The Steel Cage

Total Nonstop Action's weekly iMPACT! program airs tonight on Spike TV at 9 p.m.
I'd be lying if I said I've been closely following TNA's product as of late. TNA
has unfortunately earned a reputation for its undisciplined booking and
convoluted storylines. That said, TNA also has one of the best rosters ever
assembled in a wrestling locker room, including names like Kurt Angle, Christian
Cage, Samoa Joe and the one man that WWE is nuts for not stealing away from the
company - A.J. Styles.

I recently caught TNA live on back to back nights during a swing through New
York, including a show at the North Fork Theater in Westbury. The shows were
almost universally praised for their wrestling content, exciting characters, and
satisfying finishes.

So how is a wrestling company so frequently panned for its television product
consistently put on such strong live shows? It's simple. TNA's writers have
little to do with the live shows. Rather, wrestlers are allowed to just go out
there and do their thing. That's often not a bad idea.

Anyhow, tonight TNA is sure to continue building toward its next pay per view,
Lockdown - the annual pinnacle of their flawed booking concepts. The show
features an entire card of cage matches - ensuring that each match is less
special. On the bright side, it does feature Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle, which has always been a good pairing. Angle will hold an open training camp for his match tonight.

Tonight's show will likely also hype TNA's live television debut next week from
Orlando.

If you're willing to shell out a couple of bucks for what is almost sure to be a
more satisfying wrestling show, I'd recommend checking out the final primetime
replay of Ring of Honor's fifth pay per view, Rising Above, on In Demand.

I caught this show last week and, like everyone else I've seen review it, I
thought it was fantastic. If you, like many fans, get fed up with leprechauns
running through magical portals, wrestlers competing for beer drinking
championships, and other assorted garbage we are forced to tolerate in our
wrestling product, then you should definitely check out ROH, which has made a
name for itself for its no-nonsense in ring product.

That's not to say ROH isn't loaded with fun characters. Sweet and Sour Larry
Sweeney - ROH's resident "super agent" - is one of the best talkers in the game
today, and he is prominently featured on tonight's show.

Rising Up, which was taped in Manhattan in December, also features one of the
best and bloodiest brawls I've ever seen between Takeshi Morishima and Bryan
Danielson, who is widely regarded as the best pound for pound wrestling in the
country.

The main event features ROH champion Nigel McGuinness taking on Austin Aries in
a dramatic match that includes one of the scariest looking bumps I've ever seen.

All that for about $15 - less than half of the pricetag of the usual WWE or TNA
pay per view. Be warned: If you're looking for pyro, giant screens and big time
production value, ROH is not for you. But if you're a wrestling fans seeking out
some actual wrestling, than ROH offers plenty of bang for your buck.