2012 Discussion

Discuss Xplosion in 2012.

Samoa Joe vs. Daniels - Xplosion 08/07/12 (BFG Series)
Solid match but probably one of their more forgettable encounters. It's not like they had a lot of time to work but they made decent use of those 7/8 minutes. The shoulder work by Daniels was effective for the short time that it lasted and for a while, it was looking like it was going to play nicely into the finish, but alas, a snappy powerslam changed those plans. Joe still came across as a bad-ass who's determined to get submissions because of the extra points. It's weird seeing these two on the B-show, but I'm not complaining. Needed more time, but this was fine for an Xplosion match.

Magnus vs. Robbie E - Xplosion 08/14/12 (BFG Series)
I'm a big fan of both these guys so naturally, I'm going to like this. Robbie E's antics make everything so much more entertaining. Robbie T isn't as good, but he suits the bouncer role down to a tee. There's nothing complex about the match, basic back and forth stuff but the character's make it a little more memorable than your average Xplosion match. I was suprised at how well Magnus pulls off a Texas Cloverleaf, or a Manchester Cloverleaf as he calls it. It'd make a much more effective finish than his elbow drop. I wish both of these guys had greater roles in the company, it's a sin that I have to sit through Claire Lynch while these guys sit on the bench.

AJ Styles vs. Bully Ray - Xplosion 08/30/12 (BFG Series)
This was nice, real nice. I found there to be a little Sting/Vader vibe going on here with AJ being the consomate fan-favourite and Bully being the monster dickhead heel who just wants to beat people up, except with a NY twist. Bully's character is just fabulous. He's on another level to AJ here, I still find it hard to believe that I'm saying that more and more these days. AJ's not bad here by any means, he just doesn't do an awful lot since it's the Bully Ray show. Things are kept at a nice pace and never enter anywhere close to the spotfest realm. Nothing is targeted, it's just a general beating for most part. Bully's lines mid-match are a real highlight, not just his lines though, little things like spitting gum, failing to catch it and still going back to eat it make me love him. In reading, that mightn't sound like something to love, it's just his swagger that does it for me. Swoon me, Bully Ray, you old dog. Towards the end there's a nice little hope spot from AJ, and he takes Bully off his game for a second. Like, he goes for the Clash out of nowhere which catches Ray off-guard and then the ensuing Pele came across nicely. Probably the best Xplosion match this year, however basic it may seem. Finish is super pretty. Worth checking out.

Christopher Daniels vs. Garret Bischoff - Xplosion 09/05/12
A throwaway match if there ever was one. Garrett's never going to be over in the slightest, nothing he does has any pizzaz behind it. It all feels like very formulated. Daniels doesn't do a whole lot here, he takes shit, gives a little, takes some more. Kazarian at ringside is almost an afterthought even though he interferes a few times. For a while, it looked like Garrett might actually win, not because of his impressive array of moves or flawless technical skill but because TNA have a history of giving this chump wins he doesn't deserve. Nothing too impressive here, BME at the end was nice considering Daniels rarely wins with that. No-need to ever re-watch this one. Entirely forgettable.

Gunner vs. Eric Young - 05/23/12
EY has ODB at ringside, so now I know from what time period this is from. Gunner actually puts in a pretty good showing here and Pat Kenney puts him over nicely on commentary. The crowd are dead silent for the most part but ODB tries her best to rile them up. But the whole match goes to stupidity once EY hulks up and then proceeds to strip. One can't help up laugh at the silence during the near-fall. Of course, ODB has to get involved which leads to EY winning by roll-up. And they're the babyfaces? No logic. Throwaway match.

The proceeding weeks had Angelina Love vs. ODB and Angelina Love vs. Velvet Sky. So, there ain't no way I'm sitting through those. SKIPPPPPP forward to...

Samoa Joe vs. Robbie T - 06/12/12
The lights are finally turned up for an Xplosion match. This was from that little period between losing the tag-titles and the BFG Series where Joe seemingly did a whole lot of nothing. Joe dominates the early going and for once, an Xplosion crowd isn't completely dead! Robbie E sits at commentary with 'The List'. How nice. After the commercial, Robbie T is laying into Joe. That doesn't last long though as Joe regains momentum at a moments notice. Joe's actually pretty agile here, doing well to kick Robbie T in the face, at his height, that's impressive. Unfortunately, Robbie T is made to look like a twat because once he has Joe in prime position, he starts taunting towards Robbie E. Joe wins via submission. Not the worst match, just a reminder to let us know that Joe's alive. Robbie T's looked worse, all in all, just about fine.

Devon vs. Robbie E - 06/20/12
This is probably the 100th time these guys have wrestled. At the time, it felt like this feud was never going to end. The UX structure is around the ring so I'm assuming its from one of the first live Impacts of the Summer. Robbie slaps Devon and talks trash, and thus begins to taunt Devon. "What've you got LOSERRRR?". Of course Devon, being the hearty black man he is, is awfully slow in his movements and looks to the crowd with a half-grin at every opportunity. After the beak, Robbie E is still dominating, but not in an overly convincing manner. And as expected, Devon hits a spinebuster out of nowhere to put an end to this. Throwaway match. Nobody cares. Why am I putting myself through these?

Garrett Bischoff vs. Douglas Williams - 06/27/12
JB says Dougie seeks to reclaim his spot on top of the roster....by beating Garrett? Fuck me. Oh fuck! Dougie lets out the cheekiest wee grin and laughs at Garrett just for existing. Doug starts things off by owning this kid on the mat. It's beautiful to watch Garrett get twisted. Unfortunately, Garrett has to make a comeback at some stage and even Pat Kenney notes that Doug is falling for stupid shit. But Doug starts pummeling the kid again, so it's all okay. Crowd is dead as per usual with Xplosion, but oh well. After the break, Doug is still owning Garrett. But for fuck sakes, Garrett actually reverses Chaos Theory and hits the shittiest flying clothesline known to man. Garrett hits such a shitty flapjack that I'm surprised it didn't injure Doug. And I can't believe it, they put Garrett over Dougie with I don't even know if that's a move, it's like an RKO/Stunner hybrid and it's shit and dangerous and FUCK YOU GARRETT BISCHOFF.

D'angelo Dinero vs. Magnus - 07/04/12 (BFG Series)
POPE! He's alive! And the crowd are actually hot for him, probably because he only makes an appearance once in a blue moon. Pope looks good in the early going and keeps some submission strategy on the go to try get the 10 points. As we go to a break, Magnus chucks Pope into the turnbuckle. When we return, Magnus is on top. He's being an absolute boss and soaking up all the heat he can, great stuff from the MagDaddy. Pope does eventually make a comeback and he does garner some nice babyface heat. Magnus uses the ref to his advantage and ends up hitting the MagDaddy Driver. Easily the best Xplosion match in a while, along with the best Xplosion crowd in a long time. Glad I watched this.

AJ Styles vs. Robbie E - 07/11/12 (BFG Series)
Styles is so dominant in the first half the match that Robbie has to keep going to the outside to take breathers and find solace in his bigger brother, Robbie T. Robbie bumps pretty well for Styles, who looks like he's having a walk in the park. As we go to a break, Robbie T drags Styles to the floor. Robbie E has the upperhand after the break, but he never comes across as AJ's superior. After some hope spots and antics with Robbie T, AJ pulls out a win with the Styles Clash, something you see less often these days which garners a good reaction from a half-empty iMPACT Zone. This was fun, Robbie E is a really nice character that makes a stupid gimmick work. This felt like a nice, fun houseshow match.

Daniels vs. Magnus - 07/18/12 (BFG Series)
Wow, crowds actually well packed here. They must've recorded this before the main show. This are even enough in the first few stages of the match, perhaps Magnus has a little advantage and that grows into a big one with a Texas Cloverleaf, but his positioning wasn't right. Nice to see some more new moves from Magnus. Daniels chucks the MagDaddy to the floor as we go to a break. After the break, Daniels is firmly in control. Magnus gets a nice reversal of Angels Wings and begins a hot enough comeback. The nearfall deserved a better reaction. However, out of nowhere, Daniels catches Magnus in a roll-up and gets a dirty win for 7 points. An ok match, pretty forgettable if I'm honest. These guys need a backstory for a good match, this felt like more of an exhibition.

Daniels vs. Robbie E - 07/25/12 (BFG Series)
I really think that more of Daniels' matches should've been on Impact rather than Xplosion. I love the little dance-off at the beginning. Both of these characters are so over the top, it's entertaining. They trade headlocks and it's fun, unbelievable. Daniels has so feisty punches on him, they're Scott Hall good. Robiee E's control segment is so cartoony, it's almost like he's a bulldog of sorts, just running head first into whatever is in front of him. Daniels finger-tape is fantastic, flipping the bird at all times no matter what. The antics with Robbie T were fun, but just that. Daniels wins with a BME out of the blue. Fun match, like the AJ match, very much a house-show feel to it.

Kazarian vs. Devon - 08/22/12
Kaz starts things with a promo claiming that he's gonna beat Devon, which is abruptly brought to an end by Devon's fist. Kaz controls a lot of the match and just works over Devon with no real aim or purpose. Devon fights back, and looks dominant. Again, none of his moves appear to have any rhyme or reason other than to 'hurt' Kazarian. Kaz would get a nice nearfall, but Devon ultimately got the win. Awfully basic match. It's like you do your bit, I do mine and then finishing move. Emmmm...I've seen better? Throwaway match. That's all.

AJ Styles vs. Robbie E - 09/12/12
So, another Xplosion match between these two? AJ hits a flurry of quick pins, all gaining nearfalls which causes Robbie to cower in the corner. Like every Robbie E match ever, an advantage is only gained through the use of a manager. I don't mind that though, with there being less and less managers these days, it's a cherished role. After some shenanigans, we get a similar enough finish to last time with Styles hitting the Styles Clash for the win. There's no real story to this match other than a bit of hassle with Robbie T. For whatever reason, Tenay was on commentary here. I miss Pat Kenney already.

Kazarian vs. Hernandez - 09/19/12
KAZ IS USING HIS OLD THEME! It's like 2007 all over again! Not sure why but the lights are blue again and Kenney is back on commentary. We just went back in time by 6 months. Hernandez dominates the first half of the match with some generic power moves and I'm surprised he hasn't injured Kaz yet, it's been a whole 5 minutes. After some control where Hernandez doesn't even bump for Kaz, Super Mex treats Kaz like a rag doll and tosses him every which way. He hits a Dominator and wins? What? Whatever happened to the Border Toss? I get that it was dangerous and injured Doug Williams, but it's a much better finisher. Oh well, utterly forgettable.

Jeff Hardy vs. Kazarian - 09/26/12
What the actual fuck is Hardy doing on Xplosion? Well, this is a first. And the lights are back on, and Tenay's back. Will they make up their fucking minds on the set up for this god-damn show?! Kazarian gets some nice shots in and before we go to the break, it looks like he's starting some neat arm work. After the break, Kaz works over the arm/shoulder area and Hardy actually sells it nicely. But he does make a comeback, and from then on, there's no doubt regarding the result. Kazarian's sell for the Twist of Fate is so cartoony that they had to do the move twice. Probably one of the only times in recent memory where I've seen Hardy win with the Twist of Fate. For his first and probably time on Xplosion, Hardy didn't do half-bad. This was certainly a little better than the average Xplosion match. Kazarian was his usual good self, bumping like a freak because he can.

James Storm vs. Magnus - 10/03/12
Wow, another star on Xplosion. I'm liking this trend actually, it'd make for some interesting matches if they did it more often. Magnus bumps up the heelisms nicely here, anytime Storm gains some momentum, Magnus will just fuck off and bring things back to his pace. Before and after the break, Magnus is in control. Storms comeback is full of piss and vinegar, but the MagDaddy driver stops him right in his tracks. Haha, Magnus cracks open one of Storm's beers. Alas, as soon as he walks back into the ring, his smugness costs him as he walks right into a Superkick. This was only like 3/4 minutes long, but even still, it's pretty fun seeing ME level talent appearing on the B-Show. It certainly makes for a hotter crowd. Kenney was back on commentary here, once again, make up your mind TNA!

Eric Young vs. Kazarian - 10/10/12
Oh EY, it's been a while. Can't say I've missed you. EY is all comedy all throughout, and he doesn't let it up either. That actually becomes more of a hindrance though, because I find it really annoying. Stuff like grabbling the referee, that's just not funny, it's irritating. Kazarian only gets a few shots in as EY takes up the entire first half of the match with his entirely not funny antics. Kazarian, being a regular on Xplosion, deserves better. But not to worry, after the commercial break, Kazarian is on a roll. But that only lasts for so long before EY hulks up and then, strips. Fuck sakes. EY hits the big elbow, but NO, it's NOT OVER. Kazarian actually WINS. He actually HITS HIS FINISHER. Oh fuck! Yes! Great line from Kazarian: "Go catch your fish you stupid bastard". Oh my God, that line makes this match one of the best of the year on Xplosion. Kazarian owns!

Hernandez vs. Daniels - 10/17/12
I can't see this being much better than the Super Mex/Kaz match. And you know what? It isn't. Fuck Hernandez. Between his delayed suplex and posing, that's half the match gone right there. Daniels tries his best to get something interesting out of the lump, but no cigar. He might do some dirty antics and taunt the crowd of whatever, but he only ever gets a few shots in at a time. Neither guy focuses their offence on any particular body part or tells a story, because in reality, what's the point with this lump? As for Hernandez on offence, he just has to be a BEASTTTT. I mean for fuck sakes, he wins with a shoulder block. Not necessarily a throwaway match, just not a very good pairing. Hernandez is like TNA's version of fucking Khali, there isn't a hope in hell of getting a good match out of him. Oh well, this certainly wasn't THE worst match. In fact, it's still probably one of Hernandez's better matches.

Mr. Anderson vs. Robbie E - 10/24/12
This continues the trend of having stars on Xplosion, that is, if you could count Anderson as a star these days. The match actually gets delayed because Robbie wants to dance. What the fuck? Oh yeah, could Anderson look any more disinterested? I think not. He's got terrible punches, caveman punches actually. Robbie's putting in a honest effort here but it's hard to get anything out of a lump like Anderson who's refusing to sell. At the end, Anderson looks around the crowd and must be thinking "This is what I've been reduced to, Fuck". Not a very good match at all, it was a whole load of uninteresting nothing with a dead crowd and it ended just as the match was starting to gain a little heat. That's another week of Xplosion down. I wonder if they'll ever put two original matches on the show. Maybe in a year or two.

Robbie E & Robbie T vs. Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez - 10/31/12
For a 5 minute match, this was okay, I guess. When you've got 2 capable wrestlers in there with 2 useless trolls then you're gonna get a basic match like this. Faces work over the baddies, the baddies corner Chavo for 2 minutes, hot-tag, finish. Doesn't sound too complicated does it? It's like algebra to Hernandez and Robbie T who waste time staring at each other when there's no feud there. Both their shoulder blocks sucked. Hernandez didn't injure anyone, which is always a plus. Chavo was bland, he didn't even steal Eddie's moveset here. Robbie E bumped nicely but that's about it. Once more, LAX 3.0 look painfully average. JB actually mentioned on commentary for no reason that Chavo brought his mother to the arena once and Pat Kenney responded with 'I wouldn't take my mother here'. What a guy.

AJ Styles vs. Robbie T - 11/07/12
Why the fuck is AJ repeatedly on this show? I get that they want star power and all, but if they insist on putting him on the B-Show then at least put him against someone different. I'm getting sick of AJ/Robbie's always happening. Even AJ knows this is a joke, taking the piss out of everything on his entrance. This feuds probably been going on ever since 2010 when AJ took Robbie T's TV title. Right? Wait, I just figured it out. AJ is the only guy who can make Robbie T look good. Robbie T actually looks like a believable beast here, and not in a retarded botchy way. He doesn't punch, he clubs you. Granted, he doesn't bump for shit, but still, it's an improvement. And he can't hold a straight delayed suplex to save his life. In the end, Robbie looks like a piece of shit because he gets beat by a Pele. So, AJ can't knock him down with a full on dropkick to the face, but a Pele kick grants him a victory? NO SENSE. Oh well, I still enjoyed it. I've seen a lot worse from Robbie T so whatevs.

James Storm vs. Joey Ryan - 11/14/12
So Joey Ryan got 5 months of build-up just to come to Xplosion, okay? During the match, JB notes that Turning Point is on Sunday "with every match in it's entirety". Well, I'D LIKE TO FUCKING THINK SO. Storm is dominant in the opening and it looks like this is going to be a squash, but no, Ryan dodges the superkick. Fuck, I don't like Ryan. After the break, Ryan does some nice work on the arm of Storm and it's actually pretty decent, no joke. If it weren't for his gimmick, I'd like the guy. Storm takes a good punch, Ryan doesn't. The match actually ends out of fucking nowhere, nice way to put over the Superkick. Ryan looks like a jobber. Storm takes one sip of his celebratory beer and then fucks it onto the mat. What a waste! Decent little match, I liked the arm work and the sudden nature of the finish. There's not a whole lot else to this really.

Samoa Joe vs. Kazarian - 11/21/12
Obviously, these guys deserve more than 5 minutes but they made due and created an entertaining enough bout. Joe was fired up in his fire red surfer shorts. Seriously Joe, change the attire. This was actually Joe's first Xplosion match in ages, he must be doing something right. Kazarian got a little cartoony on offence for my liking, but it's thing so I can only complain so much. The crowd never REALLY got into it, I'd say JB was easily the most interested person. Kazarian busted out Gangnam Styles AGAIN, it was funny at first but by now, it's facepalm enducing. Joe pulled off all his usual stuff, like you'd expect but he didn't stray far off from that. A Muscle Buster win was nice, wish he'd locked on the choke just for good measure since Kaz narrowly avoided it earlier in the match. Not a bad match by any means.

11/28/12 was Madison Rayne vs. Miss Tessmacher so HAH, FUCK THAT.

Samoa Joe vs. Kid Kash - 12/05/12
I don't think I've ever seen a match between these two. This was fine for the time they were given, Joe was made to look like a beast and Kash came across as somewhat underhanded, I guess that's what he was going for. Joe's pretty dominant for most of the match, singing out all the hits and whatnot. There's never any threat of a title change, which kind of leaves the match dead on it's feet. There's a nice spot where Kash hurracanranna's Joe to the floor but he doesn't really do anything noteworthy otherwise, there's some legwork but it's uninspiring. He commits the cardinal sin of trying to roll-up Joe, so he gets caught in the Clutch and it's decisive from then on. Average match, won't get talked about. It's just "there".