WrestlingNerd Presents: TNA Impact Wrestling Review 11/10/11

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at TNA Impact Wrestling on 11/10/11. With Turning Point set for this week...really? To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if you had no idea it was this weekend since I almost forgot. Anyway, how will the "go home" edition of TNA fair out? Well, let's find out and start the review.

We open up the show with the new TNA world champion, Robert Roode. He's a little angry that the audience is booing him and says he expects to hear cheers since they cheered for him last week. Roode says Beer Money is dead and explains why he used a weapon on James Storm last week. He says that opportunities to become world champion don't come around often (unless your name is John Cena) and wasn't going to let this second chance slip by. He refers to himself as the new leader of this generation. Storm arrives, but security is surrounding him. Storm breaks away from security for a brief moment and charges towards Robert Roode. Robert escapes as security breaks it up. Sting comes out and says it will be Roode vs Storm for the TNA World Championship tonight. Damn, you think with all these free TV world title matches, it makes you wonder what's the point of TNA even doing PPVs anymore? Anyway, a very basic scene that shows Roode as a heel and how pissed off Storm is. I liked it. I normally wouldn't like the announcement of a world title match, but we would get an explanation towards this a little later in the show.

Match #1: Pope vs Crimson
Speaking of the Pope, what the hell ever happened to that storyline involving Pope and Devon? Why address it for as long as they did and not finish it? Reckon this sort of thing happens in the world of wrestling, but this is almost a regular occurrence in TNA. Some people are going to think I am being mean when I say this, but this match should've been a jobber match. While the match was short and Crimson won cleanly with the Sky High Powerbomb, he was on his back for most of the match. It would add a lot more to Crimson's stock if he would just go in there and squash opponents as opposed to looking like a guy who is getting lucky during this undefeated streak. Keep in mind that Pope's stock is basically dead at this point and him losing this match in a jobber fashion wouldn't hurt his stock. By the way, that's all the build up you get for Crimson/Morgan. Did TNA forget that this match takes place THIS Sunday? Clearly, TNA cares a great deal about Turning Point.....(sense the sarcasm?)

Winner via pinfall: Crimson

Match #2: Gunner vs Garrett Bischoff
Backstage where Gunner cuts a promo....or, at least I think that's what he's doing? He talked over and over again about "chain of command". What the hell is he talking about? He also brought up his military background. Man, Gunner is basically screaming outloud "I'm trying to seem important". I was also under the impression that this would be Garrett vs Eric Bischoff, as opposed to Gunner. Great job of explaining you storylines, TNA. Tazz and Mike Tenay talked about how the current referee in this match was fired by Eric, but Sting re-hired him. Yeah, because THIS was the important matter of the show. Screw the world championship situation, we want to know the state of some random referee. Who's idea was this? Anyway, Gunner taunts the kid for a while, but Garrett manages to pull off a couple of moves. He performs a few arm drags and a hip toss. Nothing impressive, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are already thinking future world champion with this guy. Ric Flair gets involved in the match and the ref calls for the bell. Garrett ends up retreating as Immortal members storm the ring. Eric starts stomping the ground like the space hillbilly from Futurama. I want to like this storyline, but Garrett gives you no reason to care about him. By the way, have you see the TNA Direct Auto Insurance commercial? Damn, and you think Adam West's Batman was campy?

Winner via DQ: Garrett Bischoff

There is a backstage scene of James Storm all f***ed up. He is on the ground with blood all around his head. A random security member shows up and gives another horrible acting performance by showing "concern" for the injured wrestler. They help him to his feet to go see a doctor. Anyone who works in wrestling really needs to consider taking some acting lessons....just saying. I would talk more about this scene, but I will save that for when the time is right.

Match #3: Zema Ion vs Jesse Sorensen
Jesse needs to stop bringing the letterman jacket and football to the ring. There is no point for Jesse to bring these props if he isn't going to do anything with them. Yeah, he was a quarterback in high school, but why should we care? If he did more football crap in the ring, NOW we would be getting somewhere. Hey, if you're going to get a silly gimmick, you might as well go the full distance. This match was very quick as Jesse wins with a clean finisher. After the match, Kid Kash shows up and talks about giving Jesse an opportunity at the X Division title. It will be Austin Aries vs Jesse Sorensen vs Kid Kash, three way dance for the X Title at Turning Point...IF Jesse signs the contract. The kid signs it, which starts a brawl between old man river and greenie. Aries arrived in the middle of this and hits Jesse in the head with the championship belt. The scene ends with Kash hitting the Double Underhook Piledriver on Jesse. I don't care if the IWC loves Sorensen, it doesn't change the fact he's a generic character. I will admit, the guy can wrestle, but it takes more than wrestling ability to make it in the business. You need a good character, promo skills, personality, and you need to be able to connect with the audience. Jesse is missing a lot of these components while Aries has a lot more of these tools to get farther. It would be amazingly stupid for TNA to give the title to Sorensen. If they have bigger plans for Aries, that will be okay on his behalf, but Jesse is still a poor choice for an X Division champ since he isn't ready. Sorry for cutting down Jesse so much, but I just don't see what other fans are saying about him. Youth is on his side and maybe he can find out what works, but whatever he's doing now, it isn't working for me. Regardless, this might be a fun match to watch, despite Jesse being greener than Link from Legend of Zelda.

Winner via pinfall: Jesse Sorensen

Match #4: Gail Kim and Madison Rayne vs Velvet Sky and Mickie James for the TNA KO Tag Titles
It's funny how TNA tries to make you care about these tag titles every once in a while. I wouldn't be surprised if after tonight, these titles don't get defended again for another month. Did anyone see Santa Clause in the audience? I know, that was pretty random. There was a lot of heelish shenanigans for this match. Karen Jarrett was getting involved while Madison and Gail would take shortcuts during this match. The finish comes when Velvet hits X Factor on Madison, but Karen distracts the referee. Gail hits her finisher and pins the KO champ. This match really told the story of the KO title match this Sunday (Velvet vs Gail for KO title at TP). While I didn't like the match, the storytelling aspect of this scene is harmless and it makes sense. Gail so far has proved her dominance, while it seems Velvet is up against a wall going into her match on Sunday since Karen is still in charge. So, I actually don't have a problem with how things were written tonight. I still wish the TNA KO Tag Titles didn't exist since the division doesn't exist.

Winner via pinfall and still KO Tag Champs: Gail Kim and Madison Rayne

Backstage where Storm is being looked at by doctors. Sting is very concerned with Storm since he feels he isn't quite right in the head, but Storm wants to compete. I like how Sting is concerned about his wrestlers. Try to remember that later on in this show.

Match #5: Robbie E and Rob Terry vs Eric Young and Ronnie
I can't believe that my satellite provider only mentioned this match for tonight's Impact. All they talked about was how Ronnie from Jersey Shore was going to compete. Really? And there was no mention of Robert Roode, James Storm, or the world title? Either Dish Network hates TNA, or Spike TV wrote this in for s***s and giggles. Neither one would surprise me. The match gets underway and Eric Young immediately goes for comedy by attacking the referee. Technically, this match should be called off since Flair did the same thing earlier tonight and got DQed. Wrestling logic can be a bitch sometimes. Want to know how uncreative Robbie E can get? He is wearing Zack Ryder's colors. That's right. Bright orange with purple. Who the f*** is Robbie E blowing to get this much screen time? Anyway, the match changes once Ronnie gets involved. He does the basic clothesline and scoop slam. Eric follows up with a Flying Elbow. Ronnie ends up pinning Robbie E while Young tosses Terry out of this match. I wasn't looking forward to this match, but I understood what TNA was trying to do here. I don't have too much of a problem with TNA trying to bring in more mainstream attention. It isn't like Ronnie will be involved in more matches....at least I hope not. In other words, I can't be too harsh on this scene since it was most likely a one time deal. The match wasn't really designed to be good, but do you honestly care?

Winner via pinfall: Eric Young and Ronnie

Backstage where Immortal talks about dealing with Jeff Hardy and Mr. Anderson later tonight. I hate how this scene ended because Scott Steiner said some random stuff and went to the bathroom. Bully Ray told him to flush twice. Thanks, TNA. I really wanted the image of Steiner taking a s***. Maybe it's a metaphor? Another backstage scene where Ink Inc and Mexican America are brawling backstage. It appears this match will happen at Turning Point. When will TNA learn? When will they learn that in order for people to care about a storyline, you need to put it on TV. You can't just take these people off for three straight weeks only to spring this match at the last minute. Then again, I don't know how intriguing this match would be with extra build up. Let's just move on.

Match #6: AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels
Some guy from Bellator was on commentary. He was talking about MMA competition (or something like that. I was trying to ignore it) during this bit. This was probably the best match of the night, but I was easily taken out of it with how Tazz and Tenay cared more about another product than their own product. This type of announcing would've been better in a garbage match, not in this type of match. If you watch this match, put your TV on mute. The finish comes when Daniels goes for First Degree Screwdriver, but RVD arrives and steals the screwdriver. Styles ends up hitting the Styles Clash after these events and wins the match. I still don't like how this has all played out. It still makes no sense for Styles/Daniels to be done with their rivalry when they went for the type of ending they did at BFG. Plus, it really makes no sense how RVD is now taking Styles' place for all of this. Damn screwdrivers.

Winner via pinfall: AJ Styles

Match #7: Bully Ray, Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner vs Mr. Anderson, Jeff Hardy and Abyss
This was pretty fair match. The finish comes when there are finishing moves left and right by all the competitors. It finally ends with Abyss hitting Black Hole Slam on Steiner for the clean win. TNA also gave a rundown for their Turning Point PPV. I will talk more about that later.

Winner via pinfall: Mr. Anderson, Jeff Hardy, and Abyss

Match #8: Robert Roode vs James Storm for the TNA World Championship
Storm didn't show up right away, but eventually staggers towards the ring. Even though he was attacked over 90 minutes ago, the blood is still wet and not dried up. Opps? The match started and Storm is fired up. He is throwing punches and seems to be digging deep to win this. He might be able to do. Ladies and gentlemen, do you believe in miracles!!!! Well, it went well....for about 30 seconds. After that flurry of offense by Storm, he falls to the ground and seems to be passed out. Well, I guess there won't be any miracles this evening. Remember how Sting was concerned for the health of Storm? Well, he isn't even there to stop Storm from doing the match, nor does he show up and cancel the match. The biggest example of wrestling logic for this evening. Anyway, medics arrive to take Storm out of the building. Roode starts to show some concern for his former friend. He starts to help him out of the ring, but realizes the ref never rang the bell, thus the match was still in progress. Since he's a bad guy now, he rolls up Storm and the ref stupidly makes the three count. So, the ref not only didn't bother to waive the match, but he made the three count on a guy who is passed out? Wrestling logic or not, that ref should be fired. Worst referee since Garrett Bischoff. After the match, Kaz and Styles arrive to check on Storm while Roode runs away and starts gloating over his "amazing" performance. Styles gets on the mic and says if Roode is going to pull that stunt, he should fight him. Sting finally shows up and decides to make it Roode vs Styles for the world title at Turning Point, which ends the show. So, one of the immediate questions is who attacked Storm? The obvious culprit is Roode, but let's not forget about Samoa Joe. I do recall how Joe said he would make his voice be heard when he was talking to Sting last week, and I can see a storyline in which it's Storm/Joe. While I understand what they are going for if it turns out to be Joe, I have mixed feelings on the matter. Mainly because I want to see Storm go right after Roode and the world title. However, if it did turn out to be Joe, it would give Storm a quick revenge rivalry with Joe, thus increasing his stock. With his stock on the rise, he would then go right after Roode. I would rather it be Roode since it would really add more to his heel character. Either scenario can work.....if done correctly. For the most part, this storyline was rushed. If they did the Storm/Roode title match at Turning Point, it would've been fine. Then on the following Impact, you can do the angle that takes Storm off of TV for a while and then Styles can take his place. I am still interested in this whole deal, but they rushed through this entire storyline. Now to be fair, there was reports (and I mentioned this in last week's TNA review) that Storm suffered a concussion and would be out for 6-8 weeks. It's very possible he suffered a real concussion, but it's also very possible the whole thing is a work. At this point, I can't really say which is the case since there isn't a ton of facts to support either cause, regardless of what smarks are saying. If Storm really got hurt, it makes sense to rush through the storyline. If it turns out Storm's injury is a work, I really have to question TNA creative on this one since they could've dragged out this whole thing until the beginning of 2012. With Storm being injured (real or kayfabe), it appears Styles will be taking his place. It's a fair substitute. Roode going up against Styles will get his foot in the right direction for his bad guy persona. I really see this as a chance to build up Roode, while AJ is just there to make Roode look good. Either way,  Roode's rise through the rankings and Storm's future return can really make for a terrific storyline. This is the type of storyline TNA needs, so let's hope they don't drop the ball on this one....again.

Winner via pinfall and still TNA World Champ: Robert Roode

Overall Impression:
There was a lot of stuff on tonight's show. I felt like they really jam packed the show. One of the common problems I see out of TNA is a poor use of time management. You roughly have four weeks to put together a PPV, but TNA barely had a card through the first three weeks. They invested a lot of time to fatten up the Turning Point card tonight, and it can be a bit of an overload if you are watching this. I felt like my head was going to blow up since there was too much stuff going on at one time. TNA really needs to work on time management. Strangely enough, this happens in a lot of TNA's go home shows. A lot of the Turning Point matches got thrown together at the last moment. Mexican America vs Ink Inc, Bully Ray and Steiner vs Anderson and Abyss, Eric Young vs Robbie E for TV Championship, Jarrett vs Hardy, Triple Threat X Division title match, and the world title match were all announced on tonight's show. That's six matches. Prior to going into tonight's show, there was only three matches on the card. These announcements need to be spaced out a lot better or else it can be disorientating for people to watch this show. Then again, I have stated that TNA should focus on making 5-7 good storylines as opposed to having 11-12 storylines that really aren't eye grabbing. I wouldn't be surprised if TNA has more storylines than WWE, and WWE has an extra two hours in the week to showcase their storylines. You see the problem? Some of the Turning Point matches have potential, but some of them didn't have a good storyline going into it, and that could be a problem going into this event. As I said in the beginning of this review, I barely remembered the PPV was this Sunday. The card is fair, but the storylines do hurt the intrigue of the PPV. There's always a chance this could be an awesome PPV. Remember WWE Vengeance? The card wasn't anything too special and that PPV turned out to be awesome, so the same thing can happen with Turning Point. I can't really recommend tonight's show, but I wouldn't say this was a bad episode of Impact. I would call it average for the most part. There was a lot of action of tonight's show, and some of it was pretty entertaining. Still, too much stuff going on at one time can really take you out of the evening. Things need to be spaced out better so people who watch Impact don't feel like they miss like ten different things if they blink for a second. That's going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Damn, this was a long review. See what I mean about TNA having too much stuff going on? As always, tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time.