The Official TNA / Impact / GFW Discussion Thread

[masterded]

Though I don't disagree completely with Cornette. I saw both shows as meh I have seen a lot better I have seen a lot worst. I got to ask when is the last time Cornette did anything good as a booker? The way he talks you would think he was the worlds greatest booker and I can't think of anything he has done that was good in like 20 years. When he was part of the creative for TNA it was just as bad as now. Any credit he would get for his time with WWF's creative has to be taken away the same way he takes away anything Rosso did at that time (in past interviews he talks about it). So in the last 20 years what has he done?

 

 

Not one of those who thinks you need to have done something to have a valid opinion (and admit his is valid). It just seems (more from past interviews) that he thinks he is a great booker.

[justtxyank]

While I think TNA messed up their Monday night show, I think people are overreacting big time. We have no idea where things are going, so how can we judge whether it will be good? They put AJ Styles over big on that show. Everyone was talking him up. I also don't get why the spoilers for next week are bad.

 

I'm not good at imaging a show based on spoilers, but from I read it sounds interesting.

 

I think TNA has potential to go places with what they are doing, but I think it will require them to do a great job at booking, something I'm not overly confident they can do.

 

Raw has been dead to me for years. They can string a few good shows together every now and then, but on the whole they suck at creating characters now.

[Stennick]

The biggest problem I have with TNA is that yeah they put AJ Styles over in the last ten minutes of the show.

 

The biggest problem I have with last night show is there was all this talk of the young guys yet someone point out to me where these young guys where? Beer Money? Abyss? Desmond Wolfe? Matt Morgan? how much mic time did they get? how much mic time did the Nasty's get? the nWo v. 4,567 got 30 minutes in one segment and then got to end the show as well. Most of these guys got thirty seconds or less on the show. Seriously did we even see Beer Money's faces? What about Abyss?

 

Was the show the worst TNA show I've seen? Oh no its not that bad. But where are these young guys at? By looking at the Spoilers its the same group of guys again. Val Venis gets a match on Impact seriously tell me what he has that 30 guys in the back couldn't give out there. Couldn't that match be given to these "young guys" that I kept hearing about for weeks?

 

Thats my problem was that Hogan promised a blend of vets that have been in these trenches before and the young guys and two weeks in I'm still waiting on the young guys.

 

In the real Monday Night Wars you didn't get two weeks to get your show together. They want to declare war and spend so much time talking about former employers and defunct promotions. How many weeks should they get?

 

WCW promoted Starrcade 97 as THE must see event. The show that big things were going to happen, the peak of a dynasty. They didn't deliver and three months later Vince stopped that 84 week streak Bischoff was on.

 

TNA was better than RAW but thats not saying much since I haven't seen a RAW in years that I thought was solid top to bottom.

[Hive]

The biggest problem I have with TNA is that yeah they put AJ Styles over in the last ten minutes of the show.

 

22 mintues, not 10. The main event match was 22 minutes. And apart from that, they put Styles over on at least two other occations, first when Flair showed an interest in him (I'd say the mere association with Flair helps put him over) and secondly, and more importantly, when Hogan showed up and hyped him on on the mic.

 

The biggest problem I have with last night show is there was all this talk of the young guys yet someone point out to me where these young guys where? Beer Money? Abyss? Desmond Wolfe? Matt Morgan? how much mic time did they get? how much mic time did the Nasty's get? the nWo v. 4,567 got 30 minutes in one segment and then got to end the show as well. Most of these guys got thirty seconds or less on the show. Seriously did we even see Beer Money's faces? What about Abyss?

 

Was the show the worst TNA show I've seen? Oh no its not that bad. But where are these young guys at? By looking at the Spoilers its the same group of guys again. Val Venis gets a match on Impact seriously tell me what he has that 30 guys in the back couldn't give out there. Couldn't that match be given to these "young guys" that I kept hearing about for weeks?

 

Why does everything have to come down to mic time? There are other ways to get over, and it makes sense to me to put those on the mic who are good at it. Or are you claiming that guys like Abyss and Matt Morgan do better promos than Hogan, Nash, Hall and Bischoff?

 

They are pushing Morgan and Hernandez with a MAJOR squash surprise victory against two veterans, setting them up for the tag team titles. They are throwing Hall & Nash into a program with Beer Money, probably to push the latter. They are seemingly giving Styles, who is NOT great at the mic, one of the best mouth pieces ever as manager. They are throwing in one of the biggest names in WWE 6 months ago into the X-Division to elevate the guys there. Granted, the use of The Nasty Boys and Sean Morley doesn't make all that much sense... but you can't expect it all to be perfect right from the first shot.

 

Thats my problem was that Hogan promised a blend of vets that have been in these trenches before and the young guys and two weeks in I'm still waiting on the young guys.

 

You're very impatient.

 

In the real Monday Night Wars you didn't get two weeks to get your show together. They want to declare war and spend so much time talking about former employers and defunct promotions. How many weeks should they get?

 

Dude, have you ever watched the first episode of Monday Nitro? Last night's Impact was FAR better imo - and I'm a huge fan of WCW.

 

TNA was better than RAW but thats not saying much since I haven't seen a RAW in years that I thought was solid top to bottom.

 

If Impact is better than RAW and more people will now tune into Impact because of the presence of Hulk Hogan, more people should also realize exactly that and permanently switch their allegiance.

[Hyde Hill]

If Impact is better than RAW and more people will now tune into Impact because of the presence of Hulk Hogan, more people should also realize exactly that and permanently switch their allegiance.

 

Or simply watch both as long as TNA is on thursday. And yes this Impact had a lot of faults and even I a big fan is giving them till the ppv after Genesis to get things together or else I will switch to just gaming and the C-Verse after I give ROH 2 months to interest me.

[Remianen]

What was with Hogans promos tonight?

 

He was in back all day yet being shown coming in his limo???

 

Telling JJ that workers can no longer rest on their name alone and have to earn their spot. An interesting choice to deliver that promo I thought.

 

Yeah, that was funny to me.

 

I guess Im just trying to piece together what all of these additions(Hogan, Flair, Hall) that cant wrestle are going to do when TNA has a few workers already doing that exact same thing.

 

Flair can still wrestle the kind of match he always did. He never was a particularly high impact sort but he can still do a traditional style match better than 96% of TNA's current roster.

 

Hall and Pac basically bring some name value. They will be gone within a few months I guarantee it. There is no way either one is motivated enough to do anything but screw up. Flair is a waste. He is the definition of a guy that can just not let it go. He should have a great thing gonig as a manager or GM in WWE but he refuses to let it go. Your 60! Your going to die in the ring...quit getting married and divorced...save some money and let you body have a rest.

 

Gonna throw out some names here: Lou Thesz, Karl Gotch, Mil Mascaras. All of them able to do what they did, better than many (if not most) of their contemporaries, despite (or perhaps because of) their age. I'd put the Legends belt on Flair and let him teach the younger guys how to feed off a crowd, how to work a match on the fly, how to structure a match that makes sense, and for TNA, good God I'd let him teach them how to cut a promo. Sure he doesn't look as good physically but Flair has never been known for his physique. Hogan looks like he might be ready for a C cup, after all.

 

Flair can still wrestle. Can he work TNA's spot-heavy style? Probably not. But someone needs to school the spot monkeys on how to be cruiserweights/juniors and if one match per night has to run at a different pace to accomplish that, I wouldn't mind it.

 

X-Pac is far from worthless. Next to Shawn, he is easily the best worker of the Kliq.

 

You must be freebasing Drano. While I'm not a fan, saying Sean Waltman is better than Triple H isn't even opinion. It's a transparent fallacy. Can you explain to me what 'Triple H heat' is and whether it's a universal term synonymous with 'awful crowd reaction'? Because I know that 'X-Pac Heat' is.

 

My favourite thing about last nights TNA was "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero.

 

Yeah, he's nothing if not entertaining ("Wolfie"). I really wish they'd put the X title on him rather than have Mr I Couldn't Entertain a Church Full of Relatives without help but I can do the flippity floppity dance all day.

 

Hamada tweaked leg but still toughened it out good on her. I got two words for ya Divas.... Suck It!

 

That's not fair. The divas (by and large) aren't wrestlers. You can't compare even Mickie to someone like Sarah Stock not even mentioning Kong (who worked/was champion in the most prominent women's promotion to date) or Hamada (who's done it since she was like 16, in both Japan and Mexico). It's like comparing high school football teams to say the Detroit Lions. Even the best high school team isn't as good as the worst NFL team. I bet even Fuuka could wrestle circles around the divas.

[Hyde Hill]

That's not fair. The divas (by and large) aren't wrestlers. You can't compare even Mickie to someone like Sarah Stock not even mentioning Kong (who worked/was champion in the most prominent women's promotion to date) or Hamada (who's done it since she was like 16, in both Japan and Mexico). It's like comparing high school football teams to say the Detroit Lions. Even the best high school team isn't as good as the worst NFL team. I bet even Fuuka could wrestle circles around the divas.

 

Yeah that was not fair but it was meant more tongue and cheeck and a a joke given DX had a tag match as well and I think at the same time which wasn't bad tbh imho.

 

Again doesn't translate to text.

[justtxyank]

To the people who are complaining about the old guys being on TNA's television show.

 

Guess what, all the young guys who are great workers are not drawing people in.

 

The goal is to get people to tune in to watch the Outsiders and Hogan and Flair and see what they are doing. When they see Hogan Flair putting AJ Styles over like the greatest thing ever, maybe he will gain some name value with the mainstream fans. Maybe if Beer Money can go over The Outsiders they will be more than a tag team on a niche show and will actually gain some drawing power in the industry.

 

TNA was not growing with their homegrown talent. They need to get viewers to tune in out of curiosity or nostalgia and then hook them. It's way too early to say whether they have done a good job.

[Hive]

To the people who are complaining about the old guys being on TNA's television show.

 

Guess what, all the young guys who are great workers are not drawing people in.

 

The goal is to get people to tune in to watch the Outsiders and Hogan and Flair and see what they are doing. When they see Hogan Flair putting AJ Styles over like the greatest thing ever, maybe he will gain some name value with the mainstream fans. Maybe if Beer Money can go over The Outsiders they will be more than a tag team on a niche show and will actually gain some drawing power in the industry.

 

TNA was not growing with their homegrown talent. They need to get viewers to tune in out of curiosity or nostalgia and then hook them. It's way too early to say whether they have done a good job.

 

Exactly. And it's working already on someone like myself. Would I ever tune in on Impact in order to see Beer Money vs. British Invasion or someone like that? Never. Would I tune in to see Beer Money vs. Hall and Nash? Definately. Would I want to watch an AJ Styles promo? Not really, no. Would I want to watch Ric Flair cutting a promo on his behalf? Yeah, I would.

[justtxyank]

It's worked on me too. I will watch next week's Impact based on the Spoilers. Spoilers in white.

 

And I think I am going to buy the TNA ppv to see Beer Money vs The Outsiders. I'm hoping to see The Nasty Boys vs Team 3D as well. Maybe that makes me a loser in the IWC, but guess what, TNA has another viewer they can try to hold on to. Maybe while I'm watching for these guys I'll become enamored enough with Beer Money that I'll want to watch a show for them the way I used to want to watch for the Outsiders. Hopefully they get that rub.

 

TNA may totally botch this up, but they haven't yet. Also, the IWC was moaning for years about Sean Morley deserving a real push as he was such a good wrestler blah blah. When he returned to WWE people voted for him to get a world title shot lol. Now that TNA has had him on for like 5 minutes it's "OH HE'S A HASBEEN NEVER WAS WWE REJECT TNA SUXORS!"

 

Let's give them a chance to run with what they are trying to do and see where it goes.

[Eisen-verse]

Also, the IWC was moaning for years about Sean Morley deserving a real push as he was such a good wrestler blah blah. When he returned to WWE people voted for him to get a world title shot lol. Now that TNA has had him on for like 5 minutes it's "OH HE'S A HASBEEN NEVER WAS WWE REJECT TNA SUXORS!"

 

Amen.

 

I think here in lies the problem with most people who want to "bash" TNA before even giving them a shot. Sure, the first show wasn't an A* in TEW terms, however, it wasn't as bad as some are blasting it to be. Believe me, I'm no endless TNA-supporter as I have barely watched their shows over the years due to the fact that I couldn't stand their booking. That being said, the WWE is in absolute shambles as well.... So, lets give TNA an opportunity (under their new direction) to actually flesh out their plans.

 

Many are too quick to judge TNA despite the fact that this last monday was their first EVER event. Sure, I can see you attacking the show itself, however, to claim that this is how the company will go forward from here on out is just simply wrong. Why? They need to lay a groundwork for what they're trying to do. ya know? Give them time to tell the stories that they want to tell... evaluate the talent that they want to use... And before we drive them into the dirt at least give them a shot to entertain.

[lazorbeak]

Amen.

 

I think here in lies the problem with most people who want to "bash" TNA before even giving them a shot. Sure, the first show wasn't an A* in TEW terms, however, it wasn't as bad as some are blasting it to be. Believe me, I'm no endless TNA-supporter as I have barely watched their shows over the years due to the fact that I couldn't stand their booking. That being said, the WWE is in absolute shambles as well.... So, lets give TNA an opportunity (under their new direction) to actually flesh out their plans.

 

Many are too quick to judge TNA despite the fact that this last monday was their first EVER event. Sure, I can see you attacking the show itself, however, to claim that this is how the company will go forward from here on out is just simply wrong. Why? They need to lay a groundwork for what they're trying to do. ya know? Give them time to tell the stories that they want to tell... evaluate the talent that they want to use... And before we drive them into the dirt at least give them a shot to entertain.

 

 

Yeah, but look at his debut? He's STILL doing a gimmick that was tired when he went back to it for nostalgia in what, 2004? Six years ago? And the debut didn't showcase his wrestling skills, it basically showed that he has Cute Kip's old job, a guy that was basically a non-speaking manager to a stable of women. I mean, it didn't get Shawn Stasiak a main event push, did it?

 

If you gave Morley a new character, and had him show up and pick up a win over someone on the roster that isn't a jobber, then you'd say "hey, finally Sean Morley is getting a chance to do something different." Instead you've got him debuting in a non-wrestling role doing 13 year old shtick.

[Hyde Hill]

Spoiler in white next week on Morley (just for you lazor wink,wink):

 

He gets the best of Daniels in a fight on screen in the ring. definitely not a jobber more out of Venus's leaugue imho.

[Eisen-verse]

Yeah, but look at his debut? He's STILL doing a gimmick that was tired when he went back to it for nostalgia in what, 2004? Six years ago? And the debut didn't showcase his wrestling skills, it basically showed that he has Cute Kip's old job, a guy that was basically a non-speaking manager to a stable of women. I mean, it didn't get Shawn Stasiak a main event push, did it?

 

If you gave Morley a new character, and had him show up and pick up a win over someone on the roster that isn't a jobber, then you'd say "hey, finally Sean Morley is getting a chance to do something different." Instead you've got him debuting in a non-wrestling role doing 13 year old shtick.

 

That's true, I'll give you that. It would be nice to see Sean land a new character as "Val Venus" has been overplayed by now. However, at the same point, some would say that the "Venus" character is his staple. When people who are sick of the WWE (maybe because they want people like Morley to succeed) turn to TNA... Seeing "Val Venus" actually getting the ability to rise up the ranks as the character they know & love is something that is def. just as good as creating a whole new character. ya know?

 

I have no problem with him continuing this character as it fits in with the vibe they are creating right now.

[SaySo]

Some more spoilers...highlight.

A source described last night's Impact tapings in Orlando, FL as "disorganized."

 

- An Observer said there were "boring" chants. Segments had to be re-taped, and fans chanted "we want wresting."

 

- The attendance was said to be less than capacity.

 

- TNA was handling out Twizzlers at the show

 

- Scott Hall is apparently under the impression he won't be around after the Genesis PPV.

 

- Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff arrived to the show together. Bischoff's business partner Jason Hervey was also backstage.

 

- Prior to the taping, Hogan spent much time in is office. (Yes, he does have his own office). Bischoff and Vince Russo were seen running around engaging talent backstage and putting plans into motion.

 

- Team 3-D arrived at Universal Studios around 5:30PM following a flight back to the States after working the 1/4 Tokyo Dome show.

 

- Orlando Jordan was backstage last night.

 

- The young girls seen in the Jeff Hardy-Shannon Moore outdoor segment Monday night are apparently related to Tomko. They girls were also at last night's taping.

 

[Eisen-verse]

After thinking about it some more.... I think I know why I'm trying to give TNA as much time as possible to possibly "turn things around"....

 

And this is why....

 

 

... Pro Wrestling Sucks right now ...

 

It's as simple as that.

 

The WWE bores me half to death. Even the Bret Hart/HBK thing was done in a way where it kinda felt hollow. I did, however, enjoy the Hart/McMahon scenario as I wasn't expecting to see McMahon attack Hart (I was actually thinking it would be the other way around).

 

With the lackluster WWE product going forward... I'm hoping, wishing, and praying (in a way), to see TNA rise from the ashes of Pro Wrestling as we know it & develop something actually engaging to watch. Sure, the first show wasn't amazing (however, I did enjoy it)... BUT... There comes a time that you have to give someone the chance to DEVELOP a program versus just throwing everything together in one night. Ya know?

 

To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of bringing in a bunch of old talent in which to clutter up the company, however, if it means an engaging storyline then I'm okay with it as long as there's an outcome. I think, what they are trying to do, is convey this "Go big or go home" mentality in TNA... Everyone has to prove themselves, and most likely, none of these guys will be around in 2 months time as the true TNA'ers show that they are better than those who just fluttered in out of nowhere.

 

The initial rise of the "oldies" was to generate an early ratings boost... However, in the long run, I don't see them pushing these guys to the moon without slipping into exactly what hurt WCW in it's ending days.

 

In all reality.... Hulk Hogan, and especially Eric Bischoff, want to see this company thrive as neither want to go back to Vinnie. I mean, honestly, do you think Eric Bischoff would allow another company he's part of fold in which to give Vince McMahon another victory? God no.

 

Lets give TNA some time... Stop watching like an overly attentive smark and allow yourself to "enjoy" the process.

 

NOW, if things continue to seem cluttered 4-6 months down the road then I would call this new environment a failure in TNA. Until then... We don't know that.

 

Cheers.

[cappyboy]

Count another who's not quite going to freak out about the old guys just yet. The folks who are all up in arms about about Hall and Waltman got more screen time than X, Shannon Moore got more mic time than Y, Jeff Hardy did more than Z, sound like the same folks who were griping about the whole Main Event Mafia story arc. But you know what? While you may be able to cite missteps along the path, they ended MEM just when they ought to have. At Bound For Glory. Let's see what all these folks are going to do and for how long. Because personally there are some combos for new and old I think could be a lot of fun to see in the short term.

 

Like for instance, how about the Outsiders vs Beer Money? A notorious drunk and a guy who thinks like a tycoon versus guys who play both for the cameras. The authenicity of the Outsiders vs the character abilities of Beer Money could make for a good little feud.

 

Or the Nasty Boys. With them in the fold you have a perfect excuse to test drive some new tag teams. Maybe have the Nastys steamroll through a few who don't work out. Then you debut those Young Turks or whatever the new signees are called, have the Nastys dismiss them as another throwaway only to secure their place by showing up the aging veterans. Having triumphed over one of the greatest tag teams of all time could be a good foundation for showing the Young Turks as egomaniacs if you choose to play them as heels.

 

And at some point, I want to see both Knobbs and Saggs in with Jay Lethal. Perhaps you could have a Lethal Consequences vs Nastys match that the young guys win. So Lethal challenges them to be part of his legends invitational hoping to get it back on track after his losses to Neidhart and Tatanka. With all these veteran coming in with Hogan, they should really do something with that.

 

With Val, I liked the interaction with The Beautiful People. Between the girls mocking the foolishness of the poker fad and the mixture of highly sexualized personas of both genders, they really upped the entertainment value of what could have been annoying throwaway segments. I want to see more of Val and TBP together. Is Val going to want to try and make them into his personal harem or is he going to embrace and accept the way they operate? Is he going to get jealous when they try stunts like seducing Slick Johnson for professional gain? And if he does, how do they respond? Will they crumble like Divas or try to scam some up and comer into eliminating Val? And there's the talk they have the Angelina problem worked out and she's coming back. How does she relate to Val in relation to the other three? Many good angles to be had here with the four (five?) of them.

 

Heck, even the guy I didn't recognize as Orlando Jordan until I got on here could be useful. Since he's acting like he's got more name and face value than he really does, maybe he could be put in the ear of Consequences Creed. Thus Lethal has to fight Jordan for Creed's "soul" and the friendship that forms the basis of the Lethal Consequences tag team. Perhaps even an uneasy alliance between Lethal and Pope over Jordan the way Orlando dissed Pope on Monday night.

 

If you want to grunt and groan over all the locker room politics stuff, that's your prerogative. But in the short term I'm willing to ride along with what they are doing with the veteran infusion. By this time next year will I be? Who knows? We'll have to see how things shake out. But backstage drama aside, there is the potential for some pretty good entertainment here in the short term. The better they do in playing to that fact, the more patient I will be. Since they were able to resist the temptation of over-extending the Main Event Mafia's life cycle, I'll give some benefit of the doubt here. But how long that lasts is up to them.

[Slim Jim]

"we want wresting."

 

Should go watch an Orton match then

[SaySo]

More Backstage happenings--

 

Hulk Hogan was said to be very stressed backstage at iMPACT on Monday, and feels the company has organizational issues. TNA was still filming pre-tapes late in the day, and it was said to be a very chaotic atmosphere for Hulk compared to the treatment he was used to in WCW and WWE.

 

Hogan held a meeting with the TNA roster prior to the show, which was described as a basic pep talk meeting. Hulk told the wrestlers that he’s looking forward to getting to know them all. He told them his door is always open, and gave the impression that he and Bischoff are running the show, although Vince Russo is still handling his usual backstage duties.

 

Some backstage sources say Russo came across as withdrawn, and after the show was telling people he had no idea what the storyline direction will be going forward.

[Stennick]

It will be interesting to see if these "old guys" can pop a rating for two weeks in a row. If TNA's rating is higher for its second week than usual then I'll say "do whatever you want". However I would be shocked if Sting, Christian, Angle, Foley, Nash, all of these names couldn't move the meter much. I personally won't be watching but I can't argue TNA's business practice if these "new era" they have can continue to draw ratings.

[Eisen-verse]

It will be interesting to see if these "old guys" can pop a rating for two weeks in a row. If TNA's rating is higher for its second week than usual then I'll say "do whatever you want". However I would be shocked if Sting, Christian, Angle, Foley, Nash, all of these names couldn't move the meter much. I personally won't be watching but I can't argue TNA's business practice if these "new era" they have can continue to draw ratings.

 

While true, I think TNA's tone is something unseen for the company to this point & that alone can drive better ratings. This whole "We are going to be the number one company in the world", attacking a wrestling TV show from a production standpoint (Bischoff talking about segments being too long, etc.), overall "Prove yourself" mentality may pay off for them along with the addition of the "old guard".

 

I just wish they would permanently move to Monday Night. Not because I want to see some resurfacing of the "Monday Night Wars" but rather because I'm never able to catch TNA's programming on Thursday Nights as I tend to work that night every week.

[masterded]

More Backstage spoilers. Highlight.

 

Hulk Hogan was said to be very stressed backstage at iMPACT on Monday, and feels the company has organizational issues. TNA was still filming pre-tapes late in the day, and it was said to be a very chaotic atmosphere for Hulk compared to the treatment he was used to in WCW and WWE.

 

Hogan held a meeting with the TNA roster prior to the show, which was described as a basic pep talk meeting. Hulk told the wrestlers that he’s looking forward to getting to know them all. He told them his door is always open, and gave the impression that he and Bischoff are running the show, although Vince Russo is still handling his usual backstage duties.

 

Some backstage sources say Russo came across as withdrawn, and after the show was telling people he had no idea what the storyline direction will be going forward.

 

I know quoting what you posted makes what you did pointless, but none of that was spoilers as no results were posted. Also if the only thing to come out of this when all is said and done is TNA gets organized it will have been worth it (assuming an organized backstage equals an organized show which I think it would).

[brashleyholland]

Ok, so I'm on a mission to rediscover what I loved about wrestling as a kid/teenager for an article I'm writing. It's turning into something of a monster.

 

As part of this, I endeavoured to spend some time over the hollidays watching the last few months of TNA programming ahead of Monday's big show. I think I got to know the characters and where they were going with various storylines etc.

 

I should say also that the last time I followed (watched weekly) wrestling was around 97-2000. I was a fan of the early NWO at that time; Knowing that Hogan would be returning, along with Hall and with Nash and Sting already there, thats why I chose TNA to catch up on.

 

Here's my thoughts on the show.

 

- Hogan driving to the show for an hour then announcing that he'd been back all day - unintentionally hillarious.

 

- Ric Flair look OLD. Old man old. I'm sure he can still do a slow paced match, but I remember this guy having to wear a shirt back in 99 when he wrestled. I dread to think what he looks like a decade later. Hogan's physique may have deteriorated, but at least he still looks like an old wrestler, rather than an old man. I hope they Ric him as a mouthpiece, but he didn't exactly get much time to speak on Monday...

 

- It was cool to see Hall, Nash, X-Pac/Syxx/Waltman, Hogan and Easy-E back in the same ring and Sting in the rafters. Cool for me, because that was the last time I loved wrestling - realising that it was 13 years ago worries me.

 

- It seems that Hall, Nash and Waltman have become parodies of themselves. Nash admits he's in it for the money - Hall and Waltman 'want to party' despite both looking like they have done more then enough of that.

 

- Hogan saying that "Things would be different" really bothered me. Saying that with the same four guys you've been rehashing the same gig with for over a decade seems pointless. Sting is back in the rafters. His buddy Bubba the Love Sponge is working backstage. What exactly is different?

 

- Abyss is a poor man's Mankind. Started off as a monster, now is some kind of mentaly simple clapping fool. He doesn't seem to have the charisma of Foley to pull either roll off well though.

 

- Speaking of Foley, wow, he's been my biggest let down of this entire project. He's bounced through all his persona's so many times it's hard to keep up. Now he's just a watered down amalgamation of Foley/Cactus/Mankind. He's fooling around backstage, then he's using a barb-wire bat in the ring, then he's a shareholder. Give me one of those three and I'm happy, not weak versions of all three.

 

- Seriously, the Nasty Boys? I don't even remember them being around in the Attitude era - they were early 90's right? So its not like they are popular enough to give anyone else a rub, they are simply taking a spot on the roster from someone more deserving. At least Hall, Nash and co can add something that people want to see. What next, Brutus Beefcake? And did I really hear one of the Nastys call Bubba Ray Dudley fat? Talk about pot and kettle...

 

- Matt Morgan, Hernandez, Samoa Joe, Daniels, Beer Money, Eric Young - where were these guys? Shouldn't the focus of the show have been on them, seeing as they are supposed to be the stars that sepparate TNA from the WWE?

 

- Wolf - for the past few weeks he's been the man to beat, holding his own against Angle, portrayed as a dangerous man. Now he gets squashed in a couple of minutes? Why weren't Hall, Nash, Waltman, Val Venis and the Nasty Boys out there taking the fall for these new guys?

 

I'm gonna leave it there as I'm aware that I'm rambling. If I had to sum it up...

 

- Not enough wrestling (outside of Angle/Styles)

- Too many old faces bringing nothing to the table - Bring in the Nasty Boyz, but have them losing in double quick time to Beer Money

- Poor use of guys that could make a difference (Hardy, Wolf, etc)

- Disjointed production

 

If this show was suppose dto hook me in - it didn't. I'm going to give them time, it's not fair to judged based on one show - maybe I'm just out of touch on what makes good wrestling, but I've enjoyed the past few months of Impact much more than I did last night.

[brashleyholland]

This is probably a really stupid question - but is all this talk of Hogan/Bischoff "running the show" storyline, or have they actually bought in to TNA?

 

Are they actually writing/booking events now?

[BHK1978]

- Abyss is a poor man's Mankind. Started off as a monster, now is some kind of mentaly simple clapping fool. He doesn't seem to have the charisma of Foley to pull either roll off well though.

 

Yeah I was a huge Abyss fan but I hate what they have done to him. I hate when he does that stupid clapping, it just makes him look like a fool. He should be out there beating the crap out of people instead of acting like a damn fool.