Turning Point Preview & Predictions

Turning Point comes to us live this Sunday from the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida.  A youth movement has been sparked in TNA as of late and the main event features a 3-way match for the TNA World Championship between some of TNA’s rising stars.  Seven other matches are scheduled to take place with a total of five championships being defended.

- AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Daniels (TNA World Championship)
- Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe
- British Invasion vs. the Motorcity Machine Guns vs. Beer Money (TNA Tag Team Championship)
- Bobby Lashley vs. Scott Steiner
- Homicide vs. Amazing Red (X Division Championship)
- Awesome Kong vs. Tara (Six Sides of Steel)
- The Beautiful People vs. Sarita/Taylor Wilde/ODB (TNA Knockout Championship/TNA Knockout Tag Team Championship)
- Team 3D & Rhino vs. Hernandez/Matt Morgan/D’Angelo Dinero

AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Daniels (TNA World Championship)
AJ Styles will be defending his TNA World Championship against Samoa Joe and Daniels in what is being billed as a rematch from Unbreakable 2005.  Styles and Daniels have maintained a friendship, but Joe, looking out for his own interests, has driven a wedge in between them.  On top of everything else, Styles has been repeatedly attacked by an unknown assailant in recent weeks.

Their match from Unbreakable was for the X Division Title and has been billed as one of the greatest matches in TNA history as it tore the roof off of the Impact Zone.  In actuality, Styles/Joe/Daniels II has already taken place at Against All Odds in 2006, but wrestling always has a selective memory when it comes to history.  Styles won the first battle to win the X Division Championship while Joe won the second to retain the X Division Title.

Considering their past matches, this match has a lot of expectations to live up to.  I really hope that TNA does not decide to overbook the match and include run-ins or a dusty finish with the masked assailant interfering with the outcome of the match.  These three should be given another opportunity to shine and show the wrestling world what separates TNA from the rest.  In the end, I have to say that Styles once again defeats Joe and Daniels to retain the TNA World Championship.

If you are a wrestling fan and haven’t seen the match from Unbreakable yet, shame on you.  Fortunately, even for those who have seen it before, TNA has posted the match in its entirety on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X64B7SK4-XQ.

Starman’s Prediction: AJ Styles to retain the TNA World Championship.

Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe
Desmond Wolfe made his TNA debut the Thursday following Bound for Glory.  Wolfe introduced himself to Kurt Angle before brutally attacking him.  Since then, Wolfe has gotten the upper hand on Angle and has even gone as far as causing Angle to be carted away on a stretcher.  Wolfe has gone on to say that he is in TNA to end Angle’s career and to take his place.

Wolfe’s introduction into TNA has been great, albeit a bit overshadowed by the promotions partnership with Hulk Hogan.  I have enjoyed his time with the company thus far and I think he could be a top guy down the road, especially with the youth movement that has been going on.  The two recently battled in a street fight on Impact, but I think that was just the tip of the iceberg of what these two can do together in the ring.

This should be a memorable match, but in the end I have to go with Wolfe to win this match to make a statement that he is a major player in TNA.

Starman’s Prediction: Desmond Wolfe to upset Kurt Angle.

British Invasion vs. the Motorcity Machine Guns vs. Beer Money (TNA Tag Team Championship)
The Motorcity Machine Guns won an opportunity to face the British Invasion for the TNA Tag Team Titles after defeating Lethal Consequences in an Ultimate X match.  The Guns then gained a little momentum by defeating Team 3D.  The British Invasion, on the other hand, retained their championships in a match against Beer Money after Doug Williams slapped the referee.  Beer Money was given one more shot and was added to the match after defeating the Brits in a non-title match.

I was really looking forward to seeing the Machine Guns get a one-on-one shot against the Brits for the tag team straps.  Reality set in, though, this Thursday as I should have guessed this match was going to be changed.  When was the last time TNA had a one-on-one match for the Tag Team Championship on a pay-per-view?  Oh yeah, it was back in August at Hard Justice.

At any rate, this should be a decent match considering all teams involved and I have to go with the British Invasion to retain their titles.

Starman’s Prediction: The British Invasion to retain the TNA Tag Team Championship.

Bobby Lashley vs. Scott Steiner
For the past few weeks, Scott Steiner has summoned his inner Big Bad Booty Daddy and has set his sights on Bobby Lashley’s wife.  Steiner wants to show Kristal Lashley what it is like to be a real man, which has caused the two wrestlers to come to blows and interfere in each others matches.  Most recently, Steiner lured Lashley back to his hotel room and brutally beat him with a lead pipe and a lamp.

This feud has reminded me of a past feud between Rick Rude and Jake Roberts.  Rude had fancied Roberts’ wife which set Roberts off and caused him to attack Rude.  The one discerning difference between the feud from the 80’s to the one going on now is that Roberts and Rude were in their prime and could tell great stories in the ring.  Lashley and Steiner are both power men and can be brutal to watch in the ring.

I’m not expecting much from this match and I hope it surprises me, but I have to say that Lashley walks out on top in this one, unless, of course, Steiner has really gotten to Kristal and she causes Lashley to lose the match and walks off with Steiner.  Seeing as this is TNA, that is a huge possibility.

Starman’s Prediction: Bobby Lashley to win the match.

Homicide vs. Amazing Red (X Division Championship)
Amazing Red defied the odds at Bound for Glory and actually retained his X Division Championship in an Ultimate X match.  Shortly afterwards, Homicide defeated Red in a non-title match and demanded that he get a shot at the title, even going as far as intimidating Don West, Red’s promotional partner, and stealing his wallet.  Since then, Homicide has been seen stealing anything he can get his hands on.

As for their match a few weeks ago, Homicide got the upper hand by attacking Red on the way to the ring.  He used this to his advantage and easily put Red away without letting him get in much offense.  I don’t think Red will allow that to happen again and will get the victory in this match.  Since Homicide has had such hot hands lately, it wouldn’t surprise me if Homicide actually steals the X Division Championship once this match is over.

Starman’s Prediction: Amazing Red to retain the X Division Championship.

Awesome Kong vs. Tara (Six Sides of Steel)
Awesome Kong and Tara have been on opposite sides for a while but have never faced off against each other in a one-on-one match.  A match between the two had been teased for a while but nothing ever came of it.  Since then, Kong has parted ways with Raisha Saeed and has run roughshod over the Knockouts Division, which includes attacking Tara after a match on Impact.

This could be another great match on the card as both Kong and Tara are two of the best female wrestlers working today.  It’s unfortunate that it took so long for this match to happen and for the fact that there is nothing at stake for it.  We should get a great Knockouts match, though, in which Kong’s fury will be unleashed inside a steel cage.  Kong will get the win in this match but the feud should be far from over.

Starman’s Prediction: Awesome Kong to win the match.

The Beautiful People vs. Sarita/Taylor Wilde/ODB (TNA Knockout Championship/TNA Knockout Tag Team Championship)
The Beautiful People have been trying to become “reality TV” stars by filming little vignettes where they have attacked ODB, the TNA Knockout Champion, and Taylor Wilde & Sarita, the TNA Knockout Tag Team Champions.  This was the start of a rivalry between the two sides and now both championships will be on the line in a 6-Knockout tag team match.

The rules on this are a little vague.  It wasn’t specifically clear if the Beautiful People win if they get the title(s) of the person they defeated or all of the titles.  Nor was it specified who would get what title if they do win.  I’m assuming that they would only get the title of the person that they defeated, so if ODB is pinned she loses the title or if one of the others is pinned, they lose the tag team titles.  Seeing as this is TNA, anything can happen, I guess.

For the sake of taking the easy way out and not having to wade through the complex web of stipulations and outcomes, I am going to say that the team of ODB, Wilde and Sarita come out on top here and retain their respective titles.

Starman’s Prediction: ODB/Taylor Wilde/Sarita to win to retain the championships.

Team 3D & Rhino vs. Hernandez/Matt Morgan/D’Angelo Dinero
For weeks Rhino has been in Team 3D’s ears and warning them about the youth movement and TNA management wanting them to take spots from the veterans.  The paranoia worked and Team 3D jumped on board and have joined Rhino to fight some of the up and coming wrestlers in TNA to defend their spot, specifically from Hernandez and Matt Morgan.  The two were more than happy to fight the three veterans but a returning D’Angelo Dinero jumped in and put himself in the match to make it 3-on-3.

Hernandez and Matt Morgan have been given huge pushes in the past several weeks and I don’t foresee that ending any time soon.  Sure, both of them lost in their matches at Bound for Glory, but they both came across as big players in their respective matches.  Because of this, I don’t think it would be wise to allow them to lose matches in consecutive pay-per-view events.  As far as Dinero is concerned, he needs a strong showing to further his face turn and a win over the likes of Team 3D and Rhino would do just that.

Starman’s Prediction: Hernandez/Matt Morgan/D’Angelo Dinero to win the match.

All in all, Turning Point has a stacked lineup and can really be one of the better pay-per-views of the year.  Aside from the Knockouts title match, most of the matches are either fresh or can deliver in the terms of match quality.  I’m not predicting anything title changes but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have the potential of being a great event as this event on paper is much better in my mind than Bound for Glory was.

If there ever was a TNA pay-per-view to get that highlighted their talent roster in ways that it should, it would be this one.  As always, live coverage of Turning Point will take place at Gerweck.net starting at 8PM EST.