I think other than one or two questionable booking decisions, this episode of impact made TNA look major league.

Sting is NOT going to participate in beatdowns on TV. He is not going to do the heel thing because it goes against his public Christian image to do so. He isn't going to tarnish his image just for a successful "heel" turn. Something will come along and Sting will be reconciled with AJ and Joe and he will help the TNA originals even the score. You can tell his heart isn't in this angle at all. Its just leaving the door open for Sting to flip back to face mode and save the day.

If you ask me, five's a crowd. I think MEM could stand to lose one member, as I think putting EVERY veteran in TNA in the stable diminishes it a small bit. I think Sting might do good to be the odd man out of he continues to refuse to play heel, although if Angle was dumped it could be an NWO reunion of sorts (wasn't there an NWO faction called Reunion once?) On the other hand, I would definitely be interested in an Angle/Steiner team, as I think their style might be a callback to the Steiner Brothers. In that case, I wouldn't mind seeing Booker go his own way. I think the group needs to lose one of those three, however.

Dude, did you ever stop to think that Sting is NOT trying to be a total heel?? That's what's great about this storyline, there are not clear-cut or babyfaces. GET OVER IT, and stop saying that Sting needs to learn how to be a heel. Steve Borden is a Christian so it's likely that he told Russo and company that he didn't want to be a real heel. But again, it adds intrigue to the angle b/c everything isn't black and white and predictable like usual.

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: I know he's not trying -- that's the point. History has shown that wrestling is most successful as a business when there are clear-cut heels and faces. By Sting not going all the way with the heel turn, it is doing no favors to the babyfaces.

Steiner's back . There is a God.

I actually thought that TNA stepped it up a notch from the past few weeks. Up until the last segment, when faces once again acted like heels (ugh!), I was really enjoying the show. The more MMG, the better. And I was actually Sting the benefit of the doubt when waiting for his heel turn - a little character depth and complexity is not necessarily a bad thing. Unfortunately, Sting is doing a less than phenomenal job portraying complexity - it's just muddy. BTW, if Joe and AJ are supposed to be faces that are just so angry they can no longer control themselves (which is presumably the reason behind their consistently heelish actions) shouldn't their face status have been set up long before? I mean, mere months ago AJ was a slow-witted, goofy heel sidekick. Yeesh!

Booker really needs to stop talking like an African tribesman.

It really isn't appropriate for the seriousness that the MEM is trying to project.

Yes, the beer shower is quite lethal! I've never seen anyone kick out of it!

Kevin, why does Sting's pseudo-heel persona bother you so much? Must all heels follow the same script? Wrestling would probably be better off if more performers were able to put a different twist on the same old stereotyped roles that get used over and over and over and over.....yawn.....again.

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: All heels don't need to follow the same script. There are cocky heels, monster heels, pretty boy heels, foreign heels, redneck heels, comedy heels, etc. The common goal of all heels, however, is to make the fans jeer them and cheer the babyfaces. Sting isn't accomplishing that, which undermines everything. It's the old WCW mentality of a performer putting what's best for him over what's best for the company.

"The common goal of all heels, however, is to make the fans jeer them and cheer the babyfaces. Sting isn't accomplishing that, which undermines everything. It's the old WCW mentality of a performer putting what's best for him over what's best for the company."

So he's part babyface and part heel among heels. What's so wrong with that? Movies use the good guy turned bad turned good again angle all the time to great effect.

Let's wait and see what happens. I've never been a big Sting fan but Sting has caught my attention of late. I think he will eventually loose his ambivilence and put over the BFs.to good effect..

Plus, it makes for an extra angle of conflict within the heel contingent to have a hesitant heel with a conscience among them.

We'll see.....

"[Sting] is not going to do the heel thing because it goes against his public Christian image to do so."

So, it's OK for a Christian to hit people over the head with baseball bats? Isn't how this angle started in the first place?

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: That is an excellent point.

I'm hardly a TNA fan, but I don't think it's a bad idea for them to blur the line with Sting and make him more of a neutral character. WWE has been doing some pretty good face vs. face feuds in the past few years and it can work if booked correctly.

It'd be better if Sting was a full-out heel, but we all know it'd be against his character and insincere for that to happen.

I'm so tired of the old "Stings a Christian, so he can't play a heel" argument.

That is total BS. There are plenty of Christian actors who play villains in movies. There isn't some code that says all people who go to church have to play upright citizens.

Sting is just a guy playing a character on a TV show, his religion shouldn't inhibit him from portraying a certain role.

I'm curious to see where if TNA brings up the past relationships that the main eventers have with the younger guys.

You pointed out that Steiner stopped himself from attacking Petey Williams a couple times, and the MCM's having second thoughts about siding w/ Joe could be due to Alex Shelley's past with Kevin Nash.

Having Shelley (and hopefully Sabin, don't want to break them up) and Williams join the Main Event Mafia could boost those guys up to the "main event," in the fans eyes ... and it would give the good guys somebody to beat, because i doubt we'll be seeing Steiner, Booker, Nash, Angle, and Sting doing a lot of jobs in the coming months

The Beautiful People really need to dump "Rock-a-Billy." Can't wait for Comcast to get Spike in HD. Now that TNA has gone HD, can't wait to pause their entrance into the ring in HD!

I hate the lethal beer shower....it really stings your eyes...and the girl never apologizes.....

-The Motor City machine guns were a bit confusing. At first, they were defying Samoa Joe, and the second later (literally) they were supporting him during the confrontation with MEM. That's a fast change of mind,huh?

-Cute Kip reminds of those gays guys from the late 80's and 90's videogames, where they were feminine but can kick the living crap of you. It can be entertaining, despite the fact that Kip could be a much better Stand Alone wrestler than a manager/side kick character.

-It seems like TNA is interesting on creating another face to fill the gap that Wilde couldn't. God knows Hemme isn't capable of such a job

-The sound of the mat was weird during the knockout's match...

-Do you know who is suicide? Or for how long they will keep putting those non-related promos?

-Petey needs to come back to his old persona and his old theme music.

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: Kaz reportedly is Suicide.

Eck, I gave TNA another try on Thursday and you know what...still don;t get it...didn;t WCW do this about 6 months before they went belly up...how can the most popular wrestlers in the company be a heel faction...makes zippo sense to me...wrestlers overall are slow..matches are slow...mic work sucks...AJ and Joe...please guys...terrible work...and then the MMM Mini Me Mafia running around...sorry just don;t get it...wish I did truly

I have to pretty much echo the rest of the comments and disagree with you, Kev.

While TNA has its issues, I find the current character development to be pretty well done. Just because someone is in a faction doesn't mean he has to completely conform to the mold of the other members of the group. I also like that the crowd is split on Main Event Mafia versus the young wrestlers. It's more realistic in terms of real sports and real life that way. Not everybody loves or hates the Dallas Cowboys, or even Terrell Owens, for that matter. Some people think it's hilarious that Chad Johnson changed his name to Chad Ocho-Cinco, others hate it.

Clearly the more character development you invest into a wrestler, the more complex he becomes and the less good-or-evil he'll be. I don't think that's such a bad thing.

As much as I understand the need for TNA to develope their young talent , I can't help but get excited about Steiner's return . The MEM is a far better gimmick for him than the semi comedy act with Petey Williams . The whole "hanger on'er" schtick with Williams may have helped Petey , but it was just plain stupid as far as the Booty Daddy goes .

I'm not sure I buy that Sting can't turn full heel because of his faith. Shawn Michaels didn't seem to have an issue with it during his run against Hogan. He embraced it, had the crowds hating him, and didn't compromise his personal values for it.

"History has shown that wrestling is most successful as a business when there are clear-cut heels and faces."

Are you kidding me??? Stone Cold Steve Austin was THE biggest star in wrestling besides Hulk Hogan and he was NOT a clear-cut heel or face! So were the nWo and DX and they were two of the hottest attractions when wrestling was at it's peak in the late 90s. So history proves your argument wrong.

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: Steve Austin was a heel who started to get cheered and then he turned face. Are you really trying to tell me that when Austin feuded with Vince McMahon that he wasn't a babyface? He was pretty much a loner, but he worked as a face and he played to the crowd. That, my friend, makes him a face.

Same with DX. They started as heel, began to get cheered, and were turned face. They were anti-authority (much like Austin) but that is why fans liked them. They feuded with heels and played to the crowd. Again, that makes them faces.

As for the NWO, they were a little different. They were heels (they only wrestled babyfaces), but they were cheered they came off as the cool guys and made the babyfaces look uncool. The NWO was great for business for a while, but by depicting WCW as uncool when it was supposed to be the babyface in the feud contributed to the death of the company.

Kevin , I sometimes wonder if this is worth all the grief you must endure . (including mine)

If your justification for Steve Austin being a babyface is him wrestling Vince McMahon, and DX fueding with heels, then you prove that Sting IS a heel b/c he is feuding with Samoa Joe and AJ Styles, FACES. You're talking out both sides of your mouth. If Sting isn't a heel b/c he slaps fans hands and doesn't contribute to beatdowns, then why isn't Austin not a face for sometimes cheating, or DX not faces for telling fans that aren't down with them to suck it? Make up your mind, is the determination for a face/heel who they wrestle, or is it by their actions? if it's the former as you suggested with Austin and DX, then stop saying Sting isn't a heel.

And the nWo depicting WCW as uncool didn't contribute to the death of WCW, b/c they did this even more so the beginning and the angle was HOT. It was b/c the storyline became bland and they added too many members, then split into factions.

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: You're "logic" is giving me a headache. I think I wa s pretty clear the first time, but I'll try to simplify it.

If a wrestler (let's say Sting) wrestles babyfaces and is part of a heel faction, he is supposed to be a heel. By slapping hands with fans and not participating in the beat-downs, he is not doing his job (which is to make the fans hate him),

If wrestlers are anti-authority and sometimes cheat to win, that doesn't mean they are heels, it means they are a specific type of babyface. It's not just that they are wrestling against heels. Look at their mannerisms in the ring. Not only did they encourage the fans to cheer them, but they wrestled a "babyface style" and made comebacks (the equivalent of a hot tag but in a singles match).

Got it?

Kevin , I reiterate my earlier comment .

I think some ppl dont get it at all when it comes to heels/faces.Austin's character was more like loner bad ass much like Randy Orton is protrayed now.Randy recently punted Dibiase(heel) in the head so that makes him face right?Wrong.He is a loner heel who likes to do everything himself and anyone who interferes will get the heat.Is Sting like that?hell no.So stop comparing him to Austin's character.He has no probs hitting faces with baseball bat and letting Nash help him win the world title.If he is actually is a good guy among the bad ones then why did he do those heelish things(he even said to styles that even his father would be ashamed of him) and get the title by a cheap win?These things fit perfectly for a heel only if he had followed it up with a heel promo or a beatdown of the faces.But he chose not because he is "icon"(imo he is not) and would do anything to save his image.Austin was the top babface when he turned on The Rock at Wrestlemania 17 and formed a heel team with HHH.He was still being loudly cheered so if you can look at some of his videos see how he ripped the fans to shreds who were loudly behind him.why?Because he was HEEL.Samething Rock did when he turned heel in 2003.He verbally owned the fans and forced those who were loudly cheering him to boo him.He didnt do anything special expect what a heel is supposed to do.

Enough Rant from my side lol