Impact Special thoughts

[Guest savagerulz]

I thought the Impact special was good last night. Jarrett with green hair was hilliarous.

 

Samoa Joe killed Red and the fans loved it even thought they aren't supposed to.

 

As much as I love Bobby, it is painful trying to watch him talk. God bless him for beating cancer but unless he really needs the money he shouldnt be doing this.

 

Christian looked damn good in the ring. He had a solid match with Roode. I think he sells the pounce as good as anyone but lets be realistic. It's a fucking shoulder tackle. How well can you sell it if your going to bounce of the ropes with out snaping your neck.

 

But the best part had to be the Abyss segment. God bless video editing cause the barbwire appeared like magic.

 

I was hoping it would be barbwire wrapped around the ropes. I'm kinda sick of no rope matches but alas it should be good.

 

The PPV is looking good. They did a much better job hyping the show then the WWE has for any ppv in ages.

 

I'm pulling for Rhino. They've really built him up as a guy who has redeemed his career but we know it will be the usual Jarrett finish of run ins and a guitar shot.

[Coffey]

The PPV is looking good. They did a much better job hyping the show then the WWE has for any ppv in ages.

I agree with that except the problem is that no one remembered about the show on which the hyping took place.

 

I thought the show did a great job of hyping the PPV. I liked the closing video package. I've liked all of the Rhyno video montages. I think the build to Abyss/Sabu has been good.

 

Bobby Roode is one of my favorite wrestlers. He reminds me of a lot of my favorites from the past. His offense and intensity remind me of Rick Rude. His selling and bumping reminds me of Curt Hennig. I like him as a heel but I really want to see him get away from Team Canada and fly solo. The biggest problem being that he kind of needs D'Amore as a mouthpiece.

[Guest WidowsPeak]

I missed the show last night because I was sleeping and didn't wake up in time. Pissed me off.

[Guest EastCoastJ]

I would give Impact a 3 out of 10. I have been kind to it because it's something new which automatically makes it watchable, but the company is going to need some serious direction soon if they want to have any hope of making money.

 

I actually wasn't too high on Christian's debut match. If they had to debut him on television, it should have been in a short squash. He was looking a little out of shape, and he's never worked as a top level babyface in his career and it showed. He gave WAY too much offense to Bobby Roode as well. Christian can do no wrong though, and the TNA fans seem to love him so it's not a big deal. Part of me thinks a double turn with Monty at the pay-per-view would be awesome as Christian is probably more comfortable working as a heel, but the TNA fans seem to love him too much to take to that. I was loving the spot where he ducked under Monty's pounce and Brown hit D'Amore though, cool sequence.

 

The opening six man tag started out really good, and the camera work in particular with the fast cuts to the six guys brawling all over the arena made the match seem much more exciting than it was. Unfortunately when the adrenaline wore off, The Naturals and Jeff Hardy were still fighting the hee-haw Evolution. TNA has done absolutely no character development whatsoever on anyone involved besides Jarrett, so it was hard to really care.

 

The Rhyno stuff was the best that has ever been done with him and was really good work from TNA in the character development department. He should really take a note from his classmates from the Kowalski training camp (Test and Christian) and get a haircut. His look makes him seem stale right off the bat, and both guys rejuvinated their careers cutting their long, greasy 80's hair. If TNA would give Rhyno a buzzcut like Austin Aries currently has, and then drop that gear he was been wearing for eight years and give him some traditional trunks and kind of push him like a legitimate badass, I would definitely be able to take him seriously as a main eventer and a guy WWE missed the boat on. For now, a good promo doesn't change the fact that he is the same tired Rhino for me.

 

The Alex Shelley camera gimmick is so bush league. It's just silly to watch and reminds me of a low rent Kidman cam gimmick, which just did wonders for his career. A+ for effort in giving an X-division guy a hook, F for execution. The Joe match was good for a squash, but like the Christian one, it could have been much shorter. I want to see Joe run through his entire offensive set and kill someone in 60 seconds rather than four minutes.

 

The X-Division/Heenan/White Sox angle was fantastic. Even Simon Diamond was great. I don't know why the hell Elix Skipper isn't up their with AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels as a cornerstone of the X Division considering he has as much charisma as anyone and he can be spectacular in the ring.

 

The 4 Live Crew are an absolute embarassment to TNA. All I can do is cringe when Killings starts to dance, "B Gizzle" comes strutting down to the ring dressed like a Persian rug salesman, and Kip James comes out wearing short shorts, a knotted t-shirt and a rolled up bandana. James does the over the top, stereoptypical homosexual gimmick (Lenny & Lodi, Billy & Chuck) perfectly right now, the only problem is he is supposed to be a straight, cool guy. Kip was the most unintentionally funny guy I have seen in wrestling in a long time last night, which is kind of a shame because I thought he actually looked awesome in his squash match on Impact recently. The group just doesn't work for anyone outside of the Orlando crowd, because their gimmick is supposedly these cool guys who are down with the streets, and the there is absolutely nothing cool at all about anyone involved, aside from Konnan who is probably the most legimitately cool guy in wrestling. I wish WWE would bury their grudges and save Konnan from this. In terms of the BEASTS OF BURDEN, "Helvis" was only slightly worse than Sinn, but if I were flipping through the channels and discovered TNA for the first time when this match was going on, and then saw BULLET BOB ARMSTRONG giving the thumbs up on the ramp, I don't think "cool new alternative to the WWE" would be my first thought.

 

Without question, Larry Zbyszko is the worst thing going for TNA. I usually watch Impact with my roommate, and we both just sit back and wait for Larry to say "OUT! OUT! OUT! OUT! OUT!" and then laugh at how ridiculous his segments are. When Zbyszko and Raven are playing games of verbal oneupsmanship backstage, there is nothing worse in wrestling.

 

Impact definitely needs help. They have such a deep, well rounded roster of talent at their disposal, but the way they are using it for the most part just isn't very good. They couldn't ask for a better crowd and their production is fantastic, but until they stop booking the show like a poor man's WCW Saturday Night, TNA is going to continue to face some serious long term problems.

[sek69]

 

If TNA would give Rhyno a buzzcut like Austin Aries currently has, and then drop that gear he was been wearing for eight years and give him some traditional trunks and kind of push him like a legitimate badass, I would definitely be able to take him seriously as a main eventer and a guy WWE missed the boat on. For now, a good promo doesn't change the fact that he is the same tired Rhino for me.

 

 

I agree that Rhino could use a refresh, but making him look like everyone else in TNA isn't what I would suggest.

[Loss]

How come no one paints their face anymore?

[Mad Dog]

TNA has done absolutely no character development whatsoever on anyone involved besides Jarrett, so it was hard to really care.

?

 

They've done a lot with America's Most Wanted since the heel turn. They actually taken one of the most bland guys in James Storm and turned him into an awesome white trash heel that hasn't been seen in a long time.

[Guest EastCoastJ]

Ehhh, they did that bad funeral segment but personally I still have no idea why I am supposed to hate AMW aside from the fact that they drink beer and stand next to Jeff Jarrett.

[Mad Dog]

Because they helped Jarrett get the NWA Title back and decided money was the most important thing to them.

[Guest TheShawshankRudotion]

They should keep Christian out of the ring as much as possible, and when he is in the ring, it should be in tag matches. Totally agreed on the "giving Roode too much offense" thing. I thought Christian was going to be a superstar in TNA and he looked like anything but.

 

4LK are parodies, they have to be...

 

If Rhyno gets a hair cut, he needs to go bald.

 

I think the saddest thing is that Turning Point seems like their first PPV that has been built. The sad part is that they've had 2 PPVs before it and months worth of television to build towards it.

[Guest savagerulz]

The main problem, to me, is that there is almost no disparity between face and heel. Half the time I don't know who the good guy is and who the bad guy is, and I watch the show every week. They need to do a better job of character development if they want to become big time players.

[Guest EastCoastJ]

That's the same way that I feel. When your three top heels besides Jeff Jarrett are Monty Brown (who the crowd loves), Samoa Joe (who the crowd goes ape for), and Abyss (who has his own babyface chant), its going to be tough to emotionally pull fans into storylines.

[Mad Dog]

I was thinking that they'd really be onto something if they had Heenan join up as a co-manager with the Diamonds in the Rough.

[Guest Jack D. Ripper]

All the complaints about TNA's squash matches, and now we want one? Him losing would've been terrible, but I don't see why it's so bad that Christian didn't squash Roode. If HHH will let someone like Funaki look good against him, it's surely not that big of a deal.

 

Other than Abyss vs. Sabu and Raven vs. Larry Nabisco, the face/heel division seems pretty obvious for the major feuds. Samoa Joe and Monty Brown actually seemed to be getting some boos on the special.

 

Simon Diamond's group needs to replace David Young with someone more like Elix, and they wouldn't be a bad group.

 

The only thing I'd consider changing about Rhino, are his tights. However, I don't think they need to change anything about him. His look and intensity work well for him. I just hope they give him something good to do after Jarret beats him.

 

I actually like Jarret, but the world title scene needs an extended break from him. He should take a tip from Hogan and HHH when they get overexposed, and take a three or four month break.

 

I'd like it better if 4LK didn't exist, but they're popular so whatever. I just hate that Killings is wasting away doing nothing.

[sek69]

TNA shouldn't try to force things. Right now Joe could rape a puppy and still get cheered, so they should just go with it rather than trying to make people hate him. They should have learned from Austin's disaster heel turn that if the fans don't want to boo someone, they won't.

 

75% of TNA's problems stem from not having enough TV time to get over all the talent and angles, which makes everything feel rushed.

[Mad Dog]

All the complaints about TNA's squash matches, and now we want one? Him losing would've been terrible, but I don't see why it's so bad that Christian didn't squash Roode. If HHH will let someone like Funaki look good against him, it's surely not that big of a deal.

Most of the people I've seen complain about that are complaining just for the sake of it. Some of the people on other boards have given lists about what they want from TNA and then complained about TNA doing what was on their list. Reading about TNA is easier to take when you realize TNA can't win with a lot of people.

[sek69]

From WO:

 

--The individual who is the big surprise who will turn around TNA (and boy is that overblown) is not at this point scheduled to appear on Sunday, but his identity will be revealed.

 

 

So can TNA now say they've made it when Meltz starts shitting on their ideas?

[Mad Dog]

Not really. Meltz has been doing that for a long time. He's one of those people who constantly bashes and then turns around and enjoys whatever he watches of theirs.

[sek69]

I keep hearing rumors that the mystery guy is Sting. I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

[Mad Dog]

Spike's supposedly paying for part of his contract so it ranges more in the good category. Plus they could get a lot out of Abyss/Sting.

[sek69]

It's a nice "fuck you" to Vince too, since Sting's the only WCW guy he's never been able to sign (and job out).

[Coffey]

You can say what you want about iMPACT! but it sold me on the PPV. I'm watching it tomorrow with a couple of friends. I think Monty/Christian, AMW/3D & Joe/Styles are what sold me on the card although the video packages hyping up Rhyno and a couple of questions play into the equation too. Plus, I might get to see Kanyon debut. Who bedda?

[Loss]

So exactly when is Jarrett supposed to be dropping the title, anyway?

[Coffey]

Never. He's supposedly in control of booking all things main event. So, he'll hold it until Christian or Monty knock him off and then he'll get it back a month or two later. I certainly don't see Rhyno posing a threat to his spot. Nor Raven or Abyss.

[sek69]

Word is that not only is Sting going to be the highest paid guy in the company, he's set to become the centerpiece of the show. So perhaps JJ's stranglehold on the title isn't as firm as everyone thinks.