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SIDE BY SIDE: WWE RAW VERSUS TNA IMPACT: LOOKING AT THE QUARTER HOUR SEGMENTS

By Richard Trionfo on 2010-03-09 21:09:46
With Raw and Impact going head to head on Monday nights, I figured that it would be a good thing to compare what each company provides for the wrestling fans. I will take a look at both shows in fifteen minute segments. For the individual thoughts on the shows, you can check out my Thoughts Columns for Raw and Impact as well as Buck Woodward’s ‘Looking At . . . ‘ columns.

The format of this column will be to look at the segments and then take a brief look at what happened. At the end, I will mention which brand’s segment I preferred. At the end of the column, I will look at how the segments fared against each other and then give my pick of what show I preferred.

9:00 to 9:15 PM Segment

Raw

Undertaker and Shawn Michaels in ring promos

Impact

Hogan and Abyss promo; Hogan/Abyss versus Styles/Flair; Sting’s return; Hogan saying that they would wrestle later in the show.

Preferred Show: I would give the advantage to Raw with the confrontation between the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. I thought it did a good job to build the most anticipated match at Wrestlemania. I thought Shawn did a good job of making sure that the crowd would be behind Taker at the end of the segment since they were chanting HBK at the start of the promo.

I thought TNA did a good job to try to throw down the gauntlet immediately by having their announced main event at the start of the show, but it was too short and then about two minutes into the match, Sting makes his return and attacks Hogan and Abyss.

9:15 to 9:30 PM Segment

Raw

Divas Match; First Criss Angel segment

Impact

Sting/Dixie; Flair/Styles promo; Abyss cries; Brooke/Jennifer; X Division promos; start of X Division Match

Preferred Show: I would give the advantage to Impact, almost by default. I thought Styles and Flair did a decent job celebrating what they did to Hogan while staying confident that they would win the match later in the night. I thought the low point of this segment for TNA was the ‘very special’ segments with Abyss and then with Brooke and Jennifer. I am not watching TNA for an afterschool special or an episode of 90210. They built back momentum with the promos by Frankie Kazarian, Christopher Daniels, and Doug Williams. It provided ‘three generations’ of X Division wrestlers to show the importance of the division to TNA’s growth. The first minutes of the X Division match fell into this segment and was my favorite part of the show.

Raw gave us a match with the six Divas who are on the Raw roster and are not injured, scheduled to be in a segment with the guest host, or in the white van with Samoa Joe. It was a typical multi-Diva match where a few did not even get to wrestle. Eve looked good in the match despite Maryse’s performance. I did not like Criss Angel on the show and felt that he took away from the show because every time they went to him, it killed the momentum of the show. One of the two positives from Criss Angel took place during this segment, he shut Jillian Hall up.

9:30 to 9:45 PM Segment

Raw

Show/Miz versus Morrison/Truth; Cena interview; Second Criss Angel segment

Impact

X Division Title match; Shannon Moore returns gets title match; Dixie announcement; Knockouts Title Match

Preferred Show: This is another Impact selection. The X Division match was what I was hoping from one of the companies because it was a match that showcased the athleticism of the wrestlers. Doug Williams is underrated in my opinion and if you have the opportunity to see some of his early Ring of Honor work, you will want to see more from Williams. Kazarian and Daniels also looked strong in the match and should have been given another title match before the buzzkill of a Shannon Moore title match at Destination X. The show built some momentum with the announcement that Sting would be wrestling. I hope that Dixie does not become a regular character on the show because I think it would affect the way that she can mingle with the fans at shows. I am all for gratuitous shots of attractive women, but TNA goes overboard with it to the point where it is overkill. I am surprised that they don’t have restraining orders. The Knockouts Tag Title match was too short, but it continued the Daffney/Tara feud and gave Velvet and Madison the titles.

The promo from Miz was okay, but nowhere near his best promos. The match was more of a set up for the match at Wrestlemania and the fact that they were in the ring for a minute or two actually took away from my interest in the match at the pay per view. The John Cena interview was nothing special. The second positive from Criss Angel took place during this segment, we got Evan Bourne in a qualifying match.

9:45 to 10:00 PM Segment

Raw

Orton versus DiBiase/Rhodes

Impact

Dinero/Wolfe segment; Sting walks; Women celebrate; Sting/Van Dam Match and beat down;

Preferred Show: This segment was equal in my opinion because I did not think that either stood out. The Legacy feud has been booked very poorly and the fact that DiBiase and Rhodes got a win over Orton means less because Orton had it won until he looked at the Wrestlemania sign.

While the beat down by Desmond Wolfe on D’Angelo Dinero was good, I still wonder which physician would clear Dinero to be wrestling. This segment had the misuse of Rob Van Dam so any positive from the Wolfe beat down was neutralized by what happened with Sting and Van Dam.

10:00 to 10:15 PM Segment

Raw

Finish of Orton versus DiBiase/Rhodes; Batista interview; Triple H/Sheamus

Impact

Hogan/Sting/Van Dam; Nash/Hall/Waltman/Young promo

Preferred Show: I have to give this segment to Raw. I have really liked how Batista has handled his heel turn from the ‘You were supposed to be my friend’ stuff with Rey Mysterio to the spotlight seeking champion who is doing what Vince wants to deal with Bret Hart and John Cena. I also like the build for the Sheamus/Triple H match at Mania. Despite forgetting about Kurt Angle or Brock Lesnar’s first years, he did a good job to elevate Sheamus’ achievements but still point out that it doesn’t matter unless you win on the biggest stage. While some of us are Dan Marino or Jim Kelly fans, many consider their careers unfulfilled without a Super Bowl win.

Impact continued their lackluster debut for Rob Van Dam by having security hold back Hogan while Sting continued to swing for the fences on Van Dam’s body. Then they went from that debut to focusing on an angle involving wrestlers who are ‘not under contract’.

10:15 to 10:30 PM Segment

Raw

Triple H/Sheamus continued; Criss Angel segment three; Regal/Bourne

Impact

Waltman versus Young; Angle promo; Angle/Anderson brawl

Preferred Show: Based on the strength of Kurt Angle’s promo and the fact that he went after Ken Anderson in the back during his promo gives Impact the edge over Raw. I did not like the Waltman match, but Angle’s intensity made up for that part of the segment.

The Regal/Bourne match was too short to make an impact on the show but it was nice to see Bourne get the victory. The Criss Angel segment was not good and was a non factor for the rest of the show.

10:30 to 10:45 PM Segment

Raw

Mania run down; Hart/Vince video package

Impact

Hogan heart to hearts; PPV run down; Jarrett/Storm in back; Jarrett versus Storm/Roode

Preferred Show: This one goes to Impact almost by default because Raw gave us a quarter hour of recaps. The Hogan segments were not good, but I liked the parts with Jeff Jarrett, Robert Roode, and James Storm.

10:45 to end of show Segment

Raw

Final Criss Angel segment and Main Event

Impact

Hogan and Brooke; Main Event Part Deux; Hey . . . It’s Jeff Hardy

Preferred Show: I would give this segment to Impact. While I was not looking forward to the restart of the match from the first segment, there was a lot of action and it allowed Abyss to get the pin on A.J. Styles to set up for their match at Destination X. We also got the return of Jeff Hardy on the show. Whether it was intentional or not, I did not like that the show ended with Jeff Hardy on the top turnbuckles.

On Raw, the main event seemed to drag on forever after the announcement by Vince McMahon that it would be a handicap gauntlet with the wrestlers leaving after tagging Vince in. We go to see John Cena get pinned after taking dozens of finishers.

Preferred Segments:
Raw: 2
Impact: 5
Tie: 1

Overall Show Preference:

For the first night of the regular head to head battle between Raw and Impact, I enjoyed Impact more than Raw. While neither show was a home run but while Raw did a decent build for Wrestlemania, I thought Impact had more for the wrestling fan to watch. I liked more of the head to head segments on Impact than Raw this week.

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