The Impact Crater 01.17.08

Ladies and gentlemen, this isn’t just the Impact Crater. This is the beginning of a very long night for your favorite author. Not only am I going to review TNA Impact this evening, but I’ve also got part two of my year in review feature at the end of this column. On top of that, I’ll be reviewing the Global Impact special as soon as the regular TNA show gets off the air . . . and you can’t forget about the good old UWF. Well, nobody ever said that writing for 411mania would allow me to get more sleep.

Quick & Dirty Results

Segment #1: Dudley Boys/Johnny Devine/Murder City Machine Guns/Jay Lethal Interview Segment
Segment #2: Travis Tomko def. Eric Young
Segment #3: ODB def. Angel Williams
Segment #4: Frankie Kazarian def. Low Ki
Segment #5: Abyss def. Lance Hoyt
Segment #6: A Prick Named Bob def. Sonjay Dutt
Segment #7: New Age Outlaws Interview Segment
Segment #8: Kurt Angle Interview Segment
Segment #9: Christian def. AJ Styles & Samoa Joe in a triple threat match

The Main Stuff

Angle Numero Uno: Stop Wasting My Time

Tonight’s episode was headlined by AJ Styles vs. Christian vs. Samoa Joe with the winner getting either a title shot, or, in AJ’s case, the choice between a title shot and the right to let his boss Kurt Angle go two months without defending the title. As a result of these unique stipulations, the big angle pushed on the show was whether AJ would pick the title shot or the vacation for Kurt if he won the match. There were numerous skits throughout the show, all of which showed Styles consulting with various individuals about what he should do if he got the victory in the evening’s main event. Well, guess what happened? AJ lost. He was pinned clean in the middle of the ring by Christian, who now goes on to face Kurt Angle for the TNA Title at the company’s next pay per view.

WHAT?!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that Cage was actually built up with a fairly impressive clean victory in a good match heading in to the PPV. I also don’t think that the Phenomenal One should be headlining major events anytime soon, nor do I advocate Kurt Angle taking a hiatus from defending his championship. However, I have no clue why TNA bothered building up AJ’s decision so much when they had absolutely no intention of following through on that storyline by giving Styles the victory. Hell, if he’s not going to have to make the choice, why even create that stipulation in the first place? Why not just sign the three-way match as a straight bout for the number one contendership and leave it at that? It would’ve saved a lot of time that TNA could have used for other storylines which need development.

Really, though, there’s not much to say about the promotion’s main event scene because there was next to no advancement of what will eventually become the promotion’s World Title feud for Against All Odds. (Against All Odds is the next one, right?) This show was quite useless in regards to building up what is supposed to be the promotion’s biggest angle.

Angle Numero Dos: So THAT’S Why They Call Him “Father” James Mitchell

Yes, Abyss’ secret is out, and the Sinister Minister is his daddy. So little in this storyline makes sense. First of all, when Mitchell first told the world that there was a second secret in the monster’s past, he clearly said that he was going to force Abyss to say it because fans wouldn’t believe the story if it were coming from Mitchell’s mouth. So what the hell happened to that part of the angle? Why did Mitchell suddenly decide that it would be acceptable for him to spill the beans, as happened tonight? The other bit about the reveal that made me laugh was the fact that the former James Vandenberg ran out during the middle of Abyss’ match to make one last effort to get the monster to fess up himself, after which he ran to the back and revealed the secret over the big screen. Why didn’t he just do it all from the big screen? Furthermore, if the idea was that Mitchell was running backstage to hide from Abyss while letting the cat out of the bag, why didn’t Abyss at least make some effort to find the guy? The match only went on for a minute and a half after Mitchell left the entranceway, so it’s not as though he could’ve gotten too far. If it the reveal really was a huge issue for Abyss, you’d think that he would’ve at least TRIED to get something done about it.

Speaking of which, why does the fact that his father’s identity has been revealed matter to Abyss? Why is he in a worse position now than he was before the world knew that Mitchell sired him? The announcers kept talking about Abyss having to “deal with it,” but he already had to deal with this fact before it became public knowledge. Is the storyline supposed to be that fans and other wrestlers will not like Abyss if he’s related to Mitchell? If that’s the case, why the hell are the fans and wrestlers so petty? I have literally no clue why Abyss is supposed to care about this information coming out or how it is supposed to make me want to watch Abyss in another match against Ricky Banderas.

Angle Numero Tres: Shark Boy? Am I Really Talking About Shark Boy?

When I saw the first Shark Boy segment this evening, I have to admit that I laughed. The amount of fish-themed detail in the background was absurd, as was the appearance by Sharky’s “family.” On top of that, I’m a man who always enjoys a good pun, and those abounded. Plus TNA decided to finally show replays of the aquatic jobber being beaten up to justify his “injuries,” even if they didn’t explain why taking all of these wrestling moves would hurt him more than it would any other member of the roster, all of whom take similar moves with similar frequency. (I personally would’ve tried to blame it on the fact that, as a fish, he has a skeleton made out of cartilage.) Things were going along pretty well, and then they showed the follow-up segments. Those completely killed the allure of the first one in my eyes. They were not funny and added absolutely nothing to whatever the hell it was that TNA was attempting to accomplish. And what’s the payoff to all of this? Sharky is apparently now doing a Steve Austin impression. This is idiotic. First of all, you’ve already got a guy on your roster doing the exact same gimmick, and, as I already noted when he was doing the perpetual deal, why does Shark Boy need an additional comedy gimmick? HE’S ALREADY A WRESTLING FISH. I can think of at least five different angles that would have been better served by receiving this television time.

And the Rest . . .

~ Somebody please give Dustin Rhodes the job in TNA that he’s looking for so that he can buy a VCR and see what he’s doing as Black Reign. This “he doesn’t know what he’s doing in his split personality” gimmick is so lame and needs to end immediately.

~ Speaking of the Dustin Rhodes segment, it had to have been no longer than fifteen seconds. There were numerous clips throughout the evening which were the same length, including Scott Steiner and Petey Williams meeting with Jim Cornette, Samoa Joe meeting with Kevin Nash (I thought they were feuding.), and Abyss reacting to his big secret being revealed. WHY?! Does TNA think that skits which run fifteen seconds actually help to further storylines? Here’s a newsflash: They don’t. Chances are good that a lot of your viewers didn’t even realize that they were happening, particularly if they took place immediately after commercials or if the fans are TiVo’ing the show and fast forwarding through what they think is unimportant.

~ The women’s division continues to chug along well, with ODB being kept strong en route to a match with Kong and cutting a pretty good promo to set it up. My only question is why ODB has to challenge the champion to get the match. Didn’t she already win a Royal Rumble to become the number one contender? Oh, wait, I forgot that TNA completely forgot about those matches the second after they happened.

~ God, it sucks to be Jimmy Rave. First he got brutalized by in a bad bump during the Christmas steel cage match, and tonight he fell right on his hip when Lance Hoyt failed to catch him after a dive to the floor. Poor guy.

~ It also sucks to be Samoa Joe. I don’t think I’ve ever heard less of a reaction to a supposed main event level wrestler hitting his finisher than I did tonight when Joe applied his choke in the main event. If you want proof that Joe’s current character has left fans incapable of caring about him, there you go.

~ You know what’s sad about Bob Armstrong acting as the Road Dogg’s partner for his upcoming Tag Team Title shot? I have more faith in Bullet Bob putting on a good match than I do in Billy Gunn.

Overall

I do have to say that this was a better than average episode of Impact. The best thing that the show had going for it was the in-ring action, as the main event was actually very good and the there wasn’t a bad undercard bout in the entire bunch. I also appreciate the fact that, of six matches on the card, we got six clean finishes. Those clean finishes did a lot to benefit Bobby Roode, Frankie Kazarian, and Travis Tomko, all of whom are being groomed as the next major names in the company and all of whom need wins in order to get fans to believe in them as superstars. Yet, at the same as these men are being built up well in the ring, the company’s storylines and priorities remain ridiculous. There was far too much time devoted to AJ Styles and Shark Boy on this program, particularly when you consider the fact that Styles’ angle wound up going absolutely nowhere, and Sharky’s angle wound up with a result that will not draw one additional viewer to the show or one dime to the company’s bank account. All of this time could’ve gone towards furthering Angle vs. Christian, Booker vs. Roode, or any of the other storylines that will actually get people to purchase pay per views and buy live event tickets. Sadly, for some reason it appears that the company doesn’t want to do that.

Reader Feedback

Let’s get the e-mails a-rollin’ with Steveo. And, no, he’s probably not the guy who had that lousy TV show which used to come on after Raw.

While face vs. heel is predominately the most popular rivalry style in the history of wrestling, that does not mean that heel vs. heel can not work. Whose to say that all heels have to get along? As long as the two guys have a dislike for each other (and they do) the rivalry has a basis to continue. Turning Christian face would be a terrible lapse in judgement as he is the best heel in the company and it would be a waste for one title feud. All this feud is or ever was remains to be a clash of the two biggest egos (Kevin Nash aside) in Tna colliding and it ultimately toys with the emotions with young AJ Styles.

While we’re on that subject; How is it Christian Cage is claiming to have taught AJ everything he know, when AJ was a 3-time NWA Champion and had held the X division Title on numerous (more times than Christian has ever held the Intercontinental Title) occasions? Yet, Christian is a 2-time Champion and has never held any other title in Tna.

Your thoughts?

I’m not really arguing that heel vs. heel can never work. However, it hasn’t really worked out in the past. Though TNA’s goal may be to do something different with the feud, I think that it is a poor idea for them to try something so radically different given that they are still in a fairly shaky financial situation and that their pay per views are not drawing well. For their own benefit, they should be sticking to promotional models that are proven successes. Once they have a solid financial base and are in a position in which they’re virtually always profitable (a la WWE), then I’ll be fine with them trying to reinvent the wheel all they want.

And Christian is taking credit for AJ’s prior accomplishments because he’s a heel. He’s trying to get heat through lying.

Jacob has more on the heel/heel dynamic of our main event feud:

I don’t know. I kind of like the fact that TNA isn’t telling us who we should like or hate in the world title storyline. I mean, I am an adult who is capable of making decisions like that on my own. I also live in the real world where there is no such thing as “good” guys and “bad” guys. There are just people who may tend to be on one side more than the other, but almost always will drift between the two. I realize that there is a tried and true formula in the business, but I’ve been a fan for so long a little deviation from the norm is welcome in my eyes.

It’s not just a tried and true formula in this business. It’s a tried and true formula in virtually every form of entertainment that has ever been remotely popular. Action movies, comic books, soap operas, regular operas, video games, epic poems . . . the majority of titles in all of these genres feature clear-cut bad guys and clear-cut good guys. Yes, there are exceptions, and, yes, the real world isn’t so black and white. However, it’s been proven time and time again over numerous decades and numerous media that people love to root for a clear-cut hero and watch a clear-cut villain get his comeuppance. Again, if TNA wants to experiment, I’m of the opinion that they should be doing it after they stabilize financially.

And yet more from Sandman:

Call me crazy, but aren’t the fans supposed to dictate who turns face and who turns heel?

No, the promotion is supposed to do that. If a crowd absolutely doesn’t take to a company’s plans for a wrestler and always reacts to him as a heel when he’s supposed to be a face (or vice versa), then the bookers should probably listen and change things up. However, the majority of these roles are to be dictated by the promotion, not decided by fans after guys are just thrown out on TV. To again use a comparison to other media, I’m pretty sure that when Bruce Willis first walked on to the screen in Die Hard, everybody was told he was a good guy. There were no “shades of gray” in his character, and he wasn’t going out of his way to blow up orphanages at the same time he was fighting off terrorists. Nobody had any problem with that setup, and I don’t know why some people think professional wrestling should be different.

Oralndo wants to talk about women:

I really like how they’re pushing Tomko. It will be interesting to see what happens once he and AJ split. Ryan, I love your writing and in-depth analysis but with all due respect I have to disagree with you on the build of the women’s match. The promos leading up to it actually made sense. Why should ODB really care about who wins, as long as she gets her title shot? As for Machismo, it plays within his character to hype up the main event paying homage to Moolah and Richter. In his character he only thinks in terms of the Macho Man. As for the match itself, it makes sense that they had to limit it given Gail’s injury, because there’s no way they would let her lose that easily if she wasn’t. However, I like the buildup with Cheerleader Melissa (I hope) and the Knockouts division looks brighter as they build more contenders. Sometimes you end up splitting more hairs than necessary.

I never said that the Lethal and ODB promos didn’t make sense given their characters. As a matter of fact, they did. (Though, if you want me to really split hairs, the most famous Wendi Richter vs. Fabulous Moolah matches took place BEFORE Randy Savage was in the WWF.) However, just because something makes sense within the context of a particular wrestler’s character doesn’t mean that it should be done. ODB and Jay Lethal are both comedy characters, and having them do their comedy schtick in connection with what was supposed to be an important title match didn’t help build up Kong vs. Kim nearly as much as two more legitimate promos from upper card wrestlers would have. I’m not saying that they should’ve had Lethal and ODB do those serious promos. I’m saying that they shouldn’t have had Lethal and ODB do promos at all.

Switching gear’s from last week’s episode to my recent “Worst TNA Storylines of 2007” special,
JBB comments on a perceived omission:

Wouldn’t Robert Roode vs. Eric Young be called the worst feud of 2006-2007 since the feud that we had to endure seem like it lasted an entire year?

I did think that the Young/Roode feud was pretty ridiculous, but I will always rank a horrible main event feud over a horrible midcard feud since the main event feuds are supposed to be the ones taking up the most TV time and hooking viewers. Young/Roode was pretty clearly in the midcard, while the top four rivalries on my list were all pushed by TNA as being main event caliber. Fifth was the VKM vs. VKM feud which, though not designed to necessarily be in a main event slot, was probably far more dumb than any other midcard storyline of the year for the sole reason that there were reportedly some people in TNA’s office who legitimately thought that Vince McMahon would bother to respond.

Henry also thinks that I forgot something:

Nice to see a good review of an Impact. I might actually watch this show. But how could you forget the VKM vs. Christy Hemme feud, which may have been the worst feud of the decade.

As previously mentioned, I find it hard to pick on midcard feuds when there are main event feuds that are just as stupid. Besides, the VKM/Hemme deal gave us the Bashams’ brief run in TNA, which I was actually rather excited by. Combine those two factors, and it was actually rather easy to omit that feud.

TNA Impact’s Year in Review

Welcome to part two of my special “Year in Review” feature in the Impact Crater. Last week, I took a look at TNA’s Worst Feuds of 2007. In the coming weeks, I’ll be naming what I consider to be the five best and five worst episodes of Impact to come out of ’07 was well as TNA’s most and least valuable players for the year. This week, though, we’re doing a 180 on last week’s feature and looking at the BEST feuds that the last twelve months produced. The sad thing is that I actually had difficulty coming up with five feuds that I felt comfortable putting on this list, having to include some that didn’t click on all cylinders but were still better than the company’s worst booking. With that said, let’s take a look at what actually did entertain me on Impact in ’07.

The Best TNA Feuds of 2007

Number Five: James Storm vs. Rhino

This rivalry started off on an odd foot, as Storm stood over a defeated Rhino one night and poured beer on him. It was never explained why Storm had any animosity towards the War Machine, but there he was, taunting the man from Detroit, Michigan for no apparent reason. Though that was bizarre, the follow-up to the angle was strong, as Rhino flipped out when exposed to the booze and later explained that it was because he was now a teetotaler after the bottle cost him his wife and his daughter. It was a strong promo, perhaps the best of Rhino’s career, and it looked like this pairing was set to produce some entertaining television. Unfortunately, things fell off a cliff after that, as Don West and James Storm did an absolutely ridiculous couple of skits in which Rhino was mocked for his past alcoholism. It wasn’t bad because TNA was making light of a serious issue. It was bad because the skits made Rhino out to be a complete pansy for not drinking, which made it much more difficult for the fans to get behind him. Though this feud fell apart because somebody backstage in TNA thinks that everything on a wrestling show has to feature comedy, the strong matches that the duo had and the excellent promo work in its opening weeks is enough to get it in to the top five.

Number Four: James Storm vs. Chris Harris

For the longest time, I couldn’t decide whether to include this rivalry on the best feuds list or the worst feuds lists, and that’s because I consider it to have had two key factors which made it awesome and two key factors which made it horrendous. We’ll start with the negatives, the first of which I’m sure everybody remembers. It’s none other than the BLINDFOLD STEEL CAGE MATCH. Oh yes. Held at TNA Lockdown, that particular contest took two of the best professional wrestlers in the company and completely handicapped them, turning what could have been one of the best performances of their careers in to what was unquestionably one of the worst. The decision to give the two guys this stipulation to work around was the latest in a string of poor gimmick matches which almost seemed designed to eliminate the wrestlers’ strengths and highlight their weaknesses. (Another great example was high flyer AJ Styles being tied to Rhino in a chain match, thereby preventing him from doing any of his high flying.) Negative factor number two is one that has bothered me much more than it has other observers, perhaps because I’m one of the few people who picked up on it. The feud never had a proper blowoff. The two wrestlers split two singles matches, and then they had a third in which they wrestled to a draw. That match was on free television, which means that it was seen by more fans than either of their pay per view encounters, and it was clear from both the live crowd and internet reactions that it was a rare situation in which TNA had actually left fans wanting more. So what did the company do? They dropped the angle completely, with no explanation and no final match to determine which member of AMW was better. Pathetic.

But that’s not to say that everything was bad in Storm vs. Harris. After all, it did make the “best feuds” list for a reason. One of the big reasons that this rivalry worked for me is that, for once, TNA actually gave a proper slow burn to an angle. Harris was on the sidelines for many, many weeks selling the beer bottle-themed attack that split up the former tag team partners. That was followed by a couple of episodes in which the Wildcat would attempt to assault his foe, only to be given the slip. This made it all the more meaningful when they two went in to the aforementioned cage match, as the cage actually served a purpose (e.g. keeping Storm from running). The second positive that the storyline had going for it was the matches. Harris and Storm had been teaming together for TNA’s entire existence and feuding on the indies for quite some time before that, meaning that they had unparalleled chemistry. They used that chemistry – and a healthy disregard for their own well being – to have a pair of matches that truly captured the imagination of TNA’s fanbase and for once justified their “This is awesome!” chants. It’s a shame that the promotion prevented itself from getting any more of those chants by making sure that Storm and Harris didn’t meet in singles action more frequently than they did.

Number Three: LAX vs. The Dudley Boys

A lot of TNA diehards give the Dudleys flack, but the fact of the matter is that they had some great performances throughout 2007, and those great performances began in their rivalry with LAX. The Duds have a history of being a rather patriotic tag team, taking up the stars and stripes and representing America against the dastardly La Resistance and the poorly named Un-Americans when they were in WWE. They found themselves in a similar role in the early part of 2007, having to fend off the unpatriotic Cuban/Puerto Rican connection of Homicide, Hernandez, and Konnan. The result was one of TNA’s better rivalries of the year.

The first reason that this feud ruled was simple: LAX won. A lot. There are many fans online who lump Bubba Ray & D-Von in to a category of “WWE guys” who hog too much television time and prevent the “TNA originals” from getting their due. However, the fact of the matter is that LAX were granted numerous victories over the Dudley Boys throughout the course of their feud, and it helped Homicide and Hernandez look like a very strong team even though they wound up being beaten in the feud’s final match. (Though, sadly, TNA decided to treat them like complete jobbers once the angle with the Duds was over.) Reason number two that the feud ruled? Promos. Konnan may be the best mic worker of the last three years, and he put those skills on full display here, even though he was sidelined for part of the rivalry. My personal favorite segment of the entire storyline was a promo in which Bubba and D-Von brought replicas of all the tag team championships that they had won to the ring and promised to put them on the line at the pay per view. Konnan’s response? He said he didn’t give a crap. He cut an awesome, scathing promo about how the Dudleys’ past accomplishments didn’t mean a thing to him and his men, so they could keep their lame, fake belts and go home. This was EXACTLY what he should have said, because the Duds bringing a bunch of ridiculous replica belts out to the ring and trying to put them on the line like they mattered WAS ridiculous. Speaking the truth gave Konnan the kind of credibility that the vast majority of TNA’ wrestlers lack, and it was given to Homicide and Hernandez by proxy. Bubba Ray also had several good performances on the stick as the war between the two teams raged on, and even guest star Steve Schirripa (of The Sopranos) managed to sound decent when he called out LAX on behalf of his Italian brethren.

Of course, there were some problems with the feud as well. We were treated to some phenomenally cheesy explosions when the two teams wrestled in an “electrified steel cage match,” and there were some attempts to turn the angle in to a WWF Gang Warz-esque race rivalry. However, the excellent mic work by all parties involved, the great matches, and LAX’s numerous wins allowed this storyline to rise above the crap much better than Storm/Harris or Storm/Rhino.

Number Two: Gail Kim vs. The Amazing Kong

The fact that this feud made the list should come as no surprise to people who have been reading my column over the last several weeks. As a matter of fact, the only thing that is keeping it away from the number one slot is that only half the story was told in 2007, meaning that we didn’t get a complete rivalry within the calendar year.

What we did get, though, was excellent. It was excellent because it was SIMPLE. There weren’t five thousand run-ins in every match between the two women. There weren’t weekly face and heel turns by both of the competitors. Instead, it was what every great wrestling angle has been at its core. Gail Kim was portrayed as the best female wrestler in TNA because she won almost all of her matches. Then, the Amazing Kong came along, and she also won almost all of her matches. That leaves a logical question for fans to ask: Who of these two women that win all the time is better? Is it Kim, or is it Kong? Sure, the Amazing one did get a pinfall victory over the former WWF superstar at one point, but Kim managed to squeak past her to become the first TNA Women’s Champion. Both of the women were still winning the vast majority of their matches, and both women now had an extra major accomplishment under her belt . . . Kim’s being her title victory and Kong’s being her victory over Kim. When the two wrestled for the championship, fans weren’t given a winner, but the finish was pulled off in such a way that nobody felt like they were screwed over, which is key to extending a rivalry and quite frankly a lost art in professional wrestling. Thus, at the beginning of 2008, we still didn’t have a clear answer to who was better, and we had a logical reason for the two women to go at it in a big no disqualification match. It’s been a beautiful story, and I look forward to its culmination in the new year.

Number One: The Steiner Brothers vs. The Dudley Boys

While many other people who are unhappy with TNA constantly complain about the talent that the company chooses to push, I’ve long said that I don’t care if the Murder City Machine Guns, Samoa Joe, or Christopher Daniels are at the top of the company’s cards. All I want are well-written storylines, good promos, and excellent matches, regardless of which performers are featured. The Steiner Brothers vs. Dudley Boys feud proves that you can achieve all of those things, even if your promotion’s main event scene isn’t dominated by former Ring of Honor stars.

The feud began with the Steiner Brothers playing heels and the Dudley Boys acting as faces. In an absolutely brilliant promo, the Duds attempted to pay homage to Rick and Scott, who they considered to be one of the greatest tag teams of all time. What was Scotty’s response? Though this isn’t a direct quote, it was basically, “Screw you guys, we don’t need your approval.” It was the perfect response to make the University of Michigan alums look like complete dicks, and it was their dickery that resulted in the two teams being booked in a match against each other. Unfortunately, before that contest could take place, Scott Steiner was nearly killed in a match in Puerto Rico. Normally when somebody says “nearly killed” in professional wrestling, it’s hyperbole or a reference to a worked move that looked particularly brutal. That was not the case here. Scott Steiner was literally NEARLY KILLED when former TNA star and current WWE developmental worker El Gran Apollo superkicked him in the throat and did major damage to his trachea. Scott required major surgery and was laid up on the island for several weeks. It appeared that he was going to be sidelined for months, but he actually rushed back far earlier than doctors wanted him to and returned to TNA.

Now, I can’t condone Scott Steiner risking his health by doing what he did. However, I do have to say that everything which happened in this feud after Scotty made his premature comeback was among the greatest professional wrestling in 2007, and I’m not confining that statement to TNA. The Steiners and the Dudleys again found themselves in the ring cutting dueling promos, which were perhaps even better than the first set. An obviously emotional Scott told the story of what happened to him in Puerto Rico, and Bubba Dudley called him on what Bubba perceived to be a BS story. Then, to prove his point, Scott Steiner removed his shirt not to show off his bulging muscles but rather to display the absolutely hideous six inch long scar along the side of his body which resulted from his surgery. It was one of very few moments which TNA has created that will be forever burned in to my head. After that, the two teams got physically involved with one another, with the Dudleys putting both Rick and Scott out of commission by using tables. After a few weeks, the real brothers returned to a great reaction and challenged the fake brothers to – get this – a TABLE MATCH. Yes, for once there was actually a logical reason given for a TNA stipulation. The Dudleys used tables to hurt the Steiners, so now the Steiners wanted to use tables to hurt the Dudleys. How much more simple and how much more logical can it get? The match, though not an all-time classic, was far better than anybody expected the Steiners to be able to produce at this point in their careers, and it was the perfect way to wrap up the near-perfect rivalry.

At long last, the Impact Crater has wrapped up. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! Be sure to check out the 411mania main page, because just minutes from now I should also have the GLOBAL Impact Crater up, taking a look at TNA’s special from Japan. For bulletin notifications when I add that column and any other new content on 411, add me as a friend on MySpace.