Author: whodeanny

TP’s TNA Blog11September2008

 

Impact starts with a helpful recap from last week. JB does a
better job of getting STING to talk at the start of the show. He actually says
“Jeff Jarrett”. Thank goodness.

 

Samoa Joe comes to the ring with a phalanx of security.  He immediately calls out STING but
instead Nash tries to talk Joe down. ‘Ass’ gets bleeped as Nash attempts to
smooth the road between the two. Joe accepts the challenge Nash suggests for
tonight involving three matches. Joe of course is an idiot so invokes defending
the TNA title.

 

Lauren interviews The Beautiful People and again, they talk
about the 1st Annual Beautiful People beauty contest.

 

Abyss vs. Christian Cage (in Abyss’ Open Challenge):

 

This is a shocking pairing. I expected TNA to keep Abyss
newly undefeated for quite some time. Obviously, Christian can’t afford to lose
the match. Hopefully they’ll come up with a clever outcome. Cage and Abyss have
a great series of reversals and escapes. Kurt Angle and Booker T interrupt
Christian’s potential victory over Abyss and attempt a pretty massive beatdown.
Angle tries to solicit Abyss’ assistance but of course, he refuses to use the
chair and takes a beating for it. Predictably, Matt Morgan comes in to save
Abyss from the chair shot. Morgan and Abyss are referred to as partners twice
within about eight seconds. An interesting tag match is scheduled. I expect
another schmozz because none of these guys could take a loss this week without
gumming up their programs.

My hopes for the X Division title match have apparently been realized as it will be a 3-way match. Again though, Cornette should have announced this on the show himself. Turn title matches into a big deal. Simple but helpful.

 

1st Annual Beautiful People beauty contest-

 

The PJB have a fun logo now. Angelina Love is accompanied to
the ring by both Velvet Sky and ‘Cute’ Kip James. I still don’t think Taylor
Wilde is particularly attractive but it probably helps to have her broadening
out her persona this way. She doesn’t seem comfortable in her evening gown but
the crowd is buying it.

 

Sonjay Dutt is interviewed by Lauren. The ‘Guru’ gives a
strong interview.

 

Karen’s Angle features STING. Sad but true. He presses
strongly for a return to respect as his central theme. Steve Borden takes off
his glasses and has no paint on his face. This may be the first time I’ve ever
seen him look this way for more than a second. Except of course, during long
matches when the paint’s been sweated and beaten off. Karen did a decent job
staying out of the way during the interview.

 

AJ Styles calls out Frank Trigg and he responds by walking
into the ring. Trigg calls AJ a hillbilly and runs down his pedigree. Trigg and
Styles are to go MMA at No Surrender. Sounds good to me. I wonder if Trigg is
enough of a draw to bring MMA interest into the PPV.

 

Yet another interview as Cage takes the mike from Lauren. 45
minutes in and one match completed. Welcome to Russoland. Another strong
interview as Cage goes deeply into his past. If this interview had occurred three
weeks ago I might have assumed he’d win the match Sunday. There’s just no build
to that though.

 

1st Annual Beautiful People beauty contest
continues with the bikini contest. Wilde goes first and looks nice but the
Beautiful People do a great job of mocking her. Since there are three events,
of course, Angelina will win this one. Don West says that she’s done this
before. Tenay goes far enough to say all that’s missing is the stripper pole.
But they bleep the word ‘ass’. The crowd’s chanting ‘Taylor’ but Angelina is a
legitimate bombshell.

 

1 hour. 1 match. I wish TNA could recognize how to play to
their strengths.

 

I hate the name ‘Bimbo Brawl’ but I’m glad the match is
happening. Awesome Kong vs. ODB in a falls count anywhere match will likely be
a highlight of No Surrender. Tonight though it’s Awesome Kong vs. Roxxi
Laveaux:

 

Kong is so strong that she can toss Roxxi around very
casually. TNA seems to be removing the back-story from Roxxi’s character. They
seem to be deliberately calling her ‘Roxxi’ only. I wonder how long they’ll
stick with the Voodoo drop as her finisher. Kong is so strong that simply by
tossing a chair into Roxxi’s head and face she created a huge gash. Licking
Roxxi’s blood may be a great image to use later on. ODB keeps Roxxi from being
Awesome bombed onto a pair of chairs but as Kong leaves she licks Roxxi’s blood
once more. Whew.

 

Johnny Devine vs. Samoa Joe:

 

Devine has so much talent I really expected big things would
happen with him a few months ago. In fact, I’d crafted a fun program for him.
Joe beats him in about 20 seconds.

 

Samoa Joe vs. Lance Rock:

 

We’re going from small and fast to super tall. We’re finally
told that it’s a non-title event even though Joe sloppily referenced defending
his title tonight in front of these fans. He needs to spend a lot of time
practicing promos. He’s been champ too long to make stupid mistakes like that.
Randy Orton wouldn’t screw up this way.

 

Samoa Joe vs. Tomko:

 

Very nice! I’m glad it’s happening this way. Tomko is
presented as a serious challenge to Joe. Tomko looks impressive tonight. He
uses some atypical offense and appears credible enough that even in a short
match, Joe is made to look really strong here. I’d be excited to see these two
in an Impact main event later this fall. Nash ends the segment by giving Joe
his blessing and benediction. Nash is so good that this ends up being a very
sweet moment. I hope they figure out another way to keep Nash on the microphone
consistently.

 

The talent element of the 1st Annual Beautiful
People beauty contest. Angelina is doing an ‘oral presentation’. Both
commentators make jokes about it. Angelina’s poem calls Taylor a whore and West
laughs about it. They’re performance of Row Row Row Your Boat is Jillian level
painful.

 

Taylor Wilde does a sad but not painful drum solo as her
talent presentation. She wins and the Beautiful People are deeply offended. I’m
deeply offended that this pageant took so much TV time. It was fine but
ridiculously long.

 

Booker T and Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan and Abyss:

 

Tonight is the first time I’ve ever noticed how clearly
Abyss uses forearms instead of fists when he punches. It’s visually
transparent. Morgan and Angle both need to spend a little cash to get their
cheap back tats updated. Morgan probably gains the most from this match because
he seems comfortable and credible in this match where everyone else is a World
champ. 3D uses a chair to knock out Abyss. Well, that’s probably the best
ending. A little added heat to their upcoming match and Morgan doesn’t take the
loss.

 

STING salutes the fans as he enters the ring and is roundly
cheered. He calls out Jarrett (in an amusingly old school way) and Samoa Joe.
Joe asks if STING is insecure or threatened. The entrance of Jarrett is a big
deal and he’s referred to as a 12-time World champion. A nice visual end to the
show that introduces a new level of intrigue to the PPV. One could make
reasonable arguments to suggest any of the competitors might win the World
title. It all depends on what Bound for Glory is scheduled to look like. Who’ll
be in the main event there? Will TNA go for a gargantuan match to utilize the
tremendous number of potential World champs on their roster? (I’m thinking of
an 8 man challenge match with 7 falls including Samoa Joe, Booker T, Christian
Cage, Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, Jeff Jarrett, STING and Mick Foley. That match
could be the entire last hour of the event.)

 

The final promo for No Surrender is a strong one. Overall, I
think a weak first hour that is saved by an excellent hour #2.


TP

 

 

 

 

Dusty said what?

In a vintage promo on the second disc of his DVD set, Dusty talks about being willing to attempt to pin ("the
shoulders") of Dory Funk, Jr. for a $100,000 bounty. Dusty says he’s pinned
Daddy Funk, he’s pinned Terry Funk, he’s pinned Dory Funk, Jr. and “I’d even pin Mother Funker, I mean, it don’t matter to me!”

 

Ah, there’s nothing quite like living on the edge of a
lightning bolt…


TP

Ricky Rubio and Don Nelson- A Perfect Fit?

I can already imagine how desperately Don Nelson wants to
draft Ricky Rubio. He passes beautifully, effectively, creatively and boldly.

 

Rubio is also a great finisher at the rim (think Manu
Ginobili not Ben Gordon). That’s one of the things Nellie likes most about
Baron Davis and Monta Ellis, when they get to the rim, they score and/or get
fouled. Heck, that was a real strength of Sidney Moncrief back in the day.

 

Speaking of El Sid, Rubio also rebounds at a surprisingly
high rate. That’s especially helpful on the defensive boards because he’ll be
able to push the ball even more quickly.

 

Rubio will be a one man press breaker, making it difficult
for teams to slow the Warriors attack.

 

Particularly when teamed with Ellis they will provide
intense defensive pressure on the backcourts of their opposition.

 

Since GSW won’t make playoffs this year, they should make a
concerted effort to see which of their talented youngsters will likely
contribute in the long run.

 

GSW will be a low lottery team next year and can trade their
1st rounder and some combination of veteran, young talent and
expiring contract if they have to climb high enough to grab Rubio. Fortunately
for the Warriors, I don’t think there’s much chance that Rubio will actually be
the top pick. There are several guys who may grab that brass ring but Rubio’s
game won’t naturally translate to all the relevant GMs and coaches. Derrick
Rose’s likely struggles in Chicago won’t help push Rubio to the top of the draft charts either. That means GSW will have
a decent chance to draft Rubio outright.

 

3 years from GSW could have a lineup of:

Ricky Rubio

Monta Ellis

Anthony Randolph

Brendan Wright

Andris Biedrins

 

With bench players like

Kelenna Azubuike

Marco Bellineli

Stephen Jackson or Corey Maggette

Their 2010 1st round pick

 

That would be a very fun team to watch and may be a great
way for Nellie to ride off into the sunset. He’d love to pass that team off to
a successor as his last coaching legacy.

 

TP

How long will Sarah Palin stay on the ticket?

With news today that her husband was a member of the Alaska Independence
Party until she ran for lieutenant governor in 2002, even more folks are going
to start pressing John McCain hard to drop her. Josh Marshall has already
suggested reasons he needs her to stay but I don’t think those reasons are
enough to keep her in play much longer. In fact, I hope (for his sake) that
McCain is considering a change to be announced at the convention.

 

The problems are already so numerous as to make Palin’s
appearance on the ticket potentially damaging to McCain and there’s virtually
no way she’ll be a positive game changer for him. It seems likely to get even
worse as more information comes to light about her family and the specific
tasks she claims as accomplishments. The comparison with Joe Biden will not be
favorable.

 

Some politicians could survive the weekend she’s had but
Palin has no reservoir of good will and public familiarity to fall back
on.  I hope Palin ‘decides’ to drop
out because she wants to consider her family first. She has a newborn with a
profound developmental disability, her high school senior daughter is newly
engaged and about to become a mother herself and still has two other young
children at home. Palin can argue, reasonably and persuasively, that she’s
discovered in the last week that she simply does not have time to be both the
VP her country deserves and the parent her children deserve.  Isn’t that the kind of narrative that
would help her save face and make it easier for McCain to nominate Romney,
Pawlenty or someone else?

 

 

 TP

 

TP’s TNA Blog 28August2008


Hopefully this will be the week that STING begins giving us
some real answers about the bats that have been showing up in surprising
circumstances for the last several weeks. Yes. STING shows up, except that he’s
Steve Borden on the way to the building. Nothing supernatural going on here. I
should say that I appreciate how the narration continues to refer to his
psychological tactics and doesn’t try to pretend its magic.

A great start to Impact with Awesome Kong coming out first.
After last week’s brutal, intense street fight match with Gail Kim, starting
with Kong is a great idea.

Awesome Kong vs. Sojourner Bolt:

What’s up with Raisha Saeed’s makeup? It looks odd and
totally wrong with her hijab. I’m also glad that they handled Gail Kim’s
departure in a classy fashion. I anticipated that they would try to use the
match to put Kong over as more of a monster and claim that she’s the reason Kim
left. They didn’t. Hopefully this means Kim is more likely to come back as soon
as her WWE contract concludes.

ODB provides a great, effective run-in at the end of this
match. Kong looks desperate to escape from ODB. Great visuals here. 

Another solid Rough Cut featuring Consequences Creed. Creed
looks to be a legitimate star in the making. It always helps to make fans care
about the people in the ring.

 

Sheik Abdul Bashir and “Maple Leaf Muscle” Petey Williams
(c) vs. Consequences Creed and “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal:

Some fun spots and a high level of activity in this match.
There’s a nice dynamic building between Williams and Bashir. Unfortunately, Don
West’s commentary totally confuses the actual story that’s being told and
focuses on Bashir’s disloyalty… which doesn’t really exist.

 

ODB doesn’t make a lot of sense in her interview with Lauren
but she provides lots of cheerable moments.

 

Karen’s Angle with Abyss: uh, I mean, Chris Parks:

This is by far the most he’s ever spoken. It’s a big
adjustment to hear him talk. The rocking back and forth is even more Mankind
than usual. Pulling out clumps of hair. I hope this means Mick’s planning to
accept the Abyss open challenge. Otherwise, another dual personality character? Really?
Merciful Minerva.

Karen looks appropriately weirded out with Parks in her
face. Finally she does a decent job. Not good but manageable.

 

The Beautiful People and Kip James are quite funny again.
They make lots of sex jokes and pump themselves up appropriately. The funniest
moment of all though is the Spike censor button. They bleep Angelina Love
saying ‘ass’ even though ODB just referred to herself as a ‘bitch’. Hello? Are
you even trying?

 

Is this really four straight interview segments? Oh
goodness. Angle plays it nicely and is appropriately bothered. How's about a little rasslin' now?

 

Jimmy Rave vs. Curry Man:

Some fun spots and quick offense. Not much happens but the story
of the match is the aftermath.

 

This rash of female violence against men is simply absurd.
Rahka Khan’s interference against Creed made more sense and happened outside
the ring and behind his back. It also didn't have anything to do with her gender. Okay, that’s fine. Hemme slapping Curry Man then
giving him a ball shot in the middle of the ring? Crazy. Crazy and only happening because Hemme's a woman. I’m glad that Cornette
is responding by inserting Hemme into a 6 person match. Cornette plays it great
here. He’s funny and appropriately lascivious.

 

Jeremiah? Great stuff. Booker’s accent was from someplace
I’ve never been. The whole thing was pretty fun but I have to say, Booker T
winning the Four Ways to Glory match might be a great plan for the World title.
That way, he gets a short run on top and Joe has to fight back to get his title
(“The title he never lost!” Mike Tenay will cry for weeks on end), a position in which he'd likely be much more comfortable- and over. 

 

Kevin Nash gives a great interview with Jeremy Borash. He
clearly lays out his motives both if Joe is ready in his eyes or if he is not.
He also reminds everyone of his own championship pedigree. I hope next week
Tenay talks very specifically about every man in the championship challenge
matches being a multiple time former World champion. I think this is the sort
of subtle commentary that helps build credibility for guys like Rhino and AJ
Styles.

 

Kurt Angle vs. Kevin Nash:

This was a better match than I expected. Angle and Nash
don’t seem to mesh very well to me but everything worked well enough. Again,
the match was not particularly the story here. I’m getting excited about the
Four Ways to Glory match.  Even
though I think Christian Cage is a tremendous wrestler, I think AJ Styles
should win next week. That could lead helpfully to a phenomenal match. The four
guys that would be in this match (Joe, Booker, Angle and Styles) all have a
great combination of outstanding agility and strong physical style. **It’s the lack of hard hitting moves that makes me want to keep Cage out of this match, and although he’d be
fine, it’s been so long since he won a big singles match, TNA would be better
served by putting AJ in it anyway. (And yes, I've heard all about his contract situation but I try hard to watch TV as a fan and consider what I want to see- as a fan.)

 

You could also have a great scenario heading out of the match that
features Booker in a defense against Joe and a culmination of Styles-Angle just
in time for Bound for Glory. I think they’re in a great position in the main
event level. It’s a step or two below that wherein they’re struggling. And why
I still think they need a secondary title. 

 

Jeff Jarrett’s re-introduction-

This is a big deal. TNA could definitely use Jarrett’s
presence to make a big push into the mainstream. Hopefully the slow burn won't diminish the splash Jarrett can make.

 

So Cal Val will put her love on the line for a wrestling
match. Just when we thought the camp was fading…

 

"We don’t play wrestling dress up." "TNA Knockouts cross the
line." It’s a great ad except that they show (and ugh, we hear) Karen Angle.
She’s only eye candy. Oh yeah, only eye candy that’s married to their biggest
star. Super.

 

The Beautiful People vs. Roxxi Laveaux and Taylor Wilde (c):

Wow, another women’s match that lasts long enough to get a
‘justified’ commercial break. The Beautiful People are a really good team with
interesting offense and a real willingness to sell and take hard bumps. Velvet
Sky is still a little rough at times but Angelina is great and Velvet works
really hard at it. The end of this match worked pretty well for me. I don’t
like spraying in wrestling unless it’s done Muta style but considering the rest
of their gimmick it makes good sense. Of course once again, a woman hits a man.
Vince, stop beating the horse, it’s waaay dead.

Rhino makes the save. Okay, I don’t get it yet but as long
as it means Rhino is doing something other than counting ceiling lights I’m
cool.

 

Great build up for the STING explanation- 

I just wanna help the young guys. Interesting? It’s all
about respect for the Stinger. Samoa Joe gets the Ric Flair story told to him.
Nice touch, sure to start some speculation about Flair’s possible entry into
TNA. AJ Styles gets the tongue lashing too. I wonder if this really will be the
start of a Millionaire’s Club kind of faction? Nice t-shirt on AJ’s back
tonight. He does a good job standing up for himself. The physical confrontation
was fairly well-played too.

I really wonder how many TNA fans don’t recognize the music
ending the show tonight. I wonder how quickly the Jarrett pseudo appearances
will tire.

 

 TP

Main Event Tiers

It's surprising for me to consider it but TNA’s main event level looks much stronger than any of WWE’s individual TV programs. WWE PPVs still have more top tier guys but the imbalance is not stark and in 3 or 4 months TNA could have an extra 4 or 5 guys in legitimate World title contention. Yeah, let’s play that game. Jarrett, STING, Nash, Rhino, Foley, Abyss, maybe even Morgan.

 

Particularly considering the absences of Orton, Cena and Michaels, WWE needs to make a continued effort to push guys like Benjamin, MVP, the Hardys and Kane. Otherwise, TNA will have another good opportunity to make waves at WWE's expense.


TP 

Palin or Pallin?

McCain’s primary spokesperson, Tucker Bounds, is on CNN
tonight and he just pronounced Sarah Palin’s two entirely different ways. At
first he said ‘Pal-lin’ with a short ‘a’ sound. Second time through he called
her ‘Pa-lin’ with a long ‘a’ sound. Shouldn’t the lead spokesperson know how to
pronounce his own VP’s name?

Wow.

TP 

Joe Biden at the DNC

 

Beau Biden gave a very good speech. There were a couple
stumbles but he certainly seems well suited, in numerous ways, to contend for
his dad’s Senate seat.

 

There have been a couple very specific references to Biden’s
efforts on behalf of women including the Violence Against Women Act.

 

I’m a helluva success. He probably wasn’t supposed to say
hell, was he?

 

Beau-y? What a great little kid nickname

 

A perfect ‘Freudian slip’ as Biden calls McCain ‘George’
instead of ‘John’.

 

Biden speaks very directly about his friendship with McCain
and then rips him intently. Not unkindly but deliberately, with passion and
verve.

 

This is a really strong speech and did a great job
encapsulating what Biden brings to the table. 

TP