General Thoughts:
– This was a great crowd to be a part of. This was the first time TNA had done a PPV in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and you could tell how excited the fans were. It was electric, and I hope it transferred well to TV.
– The arena was about 98 percent capacity. The only holes were in the sections immediately under the mainTV cameras, due to the mass amount of TV equipment TNA had sit there due to the small arena size.
– When fans at a TNA show are using your chant all night long, you know you have something special. This is what happened with Daniel Bryan’s “YES!” chants. Even before the show the entire crowd was shouting it at Jeremy Borash during his pre-show hype segment to get the crowd pumped. All night people were chanting it, and even as they were leaving the arena.
– Aries/Joe was the perfect opener to a great PPV. The crowd ate it up and was invested in both wrestlers. Great bout.
– The crowd did not care too much Hernandez/Kash, but I attribute that to having to follow Joe/Aries. However, Hernandez got a great pop.
– Crowd was hot for Devon in the tag match, but hated Garrett Bischoff. Lots of “Tag in Devon! – Bischoff Sucks!” Chants going on.
– There were a few mic issues tonight, but it mostly had to do with the volume levels. Even in the lower bowl, where I was sitting (facing the entrance ramp straight on), you couldn’t hear a lot of what anyone was saying. Nobody in our section could hear a word Dixie Carter said when she was on the microphone.
– Bully Ray is a great, great heel. The best chant of the night was “Let’s Go Rangers – Yankees Suck!” that went on for a good five minutes of his match.
– There were a TON of Goldberg chants going on once Crimson got to the ring. Although James Storm returning made sense and was the most realistic scenario, there seemed to be a lot of legitimate disappointed fans that thought Goldberg might actually show up. Whether that disappointment is warranted or not is another story.
– Christian Cage got a great reception from the crowd, but it was not one of surprise, as everyone was talking about him and knew he would be there. It was still surreal to see the WWE Intercontinental Champion on a TNA PPV.
– The crowd was going absolutely insane for Angle/AJ vs. Daniels/Kazarian. Such a fun match from bell to bell. Kurt Angle reminded everyone just how great he still is tonight, and the crowd was red hot for him each spot he hit.
– The Sting/Roode main event confused a lot of people in the arena, as I believe most people figured Hogan or Dixie would come in after the controversial finish. When it became apparent that the match was not getting restarted, a lot of people seemed to leave disappointed. All in all, the majority of the crowd stayed until the very end to see Sting destroy Roode all over the arena, and take him back to the ring to lock in the Scorpion Deathlock one more time.
All in all, this was a wonderful PPV to watch live. Having never attended a TNA show before, I was impressed with the quality of a live experience they provide.
Biggest Pops:
1. Sting
2. Angle/AJ Styles
3. Jeff Hardy
4. Aries and Joe during the entire match
5. Mr. Anderson
Honorable Mention: Christian Cage
Biggest Heat:
1. Bully Ray
2. Bobby Roode
3. Daniels and Kazarian
4. Crimson
5. Robbie E and T
Honorable Mention: Garrett Bischoff. Lots of “Bischoff Sucks” chants going on.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
