks to be more fun than Smackdown vs. Raw 2009. Nice opening tag team match, until the usual ref incompetence/interference. How TNA handles these "finishes" is unbelievable, drawn out, and is not logical (two refs, anyone?). I guess it would take TNA "management" to watch Impact to notice all of these ref incompetences/interference, but that means watching Impact. Liked the "Untouchables" theme for Bound for Glory and PPV card-line up. Worst (but most funniest) part of the night was Mike Tenay screaming, "Damn you Sting!" Uh, maybe just because it's a black bat doesn't mean it is Sting. Uh, Tenay couldn't possibly comprehend that it could have been Kevin Nash all along? "Damn you to Hell, Sting!" Oh TNA, you're too much. Good move with the Sheik Abdul Bashir video package. Enjoyed the graveyard-like silence by the crowd during A.J. Styles's odd rant against Sting. Zzzz. I applaud the logic that Styles couldn't quite factor in the fact that he might lose his PPV match because of interference by Frank Trigg, Team 3D, Karen Angle, or Styles' evin twin. But that would mean the writers would have to keep track of what goes on in Impact, and that's too much. Does TNA even recognize the fans in the Impact Zone? Mini-Scott Steiner makes fun of Consequences Creed for copying Apollo Creed? At least the Nascar invasion (again) wasn't so heavy. Kaz having to play cheerleader for TNA ("I let down my company") is sickening. The Justice League of Idiots bits was actually entertaining, although 5th graders can write better material for this Lethal-Dutt feud. Hi, I'm Matt Morgan. I tied my shoes! Yeahhhhhh! I did a simple move! All righhhhht! Just how good is the Knockout division right now? Every character is well-defined and the feuds have the possibilty of being red-hot. I fell off my sofa laughing to Joe's "Stinngggggggg!". Good cheesy quotes all around. TNA is rarely boring, but the writing/presentation/characters are so unbelievable and illogical that I can't really get emotionally attached to it. It's so B-movie bad that you can't help but laugh at it. Best quote of the night was from Christy Hemme that could be assigned to TNA in general: "We don't know where we're going or what we're doing, but baby, we are living the gimmick!"
Adam Riemer, New York, N.Y. (1.0): Best: The fact that the women's division is far and above better than the rest of the TNA roster. Worst: The fact that I actually gave this promotion a second chance. Last week I wrote a reax for Impact for being the first time I ever watched the show, it was terrible. I gave this week a second chance, and that was a mistake. TNA is nothing more than a bunch of shouting babies. Samoa Joe who many people consider a rising star and possibly have the same effect for TNA that Austin had for the WWE. After watching last nights show I have to say that anyone that thinks Joe is going to be a major player in the success in this company is crazy. All he does is yell, his proms are weak and completely recycled from the Monday Night War era. This whole angle with Sting is a rehash mix of the NWO/WCW angle with him, and also the angle where Sting's face was in the Hummer's mirror. Christy Hemme is just terrible, the WWE did right by firing her. I have never been more annoyed by someone in my life in the wrestling world, Christy Hemme makes Mike Adamle look like The Rock on the mic. AJ Styles comes out and he shouts, then Captain Injury himself Kurt Angle attacks him. Really boring, Kurt Angle's character was stale in WWE and it is worse in TNA. I hate Booker T, he is just such a clown, he has no right to be more than an IC or Tag Team Champ. Booker's stupid act was lame in the WWE and it is REALLY lame in TNA. TNA has no creative thought what so ever, all they are doing is recycling old wrestlers with their old gimmicks. Dudleys are just what they were in ECW, only now they are fat, old and annoying, Sting and Nash are redoing their NWO lives, just 400 years later. Christian should be sick to death of terrible writing and lame matches, not just the Dudley interference. The only thing that was worth watching was the woman's match. These ladies actually out do the crap women's wrestling on WWE tv. Awesome Kong is actually enjoyable, too bad she is on a promotion that doesn't deserve to clean the boots of Charlie Haas, let alone be called a threat to the WWE.
We welcome your 1-10 score and comments on this show for a "Impact Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on Impact, click here.
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