cm funk

Joe vs. Steiner is great If you're a Scott Steiner fan.....that's another reason to go through the TNA vault. Late period Scott Steiner is awesome. He cuts so many hilarious promos, has a lot of fun matches, and generally is very motivated. Much closer to WCW 00-01 Steiner than what we got in the WWE. I'd add Steiner/Booker vs. Team 3D vs. British Invasion (Doug Williams & Magnus) vs. Beer Money from Bound For Glory 09. It's a "Full Metal Mayhem" match (TLC) with both the TNA and IWGP tag titles hanging above the ring. It was actually Booker's last night in the company and he's taken out of the match immediately, leaving Steiner to go it alone. The crowd goes nuts for Steiner and he has some awesome house of fire moments where he just takes out everyone. I haven't seen the match since that night but I remember it being a lot of fun.

The Mankind sit down interviews were done, because it worked so well with Goldust. Also, Vince was getting his ass handed to him by WCW at the time and was very open to trying new things that weren't in his playbook. 97 is also the year they used ECW on RAW, brought in luchadores and minis from AAA, brought in Sasuka and TAKA and a bunch of other "this would never happen if Vince was in the lead" type of deals. I don't remember exactly when he let Jim Cornette go out there and cut shoot promos, but it wasn't too long after the Foley stuff 2. I thought it was brilliant at the time. "The Three Faces of Foley" was a great gimmick, and it actually made sense. Mick's crazy, and he'd been all 3 of the characters at one point. Depending on what mood he was in that day that's the guy that would show up. I loved it, it got really over, and the Dude was a funny character. 3. I was a huge Cactus Jack fan from his time in WCW, so I was thrilled they brought the character back. The pop when Mick first showed up as Cactus was HUGE and a total surprise. As far as Vince not creating the character, it didn't matter, he created Mankind and Mankind was still treated as the "base" Foley character 4. I watched both of those matches live, and I was 17-18 yrs old at the time. I loved them. The Cell match was just about the craziest shit I'd ever witnessed, I could not believe what I was seeing, and I'm sure I was jumping out of my chair hurling expletives for the duration. The Rumble match was brutal, and the Foley-Rock program was really hot......I fucking hated Rock that night, but I loved the match. When you're a 17-18 yr old wrestling fan, I was a junior in high school at the time of that match, you're not thinking about concussions or long term health consequences, at least I wasn't. I knew that it was brutal and ridiculous the number of times and how hard he was getting whacked, but I probably thought, "it's Foley, he knows what he's doing and he's the toughest SOB around". It wasn't until all the stuff came out after about how fucked up Foley was from that that I really soured on the match. And let's be honest, in 1999 in wrestling and sports and society in general brain injuries and blows to the head were not treated the way they are now. Totally different era we're in now when it comes to that stuff. As for the Cell......I still love that match. It's so f'n batshit insane and violent and brilliant.....if Foley had to destroy his body, that was the way to do it. It's an amazing spectacle.

Jeff Jarrett-Kurt Angle matches. Jarrett aged into a very fine worker and tones down Kurt's usual spot-spot-spot bullshit Samoa Joe's entire first run where he has a bunch of awesome glorified squash matches and looks like the most badass killer walking the planet Lots of AJ Styles. AJ Styles dragged the best match out of Matt Morgan's career. He had fun non-garbage matches with Abyss. Really good matches with Daniels, and too many X-Division matches to list. Motor City Machine Guns Beer Money Doug Williams New Jack & Shark Boy tag team LAX when Konnan was really into it and Homicide was working his ass off I could go on listing things I've liked in TNA for hours, the point is, if you wade through the sea of crap you'll find some good shit

A "Best of TNA" comp would surprise people. When you cut out all the crap there's been a lot of good stuff done in TNA over the years. It's just overshadowed by the sheer amount of crap and stupidity.

Whoa whoa whoa slow your roll. Clearly the sky is the limit with Reigns, and he's been exceptional in his role, but "miles ahead of the other two"? He's been ultra protected in matches, and he's grown a lot in a short time and does more in matches than he did initially, but there's a reason they don't put him in singles matches or really any situation where his weaknesses would be exposed. I recall a singles match against Orton that was really awkward and clunky. The only good singles match I can recall was with Bryan, who has good matches with everyone. Rollins and Ambrose are both excellent well rounded performers. Rollins can go out and have a good singles match with most of the roster. Reigns can't do that yet. I don't think Ambrose has had a real standout singles match yet, but he hasn't had any that I thought were bad, and he hasn't been put into a real mano a mano singles program yet which is where I think he'd shine. I'd rank them Rollins, Ambrose, Reigns in terms of in ring. And I say that as a big fan of Reigns and the work he's been doing.

And if they're going with an angle where HHH's repeated head injuries have changed his personality......tread lightly on that ground. And don't put him in more matches.

wow that was a lot of words in quotations

HHH did a concussion angle coming off the cage match with Lesnar too. When he had that "match" where Curtis Axel "beat him" I wonder if they have enough "long term" memory to play that up. That's what started the whole ball rolling with Steph being back on tv and HHH transitioning into this character

I don't see what's wrong with that. "combat sports" on PPV can also be applied to MMA and wrestling. Amateur wrestling has inseparable historical ties to both pro-wrestling and MMA, and the IOC dropping the sport was a HUGE story.

Show goes tweener and claims HE should be the face of the WWE, and Steph rewards him for becoming the monster she wants him to be? Her MO with both Orton and Show has been to bring out their "ruthless aggression" Not that it's what I'd do, but it at least makes sense within their story here I loved everything about The Rhodes Family vs. The Shield, from the pre-match to the post-match. I thought Bryan-Orton started slow and wasn't clicking with the crowd, then it got really good as it got going. The finish.....meh, it's about what I was expecting so it is what it is. And I like this better than if Show had helped one of them win. As it played out Bryan was on the verge of winning, then on the verge of getting screwed again, then a cliffhanger ending. Nobody should go into an obvious B show like this expecting resolution anyway IMO, you kind of had to know it was to setup a HIAC match. They've booked PPV like this for 15 years. Rest of the show was just there. I wasn't expecting much out of Punk-Ryback and it wasn't much. Kofi-Wyatt was just a match, but better than I expected. Axel-Truth...again, just a match, could have been any match you see on tv any week from WWE. AJ-Brie.....your usual AJ match, and Brie tried hard. RVD-ADR was a decent spotfest, RVD is definitely best in a match like that, but it's tough to invest in a world title match when you know there's no chance the challenger is walking out with the belt. I felt that way about ADR-Christian at SS too. They need to find some legit challengers for him. When is Sheamus due back?

It's basically that they were a popular, cool team that had way too short a run. The irony is Austin was pissed when he got stuck in a tag team after his long singles push in the Dangerous Alliance....then was pissed when they were broken up. He got a strong singles push coming off of the Blondes...the real victim of the breakup was Pillman who completely floundered until they involved him with The Horsemen.

That's not exactly what I was saying, but it sort of is. My point was that you have to adjust the goalposts sometimes, which is why all these modern candidates are tough for me to grade. The more I think about someone like Edge, or Big Show.....I think, "well, if these guys aren't in who goes in?" It's partly an issue I just have with the WON HOF in general where I think people get put on the ballot too soon, and there's been a lot of questionable people voted in. I know wrestling is different from other sports and guys generally don't retire and leave the business completely, but I hate that active wrestlers who are very much in their prime years get voted in. Too early for Cena. Too early for HHH. Way too early for Angle. Etc. etc. I think that also sets a precedent about what HOF standards are, and if this is the HOF that includes those guys.......why shouldn't it include Edge? Why not Sting? You mentioned Luger......I'd put him in too. As far as Michaels goes.....I know he's a polarizing candidate......personally I thought he was one of the best workers of his generation and a first ballot HOFer all the way. I thought he was an amazing performer in the 90's, all around, total package. Internet opinion when it comes to him is fascinating.....in the early internet days he was regarded as one of the best in the world......then post-comeback people were really down on him for a while (I was too for a stretch....but not to the extreme of some DVDVR posters) then there was a 180 on him I think starting in 08 and it seemed like people really dug his work again. I could buy that he went in earlier than he should have, but it would be impossible to convince me that he doesn't belong.

What about Big Show? I'd be ok with Show going in....but that would be an interesting debate

I have a hard time with Edge as a candidate. He's the poster child for modern WWE reallly.....and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. He held a lot of titles over the years, that's for sure. He was one of the top guys for a stretch when WWE was doing some decent business.....but they generally do decent business regardless of who is in what spot. I absolutely think he was a draw.....the guy was really popular, sold lots of merch, and was consistently super over with live crowds from the start of the Rated R stuff up til the end. He was a good performer too, not up there with the most high end workers, but he was capable of having really good matches, especially working the WWE style with gimmicks and whatnot. Also, he and Christian were a great act, which almost gets overlooked because he had such a strong run as a single. I also thought he had a lot of fun stuff working tags with other guys. Rated RKO was great, his stretches teaming with Jericho were great, even the stuff with Hogan was fun. The more I think about his career the more I think he belongs in. If he'd had a few more years working top of the card in WWE he'd almost be a slam dunk. As it is, I wouldn't vote for him this year because I think there's more deserving candidates on the ballot.....but give it a few years and I think a stronger case will be made. In the last decade or so....how many stronger candidates are there? That list of HOF worthy wrestlers is going to be thinning out the longer we get into this modern era. TNA candidates have no shot. AJ Styles is their ace and has been for pretty much the entire run of the company.....he doesn't have a prayer at getting in. Sting, who I've defended as a candidate to the point of exhaustion, will probably never be in. So who goes in from the modern era? Punk, Bryan, probably Lesnar......Kane? Will Orton get any support when he hits the ballot? When I look at it from that perspective Edge becomes a strong candidate

TNA's best times have been when they focus on the X division and do hardcore gimmick style matches. That's the stuff that has consistently separated their product in the past. WWE has never done juniors right, and they've bastardized the gimmick match due to PG. Also TNA has historically had a better tag division and better women. When I watch TNA I don't want to see Hogan or Russo or a bunch of cartoon characters.....I want to see athletic cruisers, I want to see real tag teams, I want to see Gail Kim v. Taryn Tarrell......and I wouldn't mind a few bloodfests thrown in. I don't hate TNA, and I've watched it on and off back to day 1, but what I would like to see from them and what they actually do are so far apart.

That RAW main event was great. So well booked and worked. 11 on 3 is such a ridiculous match concept, where the heels are outnumbered, but this totally worked. The Shield came out of it looking amazing, they made Reigns look insanely good and there was nothing wrong with him getting beat the way he did, a great job of putting the Usos over, all the faces looked good really.....very well done match that shined and protected where needed. I feel like Pat Patterson had to be involved here, in spirit at least. As far as "why" the match happened......HHH is a dick and he was pissed at The Shield/testing them but also giving them a way to win. He was stacking the deck in both ways. "Cerebral Assassin". It's not that complicated

According to wiki Oulette had visa problems and WCW couldn't use him outside of Canada, but the article sourced (by Greg Oliver @ Slam.ca circa July 2000) doesn't actually say that. It's about him doing shots for ECW and in fact says the opposite, that he has all his working papers by virtue of working in the states since 93, and that he was hoping for a contract with ECW. I guess it's possible his papers were going to expire which is why he was looking for work with ECW/WCW, but the article doesn't actually say any of that I've read/heard that he had attitude problems, perceived or imagined, similar to his mentor Jacques Rougeau. Part of that might have been guilt by association since Jacques wasn't exactly the most popular guy. There was that one incident where he refused to job to WWF Champion Diesel in Montreal that basically killed his WWF career, but they did bring him back a few years later (and barely used him) when the Kliq wasn't around, so he couldn't have been that hard to deal with. Personally I loved the Quebeccers gimmick with Johnny Polo as their manager, and the rehash in WCW with Col. Parker as The Amazing French Canadians. WCW had a strong tag division at the time with Harlem Heat, Road Warriors, Steiners, Nastys, Blue Bloods, Public Enemy etc. They could have done more with the French Canadians. A programs between them and the Blue Bloods would have produced some great comedy and fun matches

Regal, Finlay and Rhodes are all really solid picks. Tajiri Super Crazy Psychosis People more knowledgeable than me can probably point to Tajiri and Psychosis headlining shows in the last decade, but to me they're midcard guys in the states and upper midcard in their native countries. What about Scott Hall? He headlined b house shows as IC champ and was in or around main events with the nWo, but he was 3rd in the nWo pecking order. He only had one PPV title match in the WWF (Rumble 93, it wasn't the actual main event) and was never in the world title picture in WCW. I consider him about as high an upper midcarder as you can get, but not quite crossing the line into main eventer.

Governor of Minnesota and crossover appeal/popularity with his movie career. I think when you take everything into account (among the most famous wrestling related personalities ever, an iconic on camera face of the WWF during their hottest period, a legitimately great colour commentator, and a successful in-ring career) I'd vote for him. I'd also vote for Mean Gene. I'm also biased towards 80's WWF as that's what I grew up on, but every voter has his own biases.

I see the comment "Lesnar's only on because of MMA" and I don't think that's accurate. People are ignoring that he was a NCAA heavyweight champion. Amateur credentials count for something with the WON HOF. I also believe in setting precedents when it comes to hall of fames, some good some bad, and I think a precedent for Lesnar was set by letting Angle in in 2004. You can't convince me that Angle in 04 was a demonstrably better candidate than Lesnar, but he's in, so Lesnar should be a serious candidate.

Have they done any tapings in Florida since they ditched the Impact Zone? Seems like most have been in the mid-west and mid-south, but I haven't been paying close attention

To be fair: there are a lot of Kurt Angle matches I like, and also a lot I dislike I don't like his WM match with HBK at all I love his Ironman match with Brock I liked all his matches with Jarrett in TNA I'm not a fan of his "Kurt Angle match" matches in TNA......which happen a lot.....but to his credit he's also carried a lot of lesser typically boring wrestlers to pretty good matches during his time there EDIT* and of course his SummerSlam match with Austin is an all-time great brawl, but in terms of match layout I give the credit to Austin

Is Go-Go the same as a sprint? I can appreciate a fast paced, all out, hitting moves and spots etc. etc. match for sure, but I like them to be short, like 8 minutes max. And that format has it's own psychology and selling that good workers pull off, but not so good workers can butcher. A match with complete no selling and a complete lack of psychology that is just all highspots and fancy moves and shit, I don't appreciate. If Go-Go style is what I think it is, it's the Kurt Angle style of sprinting with a ton of shit, then cooling down with rest holds, then sprinting again, over and over....and there's some selling involved, but when it's time to sprint again all of it is ignored, until it's time to sell again. And then the match goes 15+ minutes and you're just like, "what the heck am I watching!??"

Ellering got into wrestling in the first place because he was a powerlifter and was discovered by someone AWA affiliated in a Minnesota gym. He held a world record deadlift for a time, according to some people, though I've never seen official confirmation on that. That's also what led to his in-ring career being so short with all the injuries

Totally agree with PeteF3 on the "time machine" comment and how articles like this always ignore the advances in training/nutrition/science etc, not just in sports but in society, and the evolution of wrestling/football/basketball whatever. A lot of these guys would look totally different if they came around today One problem I have with the article (from Jerry's recap, because I won't read Bleacher Report and click through a million pages) is the seeming cherrypicking of guys from when they looked their worst. Harley Race the Burger King? Sure, when he was in his mid 40's ending out a long career. Harley Race in the 60's-70's? He had the physique of a linebacker. JYD? like someone else noted, totally ignores ripped, jacked up early career JYD and picks on him for being "the Junkfood Dog" later on, after his back was shot. An interesting name to me is Kevin Sullivan. He was really short, but he had that linebacker (or in his case more like a fullback) type look early on, was a powerlifter, then got into bodybuilding and was pretty jacked up for a while in the 80's, and he wrestled bigger than he was. He also didn't wrestle the style that would be expected from someone his height today, but nobody really did back then. He was also a really good wrestling mind and could cut promos. If you took late 70's/early 80's Sullivan and dropped him into 2013 and he's doing his act in ROH or some other indys and getting over, would WWE look at him? Would he be more suited to being a manager/creative type in modern WWE? The comment that "he'd probably be doing a Santino act" seems nutty