TNA

[jackknight]

Not a bad episode of Impact tonight. Of course I'm a sucker for a Rumble match, so I'm biased. Great to see Jeff Weirdo Hardy knocked out of the top 4 by Styles. Enjoyed the beat down of Sabin by Mike Knox. Good to see a big man being treated like a big man for once. Think that might be the first time I've seen him in the ring. The tag-team match was okay, happy to see Bischoff and Brisco beat Wine Cooler Money. Not a fan of Gunner and those two could use a win. Main event was alright, but really glad they've gotten Mr. Anderson out of the Aces and Eights. He was wasted there. Wonder if this will see a split in the group given the backstage segments with him, Knox and Bischoff over the past couple weeks.

But man, what the hell was the Main Event Mafia thinking coming to Sting's aid like that? Don't they know they should be standing up on the ramp crying like bitches? THAT'S what's good for business dammit!

[Captain Charisma]

Not a bad episode of Impact at all. Pleasantly surprised the bumped Hardy from the top 4. Was the right decision, just surprised they did it. Austin vs. AJ II next week will be stellar. That should be AJ's first feud after he takes the tile from Bully at BFG. Oh wait, I don't have the pencil for TNA.

Wes Brisco makes me embarrassed to be a wrestling fan. I feel icky watching him. Yea I know who his daddy is, and yea he is chiseled, but dude sucks. He is holding Garrett back in my view. I think Bischoff and Doc would have made the better tag team. Hoping that Doc ends up getting the title shot next week in a surprise return and then get's some TV time. I think they will slow burn Anderson getting fed up with Bully, or any split in A&8's until after Bully drops the title to AJ or Magnus or Austin at BFG.

Speaking of being embarrassed by watching something. It's time to retire the effin ballpin hammer. Seriously. Sabin smashes Knucks in the back of the head in their match. 10-12 minutes of real time later Knucks is holding a bag of ice on the back of his head, having a beer and a laugh with Garrett and Brisco, WTF? Course the beating Sting took with the hammer last year when Doc first brought the hammer out should have left Sting dead, or a vegetable.

I don't like Hunter's affection for sledgehammer's either, but hell, at least they only hit each other in the gut with it. Hammer's to the head, even for my hardcorest of hardcore wrestling fan self, takes me out of the moment.

All that being said, AJ, Aries, Storm, E.G.O., Joe, Gail Kim, Mickie James, Bully, Taz, I mean they have a lot of pieces that I enjoy, but they find ways to irritate me. I know Kurt left them in a bad spot, and AJ is finally in a role that fits him, but damn a week before joining the Mafia for a fight, AJ was all, "no heroes, pro-wrestling kills the soul, wah wah, my vagina hurts." He had a great promo last week, the one where he dropped his name, I liked it a lot, but what a nonsensical way to go about getting to where they should have been heading anyway.

[darthfoley]

That's pretty much TNA in a nutshell, though. Solid wrestling, mediocre (at best) storylines.

[Captain Charisma]

Sept 9, 2013 2:21:04 GMT darthfoley said:

That's pretty much TNA in a nutshell, though. Solid wrestling, mediocre (at best) storylines.

Very true Darth. What I find most frustrating about them is that when they do have a storyline that I'm into they drop it, the neuter it, or they rush it. Really and truly, their talent is as good right now as the WWE's. Austin Aries and Samoa Joe are in the discussion with CM Punk and Daniel Bryan for overall best performer in the business, or at least in the discussion for "Jeff's overall favorite" which is essentially the same thing as best on the planet. I am now, have always been, and most likely always will be a total mark for tag team wrestling, and they treat it seriously, but they manage to cut their nose off to spite their face constantly. The implosion of Beer Money over the World Title was perfectly executed. They had teamed for long enough that the split made sense, nothing about it was rushed. But for my money that is the only one they got right. Why are the Motor City Machine Guns no longer a tag team? Why aren't the Bad Influence the champs? Why aren't the actual champs given opportunities to succeed? Why did Hernandez team with anyone other than Homicide? What happened to Jesse Neal and why isn't he Gunner's tag team partner?

The X Division and the Knockouts used to be what TNA did right. The shining difference between them and the E. And while the knockouts have come around as of late, there was a time when that division was on absolute fire, great matches and good angles with Awesome Kong, the Beautiful People as "mean girls," heated rivalries that got cage, I quit, and other gimmick matches, and then Brooke Hogan comes in, Velvet Sky (who is pretty but damn she sucks) is pushed to the forefront, and their match times start getting cut. WTF? Things are picking up (thanks to Gail Kim and Mickie's heel turn) but Gail has to win a match every once in awhile or her jobs won't have meaning any longer.

Thank you for abandoning the ridiculous "all X matches are 3 ways" rule. Now if they would just abandon Manic and the weight limit, the division might catch fire again. "The X Division isn't about weight limits, its about NO limits." Remember that tag line, TNA? I certainly do. Manic's matches require so much obvious assistance between him and his opponent that I turn the channel. Yes I know they are all assisting one another, but I mean his spots are, "ok Sonjay follow me to the corner even though that doesn't make sense in the context of our fight, and then stop right here thought that doesn't make sense in the context of the match, and then wait on me right here, and act surprised, though your back was never turned and you saw me, and then I will do my rope thing and the crowd will cheer." Look dude, if you can't figure out a way to wrestle Sonjay to that spot, or figure out a way to hit that move after a chain wrestling exchange, don't fuckin do it. If your opponent has to follow you, speed up, slow down, or back up to get to just the right spot for you to perform a move that isn't effecting the story being told (arm work, knee work, etc.) in the ring then forget the move.

I enjoy spot fests when they are done right. I mean I love Austin Aries, and his matches are FULL of spots, but he works them in, and doesn't make his opponent look like a window licking retard for being in a position to get hit by his "cool" or "innovative" offense.

 

[Kimmel]

TNA is toast, unless Spike buys them, but even then, who are they going to get to run it?

The stands for TNA'S Bound for Glory:

[Kimmel]

Keep in mind BFG is their Wrestlemania, can you imagine what Vince would do if Wrestlemania drew that low?

Everyone was phoning it in, sounds like they see the writing on the wall:

[darthfoley]

Crazy that they would try to run an arena that big in the first place.

I feel bad for some of the guys - there's a lot of talent there that deserves better.

[Captain Charisma]

There have been lots of TV Tapings cut, and a return date to the Impact Zone has been set. At this point I think Spike likes the 1.0 well enough to keep it going, even if they cut a lot of the top tier guys. I think they realize that good wrestling will draw a 1.0. When they got lucky with good angles they went up slightly, when they had terrible angles they never dipped much lower than 1. and when they bad angles took over the good wrestling segments, was when they dropped to horrific rates. I think Spike is smart enough to know that Pro-Wrestling in some form is good for their channel as a whole.

What's not good for their channel is Dixie Carter playing Stephanie McMahon and a constant fixation on what the WWE is doing. There are plenty of guys out there willing to run a wrestling company that have fresh ideas. Why not grab Gabe Sapolsky, open the doors with Dragon Gate USA, ROH, and the other top Indy's, open the door with Japan and Mexico, take input from the guys who matter to your audience. They do all these polls at all their shows, and Joe, Taz, Aries, AJ, Storm, Angle, Sting always rank as the the guys that fans would come back to see. Funny how it's those guys that aren't trying to be WWE, impress or imitate WWE.

GET SOMEONE WITH FRESH IDEAS! CUT DEAD WEIGHT! GO TO A 1 HOUR SHOW FOR AWHILE! A million changes can be made before deciding to pull the plug. Cut anyone over 45 that won't be a manager, cut anyone making too much money, get guys from the Indy's who have producing good work, and run with them. Rehashing bookers and talents who were good/great got them a 1.0 and empty houses. That doesn't mean that pro-wrestling is bad for Spike.

They did it with MMA, they can do it with Wrestling. UFC wanted to go, let them go, Spike runs a decent enough MMA promotion, that makes live money, and TV money, and gives them hours of their most watched programming. I think they would try to make Wrestling that before ending the Wrestling project.

Dixie, and the letter TNA are definitely in trouble though, and it would be a mercy killing at this point. They should just call me up, let me tell them who to cut and who to keep, they'll be fine LMAO.

[Kimmel]

TNA has canceled all of their TV Taping in Dec, word is they are going to do a scaled back giant TV Taping in Orlando this month for the rest of Nov, Dec and possibly part of or all of January.

[Captain Charisma]

Hey man saving money might be the thing that saves them. Like I say, I think Spike would keep wrestling, and I don't wish ill will on anyone. The more places available to work, the more guys that will stay in wrestling. I don't want anyone to lose their jobs, and the last episode of Impact was pretty good. I missed Austin a lot, but Taz was great. Holy Shit, Dixie embarrasses me to watch her though. Seriously, who the fuck was in the production meeting and said, "you know what would be great? More Dixie!" It's like someone is trying to fantasy book the WWE over there. Like they think they can do Punk leaving with the title better with AJ Styles, and that's not a knock on AJ, that's a knock on management. AJ has been working really good matches again. It's like they think they can do lead heel Stephanie better with Dixie.

I don't understand how TNA doesn't understand that they should emphasize their differences from the WWE! BE AN ALTERNATIVE! WWE has plenty of hours a week, I don't want to see them operating the same format. Are they mandated by Spike to try and out WWE the WWE? If not they should fire whoever it is that is trying to make them the #2 promotion in every aspect. They don't have to have the #2 Tag Division. They don't have to have the 2nd best young guys, ladies wrestling, promo's, or skits. Focus on how different the X Division is, have Women's Wrestling NOT DIVA'S. The WWE rushes guys to TV sometimes, and has some green guys, don't do that shit. Leave the Bromans in OVW with Nightmare Danny Davis, bring in Shelton, Carlito, and Masters throw them in tag teams, and let Gunner/Storm, Bad Influence, and Hernandez light it up!

Taz is highly entertaining though. Who ever would have guess in 1995 that guy would be such a great color man? Seeing people actively pushing for the death of TNA bothers me a lot. That is not what I want. If Spike will keep all of/most of the boys, and change the management structure then I'm all for that though. I want to see more wrestling on TV, not less, I just wish all the wrestling on TV wasn't trying to be the same.

[jackknight]

Totally agree Jeff. The biggest problem they have with trying to emulate WWE is that they try and copy the worst aspects of the show. When I started watching them both again the Knock Outs division blew whatever the Divas were doing out of the water. Their women's division is STILL stacked with better talent than the E. But they're trying to make them divas? Also the TNA Tag division was amazing. Beer Money vs. Motor City was just gold. But just like the E before them was doing, they've been making their division less and less relevant. Doesn't have to be that way. Bring it back. Re-empathize the X Division and stop worrying about if your ratings can compete with WWE. They never will. It'd be like any of the other burger joints trying to outsell McDonalds. They're THE name brand. Always will be. WWE could be complete shit (and at times has been) and will ALWAYS do better numbers no matter how much better TNA is at any given time. They should just focus on being the best TNA they can be and that's that. Focus on the wrestling. Put themselves forward as the best WRESTLING company on the planet. Because they have the talent that could pull it off.

[Chitohausen]

The Knocksouts is what got me hooked on TNA in the first place.  I would watch it here and there, but then I caught a Kong - Gail Kim match back when Kong was there, and that got me watching regularly, so I agree with Jack that they need to go back to offering that kind of action, especially with the Knockouts. I really enjoyed the X Division as well, to me, that's what really set them apart from WWE, but it just seems that it's more of an afterthought now.

I haven't really watched TNA regularly since the early Aces & Eights stuff.  I was watching it on Spike On Demand but our stupid cable provider decided to stop updating it regularly, and I just kinda lost interest.

[Captain Charisma]

Awesome Kong and Gail Kim, even the really young looking chic that was there (Taylor Wilde, maybe?) were unfucking believable. Jack and Chito's posts were spot on. The X Division saved TNA's life in 06, AJ-Daniels-Joe, it's like TNA forgot what made it great, and it was their own motto, "It's not about weight limits, its about NO limits..." They ain't doing shit with Joe, or Joseph Park, have a Samoa Joe vs. Abyss vs. Sabin (or Hardy if they just have to have him featured) death feud over the X Division title. They neutered themselves by trying to turn Knock Outs into Divas and the X Divsion into the the Cruiserweight Division.

Yes I like Velvet Sky's juicy ass as much as any red blooded male that watches TNA. Her being willing to wear a skirt and show off her excellent cheeks does not make her worthy of being the top babyface in the division. And by the way, Barbarian's niece (forget her name) ain't Awesome Kong, I'm glad the belt is on Gail, but fuck me if they aren't ruining that good decision by putting the monster with her and negating clean finishes. Half of Gail's awesomeness is her finishers, so sure let's put a Samoan Bodyguard with her to KO every chic she faces and not let her use any of those finishers.

Bad Influence, James Storm, Hernandez, Eric Young and Abyss are all in the tag ranks at the moment. They have tons of talent waiting to be put into a tag team like Petey Williams, Knux and Bischoff, sooooo who should we put the titles on at our Wrestlemania? O I KNOW!!! The Bromans! Ugh, and I'm one of the 4 people who don't hate the gimmick. I love seeing them get their asses kicked, their presence on TV is endless ammunition for the genius of Taz, but the champs?

ROH is just waiting to be raided again. Briscoes, Steen, Shelly, Jay Lethal, Shelton Benjamin, BJ Whitmer. John Morrison, Carlito, and the Masterpiece are free agents. Far as I know Luke Gallows is still a free agent. And they bring in green as grass guys that couldn't make it NXT to play Dixie's nephew. Everything that they shit on WWE about doing, they do. What happened to the "Wrestling Matters" tag line? Things are getting worse for TNA on a weekly basis and they have done everything EXCEPT try to save it with wrestling.

Seems like I come back to this too much, but Jimmy Cornette put it best, "who would have guessed that wrestling fans, tuning into a wrestling program, would want to watch some wrestling?"

As bad as that soliloquy sounds, I like a lot of the talent in TNA. I want them to survive. I love professional wrestling, and want as much of it on National TV as possible, but fuckin A man, TNA frustrates me. Or as Hunter like to say, fustrates me. That being said, last week's episode would have been an A+ if they'd kept Dixie off my TV. I haven't enjoyed Mr. Anderson since his name was Kennedy, but I enjoyed his return Thursday Night. I really like the prospects of him vs. Bully, and Knux and Bischoff being involved, could be great. Kurt and Roode had a great back and forth on the mic, and a solid fist fight, a series of matches should be great. All the pieces are there, just waiting to be put together.

[Kimmel]

Metzler is reporting there are 4 interested parties for TNA, and that it will be sold to one of them:

Viacom (Spike TV), Jeff Jarrett, Eric Bischoff, WWE

[Captain Charisma]

I hope Spike gets it first, but they will probably make the smallest offer. I mean they control the TV outlet, and could get out of pro-wrestling, or put any pro-wrestling promotion name they wanted to the timeslot. Kimmel, do you know who all already has Spike contracts? Sting, Hogan, and Kurt for sure right? Maybe Hardy too?

[bigraj]

Umm . . . so that was the payoff for TNA doing the "Punk leaves with the title" angle the right way? What a ridiculous overbooked cluster. No need for me to check them out again for another couple of months.

[darthfoley]

You'd think they would have just let Magnus win it clean.

[Captain Charisma]

Jan 10, 2014 16:57:40 GMT darthfoley said:

You'd think they would have just let Magnus win it clean.

Exactly. God forbid we make our only homegrown star of the last 3 years look strong as champion. I was shitting on the main event, and then by the end it kind of started to win me over, and then lost me again. Overbooked clusterfuck is the perfect label. Magnus defying Dixie's wishes, wanting to prove he was the best, and backing up his great promo about never being another man's shadow was all nullified by that main event. Dixie is the top heel and Magnus is her current puppet. It's not about the World Championship. It's not about Magnus. It's not a babyface gets corrupted by the title storyline. Hell it ain't even about AJ Styles anymore.

That main event pushed Magnus, Roode, and AJ down a notch and elevated Dixie and Sting. In my eyes anyway. All I want them to do is to stop caring so much about their authority figure. That is the WWE realm. Wrestling doesn't have to be about the decision or match maker. It doesn't. Hell put Sting in charge and let the babyface authority figure make the show about wrestling. About wins and losses. About their title.

They started their title split and unification storyline before WWE started it. And instead of taking their first (and likely ONLY) opportunity to run a WWE style angle better than the WWE (Magnus and AJ could undoubtedly have produced a better series of matches than Cena/Orton) and they fumble it. All I ever wanted them to do was to be different than the WWE. WWE gift wraps TNA an opportunity that they've been begging for since 02, a chance to be better than WWE at a WWE style angle, and they give us that clusterfuck main event that accentuates their heel authority figures deficiencies?  Holy bat droppings Batman, who is booking this shit?

[darthfoley]

I like Eric Young, but...wow.