TNA's last outing, Slammiversary, was the best show that they put on in ages. So the hope here was that they would use that momentum and build upon it. They didn't...
Angelina Love defeated Tara to win the Knockouts Title
It was a bit of a strange way to open the show with a women's match, and the match didn't deliver all that much. Both girls are solid workers, but if they were given more time further down the card it would have been much better. The ending was awful whereby Tara missed a moonsault and got pinned, but she got her foot on the bottom rope which would normally break the count, however the referee didn't see it. Considering too that Tara only picked up the title 2 weeks ago, it was a farcical way to open the show.
Backstage in the locker room of the Main Event Mafia, Kurt Angle told us "Do not expect a quality main event match". Ouch. Imagine the folks that paid for this show actually hearing that. Then he tells his gang that "if you lose, you are fired from the Mafia", which practically gave away the results of the other matches. What a laughably bad opening to the show.
Matt Morgan defeated Christopher Daniels
Daniels had a legit knee injury going into this match and they played off it well, and he performed a bit better than was to be expected with an injury. There was a good story behind the match with Morgan working it over to the point where Daniels couldn't hit his trademark top rope finisher. Morgan gets the win he needed over an established wrestler to look like a proper upper card guy. Not sure what they are doing with Daniels, he has been in limbo ever since he returned which is disappointing.
Abyss defeated Dr. Stevie in a No-DQ match
Basically an extended squash brawl with carnage about the arena whereby Abyss dominated. He used a 'taser' at the end on Stevie which gave off smoke, but was terribly silly. This appears to be the blow-off to this feud, which in fairness has been pretty good.
Team 3D (Brothers Ray & Devon) defeated The British Invasion (Doug Williams & Brutus Magnus) to retain the IWGP Tag Team Titles
Those tag belts actually belong to the New Japan promotion and not TNA, so a title switch was always unlikely. It was a decent enough match, if not a little formulaic (bad guys work over a good guy, goodie makes the hot tag to his partner, then they clean house). Williams has always been solid and working with veterans can only help Magnus' development. There is room to go back to the well once more with these guys I feel.
Jenna Morasca defeated Sharmell
Well...erm, Morasca had a rather interesting ring entrance. Now let's never speak of this mess again in what will certain to be one of the contenders for 'Worst Match Of The Year'.
Kevin Nash defeated A.J. Styles to win the Legends Title
Ugh, Nash shouldn't even be wrestling. Really slow match and went on way longer than needed. Styles done his best, but not even he could elevate the quality. I'd like to think that they made Styles drop the belt in order to give him a serious World Title push, but I fear I would be giving TNA way too much credit.
Booker T & Scott Steiner defeated Beer Money (Robert Roode & James Storm) to win the World Tag Team Titles
Ugh, Steiner shouldn't even be wrestling. Another boring match too. Dumb spot whereby Storm spat beer in his opponent's eyes and then the referee couldn't make the pinfall count as he was feigning temporary blindness even though he was nowhere near the incident. I honestly couldn't tell you what the plans are for Beer Money at this moment in time.
Samoa Joe defeated Sting
The finish was botched as Sting forgot what was supposed to happen. It was very noticeable too which made matters worse. The other point of note is that Taz made his TNA début as Joe's advisor. He came out and...done nothing. You think that they would have let him cut a promo.
Kurt Angle defeated Mick Foley to retain the World Heavyweight Title
Really boring match that never seemed to get out of first gear. Afterwards the Mafia all came out to celebrate with their titles.
Overall
This was a terrible show with TNA back to their bad old tricks of silly finishes and nonsensical booking. It was really bad to see the likes of Styles & Beer Money drop their titles to pensioners. Only the Daniels/Morgan & Team 3D/British Invasion matches came anywhere close to being decent. After the surprisingly good show last month, this one was a horrible mess. A huge disappointment.
Showing posts with label TNA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TNA. Show all posts
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
Friday, 17 July 2009
TNA Sacrifice 2009 - Results & Review
Once again, results come courtesy of Online World of Wrestling.
Sacrifice would be May's show.
It wasn't great. There were plenty of dodgy finishes which killed a lot of the fun in the show. Plus the ending to the main event was just inexcusable.
Sacrifice would be May's show.
- The pre-show was again a nice bonus for everyone, especially as it featured some good talent.
- They actually built upon Young's unhappiness later down the line as he turned heel. Perfectly fine opener though.
- Monster's Ball was way too short. But seeing female wrestlers in a hardcore rules environment was something different.
- Frankie Kazarian is now under the Suicide mask allowing Christopher Daniels to be himself full-time. The finish was a bit lame though.
- Love retaining by heel means was fine as it kept her heat and protected the gargantuan Awesome Kong.
- Joe over Nash was thankfully the right result.
- For all the things wrong with TNA, and there are many, at least they put effort into their tag team (and Women's) divisions so that there is plenty of talent and depth there. These are some of the few areas where they out-do the WWE.
- Stupid finish to the 'I Quit' match.
- The main event was just downright dumb. They built it up well with everyone sacrificing something, but Sting getting the win and not getting the title is just ridiculous. Pretty average main event too.
It wasn't great. There were plenty of dodgy finishes which killed a lot of the fun in the show. Plus the ending to the main event was just inexcusable.
TNA Lockdown 2009 - Results & Review
Fallen way behind on these recaps, so I'll just give a link to the results from the excellent Online World of Wrestling website and just throw in a few opinions.
Lockdown was the April show, and is unique in that all the matches take place inside a steel cage.
Lockdown is usually one of TNA's better shows of the year. But it wasn't as good as it could possibly have been. There was a general lack of buzz during the show, except possibly outside the Team 3D/Beer Money tag title unification match.
Lockdown was the April show, and is unique in that all the matches take place inside a steel cage.
- The pre-show match didn't really matter all that much, but at least it was something to get people in the mood for the main show.
- Suicide's dive off the cage was pretty cool.
- The women's 4-way was forgettable. I was hoping that the always enjoyable Daffney would pick up the win.
- 3-way tag team bout was a very fine watch. Plenty of good action there.
- Stupid TNA rules on making your opponent bleed before you can pin them. They love over-complicating things.
- They had to book the finish to the Knockouts title match on the fly as Love got accidentally concussed, but the referee and Taylor Wilde did a good job of covering it up. It didn't come across as too bad looking on TV. Love is a fine pick for champion, she has been one of the most consistently good acts for a while now.
- The tag title unification match was probably the most enjoyable of the night, mainly because the crowd were really into it. Winners were a bit obvious though.
- Lethal Lockdown usually delivers, but this one was a bit lacklustre for some reason. Even A.J. Styles annual crazy stunt was a bit of a let-down.
- I have zero excitement in seeing Bobby Lashley in TNA. I'm sure we'll get back to him at a later date.
- Main event was horrible given the combined age of the two participants was 93. Mick Foley just seemed to throw himself over the cage to the floor at the end. And quite frankly TNA giving him their world title is one of the most stupid decisions they have made, at least in recent times.
Lockdown is usually one of TNA's better shows of the year. But it wasn't as good as it could possibly have been. There was a general lack of buzz during the show, except possibly outside the Team 3D/Beer Money tag title unification match.
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
TNA Against All Odds 2009 - Results & Review
Entrance Video
They showed footage from earlier with people arriving at the show; the Main Event Mafia, minus Sting, entered via a Hummer stretch limousine, Team 3D came together in some form of pimp-mobile, and finally Sting arrived in a Lamborghini Diablo. The colour of it was a bit off, yellow and white, but it was still a gorgeous car and probably the prettiest thing we’ll see on this show. The Matches Alex Shelley defeated Eric Young to retain the X-Division title
Very good match to open things off with and it gives some hope that TNA will actually be putting an effort into making the X-Division seem worthwhile. Both men looked pretty good with Shelly hitting a lovely frog splash. Shelley won with a roll-up after sort of feigning injury. It was the exact same way he won the belt last month and made him look a bit weak. But a perfectly fine opener nonetheless. Scott Steiner defeated Petey Williams
Williams came out still dressed as a Steiner clone which completely baffled me. This was a really slow and boring match and Steiner’s antics towards the crowd were more interesting. It could be viewed as a borderline squash match as Steiner pretty much dominated.
After he won the match, Steiner beat up Williams more before Samoa Joe appeared on the big screen, not live in the arena, and mouthed off to him. Joe had a pretend tattoo on his face that makes him look like a cheap rip-off of the WWE wrestler Umaga. That is not good. TNA completely dropped the ball on Joe last year and he needs some serious rebuilding but that new look is not the way to go about it.
Magnus cut a promo before the match and I was pleasantly surprised as he spoke well enough. I was a little disappointed the opponent was Sabin; I was expecting a bigger name. The match was one of those throwaway contests but to his credit Magnus done pretty okay as he didn’t botch things and played a good heel. His finisher looks a bit weak but he could make something of himself if, and that’s a big if, TNA give him time and show a bit of faith in him.
At the start, there were a bit of unnecessary shenanigans whereby Kong’s associates came down with her before Jim Cornette shooed them away. Kong then squared off to Cornette and it was all a waste of time really, although hearing Mike Tenay saying Cornette was “goozled” almost made it worthwhile. No, I’ve not idea what he was on about either, but it was possibly the most sensible thing the commentators said all night. The match was pedestrian and a bit dull; Kong dominated, ODB had a small comeback, Kong then finished her with the Implant Buster. The problem they have now is that Kong has beaten all the babyfaces, so creative will have to do some thinking in order to come up with her next opponent.
This was rubbish, nothing more than filler. Booker won with the axe-kick after wife Sharmell tripped Sewell up. The fact that Booker needed help against a part-time wrestler made him look really, really weak.
A.J. Styles came out after and beat Booker up for a bit. He then and cut a rather whiny promo which took the entire sting out of his appearance. A pity really, although Booker/Styles gives some hope.
This was not a 'no holds barred' match as previously stipulated as the referee kept taking weapons away from both guys. That was rather lame and so the match was worse than expected. The ref took a bump for his troubles and then got hit in the head with a chair. Abyss won after a second Black Hole Slam when referee Slick Johnson ran down to make the cover. They fought in the crowd at the start which was cool but once they got into the ring it dragged big time. This feud will most likely continue for a while yet.
Beer Money came down to the ring on a motorised keg of beer name the ‘Boozer Cruiser’. Ha, nice. They looked really good in this match too as they dominated aside from the mandatory brief comeback from the challengers. Jacqueline got involved as expected but Storm hit Lethal in the head with his fist wrapped in chain to secure the victory. A really fine match even if the dodgy ending was a bit unnecessary.
Horrible main event, although the crowd seemed to eat it up big time which was rather unfortunate. Angle was heeling it up big time trying to pin Sting at every available opportunity. But he nor really Sting couldn’t get into their grooves due to their vastly inferior opponents. Mick Foley handed Sting the title at the end, so at least they are doing something right in getting Sting away from being a heel. He is probably in the middle at the minute or a ‘tweener’, but it seems they are finally moving things along.
When the first contest is the best of the night, then you know your show is going to be in trouble. This was yet another rubbish event that was pretty much devoid of any interesting matches and a lack of big names that were absent from action (Joe, Styles, Rhino, still no Christopher Daniels). Looking at the bigger picture, there is no progress being made by TNA, none whatsoever and I dare say that if they are at a stage where they are putting Team 3D in a PPV main event singles match then they are actually regressing as a promotion.
They showed footage from earlier with people arriving at the show; the Main Event Mafia, minus Sting, entered via a Hummer stretch limousine, Team 3D came together in some form of pimp-mobile, and finally Sting arrived in a Lamborghini Diablo. The colour of it was a bit off, yellow and white, but it was still a gorgeous car and probably the prettiest thing we’ll see on this show. The Matches Alex Shelley defeated Eric Young to retain the X-Division title
Very good match to open things off with and it gives some hope that TNA will actually be putting an effort into making the X-Division seem worthwhile. Both men looked pretty good with Shelly hitting a lovely frog splash. Shelley won with a roll-up after sort of feigning injury. It was the exact same way he won the belt last month and made him look a bit weak. But a perfectly fine opener nonetheless. Scott Steiner defeated Petey Williams
Williams came out still dressed as a Steiner clone which completely baffled me. This was a really slow and boring match and Steiner’s antics towards the crowd were more interesting. It could be viewed as a borderline squash match as Steiner pretty much dominated.
After he won the match, Steiner beat up Williams more before Samoa Joe appeared on the big screen, not live in the arena, and mouthed off to him. Joe had a pretend tattoo on his face that makes him look like a cheap rip-off of the WWE wrestler Umaga. That is not good. TNA completely dropped the ball on Joe last year and he needs some serious rebuilding but that new look is not the way to go about it.
Magnus cut a promo before the match and I was pleasantly surprised as he spoke well enough. I was a little disappointed the opponent was Sabin; I was expecting a bigger name. The match was one of those throwaway contests but to his credit Magnus done pretty okay as he didn’t botch things and played a good heel. His finisher looks a bit weak but he could make something of himself if, and that’s a big if, TNA give him time and show a bit of faith in him.
At the start, there were a bit of unnecessary shenanigans whereby Kong’s associates came down with her before Jim Cornette shooed them away. Kong then squared off to Cornette and it was all a waste of time really, although hearing Mike Tenay saying Cornette was “goozled” almost made it worthwhile. No, I’ve not idea what he was on about either, but it was possibly the most sensible thing the commentators said all night. The match was pedestrian and a bit dull; Kong dominated, ODB had a small comeback, Kong then finished her with the Implant Buster. The problem they have now is that Kong has beaten all the babyfaces, so creative will have to do some thinking in order to come up with her next opponent.
This was rubbish, nothing more than filler. Booker won with the axe-kick after wife Sharmell tripped Sewell up. The fact that Booker needed help against a part-time wrestler made him look really, really weak.
A.J. Styles came out after and beat Booker up for a bit. He then and cut a rather whiny promo which took the entire sting out of his appearance. A pity really, although Booker/Styles gives some hope.
This was not a 'no holds barred' match as previously stipulated as the referee kept taking weapons away from both guys. That was rather lame and so the match was worse than expected. The ref took a bump for his troubles and then got hit in the head with a chair. Abyss won after a second Black Hole Slam when referee Slick Johnson ran down to make the cover. They fought in the crowd at the start which was cool but once they got into the ring it dragged big time. This feud will most likely continue for a while yet.
Beer Money came down to the ring on a motorised keg of beer name the ‘Boozer Cruiser’. Ha, nice. They looked really good in this match too as they dominated aside from the mandatory brief comeback from the challengers. Jacqueline got involved as expected but Storm hit Lethal in the head with his fist wrapped in chain to secure the victory. A really fine match even if the dodgy ending was a bit unnecessary.
Horrible main event, although the crowd seemed to eat it up big time which was rather unfortunate. Angle was heeling it up big time trying to pin Sting at every available opportunity. But he nor really Sting couldn’t get into their grooves due to their vastly inferior opponents. Mick Foley handed Sting the title at the end, so at least they are doing something right in getting Sting away from being a heel. He is probably in the middle at the minute or a ‘tweener’, but it seems they are finally moving things along.
When the first contest is the best of the night, then you know your show is going to be in trouble. This was yet another rubbish event that was pretty much devoid of any interesting matches and a lack of big names that were absent from action (Joe, Styles, Rhino, still no Christopher Daniels). Looking at the bigger picture, there is no progress being made by TNA, none whatsoever and I dare say that if they are at a stage where they are putting Team 3D in a PPV main event singles match then they are actually regressing as a promotion.
Sunday, 8 February 2009
TNA Against All Odds 2009 - Preview & Predictions
Opening Promo
TNA are just off the back of a largely successful tour of Ireland & the UK (2 shows in Dublin and nights in Manchester, London & Glasgow). Their live shows are always well received, more so than any of the WWE ones based on various accounts. This is presumably because on the live shows, TNA actually gives time to matches and you don’t get any of the rubbish segments you get on the TV. Just a pity TNA can’t transfer that success into their TV shows which would give their product a much needed boost.
"The Icon" Sting (c) vs. Kurt Angle vs. Brother Ray vs. Brother Devon
This continues the Main Event Mafia/Frontline feud with Sting & Angle representing the Mafia and the other guys fighting for the Frontline. Honestly this looks a terrible main event. Team 3D (Ray & Devon) should not even be in the main event, let alone a singles match as they are rubbish. They obviously aren’t going to win so it leaves the other two guys. They have been teasing tension between Sting & Angle and I’d expect that to continue. Angle will probably pick up the title here, just so that his ego can get that extra bit bigger. And hopefully Sting will be made to sensibly turn babyface.
Prediction: Kurt Angle to win the World Heavyweight Title
Beer Money (c) vs. "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed
This is effectively the challenger’s rematch, although they bizarrely had to win a match on one of the TV shows in order to receive this shot. It’s pure guesswork who will win; I don’t expect the champions to drop the belts after only a month...but then I didn’t expect Lethal & Creed to drop the belts after only 3 days last time around. The match should be fine and Beer Money should win, possibly through some cheating as they could draw this feud out for another month at least.
Prediction: Beer Money to retain the Tag Titles
Alex Shelley (c) vs. Eric Young
It seems TNA are finally starting to take the X-Division seriously again, which is a very good thing. This should be a very fine match. Young probably deserves a good run with the belt as he has been screwed out of it a few times over the past couple of months, but I don’t think he will get it here. Shelley will be playing the heel and his partner Chris Sabin will most likely be at ringside and could possibly get involved, which isn’t exactly necessary (read: expect it to happen), so I say Shelley will retain somehow.
Prediction: Alex Shelley to retain the X-Title
Awesome Kong (c) vs. ODB
This should be different from your usual women’s contest as both of them are of a slightly bigger build, so the match will probably be a bit slow in places and could possibly be a bit of a slugfest. Kong is good and ODB is fine enough, so I’d expect it to be decent at the least. Kong is said to be carrying knee and back injuries so hopefully it won’t impact the match too much. Her associates have also been banned from ringside and we are possibly due a title change. So everything points to an ODB win and I’m going with that.
Prediction: ODB to win the Knockouts Title
Booker T (c) vs. Referee Shane Sewell
The Legends Championship really has no meaning as Booker T just brought out the belt one week and declared himself the champion, but TNA have sanctioned it as an official title anyway. What’s to stop other people doing that as well, I don’t know. Sewell was pretty basic last time out but Booker should be winning this easily and more importantly cleanly. But no-one really cares about this match and it is such a waste of Booker T.
Prediction: Booker T to retain the Legends Championship
"Maple Leaf Muscle" Petey Williams vs. "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner
This match is a part of the Frontline/Mafia story. A few months back, Williams used to be a lackey of Scott Steiner and trained under him, even changing his appearance to look like Steiner. But that all got done away with when Steiner joined the Mafia and they beat up Williams, who recently returned and cost Steiner a match. Hence this contest between the two. Steiner should be winning this; a loss against a smaller, albeit very talented wrestler will hurt him. But this won’t be a classic and again, there is very little interest to be had in this one.
Prediction: Scott Steiner to win
'The Monster' Abyss vs. "The Blueprint' Matt Morgan
As expected, these turned on each other. Although they probably made the wrong call in making Abyss the babyface, as he has been quite useless in that role for the past few years or so. Since weapons are allowed, it will probably take this contest up a couple of notches and it could get pretty violent. Not really sure who will get the win as this feud will probably roll on for a few months yet, so I’ll just randomly pick Morgan.
Prediction: Matt Morgan to win
‘The Modern Day Gladiator’ Brutus Magnus vs. ???
Magnus made the challenge on Impact this week, but TNA don’t have it up on their online preview so it’s unsure whether or not this will take place. It doesn’t matter as TNA will likely screw him up before he really gets started. This is a really risky move too as Magnus has only had 1 TV taping and a handful of live matches under his belt. They seem to have painted themselves a corner with this one; if the opponent is a jobber then it will be a waste of time or if the opponent is good and Magnus loses, it will hurt his credibility severely. I’d guess the opponent is A.J. Styles who has been on every PPV since November 2004 and he would get a workable match out of him but Styles would pick up the win. Or it could be Rhino and they might give Magnus the rub. They could also use the Suicide character, but the less said about that the better. Hard to call this one, that is if it even takes place.
Prediction: A.J. Styles defeats Brutus Magnus
The card for this show looks really weak on paper and not many matches stick out as being terribly exciting. So it’ll probably be a poor enough show. The main event is quite frankly a joke and the matches involving Steiner & Booker T will be a complete waste of time. There are also some big names absent from the card; A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe (though I’d expect him to show up) and even Rhino (who has been on his biggest push in years). Christopher Daniels is still in limbo somewhere. It looks as if TNA are writing this one-off which is simply a disgrace. If they don’t even care about it, why should the casual fan make any effort to?
TNA are just off the back of a largely successful tour of Ireland & the UK (2 shows in Dublin and nights in Manchester, London & Glasgow). Their live shows are always well received, more so than any of the WWE ones based on various accounts. This is presumably because on the live shows, TNA actually gives time to matches and you don’t get any of the rubbish segments you get on the TV. Just a pity TNA can’t transfer that success into their TV shows which would give their product a much needed boost.
The Card
TNA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH"The Icon" Sting (c) vs. Kurt Angle vs. Brother Ray vs. Brother Devon
This continues the Main Event Mafia/Frontline feud with Sting & Angle representing the Mafia and the other guys fighting for the Frontline. Honestly this looks a terrible main event. Team 3D (Ray & Devon) should not even be in the main event, let alone a singles match as they are rubbish. They obviously aren’t going to win so it leaves the other two guys. They have been teasing tension between Sting & Angle and I’d expect that to continue. Angle will probably pick up the title here, just so that his ego can get that extra bit bigger. And hopefully Sting will be made to sensibly turn babyface.
Prediction: Kurt Angle to win the World Heavyweight Title
Beer Money (c) vs. "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed
This is effectively the challenger’s rematch, although they bizarrely had to win a match on one of the TV shows in order to receive this shot. It’s pure guesswork who will win; I don’t expect the champions to drop the belts after only a month...but then I didn’t expect Lethal & Creed to drop the belts after only 3 days last time around. The match should be fine and Beer Money should win, possibly through some cheating as they could draw this feud out for another month at least.
Prediction: Beer Money to retain the Tag Titles
Alex Shelley (c) vs. Eric Young
It seems TNA are finally starting to take the X-Division seriously again, which is a very good thing. This should be a very fine match. Young probably deserves a good run with the belt as he has been screwed out of it a few times over the past couple of months, but I don’t think he will get it here. Shelley will be playing the heel and his partner Chris Sabin will most likely be at ringside and could possibly get involved, which isn’t exactly necessary (read: expect it to happen), so I say Shelley will retain somehow.
Prediction: Alex Shelley to retain the X-Title
Awesome Kong (c) vs. ODB
This should be different from your usual women’s contest as both of them are of a slightly bigger build, so the match will probably be a bit slow in places and could possibly be a bit of a slugfest. Kong is good and ODB is fine enough, so I’d expect it to be decent at the least. Kong is said to be carrying knee and back injuries so hopefully it won’t impact the match too much. Her associates have also been banned from ringside and we are possibly due a title change. So everything points to an ODB win and I’m going with that.
Prediction: ODB to win the Knockouts Title
Booker T (c) vs. Referee Shane Sewell
The Legends Championship really has no meaning as Booker T just brought out the belt one week and declared himself the champion, but TNA have sanctioned it as an official title anyway. What’s to stop other people doing that as well, I don’t know. Sewell was pretty basic last time out but Booker should be winning this easily and more importantly cleanly. But no-one really cares about this match and it is such a waste of Booker T.
Prediction: Booker T to retain the Legends Championship
"Maple Leaf Muscle" Petey Williams vs. "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner
This match is a part of the Frontline/Mafia story. A few months back, Williams used to be a lackey of Scott Steiner and trained under him, even changing his appearance to look like Steiner. But that all got done away with when Steiner joined the Mafia and they beat up Williams, who recently returned and cost Steiner a match. Hence this contest between the two. Steiner should be winning this; a loss against a smaller, albeit very talented wrestler will hurt him. But this won’t be a classic and again, there is very little interest to be had in this one.
Prediction: Scott Steiner to win
'The Monster' Abyss vs. "The Blueprint' Matt Morgan
As expected, these turned on each other. Although they probably made the wrong call in making Abyss the babyface, as he has been quite useless in that role for the past few years or so. Since weapons are allowed, it will probably take this contest up a couple of notches and it could get pretty violent. Not really sure who will get the win as this feud will probably roll on for a few months yet, so I’ll just randomly pick Morgan.
Prediction: Matt Morgan to win
‘The Modern Day Gladiator’ Brutus Magnus vs. ???
Magnus made the challenge on Impact this week, but TNA don’t have it up on their online preview so it’s unsure whether or not this will take place. It doesn’t matter as TNA will likely screw him up before he really gets started. This is a really risky move too as Magnus has only had 1 TV taping and a handful of live matches under his belt. They seem to have painted themselves a corner with this one; if the opponent is a jobber then it will be a waste of time or if the opponent is good and Magnus loses, it will hurt his credibility severely. I’d guess the opponent is A.J. Styles who has been on every PPV since November 2004 and he would get a workable match out of him but Styles would pick up the win. Or it could be Rhino and they might give Magnus the rub. They could also use the Suicide character, but the less said about that the better. Hard to call this one, that is if it even takes place.
Prediction: A.J. Styles defeats Brutus Magnus
The card for this show looks really weak on paper and not many matches stick out as being terribly exciting. So it’ll probably be a poor enough show. The main event is quite frankly a joke and the matches involving Steiner & Booker T will be a complete waste of time. There are also some big names absent from the card; A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe (though I’d expect him to show up) and even Rhino (who has been on his biggest push in years). Christopher Daniels is still in limbo somewhere. It looks as if TNA are writing this one-off which is simply a disgrace. If they don’t even care about it, why should the casual fan make any effort to?
Sunday, 1 February 2009
TNA Genesis 2009 - Results & Review
Got a bit of free time so I can catch up on some fun things, although whether TNA falls under that bracket is highly debatable. Anyway let’s not waste any more time, catch up here if you need to.
Entrance Video
They opened with a video package highlighting the Frontline/Main Event Mafia feud. It played up the Frontline as underdogs while putting across how dominant the Mafia are. These videos are generally pretty well done, but usually fill you with false hope.
The Matches
LAX & Eric Young defeated Jimmy Rave, Sonjay Dutt & Kiyoshi in a 6-Man Tag Team Elimination Match (Order of elimination: Young by Dutt, Homicide by Rave, Kiyoshi by Hernandez, Dutt by Hernandez, Rave by Hernandez)
This is the match that was announced late, but then got changed from what was originally billed. If it wasn’t obvious beforehand who would win, the heels got a group entrance and the faces got their own ones. Sonjay Dutt has really been wasted by TNA. He won a rather lengthy feud with Jay Lethal and bagged the girl, yet Lethal goes on to capture a tag title. Sheer madness. But we’ve come to expect this sort of stuff from booking.
Cool spot where each man took it in turns to jump over the top rope to the floor onto each other. Hernandez was left with 3 vs. 1 but beat everyone up. He is a guy that could be a top main eventer in a few years if given a bit of work and time. The match was given time and was a surprisingly passable opener.
Alex Shelley defeated Chris Sabin to win the vacant X-Division title
Great match. They were countering each other and throwing out all sorts of crazy moves. Shelley hit a somersault leg drop off the top rope and later Sabin hit a springboard DDT. They kicked out of each other’s finishers. Shelley pretended to injure himself and then rolled up Sabin to pick up the win. Bit of a dodgy finish, sure, but it kept both men looking strong.
This match was probably the best X-Division showing in years, not since A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe & Christopher Daniels were mixing it up has there been a showing of this quality. It gave some focus back to the division and gave TNA a great opportunity to make something of that area of the roster once again. But I doubt they will make use of that chance. Anyway, just check out the video.
Shane Sewell defeated Sheik Abdul Bashir
Sewell wasn’t awful in the ring which was a nice bonus; his moves were basic enough but he didn’t screw them up. He used a figure-4 leg-lock which drew lots of “Wooooos” from the crowd given the show was in Charlotte, North Carolina, Ric Flair’s hometown. Bashir got into a shoving match with referee Earl Hebner and went to punch him but got a slap in the face instead. Sewell then won with a Sunset Flip in an altogether hugely forgettable match. Bashir needs to get away from fighting referees; it’s stupid and makes him look really weak when he is on the losing end.
Beer Money, Inc defeated Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed (c) and Matt Morgan & Abyss to win the TNA Tag Titles
Alright match with the highlight probably being Morgan jumping off outside on everyone. Jacqueline kept getting involved on behalf of Beer Money and ended up in a spitroast position (I’d urge some caution if you were to Google it) before eventually getting thrown out. Finish came with Storm throwing the tag belt into Roode to use but Abyss caught it and accidentally decked his partner Morgan, which lead to a stare-down between the two after. Beer Money eventually covered to win back the gold, but it’ll be interesting to see how long they are kept together as both guys have the chops to be main event stars.
The booking was terrible; how you can expect the crowd NOT to cheer for the heels after they overcome four babyfaces and also Lethal & Creed’s pathetic 3-day reign doesn’t exactly give them a vote of confidence. I’m actually amazed though that it took TNA a lengthy 4 matches to overbook a finish; I think that’s a new record for them.
ODB, Roxxi & Taylor Wilde defeated The Kongtourage (Raisha Saaed, Rhaka Khan & Sonjournor Bolt) in a 6-Woman Tag Team Match
The planned title match between Awesome Kong & Christy Hemme was called off as both had injuries. The stipulation was that whoever scored the pin would be the #1 contender for the title, which immediately gave away that the babyfaces were going to win. This was way over-booked and a straight singles match, say between Saaed & Roxxi would have been far, far better. Saaed had some groovy new ring attire, a black and red full-body suit. Not as nice as her cheerleader outfit but cool nonetheless.
Pity the match wasn’t as slick as it turned out to be sloppy and terrible. Bolt has not impressed me one bit and Khan still looks out of her depth. Saaed done the job yet again (sigh) as ODB rolled her up with an inside cradle. Awesome Kong came out and destroyer the babyfaces after. Pity this didn’t happen as the start of the match and we would have been saved from this rubbish.
Kurt Angle defeated Jeff Jarrett in a No-DQ match
Great match with both guys coming out all guns blazing. Jarrett threw beer on Angle, who later retaliated by busting Double J open with the ring bell. Ding! Ding! Don West on commentary sounded like he was going to explode. They brawled up to the stage and then off it as Jarrett received an Angle Slam from the stage down through a table. They then traded finishers and chair shots before Angle won with a roll-up.
Afterwards he proceeded to damage Jarrett’s ankle with repeated stomps and chairs shots and I was shouting out for Christopher Daniels to come out and beat the crap out of him, but it didn’t happen. Regardless, TNA need to be hitting these heights every month if they are to be taken seriously.
Sting defeated Rhino to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Title
We go from that, to this?!?! Now, they had a story running through the show, which was quite annoying as it often took focus off matches that were taking place, whereby Rhino had got beat up by the Main Event Mafia and had only just shown up very late in the show. Now this was because Sting had only said a few days before the show that he was carrying an injury, so it was wrote that he had to have an easier match. Now this was only revealed days after the event so on paper it did not make Sting look a credible champion at all, as he had to defend against a weakened opponent.
Also the crowd ended up cheering for the bad guy Sting (who inexcusably broke his character), and booed Rhino. Honestly they should just go ahead and turn Sting face, it makes sense. Sting won with the Scorpion Death Drop in a thankfully short match. The one was a failure from start to finish.
TNA Frontline (A.J.Styles, Mick Foley & Brother Devon) defeated the Main Event Mafia (Booker T, Scott Steiner & Cute Kip (sub for Kevin Nash)) in a Hardcore match
The other story they had running through the show was that Kevin Nash had been hospitalised with a staph infection. This though, was legitimate but left the writers in a bit of a pickle. They could have gone with the story that the Mafia took Devon out of the match in a response to what they believed was a hit on Nash. But no, they went with getting a replacement in Cute Kip. Cute. Kip. A guy whose most famous gimmick in years was turning gay and wearing pink chaps. Cute Kip. What a mind-numbingly awful decision that was, and it was obvious as the crowd totally crapped on it. Such an unbelievable choice for TNA to make.
Halfway through the match, everyone was fighting on the outside and the referee counted everyone out, therefore making it a no contest. The stupidity just keeps on coming. But General Manager Jim Cornette came out and restarted the match; however Booker T reminded him he didn’t have that power, which made Cornette look like a complete chump. Mick Foley stated that as the majority shareholder he DOES have the power, so he restarted it under hardcore rules. All of this nonsense was totally unnecessary. The only real thing of note was Styles hitting a springboard splash from the ring to the outside sending Kip through a table. Foley then later got the win after a DDT on a chair to Scott Steiner. This was a complete mess.
King Of The Ring or Jobber?
A jobber is someone who goes out and loses on a regular basis, just to explain that term. This show was mainly rubbish and so fell into the latter category which is amazing considering they had two matches over four stars in quality. But take those out and it was truly awful with one of the worst heavyweight title match and main event in ages. Fair enough, TNA had some problems with injuries (Nash, Sting, Kong & Hemme) that screwed up things, but it was no excuse for the amount of rubbish that was served, along with the customary over-booking & nonsensical creative decisions. If this an indication for the rest of the year, TNA are going nowhere in 2009.
Entrance Video
They opened with a video package highlighting the Frontline/Main Event Mafia feud. It played up the Frontline as underdogs while putting across how dominant the Mafia are. These videos are generally pretty well done, but usually fill you with false hope.
The Matches
LAX & Eric Young defeated Jimmy Rave, Sonjay Dutt & Kiyoshi in a 6-Man Tag Team Elimination Match (Order of elimination: Young by Dutt, Homicide by Rave, Kiyoshi by Hernandez, Dutt by Hernandez, Rave by Hernandez)
This is the match that was announced late, but then got changed from what was originally billed. If it wasn’t obvious beforehand who would win, the heels got a group entrance and the faces got their own ones. Sonjay Dutt has really been wasted by TNA. He won a rather lengthy feud with Jay Lethal and bagged the girl, yet Lethal goes on to capture a tag title. Sheer madness. But we’ve come to expect this sort of stuff from booking.
Cool spot where each man took it in turns to jump over the top rope to the floor onto each other. Hernandez was left with 3 vs. 1 but beat everyone up. He is a guy that could be a top main eventer in a few years if given a bit of work and time. The match was given time and was a surprisingly passable opener.
Alex Shelley defeated Chris Sabin to win the vacant X-Division title
Great match. They were countering each other and throwing out all sorts of crazy moves. Shelley hit a somersault leg drop off the top rope and later Sabin hit a springboard DDT. They kicked out of each other’s finishers. Shelley pretended to injure himself and then rolled up Sabin to pick up the win. Bit of a dodgy finish, sure, but it kept both men looking strong.
This match was probably the best X-Division showing in years, not since A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe & Christopher Daniels were mixing it up has there been a showing of this quality. It gave some focus back to the division and gave TNA a great opportunity to make something of that area of the roster once again. But I doubt they will make use of that chance. Anyway, just check out the video.
Shane Sewell defeated Sheik Abdul Bashir
Sewell wasn’t awful in the ring which was a nice bonus; his moves were basic enough but he didn’t screw them up. He used a figure-4 leg-lock which drew lots of “Wooooos” from the crowd given the show was in Charlotte, North Carolina, Ric Flair’s hometown. Bashir got into a shoving match with referee Earl Hebner and went to punch him but got a slap in the face instead. Sewell then won with a Sunset Flip in an altogether hugely forgettable match. Bashir needs to get away from fighting referees; it’s stupid and makes him look really weak when he is on the losing end.
Beer Money, Inc defeated Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed (c) and Matt Morgan & Abyss to win the TNA Tag Titles
Alright match with the highlight probably being Morgan jumping off outside on everyone. Jacqueline kept getting involved on behalf of Beer Money and ended up in a spitroast position (I’d urge some caution if you were to Google it) before eventually getting thrown out. Finish came with Storm throwing the tag belt into Roode to use but Abyss caught it and accidentally decked his partner Morgan, which lead to a stare-down between the two after. Beer Money eventually covered to win back the gold, but it’ll be interesting to see how long they are kept together as both guys have the chops to be main event stars.
The booking was terrible; how you can expect the crowd NOT to cheer for the heels after they overcome four babyfaces and also Lethal & Creed’s pathetic 3-day reign doesn’t exactly give them a vote of confidence. I’m actually amazed though that it took TNA a lengthy 4 matches to overbook a finish; I think that’s a new record for them.
ODB, Roxxi & Taylor Wilde defeated The Kongtourage (Raisha Saaed, Rhaka Khan & Sonjournor Bolt) in a 6-Woman Tag Team Match
The planned title match between Awesome Kong & Christy Hemme was called off as both had injuries. The stipulation was that whoever scored the pin would be the #1 contender for the title, which immediately gave away that the babyfaces were going to win. This was way over-booked and a straight singles match, say between Saaed & Roxxi would have been far, far better. Saaed had some groovy new ring attire, a black and red full-body suit. Not as nice as her cheerleader outfit but cool nonetheless.
Pity the match wasn’t as slick as it turned out to be sloppy and terrible. Bolt has not impressed me one bit and Khan still looks out of her depth. Saaed done the job yet again (sigh) as ODB rolled her up with an inside cradle. Awesome Kong came out and destroyer the babyfaces after. Pity this didn’t happen as the start of the match and we would have been saved from this rubbish.
Kurt Angle defeated Jeff Jarrett in a No-DQ match
Great match with both guys coming out all guns blazing. Jarrett threw beer on Angle, who later retaliated by busting Double J open with the ring bell. Ding! Ding! Don West on commentary sounded like he was going to explode. They brawled up to the stage and then off it as Jarrett received an Angle Slam from the stage down through a table. They then traded finishers and chair shots before Angle won with a roll-up.
Afterwards he proceeded to damage Jarrett’s ankle with repeated stomps and chairs shots and I was shouting out for Christopher Daniels to come out and beat the crap out of him, but it didn’t happen. Regardless, TNA need to be hitting these heights every month if they are to be taken seriously.
Sting defeated Rhino to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Title
We go from that, to this?!?! Now, they had a story running through the show, which was quite annoying as it often took focus off matches that were taking place, whereby Rhino had got beat up by the Main Event Mafia and had only just shown up very late in the show. Now this was because Sting had only said a few days before the show that he was carrying an injury, so it was wrote that he had to have an easier match. Now this was only revealed days after the event so on paper it did not make Sting look a credible champion at all, as he had to defend against a weakened opponent.
Also the crowd ended up cheering for the bad guy Sting (who inexcusably broke his character), and booed Rhino. Honestly they should just go ahead and turn Sting face, it makes sense. Sting won with the Scorpion Death Drop in a thankfully short match. The one was a failure from start to finish.
TNA Frontline (A.J.Styles, Mick Foley & Brother Devon) defeated the Main Event Mafia (Booker T, Scott Steiner & Cute Kip (sub for Kevin Nash)) in a Hardcore match
The other story they had running through the show was that Kevin Nash had been hospitalised with a staph infection. This though, was legitimate but left the writers in a bit of a pickle. They could have gone with the story that the Mafia took Devon out of the match in a response to what they believed was a hit on Nash. But no, they went with getting a replacement in Cute Kip. Cute. Kip. A guy whose most famous gimmick in years was turning gay and wearing pink chaps. Cute Kip. What a mind-numbingly awful decision that was, and it was obvious as the crowd totally crapped on it. Such an unbelievable choice for TNA to make.
Halfway through the match, everyone was fighting on the outside and the referee counted everyone out, therefore making it a no contest. The stupidity just keeps on coming. But General Manager Jim Cornette came out and restarted the match; however Booker T reminded him he didn’t have that power, which made Cornette look like a complete chump. Mick Foley stated that as the majority shareholder he DOES have the power, so he restarted it under hardcore rules. All of this nonsense was totally unnecessary. The only real thing of note was Styles hitting a springboard splash from the ring to the outside sending Kip through a table. Foley then later got the win after a DDT on a chair to Scott Steiner. This was a complete mess.
King Of The Ring or Jobber?
A jobber is someone who goes out and loses on a regular basis, just to explain that term. This show was mainly rubbish and so fell into the latter category which is amazing considering they had two matches over four stars in quality. But take those out and it was truly awful with one of the worst heavyweight title match and main event in ages. Fair enough, TNA had some problems with injuries (Nash, Sting, Kong & Hemme) that screwed up things, but it was no excuse for the amount of rubbish that was served, along with the customary over-booking & nonsensical creative decisions. If this an indication for the rest of the year, TNA are going nowhere in 2009.
Sunday, 11 January 2009
TNA Genesis 2009 - Preview & Predictions
Opening Promo
Total Nonstop Action (TNA; yeah, they really should have selected a better abbreviation) is the number 2 promotion within the wrestling industry. They have been going for over 5 years but honestly, they are not very good. They like to think that they are big and can compete with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) but in reality they can’t. In fact, if Ring Of Honor (ROH; more on them at a later date hopefully) secure a TV deal, then TNA are probably better off looking over their shoulders than into the distance.
The main problem with TNA is that creatively they have very few good ideas and when it comes to booking matches, it is usually a mess. They have a tendency to overbook things (too much interference, run-ins & weapons) and they have no perception of the constant of 'time' as feuds usually run on way too long and people are always pushed many months after they should have been.
The talent in TNA is questionable too, it is there no doubt about it but it is the way it is used. TNA sign a lot of ex-WWE wrestlers and usually give them the top spots automatically and rarely create and build-up their own stars. They use people based on their past glories while forgetting about the younger guys. Case in point, last year they offered contract extensions to Kevin Nash (a guy nearing his 50s who struggles with walking) and Brothers Ray & Devon of Team 3D (two overweight, ageing guys who have not put on a great match in years). On the flipside, they either let go/didn’t offer enough to keep wrestlers that were useful and very talented. People such as Christian Cage (a main eventer, expected to return to WWE soon), Gail Kim (their top babyface female who has already signed back with WWE) and also Rain (just a tremendous all-round wrestler who would have offered loads).
But enough about their shortcomings for the moment (no doubt others will crop up), let’s see if TNA can kick the PPV calendar off with a bang.
The Card
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
"The Icon" Sting (c) vs. "The War Machine" Rhino
This is part of the big ongoing feud in TNA which pits the Main Event Mafia (a group of veteran, former World title winners) against the Frontline (younger guys a little lower down the card). It was a good idea in theory but as so often happens, TNA managed to make a mess of it, but more on that in a moment or so. Sting represents the Mafia while Rhino has become the spokesperson as of late for the Frontline. I’m not entirely sure what Rhino has done to earn the title shot; he beat Sting over a month ago on the weekly TV show - Impact - but then lost his PPV match against Kurt Angle, so the two kind of cancel each other out. But logic and reason rarely apply in TNA so here we are.
Rhino has been a jobber more or less for the past two years so Sting is going to retain here to continue to make him look like a credible champion. Hopefully it will be a clean win in order to give a more significant victory. The match should be of middling quality at the least as these are two very seasoned wrestlers. But truth be told, as a main event it is not particularly appealing.
Prediction: Sting to retain
The Rematch
TNA Founder Jeff Jarrett vs. Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle
Two of the biggest egos in TNA clash once again. Just to give you an idea of how big Angle’s is, he is billed as the leader of the Main Event Mafia even though he does not currently have the top belt in the World Heavyweight title. The Mafia have been accused by the Frontline of holding them back and Jarrett has somewhat sided with them. Which is hugely ironic given that he did the exact same thing when TNA started as he pretty much held the Heavyweight title for the majority of the first 2-3 years.
If the match is like their first one a few months back it should be fine. Jarrett won that one so I suspect Angle gets the rub in this one, though it probably won’t be clean. Jarrett’s guitar will most likely be used.
Prediction: Kurt Angle
Mick Foley's In-Ring Return
‘The Hardcore Legend’ Mick Foley, ‘The Phenomenal’ A.J. Styles & Brother Devon vs. Legends Champion Booker T, ’Big Sexy’ Kevin Nash and "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner
This is another match in the ongoing Frontline versus Mafia feud which has Mick Foley joining up with the Frontline. Now, it is interesting to note that Brother Devon, along with his tag partner Brother Ray, is part of the Frontline. When those two joined that side of the war, that was the moment I lost interest in this feud. Collectively throughout their career, Devon & Ray have held the tag titles over 20-times, so it made sense for them to join Nash, Booker T and the rest in the Mafia. They probably will turn sometime down the line but it was just such a wrong path to take.
On paper, this match looks pretty poor. Nash & Steiner have not had a good match in a very long time and Devon is not much better. This is Foley’s first actual wrestling match for TNA and he is usually good for a couple of matches a year, and he will get in all his trademark moves like ‘The Sock’ but he will probably have a very limited activity overall in the contest. They would have been better off going with a straight Styles/Booker clash as they will probably be carrying both of their respective teams as they are very fine workers. And I’d assume Foley’s team win unless he turns heel on them, which is a bit unlikely.
Prediction: Mick Foley, A.J. Styles & Brother Devon
TNA World Tag Team Title Match
‘Black Machismo’Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed (c) vs. Beer Money (James Storm & Robert Roode) vs. ‘The Monster’ Abyss & ‘The Blueprint’ Matt Morgan
Sigh, the background to this match is unnecessarily complicated. At the start of this week’s Impact, Beer Money were champions. Later on the show, Morgan beat Robert Roode via referee stoppage due to an injury to Roode, which earned him and Abyss a title shot at the PPV. But then Lethal came out with his partner Creed and cashed in his tag title shot briefcase (a few PPVs ago, a couple of wrestlers won briefcases to earn them specific title shots any time they wanted. This is something WWE have been doing for a while, so it is not a new idea). So with Roode out, James Storm had to defend the titles by himself, in his everyday clothes of jeans and t-shirt, but ultimately lost after he was hit with the briefcase. So Lethal & Creed won the belts in an impromptu, handicap match via use of a weapon. And they are meant to be the babyface team. Meanwhile, we feel sympathy for the heels as they lost the titles on a screwjob. That is simply just poor booking and makes no sense whatsoever, and just gives you an example of the stuff TNA does.
So this match is Beer Money’s mandatory rematch and Abyss & Morgan are still in the match as well. Thought those two just seem to be in to further their own storyline in which one will probably turn heel. It is rumoured to be Morgan yet with a moniker like ‘The Monster’, Abyss would make more sense and he has been pretty crap as a face. But Creed & Lethal will retain, as it would be foolish to hot-shot the titles off them, in what should be a decent enough match.
Prediction: Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed to retain
Tournament Final To Crown A New X-Division Champion
Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley
The X-Division used to be TNA’s main selling point years ago but when the better wrestlers (namely A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe & Christopher Daniels) moved up the card, it got a bit short in depth and has just merely existed. Due to a series of nonsensical events, the title got vacated hence the tournament which is meant to bring some meaning back to the title. Which is all well and good...except WWE did the exact same thing with their mid-card belt only last month.
But I’m expecting this one to be Match Of The Night, it would be hugely disappointing if it isn’t. Sabin & Shelley is an odd pairing because they are part of a tag team (Motor City Machine Guns) who are long, long overdue a tag title run and it is hard to call a winner. Going on the ridiculous notion that this is the first step to TNA stupidly breaking up the tag team, Shelly will win as he is slightly better at playing the heel role therefore setting Sabin up to get the ultimate win in their feud. Or there might just be a dodgy finish that will hold the belt open to a better candidate next month. It should be noted that the wrestler Homicide won the briefcase to cash in a title shot for the X-title and he could well get involved. But he is also in an established tag team, so things would be back at square one.
Winner: Alex Shelley to win the vacant title
TNA Knockouts Women's Championship - Lumberjack Match
Awesome Kong (c) vs. To Be Determined
The Women’s division has been the one area where TNA have consistently outperformed WWE over the past year or so since its inception. But it is getting to a stage where it is starting to feel a little stale and they still have not settled on a top babyface ever since Gail Kim left in late summer. Now TNA might bring in some new talent soon to keep things fresh; they recently gave tryout matches to both Portia Perez and Ashley Lane from acclaimed promotion SHIMMER (which is well worth your time). The other solution is to make more of the talent they have and in particular Raisha Saeed, who has acted as Kong’s mouthpiece but others have aligned themselves with Kong so that role can now be taken up with anyone. You could get the scenario where Kong ends up beating up Saaed, turning her babyface in the process. Saeed could then lay out Kong the next week and then unmask and in reality she is actually the highly talented Cheerleader Melissa and the pay-off of a Kong/Melissa feud would be gold. But that’s for the (near) future, hopefully.
Now Christy Hemme, who is not a very good wrestler, was due to face Kong but she got injured and they have not announced a replacement yet but best guess would be either Roxxi or Taylor Wilde who would be good babyface foils to Kong’s heel. Or they could go the unexpected route and have someone new or any of the aforementioned women. Now I wouldn’t wish an injury on anyone, but with Hemme out the match will be infinitely better. Kong should be retaining cleanly enough to help get her over after a dodgy appearance last PPV (where Hemme won on a DQ). The lumberjack aspect is just to get as many of the Knockouts on TV as possible.
Prediction: Awesome Kong to retain
Grudge Match
‘Referee’ Shane Sewell vs. Sheik Abdul Bashir
Sewell was a referee who officiated a lot of matches whereby Bashir was on the losing side. Bashir blamed Sewell for the losses and gave him a few beatdowns with Sewell sometimes hitting back out of frustration. Why the TNA management did not see the obvious clash of interests just goes to show how dumb they really are. Anyway Sewell hit back once too much and got fired as a referee but then got immediately re-hired but as a wrestler.
Now I have no idea what Sewell will be like in the ring but Bashir is dependable enough and it will probably be a slow-enough match. Given that TNA will probably want to continue this feud longer, and so as not to make him look bad in his first match, Sewell will probably pick up the win.
Prediction: Shane Sewell
8 Man Tag Team Elimination Match
Eric Young/Shark Boy/LAX (Homicide & Hernandez) vs. Cute Kip/Kiyos/The Rock & Rave Infection (Lance Rock & Jimmy Rave)
This match was just added very late in the day and it isn’t exactly all that thrilling on paper. The fact that it is an elimination match does not really bode well for this contest or the rest of the card, as time will be taken away from the bigger matches. Of the combatants; Shark Boy, Rock & Rave are all jobbers, Kip is living on past glories and Kiyos is some Japanese guy who I haven’t seen much of. Eric Young is a fine wrestler and LAX are a very good tag team so the two teams look a little unbalanced. Regardless this match has no backstory or nothing riding on it so it will be quickly forgettable, but the babyface team should win with LAX the only ones not eliminated.
Prediction: Eric Young/Shark Boy/LAX
Last Man Standing or Counted-Out?
Well this PPV has sold so poorly that TNA have actually resorted to giving away free tickets. Which must be hugely disappointing internally giving it is Mick Foley’s in-ring début for them and also with the Angle/Jarrett rematch. But looking at the card and in particular the top-half, it does not look particularly enticing. Aside from Sabin/Shelley and possibly the Tag & Knockout title matches, nothing looks like it will be exceedingly exciting or fresh. There is also the absence of Samoa Joe on the card who is one of the top stars and one of the bigger members of the Frontline. He is selling an ‘injury’ but nonetheless he is a big loss from the card. There is also the outside chance that Christopher Daniels will return, which would be excellent. And the sooner he returns and is thrust to the top of the Frontline group, the better. All in all, it’ll probably be an average PPV, which is what we have come to expect from TNA.
Total Nonstop Action (TNA; yeah, they really should have selected a better abbreviation) is the number 2 promotion within the wrestling industry. They have been going for over 5 years but honestly, they are not very good. They like to think that they are big and can compete with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) but in reality they can’t. In fact, if Ring Of Honor (ROH; more on them at a later date hopefully) secure a TV deal, then TNA are probably better off looking over their shoulders than into the distance.
The main problem with TNA is that creatively they have very few good ideas and when it comes to booking matches, it is usually a mess. They have a tendency to overbook things (too much interference, run-ins & weapons) and they have no perception of the constant of 'time' as feuds usually run on way too long and people are always pushed many months after they should have been.
The talent in TNA is questionable too, it is there no doubt about it but it is the way it is used. TNA sign a lot of ex-WWE wrestlers and usually give them the top spots automatically and rarely create and build-up their own stars. They use people based on their past glories while forgetting about the younger guys. Case in point, last year they offered contract extensions to Kevin Nash (a guy nearing his 50s who struggles with walking) and Brothers Ray & Devon of Team 3D (two overweight, ageing guys who have not put on a great match in years). On the flipside, they either let go/didn’t offer enough to keep wrestlers that were useful and very talented. People such as Christian Cage (a main eventer, expected to return to WWE soon), Gail Kim (their top babyface female who has already signed back with WWE) and also Rain (just a tremendous all-round wrestler who would have offered loads).
But enough about their shortcomings for the moment (no doubt others will crop up), let’s see if TNA can kick the PPV calendar off with a bang.
The Card
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
"The Icon" Sting (c) vs. "The War Machine" Rhino
This is part of the big ongoing feud in TNA which pits the Main Event Mafia (a group of veteran, former World title winners) against the Frontline (younger guys a little lower down the card). It was a good idea in theory but as so often happens, TNA managed to make a mess of it, but more on that in a moment or so. Sting represents the Mafia while Rhino has become the spokesperson as of late for the Frontline. I’m not entirely sure what Rhino has done to earn the title shot; he beat Sting over a month ago on the weekly TV show - Impact - but then lost his PPV match against Kurt Angle, so the two kind of cancel each other out. But logic and reason rarely apply in TNA so here we are.
Rhino has been a jobber more or less for the past two years so Sting is going to retain here to continue to make him look like a credible champion. Hopefully it will be a clean win in order to give a more significant victory. The match should be of middling quality at the least as these are two very seasoned wrestlers. But truth be told, as a main event it is not particularly appealing.
Prediction: Sting to retain
The Rematch
TNA Founder Jeff Jarrett vs. Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle
Two of the biggest egos in TNA clash once again. Just to give you an idea of how big Angle’s is, he is billed as the leader of the Main Event Mafia even though he does not currently have the top belt in the World Heavyweight title. The Mafia have been accused by the Frontline of holding them back and Jarrett has somewhat sided with them. Which is hugely ironic given that he did the exact same thing when TNA started as he pretty much held the Heavyweight title for the majority of the first 2-3 years.
If the match is like their first one a few months back it should be fine. Jarrett won that one so I suspect Angle gets the rub in this one, though it probably won’t be clean. Jarrett’s guitar will most likely be used.
Prediction: Kurt Angle
Mick Foley's In-Ring Return
‘The Hardcore Legend’ Mick Foley, ‘The Phenomenal’ A.J. Styles & Brother Devon vs. Legends Champion Booker T, ’Big Sexy’ Kevin Nash and "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner
This is another match in the ongoing Frontline versus Mafia feud which has Mick Foley joining up with the Frontline. Now, it is interesting to note that Brother Devon, along with his tag partner Brother Ray, is part of the Frontline. When those two joined that side of the war, that was the moment I lost interest in this feud. Collectively throughout their career, Devon & Ray have held the tag titles over 20-times, so it made sense for them to join Nash, Booker T and the rest in the Mafia. They probably will turn sometime down the line but it was just such a wrong path to take.
On paper, this match looks pretty poor. Nash & Steiner have not had a good match in a very long time and Devon is not much better. This is Foley’s first actual wrestling match for TNA and he is usually good for a couple of matches a year, and he will get in all his trademark moves like ‘The Sock’ but he will probably have a very limited activity overall in the contest. They would have been better off going with a straight Styles/Booker clash as they will probably be carrying both of their respective teams as they are very fine workers. And I’d assume Foley’s team win unless he turns heel on them, which is a bit unlikely.
Prediction: Mick Foley, A.J. Styles & Brother Devon
TNA World Tag Team Title Match
‘Black Machismo’Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed (c) vs. Beer Money (James Storm & Robert Roode) vs. ‘The Monster’ Abyss & ‘The Blueprint’ Matt Morgan
Sigh, the background to this match is unnecessarily complicated. At the start of this week’s Impact, Beer Money were champions. Later on the show, Morgan beat Robert Roode via referee stoppage due to an injury to Roode, which earned him and Abyss a title shot at the PPV. But then Lethal came out with his partner Creed and cashed in his tag title shot briefcase (a few PPVs ago, a couple of wrestlers won briefcases to earn them specific title shots any time they wanted. This is something WWE have been doing for a while, so it is not a new idea). So with Roode out, James Storm had to defend the titles by himself, in his everyday clothes of jeans and t-shirt, but ultimately lost after he was hit with the briefcase. So Lethal & Creed won the belts in an impromptu, handicap match via use of a weapon. And they are meant to be the babyface team. Meanwhile, we feel sympathy for the heels as they lost the titles on a screwjob. That is simply just poor booking and makes no sense whatsoever, and just gives you an example of the stuff TNA does.
So this match is Beer Money’s mandatory rematch and Abyss & Morgan are still in the match as well. Thought those two just seem to be in to further their own storyline in which one will probably turn heel. It is rumoured to be Morgan yet with a moniker like ‘The Monster’, Abyss would make more sense and he has been pretty crap as a face. But Creed & Lethal will retain, as it would be foolish to hot-shot the titles off them, in what should be a decent enough match.
Prediction: Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed to retain
Tournament Final To Crown A New X-Division Champion
Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley
The X-Division used to be TNA’s main selling point years ago but when the better wrestlers (namely A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe & Christopher Daniels) moved up the card, it got a bit short in depth and has just merely existed. Due to a series of nonsensical events, the title got vacated hence the tournament which is meant to bring some meaning back to the title. Which is all well and good...except WWE did the exact same thing with their mid-card belt only last month.
But I’m expecting this one to be Match Of The Night, it would be hugely disappointing if it isn’t. Sabin & Shelley is an odd pairing because they are part of a tag team (Motor City Machine Guns) who are long, long overdue a tag title run and it is hard to call a winner. Going on the ridiculous notion that this is the first step to TNA stupidly breaking up the tag team, Shelly will win as he is slightly better at playing the heel role therefore setting Sabin up to get the ultimate win in their feud. Or there might just be a dodgy finish that will hold the belt open to a better candidate next month. It should be noted that the wrestler Homicide won the briefcase to cash in a title shot for the X-title and he could well get involved. But he is also in an established tag team, so things would be back at square one.
Winner: Alex Shelley to win the vacant title
TNA Knockouts Women's Championship - Lumberjack Match
Awesome Kong (c) vs. To Be Determined
The Women’s division has been the one area where TNA have consistently outperformed WWE over the past year or so since its inception. But it is getting to a stage where it is starting to feel a little stale and they still have not settled on a top babyface ever since Gail Kim left in late summer. Now TNA might bring in some new talent soon to keep things fresh; they recently gave tryout matches to both Portia Perez and Ashley Lane from acclaimed promotion SHIMMER (which is well worth your time). The other solution is to make more of the talent they have and in particular Raisha Saeed, who has acted as Kong’s mouthpiece but others have aligned themselves with Kong so that role can now be taken up with anyone. You could get the scenario where Kong ends up beating up Saaed, turning her babyface in the process. Saeed could then lay out Kong the next week and then unmask and in reality she is actually the highly talented Cheerleader Melissa and the pay-off of a Kong/Melissa feud would be gold. But that’s for the (near) future, hopefully.
Now Christy Hemme, who is not a very good wrestler, was due to face Kong but she got injured and they have not announced a replacement yet but best guess would be either Roxxi or Taylor Wilde who would be good babyface foils to Kong’s heel. Or they could go the unexpected route and have someone new or any of the aforementioned women. Now I wouldn’t wish an injury on anyone, but with Hemme out the match will be infinitely better. Kong should be retaining cleanly enough to help get her over after a dodgy appearance last PPV (where Hemme won on a DQ). The lumberjack aspect is just to get as many of the Knockouts on TV as possible.
Prediction: Awesome Kong to retain
Grudge Match
‘Referee’ Shane Sewell vs. Sheik Abdul Bashir
Sewell was a referee who officiated a lot of matches whereby Bashir was on the losing side. Bashir blamed Sewell for the losses and gave him a few beatdowns with Sewell sometimes hitting back out of frustration. Why the TNA management did not see the obvious clash of interests just goes to show how dumb they really are. Anyway Sewell hit back once too much and got fired as a referee but then got immediately re-hired but as a wrestler.
Now I have no idea what Sewell will be like in the ring but Bashir is dependable enough and it will probably be a slow-enough match. Given that TNA will probably want to continue this feud longer, and so as not to make him look bad in his first match, Sewell will probably pick up the win.
Prediction: Shane Sewell
8 Man Tag Team Elimination Match
Eric Young/Shark Boy/LAX (Homicide & Hernandez) vs. Cute Kip/Kiyos/The Rock & Rave Infection (Lance Rock & Jimmy Rave)
This match was just added very late in the day and it isn’t exactly all that thrilling on paper. The fact that it is an elimination match does not really bode well for this contest or the rest of the card, as time will be taken away from the bigger matches. Of the combatants; Shark Boy, Rock & Rave are all jobbers, Kip is living on past glories and Kiyos is some Japanese guy who I haven’t seen much of. Eric Young is a fine wrestler and LAX are a very good tag team so the two teams look a little unbalanced. Regardless this match has no backstory or nothing riding on it so it will be quickly forgettable, but the babyface team should win with LAX the only ones not eliminated.
Prediction: Eric Young/Shark Boy/LAX
Last Man Standing or Counted-Out?
Well this PPV has sold so poorly that TNA have actually resorted to giving away free tickets. Which must be hugely disappointing internally giving it is Mick Foley’s in-ring début for them and also with the Angle/Jarrett rematch. But looking at the card and in particular the top-half, it does not look particularly enticing. Aside from Sabin/Shelley and possibly the Tag & Knockout title matches, nothing looks like it will be exceedingly exciting or fresh. There is also the absence of Samoa Joe on the card who is one of the top stars and one of the bigger members of the Frontline. He is selling an ‘injury’ but nonetheless he is a big loss from the card. There is also the outside chance that Christopher Daniels will return, which would be excellent. And the sooner he returns and is thrust to the top of the Frontline group, the better. All in all, it’ll probably be an average PPV, which is what we have come to expect from TNA.
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