TNA Reaction Report
August 19, 2010
Aired on Spike TV - Official episode #2 (pilot aired 4/12)
Report by James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

After TNA Impact went off the air with a screwy finish to A.J. Styles vs. Tommy Dreamer, Abyss struggling to fit through the ropes to get out of the ring after his run-in, and the EV2.0 faction brawling with Fortune, Reaction picked up with a backstage shot of Abyss walking around. Abyss was saying "they" told him to take RVD out of the picture and Dreamer is next. Jeff Hardy is on the list, too.

Hardy then jumped Abyss and the shaky handheld camera tried to keep up with the brawl spilling out to the VIP catering area. Hardy choked Abyss, but Abyss turned the tables. He shouted down at Hardy that "they" are coming to take over. He told Hardy he won't have a spot. Abyss grabbed a chair to finish off Hardy, but Hardy kicked him in the gut and stole the chair to land a blow to the back. Bleep bleep.

They continued to fight in slow-motion with the camera very tight on the action. Abyss then knocked down Hardy before asking him if he wants to go to the hospital like his buddy, RVD. Hardy then got the upper hand and blasted Abyss with a chair to the back. Hardy then grabbed a ladder and climbed on top of a structure. Hardy teased a Swanton off the trailer, but security intervened. "C'mon, Jeff, c'mon, Jeff." Abyss was just fine and popped up to his feet. He told Hardy his career is over next.

Still to come tonight: interviews with TNA wrestlers talking about their championship aspirations. Brother Ray will claim the fans wanted to see the ECW reunion throwback. Also, Tommy Dreamer will explain the con. Or, is that part of the con? And Mick Foley will talk about current events in TNA.

TNA Title focus: The voice-over man talked about the history of the TNA World Title and its titleholders. They showed clips of RVD being taken off last week. The Pope was shown talking backstage that Abyss's "we, us, they" is fine for "entertainment purposes," but it needs to come to an end with Abyss jeopardizing RVD's life. They cut to Mr. Anderson talking to Jay Lethal. More of the "we go out to hurt each other in the ring, but Abyss...crossed the line." Anderson said he's done some heinous things, but Abyss took it too further. Lethal, as normal Lethal, played up the RVD story. Anderson said no one wants to win the title under these circumstances, but RVD got into wrestling knowing there are a-holes out there.

Tournament on Impact: They showed clips of Eric Bischoff making a decision "based on what the fans would want" to start a tournament for the vacant TNA Title. They showed clips of the tournament matches on Impact. Coming up next, the wrestlers who won their matches will talk about how they won. That should be the entire focus of this wrestling promotion: set up the match, focus on the match and the outcome, and wrestlers react to the win or the loss. Basic storytelling.

[Commercial Break]

Tournament follow-up: The voice-over announcer set up the tournament finals being settled at Bound for Glory in October. They cut to quick soundbytes from Kurt Angle and The Pope before talking about No Surrender where four men will be in the semi-final matches. Pope talked about having an opportunity to get back to the top. Next week, the road to BFG begins for Kurt Angle. Will Angle have enough fortitude to call himself World champion again?

Angle backstage: Kurt Angle was shown sitting down thinking about his future ahead of him. Angle said he wanted to run through the entire Top 10. He said he beat six guys to work his way back to #1, and all of a sudden, it's thrown to the side. Angle said RVD is a true champion, but he had something in his mind that he had set. He wanted to go through the Top 10 and win the TNA Title. They showed shots of Angle training in the gym. "When that got thrown aside for company reasons and RVD getting injured, it's just not right," he said. Angle said now he has to deal with this little tournament to accomplish his goal via shortcut. Angle guaranteed he'll be in the finals.

Pope profile: The voice-over man said Pope is trying to "jump to main event status." That means nothing in the context of a wrestling show. Pope was shown talking backstage about this being a fun opportunity to push himself and see what he can do with Mr. Anderson at No Surrender.

Mr. Anderson profile: He's still fighting for his first championship in TNA. Anderson was back to talking to Jay Lethal that if you didn't show up in TNA to win the title, then go home. Jeff Hardy was briefly shown in video clips before they cut back to Kurt Angle saying it doesn't matter if he's hurt because he can always "pull one out of my butt" to win.

Up next: Interviews with members of Fortune on EV2.0. Very good segment focused on the title chase and talking about winning matches. Of course, Angle somewhat exposed the silliness of the tournament disguised as a "shoot" on RVD being stripped of the title.

[Commercial Break. A spot aired for "Strikeforce: Houston" with a brief shot of Bobby Lashley. Lashley, as the attraction for the event, needed to be featured more prominently.]

Still to come: Mick Foley talks about Ric Flair, Angelina Love talks about the Knockouts Title, and a look at Brutus Magnus.

Last week: Fortune beat down EV2.0 at the end of the "Whole F'n Show." A.J. Styles was shown backstage giving a pep talk to...himself in the mirror? Styles told himself he's the money-maker. Brother Ray talked about them trying to make a name for themselves just like they used to. Ray said he's going to be "handing out receipts" swiftly and heavily. Raven said he's glad he enjoys pain, but that was brutal last week. He said that was beyond enjoyment; it was embarrassing and humiliating. Raven dropped "receipts" again. Ugh.

Impact: Ric Flair's promo with Fortune and insurance policies. They showed clips of Flair's promo daring the ECW wrestlers to call themselves wrestlers. He said they don't deserve to be in the business. They cut to Tommy Dreamer saying he respects Flair "liking to shoot," but they deserve a spot too. Dreamer said hardcore wrestling is doing everything you can for the fans. Dreamer, fresh off a "blood feud" with Raven at the PPV, was shown sitting down next to Raven during this promo. Back to Ray and Devon. Ray said they just wanted to pay a little homage to "that company" on "that night." Devon said brothers fight amongst themselves, but they won't let anyone else in the circle to touch them up. Devon vowed to end the offender's lives and careers.

Impact: Dixie Carter was shown talking to Ric Flair about Hogan and Bischoff warning her about Flair. That's funny. She was shown telling Flair he might be the dirtiest player in the game, but he's not the smartest because the ECW guys all have contracts now. Back to Dreamer backstage saying it should have been a "lovely, lovely night" that Dixie gave them contracts. Dreamer said they got contracts the unconventional way. He talked about ratings going up and buyrates skyrocketing. Dreamer said Hulk Hogan put them over. Raven said they just wanted to get a curtain call, but now they're going to hi-jack the show. Richards "shot on the young guys" for being at the bar at 1:00 a.m. while he's in the gym.

Impact main event: The voice-over man asked if "they" have finally been revealed as they cut to clips from the end of Impact where Fortune brawled with EV2.0, Abyss interfered against Dreamer, and Styles scored the pin on Dreamer. Backstage, the cameraman caught up with Kazarian, who said it had nothing to do with Abyss. Kaz walked into the men's room. Back to A.J. Styles, who said the "connection" with Fortune and Abyss may or may not be there, but the drama is finding out. Styles said everyone "loves a soap opera." Well, we know who wrote that line.

Next week: Ric Flair and Dixie Carter will come face-to-face for a confrontation. Still to come: focus on Brutus Magnus.

[Commercial Break]

Player of the Week: Brutus Magnus. Power. Athleticism. Good looks. He is simply Magnus. They focused on Magnus being the "new breed of a professional wrestling poised to take over TNA." They aired a historical profile on Magnus's career back in the U.K. leading to his debut in TNA. Magnus was shown talking in an empty Impact Zone about getting a break in TNA while still trying to learn and grow. Outside the ring, he studied acting. He talked about his opportunity to be on TV with "Gladiators" in the U.K. They showed clips of Magnus on a previous TNA tour of the U.K. where he pinned Matt Morgan. Hey, look, there's Rudy Charles.

Magnus talked up Kurt Angle as someone he wants to face in TNA. Magnus said his alliance with British Invasion allowed him to get the credibility he desired. He said they had a lot of success for a time, then decided to part ways. Magnus said the landscape has changed since then, so now he's associated with Desmond Wolfe. The voice-over man said Magnus's exposure overseas has made him one of TNA's most marketable international stars. Magnus said he's moving to Tampa to be closer to TNA. He said it feels good to be "Impact Player of the Week."

Up next: Mick Foley talks about his relationship with Ric Flair. Still to come: Knockouts and TNA Title tournament focus.

[Commercial Break]

Mick Foley promo: Foley was shown sitting in an empty Impact Zone to set up his discussion on Ric Flair. Foley said it's very involved. They went back to 1989 where Foley was a "struggling wrestler" when he showed up at the "we won't call it WCW" TV tapings in Atlanta. Foley said he was introduced to Ric Flair, who arranged for him to get a try-out. He said Flair was partially responsible for him getting him one of his first real jobs. Foley said he respects Flair, but doesn't always like him. He said they had a backstage altercation, which led to a "need for a receipt." Foley said things have been "very strained." He said they had a "very delicate truce." Foley said they were recently in India where he saw two countries fighting over a very small area, which made him wonder why. He said perhaps that's similar to him and Flair fighting over control of a "very small area" called the wrestling ring.

Knockouts focus: Madison Rayne talked about losing the KO Title last week. She claimed Angelina Love cheated. This was filmed before her re-match on Impact. They cut to clips from the three-minute title match where Angelina retained the title. Coming out of the match, they showed Angelina smiling with victory in hand. They showed Madison packing up her suitcase after the loss, followed by clips of Velvet Sky attacking Rayne ringside. And the Beautiful People were reunited as Velvet and Angelina. They showed Madison still fixing her suitcase while talking about her association with the mystery "biker girl." They showed Madison and "biker girl" walking around in the backstage area of the sound studio.

Up Next: Focus on the Motor City Machineguns and the four semi-finalists in the TNA Title tournament talk about the tournament.

[Commercial Break]

ECW vs. Fortune: What's next for the feud between EV2.0 and Fortune? Brother Devon was shown talking about "taking care of business" after Fortune didn't finish the job. He said they better be ready. Ray said they're like cockroaches. Dreamer was shown talking about his Dreamer comeback because his "mushy body" can absorb so much punishment. Styles was talking into the mirror again. He said this isn't a backyard; it's professionals taking care of business. Styles said he's not letting outsiders come into TNA to take over what he's built.

Back to Brother Ray talking about Ric Flair trying to rebuild the Four Horsemen "for years." He complemented Flair's selections, but said they went after the wrong guys. Ray said they could just end his legendary career by putting him through a flying table. Also next week, Guns vs. GenMe in a non-title match to see if GenMe can hang in the tag division. Also, Samoa Joe makes his return to Impact. Will Joe be a "man on his own island" or will he get involved in the feud?

Tournament focus: Who will get the advantage going into the No Surrender semi-final matches? Mr. Anderson said next week, he'll find another victim. Pope said he's excited about the tournament. He said the congregation is strong and he's back on track. Pope vowed to get the job done. Kurt Angle said he was going through the Top 10 and now it's an elimination tournament. He said if he loses, he will still retire.

There was a knock on the door and Anderson walked in. Anderson sat down next to Angle and brought up their history together. Anderson said he doesn't know what will happen next week - any man can be beaten on any given day - but from the bottom of his heart, and he means this, he respects the hell out of Angle. Angle asked Anderson why he respects him. Anderson thought it over and said he's busted his ass like no one else in the business. Anderson told him he could have packed it in and gone home, but he's given the fans more than what he deserves. Angle said that's good enough. They shook hands. "I respect you, man," Anderson said. "I do." Anderson walked off and Angle shook his head. "What an asshole," he said to close the show.

The credits rolled, crediting Bischoff & Hervey, Dixie Carter, then Russo & Kevin Sullivan. The other Kevin Sullivan.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Just looking at the production value, there were definite improvements over last week's episode. It was a much more focused show, although it still needs to be cut down to half-an-hour. The tournament focus was strong, but the more the wrestlers talked about the ECW vs. Fortune angle, the less intriguing it sounded, which could have been avoided in a 30-minute show. TNA needs to limit the angle's exposure before too much of the audience figures out they're watching a promotion that ran out of ideas, prompting the focus on a dated brand.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "TNA TV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. To contribute your thoughts on Reaction, click here.

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