TNA Turning Point 2009

TNA Turning Point 2009

Orlando, FL - November 2009

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, AJ Styles was the TNA World Heavyweight Champion, the X-Division Champion was The Amazing Red, the TNA World Tag Team Champions were the British Invasion (Brutus Magnus and Doug Williams), the TNA Knockouts Champion was ODB, the TNA Global Champion was Eric Young, and the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions were Sarita and Taylor Wilde. 

Before the show begins, a video package highlights several of tonight's main event matches and, more historically significant, the arrival of Hulk Hogan (and Eric Bischoff) to TNA. I'm not sure if Hogan and Bischoff had "the book" yet, but I remember/think that they didn't take over the creative direction until a little bit later on. Anyway, we'll see if their involvement comes into play later on in the show, on-screen or off...

Amazing Red defends his TNA X-Division Championship against Homicide in the opening contest. They get plenty of time and they bust out lots and lots of impressive moods, but this didn't "grab" me the way I hoped it would. Homicide is a good heel, but not a great one, and there's no diversity to his crowd taunting, nothing "extra" that he does to really get the crowd being slightly engaged to fully enthralled. The best facet of this match were the nearfalls during the second half, some of which were absolutely incredible with both guys getting huge reactions for their 2-and-9-10ths kickouts. A good 10-minute match that felt a bit longer just because of how much action they jam-packed into it. (3/5)

Both the TNA Knockouts Championship and the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships were on the line as ODB, Sarita, and Taylor Wilde defended their gold (the former being the Knockouts Champion, the latter holding the tag gold) against The Beautiful People - Velvet Skye, Madison Rayne, and Lacey Von Erich. This wasn't as bad as it could've been considering the talent level of the heel side. Someone in the front row holds up a sign that says "Lacey Von Botch," but she's barely in the match so its not like she drags it down at any point. Taylor Wilde had noticeably improved and while I'm not an ODB fan, she kept her more obnoxious ring mannerisms to a minimum here (meaning we still had her plugging her nose before delivering a headbutt to Velvet Skye's crotch, but she didn't rub her breasts between every big spot for a cheap pop). Not good, but inoffensive and it didn't overstay its welcome. (1.5/5)

Things get much better in the next match as The Motor City Machine Guns and Beer Money challenge The British Invasion for the TNA World Tag Team Championships. This match was excellent for the first eight or so minutes - lots of action, great teamwork out of the Guns and Beer Money, a fully-engaged crowd - but then goes off a cliff once the Guns are "eliminated" and basically disappear from the match so that Eric Young (who interferes on the Invasion's behalf) can have his moment with Kevin Nash (who inexplicably attacks Bobby Roode in the entranceway despite being in a feud with Young over the Legends Championship). Just a total shame that this match, which was on its way into 4-star territory, has to end with such a lame, overbooked finish designed to play into the impending Wolfpack Reunion storyline rather than just giving these guys the chance to shine on their own. (2.5/5)

Tara vs. Awesome Kong followed in a Six Sides of Steel match. This was really good and felt almost like a title match because of how over Kong was as an unbeatable monster. This was physical and spirited and Kong took some pretty big bumps off the top rope - a powerbomb and a missile dropkick - that were impressive. Again, the crowd was very much into this match, which is more than could often be said about the women's matches happening in the WWE at this time. They only got 8 minutes, but they used them well and Tara's victory felt earned (even if her overacting wasn't great during the post-match). Solid match. (3/5)

Team 3D teamed with Rhyno to take on "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero, Matt Morgan, and Hernandez. This was billed and built as a bit of a Old Generation vs. New Generation match. I'm not sure why the Tag Team Triple Threat got under 10 minutes, the Tara/Kong cage match got under 10 minutes, and this match ended up with close to 15. That being said, this was not as bad as I thought it would be considering the talent involved. Somehow, shockingly, the crowd doesn't chant for tables within the first 2 minutes, which is special for a Team 3D match. There are some real highlights to this match - Dinero double-legging Bubba early was a great spot that got a huge reaction and made him seem like a badass, Matt Morgan's elbows in the corner were over, and SuperMex's plancha was great too. I liked the heels having to cheat to get the W in the end as it was the right call to make against a less experienced trio that had clearly pushed the veterans to their limit. Smart, sensible booking there. This felt like a TV match but the crowd's reactions were there to make it feel special and like it actually mattered. Maybe not a "hidden gem," but not necessarily a match you'd just fast-forward through either. (2.5/5)

Bobby Lashley took on Scott Steiner in a Falls Count Anywhere/No DQ match next. This one started off hot with lots of physicality and brawling. I didn't watch the weekly TV building up to this but Steiner came off as a total psycho from the video packages and pre-match promo. Good stuff, at least in hindsight. The match dipped a bit when they went to the back as the table spot and Lashley's spear through a wooden-something-or-other were noticeably convoluted. Steiner's Frankensteiner may not have been the prettiest move on the show, but you gotta give the heavyweight credit for even doing it at his age. This was a fun 12 minutes with an underwhelming-but-still-surprising ending. (3/5)

Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe followed. Wolfe (formerly known as Nigel McGuinness) came into TNA and was immediately treated as a big deal, attacking Angle and putting him on the shelf during the build-up to this match. The crowd was hot for this. I would've liked a little more character work out of Wolfe to really establish what makes him "different," but some of the sequences were excellent and Angle was clearly in the "giving" mood, bumping and selling for Wolfe from beginning to end. Meltzer gave this more than 4-stars, which feels like maybe a bit much...but, then again, in 2009, this sort of contest wasn't happening on PPVs regularly and certainly not on weekly TV the way it seems to happen these days. Very, very good, but a hair short of "must see." (3.5/5)

Main event time - AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels for AJ's TNA World Heavyweight Championship. A match "four years in the making," these two put on one of the best matches in US pro-wrestling history at the Unbreakable PPV in 2005, a match that established what the X-Division was all about and put TNA on the map as a fan destination for cutting edge wrestling. Hitting that same peak was going to be impossible as you can only "break ground" one time. That being said, this is a fantastic match in its own right and it is wonderful to see Samoa Joe motivated again after a very uneven 2009. The MVP of this match, however, was AJ Styles, who executes everything he does flawlessly. They got a little bit "cutesy" with some of the three-man submission spots, but that's getting a bit nitpicky. I loved the psychology here too as, when someone did hang around the outside of the ring to give the spotlight to the remaining two, it did come off as strategic and not someone "overselling." No weapons, no chairs, no tables, no brawling in the crowd, I liked that they wrestled this match "straight up" and kept most of the action contained in the ring. There were some wonderful sequences, especially towards the end, and there were a couple of really nifty nearfalls to build towards a believable finish. I think the only "knock" against this match is that they probably had an additional 5 minutes in them to really move this into all-time classic territory as things never really went "beyond" in terms of emotional storytelling. (4/5)

Earning a very respectable Kwang Score of 2.88-out-of-5, Turning Point 2009 is an uneven show but Angle and Wolfe put on a great contest and the main event is arguably the TNA Match of the Year 2009 (only Jarrett/Angle from Genesis earned a score equal to it from me). With only one truly subpar match, the Knockouts tag, and some overachieving performances out of Scott Steiner, Team 3D, and Tara (Victoria), this was a good show with plenty on it worth recommending. 

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand