Two Words, One Answer.
Tna Impact
 Tna: Global Impact Japan (Bb) $14.99 Back in Jan. 2008, TNA & New Japan Pro Wrestling joined together for a supercard called "Wrestle Kingdom II" in the Toyko Dome in Japan and this resulted in the one of the best showcasing of TNA's talent during that time...even down to the commentary as Mike Tenay went back to his "Professor" routes that we saw from him in WCW while this was probably the best Don West ever has been. Now that the original one hour documentry special is not on here and this DVD is split into 5 different parts: The Kurt Angle vs. Yugi Nagata match, the rest of the TNA vs. New Japan matches, various TNA talents exploring the Japanese culture, the post match press conferences, and pre-match interviews including Jeff Jarrett talking about the infamous incident between him & Hulk Hogan years earlier, Kurt Angle discussing the controversy behind his I.W.G.P. Championship, and additional comments from Christian Cage & Petey Williams & Brother Devon & Christopher Daniels. Here are the matches in which you get a nice highlight package (in Japanese) before the match: Christian Cage, A.J. Styles, Petey Williams vs. Milano Collection AT, Minori, Prince Devitt - This match was very fast paced where everyone got their highlight moments including Milano pulling out a few moves that we would normally see from Chris Sabin while A.J. Styles was his "Phenomenal" self & not the goofy character he normally portrayed at this time. Look out for Petey's Canadian Destroyer as that was probably one of the sickest looking ones I've seen. I.W.G.P. Junior Heavyweight Champion Wataru Inoue vs. Christopher Daniels - The equivelent to TNA's X Division Championship was on the line here and the commentators played off the "Feast Or Fired" storyline here in that this was Daniels' last opportunity in TNA. This was a very solid match up and the best showcase of Daniels in close to a year before & after this match. Abyss vs. Manabu Nakanishi - As Tenay pointed out before the match, Nakanishi is the former wrestler Kurasawa from WCW back in '95 & man has he beefed up since then. This was the "Monster" vs. the "Japanese Hercules" that had both men pulling off some power moves on each other like the Torture Rack & Chokeslam along with brawling on the outside and as usual with Abyss at this time, thumbtacks came into play at one point. The only downfall here was the weak ending after all that punishment each other throughout the match. Team 3D vs. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano - This was a battle of hardcore tag teams here to the point where Yano even wore a chair to the ring. This had your typical plunder (thanks Dusty) of trash cans, a ladder, a hammer at one point, tables and even Bubba giving one hell of a stiff chair shot to Yano. This wasn't as high quality as other hardcore matches we've seen from 3D but this was still a good one. I.W.G.P. Tag Team Champions Tomko & Giant Bernard vs. Steiner Brothers - This was the more unique match on the card concidering the fact that Tomko is representing New Japan yet was also one half the TNA Tag Team Champions with A.J. Styles...and for those who don't already know, Bernard is the former "Albert/A-Train" from WWE with tattoo ink replacing all of his body hair. Jeff Jarrett was at ringside for this match as it was ironic that before the match, you got some nice old school footage of the Steiners in Japan from back in the early '90s because this was the closest we've seen the Steiner Brothers perform like how they did in their prime since they're reunion months earlier. Both teams hit power moves against each other with solid wrestling here. The ending got a little crazy with interference from Jarrett along with Makabe & Yano from the previous match but it was still a solid tag team match as again, the Steiner's best showing since reuniting while those who only remember Bernard for his WWE run would be heavily impressed with his improvement since then. One move to look out for those was the botched suplex from Scott Steiner to Bernard that was a serious "crash & burn." As a side note, Makabe & Yayo's interference here got them a match against Tomko & Bernard which resulted in them winning the I.W.G.P. Tag Team Titles...only to lose them one year later at the "Wrestle Kingdom III" event in a rematch against Team 3D in a match taped for the yet to be released "TNA Global Impact II." Funny how all of that came together. "I.W.G.P." Champion Kurt Angle vs. Yuji Nagata - Kurt showcased that he was a natural at adapting to the "stong" japanese style (similar to a MMA/wrestling mix) as both men were very intense & heavily working over various bodyparts such as Kurt on Nagata's leg & Yuji on Kurt's arm to the point where an applied armbar Yuji did with the look on his face...you would think he was trying to yank it out of his socket. One of Kurt's most unique & best performances in not just TNA but his career. The only negative I can say here is that is the T.V. version so the match is edited. (Also available on "Kurt Angle: Champion") There are two hidden extras here involving Christian Cage showing his hotel room & being taught a dance step backstage by Christopher Daniels that I swear I've seen a "hot & spicy" character do in TNA in Daniels' absence. In the end, this is a DVD that any TNA fan should have in their collection as their "hot & cold/on & off/hit & miss" storylines & characters took a backseat here & showcased their talent's strength which is their in-ring performance. This should be one of the top TNA DVD's to have your collection period, I recommend, and am awaiting on "Global Impact II" from this earlier this year. |
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