Wow, a tag match where the competitors actually care about who's the number one contender, and think it's important to go after the belt? Whoulda thunk it?
One thing I find myself liking more and more about TNA is that you usually can't tell who is going to win a match. Occasionally things are obvious, but for the most part they do a great job of making all the matches competitive and interesting.
Solid opener right there. I'll gladly take those six in a triple threat. Nice to see midcarders like Chavo and Hernandez bein allowed to hang with main eventers like AJ and Angle.
Then you can always do the both challengers team up to take out the champion first bit, which instantly adds some excitement to the match because there is gonna be a new champ. I love the elimination style 3 ways.
Anyone know how Kowalski's school's reputation has held up? We all know about HHH and Chyna, but Kowalski died a few years back, and Chaotic Wrestling absorbed the school. My buddy's been looking into schools in the area. I feel like Murphy has to know what the best schools in the northeast are?
I keep waiting to see one of the guys just snap and beat the piss out of everything that moves. Act like this really is a huge opportunity and try to look like a badass. Especially if they lose, still a chance to impress by showing some damn fire.
Eh, he can bump around like a pinball and wasn't terrible when it came to working the crowd. But they only gave him two offensive moves outside of some punches. So it's gonna be hard to judge if he "has it."
I'm trying to convince a friend to try out. He's been in the indies for years and has actually teamed with Devon a few times. His name is Geoff "Atomic Dogg" Byrd.
Kowalski's school probably has the best pedigree of any wrestling school besides the Dungeon. HHH, Chyna, Perry Saturn, John Kronus, Tensai, Damien Sandow, Frankie Kazarian, Kenny Dykstra, Chris Nowinski, and lots more. I dunno what the students from the Chaotic Wrestling part are like nowadays but I know that a couple of guys that work the upstate NY indie scene (mostly 2CW) trained there, and briefly under Kowalski. Jay Freddie and Isys Ephex are both pretty great.
Speaking of TV, and fellow Sons of Anarchy fans out there? The ratings are always great for F/X, record breaking for them, even. Yet I only know one other person who watches the show.
Lately, I've just been forgetting about all three main shows - Raw, Smackdown and Impact. One of these days, I'll remember to program all three into the DVR, since I prefer to watch the shows and fast forward through commercials as I get ready for work in the morning.
Totally forgot Impact was on until about quarter of nine tonight. And I completely missed Raw this week, too. But that was because my DVR decided not to record it.
*Insert "your DVR knows what's good for you" joke here*
"Go back to whatever you were doing, close your eyes, you looked peaceful." Haha, that segment was great. Hardy wasn't my first choice, but they've already sold me on Hardy-Aries.
OH man I love that fucking show. I'm pissed, my DVR didn't record this week's episode, and it won't be on again til after this week's episode. I'm gonna have to bury my head deep in the sand on this one.
It's my favorite show on TV by a mile, and my second favorite of all time (behind only The Wire). This past week was great, and while I'm not a huge fan of Jimmy Smits in general (I don't hate him or like him...just kind of "meh" on him), he's been absolutely brilliant the first two episodes.
I'm really not big on Abyss, if that's where it's going. At the end of the day, it's still Abyss. He's done great work as Joseph Park, and I'd like to see a split personality angle with him, but leading the new heel group? At the end of the day, it's still Abyss, and I've seen as much of him as a main player as I want to see for a while.
I disagree. It's much more interesting from a narrative perspective for Aries to lose that match. Now they can go several directions -- does Aries get paranoid that maybe he isn't as good as Hardy, leading to a massive heel turn ala Austin in 2001? Does Aries use it as motivation, a wakeup call?
And is it being used to develop Bully as a future challenger for Aries after BFG?
I liked it. Aries has been put over strong for months, nothing wrong with showing some vulnerability. And they need to start rehabbing Bully as a real contender, because frankly, he's one of the best things about the company right now. "COUNT HIM OUT, YOU OLD STUPID BASTARD!"
Does the Aries-Hardy stuff remind anyone of the Punk-Cena situation? As in, take the hot new rebel face, then start undercutting him in favor of the old stalwart face? Except I'd say TNA pushing Hardy over Aries would be even worse, as Jeff's an unreliable fuckup.
Aries is a tough one because he's really good and natural as a heel - but he was so good it turned him face, and I think he deserves a proper face push to see where it goes. Hardy's Hardy - unreliable fuck up but he's popular and he's probably the biggest WWE guy they've landed that actually chose to go to TNA around the height of his popularity. And apparently they're trying to entice him to re-sign. I like Hardy, and I get why they push him, but at the same time I wouldn't feel like I'm missing anything if they didn't. One thing I do like about TNA is that they don't seem as pushy to paint guys black or white. Aries could act like a heel against Hardy and start a feud as a face with Roode the next week. Same with Angle - I don't know how or why he turns heel or face most of the time, I just see him as Kurt Angle - depending on the situation he can be a dick and sometimes he's the bad guy in a situation but I don't see him as black or white.
On the other hand, half the audience doesn't despise Hardy. As much as he doesn't really do anything for me, the audience clearly loves him. I mean, part of the reason Punk got turned is because he went against Cena. Not a problem with Hardy, as much as I'd prefer they cheer Storm or Joe or Aries moreso.
If it were me, I'd eventually give Hardy the X Division belt and have him work with both young talent like Zema Ion and established wrestlers like AJ and build to him getting a World title defense that way.
If he can hold down the X Division THEN I'll give him the World title shot.
Yeah, it was. I think they are pre-recording many of these "office" segments and, for whatever reason, making some pretty embarrassing mistakes. During Brooke Hogan's segment last week you could see the control panel (play/fwd/rev/etc) for a media player at the bottom of the screen.
But it would still be the exact same principle problem as the Punk heel turn- taking someone who got over as a face, and then turning them just because you want the old star to be the face. Except TNAs decision seems worse to me, cause Hardy deserves this spot way less than Cena. Turning Aries heel to get Hardy over as a mega face is just so, so wrong.
Oh I hope they're not really going to give him the title. I get that he's cleaned himself up, and you want to acknowledge and reward that, but technically the fact they continued to employ him should be reward enough. It's a nice story - guy is overcome by his demons, almost loses everything, battles back, cleans himself up and reaches the top again. It's the kind of inspirational face storyline that should main event the biggest show of the year - it's just that Hardy's gotten his life back on track like 3 times already and falls off every time.
I was not a fan of tonight's episode. The only things I really enjoyed were the action in the opening tag match and Bully Ray's heel antics. Everything else ranged from overly dramatic to downright campy. Everyone seemed off with their promos and most of those promos were setting up new angles...that's...not good.
TNA's done a good job distancing themselves a bit by consistently having good wrestling in both quality and quantity..They didn't deliver that tonight and it felt like they were trying to shove 10 pounds of crap in to a 5 pound bag like they've done in years past.
Maybe Aries prefers being heel. And the fans cheer Hardy moreso than Aries. Could be like Rock's brief face turn in 98 that made him a BIGGER face down the line when he finally turned for real.
Agreed. Seriously, having Hardy main event their biggest show of the year is just ridiculous. Yeah he sells merchandise, but after Victory Road he just should not be in this spot. Makes no sense.
How so? They advanced the world title, tag team title, Knockout title and Roode/Storm grudge, while giving the A&8 just enough screen time. Only the A&9 storyline received multiple segments.
I enjoyed the show quite a bit. The first hour was a slam dunk. No surprise since they are trying to get viewers to tune in, but Tara did a great job and the Bully Ray win was a nice surprise. Like someone said, Aries has been going over strong for months now, so a loss to Bully won't hurt him in the long run. It opens up more possibilities.
True on The Rock point, except Jeff is no Stone Cold in terms of popularity or reliability. To me, if they weren't ready to go all the way with Aries as a face, then they should have never put the title on him. Instead, of Aries turns heel, they end up with Storm in the mod card, Aries as a heel, and an old drug addict as the top face in the company.
If Hardy wins the title, then the whole "TNA booking is amazing" meme would be pretty dead in the water. Cena tapping Punk clean on the opening match of Raw would be more justifiable.
If Hardy puts him over 100% squeaky clean, then yeah, Hardy in the main event makes more sense. I still think they'd have been better off feeding Aries a strong clear heel, like Bully or Joe. But you're right, Hardy needs to job here.
That's assuming Hardy beats him for the strap. The heel turn could happen during the match. Or Aries could win the belt back at the next PPV.
Either way, James Storm and Bobby Roode are made men at this point. There's room for Hardy in the main event scene too. Hell, if anything TNA's main event scene might be TOO loaded with star power -- Aries, Storm, Roode, Hardy, Bully, RVD, Angle, AJ, whoever the Aces/Eights guy is, and even Joe to a degree.
Sort of the opposite problem WWE has, but the BFG Series proved a loss doesn't hurt any of these guys.
Normally Smits is insufferable when he's playing the same drab roles all the time but he is awesome when he gets to really bring his sleazy Mexican side out. Who'd have thought it was possible for someone to out-cholo Danny Trejo on the same fuckin' show? It's awesome.
Quite a few wrestlers should, and this is a flaw of not just TNA, but wrestling in general.
People need to stop thinking a wrestler is too big to hold a secondary title, especially when they aren't doing shit. Sting used to go after every belt in the NWA days because they meant something. I hear/see wrestling fans complain about too many titles in wrestleing but there were hundred more back then and no one complained. Why? Because they were defended on a regular basis against top stars.
There is NO reason why a TV title division can't have RVD, Bully Ray, the Pope or a host of other wrestlers in it
I thought Roode really carried that segment as far as the story advancement went.
Storm's schtick is always the same and just lacks depth. They tried to give his character some when he "lost his smile" or whatever but I didn't buy it then, nor am I now since he's basically back to being the exact same guy just angry at someone in specific.
He's just always struck me as "Large Generic Southern Wrestler #12".
I dunno man, I really like Storm and Roode, but i think it's pretty strong to call them "made men". Staying on track with the original plan of a main event title match could have helped make them--- having them play second fiddle to Hardy does not.
Anyway, not to sound combative, but I just don't see how this roster can be considered full of "stars" when TNA draws so poorly. I want them to succeed , and I want storm and Roode to become legitimate wrestling stars, but I definitely don't think they are right now.
I did like Aries' bit in his exchange with Hardy about how he wants what Hardy has. I don't know though, the whole pushing Hardy to the moon things still just seems kind of bizarre to me. I'm not one of the many internet fans that "hates Jeff Hardy" or still calls him a crackhead (he seems to have cleaned up which is great!), I'm actually pretty indifferent towards him. I get that he's wildly popular with the broader audience as well.
But like I said, the whole big push just makes me uneasy. I try to think of it in a real world situation. It's not often where someone shows up to work wasted, humiliates their entire company and then returns to become its shining star. Sure, that's a touching story but it seems like an awfully big risk for TNA to take and strikes me as kind of desperate. He's their biggest star who, not long ago, was their worst nightmare. After all of that, they are still working with him because they don't have anyone else that has the potential to do business he can.
The Tara promo was taken directly from "How To Do A Heel Turn - 1st Edition"" Chapter 1. Blame it on the fans, Chapter 2. victimize yourself for no reason and complain. Chapter 3. Attack a helpless person. Beyond cliche.
As far as the Aces and Eights go. I guess I'm just getting bored with it. I grew up on Crockett stuff so I'm all for the slow burn but this angle seems to occasionally fizzle out before the fuse re-ignites. As long as they've let this run, if there isn't some gargantuan "HOLY SHIT!!!!" (pardon my language) payoff to this thing when it's all revealed, it's going to leave a really sour taste in a lot of fans' mouths - mine included. Plus the whole Joseph Park abduction bit was telegraphed and there was absolutely no mention of the "TNA mole" they spoke of last week.
Sorry to write a book there but I just fell like a lot of the show tonight was poorly written television and played on wrestling cliches we've all been watching for the last 20 or 30 years. TNA's made a lot of advancements in making things fresh and trying different ideas- they deviated from that this evening in my opinion.
Okay, here we go.
ReplyDeleteNew game: Pretend Hulk Hogan is Kermit The Frog, slowly going insane by the craziness around him.
ReplyDeleteAlso, are the backstage segments live on Impact? cause like, if that was the best take they got with Shaq, they should probably fire their producers.
Nice opener, solid kayfabe reason for it.
ReplyDeleteWow, a tag match where the competitors actually care about who's the number one contender, and think it's important to go after the belt? Whoulda thunk it?
ReplyDeletePUT SOMEONE THROUGH THE SPANISH ANNOUNCE TABLE
ReplyDeletei like impact in 5.1. the subwoofer goes crazy with their loud ring.
ReplyDeleteI vant believe I honestly look fwd to impact more than raw.... Now lets hv a nice build for bfg!
ReplyDeleteThere's at least one comment like this every Thursday. And that isn't a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the hook up Brian. Missed the first few minutes, I'm guessing not much has happened aside from the start of the tag match.
ReplyDeleteTotally, but peoples habits don't seem to break and they sit through three hours of mostly crap.
ReplyDeleteI think they still use 2x6s instead of the fiberglass tubes WWE uses underneath the mat.
ReplyDeleteLove the loud ring, it definitely adds something.
ReplyDeleteI watch a lot of Inside the NBA. That was Oscar-worthy for Shaq.
ReplyDeleteSome hate for Chavo tonight...
ReplyDeleteAngle and Chavo, Smackdown memories of some awesome tag match ups.
ReplyDeleteShaq is here protecting us from A&8
ReplyDeleteThe Angle Slam didn't look quite as impressive after that move from Hernandez. That was nice.
ReplyDeletei'm kind of loving this. that tag match is going to steal the show at bfg.
ReplyDeleteChavo and Hernandez could make a nice heel team too.
ReplyDeleteFun opener. The WTTCOTW are amazing.
ReplyDeleteShaquille? Awesome, hate him in the nba but he could totally be a wrestler.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I find myself liking more and more about TNA is that you usually can't tell who is going to win a match. Occasionally things are obvious, but for the most part they do a great job of making all the matches competitive and interesting.
ReplyDeleteI'M A MEMBER OF THE 87 PERCENT
ReplyDeleteThat's correct.
ReplyDeleteThats a 4* tag match in the,makin at bfg... Cant wait for thatt show... Im actually gonna oay instead of streamin!
ReplyDeleteThree way tag matches...not sure if they can pull that off. I'd make it elimination rules.
ReplyDeleteMe too, TNA deserves my money.
ReplyDeleteBe another cool way to distinguish their product from WWE, and establish themselves as an alternative. All three-ways are elimination rules.
ReplyDeleteSolid opener right there. I'll gladly take those six in a triple threat. Nice to see midcarders like Chavo and Hernandez bein allowed to hang with main eventers like AJ and Angle.
ReplyDeletesadly i think ECW is the only promotion to realize elimination matches are the only way to go with these kinds of matches
ReplyDeleteThen you can always do the both challengers team up to take out the champion first bit, which instantly adds some excitement to the match because there is gonna be a new champ. I love the elimination style 3 ways.
ReplyDeleteMr. Al Snow
ReplyDeleteTaz
Mr. Pritchard.
Well, there's one no...
Plus there are actual good and bad guys. We know who the villains are, and how great they are.
ReplyDeleteWell, that was odd.
ReplyDeleteTheses guys trying out should really try to distinguish themselves with some sort of gimmick. They look like such geeks barring Joey Ryan.
ReplyDeleteDoug Williams is chubby.
ReplyDeleteDoug Williams should be in the X-Division Title picture.
ReplyDeleteThat might be on purpose. The kid here is def. a goofy 18 year-old. I'm happy he's worked the crowd.
ReplyDeleteMy buddy calls it "CAW" Check. All this young guy needs is generic tribal tattoos.
ReplyDelete"Teach me how to Dougie" Williams...
ReplyDeleteAnyone know how Kowalski's school's reputation has held up? We all know about HHH and Chyna, but Kowalski died a few years back, and Chaotic Wrestling absorbed the school. My buddy's been looking into schools in the area. I feel like Murphy has to know what the best schools in the northeast are?
ReplyDeleteI keep waiting to see one of the guys just snap and beat the piss out of everything that moves. Act like this really is a huge opportunity and try to look like a badass. Especially if they lose, still a chance to impress by showing some damn fire.
ReplyDeleteEh, he can bump around like a pinball and wasn't terrible when it came to working the crowd. But they only gave him two offensive moves outside of some punches. So it's gonna be hard to judge if he "has it."
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to convince a friend to try out. He's been in the indies for years and has actually teamed with Devon a few times. His name is Geoff "Atomic Dogg" Byrd.
ReplyDeleteWhen he finally spazzes can his flail his arms around?
ReplyDeleteKowalski's school probably has the best pedigree of any wrestling school besides the Dungeon. HHH, Chyna, Perry Saturn, John Kronus, Tensai, Damien Sandow, Frankie Kazarian, Kenny Dykstra, Chris Nowinski, and lots more. I dunno what the students from the Chaotic Wrestling part are like nowadays but I know that a couple of guys that work the upstate NY indie scene (mostly 2CW) trained there, and briefly under Kowalski. Jay Freddie and Isys Ephex are both pretty great.
ReplyDeleteAnyone bailing at 9 for the season premiere of Parks & Rec? I'm not, but only by the grace of DVR.
ReplyDeleteJust bought my ticket for the October show in STL. Should be fun.
ReplyDeleteHaha, thanks, man, knew you'd come through.
ReplyDeleteAh, now THIS is how you build a non-title feud. WWE has no idea how to do it effectively.
ReplyDeleteLove that fn show and yeah, Dvr.
ReplyDeleteNow why could't AJ do that to Punk after she was done skipping down the ring and holding her head sideways?
ReplyDeleteCase in pt 99% of ppl swore storm would win bfg series
ReplyDeleteGREAT promo by Storm!
ReplyDeleteGrudge match!
ReplyDeleteI smell schmooze...
Wow. He beat him with a shoe. Reminds me of my aunt.
ReplyDeleteYeah, she was ghetto.
I'm watching it at the local movie theater!
ReplyDeleteDoesn't seem like it's been so long since last season.
ReplyDeleteNice spot!
ReplyDeleteLOVE the fan shoe bit
ReplyDeleteJust a brawl. Nice change of pace.
ReplyDeleteKnew that finish was coming, but it's cool. Hopefully the BFG stips logically spin out of it.
ReplyDeleteok im on dvr delay. miss anything good?
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of TV, and fellow Sons of Anarchy fans out there? The ratings are always great for F/X, record breaking for them, even. Yet I only know one other person who watches the show.
ReplyDeleteLately, I've just been forgetting about all three main shows - Raw, Smackdown and Impact. One of these days, I'll remember to program all three into the DVR, since I prefer to watch the shows and fast forward through commercials as I get ready for work in the morning.
ReplyDeleteTotally forgot Impact was on until about quarter of nine tonight. And I completely missed Raw this week, too. But that was because my DVR decided not to record it.
*Insert "your DVR knows what's good for you" joke here*
Entertaining tag opener, Gut Check and a long brawl with Roode and Storm.
ReplyDeleteHa ha, I smell a slight heel turn from Aries...
ReplyDelete"Go back to whatever you were doing, close your eyes, you looked peaceful." Haha, that segment was great. Hardy wasn't my first choice, but they've already sold me on Hardy-Aries.
ReplyDeleteOH man I love that fucking show. I'm pissed, my DVR didn't record this week's episode, and it won't be on again til after this week's episode. I'm gonna have to bury my head deep in the sand on this one.
ReplyDeleteChristy Hemme in action? Yessssss!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is hot.
ReplyDeleteHAH! Loves the heel Tara.
ReplyDeleteGod bless that ass!
ReplyDeleteWhich one?!
ReplyDeleteAll these previews of Dredd 3D are doing nothing for me...
ReplyDeleteThe tv spots have been pretty lackluster, but the trailer was great. And it's getting excellent reviews.
ReplyDeleteTrailers suck, for the most part. I've heard this is good and violent, works for me.
ReplyDeleteNo Brooke plz.
ReplyDeleteKidnapped Parks? Abyss as the leader?
ReplyDeleteIs this going to be like when Hogan went into the Dungeon of Doom?
ReplyDeleteOh god I hope not...
ReplyDeleteI don't mind her being there....just not talking.
ReplyDeleteokay was the dixie and bruce pritchard segment out of sync to anyone else?!
ReplyDeleteFAIL.
King Curtis as the leader would be unexpected.
ReplyDeletewho the hell is this bean pole on the gut check?!
ReplyDeleteif i dont see a chaos theory FAIL
ReplyDeletefucking bullshit.
ReplyDeleteIt would be funny if Hogan goes to the club house to find out the Leader is Pee Wee Herman and the chairs start talking and spinning around.
ReplyDeleteSure was.
ReplyDeleteMan, if Bully Ray would've punched an autistic kid....
ReplyDeleteEco bubba might've.
ReplyDeleteBubba has really great big, tough, asshole offense, except that wretched fucking Bubba Bomb.
ReplyDeleteIf nothing else, please put the TV Title on Bully and have him squash mid-carders while talking shit to them.
ReplyDeleteabyss is the leader of acesn8s
ReplyDeleteBROTHER MY BROTHA!!!
ReplyDelete...um, ew.
ReplyDeleteWow, horrible booking decision...I'm flabbergasted.
ReplyDeleteIt's my favorite show on TV by a mile, and my second favorite of all time (behind only The Wire). This past week was great, and while I'm not a huge fan of Jimmy Smits in general (I don't hate him or like him...just kind of "meh" on him), he's been absolutely brilliant the first two episodes.
ReplyDeleteIf you have a wrestler locked into a submission move and the ref is out, why don't you hold it/reapply it until the ref wakes up?
ReplyDeleteHmmm poss trople threat at bfg?
ReplyDeleteSame reason no one ever looks at the fucking video wall to see what is happening during a match... wrestlers just apparently aren't very bright.
ReplyDeleteHow so? I missed the show.
ReplyDeleteI'm really not big on Abyss, if that's where it's going. At the end of the day, it's still Abyss. He's done great work as Joseph Park, and I'd like to see a split personality angle with him, but leading the new heel group? At the end of the day, it's still Abyss, and I've seen as much of him as a main player as I want to see for a while.
ReplyDeleteI disagree. It's much more interesting from a narrative perspective for Aries to lose that match. Now they can go several directions -- does Aries get paranoid that maybe he isn't as good as Hardy, leading to a massive heel turn ala Austin in 2001? Does Aries use it as motivation, a wakeup call?
ReplyDeleteAnd is it being used to develop Bully as a future challenger for Aries after BFG?
I liked it. Aries has been put over strong for months, nothing wrong with showing some vulnerability. And they need to start rehabbing Bully as a real contender, because frankly, he's one of the best things about the company right now. "COUNT HIM OUT, YOU OLD STUPID BASTARD!"
...apparently going face makes a wrestler stupid.
ReplyDeleteI would have given him bonus points if he did it and screaned "Fuck Being a Star, I'm a BULLY!!"
ReplyDeleteDoes the Aries-Hardy stuff remind anyone of the Punk-Cena situation? As in, take the hot new rebel face, then start undercutting him in favor of the old stalwart face? Except I'd say TNA pushing Hardy over Aries would be even worse, as Jeff's an unreliable fuckup.
ReplyDeleteAries going heel would make more sense than Punk, though, since he really hasn't changed the way he's acted as a face.
ReplyDeleteAries is a tough one because he's really good and natural as a heel - but he was so good it turned him face, and I think he deserves a proper face push to see where it goes. Hardy's Hardy - unreliable fuck up but he's popular and he's probably the biggest WWE guy they've landed that actually chose to go to TNA around the height of his popularity. And apparently they're trying to entice him to re-sign. I like Hardy, and I get why they push him, but at the same time I wouldn't feel like I'm missing anything if they didn't. One thing I do like about TNA is that they don't seem as pushy to paint guys black or white. Aries could act like a heel against Hardy and start a feud as a face with Roode the next week. Same with Angle - I don't know how or why he turns heel or face most of the time, I just see him as Kurt Angle - depending on the situation he can be a dick and sometimes he's the bad guy in a situation but I don't see him as black or white.
ReplyDeletemy bad speculation
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, half the audience doesn't despise Hardy. As much as he doesn't really do anything for me, the audience clearly loves him. I mean, part of the reason Punk got turned is because he went against Cena. Not a problem with Hardy, as much as I'd prefer they cheer Storm or Joe or Aries moreso.
ReplyDeleteI still don't trust him as of yet.
ReplyDeleteIf it were me, I'd eventually give Hardy the X Division belt and have him work with both young talent like Zema Ion and established wrestlers like AJ and build to him getting a World title defense that way.
If he can hold down the X Division THEN I'll give him the World title shot.
Yeah, it was. I think they are pre-recording many of these "office" segments and, for whatever reason, making some pretty embarrassing mistakes. During Brooke Hogan's segment last week you could see the control panel (play/fwd/rev/etc) for a media player at the bottom of the screen.
ReplyDeleteBut it would still be the exact same principle problem as the Punk heel turn- taking someone who got over as a face, and then turning them just because you want the old star to be the face. Except TNAs decision seems worse to me, cause Hardy deserves this spot way less than Cena. Turning Aries heel to get Hardy over as a mega face is just so, so wrong.
ReplyDeleteTo quote Dark Helmet, "evil will always triumph because good is dumb."
ReplyDeleteHardy can give a pretty serious rub to aries though if he puts him over.
ReplyDeleteOh I hope they're not really going to give him the title. I get that he's cleaned himself up, and you want to acknowledge and reward that, but technically the fact they continued to employ him should be reward enough. It's a nice story - guy is overcome by his demons, almost loses everything, battles back, cleans himself up and reaches the top again. It's the kind of inspirational face storyline that should main event the biggest show of the year - it's just that Hardy's gotten his life back on track like 3 times already and falls off every time.
ReplyDeleteI was not a fan of tonight's episode. The only things I really enjoyed were the action in the opening tag match and Bully Ray's heel antics. Everything else ranged from overly dramatic to downright campy. Everyone seemed off with their promos and most of those promos were setting up new angles...that's...not good.
ReplyDeleteTNA's done a good job distancing themselves a bit by consistently having good wrestling in both quality and quantity..They didn't deliver that tonight and it felt like they were trying to shove 10 pounds of crap in to a 5 pound bag like they've done in years past.
Maybe Aries prefers being heel. And the fans cheer Hardy moreso than Aries. Could be like Rock's brief face turn in 98 that made him a BIGGER face down the line when he finally turned for real.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Seriously, having Hardy main event their biggest show of the year is just ridiculous. Yeah he sells merchandise, but after Victory Road he just should not be in this spot. Makes no sense.
ReplyDeleteRandom observation - James Storm's voice sounds exactly like Cartman's in the "NASCAR" episode of South Park.
ReplyDeleteI don't either. The thought of appeasing a recovering addict just doesn't sit well with me.
ReplyDeleteHow so? They advanced the world title, tag team title, Knockout title and Roode/Storm grudge, while giving the A&8 just enough screen time. Only the A&9 storyline received multiple segments.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the show quite a bit. The first hour was a slam dunk. No surprise since they are trying to get viewers to tune in, but Tara did a great job and the Bully Ray win was a nice surprise. Like someone said, Aries has been going over strong for months now, so a loss to Bully won't hurt him in the long run. It opens up more possibilities.
ReplyDeleteThumbs up from me.
True on The Rock point, except Jeff is no Stone Cold in terms of popularity or reliability. To me, if they weren't ready to go all the way with Aries as a face, then they should have never put the title on him. Instead, of Aries turns heel, they end up with Storm in the mod card, Aries as a heel, and an old drug addict as the top face in the company.
ReplyDeleteIf Hardy wins the title, then the whole "TNA booking is amazing" meme would be pretty dead in the water. Cena tapping Punk clean on the opening match of Raw would be more justifiable.
ReplyDeleteIf Hardy puts him over 100% squeaky clean, then yeah, Hardy in the main event makes more sense. I still think they'd have been better off feeding Aries a strong clear heel, like Bully or Joe. But you're right, Hardy needs to job here.
ReplyDeleteStorm's promo kicked ass, dude.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing: uness he resigns why SHOULD he have a title? Didn't they just go through that with Devon?
ReplyDeleteThat's assuming Hardy beats him for the strap. The heel turn could happen during the match. Or Aries could win the belt back at the next PPV.
ReplyDeleteEither way, James Storm and Bobby Roode are made men at this point. There's room for Hardy in the main event scene too. Hell, if anything TNA's main event scene might be TOO loaded with star power -- Aries, Storm, Roode, Hardy, Bully, RVD, Angle, AJ, whoever the Aces/Eights guy is, and even Joe to a degree.
Sort of the opposite problem WWE has, but the BFG Series proved a loss doesn't hurt any of these guys.
Normally Smits is insufferable when he's playing the same drab roles all the time but he is awesome when he gets to really bring his sleazy Mexican side out. Who'd have thought it was possible for someone to out-cholo Danny Trejo on the same fuckin' show? It's awesome.
ReplyDeleteQuite a few wrestlers should, and this is a flaw of not just TNA, but wrestling in general.
ReplyDeletePeople need to stop thinking a wrestler is too big to hold a secondary title, especially when they aren't doing shit. Sting used to go after every belt in the NWA days because they meant something. I hear/see wrestling fans complain about too many titles in wrestleing but there were hundred more back then and no one complained. Why? Because they were defended on a regular basis against top stars.
There is NO reason why a TV title division can't have RVD, Bully Ray, the Pope or a host of other wrestlers in it
I thought Roode really carried that segment as far as the story advancement went.
ReplyDeleteStorm's schtick is always the same and just lacks depth. They tried to give his character some when he "lost his smile" or whatever but I didn't buy it then, nor am I now since he's basically back to being the exact same guy just angry at someone in specific.
He's just always struck me as "Large Generic Southern Wrestler #12".
I dunno man, I really like Storm and Roode, but i think it's pretty strong to call them "made men". Staying on track with the original plan of a main event title match could have helped make them--- having them play second fiddle to Hardy does not.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, not to sound combative, but I just don't see how this roster can be considered full of "stars" when TNA draws so poorly. I want them to succeed , and I want storm and Roode to become legitimate wrestling stars, but I definitely don't think they are right now.
I did like Aries' bit in his exchange with Hardy about how he wants what Hardy has. I don't know though, the whole pushing Hardy to the moon things still just seems kind of bizarre to me. I'm not one of the many internet fans that "hates Jeff Hardy" or still calls him a crackhead (he seems to have cleaned up which is great!), I'm actually pretty indifferent towards him. I get that he's wildly popular with the broader audience as well.
ReplyDeleteBut like I said, the whole big push just makes me uneasy. I try to think of it in a real world situation. It's not often where someone shows up to work wasted, humiliates their entire company and then returns to become its shining star. Sure, that's a touching story but it seems like an awfully big risk for TNA to take and strikes me as kind of desperate. He's their biggest star who, not long ago, was their worst nightmare. After all of that, they are still working with him because they don't have anyone else that has the potential to do business he can.
The Tara promo was taken directly from "How To Do A Heel Turn - 1st Edition"" Chapter 1. Blame it on the fans, Chapter 2. victimize yourself for no reason and complain. Chapter 3. Attack a helpless person. Beyond cliche.
As far as the Aces and Eights go. I guess I'm just getting bored with it. I grew up on Crockett stuff so I'm all for the slow burn but this angle seems to occasionally fizzle out before the fuse re-ignites. As long as they've let this run, if there isn't some gargantuan "HOLY SHIT!!!!" (pardon my language) payoff to this thing when it's all revealed, it's going to leave a really sour taste in a lot of fans' mouths - mine included. Plus the whole Joseph Park abduction bit was telegraphed and there was absolutely no mention of the "TNA mole" they spoke of last week.
Sorry to write a book there but I just fell like a lot of the show tonight was poorly written television and played on wrestling cliches we've all been watching for the last 20 or 30 years. TNA's made a lot of advancements in making things fresh and trying different ideas- they deviated from that this evening in my opinion.