TNA knew what was going on during RAW last night and they still put on a decent show. The first Knockout first blood match, D'Angelo Dinero vs. Desmond Wolfe and Jeff Jarrett vs. A.J. Styles. I know I'm not the WWE blogger but I'm putting my two cents out there. Mania sucked except Taker/Michaels... and Michaels retiring on RAW was very, very sad for me. He is my idol and the reason I've watched wrestling as long as I have. Now onto Impact!
Footage from earlier in the day included Jay Lethal (didn't know he was still under contract, haven't seen him in forever... speaking of The Nasty Boys and Consequences Creed have been let go). He played up the Black Machismo gimmick and Hogan grants him some power. Lethal is a good talent, its a shame that he did a Randy Savage impression once and has been saddled with this stupid gimmick for so long.
We start with the Band and Bubba. I'm not crazy about the Band, especially Scott Hall, but putting Bubba with them will get them even more heat. TNA fans hate Bubba and he is an excellent talker. It's a good pairing and I'd rather hear Bubba then Scott Hall mumble out another "Hey Yo!"
They bring out Eric Young and everyone saw the attack and the save coming. No big deal, just building up for later in the night. Decent opening... Nothing great, nothing terrible. Hardy should be better on the mic than he has been for TNA. I know he can talk, watched him do it in WWE, wonder how seriously he's taking his role.
Doug Williams/Brian Kendrick vs. Kazarian/Shannon Moore, a good tag team bout with guys that don't normally tag. Weird that Magnus didn't team with Williams but I guess Magnus isn't really in the X-Division. And I'm not shying away from Kendrick, I'm a fan and so was the Impact Zone with Kendrick chants dominating this match. The ending was cool with Williams ducking the loss by pulling Kendrick in and letting him take the final shot and the loss while he walked away still seemingly standing tall.
Bischoff new secretary Ms. Teschmacher (Superman reference) has HUGE responsibilities... hahahahahahaha.... I'm looking forward to a BBSD Random Bikini Girl Shot of her. Its former WWE Diva Brooke Adams apparently, strange I don't even remember a Brooke Adams in WWE. Lethal gets some funny moments here and props for talking about King Kong Bundy and some other legends.
The Pope is amazing. I HATED him when he was Elijah Burke but he has really come into his own in TNA. He is definitely one of the best acquisitions that they have picked up from their big brother from the North. He is writing his own material and it is fantastic. He rips on Ric Flair and A.J. Styles... the crowd is behind him 100% and he gets a "Pope is Pimpin'" chant.
Chelsea (Desmond Wolfe's valet) comes out and they build another tawdry moment that Vince attacked them for last week. Its a ploy and one that every wrestling fan sees but the swerve is, Pope gets it to. He knocks down Wolfe when he comes in on the attack, plants a kiss on Chelsea then drops her to the floor. Great segment all around for everyone.
Hey, a Samoa Joe video... weird, another guy they never mention... the man was put into the back of a van by men in masks and never talked about again... until now. Bad writing and I'm tired of Joe leaving and coming back under someone else's control, it's been done. Stop wasting a talent like Joe and let him wrestle.
The Orlando Jordan thing is creepy, just plain creepy and unnecessary. I get it, he's bisexual. It doesn't bother me, wouldn't bother me, but stop making it a central theme. This served no purpose at all and one of the few moments in wrestling I told my daughter to go to the other room because I didn't know where it was going.
Tara vs. Daffney (First Blood match), honestly I expected more. I know Tara is training for women's MMA and Daffney is/acts crazy so I expected a crimson mask, which would've been amazing. We got some good "hardcore" action and the girls almost plowed over Mike Tenay which was funny. The ending sucked with a small cut in Daffney's hairline... I rated it a resounding... meh.
A.J. Styles vs. Jeff Jarrett, this match had more of a big match feel than half the Wrestlmania XXVI matches. Great offense from both men, great to see Flair get sent to the back for interfering. It pissed me off they went to a commercial and when they came back replayed two HUGE moves from Styles. Such a waste not to allow us to see it live. The ref bump looked nasty, props to Baby Hebner for flying off like that. Bischoff made his appearance to screw with Double-J and it worked. Styles' hand got cut open bad and it was nasty. Another wound to show people when they say wrestling isn't real.
Jay Lethal vs. Beer Money, I skipped it, it was a regular beat down on Lethal. It was interesting that Lethal won but still didn't make me want to watch it.
D'Angelo Dinero vs. Desmond Wolfe, this match could easily have been as classic as AJ/Jarrett but a distraction from Chelsea on Grandpa Hebner and Wolfe cheats for a victory. Good work between Chelsea and Wolfe and Pope and even Hebner was comedic. It was good for what it was. These guys have great chemistry together.
Angle and Anderson are another two guys that just feel like a natural pairing. Another two guys that were HUGE pickups for team TNA. Their work together has been amazing. Anderson's promo was weak at times but the ending was fantastic. Nice guys finish last and that's okay because he Thanks God that he's an A$$HOLE...... A$$HOLE... Classic, funny, awesome. Watch it if you didn't see it, you will be thankful.
Oh yeah, and a ladder match next week between these two will be amazing, make no mistake, there will be blood and carnage.
The Band vs. Eric Young/RVD/Jeff Hardy (Steel Cage), not a lot of hope for this. Why bring in RVD and Hardy to fight guys with a median age of 50... gross. Hall is terrible, can't believe I used to cheer for him, it makes me sad. Hall can't do anything but punch, he can't even do that well, he won't bump, won't even stumble to the floor but once a match. At one point it looked like he was cheering for RVD, in the middle of the match during the Rolling Thunder... just fucking retire Hall, you suck. The end was cool with the Frog Splash and Swanton (that landed on Nash's head) and EY doing that nasty elbow drop from the top of the cage. Would've watched Shawn retiring over this but I would watch Shawn retiring over an all-female orgy involving Scarlet Johansson, Megan Fox, Angelina Jolie and Jessica Alba... maybe that's just me.
I normally don't plug but Metroplex Wrestling is having our first live show, this Saturday, doors open at 7:30 p.m. at The Metroflex Gym-FTW MMA at 5501 Thelin Street in Fort Worth. It's going to be an amazing show, please come out and support all of these hard working athletes. For more information go to www.MetroplexWrestling.com.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
TNA 3, WWE 0
So as far as I'm concerned TNA won again... watching both shows, WWE looked weak going into Mania and the verbal debate between the most boring superstar Dave and overactor John Cena was no comparison for the TNA main event match between Beer Money and RVD/Jeff Hardy. If I had been watching both simultaneously, there is no way I wouldn't have stayed on Impact when Raw went into 10 minutes of talking to end the show.
But that's the end damn it and to do it right, we gotta start at the beginning.
Eric Bischoff may be one of the biggest assholes in the wrestling business but the man can play a guitar. Woo-hee, damn. Wasn't quite sure where it was going but it got me interested. Easy-E calls out Double J and the crowd goes crazy for Jarrett. I still can't believe that someone found a way to get Jeff Jarrett over, I hate him, have always hated him and was begging for him to clobber Bischoff with the guitar.
That thing disintegrated too when it went through Bischoff's head. I wish that the spoilers throughout the day hadn't said anything about a Career vs. Career match at Impact tonight, because I immediately knew once I saw Foley that it was going to be Jarrett and Mick. Would've been nice for a surprise, but TNA is trying to promote, I guess.
Taylor Wilde, Sarita, Angelina Love and Tara vs. Daffney, Velvet Skye, Madison Rayne and Lacy Von Erich: Every TNA show should start with an X-Division or Knockouts match. Its sets them apart. This match was good, played to everyone's strength and even Lacy got a chokeslam out of it that didn't look half bad. Compared to the WWE Divas match where the entrances took more time than the in-ring action, this bout was amazing.
AJ and Flair limping in out of the Stripperamma van was hilarious. I still can't figure out why the stripper van has wheel chair access.
Hogan's announcement wasn't as MAJOR as they wanted it to be but Abyss' promo skills are much better when he isn't playing the sniveling turd. The "beatdown" on Abyss looked weak from styles but it looks like Pope's ankle has heeled nicely as he made the save and kicked some ass.
Flair's face right before he was clotheslined out of the wheel chair was classic.
Rob Terry vs. Tomko, Tomko looks a lot like Scott Ian from Anthrax, except, well Tomko's getting a little pudgy. He's almost to the point he shouldn't be wearing trunks anymore. Maybe get some pants Tomko. This was a squash match but still got Terry over. He beat a big guy with big offense and that spin kick he does is amazing.
Jarrett vs. Foley, to be honest I didn't watch it, the finish got spoiled for me when I was online for a brief second between the shows and after finding out the finish, I cared a lot less. It looked decent as I zoomed through it on DVR. It makes me wonder of Foley is really leaving or taking a backstage role.
One of the best moments of the night was Foley busted Bubba The Love Sponge in the face for trying to interview him afterward. By the by, Foley worked a little stiff and busted Bubba open, which, if they had showed would've made the fans in the Impact Zone even more pumped. They had started a nice F&@# you Bubba chant when he first showed up.
Matt Morgan vs. Hernandez, I hate the fact that these two are fighting. Together they should've ruled the Tag Team Division for awhile. A nasty Carbon Footprint put Hernandez out, cutting the back of his head and bringing out the paramedics. Slick Johnson, the ref, made it a little too obvious that it wasn't a legit injury. No one throws the "X" that many times.
Beer Money vs. RVD/Jeff Hardy, I was concerned when this was announced but it blew me away. Everyone looked good in this match. Hardy took a Shawn Michaels-esque beatdown allowing RVD to get the huge face pop and hot tag. And the final spot with the Rolling Thunder, Swanton Bomb and 5-Star Frog Splash was amazing. This is one of the reasons, everyone should at least check out TNA.
Oh, and for next week, I don't know if everyone is excited about this, but I am. Tara vs. Daffney in a FIRST BLOOD MATCH. Divas never bleed, even in the Attitude Era, women weren't supposed to bleed or really be hardcore. This could end badly, but it could be awesome if they do it right.
But that's the end damn it and to do it right, we gotta start at the beginning.
Eric Bischoff may be one of the biggest assholes in the wrestling business but the man can play a guitar. Woo-hee, damn. Wasn't quite sure where it was going but it got me interested. Easy-E calls out Double J and the crowd goes crazy for Jarrett. I still can't believe that someone found a way to get Jeff Jarrett over, I hate him, have always hated him and was begging for him to clobber Bischoff with the guitar.
That thing disintegrated too when it went through Bischoff's head. I wish that the spoilers throughout the day hadn't said anything about a Career vs. Career match at Impact tonight, because I immediately knew once I saw Foley that it was going to be Jarrett and Mick. Would've been nice for a surprise, but TNA is trying to promote, I guess.
Taylor Wilde, Sarita, Angelina Love and Tara vs. Daffney, Velvet Skye, Madison Rayne and Lacy Von Erich: Every TNA show should start with an X-Division or Knockouts match. Its sets them apart. This match was good, played to everyone's strength and even Lacy got a chokeslam out of it that didn't look half bad. Compared to the WWE Divas match where the entrances took more time than the in-ring action, this bout was amazing.
AJ and Flair limping in out of the Stripperamma van was hilarious. I still can't figure out why the stripper van has wheel chair access.
Hogan's announcement wasn't as MAJOR as they wanted it to be but Abyss' promo skills are much better when he isn't playing the sniveling turd. The "beatdown" on Abyss looked weak from styles but it looks like Pope's ankle has heeled nicely as he made the save and kicked some ass.
Flair's face right before he was clotheslined out of the wheel chair was classic.
Rob Terry vs. Tomko, Tomko looks a lot like Scott Ian from Anthrax, except, well Tomko's getting a little pudgy. He's almost to the point he shouldn't be wearing trunks anymore. Maybe get some pants Tomko. This was a squash match but still got Terry over. He beat a big guy with big offense and that spin kick he does is amazing.
Jarrett vs. Foley, to be honest I didn't watch it, the finish got spoiled for me when I was online for a brief second between the shows and after finding out the finish, I cared a lot less. It looked decent as I zoomed through it on DVR. It makes me wonder of Foley is really leaving or taking a backstage role.
One of the best moments of the night was Foley busted Bubba The Love Sponge in the face for trying to interview him afterward. By the by, Foley worked a little stiff and busted Bubba open, which, if they had showed would've made the fans in the Impact Zone even more pumped. They had started a nice F&@# you Bubba chant when he first showed up.
Matt Morgan vs. Hernandez, I hate the fact that these two are fighting. Together they should've ruled the Tag Team Division for awhile. A nasty Carbon Footprint put Hernandez out, cutting the back of his head and bringing out the paramedics. Slick Johnson, the ref, made it a little too obvious that it wasn't a legit injury. No one throws the "X" that many times.
Beer Money vs. RVD/Jeff Hardy, I was concerned when this was announced but it blew me away. Everyone looked good in this match. Hardy took a Shawn Michaels-esque beatdown allowing RVD to get the huge face pop and hot tag. And the final spot with the Rolling Thunder, Swanton Bomb and 5-Star Frog Splash was amazing. This is one of the reasons, everyone should at least check out TNA.
Oh, and for next week, I don't know if everyone is excited about this, but I am. Tara vs. Daffney in a FIRST BLOOD MATCH. Divas never bleed, even in the Attitude Era, women weren't supposed to bleed or really be hardcore. This could end badly, but it could be awesome if they do it right.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
TNA: The Natural Assumptions
I want to talk about assumptions that we make as wrestling fans and some that wrestling organizations make about us. One of the biggest going right now is that WWE has a superior product just because they have been around the longest. Now most wrestling fans will jump on this bandwagon, despite what TNA produce each and every week, but when you honestly look at both shows as a whole, TNA kicked ass again this week, even with their competition bringing in the Texas Rattlesnake himself, Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Assumption Number 1: The smarks (smart marks) won't boo A.J. Styles
A.J. cutting a heel promo is definitely enough to piss me off to start the show. A.J. should be the classic good guy, he has the look and the skill that you want to cheer for. It is amazing that he has gotten over as a heel simply by his promo work and the help of Ric Flair. I have cheered this guy for seven years and normally do not follow the heel/face alliances that companies shove down my throat, but A.J. is doing a great job of getting me on his bad side.
Assumption Number 2: There is no long lasting effects to these Athletes
Flair busting himself open with barely a tap to his forehead is both disturbing and awesome. It speaks volumes to the kind of punishment the man has put his body through in the last 30 years. I know this was taped Tuesday of last week, but a man should bleed like that without some force behind it.
Assumption Number 3: When you leave WWE your career is over
Jeff Hardy does have a rabid fan base and despite how dumb his face paint looks and how horribly he screeched "Creatures of the Night" he will be huge in TNA. TNA management realizes the HUGE lottery ticket that fell in their lap with Jeff Hardy, he arguably was the biggest star in WWE when he left a few months ago. Hardy will have as long of a career in TNA as he wants... plus they don't drug test so if he can stay out of trouble with the law, he's set.
Assumption Number 4: Comedy doesn't work in Wrestling
We have all been horrified by the comedy that WWE brings us each and every week (read: Magic Lucky Charms or Terrible Criss Angel segments). And I'm not going to say WWE has never given us good comedy, they have, but more often than not it's bad. TNA has a way of doing it without going overboard and between Bichoff screwing with Foley and Jarrett every week there have been some good moments.
Assumption Number 5: Once you are an over the hill wrestler you are not good for anything.
The Nasty Boys suck, you know it and I know it. But that was a sick powerbomb when they put Neal through that table outside. Spike Dudley returned for a lackluster match. Hey, they can't all be good.
Assumption Number 6: Women in Wrestling are eye candy
I know I harp on this a lot, but women's wrestling is kind of a passion of mine. It should be on par with men's wrestling and women like Angelina Love can get it there. Not only is she great in the ring but she is decent on the mic as well. She just needs to go back to being a heel where she can shine.
Assumption Number 7: If you put big names in the ring together it will be AWESOME!
Holy shit, that is an all-star lineup: Desmond Wolfe, Ken Anderson, Kurt Angle and D'Angelo Dinero. And the match was... meh, lackluster at best. Is it just me or does Desmond Wolfe seem to get pinned by roll-ups too often. I don't know that I've ever seen him be beat with a regular finisher, but hit a school boy and he is OUT OF THERE. Now, even though the match wasn't great, the after match beat down was. The image of Anderson holding Angle's head, blood dripping onto the canvas, while Anderson screams in his face was so great. The match at Destination X should be amazing.
Assumption Number 6 (continued): Women in Wrestling are eye candy
Angelina Love and Daffney had a short quick moment where the Daffney went crazy as she normally does and got disqualified. The Beautiful People interfere and Angelina takes a sick bump into the side of the ramp. I watched it with my buddy and I could only laugh when he saw Angelina crumbled up on herself and said, "oh God, that's her foot there."
Assumption Number 8: Hogan is Done
Hogan may be done in ring, and at least it seems for now he has accepted that but he can still cut a promo and get the fans excited. I don't care about Sting's heel turn but even I was cheering for Hogan to hit him with the baseball bat.
Assumption Number 9: If you were good once you can be good again
Look at Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, I've seen fights at an old folks home that were faster paced.
Assumption Number 10: Tag Team Wrestling has been cast aside
Beer Money, Motor City Machineguns and Generation Me are three of the best tag teams right now and all of them are on TNA. Even Hernandez and Matt Morgan was good until TNA decided that Morgan needed a heel turn again. I wish they would figure out what to do with him, he is an amazing talent and gets lost in the shuffle too easily.
Assumption Number 11: Having your head shaved is humiliating
Maybe, just maybe if you have long hair, or are a woman this could be the most humiliating aspect of your life but really, it's hair, it grows back and they have been using this gimmick since wrestling began. Stop using it, no one cares if you shave anyone's head, especially not Eric Bischoff.
Assumption Number 12: Wrestling is all about the Big Guys
Look no further than TNA's X-Division. Amazing Red, Generation Me, Chris Saban, Alex Shelly, Daniels, Brian Kendrick, Kaz and more are all amazing talents who aren't huge bodybuilders but can do amazing things in and out of the ring. Don't let anyone ever tell you that big men make the business.
Assumption Number 13: Every Fan-Dream match ends badly
It could've used more time and the finish was a little weak but A.J. Style vs. Jeff Hardy was a good solid wrestling match. And this won't be the last time we see these two in the ring against each other. There is an essence of greatness here that everyone should be watching out for. Ric taking the bump at the end of the night was the perfect cap to the night.
Assumption Number 14: WWE is Better than TNA
Destination X didn't get plugged as much as it should've maybe but overall on the whole, the show was amazingly good and if you give TNA a chance and watch it as a wrestling fan, you can enjoy it. It has drama and action, yes it has some older guys and some crappy segments but so does WWE. And eventually TNA won't need those older guys, eventually the Scott Hall's and Kevin Nash's won't have to be around to bring an audience to A.J., Daniels, Joe and the rest of the amazing TNA roster. Give it a chance, a real chance, and you won't regret it.
Assumption Number 1: The smarks (smart marks) won't boo A.J. Styles
A.J. cutting a heel promo is definitely enough to piss me off to start the show. A.J. should be the classic good guy, he has the look and the skill that you want to cheer for. It is amazing that he has gotten over as a heel simply by his promo work and the help of Ric Flair. I have cheered this guy for seven years and normally do not follow the heel/face alliances that companies shove down my throat, but A.J. is doing a great job of getting me on his bad side.
Assumption Number 2: There is no long lasting effects to these Athletes
Flair busting himself open with barely a tap to his forehead is both disturbing and awesome. It speaks volumes to the kind of punishment the man has put his body through in the last 30 years. I know this was taped Tuesday of last week, but a man should bleed like that without some force behind it.
Assumption Number 3: When you leave WWE your career is over
Jeff Hardy does have a rabid fan base and despite how dumb his face paint looks and how horribly he screeched "Creatures of the Night" he will be huge in TNA. TNA management realizes the HUGE lottery ticket that fell in their lap with Jeff Hardy, he arguably was the biggest star in WWE when he left a few months ago. Hardy will have as long of a career in TNA as he wants... plus they don't drug test so if he can stay out of trouble with the law, he's set.
Assumption Number 4: Comedy doesn't work in Wrestling
We have all been horrified by the comedy that WWE brings us each and every week (read: Magic Lucky Charms or Terrible Criss Angel segments). And I'm not going to say WWE has never given us good comedy, they have, but more often than not it's bad. TNA has a way of doing it without going overboard and between Bichoff screwing with Foley and Jarrett every week there have been some good moments.
Assumption Number 5: Once you are an over the hill wrestler you are not good for anything.
The Nasty Boys suck, you know it and I know it. But that was a sick powerbomb when they put Neal through that table outside. Spike Dudley returned for a lackluster match. Hey, they can't all be good.
Assumption Number 6: Women in Wrestling are eye candy
I know I harp on this a lot, but women's wrestling is kind of a passion of mine. It should be on par with men's wrestling and women like Angelina Love can get it there. Not only is she great in the ring but she is decent on the mic as well. She just needs to go back to being a heel where she can shine.
Assumption Number 7: If you put big names in the ring together it will be AWESOME!
Holy shit, that is an all-star lineup: Desmond Wolfe, Ken Anderson, Kurt Angle and D'Angelo Dinero. And the match was... meh, lackluster at best. Is it just me or does Desmond Wolfe seem to get pinned by roll-ups too often. I don't know that I've ever seen him be beat with a regular finisher, but hit a school boy and he is OUT OF THERE. Now, even though the match wasn't great, the after match beat down was. The image of Anderson holding Angle's head, blood dripping onto the canvas, while Anderson screams in his face was so great. The match at Destination X should be amazing.
Assumption Number 6 (continued): Women in Wrestling are eye candy
Angelina Love and Daffney had a short quick moment where the Daffney went crazy as she normally does and got disqualified. The Beautiful People interfere and Angelina takes a sick bump into the side of the ramp. I watched it with my buddy and I could only laugh when he saw Angelina crumbled up on herself and said, "oh God, that's her foot there."
Assumption Number 8: Hogan is Done
Hogan may be done in ring, and at least it seems for now he has accepted that but he can still cut a promo and get the fans excited. I don't care about Sting's heel turn but even I was cheering for Hogan to hit him with the baseball bat.
Assumption Number 9: If you were good once you can be good again
Look at Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, I've seen fights at an old folks home that were faster paced.
Assumption Number 10: Tag Team Wrestling has been cast aside
Beer Money, Motor City Machineguns and Generation Me are three of the best tag teams right now and all of them are on TNA. Even Hernandez and Matt Morgan was good until TNA decided that Morgan needed a heel turn again. I wish they would figure out what to do with him, he is an amazing talent and gets lost in the shuffle too easily.
Assumption Number 11: Having your head shaved is humiliating
Maybe, just maybe if you have long hair, or are a woman this could be the most humiliating aspect of your life but really, it's hair, it grows back and they have been using this gimmick since wrestling began. Stop using it, no one cares if you shave anyone's head, especially not Eric Bischoff.
Assumption Number 12: Wrestling is all about the Big Guys
Look no further than TNA's X-Division. Amazing Red, Generation Me, Chris Saban, Alex Shelly, Daniels, Brian Kendrick, Kaz and more are all amazing talents who aren't huge bodybuilders but can do amazing things in and out of the ring. Don't let anyone ever tell you that big men make the business.
Assumption Number 13: Every Fan-Dream match ends badly
It could've used more time and the finish was a little weak but A.J. Style vs. Jeff Hardy was a good solid wrestling match. And this won't be the last time we see these two in the ring against each other. There is an essence of greatness here that everyone should be watching out for. Ric taking the bump at the end of the night was the perfect cap to the night.
Assumption Number 14: WWE is Better than TNA
Destination X didn't get plugged as much as it should've maybe but overall on the whole, the show was amazingly good and if you give TNA a chance and watch it as a wrestling fan, you can enjoy it. It has drama and action, yes it has some older guys and some crappy segments but so does WWE. And eventually TNA won't need those older guys, eventually the Scott Hall's and Kevin Nash's won't have to be around to bring an audience to A.J., Daniels, Joe and the rest of the amazing TNA roster. Give it a chance, a real chance, and you won't regret it.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The First shot was Fired and TNA Scored a Victory
Sorry it's long, I know... but it's big and important damn it! Also make sure you check out J-Call's blog for information on Raw. Go to BigBadSportsDaddy.com to find it.
I remember when TNA first announced that they were going to air on Spike TV, there was a buzz in the air that had been unheard of in years in the wrestling community.
No competition is not good for anyone, it's not good for the business and it's not good for the fans. So, needless to say I was excited, I watched each Impact, learning new names (A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels), new maneuvers (Canadian Destroyer and the Muscle Buster) and new match types (King of the Mountain and Ultimate X).
The feeling lasted about four months for me, much less for other wrestling fans. TNA came, saw and fizzled, like so many before them.
But "new life" was on the horizon in the forms of old WWE Superstars. Jeff Hardy, Sting, Nash, Christian... Tazz, Bubba Ray, Devon, Kurt Angle... Matt Morgan, Bobby Lashley, Elijah Burke, Victoria... the list keeps growing.
Some have been good acquisitions but some, like so many TNA ideas have fizzled.
So now it was time to breathe "new life" once again into the confusing over-filled roster that was TNA. In came more former superstars... The Nasty Boys, Val Venis, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman... and, of course, the two biggest names, Hulk Hogan and Eric Bichoff.
Now for the record, I understand what Hogan has done for the business and I was pissed when I heard he was coming back. I figured it would be like every other WWE run he had, come in, beat up the guys that TNA should be trying to put over and then he would leave. Then after the live January 4th show, I saw that Hogan wasn't just "not burying" people, he wasn't even going to lace up his boots. He was there for his mind.
Maybe this could be the thing to get TNA noticed...
Fast forward two months and here we are. March 8, 2010, the shot heard round the wrestling world. WCW didn't come out and pronounce a war, they just made one. TNA is trying to build hype and I get that. And whether wrestling fans want to admit the legitimacy of TNA or not, a war has begun. It's whether the war is WWII or the 1990 Gulf War (re: the shortest war in American History).
The opening Promo was nothing superb, Hogan running his mouth, Abyss spazing in the background. The crowd was hot and chanted a ton, which always makes a show better.
Hogan/Abyss vs. Styles/Flair - It was short but had the effect they wanted, got the crowd going, Abyss and Hogan got busted up and Sting makes his "surprise appearance" back in the Impact Zone. The turn was good but a little obvious once he was out there and TNA hyping the first five minutes all week. Nothing else exciting had happened in the five minutes so Sting turning was really the only thing that made sense.
But String (as I know him) has never had a good long heel run so it could be interesting. Don't necessarily know what that crap with Dixie was in the hallway afterward where he was supposed to be menacing but at the same time seemed afraid to touch her, but whatever...Not a bad opening and they tried to keep people interested by continuing the match as a No-DQ later on.
Kazarian vs. Daniels vs. Williams, these are the kinds of matches that are going to put TNA over with the crowd. The work was solid the finish was strong and they showcased so much of what makes TNA a good product... not necessarily better than WWE, but still good. This match also saw the return of Shannon Moore, who for some reason I have always been a huge mark for, so that really excited me.
I thought one of the coolest moments of the night was Dixie announcing that Sting had a match. She has always been a more "behind-the-scenes" owner and she should be. Because that means when something happens that she feels she needs to take care of, it feels like it means something. You could feel how mad she must've been to get involved.
Wilde/Sarita vs. The BPs vs. Tara/Love, this is another match that TNA used to showcase just how different they are from WWE. They don't have women who come out, look hot and then botch every other move. They have attractive women who could hold their own in a match with any guy on the roster (except for a few like Lacey Von Erich, but they do a good job of keeping her out of the ring).
Any team winning here would've been good and bringing in Daffney to continue her feud with Tara made a lot of sense if anyone has been watching Impact on Thursday nights. All told a good women's wrestling segment that showed women's wrestling as it should be, on par with men's wrestling.
The only thing that pissed me off was the inclusion of the "30-day rule". Kong/Hamada former Knockouts Tag Champions hadn't defended their belts in 30-days so the titles were vacated. This is just a crappy way out of a jam since Kong left the company. You are in the cartoon world of wrestling... the writers can make up ANYTHING they want about why Kong/Hamada can't work and the titles were stripped. Don't use stupid logic TNA.
Desmond Wolfe and his many outfits continue to impress me more each week and the assault on Pope Elijah Burke is no different.
Sting vs. RVD, if you've read any of my previous blogs I am sure I've mentioned how much of an old school ECW guy I was so seeing RVD back in a ring made my heart flutter for sure. Even though he just got beat with a baseball bat, the crowd couldn't stop chanting the man's name and that means good things to come.
Kevin Nash comes out and Scott Hall stumbles his way through another promo, speaking carnie and making the only match at Destination X that I could care less about. But even this segment ended strong with Waltman slapping the shit out of Eric Young and Young going ballistic.
Waltman vs. Young, Despite the fact that I HATE Waltman, this was pretty good. Young showed so much passion and strength and even Waltman had a spin kick that looked like it took Eric's head off. Despite the low point of the show being the promo, this match made up for it.
I'm not exactly digging the US army being involved in the feud between Anderson and Angle but I am digging the feud. Anderson has stepped up his game against Angle and Angle is capitalizing on the oldest trick in the wrestling book, Patriotism. There isn't anything wrong with it, and at least they are going about it a different way.
TNA was looking for a way to make Anderson a heel and calling our service men and women high school dropouts is a sure way to do it. They wanted to make sure people were going to stop cheering Anderson, something WWE has tried to do with a lot of people and rarely succeeded, so I applaud the effort and the so far success.
Jarret vs. Beer Money Inc., if you had told me that I would ever cheer for Double J, I would have checked you into a methadone clinic. But with all the crap that Bichoff is doing and Jarrett pushing back, I am really starting to get behind him. I like where they are going and this handicap match did it again. Bichoff took two guys who owe their wrestling career to Jarrett and turned them against him.
Didn't really understand the inclusion of Foley here but I guess they had to shoehorn him into the show somewhere. Their roster is overloaded, there is no doubt about that... More on that at the bottom.
Brooke Hogan looked ridiculous crying over Hogan, but we did get Hogan to promise never to lace up his boots again, if he holds to this, I will be a happy man.
Hogan/Abyss vs. Style/Flair (again), for a No-DQ match, they seemed to be following the tag team rules a little too much. Oh well, melee doesn't work when two of your guys are senior citizens. Flair and Hogan both bled like crazy and the good guys one in the Feel Good Moment of the night. Wolfe and Pope getting involved made sense and Hardy showing up was icing on a great big delicious cake. Although I wish Spike had stayed through to see Hardy hit the Swanton Bomb like I want to believe he did.
Below is a list of everyone who didn't appear on the show... with this many more people, TNA could really bill two shows, one on Monday and one on Thursday, if they could write it... they can't, yet, but the talent is there for it to happen down the line.
Team 3D, Amazing Red, Matt Morgan and Hernandez, the Motor City Machine Guns, Brian Kendrick, Brutus Magnus, Rob Terry, Consequences Creed and Jay Lethal, Generation Me, Hamada, Homicide, Jesse Neal, Kyoshi, the Nasty Boys, ODB, Orlando Jordan, Raven, Rhino, Samoa Joe, Shark Boy, Suicide or Tyson Tomko.
I remember when TNA first announced that they were going to air on Spike TV, there was a buzz in the air that had been unheard of in years in the wrestling community.
No competition is not good for anyone, it's not good for the business and it's not good for the fans. So, needless to say I was excited, I watched each Impact, learning new names (A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels), new maneuvers (Canadian Destroyer and the Muscle Buster) and new match types (King of the Mountain and Ultimate X).
The feeling lasted about four months for me, much less for other wrestling fans. TNA came, saw and fizzled, like so many before them.
But "new life" was on the horizon in the forms of old WWE Superstars. Jeff Hardy, Sting, Nash, Christian... Tazz, Bubba Ray, Devon, Kurt Angle... Matt Morgan, Bobby Lashley, Elijah Burke, Victoria... the list keeps growing.
Some have been good acquisitions but some, like so many TNA ideas have fizzled.
So now it was time to breathe "new life" once again into the confusing over-filled roster that was TNA. In came more former superstars... The Nasty Boys, Val Venis, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman... and, of course, the two biggest names, Hulk Hogan and Eric Bichoff.
Now for the record, I understand what Hogan has done for the business and I was pissed when I heard he was coming back. I figured it would be like every other WWE run he had, come in, beat up the guys that TNA should be trying to put over and then he would leave. Then after the live January 4th show, I saw that Hogan wasn't just "not burying" people, he wasn't even going to lace up his boots. He was there for his mind.
Maybe this could be the thing to get TNA noticed...
Fast forward two months and here we are. March 8, 2010, the shot heard round the wrestling world. WCW didn't come out and pronounce a war, they just made one. TNA is trying to build hype and I get that. And whether wrestling fans want to admit the legitimacy of TNA or not, a war has begun. It's whether the war is WWII or the 1990 Gulf War (re: the shortest war in American History).
The opening Promo was nothing superb, Hogan running his mouth, Abyss spazing in the background. The crowd was hot and chanted a ton, which always makes a show better.
Hogan/Abyss vs. Styles/Flair - It was short but had the effect they wanted, got the crowd going, Abyss and Hogan got busted up and Sting makes his "surprise appearance" back in the Impact Zone. The turn was good but a little obvious once he was out there and TNA hyping the first five minutes all week. Nothing else exciting had happened in the five minutes so Sting turning was really the only thing that made sense.
But String (as I know him) has never had a good long heel run so it could be interesting. Don't necessarily know what that crap with Dixie was in the hallway afterward where he was supposed to be menacing but at the same time seemed afraid to touch her, but whatever...Not a bad opening and they tried to keep people interested by continuing the match as a No-DQ later on.
Kazarian vs. Daniels vs. Williams, these are the kinds of matches that are going to put TNA over with the crowd. The work was solid the finish was strong and they showcased so much of what makes TNA a good product... not necessarily better than WWE, but still good. This match also saw the return of Shannon Moore, who for some reason I have always been a huge mark for, so that really excited me.
I thought one of the coolest moments of the night was Dixie announcing that Sting had a match. She has always been a more "behind-the-scenes" owner and she should be. Because that means when something happens that she feels she needs to take care of, it feels like it means something. You could feel how mad she must've been to get involved.
Wilde/Sarita vs. The BPs vs. Tara/Love, this is another match that TNA used to showcase just how different they are from WWE. They don't have women who come out, look hot and then botch every other move. They have attractive women who could hold their own in a match with any guy on the roster (except for a few like Lacey Von Erich, but they do a good job of keeping her out of the ring).
Any team winning here would've been good and bringing in Daffney to continue her feud with Tara made a lot of sense if anyone has been watching Impact on Thursday nights. All told a good women's wrestling segment that showed women's wrestling as it should be, on par with men's wrestling.
The only thing that pissed me off was the inclusion of the "30-day rule". Kong/Hamada former Knockouts Tag Champions hadn't defended their belts in 30-days so the titles were vacated. This is just a crappy way out of a jam since Kong left the company. You are in the cartoon world of wrestling... the writers can make up ANYTHING they want about why Kong/Hamada can't work and the titles were stripped. Don't use stupid logic TNA.
Desmond Wolfe and his many outfits continue to impress me more each week and the assault on Pope Elijah Burke is no different.
Sting vs. RVD, if you've read any of my previous blogs I am sure I've mentioned how much of an old school ECW guy I was so seeing RVD back in a ring made my heart flutter for sure. Even though he just got beat with a baseball bat, the crowd couldn't stop chanting the man's name and that means good things to come.
Kevin Nash comes out and Scott Hall stumbles his way through another promo, speaking carnie and making the only match at Destination X that I could care less about. But even this segment ended strong with Waltman slapping the shit out of Eric Young and Young going ballistic.
Waltman vs. Young, Despite the fact that I HATE Waltman, this was pretty good. Young showed so much passion and strength and even Waltman had a spin kick that looked like it took Eric's head off. Despite the low point of the show being the promo, this match made up for it.
I'm not exactly digging the US army being involved in the feud between Anderson and Angle but I am digging the feud. Anderson has stepped up his game against Angle and Angle is capitalizing on the oldest trick in the wrestling book, Patriotism. There isn't anything wrong with it, and at least they are going about it a different way.
TNA was looking for a way to make Anderson a heel and calling our service men and women high school dropouts is a sure way to do it. They wanted to make sure people were going to stop cheering Anderson, something WWE has tried to do with a lot of people and rarely succeeded, so I applaud the effort and the so far success.
Jarret vs. Beer Money Inc., if you had told me that I would ever cheer for Double J, I would have checked you into a methadone clinic. But with all the crap that Bichoff is doing and Jarrett pushing back, I am really starting to get behind him. I like where they are going and this handicap match did it again. Bichoff took two guys who owe their wrestling career to Jarrett and turned them against him.
Didn't really understand the inclusion of Foley here but I guess they had to shoehorn him into the show somewhere. Their roster is overloaded, there is no doubt about that... More on that at the bottom.
Brooke Hogan looked ridiculous crying over Hogan, but we did get Hogan to promise never to lace up his boots again, if he holds to this, I will be a happy man.
Hogan/Abyss vs. Style/Flair (again), for a No-DQ match, they seemed to be following the tag team rules a little too much. Oh well, melee doesn't work when two of your guys are senior citizens. Flair and Hogan both bled like crazy and the good guys one in the Feel Good Moment of the night. Wolfe and Pope getting involved made sense and Hardy showing up was icing on a great big delicious cake. Although I wish Spike had stayed through to see Hardy hit the Swanton Bomb like I want to believe he did.
Below is a list of everyone who didn't appear on the show... with this many more people, TNA could really bill two shows, one on Monday and one on Thursday, if they could write it... they can't, yet, but the talent is there for it to happen down the line.
Team 3D, Amazing Red, Matt Morgan and Hernandez, the Motor City Machine Guns, Brian Kendrick, Brutus Magnus, Rob Terry, Consequences Creed and Jay Lethal, Generation Me, Hamada, Homicide, Jesse Neal, Kyoshi, the Nasty Boys, ODB, Orlando Jordan, Raven, Rhino, Samoa Joe, Shark Boy, Suicide or Tyson Tomko.
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