I don't mind TNA bringing up 3D winning the IWGP tag belts (now the fake-looking "Japan" set...yeah...), but I do mind it when they act like winning a Japanese belt means more than winning one in TNA (which was the case with the 3D win) - it makes their own company look second-rate, and it's bad enough when they do it regarding WWE - let alone a company that most of their viewers have seen. At least 3D actually won the IWGP tag titles, as opposed to Angle winning the fake IWGP title.
TNA really should've gotten more mileage out of Tomko winning the IWGP tag title as well - he just carried that thing around for weeks without any explanation as to A. what it was and B. why it mattered. They have gotten slightly better at educating fans about that, but not by much - they at least showed pics of 3D's win to hype up Global Impact II, although they should've gone over past well-known guys who have held the belts (like the Steiners, Vader, Bigelow, and Hawk) to make it seem like a bigger deal .
WWE The Music Volume 9 - Voices (not the Best Buy-exclusive edition, unfortunately)
Full Album
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PKBGRXOP
Track-by-track (for those who just want some songs, or don't have the space for the whole album)
Randy Orton -
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4NXEDGZV
Maryse -
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=U5AF2P8G
Kane -
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=S50Q70UN
Kung Fu Naki -
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YZCD5UJW
Kelly Kelly -
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KUKH2L41
R-Truth -
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=N2HLSVPP
Vladimir Kozlov -
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6NV9D88E
Great Khali -
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZQMQLAKL
Eve (seriously, she has a theme?) -
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TFZPT3P4
Jack Swagger (Swaggaaaaa!) -
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=49V8AUM3
MNTV-era SD theme -
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IT9MIW3P
Umaga! -
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DGAMEI5O
New Priceless theme -
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LSP3WQ6E
SD thoughts -
Really good show this week. I liked Shelton-Taker a lot, especially the high kick counter to Old School, and the surprise gogoplata finish. These two meshed better together very well once again, and they have even better chemistry than I expected, with 'Taker actually taking some of Shelton's suplexes and making his offense look as good as can be. It's a shame it's just a time-filler storyline for 'Taker, because I'd love to see these two get a chance to show off on PPV. I also wish they'd do something to make Shelton seem special with how close he's come to beating 'Taker - in each match, he was given the old jobber entrance, which looks terrible for a champion to be getting.
Miz/Morrison vs. the Colons was also very good - that was the first time I can recall a crowd really getting into a Colon tag match, and the fairly long finishing sequence came off great, with Primo saving Carlito from a pinfall after the Flying Chuck kick, leading to a reverse cradle reversal sequence, then the blind tag before the backstabber leading to the schoolboy finish.
The Jeff Hardy interview was also far better than expected, and while I don't think it did anywhere near what a similar one did for Mankind in the late '90s, it did at least give Jeff a chance to cut a good, passionate promo in such a way that he couldn't really yell to get his point across and get a pop for it - he had to act subdued, but still show rage, and did a good job of it. Jeff running through the history of the attacks was an easy, effective way to remind people of them and build up the possible return of Christian as the attacker. The "cross the line" line thrown in there was another hint of him being the attacker.
I liked the "you should've been there..." WWE PPV package - for far too long, WWE's just pumped out PPVs without making them seem important, and this video package made at least some of the shows - even the traditionally less-important B-shows, seem like events where history could be made and are things that you MUST see. The Wrestler video package was also good, and it's somewhat surreal to see WWE pimp a non-WWE Films movie more than their own now, and give ROH a free plug on global TV at the same time.
The main event was...fine. Nothing amazing, but I like seeing Big Show back in the SD main event scene on a weekly basis, and also liked seeing Kozlov score the pin on HHH. I hope they make a bigger deal of that in the future, because that is something that should be treated like a major event in Kozlov's career - even though it did happen in a handicap match, he still pinned the former WWE Champion, and the finish should at least be used in highlight reels/tron vids to show him as a top-level threat.
Penn Gilette calls "The Wrestler" one of the best movies he's ever seen, then says it's even more than that, and that it gave him a visceral reaction he's never had to a film before. He also calls it the most real movie he's ever seen, says that Rourke's acting is the most real acting he's ever seen, and says that after watching it "professional wrestling is real...man is it ever real." -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQkneObQRkQ