TNA: It's the real deal
Got a chance over the weekend to watch a replay of TNA Lockdown. I haven't been able to watch any of TNA wrestling since I don't have/refuse to pay for cable, so this was going to be a first for me.
And I must say, I was very surprised.
First off, the six sided ring is a great idea. And surrounding it with a cage for every match was a great idea. At first, the ring seemed to be too small. I thought they should make it a bit bigger, but as the night went on, the size of the ring didn't matter.
Promos and interviews: unlike their competition, TNA kept their promos and interviews to a short time. The longest, which was probably 3 or 4 minutes in length, was a brilliant and sadistic promo by James Mitchell prior to the Heavyweight Title match.
The matches were really well done for the most part.
I thought the Christopher Daniels vs. A Mystery Opponent match was extremely well done, especially when his opponent was his former partner Low-Ki (now Senshi). The look on Daniels' face was priceless.
The six man X-Division match was great, even with Chase Stevens missing the Shooting Star Press from the top of the cage (and he wasn't even mad at the guys for not catching him, even though he just returned from a BROKEN NECK!).
Christian Cage has never looked better. In the WWE, he seemed to be one of those guys who had the talent (and of course, the charisma) but never got the shot he deserved. As TNA champion, he's really shown what he can do. Against Abyss in the cage I saw a man who I couldn't believe was Christian. And the frog splash from the top of the cage? Incredible! Really well done match, and the buildup to the match was perfect. When WWE does a stalking angle, it sucks (just remember DDP...). When TNA does it, they make it look good.
But the move of the night came in the other main event. The 8 man Lethal Lockdown match. Eight men in a hexagonal cage with a roof. Weapons were suspended from the roof of the cage. A.J. Styles and Chris Harris were on the roof. A table got set up on the roof. Then a ladder.
And then the unthinkable...A.J. Styles climbed the ladder, held on to a scaffold that was above the cage, and then leaped down onto Harris' body. The table, as usual, snapped into toothpicks. The crowd went nuts. I went silent. Even the six men in the cage had to pause and watch this happen. It was that amazing. No wonder they call Styles "Phenominal".
A few thoughts.
And I must say, I was very surprised.
First off, the six sided ring is a great idea. And surrounding it with a cage for every match was a great idea. At first, the ring seemed to be too small. I thought they should make it a bit bigger, but as the night went on, the size of the ring didn't matter.
Promos and interviews: unlike their competition, TNA kept their promos and interviews to a short time. The longest, which was probably 3 or 4 minutes in length, was a brilliant and sadistic promo by James Mitchell prior to the Heavyweight Title match.
The matches were really well done for the most part.
I thought the Christopher Daniels vs. A Mystery Opponent match was extremely well done, especially when his opponent was his former partner Low-Ki (now Senshi). The look on Daniels' face was priceless.
The six man X-Division match was great, even with Chase Stevens missing the Shooting Star Press from the top of the cage (and he wasn't even mad at the guys for not catching him, even though he just returned from a BROKEN NECK!).
Christian Cage has never looked better. In the WWE, he seemed to be one of those guys who had the talent (and of course, the charisma) but never got the shot he deserved. As TNA champion, he's really shown what he can do. Against Abyss in the cage I saw a man who I couldn't believe was Christian. And the frog splash from the top of the cage? Incredible! Really well done match, and the buildup to the match was perfect. When WWE does a stalking angle, it sucks (just remember DDP...). When TNA does it, they make it look good.
But the move of the night came in the other main event. The 8 man Lethal Lockdown match. Eight men in a hexagonal cage with a roof. Weapons were suspended from the roof of the cage. A.J. Styles and Chris Harris were on the roof. A table got set up on the roof. Then a ladder.
And then the unthinkable...A.J. Styles climbed the ladder, held on to a scaffold that was above the cage, and then leaped down onto Harris' body. The table, as usual, snapped into toothpicks. The crowd went nuts. I went silent. Even the six men in the cage had to pause and watch this happen. It was that amazing. No wonder they call Styles "Phenominal".
A few thoughts.
- TNA gives their young guys a lot of responsibility, and it pays off with great matches.
- Steiner hasn't looked that good in years.
- Sting, even at 45, is better than most guys in the business.
- I still can't stand Team 3D or the James Gang. They still suck, no matter where they are.
- There's no need to sign Goldberg. They've got more talent than they can really use.
- TNA knows how to do things. No milk spilled on motorcycles, or matches with God.
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