Thoughts on IMPACT Wrestling: Aired Sep 1st (USA) / Sep 4th (UK) 2011

Photo Courtesy ImpactWrestling.com

What a difference a live crowd makes huh? Credit to the Huntsville crowd who were loud all night. The show, the very impressive set and the crowd moise made TNA look big time. It was also interesting to gauge the crowd reactions for many of the roster in comparison with the IMPACT Zone. By and large the crowd reactions were as desired by creative, with Hogan and Angle getting roundly booed as opposed to the mixture of boo's and cheer's in the IMPACT Zone where some fans let their respect for Kurt Angle's abilities get in the way of booing him, which as a Heel at the moment is what I'm assuming he'd like to be hearing.

Thoughts on IMPACT Wrestling: August 18th 2011

Photo Courtesy IMPACTWrestling.com

I thought I would give my two cents regarding the events on this weeks episode of IMPACT Wrestling. Going into the show we were promised a main event calibre match-up between A.J. Styles and Rob Van Dam, a response from Crimson regarding his attack at the hands of Kurt Angle last week, an X-Division Gauntlet, a Tag-Team Title bout between Beer Money and Mexican America and a surprise return. All in all the show was one I couldn't wait to see which was exactly why I caught the Spike TV airing rather than wait for the UK broadcast on Challenge this Tuesday. So a word of warning for my readers in the UK and Ireland, this will be full of spoilers so if you haven't seen the show yet, I'd recommend giving this article a miss until Tuesday night after Impact.

What happened @TNA Xplosion - August 17th 2011

The following article was originally published at 1Wrestling.com, you can view the original piece by clicking here.

Ray Mullan reporting for 1Wrestling.com. This week on TNA Xplosion, the Xplosion Championship Challenge heats up as we reach the final match of the Semi Finals. The British Invasion’s Douglas Williams, goes head to head with Alex Shelley for a place in the Final, find out what went down and much more…

Thoughts on IMPACT Wrestling: August 11th 2011

Photo Courtesy ImpactWrestling.com

With Hardcore Justice in the books, many questions remained unanswered regarding the motives of new TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle. This week on IMPACT Wrestling, we found out exactly why Kurt did it and just what's in store for TNA going forward. For my UK & Ireland based readers, this review covers the episode of IMPACT Wrestling that aired in the United States on Thursday but is not set to air on Challenge TV until Tuesday 16th August, so if you wish to avoid any spoilers look away now, otherwise read on!

20 Questions With..."The Phenomenal" AJ Styles

Photo: TNA Wrestling

Since the Velvet Sky Chat at Lockdown, TNAOnDemand.com has been hosting live chats with TNA Superstars almost weekly. Last thursday night saw the turn of fist pumping Jersey Shore superstar Robbie E, and as you know i tagged along and asked some questions and subsequently “20 Questions With…” was born. Tonight, was the turn of the Phenomenal One himself – AJ Styles, Enjoy.

What’s been your career highlight so far?

My first X-Division title win.

Toughest challenge in your career?

Being away from home so much

Was there ever anything you wanted to do growing up besides wrestling?

Any pro sport really.

You’ve wrestled in TNA and ROH, two very different environments, which did you prefer?

I have had great experiences in both.

Did you enjoy wrestling at WCW?

I wasn’t really there long enough to make a decision.

If you could wrestle any wrestler past or present, who would it be and why?

Eddie Guerrero. Our styles are similar.

Your known as a bit of a gamer, what’s your favourite?

Super Mario Bros 2 – greatest game ever!

What’s your favourite movie(s)?

All the Rocky’s (even 5!)

How about your guilty pleasure Disney movie?

Aladdin

Thoughts on the royal wedding?

Well done William!

Any chance we’ll be seeing you on the next UK tour?

Absolutely!

Who’s the biggest prankster in the TNA locker room?

We really do not have any, too old school for us.

Would you vote for Mick Foley if he ran for office?

No, he voted for Obama!

If you could change one thing about TNA, what would it be?

More shows outside of our iMPACT! Zone would be good.

Do the crowd responses at live events give you confidence that TNA can do iMPACTs and PPVs on the road going forward?

Absolutely.

Will this years Destination X be an all X-Divison PPV?

That would be awesome!

In your opinion who is the best in the world besides you?

Samoa Joe, Daniels and Kaz.

Do you think that, given the chance, Robert Roode can become a main event star?

Yes…without a doubt.

What tips do you have for someone starting out on the road to becoming a wrestler?

Don’t spend more than you have and get all the experience you can get.

When all is said and done, how do you want to be remembered?

As someone who left all he had in the ring.

Booking the Immortal Angle - Part 2

Photo: Lee South Photography / TNA Wrestling

Ok, thought I’d treat you today with the final part in my “TNA UK books the Immortal Angle”. If you haven't read Part 1 yet, I recommend you head on over and read it by clicking here.

So when i left off, RVD was reeling from losing cleanly to a seemingly unbeatable Hardy. Anderson despite injuries continued to be a thorn in the side of Immortal but eventually a returning Sting manages to get Joe, Pope, Anderson and RVD to join forces finally leading them into battle with Immortal.

The DVD Ray-View: TNA Best of 2009

Time for another DVD review. This time its my most recent acquisition – TNA: The Best of 2009. This is a compilation of the best matches of 2009. For the most part the match selection is bang on, there is truly some amazing matches on here. The match list is as follows:

• Sarita vs. Alissa Flash – TNA Impact 7.16.09
• AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle – TNA Impact (Tables Match) 1.22.09
• Sting vs. Kurt Angle – TNA Impact (Empty Arena Match) 2.19.09
• Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett – TNA Genesis 1.11.09
• Homicide vs. Amazing Red vs. Suicide vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. Daniels -TNA Bound For Glory (Ultimate X) 10.18.09
• Sting vs. AJ Styles – TNA Bound For Glory 10.18.09
• Desmond Wolfe vs. Kurt Angle – TNA Turning Point 11.15.09
• AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Daniels – TNA Turning Point 11.15.09

I’m sure you’ll agree thats a hell of a lineup, even if it is a somewhat limited amount of matches. The DVD also features some bonus material – namely the sit-down interview with Dixie Carter and the press conference from October where the partnership with Hulk Hogan was announced.

All in all though this is definitely not one of TNA’s finest DVDs, which is rare, because TNA generally produces some top-notch stuff. I’m can’t complain about the matches themselves their fantastic but for those of us who follow TNA closely, ALL of the content – even the bonus material has aired on Bravo either on Impact or a PPV so theres absolutely nothing here that we haven’t see before.

Would definitely recommend this DVD for those who wish to relive some of the great action from last year or those sampling TNA for the first time but bottom line is all the content has likely been seen before by those following TNA closely.