The Official TNA / Impact / GFW Discussion Thread

[Guest TDubTNA]

I def agree the next few shows after the 21st sound pretty good. I am not a huge Hogan fan but I am willing to give him a few months to get things settled and make my decision on whether I want to continue watching wrestling altogether. It does seem to me like the young guys are getting a decent rub as it seems AJ is getting a huge huge push and Morgan, Hernandez, Joe, Dinero and Wolfe are getting pushed rather well. Hopefully the Nasty Boys don't last long as well as Bubba who seems like he is gone anyway which I love

[Hyde Hill]

Actually the second set of Impact spoilers doesn't seem that bad.

 

Agreed although it will take a lot of work to overcome what they do next thrusday.

 

Semi - Spoiler (Highlight to read) : Seems they are serious in pushing Jordon. But Jordon beating Burke and then Burke beating AJ next show?? Looks a lot like what they did with Wolf. This type of booking results in zero sum or even negative sum overness longterm.

[tristram]

Ok... I'm a week behind (I think), and am starting to get through Impact when the wifey gives me leave to use the TV!!!

 

Have only seen the first match of that show, Generation Me versus MCMG. Wow! The "This is awesome" chants should have been echoing around the arena. Only thing counting against Generation Me is physically they are rather bland. They really time in a solarium and at the gym. I like MCMG and obviously now Generation Me, and I have a lot of time for Lethal-Creed, so I'm kind of hoping to see someone out of those teams starting to move up the card. I feel MCMG have been left to stagnate too long, even though they've excelled down the card its time to let them go up the card I feel.

 

Ok, I've finished the show. Sadly, that start to the show was the highlight, and everything for me went downhill from there.

 

Points of interest:

 

* Not overly happy with Lethal Consequences being on the end of a beat down by 3D because they were angry and wanted mic time. I guess, that's just me though because frankly, I like Lethal Consequences, I think both are very talented workers.

 

* Nasty Boys-Team 3D bash up segment. Nasty Boys had a match down under here in Sydney, which became a hard core tag match, and they sucked at it. Everything sounded soft, nothing sounded legit, and it just looked weak. That segment reminded me of that. Did nothing for Team 3D by associating them with Sags and Knobs. Perhaps putting MCMG or Lethal Consequences with them with the idea of giving the youngsters the rub, with NOTHING more in it for Nasty Boys. I don't actually see their relevance, to me, TNA's tag division kills WWE's currently, it seems a bit old school in that it seems genuine. Not digging the Nasty Boys.

 

* Someone made a comment that Flair hasn't been good in years on the mic. You know, I think sometimes we miss the point a bit with Flair. Flair has never been a great 'orator', as in someone who annunciates marvelously. Flair has been someone who creates a pop or heat by raw enthusiasm. It's hard for him to do that from commentary, so I guess it's fair to say he's not commentary material. That said, Pope D'Angelo, I liked his work on guest commentary.

 

* Speaking of commentary, there's a few things here that annoyed me. They are overdoing the repetitive announcement of Hogan/Bischoff, to the point where it almost detracts from the matches. The Tyson Tomko segments... ok, were these supposed to be prerecorded? Because it kinda didn't fit that if he's a 'mystery' man that he's had the time and presence to uncover the mask backstage and talk smack with the production crew to get a video prepared. Even the production video of Tara/ODB, where they openly talk about 'fueds' and 'divas to knockouts' etc, it just sounds sometimes like there's bit of a complex against being the little cousin of WWE.

 

* I saw really no point in them doing away with Christy Hemme for the 'band' segment, either. I don't think Bubba added anything, and personally, Waltman probably could have played off the female tangent with Christy anyway.

 

* Glad to say Angelina Love, and, I thought that angle was done well. GOD, how hot is Velvet Sky? What a figure! Hamada and Kong look quite natural, and by association I think Hamada benefits tagging with Kong.

 

* Tomko-Styles match, was fairly ordinary, comparatively to what Styles-Angle was of course. Tomko didn't look in the best shape either, he looked a bit.. flubby?

 

* Super Max and Morgan - great wrestlers, Super Max is REALLY impressing me.

 

* The crowd were not digging it with Morley. I feel for the guy. I don't think he's as out of it as we think. When did he leave the E? 4 years ago, or something? And in his entire time there it seemed to me the IWC always wanted more to be done with Morley. Now he's in TNA, suddenly he's stale? Anyhow, I liked Daniels work in that segment.

 

* Wolfe-Samoa Joe, good match. I hope that the win by Wolfe is .. 'genuine', in that it keeps him up the card. IE, the match was supposed to make Wolfe look strong, not the beginning of a sluggish run for Joe.

 

* So is World Elite officially dead? Is it true Bashir willingly left TNA, because it's kinda a pain for the World Elite idea, as he was the basis of many different angles I felt.

 

* The Hogan-Jarrett backstage confrontation. First things first, wasn't chuffed with Jarrett's comment that 'the young guys aren't worth a dime, he made them relevant' or words to that effect. I understand the need to turn him heel, if that's what they're intending to do, but I don't think he needs to bury talent when I thought the whole idea of the new TNA was to promote the talent. Otherwise, I didn't mind it, and I liked Jarrett flaking out and leaving when Hogan got up, because comparatively Hogan is so much more stronger and it made sense... sorta like the cowardly cheap heel against the big face in a 'well worked' match.

 

A concern I have also is Jeff Hardy. What's happening there? He's just come basically from the main event of WWE, is a fantastic in ring talent, yet he wasn't even on the show? The guys who appear to be moving up and shaping up to me are Pope and Wolfe, they look... spectacular at the moment. I think they're booking them well, and of course, AJ Styles to me has gone to the next level, and I have been critical of him in the past.

[tristram]

I loved Sting vs. Abyss with Sting having some sort of control over Abyss. I loved the Angle Alliance vs. The Christian Coallition. I loved the random attacks on Joe and then Jarrett's return. I loved most of the Main Event Mafia. I loved Big Poppa Petey. I loved the Dudleys being pushed as main event faces in a PPV main event. I loved VKM. I loved AJ Styles. I hated Curry Man. I loved TBP (especially Velvet). I loved their feud with Roxy. I loved the undefeated Samoan Submission Machine. I loved the undefeated Christian Cage. I loved Mick Foley vs. Jarrett. I loved the six sided ring. I loved Jim Cornette. I loved the Ultimate X. I loved the X-Division World Cup. I loved Matt Morgan's slow introduction and then promos about being the genetically jacked, athletically stacked next big thing. I loved Jay Machismo (especially his feud with Dutt).

 

I just don't think I can get into this new TNA I respect Bischoff and wish he was back in WWE with a say in the creative direction and booking of one of the brands but him and Hogan back in control just doesn't offer the chance of seeing something new. TNA felt like something new, whereas I can't see this new TNA being anything more than a WCW mark 2.

 

I was hoping TNA would push on to become something more than a clone.

 

You just reminded me of one of the dumb things about the show I just watched (the 11/1 show). We see Sting in the rafters, with the 'Band' in the ring. Ok... ok... it worked in 1997/98, but it was SO much better back then. Sting sitting there doing nothing... not working.

 

And then to top it off, 'after the break', Taz and Tenay go "We've reviewed the footage and we're pretty sure that's Sting". What? You're """"""PRETTY SURE"""""""" that that is one of your marquees? We all KNOW that was Sting, yet you're not so sure? Give me a break. Lame.

 

And the other lame piece of commentary from Flair was "I haven't really been watching these two and don't really know their issues but there's a lot of intensity" in the Tomko-Styles match. Weird. Ok, firstly, that sounds like a negative comment in my book. If someone within the industry hasn't been paying attention, why should people outside the industry care? If someone has been placed as a mentor/manager of a figure, shouldn't that person not make it their job, if wrestling was real, to understand a bit about that particular wrestler? Wouldn't that make sense? Either that was poorly written, or Ric got that one way wrong.

[Moe Hunter]

So my take on Genesis...

 

"Oh my god, what's Red gonna do, he's amazing!"... Apparently he's going to do a really basic front flip, land with a little bit of his leg over Kendrick's shoulder, the rest of him hitting the floor and smacking his jaw on the guard rail. Red did one decent move in the whole match, and that was the finish. Kendrick continues to impress me, very nice to see his mat game is as good as his speed game was. Interesting that he's kept the look of "THE Brian Kendrick", but none of the gimmick.

 

 

Beer Money... I just don't see why there's any fuss about them. In a promotion where pretty much every team says "we're the best team in TNA/The World Today/History"... Actually, it didn't make sense when Tomko or 3D said it either. But anyway - James Storm, Robert Roode, didn't impress me in 2005 and seemingly haven't added anything to their game in the past four years. I imagine when they do their mid-match taunt that they yell "Lame!" -- "Lamer!". "The Band" are about as you'd expect them to be. Waltman can still go, but he can't shake the X-Pac Heat still. I like that Nash's character is at least admitting that everything around him is bogus.

 

 

Morley continues to suck on the mic. While we're at it, do they need to make his video a clone of his WWE one? All the stupid visual innuendos? ... I like that Daniels went into the Gogoplata / Hell's Gate - a dig at Undertaker's girl using his and AJ's finishers, perhaps? That Koji Clutch is a hell of a move, btw. They really have the wrong guys being Face and Heel in this one. It's stupid having Daniels say "I love TNA... wait, no I don't like the fans though, I'm not on your side".

 

 

Mr Anderson had a really good debut promo. Pity the match was slow, and that Abyss really isn't a great opponent. I counted only one of Kennedy's moves used in the match, too and that was the basic Face Wash, which Joe does anyway. No Finlay Roll, Kenton Bomb, Mic Check, the double roundhouse... Nothing that really showed him off.

 

 

By the way... How crappy is Lashley if he gets knocked out that easy, and can't compete half an hour or so later? If that's how he is, how is he ever supposed to compete in MMA? Oh, and story-wise... If he's so passionate about not wanting to wrestle in TNA... Why does he show up to every event?

 

 

Pope and Wolfe! These guys are plain awesome, and Wolfe found himself an extra stak of star power and strengthened his character with his new valet and his pre-match routine. Very solid match, love all the submission moves and the psychology pretty much all the way through. Only iffy spot was when Wolfe went for his Headstand move for the second time... Why? It didn't make sense. Still, great match, great finish.

 

 

Women's match was subpar. ODB still really sucks, busted implant or no. Tara bringing a spider to the ring *is* lame as others have said. And putting it on her fallen opponents isn't any cooler than when Boogeyman put worms on his opponents.

 

 

Hernandez has some really good moves, but I'm not sold on his look entirely. I think the team of him and Matt Morgan is definitely a good one. British Invasion I don't feel like I've seen enough of to make a proper opinion of.

 

 

Styles vs Angle was really good. Seemed a little bit slow, but that's probably just because their previous shorter match is still in my head. The turn was handled really well, but as people have said there aren't any good faces to take on AJ. Anderson or Daniels would be nice choices if the bookers hadn't decided they should arbitrarily be heels. Pope might be good, but he's probably not quite there. Wolfe would be great... again, if he wasn't heel (but I think he needs to be heel).

 

I'm not looking forward to the Orlando Screwjob, but I am enjoying a lot of the wrestling on display with TNA.

[Ben_91]

Is Lashley actually going to leave TNA? I thought after constantly being ignored by Hogan and Bischoff that Lashley would intervene in the Genesis Main Event and cost Angle the World Title and therefore starting a huge feud between Angle and Lashley. Considering that it would've been Angle's last shot at the world title in 2010.

 

I would've also liked to seen Ric Flair manage Desmond Wolfe instead of turning AJ Styles heel. I thought it would've been cool to see Flair look as if he was going to mentor Styles, only for Styles to be blindsided by Wolfe. Hence giving Wolfe a push. Wolfe's character seems to be a bit've an opportunist and I think it would've been a great way to get him over with Flair.

 

Oh yeah, turn Samoa Joe face again and have him destroy the NWO and all of the new deadweight (Morley, Hall, Walterman, Nasty Boys, etc) that's been brought in and have him gun for Hogan and Bischoff.

[wrestlingfan1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTd--qhRZ-s

 

he has a point thought. this is a free show, its not an outside of the impact zone show. this is a tv show in a sound stage in a theme park.

 

 

I watched the clip haven't read through the rest of the posts yet as I won't be able to watch genesis until later today and don't want anything to be spoiled. However after viewing this clip I have to comment, ok so its a free show and the fans don't have to pay to be there but for this guy to say you all are part of the crew ( i'm paraphrasing obviously but this is the general statement he made ) that would imply that TNA were paying them to be at the arena and such obligated to " do as your boss tells you or else." Honestly telling your fans not to swear or make rude, crude, etc. gestures or have vulgar signs, is basically saying " Hey, I don't like earning a paycheck so could you all just show up to our shows and sit on your hands and remain quiet for the duration of the program so the company no longer needs me?"

 

I don't consider myself to be the biggest TNA fan in the world by any means but i was very excited for them when they got their tv show and again when they got to add a second hour. It seems that when they got the additional time the alienated a large set of their fan base, after all isn't TNA supposed to stand for Total Nonstop Action? Now they are just as bad as WWF (yes I said it and will say it to the day i die, take that World Wildlife Foundation you gonna sue me too? ) in that a two hour wrestling show is nothing more than a two hour show of talk. Now you can't say that they have to in order to survive with today's " modern wrestling " fan, them making it as far as they did without doing so proves that statement to be false.

 

Now that that's out of the way:

 

I finally had a chance to watch last week's impact and unless something changed at Genesis. I would like to speculate that I see a possible resurrection of the Four Horsemen ( or at least a FH'esque stable if WWF owns the rights to that name when they purchased WCW) with the way Flair has been acting toward and interacting with Kurt Angle.

[dcxbox]

i don't think wwe can say anything. the four horsemen started before wcw actually and crocket didnt trademark his gimmicks unlike wwe now.

[Hyde Hill]

Yeah but if WCW trademarked the gimmick later on in it's history which would be likely for Bisschoff to do when they where using the Horsemen it would belong to the WWE now.

[lazorbeak]

Trademarks expire. Just searched for "Four Horseman" and "New World Order" and found no live wrestling trademarks for the Horseman, and the live NWO trademark was first used in commerce in 2002 (Vince's version). I searched both to make sure I wasn't just missing something. It looks like most all of WCW's trademarks have expired if they weren't in WWF. Just for fun I searched Randy Savage's name since he hasn't been anywhere since WCW ended. He registered the name for his own use in 2001, but the Macho King and all of the merchandise rights expired.

[Hyde Hill]

Cool would mean he got good money from the DVD then even though it was just matches and TNA could use the Horseman moniker.

[tristram]

Morley continues to suck on the mic. While we're at it, do they need to make his video a clone of his WWE one? All the stupid visual innuendos? ... I like that Daniels went into the Gogoplata / Hell's Gate - a dig at Undertaker's girl using his and AJ's finishers, perhaps? That Koji Clutch is a hell of a move, btw. They really have the wrong guys being Face and Heel in this one. It's stupid having Daniels say "I love TNA... wait, no I don't like the fans though, I'm not on your side".

 

Good point. That's the way it should have been. I think if they get the allignment right, then Morley can win with a screwjob finish, and then at the end of the feud Daniels can rightly go over as a courageous face.

 

By the way... How crappy is Lashley if he gets knocked out that easy, and can't compete half an hour or so later? If that's how he is, how is he ever supposed to compete in MMA? Oh, and story-wise... If he's so passionate about not wanting to wrestle in TNA... Why does he show up to every event?

 

I never, ever, like an angle that borders on a worked-shoot when the worker is supposedly saying he doesn't want to be in TNA. What does that say to the fans? If the talent doesn't want to be there, and they're getting paid, why the heck should I be there? It was like WCW when Chris Jericho started going nuts and the same with Eddie Guerrero. From there of course within 15 months both are in the WWF and have left the WCW altogether. So it served no long term purpose anyway.

[brashleyholland]

 

 

By the way... How crappy is Lashley if he gets knocked out that easy, and can't compete half an hour or so later? If that's how he is, how is he ever supposed to compete in MMA? Oh, and story-wise... If he's so passionate about not wanting to wrestle in TNA... Why does he show up to every event?

 

 

Not just knocked out, but knocked out for several minutes while a room full of guys have a conversation.

 

Hogan made some strongly worded comments about Lashley's commitment to TNA recently, which I'm guessing is the catalyst for all this. Bobby is getting paid a decent amount of money for a small amount of work right now, so you can't blame Hogan for wanting Bobby to commit fully, or not at all.

 

The nature of Hogan's comments on Lashley were that he wasn't taking TNA seriously and needed to get his priorities right. The only problem with that is the following: If Hogan is reluctant for Bobby to take the spot of one of TNA's up and comming stars, how is he justifying giving the Nasty Boys, Bubba, Waltman and Hall even a second of TV time? None of them have added anything to the show so far and all will likely be gone from the company in short order.

 

Lashley is only going to get bigger in the MMA world for the time being. He's building his record against hand-picked opponants that will make him look good. Fair enough, he won't be doing house shows and will need more time off in the future as his camps get longer, but why can't TNA use his status as a supposedly high-level MMA fighter to their benefit?

 

Bobby will have to quit wrestling for good in a year or so if he is going to take MMA seriously, so I don't see why TNA isn't having him choking people out left right and center before going out on a big loss to one of their up and commers.

[dcxbox]

Not just knocked out, but knocked out for several minutes while a room full of guys have a conversation.

 

Hogan made some strongly worded comments about Lashley's commitment to TNA recently, which I'm guessing is the catalyst for all this. Bobby is getting paid a decent amount of money for a small amount of work right now, so you can't blame Hogan for wanting Bobby to commit fully, or not at all.

 

The nature of Hogan's comments on Lashley were that he wasn't taking TNA seriously and needed to get his priorities right. The only problem with that is the following: If Hogan is reluctant for Bobby to take the spot of one of TNA's up and comming stars, how is he justifying giving the Nasty Boys, Bubba, Waltman and Hall even a second of TV time? None of them have added anything to the show so far and all will likely be gone from the company in short order.

 

Lashley is only going to get bigger in the MMA world for the time being. He's building his record against hand-picked opponants that will make him look good. Fair enough, he won't be doing house shows and will need more time off in the future as his camps get longer, but why can't TNA use his status as a supposedly high-level MMA fighter to their benefit?

 

Bobby will have to quit wrestling for good in a year or so if he is going to take MMA seriously, so I don't see why TNA isn't having him choking people out left right and center before going out on a big loss to one of their up and commers.

 

they shouldnt use lashley on tv, just his wife instead talking for him about him being above wrestling. then when he comes in he can have so much heat on him at shows. only bring him in for the big ppvs though, make him important hav hm get wins while making opponent look good then eventually lead to some home geown guy like say samoa joe, beating him. dont overuse lashley. he could be great for tna and a solid draw with him in strikeforce for tna. his wife is needed more for him, she can take all the heat til he can come in for a ppv

[TracyBrooksFan]

The Wrestling Observer reports that Awesome Kong gave notice to TNA on Tuesday night. This comes on the heels of her altercation with Bubba The Love Sponge over the ill-advised comments about Haiti.

[alden]

The Wrestling Observer reports that Awesome Kong gave notice to TNA on Tuesday night. This comes on the heels of her altercation with Bubba The Love Sponge over the ill-advised comments about Haiti.

 

I hope they can talk her out of it. She is a huge part of the knock outs. She is a champion and would hate to see her go. hermada is getting a good push with her. i would hate to see her push go away.

[stratusfaction]

I'm so sad to hear that she is leaving TNA. I always enjoyed seeing her wrestle. She wasn't the normal diva look alike. I really hope they can stop her. The Knockouts division is going to take a MAJOR blow without Kong.

[justtxyank]

How big will a loss would it be long term though? Her size over the other knockouts inherently limits her. This is what has hurt Big Show in his career.

[GDE71]

How big will a loss would it be long term though? Her size over the other knockouts inherently limits her. This is what has hurt Big Show in his career.

 

I agree with this. She really needed to stay in the tag division to be believable as no one on the roster should beat her 1 on 1.

[stratusfaction]

How big will a loss would it be long term though? Her size over the other knockouts inherently limits her. This is what has hurt Big Show in his career.

 

I would have to agree on the Big Show comment. But I really think this is a big loss for them because she was TNA's biggest and most popular heel knockout. With out her you have heels but they are either not popular or they aren't great wrestlers like The Beautiful People.

[TracyBrooksFan]

Diva Dirt has just received word that TNA Knockout, Alissa Flash — real name Melissa Anderson — has parted ways with TNA.

 

Anderson made her debut in January 2008 as Raisha Saeed, manager of Awesome Kong before debuting a second character, ‘The Future Legend’ Alissa Flash in July 2009. Saeed was written out in October last year and Anderson continued to compete as Flash until her departure.

 

During her time in the company, Alissa has competed in memorable matches with Sarita, Hamada, Awesome Kong and Tara.

 

For more on Alissa please visit her Twitter page and official website

[stratusfaction]

Diva Dirt has just received word that TNA Knockout, Alissa Flash — real name Melissa Anderson — has parted ways with TNA.

 

Anderson made her debut in January 2008 as Raisha Saeed, manager of Awesome Kong before debuting a second character, ‘The Future Legend’ Alissa Flash in July 2009. Saeed was written out in October last year and Anderson continued to compete as Flash until her departure.

 

During her time in the company, Alissa has competed in memorable matches with Sarita, Hamada, Awesome Kong and Tara.

 

For more on Alissa please visit her Twitter page and official website

 

Wow, the day keeps getting worse and worse for the Knockouts Division!

[Hyde Hill]

WTF!!! Both Kong and Melissa/Alissa no freaking way! They where two of the best if not the best knockouts!

 

Edit; Still it isn't up on PWI yet and I hope they can be talked into staying.

[jwt13]

I really dont like Womans wrestling so I dont see as much of a loss I always skip the knockouts any way instead of TBP but I can see how people who like the knockouts could be disspapointed but I dont see it as much of a loss

[stratusfaction]

TNA Knockout catfights and mud matches HERE WE COME.

 

So now all we have left in legitimate knockouts are Hamada, Tara, Sarita, and maybe Taylor Wilde. I hope Roxxi comes back soon from injury.