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I couldn't have put it better myself


societyr

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Here is Lance's latest commentary and he runs down on everything that is driving me nuts about TNA right now. ---- TNA Needs Mr. Spock October 27, 2006 I’m going to go on a bit of a rant today because I’m about to lose my mind and I need to vent. Before I get into this I want to point out that I very much want TNA to succeed, I am a huge supporter and fan of most of the guys who work there. None of the comments that follow are meant to belittle their talent or work ethic. I think TNA has so many talented people, which I think is the root of my frustration and anger. There is so much potential and talent in this company yet every time I watch Impact, read a PPV report, or what have you, I find myself more frustrated and bewildered than entertained. This is why this week’s commentary is titles TNA needs Mr. Spock. I have no idea if Leonard Nimoy likes wrestling, or even knows jack **** about it but I’m beginning to think he could do a better job of booking this show, than those currently doing so because at least Spock would bring logic to the table when booking. I know booking a weekly show and trying to drive monthly PPV buys isn’t easy but there is so much stuff going on that makes no sense what so ever. FOR EXAMPLE: The Booby Roode hottest free agent gimmick after disbanding Team Canada was a good idea, but thus far has made no sense what so ever. Let me start by saying I’m a big fan of Roode’s work. He was one of the first guys I noticed when I first started watching TNA on Spike. Team Canada gets disbanded and Bobby Roode is labeled the hottest free agent in TNA. Great. He then starts interviewing managers because everyone wants to represent him. Again, great. This creates a nice pop for TV getting to see the great managers from the past and shows that the Industry is hot for Bobby Roode. Then at last months PPV they proceed to book him in the Pre-Show (Dark) Match. If Roode is a hot commodity why can’t he get booked on the PPV? If you don’t have a place for him on the PPV, LEAVE HIM THE HELL OFF THE SHOW! At least if he’s left off fans can surmise that he is so busy interviewing managers that he is not taking bookings until he has confirmed his representation. Booking him in the pre-show makes him look like an under card guy! Now the best part: After interviewing almost every great manager in the history of the business he hires Traci. What a let down. Again this is not to slight her but how she has been portrayed thus far on TV. The last I recall seeing Traci she was the girl who went to the ring with Matt Bentley and bounced. Her claim to fame was that she bounced her boobies, and she managed a guy who for the most part lost mid-card matches. If this isn’t bad enough he announces that he’s signed with his new manager and will debut her on the PPV and guess what. They aren’t on the PPV they are again on the pre-show. I guess that’s what happens when you sign with the girl who bounces. He got to choose any manger he wanted and he signed with one who could not get him booked on PPV. If that isn’t bad enough EVERY SINGLE other ‘wrestling’ member of Team Canada got booked on the PPV, including the one who got fired 2 weeks previous. That’s right the guy who lost a loser gets fired match, and was fired from the company got booked on PPV over the “Hottest Free Agent in Wrestling”. That is one sweet manager he’s got there!!! Speaking of Eric Young, last weeks Impact drove me nuts. Eric lost a Loser get fired match, and appears on the show 1 or 2 weeks later (I cant’ remember if it was 1 or 2 weeks). I know he was just wandering around outside but still; HE’S ON THE F’N SHOW. I just finished reading The Death of WCW, and one of the things that killed WCW was booking over stipulated matches and the continued non-honouring of those stipulations. Why are fans going to give a **** about stipulation matches if they are NEVER honoured? To make matters worse, if that is in fact possible, while poor Eric is in the parking lot, JB informs him that he is booked on the PPV against Larry Zybisco. Young is of course shocked by this news because apparently TNA books guys who don’t work for the company (remember HE WAS FIRED!) in PPV matches without even contacting them to inform them of their interest in booking them again. This was 3 days before the PPV and NO ONE from TNA called Eric Young to tell him they booked him for the PPV. What would TNA have done if Eric hadn’t “inadvertently” found out he had a PPV match? I also just finished reading a spoiler from the latest Impact TV Tapings and I cant’ make any sense what so ever of what I read. Apparently they are doing a #1 Contenders tournament to see who gets the next title shot at Sting. Isn’t this what win lose records are for? Isn’t there a Championship committee or at least someone in TNA Management (we hear so damn much about them) who ranks people in the company? You have Joe who is Unpinned and Unsubmitted, not to mention he’s been running around with the title belt for a few weeks. You have Christian who again is Unpinned, Unsubmitted and was never really beat for the title when he last held it. There is also “Arguably the greatest wrestler alive today” Kurt Angle in the company, not to mention the former champion who should be deserving of a rematch. With all these worthy contenders at their disposal TNA management couldn’t narrow it down closer than 18 people and had to have the most non-sensical match I’ve ever heard of, to set up a tournament. The match is a reverse Battle Royal, where guys have to try to get into the ring. Once 7 guys manage that it’s now a regular Battle Royal and those 7 have to throw each other out. (The order determines the bracketing) When you get down to the last 2 they have a regular match and the winner gets a bye in the tournament. Can someone explain to me why they thought it necessary for someone to get a bye in the tournament and thus make this match even more confusing? Don’t answer that, it was rhetorical. If this isn’t good enough neither Kurt Angle or Joe were in the match and thus for some reason not considered top 18 talent in TNA (keep in mind that Frankie Kazarian and Lance Hoyt are in the match so they must be ranked higher than Joe or Angle). I could go on but I think you get my point. Creative direction in TNA is atrocious, and while I admit booking isn’t an easy job it isn’t rocket science either. To make matters worse they actually have a guy in the company who has a strong track record in booking solid wrestling television. TNA employs Jim Cornette, who booked OVW, SMW, and contributed creatively in WCW for a number of years (the years that tended to make the most sense I might add). I am not even a full-blown Cornette supporter. We had creative disagreements while we worked together in OVW and I also disagreed with some of what he did in SMW when I worked for him. Jim Cornette is, in my opinion, a little old school and not overly innovative, but his shows make sense, you never have to ask WHY, and matches and titles feel important. That is what wrestling is all about. Give me some wrestlers I can care about, make me believe they don’t like each other, and then book them in a match so I can see them fight. When you want someone to build you a cart that rolls, you don’t always need someone with ground breaking innovative ideas, you need someone smart enough to put 4 F’N wheels on the damn thing so it rolls. That’s my rant for this week, Lance Storm -----
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Man, that was spot on. You know, as a viewer, I stopped caring about the whole Bobby Roode storyline since it was obviously a back burner kinda deal. When you consider how Eric Young was always featured in the top shelf storyline(s) and being featured with many of the top workers (like Jarrett), you could easily see which Team Canada alum was more highly regarded, creatively. That was great though!
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Man, that was spot on. You know, as a viewer, I stopped caring about the whole Bobby Roode storyline since it was obviously a back burner kinda deal. When you consider how Eric Young was always featured in the top shelf storyline(s) and being featured with many of the top workers (like Jarrett), you could easily see which Team Canada alum was more highly regarded, creatively. That was great though!
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After actually watching Impact tonight I can say that it was worse than I thought from reading the previews. Well the Naturals got their shot, all 2 minutes of it and that cheesy "disrespect" stuff, with his smile afterwards. The Fight For Your Right mess, they are giving Joe and Angle too early. And really just no build to the barbwire cage match on the two hour impact just a mention that it was signed. Why would Christian go into a "dangerous" gimmicky match like that after already beating Rhino in the 8 Mile Street Fight. I remember how gimmicky TNA was at one point with so many Ult. X matches in one year and such, with the return of Russo I guess they think they have to do this to get noticed and draw more. Maybe some common sense, logic and good booking.
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After actually watching Impact tonight I can say that it was worse than I thought from reading the previews. Well the Naturals got their shot, all 2 minutes of it and that cheesy "disrespect" stuff, with his smile afterwards. The Fight For Your Right mess, they are giving Joe and Angle too early. And really just no build to the barbwire cage match on the two hour impact just a mention that it was signed. Why would Christian go into a "dangerous" gimmicky match like that after already beating Rhino in the 8 Mile Street Fight. I remember how gimmicky TNA was at one point with so many Ult. X matches in one year and such, with the return of Russo I guess they think they have to do this to get noticed and draw more. Maybe some common sense, logic and good booking.
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They are having joe vs. angle WAY too early. This match is meant to be TNAs "Dream Match" and they are wasting it on Angle's first match in TNA. Think about it, if Angle lives through the match, any match he has after this will be a let down. As for this barbwire cage match idea, I can see it now since they all ready said the wire will be at the top of the cage I bet we get a replay of big show vs. JBL in which the wire did not even come into play. How in the hell did Hoyt even get in the match to begin with, let alone be in the final 2? They could have at least let Rhino and Cage into the final 7 then they could have built from that if TNA really wanted to do the barbwire cage match. Hell even Angle vs. Joe could have been helped from this. What about Raven? coming off of the biggest pay per view of the year, Impact way painful to watch
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They are having joe vs. angle WAY too early. This match is meant to be TNAs "Dream Match" and they are wasting it on Angle's first match in TNA. Think about it, if Angle lives through the match, any match he has after this will be a let down. As for this barbwire cage match idea, I can see it now since they all ready said the wire will be at the top of the cage I bet we get a replay of big show vs. JBL in which the wire did not even come into play. How in the hell did Hoyt even get in the match to begin with, let alone be in the final 2? They could have at least let Rhino and Cage into the final 7 then they could have built from that if TNA really wanted to do the barbwire cage match. Hell even Angle vs. Joe could have been helped from this. What about Raven? coming off of the biggest pay per view of the year, Impact way painful to watch
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I dissagree with this being a bad Impact. That short match between Lance Hoyt and Abyss was a really good match and what happened with The Naturals and LAX fit with what LAX is, and that is a bunch of thugs so it works out. Would I have likes to see and better in-ring match between these two teams, absolutly, but this pushes The Naturals the next step in there storyline with Shane Douglas and frees up LAX to have, what I think will be, a fantastic match at Genesis. As for Samoe Joe vs. Kurt Angle, yes it is too soon. I think that you should have Angle battle a few more guys, giving him a few high-profile matches in TNA first before heading into the mega-battle with Joe. Have Angle fight Christopher Daniels, Raven, Christian Cage, Rhino, Abyss and a couple of others before getting involved with Joe. Give Joe a couple of more matches with some bigger heavyweights and then BAM, Joe and Angle go head to head. Even thought it is happening too soon, its still going to be one of the greatest wrestling matches any of us have ever seen. As for the tournament, yes it is pointless as I think it was just a way to get some more guys on screen, although, like I said, the match between Hoyt and Abyss was very good. Hoyt can move for a big man and I think if pared up with a good manager he could be a huge star. Robert Roode I also agree with on some points. Having him wrestle on the pre-show was BS and he should have had his match against Hoyt on the main PPV portion. I disagree with the problem with putting Traci as his manager. Sure she has not done much recently, but she is a very good manager (as well as wrestler) on the independent scene and I see good things with them as a pair (as long as they dont drop the ball with Roode). Roode is very talented worker, hes not bad on the mic (if kept short) and he can be a huge star if handled right. Roode is another reason why I think TNA needs another non-X-Division mid-card Title. However I also think a majority of the problems in TNA stem from the fact that they only have 1 hour a week to promote the show. Once TNA finally goes to a 2-hour slot (come on Spike you know you want to), its going to be a whole new ball game with TNA. I use to watch TNA when they had the 3-hour weekly PPVs and I have to tell you, when TNA has the time, the can put on the best wrestling program, top to bottem that you have ever seen. Impact is not a good representation of what TNA is capable of. Bound For Glory is a good representation of what they can do (that was a fantastic PPV all around). Again I say once TNA goes to 2-hours you will see a shift in the balance in pro-wrestling becasue TNA on primetime for 2-hours will be a force to contend with you mark my words. They have the talent to put on great wrestling matches and in 1 hour they just dont have the time to showcase that talent. Once 2 hours come you are going to see a new TNA that you never thought them capable of. They are moving in the right direction right now. Jeff Jarrett is away from the Title scene and I think is in line for a face push (though who he will go up against I dont know), I have a feeling that Abyss will be the one that wins the tournament so seeing him and Sting for the World Title should be good. The X-Divison could blow wide open (they have some very, very good talent in the division right now they just need to time to show it) and even though the Barbed Wire Steel cage match is kind of gimicky, Rhino and Christian have proven that they can put on a great match so I cant think of a better way to main event the new prime-time show. All in all I think TNA's problems boil down to the fact that they need more time to showcase there talents.
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I dissagree with this being a bad Impact. That short match between Lance Hoyt and Abyss was a really good match and what happened with The Naturals and LAX fit with what LAX is, and that is a bunch of thugs so it works out. Would I have likes to see and better in-ring match between these two teams, absolutly, but this pushes The Naturals the next step in there storyline with Shane Douglas and frees up LAX to have, what I think will be, a fantastic match at Genesis. As for Samoe Joe vs. Kurt Angle, yes it is too soon. I think that you should have Angle battle a few more guys, giving him a few high-profile matches in TNA first before heading into the mega-battle with Joe. Have Angle fight Christopher Daniels, Raven, Christian Cage, Rhino, Abyss and a couple of others before getting involved with Joe. Give Joe a couple of more matches with some bigger heavyweights and then BAM, Joe and Angle go head to head. Even thought it is happening too soon, its still going to be one of the greatest wrestling matches any of us have ever seen. As for the tournament, yes it is pointless as I think it was just a way to get some more guys on screen, although, like I said, the match between Hoyt and Abyss was very good. Hoyt can move for a big man and I think if pared up with a good manager he could be a huge star. Robert Roode I also agree with on some points. Having him wrestle on the pre-show was BS and he should have had his match against Hoyt on the main PPV portion. I disagree with the problem with putting Traci as his manager. Sure she has not done much recently, but she is a very good manager (as well as wrestler) on the independent scene and I see good things with them as a pair (as long as they dont drop the ball with Roode). Roode is very talented worker, hes not bad on the mic (if kept short) and he can be a huge star if handled right. Roode is another reason why I think TNA needs another non-X-Division mid-card Title. However I also think a majority of the problems in TNA stem from the fact that they only have 1 hour a week to promote the show. Once TNA finally goes to a 2-hour slot (come on Spike you know you want to), its going to be a whole new ball game with TNA. I use to watch TNA when they had the 3-hour weekly PPVs and I have to tell you, when TNA has the time, the can put on the best wrestling program, top to bottem that you have ever seen. Impact is not a good representation of what TNA is capable of. Bound For Glory is a good representation of what they can do (that was a fantastic PPV all around). Again I say once TNA goes to 2-hours you will see a shift in the balance in pro-wrestling becasue TNA on primetime for 2-hours will be a force to contend with you mark my words. They have the talent to put on great wrestling matches and in 1 hour they just dont have the time to showcase that talent. Once 2 hours come you are going to see a new TNA that you never thought them capable of. They are moving in the right direction right now. Jeff Jarrett is away from the Title scene and I think is in line for a face push (though who he will go up against I dont know), I have a feeling that Abyss will be the one that wins the tournament so seeing him and Sting for the World Title should be good. The X-Divison could blow wide open (they have some very, very good talent in the division right now they just need to time to show it) and even though the Barbed Wire Steel cage match is kind of gimicky, Rhino and Christian have proven that they can put on a great match so I cant think of a better way to main event the new prime-time show. All in all I think TNA's problems boil down to the fact that they need more time to showcase there talents.
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