After watching Impact last night, I’m starting to wonder if TNA’s creative team is just making things up as it goes along.

At first, TNA’s big feud between the Main Event Mafia and the TNA Originals seemed to be your basic old guard vs. new kids scenario. The veteran superstars in the MEM had all been world champions in either WWE or WCW, and the young guys in the Originals all made their names in TNA.

On last night’s show, however, former WWE stars Team 3-D and Rhino, who are all between the ages of 33 and 37, became members of the Originals (now known as The Frontline).

While none of them fits the criteria for being in the group, at least Rhino, who is seeking revenge after being attacked by the MEM last week, has a good story line reason for joining. So why did Team 3-D align themselves with The Frontline? It beats me, but apparently it has something to do with ECW.

Rhino, Brother Ray and Brother Devon kept comparing the feud with the MEM to the “war” they fought as part of ECW. I’m not sure that’s the smartest analogy to make, unless the goal is to have Impact airing on WWE 24/7 within five years.

The real reason the three veterans were inserted in the group is pretty obvious: to provide some much-needed star power and credibility. Of course, in doing so, it defeats the original intent of the story line, which was to elevate the young TNA guys by having them stand toe-to-toe with the big boys.

It also seems to indicate a loss of confidence in A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe as the leaders of the faction. It reminds me of when WWE did the invasion story line in 2001, but quickly gave up on the invading group. The “outsiders” ended up being led by “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and other WWE stars, which killed the angle.

On last night’s show, Styles and Joe were completely overshadowed by Rhino and Team 3-D. At one point, Brother Ray came right out and said to Styles and Joe that he knows what it’s like to be “down here” when you’re trying to get “up there,” as he raised his hand from below his waist to above his head. Translation: Even though Styles and Joe have both been TNA world champion and headlined TNA pay-per-views, they never made it in WWE like Rhino and Team 3-D did, so they haven’t really accomplished anything in the business.

Matt Morgan and Abyss are better choices than Rhino and Team 3-D to join The Frontline. Morgan has shown star potential, and with his impressive size, he wouldn’t look overmatched standing across from the MEM.

With Morgan, TNA could do one of those “Which side will he choose?” story lines that it does so often. The MEM could say that they think Morgan is the one young guy who has what it takes to run with them. Morgan, however, would reject the offer, saying that the only reason MEM wants him on its side is to avoid having to face him, and that he was held down by guys like the MEM when he was in WWE and he’s not going to let it happen again.

Abyss, on the other hand, is an original TNA character and the fans view him as a legitimate threat to beat anyone on the roster. A Frontline consisting of Morgan, Abyss, Styles, Joe and Jay Lethal (who is in the group but should have a more prominent role) would be formidable without having to deviate from the original premise of the story line.

Other thoughts on last night’ show:

Team 3-D, especially Brother Ray, did a good job on the mic throughout the show, even though it would have made more sense for them to go with The MEM. Weren’t Team 3-D and Kurt Angle running buddies in the story line not all that long ago? …

When it appeared that Team 3-D was joining The MEM, the group was referred to as now being The Magnificent Seven. That was actually the name of a short-lived heel faction during the last months of WCW. Can anyone name all the members? I’ll list them below (no peeking). …

There was a new Frontline logo and entrance video before Rhino even proposed the new name to the TNA Originals. I guess he was confident that they would like it. Either that or it was a continuity error. …

Styles’ sit-down interview with Mike Tenay in which he discussed his dysfunctional family came off as cheesy. …

A strong hint of the inevitable babyface turn for Sting (not that he ever really turned heel) occurred after the Styles interview, as Sting expressed second thoughts about his judgment of Styles. Kevin Nash, by the way, was great in this segment in his role as the devil on Sting’s shoulder.

The whole idea of Sting being conflicted doesn’t make sense to me. He doesn’t participate in The MEM’s beat-downs, but he’s OK with hitting people over the head with a baseball bat. And he’s upset with the young guys because he feels they are disrespectful, but he has no problem associating with a band of thieves. …

It appears as if Alex Shelley, who ended up wearing the turkey costume last night, might be facing Mick Foley in a one-on-one match at some point. Needless to say, that would do wonders for the career of Shelley, who is looking more like a star every week. …

TNA did a good job of making Morgan look like a monster in his triple-threat match by having him perform power moves on Sheik Abdul Bashir and Jimmy Rave simultaneously. Speaking of Rave, he seems to still be a heel, while Christy Hemme has turned babyface. I thought perhaps Hemme was no longer part of The Rock and Rave Infection, but she still comes out to their entrance music and video. I suppose the larger question is whether Hemme is more annoying as a face or as a heel. Too close to call. …

Hemme said she has been training with Styles for three months in an effort to improve her ring skills. That’s probably a true story, but it doesn’t fit the story line, because Hemme was a heel until last month. …

Has Raisha Saed ever won a match? I get it that her role is to put over whatever babyface is feuding with Awesome Kong, but I can’t help thinking that TNA could make better use of the talent of Saed (a.k.a Cheerleader Melissa). …

I’m curious as to what TNA has planned for “Sarah Palin’s” supposed appearance with The Beautiful People on next week’s show. …

The Magnificent Seven members were: Ric Flair, Scott Steiner, Rick Steiner, Jeff Jarrett, Lex Luger, Buff Bagwell and Road Warrior Animal.