Welcome back to ringside everyone. Go download Impact now because I told you to.
6/24 Impact! Recap
Hollyric is back with his Impact! report. To read it all you got to do is click here.
Impact Online
So from now on you can download Impact at TNAWrestling.Com. I think this is a very good move for TNA, for now. My spidey senses tell me that more people download the show than watched it on TV. On FSN, Impact aired at what times? 4:00 PM on Friday (teens may have after school commitment and adults are still at work), Saturday at 2:00 AM (most people are sleeping), and Saturday at Midnight (teens are drinking and adults are sleeping.) Online, you can download Impact all weekend and watch it whenever you want. You can watch it Monday instead of Raw if you want. For now, this is a very good thing for TNA but as days turn in to weeks andweeks turn in to months this will just show that TNA is WWE’s cousin.
Now before you start reading this next bit, please know that I know Impact is still aired on TV in other parts of the country. I know that most of my suggestions are not possible because it could throw off TV viewers. But for this bit, I don’t care about them. For this bit, I am talking strictly to the online downloaders.
*No Commercials: No commercials, meaning no TNA schilling. I know I’m not the only one who got sick of TNA going to commercial and here comes Borash and Douglas on the screen. “All you ladies out there, buy the Jeff Hardy T-Shirt, it glows in the dark.” “Everyone buy the new Victory Road DVD because The Franchise said so.” They do this for about 2 or 3 minutes. Those 2-3 can be added to a match or an interview. Another thing that pisses me off about TNA is them promoting their “THREE HOUR SUPER DUPER EPIC MEGA ULTRA GIGANTIC HUMOGOUS FULLY LOADED HISTORY MAKING EVENT!” Listen, TNA PPVs are good but if I want the show, I’ll rent it. If I want the replay, I’ll rent it. They are good PPVs but Wrestlemania 1 was history making, not Victory Road.
*Anytime: I mentioned this earlier, you can watch Impact anytime you want. You can start the download on Friday, go out, wake up Saturday at noon, and watch the show. It’s very convenient for wrestling fans. You can pause it at anytime to get a drink or answer the phone. You can fast forward or rewind. Once again, for now, it’s a good solution.
*Not Long Enough: Considering the fact that there’s no real time slot for this, you would think TNA would make this show 2 hours. That way all your storylines can advance. AJ Styles vs Sean Waltman with Jerry Lynn as the guest referee is a match at No Surrender. Styles and Waltman weren’t even on Impact this past week. Most TNA PPVs include matches with no build up or hype. 2 hours could change all that. If not 2 hours, at least use the full hour. This is a 45-minute show as of now. Adding 15 minutes could have built that Styles/Waltman feud just a little bit.
I know, it’s only 3 things but just things I wanted to point out. If you want to point out something, hit me up.
He’s Shootin’ (Ah Made You Look)
Billy Gunn errr The Outlaw called Triple H and Trish Stratus “a piece of shit” in a recent interview. Is Monty just mad that he won the king of the ring like HHH, but never got the push like HHH? Probably not. Monty is just saying what everyone in the WWE can’t say because they will get fired. Most of us know that HHH is the 10 soon to be 11 time World Champion because he’s married to Stephanie McMahon. I take nothing away from HHH, before his injury, he was a very good wrestler. He’s not as good then but he’s not HORRIBLE in the ring. Does he deserve to be 10-time champ? Well let me ask you guys a question. If you think Triple H deserves to be the World Champion 10 times, gimme a HELL YEAH.
::Silence::
That’s what I thought. Then again, if wrestling was based on talent and not politics, guys like Benoit, Angle, Jericho, Christian, Benjamin, ect… would be passing around the World Title. I’ve digressed though. Personally, I’ve always liked The Outlaw. I think his wrestling skills are decent enough to pass and he has that superstar look. For some reason though, (maybe because he was coming out to songs like “Ass Man”) he never got over. Really, his most famous moment was when The Rock made fun of him. “My name is Billy…IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS!”
Monty is just saying what everyone wants to say. A lot of WWE workers say “shoot comments that aren’t supposed to be shoot comments.” Angle did that the other week. Jericho even took shot at Kevin Nash, a known HHH friend. The fact is nobody will openly shoot on Triple H until they are out of the E.
As for Trish Stratus, I don’t know what his beef with her is. Maybe he was going to hook up with her but she was screwing around with Edge. I like Trish so until Monty says why he thinks she’s a piece of shit; I’m on her side.
We Want Matt
So on THEMattHardy.Com Forums, Matt asks the question of “Where should I go?” Now I don’t post on the forums because I am way too lazy to register. If somebody posts the following for me, you’ll be my best friend and I’ll plug something for you.
Everyone on the forums seems to want Matt to go to the WWE because “they will see him more.” You want to know where you’ll see Matt in the WWE? Every Sunday at 7 P.M. because like it or not, after his feud with Edge, Matt will be jobbing again.
If this whole thing isn’t a work then Matt will no doubt be quickly be fired by the WWE once again. If I’m Matt Hardy, I’m pissed if this has happened to me. If I get a match with Edge, I’m stiffing the hell out of him. Now Edge is contracted talent (unlike Blue Meanie) and Matt isn’t getting a huge push (unlike JBL) so he won’t go un-punished for his actions.
Why would Matt want to go back to the WWE anyway? Because they realized they f*cked up by firing him? WWE shouldn’t be rewarded for firing Matt and listening to the fans when they chant “We Want Matt.” They teased us all a few weeks ago when during the Lita/Edge wedding Matt’s music hit and we all marked out. Matt is going to reward them for doing this by re-signing?
When is Matt going to snap? Let’s face it, they guy doesn’t have it together right now. He’s shooting blown up pictures of Lita with a gun and then running the picture over with a car. When is he going to snap on Lita when she shoots him some looks backstage? When is he going to snap on live TV when Edge and Lita have one of their make out sessions? When is he going to snap on Vince when Vince tells him to “calm down, it’s just a storyline”?
Why go through all this right now? He has a hott new girlfriend who looks twice as good as Lita, he’s stopped bitching about the storyline, and he has a reality show coming out. So being the TNA writer, I urge Matt to go to TNA. You know TNA will elevate him to main event because they’ve down that with all former WCW and WWE talent. Think of the matches he could have with the likes of AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels. Matt Hardy fits right in to the X Division.
Finally, Matt needs to help Jeff. He missed the Hard Justice PPV and then was suspended. Jeff is going downhill all over again. He needs Matt in TNA to help him get his life on track. Plus Matt and Jeff could reform the Hardy Boyz and relive the best moments of their career.
Matt go to TNA, we want you too.
TNA vs. WWE
So he we go, Lambert vs. Campbell. Since this is our first time debating we decided to start off with the current champions in the two companies. I edited nothing from the original chat. So if we f*cked up…we f*cked up.
Lambert – AMPLine4Life
Campbell – GoldenAce 007
GoldenAce 007: okay…World Titles
GoldenAce 007: you’ve got Raven
GoldenAce 007: I’ve got Batista & Cena
AMPLine4Life: Ya, aka you got 2 guys who have 5 moves between them
GoldenAce 007: oh come on…Raven’s not exactly known for his moveset
AMPLine4Life: but Raven is known for innovating and using whats around him
GoldenAce 007: that’s certainly true
AMPLine4Life: anytime you see somebody drop toe hold their opponent on a chair, you think of Raven
GoldenAce 007: or Sabu
GoldenAce 007: ;-)
AMPLine4Life: Nah, anytime you see somebody blow a spot
AMPLine4Life: you think of Sabu
GoldenAce 007: TNA is finally giving a great veteran the recognition he deserves, so props to them
GoldenAce 007: haha…true
GoldenAce 007: WWE is trying to build up two newer guys…at the same time….a risky move
GoldenAce 007: but I think it’s paying off
AMPLine4Life: that whoe building period wont last long if you ask me
AMPLine4Life: Batista is now off Raw which means Cena is left for HHH to destroy at SummerSlam
GoldenAce 007: that is a definite possibility
GoldenAce 007: (probability) :-D
AMPLine4Life: Raven will most likely defeat Abyss at No Surrender and hold the title for another month
GoldenAce 007: yes
GoldenAce 007: as well he should
AMPLine4Life: Batista going to smackdown unsures he will have the title for a few more months
AMPLine4Life: unless the WWE plans to bore us with another year long run with JBL as champ
GoldenAce 007: I doubt it…at least right now
GoldenAce 007: but you have to admit….with JBL, WWE took him and made him a superstar
GoldenAce 007: no matter how much I hate him
GoldenAce 007: the man is gold on the mic, and absolutely OWNS his character
AMPLine4Life: I do admit, JBL is awesome to watch on the mixc
GoldenAce 007: but damn does he suck in the ring
GoldenAce 007: ditto for Cena
GoldenAce 007: Batista has improved by leaps and bounds since he first joined Evolution
AMPLine4Life: But Batista just seems to be another generic power man to me
AMPLine4Life: “Clothesline” “Spine Buster” “Powerbomb”
AMPLine4Life: mixed in with the basics
GoldenAce 007: yeah…his moves are very pedestrian
GoldenAce 007: but he does them with an intensity that connects with the audience
AMPLine4Life: Cena is just as bad. 5 Knuckle Shuffle?
GoldenAce 007: yeah…gotta love a move named after a masturbation euphemism :-D
AMPLine4Life: I agree, Batistas spine buster looks like it kills
GoldenAce 007: absolutely
AMPLine4Life: lol
GoldenAce 007: now, Raven is still one of the best storytellers in the ring
GoldenAce 007: and I’m glad he got the title
GoldenAce 007: but
AMPLine4Life: he tells a decent story on the mic too
GoldenAce 007: yeah, he’s fabulous on the mic
GoldenAce 007: but the build was non-existant
AMPLine4Life: Maybe TNA was going for the shock factor?
GoldenAce 007: yeah…there is that
GoldenAce 007: but to have someone not even advertised win the title?
AMPLine4Life: The pre-show was free
GoldenAce 007: that just reminds me of Yokozuna beating Bret Hart, and then Hogan beating Yoko in 30 seconds
AMPLine4Life: when did that happen?
GoldenAce 007: umm….I could Google it, but my computer is really slow….but I wanna say it was Wrestlemania 95 or something
AMPLine4Life: (it was WrestleMania 9)
GoldenAce 007: ah
AMPLine4Life: i was gonna make a joke and say “oh yeah, i was trying to erase that event from my mind”
GoldenAce 007: it was very upsetting
GoldenAce 007: but regardless
AMPLine4Life: well its not like they could promote Raven in the main event anyway
GoldenAce 007: the build to Cena’s win was great, since A) Cena was so over, B) JBL was so hated, and C) JBL held the title for so freakin long
AMPLine4Life: He quit the Impact after Hard Justice and then Impact died
GoldenAce 007: yeah….replaced by championship darts
GoldenAce 007: :-)
AMPLine4Life: Ya the build for that match was great, too bad the match lasted 8 minutes and the ending was heatless
GoldenAce 007: true
AMPLine4Life: although the I Quit rematch was gold
GoldenAce 007: yes
GoldenAce 007: much better than two craptastic wrestlers had any right to do
GoldenAce 007: now, Batista’s build was also excellent…..
AMPLine4Life: well anyone can hit a person with a chair and other assorted weapons
GoldenAce 007: you mean like Raven’s drop toehold into the chair?
GoldenAce 007: ;-)
GoldenAce 007: hehe
AMPLine4Life: ya ya
GoldenAce 007: anyway, Batista had his split from Evolution, the Rumble win, and Triple H’s eternal title reign
GoldenAce 007: and he now has the added bonus of being put over 3 times by HHH
GoldenAce 007: capped by a smokin Hell in a Cell, no less
AMPLine4Life: ya, how did Stephanie get HHH to agree to put Batista over 3 times?
GoldenAce 007: maybe she let him put it in her ass?
AMPLine4Life: or maybe she didnt fake it
GoldenAce 007: hahaha
GoldenAce 007: hoo boy
GoldenAce 007: I think we may be getting off track
GoldenAce 007: :-D
AMPLine4Life: haha, id say
GoldenAce 007: anything you want to say in summary of the World Champs?
AMPLine4Life: but lets wrap up the world titles. Cena and Batista have been better built
GoldenAce 007: Raven is a better quality wrestler
GoldenAce 007: with more experience
AMPLine4Life: and the better champion
GoldenAce 007: I think it’s too early in his reign to go that far
GoldenAce 007: but he is much better in the ring for sure
Now to read us debating the other 2 topics (Seoncdary Titles and Tag Team Titles) you must read Campbells column, so go, do that now.
The E-Mail Bag
Hey,
Good column.
I am a huge fan of TNA myself and only want it to do good things. I think if they get a decent time slot and market themselves correctly (thats the real question) then they could be able to compete with the “E” and provide a much needed alternative. However, the late night slot might not be that bad. I live in New Jersey, and when ECW came out, their show was on at Sat. Nights @ 2:00 AM (!!) on ESPN. The late night slot just added to the allure and the mystique that the federation had gained through word of mouth at that point. So all things considered I dont think its that bad. I also hope that if they do get the Sat. Night timeslot that its directly again Velocity. It may be a WWE B-show, but if TNA can get any thorns in McMahons side, its a definate start. In the end, however, they SHOULD NOT go up against Raw or Smackdwon directly. They are in no capacity, finacially or otherwise, prepared to compete against Vince, like that. Vince currently is sitting back and watching TNA do it’s little thing and slowing picking away talent. Leaving it alone to see, what exactly it can do. Yet, they make a direct attempt at Vince, he’ll pull no punches and they little company that could will be no more. I think one day in the future they might be able to go up against Raw or Smackdown. Yet they need to fight smart, pick their battles, and win small victories.
I.E. if they get on spike TV, go directly up against a WWE PPV, on SPike, and give either a 3- hr show away for free to introduce the fans to the product and promote the Sat. Night timeslot or give away a Best Of show to catch fans up on the history of the Federation and show some of the really good matches, in their entirety, for free. Like clash of the Champions and WM IV.
Anyway, sorry about that rant…
-ED
At this point, any time slot for TNA couldn’t be horrible. At least that way they will get their product on TV in hopes of gaining more viewer ship and bettering their timeslot. Plus, the people that cover TNA like me will stay up and watch it or at least tape it. Rant anytime, thanks for the e-mail.
The C-Cup
Got some replies this week. Here’s a list.
– The debut of Samoa Joe- I had only heard about him before hand and was greatly impressed. I also see a ton of feuds with him in the making if hes stays around and they let him get over.
– The return of Jimmy Hart – Ive always liked Jimmy Hart, eventhough when I was kid he annoyed me to all high heaven, but that was his job and looking back that made me like him even more.
– X- Division – 3 -way – How good is Daniels? Just amazes me every time. Im starting to become more of a Fallen Angel mark than an AJ mark and AJ is the man. And I’m absolutely dying for a Raven/Daniels feud, just thinking about the promos and the innovation that will occur, leaves me speechless.
-The tag title Match – The longest heat segment that Ive seen in a long long time. This is something I absolutley agree with you on. The tag division is one of the reasons to watch TNA and WWE “Tag Teams” cant even touch it. The division isnt perfect yet, but with some work it can be.
– AJ’s spiral tap through the table. Nuff Said.
-Raven wins the strap – I agree hot shotting the belt off AJ was premature, but Raven’s character needs the strap . His entire existance will be comprised of keeping the gold, and if TNA is smart they will have him going to great lengths to keep it. Forming a new flock, injuring everybody, etc. Raven winning this was a HUGE mark out moment for me.
-when Samoa Joe hit the muscle buster i was quite thrilled to see that.
and the winner…..
*My favourite Slammiversary moment was definatly when Mike Tenay was confused as to why Sean Waltman was trying to hang up the ladder…it happened like a minute before when he got the pinfall on AJ..was he not paying any attention!?
-Chris Kovatsh
I agree, Tenay (who I like, unlike Don West) f*cked up when he couldn’t remember that Waltman pinned AJ after the X-Factor off the ladder. That match is too over the top rule wise if you ask me.
This weeks C-Cup is:
*Impact Download: What could TNA do to improve Impact online?
Plugs Around The Pulse
Pokemon Triple Threat The guys at the games look at the franchise that started with 100 and hasn’t ended.
Ultimate Summer Mixes The music guys make their ultimate mix tapes.
In Perspective Bambi reviews Raw and Vengeance
Ren & Stimpy Season 3 ½ish Review Robert Sutton reviews the wacky comedy
Marvel news and Views Mike Maillaro includes a Jessica Alba pic
On The offense Patrick Nguyen recaps the NBA draft and more
Best of ECW/WCW WE’RE TAKEN OVERRRRRRRRRRR
War of the Worlds Review Scott Sawitz reviews the film with the best actor/actress in the worl….Dakota Fanning.
The End
That’s it for this week. Happy 4th of July weekend everyone. Drop me a line at AMPLine4Life@aol.com and just me next time At Ringside.
