On March 27th TNA aired its first ever live episode. It was fun and action packed and for once actually delivered on what TNA had promised. It was perhaps the most entertaining Impact episode since the show's inception.
The wrestling matches themselves were excellent. They started off with Alex Shelley vs. Johnny Devine, which lasted a good 9 minutes and had a clean finish. The match had good energy while it lasted and ended up with Devine picking up the win. The 6-man tag match later on was also good, and LAX has a lot of momentum and continues to show why they are the hottest tag team in wrestling today. The Kurt Angle sparring match with Tomko and A.J. Styles was surprisingly tolerable, in part because of the hardway cut that Tomko suffered, but also because it was simply well done. They're trying to mix the genres of MMA and pro wrestling, which could have been awful, but instead ended up quite watchable.
Booker T vs. Robert Roode was one of the best matches either of the two have put on since they've been in TNA. The match had good intensity and energy, though I didn't like the First Blood stipulation, they did well in working with what they had. The Women's Title match was also an excellent TV match, though it was kept short at 6 minutes, I imagine this being the case because Gail Kim was originally planned in that slot and I'm not sure if ODB had the chance to set up any spots before hand. Either way, it was a good TV match with another clean ending.
Finally, the main event happened. This was perhaps the second or third best wrestling match that we've ever seen on TNA Impact. It had yet another clean finish. All of the clean finishes on the show left me feeling satisfied as a fan. Hopefully this becomes the norm, though I know it won't. They'll spoil me one week with clean finishes only to go back to the old Vince Russo formula of cheap finishes and outside interference.
TNA didn't have that many difficulties putting on their live wrestling show, either. Sure, the audio went out a few times, but it was only for a few seconds and was tolerable for their first live television broadcast. Most of the lighting and audio effects were done well, and the fact that they didn't get to overproduce the show gave Impact a touch of realism that it usually lacks. It also made it easier on the eyes without camera angles constantly zipping this way and that.
The announcers were even better than usual. Mike Tenay and Don West, having to improvise live, toned it down a notch. Though Don West had a few lines here and there that made me cringe, for the most part I was able to tune out the announcers the entire show. Anyone ever think about replacing these guys with some younger people? That MMA guy TNA brought in did better than Tenay and West combined on commentary, what about him?
This show also had a more clear definition of face and heel. It's difficult as a wrestling fan if I don't know who I'm supposed to cheer for. It seems as though Vince Russo has set up a three-month revolving door for who is face, heel, and tweener with everyone playing musical chairs at each of TNA's major wrestling Pay-Per-Views. I don't know if this whole "Cross the Line" idea can work, with people portrayed in more of a realistic way where there are no truly good or evil characters. However if it adds a sense of realism to wrestling that has desperately been missing in the past decade, then I'm all for it.
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