My Take On 12.22.09: TNA Final Resolution

Posted by Larry Csonka on 12.22.2009

AJ Styles retains against Daniels, Kurt Angle goes through three degrees of pain to defeat Desmond Wolfe, Sheik Bashir gets fired, and more! 411’s Larry Csonka breaks down the TNA Final Resolution PPV in the latest edition of My Take On!



TNA FINAL RESOLUTION!

THE RESULTS
* TNA TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The British Invasion retained over The Motor City Machineguns [***½]
* KNOCKOUTS TITLE MATCH: Tara defeated ODB to become the NEW KNOCKOUTS Champion [*]
* FEAST OR FIRED: Sheik Bashir, Kevin Nash, Rob Terry and Samoa Joe all got cases [**]
* ELIMINATION TAG TEAM MATCH: Hernandez, The Pope, Matt Morgan and Suicide defeated Team 3D, Jesse Neal and Rhino (Matt Morgan Survived) [**½]
* LAST MAN STANDING: Bobby Lashley defeated Scott Steiner [**]
* FOLEY'S FUNHOUSE MATCH: Mick Foley and Abyss defeated Raven and Dr. Stevie [*½]
* THREE DEGREES OF PAIN: Kurt Angle defeated Desmond Wolfe (2 falls to 1) [****]
* TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: AJ Styles retained over Daniels [****¾]


MY TAKE ON THE MATCHES!

MATCH #1 - TNA TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The British Invasion retained over The Motor City Machineguns [***½]: Time and time again I have stated the importance of the opening match, and this match fit the bill. The two teams are well known to the crowd, they are in a well established feud and they had the ability to excite the crowd and make sure that the first thing on the show was exciting. The Machine Guns were made for opening matches, as far as the excitement level goes, and The Invasion has come a long way. Williams has been a great mentor for Magnus, who was quite honestly shit when they brought him in, and is now a very solid performer. The match was a really well laid out and performed tag team match, one that played well to everyone's strengths. They didn't overdue the double-teams or near falls, and they all made sense, especially as they played up how close that the Guns were coming to winning the titles. The Invasion got the win in the end as the referee was distracted and they nailed the British equivalent of the doomsday device for the victory. In the end I only had ONE issue, and that was that Brutus Magnus got to kick out of ALL of the Guns signature stuff. I mean, people complain about Cena, but he is the face of the WWE, Magnus is a midcard tag guy. They should have had it set for Williams to kick out of one of those, because it was a bit unbelievable seeing Magnus look THAT strong, even if he has improved a lot this year. But still, this was, overall, a good opening match.

MATCH #2 - KNOCKOUTS TITLE MATCH: Tara defeated ODB to become the NEW KNOCKOUTS Champion [*]: So the show was off to a good start, and with OFB and Tara up next, I had high hopes that the show would keep up the string pace. Unfortunately I was wrong. Quite simply put, the match did nothing for me. I never got into it, the pace was hectic, they only got around five minutes and the finish was flat and anti-climatic. For as much as I love both women as performers, the match and title change felt like a big letdown.




MATCH #3 - FEAST OR FIRED: Match #3 was the Feast or Fired match. Some absolutely hate the match, and while I did not enjoy the first version, last year's was pretty good. This year's match was, not bad, but also nothing you'll remember when the show was over. The match featured some good teases of who would get the cases, some fun spots, and overall it was fine. Sheik Bashir, Kevin Nash, Rob Terry and Samoa Joe all got cases, and unlike past years, they actually revealed who got what in the cases. That was:

* Sheik Bashir: FIRED
* Kevin Nash: World Tag Team Title Shot
* Rob Terry: X-Division Title Shot
* Samoa Joe: World Title Shot

As for who got the cases, they at least tried to be creative. Joe getting the world title shot is always good, Nash can play up his relationship with EY as well as "protect" the World Elite's hold on the tag titles with him winning that case, Terry now having that title shot for the X-Division title could help the fade turn he will likely have as the Elite has been having issues with him, and Bashir getting fired was a surprise because everyone figured that Deaner or Kiyoshi would get it. Bashir is actually leaving TNA, as he requested a release, and said goodbye to everyone during the day. Overall not bad, it could have been better, but it also could have been a lot worse.

MATCH #4 - ELIMINATION TAG TEAM MATCH: Hernandez, The Pope, Matt Morgan and Suicide defeated Team 3D, Jesse Neal and Rhino (Matt Morgan Survived) [**½] : This has been one of those feuds that I have been hot and cold on. I like trying to get the younger guys over, and I think that this actually was a much better way to get Jesse Neal involved. But I also think that the Pope's face turn came too out of nowhere, and that the momentum that Hernandez and Morgan had were really hurt by the feud. I had high hopes for the match, but overall came away a bit disappointed. On one hand, they did a good job of getting some heat back for Hernandez, as he not only survived the initial five-minutes, but he also pinned Rhino. They then did the double DQ spot as Suicide hit Neal with a chair shot, and then Hernandez KILLED Neal with a nasty ass chair shot. Neal and Hernandez were then gone. Suicide and The Pope were unfortunately gone shortly after that, which left Morgan alone with 3D. This was designed to get Morgan some of his heat back, and I think they did that by having him beat 3D on his own. Some good booking, some so-so booking, a fine match overall, but this is a middle ground kind of thing for me.

MATCH #5 - LAST MAN STANDING: Bobby Lashley defeated Scott Steiner [**]: Last man standing matches aren't the easiest matches to pull off, you really have to have the right guys involved in the match. And to be truthful, I would not have picked these guys to have this style of match, but then again, I am not booking the company. For the most part, they worked the stipulation well, and it was better than I thought it would be, although that is not saying much because I didn't expect much at all. Steiner had to gut out most of the match after tweaking his knee, but did well and it worked for what they wanted. Lashley got revenge when Krystal came out and stole the pipe from Steiner, a spear and pipe shot later and the Lashley's celebrated. Once again, it could have been better, but it also could have been a lot worse. Finally, much respect to Scott Steiner for working so hard through the knee injury, say what you will about him, but he is one of the few "established guys" that works his ass off. It may not always be great, but he tries, unlike, say, Booker T.

MATCH #6 - FOLEY'S FUNHOUSE MATCH: Mick Foley and Abyss defeated Raven and Dr. Stevie [*½]: First of all, we all new that this would be a garbage match, but the fact that they waited until the PPV to officially announce the "stipulation" is annoying. This kind of thing should not happen. Abyss is great in these style of matches, Raven is known for laying them out well, Stevie will bump for everything and people love Foley, this was just there and I wanted more. I like hardcore matches, and I like all guys involved, but this was basically the same thing that we see every month, and the saga of Stevie, Raven, Daffney and Abyss will go on. Yes it will go on and on my friends. Not even Foley pulling out the big bump made this feel important, and that's a shame.

MATCH #7 - THREE DEGREES OF PAIN: Kurt Angle defeated Desmond Wolfe (2 falls to 1) [****]: So we had the rematch from last months excellent singles bout between Angle and Wolfe. I enjoyed the match and thought it was very good, although not quite as good as last month. They did a good job of making all three stages feel like different matches, which was a key to it succeeding. The first fall was a hard hitting wrestling match, the second a great display of submission wrestling, and the third more of your classic cage match. As for criticisms, I have a few. The first fall I felt overused stuff. Desmond never should have used the tower of London so many times, like three, in that first fall. It screamed overkill to me, but it still was good. In fall two, while I loved the submission work, I thought it went a little overboard on the counters, but he work, again, was excellent. And finally, and you should have seen this coming, they are killing the cage stipulation by NOT keeping it to Lockdown. I also still feel it was rushed, jumping to this kind of match, but then again, I like more of a slow burn. This was a very good match, but in my opinion had some issues.

MATCH #8 - TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: AJ Styles retained over Daniels [****¾]: And then we came to the main event of the night. While I always will appreciate a Joe vs. AJ vs. Daniels match, when they break of into singles bouts, the goodness is still there. AJ and Daniels, unlike last month's match, actually had a strong story going into it, which came from last month's match. Daniels resented AJ for all he had, and felt that AJ was treating him like shit so he wanted to prove that he belonged. AJ and Daniels have had matches before, various kinds of matches, and they have delivered. But this time they got the main event, and this time they got the chance to shine. I personally feel that this was Daniels' best "Big Match" performance. He just seemed to be on another level at Final Resolution. I don't know if it was the desire to deliver, his experience, just the fact that he was working with AJ or all of the above, but the man was excellent. And how good is AJ styles these days? I mean, he has been great for some time, but the man is in the zone and having great matches with Joe, Wolfe, Angle, Daniels and more. This match was simply excellent, just as good as last month's three-way match, and that is quite the accomplishment. It was fast paced, hard hitting, played off of past matches and flowed so well that you lost track of time. I am not sure where the direction of TNA goes come January 4th, but as of now, AJ is delivering as champion.


Questions Coming Out Of The Show:
-Is Brutus Magnus the most improved wrestler of 2009?
-Where does Desmond Wolfe go from here?
-Who gets a shot at AJ first: Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe or Bobby Lashley?
-How many illegal chemicals were in that Feast or Fired match?
-When will we see the X-Division Champion on PPV next?
-Will Rob Terry eat him for his daily protein supplement?
-Will The Motor City Machineguns ever win the tag team titles?
-Does anyone care about Mick Foley anymore?
-Could Hernandez have possibly hit Jesse Neal any harder with that chair shot?
-Will Tara give the same speech every time she wins the Knockouts Title?
-How much longer can Kurt Angle go at this pace before he falls apart?
-How good is AJ Styles?
-Where does Daniels go from here?
-Dear Alissa Flash,
Can I have your number?
Love Larry

MY TAKE ON THE SHOW

At the end of the night, the PPV featured a good opener, a pretty under whelming under-card, and once again two tremendous main events. They have now delivered three good to very good shows overall, and have a ton of momentum as they head into 2010. They have taken the old ROH formula and tried to make the two most important matches end the show with high quality, and they have succeeded the last two PPV's with that. Whether they can capitalize on that is another question, but for now, they are delivering big time on PPV.

I could have done without some of the middle stuff, and you can fast forward if you missed it, but the opener and two main events are worth the time and money in my opinion. While Angle, Wolfe, AJ and Daniels are great, I was not sure that they could follow last month, but they did, and I couldn't be happier. I think that the best part was that while some of it wasn't good, we didn't have any truly horrible shit. One last thing, they once again kept the BULLSHIT off of the show. There was nothing ridiculous, no Jarrett drama and such, just the WRESTLING and important stuff. That is another reason that the shows have been better.

SHOW RATING: 7.2

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**LARRY'S** RANKINGS THUS FAR
Rankings may change through out the year upon a second, third, tenth, one hundredth viewing…

2009 PPV Rankings:
-DG: USA ENTER THE DRAGON {9.9}
-DG: USA OPEN THE UNTOUCHABLE GATE {9.5}
-TNA TURNING POINT {9.0}

-WWE NO WAY OUT {8.2}
-TNA BOUND FOR GLORY {8.1}
-ROH RISING ABOVE {8.0}
-TNA SLAMMIVERSARY {8.0}

-WWE BACKLASH {7.7}
-TNA SACRIFICE {7.6}
-ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS {7.5}
-WWE WRESTLEMANIA {7.4}
-WWE ROYAL RUMBLE {7.3}
-TNA FINAL RESOLUTION {7.2}
-TNA GENESIS {7.2}
-TNA LOCKDOWN {7.1}
-ROH CAGED COLLISION {7.0}
-WWE SUMMERSLAM {7.0}
-WWE SURVIVOR SERIES {7.0}

-WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS {6.9}
-WWE THE BASH {6.8}
-WWE EXTREME RULES {6.7}
-WWE BRAGGING RIGHTS {6.6}
-WWE JUDGMENT DAY {6.5}
-TNA NO SURRENDER {6.5}
-WWE TLC {6.4}
-WWE BREAKING POINT {6.3}

-TNA HARD JUSTICE {5.9}
-TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS {5.5}
-WWE HELL IN A CELL {5.0}

-TNA DESTINATION X {3.5}

-TNA VICTORY ROAD {2.0}

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2009 TOP PPV Match Rankings:
-[WWE WRESTLEMANIA] – HBK vs. The Undertaker (*****)

-[TNA FINAL RESOLUTION] – TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: AJ Styles vs. Daniels (****¾)
-[TNA TURNING POINT] – TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Daniels (****¾)
-[DG: USA OPEN THE UNTOUCHABLE GATE] - Naruki Doi vs. Bryan Danielson (****¾)

-[TNA TURNING POINT] - Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe (****½)
-[DG: USA OPEN THE UNTOUCHABLE GATE] - Davey Richards vs. Shingo (****½)
-[DG: USA ENTER THE DRAGON] - The Young Bucks vs. Susumu Yokosuka & Cima (****½)
-[ROH RISING ABOVE] - ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Bryan Danielson (****½)
-[WWE NO WAY OUT] – THE SMACKDOWN ELIMINATION CHAMBER (****½)
-[WWE BACKLASH] – LAST MAN STANDING: Edge vs. John Cena (****½)
-[WWE THE BASH] – MASK vs. TITLE: Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho (****½)
-[WWE SUMMERSLAM] – TLC WORLD TITLE MATCH: Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk (****½)

-[DG: USA ENTER THE DRAGON] - Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, Fire Ant and Soldier Ant vs. Amasis, Icarus, Hallowicked and Gran Akuma (****¼)
-[DG: USA ENTER THE DRAGON] - Yamato vs. BxB Hulk (****¼)
-[ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS] – Tyler Black & KENTA vs. Austin Aries & Katsuhiko Nakajima (****¼)
-[ROH RISING ABOVE] – I QUIT MATCH: Jimmy Jacobs vs. Austin Aries (****¼)
-[TNA GENESIS] - Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett (****¼)
-[TNA GENESIS] - X-Division Title Match: Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin (****¼)
-[TNA SLAMMIVERSARY] – X-Division King of the Mountain Match: Suicide vs. Lethal vs. Creed vs. Sabin vs. Shelley (****¼)
-[WWE NO WAY OUT] – THE RAW ELIMINATION CHAMBER (****¼)

-[DG: USA OPEN THE UNTOUCHABLE GATE ] - Dragon Kid vs. Masato Yoshino (****)
-[DG: USA ENTER THE DRAGON] - Naruki Doi vs. Shingo Takagi (****)
-[WWE BREAKING POINT] – WWE TITLE I QUI T MATCH: Randy Orton vs. John Cena (****)
-[WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS] – WORLD TITLE MATCH: CM Punk © vs. Jeff Hardy (****)
-[WWE EXTREME RULES] – IC TITLE MATCH: Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho (****)
-[WWE EXTREME RULES] – WORLD TITLE LADDER MATCH: Edge vs. Jeff Hardy (****)
-[TNA SLAMMIVERSARY] – TNA World Title King of the Mountain Match: Foley vs. Angle vs. AJ vs. Joe vs. Jarrett (****)
-[TNA BOUND FOR GLORY] – Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan (****)
-[TNA BOUND FOR GLORY] – ULTIMATE X: Red vs. Daniels vs. Homicide vs. Suicide vs. Sabin vs. Shelley (****)
-[TNA FINAL RESOLUTION] – THREE DEGREES OF PAIN - Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe (****)

[DG: USA ENTER THE DRAGON] Dragon Kid vs. Masato Yoshino (***¾)
-[ROH CAGED COLLISION] #1 CONTENDERS MATCH – Tyler Black vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries (***¾)
-[ROH CAGED COLLISION] ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH – Nigel McGuinness vs. El Generico (***¾)
-[TNA SACRIFICE] – I QUIT LEGENDS TITLE MATCH – Booker T vs. AJ Styles © (***¾)
-[TNA SACRIFICE] – Eric Young and Lethal Consequences vs. The Machineguns and Sheik Abdul Bashir (***¾)
-[TNA BOUND FOR GLORY] – FULL METAL MAYHEM: Team 3D vs. Beer Money vs. Steiner and Booker vs. The British Invasion (***¾)
-[TNA LOCKDOWN] – PHILLY STREET FIGHT: IWGP vs. TNA TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH – Team 3D vs. Beer Money (***¾)
-[TNA DESTINATION X] - X-Division Title Ultimate X Match: Suicide defeated Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Consequences Creed and Jay Lethal (***¾)
-[TNA HARD JUSTICE] - X-Division Title #1 Contender's TERROR DOME Match: Christopher Daniels defeated Suicide, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Consequences Creed, Amazing Red, D'Angelo Dinero and Jay Lethal (***¾)
-[WWE ROYAL RUMBLE] – THE ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH (***¾)
-[WWE ROYAL RUMBLE] – WWE TITLE MATCH: Edge defeated Jeff Hardy (***¾)
-[WWE WRESTLEMANIA] – MONEY IN THE BANK (***¾)
-[WWE JUDGMENT DAY] – Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho (***¾)
-[WWE SUMMERSLAM] – DX vs. Legacy (***¾)
-[WWE BREAKING POINT] - ECW TITLE MATCH: Christian vs. William Regal (***¾)
-[WWE BRAGGING RIGHTS] – WWE TITLE IRONMAN MATCH: Randy Orton vs. John Cena (***¾)
-[WWE SURVIVOR SERIES] – WWE TITLE MATCH: John Cena vs. HHH vs. HBK (***¾)
-[WWE TLC] – ECW TITLE LADDER MATCH: Christian vs. Shelton Benjamin (***¾)

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2009 PPV MVP AWARDS:
Not every PPV will have one, it just depends on who I think steps up and deserves some extra recognition.

-[TNA GENESIS] Sabin, Shelley, Angle and Jarrett – Rocking The House
-[ROH RISING ABOVE] – Danielson and McGuinness - Defining the ROH World Title
-[WWE ROYAL RUMBLE] – RVD – The Joke Pays Off
-[WWE NO WAY OUT] – EDGE – The Ultimate Opportunist
-[WWE WRESTLEMANIA] – HBK and The Undertaker – Stealing the Show
-[ROH CAGED COLLISION] – Nigel McGuinness – Better Than You Sugar Nuts
-[TNA LOCKDOWN] - Christopher Daniels – Pulling Double Duty
-[WWE BACKLASH] – Edge and John Cena – Stealing the Show
-[TNA SACRIFICE] – The TNA Roster – Making the Best Out of Shitty Booking
-[WWE EXTREME RULES] – Rey, Jericho, Edge and Hardy – They Are Awesome
-[TAKE NO PRISONERS] – Tyler Black, KENTA, Austin Aries and Katsuhiko Nakajima – Main Event Excellence
-[TNA SLAMMIVERSARY] – Daffney and Taylor Wilde – Two Hardcore Bitches
-[WWE THE BASH] – Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho – Making the Show Worth It
-[WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS] – CM Punk – Solidifying His Spot
-[TNA HARD JUSTICE] – The Terror Dome Guys – Continuing to deliver despite the booking of the division
-[WWE SUMMERSLAM] – CM Punk and Jeff Hardy – THIS IS AWESOME!
-[DG: USA ENTER THE DRAGON] – The Entire PPV Roster – Redefining PPV
-[WWE BREAKING POINT] – Randy Orton vs. John Cena – I QUIT!
-[TNA NO SURRENDER] – AJ Styles – Champion Again
-[WWE HELL IN A CELL] – Dolph Ziggler vs. John Morrison – Stepping Up
-[TNA BOUND FOR GLORY] – Matt Morgan – Finally Stepping Up
-[WWE BRAGGING RIGHTS] – John Cena and Randy Orton – Respect To The Iron Men
-[DG: USA OPEN THE UNTOUCHABLE GATE] – Doi, Danielson, Richards and Shingo – You Guys Are Awesome
-[TNA TURNING POINT] – Kurt, Desmond, AJ, Joe and Daniels – You Guys Are Awesome AS WELL
-[WWE SURVIVOR SERIES] – Kofi Kingston – You're A Star
-[WWE TLC] – Christian and Shelton – Delivered The best Match As Promised
-[TNA FINAL RESOLUTION] – Kurt, Desmond, AJ, and Daniels – The Second Time Around Was Just As Good

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2009 TOP TV Match Rankings:
I will update as often as needed.

-Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles – (Impact: 010.16.09) {****½}
-Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black – (ROH on HDNet: 07.25.09) {****½ }

-John Morrison vs. Rey Mysterio - (Smackdown: 09.04.09) {****¼}
-Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio - (Smackdown: 07.10.09) {****¼}

-#1 CONTENDERS MATCH: Kevin Steen and El Generico vs. Mark and Jay Briscoe – (ROH on HDNet: 12.07.09) {****¼}
-ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Jerry Lynn vs. Austin Aries vs. Tyler Black vs. Bryan Danielson – (ROH on HDNet: 06.06.09) {****¼}
-TABLES ARE LEGAL TAG TITLE MATCH: Kevin Steen and El Generico © vs. The American Wolves – (ROH on HDNet: 05.30.09) {****¼}

- The Young Bucks vs. The American Wolves – (ROH on HDNet: 11.23.09) {****}
- Roderick Strong vs. Bryan Danielson– (ROH on HDNet: 11.16.09) {****}
- Roderick Strong & Bryan Danielson vs. The American Wolves – (ROH on HDNet: 11.09.09) {****}
-Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries – (ROH on HDNet: 10.19.09) {****}
-STEEL CAGE MATCH: Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk - (Smackdown: 08.28.09) {****}
-Jeff Hardy vs. John Morrison - (Smackdown: 07.31.09) {****}
-Edge vs. Rey Mysterio - (Smackdown: 06.05.09) {****}
-Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black – (ROH on HDNet: 04.25.09) {****}
-Evan Bourne vs. John Morrison - (ECW: 04.14.09) {****}
-Christian vs. Jack Swagger - (ECW: 02.24.09) {****}
-Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena - (Raw: 01.12.09) {****}


-ROH TITLE MATCH: Austin Aries © vs. Kenny Omega vs. Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong – (ROH on HDNet: 12.07.09) {***¾}
-Christian vs. Chris Jericho - (ECW: 10.20.09) {***¾}
- KENTA vs. Chris Hero – (ROH on HDNet: 10.12.09) {***¾}
-Jerry Lynn vs. Tyler Black – (ROH on HDNet: 09.07.09) {***¾}
-Christian vs. Zack Ryder - (ECW: 07.28.09) {***¾}
- Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho - (Smackdown: 07.24.09) {***¾}
-Edge vs. John Morrison - (Smackdown: 06.12.09) {***¾}
-Edge vs. Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk - (Raw: 06.08.09) {***¾}
-Edge vs. Jeff Hardy - (Smackdown: 06.12.09) {***¾}
-CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho - (Superstars: 05.21.09) {***¾}
-Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black – (ROH on HDNet: 05.09.09) {***¾}
-Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries – (ROH on HDNet: 04.04.09) {***¾}
-Beer Money vs. Team Canada – (Impact: 02.19.09) {***¾}
-Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles – (Impact: 01.22.09) {***¾}

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