The Official TNA / Impact / GFW Discussion Thread

[PeterHilton]

It's just not translating for me on the strength of what's been on screen. Even with the Triple H-ish Internet rep, I tend to favor Jarrett. Always have. You want my inner mark to hate him, have him messing with AJ or Beer Money. Maybe Taylor and Sarita. People who represent what's right with the company. If the slimiest thing he does is lip off to Bischoff, then I'm still on Jarrett's side. And apparently, if I'm still on Jarrett's side, something's wrong.

 

Meh. You may just be a Jarrett fan so you're resisting more than most viewers would.

 

I mean...it's not like this was JUST an internet rep. Jarrett was the biggest heel in the company on-screen for the majority of TNA's existence. And since the majority of TNA fans are net fans, that internet rep translated to him being reviled at the Impact shows...I mean when Christian won the title but JJ/Sting was still the focal point, the man started drawing X-Pac heat.

 

It got ugly at some points.

 

Take away the sympathy face turn and he was actually hurting the product.

 

So...it will probably be much easier for the majority of viewers to turn on him than for you to turn on him. Having Eric play the face isn't a great idea, granted. But if JJ cuts a promo or two running down the talent or saying that TNA will fail if he's not in the main event, then JJ will be getting major heel heat very quickly. No problem.

[PeterHilton]

 

Edit: On Bonaduce that radio spot was quite fun and he wrestled on lockdown last year in the pre-show wouldn't be surprised to see him on the pre-show again and not more if at all.

 

If it's Jarrett/Bonaduce I have a feeling that will be on a PPV. Which would suck hard.

[cappyboy]

Meh. You may just be a Jarrett fan so you're resisting more than most viewers would.

 

Probably something to that. My Jarrett fandom does go back to the Simply Irresistible days after all.

 

I mean...it's not like this was JUST an internet rep. Jarrett was the biggest heel in the company on-screen for the majority of TNA's existence. And since the majority of TNA fans are net fans, that internet rep translated to him being reviled at the Impact shows...I mean when Christian won the title but JJ/Sting was still the focal point, the man started drawing X-Pac heat.

 

It got ugly at some points.

 

Take away the sympathy face turn and he was actually hurting the product.

 

So...it will probably be much easier for the majority of viewers to turn on him than for you to turn on him.

 

And it probably doesn't help as far as all this goes that my cable company was playing cheeky little games with Spike's availability until shortly before the face turn. Which means I wasn't able to follow TNA with any kind of consistency before that. Had seen some of the heelish games he'd been playing with Sting. But not enough to have developed a firm grasp on heel Jarrett and properly hate him as such.

 

Having Eric play the face isn't a great idea, granted. But if JJ cuts a promo or two running down the talent or saying that TNA will fail if he's not in the main event, then JJ will be getting major heel heat very quickly. No problem.

 

And at that stage, I'll probably buy in more. After all, I try to watch as markishly as possible while it's on and save the smark stuff for after the show's over and I'm on a board like this. When the smarkish thoughts start to intrude on that focus, that's the WWE type moment I was describing. WWE has a terrible knack for distracting me that way.

[masterded]

I have one small thing that is really bothering me about Samoa Joe right now. He gets a new theme which I actually kind of like, but he comes out to it at the wrong time. It has an intro then goes to the new beat which is the perfect time to walk out, yet he comes out right away during the intro part. It just doesn't seem right and bothers me much more then it should.

[Hyde Hill]

Actually originally and most often he pauses and then starts walking down the ramp once the beat starts which works just fine. Also the beat was added after his heel turn. There are a lot bigger problems in TNA atm though lolz.

[masterded]

Actually originally and most often he pauses and then starts walking down the ramp once the beat starts which works just fine. Also the beat was added after his heel turn. There are a lot bigger problems in TNA atm though lolz.

 

I know he pauses at the top of the ramp and then goes down when the beat starts, but it just looks funny watching him walk to the top of the ramp during the into. Also I know it isn't a big deal and they have many more and much bigger problem, but it just bothers me for some reason.

[alden]

Just watched impact this week. I enjoyed the show.....it was good. BUT and that is a big but a few things got to me.

 

first shawn morley. The guy use to be a great talker. What the hell happend to that guy? his laugh every few seconds.......it seamed like he stumbled through the entire thing..........and his ladys i'm here was annoying as hell. I like that daniles is getting a feud going but this guy was just tarible.

 

tomko as the attacker, but it was not the fact that he was the attacker. It was the fact that after he was revealed on that show.....they ran a four video pacages telling why he was the attacker. Now i get that we are ment to give a certain amount of disbelife........BUT they did interviews and put togeter a whole package about it. unless this was ment to happen at the live show and they wanted to get it in before the ppv i don't get why they would run interviews with him about why he did it on the same show.

 

and JOE. O my gosh did i mark out when joe joined tna. He was the indy golden boy. The man that was going to bring indy cred to tna. now he is a sloppy lazy shell of the man he once was. I am watching each weak praying for a olay kick. How awsome would it be just one last time. Joe sets up the guy by the railing and hits one last olay kick. Half the people would not even know what it was but the other half would mark out like mad. But onto my problem. The whole nation of violence thing.........what was that all about. was it simply to bring in taz who they drop managing him within one month? i mean......come on you can do better then that tna.

[Nedew]

http://www.tnawrestling.com/media/k2/items/cache/e3f5bf88b546a18f08e48e3a89d4814b_XL.jpg

 

Does anyone reckon that's his *actual* silhouette? Doesn't really look like anyone mentioned, that hair especially.

[Hive]

http://www.tnawrestling.com/media/k2/items/cache/e3f5bf88b546a18f08e48e3a89d4814b_XL.jpg

 

Does anyone reckon that's his *actual* silhouette? Doesn't really look like anyone mentioned, that hair especially.

 

Maybe it's Warrior.

[The Bus]

Maybe it's Warrior.

 

Unfortunately that is the thing that came in to my mind too...

[Hive]

Come to think of it, it kinda looks a bit like Sid... doesn't it?

[Nedew]

Come to think of it, it kinda looks a bit like Sid... doesn't it?

 

I thought this, but his arms look too skinny to be Sid.

 

As for Warrior, well... If it's Warrior, the internet will have a field day.

[sebsplex]

Does anyone reckon that's his *actual* silhouette? Doesn't really look like anyone mentioned, that hair especially.

 

When I first saw it on Impact, I thought they'd just used a cutout of Chris Sabin tbh.

[justtxyank]

Sid actually has a new hairstyle so it could be him.

[sebsplex]

Sid actually has a new hairstyle so it could be him.

 

Yeah, it fits with his strange new straight blond hairstyle. Whether he justifies the tag of 'major talent acquisition' in 2010 is another matter altogether.

 

You know, I think it sums up the issues I'm having with TNA-era Hogan perfectly. TNA is moving forward and creating the future of wrestlling... by relying stars and storylines from the 90s... Maybe its just a transition period, but its one that I find frustrating and very contradictory.

 

I understand the idea of the new regime wanting a "reset" and an immediate change of things that weren't working. But I do think it can be hard for viewers in regard to continuity. Not that wrestling has great continuinty, but its also shouldn't ignored entirely. And a lot of it comes down execution. I don't really have any issue with a Hogan-JJ storyline with Jarrett as a heel... I'm just not thrilled with its execution thus far.

 

Same here. I get 'resetting' to a point, but with two weeks until Genesis, TNA basically cut the legs from under numerous storylines/characters and really seem to have cobbled together a PPV focussing on personalities who I'm hoping won't be around long after the ppv. Perhaps that's part of the reason for tossing so much aside and trying to get something from the likes of Hall & co before they're ushered out again, but I can't say I'm in favour of it.

 

This is a transition period no doubt, but having watched this week's Impact, it's been far sloppier and more confusing than it needs to be. Random issues following...

 

Tomko - No problem with him as the masked attacker. It makes sense and although the drama of the reveal was somewhat lost by Tomko reappearing the other week on Impact, it also helped shift the focus from him obviously being the attacker. That said, the pre-videoed segments killed it for me. Suspension of disbelief and all that I know, but it defeats the point of the attacker being a mystery if he's obviously sat down to cut a bunch of mini promos on it AND someone has already spliced the video flashback footage. Could this (and the main event) not have been saved for the Impact after Genesis?

 

Bobby Lashley - Lashley wants his release from TNA to focus on MMA. Fair enough, not a bad storyline, but the guy won an Impact-spanning tournament for a title shot only a couple of weeks ago and it 'seems' to have been dropped. Perhaps it could (or will) be worked in by Bischoff as a reason for Lashley to stick around, possibly fast-tracking his title shot to keep him happy. Even so, surely Tazz or Tenay would have been able to mention it at least once.

 

Team 3D - I'm hoping the 'Wrecking Crew' isn't a storyline/push that's dead in the water already. It was a great focus for bringing in Jesse Neal and adding Rhino. Heck in my TEW game, I added Richards and Raven to the mix. Which brings me onto...

 

The Nasty Boys - I don't want to see them. I didn't care for them in the early 90's and I sure as hell don't want to see them in 2010. I could handle a one-off segment or cameo for the special, but to put them in a PPV match when so many other TNA talents can't get camera time... BLEH!

 

Abyss - A fearsome opponent for Lashley eh? Did I blink and miss him this week? Last thing I remember, Joe went over him in a fairly random match last week without much trouble, then Wolfe went over Joe... if anything wouldn't that make Wolfe a more obvious 'test' for Lashley? I know Joe didn't go over Abyss entirely cleanly, but Abyss didn't exactly look an unstoppable force in that match... more like Joe only cheated as the fastest route to victory, rather than needing to do it. It seems such basic booking, but I don't see how it helps to sell a PPV match to have the opponent lose one week and then not feature him the next, even if there's a shock Abyss win in store for Sunday.

 

Jeff Hardy - Great seeing him turn up last week, but where was he this week? A bit of a momentum killer to say the least.

 

The Major Talent Acquisition - Doesn't really appeal right now, because it just feels like throwing another name into the pot to pop a buyrate/rating. The other new names haven't even started to bed in yet.

 

Hulk Hogan - Massive focus last week and this week he doesn't even seem to be there at all, but then only pops up in the segment with Jarrett as if he's been there the whole night only to not feature again. Less Hogan isn't a dreadful thing, but it just felt weird.

 

As for that Hogan/Jarrett segment itself, the turn just felt like telling a 2 hour story in about 20 seconds. Poor/rushed execution. Since Jarrett/Hogan isn't a match on Genesis, surely they could have at least built up to this segment by another show or two. Hell, even a previous segment or two with Jarrett being belittled by some of the roster for having no power/stroke in TNA (following the Hogan promo last week) would have been something. It was just such an abrupt turn and change of character and completely flies in the face of the whole MEM feud that dominated last year. Yeah, yeah, I get new beginnings, but out of that 1.49 (or whatever) ratings, I suspect 0.9 of that have watched TNA for most of 2009 and I'm not a great believer in disregarding the continuity they were following for the sake of the extra .4 (or .2 this week) who may not even stick around.

 

I know that's a whole heap of negatives. There's a few things I've enjoyed over the last couple of shows like the focus on AJ as a champion, Bischoff (he's clearly in his element), the Bucks/Gen Me vs MCMG, heck I even like Sting watching from the rafters, since it's a rehash angle that actually makes sense, watching the 'new' TNA unfold before deciding whether to jump in. Overall though, I'm feeling rather uneasy and hoping that TNA settles down sooner rather than later, builds a new 'core' roster and sticks with it, because right now it seems a really incoherent product... even by TNA's standards.

[MrCanada]

I read the guy coming in is Ken Anderson... I'll be surprised if it isnt.

[justtxyank]

I read the guy coming in is Ken Anderson... I'll be surprised if it isnt.

 

Me too. So stupid. He is just not worthy of this kind of hype.

[cappyboy]

 

As for that Hogan/Jarrett segment itself, the turn just felt like telling a 2 hour story in about 20 seconds. Poor/rushed execution. Since Jarrett/Hogan isn't a match on Genesis, surely they could have at least built up to this segment by another show or two. Hell, even a previous segment or two with Jarrett being belittled by some of the roster for having no power/stroke in TNA (following the Hogan promo last week) would have been something. It was just such an abrupt turn and change of character and completely flies in the face of the whole MEM feud that dominated last year. Yeah, yeah, I get new beginnings, but out of that 1.49 (or whatever) ratings, I suspect 0.9 of that have watched TNA for most of 2009 and I'm not a great believer in disregarding the continuity they were following for the sake of the extra .4 (or .2 this week) who may not even stick around.

 

THANK YOU!!

 

I was starting to feel like a voice crying out in the wilderness on this one. I get what to play Jarrett heel for being the old regime that "held TNA down". I get that he's reviled by the base for all the Internet/backstage reasons Brother Hilton cited. But I got whiplash from the breaks being applied so fast on the face Jarrett. Nothing's been done recently that makes him so incredibly heelish to want to hate him yet. Some man to man mocking of the roster he was supporting and cheerleading for the last year or two. That coffee cup line, good as it was, can be dismissed as heat of the moment by Jarrett apologists. Maybe beating Foley around and decrying the idea he used his grief over Jill as an excuse to just put up with him like that was a failing. Something genuinely hateful. Nebulous accusations that Bischoff would make about his own mother to get his way and taking a lawyer to his confrontation with much more profoundly sleazy Bischoff aren't going to cut it on their own.

 

For those predisposed to hate Jarrett, all well and good. But are the newcomers really going to take Bischoff at his word when they've presumably seen how Easy E operates before? As one would figure most of the newcomers have if Hogan and his boys have the drawing power to be worth bringing on board in the first place. The concept of the turn is fine. I have no complaint on that front. But if it's really gonna take root, could we slow down and have Jeff treat people badly who don't deserve it first?

[PeterHilton]

But if it's really gonna take root, could we slow down and have Jeff treat people badly who don't deserve it first?

 

You want the TNA writers, led by Vince Russo, to slow down???

 

Have you watched TNA the last year or so?

[MrCanada]

Apparentley TNA is going with a 4-sided ring tonight... And I guess from now on. THANK GOD!

[rodzillahotrod]

Apparentley TNA is going with a 4-sided ring tonight... And I guess from now on. THANK GOD!

 

http://rajah.com/base/node/18208

 

looks confirmed (yea i know its not the most legit site). i actually dont like this idea it was something that made tna different and i always felt it added something special to the matches it seemed to me it was easier for wrestlers to move around and it their moves beter

[Hyde Hill]

When I first saw it on Impact, I thought they'd just used a cutout of Chris Sabin tbh.

 

Yeah they have used this cutout/blackout of Sabin on multiple occasions already so no way of telling who it is by looking at the pick.

 

What has me worried though is what Jeff Jarrett said on twitter:

 

"At Genesis the cream will rise to the top" If I take this as a hint I am worried that it is Vicious given that he had that promo with cream/yogurt all over his face. If it's Red surprise opponent no biggie as long as Red beats him hehe but they should have saved it for TV then.

[PeterHilton]

http://rajah.com/base/node/18208

 

looks confirmed (yea i know its not the most legit site). i actually dont like this idea it was something that made tna different and i always felt it added something special to the matches it seemed to me it was easier for wrestlers to move around and it their moves beter

 

I actually think it looked overly gimmicky. I'm happy about the change.

[MrCanada]

http://rajah.com/base/node/18208

 

looks confirmed (yea i know its not the most legit site). i actually dont like this idea it was something that made tna different and i always felt it added something special to the matches it seemed to me it was easier for wrestlers to move around and it their moves beter

 

Slicing your penis off will make you "different" wont mean you'll attract any more girls though.

[stratusfaction]

The death of TNA is upon us! It's so sad that TNA is fastely becoming another WCW. A great company with such promise and so much energy turned into something that is being ran by a bunch of early 90's wrestlers! Thank you Hulk Hogan!

 

I would rather see AJ Styles wrestle a 5 star match then to see AJ Styles all over late night. TNA was supposed to be about wrestling right?

 

I fear for some of the knockouts. I guarantee now that with all these washed up has beens popping up every week that the knockouts are going to be pushed to the corner. Such a shame. Maybe, Hulk should hire Major Gunns and Leia Meow so that they can cat fight for 3 minutes.

 

I really thought Dixie Carter was a smart business woman. Starting to think otherwise.

 

Sorry just ranting... TNA was my favorite because they were different. Bring in Hulk and Sean Waltman and you've got WCW/WWE. At least TNA has a 6 sided ring...ooooh wait not after this week. TNA is just another company now