By Garrett Kidney
May 9th, 2013
BancorpSouth Arena in Tupelo, Mississippi
- Why was Angle shouting at AJ? That was hardly a shrewd negotiating ploy when AJ seemed to be considering what Sting had to say (and I love how bemused Sting was at Angle). Either way I'm fine with Styles vs. Angle at Slammiversary (assuming that's what they do) because it certainly beats either of them vs. somebody from Aces and 8s.
- The women really need some fresh faces, they've been rotating the same girls for a while now and Terrell certainly isn't the person to inject some life into the division. Tag match was fine though I'm surprised they didn't even tease a James turn. The division also needs some direction, Gail is Figure Fouring people but where's it going? The final destination of a lot of the stuff on this show isn't clear enough and the show is suffering because of it (and it's mostly because they have no idea how to book or pace the new PPV set up).
- Magnus looked great in victory against DOC while D'Lo is on the way out. Magnus continues to be underused (though so are most of the TNA babyface roster (EY, Joe, Magnus, Angle, Hardy, Styles, Park and Storm have all been feuding with Aces and 8s as a group for the last few months and as a result none of them are really doing much). He should be a main event player and is desperately crying out for a strong singles programme (which are few and far between these days, Sting vs. Bully is about the best you'll get).
- Alas it was but a brief glimpse at the total awesomeness that a full on Bad Influence vs. Aries and Roode match would look like. I'm not sure where they're going with Storm being involved here (though he could always have been jumped by Aces and 8s rather than either of the two teams) but maybe a four team tag match with Storm and a partner? Really good match.
- I'm slightly back on the Kenny King bandwagon after last nights promo. I've soured on him in recent months but he was strong and reassured going face to face with Sabin (who is the person to help inject some life into the X-Division along with Williams and Dutt). And it's really good to see the X-Division get some real promo time (though this is the first instance of the major flaw in the three way match policy (though they can always amend it to include singles matches on PPV if they want). Nice to see the X-Division get a chance for some proper character development.
- A good match and I wasn't expecting to see Abyss return here from his year long hiatus. Sting and Bully both throwing dropkicks is impressive each for different reasons. I still think Bully and Sting can have a very good match together if given a chance to. And hopefully the Abyss we have from here on out is The Monster rather than the terrified, whimpering, Hulk Hogan knockoff Abyss (and I still much prefer his old music).
Closing Thoughts
A pretty good show but still lacking that spark and extra level of quality to bring the show to the next level.
