TNA IMPACT WORKRATE REPORT EPISODE #44

Wow that was shitty show. Some ok mic segments and a fun squash but really that’s it.

WHAT WORKED:

So a couple of good mic segments. Samoa Joe actually almost makes you care about the Rhino, Brown, Joe three way. Sting as Crow isn’t good on the mic. He is a lot better on the mic working old guy surfer dude “Dude, he’s golden in my book”…You want to see him and Bob Barnett feuding over Anette Funiccello or something. And well Cornette is a guy who’s always solid and really skillful in explaining matchmaking.

I liked the LAX squash. TNA works in a studio with two entrances and have never really been able to get that over. LAX comes through a separate entrance (through a Mexican flag?...with shots of pictures of Che in their entrance video???) by the Spanish announce table. TNA has actually been able to get across sense of architecture of the Orlando studio!!! Konan and Moody Jack doing banter across ring really gave the whole squash a real New Jack with music playing feel to it. Konan at a couple points fell into doing the everybody will be speaking Spanish, French language separatist thing again…which is silly but the whole out of control feel of the scene made what said not really matter. Jarrell Clark is really good at eating stuff and at this point for a shitty Clark tag partner I don’t know if Rance is better or worse than Batts.. AJ Styles had some fun angry mic work. Then Daniels tried to talk street and that was embarrassing. I say every week that I'm tired of squashes but this is how you make a squash appear special.

OK I've always always been a fan of the different managers compete to get a hold of new talent angle. I enjoyed that with Savage enjoyed it with Bigalow. It's a weird angle in that even as a little kid I was aware of the work of the angle : "OOoh this is a cool formula to put over new talent"..I don't think I ever really thought "Holy shit everyone wants this guy". Also remember as a child thinking that Sir Oliver Humperdink was a really ugly Miss Elisabeth. But anyway, point is I'm not sure if its a formula that actually works...But it is a formula that I like. Two problems. 1) Bobby Roode isn't a new guy they are trying to introduce. He's a known quantity. And (2) the managers scouting him are Shane Douglas, Simon Diamond and James Mitchell..who are all really undercard managers with Mitchell being the guy positioned highest. I mean where was Gail Kim. How much would it have cost to drag out some of the old TNA managers? They don't need to bring out Jimmy Hart. But this angle could have used some more shitty useless managers. This angle really needs Percy Pringle, Gertner, Bobcat, Russo, Mortimer Plumtree, DI, and Goldilocks. you could switch any of those folks for Nurse Veronica or Brown Eyed Girl if you need to.

WHAT DIDN’T WORK:

Man, starting a show with the segment that has the combination of Borash and Slick Johnson in it, really not way to get on my good side. Borash isn’t really bothered by Steiner or Jarrett but does the scared bug out eyes for “BIG Jimbo is coming here toinight”…. Jimbo is too big for him??? This show was just filled to the brim with Borash and Slick Johnson.

They run a video package about how the Naturals and AMW always bring out the best in each other (which is true) and then follow that up with a real nothing of a match built around AMW miscommunication spots and then had Jarrett and Steiner squash the Naturals. Umm don’t tell me two teams bring out the best in each other and then give me a nothing.

Five way dance? Five way? Not a three way or a four way but a five way. I guess three way is one less person than there are corners in a 4 sided ring. So a five way is the three-way of the six sided ring. So it’s a five way with Slick Johnson as ref. Plus Petey Williams, Sonjay Dutt, and Frankie Kazarian. Lethal comes out selling his head and neck but for some reason they don't do a Lethal as face in peril section. Lethal is good as face in peril, eats stuff well, can sell, and came into match with weakness. Instead they do Sonjay Dutt in peril with Williams and Kazarian working over him. And that is about as bad as you'd imagine a Kazarian, Sonjay Dutt, Williams match to be. Eventually Shelley takes over and Shelley is willing to do simple stuff (just kicks to ropes etc) instead of feeling obligated to just hit highspots. And Lethal gets to do babyface with weak neck who still willing to sacrifice himself by throwing several different types of diving headbutts (Dynamite Kid style, Race style, etc...he really needed to do a tope)...leading to him eating the "sic flip piledriver". Wrong guy went over and wrong guy was worked as face in peril. Sections with Lethal and Shelley were nice but majority of the match had nothing to do with them.