The first TNA PPV of the Hulk Hogan era is in the books and is getting all sorts of mixed reviews all throughout the interwebs. GG and I were the only ones who got to see it from FGB, so here are our thoughts:

GG
Thumbs in the middle
Best match – Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles
Worst match – Tara vs. ODB

I don’t mind sacrificing great wrestling to push angles if you deem them important first off. But none of the stuff they pushed as huge was really all that big. Ken Anderson was a huge let down. There were only two matches that were really good. I liked Desmond and Pope because it was something different. It was long and had some boring spots, but it was easy to follow and they told a good story. Angle and AJ was good, but not great. I don’t like AJ as a heel or as a Ric Flair like character. It looks like something that’s doomed to fail.

Also, Daniels losing to Morley was terrible. That kind of stuff is a what makes people change the channel and what doomed WCW. I give them a bit of a mulligan because they don’t have their stuff together, but also can’t give this anymore than a thumbs in the middle.

Big D
Thumbs in the Middle
Best match – The Pope vs. Desmond Wolfe
Worst Match – Tara vs. ODB

We saw a bunch of changes, including a new set, ramp, and now FOUR-Sided ring. But these are NOT necessarily the changes I hoped for with Hogan and Bischoff in control. The “WWE jobbers” as I call it were put over way too often, with Ken Anderson flopping in his victory over Abyss and the former Val Venis botching in HIS win over Chris Daniels, who by the way was MAIN EVENTING the last two TNA PPVs and having classic matches in both. Some good stuff though was the main event and the awesome Pope vs. Wolfe match, which I think stole the show. At first I was lukewarm to the idea of AJ Styles as a heel, then I realized he’s too short and not believable as a bad guy. I’m a wrestling fan and I’m supposed to BOO AJ Styles and Ric Flair? Huh? Big mistake. There were a LOT of mistakes made on this show, and some small improvements… so it’s gotta be in the middle.

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