Eric Young's character and gimmick is basically perfect for house shows. When they came to Chicago a few months ago, he basically stole the show. Why he's on TV in such ridiculous setups is beyond me though.

Welcome to WCW revistied. While Vince McMahon screwed TNA by luring Nash and Booker away (and Sting, too?!?), we get to see the young guys battle the old veterans...again just like we did in the dying days of WCW. The only two questions left are: 1) How much longer will TNA survive? and 2) how much will McMahon buy it for?

So is the Pope officially a heel now? That seems like a mistake. Why does TNA always want to turn guys that are over just for the sake of turning them?

Yeah, I think if you go with the logic that Styles and the rest lost confidence in Bischoff and Hogan, so they approached Angle about an alliance, it works okay. Has it ever been confirmed that TNA's plan was actually to bring back the MEM? Honestly, they are so scattershot with their booking, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this was the plan all along.

They could just use some silly excuse as to why Crimson choked out AJ Styles, Maybe so Immortal wouldn't see it coming or something.

Total Nonstop Clusterf---

In the context of the comments section for the last iMPACT...An intriguing beginning for TNA, if the creative team doesn't screw up, as both companies are wont to do. The threat to fans of a MEM reunion, and the continuation of the spotlight stealing from the old Nitro vs. Raw geriatrics is over for now, with A.J. Styles finally being thrust into a spotlight not overshadowed by one Old Fart or another, Anderson as champion having a babyface faction to somewhat ally himself with that represents TNA's young and unique talent, and the real chance for TNA to become something different than they have been and different from WWE.
The main point of the backstage dealings seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel for discriminating wrestling fans. The WWE have chosen to bring Nash, Booker T. and Sting onboard. In doing so, they continue the Old Fart paradigm.
TNA is left then with the unique position of having a chance to not only showcase newer, younger talent, but to do so with a storyline that plays to the problem itself. The young guys, the alternative guys, feuding with the forces of Old and Egotistical in a way that holds a discourse about the basis of wrestling's main problem right now---that the Oldsters never want to let go.
A.J. Styles, given a chance like he's never been given in terms of story, prominence and placement delivered a promo that not only unleashed his potential to the maximum, but unleashed on Bischoff a rant that fans have wanted to see spoken out loud for awhile now, and could have been applied to Vince and his cronies as well as it was to Bischoff and his.
Wrestling is officially interesting again, unless TNA screws up what has the potential to be a storyline that could not only put over their company at a level closer to WWE's, but could start a shift that WWE would have to react to, in which case we all get better wrestling.
The pieces are in place. The young versus the old, with the overt naming of the problem of the Old Guy bund ruining wrestling. Once the MCMG are back from Shelley's injury, they and Matt Morgan should be aligned with this faction, and it seems like TNA, if they play the cards correctly, could not only work a storyline that would push them through the glass ceiling, but once the Oldsters are gone, they will have put over enough young talent by the end of the feud to populate their future storylines with the young guys, with no need to rely anymore on faces that fans have gotten sick and tired of seeing.
The only cons I see for them right now...Jarrett, despite owning part of the company, needs to reduce his role. He should not be the focus of anything anymore...Kurt Angle could be a positive, but only if he begins to move toward the manager/mentor role that Flair has filled in various storylines. Angle still has the legitimacy to be a manager/mentor that can use his legend in a good way, (and still allow him to get physical whereas it looks ridiculous anymore when Flair does it), without ruining his legend as Flair and Hogan have with overexposure and an egotistical need to hog the spotlight at the expense of change...Anderson still needs to be given more storyline attention and mic/promo time. The skills he was allowed to display that got him this far now only intermittently get a chance to shine. He could be a major player in a push of the new guys, and as a guy who has been screwed over in both companies now, a guy that lends a real legitimacy to the sort of storyline TNA has started...No more Steiner. I don't think anything has to be added to that...Samoa Joe has to be pulled out of the weird mid-card Bully Ray/Devon limbo they're sticking him in and be paraded out with the other guys. This is what I mean. After Bischoff and the fogeys are gotten rid of, there is plenty of talent in TNA to pull together a company that bears no relation to anything but itself---and that is what is going to save wrestling in the long run. The important thing in all of that is that if TNA actually follows through with this sort of storyline, there will also finally be a place where new talent has a place to go and to reveal the stars that will take over when Anderson, Styles and Joe are the age of an Angle or a Jarrett. It would seem logical that this is the way it SHOULD be, although lately it is not. Here's to hoping that TNA changes that.

Kev I hate to disagree with you but jeff hardy should never be allowed a live mic i thought his confrontation was horrible it got him more fan support than heat I think they should do the destruction crew thing whre everytime Jeff takes the mic Matt takes it from him and does any type of interview. I think as far as the new storyline goes i would have liked it if Foirtune would have turned on immortal but at the same time stayed heel and instead of giving anderson the belt AJ would have said when I get healthy im coming for my belt.

I think it's high time that TNA come up with something very special. Most probably, Sting is going to debut with WWE, Wrestlemania is drawing near and prominent superstars such as Triple H and The Undertaker will return as well. "They" thing is just not being able to match up with the hypes that WWE is

I, too, immediately thought of Kato from "The Green Hornet" when I saw Samoa Joe's sidekick. Given the history of Bischoff/Russo storylines, I immediately suspected the worse- there will be a tie-in to the movie and Seth Rogen will wind up winning the TNA World Title.

Eric, Vince, if you are even considering such a travesty, please don't go there again. How about a four-way ladder match between Rob Van Dam, Jeff Hardy, AJ Styles and Mr. Anderson instead?

So if "They" are Fourtune where does that leave Matt Morgan?

What a bad show... TNA is going down hill fast...

naturally,Scott Steiner will turn heel and go w/Bischoff now.. Flair will be w/fortune and against bischoff and hogan(as usual) and there is no way Steiner and Flair will be on the same side..how long this will take i dont know..but knowing TNA,next week will start w/Steiner and Bischoff hugging it out

Everyone b**ches[rightfully so] that TNA keeps bringing in old guys at the expanse of the young talent they should push...two useless [jerks] don't come in/young talent gets the push and you still b**ch.YES TNA IS INCOMPATANT...but for once it might be a good thing.

I liked the Fourtune turn, but as you stated their is a major disconnect between what AJ said and what has been happening. Fourtune is tired of outsiders coming here to take advantage of the work the original TNA talent did? They should have beat down Anderson since he fits that bill. Steiner, RVD, and a few others fit that bill too. I see one or maybe all three of them going to Immortal at some point. No Matt Morgan? Hernandez is rumored to return soon. Does he fit in the mix? Usually when groups get this large it is hard to manage. I can see a few other teams forming from this, or some going on to singles feuds.

Any word on where Daffney is these days? She is over with the crowd but has been non-existent for the past 6 months or so.

They should seque Bully Ray into the "Stop the Hate" campaign. They could make that a great story line with real life conotations.

True that the Fourtune swerve doesn't make a lot of sense with the beatdowns in recent weeks, but I'm glad that those guys have an opportunity to be major players.......after all they have more upside and are "TNA guys". I thought Styles was funny when he bashed Bischoff for taking a million dollar company and running it in the ground.

You would think that Bischoff, Hogan & Co. would have had things worked out with Sting, Nash & co. before they worked the storyline.

TNA is really kicking it down a notch with the non-sensical storylines. This is beginning to outshine the dying years of WCW and reaching into late AWA territory.

What next Eric? TNA Team Challenge Series?

I can't wait for ReACTION to spend a whole hour filling in the 'They' logic gaps that we all clearly missed.

Hey Kev,

A few weeks ago you talked about the "THEY" storyline and how someone was backstage and it would be good for the TNA guys to get a rub from them. You said you wouldn't reveal it because it might be a spoiler. Who were you talking about Kev?

RESPONSE FROM KE: The Main Event Mafia. My point was that if if guys such as Crimson and Matt Morgan were aligned with them and got a rub, I'd be all for it, but if it was just the old guys in MEM getting the push, I wouldn't be a fan of that.

I think you'll be waiting a while, bennyd.

As for the changes, I'd rather it be Fortune turning on Bischoff than a rehash of the MEM with even older guys back again.

AJ Styles may be the most talented wrestler in the world, but he could never cut a decent promo to save his life. If his mouth could ever catch up to the rest of his body, he could be a major superstar. And with that promo on impact it seems the light may have finally come on for him and he can begin to fulfill his potential.

And I understand that there are continutiy issues with this "They", but if TNA continues to push their young stars to the top, then I can live that. All of this my have been a blessing in disquise for TNA.

Does anyone actually think that Nash or Booker would have made any impact (npi) at all? They could still move forward with a MEM angle, replace them with RVD, Joe, whoever and no one would care after the first week.

As for Sting...well...the book's still open on him, as far as I'm concerned.

I agree that it was unbelievably sloppy for TNA to promote the return of the mafia without having them all under contract.

BUT in the end, I think it's a far greater outcome - aside from AJ getting choked out by Crimson, the logic IS there - AJ's been getting it from Bischoff for weeks, and you notice Flair always had his back. It works, too, because Fortune prides themselves on being homegrown - i don't think there's as large a gap in logic here as people think.

I have to say, I'm most excited to see where AJ takes this - his mic work has improved tenfold since working with Flair, and he's remained insanely over (did you hear the crowd pop when he "threw up the sign"?)

But oof...Immortal is looking WEAK - Abyss is dead - so you have Jeff Hardy, Double J, Gunner and his pal, and the singer from Flock of Seag....Rob Terry.

Oh, and Matt Hardy. But should he even count?

Has anybody else noticed how huge and shredded Matt Hardy looks since debuting for TNA, especially this past Impact? My wife - who occasionally glances at wrestling while passing through the living room - even said, "didn't that guy used to have a pot belly?" It is pretty obvious that Matt has adapted to TNA's relaxed wellness policy. I mean, nobody can get that cut in as little as 90 days without a little help. Am I right or am I right?

I want to make a few points in the "They" angle. I'm not entirely sure a lot of viewers put thought into this angle, and I'm not entirely buying the fact that there was going to be a MEM reunion. Steiner is a pretty good indicator.

However, the previous weeks show was taped prior to the Rumble and as far as I'm concerned with it, even if the entire angle was scrapped and re-written, I'm giving kudos to the writers for it.

Last week Ric Flair was the one who insisted to Bischoff that Kurt Angle be reinstated, only for the entire thing to come back and backfire on Bischoff. I don't know where this is going to tell you the truth, but I'm looking forward to a Hardys vs Beer Money and Angle vs Jarrett.

Xdivision wasnt as strong as last week, but I think this is going to give more exposure to Generation Me. Also, I never get sick of seeing the Chaos Theory Suplex..... I mark out everytime Williams does it.
I'm definately looking forward to the next few weeks of Impact to see how everything plays out.

I was okay with the Fourtune turn. Wrestling isn't logical so who cares? The True TNA vs the New TNA (January 2010) is the angle you (we?) wanted a year ago. Now they are there, no matter how they got there, they're there. The one thing that was illogical was Christy Hemme "standing outside of the Dallas Curthouse" in sunny weather in a skimpy dress. Guys, everyone in the world knows that it was zero degrees Farenheit and two feet of snow in Dallas this week. I'm sorry that I can live with illogical swerves in the ring but I can't live with poor weather continuity when the weather in Dallas was all oer the news this week. Missed Matt Morgan on TV, which was a bad move and also was disappointed with the Sarita/Mickie match.

any company were hogan and bicthoff in it trying to take over is marked for death because let face it tna is wcw and ecw in one

I have the benefit of not watching TNA for months until last week, so I'm a lot less confused with all this stuff. I for one hope that they don't spend too much effort explaining things. The reaction Styles got in that closing segment will probably never be matched if they blow this. WWE capitalized on the pop Nash and Booker got and TNA needs to do the same and keep Fortune credible.

I won't get my hopes up just yet, but it's funny that Bischoff is getting more go away heat than heel heat these days. Hogan too for that matter. It'll be interesting to see if he embraces that kind of heat or turns himself to be some kind of savior again against Flair and Bischoff.

Its fun to watch TNA try week in and week out. Its a mess and it will be as long as the WCW hatchet crew is on staff(Russo,Bichoff,Steiner,Jarret, Hogan,and to some extent but to a lesser degree Flair-still needs to go away though).TNA is gonna run on empty until they really resolve this