Black Widow
05-25-2009, 06:47 PM
Last night, I was at the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida for Total Nonstop Action’s Sacrifice pay per view and here are my thoughts about the pay per view:
With the recent weather conditions in Orlando and most of Florida, the biggest problem for the people waiting to get into the Impact Zone was the possibility of rain while waiting outside. They started letting people into the Soundstage waiting area a few minutes before a torrential downpour hit the theme park.
They did the usual warm up for the crowd prior to the start of the preshow for the pay per view. After the warm up, Dave Penzer came out to introduce the announce teams as well as Jeremy Borash and So Cal Val.
At Turning Point, the last pay per view that I attended, they did not have a preshow match and there was a definite change in the way the crowd reacted to things. The live preshow instead of the video packages that used to be the feature of pay per views. The crowd was able to interact for the television audience instead of being reminded about the card without the preshow match.
I thought the Dr. Stevie segment during the preshow was good for Stevie Richards because he did what he could to try to put the blame on Lauren for what is happening to Abyss and Taylor Wilde. I like that Stevie Richards uses a normal tone of voice in his promos so when he needs to emphasize something, he can use a different tone since he is not always screaming.
I don’t know if it was the high expectations that I had for the Red/Kiyoshi match, but I was a bit disappointed by it. It was a good opener to get the crowd into the show and to show what the X Division is about for the people who are watching the webcast and on the fence about buying the pay per view.
During Kevin Nash’s promo during the preshow, I was thinking that he was trying to set up a rematch for Slammiversary since it will be in the Detroit area and he did mention that he is from Detroit.
I liked the opening video package because it did a good job of building why the wrestlers in the main event would make the sacrifices they did to get into the match.
I though the opening match was a good opener for the pay per view, but I did not like the match as much as I thought I would (or should). I thought the first half of the match was better than the second half because it got too ‘choreographed’ at the end. Additionally, while you had significant periods of double team moves by both teams, the referee stood in the ring like Kevin Bacon in Animal House telling everyone to stay calm and that all is well. Without looking at the pay per view again, I don’t think either man at the end was legal. After all of the shenanigans (sorry for using your word Mike) going on in the match, I did not like the finish because it did not seem to fit in. This match reminded me more of the multi-person matches from Ring of Honor in 2002 than a TNA X Division match.
I don’t know why Sheik Abdul Bashir, a man who hates the United States for what it did to him and has teamed with Japanese wrestlers in an anti-American type of gimmick, is working with two wrestlers from the United States.
If Jay Lethal decides to go ‘full Randy Savage’ why can’t they do something where Consequences Creed comes out as The Genius Lanny Poffo?
I don’t think it would have been shown on the pay per view, but with So Cal Val at ringside doing her usual duties, she was standing behind some people when Jay Lethal came out, which even if it was not done intentionally, it maintained the storyline that is probably forgotten about the engagement during their Savage/Elizabeth angle.
The Women’s Monsters Ball was too short but I did not know what to expect from this match. There were other wrestlers who I thought would be more appropriate for this type of match but since they did not really do anything too hardcore, it seemed okay. Like Mike mentioned in his live coverage, the Death Valley Driver looked scary and from where I was sitting, it looked like Daffney landed on the top of her head.
The post-match activities appeared to be twice as long as the match and it took too long to develop. Did Abyss finally get on the apron after the thumbtacks were poured on the mat because of gimmick infringement? As soon as the thumbtacks came out, I was wondering how Stevie Richards would take the bump onto them.
The interviews with the wrestlers in the main event after the video packages were effective to set up the match.
The match on the pay per view that I was looking forward to the most was the Daniels/Suicide match. I was a little disappointed by the match but the crowd in Orlando seemed not to care about the match at all. During this match, there were chants for the Magic and Cavaliers who were playing a few miles away, as well as a boring chant during the overtime period. I think the wrestlers lost the crowd when they did the spot with the attempted reversal of the tombstone. After the last few weeks of the Motor City Machine Guns trying to prove that Daniels was Suicide, why were they helping Daniels? I did not like the extra five minutes. Why not restart the match without a time limit because there was a finish, not a time limit draw.
I did not like the restart of the match because it shows an inconsistency with the referees that was too evident at the pay per view. However, since Daniels wanted to uphold the honor of the X Division, at least he was the one to restart the match. On the other hand, why give up the title?
The Kong/Love match was better than I expected and I expected to see Love retain the title, but thought that it would be a disqualification because of Kong’s actions not by pinfall. This was another match where the referee lost control and showed inconsistencies. I hope they do not start an angle where Saeed starts to turn on Kong because of what happened leading to the finish of the match.
The post match beat down by Kong did a good job of setting up the likely rematch between the two for Slammiversary where I would not be surprised to see Kong win back the title.
The Nash/Joe match was better than I thought and I was a bit surprised that Joe got the win, but as I mentioned above, with Nash’s interview during the preshow, we might see a rematch in Nash’s home town.
The attack after the match continued the ‘Nation of Violence’ storyline. At least there was one member of security smart enough to get out of the ring before Joe beat him up. I wonder why Scott Steiner was not involved in the match and only came out to help Nash after the beat down?
I thought the Team 3D interview with Lauren was very good except for one thing that Ray said about Roode and Storm. He called them the future of the tag team division. Storm and Roode were tag team champions for a while and they are the ‘future’? It is like all of the talk about A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe being the ‘future’ of TNA.
The finals of the Team 3D Tag Team Invitational was a good match and I agree with Mike that it was one of Brutus Magnus’ best matches in TNA. The spot when Rob Terry tried to stop the referee’s count looked a bit awkward because you couldn’t tell if he was going to crotch the referee in the post. There was a lot of good action involving the four men in the match and I would not mind seeing a rematch before Storm and Roode get their title match against Team 3D.
I guess they had all of the pomp and circumstance at the announce table with the trophies and the ‘big check’ (and thank you to TNA for the big check that I hope will be made out to ‘Beer Money’ so we can see Storm and Roode try to deposit or cash the check) but didn’t want to do it on the pay per view.
I thought A.J. did a great job selling in the I Quit Match. I did not like the finish to this match. Why would Booker bump into Sharmell when he saw her on the apron? Then to have Jenna come out to ‘throw in the towel’? Why didn’t Sharmell stop her since they still have issues over the lack of an apology?
I thought the main event, as a whole, was a good match. I thought there were some parts that did not make sense. If it was not a falls count anywhere match, why did any of the wrestlers fight outside the ring because they could not win if they tried to pin someone outside the ring. With four men in the match, why not have a second referee in case there is a double pin situation?
I thought the action between Jarrett and Angle in the ring while Sting and Foley fought outside the ring was some of the best wrestling on the entire pay per view. I thought Angle escaping the figure four leg lock by grabbing the leg and putting Jarrett in the ankle lock was a great move. We saw some unity from the Main Event Mafia until Angle accidentally clotheslined Sting. If Foley wanted to keep the title and it could only change if he was pinned or submitted, why did he do anything in the match? Foley doing the commentary was a good way to allow him to keep the title since he was not in the ring and able to be pinned. While the somersault splash onto Foley at the announce table looked nice, it really did not help Angle because he had two men in the ring who were incapacitated and he could have gotten the victory and then go after Foley. Did they really need the referee bump during the match to allow the use of weapons when the referees throughout the night were allowing worse to take place in front of them? Did Mick Foley watch some old Lance Storm matches to try for the lightest chair shot ever?
After the match ended, there was a conversation with the referee to give the title belt back to Mick Foley on the floor because of the stipulation.
It was a fun experience and I got to see a lot of people I don’t normally see at shows because I can only make it to pay per views and they do not go to the other shows that I attend throughout the state. The pay per view was okay and it probably was at the level that I expected, but the matches that I thought would make me enjoy the show more were a bit disappointing while there were some other matches that I did not have high expectations for that were enjoyable.
PWI
With the recent weather conditions in Orlando and most of Florida, the biggest problem for the people waiting to get into the Impact Zone was the possibility of rain while waiting outside. They started letting people into the Soundstage waiting area a few minutes before a torrential downpour hit the theme park.
They did the usual warm up for the crowd prior to the start of the preshow for the pay per view. After the warm up, Dave Penzer came out to introduce the announce teams as well as Jeremy Borash and So Cal Val.
At Turning Point, the last pay per view that I attended, they did not have a preshow match and there was a definite change in the way the crowd reacted to things. The live preshow instead of the video packages that used to be the feature of pay per views. The crowd was able to interact for the television audience instead of being reminded about the card without the preshow match.
I thought the Dr. Stevie segment during the preshow was good for Stevie Richards because he did what he could to try to put the blame on Lauren for what is happening to Abyss and Taylor Wilde. I like that Stevie Richards uses a normal tone of voice in his promos so when he needs to emphasize something, he can use a different tone since he is not always screaming.
I don’t know if it was the high expectations that I had for the Red/Kiyoshi match, but I was a bit disappointed by it. It was a good opener to get the crowd into the show and to show what the X Division is about for the people who are watching the webcast and on the fence about buying the pay per view.
During Kevin Nash’s promo during the preshow, I was thinking that he was trying to set up a rematch for Slammiversary since it will be in the Detroit area and he did mention that he is from Detroit.
I liked the opening video package because it did a good job of building why the wrestlers in the main event would make the sacrifices they did to get into the match.
I though the opening match was a good opener for the pay per view, but I did not like the match as much as I thought I would (or should). I thought the first half of the match was better than the second half because it got too ‘choreographed’ at the end. Additionally, while you had significant periods of double team moves by both teams, the referee stood in the ring like Kevin Bacon in Animal House telling everyone to stay calm and that all is well. Without looking at the pay per view again, I don’t think either man at the end was legal. After all of the shenanigans (sorry for using your word Mike) going on in the match, I did not like the finish because it did not seem to fit in. This match reminded me more of the multi-person matches from Ring of Honor in 2002 than a TNA X Division match.
I don’t know why Sheik Abdul Bashir, a man who hates the United States for what it did to him and has teamed with Japanese wrestlers in an anti-American type of gimmick, is working with two wrestlers from the United States.
If Jay Lethal decides to go ‘full Randy Savage’ why can’t they do something where Consequences Creed comes out as The Genius Lanny Poffo?
I don’t think it would have been shown on the pay per view, but with So Cal Val at ringside doing her usual duties, she was standing behind some people when Jay Lethal came out, which even if it was not done intentionally, it maintained the storyline that is probably forgotten about the engagement during their Savage/Elizabeth angle.
The Women’s Monsters Ball was too short but I did not know what to expect from this match. There were other wrestlers who I thought would be more appropriate for this type of match but since they did not really do anything too hardcore, it seemed okay. Like Mike mentioned in his live coverage, the Death Valley Driver looked scary and from where I was sitting, it looked like Daffney landed on the top of her head.
The post-match activities appeared to be twice as long as the match and it took too long to develop. Did Abyss finally get on the apron after the thumbtacks were poured on the mat because of gimmick infringement? As soon as the thumbtacks came out, I was wondering how Stevie Richards would take the bump onto them.
The interviews with the wrestlers in the main event after the video packages were effective to set up the match.
The match on the pay per view that I was looking forward to the most was the Daniels/Suicide match. I was a little disappointed by the match but the crowd in Orlando seemed not to care about the match at all. During this match, there were chants for the Magic and Cavaliers who were playing a few miles away, as well as a boring chant during the overtime period. I think the wrestlers lost the crowd when they did the spot with the attempted reversal of the tombstone. After the last few weeks of the Motor City Machine Guns trying to prove that Daniels was Suicide, why were they helping Daniels? I did not like the extra five minutes. Why not restart the match without a time limit because there was a finish, not a time limit draw.
I did not like the restart of the match because it shows an inconsistency with the referees that was too evident at the pay per view. However, since Daniels wanted to uphold the honor of the X Division, at least he was the one to restart the match. On the other hand, why give up the title?
The Kong/Love match was better than I expected and I expected to see Love retain the title, but thought that it would be a disqualification because of Kong’s actions not by pinfall. This was another match where the referee lost control and showed inconsistencies. I hope they do not start an angle where Saeed starts to turn on Kong because of what happened leading to the finish of the match.
The post match beat down by Kong did a good job of setting up the likely rematch between the two for Slammiversary where I would not be surprised to see Kong win back the title.
The Nash/Joe match was better than I thought and I was a bit surprised that Joe got the win, but as I mentioned above, with Nash’s interview during the preshow, we might see a rematch in Nash’s home town.
The attack after the match continued the ‘Nation of Violence’ storyline. At least there was one member of security smart enough to get out of the ring before Joe beat him up. I wonder why Scott Steiner was not involved in the match and only came out to help Nash after the beat down?
I thought the Team 3D interview with Lauren was very good except for one thing that Ray said about Roode and Storm. He called them the future of the tag team division. Storm and Roode were tag team champions for a while and they are the ‘future’? It is like all of the talk about A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe being the ‘future’ of TNA.
The finals of the Team 3D Tag Team Invitational was a good match and I agree with Mike that it was one of Brutus Magnus’ best matches in TNA. The spot when Rob Terry tried to stop the referee’s count looked a bit awkward because you couldn’t tell if he was going to crotch the referee in the post. There was a lot of good action involving the four men in the match and I would not mind seeing a rematch before Storm and Roode get their title match against Team 3D.
I guess they had all of the pomp and circumstance at the announce table with the trophies and the ‘big check’ (and thank you to TNA for the big check that I hope will be made out to ‘Beer Money’ so we can see Storm and Roode try to deposit or cash the check) but didn’t want to do it on the pay per view.
I thought A.J. did a great job selling in the I Quit Match. I did not like the finish to this match. Why would Booker bump into Sharmell when he saw her on the apron? Then to have Jenna come out to ‘throw in the towel’? Why didn’t Sharmell stop her since they still have issues over the lack of an apology?
I thought the main event, as a whole, was a good match. I thought there were some parts that did not make sense. If it was not a falls count anywhere match, why did any of the wrestlers fight outside the ring because they could not win if they tried to pin someone outside the ring. With four men in the match, why not have a second referee in case there is a double pin situation?
I thought the action between Jarrett and Angle in the ring while Sting and Foley fought outside the ring was some of the best wrestling on the entire pay per view. I thought Angle escaping the figure four leg lock by grabbing the leg and putting Jarrett in the ankle lock was a great move. We saw some unity from the Main Event Mafia until Angle accidentally clotheslined Sting. If Foley wanted to keep the title and it could only change if he was pinned or submitted, why did he do anything in the match? Foley doing the commentary was a good way to allow him to keep the title since he was not in the ring and able to be pinned. While the somersault splash onto Foley at the announce table looked nice, it really did not help Angle because he had two men in the ring who were incapacitated and he could have gotten the victory and then go after Foley. Did they really need the referee bump during the match to allow the use of weapons when the referees throughout the night were allowing worse to take place in front of them? Did Mick Foley watch some old Lance Storm matches to try for the lightest chair shot ever?
After the match ended, there was a conversation with the referee to give the title belt back to Mick Foley on the floor because of the stipulation.
It was a fun experience and I got to see a lot of people I don’t normally see at shows because I can only make it to pay per views and they do not go to the other shows that I attend throughout the state. The pay per view was okay and it probably was at the level that I expected, but the matches that I thought would make me enjoy the show more were a bit disappointing while there were some other matches that I did not have high expectations for that were enjoyable.
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