or better yet: Keep Eric off period.

that's all.

I have just one thing to say TNA as it is now sucks. Rick flair Suck...MEM returning sucks more..There is new ideas or innovation in any of the TNA segments....it is stupid stupid stupid.

This was my first time watching TNA in many months... since back when Scott Hall & the Nastys were still on. It didn't seem like too much had changed overall.

But, setting aside the problems with TNA everyone else has noted, I feel the Knockouts division is still tremendous and I really appreciated how much time they got.

Tara is a great heel, Sarita is a decent heel, and Mickie James is so wonderful, maybe better than ever. I hated to see Mickie lose, but I really enjoyed watching her get pinned, if I can say that.

I hope she is in the show Feb 3 in New Orleans!

YAWN!!!

I was probably one of the few people who didn't know about Scott Steiner. Thanks for keeping that a secret for weeks. I was hoping for Shelton Benjamin and Haas or Hernandez (where is he?) but Steiner is Ok. MEM is definitely a better group than EV2.

Is there anyone that Velvet can beat?

I was hoping that Anderson would take the belt from Young and give Young that ugly Hardy belt. They could even put some comedy around it.

I wonder if Anderson is aware that Eric Young has the actual TNA World Heavyweight Title... What do you think, potential future build up for a 'title' for 'title' match, haha?

Kevin Nash is definitely not coming back. He posted a number of cuss-laden anti-TNA remarks on his Twitter. I think Crimson and RVD replace him and Booker.

RESPONSE FROM KE: I wouldn't be so sure that Nash isn't coming back. Those remarks will all be forgotten if both sides feel there is money to be made.

Hey Kev i read on a few blogs that They is the Main Event Mafia Kurt Angle , Booker T. Sting , Kevin Nash , Samoa Joe , Scott Steiner and i suppose Dixie Carter .

Oh, goodie. So the 2011 "They" is another bunch of old guys. Color me uninterested. I just do not care about wrestlers who can't do much more than walk around the ring and throw punches. I don't care how great they used to be. They aren't great anymore.

I've never been a fan of Steiner since he turned blond and bloated, but I gotta admit - he delivered like not too many late 40's guy's can. He's got a presence.

The 3-way X was as about as good as it gets and showed the 1 thing TNA does much better than the WWE.

Is it safe to say that both Hardy Bros should take a break from wrestling and try to get their acts together?

"Jeff Hardy cut a decent promo by his standards"... and it was still terrible and unbearable. can we please get a "you cant talk" chant or something along those lines, i know the impact zone loves to chant. im thinking back on the world champs of the 2000-2010 decade, and off the top of my head i cant think of any that are worse on the mic. any nominations?

I guess Murphy didn't pony up any money for those drinks in Europe.

Nash and Booker T are going to be in the Rumble. WWE trumps TNA. I guess Russo can bring in his buddies David Arquette and The Demon to take Nash and Booker's places.

Personally, I'd like to see Jarrett take on a real MMA fighter in a true MMA match. Jarrett is an embarassment.

Once again the "Use New Talent to Create Interest So the Old Hacks Can Re-emerge and Usurp the Spotlight Formula" that has ruined wrestling in both WWE and TNA for almost ten years.
Anderson, Morgan, the MCMG and to a certain extent Jeff Hardy in a heel turn, brought interest back to smarter marks waiting on the periphery for a decade to see something new and exciting happen.
As soon as things got interesting, steal the thunder of the new guys and give it to Angle, Jarrett and the Old Hacks. There was a chance, a very close one, to focus on Anderson's title reign, and give he and talents like RVD, Morgan, the Guns, Styles and Samoa Joe the storyline attention and mic time to emerge as the focus of the company, while phasing out Hogan, Flair, Steiner, Angle, et al. There could have been chance to present a truly new product.
Instead, (and doubly sad for Anderson since he must have deja-vu...c'mon..."steroids"-you have to be singled out in the WWE for that--"injury prone?" name me a wrestler who has not lost significant stints to injury-Anderson/Kennedy was singled out in the rumor mill, suspiciously during the 90 days between WWE and TNA..."Bad moves to other wrestlers"?...we could go on).
What we're seeing is the fallout of the "Monday Night Wars" and wrestling's brief surge into the Big Time, culturally. All of the old talents involved have tried to keep that spotlight that so fed their egos, and so have stagnated wrestling since, not realizing that this clinging is the reason for wrestling's fall back to second-rate entertainment.
It's ironic in this sense that whether it's the HHH bund in the WWE or the Hogan/Bischoff bund in TNA, that they use new talent to create interest to steal back from them. One would think that they would realize something important from that, but obviously they don't. So most of us that were part of the smart mark/mainstream heyday of wrestling who actually enjoyed Angle or Steiner in their prime, sit on the sidelines, checking back in when a Matt Morgan or Mr. Anderson gets a shot, and checking back out when the rug is pulled out from under them to grace the tired boots of a Jarrett or a Steiner.
The small core of marks that they manage to hang onto will still cheer for whoever is promoted in the main event, and will lose interest in those who are all of a sudden denied company attention and resources to their storylines, mic time and card prominence, but wrestling in a larger sense stagnates. I guess that small, meaningless core of audience that sticks with it somehow makes hacks like Flair and Hogan feel justfied that they are "pleasing the fans", enough so that they purposefully ignore the bigger picture.
You could almost literally see TNA stop spending the time to write for and focus on Anderson, Morgan, the Guns and Hardy as heel. The most inexplicable is the instant disentegration of the great Anderson/Morgan chemistry that was happening, and the casual tossing about of RVD into Anderson's now fly-by-night storyline, perhaps in order to justify whatever they owe on his contract. It's pretty pathetic, and soon myself and a lot of other people are going to give up completely on wrestling ever being good again.
Some of the "newer" talent that have never been given a proper chance are getting old in years at this point, and the REALLY old Hacks are still trying to hang on. All it will take is for the rest of this horrible, young-guy-usurping re-tread "They" storyline to include the Man Who Ruined His Once Legitimate Legend By Clinging On-The Man Called Sting, or any of the other overexposed Nitro vs. Raw era elders, and TNA will have sunk its ship permanently, doomed to float forever a foot above the surface, the rest forever submerged.
The only point of interest of the last "They" was the emergence of Hardy as heel, and the opportunity to push Anderson, Morgan, (who deserves better after performing in the clutch and emerging a true star), RVD and the Guns in the Immortal storyline.

Um Nash and Booker are rumored to be heading to the WWE..TNA is a sinking ship

I think that Booker and Nash jumping to WWE will turn out good for TNA. Because of this, TNA can put younger guys in the new MEM and give them a push. Knowing Triple H, when he returns he'll win the title and face Nash for the title at an upcoming PPV. Hunter will push aside this whole youth movement aside and book himself as superman once again. I for one am happy that they're having this X-Division "tournament" because it's showcasing the division once more. As for the next 6 guys, I could see it being Jeremy Buck, Shannon Moore, Jay Lethal, Robbie E, Eric Young, and maybe Shark Boy. I wouldn't be surprised to see a returning X-Division star come in and become the number 1 contender though. TNA definitely has a better woman's division right now than WWE. They have better wrestling, and their storylines are pretty good. At least they start new ones every month. I'm really getting tired of Laycool chasing after the divas title. Compared to the crap that WWE gave us this past week, Impact was the best show of the week. Have to admit, this is the most postive TNA recap that you've done in a long time.

Finally we get Steiner back! While he isn't what he used to be in the ring, he has a very believable character, and doesn't mind putting the youngsters over when necessary.

The part of this feud that will be tough to navigate is the large members of all the groups. I can see Fourtune and Immortal splitting, and the Angle group splitting to have a more manageable feud.

Not to take up too much space, as I already left a comment...(my screen name being changed by the blog writer to the "The Nature Boy" is interesting)...
But...I wonder for the sake of some kind of future to wrestling, which when it's done right is as valid a form of cultural entertainment as any other, if a difference could be made if legitimate observers like Mr. Eck were to use their forum more often to critically report on the problems of wrestling as a whole.
I'm wondering specifically that if enough of a critical groundswell was created to call into focus the fact that both the WWE and TNA are culpable in the "Old Guys Usurping the Spotlight" game, that perhaps the Old Guard in both companies might have to start to listen and to reassess their formulas on this subject.
As I already stated, the usurping of the very interesting Morgan/Anderson push, and the subsequent relegation of the MCMG, RVD and the other "alternative" talents to the rear once again is incredibly frustrating for fans who really would like to come back and enjoy wrestling on a regular basis like we used to. And I get the feeling that we are a far vaster audience than the companies realize.
Who may or may not be members of the re-emergent MEM is inconsequential. The point is that there was already a valid and vastly more interesting storyline going on which culminated in Ken Anderson finally getting a title strapped on him, a twist of friction between he and Matt Morgan, both of whom had until that point held a very believable and enjoyable chemistry together, and the Guns and RVD being underdogs against "Immortal", yet giving great matches in their struggle to make it to the top.
I fail to see how it helps anyone to swerve the entire focus of the company to bring Angle, Jarrett, Steiner, (and Hogan and whatever other geriatrics will hobble out of the back come Feb. 3 and beyond) to prominence yet AGAIN.
I feel as if writers and observers should start writing about these problems, so that at least TNA might be able to save itself before it's too late. WWE's McMahon/HHH gang are too far gone in ego and their self-perceived placement at the top of wrestling, (a dubious honor given the overall state of the sport), to ever listen to reason unless TNA were to start taking significant chunks out of their flagging ratings, which will NOT happen if we are stymied by angry old bald Angle, and the likes of the inarticulate poster-boy of 'roid rage, Scott Steiner. McMahon and HHH and the others have for actual YEARS now remained convinced that they know more than the audience, (witness the persistence on WWE's part to insist that Cena is a big star, despite the fact that his only market is a gaggle of ten-year old boys who in a long-term sense are going to switch wrestling off after they reach their sixteenth birthday and never know that good wrestling can remain entertaining into one's adult life---this seems almost purposefully sefl-destructive as far as the longer view goes).
Perhaps it's time that the more critical and discerning audiences and writers start to make it known that we're not that dumb.

"there is a god,"

hello dixie carter I hope that you will come back two tna wrestling next thurday night and tell ric flair and eirc bishoff that they are fired form tna bigmikegill61@yahoo.com

Between TNA and WWE, wrestling is missing the mark on a few things. I mean really? Scott Steiner? We're going in circles. The man can consistently perform, hasn't been able to in a long time, and is crap on the mike.Jack swagger has a speech impediment but still manages to deliver even with a Cindy Brady lisp.Steiner's stammering attempts is not welcome on my TV.It seems we are going in circles. Constantly trying to reinvigorate the old folks home that is the veterans.What next?Hogans gonna bring in brutus Beefcake AGAIN?There is a gret deal of young talent being underused. The best swerve for this angle would have been for TNA to bring in Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin and really turn up the heat. With the Gunnz out of action for a while The World's Greatest Tag Team would have be a big benefit to the tag team division which is the best thing TNA has going for it.

I got irritated a few months back (as I tend to do with wrestling every so often) with TNA over their burial of the X-Division. I started checking in again a few weeks ago and was rewarded Thursday with that 3-way match between Buck, Sabin and Red. Outstanding match. It didn't require a lot of heat to build it up, they just threw three athletic high-fliers in the ring and let them work their magic. It was fun to watch. Much more fun than watching a couple of slow-moving giants sludge around the ring.
That said, I also enjoyed seeing Steiner run into the ring for the save at the end of the show. Sure, his best wrestling days are long behind him, but he still has a tough-guy presence that few can match. It wouldn't break my heart to see a Main Event Mafia type group band together to battle the Hogan/Flair-led heels...as long, and this is the important part, as long as it is not at the expense of the X-Division's air time. As long as TNA keeps giving us matches like that 3-way affair, I'll keep watching.

TNA needs to go ahead with the Main Event Mofia storyline just use Kurt Angle, Scott Steiner, RVD, Mr. Anderson, and Matt Morgan... If not Kurt Angle, RVD, and Scott Steiner needs to quit and go back to the WWE... I'm just sayin....

I haven't watched Impact in a long time, but it was a nice change of pace from Raw last week. God bless John Cena's enthusiasm for entertaining children, but his gimmick is just brutal to watch sometimes. The Miz is refreshing, but Michael Cole makes him unwatchable in large doses too.

Impact had a good mix of works and worked shoots. The line from Jarrett was absolutely priceless and the build with Crimson and Angle was well done. I don't care for the Hardy stuff though. Matt is just trying too hard. I can see where his ideas seemed good on paper, but his execution just isn't there. Arn Anderson's left hand has more feeling than Jeff Hardy can portray in a promo. All I kept thinking was "good for Mr. Anderson to finally get an opportunity to shine."

Steiner was a nice surprise for me. He won't win an Emmy for his promos, but it's like watching an SNL skit where you're waiting for the person he's cutting a promo on to crack a smile when he gets going on a rant. I always wish his run in WWE went better. His pops were massive, but they fed him to HHH anyway. At this stage in his career, he is far better as a face.

I hope "they" keep it up. No pun intended.

Scott Steiner was the only reason I watched TNA back then. Now it's the TNA Knockouts and for Steiner on the comeback. I always loved his interviews, rants and raves. He's a real gem of a character. Please Rick Flair stay out the ring. He's tarnishing his greatness as the Nature Boy! Woooooooo!