Read on for my thoughts on yesterday's Superstars and Impact Wrestling.
Superstars:
Primo and Epico are back! I figured they'd be benched until Rosa was cleared to return. At least they got a pay day, even if they might as well be a part of the new J.O.B. Squad. I don't know what they need to do to get out of their predicament, but they're really going nowhere fast. They need to show Management that they're better than this if they want to move somewhere in their careers. At least WWE can justify Tons of Funk winning by saying that maybe they're being built as challengers to The Shield.
Anyone complaining that the Divas "can't wrestle" need to see this match. Natalya and Tamina put together a pretty good story. It's a shame that neither of them are positioned as well as the Bella Twins, Naomi, or Cameron because as far as what is popularly called "workrate" goes, I think Natalya and Tamina really eclipse the others. But WWE is all about selling their reality show and showcasing Divas over female wrestlers, so don't count on either performer going anywhere any time soon. Hopefully once HHH takes over, he'll throw them some bones. They've earned it.
Impact Wrestling:
Bully Ray continues his run as one of the greatest things in mainstream wrestling (WWE or TNA). It makes sense to use Hogan to set up other things. There is still an audience for him. Ray vs. Hardy in a ladder match is a pretty big match to give away on TV, but maybe it'll pay off for them. And they do have some stiff competition tonight. As for Sting potentially retiring, I'll take it as a storyline tease for now.
Good Chavo/Hernandez segment. If they're splitting up, I'm willing to see where TNA goes with it before complaining that they won't team anymore. They're a solid act together. I don't know how far they can get separately, especially Hernandez. That's not a knock on him. I just think he works better in a tag team. They've tried to use him as a singles star and it never really got far.
Chavo vs. Hernandez told a pretty good story. They didn't need 30 high-flying spots to do it, either. They did a good job of playing to both performers' strengths: Chavo's the technician and Hernandez is the powerhouse. It was nice that the TNA Original went over. I don't think the loss hurt Chavo much since it was an even contest.
Nice post-match. Maybe they can still get along. A feud between them would be interesting, though. I think TNA could make it work.
They didn't waste much time showing Rampage, did they? I can't really blame them. I like that they're not building the whole show around him as if he's more important than the TNA main event scene.
I liked the Devon segment. It's good that he's pissed that he lost the Title. He should be! Titles should be important. Also, props to TNA for having a secondary champion reign for 178 days. Wow.
I'm curious to see where they'll go with Abyss. I think if used right he could be a major player in the company. THE major player? Probably not. But an important supporting character in the main event scene. Not everyone has to be at John Cena's level to be a "success" for the company.
Fun Robbie E segment, as is generally the case. Could he ever be a "sustainable main eventer" with that gimmick? I doubt it. But that's fine! You need people everywhere on the card. Not everyone needs a super-serious gimmick, etc..
That's the Samoa Joe I like to see. Robbie's good in his role of "comedy jobber" as some have termed it. He might last longer than more serious characters.
Good Mickie/Velvet segment. Clever to throw in a plug for the lottery. I like that Mickie isn't a stereotypically super-angry, mean heel but instead more subtle. It's nice to have some variety.
That was it for the Rampage segment!? Wow. I expected something bigger and longer than that. Maybe they kept it bite-size so it will be easier to replay. It was nice to have JB do the honors. Talk about starting Rampage pretty close to the top. One of Angle's greatest strengths is that he can have a good match with just about anyone and is solid at helping people come up to a higher level. I can't complain too much I guess.
Fine Hardy segment.
I liked the Aces and Eights segment. I'm a little surprised that Bully would kick "his brother" out of the VP slot, but he DID lose the TV Title and Aces and Eights is pretty ruthless.
Fine 6-man tag to get over the new Champions. Cool that they had 6 TNA Originals in there (technically Roode worked a good number of appearances for WWE, but I don't think he was under contract. It was just a series of dark matches and appearances on Velocity and Heat).
I personally want the Park/Abyss story to end with Park taking up the mask and becoming a "new" Abyss, but that's me.
Fine backstage Knockouts segment to continue things.
Mickie vs. Taeler was fine to continue Mickie's heel run. I'm really enjoying it so far. Taeler seemed a little better here than she was in previous appearances.
More Abyss stuff. Fine.
Props to TNA for building up next week's show. Sounds like good things will be happening.
That was a surprising ending to the show. Kind of a non-ending to Bully vs. Hardy. I'm not crazy about ending the show focusing on the Hogans, but I'm willing to see how things play out. Bully vs. Hogan is ok with me IF it's just part of the story leading to someone like Styles taking the TNA Title.
More wrestling coming up.
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