TNA Impact – November 26, 2009

I was finally able to find this week’s edition of TNA Impact. I don’t know why TNA gets such a bad rap on the internet from people. I think TNA has the best show of all of them, better talent, better stories and better PPVs. This week’s TNA is to feature a tournament, I believe, I don’t check spoilers so it’s always a surprise to me, and I like it that way, makes the shows more enjoyable.

TNA opens with the recap of AJ and Daniels, Hogan, Team 3D, etc. Jesse Neal looks hilarious with the Mohawk; at first I thought Spike Dudley had Thanksgiving dinner early. Cue the opening theme and then Don West and Tazz. Ok, I’m in the minority but I miss Don West, he just had that special something for TNA, Tazz is ok, but West and Tenay were a good team. Tournament brackets are shown, and one match looks like a squash to me, Wolfe v. Suicide. The other 3 should be very good matches, hopefully Abyss, The Pope & Homicide win, then finals of Wolfe and Pope with Wolfe taking it, I’m probably wrong though, my prediction skills always suck.

1. Bobby Lashley v. Abyss. Interesting little info thing they show when the guy comes out, I don’t remember seeing that last week. Abyss has the coolest music, I still remember Jimmy Yang coming out to it. Fourteen years pro for Abyss, seriously, holy crap? Lashley starts out quick, Abyss with a vicious clothesline. Seems odd seeing two faces in the ring at the same time, but at least it’s not Scott Steiner! Abyss catching Lashley with a bear hug, one of the lamest looking moves in wrestling. I mean sure it hurts if you squeeze someone, but it just looks so gay, like they’re hugging each other! Lashley powers out, drop toe hold, was I the only one waiting for a 619? Lashley with a huge spine buster, which was impressive, clothesline over the top, Abyss pulls Bobby out, and Krystal takes an elbow from Abyss accidentally. Guess she shouldn’t have been out there, what’s the reason for her being there. Both men in the ring, Abyss distracted, hit with the big spear and Lashley with a dragon sleeper, Abyss taps. Damn, not the start I wanted. 2.5/5 a little too quick of a match, but at least we had no interference.

2. Backstage with Pirate Mick Foley and JB. Mick asking why Hulk was hired so secretly. Mick looks funny with the eye patch; all he needs is a pirate. JB trying to explain to Mick about all the radio shows Hulk was on. Mick says it stinks, and says Nash said Hulk is not coming alone. Please don’t let it be Scott “Last Call” Hall, that’s all they need. Foley says he’s going to talk to Kurt Angle.

3. Suicide v. Desmond Wolfe. OK, this gimmick needs to end, this is worse than Curry Man, just take the damn mask off Kaz. Desmond pushes Suicide down and stomps on the hand, then does it again. Crowd chants “You tapped out” at Wolfe, as he hits a belly to belly on the masked man. Suicide with a flip move to reverse the arm bar, Desmond gets back on the arm. I like the strategy, very reminiscent of the Andersons. Desmond nails Suicide in the corner and gets a two count. Desmond with a modified Cobra Clutch, then releases it, spins Suicide around, shoulder block and back to the Clutch. Mike and Tazz mention Homicide knows who Suicide is, then just reveal it. Suicide with springboard elbow, dropkick, rolling firemans carries and slingshot leg drop for a two count. Desmond powers Suicide down, sets him on the top rope, Suicide counters and hits a dropkick. Desmond sets Suicide on the top and hits a botched Tower of London. 2/5 the botched finish killed it. No replay shown, so obviously that was botched badly.

4. D’Angelo Dinero v. Kurt Angle. D’Angelo is such an amazing talent, what a mistake by WWE to get rid of him. Always cool the way Kurt comes up out of the floor. Can’t believe it’s been ten years since his debut at Survivor Series 99, seems like just yesterday. Angle starts with a headlock to shoulder block, D’Angelo with an arm drag to an arm bar. Another arm drag, who does he think he is Ricky Steamboat? D’Angelo with an arm bar, Kurt counters out, Dinero hits the flying shoulder block for a two count. Kurt catches Dinero with the belly to belly overhead, Dinero struggles up. Angle with the vertical Suplex for another two, Angle to a chin lock. Angle pounds down the Pope, Pope with an elbow and a series of clotheslines, Angle slides underneath and hits the triple German. Dinero counters the third though and hits one of his own and then the leg sweep clothesline, for a very close two count. Pope does his slide out of the ring to the crowd, and then sets Angle for the springboard elbow. That always looks so cool when he hits it. Sets him up for the DDD, Angle counters into an ankle lock, Dinero kicks out but hit with the Angle slam for the win. 4/5 Excellent match for a TV match, Angle offers the hand to Pope and helps him up. Classy move from Kurt Angle, very cool.

5. Kurt Angle backstage with Mick Foley. Kurt tells Mick the Mafia is no more, thankfully. Mick asks about Hulk coming in. Angle says to make the company better; Mick says what to take my job? Angle says I’m on board for this, and reminds Mick he better be on board. Angle brushes Mick off to get ready for his next round match.

6. Homicide v. Robert Roode. Two of my favorite guys in the company, hard to pick a winner here. Wow, 12 years pro for Roode, which is just surprising he’s been a pro longer then Angle! Homicide sneak attacks Roode before the bell. Homicide whips in Roode who comes back with the clothesline; Homicide rolls out of the ring and drags Roode out. Homicide gets the advantage and rolls Roode back in the ring. Homicide with a corner clothesline, Roode tosses hard to the other corner as Homicide poses. Homicide hits a series of knees to the back and locks in the Asiatic Spike, ala Ernie Ladd! Just as I type it, Tazz says it! Homicide with a jumping elbow to the face of Robert for a two count. Homicide goes for the Cutter; Roode reverses into tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Roode finally gets the advantage, hit with the knee though. Homicide can’t get Roode up for the Gringo Killer, but can’t do it, Roode tries for the fisherman Suplex, can’t hit it. Homicide runs in and hit with a spine buster for the surprise three count. 4/5 that was another great match, great work from two talented athletes. Homicide goes after the producer with a chair; Tenay and Tazz get in the middle. Homicide throwing a chair around as we go to commercial. We come back to a music video for some reason. Singer looks like former backstage announcer Goldilocks, is it? Sounds a lot like Hole, L7, Veruca Salt and all the other female grunge bands of the 80’s.

7. Knockout Battle Royal. You got to love the TNA Knockouts, so many beautiful and talented woman in TNA. Here comes my favorite Taylor Wilde along with Sarita. The two best looking women in TNA! Looks like ten knockouts in the battle royal; only one missing is Kong, as ODB is the referee for the match. Wonder why no Kong in the match for a number one contender. Zombie hot Daffney first one eliminated by Hamada only seconds in. Traci deposited on the apron by Alissa Flash, as the slug it out. Taylor and Sarita push Flash on the apron and double dropkick both ladies out. Commercial break, we come back and Lacey out during the break by Tara. Sarita out by the Beautiful People, Hamada and Taylor both go out together, damn. We’re down to Velvet, Madison and Tara. Gee, wonder who’s going to win now? Tara flips Madison to the apron and Velvet accidentally knocks Madison down to the ground. Tara catches Velvet in mid springboard with a big kick knocking Velvet out. Tara wins the battle royal and has her hand raised by ODB. There’s our Knockout match at the next PPV. 3.5/5 not a bad battle royal, typical for the woman as they don’t get a lot of time. Would’ve been better had Taylor won the match. Yeah, I’m not recapping the Hulk Hogan promo. Mick Foley backstage with Scott Steiner who’s yelling at a wardrobe person to make more Main Event Mafia clothes. Mick tells Scott that Kurt said the Mafia is dead, and then asks Scott about Hulk. Scott says name the smartest person you know, Mick is bleeped and Scott says times that by 10. Foley then asks Scott who Hulk is coming with and Scott doesn’t know. Mick continues his travels and finds Nash and Eric Young. Nash asks if he has the money he owes him, Mick says no and goes over his finances. Mick asks about Hulk again and Nash gives one name, Virgil! Nash says no, just kidding, it’s Disciple, just kidding again. Foley asks about Hall, and Nash says make sense. Mick says the company is going in the wrong direction. Nash says if Knobbs come in he quits, can’t blame him on that. Nash says as soon as he knows something he’ll tell Foley

8. Desmond Wolfe v. Lashley. Well this is a problem, which new guy is going to job to face Angle in the finals, it’s a given Roode is not beating Angle. Am I the only one who thinks Lashley is over rated and really doesn’t need to be there, Abyss got screwed? Lashley with a quick full nelson, ok, whatever there. Lashley has such a limited ability it’s pathetic to watch. Desmond goes to the arm and Lashley reverses. This is going to be a much slower match then Desmond’s first round match. Lashley with a wrist lock, not a wrist watch, Desmond gets Lashley to the ropes and hits an elbow to the face after Lashley breaks. Desmond with the Cobra Clutch move again, this is looking like a lame UFC match with all these submissions. Lashley reverses back to the wrist lock; Desmond reverses that and chokes Lashley in the corner. Desmond goes for the elbow in the corner, Lashley moves, and spear and stomach breaker from Bobby. Full nelson slam from Lashley, Lashley goes for a Suplex and Desmond snaps the arm. Desmond goes for the Tower of London, Lashley reverses to dragon sleeper, and Desmond has the ropes. Desmond snaps Lashley on the ropes and does the arm bar in the ropes. Desmond refuses to release the hold and Desmond get’s disqualified. 1/5 that was a crappy finish to a slow boring match, it was worse than a Viscera match! Lauren backstage with Lashley and Krystal, Krystal grabs the microphone sparing us listening to Lashley talk.

9. Robert Roode v. Kurt Angle. Well, unless Desmond screws Angle over we get Angle and Lashley in the finals. Either way I think Lashley is sadly going to win this tournament, not what I wanted to see. From the three guys left, I’d like to see Roode win, he’s been in TNA longest and deserves a couple big wins like this. Angle starts with a headlock followed by a shoulder block. Roode answers with a shoulder block of his own. Angle gets Roode in the corner and lays a couple shots on him; Roode gets a few shots back, but then gets caught with a boot to the face. Roode with a slam and splash for a near fall. Roode chops Angle in the corner and hits the “Curt Henning” jumping neck snap, which just makes me miss Mr. Perfect. Roode tossed out, Kurt follows and slams Roode’s head into the steps, both men in the ring now. Angle with a snap Suplex and locks in a reverse gut wrench. Angle with the overhead belly to belly and only gets two, surprisingly. Angle locks in the body scissors, as Roode escapes Angle to the headlock. Robert able to get out of, Roode catches Angle running into the corner and hits a blockbuster from the top rope. I love that move, both guys are down. Roode able to hit a flying forearm like Tito Santana for another close count. Angle slides into the ankle lock, Roode out and spine buster same way he beat Homicide earlier, but only a two count. Roode tries for the Suplex; Angle reverses to the German Suplex. Kurt Angle goes for the Angle slam, but Roode avoids hit, runs at Angle and hits the buckle, Angle Slam and Roode kicks out. Desmond comes out and Kurt takes off after Desmond, Angle not paying attention and gets counted out and Roode goes to finals to job to Lashley. 3.75/5 another great match tonight and glad to see Roode score the win, would’ve rather been a clean pin, but we’ll take what we get. Speaking of what we get, another freaking music video, what is TNA now sponsored by MTV? What a waste of time these videos are, could’ve given this time to the knockouts.

10. The champ is here, as AJ Styles is introduced to a huge ovation as always. Here’s a real world champion who deserves to be on top, as opposed to the WWE champions. AJ starts to talk and Daniels music hits. Daniels comes out and makes fun of AJ’s friendship with Sting. Daniels says he’s been a better friend to AJ then AJ was to him. He asks AJ where was his friend when he lost his job for 16 months, when he was playing Curry Man! AJ tries to explain and Daniels cuts him off. Daniels says he had to chance to win the title last month and AJ stabbed him in the back. Fans chant “Shut Up” at Daniels and he yells at the crowd saying you know he’s right. Daniels says he’s the better wrestler the AJ is and that’s why AJ was his friend, because he didn’t want him as an enemy. Daniels says the friendship was an anchor and now they are enemies and Daniels says AJ can tell his wife and kid’s Uncle Chris is sorry. AJ says his family will find out what Uncle Chris is all about and Daniels will find out what AJ is all about. This is going to be an easy match of the year, can’t wait to see it. Lauren backstage with Robert Roode and James Storm. Roode says he has respect for Lashley, but he’s going out there for not only himself but his partner as well. Roode tells Lashley to bring his best; because in a few minutes he’s going to find out it pays to be Roode!

11. Robert Roode v. Bobby Lashley. Well, I really don’t see Lashley jobbing to Roode here, so I’ll be really surprised if Robert can pull this off. Lashley uses his power to get Roode in the corner and we get a clean break. Lashley powers Roode down and goes for the dragon sleeper, Roode quickly to the ropes. Lashley hits a shoulder block and then looks confused, Lashley leapfrogs Roode and hits back elbow. Lashley drops an elbow and tries for the pin, but Roode kicks out. Roode tries to go over Lashley and gets caught, Roode slides out and hits Lashley with the arm breaker thing that Desmond did earlier. Commercial break and we come back to Lashley powering back to the advantage as Roode had the advantage during the commercial. Roode works the arm in the corner right in front of Krystal. Roode with a Fujiwara Arm Bar on Lashley, Lashley just barely able to get the ropes. Roode continues to pound on the big man, Roode makes the mistake of coming off the ropes as Lashley hits a full nelson slam. Lashley with a series of clotheslines and a one hand spine buster for a two count. Lashley puts Roode on the shoulder but Roode slides out and hits an arm breaker and almost scores the win. Lashley with a backdrop on Roode, Roode gets up and moves out of the way of the spear. Roode hits the fisherman Suplex and Lashley kicks out, damn. Roode to the second rope and misses the blockbuster and Lashley with a spear and the win. Crap, now we get Lashley v. AJ for the belt, I don’t want to see that. 3.5/5 Roode able to carry Lashley to a good match, but the wrong guy won. TNA wasted money on Lashley as I don’t think he’s the guy to be facing the champ. Never liked him in WWE and don’t like him in TNA.

Match Recap
1. Abyss lost to Lashley 2.5/5
2. Desmond Wolfe over Suicide 2/5
3. D’Angelo Dinero pinned by Kurt Angle 4/5
4. Homicide lost to Robert Roode 4/5
5. Knockout Battle Royal won by Tara 3.5/5
6. Desmond Wolfe disqualified against Lashley 1/5
7. Robert Roode beat Kurt Angle by count out 3.75/5
8. Lashley pinned Robert Roode 3.5/5

All in all a great show from TNA other than one match. The Angle/Dinero and Homicide/Roode matches made up for that. Five out of eight match got 3.5 or better, so to me that’s a great episode. I got Superstars finally, so that’s coming up next, either later today or tomorrow.

Last night, i accepted an invitation to see the World’s Greatest Wrestler, Hulk Hogan! A friend of mine, Ben Rosenthal, is a massive wrestling enthusiast/nerd, and has been trying to drag me to a ‘fight’ for years. “But it’s fake, and the result is pre-determined, so what’s the point?” i’d say to him. To which, he’d reply (in blog form of course);

Ask yourself a question; Do you go to the movies?  Were you entertained by it?  Guess what, movies are FAKE!  Read a good non-fiction book recently, like Lord of The Rings or Wayne Carey’s autobiography – FAKE!  My point being, just because you know something isn’t real doesn’t mean you cannot be entertained by it.  Wrestling, just like tv, books and movies, is an escape from the day to day drull that is life.  For an hour or two you can boo the evil bad guys, cheer the wholesome good guys, or be confused by the tweeners (wrestling lingo).

Thanks Ben, NOW GET THE HELL OUT OF MY BLOG! 

He actually makes a pretty good point. I cheer for Batman at the movies. I cheer for Dexter on the television. I cheer for Team Jacob when i’m reading…..err….i mean, nothing. *clears throat*

My night at the wrestling was hilarious. Before the wrestlers get down to business in the ‘fight’, they partake in a 10 minute role play. They call each other names, they flex their muscles, they tell their opponent what they plan to do to them, and they flex their muscles. Did i mention the muscle flexing? Cool. It’s kind of like the dialogue in a porn film before they get down to business. Only the acting in porn is more believable. 

The ‘fight’ itself is even funnier. Chess is more of a contact sport than wrestling. A three count with your opponent on the floor equals victory. The referee will count to two and a half at least ten times per ‘fight’. Apparently this is suspenseful. They stamp their feet on the mat for sound as they throw faux-punches that rarely land within a metre of the target. The crowd cheers. The crowd boo’s. One of them is hit over the head with a chair that looks suspiciously like it’s made out of cardboard, and then a winner is announced. Pretty simple formula really. 

This year, inspired by the Danny Wallace book ‘Yes Man’, i’ve decided to say yes to more opportunities. Last month i went to a Britney Spears concert. There, i said it. This blog is fast becoming a form of therapy. But it brings me to my new game (drumroll), welcome to HULK, BRITNEY, OR BOTH? Simply pick one of those three options for each of the following;

- Performed in front of thousands of people at the Burswood Dome?

- Provided a fake performance?

- Failed to speak to their fans once?

- Had a show with an abundance of leather, lycra, knee high boots, sequins and exposed nipples?

- Main drawcard was a slightly out of shape blonde thing waddling awkwardly around a stage?

If you answered ‘Both’ to all of the above, congratulations, you’re absolutely correct! 

Steven Ransiear at The Bleacher Report is kindly trying to give TNA credit. I too would like to believe in TNA, however I realize that they are still a long way from where they need to be and more importantly they need to understand what needs to be done in order to get there. Here is what Steven wrote on his blog followed by my response and insight.

Steven Ransiear: It’s easy because we want TNA to succeed so badly, that when they make a poor decision, we slide right into jumping on them for it.

When TNA started to become WWE-light, it was a horrible step down and left a bad taste in a lot of the fans’ mouths. Cries of near-the-end WCW started lighting up message boards left and right.

Thankfully, over the past few months or so, it seems like the ship has righted itself.

Rob Richards: It’s made a little nudge but that’s about it.

TNA’s last PPV, Turning Point 2009 , was one of the best I’ve seen them put on in quite some time. I’ll be using that show as a reference throughout because it’s a great example of so many of the great things TNA is doing.

So let’s make a change and talk about what TNA is doing right these days.

Before I get into it, I want to be completely honest. Last year, I was in Orlando and attended an iMPACT! television taping. It was by and far the worst live wrestling event I’ve attended. Because of that I haven’t been too high on TNA for about a year now.

But I wouldn’t be talking about them if they hadn’t done something to change my mind. Believe me, my mind is changed about TNA heading into 2010.

I left that taping glad that I didn’t pay any money to get in. It was great to see how a TV taping works with all the pyro and stuff you don’t get at house shows.

Not to mention it was awesome to see my favorite childhood wrestler, Kevin Nash.

RR: I agree with you here. Kevin Nash is still a brand-name and I too would be honored to meet him.

Unfortunately, TNA burned the crowd out quickly and executed so many things with misguidance. When I watched the show the following week, it had clearly translated to TV. Horribly convoluted storylines peppered the show, and frankly, I stopped caring about TNA in general.

RR: That’s because they didn’t have a true leader or anybody with true business skills organizing things in a professional manner.

Now, one thing that’s become apparent with me is that those problems only seem to extend to the TV tapings. Those crowds are full of people at Universal on vacation, not a bunch of rabid wrestling fans.

The PPVs taped in Orlando, like Turning Point 2009 , are full of those wrestling fans. You actually have to pay to attend, so it weeds out those vacationers.

The atmosphere there for a big PPV show really comes across well on TV. The crowd was into it, thus getting the viewer into it. The total opposite of the crowd I was a part of for the IMPACT! taping.

Chants and big pops for every match made it a very enjoyable PPV to watch. This is something the WWE can’t do because of the massive crowds they attract. Sure, TNA wants the big crowds, but for now, what they have at the iMPACT! zone works.

Moving on from the live atmosphere, let’s look inside the ring.

Lately TNA has done the best thing possible and moved the focus away from aging veterans at the top. This past PPV, we saw a World Title match with young guys who can go like few can in the ring.

Rob Richards: This is where I disagree. You need ‘brand names’ such as Scott Steiner, Booker, Nash, Foley and Sting to carry the company until the newer stars such as Styles, Morgan, Pope, Sabin and Rood can be completely seasoned and developed. That’s been the problem with Russo and even Jarrett and the old creative team. They didn’t balance the talent out properly and create unique, authentic and believable storylines for each individuals true character. They are still lacking in this department and yes I have put a call into Hogan already about this.

The Joe, Daniels, and AJ three-way was a fantastic contest that is a great counter to what the WWE offers in many of their PPV World Title matches.

RR: I agree that this was a great match and is exactly what TNA should be doing as far as a feud and storyline, however not for the World Title. None of these guys has the look of a World Champion ( yet ) only Angle, Hogan, Nash, Foley and Sting should carry the Title at this point.

Not only did we see a great main event, but also a great co-main event. Desmond Wolfe showed why he belongs at the top of the card against a huge name like Kurt Angle. Sure he lost, but I don’t buy him any less as a serious threat towards Angle. He’s got “future champion” written all over him at this point.

The match was structured to make neither man look weak. Instead, we got a fantastic back and forth competitive match. This feud between Angle and Wolfe seems to be on solid footing, giving us something to look forward to.

RR: I agree that this worked out okay so far and yes, Desmond Wolfe is going to be a huge part of the future for TNA however, this match happened way too fast. Angle should have finished out what he was doing with A.J Styles first. The WWE is brilliant at bringing in new talent and pushing them and that’s what TNA should have done with Nigel ( Wolfe ) Just put him in with a mid-carder for the first month or two and build his brand and let the audience get to know him and his character. Don’t try and push him with ridiculous cliches like “Bow to the Howl”’ and “Hungry like the wolf” This is bad work on behalf of the current creative team. TNA dropped the ball on this in my opinion.

This is very unlike the WWE style, where a newcomer gets a chance against a HHH or John Cena.

Typically, in that situation, you’ll see a burial that pushes the newcomer down in the ranks and in the eyes of the fans. You can lose and maintain your momentum, but you can also lose and be made to look like you don’t even belong inside a wrestling ring.

The X Division even had a nice showing on the card. Usually we get multi-man matches or some sort of tag-team bout. Instead, we get a nice singles match for the title.

Red and Homicide went out there and put on a great opener. It got the fans ready, and did a fantastic job of showing that TNA puts on competitive matches. If it was your first time watching a TNA PPV, this was a pretty good introduction.

RR: can’t argue with you there. “Less is Best” and singles matches are the way to go. It’s what the competition is doing.

Getting away from Turning Point 2009 , I want to talk about something TNA does in general with PPVs. It’s a small detail that probably doesn’t provoke a thought from most, but really gets me excited.

It’s the fact that TNA gives their big-time matches a big-time feel. They get special video packages, special introductions, the whole nine yards.

There is nothing like the pre-bout activities in a big-time boxing match or even an MMA bout, and TNA does a great duplication of that.

Sure Jeremy Borash is no Michael or Bruce Buffer, but it’s something we don’t see anywhere else right now. It’s a unique thing, however small, that separates TNA from its competition.

One thing that really caught my eye during Turning Point were the on-screen graphics they used to set up each match. This is something we’ve seen from most promotions, but TNA put a nice little twist on it.

Each wrestler had their height, weight, and signature move attached. Small details, but it’s the small things that, when put together, make something special.

RR: I personally don’t like the height and weight because it reveals that the individual isn’t as big as you thought. That’s something that should be left for the imagination. The announcers should be able to build the perception. The on-screen graphics are a good idea but once again-less is best-just stick to the name of the individual and maybe the town or country that they are from.

Finally, I want to praise TNA on how they set up their feuds.

Now I’m not deeply invested in some of what they have going on, but from what I can see, every rivalry is centered around something wrestling-related. This isn’t Bossman stealing Al Snow’s dog—even though that gave us some great moments.

No, TNA seems to be putting the emphasis on title belts, and seeing who the better man or woman is.

That’s what I want to see in wrestling.

Most times the belts are an afterthought. Sure, they’re just props, but that’s still what sticks out in the mind of a fan. They want to see who’s on top. TNA really hits the nail on the head with this.

RR: I don’t agree. I think that this is where they are still very weak. They need to have real-life type of feuds and storylines. Remember, you’re not just competing with WWE you’re also competing now with MMA and everything they do appears to be real. TNA’s writers still have the characters ‘overacting’ with stupid grimaces on their faces. An example would be the new guy that just recently came in to help out the Dudley Boys and Rino ( the guy with the mohawk ) He was trying real hard to let the audience know that he was crazy. It was overacting and only a 10 year old kid is going to buy that.

Of course, all of this might be for naught, as Team Hogan arrives next year.

RR: That’s the best news we’ve heard yet. Now we have hope!

With them comes a lot of questions and uncertainty. If they do take away everything that has made TNA great in late 2009, I guess we’ll just have to chalk it up to bad luck.

Rob Richards: Hogan and Bischoff are going to run things differently. They are going to run it like a real business. The difference between what Hogan and Bischoff will be able to do is- bring in years of experience of huge success as opposed to a little, bleached-blond haired guy that hits people over the head with a guitar as his gimmick and just can’t ever get over. Hogan and Bischoff know how the industy has changed and they understand what works and what doesn’t. They are also smart enough to bring in fellow talented wrestling historians such as myself to give good insight and come up with innovative and creative ideas. Everybody is quick to run down how bad WCW was at the end, but they seem to forget how good it was during the first five years that Hogan and Bischoff came in.

Beim ersten Blick ist man geschockt, doch dann fragt man sich doch ob er wirklich so zugerichtet worden sein kann. Ist dies möglicherweiße nur eine fragwürdige Promo-Aktion für seinen nächsten Kampf? Am Vergangenen Dienstag traf Hogan jedenfalls auf seinen Gegner Ric Flair, während einer Pressekonferenz in Australien.

Nach einem kurzen Wortaustausch, soll Hogan von seinem Gegenüber in den Schwitzkasten genommen worden sein und Flair fing an heftig auf seinen Kopf einzuschlagen, bis er blutüberströmt am Boden lag. Ein Sprecher von Hulk Hogan besteht darauf, dass es sich um einen echten Kampf handelte, die Welt aber zweifelt an der Echtheit.

Ich persönlich denke das es eine Promo-Aktion ist, irgendwie wirkt das Bild nicht real auf mich. Sollte es sich tatsächlich um eine Prügelei gehandelt haben, wünsche ich Herrn Hogan gute Genesung.

Bis auf das Blut war alles inszeniert…auch im Wrestling passieren Unfälle!

Does perfectionism drive you towards success or away from failure?  A recent article in Scientific American Mind (www.scientificamerican.com/mind ) suggests that there are ‘positive’ or ‘healthy perfectionists’ who are motivated towards success and, ‘unhealthy perfectionists’ motivated by a fear of failure.   Hogan’s Development Survey measures perfectionism on it’s Diligence scale.  Medium to high risk scorers are likely to demonstrate both healthy and unhealthy perfectionist behaviours with the unhealthy ones more likely to come out when under stress and pressure.   

Positive or healthy perfectionistic behaviours include organised, conscientious, striving for excellence, good organisation, striving to meet goals and deadlines.  However the negative perfectionist behaviours include anxiety, inefficiency, shying away from new challenges, critical, inflexible, pedantic.  

Intuitively I feel that the positive perfectionist behaviours are those that drive us towards success and the negative ones away from failure. However logically it also makes sense that some people may experience the reverse.  Could this be due to having an optimistic or pessimistic mindset?

There is a lot of talk and speculation that when Hogan and Bischoff come in and take over the creative role in TNA Wrestling that we’re going to start seeing all of Hogan’s old buddies. Well in my opinion, Hogan is much smarter than that and many people think that Hogan is just going to come in and run roughshod over everybody that’s actually not the case. Hogan really has an interest in this and really wants to make this thing work. With that being said, it’s my opinion that Hogan won’t bring in guys like Ed Leslie. It’s obvious that Leslie won’t be able to do what he would have been able to do ten years ago. A much larger portion of today’s audience has no idea who he is and he couldn’t do today what he once did. He’s not a brand name. A wrestler has only so much mileage and that’s for his body and in the ring skills as well as his marketability. Leslie ( Beefcake ) is well over 100,000 miles if we were measuring. Many of the fans from ten years ago barely remember Brutus Beefcake, Jim Neidhart and Hacksaw Duggan so they won’t remember them today. Even if they did, the perception of them being any real threat to any kind of jobber or mid-card opponent in the ring would be so bad that it would downgrade the product. So you can’t go with guys that were the ‘B’ players in the 1980’s. Can you have Ed Leslie, Greg Valentine and Jim Neidhart involved? Sure you can but only as an extra or maybe once every six months to be used as a jobber.

Now let’s talk about how TNA should start to promote the relaunch and the beginning of the Hogan/Bischoff era.

First thing that I would do is to start promoting it now as “The Relaunch” and have Hogan and Bischoff’s picture all over it. Let the fans know that change is coming. That alone is going to build buzz and hype. Allow Vince Russo to keep writing the storylines from now until that point, because as of January 4^th nothing is going to matter. It’s basically going to start fresh. That will be the day that will be known as the start of the Hogan/Bischoff “new beginning” It’s kind of like WCW when Nitro debuted in the Mall of America. I believe it was around September 4, 1995 and that was a memorable night to wrestling fans because that was the start of the WCW as we knew it. Everything before that was nothing of any real significance unless you went all the way back to the Crockett days.

I would start the program off with a whole new look, a new brand. I would even look at ways to enhance the name TNA. Maybe add “HBH” in front for “Hogan/Bischoff/Hervey” Call it HBH/TNA. Wasn’t WCW the #1 promotion in the world when it was WCW/NWO? Many of you don’t like the idea of that, however you have to be innovative and think outside of the box. That’s why it worked because it’s controversial, it has some realness to it and it implies that a sort of take-over has happened. You would need a whole new set for this new brand and possibly even new announcers. I would seriously look at bringing in Tony Shiavini. Why? Because he’s a brand and he’s recognizable plus he was fairly good. Mike Tenay is a little too nerdy. Bring in Scott Hudson if you can’t get Shiavani. Hudson was also good and has that connection from 2001 which is what you want. I’m not saying that the objective here is to go right back to where WCW left off but you do want to use some of the talent that was good, can do the job and give the new and improved Hogan brand some real credibility. In my opinion you need to do that all the way across the board. So change the announcers up to give it a new look. I can guarantee you that with all of these moves it will definitely get Vince McMahon’s attention.

I would do a little three minute promo explaining how Hogan came in back in late October and all of the buildup to tonight, which is the beginning of a new era. Have Shiavani say “History is in the making!” Kind of the same thing as we heard that last night in Panama City, FL when WCW went off the air. This time we’re starting and relaunching. Say something like “the most recognizable name in sports entertainment, the true icon Hulk Hogan has taken over Total Non Stop Action Wrestling. Ladies and Gentleman let’s go to the ring”

(to be continued)

Ever since my last blog about Hogan signing with Total Nonstop Action more than one person has shared very negative opinions with me about the subject. I understand how this could turn certain people off, since there are quite a few less than positive opinions floating around about Hogan. There are those that feel it was solely Hogan’s fault that WCW collapsed or that he refused to work with certain people for political reasons or they simply don’t appreciate him as a person. Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I feel that there is such a thing as being unimformed. Every since the announcement was made public, the internet wrestling community has been abuzz with all sorts of rumors and  speculation as to what his role may be and/or what he may do in the ring and backstage. So far, all I know is that he has signed with the company and it has been very good for TNA so far.

The reason I even deciced to write this blog is as follows: A good friend of mine expressed his opinion to me on this subject and it was all negative. Let me explain…He was a huge wrestling fan in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. You know, basically he rode the wave of the Attitude Era and The Monday Night Wars, along with the hardcore acton that ECW had to offer. Ever since ECW and WCW went out of business he pretty much stopped watching. Since Shawn Michaels was retired, his favorite wrestler by the way, he had no real reason to watch anymore. And on top of that, you guessed it, he is not a Hogan. He told me that WWF/WWE had killed everything that he ever loved about wrestling…which didn’t make much since to me since he absolutely refused to explain it. No, he does not watch WWE, TNA, or ROH currently…he does however watch Dragon Gate when the ppv’s air becasue another friend of ours told him it was good. He has not sense of what is good or bad currently because he refused to even give WWE or TNA a reasonable chance to know if it is watchable or not. Therefore I feel his opinion and attitude about the current product are both uninformed and somewhat closed-minded. After all, some things have changed since the Monday Night Wars ended. On top of this my friend is not the only one that has expressed this opinion to me. I could be wrong but I feel if you don’t what the current product then you don’t really have an opinion on what is good or bad.

Thanks for reading.



Hogan has been telling people that he would love to bring in Savage, Austin, Knobbs and RVD. He’s dropping names that he wants, he knows that he’s going to get, he knows that he’s not going to get and someone that nobody cares if they get. In my opinion Austin won’t do it. Austin was screwed by Hogan and Bischoff back in 1995 before he went on to have enormous success as Stone Cold. Savage would do it if father time hadn’t caught up to him. If you remember back in the last few years of WCW Savage went all out and blew up and totally changed his look. It’s almost as if he realized at that time that this is it, my last run. Well that was around 8 or 9 years ago. The last time that I saw him he looked like a cross between Kenny Rogers and Santa Claus. It would probably be too hard for him to get back into shape.

RVD is probably a done deal. Not much else needed to say about that except that I don’t see Hogan aggressively calling anyone and trying to get them on board. Knobbs almost surely will be involved along with his old sidekick Saggs and to tell you the truth, I don’t really think that anybody cares.

Hopefully Hogan is smart enough to realize that and just keep them in the background. Maybe a Dudley Boys-Nasty Boys feud could get some mileage.

Here is some of the talent that in my opinion Hogan, Bischoff and Dixie Carter should seriously be taking a hard look. I would think about bringing in these guys one by one over the next 90-180 days. Scott Hall- I would bring him in probably just after the January relaunch to side with Nash and re-form an Outsiders type of team. DDP- You could fit him into the crazy storylines that could be developed with all of the other guys that have come in as of late. Goldberg- This one may take about a year but if everything goes according to plan right around this time next year Goldberg could be ready. He’ll only be about 44 and you could defintely get a strong 2-3 years out of him. Sid- I would try and bring Sid in around June or July and have him feud with Hall and Nash as well as the Hogan army and then try and find a way to have him pass the torch over to Matt Morgan.

Now, here’s what is going to surprise everybody. There is going to be one guy that is going to just show up on TNA television unexpected. It’s going to be very similar to when Hall and Nash crashed the party in 1996 and I’m predicting that it’s going to be Batista. I feel that you could make a major impact with him and I just watched his dvd and that’s the first thought that I had after it was disclosed how the tough WWE schedule has affected his overall life and family.

I also hope that with Eric Bischoff in the mix of things that he once again gets on the phone and pitches some of his oversees connections. One thing about Eric is that he is a brilliant sales and marketing guy. I would have a working relationship with one of the major Japan promotions. That gives you additional talent that you can use as far as making the wrestling product more appealing and it allows you to go international. That was one of the great things that we lost as wrestling fans when we lost WCW. Through TNA we can now be the transparent promotion as far as letting the fans know about the industry as a whole, unlike WWE where they act like it’s only them and nobody else exists. The WWE is great at insulting the average wrestling fan’s intelligence.

The Hogan/Bischoff era is going to launch sometime around January 4, 2010. I would start planning the story lines about now and plan out where are we going to go and which characters are we going to focus on initially.

I would think about Mick Foley, Sting, Angle, Nash, Hogan as your higher card main event guys that would be competing for the title. Eventually you get another guy that has the presence or the brand name such as a Goldberg. You also try to develop new stars -like WCW was in the process of doing with Sean O’haire before it was sold. Everybody that is reading this is saying, “What do you call A.J. Styles?” I call him a great talent but at the mid-card level. I’m not saying that one day he could elevate to a higher level but the majority of the wrestling fans that we are trying to target do not know who A.J. Styles is. He also does not have the look to be a main event guy. He’s dealing with the same problem that Jeff Jarrett had. He didn’t come across as a main-event, top of the card guy. So for now we write some great, entertaining, scientific styles matches and story lines for A.J to work with Samoa Joe and Daniels.

In my opinion this is one of the very reasons why the TNA product hasn’t been able to elevate to a higher rating and level. They have an incredible roster full of talent but they haven’t been able to truly build a major star like WCW was able to do with Bill Goldberg and where they were on the way too do with Shawn O’hara ( I can never remember how he spelled his name ) and where WWF did with Rock, Austin, Orton, etc. Samoa Joe is not my idea of creating a star as he has a terrible body, tries to be The Rock and doesn’t have that ‘it’ factor with the fans. Although I do think he could be a great performer as a mid carder. Same thing with A.J Styles- he doesn’t have that ‘it’ factor. He reminds me of a Jeff Jarrett with dark hair. He has a southern Tennessee accent which would never get over as a true champion and he still uses that pissed-off look at his face which needed to go out 10 years ago. It’s ‘overacting’ in my opinion and the fans that we are targeting don’t buy it. Unless he reinvents himself like Sting did I would also keep him as a mid-carder and feel that he could tremendously add to the overall product if he’s willing to accept hat role on the team. I already have some great material written up where we could get 3 months of good, compelling TV from him.

Same thing with Christopher Daniels, he doesn’t have enough qualities to be considered a legitimate contender for a spot high up on the card. Although I have plans to come up with some real good stuff for him too.

The Divas, in my opinion are being used way too much and less is best. We don’t have enough television hours each week to focus on them. I would keep them in the loop with maybe one match per week on Spike or every other week but I would rather use them mainly on the web cast until we can get an additional hour of television. The Divas should be used as a filler time to bridge to the good matches that the television audience wants to see. The women don’t want to watch the Divas wrestle and I truly don’t believe that the majority of men really do either. I would rather see two quality stars/fighters go at it with storyline values built into the match/feud.

TNA needs to do some things that WWE does with in-ring verbal, microphone battles and they need to get rid of the person that they’ve been using as the editor. They need to pace it better to give it a more realistic look instead of ‘let’s edit this thing down so much that it looks like we’re trying to get performance out of every ¼ second of video tape’ That in my opinion is a turnoff because it looks to much like a studio produced television production whereas the old Nitro program and Raw show came across as ‘this is going on right now and is real!” Many people have already been criticizing me for wanting to use Nitro has a measuring stick and all that I can say to you is that if you are truly a sports entertainment historian like myself you would realize that WCW actually did a lot of things right! The WCW that we saw in 2000 and 2001 is not the WCW that I’m measuring against. The WCW of 1995-1998 was enormously successful and the guys that were running things we brilliant and on top of their game. That’s exactly what we plan to do again.

I think it’s very important for the success of any strong company to constantly be scouting for new talent and one of the guys that I have in mind is a guy named Tyler Black.

I would try and bring in some of those guys ( ROH ) gradually and promote them slowly just like back in the early Nitro days. At that time it was the original ECW talent that was coming in such as Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Shane Douglas, Malenko, Jericho, etc… many of the fans didn’t know who they were at the time but through word of mouth and the internet they had heard something about them.

I feel that TNA made a mistake by putting Nigel McGinnis in with a main event guy such as Angle so quickly. I also feel that they should have never changed his name. It’s like starting over with him instead of continuing an already launched brand in which you can build on.

Hogan lives about 15 minutes away from me. I’m going to try and meet him at Yaya’s for lunch to see if he wants to go over some of this stuff and throw around some ideas.

I just wanted to tell everyone about the new Eye Line Laser Line putting aid. It is simply amazing as it projects a T down on the ground from a small laser that clips onto the shaft of your putter. It will help you aim the face better as well as grove a more consistent stroke! If you would like to check out the product simply click on “Make more putts today” on the side of the screen! They have the very best training aids for putting! In the coupon code area type oneputt for a discount on any Eyeline product!

Many Birdies,

Brian O’Neill

Spotted an ad in the Age today for a one day sale tomorrow. Sounds interesting!

Here are a few photographs of Hogan on Halloween.  He wasn’t George Washington, or Benjamin Franklin, or even Mozart.  Those were the most common guesses for his costume.  He made a terrific Thomas Jefferson.

©Bryant Altizer Photography

Creating portraits & providing wedding photography for Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Radford, Virginia Tech and the New River Valley.  Portrait photography for families, children, and seniors. Contact me.

Obviously, the biggest story in the last few weeks has been Hulk Hogan signing with TNA…Clearly this has gotten people talking. This has taken TNA from “that other company” status to a company that is sudden more visible than ever. I like that…In fact, I love that. For quite a while now, I’ve felt that Total Nonstop Action was on the rise and this is a giant push in the proper direction. I also don’t think it hurts anything at all that Eric Bishoff was part of the deal. Of course, he did have his problems in WCW and didn’t have any real power while on WWE television; but I feel he can do some good there.

When I was a child, I discovered wrestling and it changed me forever. With Flair and Rhodes and Sting on one hand and Hogan and Savage and Steamboat on the other side. Although I have always favored Flair far more during that period Hogan was larger than life. He did take wrestling and break down all sort of barriers to make the sport a house hold name. He was certainly the most visible and drew like a god for years and years. Like a great many youngsters, I thought he was super human and unbreakable and I will also admit that I loved it when he turned heel and became Hollywood Hogan. As I got older, however, I realized that he was not the best worker and I sort of lost interest in him altogether. Of course, he did have another run in WWE that garnered alot of nostalgia but seemed to fizzle out rather quickly. It might get me a little heat but I was quite happy to see him go…He seemed way too stiff, out of place, and mediocre at best. Sure, he has always been pretty damn good for business. Anytime he makes an appearance there are always deafening reactions and standing ovations. His legacy has certainly lasted all these years and that has made his name worth quite a bit. His reality show was watched by millions although I never watched one single episode: I honestly have no interest in peering inside his families’ life and seeing all the drama and every day interacts. That does not appeal to me in the least. Now, the Hulkster has had some real tough times over the last few years and I do feel bad for him when it comes to his marriage and the ordeal Nick Hogan went through. His behavior during that period was less than becoming of someone as visible as him but he tends to always bounce back. Any wrestling fan knows about his new book and about his near suicide attempt, which is quite disturbing if you really think about it. However, he seems to have come out of the all the darkness renewed, recharged, and reinvigorated. His move to TNA shows me that he wants a fresh start with a fresh company and that is just fine with me. I wish him the best of luck and I hope he can help bring that company to brand new heights.

Eric Bischoff  has always been one hell of a business man in my view. Of course he has made mistakes when it came to money and over-booking and too much fighting to close WWE’s doors. I don’t blame the guy for trying to be the best: To bring the best wrestling, the best performers, and put on the best show possible. Somehow that got lost in the Monday Night Wars and everything began to unravel and ultimately fall apart. Just like with Hogan, I feel this is a very positive move for him because I know he has a great mind for wrestling that will be used in TNA. I know that no one man can have all the answers but Bischoff definitely has a shot to do some good things. I wish that he could somehow broker a deal to bring Heyman in so they can have too mad scientist’s running loose, bouncing ideas off each other on a regular basis. another thing that got me very excited about this deal is the talk running wild that Bischoff just might trying to  sign Rob Van Dam: I do not want to spread untrue and I do not have any solid evidence that this is even true. Yet, I would love to see RVD in a TNA ring. I really, really would love to see this happen.

Honestly, I feel this move was quite ballsy by both Hogan and Bischoff. Maybe I am being overly optimistic but I can only view this as a positive. Only time will tell. Thank you for reading.

Here we have Ric Flair acting crazy in a promo for Hulk Hogan’s wrestling tour, Hulkamania.

Als ich gestern davon hörte, dass die Verantwortlichen in TNA extrem enttäuscht über die Einschaltquote von IMPACT am 29.10.2009 waren, wunderte ich mich etwas. Immerhin hatte man trotz der riesigen Konkurrenz der World Series und Football ein 1.3 erreicht und etwa 1,7 Millionen Zuschauer angelockt.

Zugegeben, man war noch etwa 250.000 Zuschauer vom Hausrekord entfernt, aber immerhin konnte man die in den letzten Wochen übliche Quote steigern.

Doch inzwischen verstehe ich die Enttäuschung, denn man muss nur mal auf die genauern Viertlelstunden-Quoten schauen.

Der Verlauf der Show sah wie folgt aus:

1.21 -> 1.27 -> 1.26 -> 1.30 -> 1.24 -> 1.19 -> 1.24 -> 1.18

Mit anderen Worten, obwohl man die ganze Show über immer und immer wieder erwähnte, dass Hulk Hogan auftauchen wird und man dadurch schon den Eindruck bekam, dass alles andere völlig nebensächlich ist, war das Hogan Segment genau das mit der schlechtesten Quote. Wow!

Soviel zum Thema das Hogan ein Ratings Draw ist. Es haben zwar mehr Fans eingeschaltet und sich die Show angesehen, doch als Hogan endlich kam, schaltete man weg.

Nun verstehe ich die Enttäuschung!

Der erste Auftritt von Hulk Hogan bei TNA sorgte für einen Anstieg der IMPACT Ratings.

Anstelle der in den letzten Wochen üblichen Quote von 1.1 schaffte man diesmal ein 1.3, was einen Anstieg von etwa 250.000 Zuschauer darstellt.

Das mag sich jetzt erstmal nicht besonders beeindruckend anhören, man muss dabei aber bedenken, dass man als Konkurrenz die World Series hatte, die mal eben 19 Millionen Zuschauer anlockte. Schade nur, dass man die neuen Fans, deren Interesse man geweckt hatte, so eine miserable Show präsentierte.

Ein Grund zu großen Jubelarien ist die Zahl aber auch nicht und man darf gespannt sein, ob es kommende Woche, wenn Hogan wirklich ein Bestandteil der Show ist, einen größeren Sprung geben wird.

Aber wie bereits mehrfach gesagt, ein Anstieg der Ratings im Free TV bedeutet reinweg gar nichts. Wichtig ist die Frage, wie viele der Zuschauer bereit sind, Geld für PPVs, House Shows oder Merchandise auszugeben.

Interesse an den TV Ratings haben nur die Booker (was lächerlich ist) und SpikeTV, denn wenn mehr Menschen schauen, wird man bestimmt bereits sein, noch mehr Kohle für Hogan & Co. zuzubuttern.

Innerhalb der WWE hat man davor übrigens keine Angst vor einem Aufstieg von TNA, dort besteht unter den Wrestlern der Konsens, das Hogan & Bischoff die Promotion zerstören werden.

Die erste IMPACT Show der neuen Ära stand gestern Abend an und man wird sie noch lange im Gedächtnis behalten. Nein, nicht wegen dem Debüt von Hulk Hogan, sondern weil es die schlechteste IMPACT Ausgabe seit langer, sehr langer Zeit war.

Als man vor 3 Tagen verkündete, dass Hulk Hogan bei TNA unterschrieben hat, war die Promotion für ca. 4 Stunden in aller Munde. Es wurde getwittert wie blöde, man spekulierte munter drauf los, WrestlingObserver.com brach zusammen usw. Alles schien so zu laufen wie erhofft, endlich war TNA mal im Gespräch außerhalb der Internet Wrestling Community.

Doch jetzt, 72 Stunden später, hat sich alles wieder normalisiert. Hulk Hogan war bei unzähligen TV Shows zu Gast, erzählte seine üblichen erfundenen Geschichten, bewarb sein Buch und erwähnte manchmal (nicht immer) das er zu TNA geht. Immer wieder betonte er, dass er nicht in den Ring steigen wird. Schön wär’s ja.

Seinen besten Auftritt hatte er bei Jimmy Fallon auf NBC, wo er erstmal klarstellte, dass die WWE die einzige große und wichtige Wrestling Promotion der USA ist. Immer sagte er dann noch nebenbei, dass er nun bei TNA ist, eine Rolle hinter den Kulissen wahrnehmen wird und dabei helfen möchte, TNA auch zu einer großen Promotion zu machen.

Während IMPACT am 29.10.2009 zeigte sich sofort, dass es nur noch ein Thema gibt, Hulk Hogan. Die ganze Sendung über wurde nur von Hogan’s Auftritt gesprochen, der natürlich erst am Ende folgte. Da die Show ja längst aufgezeichnet war, bekam man nur ein ebenfalls aufzeichnetes Promo zu hören. Man hatte als Zuschauer das Gefühl, dass die restlichen 95% der Show völlig unwichtig sind, nur Hogan zählt. Ich will hoffen, dass man in den nächsten Wochen das Gleichgewicht zwischen den aktuellen Storylines und dem Hogan Krempel findet. Vor allem bin ich gespannt darauf, wie die TNA Lemminge in der Impact Zone abgehen, wenn Hulk Hogan das 1. Mal live auftaucht. Da werden sich die Deppen bestimmt einnässen.

Noch eine Sache möchte ich loswerden. Auch ich habe darüber spekuliert, ob Hogan positiv oder negativ für TNA sein wird. Nachdem sich der Aufruhr der ersten paar Stunden längst wieder gelegt hat, wage ich die Vermutung, dass es unterm Strich für TNA gar nichts bedeuten wird. Wie bei Angle, Sting, Foley, Lashley & Co. wird erst ein paar gute TV Ratings geben, eine gute PPV Buyrate und dann läuft alles so weiter. Es bringt nicht viel, wenn man Dank Hogan ein paar neue Fans anlockt, dann aber ein Produkt anbietet, dass die Leute sofort wieder vergrault.

Irgendwie ist es eine Ironie der Geschichte, dass am 29.10.1929 die große Depression mit dem “Black Tuesday” einen neuen Höheounkt erreicht und genau 80 Jahre später Hulk Hogan bei TNA debütiert und Russo eine Show bookte, die nicht mehr viel schlechter werden kann. Es war so schlimm, dass ich schon fast darauf hoffe, dass Hogan & Bischoff den Laden übernehmen. Meinetwegen kann man auch David Arquette erneut zum Champion machen, Hauptsache Russo ist weg.

Nun aber zu der eigentlichen Show, die mit der sagenhafter Ankündigung begann, dass Hulk Hogan sein “TNA Wrestling Debut” feiern wird. Wie viele der neuen Fans werden nun gedacht haben, dass Hogan kämpfen wird? Und sagt mir nicht, das hätte man nicht einkalkuliert

Desmond Wolfe kam zum Ring und ich frage mich noch immer, aus welchem Lexikon voller Jobber man diese Namen fand. Buddy Wolfe und Dale Wolfe waren schon vergeben, die sah man häufiger in den 80er Jahren in New York. Hey, Desmond Wolfe ist noch frei. Seine Musik ist von ähnlicher Güteklasse. Das typische gesichtlose TNA Geschrammel und ein bißchen Wolfsgeheul. Man hat doch jetzt Jimmy Hart an der Angel, vielleicht kann der mal neue Musiken schreiben. Wolfie D erzählte den Fans, dass er der beste Fighter überhaupt ist, schon immer wollte er das sein und dieses Ziel habe r erreicht. Kurt Angle ist gar kein echter Olympiasieger, weil er sein Finale nur via Punkte gewann. Ein harte Kerl sei Kurt erst recht nicht, denn er hat ihn letzte Woche gleich zweimal bezwingen können.

Kurt Angle kam hinzu, er siegt die ganze Angelegenheit etwas anders. Ach was. Er respektiert junge Wrestler, aber Wolfie gehört nicht nicht dazu. Wer zu TNA ankommt und sich mit Kurt anglegt, wird bald wieder verschwinden.

Die Promos waren ganz gut, aber dann wurde uns wieder vor Augen geführt, dass ein Haufen Idioten die Promotion führen. Kurt forderte Wolfie zu einem Street Fight heraus, im Free TV. Das 1. Match in einer Fehde ist ein Street Fight? Und man macht es nicht einmal beim PPV? Dieses Grundwissen des Wrestlings ist bei keinem Verantwortlichen bei TNA vorhanden.

AJ Styles hockte mit Lauren vor dem Fernseher und schaute sich die Bilder von letzter Woche an, als ihn ein Unbekannter attackiert hatte. Was würdet ihr machen, wenn man mit vielen neuen Zuschauern rechnet, die letzte Woche noch nicht Zeuge dieses Angles waren. Genau, man dreht das Segment so, dass man die Bilder auch sehen kann bzw. spielt sie den Fans auch nochmal ein. Nicht so bei TNA, da sehen wir die Rückseite des Apparats. AJ konnte aber auch nichts erkennen, war nämlich dunkel. Na sowas. Samoa Joe kam hinzu und sagte, dass es mit Sicherheit Daniels war, der seinen angeblichen Freund AJ attackiert. Das wollte AJ nicht glauben. Nachdem Joe wieder verschwunden war, meckerte AJ wie ein kleines Kind herum. Ich wartete nur darauf, dass er sich auf den Boden wirft und mit den Fäusten trommelt. Meine Fresse, wen interessiert so eine Storyline? Warum sagt man nicht einfach, dass man bei TURNING POINT das Re-Match des besten Matches in der Historie von TNA sehen kann? Ach so, Russo muss ja beweisen, warum er einen Job hat, also qäult er uns mit seinen Storylines. Er wird es schaffen, dass man am Tag des PPVs keinerlei Interesse mehr an diesem Match hat.

Das erste Match des Abends fand wohl im Time Tunnel statt. Während sich Alyssa Flash und Tara im Ring abmühten, sprachen TAZ und Tenay natürlich nur über Hogan. Man erklärte den Fans, dass IMPACT ausgezeichnet wurde, bevor Hogan unterschrieb. Daher wird auch keiner der anderen Wrestler etwas dazu sagen. Nachdem man diese Erklärung beendet hatte, kommentierte man das Match einfach so weiter, als ob wir eine Liveshow schauen. Interessant.

Das Match der Damen war gut, nur das Finish war – welch’ Überraschung – dämlich. Alyssa trat ihre Gegnerin mit einem harten Curb Stomp fast durch die Matte, hob die leblose Tara dann an und die siegte aus dem Nichts mit ihrem Spinning Sidewalk Slam. Anstatt Kohle für Hogan rauszuwerfen, sollte man mal Agents verpflichten, die ein Match vernünftig aufbauen können! Doch damit nicht genug, Awesome Kong kam zum Ring, verpasste Tara einen Implant Buster auf Alyssa und freute sich. Sie ist ja auch das einzige Mitglied des TNA Rosters, das sich bisher positiv zu Hogan’s Verpflichtung äußerte. Alle anderen, die normaler twittern oder Myspacen was das Zeug hält, sind absolut ruhig.

Team 3D saßen sich die fetten Ärsche im Locker Room platt und sprachen über ein paar Wrestler, die viel durch den Ring fliegen. Würde nicht schaden, wenn man die Machine Guns beim Namen nennt, wenn man ein Match pushen will. Rhino kam hinzu und es ergab sich eine typische Russo Konversation. Team 3D wollte Rhino in der Vorwoche nicht helfen, sondern sie wollte Hernandez vor einer Dummheit bewahren. Hätte Hernandez Rhino mit einem Border Toss aus dem Ring geworfen und Rhino “Hirn hätte sich auf der Matte verteilt”, dann wäre Hernandez suspendiert worden. Nicht verhaftet wegen Mordes oder gefeuert. Nein, suspendiert. Das schlimme ist, dass TNA genau das machen würde.

Okay, es reicht, ich habe genug von dieser beschissenen Dreckspromotion. Wie bereits mehrfach geschrieben, wäre Chris Sabin im Match der Machine Guns gegen Team 3D fast krepiert. Bubba feuerte ihn mit einem rücksichtslosen Uranage auf den Hinterkopf und Sabin lag leblos im Ring. D-Von hob ihn zum Gorilla Press hoch, Shelley sprang gegen D-Von’s Knie und rettete seinen Partner. Sabin befand sich auf allen Vieren etwa einen Meter von der Ringecke entfernt und er konnte sich einfach nicht bewegen. Bubba’s Aktion wurde den Fans in einem halben Dutzend Wiederholungen gezeigt, denn eine echte Verletzung ist ja auch was lustiges. Shelley taggte sich dann selbst in das Match und während sich mehrere Sanitäter um Sabin kümmern mussten, ging das Match einfach weiter. Wofür? Weil man ein völlig dämliches Finish zeigen musste. Shelley nahm D-Von in einen Half Crab, der schlug wütend mit der Faust auf die Matte und der Ref wertete das als TapOut. Für so eine Scheisse lässt man Sabin fast krepieren? Ich kann völlig verstehen, dass Kevin Nash hinter den Kulissen durchdrehte. Zurecht! Spätestens mit diesem Match war die Show für mich gestorben. Und da Russo die echte Verletzung unbedingt zeigen wollte, war der Main Event Angle so interessant wie ein Fliegenschiss. F*ck TNA, F*ck Vince Russo, F*ck Ed Ferrara, F*ck Bubba und auch ein herzliches F*ck Dixie Carter! Die dusselige Trine lebt in einer Traumwelt, wie man jetzt auch via Twitter mitbekommen kann. Was schrieb sie gerade so schön? “Glad to hear your responses on Desmond Wolfe”. Ja, wir sind alle ganz begeistert.

Lauren wollte von Scott Steiner wissen, ob er sich bei Lashley entschuldigen wird, weil er Kristal in der letzte Woche angebaggert hatte. Scott entschuldigte sich nur dafür, dass Kristal nicht weiss, wie es mit einem echten Mann ist. Außerdem hatte er große Überraschung vorbereitet und dabei schaute er sich in die Hose. Bin mir sicher das Russo da gerne mal nuckeln würde.

Nachdem mich die NASCAR Freaks bei RAW genervt hatten, musste TNA jetzt auch mal wieder so einen Heini präsentieren. Hermie Sadler war mal wieder da und interviewte Amazing Red und Don West. Da Don richtig gut am Mikro ist und Red kaum ein Wort rausbekommt, sprach er natürlich zuerst. Er kann alles im Ring, braucht aber einen Manager und Business Berater.

Um Red noch mehr im Boden zu vergraben, stellte Sadler dann eine Frage an Don. “What do you see in this guy?” Das fragen sich viele Fans vor dem TV schon seit Jahren! Don sieht in Red ein Vorbild für die Jugend. Ja, für 7jährige, denn genau so sieht Red aus.

Warum Sadler überhaupt da war, weiss ich auch nicht. Sein Bekanntheitsgrad besteht nur bei den Hillbillies, im Rest der USA kennt man ihn kaum. Also zeigt man ihn im nationalen TV. Das ist TNA Logik.

Aus völlig unerfindlichen Gründen musste Eric Young seinen Legends Title gegen Lashley verteidigen. Schon bald kam Scott Steiner zum Ring und verpasste Lashley eine Clothesline außerhalb des Rings. Der Ref hatte alles gesehen, das Match ging aber weiter. Lashley nahm Eric in den Dragon Sleeper, Steiner schlug in Zeitlupe mit einem Stuhl auf Lashley ein und das war dem Ref nun zuviel. Sieger via DQ: Lashley. Steiner, der ein Shirt mit einem Airbrush von Kristal trug, feierte zusammen mit Eric und setzte kurz den Steiner Recliner an. Ich hoffe Steiner schläg Lashley jede Woche zusammen, das weckt das Interesse am PPV Match. Hat ja schon in der Fehde gegen Rhino gut geklappt Meine Güte, Lashley ist der größte Jobber in TNA.

Eric blieb im Ring und begrüsste seine Freunde der World Elite. Brutus Magnus erklärte der erstaunten Weltöffentlichkeit, dass die Gerüchte wirklich wahr sind. Welche Gerüchte? Aha, die British Invasion ist bis zum PPV suspendiert, weil sie letzte Woche den Ref niedergeschlagen haben. Und warum sind sie dann im TV? Dann kam Eric’s großes Announcement, das “die Wrestling Welt in ihrem Fundament erschüttern wird”. Der Legends Title ist tot, das Ding heisst nun “Global Title”, er wird den Titel nicht in den USA verteidigen und auch nicht gegen amerikanische Gegner. Die Wrestling Welt bebt noch immer. Kevin Nash kam angeschlichen, er ist pissed wegem der Sache mit Chris Sabin. Ach ne, das hatte man ja rausgeschnitten. Er war pissed, weil er seine 60.000 Dollar nicht bekam und er zudem seinen Legends Title los ist. Tja, Pech gehabt, so in etwa war Eric’s Reaktion. Beer Money stürmten in den Ring und attackierten die World Elite. Was für ein Clusterf*ck!

Daniels traf auf AJ. Der sollte nicht glauben was Joe erzählt, immerhin sind sie best buddys. AJ ist aber verwirrt, daher will Daniels die Sache mit Joe regeln.

Die Beautiful People traten gegen ODB & Christy Hemme & Hamada an. Wow, 1 sehr gute Wrestlerin mit 5 Blitzbirnen, das wird bestimmt klasse. So war es dann auch. Jeder Wrestling-Schüler ist nach einer Woche besser als diese Mädels. Als Lacey endlich eintaggte und mit Hamada im Ring stand, hoffte ich auf einen Hamada Driver, der Lacey für immer aus dem Wrestling Business entfernt. Leider taggte sie Sekunden später wieder aus. Zum Finish durfte sie wieder in den Ring und Hemme nach einem Chokeslam pinnen. Für diesen simplen Move brauchte sie einige Zeit, ist ja auch nicht so einfach anzusetzen. Die ist so hohl, eigentlich müsste sie schweben. Nach dem Match kam Awesome Kong zum Ring, gefolgt von Tara und wir hatten unseren allwöchentlichen Brawl, an dem ein Haufen Security beteilt war. *schnaaaaaarccchhh*

Endlich mal wieder ein Hardcore Match, diesmal zwischen Abyss und Dr. Stevie. Oh, ich habe einen Fehler gemacht, auch Abyss freut sich so sehr über Hogan, dass er direkt twittern musste. Das Match war sowas von Hardcore, dass sich Stevie erstmal an Leglocks versuchte. Abyss siegte mit dem Shock Treatment und dann nahm sich Stevie einen Kendo Stick und schlug auf Abyss ein. Mike Tenay sagte dann die folgenden denkwürdigen Worte, die er im übrigen mehrfach in dieser Show benutzte. “Who cares about winning the match when you win during the post match attack”. Mit anderen Worten, wir können alle Matches vergessen, nur die Mist danach zählt. Besser kann man Russo’s Philosophie nicht in Worte packen. Wie auch immer, Foley kam hinzu, bat Stevie um den Kendo Stick und natürlich schlug er auf Stevie ein. Jay, Foley ist wieder Babyface und bildet jetzt ein Team mit Abyss. Wäre es nicht logischer gewesen, wenn man das Team erst mal etabliert hätte und dann den Split macht? Was frage ich überhaupt noch, diese Show wird von Idioten gebookt.

Matt Morgan besiegte Rhino mit dem Carbon Footprint. Ich lerne ja dazu, das Match ist unwichtig, also warum soll ich mehr dazu schreiben. Anschließend attackierte Rhino den Sieger, verpasste ihm einen Gore. Hernandez kam hinzu, Rhino flüchte.

Daniels sprach mit Joe, der ihm den Floh ins Ohr setzte, dass AJ ihm die Attacke nicht zutrauen würde. Nicht weil er an ihre Freundschaft glaubt, sondern weil AJ der Meinung ist, dass Daniels nicht fähig zu so einer Attacke ist. Ich sage es doch, das Interesse am Match wird immer weniger.

Homicide traf auf Don West und forderte von ihm ein Title Match gegen Red bei TURNING POINT. Don sah sich bedroht und stimmte zu. Dann klaute ihm Homicide Geld und den Führerschein. Beim PPV bekommt Don aber alles zurück. Warum? Fragt fuckin’ Russo.

JB sprach mit Angle und deutete an, dass Desmond Wolfe vielleicht von jemanden vorgeschickt wurde, um Angle auszuschalten. Kurt glaubt nicht an eine solche Verschwörung.

Plötzlich Chaos, AJ lag mal wieder K.O. am Boden. Danach Werbung, dann fuhr ein Krankenwagen weg. Immer gut, wenn man 20 Sekunden Zeit für den World Champion reserviert.

Aha, jetzt kommt der tolle Street Fight zwischen Kurt Angle und Nigel McWolfe. Warum der Kampf ein Street Fight war, wenn dann sowieso keine Waffen eingesetzt werden, weiss auch kein Mensch. Angle dominierte, zeigte seinen Rolling Germans und nach dem letzten gab es einen deutlichen Cut. Und dann ist Wolfman wieder fit, Lariat und Angle ist platt. Anstatt eines der dummen Interview Segmente wegzulassen, machte man lieber in diesem Main Event einen fetten Cut um Zeit für Hogan zu haben. Toll.

Aber das Match war noch nicht ganz vorbei. Ref Earl Hebner schaute sich Angle an und brach das Match ab, da Angle verletzt war. Er musste mit einer Trage weggebracht haben. Aha, eine Fake Verletzung ist schlimm, die echte Verletzung von Sabin egal. Ich muss es einfach nochmal erwähnen. Einige Leutchen sagten Vince Russo nach den Tapings, dass man die Verletzung von Sabin rausschneiden sollte, weil sonst der Main Event Angle nicht gut rüberkommen kann. Ganz zu schweigend davon, dass man wenige Minuten vorher einen Ambulance Angle zeigte. Diesen Einwand konnte Russo nicht verstehen, eine echte Verletzung muss man immer zeigen und ausschlachten. Dieser Mann ist der größte Idiot auf Gottes Erden … knapp gefolgt von Dixie Carter, die wirklich glaubt, dass man Desmond Wolfe richtig eingesetzt hat und den Fans ein tolles Debüt präsentierte.

Oh, fast vergessen. Hulk Hogan ist bei TNA. Es wurden ein paar Ausschnitte der Pressekonferenz gezeigt. Hulk ist happy, Dixie ist happy, Spike TV ist happy. Haben ja auch ne Menge Kohle auf den Tisch gelegt, damit TNA nicht alles selbst bezahlen muss. Hogan will TNA zur Nr. 1 machen. Viel Glück dabei. Mir ist nur wichtig, dass er Russo vertreibt. Was danach passiert geht mir am Arsch vorbei.

THE financial adviser to actor Paul Hogan and John Cornell, Tony Stewart, has been charged with two criminal offences in relation to the $300 million Wickenby tax probe…. From The Australian. Full story

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God, I didn’t realise how much making a new video every day would take out of me. This has become a very, very long week. Anyway, time for part 4 in the Halloweek series, this time Gremlins 2: The New Batch.

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Thanks for 1000 HITS, three is my appreciate. Top 10 Bikini Hollywood Woman, enjoy them.

Complete Top 100 Bikini and original source can be found at : zimbio

1.Marisa Miller, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Marisa Miller poses for a photo shoot on the beach.

2.Kelly Brook, keeps cool by splashing around in the Caribbean waters.

3.Katy Perry chilling by the beach in Mexico, reading Madonna’s Biography and later on having fun riding a seadoo.

4.Brooke Hogan, reality star turned singer Brooke Hogan films her music video with the company of her new boyfriend, rapper Yannique Barker.

5.Penelope Cruz, her sister Monica Cruz and her boyfriend enjoy a winter vacation in St. Bart’s.

6.Kristin Cavallari’s has some fun in the sun while filming an upcoming episode of MTV’s “The Hills” at a beach house in Malibu.

7.Audrina Patridge poses while hosting a Bombay Sapphire event at the Wet Republic pool at the MGM Grand Hotel.

8.Paris Hilton and boyfriend Doug Reinhardt enjoy the pool at the Eden Rock Hotel in Cannes.

9.Whitney Port films scenes for her show ‘The City’ wearing a bikini.

10.Kendra Wilkinson of ‘The Girls Next Door’ vacations in Miami with some friends.

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