Good show at the Township Auditorium last night. It felt like a combo house show/fanfest rolled into one. More on that in a minute.
 
First off the matches...Very good wrestling tonight. I've been to so many shows in which I was just bored to tears waiting for the main event to roll around. Not tonight, all high quality competitors putting on solid matches. Not a lot of rest holds, plenty of crowd interaction, and lots of highspots. There was very good crowd heat as well, which helps. Wrestling wise, I haven't seen WWE put on a show like this in a good while.
 
                                   THE CARD:
                          Jeff Hardy beat A.J. Styles (Ric Flair was thrown out of ringside for interference. At the start of the match, Ric kidded AJ for being a Georgia fan. There was also fantastic crowd heat for both guys in this one)
                          Samoa Joe & Rhino over Magnus & Eric Young (Eric was doing the crazy gimmick and beating on his own partner and celebrating with the opponents)
                          Motor City Machineguns over Beer Money (best match of the night, just some fantastic wrestling. It reminded me of how great tag team wrestling used to be)
                          Madison Rayne over Velvet Sky (Gorgeous women-what more can I say?)
                          Triple Threat: Brian Kendrick over Shannon Moore & Douglas Williams
                          Jeff Jarrett over Diangelo Dinero (gimmick where if Jarrett won, they would give out backstage passes. Good way to start the show and get the crowd into it)
 
The crowd...There was a good, but not huge crowd there tonight. The floor area was pretty much packed. The lower level was probably more than half full (it was hard to gauge because some people were in and out of the lobby). By the main event, the lower level appeared to be mostly full. The top level was just about empty except maybe a dozen or so people.  
 
The wrestlers-Mostly great. This is where it felt like Fanfest a little. Everyone with the $50 tickets got in early. We stood around the ringside barrier and several of the wrestlers came out and signed the programs. It really was convenient to have the programs because it happens pretty quickly that you don't have a lot of time to fumble around. 7-8 of the guys came out for that. I remember A.J. Styles, Brian Kendrick, Beer Money, Rhino, and a few others. Rhino and Brian Kendrick stood out as the most friendly. Brian seemed genuinely happy to greet each and every person. Rhino was great, I asked for a picture with him. Since I went alone, I was just going to take the picture myself. He kind of motioned for someone in the crowd to take the picture so it would look better. He told me the pose he was going to do so I could do the same. He gave me a fist bump at the end and thanked me.
 
After the meet and greet, Samoa Joe came out and signed autographs in the lobby. I was surprised at how friendly he was. I told him it was nice to see him and he replied, "it's nice to be seen." He again thanked me for being there. At intermission, there was another autograph signing. This time Madison Rayne. She was nice, but the handler was a little pushy. I did get a great pic with her though. Earl Hebner was also signing at the merchandise stand. And at the end of the show, there was ANOTHER signing. This time with Jeff Jarrett and Velvet Sky. This seemed to be a little more relaxed. Both were very nice and willing to pose for pictures. I made sure to thank Jeff and told him it was a great show.  
 
Merchandise. TNA is all about the merchandising. I dare say they made almost as much off merchandise/sales as they did the actual tickets. $20 for a Jeff Hardy photo op. There were a TON of people snatching up that opportunity. Honestly, I couldn't even guess how many people did it, but there were A LOT. The $20 grab bag special and $20 programs were all over the place. Several hundred sold there. $50 for backstage passes. They sold 17 of those. $150 for backstage and a Jeff Jarrett guitars. They sold six of those. You get the idea.
 
All in all, well worth the money. At age 34, the attraction of seeing just wrestling matches doesn't really draw me to many show anymore. I've literally been to hundreds of shows over my life. So the fact that TNA bends over backwards to provide me the most for my money really means a lot. I will definately be back the next time they come to Columbia. Good job guys!

i'll have to agree with bronson613 on everything he said.the show and everything about it was awesome.the one handler was very pushy.the backstage pass was great.you got to meet and take pictures with ric flair, jeff hardy, jeff jerrett,motorcity machine guns,shannon moore,and a few others.it also got you a free picture with hardy at the end of the show that they had printed and gave to you before you left the ring.i would have to say i will take the kids back to the show if they come again.if anyone decides to go and  take your own items they are big on it being tna items because in the line for samoa joe the handler said tna items only and didn't want to let him sign my sons big canvas of a ring but joe signed it anyway so all in all it was a great night and the kids loved it.