By Will Pruett

Why would anyone watch TNA Impact Wrestling anymore?

Seriously, I do not understand the motivation to watch this show. I currently watch in order to review it and my weekly viewing of TNA is met with dread from me and a large deal of complaining from my exceptionally patient wife, who puts up with far more wrestling than anyone should. Why is anyone still watching?

I was optimistic going into Lockdown. The story of MVP gaining control seemed to be made to eliminate Dixie Carter from power and set the world right. It seemed made to get back to good wrestling stories with heels people didn't like and babyfaces they did. It seemed like TNA was about to launch into a new, more logical, more watchable era of storytelling.

They didn't. The perfect example of this was the show-spanning story of Abyss beating up Eric Young so he could not be chained to him in the main event and MVP's quest to find someone else to chain themselves to Abyss. Why exactly anyone else need to be chained to Abyss? Why doesn't MVP just say Abyss can't be at ringside and if he is, Samoa Joe will automatically be given the title? This is a simple solution.

The babyface authority figure apparently has no power and no interest in actually setting things right in TNA. For me, this killed the last hope I had for a well-booked and enjoyable wrestling promotion.

I like the new talent TNA has brought in. I am excited about The Wolves being on the national stage and TNA may have bought a couple more weeks from me with them, but they've become an afterthought since winning and losing the TNA Tag Team Championships. Where's the vengeful promo where they discuss being robbed? Where is the standout performance from them we're all waiting for? What are they doing now? It was nice to begin the MVP story with them, but what is their story today?

What is the point of watching? TNA has presented odd finishes and incompetent authority figures for too long. I'm a die hard wrestling fan who absolutely loves watching wrestling, but I can't find any excitement for TNA. I'm not sure why I'm still watching. Old habits die hard and this one may finally be dead.

Picking up the pieces:

- What is the exact logic used in TNA when determining whether or not to break up a brawl? Eric Young and Abyss fought for almost ten minutes and no one helped Young or broke up the fight. I'm confused.

- Did Young and Abyss brawl by the open loading doors to the Impact Zone which showed an empty arena? I'm pretty sure they did and I'm pretty sure they could have reshot these moments to cover this mistake. Alas, TNA cares far less about show consistency and quality than they should.

- I enjoyed the Bobby Lashley vs. Ethan Carter III match for what it was. I'm impressed by the reactions Lashley has been able to garner. Hopefully this isn't just a one off match/appearance for him. He could be valuable as the strong silent type in TNA.

- Willow's attack on EC3 and subsequent rafter moment with MVP finally brought Willow's overall mission into focus. Why not have Willow cut some weird promos about this mission in his "Willow is coming" vignettes, so we would all know?

- Does Willow have a stock of leftover foam baseball bats in the rafters?

- Try to make sense of this: Samoa Joe wants someone chained to Abyss instead of wanting Abyss banned under penalty of termination. Samoa Joe is just as dumb as everyone else.

- Gunner clicked for me in the buildup and execution of the TNA Championship match a couple of weeks ago, but he has not clicked for since. Gunner is busy reminding everyone how proud he is to have been in the Military and how much he loves his dad. These aren't negative traits, but Gunner is laying it on thick. It doesn't make me want to cheer for him. If Gunner took a more humble approach to his Military service and seemed like a genuinely cool guy, I'd be into it. Right now, he's coming off poorly.

- Gunner's dad is the only person in history to buy a Gunner t-shirt.

- James Storm is coming off as a quality heel opposite Gunner. The anti-Military service thing is awkward, but working. I liked the attack on Gunner's dad even though I fear it will lead to more pro-parent promos from Gunner.

- The odd xenophobia with the foreigners began this week, just a week and a half after the arrival of Sanada and Tigre Uno. The Bro-Mans mocked them for not knowing English backstage in a weird segment that went on for far too long.

- Lei'D Tapa was defeated by Gail Kim and written off of TNA television. Well, this was a good use of people's time and emotional investment for six months.

- Velvet Sky has rethought her position of bringing back The Beautiful People with Angelina Love and is now for it. Good for her.

- The Madison Rayne promo and subsequent Angelina Love attack on Rayne was a nice touch from TNA. I didn't think Rayne would rejoin the group and was happy to see her resist. This sets up a good Knockouts feud going forward.

- Wouldn't it be weird if we never saw Brittany on TNA television again?

- The Wolves were just random guys in the triple threat tag title match. I wonder if they regret not listening to the NXT referee when he told them to go home yet.

- Bully Ray spent about five minutes talking to an empty chair. These TNA babyfaces sure are smart.

- TNA is revolutionizing the use of cardboard and posters as weapons. I'm hoping this results in a poster/cardboard death match at Bound for Glory.

- Bobby Roode attacked Bully Ray in an office. Neat.

- Magnus vs. Samoa Joe definitely happened, but the camera spent more time focused on the tug-o-war happening with MVP and Abyss. Abyss desperately wanted to use those thumbtacks, but MVP had to stop him. Sadly, Samoa Joe couldn't help but dive into the chair Abyss was holding and it cost him the match. It'd be weird to just ban interference, right?

TNA has one large logical flaw you could fly the international space station through. The rest of the little flaws are little tiny pieces of debris littering space. I'm not sure why fans should want to come back week after week. I'm not even sure why I do anymore.

So, what did you think of the show? Agree? Disagree? Either way, feel free to email me at itswilltime@gmail.com or to follow me and interact on twitter at twitter.com/itswilltime.

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