All posts related to pro rasslin’ that isn’t covering specific shows or events.
Eric Bischoff was recently asked on his Facebook what he thought of WWE’s recent Nexus angle. Here’s his short and simple reply:
Boring as hell.
Yes, Eric. Nexus is getting rather stale, but that’s okay, because I’ll just tune into TNA and watch you rehash the same shit you did in WCW shortly before that company went out of business… because THAT’S funny.
Bite me, Uncle Eric.
By the way, I lied about tuning in to TNA. I’m not that desperate for entertainment… unless it’s Xplosion.
No RAW rant this week… I did catch it, but there’s nothing really notable to bring up and truth be told, it wasn’t anything really great. No, I just want to touch on the Stand Up For WWE campaign that WWE is throwing around – essentially a public relations tool to encourage WWE fans and sheep to defend the company by stating all the positive that the company has done. It’s essentially something that was thought up after WWE has been getting blasted by media or political rivals to Linda McMahon’s Senate run.
The campaign is a gigantic waste of time and money. And I’m not talking about Linda’s Senate run.
I understand the intention. I might even applaud it, but any campaign that WWE attempts in order to bolster their image from what is perceived by the media is going to simply add more fuel to the fire. This Stand Up For WWE campaign is already being attacked by Democrats because it’s seems almost similar to Linda McMahon’s own campaign. And when you consider that McMahon is a former WWE CEO, who happens to be running for the Senate seat, it’s hard to believe that these two aren’t the least bit related. No matter what WWE does to eliminate the negative stigma and beliefs that plague it like the elephant in the corner, it will never truly go away.
But if they go forward with this, best of luck to them. I just hope it doesn’t result in their main product’s quality deteriorating further down.
Let’s just get this out of the way… THEY are Abyss, Hulk Hogan (fresh out of back surgery and moving slower than he usually does… which was SLOW ENOUGH), Eric Bischoff, Jeff Hardy, Jeff Jarrett, and Abyss.
Anyone surprised by this turn of events – and you better pay close attention –
IS A FUCKING MORON!
In other news, Jeff Hardy is YOUR TNA World champion… yes, the guy with the criminal charges and court dates is the new champion.
GENIUS!!!
Jeff Jarrett walks out on Samoa Joe, causing him to lose the match. What a great way to foreshadow Double J being part of THEY.
PURE FUCKING GENIUS!!!!!!
Oh, you know what? Don’t get me wrong. There was some good stuff here… that I didn’t watch. But a buddy of mine did and from what I heard, the tag-team match was a solid opener, the main event was actually pretty good before the predictable ending, nice promo from Team 3D announcing their retirement and wanting one last title match before going out. So I guess the show is worth checking out when it comes out on DVD. But the swerve didn’t really surprise me all that much… at all.
So yeah… TNA? Good show (allegedly) – if only this kind of effort was put on your TV show to sell people on your PPVs, especially when the highlight of your go-home show was a brawl between two old guys – but you need to stop pulling swerves that blind men can see. It’s not a good sign.
(2024 Update: There was an earlier version of this post that implied that I had watched the show, but I actually didn’t. Most of my info was from third-hand accounts. Fortunately, I found an updated write-up that corrected this erroneous presumption. My apologies. I’ll watch the show as punishment for this error of perception… although no such apologies will be made if I end up hating the show, which I suspect I will…)
Got the news from this page, who in turn got it from ol’ Dixie’s Twitter page.
So, Impact’s going live this October, huh? Long-term deal or short-term? Or is it LIVE once every few shows. And how exactly is this going to change TNA forever? And why does Dixie keep insisting that things are going to change forever every time she makes an announcement? Why all the hyperbole, Dixie? Is going live really going to fix your awful shows?
Maybe I’m being a bit too harsh… but remember the move to Mondays and how it was supposed to change TNA for-EVAH!!!
Oh wait, you don’t remember? That’s because I sneezed for one minute and all of a sudden they’re moving back to good old reliable Thursdays… and if I recall correctly, those Monday shows were also LIVE every other week.
Nice try, Dixie. But the only way you’re going to get me excited about TNA is if you actually do something about the horrible product, which is doing an excellent job of showcasing the wrong people and basically burying the true talents on your roster.
Thanks, but no thanks.
Highlights from an Eric Bischoff interview: click here for the RAJAH page.
Only reason I’m posting this here is in relation to a previous VLOG that I’ve made (the one where TNA Tapped Out); I have to give props to Bischoff for admitting that the move to Mondays was an ill-conceived mistake and that it was a matter of bad timing to make the move.
I also like the pot shot he takes Bret for thinking that he had anything to do with stomping TNA out of Monday Night. Let’s be honest here; TNA pretty much did that to themselves and Bret being there made not one iota of a difference.
Also, in other news, from John Cena’s Twitter, regarding he was interested in being a pro on NXT:
“yes I asked, and was denied. Apparently u need more than 2 moves to officially be called a “pro” (enjoy that one)”
Oh yes, John. I most definitely will… enjoy that one. Ha. Ha. Ha.
Did I mention RAW 900 sucked?
In a rather nice surprise, Kaval (formerly known as Senshi and Low-Ki) won the NXT Season 2 contest… and then got beatdown for his troubles by all the sore losers of NXT. No doubt, these guys are going to get roles on the main roster (presumably Smackdown, since RAW already has the Nexus) – so once again, NXT is rendered completely pointless. Oh well, at least Kaval has a title shot.
As for the next season of NXT (seriously, how many seasons can you have in a fucking year?), it’ll be all Divas. So that’s one less show for me to not care about. On the other hand, I like the tall chick.
According to this random news piece at a random wrestling site, WWE Diva Tiffany has been suspended following an incident at a hotel that resulted in her arrest. I honestly don’t know what’s sadder; the fact that she was arrested or the fact that I have no clue who Tiffany is. Oh well.
Obviously, someone else is on screen and I don’t know him, but he makes good points.
The guy who did this awesome video has a TNA blog and it’s pretty good. Check it out here.
So Hardcore Justice happened last night… and I was able to watch it… a show that somebody else paid for. Thanks, Sean.
Sadly, I didn’t see the whole thing. Birthday party after all. What I did see… was rather meh, but otherwise harmless.
I certainly hope that all these ECW guys, fans, and whathaveyou who still needed any semblance of closure despite several reunion shows over the years, have got their closure with last Sunday’s PPV… because I very much like for ECW to rest in peace and not get violated again in five years time when they start complaining about how they weren’t given a proper send-off. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
If I can give TNA some credit, it’s on the fact that it’s strictly a reunion show – comprising matches featuring ECW alumni. You had TNA talent chime in and drop their thoughts on their favorite moments of ECW (without actually calling it such), but outside of those who are ECW alumni and Mike Tenay (who’s doing commentary since, you know, Joey Styles obviously can’t due to contractual reasons), TNA talent weren’t part of some storyline shoehorned into the show to push their shows the following week. In fact, there had only been one or two mentions of upcoming TNA shows on the entire PPV. So yeah, I’ll give them credit for keeping it as a reunion show.
And for what it was worth, they tried to put out the best show they possibly could. You had the old ring announcer, you had John Finnegan reffing all the matches, the ring ropes were black, the lighting was dimmed in an attempt to replica the old ECW arena shows (didn’t really work), and the two main events were actually pretty solid for what they were; a return to the “extreme” style that they had innovated and revolutionized in the mid-90s. Of course, the undercard wasn’t all that great – matches are basic fair and far from hardcore – but they tried to put on a good show and no doubt some people will find some enjoyment out of this show.
But as true as they tried to make it, it all feels really, really, REALLY artificial and shallow.
Hardcore Justice emanated from the Impact Zone… and that has to be the main reason why I have a hard time buying into the whole feel. Because the Impact Zone, no matter how dark you dim your lights or color your ropes, is the absolute most farthest thing from extreme anything.
People can piss on Vince all they want, but when he did both ECW One Night Stand PPVs, he could have easily held them in a big arena and push it as he would another WWE PPV. But he held them at the Hammerstein Ballroom, which might not be the ECW Arena in terms of pure nostalgia or ECW-ness, but was the kind of small arena that ECW would hold shows at (in fact, they DID hold shows there). And for all it’s worth, it almost felt like an ECW show. Felt a bit slicker, had the obvious outside influence, but it felt like a solid ECW show. Everything that they did there, they did right. Hell, I’d even give props to the Hardcore Homecoming show that was held on the same weekend, which also felt like a good old-school ECW show.
With the IMPACT Zone, it seems like the audience are nothing more than unpaid extras in a set filling seats (interesting since people watch the show for free, regardless of whether it’s an Impact airing or a PPV event.), going through the motions chanting the usual fluff chants that you would expect from an ECW audience, but without any of the feeling. I’ve always got the feeling that the Impact Zone fans are practically sheep – everything about this show tried to look like an ECW show, but it feels very much artificial. And I don’t consider myself an ECW hardcore or anything like that – but even I can recognize a passionated audience from a canned one. This could have benefited from being booked at a small arena, but instead they got cheap and held it at the Impact Zone… I guess at this point, TNA couldn’t afford stuff that matters and instead blow their budget on bringing in has-beens.
I don’t get the “Fuck You, Vince” chants. Unless you’re referring to Vince Russo, in which case I agree wholeheartedly.
Look, if you’re looking for that long-eluded closure that ten other “reunion” shows couldn’t give you, then I hope that Hardcore Justice gives you that much needed closure. For all of my reservations and fears, it was a pretty harmless show. Oh this wasn’t good either in a wrestling sense or even a nostalgia sense, but it was harmless and if it ends up being the last stand, then it’s a fair one at best… but let this be the last one.
It’s been nine years. It’s over. It’s done.
Move on.
Please.
TNA, you want to have a reunion show? Have a WCW reunion show. You’ve got all the guys under contract anyway, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
It just occurred to me that TNA has announced only TWO matches for their upcoming ECW Softcore Reunion PPV this Sunday and yet have five matches – close to a FULL PPV CARD – announced for their upcoming three-hour TNA Impact show. From the looks of things, the push has mostly been associated with the big Impact show that’s being aired on FREE TELEVISION while we’re only getting modest advertising for the Pay-Per-View that you are trying to get people to pay for.
This is absolutely ridiculous. They’re trying to pull off another ECW One Night Stand but are promoting and pushing this thing like ECW December to Dismember 2006… and anyone who has seen that show knows how well THAT went. Quite possibly one of the most insipid PPVs I’ve ever witnessed.
You know what? I’m done. TNA can suck my B. L. Z. 5.1.2.2
What the fuck, man? What the fuck?
dtm666 