WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Raw Review 10/17/11 (Raw is Mexico)

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Raw on 10/17/11. With Raw taking place South of the Boarder, how did it measure up? Well, let's find out and start the review.

We open up the show with Mr. Personality himself, John Laurinaitis. He says Rey Mysterio will return tonight....but has not been cleared from his rehab so he won't be here tonight. He says the Mexico City audience needs to have a sense of humor. This is coming from the guy who talks as if he's filing your taxes. After a week of complaints from the WWE Universe, he decides to bring back Good o' JR. Johnny Ace apologizes for firing him last week, but he didn't bring him back on commentary tonight.....even though he would like to hear his suffering succotash. Dear God, that line by Laurinaitis can make you have a stroke. Laurinaitis should come with a public warning before tuning into Monday nights. Anyway, he brought him in to take part in a match this evening. It will be Alberto Del Rio and Michael Cole vs John Cena and Jim Ross in a tag team match. Well, Laurinaitis tried to show some emotion this evening, but it looks really bad. Laurinaitis has no personality, which is why it will be difficult to get people invested in what he has to say and do. That was one of my problems with the opening scene. Other than that, I suppose it was okay. Kinda odd to see how WWE was building up JR's return, even though he was only "fired" a week ago. Just seems a little rushed. Oh, and Laurinaitis laughing will give you nightmares. Either way, this should be on the disclaimer for cigarette packets. Remember kids, THIS could happen to you....

Match #1: Randy Orton, Sheamus, and John Morrison vs Mark Henry, Cody Rhodes, and Christian
Ladies and gentlemen, your Smackdown clusterf*** for the evening. The match wasn't anything too special and it's very forgettable. Early in the match, Rhodes was chased away by Orton and they never returned for the remainder of this match. Later on in the contest, Sheamus and Christian would brawl in the audience and they wouldn't return either. Damn, maybe those rumors of Mark Henry having bad odor really are true? Anyway, Henry finishes this match by hitting the World's Strongest Slam on Morrison for the clean win. What do you think folks, Morrison working for TNA by this time next year?

Winner via pinfall: Mark Henry, Cody Rhodes, and Christian

Backstage where Laurinaitis is on the phone with some random person asking about how he looks on TV. This is hilarious because this show was taped. Gotta love wrestling logic. The Bellas come in and talk about how valuable they are to Raw and that Johnny Ace shouldn't forget that. He says he won't, they kiss him on the cheek, and they leave. Well, at least being the Interim Raw GM has its perks. Ricardo Rodriguez arrives with Del Rio and they complain about being put in this match tonight. Laurinaitis informs Del Rio that there is an added stipulation for this match. Whoever wins the match will get to choose the stipulation for the WWE Championship match at Vengeance....

Well, that makes the main event at least somewhat interesting....I guess.

Match #2: Eve vs Natalya
We were informed it would be Beth Phoenix vs Eve at Vengeance for the Divas Title. It only figures as much since nothing else has been established with this division and are really just replacing Kelly Kelly with Eve. I don't think that's what you want to see from the creative staff. Did I just hear Cole say he plays hoops on the streets? I wonder if he ever challenged Prince to a game of basketball...

Very short match. Eve hits the Moonsault and wins the match cleanly. I can already see some people being upset with the decision here, but these ladies need to gain something to make themselves stand out. You have to admit, the roll up victories aren't doing them any favors. Because of this victory, Eve looks more threaten than Kelly ever did during her entire championship reign.

Winner via pinfall: Eve

Match #3: CM Punk vs Miz
Miz and R-Truth talk about how they beat Punk up at HIAC and how they did what Punk failed to do, which was get rid of Triple H. They say Punk talks too much and needs to shut up. Trips arrives to even the odds for this match. Kinda a shame we didn't hear Punk say something considering he was extremely over with the Mexico audience. Did you listen to the commentary during this match? King is talking about how he supported Trips as the COO of this company. If that was the case, why did you walk out on him? Anyway, Johnny Ace interrupted this match for a brief moment. You know, for being the GM of this show, he sure likes interrupting a lot of his own matches. That's the marks of a brilliant leader. He informs Trips that there is something wrong with immigration paper work. Since this was Trips' department, he has to look into it and get to the bottom of this. He leaves with immigration officials. Just to clarify, it was never suggested that Trips is an immigrant, it was established that one of the wrestlers didn't file the paper work correctly, which is why this problem arises. It's stretching kayfabe quite a bit either way you look at it, but it isn't that far fetched compared to what wrestling has done in the past. Time for one of the funnier clips you will ever see...

Have to admit, Truth is definitely a character. The match goes on for a while. Honestly, this match up wasn't too bad. Punk wins this match by scoring a quick pinfall on Miz. It's kinda cheap, but we can't make Miz look completely weak now, can't we? After the match, Miz and Truth attack Punk and take him out. WWE officials come in to stop the attack, but not before Miz and Truth hit their finishers on Punk. Remember, no Trips because of the immigration matter. This scene ends with Awesome Truth standing tall. This really adds more fuel for their tag team match at Vengeance. Some might think the match won't do much in terms of storyline, but I think something has to happen at the PPV. It will be interesting to see.

Winner via pinfall: CM Punk

We are back in the ring where Vickie Guerrero is leading her small stable to the ring. She talks about being the Goddess of Mexico and her team will be getting a Tag Team Title shot at Vengeance. Dolph Ziggler talks about being the US Champion and how Mexico should honor his presence. Again, I really like the strides Ziggler is making on the mic. Seriously, we could be seeing something special here. On the other hand, Jack Swagger continues to bore the hell out of you. He tries to sing the US National Anthem and.....my God. Swagger cannot sing.....just like half of the modern day musical artist. By the way, a WWE Legends reality show? What's next, Everybody Loves Santino? Why do I get the feeling they will be making some sort of silly sit com with this WWE Network idea? I just feel it's gonna happen.

Match #4: Jack Swagger vs Zack Ryder
After watching this match, I think it might be clear they are ready to try something with Ryder. Zack wins this match with the Rough Ryder in under 30 seconds. I didn't like how long the match was because it makes Swagger look like a complete idiot, but maybe that was the point? Still, I bet the IWC is ready to throw a parade for Ryder's quick victory. After the match, the heels are ready to attack Ryder until Mason Ryan comes out to even the odds. The heels run away, but Mason has something to say. He tells Ziggler they got a match right now.

Winner via pinfall: Zack Ryder

Match #5: Mason Ryan vs Dolph Ziggler
Just like Ryder, it seems WWE is trying something with Mason. Not really sure what it is at the moment. I think Mason has a good look, but his in-ring ability is a little rusty and he seems confused at times. His mic skills need work and his charisma sucks. Mason was just toying with Dolph for the majority of this match. Things went to the outside for a while and that's when Vickie slapped him....

Well, good going Vickie. Mason gets angry and starts attacking Dolph. He disregards the refs count and is disqualified. After the match, Swagger tries to double team Mason, but it doesn't work. Mason takes them both out and he and Ryder leave. What is hilarious is how Ryder is bouncing around like a fanboy while Mason is walking away like a bad ass. This kinda reminded me of the Looney Toons cartoon with Sylvester, Spike, Chester, and that black panther. Does anyone remember that? Anyway, there was no Air Boom tonight. Really hope the injury Evan Bourne  sub-stained on last week's show isn't quite that serious. Guess we will wait and see.

Winner via DQ: Dolph Ziggler

Backstage with JR and John Cena. JR talks about how he is not a wrestler, but Cena says he can handle this match. JR does say he wants to get his hands on Cole, and Cena says he will try to make it happen. After this scene, Cole gets on the mic and talks about how he will beat up JR and how Mexico should respect him because his wife is Mexican. Really? Well, if we are going to do that, I guess Mexico should respect me as well since I am Mexican *rolls eyes*. Either way, a pretty lame way to get some heel heat by Cole. Oh, and the day Cole pins Cena is the day hell freezes over.

Match #6: John Cena and Jim Ross vs Alberto Del Rio and Michael Cole
Josh Matthews took Cole's spot on commentary for this match. The majority of this match was Cena and Del Rio fighting, which was expected. The match wasn't what I would call great. Then again, let's be fair here, it wasn't designed to be good. This one does what you would expect in a Cena match. He gets his ass kicked for the majority of the contest, but he hulks up and starts kicking ass. Del Rio tags in Cole out of desperation to get out of the match. Cena hits AA on Cole and tags in Ross. JR locks in the Ankle Lock (Oh no, somebody else is using one of Kurt Angle's moves. Time for Kurt to complain about it on Twitter!!!) and Cole taps out. After the match, Del Rio tries to attack Cena, but walks into an AA on the outside of the ring. Cena eventually takes him out again with the steel steps and counts all the way to ten. I feel like I am on Sesame Street. Anyway, Cena says the stipulation he has chosen would be a Last Man Standing Match, which ends the show. Well, nice to see JR get something as opposed to be humiliated for the one millionth time. As for the match, I don't see much of a problem with it. Even though it raises the possibility of Cena winning the title again, Del Rio can still walk away with the title this Sunday. Even though Del Rio is still drawing in basic heat, I want him to keep the title because I don't want to see another abrupt title change. Remember when people would get the world title for 6-8 months? Those seem like ancient days.

Winner via submission: John Cena and Jim Ross

Overall Impression:
A very average showing of Raw. Some people might say this was a bad showing, but I don't think I would go that far. I will say the show doesn't make the biggest impression. It just felt like a pretty generic night for the WWE without much in terms of development. There was development for the Vengeance PPV, but it was pretty basic. The matches tonight were pretty uneventful. The best match was probably the Punk/Miz match, and even that is something I wouldn't recommend. There was some interesting things like JR getting to take out his frustrations on Cole, Ryder taking out Swagger, and Trips' punch on Truth. Other than that, there wasn't a whole lot there. Not the best showing for the Go Home edition of Raw considering the PPV is this weekend. Well, there's still SD to look forward to, so maybe there is still something WWE can bring to the table. Even though it was a lackluster Raw, I wouldn't call it bad. I would say this is slightly below average territory. Still, you aren't missing much if you skipped out on Raw. Either way, it seemed like Mexico City really enjoyed it, so that has to be worth something.....right? That's going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry for this review being late, but I got sick again....and no, it wasn't because of TNA Bound for Glory. As always, tell me what you thought of my review and tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time.

WrestlingNerd Presents: TNA Bound for Glory 2011 Review (Hulkamania is running wild....again?)

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at TNA Bound for Glory. Well, time for the moment of truth. How will TNA's version of WrestleMania stack up? Well, let's find out and start the review.

Match #1: Austin Aries vs Brian Kendrick for the X Division Title
I should note the Mexican America/Ink Inc match for the Tag Titles happened during the pre-show. Before people start bitching about this and are already lining up complaints towards TNA, keep in mind that WWE did the same thing for this year's WM when Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus didn't make it on the show. Again, if you're going to be critical against TNA, at least try to be fair. Let's be honest here, TNA did you a favor by putting this in the pre-show. The match was Overbooking 101, down to the teeth. I didn't watch much of the match, but there was a moment where the ladies from each stable were fighting in the ring and had about 2-3 minutes to showcase their stuff while the referee isn't bothering to call for the bell. Normally this sort of thing would piss me off,  but the fact it was during the pre-show means I can't really complain about it since it technically didn't make it on PPV. Anyway, Mex won with a crappy rollup to steal the match. This rivalry will sadly continue, but at least it didn't grace BFG. ANYWAY, time to talk about BFG. Kendrick opens up the PPV by doing a poor man's Carlton dance while Aries thinks he's Batman with a black cape. Damn, all we are missing is an Italian plumber and we're in business. Aries was the heavy fan favorite in front of the Philly audience. Ring of Honor fans shouldn't be surprised by this. The match started off in a very technical fashion. If you like technical wrestling, there was quite a bit of it tonight, but not so much to make you lose interest. The match really got exciting once Aries did the suicide dive. This was a pretty good match to open up the PPV. I expect that from these two, but I just still have a hard time getting interested in Kendrick because of his ridiculous character. The finish comes when Aries hits the Brain Buster on Kendrick for the clean win. Two clean wins for Aries over Kendrick should end this rivalry, but I have to wonder who will challenge Aries next? I would like to see a more thought out rivalry between Aries and Alex Shelley since I think they went through that too fast. I also say it should be Shelley because nobody else in the X Division is ready to challenge Aries. Jesse Sorensen is more green than Yoshi and Kid Kash is a heel, which makes no sense.

Winner via pinfall and still X Division Champ: Austin Aries

Backstage where Traci is hanging out with Karen Jarrett's kids until she arrives so she can go into bitch mode. Once the kids are gone, she tells them to never talk to her children again and how the KO division has nothing but prostitutes. Karen's comebacks get worse and worse each week. All she does is reuse the same one liners. Sound familiar...

It turns out Karen will be the referee for the KO match this evening and tells Traci to not get involved unless something happens. Well, you can already picture what will happen later tonight. I guess TNA decided to spoil it for you know so you can feel content with your bathroom break.

Match #2: RVD vs Jerry Lynn in a Full Metal Mayhem Match
I good amount of ECW chants for this match. These guys were doing a lot of flashy moves in the early going, but that would change once they started to take advantage of the rules to this match. This match featured chairs and ladders. Do you know what I have never understood? When RVD does the Rolling Thunder when he has a weapon on top of the opponent. Wouldn't that do more damage to RVD since he is basically damages his back while the opponent might take a lesser blow from this attacking? Possibly one of the longest running moments of wrestling logic I can remember. The match was pretty brutal, especially the rollthrough powerbomb Lynn gave to RVD. He went through the ladder and hit his head on the barricade. The match was not too bad. It was what I expected, but I have to give these guys credit since they did put on a hell of an effort. The finish comes when RVD hits the Van Terminator on Lynn (Coast to coast with a steel chair and ladder) and picks up the victory. The match didn't have either guys moving on to something bigger or better, so if you ignore that, this was okay. Still, this match didn't do much in terms of storytelling, which is why I can see people not being interested in this match. Still, I felt it wasn't too bad.

Winner via pinfall: RVD

Match #3: Samoa Joe vs Crimson vs Matt Morgan
Crimson and Morgan were working together in the early going of this contest. Of course, that would go out the window during the match. Did I just see Morgan hit a crossbody? F***, give him some credit. One thing I have to say about Joe is he looked good out there tonight. This performance shows me Joe has the ability to bust his ass, but he needs to do this on a daily basis since I still feel he half asses it at times. The finish comes when Morgan hits a running knee on Joe, but is injured and down in the corner. Crimson comes in and hits a Spear on Joe and picks up the pinfall victory. The finish doesn't shock me at all since Crimson is still undefeated. Crimson wasn't very over with the Philly audience and I kinda expected that. I think they were on the right track with Crimson when they had him step up against Kurt Angle all of those months ago. I still feel the guy can be big for this company, but TNA hasn't handled his push in the best way possible. It just seems like they are putting him in rivalries nobody cares about. Plus, he doesn't talk enough on this show. You would think for how long his undefeated steak has lasted that he would be over. I blame some of this on Crimson himself, but I blame the majority of this on the TNA creative staff. Joe is the only chubby guy that I know can fly. Well....him and Santa Clause that is.

Winner via pinfall: Crimson

Match #4: Bully Ray vs Mr. Anderson in a Falls Count Anywhere Match
If you think the RVD/Lynn match was brutal, let me just say that this made RVD/Lynn a walk in the park with Barney the Dinosaur. Even though I am not the biggest fan of hardcore matches, I actually liked this one. In fact, this was my personal favorite match of the night. Not sure I can call it the Match of the Night, but I think you can't do no wrong if you picked this match. These guys have been at it for the past few months, and I felt that is why I like this match. In order for people to care about a wrestling match, you need a good story to go along with your rivalry. I can actually buy the fact these two just straight up hate each other. How in the world is Bully pulling off this character/matches of this caliber? Who knew he had this underneath that tube of fat? This match featured tables, road signs, guard rails, and chairs. These two also brawled in the ring, the entrance ramp, and even backstage. Still, they weren't backstage too long so u don't miss the action in the ring. I believe both guys got busted open during the match. Not a heavy amount of blood, but enough to take notice. Either they were legit scares from the fight, or they didn't go overboard with the blood spot. Anderson has looked pretty weak going up against Bully, but tonight he looked like he could hang with him (Have to admit. I thought I would never say that). If you are a fan of hardcore, but want some decent wrestling moves, this is the match for you. Bully hit the Bully Bomb on Anderson through the table, but only a two count. Anderson hit the Mic Check, but still a two count. The finish comes when Anderson puts Bully on another table. He goes for a Swanton Bomb, but misses...

If there was one flaw in the match, it was this obvious mess up by Anderson. He gets back up and hits Mic Check on Bully through the table and picks up the victory. This is a match I can definitely recommend checking out. It's kinda a shame this match went so early on the card.

Winner via pinfall: Mr. Anderson

There was a backstage scene where Eric Bischoff and referee Jackson James are talking about the Hogan/Sting match. It is revealed that Jackson has been secretly working with Immortal this entire time. No, really? Next you're gonna tell me that Clark Kent is Superman. Anyway, it was also revealed that Jackson is the son of Bischoff....

I think it was pretty obvious that the Hogan/Sting match wasn't going to be clean. Then again, we all know Hogan can't work a wrestling match, so this was the best way out of that.

Match #5: Winter vs Velvet Sky vs Mickie James vs Madison Rayne for the KO Title
Oh my God, this was a disaster. I knew this wasn't going to be good, but.....what the f*** was this? The first thing wrong about this match was the way it was designed. It operated like a tag team match, but then people who just get involved without being tagged in. What's the point of tagging in and out when it means nothing? Second, Karen is about as generic of a heel as you're going to get. She does all the tricks in being unfair as possible. She drops down to tie her shoe and makes sure she helps out Winter and Madison while acting like a jerk towards Velvet and Mickie. It is about as cliche as you're going to get since the whole "biased official" bit has been done to death. Another issue I had was the length of this match. They could've ended this match in like two minutes, but it dragged for at least 6 minutes. Getting a knife and cutting your throat would've been more entertaining than watching this. The finish comes when Winter does the blood spit, but accidentally hits Karen. Traci arrives to referee the rest of the match. One X Factor by Velvet later and we have a new KOs champ. First of all, I have been saying for the past couple of months that Velvet was going to win the title. Some of you might've thought I was insane, but look at the results. This is what I have to say towards anyone who thought I was being delusional...

Okay, now that I am done gloating, time to give my thoughts on the move. I admit I am not the biggest fan of Velvet. She tends to mess up quite a bit with her wrestling ability and doesn't make the biggest impression with the KO division. She might be the most over KO on the roster, but I think Madison is the more complete KO based on her character. Then again, Velvet isn't the worst female performer in this modern era (erm....Kelly Kelly) and she at least has some charisma to get you somewhat invested in what she does (Outside of her looks and body that is).

Winner via pinfall and NEW KO Champ: Velvet Sky

Match #6: AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels in a I Quit match
At first, I thought this might have been an interesting match. I figured it would be a breath of fresh air to watch an I Quit match without the name John Cena being around. With that said, you could imagine my disappoint when I saw this match. I found this match to be boring for some reason. The wrestling aspect was okay, but it was everything else I got bored with. Still, I will be fair and say it wasn't terrible. During the match, Daniels tried to use a screw driver on AJ, but it didn't work. This damn match reminded me of an action movie. You know that classic cliche you see in movies. It's the part where the villain has the good guy/hero right where he wants him. All he has to do is pull the trigger or hit a switch to set off some sort of trap. Instead of doing the logical thing, he starts monologuing about pointless bulls*** in how they are better than you. During the match, Daniels went into a speech in how he's better than AJ and how he didn't want to do this, but is left with no choice. He says he is going to kill AJ tonight and warns AJ's wife to make the kids not watch this. I'm not joking, this really happened. There was even a spot where Daniels said "You're gonna die, AJ". Dude, this is wrestling, not a slasher film. And if you wanted to kill AJ, wouldn't you get something like a gun or the Master Sword? I guess they ran out of those at Home Depot. After this speech, AJ gets fired up and fights back, thus Daniels lost his chance to win. I think this explains it best...

Same goes for those stupid movie villains. Remember that screw driver from before? Well, this match would end when AJ gets the screw driver and is about to use it on Daniels, but he instantly screams "I quit" and runs away like a pussy. This ending doesn't end things and it seems this rivalry will continue. Let me ask a question. Why? Why should this rivalry continue? What will be gained by watching these two work rivalry #2056th? What will we gain as wrestling fans by watching this? I just don't see the point in ending the match like this. I understand they ended it like this so Daniels adds more to his heel character and to make it continue, but that doesn't make it right. Daniels is a really generic heel. He does basic things character wise and makes it really boring because he has no personality. I've seen more personality out of garbage cans than I see out of Daniels.

Winner: AJ Styles

Back in the ring where Jeff Jarrett talks about how Jeff Hardy doesn't belong in TNA and nobody wants to see him. Hardy comes out and the two start to fight. Security, referees, and road agents arrive to separate the two. I guess this means a Jarrett/Hardy rivalry is on the way. Who will win the battle of Jeff? By the way, did anyone catch Mike Tenay saying prior to Jarrett showing up that the world title match would be next? Well, guess what match is next? That's right, Hogan vs Sting. Oops.

Match #7: Hulk Hogan vs Sting
Oh man, here we go. Dixie Carter was watching this match in the audience. We haven't seen Dixie in months, but she still can express an emotion to save her life. Nice to see she's been practicing. During the match, Ric Flair came out. Damn, and you thought we already had enough senior citizens in this match? In fact, I'm disappointed with TNA. Couldn't they get Ultimate Warrior involved so they could deliver the oldest tag team match in history? So, the Springfield Retirement Home is at hand to watch this match. This match was exactly what I expected. There was lots of kicks, punches, head locks, chops, and very little bumps. That was probably the best way to do this match. I have to admit, this wasn't the worst match I've ever seen. In fact, considering their age, this was at least tolerable. If you remember Vince McMahon vs Bret Hart at WM 26, I would say Hogan vs Sting was slightly less embarrassing than this....at least in terms of the match. During the match, Hogan used a weapon of some kind to attack Sting. At some point, Sting uses this weapon on Hogan. Both guys had the crimson mask this evening. Remember what I said about overdoing the blood spot? Well, there you go. Hogan actually took the Stinger Splash during this match. The sad part is if you look at this spot, Hogan was immediately grabbing his back in pain. Who thought that was a good idea again? A guy with back troubles taking a back bump? What the hell, TNA? The finish comes when Sting has the Scorpion Leg Lock on Hogan and starts tapping out. Jackson James looks on and is confused as to what he should do next, but calls for the bell and Sting is the winner. This is the worst crooked referee ever. It makes establishing the whole Bischoff is Jackson's son pointless in a way.

Winner via submission: Sting

After the match, Immortal arrives and starts a group attack on Sting. For some stupid reason, they show a brief camera shot of Abyss standing in the back not taking part in this attack. I figured he would show up to help Sting, but it never happened. Obvious pointless scene is obvious. Bischoff is about to use a chair on Sting, but his son takes it away and thinks this is wrong (Again, worst crooked referee ever. And those other attacks for the last year were okay? Wrestling logic much?). Bischoff orders an attack on his own son and Immortal takes him down. After that, they continue to punish Sting. Sting turns into Jerry Maguire for a moment by telling Hogan "Help me, help you". Hogan starts to look at all of this and he starts to rip off the shirt in Hulkamania fashion. Hogan starts to clear house and takes out all of Immortal with the help of Sting. Hogan gives a super punch to Bischoff. Philly is going nuts while Dixie is smiling (I think? You can never tell with her). Okay, now time to talk about this part. This Hogan face turn was so forced. It was so forced that it kinda made no sense. This reminded me so much when Hogan turned face after his match with the Rock at WM 18, but it's just thrown in your face out of nowhere. Think about it? Hogan has shown no signs of turning into a good guy and has expressed how much he hates Sting. All of the sudden, Sting is getting the s*** kicked out of him and decides to help? Some people might have marked out when this happened, but this has happened more than once in the career of Hogan. It has happened so much that it has lost all meaning. So, Hogan is a good guy. What does that mean for TNA? Will Hogan and Dixie call the shots? Will they rage war on Immortal? Is the entire Immortal stable "fired"? Does Hogan disappear behind the scenes or get more screen time? I understand Hogan is the most well known name in professional wrestling, but this face turn isn't going to help TNA in the long run. Hell, Hogan was face when he showed up, and what did that do? Believe me, I was a big Hogan fan back in the day, but I just didn't mark out like a lot of the nostalgia fans during this scene. Either way, Hogan is a good guy once again, which I don't think helps TNA in the long run.

Match #8: Kurt Angle vs Robert Roode for the TNA World Title
This was a very technical based wrestling match. It was good, but I expected something better. Still, this isn't a bad match to check out. Both guys went back and forth for a while with pinfall and submission attempts. The finish comes when Angle the Angle Slam, but Roode's hand was under the rope. Angle was also holding the ropes for leverage and the referee doesn't see either of these. Angle ends up stealing the match. The show ends with a disappointed Roode. So, let me get this straight. You invested the last 3-4 months to get Roode over. You had him win the BFG Series and you pushed him hard leading up into his title match. He does everything possible to make himself look strong. You put so much stock in how Roode has sacrificed this and how winning the world title means everything to the guy, but then you have him lose? What were they thinking? You invested so much time in the BFG series only to have the winner lose? Not only that, but you invested all this stock in Roode only for him to fail? I think I understand why they did this....but that is really pushing it. They had it end in this fashion to either set up a rematch or to set up the possibility of James Storm interfering in Roode's business, or Storm beating Angle for the world title. I know I am sitting here and trying to justify what TNA did and how we should wait and see where they are going with all of this, but no matter how you break it down, it doesn't make any sense to build up a guy for 1/3 of the year only for it to lead to nothing. To people who think TNA didn't have faith in Roode to win the title, here's my question. If you don't think he will make a good world champion, why did you put him in the match in the first place? If they plan to go with Storm after this, why didn't he win the BFG Series? This almost shows that maybe Roode wasn't going to be the original winner of the BFG series and maybe it was going to go to Matt Morgan. Still, why so much time and energy to build up Roode in winning this title if it leads to loosing? It's stuff like this that makes TNA the company they are. They have so much potential, but they have too many creative staff members with a stick up their ass and don't know when to stick down the path as opposed to taking 5 million detours along the way. Also, isn't it ironic? Isn't it ironic that Roode loses the same night Hogan turns face? I'm not saying Hogan is going to be competing again, but what I am saying is now the attention of this company goes back to being Hogan. Again, how is Hogan being the main guy going to help this company move forward? Say whatever you will about how John Cena continues to be the top guy in WWE, but at least he's age appropriate for the part.

Winner via pinfall and still TNA World Champ: Kurt Angle

Overall Impression:
This is interesting. The thing is I enjoyed a good portion of this PPV and I wouldn't call this a bad PPV. I really enjoyed the first half of this PPV. Pretty good matches between Aries/Kendrick and RVD/Lynn. Hell, even the Triple Threat Match wasn't too bad. Oh, and let's not forget the Anderson/Bully match, which was pretty good and told a good story. I felt when the KOs showed up is when the show turned south. The KOs went down overbooked lane while AJ/Daniels had a pretty disappointing match. Hogan/Sting match was acceptable, but Hogan's face turn was kinda pointless. Then you had the Angle/Roode match. Which wasn't too bad of a wrestling match, but the booking here was pretty idiotic. Maybe they wanted to milk two more matches out of these two, which is why they had it end the way they did? Still, it just doesn't add up when you have been pushing Roode hard for the last few months. Some people will be pleased with this PPV, but I can definitely see some people being disappointed. Time for the score of BFG. On a scale of 1-10 and 5 being average, the best score I can give BFG is a 6 out of 10, meaning it was slightly above average. There was some pretty good wrestling matches and there was enough stuff to keep you entertained, but there is a lot of moments that might have you ripping hair out of your skull. This was an evening that was going well for TNA, but it really took a bad turn in the second half. Then again, TNA has put up a couple of s***ty PPVs in the last couple of months, so it's nice to see something that was a lot better. BFG is a PPV I cannot recommend re-ordering. This might be worth a rental or at least a look through. Still, while part of me was satisfied with the overall presentation of the product, this PPV was also a disappointment for me in terms of how things played out. If TNA had ironed out some of their mistakes, this could've been a great PPV. Instead, it was an okay PPV and not the worst way to spend the evening, but you might be in for a letdown here and there. If the purpose of tonight was to drive the final nail in the coffin of the BFG Series, I would say mission accomplished. Come on, there was so many flaws with it, and you don't even have the winner take the title after all that hard work? Truth be told, I would like to see the BFG Series used again, but they need to polish up some of the kinks so we don't have the same issues we had this year. In so many ways, this PPV reminds me a lot of WM 27. Both showings had good wrestling matches, yet stupid/idiotic moments that leave you somewhat disappointed. In a way, both shows didn't live up to expectations. I know that might be a little unfair, but you expect a classic moment with a WM, and if TNA is going to treat BFG like their version of WM, they need to do the same as well. Hey, I just thought of something. TNA was building up Roode like the movie Rocky. Well, both guys had the same result since both guys lost their match. Coincidence? Probably not. That's going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. You know what the sad part is? I liked parts of BFG, and yet I wouldn't be surprised to see more TNA marks bitch and moan at me for my reporting. TNA fans can be really defensive about their product. As always, tell me what you thought of my review and tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time.

WrestlingNerd's Official Score for TNA Bound for Glory: 6 out of 10

WrestlingNerd's Running Diary for WWE Smackdown 10/14/11 & TNA Bound for Glory picks

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another edition of the Running Diary. This time around, we take a look at WWE Smackdown on 10/14/11. With this particular episode of SD moving the show into #2 for most episodes in television history (WWE Raw is #1), how did the show measure up? Well, let's find out.

-John Laurinaitis is the only person I know that if he won the lottery, he would still give you the same, bland emotion. In other words.....EXPRESS SOMETHING!!!

-Teddy Long and Laurinaitis announce a 41 man Battle Royal.

-41 men in the ring at the same time? Well, that will be the biggest sausage to ever hit television. It seems WWE is setting all sorts of records this evening...

-No John Cena in the battle royal? Well, at least the IWC won't be talking about how Cena wins everything tonight.

-The strange part is Sin Cara Black is in the match, but no Sin Cara Blue. I guess he was feeling blue this evening?

-Stand back, Internet Cole is on the loose at commentary.

-NXT Redemption is still going on? They must really be running out of ideas if this contest is still going.

-Wrestling logic: NXT rookies are competing for a title match, but these guys compete for WWE contracts in NXT. By that ruling, they shouldn't even be in this match. Oh well....

-Time for another edition of "Who will be Future Endeavored?" Anyone else thinking John Morrison is making a strong case for this award?

-I don't know about you folks, but there should never be another 41 man Battle Royal after tonight. It was just too cluttered and you can easily lose interest until you get to the final guys.

-Hehe...Santino's elimination.

-Jinder Mahal was the second to last competitor to be eliminated. Hey, at least he can tell his kids that he was almost important in the WWE.

-In my book, Sheamus was the most impressive in this battle royal. Really have to think Sheamus is in for something big.

-Final two came down to Randy Orton and Miz. Both guys went over the rope, but no confusion like the WWE normally does with this spot. I have to think Orton was not supposed to fall off the apron and slipped off the ring apron by accident.

-Because he won the Battle Royal, he was allowed to chose any world champion to challenge tonight. He chooses Mark Henry. Orton vs Henry for WHC later tonight.

-Beth Phoenix vs Kelly Kelly up next. Yeah............

-Did Booker just say Kelly makes very few mistakes in the ring? Yeah, and Princess Peach never gets kidnapped...

-Beth picks up the clean win on Kelly with the Glam Slam. Chances are this rivalry is over. Who will challenge Beth next?

-Sin Cara Blue getting ready for a match until he gets attacked by Sin Cara Black. He ends up stealing his mask after the attack and takes his place in the upcoming match. I understand what they were going for here, but it's kinda silly for Sin Cara Black to steal the original's mask considering he was running around like the original for weeks. He already had the original Sin Cara mask. You could've just re-used it again?

-Well, at least Michael Cole gave the story as to what is going on with the two Sin Caras. He is actually telling the truth. The current fake Sin Cara was the first Mistico in Mexico, but then the original Mistico came along and got the bigger fame. The real Mistico would continue to have that name in Mexico while the other one who change his identity. Damn, and you think fan fiction will confuse the s*** out of you?

-So, I guess Sin Cara Black is going up against Justin Gabriel right now. If you are lost, I am sure you aren't the only one.

-Swanton Bomb on Gabriel for the clean win. The world is confused about this, but I am sure Mexico might be enjoying this....I think.

-Alberto Del Rio vs Sheamus up next.

-I haven't heard one of Sheamus' stories in a while. Anyone else missing these?

-Thanks to Christian's outside interference, Del Rio steals this match via pinfall. The match was short, but it was okay for what it was worth.

-Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger vs Kofi Kingston and Zack Ryder. Evan Bourne taking the night off. Then again, if you saw the bump he took on Raw this past week, can you really blame him? I just hope it's a minor injury because this Air Boom is kinda growing on me.

-Cole doesn't like working with Booker? Tell me you didn't just say that?

-I gotta be honest. This was a fun little match. I liked it for what it was worth.

-Trouble in Paradise, Kofi puts Ryder on top of Ziggler to pick up the pinfall victory. If they are going to keep giving Ryder these victories, you have to think it will lead to something big, but who knows? Woo woo woo!!!

-Yeah, Story Time with Sheamus returns!!!

-Sheamus, he will kick your arse.

-Orton vs Henry for the WHC up next.

-Cody Rhodes interferes and the match is called off. Imagine winning a 41 man Battle Royal and getting screwed out of a title match via DQ? Yeah, I would turn into a Super Saiyan as well.

-Big Show runs out to even the odds. Chokeslams Henry to end the show.

Overall Impression:
For this being a record breaking edition of SD, it was a little underwhelming. You almost expected more out of SD with the milestone, but maybe they didn't want to do anything too special and just treat this as a normal showing. Outside of the Battle Royal, nothing else about the show really gave it that special feeling. To be fair, if you look at this particular episode of SD without something epic, this wasn't too bad of a showing. I don't really consider this an episode worth checking out, but it wasn't that bad. The problem is there wasn't anything major to keep you invested. Then again, isn't average wrestling better than terrible wrestling? As I mentioned before, the Battle Royal was a mess. If this operated like the Royal Rumble, that would have been okay. However, when you have that many bodies in the ring at the same time, it can easily lose your interest until you get to the final 10 or whatever. We saw the further development between Sheamus and Christian. Realistically, the rivalry should've ended at HIAC. I guess WWE decided to drag it out for one more PPV. I feel that once this rivalry is over, Sheamus could really be going for a big program. I have to think Sheamus is a very early candidate to win the Royal Rumble. What do you guys and girls think? Hey, don't call me crazy if Sheamus vs Henry at WM 28 happens. The Sin Caras continue to have their heated rivalry and it seems they are finally explaining the storyline. Still, this would make a bigger impression if the storyline was broadcast in the ring, not by the commentators. Then again, I think part of the reason there hasn't been much in terms of promos by these guys is because original Sin Cara's English is a little rusty. They really should get a third party guy to do the translations for these guys so people who don't live in Mexico or are the IWC have a clearer idea of what's going on. I think this is part of the reason the match at HIAC between these two didn't get much of a response, because casual fans are confused as to what's going on. Then again, maybe this is one of those things WWE is airing for the Mexican citizens since this is almost their exclusive rivalry. Some people don't realize how big Mistico is in Mexico. Seriously, he is almost like a God there, but that isn't any reason to leave the other WWE fans in the dark with this rivalry. Well, at least the facial expressions and the way both men have carried themselves have told part of the story. If Kelly is out of the running for title shots, I have no idea who will be challenging Beth next. If I had to guess, I wouldn't be surprised it if ended up being Eve. I really hope that isn't the case. Then again, if not here, who? Yeah, that's a bit of a problem. Anyone really missing Kharma right about now? Orton and Rhodes continue their build up. This is a big deal for Cody since this is his chance to move up the ladder. Cody has been impressive, but he still needs a little more work until we start thinking of him as a main eventer. Hopefully, things don't go too badly with his current rivalry. There wasn't much in terms of Vengeance announcements, but a lot of storylines got on the air this week and you can already get an idea of what will be appearing on the card. I imagine Orton vs Rhodes, Sheamus vs Christian, and Vickie Guerrero's Crew vs Air Boom might be a lock. Hell, there might even be a chance for Ryder to show up on PPV? The action was okay, for the most part. Nothing amazing, but nothing terrible either. Time to rank the shows. In terms of wrestling quality, I rank it SD, Raw, and Impact. Really, all three shows did lack in this department for the week. In terms of promos/segments, I rank it Raw, SD, Impact. When looking at the MVP of the Week, only one person made a big enough impression to win it for this week. Over on the side of TNA, the MVP of the Week goes to Robert Roode. He really has been impressive lately and his match is definitely the most intriguing part of this Sunday's PPV. Ok, time for the TNA Bound for Glory predictions. Again, I was planning a BFG Rundown for this week, but the damn thing was so boring to write that I just cancelled the whole thing. Anyway, here we go.

Austin Aries vs Brian Kendrick for the X Division Title: Why in the world is Kendrick getting another title shot? Well, he does come out to porn music, so maybe he's doing something behind the scenes? Aries has to win.

Winter vs Velvet Sky vs Madison Rayne vs Mickie James for the KO Title: With all the extra screen time Velvet has gotten this year, I think they will do the payoff at BFG. Then again, I'd rather watch a Velvet title reign than a Kelly Kelly one any day of the week.

Mexican America vs Ink Inc for the Tag Titles:..........oh, I'm sorry. I fell asleep. Time for a coin flip.......Mexican America cheats to keep titles. Have I expressed enough in how I don't really care about this match yet?

RVD vs Jerry Lynn in a Full Metal Mayham Match: This might not be a bad match to watch, but this one could get brutal. RVD to win.

AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels in a I Quit match: Ugh....this match again. This rivalry plays out the same every single time with AJ winning. Do you think we will get a change this time around? Well, it's possible, but I still have AJ winning.

Crimson vs Samoa Joe vs Matt Morgan: Sorry Morgan, but your match is in another castle. Since Crimson is still undefeated and it would be insanely stupid to have his steak end in this match, he has to win.

Mr. Anderson vs Bully Ray in a Falls Count Anywhere Match: Can you believe Bully Ray is possibly the top heel in this company? Seriously, I have to give him credit. These types of matches tend to have the face winning, but so far we have a lot of faces winning in the PPV. I will most likely get this one wrong, but I'm going to pick Bully to win this match.

Sting vs Hulk Hogan: Is this a Pacemaker on a Pole Match or are they fighting for a lifetime supply of pudding? Joking aside, I know this is going to be a disaster of a wrestling match in which there is shenanigans left and right. I just hope nothing bad happens. Hogan just resigned a new deal with TNA, so the door is open for him to win this match. Then again, I was almost positive Sting would win and I don't plan on changing it now. Besides, TNA will make up some bulls*** in how Hogan will still remain with the company. Maybe he turns face....again?

Kurt Angle vs Robert Roode for the World Championship: The true main event and the match I'm the most interested in seeing. If TNA was smart, they would have Roode win because they invested a lot of time and energy to get Roode's stock up and in the BFG Series. Then again, you know how TNA likes to take a piss all over their creations. With that said, I still have Roode winning to become the new world champion.

Those are the quick picks/thoughts for BFG and that's finally going to do it for the review. I hope you enjoyed it. As always, tell me what you thought of my review, tonight's show, or what you think will happen at BFG. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time.

WrestlingNerd Presents: TNA Impact Wrestling Review 10/13/11

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at TNA Impact Wrestling on 10/13/11. With Bound for Glory set for this Sunday, how would TNA do with the Go Home edition of Impact? Well, let's find out and start the review.

We open up the show with Kurt Angle. He immediately calls out Robert Roode and it's confrontation time. Angle admits Roode has been impressive with passing the test, but he reminds him that he has been the top dog in all of TNA since his arrival. He extends his hand out for a handshake, but thank God Roode isn't a stupid face and doesn't take the bait. Instead, he grabs a mic and talks about how it takes heart to become a world champion and he will make sure he has more heart than Kurt at BFG. Roode purposes a fair match. No Immortal, no 4Tune, just Angle and Roode duking it out in a wrestling match. Angle actually agrees to this and it appears we are done.....BUT WAIT!!! Angle would quickly add in that Roode has one more test to pass tonight. Roode will be going up against Gunner and Jeff Jarrett in a Handicap Match later tonight. I like the idea of these guys to speak their minds going into their title match. In fact, it's pretty common with professional wrestling to do this scene. However, I don't agree with opening up the show with this. I would have preferred this to be the way Impact closed the show.....outside of that little announcement regarding tonight's match. That would have been the best way to close out Impact going into BFG since the Angle/Roode match is looked at as the true main event. Heck, they are competing for the world title. I know others will argue that Sting and Hulk Hogan should close out the show, but do you really think that is wise?

This next part was so stupid that just reeks of bad writing by TNA. RVD, AJ Styles, Jerry Lynn, and Christopher Daniels are all brawling in the back. Mike Tenay quickly says they were scheduled to compete in a match. A commercial break later, they are still brawling and are now in the ring. They just magically get themselves into the ring and there just happens to be a referee to ring the bell and thus the match begins. What was the point of all of that? I understand they want to show the tension with the rivalries, but this looks so stupid. By the way, Styles and Daniels will compete in a I Quit match. I am normally not a big fan of this match, but maybe this will be interesting compared to the John Cena Doesn't Quit Match. RVD will go up against Jerry in a Full Metal Mayham match. Couldn't just simply call it a Hardcore match because we need cliche names in wrestling.

Match #1: RVD and AJ Styles vs Jerry Lynn and Christopher Daniels
The match was okay for what it was worth, but it goes so fast that you quickly forget it ever happened. If they just....oh, I don't know, dropped the pointless brawl? Anyway, the finish comes when AJ is about to hit the Styles Clash, but Daniels has a chance to break it up. Instead, he walks out on the match and Styles hits the Styles Clash on Jerry to win the match for his team. Daniels is such a terrible heel. He makes no impression to make me give a s*** about his character. They should call this guy The Fallen Boredom.

Winner via pinfall: RVD and AJ Styles

Match #2: Samoa Joe vs Matt Morgan
This was even shorter than the previous match. Morgan scores a quick roll up on Joe to steal this match. That had to be the most productive thing TNA has ever aired *rolls eyes*. After the match, Joe continues the attack because he is a sore loser. Crimson limps down to the ring and manages to scare away Joe with a steel chair. Geez, did it have a nail through it? Joe grabs the mic and thinks Crimson and Morgan want to fight each other, but want to gang up against him because he is the King of the Jungle. Yeah, and I'm the King of the Monsters....He books a Triple Threat Match between himself, Crimson, and Morgan to prove who is the best. The thought process by Joe here makes no sense. Both of these guys hate you and you run away like a chicken s*** every time they have the edge. This sort of thing would've worked if Joe was built up to be a bad ass, but he is about as bad ass as Pee Wee Herman. Instead, he looks like an idiot because of how he has to deal with two people at once. Again, I understand what TNA creative was going for here since they had to put doubt in the trust of Morgan and Crimson, but this just comes off as being lazy. I guess Vince Russo fell asleep while writing the script again....or didn't? It's hard to tell....

Winner via pinfall: Matt Morgan

We are back in the ring with Mexican America. They call out Ink Inc. Oh my God, this was a train wreck. Was the goal here to have everyone who can't cut a promo talk in the same scene? All four of these guys are so uncreative on the mic and add nothing to the scene, more of that please. This was the first time I've heard Jesse Neal talk and.....let's just say it was a mistake. The sad part is Jesse might have been the cream of the crop with these group of guys. Funny how Jesse talked about Mex showing up week after week and complain about the United States...even though they show up every 2-3 weeks on this program. Anyway, a fight breaks out between the teams. It appears Mex America has the advantaged because of the Latinas, but then this mysterious punk rock chick shows up and takes out both ladies. She appears to be in trouble when Hernandez gets back up, but Ink Inc helps her out. They want to show off the tattoo they gave Anarquia a few weeks back, but they leave the ring. Ink Inc talks about how they can bring all the women the need, because they got backup in their newest member. I have no idea what TNA plans to call this woman, but I do know this woman's name is Christina Von Eerie. Funny thing is she used to work AAA in Mexico, so most of the talent involved in this match know who this person is. My only thoughts into this possible new KO means that Ink Inc could be around for a while and might get the titles this Sunday. Then again, based on the fact that the Television Champion hasn't shown up in over a month, that doesn't mean jack s***.

Match #3: Brian Kendrick and Jesse Sorensen vs Austin Aries and Kid Kash
Again, what was the point of that altercation between Kendrick and Kash last week? It was never addressed in this match and it was just a waste of time. What the hell were they thinking? The match was okay, but it leaves no impression. The finish comes when the ref gets distracted by Kash and Sorensen on the outside. Aries grabs the X Division title and is about to use it as a weapon. He misses him (D'oh, I missed) and Kendrick is able to take advantage. He hits the Sliced Bread and gets the victory. This moment would've meant a lot more if Kendrick wasn't celebrating to porn music.

Winner via pinfall: Brian Kendrick and Jesse Sorensen

We open up the second hour of Impact with the KOs. Velvet Sky, Mickie James, Winter, Angelina Love, Karen Jarrett, Madison Rayne, and Traci Brooks are in the ring. Karen talks about fighting to put the KOs on the card because nobody wanted to see them and consider them all street corner workers. So, your president or whatever that is in charge of the KOs doesn't even want to try to get her talent on the show? Yeah, that's the marks of a brilliant leader. Donald Trump should take this in as a lesson. She calls out Velvet in particular and calls her a piece of trash. Velvet says she will eventually make her shut up and she will win the KO title. Velvet pushes Karen to the ground with the help of Traci. This starts a brawl between all the KOs while Karen tells Traci how she will be scrubbing toilets after all of this. Karen is like the John Laurinaitis version of the KO division. She doesn't really add a whole lot of emotion and doesn't make the biggest impression. Then again, at least she's trying? I have been saying it for a while, I think Velvet will win the title at BFG. They have given her a lot of screen time this year and it seems they will do the pay off this Sunday. To people who will complain, keep in mind we had to sit through a Kelly Kelly championship reign. Yeah, Velvet as champion all of the sudden doesn't sound so bad.

Match #4: Scott Steiner vs Mr. Anderson with Bully Ray as the Special Enforcer
Anderson is out there, time for his assholes to rejoice...

Bully taunts Anderson on the outside. The match sucked, plain and simple. The finish comes when Anderson takes out Bully on the outside. Abyss shows up and grabs Bully's chain to use it on Anderson. He accidentally misses and hits Steiner. By the way, referee sees all of this and doesn't bother to ring the bell. How stupid does TNA think people watching this are? It's crap like this that gives TNA such a bad name. Anderson quickly knocks down Abyss, picks up a pin on Steiner, and runs away. After the match is when things got really dumb. Immortal shows up and they yell at Abyss for screwing up....even though he hasn't screw up in weeks, possibly months. Eventually, Abyss fights back, but Immortal takes him down since they have the numbers game. They get a table set up to punish Abyss, but then Anderson comes BACK in to fight Immortal. Since Anderson is a freakin' idiot and just jumped into the lion's den without a plan or a weapon, he gets his ass kicked as well. Bully Powerbombs Anderson though the table, which ends the scene. I have no idea what TNA was thinking here. You don't build up anything regarding Abyss turning face for months. They have been teasing this since Destination X PPV, which was back in July. Here we are in October and this storyline has barely been advertised or mentioned on the program since then. Here is TNA just throwing it in your face and just expecting you to remember that little scuffle that happened to Abyss. Not only that, but you finally make Abyss stand up for himself and it leads to nothing? When people retaliate against their stables, it usually means something. Oh, and let's not forget Anderson running away after all of this and then showing up again. This whole thing was just stupid and just reeks of Vince Russo. The only thing you are missing with this scene is clown shoes. It's stupid s*** like this that makes you stop watching. Again, I want TNA to do well and succeed, but this is beyond stupid. Too add to their stupid stuff, we have a backstage scene in which Kurt Angle is using reverse psychology on James Storm so he can think about attacking his best friend. TNA, if you have any ounce of dignity left, you will not have Storm turn heel this Sunday because of Angle's bulls***. The speech didn't make any sense. He screwed him out of the match last week and expects him to work for him based on this? Angle is looking more and more like a moron as a heel. Angle's plan would work a lot better if he shoved a broomstick up his ass and sing the alphabet backwards. Hmm....that actually sounds more entertaining than this piece of crap. This is the part of the show where you just shut off the TV, but I keep going. Why? Because, I am insane and people enjoy watching me torture myself.

Match #5: Robert Roode vs Jeff Jarrett and Gunner
You might as well refer to Roode as Robert Balboa with the way TNA is pushing this entire thing. The match was nothing special. The finish comes when Roode locks in the Crossface on Gunner and he taps out. So, you show the toughness in Immortal by being able to handle one guy in the last scene, but can't deal with Roode? You know what? I actually don't have a problem with Immortal looking bad here since Roode is the guy who needs to look strong. He has to. He is the one competing for the world title this Sunday. Still, continuity can be a bitch, don't you think? Then again, explain that one to John Cena? What the hell am I talking about? ANYWAY....after the match, Immortal shows up and again does the group attack on Roode. Storm arrives for the save, but it doesn't work. Angle arrives and is ready to hit a punch on Roode until Jeff Hardy arrives. Angle runs away, Gunner just magically falls to the ground without taking a hit, and Hardy takes out the others. So, a cowboy, an asshole, and a monster can't take out Immortal, but a drug addict can? Most illogical....let's move on. Hardy clears house and Immortal retreats. Storm isn't happy about Hardy showing up and Roode is a little put off by all of this. He eventually decides to trust Hardy and shakes his hand. Hardy is about to leave, but Storm won't let him. He makes him stay in the ring only for Beer Money to.....raise Hardy's hand to end the scene. It made sense for Beer Money to be a little taken back by accepting Hardy considering everything that has happened, so that keeps up the worked shoot style storyline regarding Hardy. Not sure how I feel about this scene, but I guess it was harmless. It did show how strong Roode is going into his title match against Angle. Up to this point, we haven't seen Angle and Roode face each other in a match, not even a tag team match (referring to storyline, not the entire history of wrestling) and I like how they haven't spoiled anything for the true main event at BFG. This should be an exciting match. The build up between Roode and Angle hasn't been perfect, but it did its job and I am very interested in this match.

Winner via submission: Robert Roode

There was a quick backstage scene where Jarrett was yelling at Hardy and saying how he doesn't want to see him in Philly. Hardy says he is going to book his flight for Philly....but not until he serves a ten day sentence in jail. You might think I was going for a joke here, but this is true. Hardy already served his jail time and should be there for this Sunday. I'm going to give Hardy a free pass. By that, I mean not making another joke....at least for the rest of tonight.

Time for Hogan and Sting to sign their final wills....er, I mean the contract for their match at BFG. Sting signs it. Hogan eventually signs it and it is finally a go. Hogan flips over the table in the most lazy way possible. Man, even that looked like it took a lot out of Hulk. Not a good sign. Hogan talks about how the TNA originals failed to bring this company up and that was what he wanted to do when he arrived (Yeah, how's that working for you, Hulk?). He talked about how Sting did everything imaginable to get this match and he is going to get the real Hulk at BFG. Eric Bischoff interrupts and says he will be dealing with Sting at the PPV once Hulk is done with him. With his back turned, Hogan uses a steel chair on Sting. The show ends with Hogan continuing the attack on Sting. That's right, they didn't even show the rest of the attack, but maybe that was a blessing. I know this isn't going to be a good wrestling match, but I just hope it is tolerable for their age and nothing bad happens to either of them. I can only pray. By the way, Hogan talking about wanting to do this man on man? With those allegations a few months back, bad choice of words, brother!!!

Overall Impression:
For this being the Go Home edition of BFG, their version of WrestleMania, it was a pretty big letdown. TNA did address every match on the card, but it just wasn't engaging. I don't walk away from this showing wanting to see BFG, so TNA kinda failed in this department. Still, one of the positives after tonight is the Angle/Roode storyline. It hasn't been perfect, but I find this to be the most intriguing match going into BFG. The nostalgia fan inside me wants to see Hogan/Sting, but I realize that these guys aren't in the best physical conditioning going into this match. These men are battered and bruised and this might be one of the worst matches possible. Then again, there is still hope that the match can be passable, but its only a glimmer. I cannot recommend watching this show. The evening was just a drag and a disappointment. I expected the action to be lacking since they want to save their stuff for BFG, but I didn't expect the show to be so much like a Looney Toons cartoon. Again, I want to be the guy who likes TNA and tells you to watch this show, but I just can't get invested in a lot of the things TNA does. That doesn't mean the WWE is perfect, because that isn't true. The WWE has its fair share of problems and is far from perfect, but compared to TNA, you can notice the difference quite a bit. As long as Russo is still working for this company, TNA won't really move forward. That's going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. I was planning on doing a BFG Rundown. I talked about five of the matches and it was very boring. I decided to cancel it since there wasn't a lot to work with. That should be a clue into how this card is going into BFG. There are some worthwhile, but a lot of these matches don't make me want to watch the event. Either way, I will still throw some quick thoughts when I take a look at SD this week. Tell me what you thought of my review and tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time.

WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Raw Review 10/10/11 (There's a new Sheriff in town...)

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Raw on 10/10/11. With the vast majority of the roster walking out, how will the show continue? Well, let's find out and start the review.

We open up the show with no commentators, no ring announcer, and a few camera man (or flying saucers recording the show) working the show. We go to the back and we see nobody around until Triple H comes out of his office and goes to the ring Goldberg style. Seriously, the only thing missing was breathing in the pryo. Trips says the superstars are petitioning in the parking lot. Trips starts to wonder if he should just walk away from this job, but quickly squashes that and says he won't be intimidated. He says he will fight a broomstick if he has to (Hopefully the ones in the Harry Potter/Fantasia universe. At least they could do something) in order to make the show continue. John Cena comes out and says he had a full week to think about this. He got a lot of request from the WWE protesters to join their cause, but the boy scout says he will stand by his boss because he loves the fans. Sheamus comes out next and talks about how he injured Trips a few years ago and thanks him for wanting to settle all of this like men. Sheamus says he respects the Game and he will stand by him. CM Punk comes out next and says he was most likely the cause of this walk out by the superstars. He pointed out that when he walked out, his contract was ending and was trying to prove he's worth a lot more to this company. These guys walked out because they are all being a bunch of babies. Punk says this is professional wrestling, where people solve their problems by fighting, not by being a little bitch. He also says he will stand by Trips through all of this....but wants to know what they will do next. Trips thinks about it and makes it Cena vs Sheamus, Triple H as the special guest referee, with Punk calling the action on commentary. Punk rings the bell and we have a match. A very long opening to say the least. In a lot of ways, this opening isn't quite over yet since we have a lot more to dig into. Up until the first match, this segment went on for about 20 plus minutes. I normally don't like long openings, but you had to figure a long opening was on the way based on last week's events; so I can let the WWE slide with the long opening. All three guys said their very own reasons for not joining the protesters an electing to stay on board with the current COO. All three had a valid reason to stay on the show and it made sense. Cena really is the boyscout on this show, so you had to figure he would stand by him no matter what. It was very interesting how Sheamus was able to stand by him considering how he almost took his head off with that lead pipe, but Sheamus is a good guy now. The interesting one was Punk since he is looked at as the catalyst to all of these angry complaints against Hunter. Some smarks might find it hard to buy this one, but it actually does make sense when you think about it. Another thing I liked was how this show opened up. It really gave it a dark feeling that this show wasn't going to happen tonight and perhaps it was the end. Again, you knew that wasn't the case, but you have to keep in mind they are trying to tell a story. With how the show opened up, I think it was pretty effective. I liked the opening for what it was worth. I found it strange that Randy Orton didn't at least come out and say something to Trips. I didn't really watch SD last week, but I do recall Orton saying he would address Trips face to face. Well, here was the opportunity to do so and yet he wasn't there. In a lot of ways, Orton looked like he was one of the people who walked out, which wasn't the case. Then again, maybe that was a good thing considering how generic Orton is on the mic.

Match #1: John Cena vs Sheamus
Punk was calling the action during this match. One of the very disappointing things about this part was in a matter of minutes, Vince McMahon showed up and immediately called off this match. I thought it would have been interesting to roll with this scene for about 10+ minutes, but this is only a two hour show. Vince sends all the wrestlers to the back because he has something to say towards the Game. This match never got restarted and this was the only time we would see Cena and Sheamus for the rest of the night. Oh, the Cena kiddy fans are ready to riot.

No Contest

Vince and Trips are left in the ring. Vince says he likes what Trips has been doing with the WWE. He thinks he's doing a great job, but the Board of Directors are concerned with this protest. Vince informs Trips that on behalf of the board, Trips is no longer in charge of Raw...

Vince says the BOD is currently searching for a new Raw GM, but since they haven't quite found one yet, they have named an Interim GM. The new Interim Raw GM is John Laurinaitis....

Trips is still the COO of the WWE, but not controlling the day to day operations of the company, which is similar to Vince's role with the company (At least in terms of kayfabe). I don't care what people say about Vince, but the man adds so much into a scene. You had to guess with the way things were going that Johnny Ace would be put in charge of the show. Something I've never brought up about Johnny Ace in the past is the man lacks showing an emotion. Reckon this won't be a long term move and it's only for the purpose of the storyline, but Laurinaitis doesn't give you that much of a reason to tune in. This reminds me a lot of when Mike Adamle was the Raw GM for a short time. Just like the superstars who have to wrestle every night on your TV screen, the on air personalities have to have some sort of charisma to make you care. Vince has it, which is why Vince adds a lot into a scene. Johnny Ace doesn't give you that and just reeks of boredom. Some people are probably thinking I am being too harsh, but just watch the rest of the show and you will show how Johnny Ace doesn't make you care as to what happens. Some of the people who want to work in the professional wrestling business really need to take some acting lessons.

There was a quick backstage scene of Johnny Ace welcoming back the protesters. John Morrison confronts him and says while Trips had an ego, Laurinaitis is an even worse solution (Wrestling Logic: Morrison disagrees with Johnny Ace, but doesn't elect to continue the protest because we need conflict). Johnny Ace decides to book Morrison in a match right away. He sees Christian and they seem happy about the new interim GM. He books Christian to go up against Morrison right away. Christian goes with it and orders his troops to follow him. Well, it appears Johnny Ace is trying NOT to be biased, but do you really think that's going to last long? Well, let's just see.

Match #2: John Morrison vs Christian
Both guys were competing in street clothes. I have been saying how Morrison is a glorified jobber in the WWE these days. A guy who will pull off some cool moves, but will end up losing the match. Funny, since this used to be Evan Bourne's role with the company. My, have times have changed? The finish comes when Morrison walks into a Spear. After the match, Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, and Jack Swagger each hit their finishers on Morrison to show they mean business. I don't see main event stock in Morrison at the moment, but four finishers is quite a bit to take in. I wondering if Johnny Ace will allow better medical coverage? Oh, and JR, King, and Michael Cole are back on commentary. Cole referred to himself as Gandhi for "starting this change". Cole can really be full of it sometimes, but at least he's playing the part.

Winner via pinfall: Christian

Backstage where Trips confronts Johnny Ace. Laurinaitis again claims he didn't want this job, but he will make sure he does a better job than Hunter. Trips makes death threats towards the guy. I'd say Trips is handling the news in a good way *wink, wink*. I just think Trips is more disappointed in the fact he didn't get to fight this....

Match #3: Mark Henry vs Randy Orton
Remember what I was saying earlier about Orton not being part of the walk out? Well, Orton comes out and we are informed by the commentators he was not part of the walk out. Again, still feel Orton should have said something in the earlier scene. Henry shows the clips of the Big Show attack from last week's SD. That was another person who didn't speak up earlier in the evening. In fact, Show didn't show up at all tonight (no pun intended). Henry talks about how he took all that punishment and is still standing. It definitely appears Show will be the next to challenge Henry for the title. The match was okay, but nothing special. The finish comes when Cody Rhodes interferes in the match and the bell is called. Orton does okay for a while, but Henry gets back up and hits World's Strongest Slam on Orton. He leaves the ring in anger. Rhodes gets back in the ring to finish off Orton with the Cross Rhodes and gives him the paper bag treatment. Rhodes gives a speech in how he has embarrassed Orton and gives a very disturbing laugh. The laugh was so forced, but his character is physiologically twisted, so it fits. Hey, at least there are no wrestlers playing the role of drug addicts.....that's what Jeff Hardy is for. I apologize for that one since I know TNA fans will complain.

Winner via DQ: Randy Orton

Match #4: Kelly Kelly and Eve vs Tamina and Rosa Mendes
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Solid Gold Dancers!!! Come on, look at Kelly and Eve's ring attire. If you add one more to the mix, we would have the Triforce of Disappointment. Anyway, Kelly once again snaps. As I said last week, I still can't buy this mean streak by Kelly. I remember when WWE would do this with Maria Kanellis when she was working with the company and it didn't work. These women just don't look like they would get angry. The finish comes when Eve hits the Moonsault for the clean win. After the match, Beth Phoenix and Natalya are in the back watching this and weren't too happy about this outcome. It makes you think they would.....oh, I don't know, do something...

Winner via pinfall: Kelly Kelly and Eve

Johnny Ace comes out after the match and invites JR to the ring. He reminds JR that he was hired by Trips and shows his "loyalty" by walking out on him. He decides to fire JR. Remember what I said about Laurinaitis not adding an emotion? Well, here's a scene that calls for him to be a total dick, but it just looks like bad acting. I know a lot of people will feel bad for JR, but how many times has JR been fired on screen? JR has been fired more than Peter Griffin and George Jetson combined. Not to mention that Johnny Ace should technically fire the whole roster based on the fact JR walked out. This is one of those things where we need to show how much of a dick Johnny Ace really is so he can get some heat. I hope JR does eventually come back on screen down the road. The guy is just too talented at what he does best. By the way, Cole was gloating this entire time and apparently doesn't know the difference between a trumpet and a trombone. Groundbreaking reporting by Cole, once again.

Match #5: Mason Ryan and Air Boom vs Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, and David Otunga
Ryan and Air Boom came out to new entrance themes. For the most part, I kinda like it. The match was nothing special. It seems WWE is trying something with Mason. The guy has a good look and I kinda like him, but he is still very rusty in the ring. Just seems like he is lost at times during a match. The finish comes when Mason hits a finisher on Ziggler for the clean win. I am starting to think the Zack Ryder moments for two straight weeks was just added in for comic relief. Then again, Ryder is a comic relief character in a lot of ways. Somewhere out there, the Ryder fans are complaining once again.

Winner via pinfall: Mason Ryan and Air Boom

Match #6: CM Punk vs Alberto Del Rio
Oh, Laurinaitis did announce it would be Del Rio vs Cena for the WWE Title at Vengeance. This is the part of the show where you cue the angry IWC comments for Cena getting his 9 millionth title match. Do you ever think Cole is the equivalent of an internet troll? All he does is bitch and moan about things. Call the damn match!!! Johnny Ace arrives and cancels this match because he has just hired back two talents, Miz and R-Truth. So, he makes a match only to cancel it? Your interim GM, ladies and gentlemen....

No Contest

Match #7: CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio vs Miz and R-Truth
Miz and Truth showing up is almost the biggest example of wrestling logic ever. How did Laurinaitis in a matter of an hour and a half manage to contact Miz and Truth and fly them out there? Did they just happen to be in the area? Whatever. The match might have been the best one of the night, but it isn't really saying much. The action was really lacking tonight. Del Rio at first is working pretty hard to take care of Miz and Truth considering the fact these guys attacked him at the HIAC PPV. At some point, Del Rio sells an injury and has to leave this match, leaving Punk to fly solo. Miz and Truth start to pick apart Punk, but with his new good guy powers, he manages to fight out of this predicament. The finish comes when Punk is about to hit the GTS on Miz, but Truth interferes and doesn't listen to the referee, thus calling for the bell. A lot of DQs/No Contest tonight, wouldn't you say? After the match, Awesome Truth continues the assault until Trips arrives to even the odds. Punk and Triple H chase away Miz and Truth. Laurinaitis and Otunga are watching this in a back and the interim GM gets an idea. He wants to talk to the board to approve of Hunter being able to compete. At Vengeance, it will be Triple H and CM Punk vs Miz and R-Truth. The show ends with Hunter and Punk posing in front of the live crowd. I have to admit, that actually sounds like a good idea for a match. Both guys have some beef with Awesome Truth because it was their firing which lead to the series of events in which Johnny Ace is now calling the shots. Del Rio walking out of the match makes total sense considering heels like to be cowards and walk away from a fair fight. Never thought I would see Punk and Trips working together as a team, but everything is strange these days.

No Contest

Overall Impression:
This was a very mixed bag sort of evening. I will definitely admit the action was really lacking tonight. There was too many DQs/No Contest. Reckon, it is free TV, but this was pushing it a bit. I felt a lot of things were rushed in the early going (Miz and Truth showing up on the same night as Johnny Ace being named the interim GM seems a little much), but I guess they really wanted to push the Vengeance PPV hard since it will be next week. They made a couple of announcements regarding the PPV and they seem to be setting up a few other matches in the process, so they definitely had the evening planned to get geared up towards the PPV. The promos/segments is what helped the show, but there was some flaws. Johnny Ace manages to draw in heat, but its the same kind of heat that Del Rio is drawing in at the moment. I think the reason they made the decision to "fire" JR was to generate more heat for Johnny Ace, but it really didn't work in the best way possible. I think if they had "fired" the King as well, things might have gotten a little out of hand and Johnny Ace would've gotten the right reaction. Then again, there is only so much of Michael Cole a person can take in for one evening. Of course, I bet most of the complaints are how JR has been fired, but Cole keeps his job? Yeah, I'm aware people will continue to hate Cole no matter what. I really don't see the big deal since JR's character has been fired plenty of times, so I like to think he is just taking a short break and will be back on screen before you know it (woo woo woo). I will admit that Cole went a little overboard with the insults once JR got "fired". They really need to tell Cole to tone down the insults because it really becomes distracting. The strange part is I felt the best part of the show was when it was only Trips, Sheamus, Cena, and Punk doing the entire thing. In fact, maybe Triple H vs a broomstick wasn't such a bad pitch? Joking aside, there was moments where I felt kinda bored with the showing. I would try to pay attention to what Johnny Ace had to say, but the guy makes as much of an impression when Mike Adamle was the coffee break GM for a while. And I'm not sure that's what you want to get out of your jerkish GM. This was nowhere near a perfect show since it had its flaws, but I did enjoy parts of this show. Take of that whatever you will. I can't really recommend watching the entire show, but I think watching the opening, Trips being relieved, Johnny Ace firing JR, and the final match will give you the abridged version of tonight. This episode will definitely get a mixed reaction since I know of people who disliked this showing, but some people were satisfied with what they saw tonight. Things might be getting interesting now that there's a new sheriff in town, so there is some interesting TV on the way....despite Laurinaitis' lack of giving a s***. That's going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought of my review and tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time.

WrestlingNerd Presents: TNA Impact Wrestling Review 10/6/11

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at TNA Impact Wrestling on 10/6/11. After missing the last episode of Impact and with Bound for Glory in two weeks, how would things go this time around? Well, let's find out and start the review.

We open up the show with Beer Money. Impact is being held in Tennessee this week, which again is a breath of fresh air from the Impact Zone. Again, the set looks pretty nice, but they need to do this every week. James Storm talks about how Hulk Hogan is "retiring" (oh, I'll get to this a little later in the review) and it's time for the new blood to grace TNA. He talks about his match with Robert Roode tonight in how he will do his best to beat Roode so he can prove he is worthy of being a top competitor. Roode agrees and they will go out there and deliver a great match, but he still wants to win. Pretty basic scene. Unlike Sting or AJ Styles last week, Storm wasn't out there to talk about how amazing Roode is. He talked about how he is a competitor, but quickly got back into the wrestling/competition aspect of this show. For weeks, we've been hearing all of these 4Tune members talk about how great Roode is and such, but sometimes you just want them to stop. We get it, what Roode is doing is incredible, but we don't need you blowing him every five minutes. Storm kept it simple, which is why this segment worked. This show needs more Storm on the mic. I still think he is better than Roode, but I will definitely admit Roode is talented and is worthy of this championship shot. This was still a good opening segment despite this little nit pick aspect. All night long, we would get clips of Hogan's career in TNA to keep up this retirement deal. Let the circle jerk fest begin...

Match #1: Gunner vs Kaz
Something I've been realizing about Gunner for a while. This guy can wrestle, but his charisma sucks. I just can't get invested in this character. He needs to go out there and do something to show what he brings to the table and to make you care about him. Some people will argue Crimson falls in the same category, but at least Crimson can cut a promo. Gunner just looks like a CM Punk clone minus Punk's personality and mic skills. Come on, the long hair, facial hair, tattoos. I couldn't have been the only one who thought this? To be fair, he needs to be Gunner as opposed to Punk. However, Punk is a guy you want to pay attention to, while Gunner just comes off as some other guy/generic wrestler #9089. Again, I like Gunner, but he needs to go out there and show something new. This match was okay, but nothing special. Gunner wins with an Armbar submission. After the match, Gunner continues the attack because heels are dicks in professional wrestling. The referee reverses the decision and gives the victory to Kaz. The trainers check up on Kaz, who seems to be selling an arm injury. Gunner gloats about breaking Kaz to end the scene. So, whatever happened to this deal between Kaz and Jeff Jarrett? Reckon, Gunner is with Immortal, but I almost expected some sort of run in by the Jarretts during this match. This is not how you tell a story. You were going somewhere within the last two weeks, but now you do this? It is possible this could lead to an altercation, but I didn't like how this was pulled off. Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if TNA already knixed the idea since Jeff Jarrett vs Kaz doesn't really sound appealing.

Winner via referee: Kaz

Mr. Anderson gets in the ring and apologizes to his assholes (Amazing how people cheer to this. Any day now, some new wrestler is going to refer to his fans as f***ers and people will go ape s***). He talks about his Immortal coffee break and how Bully Ray is a douchbag. Bully comes out and they start with the talk about how Bully has a big chain to compensate for something. Yeah, another dick joke.....Come on, you could've said your schwartz was as big as mine, as least that would have been creative. Anderson wants a rematch against Bully, but he declines. Anderson decides to up the anti by making it a Falls Count Anywhere Match in Philly. The scene ends with Bully thinking about it. You might as well pencil this one on the PPV card. You know what the strange thing in all of this is? This would normally be Anderson putting over Bully based on their careers, but it really goes the other way around. Let's face it, Anderson's stock as a main eventer has been shot to death. He hasn't been booked well these past few months and this is one of those things where Bully comes in as the more credible opponent. I don't know, it just seems like Anderson is quickly becoming less and less important on the show, while at the same time, I don't think he is being held back and maybe he isn't as great as he used to be? Anderson was definitely a lot better when he was Mr. Kennedy in the WWE. There was a backstage scene where Eric Bischoff was talking about how Hogan is a great person, blah, blah, blah...

Backstage where Brian Kendrick says more backwards talk. Come on, Kendrick is breaking character so much in this scene. He just looks at the camera and starts to crack a smile while trying to be serious as if he were Jimmy Fallon on SNL. Who is this guy blowing to get another title shot? He also talked negative about Kid Kash. Well, it just so happens that Kash heard all of this and wasn't too fond of Kendrick's words. He.....gives him one of these.....

He beats him up and walks away. By the way, nothing else was brought up with this scene tonight. I would only assume it will be Kendrick vs Kash next week, but why? Kendrick is already in a program with Austin Aries, so I don't see the point of trying to start a program with someone else while his first program isn't over yet. To make it even stranger, Kash is still working an angle with Jesse Sorensen. Damn, and you think finding Geno in the Forest Maze will make you snap? Naw, who am I kidding. When you find Geno, it's rewarding, while this just come off as half assed.

Match #2: Mickie James and Velvet Sky vs Winter and Madison Rayne
I just noticed something. Earl Hebner is the referee in just about every KO match. Based on last week's match, you almost think Hebner is a pimp. Well, his job can't be all bad now, right? Anyway, the match was going fine for a while....until the ending. This is the portion where Jeremy Borash should says "Time for you Impact Wrestling Overbooked Match of the Night!!!" Hebner goes on the outside for no real reason while Angelina Love tries to interfere. It fails since she hits Winter by accident, but in her state of confusion, she tags in Madison. She quickly scores a roll up victory on Velvet for the win. If you blinked for a second, you're completely f***ed. I think what will happen is Angelina screwing over Winter down the road....that is the only reason I can think of to book the match the way they did tonight. Other than that, there was NO REASON for this to happen.

Winner via pinfall: Winter and Madison Rayne

Back in the ring where Bischoff calls out Jeff Hardy. He talks about how he has worked with talented people in the wrestling business. He talks about how Hardy is such a talented performer, but also someone who continues to piss it away because of his lifestyle. He says Hardy has dropped the ball on more than one occasion and he wants to see Hardy leave TNA for good after tonight. Hardy gets angry and kicks Bischoff. He tells him "screw you" while Immortal is charging towards the ring. Hardy escapes into the live audience. I am not sure how I feel about all of this. You have Bischoff who is basically saying what many people are saying regarding Hardy (including myself) while Hardy is starting to stand up for himself and says he won't do it again. I would buy this worked shoot a lot more if Hardy really did go to rehab, but this is something that can easily backfire against TNA. I will say Hardy is a good enough performer to help his company.....if he just cleans himself up. I look back on Hardy in his last run in the WWE and remember how big he was in that company. Hardy can do that for TNA, but it's up to him if he wants to do the right thing. Of course, there is things like marketing and booking that will help Hardy in TNA, but if we talked about all of that stuff, we will be here all night. By the way, does Hardy need a 20 mile chain? And you think Bully is trying to compensate for something....

Match #3: Samoa Joe vs Crimson
Oh man, I hate to be this guy, but I have really been thinking this for the past few weeks. Many people talk about how Joe is being held back in TNA and how he is deserving of a much higher role with this company and vica versa, but part if me thinks Samoa Joe is overrated. Don't get me wrong. Joe can wrestle and can be a marketable talent, but I just don't see main event caliber when I look at Joe. Instead, I see a glorified mid card talent when I see Joe, and that is IF Joe works hard and puts a full effort as opposed to half assing a lot of things. I'm sorry, but I have been very bored of Joe's work for the past two years and the highlight of Joe was when he was doing the undefeated streak. I know there is a lot of people who will be very pissed off I said that, but that's my opinion. Samoa Joe is overrated. Even with that said, I expect to get some angry comments. Anyway, Joe targets the injured leg of Crimson during this match, which forced Crimson to be on defense most of this match. The finish comes when Crimson sneaks a small package for a quick win. I really didn't like what they did here. Now, I am aware that the majority of the BFG card has been set because next week's show has already been taped, and you know how I feel about spoilers on this show (ie: A match involving these two has already been made, but not announced. Again, won't say what it is because it would be a spoiler). Part of me wants to see Joe snap and go on that mean streak he was doing when he was eliminating people during the BFG Series. It actually gave him something and that was the most I've seen out of Joe in two years. At the same time, they are developing something here with Crimson and they need to protect their blue chipper. Keep in mind Crimson still holds the undefeated steak. What I would like to see after BFG is TNA push Crimson towards some singles gold that isn't the world title. Oh wait, that mid card title is being hold by a comedian in Eric Young and doesn't seem to be doing anything with it now. Great booking, Russo? Also, more promo time for Crimson would help to give him a better identity. The guy has potential, just a matter of taking baby steps with the guy. Still, the TV Championship?

Winner via pinfall: Crimson

Match #4: James Storm vs Robert Roode
Anybody else think Michael Buffer is going to sue Borash? They are basically billing Roode going into this title match as if he were Rocky Balboa. Then again, BFG is being held in Philly, so almost seems like a match made in heaven, right? Anyway, this was a great match. Definitely the best one of the night. Storm continues to show he should be main eventing on this program while Roode is showing that this title opportunity is something he has earned. The finish on the other hand was.....strange. There was a ref bump in which all three guys went down. Kurt Angle showed up and attacked....James Storm? He smashed his head against the steel steps and throws him back in the ring. Roode is about to win, but Storm kicks out. Storm almost hits the Super Kick, but falls down to sell the head injury. Roode hits a Fisherman Suplex for the three count. I think everyone is wondering why Angle attacked Storm as opposed to Roode? It just doesn't seem to make much sense. I think this could be one of those things they build up over time with Storm's character, but if that isn't the case, there really was no point in Angle showing up. Either way, it keeps Roode's momentum while making Storm not look weak, so I guess it did its job.....in some weird way.

Winner via pinfall: Robert Roode

Time for the final segment of the night where Hogan is going to be retiring. He talks about how it has been a hell of a ride and appreciates all the fans feedback and support over the years. The audience is eating this up, so I guess they did their job. Hogan is about to start the retirement party until Sting Ledger arrives. He says this is all a complete load and he has proof. He shows a hidden camera where Hogan and Bischoff are basically admitting the retirement deal was just a scam. Fans immediately turn on Hogan while the Hulkster completely looses it. He says he will fight Sting at BFG and if he loses, he will give the company back to Dixie Carter. Sting walks away happy. The show ends with Hogan quickly realizing he got caught up in the moment. First of all, how can Hogan be retiring when he technically is already retired? That would be like Michael Jordan announcing a retirement to retire. Oh man, don't tell Brett Favre about that or else we will have that going for another 20 years. Second, why did Hogan and Bischoff put this plan together? Was this a cheap way of getting out of the match with Sting? Well, if that was the case, why is it that Hogan and Bischoff were mocking the fans as if they were just playing them to make a quick buck? This sort of thing would have worked out a lot better if there was a ton of advertisement for it, but there wasn't to go on, which makes it fall flat. And third, how can Hogan be so stupid? He basically put this plan together to get out of the match against Sting, but somehow suckers himself in the match AND puts the company back on the line where he has nothing to gain and everything to lose. You have to be insane to do something like that. That would be like winning the lottery and then spending all of your money to play the lottery again. Of course, I understand what is going on here. At the time of this taping, Hogan hadn't resigned a deal with TNA (although that changed in the middle of the week) and this was written up so they could write Hogan off the show. However, I would have done something a little different. What I would have done is say something like "The Network" is tired of Hogan and Bischoff's crap and they want somebody else in charge, so they have a winner take all match between Hogan and Sting. It sounds stupid, yeah, but at least Hogan doesn't come off as a totally idiot for wagering his company. This kind of wagering makes me think if Bill Gates gambles his fortune to complete strangers for the hell of it? Probably not. Anyway, the match is now a go for BFG. Again, I just wish for the safety of both people because we know it ain't going to be a good match.

Overall Impression:
Not really a great showing by Impact. I did like the main event match between Roode and Storm. Outside of the strange interference, I felt it was pretty good to watch. There was also a ton of build up for BFG, which is a good thing considering the PPV is next week. There was a lot of moments I didn't care for throughout the night. Outside of the main event match, the other matches were just average or very skippable. I liked the opening segment of the night, and I will be fair and say the ending was passable, but everything else was nothing I would basically say is worth watching. Can't really recommend this showing, but watching the final half hour will get you to the best parts. Then again, this is nowhere near the worst Impact. In fact, I would say this falls in the category of average for Impact. Then again, average is something this company should be shooting for. Again, I want to see TNA do well and challenge the WWE, but they need to fix a lot of things. The show looked pretty good outside the Impact Zone, but they should be doing that every week. The booking is also something that should be addressed. Russo isn't getting the job done in this day in age. He likes those pointless face and heel turns and there is still a lot of stuff that happens that doesn't make much sense. I realize it is wrestling and wrestling logic will always come into play, but there is a lot more plotholes with TNA's storylines compared to WWE. I am not saying the WWE isn't guilty of putting stuff that doesn't make sense at times because that isn't the case. I'm just saying these things happen a lot more often on TNA than WWE. Still, this was a pretty harmless episode of Impact compared to previous showings (believe me, Impact has done MUCH worse in the past). That's going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Not really sure about a SD review for this week, but we will see. Tell me what you thought of my review and tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time.