DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu – TNA ‘Hard Justice’ Review + General Thoughts
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, August 15, 2007 at 2:08 AM EST






THE WRESTLING MENU #242

Welcome one and all to the 242nd edition of ‘The Wrestling Menu’, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

Work is killing me of late… Nothing more to be said here really, so let’s get on with the show…..


APPETIZERS – TNA

This column was initially going to be an all-SmackDown edition. But somewhere along the way, it turned into a no-SmackDown edition & an all-TNA column. To be honest, I can’t exactly put my finger on why… I don’t even know why I ordered the ‘Hard Justice’ pay-per-view just a few hours before its screening. I suppose it had something to do with opportunity & timeliness. I had a predominantly free Monday night to watch the show (ppvs air live Monday morning at 10am in Australia due to the time difference), but I think the main thing was that, for once, there was a decent gap between WWE ppvs & I didn’t feel burnt out watching wrestling.

I would be lying though if I didn’t say another partial reason that I ordered the TNA ppv was just to see something different. Even if the product was going to be similar to WWE, at least there would be different wrestlers, announcers, etc… It was sort of a fresh break as such & in a funny way, I actually looked forward to watching an event where I had enough knowledge about storylines & feuds without knowing the exact in’s & out’s of everything that was going on. Unfortunately, my confusion on one matter did waste some time of mine though… As I found out when completely confusing the woman from my cable company, there was no such event called ‘Victory Road’ upcoming. Ooops!

From memory, I reviewed 2 TNA pay-per-views last year (Slammiversary & Bound For Glory) & while I both rated them well (65-69), they didn’t change my mind to only order their shows on an individual basis when a card appealed to me. I really don’t know why it has been 10 months since last ordering a TNA ppv… While most cards did not appeal to me, I am guessing that the ones that did were most likely sandwiched in between 2 WWE events that were too close together. But, with the exception of 1 or 2 of the ppvs, I haven’t missed much from the reports I have seen.

In one of the columns where I reviewed a TNA show last year, I went on to comment generally about the promotion & a few of the things I noticed about the event. Factors such as the 6 sided ring, commentary, production, direction, talent roster, professionalism & the crowd were all mentioned & I was keen to see if my views had changed on any of these thoughts a year later. For that reason, I will do something similar in the ‘Dessert’ section of today’s column.

Anyway, I don’t want to blab on for too long here as my ‘Dessert’ could indeed be longer than my ‘Main’ today. But before getting into my review of the PPV proper, there was the ever-present TNA PPV PRE-SHOW

Now, it appears that TNA have changed their thinking on this half-hour. Last year, I got a quick undercard bout as well as a Monty Brown (now Marcus Corvon) in-ring promo. This time around, nothing was live & I got to see a number of interviews hyping the ppv main-event of Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe. And to be honest, I was quite disappointed with this. It wasn’t totally due to the change of format, but more the fact that the hype wasn’t exactly efficient. It shouldn’t take practically an entire 30 minutes to hype such a big match.

I suppose that when all was said & done, they eventually had the viewer anticipating the main-event, but that was about it. With more efficiency, a couple of other match-ups could have been hyped as well. For this reason, I prefer WWE’s pre-show method of hyping multiple ppv matches, as well as showing highlights of some previous television bouts.


MAIN – Hard Justice Review

For those that cannot recall my previous PPV review columns, this is the key that explains what the final PPV Rating means:

<50: Ask for a refund for not only your money, but also your time. [F] (Armageddon '04)
50-54: Mediocre & disappointing. [D] (EG: No Way Out '07)
55-59: Average. [C] (EG: Vengeance ’07)
60-64: Worth A Watch. [C+] (EG: One Night Stand ‘07)
65-69: Good event that was worth the money. [B] (EG: WrestleMania 23)
70-74: Very good. [B+] (EG: Great American Bash '07)
75-79: Make sure you add this ppv to your video or dvd collection. [A] (EG: Backlash '07)
80+: Make sure that the video or DVD is locked in a safe & cannot be erased. Memorable. [A+]

NOTE: You may notice a difference with my reviews here as I am attempting to cut down on the recap aspect of the match & increase the opinion factor. TNA is good for this as it’s fairly difficult to keep up with all of the moves (unless VKM is wrestling & then you have time to go shake hands with Sir Richard in between each move).

SONJAY DUTT / JAY LETHAL defeated CHRIS SABIN / ALEX SHELLEY & CHRISTOPHER DANIELS / SENSHI: There was confusion right from the beginning here as it appeared to begin as a tornado match, but turned into a proper 3 team tag bout about 3 or 4 minutes later. The fact that there were 3 teams involved hurt this bout to me as there didn’t appear to be any negative feeling between any of the teams… It was as if none of these teams have been feuding. And the initial sporadic crowd involvement didn’t help, as there was no heel heat whatsoever… It was as if all 3 teams were faces, which I find hard to believe. And I don’t need to remind everyone of what I have thought of the quantity of face vs face bouts this year!

With the talent involved, there was always going to be a lot of action, most of it of the fast-paced & high-flying variety. Initially it was almost too staged & spotty, but following the usual rehearsed ‘dives to the outside’ sequence, the action kicked fully into gear & we genuinely got to see some original moves, especially of the double-team variety. All 6 men got a decent chance to show their talent & I’m unsure who to even single out here as they all performed well enough. I must say that I was not a fan of the finish, which saw a roll-up victory to Dutt & Lethal at the 16 minute mark. With all those moves towards the end, it just didn’t seem fitting that the match would end with a roll-up. Despite so many things wrong with this bout though, it is hard to complain due to the entertainment factor & its correct choice as opener. This actually could have got a 9 or above if there was some storyline involved in the match! Match Rating: 8

KAZ defeated RAVEN: A “You’re Washed Up” chant greets some Raven mic work, as Kaz (Frankie Kazarian) fakes making up & hits his former mentor with a kendo stick. The first couple of minutes see a decent pace & some good action with impact being the main positive. The remainder of the bout is a tad overbooked with Martyr & Havok consistently interfering on behalf of Raven, but Kaz consistently fighting off the odds with some good high-flying moves. The finish then comes out of nowhere with a Kaz kick getting the win at just the 6 minute mark. As it was kept so short, it was difficult to rate this highly, but I suppose the guys did the best they could with the allotted time. Giving Kaz any kind of face push is a questionable decision since he has been around a while. Match Rating: 6

JAMES STORM defeated RHINO in a Bar-Room Brawl Match: I don’t like either of these 2 guys, so I was not looking forward to this match-up. I must admit though that the pre-match video package concerning this feud was very effective & a nice job indeed. It portrayed Rhino’s anger & intensity well, while showing Storm’s carefree & taunting attitude. The match was not held in a local bar as rumored, but there were some bar-room props here & there which would eventually get used after some of the usual mediocre ECW-like brawling through the crowd. Bottles of alcohol, crutches & even a toilet were used and the live crowd seemed to enjoy it, but it wasn’t having much of an effect on me.

Jackie Moore (the former Miss Jacqueline) was out there in Storm’s corner, but she was practically ineffective throughout. The 2 finally attempt some in-ring wrestling at the 10 minute mark, where Rhino eventually misses a gore through a table. Storm capitalizes with some trash-can & chair shots to the head, followed by a super-kick & bottle-shot to the head for the heel victory at the 13 minute mark. Overlong ECW-like mess & I am talking about the original ECW in this context. To be honest, I don’t totally blame the 2 wrestlers as there wasn’t much anyone could do with this gimmick. And while there was indeed a story here, it almost snuck into the tasteless area. I can’t pass it! Match Rating: 4.5

LAX defeated VKM: A “DX Rejects” chant greets VKM, as the heels slow things down from the beginning in controlling the bout. Kip puts together some decent moves on the smaller Homicide, but man did BG look ordinary! The hot tag finally comes to the larger Hernandez as the pace thankfully picks up. Hernandez then goes for his Border Toss finisher, but VKM’s valet Roxy something-or-other throws powder in his eye & Kip hits the fameasser for the victory at just the 5 minute mark! But Hector Guerrero enters the ring & shows referee Earl Hebner the powder, causing a restart & a quick roll-up victory to LAX. Awful bout which was even slow-paced despite its short length! BG shouldn’t be wrestling if this was any indication of his fitness, while neither member of LAX was allowed to show their talent. Match Rating: 3

ROBERT ROODE defeated ERIC YOUNG in a Tar & Feathers Match: Is it me or has this feud been going on for a year now as I am almost certain it began in 2006? Another question I want answered is whether or not it is humanly possible for Miss Brooks to squeeze her breasts any higher & tighter? That can’t be healthy! Anyway, back to the match, these 2 haven’t impressed me in the past & didn’t really here. I’ve had some readers tell me that Young is entertaining, but even his backstage segments did nothing for me on this night. In the ring, both men started very blandly, but worked their way into a decent bout. It was nothing outstanding though & not much more than passable. The heel Roode gets the win at the 9 minute mark with a brass knuckles shot. Afterwards, Gail Kim saves Young from getting tar & feathered and it is Brooks who eventually suffers that humiliation. Match Rating: 5

CHRIS HARRIS defeated ‘BLACK REIGN’ DUSTIN RHODES by Disqualification: Rhodes, complete with his usual Goldust face paint & attire – only in black & silver - blindsides Harris from behind before the bell & soon busts the Wildcat open with fists to the head. Rhodes then knocks a couple of refs out & proceeds to get disqualified by hitting a 3rd while trying to choke Harris with handcuffs. 5 minutes all up, excluding the aftermath where Rhodes clears the ring of security, handcuffs Harris to the ropes & then uses a spiked weapon to strike Harris to the head. Harris literally got in no offense during this purely storyline/introductory bout. Served its purpose up to a point, but wasn’t exactly entertaining in doing so. It was just way too much of a squash when all was said & done! Match Rating: 3

THE STEINER BROTHERS defeated TEAM 3D: Both teams got backstage promos prior to the match & they were quite effective, especially Buh-Buh who was sufficiently humorous, while gaining some heel heat that carried into the match. The bout sort of had that ‘dream match’ feel to it, but it was difficult to tell if it was only to people who saw these guys in their prime, as the live crowd was only sporadically involved. All 4 shared the load evenly enough with The Steiners having the best of the first few minutes, but the heels eventually gaining control by isolating Scott & targeting his injured back. It’s not exactly exciting when Rick gets the hot tag, but a succession of suplexes is rather impressive. As is a top-rope belly to belly suplex by Scott, who soon after finds himself kicking out of a doomsday device. Big Poppa Pump then wills himself to a top-rope frankensteiner & the faces get the victory soon after at the 11 minute mark with a top-rope bulldog. These guys busted their a$$es despite being way past their best. The pace was rather methodical, but there was sufficient action to make up for that with both teams showing enough of their past glory to satisfy most fans. They also did very well to stretch this out to the 11 minute duration. Match Rating: 7

PACMAN JONES SEGMENT: Apparently Pacman, as introduced, is the “most controversial player in pro sports today”. Forget baseballer Barry Bonds who has just broken a long-standing record with steroid allegations hanging over his head. Forget U.S footballer Michael Vick being caught up in allegations over fighting animals. Forget soccer player Carlos Tevez & his prolonged transfer to Manchester United that no authority wanted to adjudicate on. And forget Australian Rules footballer Ben Cousins who was suspended by the league for cocaine abuse, only to come back on the eve of the playoffs looking like Chris Masters & dominating in his first match back! Anyway, this was a standard in-ring interview conducted by Mike Tenay, until Ron ‘The Truth’ Killings interrupts & tells Pacman that wrestling is not a team sport & that he needs to watch his back despite not being allowed to get into any physicality. As The Truth threatens to get into the ring, security removes him. 8 minutes all up, this wasn’t too bad of an intro for Pacman. Of course, it would have been better had there been an actual chance of physicality (ignoring the staged backstage attack not shown afterwards) & that fact will hamper his entire TNA stay. Passable & Killings played his part well. Match Rating: 5

ABYSS, STING & ANDREW MARTIN defeated CHRISTIAN CAGE, TOMKO & AJ STYLES in a Doomsday Chamber of Blood Match: The heels attack Abyss before his partners arrive, but it isn’t long before Martin & Sting even things up. All 6 men battle around ringside for quite some time (too long), before getting into the 6 sided steel cage with barbed wire around the top. Tomko is first to be busted open, which is important as a wrestler can only be pinned when bleeding! Christian then uses a shard of glass to make Abyss bleed as the heels lock Sting out of the cage for a 3 on 2 advantage. They dominate with fists, until Sting climbs the cage & uses wire-cutters to clear a path into the ring. Following a Sting flurry, Abyss kicks out of 2 frog splashes & the faces dominate from then on. Christian then flees the ring & leaves his partners and it’s all over at the 10 minute mark when Abyss slams AJ into glass shards for the pinfall. Disappointing match which had the potential to steal the show, but was pretty much only used to solidify Christian’s cowardly character & crown Abyss the #1 contender. Not terrible by any means, but very few highlights made this unmemorable, while no-one really came out looking too strong. I also got the feeling that this may have been cut short on the night. Match Rating: 6.5

KURT ANGLE defeated SAMOA JOE to Win the X-Division & Tag-Team Titles, while Retaining the TNA & IWGP Titles: Angle plays the sad figure due to the storyline that his wife has left him, as both men get mixed reactions upon their entrances. The 2 then begin with numerous strength & technical contests, as Kurt’s wife & her new boyfriend take up front-row seats. Joe uses the distraction to put together a sequence of offense, but it isn’t long before Kurt evens things up. A battle of suplexes follows with Joe taking 2 Germans & then countering with an awesome release version. A snap powerslam then gets the Samoan a 2 count, as does an athletic swinging kick while Angle was sitting on the top-rope. A rapid-fire sequence of finishers then follows as Kurt counters a muscle-buster into an ankle-lock, and then a kokina clutch into an Olympic Slam for a close 2 count.

After a few roll-up attempts by both men, Kurt gets another 2 count with a top-rope belly to belly suplex. But he then misses a moonsault, allowing Joe to hit his muscle-buster finisher, which Angle kicks out of at 2.9! Joe then locks in the Kokina Clutch, but Kurt bites out & applies the ankle-lock. Joe beautifully counters back into his submission hold, but Angle reaches the ropes. A ref bump follows meaning no official sees Angle tapping out as Kurt’s wife then comes down to get the swerve assist for a chair-shot to allow Angle to win at the 19 minute mark. That swerve was very predictable seeing as how much they were playing on Angle’s depression, but it didn’t significantly take away from the many excellent sequences that came before it. The first half of the bout was used predominantly to set up the storyline & to that extent, I would have preferred this match to last around 25 minutes. But that may be a little picky as this was still an excellent main-event & up there with the best matches so far this year. Match Rating: 9

PPV RATING (57/100) = 57

Looking at the key, I have basically given the 2007 version of ‘Hard Justice’ a 'C' grade & said that it was ‘average’. And to be honest, it was probably lucky to get to that rating, with the standout main-event & entertaining opener lifting it above the ‘mediocre & disappointing’ comment. And that second word is exactly what this ppv was; Disappointing. Ignoring the excellent effort of The Steiners, there was practically nothing worth watching in the middle 7 matches & 1 segment… That pretty much says it all, as 2 hours of the whole event was practically throwaway. That’s not the kind of show that is going to win over casual fans (which I suppose I have to class myself as) watching for the first time in a while. They are my specific thoughts on TNA’s Hard Justice ppv, now here comes some general ones regarding the promotion as a whole.


DESSERT – General TNA Thoughts

These are just some general thoughts I had throughout the pay-per-view. For the sake of easiness (or laziness), I will use my notes from last year as a guide, but with add-ons:

THE 6 SIDED RING: I am still neither here nor there on this. Its effect was negligible. But one thing I noticed & didn’t like was…..

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE RING & FRONT ROW: This really has to be extended for mine. It’s an injury waiting to happen & I know through personal experience from playing a few sports that when there is a barrier of any sort not far from a side or boundary line, it is very off-putting & can cause you to pull up earlier than you want to, which could in turn cause knee injuries & the like.

THE CROWD: I was unsure last year, but I am now almost certain that (excluding cost factors) TNA would be better off moving around a little more than they do. The crowd reactions from the regulars are often good, but can also stand out in the wrong way. And without it ruining matches, I do feel it does adversely affect some bouts in a number of ways.

PRODUCTION: This is hardly a concern nowadays as TNA have lifted their game well with graphics, entrances, promos & the like. I don’t count the below-average pre-show as a production problem per se.

DIRECTION & CAMERA-SHOTS: I was rather scathing with my criticism of this last year, but it has clearly improved now. It’s still not quite up to WWE’s standards, but it is now more than acceptable. I only counted a couple of times when I was a little annoyed with not being able to see something in the ring because the camera-work missed it or had switched elsewhere (EG: uselessly showing the security staff 2 hours before Pacman showed up).

COMMENTARY: Mike Tenay is still sufficient & Don West is still below-average. I hated West when I first heard him… He has definitely improved, but still is too annoying to put up with. His absolute doozy from this show was the following line: “There’s plenty of liquor there on the bar… There’s white liquor & there’s brown liquor”. They aren’t f’n crayons Don… I’d love to see you go up to a real bar & order “white liquor”! Anyway, he is darn lucky to still have a job for mine & why TNA haven’t at least given someone else an extended shot is beyond me.

JEREMY BORASCH: Going on from the commentary point, Borasch is the main backstage interviewer. To be honest, he hasn’t bothered me in the past & I have actually always felt that he has been a good worker as he does multiple things for the company. But during this show, he was simply annoying throughout. In fact, he made Todd Grisham seem like Hall Of Famer ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund!

MATCH ORDER & IMPORTANCE: TNA have always been good in this area for mine, but it was almost impossible to tell with Hard Justice as there were too many bad matches!

TURN RAVEN & BG JAMES INTO MANAGERS: I know there are quite a few wrestlers past their best in TNA, but these 2 are both rather good on the microphone & would better be used as full-time managers only. BG can hardly move & his limited repertoire has shrunk even further than when he was a part of the New Age Outlawz. And while Raven is useful in the ring, it is more in a hardcore way where duplication exists with Abyss anyway.

TOO MANY TAG-TEAMS!: While I have been known to complain that there are not enough tag-teams in WWE, there could actually be too many in TNA. There were definitely too many tag matches throughout Hard Justice and it seemed to water down their importance as feuds didn’t appear to be concentrated where they should be. Furthermore, using this technique of filling up an event lessens the depth of the undercard & midcard matches, which was obvious here.

THE X-DIVISION: Hmmm, I worry about the mainstay of TNA. Kurt Angle currently holds the title & there are rumors that the division could be scrapped. As it pertained to Hard Justice, 6 of the division’s best were thrown into a tag match which was more there as an entertaining opener, even if it was a fine one. I think each & every TNA ppv should include a heated singles rivalry between 2 X-Division competitors.

MAINSTREAM APPEAL: There is nothing wrong with TNA attempting to get some mainstream appeal. And despite the over-hype, someone like Pacman Jones isn’t a bad person to target. It will be interesting to see if there is any increase in ratings & buyrates over the next month. My guess is that it will be minimal. But the fact that TNA’s name has been mentioned here & there is a positive as it lets the general public, and more importantly the casual wrestling fan, know that there is indeed another player in town. Of course, they have to be careful to not put so many resources into this & neglect other areas, as it is the other areas that will keep the viewer’s interest in the medium to long-term.

TALENT ROSTER: I don’t see any problems here as there is sufficient talent throughout TNA to more than get by. The problem is whereabouts some of the talent is on the card & how they are being used. I think they can afford to cut some costs by releasing some of the true undercarders. This would allow them to move a few of the wrestlers who are wrestling around the midcard down a notch.

COMPETING WITH WWE: With talks of a 2 hour weekly show being imminent, this debate is going to rear its head once more soon enough. I won’t get into the debate as to whether TNA is competition or an alternative to WWE, but I can say that TNA are still a fair way away from being anywhere near equals. Look, I’d watch their weekly shows for free if I was able to, but I am a die-hard. I just can’t see the casual fans, especially the younger ones, getting into TNA as much as WWE. Not yet anyway… & maybe not for a long while, if ever.


Ok, that does it for this all-TNA edition of 'The Wrestling Menu'. I hope that it was still interesting to those who don’t watch TNA at all. I am super busy over the next week, but as per usual, if there is anything that you want to provide feedback on, you know where I am & you know that I will reply to all feedback in due time. My e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com, but if you are an LOP Forums member, it would be much appreciated if you could leave feedback on my thread at http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=217&page=7.

And while you are on the LOP Forums, why don't you check out my weekly contributions to the Album Review thread. So far, I have reviewed 2 albums each by groups such as My Chemical Romance, Muse, Rise Against, Razorlight, The Killers, Kasabian, The All-American Rejects, Kaiser Chiefs, AFI, Panic At The Disco, Fall Out Boy, Jet, Hinder & Trust Company. Plus, last week I reviewed an album which actually may just be my retrospective album of 2006 … Who could it be…??? To find out, just click on the following link & scroll down: http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=99&page=3.

I shouldn’t have too many problems finding the time to post a column next Wednesday. It will most likely be SmackDown related for the most part. However, it will also have to include my predictions for SummerSlam. And just looking at some of the advertised matches so far, it’s not going to be the easiest ppv to predict. As per usual, my column will be posted at the same Wednesday time on the same LOP channel. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.


DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu. 2002-2007

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