Final Resolution 2008 kicks off with a tag team contest between The Latin American Exchange and the Rock n' Rave Infection (Jimmy Rave and Lance Hoyt with Christy Hemme). The LAX were very over with this live crowd and for good reason: their offense is spectacular and hard-hitting and they do a fantastic job of mixing high spots with power moves. Their gimmick would never have worked in the WWE at the time and I'm not sure how interested Homicide was in changing his name and toning down his persona, but they were absolutely among the best tag teams working in the US during this era. This feels more like a "TV" match than a pay-per-view one, but that's not to say it is bad and the right team gets the win. During the post-match, we get a reveal that the mysterious third member of LAX - who had been attacking Hemme on TV in the weeks prior - is, surprise surprise, a beautiful woman! (2.5/5)
Next up - Black Reign vs. Kaz. TNA was trying to make "Kaz" happen and, as I've written about over my last few TNA reviews, one can understand why. He had a good look. He could do absolutely everything in the ring. He was hard-working. But there's just something that didn't quite connect with the crowd to make him stand out as a true top guy like Styles and Joe. This feud does not help things at all as Dustin Rhodes was in bad shape and his "split personality" gimmick made no sense. On Impact, Rhodes wanted an apology and said he didn't remember attacking Kaz because that was his other personality. Okay. Sure. So then why is this match Black Reign vs. Kaz? Shouldn't it be Dustin Rhodes vs. Kaz and then Rhodes "snaps" during the match and transforms into Black Reign? Also, this wrinkle of having a split personality due to a bad childhood is extra stupid because Dustin Rhodes' backstory had been mulled over countless times going back to his earliest appearances in the WWE in 1990. Anyway...this isn't a bad match because Kaz was so smooth in the ring that he could drag a lifeless body to something resembling a competitive match. Plus, while Dustin was not looking too good, his timing and psychology were still there even if his gimmick and cardio were poor. Unfortunately, Kaz's effort and the little bit of spark that Dustin had were not enough to get this across the goal line and the crowd seems indifferent to most of it. A tedious match and a post-match that somehow makes Dustin sympathetic and Kaz look like an asshole as he kidnaps Dustin's pet rat, Misty. Gross. (1.5/5)
Things, thankfully, get much better in our next contest - Gail Kim defending the TNA Knockouts Championships against Awesome Kong in a No Disqualification match. This is a heck of a lot of fun as Kim and Kong spend 10+ minutes destroying each other, brawling in the card, and bringing the physicality and drama in a way that was incredibly rare in the US in terms of women's wrestling at the time. Hell, a match this good wasn't exactly happening every night in the men's division in TNA at the time either. I really liked Gail Kim's toughness and relentless energy despite Kong cutting her off with slam after slam. The chairshots Kim delivers towards the end of the match are brutal and cringe-inducing, but, hey, this is pro-wrestling and these two wanted to steal the show and live up to a No DQ stipulation. I really liked the finish too as Kong essentially cost herself the victory by losing her cool. Great false finishes leading up to it also. Those backhands by Kong were excellent too. An easy "must watch/should watch" that falls just a hair or two short of being an all-time classic, but only because the finish is a touch inconclusive/overbooked with all the ref bumps. (4/5)
Judas Mesias took on Abyss in the next match. Having now seen considerably more TNA than I ever thought I would, I've come around to seeing why Abyss was considered one of the better big men of the 00s despite a gimmick that lent itself to some very convoluted and corny storylines. Mesias was James Mitchell's kayfabe son and isn't an awful worker, though he was clearly brought in just to work with Abyss, a role not too dissimilar to the monsters that the WWE would bring in to work short feuds with Taker in the 90s. Abyss and Mesias get 11 minutes and it is better than I thought it would be and not just because of the blood and weapon spots. Mesias and Abyss have good enough chemistry and the match has good transitions and feels hard fought and personal. Its nothing that I'd necessarily seek out or watch again, but this exceeded my admittedly low expectations. (2.5/5)
Booker T and Sharmell teamed up to face to Bobby Roode and Traci Brooks in the next contest. This was mostly a 1-on-1 Booker T/Bobby Roode match with Brooks on the outside, trying her best not to get involved (as she was a babyface now, but stuck under Roode's thumb). They get 11 minutes but don't do much with it. Booker is someone who achieved a ton in pro-wrestling and, at times, could be great with the right gimmick and right opponent. Unfortunately, Booker didn't have much of a gimmick in his TNA run aside from just being a "legend" and him and Roode don't have good enough chemistry to make this match worth a watch. Not terrible, but boring. The best moment is the post-match segment, where Sharmell takes a big right hand and sells it like she's been shot with and out of a cannon. Feel free to fast forward through the rest of the action to get to it. (1.5/5)
The night's Ultimate X Match was next as Team 3D and Johnny Devine took on The Motor City Machine Guns and "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal. Before the match, Bubba got on the mic and cut down the crowd - very reminiscent of when they used to do similar pre-match promos in ECW, though those were usually handled by Joel Gertner. This was another match that over-achieved for me. I've not enjoyed many of Team 3D's matches in TNA, but this was them poking fun at themselves. Johnny Devine took some nasty bumps, including a botched double-table spot that ended with him sliding off of the pine and landing hard on the floor rather than crashing through them. A fun match with an ending that wasn't super clever, but was still really effective and got heat. (3/5)
The third tag team match in a row followed, this time for the titles, as Samoa Joe and Kevin Nash teamed up to challenge AJ Styles and Tyson Tomko. Joe and Styles had such great chemistry that it absolutely carries this match well beyond what I believe Nash or Tomko could've done without them doing the bulk of the work. That's not to say Nash or Tomko are particularly bad, but Styles and Joe were at another level and complemented each other incredibly well. Kevin Nash "turns" on Joe towards the end of the match and one would think that Joe would then get squashed, but I actually bought that he might somehow pull out a victory towards the end. You really can't go wrong putting Joe and Styles together. (2.5/5)
Main event time - Kurt Angle defending the TNA World Championship against former champion and fellow heel Christian Cage. The heel/heel dynamic and the predictability of the finish - nobody expected Cage to win - kept me out of what was an otherwise good match. Cage's bumping was excellent and I like he seemed to reign in some of Angle's tendency to rush through a match with go-go-go big spots and then blatant no-selling later on. Here, the transitions work, the pace is methodical without being boring, and while I didn't bite on any of the false finishes, the execution of all the sequences, counters, and pin attempts was good. There were a few noticeable moments of cooperation and re-positioning, but nothing too egregious. The story around this match was what role AJ Styles would play, so we get him showing up towards the end and seemingly partnering up with Christian before turning on him and helping Angle win. Why not? Being turned on does not make one a babyface in my eyes, but I'm interested in seeing how this played out when I watch the next PPV. (3/5)
With an overall Kwang Rating of 2.56-out-of-5, Final Resolution 2008 isn't a complete DUD, but it is buoyed by some particular great performances from Kong and Gail Kim, Cage and Angle, and, surprisingly enough, Team 3D. The rest of the card is nothing to write home about, though there are some cool moments sprinkled throughout the show, including Sharmell getting decked in the face, LAX's always-welcome tag work, and Samoa Joe and AJ Styles getting time to showcase their chemistry. Still, with only one match being something I'd consider "must watch" - and even that might be a bit of a stretch - this show earns a...
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver
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