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RADICAN'S TAKE
RADICAN: Wolfe-Angle follow up displays typical warning signs of danger from creative standpoint Oct 30, 2009 - 5:02:41 PM
Last week, TNA handled the debut of Desmond Wolfe (Nigel McGuinness to most of us here) very well. This week on Impact, the usual problematic booking of talent began to leak into Wolfe's push. Although some may disagree, it was not the right move for Wolfe to go right into the ring against Angle for free on television.
Instead of building anticipation for Wolfe's first one-on-one encounter with Angle on PPV, TNA gave it away for free. Although there were some glimpses of promise in the ring between Angle and Wolfe, the match felt rushed and neither man was given enough time in the ring to at least develop a tease to entice fans into ordering the next PPV.
Wolfe had a certain mystique about him last week on Impact with the way he dressed and his mannerisms, but when he came out, he was wearing the same attire he wore in ROH. You see, when programs are rushed the details are lost. The details are important to Wolfe's character and why he was so intriguing when he debuted on Impact, but some of that was lost tonight.
There's two ways TNA should have gone with the Wolfe-Angle program this week. The first thing they should have done is have Wolfe get DQ'd quickly and lay out Angle in a match. It's not the best way to go, but it's an effective method of advancing a program in its infancy.
The second and best option would have been to have Wolfe continue to stalk Angle and lay him out each week leading into the PPV to build anticipation for fans wanting to see Angle get his revenge.
TNA sent a mixed message last night. Wolfe hit a lariat on Angle and the ref said he couldn't continue. WTF? Wolfe should have been awarded the decision at that point, but the show was too busy rushing towards a Hulk Hogan press conference to give any credence to the impact of the "main event" of the show.
The announcers served only to confuse the viewers during this segment as well. Tazz said that Wolfe's most devastating maneuver was his rebound lariat, which Wolfe missed before eventually hitting a different variation of his lariat to put Angle down. Well, which is it?
By rushing to the Hogan segment, TNA continued their pattern of frantic pattern of booking where nothing going on during the show truly sinks in on the viewing audience. These booking patterns are all going to take away the steam from the Wolfe-Angle program and any chance it has to build interest in a match between the two of them on PPV if it continues.
There were some good things about the Wolfe-Angle match. They appeared to have good in-ring chemistry and Wolfe did end the segment in a dominant position over Angle. It all goes back to the details and TNA's creative team has never been very good about that.
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