Was 2007 Really All That Great?

TNA announced today that they would be releasing “The Best of TNA: 2007″ DVD next month. The video is said to feature highlights of the major events that took place during the year, as well as some exclusive interviews with some of the TNA stars. Added to that, they will feature seven complete pay-per-view matches that were voted on by TNA fans to be included on the DVD.

Here is a list of the matches:
- Rhino vs. AJ Styles (Elevation X Match – Destination X)
- James Storm vs. Chris Harris (Texas Death Match – Sacrifice)
- Kaz vs. Christian Cage (Ladder Match – Genesis)
- Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe (All or Nothing – Hard Justice)
- Kurt Angle vs. Sting (Bound for Glory)
- The LAX vs. XXX (Ultimate X – Bound for Glory)
- Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Christian Cage vs. Chris Harris (King of the Mountain – Slammiversary)

Usually, I am a sucker for these types of videos. Hell, I own “The Best of the Bloodiest Brawls, Volume 1,” “TNA’s 50 Greatest Moments,” and both volumes of “The Best of the X Division.” However, when I first heard about this video I wondered to myself what exactly happened in 2007 that was so great that deserved a full 3-hour DVD release.

I began to think back to the past year and a few things stuck out in my mind that were great for TNA. Its flagship show, Impact, moved to a 2-hour time slot, the debut of Booker T, the start of the Knockout Division, Jay Lethal finally winning the X Division gold and TNA breaking away from the NWA and recognizing its own championships.

Of course, there is a flip side to all of this, which included Adam “Pacman” Jones becoming one-half of the tag team champions, the debut of Rellik, Kurt Angle holding every title at the same time, Scott Hall no-showing a pay-per-view main event, and a horrible string of gimmick matches including Basebrawl, Last Rites, an electrified cage match and Elevation X.

As you can see, it really was an up and down year for the promotion. For every one thing that happened that was great, there were one or two things waiting in the wings to bring them back down. As the old saying goes, hindsight is always 20/20, so we can only hope that in putting this collection together they can revisit what worked and what didn’t and learn from their past mistakes.

As far as the matches go, most of them are spot on as far as the best overall matches of the year are concerned. Obviously, though, the only one I really have a disagreement on is the inclusion of the Elevation X match. I would much rather have that match swapped out with Kurt Angle vs. Jay Lethal for the X Division title at No Surrender. That match was a huge upset and really put the icing on what was a great year for Jay Lethal.

Aside from that, I think that the Knockout Gauntlet Match for the championship and Bound for Glory would have made another great match to add in. It wasn’t the best that the Knockout Division has offered, but should have been included for historic purposes alone.

As I stated earlier, I am a sucker for these types of videos, so I will more than likely purchase this video on or around April 22, when it comes out on DVD. If I do get it, I will try my hardest to write up a review for it and post it here.