One of the things TNA has got right over the years is their weekly webmatches. Free of the chaos and poppycock that frequently dominates proceedings on Impact, the webmatches are a great way to see the lower card wrestlers of TNA, who are generally all above average, without having to endure most of the usual nonsense. I'm going to do them in order, so here are the first few TNA webmatches.
Jay Lethal vs Kip James (Season 1, Episode 1)
James is going by his "Cute Kip" moniker by this point and is accompanied to the ring by the original, and best, Beautiful People. Lethal stops during his entrance to put his shades on Don West, who instantly does a Macho Man impression. God, I miss Don. The typically shitty Impact Zone crowd are cheering for both guys, they seem to love themselves some Kip James. They work a decent speed vs power match. Kip showboats and misses a Stinger Splash in the corner, hitting his head on the ringpost and Lethal takes over with high-paced offence. Beautiful People interference leads to Consequences Creed coming out to even the odds and Lethal finishes with an average looking elbow drop. Short and fun like a midget stripper.
Robert Roode vs Consequences Creed (Season 1, Episode 2)
Roode is a tag-champion at this point, and Tenay's commentary tells us that Beer Money were facing Lethal Consequences at the next PPV. I'd forgotten how good some of Creed's offence was, he throws a nice punch and hits a decent springboard dropkick. Beer Money was the best thing that could happen to Roode, he was going nowhere fast as a singles guy before the team formed, but he's still a terrific singles wrestler and he eats Creed's offence like a champ during the comeback, especially those ace punches. He also has a nice bridging fishermans suplex which wins him the match.
Eric Young vs Cute Kip (Season 1, Episode 3)
Kip was pretty much the king of the webmatches at this time, which is the best way to use a wrestle like Kip James: short matches where he can work with the younger guys, using his experience to carry the match and put guys over. Angelina and Velvet both look great here, though Kip's flowery trunks leave a lot to be desired. EY still has long trunks and blond hair at this time, and he actually looks taller than he does now. More Kip chants. Kip gives a fair bit to Eric in the opening stages, but decks him with a thunderous clothesline. This match is slightly better than the Lethal match, James and Young seemed to mesh better as Young can use a bit more of a power game than Lethal. James misses the Stinger Splash again and they go into a brief finisher reversals series that sees EY pick up the win with a roll-up
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