Post by Talon Thorne on Apr 16, 2008 19:16:49 GMT -5
TNA 101
March 4, 2008
By Talon Thorne
It is I the Teacher with a TNAddiction, and it is time for another episode of TNA 101. I have decided to drop my feedback section. Please go ahead and e-mail me with feedback and I will reply to you. If your feedback makes me want to comment on it, I will do so along with the other news. Also I have added two new sections to my Report Cards: Armchair Booking 101 which will be the changes I would make to TNA, and Six Points of iMPACT, the top 6 stories or headlines coming out of iMPACT that week, let’s go to the report card.
iMPACT! Report Card
“Take my wife…please”
February 21, 2008
Action
-The Petey Williams/Scott Steiner vs Black Machismo and Sonjay Dutt match was pretty entertaining. So I guess, Petey Williams is the protégé of Scott Steiner now. Bring on the initiation!
-Curry Man and Shark Boy vs Rellik and Black Reign was okay. It was too short for me going about 2 minutes. These matches need to be longer. It will likely be Kaz and Eric Young vs Black Reign and Rellik at Destination X as well as Team 3D vs Shark Boy and Curry Man
-The Ladder Match was a forgetful match. There was nothing special about it whatsoever. Jacqueline Moore eventually climbed the Ladder because of Storm’s fear of heights. Rhino attacked Storm and Young after the match to take the Drinking Championship.
-The Women’s Match was a good squash. I liked having Roxxi Laveaux foresee Angelina Love getting destroyed. She ended up being right about the Feast or Fired Briefcase leading to the destruction of VKM. Awesome Kong did excellent once again. ODB had a few words after the match, then worked with Gail Kim to eliminate Kong from the ring setting up a 3-way for Destination X. I would have rather seen a #1 Contender’s Match between ODB and Gail Kim first.
-The Main Event was pretty good in my opinion. Both Kurt Angle and Kevin Nash worked at a slower pace than normal. I liked seeing the four people on the outside get ejected from ringside. I felt bad for Nash being in the figure four so long that his knee might pop. Unfortunately there wasn’t a clean finish that take away from the match. Nash did well against Kurt Angle nonetheless.
-There was about 35 minutes of wrestling discluding commercials.
Entertainment
-The Booker T/Payton Banks confrontation to open the show was okay and short.
-I laughed during the Team 3D dieting segments. They were pretty funny. Comedy is one thing TNA doesn’t have a problem with.
-The Karen Angle segments were okay as long as TNA doesn’t do the same thing they have been doing the past 6 months, trying to swerve the fans. Hopefully this will allow AJ to become his own man.
-I must say I am not looking forward to the BG vs Kip James feud. While this Roughcut idea could be pretty good, why start with two guys fans can’t really get behind?
-The second Robert Roode/Booker T segment should have been combined with the first one to save time. It was a great segment in my opinion. Traci looked strange in her outfit but otherwise a good segment. Robert Roode vs Booker T in a Strap Match at Destination X anyone?
-I like the angle that James Storm is afraid of heights even though it doesn’t make sense since he climbed ladders in 2006 and high cages. It adds a new element to the character. I am also glad he has become a more serious character.
-I wish there was more build for the first ever encounter between Kevin Nash and Kurt Angle. It seems like it was almost ignored in favor of the Karen Angle segments. TNA needs to improve on advertising, building up and following through with their matches, feuds and storylines.
Six Points of iMPACT!
1) Kurt Angle vs Kevin Nash in the main event, much better than we expected
2) Robert Roode and Payton Banks beat down Booker and Traci with belts
3) Team 3D’s dieting segments. That’s comedy for you.
4) AJ Styles sticks up for Karen, tells Kurt to take it back!
5) James Storm is afraid of Heights
6) Awesome Kong continues her reign of she-dominance until Gail Kim and ODB show up.
Armchair Booking
-Combine the Booker T/ Robert Roode segments into the one with Roode beating down Booker. This would save time elsewhere and would eliminate unnecessary segments.
-Eliminate the Shark Boy/Curry Man vs Reign and Rellik Match and pre/post match shenanigans. Everything accomplished here has been done already.
-Only show the Team 3D backstage comedy segments and save weigh-ins for the next week. This would keep the comedy on the show.
-Make the James Storm vs Eric Young Match not a Ladder Match. You can accomplish the fear of heights thing by having Jacqueline tell Storm to jump onto Eric Young into the crowd. The Ladder Match had no buildup and only lessens the importance of Ladder Matches.
-Use the freed up time for more wrestling, a buildup interview for the Main Event or a backstage promo from Tomko or the Unlikely Alliance. This week was in need of all three.
-Clean finishes in the Steiner/Williams Tag Team Match over Sonjay Dutt and in the Main Event. The Main Event would have better had Karen come out, just use a low blow. A big problem with TNA is that they don’t have enough clean finishes on iMPACT!
Grade: C+
Overall Thoughts: It’s the same show we’ve been watching for the past month. To me TNA could do so much better under the same format but they don’t. There needs to be more wrestling, more clean finishes and more separation of the wrestling and the booking. Good main event nonetheless.
Show Rating: 1.1
THE TNA BRAND
For the past few weeks I have been contemplating what the TNA Brand is. Have TNA lost their identity? Are they searching for a new identity and what is this identity they are searching for?
I spoke to my closest friends (a mainstream wrestling fan) about what makes TNA, TNA? He revealed to me what I will reveal to everyone. An epiphany about what TNA is.
TNA is the X Division! Not the actual X Division but what the X Division stands for. TNA has always been and still is about 2 things. The faster paced, high-risk, no limits, athletic brand of entertainment and the new breed of wrestling. Think about it “Cross the Line”. TNA is the opposite of tradition.
If you believe that this is what TNA is about then you would know it’s not about wrestling but about the style of wrestling. The style of TNA makes it the alternative to the WWE. WWE is slower paced in wrestling and in entertainment. TNA has always been an adrenaline rush of a show. TNA will have illogical storylines and things of that nature but it will never be a boring show.
Now with that said, what would be TNA Branded:
1) TNA Branded Stars: The new breed of wrestling stars who epitomize the high-risk, high-impact athletic variety of wrestling. A perfect example since day one: AJ Styles. Samoa Joe, James Storm, Eric Young, Robert Roode, Christopher Daniels all are the new breed of wrestler who gives 110% every time they go out there.
2) The X Division- Athletic, high risk style of wrestling. Not necessarily the division itself but the way of the X Division. That is why many people think TNA is the X Division
3) Ultimate X, Six Sides of Steel, King of the Mountain- The evolution of wrestling in the form of these matches. These aren’t traditional matches but instead are the new breed of wrestling.
4) The Six Sided Ring- The evolution of a wrestling ring specially made for the X Division Style Wrestlers.
5) Lockdown and World’s X Cup- Never been done in the history of TNA
6) The style of booking- “Cross the Line”, no traditional faces or heels. Storylines that epitomize the opposite of tradition. What do you think made the WWE defeat WCW in the Monday Night Wars, the new style of storylines.
Now TNA needs to concentrate on solidifying their brand and taking it to the next level.
TNA’s Growth
I was recently asked if I felt TNA would ever be as big as the WWE and if so, how long?
My answer is, no I don’t think TNA will ever be as big as the WWE. The WWE became the goliath it is now through years of hard work and coming out on the winning end of the Monday Night Wars where the winner got all. Remember that the WWE defeated the Multi-Million Dollar Promotion in WCW. The moment that happened, WWE became a household name is the trend setter in the wrestling business.
But just because I say TNA will never be as big or bigger than the WWE doesn’t mean I don’t they can compete with WWE. What TNA should focus on is catering to it’s fans, and upping the standards of wrestling. TNA needs to focus on offering a better product than WWE even if they will never be as big. Keep growing your audience. Force WWE to pay from horrible concepts with “TNA” Chants. And maybe you could re-ignite another wrestling war.
TNA’s Ratings
I recently looked up on the history of TNA’s rating and found something interesting. During TNA’s tenure on Spike TV, the most ratings growth happened during the Vince Russo booking era, twice as much as the Pre-Russo Era. Even more interesting is that TNA grew twice as much during May 2007-October 2007 when their was no beneficial TV Changes (such as going to primetime). I don’t have solid numbers on buyrates of PPVs and won’t believe one of the sawed off websites but TNA has grown a very loyal non-paying audience. Now all there is to do is to get them to pay.
ROH DVDs
I recently purchased 5 Wrestling DVDs online. They were WSX the first and last season, and the first four ROH 2-Hour PPVs DVDs. I have only received the WSX DVD and will receive the other four soon. I have decided to write little reviews of these DVDs from the eyes of a TNAddict. I constantly hear how great ROH is and blah blah blah. I will be as harsh on these ROH PPVS as the ROH-Bots are on TNA PPVS. We will see if they can stand the test of Talon.
Judas Mesias
He was a perfect monster to battle Abyss in their feud. He was used well, he will be back later. Nuff Said!
(Note) Now all TNA has to do is get rid of Kip and BG James
Shark Boy’s New Character
In the beginning I was skeptical about Shark Boy’s new gimmick. I thought it was a ripoff of the Stone Cold gimmick and thought TNA didn’t need another imitation gimmick.
The character has grown on me. I like Shark Boy changing up Stone Cold’s sayings using deep sea objects. I wish more of the old Shark Boy’s moves were involed. He is funny to me and it has given him the biggest push of his career. All TNA needs to do is come up with a storyline on why he is acting like Stone Cold. I could come up with one.
That’s it for TNA 101. Please e-mail me at Talon_DR@yahoo.com and I will get back to you.
March 4, 2008
By Talon Thorne
It is I the Teacher with a TNAddiction, and it is time for another episode of TNA 101. I have decided to drop my feedback section. Please go ahead and e-mail me with feedback and I will reply to you. If your feedback makes me want to comment on it, I will do so along with the other news. Also I have added two new sections to my Report Cards: Armchair Booking 101 which will be the changes I would make to TNA, and Six Points of iMPACT, the top 6 stories or headlines coming out of iMPACT that week, let’s go to the report card.
iMPACT! Report Card
“Take my wife…please”
February 21, 2008
Action
-The Petey Williams/Scott Steiner vs Black Machismo and Sonjay Dutt match was pretty entertaining. So I guess, Petey Williams is the protégé of Scott Steiner now. Bring on the initiation!
-Curry Man and Shark Boy vs Rellik and Black Reign was okay. It was too short for me going about 2 minutes. These matches need to be longer. It will likely be Kaz and Eric Young vs Black Reign and Rellik at Destination X as well as Team 3D vs Shark Boy and Curry Man
-The Ladder Match was a forgetful match. There was nothing special about it whatsoever. Jacqueline Moore eventually climbed the Ladder because of Storm’s fear of heights. Rhino attacked Storm and Young after the match to take the Drinking Championship.
-The Women’s Match was a good squash. I liked having Roxxi Laveaux foresee Angelina Love getting destroyed. She ended up being right about the Feast or Fired Briefcase leading to the destruction of VKM. Awesome Kong did excellent once again. ODB had a few words after the match, then worked with Gail Kim to eliminate Kong from the ring setting up a 3-way for Destination X. I would have rather seen a #1 Contender’s Match between ODB and Gail Kim first.
-The Main Event was pretty good in my opinion. Both Kurt Angle and Kevin Nash worked at a slower pace than normal. I liked seeing the four people on the outside get ejected from ringside. I felt bad for Nash being in the figure four so long that his knee might pop. Unfortunately there wasn’t a clean finish that take away from the match. Nash did well against Kurt Angle nonetheless.
-There was about 35 minutes of wrestling discluding commercials.
Entertainment
-The Booker T/Payton Banks confrontation to open the show was okay and short.
-I laughed during the Team 3D dieting segments. They were pretty funny. Comedy is one thing TNA doesn’t have a problem with.
-The Karen Angle segments were okay as long as TNA doesn’t do the same thing they have been doing the past 6 months, trying to swerve the fans. Hopefully this will allow AJ to become his own man.
-I must say I am not looking forward to the BG vs Kip James feud. While this Roughcut idea could be pretty good, why start with two guys fans can’t really get behind?
-The second Robert Roode/Booker T segment should have been combined with the first one to save time. It was a great segment in my opinion. Traci looked strange in her outfit but otherwise a good segment. Robert Roode vs Booker T in a Strap Match at Destination X anyone?
-I like the angle that James Storm is afraid of heights even though it doesn’t make sense since he climbed ladders in 2006 and high cages. It adds a new element to the character. I am also glad he has become a more serious character.
-I wish there was more build for the first ever encounter between Kevin Nash and Kurt Angle. It seems like it was almost ignored in favor of the Karen Angle segments. TNA needs to improve on advertising, building up and following through with their matches, feuds and storylines.
Six Points of iMPACT!
1) Kurt Angle vs Kevin Nash in the main event, much better than we expected
2) Robert Roode and Payton Banks beat down Booker and Traci with belts
3) Team 3D’s dieting segments. That’s comedy for you.
4) AJ Styles sticks up for Karen, tells Kurt to take it back!
5) James Storm is afraid of Heights
6) Awesome Kong continues her reign of she-dominance until Gail Kim and ODB show up.
Armchair Booking
-Combine the Booker T/ Robert Roode segments into the one with Roode beating down Booker. This would save time elsewhere and would eliminate unnecessary segments.
-Eliminate the Shark Boy/Curry Man vs Reign and Rellik Match and pre/post match shenanigans. Everything accomplished here has been done already.
-Only show the Team 3D backstage comedy segments and save weigh-ins for the next week. This would keep the comedy on the show.
-Make the James Storm vs Eric Young Match not a Ladder Match. You can accomplish the fear of heights thing by having Jacqueline tell Storm to jump onto Eric Young into the crowd. The Ladder Match had no buildup and only lessens the importance of Ladder Matches.
-Use the freed up time for more wrestling, a buildup interview for the Main Event or a backstage promo from Tomko or the Unlikely Alliance. This week was in need of all three.
-Clean finishes in the Steiner/Williams Tag Team Match over Sonjay Dutt and in the Main Event. The Main Event would have better had Karen come out, just use a low blow. A big problem with TNA is that they don’t have enough clean finishes on iMPACT!
Grade: C+
Overall Thoughts: It’s the same show we’ve been watching for the past month. To me TNA could do so much better under the same format but they don’t. There needs to be more wrestling, more clean finishes and more separation of the wrestling and the booking. Good main event nonetheless.
Show Rating: 1.1
THE TNA BRAND
For the past few weeks I have been contemplating what the TNA Brand is. Have TNA lost their identity? Are they searching for a new identity and what is this identity they are searching for?
I spoke to my closest friends (a mainstream wrestling fan) about what makes TNA, TNA? He revealed to me what I will reveal to everyone. An epiphany about what TNA is.
TNA is the X Division! Not the actual X Division but what the X Division stands for. TNA has always been and still is about 2 things. The faster paced, high-risk, no limits, athletic brand of entertainment and the new breed of wrestling. Think about it “Cross the Line”. TNA is the opposite of tradition.
If you believe that this is what TNA is about then you would know it’s not about wrestling but about the style of wrestling. The style of TNA makes it the alternative to the WWE. WWE is slower paced in wrestling and in entertainment. TNA has always been an adrenaline rush of a show. TNA will have illogical storylines and things of that nature but it will never be a boring show.
Now with that said, what would be TNA Branded:
1) TNA Branded Stars: The new breed of wrestling stars who epitomize the high-risk, high-impact athletic variety of wrestling. A perfect example since day one: AJ Styles. Samoa Joe, James Storm, Eric Young, Robert Roode, Christopher Daniels all are the new breed of wrestler who gives 110% every time they go out there.
2) The X Division- Athletic, high risk style of wrestling. Not necessarily the division itself but the way of the X Division. That is why many people think TNA is the X Division
3) Ultimate X, Six Sides of Steel, King of the Mountain- The evolution of wrestling in the form of these matches. These aren’t traditional matches but instead are the new breed of wrestling.
4) The Six Sided Ring- The evolution of a wrestling ring specially made for the X Division Style Wrestlers.
5) Lockdown and World’s X Cup- Never been done in the history of TNA
6) The style of booking- “Cross the Line”, no traditional faces or heels. Storylines that epitomize the opposite of tradition. What do you think made the WWE defeat WCW in the Monday Night Wars, the new style of storylines.
Now TNA needs to concentrate on solidifying their brand and taking it to the next level.
TNA’s Growth
I was recently asked if I felt TNA would ever be as big as the WWE and if so, how long?
My answer is, no I don’t think TNA will ever be as big as the WWE. The WWE became the goliath it is now through years of hard work and coming out on the winning end of the Monday Night Wars where the winner got all. Remember that the WWE defeated the Multi-Million Dollar Promotion in WCW. The moment that happened, WWE became a household name is the trend setter in the wrestling business.
But just because I say TNA will never be as big or bigger than the WWE doesn’t mean I don’t they can compete with WWE. What TNA should focus on is catering to it’s fans, and upping the standards of wrestling. TNA needs to focus on offering a better product than WWE even if they will never be as big. Keep growing your audience. Force WWE to pay from horrible concepts with “TNA” Chants. And maybe you could re-ignite another wrestling war.
TNA’s Ratings
I recently looked up on the history of TNA’s rating and found something interesting. During TNA’s tenure on Spike TV, the most ratings growth happened during the Vince Russo booking era, twice as much as the Pre-Russo Era. Even more interesting is that TNA grew twice as much during May 2007-October 2007 when their was no beneficial TV Changes (such as going to primetime). I don’t have solid numbers on buyrates of PPVs and won’t believe one of the sawed off websites but TNA has grown a very loyal non-paying audience. Now all there is to do is to get them to pay.
ROH DVDs
I recently purchased 5 Wrestling DVDs online. They were WSX the first and last season, and the first four ROH 2-Hour PPVs DVDs. I have only received the WSX DVD and will receive the other four soon. I have decided to write little reviews of these DVDs from the eyes of a TNAddict. I constantly hear how great ROH is and blah blah blah. I will be as harsh on these ROH PPVS as the ROH-Bots are on TNA PPVS. We will see if they can stand the test of Talon.
Judas Mesias
He was a perfect monster to battle Abyss in their feud. He was used well, he will be back later. Nuff Said!
(Note) Now all TNA has to do is get rid of Kip and BG James
Shark Boy’s New Character
In the beginning I was skeptical about Shark Boy’s new gimmick. I thought it was a ripoff of the Stone Cold gimmick and thought TNA didn’t need another imitation gimmick.
The character has grown on me. I like Shark Boy changing up Stone Cold’s sayings using deep sea objects. I wish more of the old Shark Boy’s moves were involed. He is funny to me and it has given him the biggest push of his career. All TNA needs to do is come up with a storyline on why he is acting like Stone Cold. I could come up with one.
That’s it for TNA 101. Please e-mail me at Talon_DR@yahoo.com and I will get back to you.