Welcome back to ringside folks. Before I begin, I’ll let you know that Cam Ward is the f*cking man. Now we begin:
News & Shit
*Thursday Night Impact Rating: 1.1
Ok, TUF is over, move TNA into the 9 PM slot and make everyone happy. Thanks.
*Roderick Strong has been released
I can’t say I’m shocked, but I am upset. I felt that Strong had great potential to be a star in the X Division by himself or in the tag division along with Aries. Instead he put a PPV match at risk, got suspended, brought back for one show to job, and now he’s been released. Is it that big of a deal for TNA to lose Strong? Of course not, they’ve been without him for months now and have done just fine. It just sucks for me to see a guy I enjoy wrestling get released and go back to ROH, where I have limited exposure to him. I hope TNA is smart enough to bring back Aries, give him back his old look, and start pushing him in the X Division.
*Diamonds In The Rough are no longer needed
When were they needed? They were nothing more than a jobber tag team and I don’t think they would have ever become bigger than that. I personally think TNA should release Young, keep Diamond in his road agent role, and add Skipper to LAX. We know that Skipper has talent and his place in TNA is forever solidified after Turning Point 04. So why not pair him up with Homicide and add another solid team to the tag division?
Eric Young Rules
So Impact started off with Christian Cage and Sting in a short promo. I wish TNA could get out of Orlando so they could turn Christian heel. His promos aren’t what they should be and I think Sting outshined him in the short time they were given. They of course announced a huge main event for next weeks Impact and until I see the match happen, I’m calling a bait and switch. For some reason or another, I can’t see TNA giving up this match on free TV. Not that it deserves to be on a PPV but TNA has put a lot into this feud and blow it on TV would just be stupid on their part. Fans want to see Jarrett get his ass kicked, if he gets his ass kicked on TV, why should I buy the PPV?
The tag team match was decent but nothing extra special. Of course, the antics of Eric Young and the new look for Johnny Devine make that entire match worth it. It honestly does suck that TNA doesn’t have enough TV time to support a mid card title because Eric Young deserves something for what he brings to my television. He gets no real push at all yet he’s the most entertaining character in the company. We can always count on Eric Young to deliver the goods on Thursday, no matter what the situation. As for Devine, I like this new role for him. It gets him away from the over crowded Team Canada (which really isn’t a problem now) and it gets him into a new situation. He’ll be nothing more than a lackey for Shelley and I think that’s a good role for Devine. He’s a solid worker and in the company of Shelley and Nash, he will hopefully improve his mic skills.
Speaking of Nash and his whole storyline with the X Division, where is TNA going with it? We saw Shelley distract Lethal and Sabin, allowing Team Canada to win but there was no sign of Nash (who reportedly wasn’t even at the taping). So what happens next? Does Chris Sabin get a rematch where Alex Shelley is banned from ringside or something or does another X Division worker get the shot at Nash because Nash feels Sabin doesn’t deserve another shot? I personally think that unless TNA is going to give the clean win to a lesser-known X Division worker (namely Jay Lethal) than why not give Chris Sabin another shot? Styles, Daniels, and Joe don’t need the rub from Nash we all know that. I don’t feel Low Ki needs the rub either although he could be the easiest guy to give it to. So that pretty much leaves Sabin, Lethal, and Dutt as your X Division faces. Dutt has been doing nothing but losing as of late so I don’t buy him as beating Nash, Lethal would be the best guy to give the rub to if they’re serious about pushing him to the next level in the X Division, and Sabin is a guy who doesn’t really need the rub but after losing once to Nash, it would be nice to see him get his heat back.
I of course am a big fan of any type of push for the Naturals. I think it sucks that they constantly need a mentor to receive a push but whatever. These video packages are a good way to give the audience a taste of what they’re going through and how it will make them tougher in the long run. I really hope they put the tag belts back on the Naturals once this training is over, as they deserve it.
When did Monty Brown squashes come back in fashion? I thought TNA was down with squash matches, I guess we were wrong. I don’t really have a problem with squash matches when you’re trying to get a new monster heel over but Monty Brown is already over and he’s not even the top monster heel in TNA. They should have allowed Christian and Sting more time on the mic instead of allowing Brown squash a guy who many thought was fired from the company.
Again with this whole Team 3-D/AMW feud. Is it over or is it just beginning? TNA has teased this feud time and time again but has never full fledged pulled the trigger on it and at this point, I don’t know how much heat this feud is going to gain. I think given enough time, the matches could be solid but we’ve already seen them in enough pointless matches. I wouldn’t mind a feud between the two teams but if TNA is going to give me the feud, give it to me now. I don’t have the patience to sit and wait for Team 3-D/James Gang and AMW/Styles & Daniels to finish up when both of those feuds are heading into their 3rd straight PPV match. As for the match we saw on Impact, it was a good brawl but that’s about it.
As I mentioned, for the 3rd time in a row, Team 3-D and The James Gang will continue their feud. I’ve mentioned it time and time again but these four seem like they’re having fun with the build up so I’m all for them continuing the feud because neither team has anything else to do. But now they drag Abyss into the feud, something I’m not really into. I of course feel that Abyss should be the NWA World Champion but I’ve pretty much coped with the fact that that’s not going to happen anytime soon. My problem with this is that Abyss and Mitchell are too serious to be in this feud. This entire feud has been based on jokes, Abyss isn’t really the life of the party. I would have preferred if they had Monty Brown be the 3rd man for the James Gang and if Abyss moved into a nice feud with Killings or became the hired gun for Zybsko in his feud with Raven.
Cornette is the man on the mic, that’s all I need to say about that. Now, onto the points he made:
*With LAX, either let Homicide play a heel in the X Division or pair him with Skipper. I don’t care what you do with him as long as he wrestles and shows off the ability that I saw in ROH. As for Konnan and Hernanadez, release them for all I care.
*So now what with the members of Team Canada? Logic tells you that Roode and Young continue to team, Petey stays in the X Division, and A1 is released. As for D’Amore, I honestly feel they should move him to the booth in order to take time away from West and add a heel figure to the team.
*I’m not a fan of putting the tag titles on the line in a 6 person tag match, sorry, just something I never find to be cool or whatever. I am however a fan of Styles & Daniels and AMW pairing up once again to produce what should be another solid match. It’s not like Gail Kim is horrible in the ring and the Amazon Woman looks like she can hold her own.
*When Hebner was fired, the reaction from Eric Young was priceless.
*Zybsko vs. Raven will be a crap match so the pay off better be good.
*Jarrett gets the World Title for the 53rd time, hooray. There’s only one thing TNA could do at Victory Road that would be the wrong thing and I think we all know what that is.
Monday At Raw
So as I reported last week, I went to Raw this past Monday and saw one of the best promos/skits in recent memory. I was actually upset that Cena lost in the Main Event. Not because I want to see another Cena title reign but because I wanted to see the rare occasion when a World Title changes hands on TV and not on PPV.
If you care enough to go back and re-watch the show (or you just remember) you can find me when they cut away during the Torrie Wilson segment and when Cena enters the ring you will see a white and orange poster board side by side, that is me and my friend. The signs said “Extremely Cena Wrestling” and “If Cena Loses We Riot”.
The E-Mail Bag
Woooo, hate mail:
I do not get the WCW to TNA comparison. I hate it when you guys at insidepulse
always attack TNA and try to turn it into wcw.
TNA has a REAL boss. WCW never had a real boss.
Where are the old overpaid wrestlers like Hulk Hogan who was overpaid for bad
matches?
Even the old guys in TNA are working hard and are not slacking off like they did
in WCW.
TNA production is much better, programming is much better than WCW could’ve have
ever done.
So…you are wrong. Stop with the TNA is WCW comparison. It’s stupid and there
are no facts to back that up. As ususal Insidepulse with their anti-TNA
wrestling propaganda.
-Larry
I honestly, aside from the title (which was sarcasm), don’t see how I compared TNA to WCW. Not once in my column last week did I mention WCW. So you’re basing this entire e-mail off my sarcastic title, good job. TNA is not like WCW and I would not make that comparison at the moment. Now if TNA does a lot of things wrong (so many things that I wont mention), then I’ll compare the two.
I’ve been waiting along time to say this to you dude, SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT TNA! Every time I read your dumbass column, all you do is talk about shit about TNA. Stop thinking about the negatives in TNA. Here’s a suggestion, if you want to write a column about TNA, talk about the positives about it, NOT THE FUCKING NEGATIVIES! If you keep talking shit about TNA, then dont watch it and go write a column about the WWE BULLSHIT. SHUT THE FUCK ABOUT TNA ALREADY, YOU DOUCH!
-Pat
Why did you wait so long? Better yet, if you don’t like the column, why do you continue to read it? You want to read a bunch of negative stuff about TNA? Go read Neeley because it’s hard to find some positive in his recaps (not that there’s a damn thing wrong with that). Also, you clearly don’t read the other columnists here at IP because there are far more negative opinions on TNA then I present in my column. Even Steve stopped recapping TNA (after giving it little time) because he felt they were shooting themselves in the foot (his words, not mine). So here’s an idea for you: Stop thinking about the negatives of the column and think of the positives. Also, if you’re going to insult me with the word Douche (a word I used last week, which shows your originality) please have the good sense to spell the word correctly, Karen (who’s always a douche bag (I love you if you get that joke)).
C’mon, making fun of the guy who e-mailed you and can’t type proper English is like kicking a handicapped baby when he’s down, no?
Otherwise, fine column.
-Brad
You mean this guy…
dear patty theree Ihope sting win the belt .thank you
-James
It’s funny because this guy for the 2nd straight week e-mailed me some bullshit with the subject “[TNA] Updates From TNAWrestling.Com”. Come on, be original buddy.
Plugs
Eric returns and doesn’t screen cap me.
Steve reveals his love for Trinity and NOT Kelly. I’m personally a Mickie James fan myself.
Bambi went to Raw as well. Shit, if I knew she was going I would have met up with her but too late now.
Blatt gets his order screwed up.
GRUT writes the best play I’ve ever read or seen (which may or may not tell you something).
YouTube Match Of The Week
Roderick Strong gets the nod this week as this is possible his best match ever in TNA:
Match: Roderick Strong vs. Austin Aries
Event: TNA Unbreakable 2005
Rating: ***1/2
The End
Enjoy your 4th of July everyone. Drop me a line at AMPLine4Life@aol.com and join me next time At Ringside.
