Last week I wrote about Marty Sopp and this week I was going to write about a wrestler who has done a tremendous job since joining TNA, but I have a lot of crow to eat so that will be put off until next week. It’s already written but is on the shelf because I have screwed up in a most royal way and must beg for mercy!

I wrote up my predictions for Turning Point and fully admit I failed miserably. I really thought I had a handle on who I thought would win and I flubbed it in a huge way. So, let’s see what I predicted and what really happened.

Rhino versus Bashir and I picked Bashir. While I am a huge Rhino fan and have been as long as I can remember (original ECW) I really thought Bashir would win. I didn’t think TNA would want one of their Champions to look weak in a non-title match. I was wrong and Bashir took the fall. The other thing I did not expect was Scott Hall and ICP in the front row. That had to be incredibly distracting to anyone watching the PPV.

In the Knockout Tag Match I thought they (again) would not want their Champion to look weak and lose the match, wrong! On just loving who she is I wanted to pick Roxxi, but I didn’t think TNA would let Kong and Saeed lose this match. While Saeed and Wilde really stepped up their games and showed their real talent in this match (Kong and Roxxi always show their talent), TNA let another Champion lose a non-title match. It doesn’t make sense to me personally.

I got the BMI versus MCMG Match correct! While I think it’s time for someone else to hold the Tag Team Titles, MCMG are not the right team to do so right now. They have a storyline going on with dissension between them and Samoa Joe, for me that’s enough right now. Though I am ready for BMI to lose the titles very soon.

Abyss versus Angle was (from the sounds of it) the best match of the night and I can’t wait to NetFlix it when it comes out! Just reading Richard’s play-by-play had me on the edge of my seat. This was the match of the night and a contender for Match Of The Year! I really thought Abyss would go over Angle to make Angle that much more pissed off at everyone, especially JJ. But TNA had other ideas and decided they wanted MEM to win everything at Turning Point. Hopefully, in the long run, it was the right idea.

The X Division Championship Seeding Match was confusing to me. Not the match but how they announced it on TNA’s website. They did not explain how the match or the seeding would work, so I picked my top three. They were, in no particular order - Lethal, Creed and Young. I have to say I will take partial credit for getting this one right. While Creed was eliminated in the middle of the match, it came down to Lethal and EY in the end. EY won and Lethal got second seeding. I think for not having any info on the match and ten very talented men in the match, I did a pretty good job picking who would win.

The Booker T and Christian Cage match was about what I expected. Booker still had the belt over his shoulder in the Final Resolution poster, so I figured he would retain. It does not make me happy, but it is what it is.

In the Samoa Joe versus Kevin Nash match I was not expecting much from Nash, but got more than I bargained for. Not saying he was great by any stretch, but better than he had been. Joe, as always, was the consummate performer. When Hall showed up in the front row during the start of the show I was wondering if he would be involved with this match, but he might not have been invited to the show! I was a bit shocked Nash was able to get Joe up for two powerbombs, but that he did impressed me. I did expect Joe to both carry and win the match. It appears he did the first, but did not pull out the win.

Again, because of the Final Resolution poster, I thought Sting would lose this match - wrong again! AJ fought a hard battle but could not pull it out in the end. I did say I thought it was early for Sting to lose the belt, but who better to win it than AJ? I really thought the Phenomenal One would become WHC, but I was wrong. Now I wonder if the poster was a red herring or if Sting somehow loses the belt between now and then.

I will toot my own horn in that I said this would be an amazing PPV and it was. It seemed as though the wrestlers put everything they had into their matches and promos. Everyone’s work rate was excellent. They were all at the top of their game. If only they put that much into their weekly shows, I might not tune into the ‘other company’ as much.

Show Starts

Video
Video about Turning Point.

Back Stage Segment

Borash with JJ and Foley. Borash said MEM won a lot at Turning Point. JJ said the young lions need to pull themselves up and brush themselves off. Foley says someone needs to talk to them personally. Borash pissed Foley off who snapped and said Borash is part of what’s wrong with TNA. He’s pissed off after what happened with Shelley who forgot to win his match at TP because of his attitude.
8/10 - Foley is always great when he’s pissed off like that. He has a knack for going from funny to angry/serious in the blink of an eye and that can throw people off, but he does it so well. Foley and JJ are just so great together on mic. It just works!

In Ring Segment

As Foley headed for the ring they showed more video clips from TP. Foley said it was not a stellar night at TP for many of the TNA Originals. He wants some of them to the ring - AJ (huge pop), Samoa Joe, MCMG, EY, Williams, Lethal and Creed. AJ was the only one who got his music, the rest just followed him out. Then my Dish Network died and I lost all signal. I am very sorry about this. We’ve had issues before, but only during bad weather, which we do not have right now! My boyfriend worked frantically to get the signal back for me. I finally got it back when Foley told Joe that Nash was really the smartest man in wrestling. Joe beat Nash from pillar to post, but Nash got the win. Foley then moved on to AJ, how Sting was a big talker and AJ got distracted in the ring. They need to learn from their mistakes. EY earned his shot and can have it tonight. EY agreed to it. To AJ he says that he’s one of the most talented people he’s seen in the ring. Foley then said that in a book he wrote for another wrestling company, he said that Joe is the most convincing badass in the business. So they, AJ and joe, will be facing BMI for their titles. Lethal gets Sting for the title. He told them to hit it out of the park tonight.
?/10 - I don’t feel as I can rate this as I did not see it all. From what I saw Foley was great and strong, but I obviously missed a lot - sorry! I do have to say I love what Foley said about Joe, how he wrote about him. That shows huge respect to me.

Back Stage Segment

The blonde approached Christian Cage out in the parking lot. He said it doesn’t matter (joining MEM), because he has to do it. Then MEM showed up and said they’d give him the welcome party like he’s never seen before. They all welcome him. Steiner handed him a suit in a fabric bag to wear to the ring later for the party. Nash took a deep sniff of the blonde’s hair. They all leave. Cage rolled up the suit and stuffed in a trash can.
9/10 - Not a lot was said by Cage, but it was powerful. In what MEM did and said made them look even more powerful. Beautifully written and executed!

Back Stage Segment

The blonde interviewed ODB who was building stuff. She said she’s getting ready for her own show. She said that you do not have to be beautiful to have your own show, so her’s will debut next week. It looked like a junk sale, right down to the ‘Christmas Story’ leg lamp wearing a fishnet stocking!
9/10 - What a bloody mess! Not the segment, but the area ODB was organizing. Her hair was wilder than ever, she never looked at the blonde or the camera, but she sounded better and more mentally organized than ever before on mic. She was great!

Match #1

Kong and Khan against Wilde and Roxxi. Wilde was headed for the ring but did not make it as Kong hugely slammed her down on the ramp. Wilde then was slammed into the barrier. Finally Kong put her in the ring and the bell rang. Taylor continued to be tossed around and abused, so much so that a big “Taylor” chant started. It did not help but was nice to see them behind her. Khan tagged in and again wore very little. She is a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen. She looked great (as a wrestler) in the ring. Roxxi finally got the tag and locked on a sleeper. She was up on Kong’s back, but Khan kicked Roxxi in the upper back/neck area. Khan made it look easy! That woman has some amazingly long legs. Taylor was working outside with Khan when Kong hit her finisher on Roxxi for the win.
8/10 - This was pretty good. Taylor was impressive. That girl is just getting better and better with every match. Khan could really be a force to be reckoned with. She is good in the ring and TNA was amiss in not having her wrestle much sooner. She had been a valet for quite a while, but not wrestling. Big mistake! I can’t wait to see more of them all in the ring.

Back Stage Segment

The blonde interviewed MCMG. Shelley acted like a total jerk. They sounded more like heels than young lions. They ripped on EY, AJ and Joe. I can’t wait to see where they go with these two as they are part of the young lions, but they’re not fitting in. They’re not like BMI who are not getting involved in it at all, they’re in the middle of it and causing issues. Could be fun.
5/10 - They just did not hold my attention. This could be me as I have never been a MCMG fan. Maybe I have heard too much about their locker room attitudes to care too much about them as wrestlers. If they can’t be decent to the rest of the wrestlers or the TNA higher ups, I just can’t seem to care much about them and how far they make it in the industry.

Back Stage Segment

The blonde was in Traci’s office. Saeed ranted and threatened that if Kong did not get new opponents, Kong might attack vacationing people who glorify that stupid mouse. The blonde then asked Khan why she ditched Taylor last week. Khan said she wanted to be on the side with the beast. They left and Traci called them all freaks.
6/10 - Saeed was the best of the bunch. The rest made me want to go get a beer, not wait for a commercial. Just boring.

Match #2

EY faced off against Bashir for the X Division Championship. Sewell was the ref. “Let’s go Eric” chants were loud and long. It seemed like everyone loves EY. The match went back and forth between the two. EY pushed Sewell out of the way, then Bashir hit a low blow on EY. Bashir covered EY for two but Sewell stopped the count because he realized something was wrong. He asked the fans if Bashir had hit a low blow, they said he had. Bashir and Sewell argued. Sewell attacked Bashir. EY took over, hit his finisher and covered for three. The young lions came down to the ring to celebrate with EY. They lifted him on their shoulders, but Sewell was behind them looking dazed and confused through the whole celebration.
7/10 - I would love to give the match a 10 as I am a huge EY fan. I think he’s a tremendous worker who does not get his due because he’s kind of goofy and has that sweet little boy look. But this match was not all it could have been. I really expected something semi-spectacular as EY and Bashir are capable of it and it was a Title Match. It just did not give me anything exciting, that saddens me.

Back Stage Segment

EY dedicated the win to Foley. They all celebrated out back. ODB was getting trashed during the celebration. Joe and AJ are happy, but not as crazy as Creed, Lethal, Williams, etc.
7/10 - It was nothing to write home about, but it was a fun little segment. It’s great to see them all so happy and full of it even though the leaders of the group were much quieter than the rest. Waiting for the other shoe to drop?

Video

Video about Hernandez. He talked about his high school football career. Other people talked about what a great guy he is. He then went on to talk about wrestling in Mexico early on. Someone said, “He was the biggest luchador I’d ever seen!”
7/10 - Solid video, but I do not understand why they aired it when they did. LAX has not done anything big lately. Unless they’re setting them up for a push it just seemed rather out of the blue.

Back Stage Segment

Borash interviewed MEM, Angle to be specific. Angle said EY didn’t beat anyone in MEM, so it doesn’t matter. Petey Williams wandered in and they threatened him. Steiner told him he would talk to him later, alone.
7/10 - I have been telling my boyfriend, ever since Steiner showed up, that there would be something interesting between him and Williams. I’m hoping this goes someplace. Steiner did so much to groom Williams and now they’re on opposite sides. They’re feuding, but nothing actually happened between them. This could be a very interesting quirk to the factions storyline.

Back Stage Segment

The blonde interviewed Lethal. He is wound up and stayed in character beautifully. He was thrilled about facing Sting. He left and then she told Williams to be careful when he spoke to Steiner. He said he will be fine, he and Scotty are boys!
9/10 - This is what I have been waiting for - the Steiner/Williams thing. Lethal is what made this rating so high. He has Savage’s character down perfectly. It amazes me how good he is in this roll. When he started I did not think he would be able to carry it, but he has more than done it justice.

Match #3

Angle walked out with Steiner and then went to the announce table. Rhino came out to face Steiner. Steiner did not take his shirt off. I did not notice if he took it off last week. I know he is more scarred up now than he was, but he has such an amazing physique and has always wanted to show it off. Plus all that new ink he has added over the past couple years. Very interesting that he left it on. It looked as though Steiner’s ring rust mysteriously disappeared! He looked great. He seemed to have control through most of the match, then Rhino took over, but both offensively and defensively Steiner looked really good, much better than he did previously. Angle saw Rhino setting up for the gore and distracted him. Steiner hit his belly to belly for the win.
8/10 - That was a really solid match. I am very impressed with both of them. They both looked strong and worked hard. They’re both good sized men, not huge, but good sized and really made much of the work look effortless. I’m very impressed.

Back Stage Segment

Borash interviewed Sting who rattled on and on about respect and who will point fingers at who on the young lions side of things.
5/10 - His voice sounded great on mic, but all I heard was blah, blah, respect, blah, blah, blah. Boring. Same thing every week from him and I am over it.

Match #4

It’s 10:02 and the 4th match is about to start. Normally at this point we are only in the middle of the third match. The speed of the show is very shocking, but I like it! Borash did a good job introducing Lethal and Sting in the ring. He’s pretty good at this! Lethal gained control over Sting and looked great in the ring, very on the mark with every move. Lethal’s suicide dive was the only thing that did not look right. Sting was too far away and they only seemed to touch fingertips when Lethal hit him. It looked like two five year old girls in a slap fight - it was only that one part of that one move, but it killed a lot for me. Made me feel like Sting was being wimpy in this move that Lethal threw himself into. I understand Sting isn’t in his twenties any longer, but if he’s going to be in there doing it, he needs to give it his all. He is the WHC Commercial! Back in the ring and Sting was in control. He put his all into it which pulls back my reaction to the move before the commercial, some. MCMG were ringside watching the match, cheering on Lethal. Dueling chants for Lethal and Sting. People are still behind Sting even though he’s a member of MEM. These two worked better in the ring together better than I thought they would or could. Sting has really proven as of late that he can hold his own with the younger guys. Shelley distracted the ref while Sabin held Sting for Lethal. Lethal did not want things to go that way and tossed Sabin from the ring. Sting took that distraction and got the win with a scorpion death drop. MCMG then rushed in to go after Lethal. Joe and AJ were there immediately. They backed MCMG off and argued with them. Creed and ODB rushed out to stop it from breaking down into a fight. EY also hit the ring to help Lethal.
8/10 - That was a very, very strong match! I am very impressed with Sting’s work in the ring, other than with that one move. He did not need Lethal to carry the match. Sting did not need Lethal’s help to looks good, he did it himself. Lethal, as usual, was technically perfect, but did not look like a technical wrestler. He is so smooth and on the mark. He makes it all look so effortless. I could watch him wrestle anytime and wish he did so more often.

Back Stage Segment

Williams was getting beaten down by MEM, especially by Steiner and Booker T. Steiner got Williams up on a ladder and tossed him off. Angle ranted through the whole bit. He yelled and screamed the whole time. I am wondering if Angle has not lost it just a little. I don’t mean as a character, I mean as a person.
7/10 - I personally think it would have been better if they had drawn it out a bit and had only Steiner attack Williams, but that’s just me. I know MEM is a faction and they do everything together, but I thought this one would be more Steiner’s fight. Look at the size difference, it’s not as if Steiner couldn’t do it by himself! I hope they do more with this story, but just between the two of them.

Back Stage Segment

The blonde had blood on her hands from Williams’ who she kneeled over. The originals were all around trying to get Williams taken care of.
5/10 - Nothing to it, just a bunch of people running around freaked out about Williams who was prone on the floor. I don’t think they really needed the segment personally.

Back Stage Segment

Borash interviewed BMI. Jackie put her hand over Borash’s mouth to shut him up. Roode was pissed that Foley made this match, he said Foley is a bum and pathetic. He does not care who Foley thinks he is. Storm then ranted, but I did not get anything real from it, just their call phrases.
5/10 - I was not impressed. Roode is fine on mic, but it was nothing special. Storm was just confusing as he did not really say anything. I have seen them give good interviews, that was not one of them.

Main Event

Storm rode a motorized cooler/scooter to the ring for the Tag Titles Match with AJ and Joe! Wow, AJ sure did earn the name the Phenomenal One. He is just so astounding in the ring. Not saying Joe is not one of the best workers in the business, he is. It’s just that some of the moves AJ executes blows my mind! Team 3D made their way to the ring, or possibly the announce table, as TNA went to commercial. This is the match of the night and there’s a commercial in the middle of it. One of the commercials is for the SD! Vs RAW video game! What great promotional work by Spike! They won’t even market their own wrestling show to the best of their ability, but they will put a WWE commercial during the TNA Main Event. Makes no sense to me! BMI worked in the ring like a well oiled machine. They always seem to have perfect timing. AJ hit a beautiful enziguri and Roode landed the Flair flop as if he created it himself. BMI continued to work together in a great way and isolated AJ from Joe. AJ hit the pele and managed to tag out. I really do not know how Joe moves as fast as he does for his size. He moves like a cruiser weight and that fast scoop slam always leaves me with my eyes bugged out of my head. It should not be possible for him to move the way he does. Joe was about to hit the muscle buster but Storm spit beer in Joe’s eyes. BMI set Joe up for the double team and the win, but Team 3D got involved. Hebner called for the bell. AJ and Joe lost due to Team 3D and they argued with them about it.
9/10 - If there had been a real ending I would have given it a 9.5. It was a fun and exciting match to watch from start to almost finish. All four of them just gave the match everything and the fans all they had. That’s what a good match is made of - amazing wrestlers with great chemistry giving it their all. It’s disheartening that they could not give the fans a real end to the match.

Back Stage Segment

TBP were impressed with the money Palin spent on her wardrobe and they love her look. They offered up 50K for whichever charity she desires if she comes to Final Resolution. They invited her to join TBP. ‘Cute’ Kip hummed through the whole thing with his back to the camera. At the end he turned around and said he approved that message.
3/10 - Not for the normal reasons do I give that a low mark. I had read that TNA had invited Palin to Final Resolution. I had actually thought I might be possible for her to appear, but then they showed that segment and it sealed it for me. There is no way Palin would come to the PPV to join that group. They brought up a hugely embarrassing part of the campaign - the clothing purchased for her - but they expect her to join them? Highly doubtful.

In Ring Segment

MEM headed to the ring in their suits, minus Sting. Angle called out Cage to join them in the ring. Cage came out in his jeans and black button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up that he’d been wearing earlier. Angle said when they give him a suit to wear, he wears it. Angle then went on and on about the differences Cage has had with about all of MEM. They’re there to welcome him into the family. Family is helping their brothers and sister out, no matter what. It’s having a bond with your brothers and sister, even tighter than your wife. Commitment is Steiner who had a career ending injury, but he came back to be the hitman for MEM. Commitment is Nash and Booker who turned down lucrative offers from other companies to stay and fight the good fight. But Angle is worried about Cage’s commitment. He heard that Cage’s attorney won’t talk to TNA and that Cage will jump ship in a few weeks when his contract is up. Angle said he realized that this is not a welcoming party, it’s a going away party. The young punks will not help Cage as he’s abandoning them too. Cage tried to fight back, but he got a beat down. They basically passed him around. Steiner hit a belly to belly from up top. Booker hit his axe kick on Cage. Nash then hit his jackknife. Angle took his tie off and hit his Angle slam. After they’re done beating Cage down they put their suit jackets back on and hold each other’s hands up over their heads while standing over Cage’s prone body.
5/10 - I have never liked it when a group beats down just one person without anyone else to help. From what I have read this was Cage’s idea so if he did end up leaving TNA, he would not leave them in a lurch. While that is a very cool thing to do, it just left a bad taste in my mouth. The earlier segment between Cage and MEM was so beautifully done yet this just did not have the same creative flair to it. It didn’t feel right at all.

Post Show

So much of this show was fantastic! I was really impressed with much of it, but some of it just missed the mark. AJ and Joe versus BMI was phenomenal, but the lack of ending hurt it. The early segment between Cage and MEM was beautifully written and executed, but the last segment of the show was almost painful to watch in its lack of flavor.

Much of the show flowed along very quickly and the matches were good and solid overall, but there was just something intangible missing. The EY and Bashir Match could have been so much more, but TNA did not give it to us. The possible Steiner and Williams feud could have been stretched out more, but instead they gave us a heel faction beat down.

I am not saying the show was bad, not by any stretch of the imagination. I really enjoyed most of the show. There were just a few small things that I either did not like how they were handled or I thought they were pushed along too quickly. The fact that I am itching to watch next week’s show (even though I have read the spoilers) shows what a good show it really was. More shows with this type of flow and matches like the main event and I will be glowing all day on Fridays. I will have a semi-glow tomorrow.

KB

Tags: AJ Styles, Alex Shelley, Angelina Love, Awesome Kong, Bashir, BMI, Booker T, Chris Sabin, Christian Cage, Consequences Creed, Eric Young, Hernandez, James Storm, Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash, Khan, Kip James, Kurt Angle, LAX, MCMG, MEM, Mick Foley, ODB, Petey Williams, Rhino, Robert Roode, Roxxi, Saeed, Samoa Joe, Scott Steiner, Sting, Taylor Wilde, TBP, Tracy Brooks, Velvet Sky