TNA's nWo PPV & lackluster routine

TNA's first pay-per-view since the dawning of the Hogan-Bischoff era aired last night. The most salient difference from previous TNA incarnations, of course, was the imposition of a traditional four-sided ring (a topic for an upcoming post). And unfortunately did not quite live up to the last Thursday's impact, but still provided a solid two and three quarters hours of show.

The most interesting thing is that the new WWE and nostalgia acquisitions were mainly embarrassed by the hungry, talented, younger TNA roster. While the night seemed rough on Brian Kendrick, he'll likely be a solid entertainer in the company. Kennedy, however, was sloppy and unentertaining, which is somewhat of a surprise given the hype around him. Perhaps he was ill-suited to fighting with Abyss, whose brawling-style didn't necessarily go with Kennedy's more traditional move-set. I don't know, but the match was a low point.

An equal low-point, and I really really hate to say it, was the Kliq versus Beer Money Incorporated. And it wasn't because of Beer Money. Kevin Nash, TNA staple and most responsible member of the Kliq aside from Triple H, looked tired. In fact, he looked aggravated that he had to compete with the 1-2-3 Kid, Sean Waltman, whose in-ring moniker is either X-Pac or 6-Pac (?) according to the commentators. Scott Hall aka Razor Ramon bowed out of the match, which was a change in advertisement and leads one to wonder if there is some problem with the Bad Guy. This and a shoot-style assault on a fan that was ill-addressed (so could possibly be unscripted?) gives one the impression that either Hall is high or management is still trying to sell a stoned Ramon. Either situation sucks.

The highlights of the event were Daniels, The Pope, Desmond Wolfe, and the main event. The three young guys seem to have a legitimate chance at longevity and character depth and in-ring prowess. Wolfe's explosive speed and bizarre habit of throwing his opponents into the bottom ropes gave him the border-line edge that Randy Orton has been trying to do for years. And the Pope might be the most entertaining man in wrestling. And I love Daniels' character of being a vicious if prudish man. I don't even need to mention Kurt Angle and A. J. Styles, except to say that I like Kurt as a face, and turning Styles heel will probably turn out to be a good decision.

What does this mean for WWE, who's still no-selling TNA? After watching four hours of WWE programming last week, there's little to say. The Raw skits are lame. The women's wrestling is below mediocre and the feuds nonexistant. The characters overly static and one-dimensional. As for young talent, there is Kofi Kingston, who's learning WWE vets' habit of sticking to a limited moveset; Dolph Ziggler, who looks good, unpredictable, but needs to fight people in his weight class and develop his in-ring character more; Evan Bourne, who needs to switch to TNA where there is actually a cruiserweight division; and the new monster heels Drew McIntyre and Sheamus, who are both mean and boring but who unfettered could have serious potential.

This is the time of year when WWE storylines should congeal, become epic, and lean toward Wrestlemania. The only reason to watch the Royal Rumble this year is to see if any surprises take place during the rumble. The Bret Hart issue could be exciting, but may not be, we'll have to see. Maybe the guest host concept is what is killing Raw? All I can tell is that the variety show layout is making the show less and less tolerable, which is truly a shame.

Rambly post, I know. I'm trying to get in the habit of posting so that I don't kill this blog before it starts. I'll post tonight during Raw for some in depth coverage.