CROSS EXAMINATION

1.      Who had a bigger role at Against All Odds, Samoa Joe or So Cal Val?

2.      How many more times will Melina screw up her entrance before she decided to stop trying the split?

3.      Does Jerry “The King” Lawler know that “The Prince of Phenomenal” A.J. Styles has his crown?

4.       Wasn’t it great not to see Black Reign on PPV?

5.      Has Kaz’ fifteen minutes of fame in TNA expired already?

Against All Odds - Another solid show by our friends at Panda Energy.   I can’t think of any matches stinking the place up (even the tag match with 67 year old “Bullet” Bob Armstrong teaming with son B.G. James against Tomko and A.J. Styles for the TNA tag team belts) and there were a lot of unexpected surprises as well.   My only real problem with the show was the “swerve” ending for the Christian Cage vs. Kurt Angle match where Tomko “unexpectedly” attacked his friend Christian, costing him the match.   Anyone who’s watched TNA more than once could see this one coming a mile away.   Here’s a quick run-down of the show:

1.      TNA Tag Team Championship Match:  B.G. James & "Bullet" Bob Armstrong vs. Tomko & A.J. Styles (Champions)- While I wasn’t thrilled at the tag team champions defending their belts against a 67 year old man (Bob Armstrong), TNA did a good job of making Armstrong a credible opponent without damaging Tomko or Styles.   Do I ever want to see Bob Armstrong wrestle in a TNA ring again?   No.   However last night was okay for an opening match.

2.      Payton Banks vs. Traci Brooks:  TNA did a good job building this match up with Brooks wanting revenge on Banks for attacking her after Robert Roode fired Brooks.   Good match by both ladies.

3.      Case vs. Case Match:  "Maple Leaf Muscle" Petey Williams vs. "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner: This match nearly stole the show.   I’ve been a big fan of Williams since his days in Team Canada and going into the show, I wasn’t thrilled with the “Maple Leaf Muscle” gimmick.   To Williams’ credit, he makes it work and he put on one hell of a show.   Scott Steiner’s best days may be behind him but this match demonstrated that Steiner still has some gas left in the tank and Williams has the potential to be a top star in TNA if they choose to let him be.

4.      TNA Drinking Title Match:  " Tennessee Cowboy" James Storm (w. Miss Jacqueline) vs.  Eric Young (champion): Young does a great job as a mid card comedy act but I still don’t understand why James Storm isn’t main eventing.   The guy can talk and he can wrestle.   TNA really needs to consider another singles belt so guys like Storm can compete in top level programs that don’t involve the TNA World Championship (as it seems like that’s become a club exclusive to Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle, Sting, and Christian Cage).

5.      TNA Knockouts Title Match:  ODB vs. Awesome Kong (champion)  (w.Raishe Saeed):  It was fun to finally see ODB in the ring.   She’s a great character but she’s also a good brawler inside the ring.   She seemed like a credible opponent against Awesome Kong with both women brawling in and out of the ring.  

6.      Barbed Wire Massacre Match:  Judas Mesias (w. "Father" James Mitchell) vs. Abyss: While this wasn’t the bloodbath TNA kept warning fans it could turn into, it was still an excellent brawl.   Abyss has been doing these types of matches month after month for the last two years.   The good thing is that he’s great in them and he always manages to keep them entertaining without becoming repetitive.  

7.      Revenge Match:  Robert Roode (w. Peyton Banks) vs. Booker T: I wasn’t all that thrilled at last month’s match between these guys but both men delivered in and out of the ring.   TNA has done a good job of making this match something special thanks to the angle with Roode breaking the jaw of Booker T’s wife.   Both men cut good promos leading into the match making it seem like something special and not filler for the undercard.   If this program is handled correctly, it could be the one that takes Robert Roode out of the mid card and makes him a viable upper card player.   Given TNA’s track record with guys like Chris Harris and Kaz, that’s not a given but as they say, hope springs eternal.

8.      X Division Championship Match (Six Man Hardcore Brawl) Team 3D & Johnny Devine vs. The Motor City Machine Guns & “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal: The X Division really deserves to be spotlighted in ways other than Kevin Nash trying to build it or Team 3D trying to destroy it.   Nevertheless, this match was excellent and it really established Jay Lethal as more than just the guy doing a “Macho Man” imitation.   Excellent brawl and excellent story of Lethal pulling out all the stops to save the X Division from the big bad bullies known as Team 3D.   That being said, I hope TNA starts pushing Lethal as a solid X Division champion and the Motor City Machine Guns as the company’s number one tag team.

9.      TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match Special Guest Enforcer: Samoa Joe :  Christian Cage vs. Kurt Angle (champion) w. Karen Angle: Excellent match, even with the screwjob ending that you knew was coming from a mile away.   This series has been fantastic and I hope TNA runs Cage vs. Angle III.   With this match, Christian Cage showed that he’s more than just a guy who can talk.  

Good PPV’s, Bad TV -By my estimation, TNA continues to deliver in producing excellent PPV’s.   Why can’t they deliver in producing good weekly television then?   I have zero interest in watching Impact and yet I’ll order a TNA PPV month after month because I know the company delivers 9 times out of 10.   Sometimes I think TNA should add three more letters after their name-WTF.  

TNA Knockouts Deliver:   Despite the cheesy name, the TNA Knockouts have really been delivering.   I can’t recall the last time I saw two women’s matches on a PPV, let alone two women’s matches that were so entertaining.   TNA has done a great job developing their women’s division.   The women working there know how to wrestle and they work their asses off in the ring.   The ODB vs. Awesome Kong match was a wild brawl that blew away anything the WWE Divas have done in the last year.    The Traci Brooks vs. Payton Banks match was good too, giving fans a chance to see a side of Traci Brooks they probably haven’t seen before.   Equally important is the way that TNA books storylines for the women as opposed to just throwing them into meaningless matches every week on Raw.

Equal opportunity writer:   In fairness to some of the WWE Divas, I have to admit I’ve seen some noticeable improvement in the in-ring work of two Divas in particular-Maria and Kelly Kelly.   Both ladies look like they’re trying hard to develop their in-ring skills.   Their work in the ring continues to improve week after week but I can’t imagine any male wrestler keeping their spot in the WWE for long if they wrestled the same way.   A classic example of this is Torrie Wilson.   Torrie was excellent as a character but she never showed the slightest bit of improvement in the ring, none at all.   The problem is that the WWE really has no business putting people in the ring unless they can put on a passable (not even good) match.   We all know the Divas (or Divers if you’re JBL) are there to be eye candy but does that give them a pass for missing spots left and right?   I wish the WWE would give these ladies some time to develop their wrestling skills before they throw them into the ring and expose the business as well as risk injuring themselves or another Diva.

My Own Private Bandwagon: I’ve decided to join my fellow WWI writers in hitching my name to the bandwagon of someone I see as the next big thing.  Ladies and gentlemen, Kelly Kelly.  She’s cute, she shows a willingness to hone her craft in the ring, and to me, it’s clear she’s got the potential to become the number one lady in the WWE Divas division.  Her program with the Miz on ECW has been entertaining and her ring work improves week by week (not to say that she doesn’t have a way to go still).  The WWE would be wise to put her under the wing of someone and groom her to make the move to Raw once her work in the ring improves.  Here’s hoping Kelly Kelly will also make it to the top by posing in Playboy next year.