Pro Wrestling Chronicle

TNA hit a home run last night. They did the one thing I’ve been imploring for months now- stop with the crazy gimmick stuff and let the wrestlers just go out and do what they do best. I’m not crazy enough to take credit for the turnaround last night am I

I’m not- with that tease out of the way let’s get to it.

The Good:

- James Storm and Chris Harris had what should go down as a modern classic. This was an old school style bloodbath mixed with some new school touch. They avoided the usual downfalls of Texas Death Matches (pinfalls that come way too fast) and put together a stiff looking brawl. Both guys were a mess by the end, especially Storm whose face was covered in blood by the end. He was leaving puddles everywhere he was in the ring and I think in lieu of wiping the mat down they just switched it out.

- The 3 way and 4 way X Division matches. The X Division title match kicked off the show and Chris Sabin, Jay Lethal, and Sonjay Dutt put together a very nicely paced little match. Sabin has really come into his own as a heel and was really good pacing that match and keeping it together. The 4 way match was pretty good as well although they could’ve used maybe 5 more minutes to effectively tell a story.

- Samoa Joe & AJ Styles had another fairly good match. It may not have matched up to any of their classics but it was a different style of match from all them and they made it work. Joe outsmarting Styles at the end fit real nice with Styles act and gives him some momentum again. Styles is another guy who has come into his own as a heel.

- Kip James promo before the handicap match against Basham and Damaja. If James showed half as much fire in the ring as he did behind the mic he would be worth keeping around.

- The finish to the title match while upsetting some gives them a nice way to break from the NWA title. I would assume this means a King of the Mountain match at Slammiversary (a gimmick match I apparently like more than most) and it allows them to put their main event guys into one match freeing up slots for some undercard guys on the big pay per view.

The Bad:

- Nothing really, but one little gripe. Mike Tenay and Don West were downright horrible at times last night- more West than Mike. They don’t know how to convey the proper emotion during matches or after spots. Rhyno set up Christopher Daniels to piledrive him through two chairs in the ring and they were cheering like they were at a high school football game with their team driving for the winning touchdown. When security stopped him they questioned why security would stop him. The correct emotion there is that even though Daniels has it coming Rhyno might be going to far. Later during the Death Match about 15 minutes in Harris charged at Storm and speared him through a table at ringside. West and Tenay said, “Harris was playing possum.” No, after 15 minutes of being brutalized it was a last ditch effort. If they sell that Harris might’ve used the last of his energy to pull it off it makes it more effective. It was a minor gripe last night because everything else was so good.

The rest:

- The tag title match wasn’t great but it wasn’t offensive either. It did end with the reformation of the Steiners which has some nostalgia value for a match or two. I’d love to see a Steiner Brothers/Team 3D match if for nothing else than seeing Bubba try to shoot on either Rick or Scott.

TNA needs more of this. They focused on the in-ring product and it paid off. They need to build up goodwill again and drive home the point that our TV show is an amped up hour of tv. Drive home the fact that seeing really good matches and action is going to cost 29.95 a month.