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TNA Impact
WILKENFELD'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 10/28: Complete "virtual time" coverage of Spike TV broadcast [updated]

Oct 28, 2010 - 10:59:24 PM
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO BOOKMARK US & VISIT US DAILY


By: Daniel Wilkenfeld, PWTorch Contributor

KennedyMrArt_130GG_1.jpg
Where We've Been: There's been a lot of talking the last couple weeks, and a lot of power-mongering by Immortal. Somehow Anderson was granted a title shot, presumably because of his arm injury. This seems like a hard PPV to sell—if they play up the injury, it'll be hard to sell that Anderson has a chance against Hardy (who beat him healthy and clean). If they don't, it won't be clear why Bischoff lets Anderson get a shot. Anyway, I'm already running late, so let's go right to


The Show:

Mickie James and Tara are brawling in the back. Production is clearly experimenting with some different lighting and camera-angles—I appreciate the effort, but it doesn't really work. They brawl to the more traditional backstage area, where Madison Rayne jumps Mickie from behind. The heels look for a Suplex on the concrete, but Angelina Love and Velvet Sky jump them. They in turn get attacked by Sarita, so it's 3 on 3. I'm always happy to see Sarita. The focus stays on Tara and Mickie, as Love pairs off with the champ and Sky and Sarita fight in the background. Mickie takes of her belt and belts Tara as Rayne and Love fight to the outskirts of the Impact Zone. Rayne whips Love into some kind of book case, which falls onto her leg. Meanwhile, Velvet Sky beats Sarita to the announce table with a broom, then tries to Suplex her off the elevated platform. Sarita blocks it. Mickie and Tara fight out to the Impact Zone too. Tenay tells us that Tara blames Mickie James for her release from WWE. Mickie hits a cool Lou Thesz Press off what might have been the barricade, but we can't tell because of all the changing camera shots. All three pairs fight their way into the ring. It's a good thing there were no matches scheduled for now. Ric Flair comes down the ramp with Gunner & Murphy. Flair gets between Tara and Mickie, so Tara slaps him. Flair flops. Flair gets up ticked, but Mickie begs off. Then he tries to interject himself a bit more forcefully, and Mickie slaps him twice. Flair grabs a mic and tells them to get a grip. He tells Mickie that if she ever slaps him again he'll make a woman out of her. Did he just threaten to rape her? Otherwise I don't know what that means. Flair says that if they want to fight, they can do it in a match. Tonight it'll be the Beautiful People and that nut-job Mickey vs. Sarita, Tara, and Madison Rayne. The knockouts listen politely, then break out brawling again.

[Introduction—all the footage they added after BFG is still there, for those who are curious. Taz says that Hulk Hogan edited the video himself]

Tonight we'll see Jay Lethal vs. Robbie E in a street fight for a shot at the X Division Championship, Ink Inc. vs. Generation Me vs. The Motor City Machine Guns in a Tag Team Championship Match, and Jeff Jarrett vs. Mr. Anderson in a Chain Match. That actually sounds like a wicked good card if they plan to really deliver (hint: they don't).

The Pope is rolling a casket to the ring.

[Commercial Break]

Hardy gloats over Anderson bleeding last week.

Bischoff thanks Flair for dealing with the women. Flair's a little curious where Bischoff was the last half hour, but Bischoff says that Flair handled it fine. Hogan's off acquiring some talent for Immortal, and he's talking about major talent here. Gunner and Murphy are chuckling about something, and Bischoff punks them out for letting Kurt Angle get that close to him last week. If he gets to them again, it'll mean Gunner and Murphy's asses. Some guy walks in and says that he needs to talk to "Eric". He's corrected, and asks to talk to Mr. Bischoff and Mr. Flair. He's the head trainer, and he wants to confirm that they're not serious about putting Anderson in a match last night. After a moment's tease, Bischoff confirms that they will. The trainer says that Anderson suffered a concussion last week. Bischoff says that this isn't the NFL—wrestlers are paid to work, and sometimes that means they work hurt. That's a bullshit cheap shot. Flair makes the more reasonable point that no one seemed to have health concerns when he and Mick Foley were rolling around in thumb tacks and bleeding for half an hour. The trainer says that they're talking about head trauma—don't they know how serious that is from the NFL crackdown? Flair says that yeah, and that the NFL's ratings are going down while TNA's are going up.

[REDACTED: a long angry rant about how TNA is on the wrong side of the concussion issue which, aside from one unprotected head shot, actually is dealt with much more responsibly this show than I had anticipated. I sincerely apologize for the gun-jumping in the real-time coverage]

The trainer asks about Dixie's talent-protecting policy. Bischoff says that Dixie is old news, and they're here to take care of business. And since the trainer doesn't have an appointment, he's not business. He registers his protest and leaves.

Pope is in the ring, with the casket at ringside. He says that it's time for the Pope to address the congregation. He gets an "amen". Apparently there's a monster on the loose, and that monster is filled with demonic spirits, but that's okay, since Pope'll just pimp-slap him over and over. Since Abyss has decided to embrace his evil ways, Pope says that it's time to do something about it. He gets another "amen". How about we all get together here, and Pope's gonna take that 350 lb. Nightmare-ish monster, wrap him up, and send him straight to hell. Abyss appears in the crowd. He hates to interrupt this sacred vigil between Pope and his congregation, but he comes with standing orders from Immortal. Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff have instructed him to extinguish the flame that is "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero. When he meets Abyss, the only thing Pope will need will be a priest to administer his last rites. And as for all the pathetic and ignorant sheep who comprise his congregation, they too are no longer safe. You never know when or where, but he is coming for all of us, one by one. He grabs two fans from ringside and pulls them away with him. They looked really young, so I think they might have gotten actual fans to volunteer. That'd be neat. Pope is stunned for a minute, then gives chase.

Jarrett is in the back. He had no idea the stage was that high last week—he's only been here since day one. Jarrett tells Joe he'll meet him at Turning Point. Tonight's about taking out the one-armed bandit Ken Anderson, who's delusional dreams of taking the title are about to come crashing down.

[Commercial Break]

Matt Morgan approaches the Nature Boy as he's hitting on some employee or other. Morgan says that she works here, and doesn't Ric know what happened to Brett Favre. Morgan says that as a two-sport athlete no one knows more about concussions than he does, and he's not sure about this plan to make him wrestle. They're doing a lot of studies and know a lot more then they did in Flair's day. Flair says that it's still his day, and that it's just part of the business of professional wrestling. Morgan nods, but doesn't seem totally convinced.

Maybe Flair was supposed to sound heelish when he ripped on the NFL earlier. My guess is that this will still be really stupid by the end of the night.

(1) JAY LETHAL vs. ROBBIE E. (w/COOKIE)
#1 Contender's Street Fight

Lethal sprints to the ring, ducks a clothesline attempt and unloads with a string of rights. He whips Robbie off into the ropes, and Robbie rolls out of the ring. Lethal leaps out onto him. He grabs a trash can lid and plants Robbie E straight on the head, seemingly unprotected—wow, that didn't take long to tick me off again. That has to be some kind of record. Lethal suplexes Robbie onto a road sign. Robbie drives Lethal into the apron as he gets up. He sets up some road barricades in parallel, but then turns into a chop from Lethal. Lethal lifts him up and crotches him on the barricade. He hits some mounted punches, then rolls Robbie back into the ring. Robbie hits a knee lift, then whacks Lethal down with a sledge for one. He lays in with stomps. I get it—he's like Orlando Jordan without the personality or move-set! Cookie passes Robbie a kendo stick. While he poses with it Lethal recovers, takes the stick, and whacks Robbie on the back. Lethal gets a trash can from ringside and shoves it down onto Robbie's torso. He whacks it (sort of) with the stick. Lethal signals that he's going to go to the top rope, but the crowd chants for him to do it one more time. Lethal, having a better sense of improvisation than many today, obliges and does it again. He then goes to the top rope. Cookie grabs his leg and sprays something out of a can into his eyes. Lethal falls into a Neck Breaker by Robbie E, which is somehow enough for the win.

WINNER: Robbie E in six minutes. For those keeping score at home, in addition to the worst gimmick of all time he's now shown exactly two moves (three if you count a knee lift as a move). This show started off so promisingly with the women.

Speaking of the women, Velvet Sky and Angelina Love are in hair and makeup. They're outraged by Sarita disrespecting them after not being on the show for months. Velvet Sky asks to be allowed to handle Sarita, since she'll finish that bitch off. She says she needs to go call Chris. Did I miss when they started this relationship, or are they just being super low-key about it? Sky leaves, and Winter (her imaginary friend or something from last week) is there. Love wants to know why she keeps creeping up on her. She replies that when people share a bond like they do, it is the universe that draws them together. Does Angelina believe in fate? She says she doesn't. Sky walks back in, and Winter's vanished. There's just the makeup lady, who's apparently been there the whole time off-camera. Sky says that Love is really starting to worry her. JUST CHECK THE DAMNED TAPE.

[Commercial Break]

We recap Bischoff driving a wedge between RVD and the rest of EV 2.0.

EV 2.0 are in the ring, and RVD's music hits. I get that they have to keep him busy till the payoff match with Hardy, but can't they find something more interesting for him to do? I could always go for RVD vs. AJ III. Dreamer says that they're going to end this right now. They've known RVD for 15 years. Sabu's uncle trained him. RVD was the one who called Dreamer and told him to come here, since it's so laid back. What happened last week with Sabu (planting RVD with a chair) was an accident, and RVD knows it. Van Dam asks how he's supposed to know that. Jeff Hardy had him opened up like a frog for dissection, so RVD doesn't know who to trust. Dreamer says that this is what Bischoff wants. Hardy was always strange, and now he's just a scum bag. That gets a huge pop. Dreamer points out that Bischoff is always trying to pull garbage like this. Raven is chuckling. He says that RVD is just paranoid. Maybe he shouldn't be involved with the weed he advocates, and should find a new cause (don't they usually use a euphemism for weed?). Bischoff's just like Raven—he's a super-genius. Now he's got RVD twisted, castrated, emasculated, and exasperated. EV 2.0 are RVD's friends. RVD says that Dreamer doesn't even realize that the stooge Bischoff's been talking about is Raven. They get in each others' faces. Fortune's music hits, and they hit the top of the ramp. Flair says that it's fun watching the dysfunction that is EV 2.0, especially compared to the class and power that is Fortune. They'll be meeting at Turning Point, for the last time. RVD and Raven better kiss and make up, since they'll be facing Kazarian and AJ Styles tonight . Doug Williams tries to stay something to Flair, but Flair talks over him. That's interesting.

The women's match is up next.

[Commercial Break]

Fortune are having a pow-wow in the back. They're yelling at Williams for having a bad attitude. Williams says that he's said his piece, and there's no point sitting around yelling like a bunch of Americans. Kazarian says the Brit shouldn't talk, since they're always complaining about our beer being too cold (?) and us calling football "football". Flair says that Williams is a big part of Fortune, and that they stick together. If Williams really wants to wrestle tonight, Kazarian can just take the night off. Everyone seems happy with that. Flair hears from Storm that there's beer and women out in the limo, so he wanders off.

(3) SARITA, MADISON RAYNE & TARA vs. VELVET SKY, ANGELINA LOVE, & MICKIE JAMES

The faces jump the heels from behind on their way down the ramp. Gunner and Murphy break up the pre-match brawl. Eventually they get all the women separated and call for the bell. Rayne jumps Love to start. Love comes back with a kick and a clothesline, so Rayne tags in Tara. Love hits her side-Stunner, then tags in Sky. They hit a double-team Russian Leg Sweep for two. Sky comes off the rope with a multi-rotation Twisting Leg Scissors. When did she learn that? Mickie tags in, then for some reason just lets Tara tag Sarita (I guess to expose Tara's cowardice?). Mickie pulls herself up to the top rope in the corner, grabs Sarita between the legs, glares at Tara, then hits her twisting head scissors. Tara hits a cheap shot from the apron, and Sarita tags in Rayne. Rayne steps on Mickie's head against the bottom rope, then wraps it up in her legs and smashes it against the mat a few times. Tara tags in and yanks Mickie up by the hair, then drops her down. Mickie fights back from her knees, and nails a sort of Union Jack-like move that sends her and Tara down. Sarita and Love tag in. Love hits a flying clothesline, then a chop. She picks up Sarita, but before she can hit anything Tara breaks things up. Mickie tags in and hits a Lou Thesz Press off the top. She rolls into the the wrong corner and gets beaten down. Tara and Rayne enter the ring, but lower their heads too early on a Back Body Drop. Mickie fights Tara to the outside, tagging Sky as she goes. Sky comes in with a Spinning Wheel Kick off the top rope, then hits a mean DDT on Sarita. Rayne breaks it up, and things break down. Rayne hits an inverted Ozone on Love as Mickie politely watches (the timing was a bit off here). Mickie nails the Impaler DDT on Tara, but then turns into a Widow's Peak from Tara. The Beautiful People hit Tara with simultaneous kicks. Sarita runs in, tosses Love from the ring, and nails a Tiger Bomb (a cross between a Tiger Suplex and a Sit Out Powerbomb) on Sky for the win.

WINNERS: Madison Rayne, Tara, and Sarita in 7 minutes. That was pretty good. The crowd was oddly quiet though. Velvet Sky looked at least ten times sharper than she ever has before—I'm not sure why.

The Pope is still looking for Abyss and his hostages. He hears a scream and starts running.

[Commercial Break]

Abyss lets his hostages go so that he can attack Pope. Pope ducks an attempted broom shot and unloads with some strikes, driving Abyss into the side of the conveniently nearby casket. Abyss whips Pope into the metal paneling, chokes him, then opens the casket. He says that he's prepared Pope's final resting place special. Wasn't that Pope's casket? I'm so confused. He puts Pope into it and closes the lid. He realizes he's missing his "baby girl" and goes for Janice. He uses Janice to dent the casket, then flips it over.

In the ring, Max of Generation Me says that the Guns need to realize that it's not about Xbox, it's about "Me". Ink Inc. need to realize that sleeving your arms isn't cool. It's about Me—it's all about Generation Me. Ink Inc. hit the ring next. Moore takes the mic. He says that Matt and Jeff from 1998 called and they want their gear back. Ha—that was kind of funny. Generation Me doesn't understand what Ink Inc. stands for. They stand for the 1% of people who are willing to get tattooed, the people who are willing to get pierced, and everyone else who expresses themselves. They represent everyone in the Impact Zone.

[Commercial Break]

(4) THE MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS (c) vs. GENERATION ME vs. INK INC.
Triple Threat Tag Team Championship Match

This seems to be operating under 3 Corners rules, since The Guns are both on the apron. Neal starts things off with a shoulder block and a cover on Jeremy Buck. Max pops Neal from the apron and tags in, which gives Jeremy a chance to nail a back elbow. Max hits a Guillotine Drop and makes the cover, which Shelley breaks up at one. GM pop Sabin off the apron, then Jeremy grabs Shelley's head in a Head Scissors as Max dropkicks him. Jeremy tags back in, and Max lifts him up for a big dropkick. Tenay on commentary disses my whole generation. Max tags in and hits a double stomp on Neal's arm. He drops an elbow, which gets two. Max hits a nice high dropkick, then tags Jeremy back in. Jeremy stomps Neal's head a couple time, then drives it into the top turnbuckle. He tags in Max, who tries to elevate Jeremy into another dropkick, but Jeremy gets caught in a Spine Buster. That was smooth. Neal kicks off Max and makes the tag to Moore, who comes in with a Cross Body Block off the top rope. He hits a leg lariat, an Inverted Atomic Drop, and a Spinning Wheel Kick. Jeremy breaks up the ensuing cover at two. Generation Me try to double-team Moore, but he hits his two-man-Hurricanrana-of-baffling-physics. Both Max and Jeremy roll out of the ring, so Moore elevates Jesse Neal up and over the rope onto him. Moore runs the ropes as if to follow, but Shelley cuts him off with a kick. Sabin hits a Suicide Dive to Jeremy Buck between Shelley's legs. Moore dropkicks Shelley to the floor, then runs the ropes as if to fly. Max Buck has sneaked up behind him though, so he switches to a Springboard Moonsault onto Buck for a long two count. Neal tags back in. He lifts Max to his shoulders. Max slips out and into the corner, where he eats corner clothesline from Moore, then Neal, then Sabin, then Shelley. Jeremy tries to come to the rescue, but the Guns stack him up in the corner in front of his brother. Sabin nails a leaping forearm, then drops to his knees so Shelley can nail Poetry in Motion, Shelley goes to his knees so Sabin can use him as a springboard, and then Moore comes off Shelley onto Generation Me too. Sabin blind tags out Max Buck as Moore clears Shelley and Generation Me from the ring. Sabin tries to springboard into the ring, but Neal catches him and holds him up for the Moore-gasm. The ref gets to two before Jeremy Buck pulls him out. Moore flies out onto Geneation Me, which leaves Neal alone in the ring to eat an Ensuguri from Shelley and Skull and Bones for the loss.

WINNERS: The Motor City Machine Guns in six minutes so packed with action they took almost 20 to recap.

After the match Team 3D come down to the ring, Ray applauding as they go. Ray shares a fist pump with the Guns and Ink Inc., who for some reason are still in the ring. Ray says that everyone has to agree that TNA has the best tag division in the entire world. That draws the predictable pop and chant. Ray rattles off the names of the four teams around the ring, plus Beer Money. He says that at Bound for Glory they made up their minds, and Team 3D are officially retiring. The crowd boos. He knows it's not the most popular decision in the world, but it's something they need to do, and he thanks us for always being behind them. They said that if they're going out they want to do it against the best, and since the Guns are the champions that's them. At Turning Point it'll be one more match—they're just waiting on an answer from the Guns. Shelley says that he'll be honest with them—three years ago they took a team of boys and turned them into men. The Guns learned a lot from 3D—they're living legends, and as far as he's concerned on the top of the tag team ladder. Now The Guns have climbed that same ladder, and he's always considered them people's champions. He ask who wants to see the Guns and Team 3D one more time. The crowd cheers, so Shelley and Ray shake on it—hugs and raised arms are shared all around.

Matt Morgan goes into Bischoff's office, who's laughing about the match with Anderson and Jarrett. He says that it'll mean ratings. Morgan asks whether this is really all about ratings. Bischoff says that it always is. Morgan wants to know if this isn't just a little irresponsible. Bischoff replies that this is part of the job. Matt says that this is a bigger issue than just tonight—it's about the well-being and safety of the wrestlers generally. Morgan isn't hypocritical—he put Hernandez on the shelf with a concussion—but Hernandez then stayed on the shelf for 3 months. Bischoff says that he's heard enough. This isn't about safety. Bischoff is safe—Gunner and Murphy are safe. This is about business, and business is best when people like Anderson do what they're told. What is Morgan worried about? Bischoff has Gunner and Murphy escort Morgan from his office as Morgan mutters about how this is irresponsible.

We'll hear from Jeff Hardy next.

[Commercial Break]

Morgan is trying to go see Anderson in the locker room, but the trainer doesn't trust him. Morgan promises that he's just hear to talk.

Taz and Tenay bicker over whether Morgan's pushing his point too hard, then run over the Turning Point Card. Mickie James vs. Tara has been added to the card, as has Team 3D vs. The Guns.

Jeff Hardy, via video, says that as he looks down on the world from 25000 feet above, he realizes that he was always in control of his own destiny. As he catered to the creatures of the night for their acceptance, Bischoff and Hogan made him realize that our acceptance was meaningless. It didn't bring him fame, and it didn't bring him money. He is the here, and he is the now. He is the anti-Christ of professional wrestling (he says).

RVD & Raven vs. Fortune is up next.

[Commercial Break]

(5) DOUGLAS WILLIAMS & AJ STYLES vs. RVD & RAVEN

RVD and Raven come out separately, so Raven gets ambushed before the bell. RVD flips over the heels and tosses Williams from the ring. Raven takes advantage of the reprieve to knock AJ out over the top rope. Williams comes back in and hits a European Uppercut. He tries to drive RVD's head into the top turnbuckle, but RVD gets his leg up to block, then kicks Williams in the face. RVD hits Rolling Thunder, and AJ has to break up the ensuing cover. Williams wrenches RVD's back with a half-camel-clutch, then tags in AJ. AJ hits a Body Slam and a high knee drop for two. RVD fights back, but AJ grabs his leg as Williams pops Raven off the apron. AJ tags in Williams,who hits some stomps, then covers for one. He locks in a front chancery. Raven gets back up onto the apron, so AJ comes over and dropkicks him off, then tags in. He Snapmares RVD into a chin lock. RVD tries to power out, but AJ wrenches him back down to the mat by the hair. Brian Hebner's not a fan of the hair pull, and while AJ argues (first with Hebner, then a bit with Williams) RVD recovers enough to pop AJ with a Wheelbarrow Kick. Ric Flair runs down to the ring and plants Raven in the face with the TV title. RVD crawls over for the tag, and is not happy not to see Raven absent. Williams tags in. RVD kicks him off, nails AJ with a Superkick, then hits his step-over Ensuguri on Williams. He goes to look for Raven, and AJ leaps over him and gets a Guillotine Drop against the top rope. Williams hits a European Uppercut, and AJ comes off the top rope with a Flying Forearm. AJ goes for the cover, but he's not legal. Williams hits (sort of) a knee off the top rope, but AJ blind-tags himself in and makes the cover.

WINNERS: AJ Styles & Douglas Williams in six minutes. Neither Williams nor RVD seems happy. I like both Raven and Williams, but this match didn't have quite the same zing as last week's.

[Commercial Break]

We're past 11 o'clock when we get back, but if there was a show-switchover I didn't notice it.

Jarrett comes out for the main event, his wrist attached to one end of a chain. He calls out Anderson. Anderson's music hits, but Matt Morgan comes out instead, mic in hand. Jarrett nods along happily. Oh, now's the show-break.

[END SHOW]

Morgan, in the ring, tells Jeff to hang on. He and Jeff are boys. The problem is that no one in the back will listen to a word he has to say. So maybe Morgan can talk some sense into Jeff. Jeff's been wrestling since he was sixteen. In the thousands of matches in his illustrious career, he must have wrestled some matches with concussions. But in Jarrett's defense, he didn't know then what they know now. Morgan is a card-carrying member of the Sports Legacy Institute, which does brain-surgery research on ex pro athletes. It's a hot topic in all sports. There's 55 year old athletes walking around with the brain power of 85 year-old Alzheimer's patients, and that makes Morgan sick. Jeff doesn't want that for himself—Matt knows him, and knows about his family. It's up to "us"--the pro athletes—to dictate that when a guy is down, and he's had enough, it's enough. The crowd is really confused about how to react. Jarrett asks if Morgan is freaking kidding him. Does he think Jarrett cares about Anderson? He threw Joe off a stage last week without blinking an eye. He's in this to survive. He doesn't care about Joe, he doesn't care about Angle, and, after tonight, he doesn't care about Morgan. The massacre of Mr. Anderson is taking place tonight, and there ain't a damn thing Morgan or anyone else can do about it. He tells Morgan to get out of his damned ring now. The crowd finally decides to back Morgan, coming alive. Morgan starts to leave the ring, then stops himself. He grabs the other end of the chain and hooks himself in. He says that Jarrett's right that he can't do anything from the back (did I miss a line?), but what he can do is kick Jarrett's ass right now. Jarrett starts to beg off, but then pops Morgan. Morgan backs him into a corner, then tosses him out. He does the reverse-Choke Slam into the ring post, then nails his series of back elbows. He hits a big charge, then uses the chain to pull Jarrett into a Side Slam. Jarrett tries to flee, but Morgan keeps yanking him back into punches. He hits a Fall Away Slam on Jarrett, who rolls out of the ring. He follows him out and beats him down against the barricade. Jarrett slips away and yanks Morgan into the ring post. Taz and Tenay debate the ethics of acting as part of a group when you disagree with the leaders' decisions. Really? Morgan, now busted open, yanks Jarrett into the ring post. They roll back into the ring. Jarrett creates some distance with a right hand, but when he tries to come off the middle rope Morgan catches him with a Choke Slam. He signals for the Carbon Footprint, but Jarrett ducks beneath it and uses the chain to crotch Morgan. Jarrett hits the quick Stroke for the win.

WINNER: Jeff Jarrett in 3 minutes. The plan behind the booking here is lost on me.

Jarrett calls for Anderson, and so misses Morgan getting up behind him. Morgan looks pissed. He clotheslines Jarrett and wraps the chain around his neck, but the rest of Fortune (sans Williams and Flair) come down to the ring and swarm Morgan. Jarrett fashions a primitive noose out of the chain, and they hang Morgan from the ropes. It's actually a pretty brutal visual. Where's the help?

Where We're Going: So working wrestling's traditional complete lack of responsibility with respect to concussions into the plot is something that really did not occur to me; it's innovative, and I like it a lot. That being said, there were two main problems with the execution: 1) The unprotected(-seeming, anyway) head shot in the Robbie E match made it seem like Bischoff was right and TNA really doesn't care about its people, which I can't believe was supposed to be the take-home message. 2) Morgan's loss in almost no time did nothing for Jarrett, and immediately deflated what could have been a red-hot face streak by Morgan. The heels got in the last word, so this could have been a semi-plausible way to give a quick cathartic moment amidst weeks of Immortal dominance. As it is, I'd like to see Morgan incorporated into the main event picture, as honestly I'm not that psyched to see Hardy vs. Anderson II anyway.

Star of the Night: Matt Morgan.

Overall: As I said, I really like the potential of the concussion plot-line. I think it's relatively new, and somewhat adult. You could tell the audience was a bit confused at first, but since we are not actually the idiots bookers seem to think we are (at least for the most part), the crowd came around to Morgan pretty quickly. The head shot in the Lethal match and the Morgan loss were both a bit of a blow though. I could chalk the former up to a miscommunication between people handling different parts of the show, but the latter bit of booking is simply mystifying. There was some decent wrestling in this show too, with the tag team triple threat rising above decent to very good (the women's match would have as well if it hadn't been for a few timing issues). Even he RVD—EV 2.0 stuff, which I wasn't a fan of coming in, was done fairly compellingly (though RVD had better have seen the tape of Flair popping Raven before next week's show). Take away the stupidity that is Robbie E getting a major push, the gratuitous head-shot, the Morgan loss, Abyss pulling Pope into stupid plots, and the even stupider bit with Angelina Love's invisible friend who's APPEARED ON NATIONAL TELEVISION TWICE, and this was a pretty solid episode with a nice arc. Add those things back in though, and you're left with maybe a B-

Daniel is a graduate fellow at The Ohio State University. He's really hoping that Angelina Love's invisible friend turns out to be Mr. Snuffleupagas. Other funny suggestions and other comments can be sent to dawilk316@gmail.com.


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THE TORCH REACHES MORE COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT FANS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE

PWTorch editor Wade Keller has covered pro wrestling full time since 1987 starting with the Pro Wrestling Torch print newsletter. PWTorch.com launched in 1999 and the PWTorch Apps launched in 2008.

He has conducted "Torch Talk" insider interviews with Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Steve Austin, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Eric Bischoff, Jesse Ventura, Lou Thesz, Jerry Lawler, Mick Foley, Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Bruno Sammartino, Goldberg, more.

He has interviewed big-name players in person incluiding Vince McMahon (at WWE Headquarters), Dana White (in Las Vegas), Eric Bischoff (at the first Nitro at Mall of America), Brock Lesnar (after his first UFC win).

He hosted the weekly Pro Wrestling Focus radio show on KFAN in the early 1990s and hosted the Ultimate Insiders DVD series distributed in retail stories internationally in the mid-2000s including interviews filmed in Los Angeles with Vince Russo & Ed Ferrara and Matt & Jeff Hardy. He currently hosts the most listened to pro wrestling audio show in the world, (the PWTorch Livecast, top ranked in iTunes)


REACHING 1 MILLION+ UNIQUE USERS PER MONTH
500 MILLION CLICKS & LISTENS PER YEAR
MILLIONS OF PWTORCH NEWSLETTERS SOLD
PWTORCH STAFF

EDITORS:
Wade Keller, editor
(kellerwade@gmail.com)

James Caldwell, assistant editor
(pwtorch@gmail.com)

STAFF COLUMNISTS:
Bruce Mitchell (since 1990)
Pat McNeill (since 2001)
Greg Parks (since 2007)
Sean Radican (since 2003)

We also have a great team of
TV Reporters
and Specialists and Artists.

PWTORCH VIP MEMBERSHIP

PWTorch offers a VIP membership for $10 a month (or less with an annual sub). It includes nearly 25 years worth of archives from our coverage of pro wrestling dating back to PWTorch Newsletters from the late-'80s filled with insider secrets from every era that are available to VIPers in digital PDF format and Keller's radio show from the early 1990s.

Also, new exclusive top-shelf content every day including a new VIP-exclusive weekly 16 page digital magazine-style (PC and iPad compatible) PDF newsletter packed with exclusive articles and news.

The following features come with a VIP membership which tens of thousands of fans worldwide have enjoyed for many years...

-New Digital PWTorch Newsletter every week
-3 New Digital PDF Back Issues from 5, 10, 20 years ago
-Over 60 new VIP Audio Shows each week
-Ad-free access to all PWTorch.com free articles
-VIP Forum access with daily interaction with PWTorch staff and well-informed fellow wrestling fans
-Tons of archived audio and text articles
-Decades of Torch Talk insider interviews in transcript and audio formats with big name stars.


**SIGN UP FOR VIP ACCESS HERE**

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