TNA Slammiversary Reax

Read on for my thoughts on last night's Slammiversary PPV.
Awesome opening video. I haven't been this big of a Bully Ray fan since the tag team wars of the Attitude Era.

30 Ultimate X matches in 11 years? Talk about your gimmick overkill. That said, it has been a little while since we've seen one.

Sabin, King, and Suicide are all very talented athletes. Few people on the planet can do some of the things they do. That said, this felt less like wrestlers vying for a title and more like a choreographed set of flashy spots and big bumps to impress the crowd. I think it's really telling that the fans weren't chanting in favor of the returning, inspirational babyface to overcome the odds and win the title. Instead, they were chanting for the promotion for giving them another stuntfest. The crowd is like the crowds at the ancient Roman Colosseum, only out for blood and gore. And a lot of wrestlers and promotions encourage this by pigeonholing performers into this kind of match. We might not see Suicide or King in another match of this length for months. They're just interchangeable bodies thrown to the lions, like the countless forgotten Cruiserweights and X-Division guys before them. Enjoy your 15 minutes of "fame", guys. ROH and the other indies will welcome you back when they're over.

Wow. Didn't see Hogan putting Sabin over like that. That was pretty big. We saw how well that a Hogan endorsement did for Jay Lethal. I mean that guy's hu- wait, no. Well, at least we can remember how well Scott Steiner's endorsement did for multiple-time World Champion Petey Will... no, wait... crap. But seriously, I'm willing to give Sabin a shot.

Hogan's super-edgy, brother. He's hip to these kids who want a return to the Attitude Era. I'm not so sure he should have mentioned the terrorism incident, but Hogan has his own set of rules.

Pretty good little six-man tag. They all brought some good energy to things. As long as every match on the show doesn't become nonstop adrenaline, this could be good.

Bradley vs. Shaw wasn't bad, but it was obvious that this wasn't a high priority for TNA. I don't see people talking about this one much.

Not a bad promo from Bradley. He could be someone to watch out for in the years to come. Development takes time, though. Always remember that.

Always good to see a promo from Aries and Roode. They're two of TNA's best acts.

Are there some timing issues here? That was the second short match.

Not a bad TV Title match. Does this mean they're writing Joseph off?

So, the first two TNA Hall of Famers are better known for their work outside of TNA? If I was Double J, I'd be a little pissed right about now. Angle deserves to go in, but without the Jarretts and the early X-Division guys, there might not have been a TNA for him to join. At any rate, I liked his speech.

WOW. All eight men really did well in that match. I wouldn't have pictured a match featuring three performers over 40 and Gunner to be nearly that good. All of them earned some props from me.

Not crazy about the Brooke promo, but when am I ever?

JESUS CHRIST. Those two could have seriously hurt each other there. Right back to the Colosseum metaphor. Everything has to be "extreme" enough for the rarely-satisfied, jaded older fans. It was a good match but did they really have to take that many big bumps?

Angle vs. Styles was pretty good, but also played into the "big bumps" mentality. I admire the tenacity, but it turns things into something of a stunt show instead of a wrestling match. The goal should NOT be to get the crowd to chant "This is awesome" or "TNA". It should be to cheer the face and boo the heel. A "good match" from a technical standpoint can be enjoyable, but it shouldn't be the goal in of itself. They did mostly tell a good story through the bumps, though, so there's that. I just picture one day wrestlers will throw away any semblance of it being a match and just show what kind of flashy or hardcore sequences they can do.

Cool Bully Ray promo as always. I like heels being evil.

That sh*t was cray. False finishes and big bumps galore. I'm not one who feels that you need that many bells and whistles to tell a good story. It's really a slippery slope. I'm not dismissing their hard work and wanting to put on a good show. It's just a shame that it takes that much to impress people these days. I'll be glad when the Hogans aren't involved with the angles here.

All in all, this was a good show that probably could have been better if they used less that would mean more.

More wrestling coming up.