El-P

PPV 13 The best match was AJ Styles vs Low-Ki, 2/3 falls. Styles quickly took up the heel role pretty well despite having an offensive moveset that screams "babyface". Low-Ki I felt was the better of the two again, mostly thanks to his selling. I was surprised again by how composed they were, not going insane with spots and reversals and such. They made the most sense out of what they were doing, and kept a good pace without rushing through stuff. Lack of heat was a bit surprising, and it hurt the match a bit, likewise a somewhat anticlimatic finish. That being said, I thought this was really well worked overall. On the other hand, other X division matches like Jorge Estrada vs Kid Kash and Sonny Siaki vs Amazing Red were really on the indieriffic side of the specter, which means I didn't think they were any good, Kash and Estrada looking by far the spottier and sloppier. On the "not worth my time" pile, the tag match between Lee & Harris vs Harris (no, not this one) & Storm in a tables match was pretty bad. Plus they teased a Harris vs Harris (yes, the other one) feud. Might as well renamed them A & B, and have them cut themselves open with pieces of glass, otherwise, I won't watch that (like I still don't watch any Miss TNA crap, yes, it's still going on). Rematch between Jerry Lynn & Ron Killings was better than the previous week, this time a lumberjack match (although it really didn't play much role except setting up a Killings vs Ki match), still nothing that got my full attention. Best Ron Killings single match thus far I guess. On the other hand, the promos Killings & BG James exchanged were really solid stuff. I especially liked the way Killings made the audience shut up after they began to do that awfully annying "What ?" chant, first by stopping his promo and acknowledging them, then by not giving them the time to do their stupid chant. By the end, the chant died and they actually booed Killings because of the heelish things he said. Really good job. The match between James & Jeff Jarrett was disapointing though, going straight from chairshots to sleeperholds, and then to two run-ins. The Scott Hall matches were better. Did Armstrong became that lazy after years of NOA ? Brian Lawler & Elix Skipper vs Scott Hall & Syxx-Pac would have been decent if not for Lawler's annoying jealous boyfriend's act. Wait, he's not a jealous boyfriend, he's downright psychopathic. They hint that April was actually physically abused by Lawler. Mmkay, that's really shady territory here. 2002.09.25 Low-Ki vs AJ Styles.

Marc Mero had a garanteed contract in the WWF before Nash even jumped. That's usual Nash bullshit. And really, Hulk Hogan anyone ?

Yeah. How dare these people not respect da business ? Seriously, pro-wrestling has some really screwed up "values" that just need to go away.

Corrected. That's Trips' background. Anyone thinking he won't go into that route is delusional. The whole "raiding indies" is an opportunity to make himself look good on a smaller scale, but Trip is a bodybuilder/fitness model jerkoff to begin with.

There's a reason some talented girls flew off GAEA's dojo too.

People shit on Parker (with good reasons, he sucked), but wasn't Orndorff in charge of the Power Plant ?

Episode 15. Interesting special guest this wekk, with King Booker facing RVD. On paper it looked like a disater of a match, and surprisingly it was actually pretty decent, despite RVD actively sucking on offense, as it's often the case. I have no idea if Booker became better with age, but I enjoyed him here more than I did during his overrated single WCW stint. And the King Booker gimmick seems to be gold. CM Punk squashed Shannon Moore again, but this time Moore got a little bit more offense, and also looked worse in the process. Kelly Kelly wants CM Punk, it's obvious. Her jealous boyfriend Mike Knox teamed with Test & Matt Striker, who's sporting the gayest outfit I've seen since, well, since Rene Dupree's debut the previous week. Striker works a decent chickenshit act though, and we're building to the moment the Sandman will cane him. The match against Sandman, Dreamer & Sabu, again, was watchable, but Test really brings nothing to the table at all. More generic big roided guy I canno't think of. And finally, we get Twilight Boy vs Balls Mahoney in a short match of the freaks, which took a backseat to the fact Francine was there working with Balls. You know how it ended up. "Catfight !!!!". I think she showed up twice before she got released (or asked to be released). I think they mentionned she hadn't been on TV in 6 years, which means TNA doesn't exist. Not the worst episode, as there wasn't anything offensively bad, and the main event was actually kinda, good, considering who was involved. And King Booker walking around the locker room was kinda funny. Seems like the best Booker T gimmick ever, and Sharmell looked quite good in her role too. 2006.09.19 King Booker vs RVD

Episode 14 had the "best" Big Show vs Sabu match yet, coming close to being "pretty good". But Big Show is working such a lumbering style that everything looks deliberate, even when you'd need some actual quick timing. They did bo a decent job with the table spots build though, but the interferences of Heyman's henchmen are ridiculous (even worst than that when you consider they wear riot helmets yet still sell chairshots and punches to the face). Kinda same old same old, with Big Show winning again. What a dreadfull title reign, really. CM Punk did kill Shannon Moore in his debut match. Wow, this guys had less offense than Stevie Richards or Justin Credible. At some point huge CM punk chants resonnate into MSG, and they sounded piped to me, as the rest of the match didn't get much heat. In another terrible debut match, Rene Dupree beat Balls Mahoney thanks to the Twilight Fan. Oh, man they say Dupree comes from Paris, France. Do they realize it sounds ridiculous for anyone with any clue about teh world ? And the presentation, man, plain white tights, white boots and no kneepads, he looks like a parody of a 60's wrestler. I guess that's the point. Joey Styles even vomits the oldest xenophobic stereotype about France (ya know, surrendering and such). I always try to forget that he's a neo-con Republican dumbfuck because I enjoy his announcing more that most modern WWE guy, but well… Anyway, Dupree looks like crap mostly, and not because of Balls, who, awful and dangerous gimmick aside, can still be pretty solid. Another winner on the roster I guess. Talking about shitty worker, RVD looked pretty awful against Bob Holly, who to me works really snug at this point because he believes his gimmick. I don't remember that kind of stiffness when he was Thurman Plugg. Bad match, ending with Test, Richards, Dreamer & Sandman jumping in. So I guess tag team matches are on the way. What else ? Another overwritten promo by Matt Striker and Kelly Kelly hitting on CM Punk, telling him she wants to go out with him in a club but she's only 19, in the sluttiest way imaginable. I wonder if they fucked. Oh, it's CM Punk, they probably did.

He looked like a neanderthal man, and worked about as well.

Agreed. It's one of the symptoms of the titles not meaning anything anymore.

The dark days of New Japan, Inoki fucked it up with his shitty MMA guys, that's what I think when I think about Fujita. What happened to him anyway ? Still working Inoki's show I guess.

PPV 12 had some interesting stuff, mostly the debut of BJ James and Syxx-Pac. In the see of somewhat interchangeable indy spot artists, these two, with the addition of Scott Hall who was back in town, really come off as big stars, and it's not just because they are coming from the WWE. The way the carry themselves and the promos they cut just put them on another level in term of aura. James promo in particular was really good, tying off his feud with Jarrett with their relationship back in the WWF in 95 (Waltman and Hall also talked about the WWF, which was less necessary but didn't came off as pointing out to the other product, since it was a reference to them in 93, more historical than anything else, really, and was kinda cool). The way he gave himself his new in-ring name (his actual name) also worked really well. Good promo, and I actually look forward the James vs Jarrett feud. AJ Styles vs Kid Kash was the worst AJ match thus far. Kash does impressive stuff, but he's really only interested in doing those impressive spots. So it catters to the indieriffic instinct of AJ, thus drags him down. Surpringly, we get the debut of CM Punk tagging with Ace Steel in quite a cluster of a mtach involving the Hot Shots and Jimmy Rave & Wylde. Punk looks like a skinny Steve Corino and isn't anyone to the audience yet. He also works very indieriffic, like Rave and his tag partner. The Hot Shots are decent, especially O'Reilly. Not much of a match. Then we get the Tag Team Gauntlet, which was a pretty decent battle royal, but again, the difference between the veterans and the indie guys was striking. The match ended with Brian Lee & Ron Harris vs Chris Harris & James Storm, which never developped into anything really, as Storm was destroyed outside while Harris pinned Lee (kinda botched). I enjoy the fact that once again, they choosed to put the tag belts on guys carrying the identity of the promotion instead of already established veterans (especially Lee & Harris, who I couldn't care less about, although Harris didn't look too bad). Main event of Jerry Lynn vs The Truth was watchable too, with Lynn bleeding a gusher and putting on a decent babyface performance, but Killings just isn't a single worker yet. The whole match turned into a backdrop for an angle as all the X division guys came down the ring to cheer for Lynn, until AJ Styles & Sonny Siaki betrayed him and cost him the match, which makes sense considering their characters. A bunch of crap with some boxing match and Miss TNA bullshit that I refuse to watch. Not the best episode in term of actual wrestling, but I did enjoy the DX/nWo reunion at the end, with Syxx & Hall saving BJ James from another Jarrett beatdown. That blonde cage dancer with the lollipop is way better than Kelly Kelly (yeah, blame me for watching 2006 WWECW at the same time, makes me do some odd comparisons).

They say people die in threes, but Christopher Lee, Dusty Rhodes and Ornette Coleman is one foul swoop. Maybe I'll play some Dusty Rhodes promos over the top of Dracula while listening to some jazz. Those hommages from Sami Zayn and Summer Rae are both extremely cool and so sad at the same time. Dusty was someone you'd think would be there forever...

To the pay window babay. The same day Ornette Coleman passes away. Two great in one swoop.

I always enjoy those little tidbits along the way. I had no idea about Striker. (glad some people enjoy this too BTW) Episode 13. Well, RVD & Sabu vs Test & Mike Knox was better than I thought it would be. Not exactly good (far from it actually), but the Sabu fan in me enjoyed the part of the match he was involved in. I still don't see much use for Test, and Mike Knox doens't strike me as particulary talented either at this point. RVD looked even worse than usual though. The whole Kelly deal shows how poor the writing is. Mike Knox supposedly can't handle the fact that she wants to show her skin in public, yet he always brings her at ringside and she's basically wearing lingerie. It's just so stupid. Zero thoughts put into anything. Striker / Sandman segment, pretty much the same as the previous week. Then a short Stevie Richards vs Balls Mahoney match, which was decent for what it was I guess, with the Metrosexual Vampire and his Vamp Porn Star (no reference to the softcore movie she did, but to the way she totally overacts) costing Balls the match. I guess to build a match of "freaks" (yeah, Kevin Thorne really looks freaky…). Before that we got Ariel climbing and rubbing herself on Joey Styles, who looked terrified. He's such a conservative… Main event was DX vs Big Show in an handicap match. What can I say, Michaels made Show look semi-alive with his bumps, HHH was his old boring self. Show going for Trips' spinebuster looked so fake and deliberate. Trips' fancying himself as a tough guy always cracked me up. Anyway, Bob Holly runs-in, DQ, sledgehammer, whatever. I don't even see the point of this, since DX aren't linked with anything on this show. Them doing the old DX maneurisms in 2006 looks kinda pathetic BTW. Was that their first comeback ? Retromania was already running wild I see. Highlight of the show : CM Punk slapping Shannon Moore after saying to him "You're a poser". That was pretty funny and a nice payoff for those terrible vignettes.

Funny, this "weekly WWE thread" is kinda like people chanting CM Punk on Raw now.

Sorry about that. Ok I found the thread. I was curious to see what people thought of a guy who was basically a Lawler clone in the ring. And no, I won't nominate the Dark Patriot. Even for the joke.

Just thought about Eddie Gilbert (yeah, "better than Takada", I know, I know…).

Bob Holly. Why the hell not.

Sounds appealing... Episode 12 was the same old crap. Only crappier than usual. On the bright side, we get Hardcore Holly's debut against RVD. Haven't watch an Holly match in ages (especially post-00), so I enjoyed the snug, solid work here, but RVD is so uninteresting in throwaway TV matches like that, where he still want to put all his shit in. Holly is a welcome addition though. Then a decent CM Punk vs Stevie Richards semi-squash. Punk is obviously already head and shoulder above everyone else here (and it's not like I'm an old fan of his, I never watched indies). Bad short vignettes for Shannon Moore and Rene Dupree, as always. And that Striker segment where he does Dean Douglas in an even more scripted way. Shane was better at it, but I'm amazed that in 2006 WWE was running gimmicks like that. I sure missed a lot by not watching that decade of TV. He gets in a brawl with Sandman, so I guess that great feud of his and Dreamer vs Knox & Test is over after their win last week. Meanwhile, Kelly shows her stuff to Balls Mahoney, because she's an exhibitionnist. Who is writing that stuff ? And then we get the real awful stuff, including a bad Big Show promo talking about DX (oh man, DX was around… sounds like a great year), and a complete clusterfuck of a match that was supposed to be Sabu vs Paul Heyman, but of course turns into Sabu vs Big Show, with RVD then Holly running in too. Heyman pins Sabu. Yeah, the same kind of Attitude era shit that made me quit in 99. This has to be Heyman's worst run ever. One last thing, I'm surprised they actually mentionned Angle being released, complete with paying hommage and Tazz saying he hopes he'll get back in the ring eventually. I guess they were hoping for a comeback at some point.

In term of heat, yes. Doesn't mean anything about the quality of the match though. To me even D-Lo vs Val was better than the ladder match (again, speaking from memories).

Couldn't disagree more. That ladder match was the first one that I found awkward and somewhat ridiculous at times. That's when I began to not take it for granted that "ladder match = good".

SummerSlam 98 ? No ? They sure had they share of shitty matches in late 98/99 (with the occasional and always reliable help of Kane). That said, Taker is an overrated woker anyway, so one should not expect his matches to be really good all the time either.

The use of the expression "Great match theory". At this point it would need a hashtag, that's how annoying it's become.

One of the many issues I have with TNA, is that it's indeed Total Nonstop Action, there's zero sense of pacing and changing gears during a card. I realize the X division was the big idea to differentiate themselves, but when by the time the main event comes you already went through 45 minutes of non stop gazillions spots and dives, it just negates everything. Thankfully, since a lot of the guys working the undercard are bad indieriffic spot monkey, you can actually see a difference with the actual good workers, but still, you get burned out of watching total nonspot action, especially since every match seems to be a spotfu. This was very apparent here, with stuff involving Kid Kash vs Amazing Red, SAT vs Flying Elvises and the four corners clusterfuck of tag teams. None were any good, execpt the very last segment of the four corner tag between Slash & Kobain (what an awful gimmick, so low rent) and Harris & Storm. And again, when the change of pace consist of a bad match between Monty (who despite his star potential look, just isn't any good in the ring yet) and Sonny Siaki, or bad segment with Brian Lawler doing some terrible promo and angle involving his girlfriend, it's not good. Jarrett vs The Bullet was not much better to me, and it kinda looks out of place although the execution is obviously much more solid (so I guess The Bullet is supposed to be Road Dog, but the tattoos indicate it's not; I get it's actually Steve for now, but he's not been unmasked, so…). So what's left ? Thanksfully, a really good surprise, as the addition of three ladders in Low-Ki vs Jerry Lynn vs AJ Styles, instead of making the whole match all gimmicky and silly, actually made everything better, as they tried to work a smart match that made sense, with lot of selling of the big spots and smart counters and sequences (as opposed to the too cute spots they were doing in the regular three way a few weeks before). Low-Ki looks the best of the three again, with his selling and small nuances (he actually countered Lynn's annoying trademark spot, which makes him Lynn's smartest opponent ever). It's interesting that despite the gimmick, they worked a much slower pace and more "conservative" match than the indie spotfus of the undercard. And every big spot looked much more important in the process. I'd go so far to say this may be the best match of TNA thus far. I can understand throwing the towel there though, because all the indy spotfests are really getting old. There's nothing "solid" on the undercard. It's either a fun spotfest in the best of case, either some bad shit. And the booking has been quite uninteresting to say the least. Apart from two weeks of Truth promos, there really hasn't been one good angle or promo since the beginning. And a lot of crap I have fast forwarded. I guess cherry picking a lot is the best way to go. 2002.08.28 Low-Ki vs Jerry Lynn vs AJ Styles