TNA At Ringside: It’s Not WCW….Yet

Columns

Welcome back to ringside everyone. Before I begin I would like to congratulate my hometown Carolina Hurricanes on a memorable Stanley Cup win. I was at Game 7 and let me tell you, it was f*cking crazy. Here’s to a good off-season and next season. In other hockey news, The Avs resigned Joe Sakic which makes me very happy. Now to the wrestling:

News & Shit

*Midnight TNA Rating: 0.8

Yeah, this is what happens when you push the show back to midnight. Oh well, I got two Ultimate Fighter episodes out of it, so I was happy. How about that flying knee from Bisping?

*From TNAWrestlingNews.Com: On July 22nd Bill Goldberg will be announcing for the WFA MMA PPV show. Today he did a promotional interview in which he made a lot of references to TNA. Below are some of the major highlights.

Goldberg said that as of right now he has no plans to join the TNA roster. He said they would have to work him out a deal similar to Sting and it would take some major negotiating.

Bill confirmed that String spoke with him on coming out of retirement.

He said that TNA doesn’t have a large enough budget to become a large wrestling promotion. He commented on the bad time slot of iMPACT!, the production of the show, and said they need help with there talent.

When he was asked about Samoa Joe, he said he would “break his neck”.

That’s the difference between Goldberg and Sting. Sting is worth the money because he has never been to WWE and he’s willing to put over the younger guys. Goldberg isn’t worth the money because he’s a douche.

Once again, TNAWrestlingNews f*cks up on a wrestlers name.

So if Goldberg has all these negative things to say about TNA, why doesn’t he come to TNA and try and help them out? He won’t do that because he knows that if he goes to TNA and nothing improves, the blame will be put on him (of course, he’ll deny that). If Goldberg came to TNA, wouldn’t the timeslot and talent increase (in his mind)? Of course it would, but if it didn’t, it wouldn’t be his fault.

Finally, this is why Goldberg coming to TNA wouldn’t work. It’s clear that he won’t put over Joe. If he’s not going to put over Joe and the rest of the company, why bring him in? As for Goldberg breaking Joe’s neck, doesn’t he know that Joe’s Gonna Kill Him?

*Mr. X goes to WWE

Mr. X is of course Chris Sabin with lifts in his boots.

*Low Ki is a backstage bitch

No shit. TNA didn’t hire Low Ki because he had a good track record of backstage attitude. They hired him because he’s a skinny version of Samoa Joe. It’s already clear that TNA doesn’t give a damn about how he acts backstage as long as he goes out there and kicks the shit out of people. Why else would they put the X Division title on him?

Slammiversary Recap

*Team 3-D over The James Gang: It was a fun way to start the PPV but there was no way this hardcore tag match was going to top the hardcore tag match from ONS2. I didn’t expect them to pull out everything they did in this match but the James Gang showed they weren’t a bunch of pussies and took some abuse, especially Kip. This hopefully signifies the end of the feud and the start of the James Gang putting over The Naturals and Team 3-D doing a bunch of nothing. How am I kidding? Team 3-D will do what they do best and that’s continue to stay bitter at WWE. If you saw the pre-show then you saw Team 3-D promise 3 things. I don’t remember or care what numbers 1 or 2 was but number 3 was no zombies. Once again, Team 3-D feels the need to take a shot at WWE and the New ECW. We get it, you douches don’t like the New ECW. Thanks for sharing, now entertain me and tell me what you’re going to do in TNA. Tell me that you’re going to win the Tag Titles. Tell me that you’re going to beat the hell out of AMW. Tell me that you’re getting the tables. Tell me anything about the now and tell me anything about TNA, I don’t give a f*ck that you don’t like the New ECW. If I want to here about the New ECW and how much it sucks, I’ll read one of the columns here at IP because it’s their job to write about the New ECW. Team 3-D, it’s your job to help get TNA over, not stay bitter at WWE or shoot on the New ECW because it’s not the Old ECW. If you want the Old ECW, get a time machine, go back to 1996 or whatever, and make sure that the checks don’t bounce. Until then, give the New ECW more than a week or two before you start judging it. Hell, until then, get a new act you stale f*cks.

I’m just waiting for The James Gang to shoot on D-X because they’re not in it, but maybe Kip and BG are grown up enough to realize that they’re not in that company anymore and whatever they do in that company is none of their damn business as long as their on the air for another company. If they want to shoot off the record or in some taped interview, go right ahead. Don’t waste my f*cking time shooting on WWE when you’re supposed to help get TNA over. Is it necessary sometimes? Sure. Christian Cage is the perfect example. He needed to tell everyone why he left WWE and joined TNA and in that process, he took a few shots at WWE. Has he done it since that interview? Not that I can recall. Christian said what he needed to say and now he’s trying to help TNA grow. That’s what everyone who jumps ship should do. Give a little shoot on WWE because they were wronged and then help TNA with no more mention of WWE. If you can’t do that, sit down with some guy who conducts shoot interviews, tape a DVD, and bitch your heart out.

Sadly, this stupid shit isn’t ending and it’s only going to get worse. Abyss gets the royal treatment of being involved in this feud and I wouldn’t be shocked if he becomes the job boy of Brother Runt and if that’s the case, f*ck TNA.

*Rhino over Bobby Roode & Scott D’Amore: Of course with Rhino signing the new contract, you knew he was going over in this match and of course you can’t burry Bobby Roode just because Rhino didn’t want to face a zombie every week. There’s not match to say about this match. It was hardly watch able and thank God it was kept short. So where do these guys go from now? Not very far. Honestly, where can they go from here? Roode could move into a feud with Killings because God knows we haven’t seen that before. Rhino however could move into the much anticipated feud with Monty Brown. Other than that, I have no clue where these guys are going and I highly doubt TNA knows where they’re going either.

*Low Ki defeats Shark Boy, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal, Petey Williams, & Alex Shelley: If you didn’t see this coming, stop watching. We all knew that TNA was grooming Low Ki to win the X Division title so we all knew that Low Ki was going to win this match. Aside from the ending, this match was your typical TNA X Division match, which is never a bad thing but it does get repetitive. As for the ending, kudos to Sonjay Dutt for being man enough to take a double stomp the way he did. Damned if I would ever take a move like that. I guess that’s what separates me from Sonjay Dutt. That and a list of other things, but we won’t get into that. So does this mean a feud between Sonjay Dutt and Low Ki? Sure, why the hell not? The matches won’t be bad, the promos won’t be great but the X Division was never really about the promos. I would have beef with a Low Ki vs. Sonjay Dutt feud, there’s better options but there’s also a lot worse options. Alex Shelley, he’s still bringing the funny with Nash and until that’s over, I don’t see him in the hunt for the X Division title. Petey and Sabin seem to be at each others throats for the 100th time except with a tag team twist, which means we are supposed to care this time. I wish they would move Petey and Sabin away from each other for more than 3 months. They would be so much better served putting over the other X Division guys instead of battling each other. We know these guys can cut it against each other in the ring, we’ve seen it plenty of time but show me something different. Why not Petey vs. Lethal and Sabin vs. Shelley? Both are fresh and bring something to the table. Lethal becomes more established because he defeats a former X Division Champion while Shelley gets the same treatment. Try getting feuds going in the X Division instead of throwing a bunch of workers in a match and calling it a “rankings match” like I’m supposed to give a damn. Cut back on the Monty Brown squashes and build up more feuds.

*Kevin Nash over Chris Sabin: So is the X Division dead and buried? Not yet, but this was a good start. No, Kevin Nash didn’t dominate the match and no, Kevin Nash didn’t win the match without help from Alex Shelley but he did win the match. This whole angle was to put over the X Division and put over Kevin Nash. Well, the person getting over from this angle, in terms of the X Division, is Alex Shelley. That’s fine, I have no problem with Alex Shelley getting over but he doesn’t need to get over at the expense of the rest of the X Division. Alex Shelley is good enough on the mic and good enough in the ring to get himself over as the major heel in the X Division. He doesn’t need Kevin Nash. Although I will say that these skits with Shelley and Nash have been golden since day one.

So where do they go from here? There’s three options in my mind:

1. Kevin Nash feels so cocky that he issues a challenge to anyone in the X Division. The man to step up? Samoa Joe.

2. Nash and Shelley feel they’re the greatest team ever so they challenge Styles & Daniels.

3. Nash wants a shot at the X Division title since it’s about no weight and no limit. Low Ki agrees.

I would personally go with the 3rd option just because Styles, Daniels, and Joe don’t need the rub from Nash. TNA really needs to make amends for this match and makes amends to the X Division.

*AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels over America’s Most Wanted: Well it took them one show too many but TNA wised up and put the belts on Styles & Daniels. I don’t care that they needed Big Bitch to take out Gail Kim, hell, I wouldn’t have cared if TNA hired Chyna to take out Gail Kim as long as it meant putting the belts on Styles & Daniels. It’s not even that Styles & Daniels need the belts, because they don’t but what in the hell has AMW done with the belts since winning them from the Naturals? They’ve played 2nd fiddle to Jarrett as part of his faction. Hell, I don’t even care that they’re continuing this feud. Why? Because so far it’s produced two good matches and everyone is working hard. As long as they continue to deliver in the ring, pair them up for the rest of the year with added twists, I don’t give a damn because no matter how repetitive this feud gets, it’s still 100 times better than the tag division in WWE (Fuck, I can’t even name the Tag Champs on Raw or SD).

*Jim Cornette Debuts: If he has as much power as he claims he has, TNA will get a lot better. If he’s just the new on screen authority figure, TNA will get better.

*Samoa Joe over Scott Steiner: So another hyped as hell Samoa Joe match fails to deliver. Honestly, a powerslam? How weak does Scott Steiner look jobbing out to a powerslam? Samoa Joe hits that move in every PPV match and in every PPV match, his opponent kicks out. Now you can argue that Steiner was worn out from the Coquina Clutch but I call bullshit on you because Steiner no sold the clutch. Here’s an idea TNA, if you’re going to holy hype a Samoa Joe match, make sure it lives up to it. You know what my two favorite Samoa Joe matches are? Joe/Styles/Daniels 1 (Unbreakable) and Joe/Styles 2 (Turning Point). How much hype did those two matches get? The match at Unbreakable got little hype because at the time, TNA was online, and nobody gave a damn about the company. The match at Turning Point got little hype because the hype centered around “The New Face of TNA” and Christian Cage’s first TNA match. Those two matches got little hype yet they are probably the two best Samoa Joe matches in TNA. Now what matches got a lot of hype? Joe/Liger, Ultimate X, Joe/Sabu, and Joe/Steiner. What happened with those matches? They were over quicker than Kane’s World Title run. Now I will grant you that Joe couldn’t control those circumstances but that’s not my problem. TNA could have taken time away from another match at BFG, not Joe/Liger. Joe could have taken himself out of Ultimate X, not call for the end. If you know Sabu is too beat the f*ck up to work a match, don’t book him. Joe didn’t have to work the night before Slammiversary, but he chose to do so. Don’t hype it if you can’t deliver TNA. When Joe/Sting does take place, they better make damn sure that both men are fully ready to go and they are given enough time to tell a story and have a hot ending.

*Jeff Jarrett over Christian Cage, Sting, Ron Killings, & Abyss: Did you see the end of this match? That ending alone is the sole reason why Jarrett could never pull off a face turn in Orlando. He won the belt, the fans threw trash in the ring like it was the biggest bullshit in wrestling history. Did I not tell you that Jarrett was going to win the King of the Mountain match? I knew he would win long before Borash f*cked up and talked about the new champion. Shit, if you didn’t know Jarrett was going to win, stop watching. Abyss and Killings were pons before the match started and they were pons once the match started. As Jarrett mentioned, Sting and Christian canceled each other out and Jarrett was the man to win the World Title. What made this title win worse was the fact that TNA felt the need to turn everyone in favor of Jarrett. King of the Mountain is already an over booked match, I never thought that TNA could take this complicated, over booked match and over book it even more. Congratulations TNA, you’ve outdone yourself once again.

So where does all this lead? Well if you’ve read the spoilers then you’ll know that it leads to Joe vs. Sting vs. Christian vs. Steiner at the PPV with the winner facing Jarrett that same night. But I’m not going to speak on that match at the moment.

Overall, Slammiversary wasn’t a horrible PPV but it wasn’t the greatest either. I would say it was just an average PPV, which isn’t good news for TNA.

The Raw After Vengeance

So since I’m just a wrestling fan in general, I’ll be attending Raw on June 26th. The seats I have are in camera view and they are honestly the best seats I’ve ever had for any wrestling event. So if you care to try and find me, look for the following signs:

*Where’s Christian?

*Carolina Hurricanes: 2006 Stanley Cup Champions

*That’s Another Ric Flair Chop Wooooooo!

*Extremely Cena Wrestling

The E-Mail Bag

Just wanted to combat your point about Benoit’s title reign. You claim he never went on last, so lets look at his PPV records.

Backlash: Made HBK tap, after making HHH tap at Mania. Hardly sounds like the third wheel, and both of those matches went on last.

Bad Blood: His next PPV, where he made Kane tap out. Main Event was HHH/HBK HITC, which had to go on last `or it would have killed the crowd.

Vengeance: Defeats HHH despite interference from Eugene and Evolution, Main Event.

vs. HHH, IRONMAN, Raw: Defeats HHH with help of Eugene to combat Evolution, Main Event.

Summerslam: Loses to Orton, Main Event.

So out of five PPV’s, including Mania, he mained four of them. Not exactly your count of one, huh?

-Jake

At Mania, he wasn’t the Champion so I didn’t count that match is his title reign, understandable right? At Backlash, he was the third wheel. I know he won the match but that’s only because he had to win the match. That match at Backlash was nothing more than a way to continue the HHH/HBK feud. Who moved on to feud after that match? HBK and HHH. Not Benoit and HHH and not Benoit and HBK. He was the third wheel in that match and since he just won the belt, they couldn’t take it off of him.

HBK/HHH went on last, not Benoit. Benoit was stuck is a crappy feud with Kane.

Wow, I forget about his feud with HHH. They really main evented Vengeance? Had me fooled. Kudos for doing some research.

The one I counted was his match against Orton, where he lost. Then of course, Orton lost the next month to HHH.

In conclusion, Christian’s reign can’t be compared to Benoit’s because, above all else, Christian can carry a feud.

dear sir need sting win the match sunday night Ido not like jeffjarrett at all sting and bill goldgber is one of the wrestler that you have. thank you bigmikegill57@yahoo.com

You see some of the shit I get in my email box? The first email was a good email from a guy who did research. This email is from douche who has no life and probably knows nothing about TNA. Please go kill yourself because nobody likes you. Thanks.

The End

No plugs or YouTube this week as I just got lazy, sue me. Drop me a line at AMPLine4Life@aol.com and join me next time At Ringside.