TNA Twin Pack 2010 - DVD Review

TNA DVD Twin Pack Review - Victory Road 2010/No Surrender 2010




By Phil Allely



This is a novel idea by TNA, teaming up two very popular and heavily linked Pay-Per-View events from 2010 and packaging them in one nice little two disc set.



Yes many of us have seen these events and as has become traditional with TNA PPV’s the match quality varied considerably throughout, ranging from the bearable to the spectacular, usually the tag team encounters and X Division battles falling into the latter. However there were some interesting story threads running through these events and by combining the two of them like this we can follow their natural progression from July’s Victory Road to September’s No Surrender.



The main reason to buy this set is to see the story unfold revolving around the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, Firstly in the extremely heated four-way title scrap between Rob Van Dam, Abyss, Jeff Hardy and Mr Anderson and then further as the duo’s of Kurt Angle/Jeff Hardy and Mr Anderson/The Pope vied to snare a place in the final of the tournament to crown a new World Champ (after Abyss took RVD out of the picture and left the title in limbo). Both sets of main events are great to view again and have some fine action too.



Elsewhere on the cards there are some great match-ups, Ric Flair’s heated comedy brawl with Jay Lethal is amusing, exciting and surprising all at once. Motor City Machineguns versus Beer Money for the vacant Tag Team belts has a well deserved ending. Doug Williams has two very different, yet enthralling bouts against Kendrick (Victory Road) and Sabu (No Surrender). Abyss and Rhino head to ECW country for a decent Falls Count Anywhere scrap and AJ Styles takes on Tommy Dreamer in a very good I Quit match-up.



There are also pretty decent Knockouts matches, tag team brawls involving teams of Sting/Kevin Nash, Jeff Jarrett/Samoa Joe, AJ Styles/Kazarian and Samoa Joe/Rob Terry. Overall both events hit the mark an awful lot more than they miss. There are some nice title encounters, loads of near-falls, high risk moves and some great glimpses of just why TNA, when on form has all the tools to be as successful as a certain other big name wrestling outfit well known across the globe.



TNA DVD Twin Pack Victory Road 2010/No Surrender 2010 is available now via www.tnawrestling.com and all good retailers.

TNA Turning Point 2010: Review

Turning Point 2010: Salute to Sabu!

By Phil Allely

With financial strains hitting the global market place and everyone tightening their belts TNA have been on a roll as of late, producing some top notch PPV’s that have gotten the fans attention and their rivals the WWE wondering just who the company or going to sign next or what kind of surprise storyline they will pull out of the bag next in search of those all important ratings.

Turning Point had a few things going against it form the get go. Main event star Mr Anderson was on the injured list, after a mistimed Jeff Hardy chair shot left him concussed and replacement Matt Morgan had had very little time to hype up his World Title shot. Hulk Hogan was still out of action due to his recent back surgery and he was a big part of the main storyline of the Immortals taking over the company from President Dixie Carter.

The event opened decently with newcomer Robbie wrestling the X Division Title from the proud hands of the always impressive Jay Lethal. E’s win coming from some timely interference by Cookie, Lethal’s loss didn’t go down too well with the crowd either.

Former WWE divas Mickie James and Tara met finally one-on-one next, the pair had a lacklustre match at times, which ended in a no contest, but the ensuing brawl (which ran throughout the PPV) certainly proved that both still have it in them to pull of a good bout and perhaps reboot the Knockouts Division.

TNA’s most underrated tag team met their most decorated next, champions The Motor City Machineguns facing the 23 time former gold holders Team 3D in what promised to be 3D’s last match as a unit. In-ring wise the Guns shone as only they can, outperforming their brawling counterparts, but it worked and as the pendulum swung between the teams the thought of 3D raising a 24th set of straps did cross many minds. The near falls, table related spots and Guns’ suicidal moves all whipped things up nicely for the finish, Sabin and Shelly retaining after overcoming their larger foes. All four showing mutual respect after the decision.

EV2 members Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer had set their sights on a match of the night no doubt, but unfortunately an untimely injury to Dreamer halted that slightly, but their fight came pretty close. The pair however didn’t let Dreamer’s (nasty looking) broken wrist slow them down. Both reliving their hardcore arena days by utilising the ring barriers, a ladder and anything else they could to brutalise each other. RVD nailed a lovely five star frog splash to win the bout and in turn cement his friendship with Dreamer and allegiance to EV2.

The EV2/Fortune feud steamrolled on with a member of the losing teams career on the line. The odds quickly became stacked against EV2 as Kendrick was carted off after Douglas Williams nailed him hard. The remaining members gave their all, Sabu especially turning the clock back a few years to put in an above par performance. UK star Williams was also impressive in his role as Fortune’s technical wizard and hard-hitter. Things quickly broke down as the teams began to take each other out and fight around the ring, Style and Sabu ended up facing off and as they traded some high spots the frustrated Sabu (who is legitimately leaving TNA) fell to a well adapted Styles Clash to lose his spot on the roster and the match for his team.

Pope D’Angleo Dinero’s Lumberjack match with Abyss was a well planned affair, rising star Dinero had been a pawn in the monsters recent mind game sand this was his chance to settle things. Having his ‘Congregation’ as the lumberjacks was a plus point too in his favour against his larger and crazier opponent. The Congregation and a certain Immortal front man called Eric Bischoff would ensure The Pope’s dominance was short-lived, Bischoff allegedly paying Pope’s friends and brother to turn on him in favour of cold hard cash. Their attack on Pope and subsequent beat down leading to his loss to Abyss.

Samoa Joe versus Jeff Jarrett was a reasonable scrap, both swapping the advantage as things got serious. A ref bump and interference from Eric Bischoff’s security team saw Jarrett nail Joe with a nightstick and lock on Joe’s ‘rear naked choke’ for an unpopular win.

The main event saw unlikely title contender Matt Morgan face off against the unbelievably ‘over’ Jeff Hardy. The David and goliath style match had some good moments., each man jockeying for space to unleash a power move or crazy set-piece. The referee causing the end as he called a definite three count a two as Hardy kicked him, but not out of the pin. Morgan failed to reclaim his momentum afterwards and fell to a ‘whisper in the wind/twist of hate combo‘.

Hardy celebrated with Fortune as the show went of the air.

Turning Point had some fairly decent moments, but TNA do need to keep their eye on the ball and not get complacent. Even without Hogan, Angle, Sting and others the roster is filled with eager and willing guys who just need the chance to shine on the big stage. TNA have all the components and momentum building to freshen up their product and tackle the big boys, fingers crossed this continues in 2011.

TNA Slammiversary Review

TNA Slam it home for the 8th time

by Phil Allely

Hot on the heels of the move back to Thursday nights and the (as yet) unfulfilled 'big' company announcement by President Dixie Carter, Slammiversary still delivered a decent series of matches and story progressions for TNA, but unfortunatley saw the the roster lose yet another long-serving Knockout from their once standout womens wrestling division.

TNA have had their fair share of ups and downs over the last eight years and Slammiversary only proved too highlight the good and bad points todays product delivers.

Kurt Angle took Kaz to wrestling school in the opener, Kaz losing his #10 world title contender spot with relative ease as Kurt unleashed a full arsenal of German suplexes, high-risk moves and spots, before latching on an ankle lock for the win.

Doug Williams is a great man to carry the flag for the UK, but his mat-based ring style doesn't blend well with many of the X Division Title contenders he defends against. Brian Kendrick proved to be yet another positive tick on his win collumn, as Williams brought the high-flyer down to earth, defeating him with a nice ddt to retain his gold.

A bloody Roxxi saw her recent trumphant TNA return end as quickly as as it started next, losing a career versus Knockouts title match to champion Madison Rayne. The always dependable Roxxi was visibly emotional at her loss and subsequent journey back into the world of low paying indy wrestling.

High-spirited newcomer Jesse Neal then defeated Brother ray via spear when a debuting Tommy Dreamer distracted Ray, the former ECW favourite turning up and interuptions from Brother Devon and shannon Moore were probably the better parts of this brief match-up.

Former tag team champs Matt Morgan and Hernandez then turned up for a spin on the old fake injury/playing possum angle, Morgan faking a neck injury and Hernandez beating him down brutally anyway. Supermex lost by DQ, but won a serious slice of revenge in doing so, ref Brian hebner saw some unplanned action too.

Abyss and Desmond Wolfe had a very enjoyable Monsters Ball brawl, with a bevy of weapons including barbed wire helping proceedings plow on wiith ease. Blood, violence and a surprise (to some) Chelsea turn on Wolfe in favour of Abyss, saw the Monster hit a hard 'Black Hole Slam' to put Wolfe down for the three count.

In a shocker Ric Flair impersonator Jay Lethal pinned AJ Styles in their challenge match, the bout was chock-full of great moves, counters, blocks and near falls, however this wasn't AJ's night. The finish saw Lethal pinning Styles and an irate Ric leaving wiith new pal Kaz.

Jeff Hardy & Mr Anderson's oddball team (self dubbed the Enigmatic A**holes) were up up next and opponents Beer Money Inc. were their prey.

Storm & Roode may be TNA's best regular combo, but team EA were able to easilly overcome them, it was give-and-take a lot of the way, before the faces stole the win with a good looking Anderson 'mic check' finisher on Roode.

World Heavyweight Championship challenger Sting is undeniably a living legend and deserves his spot on the TNA roster, however even wiith an age and stye difference, allowing champ RVD and himself share the bumps worked well.

The reliable Sting was able to rise to the challenge of the gifted opponent he was presented with, yes Jaff Jarrett did get involved, but that really couldn't distract too much from the quality main event on offer.

RVD overcame some stiff baseball bat shots to hit a beautiful five star frog splash & put The Stinger away, savouring the adoring crowds roar as he did so.

Slammiversary may not have been as ground breaking as we expected surprise-wise (according to Dixie that's to come soon), but it did boast a few fair-good bouts, progress storylines, gave hope to young roster members and showcased the benefits of having a man the calibre of Van Dam as champ. More savvy fans will be wondering if Tommy Dreamer appearing means an ECW style invasion is part of the company's masterplan too.

Eight years on TNA is a company this reviewer is proud to have watched grow, where they go next, who know's but with Hulk Hogan on board, Flair attempting to revive The Horsemen and a certain Mr Monday (ok Thursday now) Night on top, it's all looking good and been one heck of a ride so far.