When people look back on TNAs No Surrender pay per view at the end of the year, it's safe to say that all they'll remember is the final 30 seconds. By teasing their big announcment for the whole show and then actually delivering news which caught the entire wrestling world by surprise, TNA not only created an unprecedented buzz for itself, it also managed to gloss over what was, for the most part, a decidedly below average pay per view.
The anouncement that Kurt Angle has come to terms with TNA is huge, there's no doubt about that. Combined with the news they are going to primetime with Impact as well as the return of Vince Russo to creative, TNA has a buzz surrounding it at the moment which is bigger than ever in the companies history. Whether good or bad, people are talking about TNA for once and as the old adage goes, there's no such thing as bad publicitiy. The only obvious downside is that all this buzz and speculation not only over-shadowed this weekend's show, but is also over shadowing a lot of the build for their Bound for Glory show. Although the show as a whole was decidely poor, there were 2 excellent matches in Christian vs. Rhino and the tag team Ultimate X as well as a very significant angle played out involving Samoa Joe and the NWA title belt. Unfortunately with all the hype currently being around TNA signing that aren;t currently in the ring, the actual in-ring product has taken a back seat, which is a worrying move for a company that should be priding itself on it's quality wrestling - after all, WWE sure as hell isn't!
After a string of very solid pay per views, No Surrender featured that kind of fragmented booking and average wrestling that you would expect from a show which has felt like an after though all along. With the main event of Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting settled for Bound For Glory, the build for No Surrender lacked the usual focus of a title match and as such felt somewhat of a filler show in the weeks leading up to it, much like WWE single brand pay per views. Thank goodness then for Christian Cage vs. Rhino and the Ultimate X tag match. Prior to that, the show was punctuated by ridiculous booking and matches that were far from exciting. Despite being a crowd favourite, Eric Young was never going to carry muscle-bound goof A-1 to a good match and this was a very underwhelming opener. Then, during the Petey Williams vs. Jay Lethal and Senshi vs. Chris Sabin matches we saw the babyfaces imitate Jackass and do crazy stunts to help them win their matches. Now call me stupid, but isn't one of the points in Jackass that fans aren't supposed to emulate them? This now makes Dutt, Lethal and Sabin look even more stupid. The laxative angle with Lethal and Williams was just embarassing and made the X Division look like amateur hour, while the shenangians in the Sabin vs. Senshi match ruined what was otherwise a really strong bout. Thank god the crowd voiced their dissatisfaction here and at the Impact taping and hopefully we'll see an end to this current storyline. God knows, after this and the Kevin Nash debacle, the X Division desperatly needs to get back to putting on some awesome matches and go back to being a positive for the company, not an embarassing negative.
So it was, that nearly half way through the show we got out first match of any meaning that wasn't punctuated by silliness. Christian and Rhino had a really good match that followed up on their weeks of really interesting build since Christian's heel turn. Although it didn't make much sense at the time, you cannot argue with the quality of promos that have built to this match and Christian is back to being the slimy heel he is so good at portraying. Rhino is also reaping the rewards and his stock is definitely on the rise as he has more than carried his side of things in thie feud and as such the match definitely felt like a main event match with main event stars. Although slow to get going, they told a great story - so great, that you don't even mind there being a ref bump at the end as it actually adds to it rather than seem like a booking crutch. By adding the idea that Rhino had a concussion going in, it gives Rhino an excuse for his clean loss and so I don't think we will be seeing an end to this feud anytime soon, which is no bad thing. With Bound for Glory being in Rhino's hometown, I can see a big babyface win at the next show, but for now this was a really solid match which has helped get over both guys and helped save the pay per view at this point.
This was followed by the Ultimate X match between Konnan's LAX group and AJ Styles and Chris Daniels. In many ways, this deserved to be the main event as once again Styles and Daniels helped steal the show by putting on one of the best Ultimate X matches in TNA history. These two have really found their niche in the tag division as well as revitalizing tag team wrestling in TNA. Homicide and Hernandez though, more than held their own in this match and the LAX gimmick is becoming one of the best parts of the TNA product right now. When it came to who won this match, either team could have walked off with the gold and it would not matter. However, thanks to Chris Daniels' insane dive from the corner post of the Ultimate X structure, Styles and Daniels regained the belt and we are set for a rubber match at Bound for Glory which should very well steal the show once again.
Then finally we came to our main event. Although the idea of this match has seemed very forced and like a filler main event, you can't fault the build up for it. Although I would have preferred to see Ultimate X close the show, this match was a dran sight more entertaining than many expected. Although the build saw the emphasis put on the fans getting their revenge on Jarrett, TNA did an excellent job of refocusing Joe's role in the match on the final Impact and by bloodying Joe and having him cut that superb promo, we finally got the heat in the match that was missing all along. As such, the match kept a nice balance of fans getting to hit Jarett and joe getting his revenge and coming across like a star. It's easy to forget that with all that's been said about Jarrett pushing himself as the top guy when he doesn't need, but the man can still have a really strong match when he needs to and he showed he can still cut it in the ring with this match. He put over Joe and made him look a million bucks, while taking the pin clean in the middle of the ring after taking only one muscle-buster. Admittedly he was a little bit quick to get up on his feet once the match was over, but fair dues to him, he took the loss and has set-up an intriguing issue between himself and Joe for the coming months.
Overall verdict: C+
"A definite filler show that people will only really remember for the final 30 seconds. On the plus-side this means some stupid booking and average matches will now be forgotten. But on the down side three very good matches in Christian/Rhino, Jarett/Joe and Ultmate X will be never ge given the admiration they deserve."
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