TNA Final Resolution 2010

TNA Final Resolution 2010

Orlando, FL - December 2010

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the TNA World Champion was Jeff Hardy, the Motor City Machine Guns held the TNA World Tag Team Championships, Madison Rayne was the Knockouts Champion, AJ Styles was the Television Champion, and the X-Division Champion was Robbie E.

Opening up the show we get Beer Money (James Storm and Bobby Roode) taking on Ink Inc. (Jesse Neal and Shannon Moore). Is this the best post-WCW match in his Moore's career? Is this the best Jesse Neal match period? I'm not sure why everything works here, but this is a real overachiever of a match-up with a crowd that is way, way, way more into this than one would ever expect and Moore's offense looking especially crisp. This isn't a Beer Money carry job and its not like anything they do is particularly brilliant, but the pace of this match is relentless and efficient and their chemistry is noticeable throughout. I loved the closing sequence and the superkick that Storm delivered before they hit their signature finish. A surprisingly strong opening match to the show. (3/5)

Tara took on Mickie James in a very uneventful, uninspired Falls Count Anywhere match. They tossed each other into walls, they choked each other, they hit each other with knees and debris and it ate up time but it didn't deliver anything we haven't seen a million times before. The match ends in the men's bathroom, a throwback to the Sullivan/Benoit match that became the mold for so many Falls Count Anywhere matches that came after it. I like both Tara and Mickie James, but this match did nothing for me. (0.5/5)

Robbie E. and Jay Lethal had a match at the last PPV that exceeded my expectations, but this was considerably weaker. Robbie E.'s manager/valet Cookie was put in a Shark Cage at the start of the match by Shark Boy, which was a nice touch. The match goes 8 minutes but feels like twice that because of how dull it is. Their last match worked because it leaned into the simple story of Lethal being the far superior wrestler and Robbie E. bumping and selling and eventually getting the upset victory. Things were more even in this match and it made it less exciting and interesting to watch. Another stinker after a surprisingly strong opening match. (0.5/5)

Rob Van Dam took on Rhyno in a First Blood Match in the next contest. The story coming into this was that Rhyno felt abandoned by his buddies in the ECW-based EV2.0 stable and so he joined up with Eric Bischoff. The crowd was much more heated for this than the previous bout. Not too bad of a match and I liked how Rhyno threw in extra touches to keep the focus on trying to bust Van Dam open, biting his head, running his face along the rope, etc. (while also hitting some of their signatures moves in order to "soften up" the other). Highlights included an awesome Gore from Rhyno that Van Dam sold beautifully, a suplex on the ramp, a wicked spinebuster from the Man Beast, and a springboard dropkick from Van Dam. The finishing stretch was the worst part as the Van Daminator spot was clumsy and Rhyno clearly bladed before (and after?) the Van Terminator, signaling that this was going to be the match-ender before the move was even performed (but, to be fair, the finish was pretty predictable before the bell even rung). Overall, though, a solid match thanks to how good Rhyno's offense looked and Van Dam's selling. (2.5/5)

After an unremarkable backstage promo from Frankie Kazarian, it was time for the night's TV Title match as Douglas Williams challenged AJ Styles of Fourtune. This was essentially a heel/heel match, but AJ had some supporters in the crowd (as noted by Tenay) and the real appeal of this match was seeing two of the company's best workers mix it up. As one might expect with these two, this was a smartly-worked, well-paced match with good transitions and cut-offs and well-executed offense from both men. AJ hit a springboard Pele Kick/Moonsault as Williams was prone, hanging over the middle rope, at one point in a particular highlight. AJ went to work on Williams' knee during the second half of the match, applying a figure four that started in the ring but ended up on the floor when Williams rolled over and under the bottom rope. Back in the ring, Williams hit a series of headbutts to the gut and uppercut jabs before launching Styles with an overhead release T-Bone suplex. Williams controlled for the next couple minutes but AJ turned things around with his springboard reverse DDT. Styles went for another figure four but Williams cradled him for 2. A strike exchange led to a Pele Kick, but when AJ went for a splash on the outside, Williams ran him into the rail and then hit a rolling German Suplex on the floor! Styles barely beat the count but Williams grabbed hold of him and hit him with the Styles Clash, beating the champ with his own move! Maybe not "must see," but a very, very good match that was all killer-no filler. (3.5/5)

Generation Me (aka The Young Bucks) took on The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) for the Guns' TNA World Tag Team Championships in a Full Metal Mayhem match (TNA's version of TLC) next. Watching this, you can see that the Bucks were on the verge of "putting everything together" to become, arguably, the most thrilling and "must see" tag team of the past 25 years. However, they weren't there yet and this match underdelivered. There were some good spots thrown in and all four guys worked very hard and took some very painful-looking and sounding bumps onto ladders, but the amount of time the Guns spent building a scaffold made things drag and, ultimately, did not lead to a pay-off that was worth the lengthy set-up. Even for its time, I don't think this would've been considered a show-stealer. (3/5)

Shit. Abyss vs. "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero in a Casket Match is next. Just...awful. For starters, why a Casket Match? Is this Hogan and Bischoff (and maybe Vince Russo?) thinking that pushing Abyss as their version of The Undertaker means he should also inexplicably have the Deadman's signature match despite his character not having anything to do with death imagery? Just like their previous match, this is a dull affair despite Dinero trying to bring fire early. Abyss is a slow, plodding brawler who is only really good when he's allowed to use thumbtacks and tables to make his matches exciting while Dinero's charisma, offense, and character are not enough to really lift his opponents. At one point, Abyss punches his way through the side of the casket to hit a low blow on Dinero, which, if that's the most creative and exciting spot you've got in your major blood feud match, you should really rethink everything you've got planned. The match goes 11 minutes but feels like twice that. Not good. (1/5)

Samoa Joe took on Jeff Jarrett in an MMA Rules match. Coming to the ring, Joe sold damage to his knee from earlier in the night when he was attacked by Jarrett's goons and Gunner Scott tried to take him out with a lead pipe. Despite the attack, Joe was clearly the better submission wrestler and grappler for the vast majority of the contest, with Jarrett only narrowly surviving multiple submissions by being outside of the ring or too close to the ropes (he still visually tapped twice). Interference leads to Jarrett locking in an Ankle Lock and making Joe quit. I "get" that, logically and in terms of the storyline, Samoa Joe having ankle and knee damage coming into the ring was an "out" for why he submitted, but if you're going to do shenanigans to end a match like this, go all the way and have Jarrett shatter a guitar over Joe's kneecap or something. Joe's work was good, Jarrett did some good heeling, but the finish wasn't creative and a real letdown. (1.5/5)

Main event time - Jeff Hardy defending the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Matt Morgan with Ken Anderson as the guest referee. Before the match, Morgan approaches Anderson and asks him to make the match, pointing out that Fourtune will be interfering anyway and that he'd rather take them out then have them cause a disqualification. If that's the case, why not ask Anderson to announce that if Fourtune interfere, the title changes hands? Does a referee even have that authority? Anderson refuses...but then announces that the match is No DQ once everyone gets in the ring. I liked that because it showed that Anderson was willing to make it a No DQ match but didn't want to give Fourtune the chance to capitalize on it before the match. Smart. Unfortunately, this is the only smart piece of writing in the entire match as everything else is outright terrible. Morgan controls early, dominating with his strength. I would've liked the commentary team to explain why he didn't grab a chair or any other sort of weapon at this point as nobody from Fourtune was around. Instead, they proceed to have a back-and-forth match with neither guy taking advantage of the stipulation or any of Fourtune showing up. Wasn't their presence the whole reason this match was made no DQ? Hardy manages to land multiple Twist of Fates (now dubbed the Twist of Hate) and, after a third one, makes a cover...but Anderson drags with the count to comedic levels, which makes Morgan look like a total loser and more because he was pinned 100% clean in a match that he himself demanded be made No DQ (but then did nothing to take advantage of). We get a ref bump and now its Morgan's chance to get the visual pin. Bischoff drags a referee down the aisle, shoves Anderson into the post, and then pushes the referee into the ring to make the count...even though Hardy is the one getting pinned?!? The ref counts 1...2...and then Bischoff pulls the referee that he himself dragged down to the ring before he can make the 3 count. Why didn't Bischoff wait till Hardy got out from underneath Morgan before he told the referee to get in the ring? Awful execution of a very convoluted finish. I'll give credit to Hardy and Morgan for having a fine match...but it was not a No DQ match and it was not a PPV main event-worthy. If this were your TV main event and just been a straight-up 1-on-1 match with Anderson as the impartial guest referee who, at the end, gets distracted and then begrudgingly makes the count for Hardy, it wouldn't have been anything special, but it wouldn't have an embarrassment like this was. (1/5)

With its1.83-out-of-5 Kwang Score, Final Resolution 2010 is the lowest scoring TNA PPV I've reviewed despite featuring a very good Television Championship match and an over-achieving opener in Ink Inc. vs. Beer Money. The Bucks/MCMG match is a decent spotfest, but having watched so many better versions of it, its hard to recommend. The show's low points are among the lowest the company ever produced, from the tedious Jay Lethal/Robbie E match to the piss-poor trio of matches that close the show and seem to be competing to be the worst-booked of the bunch. Though the bad outweighs the good, there are still too many decent matches to consider this a true dud.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver