Monday, November 12, 2012

11/11/12 Turning Point

Ratings:
Samoa Joe vs. Magnus (No DQ; TV Title): ***1/2

Eric Young & ODB vs. Jesse & Tara: **

Rob Van Dam vs. Joey Ryan (X-Division Title): **1/4

Doc vs. Joseph Park: *3/4

Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez vs. Christopher Daniels & Kazarian (Tag Team Titles): ***1/4

James Storm vs. Bobby Roode vs. AJ Styles: ***3/4

Kurt Angle vs.Devon: **1/2

Jeff Hardy vs. Austin Aries (Ladder; World Title): ****
_________________

Reviews/Thoughts:
Taz starts the show in the ring acknowledging Hurricane Sandy and the victims affected by that storm. Orlando's Buckethead and TNA's Bully Ray come out. They want to break a Guinness world record for most people texting donations at one time. Going to the American Red Cross. Nice gesture.

Now TNA has a three-man booth for PPVs. Todd Keneley joins Taz and Tenay.

TV Title match up first. No DQ, and it doesn't take long in getting physical on the outside. Ring of Honor reference! Joe kicking Magnus' ass all over the ring, then Magnus throws a chair in Joe's face. Typical Joe offense, but Magnus impressed with his own submission attempts. Good crowd for this. Two top-rope elbows only get two. Even got split chants going here. Corkscrew from Joe late in the match. Muscle Buster...TWO?! Awesome. Double bird from Magnus and the fighting spirit. Joe with slaps and the choke for the win. Great way to start.

Nice to see Eric Young back on TV. And a shark ate his phone! Mixed tag match next, but here, I guess it's OK for guys and gals to (sorta) wrestle each other. Matching colors for Tara and Jesse. Crowd welcomes EY back. Tag partners kiss and then a double elbow drop. Now I've seen everything. EY looks good in the ring despite the time off. Typical EY tag match with the humor and serious bits. ODB with the hot tag and she gets physical on Jesse. EY with the blind tag, then an elbow drop to Jesse for three.

No Matt Morgan (per Hulk's stipulation) for the X-Division Title match. Joey said he told Matt to stay in the back, not because Hulk said so. Crowd really loves RVD. Joey pushes RVD off the top to get on offense. Back and forth they go, but RVD hits the five-star for the win. RVD celebrates on the stage, and Morgan comes out with the carbon footprint. Sounds about right.

Doc and Joseph Park next. Nice to see Luke Gallows have a high-profile role in the company. Park still has no ring music. I've never associated a guy like Joseph Park with quickness, but he did that to stay away from Doc early on. Doc punches the post with his left hand, but can still get shots in with his right. Ref took the studded belt away, but didn't take the chair away earlier? Way to go. Just a basic beatdown from Doc now. Doc then busts Park open with a belt shot behind the ref's back. Park sees red. Remember what happened against Bully Ray? Same thing here. Kinda like the hulking up aspect. Park with the Black Hole Slam generates a big pop, but that's basically the bright spot of the match. Splash for two. Park with a chair to Doc, but only two again. Doc with a chokeslam out of nowhere for three. Sudden finish and damn, that felt long.

Doc with more beating up afterward. Ball-peen hammer again! Bully Ray for the save. Who woulda thunk that a few months ago?

Tag title match next. Crowd still red hot for Chavo. Chavo feeding off the rage Kaz and Daniels caused. Great tag offense from the champs, isolating Kaz. Chavo misses the frog splash and the challengers isolate him. Kaz and Daniels target Chavo's ribs. ROFL at double Gangnam Style moment. Hernandez gets the hot tag. Seeing Hernandez skin the cat and do the clothesline shows how he and Sheamus can have some similarities on moves. Chavo with a crossbody on Daniels (perched on Hernandez) for the win. Strong finish to retain.

It's time for the #1 contender's three-way match. Just to clarify, it's only the guy who gets pinned (or submits) that has to wait until next year's Bound for Glory for his next title shot. What can I say...you knew it would be awesome from the start. You also have to appreciate the complexity the three-way matches take on. Give one guy a chance to breathe while the other two go at it, but the switches are incredibly seamless. Figure four from Styles, so his affiliation with Flair was worth something. Styles smart to target Storm's legs and take the Last Call away. Loved the Beer Money tease, and Storm was ready for the Roode cheap shot. Signature moves galore. AJ misses springboard 450. Roode spear for two. Crossface but Styles counters to get two. Uranagi from Roode?! That gets two. Roode looks for the fisherman's, but backstabber from Storm to Roode. Last Call to Styles, and that gets three. Poor AJ will have to wait nearly a year.

Next up are Angle and Devon. Taz gets all giddy seeing Devon's studded belt, similar to the one Doc had against Joseph Park. Rare botch from these guys on the powerbomb attempt, but they got back to their spot quickly. Devon misses a headbutt, Angle Slam for two. Aces & Eights members surround the ring. Angle with the ankle lock out of nowhere for the submission win. Angle smartly bails quickly. Doc is incensed and says Angle's next on the hitlist.

Main event is the Ladder match for the World Title. Gotta take both belts off the top to win, I guess. Main event intros. Hardy places the ladder upside down, then basically misses a move and impales his body on the steel support to the ladder. OW. Guess we need a new ladder. Aries was smart to wedge Hardy under a ladder and the steel steps. Hardy escaped and nearly got to the belts but got knocked off. Again ow. Second ladder now busted up. Looked like a botch on the counter to the brainbuster, but leads to a Hardy Japanese arm drag on Aries into the ladder. Hardy rides the ladder down and splashes Aries...cool. Hardy climbs, Aries dropkicks the ladder, and Hardy goes flying AGAIN. Ladder sandwich in corner, then Aries with the brainbuster. Aries to the top of the ladder -- and Hardy meets him there. Twist of Fate off the top of the ladder! Swanton! Woohoo! Aries to the outside. Hardy to the top of the ladder. HA! Aries is at the controls and raises the hook carrying the titles! AWESOME. Hardy nukes Aries again, then gets a bigger ladder. Aries meets him up there, and they topple onto the ladder resting in the corner. Big ladder falls. Hardy Twist of Fate on Aries on that smaller ladder in the corner. Hardy climbs big ladder and retains. Damn good match. Most of the ladder spots were at least variations of stuff I'd seen before, but you have to admit, it's still cool to watch. Match of the night for me.

I thought it was a solid show overall. Each match delivered in some way except that Joseph Park "match." I miss Abyss, dammit. ***1/2

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