TNA Impact: Blueprint earns shot at gold
Matt Morgan may not be an official member of the Main Event Mafia, but he did officially become a main-eventer on Thursday night’s episode of TNA Impact.
“The Blueprint” defeated A.J. Styles in the deciding match of their best-of-three-series to earn a spot in the three-way match for the TNA word title that will headline the Hard Justice pay-per-view on Sunday.
While the question of who would join champion Kurt Angle and Sting in the title match was answered, some new questions have arisen in regard to Morgan and Styles.
After Morgan won the match, Angle told him that he would be in the MEM if he did one more thing: help Angle retain the title at Hard Justice. Apparently that was an offer that Morgan could refuse, as he vehemently declared that he was going to win the title on Sunday.
So is Morgan turning babyface?
While I think he would do well in the powerhouse face role, I really don’t see it happening. My guess is that it’s another swerve to outsmart “poor old Sting,” as Angle called him.
As for Styles, he said in his pre-match interview that his match against Morgan will show whether he’s a winner or a loser. He also remarked that he’s let people down, and Don West in commentary noted that Styles has suffered some big losses as of late.
So where does he go from here?
I’m guessing that Sting, who was in Styles’ corner for his match against Morgan and helped him to the back after the match, will take Styles under his wing and help re-build his confidence. If that happens, the Sting/MEM story line – which started out being about Sting feeling disrespected by younger guys such as Styles – will have come full circle.
Other thoughts on Thursday’s show:
The Morgan-Styles match was the best of their series. Morgan’s Carbon Footprint finisher looked wicked. …
The Mick Foley-Kevin Nash contract signing was well done. Foley is a far better promo guy than Nash, but Nash really shined here, while Foley seemed just a little off his game. Nash had the best line of the segment when he said, “I am an athlete. I am a businessman. And you are a pathetic wrestler.” I thought Foley putting himself through the table was effective as far as illustrating the stark contrast between the two. …
Bobby Lashley came across as a likable guy in his sit-down interview with Mike Tenay. I have to disagree with Tenay on one thing, however: Lashley is not a former world heavyweight champion. The ECW title doesn’t count as a world title in my book. …
I can’t believe Jesse Neal is still wearing a baggy shirt, gym shorts and tennis shoes in the ring. Between that outfit, his ridiculous haircut and the fact that he keeps screwing up, it’s impossible to like this guy. …
Sojourner Bolt took a scary-looking bump when she landed on her head after being back-dropped by the returning Christy Hemme. Hemme, by the way, easily has the worst-named finisher in the business: the FFG (Flying Fire-crotch Guillotine). …
Tara also had a bad landing, as she cracked her head on the floor on a dive off the top rope onto The Beautiful People. Fortunately, it appears that neither Bolt nor Tara was seriously injured.
Comments
I think this weeks TNA Impact was another good one for the 3rd week in a row. We were almost a hour into the show when we saw the first sign of the mEm (Booker/Steiner). The whole show was basically wrestling, which people have been wanting for a while, and the wrestling was pretty decent too.
Posted by: Sery | August 15, 2009 9:42 AM
One of the better episodes of Impact that I've seen in a long while. It was very heavy on the wrestling and fairly light on the other shenanigans. I will agree that the contract signing was pretty funny, especially when Foley pointed out the cliches that we normally see in such segments.
I'll also give TNA credit for making Matt Morgan seem like the next big star in their promotion. Unlike WWE, TNA seems to know how to set up a wrestler to move to the next level. However, the problem comes when they get bored, suddenly change directions, or simply don't follow through with a wrestler's push. Remember how Tomko looked like he was ready to destroy Kurt Angle and set out on his own? Remember how Kaz overthrew Serotonin and later had a spectacular match against Angle (only to then decide to leave TNA a few months later)? Etcetera...
I'll have to see where Morgan goes from here, but hopefully we won't see that swerve that you alluded to.
If Sting helps out AJ, then you're right about the storyline feeling completed. I just hope AJ doesn't "go home" and disappear off TV like Kazarian did.
Posted by: Another Wrestling Mark | August 15, 2009 10:11 AM
"I believe there’s something to critics. But, you know what, I believe that the 10-16-year-old kid, who’s really the meat and potatoes of your demographic, and then from there the 18-35 year-old demographic – I’ve never had a 9-year-old kid come up to me and say, ‘I think you need to pick up your workrate.’ "
Kevin Nash
Does anyone have a 9 yo kid I can borrow to hold up a sign at the next Impact! taping that says "Kevin, you need to pick up your workrate!"?
If any wrestler epitomizes All Foam, No Beer, its "big kev".
Once again, AJ proves what a great he is for the sport, and again is left in limbo.
Posted by: Bring back the WWWF | August 15, 2009 12:01 PM
I've mentioned this before, but I can't help but think the crowd is somewhat idiotic. They were chanting "USA" during the Hernandez - Doug Williams match. One is British, the other is Mexican (both very pronounced by their choice of attire as well) - who the heck was the crowd chanting for?
Lashley is in the same situation as Angle - saying that he's a former world heavyweight champ and the "greatest MMA fighter" over and over again doesn't make it true...
Who was the guy beating up Abyss?
Did Steiner have a sore throat? Brother Ray's Steiner impersonation was pretty damn funny.
Foley's jumped on the Styles bandwagon - they're both gonna wrestle for free now.
Posted by: walk_wo_aim | August 15, 2009 3:05 PM
Ot's starting to look like Angle may have screwed the main event at victory road by getting arrested on multiple charges today. There goes his bid for head booker. This really can change the dynamic of the Jarrett situation.
Posted by: Andy | August 15, 2009 4:08 PM
I have never been on the Matt Morgan bandwagon . Just don't see it .
The "Blueprint" is the "notepad" in my eyes .
Posted by: the artist formerly known as jack in hebron | August 15, 2009 4:47 PM
Morgan's finisher alone was worth tuning in on Thursday night. Great match, I think Morgan is the best big man in the business.
I also loved the Foley-Nash promo. If only their match would be as entertaining...
This Jesse Neal thing has been mishandled from day one. That's all there is to say about it.
TNA has been improving, but they're still making incredibly poor decisions. We need more MCMG, more Daniels, more X Division, period. It's a shame, TNA has some of the most exciting and most boring wrestlers (or should I say businessmen?) out there, and they seem determined to push the latter while burying the former.
Posted by: Michael in Virginia | August 15, 2009 5:20 PM
The exchange with Foley and Nash was excellent.If only they could translate that into a top notch PPV.The talent is there,the stories are there,but history says the booking will disappoint.
Posted by: Bill | August 15, 2009 7:55 PM
The crowd was chanting "Super Mex" not "USA."
New Japan is now behind the IWGP title change, apparently, so I'll avoid jumping to conclusions when it comes to wrestling. Later.
Posted by: Another Wrestling Mark | August 16, 2009 11:57 PM