TNA Turning Point 2011
TNA Turning Point (11/13/2011)- Orlando, FL
TNA TV TITLE MATCH: Eric Young(c) vs. Robbie E. (w/Rob Terry)- 3.75/10. I was enjoying this match until the finish, which just fell flat. If Robbie had used his finisher after E was rolled intot he ring, I would have given this about a 4.5, but the flat ending really killed it for me.
I do like them taking the belt off of EY, though. This way he can still do his comedy (and he is over, as the chants he got tonight prove), but it keeps the title belt far away from it.
SIX PERSON MIXED TAG TEAM MATCH FOR THE TNA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES: Mexican America(c) (Hernandez, Anarquia, & Sarita) (w/Rosita) vs. Ink Inc. (Shannon Moore, Jesse Neal, & Toxxin)- 4/10. If you want the heat from Hernandez pulling Toxxin off of Sarita to be efective, you can't have Toxxin then go and hit a series of moves on Anarquia!
ARIES & KID KASH PROMO- Great
TNA X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH: Austin Aries(c) vs. Kid Kash vs. Jesse Sorensen- 6.5/10- but just plain AWESOME storytelling here! They made me want Sorensen to win SO badly!
AJ STYLES PROMO- AWESOME!
NO DISQUALIFICATION MATCH: Christopher Daniels vs. Rob Van Dam- 7.25/10. I am giving it an extra .25 for the awesome pre-match promo by Daniels and the way it factored into the story of the match. Another match with great storytelling!
ROBBIE E. PROMO- Good
MATT MORGAN vs. CRIMSON- 4.75/10 Why did the ref try to brea them up? They weren't doing anything illegal! Also, if you are going to do a finsih, like this, you shouldn't have the guys kick out of each others' finishers. Save that for a more meaningful match. Anyway, between the awkwardness of the finish and that superweird spot where crimson just ran into the stairs for no reason at all (assuming Matt Morgan wasn't using the Force to pull Crimson into the steps) this match felt extremely awkwards at times.
SCOTT STEINER & BULLY RAY PROMO- funny. I always mark out any time someone claims to have gone to Parts Unknown.
ANDERSON & ABYSS vs. SCOTT STEINER & BULLY RAY- 5.25/10. Wow... when did Steiner get so over as a babyface? You'd think they were in Michigan or someting. The aftermath was good, as they seem to be going somewhere with Abyss again.
KAREN JARRETT PROMO- she totally flubbd it.
TNA KNOCKOUTS' TITLE MATCH: Velvet Sky(c) vs. Gail Kim- 4/10. The same match we've seen from the Knockouts 96,000 times over the past year. A whole bunch of interferences on behalf of the heel, including one when the babyface has the match one but the ref is distracted and can't get the pin, until the heel gets the win.
IMMORTAL BACKSTAGE- Bischoff on the phone with his wife was stupid. He's a heel. We get it. When Bubba showed up, though, it got AWESOME. Bubba was just plain AWESOME here.
JEFF HARDY vs. JEFF JARRETT (w/Karen Jarrett)- 5.25/10
Jeff coming out with the ridiculous headgear really didn't feel right here. Th point of this story is that Jeff is getting away from the drugs, etc. So Jeff wearing a goofy-ass mask that looks like something he could only have though up during an LSD trip really wasn't the best choice here. Same with the facepaint. I know that facepaint is Jeff's thing, but for the time being, i think he should take a page from Sting's playbook, and, when he is trying to be serious and shooty, he shouldn't wear any face paint at all, so it feels more like he is being Jeff Hardy the person, not Jeff Hardy the wrestler.
If it were just one match, In would have given it a 5.75, but having the first match the way they did was moronic! What purpose did it serve? All it did was let them waste time arguing! It would have been a lot better if tha time spent arguing had gone into the second match
WHAT THE F*CK? AGAIN? MORE OF THIS CRAP? WHY? All it does is kill Jarrett's credibility!
BACKSTAGE STUFF WITH JEFF- GREAT!
BOBBY ROODE PROMO- a good promo, but it just doesn't fit with the turn! Bobby Roode's personality shouldn't just change overnight! He should be struggling with what he did. He turned on a man he considered to be his "brother!" Where is the emotional struggle that makes for a great character driven story? BTW, did anyone realize just how much stuff he lifted from the Young Bucks original TNA promos?
TNA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Bobby Roode(c) vs. AJ Styles- 8/10
Overall, an okay show from TNA. The good stuff was very good, and the bad stuff was very bad. unfoprtunately, there was a lot more bad than good.
Stupid Announcer Quotes:
1. Tenay- "Issues between Ink Inc. & Mexcian America started witha fight in a tatoo shop"- DID YOU NOT JUST WATCH THE VIDEO PACKAGE? Obviously these issues started when Hernandez injured Jesse Neal!
2. Tenay- "There's a fine line betwen winning the match and doing whatever you have to do to win the match"- "CHEATING! Bobby Roode CHEATED! JUST SAY IT! "Doing whatever you have to do to win the match" sounds like the way a heel would rationalize those actions! Call it what it is: "CHEATING!" The word "cheating" evokes a much more emotional resposne that "doing whatever you have to do to win the match."
3. Taz says AJ has an edge in his match because singles wrestling and tag team wrestling are different (so far so good), and that the difference stems from "accountability." "In a singles match, you can't blame your partner"- Why does it matter who gets blamed. If someone is getting blamd for something, it means that THE MATCH HAS ALREADY HAPPENED! So how does that give AJ an advantage IN A MATCH THAT IS STILL GOING ON?
TNA TV TITLE MATCH: Eric Young(c) vs. Robbie E. (w/Rob Terry)- 3.75/10. I was enjoying this match until the finish, which just fell flat. If Robbie had used his finisher after E was rolled intot he ring, I would have given this about a 4.5, but the flat ending really killed it for me.
I do like them taking the belt off of EY, though. This way he can still do his comedy (and he is over, as the chants he got tonight prove), but it keeps the title belt far away from it.
SIX PERSON MIXED TAG TEAM MATCH FOR THE TNA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES: Mexican America(c) (Hernandez, Anarquia, & Sarita) (w/Rosita) vs. Ink Inc. (Shannon Moore, Jesse Neal, & Toxxin)- 4/10. If you want the heat from Hernandez pulling Toxxin off of Sarita to be efective, you can't have Toxxin then go and hit a series of moves on Anarquia!
ARIES & KID KASH PROMO- Great
TNA X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH: Austin Aries(c) vs. Kid Kash vs. Jesse Sorensen- 6.5/10- but just plain AWESOME storytelling here! They made me want Sorensen to win SO badly!
AJ STYLES PROMO- AWESOME!
NO DISQUALIFICATION MATCH: Christopher Daniels vs. Rob Van Dam- 7.25/10. I am giving it an extra .25 for the awesome pre-match promo by Daniels and the way it factored into the story of the match. Another match with great storytelling!
ROBBIE E. PROMO- Good
MATT MORGAN vs. CRIMSON- 4.75/10 Why did the ref try to brea them up? They weren't doing anything illegal! Also, if you are going to do a finsih, like this, you shouldn't have the guys kick out of each others' finishers. Save that for a more meaningful match. Anyway, between the awkwardness of the finish and that superweird spot where crimson just ran into the stairs for no reason at all (assuming Matt Morgan wasn't using the Force to pull Crimson into the steps) this match felt extremely awkwards at times.
SCOTT STEINER & BULLY RAY PROMO- funny. I always mark out any time someone claims to have gone to Parts Unknown.
ANDERSON & ABYSS vs. SCOTT STEINER & BULLY RAY- 5.25/10. Wow... when did Steiner get so over as a babyface? You'd think they were in Michigan or someting. The aftermath was good, as they seem to be going somewhere with Abyss again.
KAREN JARRETT PROMO- she totally flubbd it.
TNA KNOCKOUTS' TITLE MATCH: Velvet Sky(c) vs. Gail Kim- 4/10. The same match we've seen from the Knockouts 96,000 times over the past year. A whole bunch of interferences on behalf of the heel, including one when the babyface has the match one but the ref is distracted and can't get the pin, until the heel gets the win.
IMMORTAL BACKSTAGE- Bischoff on the phone with his wife was stupid. He's a heel. We get it. When Bubba showed up, though, it got AWESOME. Bubba was just plain AWESOME here.
JEFF HARDY vs. JEFF JARRETT (w/Karen Jarrett)- 5.25/10
Jeff coming out with the ridiculous headgear really didn't feel right here. Th point of this story is that Jeff is getting away from the drugs, etc. So Jeff wearing a goofy-ass mask that looks like something he could only have though up during an LSD trip really wasn't the best choice here. Same with the facepaint. I know that facepaint is Jeff's thing, but for the time being, i think he should take a page from Sting's playbook, and, when he is trying to be serious and shooty, he shouldn't wear any face paint at all, so it feels more like he is being Jeff Hardy the person, not Jeff Hardy the wrestler.
If it were just one match, In would have given it a 5.75, but having the first match the way they did was moronic! What purpose did it serve? All it did was let them waste time arguing! It would have been a lot better if tha time spent arguing had gone into the second match
WHAT THE F*CK? AGAIN? MORE OF THIS CRAP? WHY? All it does is kill Jarrett's credibility!
BACKSTAGE STUFF WITH JEFF- GREAT!
BOBBY ROODE PROMO- a good promo, but it just doesn't fit with the turn! Bobby Roode's personality shouldn't just change overnight! He should be struggling with what he did. He turned on a man he considered to be his "brother!" Where is the emotional struggle that makes for a great character driven story? BTW, did anyone realize just how much stuff he lifted from the Young Bucks original TNA promos?
TNA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Bobby Roode(c) vs. AJ Styles- 8/10
Overall, an okay show from TNA. The good stuff was very good, and the bad stuff was very bad. unfoprtunately, there was a lot more bad than good.
Stupid Announcer Quotes:
1. Tenay- "Issues between Ink Inc. & Mexcian America started witha fight in a tatoo shop"- DID YOU NOT JUST WATCH THE VIDEO PACKAGE? Obviously these issues started when Hernandez injured Jesse Neal!
2. Tenay- "There's a fine line betwen winning the match and doing whatever you have to do to win the match"- "CHEATING! Bobby Roode CHEATED! JUST SAY IT! "Doing whatever you have to do to win the match" sounds like the way a heel would rationalize those actions! Call it what it is: "CHEATING!" The word "cheating" evokes a much more emotional resposne that "doing whatever you have to do to win the match."
3. Taz says AJ has an edge in his match because singles wrestling and tag team wrestling are different (so far so good), and that the difference stems from "accountability." "In a singles match, you can't blame your partner"- Why does it matter who gets blamed. If someone is getting blamd for something, it means that THE MATCH HAS ALREADY HAPPENED! So how does that give AJ an advantage IN A MATCH THAT IS STILL GOING ON?