Hard Justice Thoughts After the PPV

I found it absolutely hilarious how silent the crowd was during the intro. Would've preferred some "We want wrestling" chants but whatev.

X-Division match
Petey and Creed had a good match. It got time, Creed looked strong and the right man retained, albeit by interference. We'll see how the former Daivari plays into things and whether Creed gets a rematch due to the outcome but overall this was a strong match and a good choice for an opener.

I liked Daivari's gimmick back when it was Hassan and he wasn't being investigated by DHS. I think we all remember what happened to Hassan, hopefully they don't pull the same shit with Daivari.

Six-Woman Tag
I wasn't actually able to watch this match so I'll just look at it from a booking standpoint. Kong didn't take the pin which is nice, Taylor got the pin which is better but she got the win via roll-up which is not good. Taylor desperately needs a convincing pinfall win fast or the fans simply won't care. As I said before, it didn't work for Santino, it's not working for Punk and it's not working for Taylor.

TNA problem #416: Giving comedy promos to people who are in a serious feud. Time and place, people.

Tag Title Match
Live LAX song was sweet despite the failed fan participation bit. Another good match with time, BMI won the titles but they played up Homicide's injury and he took the pin with Hernandez looking like a beast throughout the match. I really damn hope that they don't split LAX and hope that they continue this feud but this match on it's own was solid.

Black Tie Brawl and Chain Match
This match on its own can tell you everything you need to know about TNA. Dutt and Lethal worked their asses off to salvage something and Val walked away to further the story, thankfully not getting involved past that. Unfortunately, the gimmick ruined the match and while there were a few good spots, this was simply too ridiculous a match and a waste of their talent. Regarding the angle, a lot of people are thinking Val will turn but I think it'll be Lethal turning after Val leaves him with another wrestler stepping him to take her side and feud with Lethal. Abyss maybe?

I wonder how Sting is reacting to Booker's promos considering the reason why he didn't go to the 'E is because he didn't like Rocky's "you're a jabroni" attitude. Booker's playing that up a lot more than ol' Dwayne ever did. "Wannabe Indy worker" indeed.
New Joisey Street Fight
I think about half the match was split-screened which is not good because it divides fan attention. The crowd was with it though. Faces got the definitive win which was excellent from a booking standpoint. 3D and Devine beat them down to continue the feud which I don't like but Abyss comes in to save the day and again refuses to use weapons. I smell this becoming a six-man feud with 3D trying to goad Abyss into becoming his former self. Not entirely sure if I like that idea though.

Last Man Standing
Sorry, make that a Texas Deathmatch. Either way, the gimmick is still about beating the fuck out of your opponent so he can't answer the count, just a 13-count instead of 10. These two had a great match and Kurt took an inhumanely sick bump to finish the match and a ton of people thought he had a legit injury until AJ attacked him again. I really hope this leads to Angle getting a proper surgery and taking some much-needed time off.

There are two ways the Sting/AJ program can go. One is that Sting turns heel outright. The other is that AJ turns heel from beating on Kurt after the match (it worked for Bret Hart) and Sting becomes a sort of Moral Guardian, beating people who take things too far. I like the latter since AJ gets to be a douchebag again and there's always a huge risk with taking a guy who's been face for well over 20 years and turning him heel. Sting is one of the few natural faces who works well in that role and considering he's nearing the end of his career, they really shouldn't change things for the sake of change.

TNA's video packages are still awesome. The video game entrances still suck.

World Title Match
I'm not going to sidestep here: this match was a large disappointment. Pretty much every other match on this card was good from a wrestling standpoint, Joe and Booker both phoned it in and I think the crowd realized it. The match never picked up and got interesting to the point where after El Kabong and the pin I said "That's it?" Very bad effort from both. Thank god the finish wasn't a complete scewjob like the last PPV or this match would have been completely revolting.

THE FEUD WILL CONTINUE of course. The presence of the guitar is interesting as it obviously sets up for Jarrett's return. We'll see where they go with this. With Sting and AJ presumably feuding, one would think this turns into a triple threat program with Jarrett, unless Nash gets involved to balance things.

Overall a good PPV. Good wrestling aside from the main event, even Dutt and Lethal made the most out of theirs. Booking has been above average for TNA through the PPV, even for the main event. A shame the title match was one of the few that TNA's had for a long time that sucked from a wrestling standpoint and not a booking standpoint. Overall though, the PPV was a good thing.