Sting Rocks TNA and Other Impact News

Monday, March 8, saw the first episode of Total Nonstop Action's permanent Impact show on Spike, going head to head with WWE's RAW.  Here's a recap with thoughts.

The show kicked off with the main event, sort of.  World Champion A.J. Styles teamed with his mentor, the legendary 'Nature Boy' Ric Flair to face Abyss and Hulk Hogan.  This wasn't a bad move by TNA, as it directly went up against yet another 15-minute promo between Shawn Michaels and Untertaker on RAW.  Impact probably won that first quarter-hour battle.

The match itself barely got underway when the first shock of the night hit Impact.  The 'Icon' Sting, who had just renewed his contract with Impact last week, hit the ring--and destroyed the good guys, Abyss and Hogan with his baseball bat.  He then went to the back and pushed TNA President Dixie Carter to the wall while explaining he didn't need to explain to her.

While I like the shock value of the move, it came out of nowhere with no explicit logic.  Sting has been enemies with Hogan in the past, so that part of the angle makes sense, but Flair has been Sting's biggest rival for over 20 years.  So, I don't get it.

The logic-lapse doesn't end there.  Instead of disqualifying Flair and Styles, TNA decides to restart the match later in the show after the bloody Hogan and Abyss get taped up.  What?  In the old days, when someone interfered in a match, the victims were awarded the match by disqualification.  Apparently that is now not the case.  Unless this first match was a no disqualification, and I just missed that stipulation.  But that too would make no sense.  If the match was no dq, it should have continued to a conclusion.

Sting would later be involved in yet another logic-lapse in the show.  As a punishment for pushing Dixie Carter, Carter announced that Sting would be wrestling later in the show, but wouldn't name the opponent.  When Sting came to the ring later, Rob Van Dam's music played, distracting Sting and allowing RVD to come in from behind.

Understand this is a historic event.  Sting and RVD have never wrestled each other.  This is a titanic clash.  Except it wasn't.  RVD kicked Sting from behind and did his rolling thunder splash for a 30-second pinfall victory.  Clean as a whistle.  Logic has left the building.

But it still doesn't end there.  Sting, upset at losing, takes his ballbat and proceeds to beat the stuffing out of RVD, and three referees, for 10 solid minutes.  No one comes out to help RVD.  Well, until Hogan tries to stagger to the ring, that is.  Hogan tries to come out to help RVD--and is restrained by TNA security!  Sting is assaulting RVD, and referees, and even Hogan himself, with a bat, and TNA security is holding back Hogan, even though Hogan is supposed to be the TNA boss and could have ordered them out of the way.

The main event match would continue later, as the bout between Flair/Styles and Hogan/Abyss becomes a no-dq match.  It had blood.  It had gore.  It had some of the most pathetic wrestling by two old, slow guys that should never be allowed in a wrestling ring again.  When Hogan and Flair were in the ring together, it was like watching a video type in slow motion.  It hurt to watch.  Thankfully, half the dressing room decided to interfere, including the Pope, Desmond Wolfe and the thrilling return of Jeff Hardy.  Guess who didn't come back in?  Sting.

In other news, Ken Anderson got destroyed by Kurt Angle and 16 Army Rangers, Jeff Jarrett lost a handicap match to Beer Money, Eric Young destroyed Sean Waltman, there was a ladies' tag team match that somebody won and we saw far too much of Brooke Hogan overacting.

While there was plenty of nonstop action, little of it made sense or even made me want to return to watch more next week.