Taso the Greek’s “Bumpin’ Heads 2008″

* April 13, 2008 - Lowell, Massachusetts;

* LOCKDOWN LINE-UP (All Matches Inside Six Sides of Steel):
o The Black Machismo wins the TNA X-Scape Match;
Lethal beat Dutt & Shark & Curry & Devine & Creed **3/4;
o Roxxi Leveaux won the Queen of the Cage Match **3/4;
o B.G. James beat Kip James -Super Grudge Match *1/2-;
o Super Eric & Kaz won the Cuffed in a Cage Match **;
o Gail Kim & ODB beat Awesome Kong & Raesha Saed **3/4;
o Booker T & Sharmell b Robert Roode & Payton Banks **1/2;
o Team Christian Cage b Team Tomko **3/4-Lethal Lockdown-;
o Samoa Joe b Kurt Angle ****-TNA World Heavyweight title-;

Thanks to www.onlineworldofwrestling.com for results. The first two matches were pretty fun although I don’t know if Roxxi Lavaugh needs a new gimmick, or a personality, or something. She a damn good women’s wrestler. Cuffed in a Cage was ridiculous clusterfuck. Lethal Lockdown was bad but had some good spots. Booker T vs. Robert Roode was good right up to the point where the women got involved, but I hope the feud is finally over. Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle had a pretty good match. I don’t want to analyze the match that much, I wish maybe Samoa Joe had done some more leg kicks, sweep kicks, and high kicks during the match. Joe seemed just a tad lazy? Angle should have stiffed him a little bit more on punches and forearms. I thought they should have brought out their A+ game and it just brought out their A- game and it could have been better. ****

March 9, 2008 - Norfolk, Virginia;

LAX beat Rock & Rave and Sabin & Shelley ***1/2
Jay Lethal beat Petey Williams -X Title **1/2
Super Eric & Kaz beat Black Reign & Rellik *1/2
Awesome Kong defeated Gail Kim and ODB **1/2
Shark Boy & Curry Man defeated Team 3-D ***
Robert Roode beat Booker T -Strap Match **
Rhino beat James Storm -Elevation X Match 1/2*
Samoa Joe & Christian Cage & Kevin Nash b Kurt Angle & AJ Styles & Tomko **1/2

Yes, these are spoilers since I watched this about three weeks ago and decided to post it finally. Other then the Fish Market Street Fight and the opener I didn’t really like this show that much. That 3 way tag team opener was great and it’s sad they don’t push all of those teams more. Whatever, TNAis just bringing the bad booking here in 2008.

Against All Odds, TNA’s PPV extravaganza, tries to get off with a big bang, but it explodes like a case of projectile diarrhea. Talk about a South Carolina Dirty Whirlwind, the PPV starts off with the national anthem and a squad of Marines in camo as Bullet Bob and BG James salute their asses off, but who the hell cares. I’m not a TNA basher, but what ya gonna do? It’s the worst thing ever. It’s pathetic. And so was the opening match, as BG James & Bullet Bob Armstrong vs. AJ Styles & Tomko was the worst match I have seen all year. The drizzling shits, to be exact. Add to it all the storylines that were built into the match but have NOTHING TO DO with anything specific to these two teams going for the tag belts, and now you know why TNA sucks. DUD.

Peyton Banks vs. Traci Brooks was actually decent for what it was and a feud that made at least SOME sense. There wasn’t much to it but Traci went over and the fans were pretty hot for the babyface. *

Eric Young vs. James Storm: don’t even remember it happening. That’s how much Eric Young AND James Storm have fallen off my radar because this feud is stupid and aimless.

As I expected, ODB vs. Awesome Kong was a bad match. I thought the styles clash was going to hurt them as well as ODB’s shortcomings. I think she sells really well. Maybe with a smaller, lighter, flashier opponent she could have a decent match. Kong could also be the someone who could carry her being so much more refined and polished and having all that experience. It didn’t happen here. *

Abyss vs. Judas Mesias was the pre-taped, from Orlando, barbwire match that the state wouldn’t allow in SC. Judas Mesias has a good offense but he doesn’t do much else then kick and punch. The barbwire spots are silly, the barbwire chair shots pretty cool for this kind of match. But Mesiais did it so poorly anyway. And after he hits someone in the head with the barbwire chair, and that doesn’t end the match, what is he going to do that will? Hard to suspend your disbelief. Both men took back bumps into random barbwire boards. Father Mitchell took the Black Hole Slam. Ya know, I just didn’t care when this was all over. **3/4

Robert Roode vs. Booker T was bizarre. It was a good match. Don’t get me wrong, but not for the right reasons. The fact that the feud continues after this makes me not want to discuss it much more. **3/4

WOW! This PPV never ends.

Team 3-D & Johnny Devine vs. The Motor City Machine Guns & Black Machismo Jay Lethal Oh my God! They saved the X-Division! They saved the X-Division! ***

“I’m Scott Hudson!”

Christian Cage vs. Kurt Angle. I don’t like the way it starts. I thought they should go to a more technical rythm. Still, they put alot of work into the build of the match but for me it didn’t pay off as important in an athletic contest aspect. Christian hits a big top rope dive to the floor on Angle outside the ring. Christian bumps big in this match for Angle, all over the place. Angle poses. he is out of his mind. Samoa Joe and Angle go at it. Karen interferes. Match is a little long, as they trade moves and big spots. It’s still good. I start to get bored. They get tangled into the ropes and Angle goes for the ankle lock. The reversals are good but it’s missing something. Angle misses the moonsault. With the outside enforcer the match is ruined in my eyes as a “great” match. Karen gets involved and it gets sillier and they clothesline each other. They still do some cool spots with Joe and the ref bump. AJ and Joe should be the future of the company. In comes a chair. Tomko runs in. A big finish if a bit out of nowhere, a real swerve by Russo. ***3/4

1) LAX vs. The Rock and Rave Infection **
2) Frankie Kazarian vs. Black Reign *3/4
3) Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong –No DQ TNA Women’s Title– **3/4
4) Judas Mesias vs. Abyss *3/4
5) Booker T & Sharmell vs. Robert Roode & Tracy Brooks *
6) Team 3-D/Johnny Devine vs. “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal & The Motor City Machine Guns –Ultimate X– *
7) AJ Styles & Tomko vs. Kevin Nash & Samoa Joe –TNA World Tag Team Titles– *3/4
8) Kurt Angle vs. Christian Cage –TNA World Title Match– ***

What an ass-backwards company. With all the talent and resources in one company that TNA possesses. tp put together such awful TV and PPV’s is amazing. It’s almost impossible. The one good thing they had going a year or so ago was their PPV quality but that has fallen by the wayside. Dispersed between so,me good in-ring action are some of the dumbest gimmicks, angles, and storylines I’ve ever seen.

Christian Cage and TNA World Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist ® Kurt Angle worked the main event and they put on a good match but it was so overshadowed by idiotic storylines, plus Karen Angle, plus the blurred lines between face and heel, and add the FACT that the title was secondary to the decision of that buffoon AJ Style’s… it was all so lost upon me.

The best feud they have going is Gail Kim vs Awesome Kong. Somehow they haven’t managed to screw it up to where I don’t care. The competitors do a great job in the ring as Gail seems to be taking it to Kong as hard as she can to prove that she can hang with a monster. Considering who Gail has had to work with in the U.S. and who Kong worked with all those years in Japan, great job by both. It meant nothing. But did they have to throw in all the ref bumps and shenanigans? It took the match down a notch for me that would have put it up there for the serendipity MOTY candidate for 2008.

It is a flabbergasting show to watch, a frustrating company to try to follow or cheer for. How many years has it been since the prognosticators said TNA had six months to live? It was a running joke at the time, but who is laughing now that all this foreshadowing simply implies a long and steady vegetative and zombie-like life instead of a quick and painless pulling of the plug?

TNA iMPACT from December 27th, 2007. Matches Only.

Card :
1 - Senshi vs. Judas Mesias
2 - Robert Roode vs. Booker T
3 - AJ Styles & Tomko vs. Motorcity Machine Guns
4 - Roxxi Laveaux, Ms Jackie Moore & ODB vs. Angelina Love, Velvet Sky & Gail Kim
5 - Elix Skipper vs. Samoa Joe
6 - Robert Roode & Kurt Angle vs. Booker T & Christian Cage

Sting vs. Scott Steiner (KotM Qualifier)
Sting’s offense was punchy kicky. Scotty busts out the nice belly-to-belly, and then a crossface. Scott’s too slow however, and it brings the match down. Sting is old. Ref bumps suck. And more interference just brings the match to its knees. The best part of all this is Scott saying he’s not leaving and Samoa Joe’s match is next. Thanks Christy Hemme! *
Jerrelle Clark vs. Sonjay Dutt Goof match totally ruined by Konnan’s rant. Not blaming Konnan, because he was great. The match was just a throw away. *1/2
Bobby Roode, A-1, Eric Young vs. James Gang & Chris Sabin
Kip James hit a nice tilt-a-whirl slam, and… um… Sabin was pretty good. Oh, and Eric Young continues to do the little things from the entrance ramp to the ring that make him one of the funnest wrestlers to watch today. Yep. That’s about it. *

America’s Most Wanted vs The Naturals *
Jay Lethal vs Alex Shelley *1/2
King of the Mountain Qualifier: Raven vs Jeff Jarrett **
—————————————
Raven vs. Jarrett was better then expected. Otherwise, matches were fine but the show is slipping a bit. Simply not funny, and they are trying very hard. Nonetheless, it is an interesting hour of TV for a wrestling smark.

Senshi vs Jay Lethal vs Alex Shelley vs Sharkboy * 1/2
Christopher Daniels & AJ Styles vs Elix Skipper & David Young *
Andy Douglas vs Bobby Rude *
Ron Killings vs Monty Brown (KoM Qualifier) **
——————————–
Surprisingly decent match from Killings and Monty Brown. The rest of the show… meh.

1. Jushin Liger vs. Petey Williams**
2. AMW (c) vs. AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels (NWA Tag Team Titles)**1/4
3. Bobby Roode vs. Rhino **1/4
4. Raven vs. A1 *1/2
5. The James Gang vs. Team 3D **
6. 16 man X-Cup Rumble **1/2
7. Sting & Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Jarret & Scott Steiner **1/2
8. Christian Cage (c) vs. Abyss (NWA Heavyweight Title) **
——————————————————–
The dream tag match started really well with Sting vs. Steiner and Jarrett, and when Joe was in there it was even better, but they messed a few things up here and there. I felt Jarrett should have bumped around for Joe a bit somewhere during the match. And Joe sold more then he should have but, like this entire PPV (except for the X-Cup stuff, which ends up very flat), every match seemed to be building toward a bigger storyline. But nothing blew me away.

Chris Sabin (USA) vs. Petey Williams (Canada) -World X-Cup Finals
Weak match for a world cup final, and worse promotion. It sure didn’t seem like a big deal to me. Petey Williams wasn’t very good here. *1/2
Samoa Joe vs. Chase Stevens
Squash. *
Abyss vs. Rhino- (King of the Mountain Qualifier)
A good start, middle, and then a ho-hum ending. Plus the fact we have seen these two go at it for about 4 months now doesn’t help. *3/4