Segment 7: Samoa Joe vs. Bully Ray
Positives: A.J. Styles coming out to make the save was a good thing. He and Joe have a long-established history as allies, or at least rivals with a great deal of respect between them. This was the most successfully babyface thing anybody in TNA has done over the last two months.
Negatives: Every single match on this card was so sluggishly-paced. This was the spot for Joe to kick things into that special Joe gear where he picks two or three spots that really light up the crowd. That never happened, though, and the result was another snoozefest.
Ref bump? Check. Weapon shot to the head? Check. Disqualification? Check. A better finish for this match would have been the Cup-A-Fart from Here Comes Honey Boo Boo (EMBED: http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/here-comes-honey-boo-boo/videos/cup-of-fart.htm). The sad part: I’m only marginally more embarrassed to know about Honey Boo Boo than I am to know about TNA.
Segment Score: -1
Segment 8: Dixie Carter-Hulk Hogan Faceoff
Positives: You know what? I was expecting to hate this more. Unlike the matches on this show, this was short, sweet, and to the point. Dixie played disingenuous heel, and Hogan played up that walking away from wrestling was very difficult for him. This angle is still the pits, but this was by far the least offensive offering to date.
Hulk Hogan is gone, at least for a while! Huzzah!
Negatives: Dixie comes across as a phony, but she’s a phony phony. She’s the high school actress who’s completely self-assured that she’s one day going to win a Tony. She delivers her lines alright, but her body language and mannerisms are so cartoony and fake looking – it’s like she’s playing to the back row of a vaudeville theatre.
Segment Score: +/- 0
NET +/- SCORE FOR TNA IMPACT WRESTLING 10/3: -2
