TNA Turning Point 2012

TNA Turning Point 2012

Orlando, FL - November 2012

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Jeff Hardy was the TNA World Champion, Samoa Joe was the Television Champion, the World Tag Team Championships were held by Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez, the X-Division Champion was Rob Van Dam, ODB and Eric Young were the Knockouts Tag Team Champions, and Tara was the Knockouts Champion.

Turning Point 2012 began with Samoa Joe defending his TNA Television Championship against Magnus in a rematch from the previous month's show. This was an improvement from their first battle, though the "No DQ" stipulation didn't really add much of anything to it because the match was wrestled fairly straight-up and only Magnus seemed interested in using any sort of weapon. I also liked that this felt like a return to form for Joe, back to wearing the trademark red-and-black and wrestling in front of a crowd that seemed invested and excited to see him. I'm a rather big Samoa Joe fan but I'm also fairly critical of some of his TNA years when he seemed fairly unmotivated and disengaged (and who could blame him?) so this match felt like a step in the right direction. Not bad at all. (2.5/5)

This was followed by ODB and Eric Young taking on Tara and "Jesse" (aka Jessie Godderz, who came into TNA after appearing on the show Big Brother, a franchise he still frequently appears on based on a cursory look at his Wikipedia page). It was a wise move to have Eric Young in the ring here because he carries Jesse through a decent 8-and-a-half minute contest. Young and ODB's partnership isn't my cup of tea, but its over with the TNA crowd. The match doesn't overstay its welcome and they keep the energy up from beginning to end so there isn't much to criticize. Its not an all-time classic or anything, but its fine for what is due to the energy and competency of ODB and Young. (2.5/5)

Rob Van Dam defended the X-Division Championship against Joey Ryan in the next match. RVD was moving and working slower than in his glory years (obviously), but was still over with the crowd. Joey Ryan had some momentum and had a decent gimmick going as a sleazebag. They get even less time than the previous match, which was probably a good thing considering RVD was working like he was really only interested in the paycheck and Ryan is more "sizzle than steak" as an in-ring competitor, a guy that could get heat with his shtick but wasn't super special as a wrestler (at least based on what I've seen). (2/5)

Luke "Doc" Gallows took on Joseph Park (Abyss' alter ego) in the next match. This stunk, but what would one expect with these two? Gallows never been a particularly exciting worker, singles or tag, but somehow built a respectable career based on sheer size. I was genuinely amazed that I enjoyed the Joseph Park/Bully Ray match from a couple months prior (?) so I had at least a tiny bit of hope that maybe they'd do something interesting with their 10 minutes but this was just a boring brawl. Joseph Park "snapping" and essentially revealing that he's just Abyss' "other personality" is eye-rolling cringe. This is the type of drippy, soggy storyline that could work in the proper context - like maybe early 90s WWF where the show is designed to appeal to 7 year olds - but TNA was too varied a show, too "adult-oriented" at times, to allow a concept like this to be enjoyed even tongue-in-cheek. (0/5)

Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez defended the TNA World Tag Team Championships against Christopher Daniels and Kazarian in the next match. I really enjoyed the triangle tag match from the previous PPV but wasn't sure this would be as good (without AJ Styles and Kurt Angle in the mix). While this did not surpass that match, it was a good bout, the kind of match that keeps the action going, sticks to the fundamentals of what makes a tag match work, and makes both the champions and challengers look like they could come out with the victory. Solid. (3/5)

James Storm vs. AJ Styles vs. Bobby Roode was next. This one had an interesting-but-potentially-counterproductive stipulation as the winner would become the number one contender to the TNA World Championship while the loser would have to wait one full year before they could challenge for the title. While I could understand that, at the time, TNA was hoping to make bigger stars out of Roode and Storm, you don't have to look any further than this very match to see who shouldn't have taken the pin...and yet, when all is said and done, its AJ Styles who did the job. To his credit, AJ puts on a subtly genius performance throughout the match, purposefully wrestling with more trepidation and making some noticeable "slips" to sell the idea that he is not at his mental peak coming into this match. Storm and Roode draw upon their deep history, which also helps a somewhat uneven match. This match is loaded with action but, for whatever reason, it didn't wow me and the audience didn't seem enthralled by it either. Meltzer gave this 3.5 stars The Observer, which seems a little extra kind because the effort was there, the execution was there, and the story was good, but all the elements didn't make for a captivating watch. Better than average, sure, but not as good as I was hoping. (3/5)

Devon, now a part of the Aces and 8s took on Kurt Angle in the next match. This was about what I expected, though it's not like Devon was working hard. At the end of the day, he wasn't a very exciting singles worker and Angle, while fine here, is a bit overrated when it comes to delivering on "carry jobs," which was needed here. The commentators play up Devon targeting Angle's neck, far from the most creative angle to take (especially considering Devon isn't really doing all that much different than what he usually does). Angle ends up getting the clean W with the Ankle Lock as the rest of the Aces and 8s watch from the outside. (2/5)

Main event time - Jeff Hardy vs. Austin Aries in a Ladder Match for Hardy's TNA World Championship. They had an awesome match on the previous show and, with ladders now included, I had high hopes for this and was quite pleased with it. Unlike the first match, which felt like Aries doing his damndest to prove he deserved to be in the main event scene, it was Hardy who had a "career match" here, taking some absolutely nasty bumps on the map and into the "spine" of a ladder. I really liked Aries' cleverness in this match, first when he tried to bury Hardy under a ladder and the steps and, later, when he got a hold of the controls for the hanging belts. I also really, really liked how often Hardy and Aries' ability to capture the titles was thwarted by the ladders themselves being bent. I've probably seen well over a hundred ladder matches over the years so it's rare that one really stands out, but this was awesome (even after a bit of a shaky start when Aries barely hit Hardy with a stomp and Hardy still bumped for it right in front of the camera). (4/5)

Though not as good as Bound for Glory from the previous month, Turning Point 2012 at least features a very, very good main event. Unfortunately, nothing else on the card even comes close and the Joseph Park/Doc Gallows match is a complete drag. Aside from the aforementioned main event, the best thing on this show is AJ Styles performance in a losing effort. Earn a Kwang Score of 2.38-out-of-5, this show is a...

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver