The Bolsheviks' Wrestling Thread

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'Catching up with Raw and NXT. I'm still excited about Danielson potentially locking on Cattle Mutilation onto the Miz. Speaking of the Miz, he cut a real good promo prior to that horrendous match he and Big Show had with Morrison and Killings.

Wade Barrett and Justin Gabriel will do well in WWE. Skip Sheffield and William Regal is a good, classic pairing. I have no faith in WWE to do anything noteworthy with Danielson, and see him getting jobbed-out then fired. I see WWE becoming bored with Danielson after touting him as the "fan's favorite" in NXT.

Man, TNA picked the wrong time to go head-to-head with WWE. And honestly, there is no need for TNA to go head-to-head with WWE on Mondays. There is no magic to the Monday timeslot. If TNA's product isn't good enough, and it isn't, it's just a waste of money. But hey, Vince Russo, one of the main reasons why WCW died, still has a job and is doing the exact same thing he did in WCW. If TNA's ratings remain worse than what they earned on Thursdays, and Hulk Hogan does leave, there is a good chance he'll fire Russo before leaving--and that's a good thing for TNA. Their Monday debut was damn terrible and they deserve that .98-or-what-ever-rating-they-ended-with-at-the-end-of-the-show.

And here's a tasteful, cute shot of Christy Hemme for JJ.

 
So, my friend got the "collector's edition" tickets for the Dragon Gate USA show we're going to the night before WrestleMania:

DSC00274.jpg


The first person who was shown the tickets said they looked like tickets for a gay strip club.
 
Considering DGUSA employs BxB Hulk, there's a decent chance it will be a strip club.

I like my beers cold, my TV loud, and my homosexuals flaming.
 
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Man, just look at the guy. AJ Styles isn't as bad as people seem to think in taking on the "Nature Boy" mantle, but overlooking Robert Roode for that role is almost criminal.
 
LMAO... I read JJ's quote as I scrolled down and Roode appeared on the monitor. The thought of him shouting out that line was very amusing to me in my sleep-deprived state.
 
Robert Roode is probably the third or fourth best TNA original.
 
Roode was already half-Naitch/half-Macho Man when he was courting managers in TNA right after he left (I think) Team Canada. That was good stuff.
 
[quote name='neocisco']Who else would be on that list besides AJ?[/QUOTE]

As far as good TNA originals go? As in guys who have never been in WWE?

Samoa Joe
Motor City Machine Guns
Beer Money
Hernandez
Desmond Wolfe
Christopher Daniels
Sting
Abyss
 
[quote name='mykevermin']
Man, just look at the guy. AJ Styles isn't as bad as people seem to think in taking on the "Nature Boy" mantle, but overlooking Robert Roode for that role is almost criminal.[/QUOTE]


Agreed. I like AJ with Flair, but not as Nature Boy Jr., AJ would be in the Horsemen like group I'd have Flair manage, but Roode damn sure deserves to be. They could have elevated Roode straight to the main event with this gimmick.
 
Lance Storm destroyed TNA.

RAW vs. Impact

March 9, 2010

Last night was the restart of the big Monday Night Wars, or at least that is what TNA would like us all to believe. I’m all for the competition and a return to the Monday Night Wars atmosphere, but I just don’t see that happening. The analogy I like best is looking at this Monday Night situation as: Canada declaring war on the USA, with Canada deciding to lead the charge with mainly veteran soldiers from WWII, because none of the current soldiers in the Military have big war experience.

All of that being said I do have a lot of strong opinions of both RAW and Impact from this week as I managed to sit down and watch both shows in their entirety last night. Let me also state that there is no way I will ever watch all 4 hours of wrestling programming Monday nights ever again. I only managed it last night because I knew I was doing the “Insider” segment on the Fight Show (on Sirius Hardcore Sports Radio) today with my friend Mauro Ranallo.

Let me do RAW first because I think that will be the shorter rant. On the whole I liked RAW. That being said it was far from an exciting show and didn’t produce much in the way of good wrestling; but it did, for the most part, built toward WrestleMania in a logical manner. I’m not going to go segment by segment but I do want to point out a few key segments.

HBK-Taker promo: I loved this segment. This is the kind of angle that IMO sells tickets. You had 2 top stars cutting very serious heavy promos about how each one needs to and intends to beat the other. It doesn’t get any more basic than this and that is all these two needed. No gimmicks, no physicality, no bullshit. When you have STARS this is all you need.

Chris Angle: Let me just lump all these segments together and say I hated them. The celebrity guest host stuff is awful, and on a show where wrestlers constantly “work” fans, magic tricks don’t work. All these segments were horrible and the only stuff I hated on the show. Dreadful!

Show-Miz – Morrison & Truth: A non match, which I could see people complaining about but I thought it served a purpose. Truth and Morrison are a thrown together tag team with NO Tag Team credibility, so they needed to give them something. This segment not only got the challengers some momentum it got them and this feud on RAW (WWE’s biggest audience).

Orton vs. Legacy: This segment confuses me, because I have no idea where they are going. The match itself was fine and the finish made sense, but I don’t know where this leads. Perhaps when I find out what the match at Mania is it will make sense but for now it was just some solid pro-wrestling that left me unattached.

HHH-Sheamus: I was not over whelmed by this segment, but to be honest I can’t come up with anything better. I think HHH’s promo did about as good a job as it could have in creating some interest in this match. I didn’t like HHH saying Sheamus hadn’t done anything until he won at WrestleMania, considering the guy was WWE CHAMP, but on the whole the promo made sense. To be honest Sheamus has only won a couple big matches and its logical to say he hasn’t really proven himself as a legit long term top player yet.

VKM – Cena: Okay this was a load of crap but this too may serve a great purpose. I know there will be people that think I am just anti TNA for tolerating and maybe even putting this segment over considering how badly I am going to slam Impact but hear me out. Yes this match was stupid and the rules made absolutely no sense, and because of that it was complete bullshit, but at the end of the show, Big Dave stood over John Cena and I had more desire to see Cena get his revenge than I had to start the show. Further more I think the complete bullshit match structure could serve a great purpose going into next week. This match illustrated the kind of bullshit Vince will likely try with Bret at Mania, and Steve Austin is guest host next week on RAW for the Bret –Vince contract signing. I suspect that Austin will appoint himself Guest Referee for the match at Mania to ensure none of this bullshit will happen again and Bret gets his fair shake. If that is what they do, this was a HOME RUN segment, because it gives reason to add Austin to this match and Mania, which should increase PPV business.

Over all RAW was an unexciting show but it pushed well towards Mania which of course was the point. Also a note to TNA: Steve Austin is a big star and will be on RAW next week, so WWE is TELLING fans this so he might draw ratings.

IMPACT:

My god I hated this show. I actually watched it first. I DVR’d both shows and with kids, I had to watch them in order of which DVR I had access to first and TNA won out. TNA did have way more happening on their show than RAW did but IMO most of it made little sense. Like RAW let me take a look at a few key segments.

Hogan & Abyss – Flair & AJ: I am so sick of the swerve for the sake of the swerve. Russo books this kind of thing all the time and its complete bullshit. The Sting turn was wrong on so many different levels I don’t even know where to start. WHY did Sting do what he did, it made no sense. I can hear the argument now, “Oh wait, why Sting turned heel will be revealed in time”, but that of course is complete bullshit and anyone who understand BOOKING knows it’s complete bullshit. This isn’t even about Sting’s motivation to turn heel, it’s about his actions on the show and the fact that they made no sense and ultimately made no impact. Before Sting came out the heels had the faces down and were stomping on them. Sting then ran down and stopped them, allowing the faces to get back to their feet. He then hits the faces he just saved with the bat, knocking them down and then he leaves. The heels then proceed to stomp on the baby faces again. The scene was EXACTY the same after Sting left as it was before he came out. Net result = 0; so what did it mean? The answer is nothing. Stings attacked resulted in NOTHING. If Sting wanted the faces to get beat up he could have just stayed in the back and did nothing and got the same result. I don’t even want to get into the fact that Russo has tried to turn Sting heel at least twice before and it has never worked. Fans like this guy, why swim up stream and try to get them to boo him?

Hogan backstage segments: Like the Chris Angle segments I want to lump these together because I hated them all. Although at least the Chris Angle stuff was just pointless, these segments were detrimental to the show. The thought of hyping a main event match by constantly promoting the fact that the top Hero in the match is too old and washed up to compete anymore is just beyond me. The bulk of these segments established that no one thought Hogan had anything left to offer and Hogan agreed with them. Then Hogan and Bischoff tell us that Hogan is the ONLY chance this company has and without him TNA is dead and not worth a damn. That’s one hell of a sales pitch. Better yet Earl Hebner; remember him? Earl was fired by Hulk Hogan for taking money from Ric and AJ to screw over Kurt Angle in a match Hogan booked. So Hogan not only hires him back but makes him the ref of his own match against Ric and AJ. (WTF?) It gets better, Hogan goes on to make Earl promise that if things get tough out there and it looks bad for him, PLEASE STOP THE MATCH. Unless the goal was to ensure Hogan can never draw a dime ever again, I have no idea what the point of this was.

Williams-Daniels-Kaz: Best match of the night on either show (ROH excluded, I don’t get HD Net, which makes me very sad). Wow three guys going out there and producing the best segment on Impact with no angles or bullshit at all. Good hard fought exciting match. Please give me more of this!!!!!

Sting – RVD: This was the worst thing on either show by far. To start I can’t believe they signed RVD and wanted to keep it secret. TNA needs ratings, to get those you have to get people who don’t watch your show to start. Rob is a big deal, fans LOVE this guy, so you need to let them know he will be on your show. That being said they did such a horrible job with RVD they should be glad if none of his fans saw this. Fans got to cheer RVD for about 10 second. He got a fluke (jumped him from behind) win over Sting, that meant nothing, and then proceeded to get the hell beat out of him for what felt like 10 minutes. This was a complete burial because the focus of this endless beat down wasn’t heat between RVD and Sting; it was between Sting and Hogan. RVD was left as nothing more than an after thought because the focus at the close of the segment was Sting laying out Hulk Hogan, again. Rob was not mentioned again, he was forgotten. What a waste. They wasted Rob Van Dam’s debut in order to get over Sting hitting Hogan with a bat... something that had already been done earlier in the show.

Beer Money – JJ: I just have to clarify one point here. Beer Money turned heel tonight because (according to the announcers) they hadn’t been on TV much lately and were trying to get noticed. For the record last week on Impact Beer Money pinned the World Tag Team Champions, and were scheduled to get a Title shot at the PPV. Remind me again how Vince Russo is a great story teller.

Main Event: If the show would have ended at the finish of this match I might have been able to give this a thumbs up since Abyss is challenging AJ at the next PPV and he pinned him here to build toward that match. Unfortunately the show didn’t end there and TNA decided to dilute all that with a bunch of run ins. Pope and Nigel have pretty much nothing to do with this and the show closed with Jeff Hardy laying out AJ Styles, despite AJ facing Abyss on this PPV and Pope on the next one.

In closing, the ratings just came in and the WAR may be over already. RAW got a 3.4 and Impact got 0.98. Yes the biggest night in TNA History Live on Monday night produced a ratings drop from the 1.1 they pulled the last 2 weeks doing taped shows on Thursdays and those 1.1’s were considered bad. If you look at the quarter hours, things look even worse. Impact opened and closed the show with their TOP angle: Hogan & Abyss vs. Flair and AJ. This was the match that was supposed to pull the ratings and the opening and closing segments of the show were the lowest rated. Excluding the over run, the last quarter hour rating for the show was a 0.76 (the lowest rated segment on the show). WWE’s last quarter hour on the other hand was a 3.6 (the highest rated segment on the show).

What more can be said,
Lance
Click to expand...

http://www.stormwrestling.com/030910.html
 
Looking that those matches makes me really hope that WWE releases a Best of the WCW Cruiserweights DVD sometime in the near future. This is would especially beneficial to me since I didn't watch much WCW in in heyday, so I'd love to see what I missed out on.
 
AJ Styles held WCW gold with Air Paris, didn't he?

I think that being in late-era WCW and/or being WWF "enhancement talent" doesn't equal working for the company.
 
Nope. AJ teamed with Air Paris in the cruiserweight tag title tournament, but lost. The only CW tag champs ever were Elix Skipper & Kid Romeo (8 days) and Rey Mysterio & Billy Kidman (final Nitro).

And JJ, I was referring to anyone who hasn't been under WWE contract as a TNA original.
 
Ok, the short version. Buff comes out for a match with La Parka without his dance or hat, no-sells most of the match, does his cheesy dance/pose, and motions for La Parka to kick him in the head when he's posing. La Parka does, pins Buff, and Buff jumps up and grabs a mic to ask Russo if he did a good job.

Then Jarrett shows up (the night after he wrestled Chyna on a WWF PPV) and smashes Buff's head in with a guitar.
 
[quote name='JJSP']Anyone have any idea what the hell this was about? I understand Jarrett showing up, but why was Buff being a dumbass?[/QUOTE]

Looks like one of Russo's "worked shoots" and not Buff being "unprofessional."

That stupid motherfucker just won't ever learn, will he?
 
[quote name='neocisco']Who else would be on that list besides AJ?[/QUOTE]

Well, I mostly associate Samoa Joe with ROH (though I first saw him in UPW) and Christopher Daniels with ROH (though I first saw him in APW).

I think the term 'TNA original' would apply to the aforementioned Robert Roode, and James Storm, Eric Young, Hernandez, ODB, Taylor Wilde, Brutus Magnus, Jesse Neal, Big Rob, Kiyoshi, definitely Abyss, and perhaps Shark Boy.

Essentially, any person who had little to no name value prior to working in TNA. I have watched a lot of wrestling and in that list, outside of Shark Boy, I definitely had not heard of any of those people in any promotion worth knowing.

I think my Top 5 TNA Originals would be, in no particular order (as they're essentially interchangeable in today's TNA): Abyss, Eric Young, James Storm, Robert Roode, and Brutus Magnus. I think Robert Roode has the most untapped potential and could be a big name heel if given the chance and the right creative support.
 
I guess the question is, why would you want your company to look more chaotic and unprofessional than it naturally does?

When Triple H and Foley started their late '99 - Wrestlemania 2000 feud, I knew that I could expect a series of matches, interviews, and probably some run-ins against one another. I knew that there would be an end to the feud and that end would likely come in the form of a big blow-off match with some extra brutal stipulations. While the mark in me was sad that Cactus Jack didn't "win" the feud, it did come to a logical conclusion that enhanced both men's reputations to a certain degree.

Now pretend you're a WCW fan. You watch Thunder and see La Parka get betrayed by Buff Bagwell. A serviceable little mid-card feud seems to be brewing. Then you get to the next Nitro and poof, it all vanishes. Bagwell makes La Parka look like a douche by not wrestling properly. Bagwell looks like a douche for crying about "inside" stuff on television. Both men are left without a feud to pursue thanks to Russo (presumably) telling them to act in a manner that is more or less the opposite of the way that professional wrestling is supposed to work.
 
"pulling back the curtain" as a booking strategy doesn't appeal to anyone.

it flies right over the heads of fans who don't read dirt sheets, who buy into the characters, who buy the merch, who go to shows.

and it doesn't appeal to smart marks because smart marks live to hate the product by and large. it also, by the nature of how contrived it appears (keeping the camera on the ring and the announcers overselling it, in the Buff video). If you're going to do a work shoot (and you shouldn't), follow the edge/matt hardy feud. yeah, it worked because it was 'real,' or we were led to believe it was (the only clue we have as to that it originated in a real life situation is because WWE (1) couldn't book that well and (2) the on-air feud execution was a pile of shit). But people were *stunned* to see Matt Hardy run-in and attack Edge, and fans wanted to see the culmination of it. But the announcers didn't talk ad nauseum about Matt being shitcanned, working in ROH, Edge and Lita - not in the traditional sense.

I think work-shoots can be fabricated and can be fabricate well, but current wrestling writers have no idea how to execute it. they lack an understanding of viral marketing (a critical component that's a surefire way to promote a feud), and they have never heard of the word "subtle." work shoots are dumb, but they can work. But you gotta treat that stuff with the utmost of delicacy, and we all know wrestling writing is as subtle as Jack Torrance busting through the bathroom door, screaming "HERE'S JOHNNY!"

Russo's style is the epitome of the euphemism, 'if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit."
 
I agree with your assessment, Myke. Particularly the use of "baffle them with bullshit".

Vince Russo always finding work is baffling in itself. There must be a level of trust a pro wrestling writer must have and that can only be found in certain people. Surely, especially in today's world, they could find a writer who loves pro wrestling and can do much better than Vince Russo. *scratches head*
 
[quote name='Sporadic']I disagree with the first part. His matches (at least in ECW) weren't that formulated. If anything, you could blame The Rock for RVD's routine (and every stupid five-knuckle shuffle/ballin'/boom style move) in WWE. He's the first wrestler I could remember that had an almost set in stone spot list. Always the open hand punches with spit, always the samoan drop, always the spinebuster into people's elbow, always rock bottom.

As for not working on a body part, that's not his style.

Can't sell for shit? He was the only wrestler I can think of that would sell his own moves.

Also

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfAfDozERMc

- edit Unrelated RVD story. When Shane McMahon took the Van Terminator from him, RVD decided to add another twist to it. Bring the chair with him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0uLrtD2Jzg

Impressive as hell since the WWE ring is longer than the old ECW ring.[/QUOTE]

Agreed.. I always wanted to see Styles vs. RVD and Joe vs. RVD... now it can finally happen (I just caught Impact). Also, Jeff Hardy looks fatter. Maybe he dropped the meth habit?
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Roode was already half-Naitch/half-Macho Man when he was courting managers in TNA right after he left (I think) Team Canada. That was good stuff.[/QUOTE]
He reminded me more of a mixture of Rick Rude and Curt Hennig.
[quote name='neocisco']Who else would be on that list besides AJ?[/QUOTE]
Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, Frankie Kazarian, Hernandez, etc.
 
Yeah. But "TNA Original", to me, is someone who has either been in TNA from the beginning, or someone who has made their name in TNA (to some capacity).
 
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1st ROH show I ever went to, the opening match was Homicide vs. Chris Sabin, and the second match Hotstuff Hernandez vs. Hydro. I'd still consider all 4 "TNA originals."
 
[quote name='wildcpac']Heard a rumor about the MiTB at WM 26.


Kofi is number 10???
[/QUOTE]


Hmm.
If I were Kofi, and had a choice between partaking in Money in the Bank or teaming up with Randy Orton against Cody and Ted, I would pick teaming up with Randy--if I weren't booked to win the Money in the Bank match. At very least, he'd pick up a win, and possibly build up his history with Randy Orton.

I think it would be neat if kept the large, 10-man Money in the Bank format and then suspended two briefcases in the air. One could have a title shot choice for either the World Heavyweight or WWE title and the other could have a title shot choice for either the Intercontinental or U.S title. :whistle2:k
 
There's also a rumor that
whoever wins is going to cash it in much sooner than usual, possibly even the same night.
 
[quote name='JJSP']There's also a rumor that
whoever wins is going to cash it in much sooner than usual, possibly even the same night.
[/QUOTE]


Christian wins MiTB, Edge beats Jericho and Christian pulls and Edge/Batista and wins the title in 10 seconds. Edge/Christian program that last the summer and ends at SummerSlam.
 
[quote name='Matt Young']Hydro as in Jay Lethal?[/QUOTE]

Yup. Special K had me in love with ROH as a promotion.

"You mean these are spoiled trust fund candy ravers? BWAHAHAHAHAHA."

Rob Feinstein apparently can only create gimmicks that are part him.

What was the name of the tag team/faction with Tony DeVito in it? I think Justin Credible was in it for half a second, and a dude named Loc. Their gimmick was that they were miserable, bloated, pissed off men approaching middle age who hated their life, their family, and wanted to kill everyone around them. That shit was so real, because as a teen, everyone I ever worked with (over 35) was like that.

EDIT: The Carnage Crew!
 
[quote name='wildcpac']
Christian wins MiTB, Edge beats Jericho and Christian pulls and Edge/Batista and wins the title in 10 seconds. Edge/Christian program that last the summer and ends at SummerSlam.
[/QUOTE]

I'd rather see Edge lose to Batista, and Christian cash it in, pin Batista and turn on Edge, belittling him for not being able to accomplish what Christian could do, leading to a summer-long Edge/Christian feud over the title. Summerslam ladder match?

But y'all seem to enjoy Batista as a top heel, so whatever. Let him hang onto the belt for awhile.
 
TNA has added a "Four Ways To Glory" ladder match to Destination X - it'll be Daniels, Kazarian, Red, and Kendrick battling for presumably the #1 contender spot for the X Division title.

I can't help but think that kind of match a) needs more promotion that being announced on TNA's YouTube show and b) is kind of pointless on a show that includes Ultimate X as well.
 
[quote name='JJSP']TNA has added a "Four Ways To Glory" ladder match to Destination X - it'll be Daniels, Kazarian, Red, and Kendrick battling for presumably the #1 contender spot for the X Division title.

I can't help but think that kind of match a) needs more promotion that being announced on TNA's YouTube show and b) is kind of pointless on a show that includes Ultimate X as well.[/QUOTE]
It may be pointless, but I want to see it!
 
The problem I see with Edge/Christian is that they just turned Edge so we're not getting face/face and turning Christian messes with NXT and him being the face mentor for Slater.
 
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