Episode 56 is now available for download.
This week's topics include:
-WWE Survivor Series review.
-who are the best on-air authority figures in pro wrestling history?
-roundtable discussion: was the Main Event Mafia storyline a success?
-also, the week in wrestling, promo of the week and much, much more.
November 29, 2009
November 28, 2009
November 22, 2009
QCWradio episode 55
Episode 55 is now available for download.
This week's topics include:
-WWE Survivor Series preview.
-TNA Turning Point review.
-the hosts create their own movies for WWE films.
-Foolkiller gives his thoughts on Ortiz vs. Griffin 2 from UFC 106.
-also, the week in wrestling, promo of the week and much, much more.
This week's topics include:
-WWE Survivor Series preview.
-TNA Turning Point review.
-the hosts create their own movies for WWE films.
-Foolkiller gives his thoughts on Ortiz vs. Griffin 2 from UFC 106.
-also, the week in wrestling, promo of the week and much, much more.
November 19, 2009
Match of the Year Contenders?
Well, it's that time of year again. The time when people start tallying up the contenders to see what was the match of the year. TNA does this annually around this time and announces the winner on the website, if not the iMPACT show. Right now they have a survey on TNAwrestling.com where the fans can vote on which match of 2009 they felt was the best. Unfortunately, there seems to be a rather large problem...
This list is a complete joke.
First of all, there are no less than 24 choices to pick from, when in actuality the list could and should be narrowed down to around 5.
And not that there aren't some tremendous matches on it, but there were also some glaring omissions. Several of TNA's best matches of '09 that SHOULD have been included were not, and instead there are a number of matches that have absolutely no place on a 'Best of' list whatsoever.
The matches highlighted in bold are the ones that could conceivably belong on TNA's Best of '09 list. I was even generous and threw in the Slammiversary Monster's Ball and the Hard Justice Steel Asylum match, both of which are a bit of a stretch, IMO. But what about all those others?
Morgan vs. Abyss at Lockdown -- did TNA management actually watch that match?
Angelina Love vs. Awesome Kong/Tara -- seriously? I'm sorry, but Angelina did not match up well with either of those women and it showed.
Nash vs. Foley -- WHAT? How can they expect the fans to even take this thing seriously if they're putting Kevin Nash matches on it? The only cool thing about that match was all the blood that was spilled.
Bobby Lashley vs. Rhino -- riiiiiiight...
No match from Victory Road belongs on any Best of '09 list. Plain and simple.
If they wanted to put some Knockout matches on there then where are Sarita vs. Alissa Flash and Hamada vs. Daffney? Those were the best two women's matches of the year in TNA and far better than any match involving Angelina Love.
The inclusion of Kevin Nash and Bobby Lashley matches on this list is disconcerting enough, but perhaps even more bizarre is the stuff they left off it.
How can they not include Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley at Genesis? That was one of the top five matches of the year easily. What about Beer Money vs. Team 3D at Lockdown?
It literally feels like whoever put this list together just stuck some post-its with every PPV match TNA had all year up on a wall, put on a blindfold, started throwing darts at random and picked whichever matches they hit. It's that ridiculous.
So in an effort to bring some credibility back to this list, here is the Best Matches of 2009 list that should have been:
Those are the matches that belong on this list. If we're counting TV matches as well as PPV matches then AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle from the Super iMPACT show would be on there as well. And, again, I'm being generous with a couple of those picks. I could narrow the list down even more if you pressed me.
I just thought I'd clear that up for everyone.
This list is a complete joke.
First of all, there are no less than 24 choices to pick from, when in actuality the list could and should be narrowed down to around 5.
And not that there aren't some tremendous matches on it, but there were also some glaring omissions. Several of TNA's best matches of '09 that SHOULD have been included were not, and instead there are a number of matches that have absolutely no place on a 'Best of' list whatsoever.
WHAT WAS THE BEST PAY-PER-MATCH IN TNA WRESTLING IN 2009?
-Genesis: Kurt Angle vs Jeff Jarrett
-Destination X: Ultimate X: X-Division Championship
-Lockdown: Matt Morgan vs. Abyss: Doomsday Chamber of Blood
-Lockdown: Sting vs Mick Foley: World Heavyweight Championship
-Sacrifice: Samoa Joe vs. Kevin Nash
-Sacrifice: Angelina Love vs. Awesome Kong: Knockouts Championship
-Sacrifice: Sting vs. Mick Foley, Kurt Angle and Jeff Jarrett
-Slammiversary: Abyss/Taylor Wilde vs. Raven/Daffney: Monster’s Ball
-Slammiversary: X Division King Of The Mountain: X Division Championship
-Slammiversary: King Of The Mountain: World Heavyweight Championship
-Victory Road: Kurt Angle vs. Mick Foley: TNA Heavyweight Championship
-Victory Road: Beer Money vs. Steiner/Booker: Tag Team Championship
-Victory Road: Angelina Love vs. Tara: Knockouts Championship
-Hard Justice: Steel Asylum Match For the X Division #1 Contender
-Hard Justice: Kevin Nash vs. Mick Foley: Legends Championship
-No Surrender: Bobby Lashley vs. Rhino
-No Surrender: D'Angelo Dinero vs. Suicide: Falls Count Anywhere
-Bound For Glory: Sting vs. AJ Styles: World Heavyweight Championship
-Bound For Glory: Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan
-Bound For Glory: Bobby Lashley vs. Samoa Joe: MMA vs. TNA
-Bound For Glory: Abyss vs. Mick Foley: Monster's Ball
-Bound For Glory: Ultimate X: X Division Championship
-Turning Point: Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe
-Turning Point: AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Daniels: World Heavyweight Championship
The matches highlighted in bold are the ones that could conceivably belong on TNA's Best of '09 list. I was even generous and threw in the Slammiversary Monster's Ball and the Hard Justice Steel Asylum match, both of which are a bit of a stretch, IMO. But what about all those others?
Morgan vs. Abyss at Lockdown -- did TNA management actually watch that match?
Angelina Love vs. Awesome Kong/Tara -- seriously? I'm sorry, but Angelina did not match up well with either of those women and it showed.
Nash vs. Foley -- WHAT? How can they expect the fans to even take this thing seriously if they're putting Kevin Nash matches on it? The only cool thing about that match was all the blood that was spilled.
Bobby Lashley vs. Rhino -- riiiiiiight...
No match from Victory Road belongs on any Best of '09 list. Plain and simple.
If they wanted to put some Knockout matches on there then where are Sarita vs. Alissa Flash and Hamada vs. Daffney? Those were the best two women's matches of the year in TNA and far better than any match involving Angelina Love.
The inclusion of Kevin Nash and Bobby Lashley matches on this list is disconcerting enough, but perhaps even more bizarre is the stuff they left off it.
How can they not include Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley at Genesis? That was one of the top five matches of the year easily. What about Beer Money vs. Team 3D at Lockdown?
It literally feels like whoever put this list together just stuck some post-its with every PPV match TNA had all year up on a wall, put on a blindfold, started throwing darts at random and picked whichever matches they hit. It's that ridiculous.
So in an effort to bring some credibility back to this list, here is the Best Matches of 2009 list that should have been:
-Genesis: Kurt Angle vs Jeff Jarrett
-Genesis: Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley: X Division Championship
-Lockdown: Beer Money vs. Team 3D: TNA & IWGP Tag Team Championship
-Bound For Glory: Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan
-Bound For Glory: Ultimate X: X Division Championship
-Turning Point: Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe
-Turning Point: AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Daniels: World Heavyweight Championship
Those are the matches that belong on this list. If we're counting TV matches as well as PPV matches then AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle from the Super iMPACT show would be on there as well. And, again, I'm being generous with a couple of those picks. I could narrow the list down even more if you pressed me.
I just thought I'd clear that up for everyone.
November 17, 2009
November 15, 2009
QCWradio episode 54
Episode 54 is now available for download.
This week's topics include:
-TNA Turning Point predictions.
-roundtable discussion: what would you do if you were TNA president for a day?
-which wrestlers today could use managers?
-also, the week in wrestling, promo of the week and much, much more.
This week's topics include:
-TNA Turning Point predictions.
-roundtable discussion: what would you do if you were TNA president for a day?
-which wrestlers today could use managers?
-also, the week in wrestling, promo of the week and much, much more.
November 13, 2009
November 12, 2009
Previewing Turning Point
Time for our monthly PPV preview. This month Chessarmy and myself are joined by the 3rd point in the QCWradio triforce of awesomeness, the ever witty, always hilarious, sometimes deeply disturbing Quintastic One.
ALL TITLES ON THE LINE
The Beautiful People vs. ODB (c), Sarita & Taylor Wilde (c)
FK9: Why even bother with this one? If it were a non-title match then at least you could suspend your disbelief long enough to think that the heels might go over. But with all the belts on the line? Please... Are we supposed to think that Lacey Von Erich, a woman who trips over her own feet in the ring, a woman referred to backstage as "Rhaka Blonde" is going to win the Knockouts title? I don't care how gorgeous Dixie Carter thinks she is -- it's just not going to happen and we all know it. And after the way they were shamed by the champs on the last two PPVs, Velvet & Madison have about as much chance of winning the tag team titles, which is no chance in hell.
Who should win: ODB, Sarita & Taylor Wilde. And for God's sake, let this be the end of the Beautiful People's interminable push.
Chessarmy: This isn't booked correctly at all. ODB shouldn't even be Knockouts champion and the all-titles-on-the-line stipulation just confuses me. I hate it when TNA books these types of matches. Either way, it won't deliver. Lacey Von Erich will be on LIVE TV, you know she's going to have a major botch. Look, the girl is hotter than hell's toilet seat, the problem is she cant work. Because of her alone, the match won't be anything worth my time and I'll probably use this as my bathroom break.
Who should win: Sarita, Taylor and ODB
The Quintastic One: You aren't going to have any complaints from me here. Velvet Sky, Madison Rayne and Lacey Von Erich? Team Hotter Than A Pistol On A Grill In A Texas Summer Green House?...... oh, and there's ODB somewhere in there too. This one isn't going to last too long, it's gonna be great for the eye candy, and that's all I'm expecting from it.
Who should win: The Beautiful People. Because they're hawt.
-----
6 SIDES OF STEEL CAGE MATCH
Tara vs. Awesome Kong
FK9: Even in the 6 sides of steel I find that I really just don't care about this match as much as I should, though that's not the fault of the wrestlers. The writers should've pulled the trigger on this feud months ago -- even Bound for Glory was probably stretching out the build up for too long. But the match didn't even really happen at BFG either because they had to throw ODB in there for some reason. They teased this thing for months with fans begging them to just have a damn match already and now that they finally are I don't think there's nearly as much interest as there used to be. At any rate, with Awesome Kong getting her "top heel" on again it makes the most sense to put her over here. This isn't a knock on Tara, but I'm just much more interested in seeing Alissa Flash get pushed against Kong, though I highly doubt I'm going to get my wish on that one. :(
Who should win: Awesome Kong
Chessarmy: THIS should be for the Knockouts title. The build up going in is great since the match has been in the making for a while, not to mention, it'll be inside the 6 sides of steel. The only unfortunate part is they aren't wrestling for anything. Kong should've beaten ODB for the Knockouts title on an episode of iMPACT before this PPV so this cage match could actually have a belt on the line. Now the Tara/Kong feud will suffer because of inadequate booking. Kong should pick up the win here; she's been on a huge rampage and I'd hate to see that end.
Who should win: Awesome Kong
The Quintastic One: This is gonna be brutal. More brutal than a pitbull in a hot air balloon juggling two fish and a pound cake. Awesome Kong obviously beats the tar out of Tara from pillar to post. Tara's the hotness though, so she'll look good taking it. Kinda like last night. Yeah, I went there...
Who should win: Awesome Kong
-----
STREET FIGHT
Team 3D & Rhino vs. "the Blueprint" Matt Morgan, Hernandez & "the Pope" D'Angelo Dinero
FK9: This is the match that most heavily factors into the youth movement "storyline". Rhino's pissed off about the veterans seemingly getting phased out by management and now 3D are on board with him. Part of me would like to see the vets take this one so Rhino could retain some meager credibility as a heel, but with them facing two of Dixie Carter's favorites who are also two of the company's most heavily pushed young stars, not to mention the Pope, who TNA has captured lightning in a bottle with, the writing is on the wall here.
Who should win: the Blueprint, Supermex & the Pope
Chessarmy: I loved the Team 3D heel turn. I saw it coming from a mile away, but it was still enjoyable. I like how they're apprehensive heels, but as the weeks go by I'm sure we'll see that wear off. With TNA's recent youth movement this storyline makes sense in that they're just trying to make sure the fans know WHY the young stars have suddenly dominated the show. As for who should win, I'd go with Morgan, Hernandez and Dinero. It wouldn't be good for them to lose to 3D & Rhino, especially when Dixie is hell bent on making stars out of Hernandez and Morgan.
Who should win: Morgan, Hernandez and Dinero
The Quintastic One: My boy, Rhino, is in this match, that's all I need to know for my predictions. I may like Dinero, Morgan and Hernandez, but when you mix the total awesome that is Rhino, the total baldness that is Devon, and the total girth of Bubba, you've got a winning combination.
Who should win: Team 3D & Rhino
-----
Scott Steiner vs. "the Boss" Bobby Lashley
FK9: File this one under "We need to get Lashley on the card somehow." There's no reason for Lashley to do the job here and even less reason for Steiner to go over.
Who should win: Bobby Lashley
Chessarmy: This feud reminds me of the Booker T/Kurt Angle feud from Smackdown a few years ago. That was absolute garbage and this is too. Steiner wont be able to carry Lashley to a watchable match in my opinion -- another bathroom break for me. Lashley will come out with the win and I hope to God the feud will be over
Who should win: Bobby Lashley
The Quintastic One: On one hand, you have the largest arms in the world. On the other hand, you've got the largest black arms in the world. If this is true, you're probably some weird multi-ethnic body builder. So this match has all the tools to get you having washboard abs in three weeks or less. But regardless, this match has Kristal Marshall heel swerve written all over it. And then you get to enjoy Scott Steiner mackin' on Lashley's woman.
Who should win: Scott Steiner
-----
GLOBAL TITLE MATCH
Kevin Nash vs. Eric Young (c)
FK9: Steiner vs. Lashley, lather, rinse, repeat. Nash in singles matches is just a bad idea at this point. Hell, Nash in any kind of match is a bad idea at this point. EY is the leader of a new up-and-coming heel faction and Nash is basically nothing, which makes this pretty easy.
Who should win: Eric Young
Chessarmy: Soooo... Kevin Nash is a babyface? I understand the storyline going into this, but isn't Nash still a heel? I think the match will be watchable, but I won't be looking forward to it. Hopefully Eric Young retains like he should, and I just hope he can carry Nash to something respectable. It's unfortunate that Nash got himself suspended a few weeks ago as the build up suffered because of it.
Who should win: Eric Young
The Quintastic One: This match is like a dog with a hamburger on its head. And it ain't a pretty hamburger either. It's like a whopper jr without the beef. So I have to ask, where's the beef? It's right here in this match. I'm pretty sure Nash is American though, so he shouldn't be challenging for this title. Which means that Eric Young wins by default. For being Jewish. I assume.
Who should win: Eric Young
-----
X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH
Homicide vs. Amazing Red (c)
FK9: With the World Elite on the rise and Homicide their chosen X-division representative (Bashir & Kiyoshi don't really count), then it would make sense for him to win here. BUT... it seems like management has finally woken up and realized what was staring them in the face for months: the fans LOVE Amazing Red. They should be building the entire X-division around this guy. He came out of BFG looking like a strong champion but it's too soon to take the belt off him if he's going to keep the credibility he gained by retaining in the Ultimate-X match. Homicide can win the belt later, but for now it's more important that Red keep it to firmly establish himself as THE guy to beat in the X-division. Plus, after the way he got destroyed by Lashley in a matter of seconds on iMPACT, Homicide going over in this match would really diminish the title and I don't want to see that happen. He needs to be made to look strong again after that loss before I'll buy into him as X-division champ.
Who should win: Amazing Red
Chessarmy: Homicide lost in 60 seconds on iMPACT To Lashley. However, I'll give TNA props, at least he got his heat back after the match. Overall, this X-division title bout doesn't have much hype behind it and it's probably one of the weaker X title matches this year in terms of build up, but I'm sure the match will deliver. As long as TNA gives them a good 15 minutes to go out there and put on a great match, they will. The winner? I don't know, it's a hard decision, but I'd honestly give the belt to Homicide. The World Elite just look like a random mid-card faction right now. They need to get stronger. Adding the X-division title will surely help.
Who should win: Homicide
The Quintastic One: TNA is really dropping the ball on this. I mean, seriously, who wouldn't pay to see Homicide vs. Suicide vs. the Genocidal Sabu? Yeah, I'm totally leaving out his other two nicknames, but who would want to see Homicide vs. Suicide if they could get all that, plus more just from watching a guy filled with too much baba ganoush? As for this match, I would like Amazing Red to retain so he can have a lengthy reign, but I see Homicide winning and taking one home for World Elite.
Who should win: Homicide
-----
WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH
Beer Money Inc. vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. British Invasion (c)
FK9: I really wish Storm & Roode had not been added to this match. Not that they shouldn't be in the title picture (they should be), but Sabin & Shelley really deserved to have the whole spotlight here. Beer Money change the complexion of this match and now I'm not sure how it's going to play out. Either they're there so the heels can retain without pinning the Guns or the Guns are there so the heels can retain without pinning Beer Money. Either way I see the Brits retaining; as much as I want Sabin & Shelley to finally get their due, it's just too soon to take the belts off them. They need the titles to establish themselves and the World Elite as a dominant force. Ultimately, it NEEDS to be the MCMG who dethrone them for the sake of keeping the title picture from getting stale, but that should be saved for a big PPV like Genesis.
Who should win: British Invasion over Beer Money
Chessarmy: THIS should be the match where the Guns win the tag titles! I'm tired of waiting, it's time, the Motor City Machine Guns have busted their asses for the fans and yet they STILL haven't won the tag belts. They won the #1 contendership in an amazing Ultimate-X match on iMPACT, the fans are solidly behind them, it's time they get what they deserve. This match should deliver, and although I just said the World Elite need to get stronger by adding some titles to the group, I think the Invasion can go without the tag straps for at least a few months before they win them back again.
Who should win: The Motor City Machine Guns
The Quintastic One: So whatever happened to this being Beer Money's last shot? Why are they added in the first place? Does TNA not have any faith in the Guns vs. Invasion by themselves? Well, despite that, I give the edge solidly to Beer Money, simply because those racy James Storm photos just scream tag title push.
Who Should Win: Beer Money Inc.
-----
Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe
FK9: How psyched is Nigel McGuinness right now? This is the hardest one for me to predict. Wolfe has gotten the best of Angle every week for a month straight and that won't mean as much if he loses here. But at the same time, it's Kurt Angle. Unlike the Nashes and Steiners on the roster, Kurt can still go with the best of them and should be at or at least near the top of the card at all time. Angle has shown that he has no problem with putting over younger stars and a win over him would establish Wolfe as a main eventer instantly, but as Angle showed at BFG with Matt Morgan, the young guy doesn't necessarily have to win the match to get put over.
Who should win: It's a tough call, but I think this should go to a no contest or a time limit draw where both guys look strong, but neither wins the match. It just seems too soon to put either man over the other if that makes any sense.
Chessarmy: This is exhibit A in how you debut a new star. Desmond Wolfe comes in and immediately makes an impact. He destroys Kurt Angle not once, but twice, and now he's booked in one of the most anticipated matches on this PPV. I hope they get a good amount of time to work. This should be a hard hitting match that could possibly be 4 stars. I expect Kurt Angle to come out the winner. Wolfe has pretty much dominated the feud up to this point and it's time for Angle to gain some momentum.
Who should win: Kurt Angle
The Quintastic One: This is gonna be an amazing match. So amazing that I can't even develop a proper witty smart mark type comment about this match. So I will leave it at this: Desmond Wolfe ends up winning and they continue phasing out Kurt Angle from the main event. Not because I want them to, but because that's where I see this going.
Who should win: Desmond Wolfe
-----
MAIN EVENT: WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
Samoa Joe vs. Daniels vs."the Phenomenal" AJ Styles (c)
FK9: Drool! No matter who loses, the real winners are the fans in this match. The only problem is the winner is too easy to predict. They can't take the belt off of AJ after he just defeated Sting at BFG a month ago. He needs to be booked as a strong champion and the figurehead of TNA's youth movement as they build up to AJ vs. Kurt Angle.
Who should win: AJ Styles
Chessarmy: This match probably won't top the Unbreakable '05 classic, but I'm sure it COULD be a match of the year candidate. Again, if given the right amount of time the match will deliver. The build up has been tremendous with Samoa Joe playing the manipulating heel who's driving a wedge between two close friends. I agree with FK9, this is what Joe's character should have been all along. It wouldn't hurt if Joe lost the face paint too. One complaint about this is that Daniels is looking weak so far, but I'm sure they'll do something to fix that by having him come close to winning the world title. Who should win? It's easy -- AJ Styles. He just won the belt and he deserves a long reign. He'll probably end up pinning Daniels somehow. Post-match, I expect another attack on AJ by the mystery guy.
Who should win: AJ Styles
The Quintastic One: Daniels has been booked to look like a fool in this match. Samoa Joe has been great playing the heel role, but I find this match overly predictable. Will it be a damned good quality match? Hell yes. But I still see AJ Styles retaining. That's not a bad thing, just the way I can see it from a mile away is.
Who Should Win: AJ Styles
ALL TITLES ON THE LINE
The Beautiful People vs. ODB (c), Sarita & Taylor Wilde (c)
FK9: Why even bother with this one? If it were a non-title match then at least you could suspend your disbelief long enough to think that the heels might go over. But with all the belts on the line? Please... Are we supposed to think that Lacey Von Erich, a woman who trips over her own feet in the ring, a woman referred to backstage as "Rhaka Blonde" is going to win the Knockouts title? I don't care how gorgeous Dixie Carter thinks she is -- it's just not going to happen and we all know it. And after the way they were shamed by the champs on the last two PPVs, Velvet & Madison have about as much chance of winning the tag team titles, which is no chance in hell.
Who should win: ODB, Sarita & Taylor Wilde. And for God's sake, let this be the end of the Beautiful People's interminable push.
Chessarmy: This isn't booked correctly at all. ODB shouldn't even be Knockouts champion and the all-titles-on-the-line stipulation just confuses me. I hate it when TNA books these types of matches. Either way, it won't deliver. Lacey Von Erich will be on LIVE TV, you know she's going to have a major botch. Look, the girl is hotter than hell's toilet seat, the problem is she cant work. Because of her alone, the match won't be anything worth my time and I'll probably use this as my bathroom break.
Who should win: Sarita, Taylor and ODB
The Quintastic One: You aren't going to have any complaints from me here. Velvet Sky, Madison Rayne and Lacey Von Erich? Team Hotter Than A Pistol On A Grill In A Texas Summer Green House?...... oh, and there's ODB somewhere in there too. This one isn't going to last too long, it's gonna be great for the eye candy, and that's all I'm expecting from it.
Who should win: The Beautiful People. Because they're hawt.
-----
6 SIDES OF STEEL CAGE MATCH
Tara vs. Awesome Kong
FK9: Even in the 6 sides of steel I find that I really just don't care about this match as much as I should, though that's not the fault of the wrestlers. The writers should've pulled the trigger on this feud months ago -- even Bound for Glory was probably stretching out the build up for too long. But the match didn't even really happen at BFG either because they had to throw ODB in there for some reason. They teased this thing for months with fans begging them to just have a damn match already and now that they finally are I don't think there's nearly as much interest as there used to be. At any rate, with Awesome Kong getting her "top heel" on again it makes the most sense to put her over here. This isn't a knock on Tara, but I'm just much more interested in seeing Alissa Flash get pushed against Kong, though I highly doubt I'm going to get my wish on that one. :(
Who should win: Awesome Kong
Chessarmy: THIS should be for the Knockouts title. The build up going in is great since the match has been in the making for a while, not to mention, it'll be inside the 6 sides of steel. The only unfortunate part is they aren't wrestling for anything. Kong should've beaten ODB for the Knockouts title on an episode of iMPACT before this PPV so this cage match could actually have a belt on the line. Now the Tara/Kong feud will suffer because of inadequate booking. Kong should pick up the win here; she's been on a huge rampage and I'd hate to see that end.
Who should win: Awesome Kong
The Quintastic One: This is gonna be brutal. More brutal than a pitbull in a hot air balloon juggling two fish and a pound cake. Awesome Kong obviously beats the tar out of Tara from pillar to post. Tara's the hotness though, so she'll look good taking it. Kinda like last night. Yeah, I went there...
Who should win: Awesome Kong
-----
STREET FIGHT
Team 3D & Rhino vs. "the Blueprint" Matt Morgan, Hernandez & "the Pope" D'Angelo Dinero
FK9: This is the match that most heavily factors into the youth movement "storyline". Rhino's pissed off about the veterans seemingly getting phased out by management and now 3D are on board with him. Part of me would like to see the vets take this one so Rhino could retain some meager credibility as a heel, but with them facing two of Dixie Carter's favorites who are also two of the company's most heavily pushed young stars, not to mention the Pope, who TNA has captured lightning in a bottle with, the writing is on the wall here.
Who should win: the Blueprint, Supermex & the Pope
Chessarmy: I loved the Team 3D heel turn. I saw it coming from a mile away, but it was still enjoyable. I like how they're apprehensive heels, but as the weeks go by I'm sure we'll see that wear off. With TNA's recent youth movement this storyline makes sense in that they're just trying to make sure the fans know WHY the young stars have suddenly dominated the show. As for who should win, I'd go with Morgan, Hernandez and Dinero. It wouldn't be good for them to lose to 3D & Rhino, especially when Dixie is hell bent on making stars out of Hernandez and Morgan.
Who should win: Morgan, Hernandez and Dinero
The Quintastic One: My boy, Rhino, is in this match, that's all I need to know for my predictions. I may like Dinero, Morgan and Hernandez, but when you mix the total awesome that is Rhino, the total baldness that is Devon, and the total girth of Bubba, you've got a winning combination.
Who should win: Team 3D & Rhino
-----
Scott Steiner vs. "the Boss" Bobby Lashley
FK9: File this one under "We need to get Lashley on the card somehow." There's no reason for Lashley to do the job here and even less reason for Steiner to go over.
Who should win: Bobby Lashley
Chessarmy: This feud reminds me of the Booker T/Kurt Angle feud from Smackdown a few years ago. That was absolute garbage and this is too. Steiner wont be able to carry Lashley to a watchable match in my opinion -- another bathroom break for me. Lashley will come out with the win and I hope to God the feud will be over
Who should win: Bobby Lashley
The Quintastic One: On one hand, you have the largest arms in the world. On the other hand, you've got the largest black arms in the world. If this is true, you're probably some weird multi-ethnic body builder. So this match has all the tools to get you having washboard abs in three weeks or less. But regardless, this match has Kristal Marshall heel swerve written all over it. And then you get to enjoy Scott Steiner mackin' on Lashley's woman.
Who should win: Scott Steiner
-----
GLOBAL TITLE MATCH
Kevin Nash vs. Eric Young (c)
FK9: Steiner vs. Lashley, lather, rinse, repeat. Nash in singles matches is just a bad idea at this point. Hell, Nash in any kind of match is a bad idea at this point. EY is the leader of a new up-and-coming heel faction and Nash is basically nothing, which makes this pretty easy.
Who should win: Eric Young
Chessarmy: Soooo... Kevin Nash is a babyface? I understand the storyline going into this, but isn't Nash still a heel? I think the match will be watchable, but I won't be looking forward to it. Hopefully Eric Young retains like he should, and I just hope he can carry Nash to something respectable. It's unfortunate that Nash got himself suspended a few weeks ago as the build up suffered because of it.
Who should win: Eric Young
The Quintastic One: This match is like a dog with a hamburger on its head. And it ain't a pretty hamburger either. It's like a whopper jr without the beef. So I have to ask, where's the beef? It's right here in this match. I'm pretty sure Nash is American though, so he shouldn't be challenging for this title. Which means that Eric Young wins by default. For being Jewish. I assume.
Who should win: Eric Young
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X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH
Homicide vs. Amazing Red (c)
FK9: With the World Elite on the rise and Homicide their chosen X-division representative (Bashir & Kiyoshi don't really count), then it would make sense for him to win here. BUT... it seems like management has finally woken up and realized what was staring them in the face for months: the fans LOVE Amazing Red. They should be building the entire X-division around this guy. He came out of BFG looking like a strong champion but it's too soon to take the belt off him if he's going to keep the credibility he gained by retaining in the Ultimate-X match. Homicide can win the belt later, but for now it's more important that Red keep it to firmly establish himself as THE guy to beat in the X-division. Plus, after the way he got destroyed by Lashley in a matter of seconds on iMPACT, Homicide going over in this match would really diminish the title and I don't want to see that happen. He needs to be made to look strong again after that loss before I'll buy into him as X-division champ.
Who should win: Amazing Red
Chessarmy: Homicide lost in 60 seconds on iMPACT To Lashley. However, I'll give TNA props, at least he got his heat back after the match. Overall, this X-division title bout doesn't have much hype behind it and it's probably one of the weaker X title matches this year in terms of build up, but I'm sure the match will deliver. As long as TNA gives them a good 15 minutes to go out there and put on a great match, they will. The winner? I don't know, it's a hard decision, but I'd honestly give the belt to Homicide. The World Elite just look like a random mid-card faction right now. They need to get stronger. Adding the X-division title will surely help.
Who should win: Homicide
The Quintastic One: TNA is really dropping the ball on this. I mean, seriously, who wouldn't pay to see Homicide vs. Suicide vs. the Genocidal Sabu? Yeah, I'm totally leaving out his other two nicknames, but who would want to see Homicide vs. Suicide if they could get all that, plus more just from watching a guy filled with too much baba ganoush? As for this match, I would like Amazing Red to retain so he can have a lengthy reign, but I see Homicide winning and taking one home for World Elite.
Who should win: Homicide
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WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH
Beer Money Inc. vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. British Invasion (c)
FK9: I really wish Storm & Roode had not been added to this match. Not that they shouldn't be in the title picture (they should be), but Sabin & Shelley really deserved to have the whole spotlight here. Beer Money change the complexion of this match and now I'm not sure how it's going to play out. Either they're there so the heels can retain without pinning the Guns or the Guns are there so the heels can retain without pinning Beer Money. Either way I see the Brits retaining; as much as I want Sabin & Shelley to finally get their due, it's just too soon to take the belts off them. They need the titles to establish themselves and the World Elite as a dominant force. Ultimately, it NEEDS to be the MCMG who dethrone them for the sake of keeping the title picture from getting stale, but that should be saved for a big PPV like Genesis.
Who should win: British Invasion over Beer Money
Chessarmy: THIS should be the match where the Guns win the tag titles! I'm tired of waiting, it's time, the Motor City Machine Guns have busted their asses for the fans and yet they STILL haven't won the tag belts. They won the #1 contendership in an amazing Ultimate-X match on iMPACT, the fans are solidly behind them, it's time they get what they deserve. This match should deliver, and although I just said the World Elite need to get stronger by adding some titles to the group, I think the Invasion can go without the tag straps for at least a few months before they win them back again.
Who should win: The Motor City Machine Guns
The Quintastic One: So whatever happened to this being Beer Money's last shot? Why are they added in the first place? Does TNA not have any faith in the Guns vs. Invasion by themselves? Well, despite that, I give the edge solidly to Beer Money, simply because those racy James Storm photos just scream tag title push.
Who Should Win: Beer Money Inc.
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Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe
FK9: How psyched is Nigel McGuinness right now? This is the hardest one for me to predict. Wolfe has gotten the best of Angle every week for a month straight and that won't mean as much if he loses here. But at the same time, it's Kurt Angle. Unlike the Nashes and Steiners on the roster, Kurt can still go with the best of them and should be at or at least near the top of the card at all time. Angle has shown that he has no problem with putting over younger stars and a win over him would establish Wolfe as a main eventer instantly, but as Angle showed at BFG with Matt Morgan, the young guy doesn't necessarily have to win the match to get put over.
Who should win: It's a tough call, but I think this should go to a no contest or a time limit draw where both guys look strong, but neither wins the match. It just seems too soon to put either man over the other if that makes any sense.
Chessarmy: This is exhibit A in how you debut a new star. Desmond Wolfe comes in and immediately makes an impact. He destroys Kurt Angle not once, but twice, and now he's booked in one of the most anticipated matches on this PPV. I hope they get a good amount of time to work. This should be a hard hitting match that could possibly be 4 stars. I expect Kurt Angle to come out the winner. Wolfe has pretty much dominated the feud up to this point and it's time for Angle to gain some momentum.
Who should win: Kurt Angle
The Quintastic One: This is gonna be an amazing match. So amazing that I can't even develop a proper witty smart mark type comment about this match. So I will leave it at this: Desmond Wolfe ends up winning and they continue phasing out Kurt Angle from the main event. Not because I want them to, but because that's where I see this going.
Who should win: Desmond Wolfe
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MAIN EVENT: WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
Samoa Joe vs. Daniels vs."the Phenomenal" AJ Styles (c)
FK9: Drool! No matter who loses, the real winners are the fans in this match. The only problem is the winner is too easy to predict. They can't take the belt off of AJ after he just defeated Sting at BFG a month ago. He needs to be booked as a strong champion and the figurehead of TNA's youth movement as they build up to AJ vs. Kurt Angle.
Who should win: AJ Styles
Chessarmy: This match probably won't top the Unbreakable '05 classic, but I'm sure it COULD be a match of the year candidate. Again, if given the right amount of time the match will deliver. The build up has been tremendous with Samoa Joe playing the manipulating heel who's driving a wedge between two close friends. I agree with FK9, this is what Joe's character should have been all along. It wouldn't hurt if Joe lost the face paint too. One complaint about this is that Daniels is looking weak so far, but I'm sure they'll do something to fix that by having him come close to winning the world title. Who should win? It's easy -- AJ Styles. He just won the belt and he deserves a long reign. He'll probably end up pinning Daniels somehow. Post-match, I expect another attack on AJ by the mystery guy.
Who should win: AJ Styles
The Quintastic One: Daniels has been booked to look like a fool in this match. Samoa Joe has been great playing the heel role, but I find this match overly predictable. Will it be a damned good quality match? Hell yes. But I still see AJ Styles retaining. That's not a bad thing, just the way I can see it from a mile away is.
Who Should Win: AJ Styles
November 11, 2009
Champion Without a Feud
“Sitting here with Knockouts Champ ODB. I just signed her new multi year deal.”
-Dixie Carter, www.twitter.com/TNADixie.
The only reason TNA management gave ODB the Knockouts title was to convince her to resign with the company.
If that’s not what you think then you haven’t been paying attention.
Don’t believe it? Well then, let’s rewind the clock a bit…
At Against All Odds, ODB challenged Awesome Kong for the title. The writers didn’t really make a big deal out of the match as it was clearly just something they were doing to buy time until they could come up with a better idea for what to do with Kong. ODB lost the match in fairly short order.
At Destination-X, ODB was involved in the “Win a Date With ODB” contest -- an absolutely putrid segment that was panned by critics and fans alike. Not only was it a complete waste of PPV time, but the whole purpose of it was to introduce Cody Deaner which, several months later, we would all come to regret.
At Lockdown, ODB was put in the Queen of the Cage match along with Daffney, Madison Rayne and Sojourner Bolt. The match was mediocre and completely pointless. The women weren’t competing for a title shot, or anything really. It was just a random match with absolutely no build up whatsoever thrown in there to fill out the card. So even though ODB went over in the match, the win ultimately meant nothing and went nowhere.
This win was followed by several months of ODB being largely overlooked in TNA. Her screen time was greatly reduced, she competed in a number of webmatches, but mainly she was seen standing at ringside while Cody Deaner lost matches, and even then she was only on TV sporadically.
The Cody Deaner storyline was going nowhere fast and ODB was quickly becoming irrelevant. I, myself, theorized around this time that the writers had run out of ideas for her and might very well let her contract expire when it was up in November.
Then, late in the Summer ODB suddenly returned to the forefront in the Knockout division, scored some pins on the Beautiful People and then won the Knockouts championship from Angelina Love at Hard Justice, all within a few weeks.
All this happened extremely fast and was done after ODB had barely been on TV for months. That alone was enough to raise my eyebrows, but it wasn’t the only evidence.
ODB’s first, and to date only feud for the title was against her now former boyfriend Cody Deaner at No Surrender in an absolutely horrid storyline involving Deaner trying to become “King of the Knockouts” (excuse me while I vomit). The feud was pointless, the match was pointless, and it really made me wonder about something -- why were the writers wasting ODB’s time with crap like this when they should have been building a real feud for her to lead into Bound for Glory?
ANSWER: because they had no intention of doing so.
At TNA’s biggest PPV of the year, instead of the Knockouts champion wrestling in a match that was about her, she simply piggybacked on the Kong vs. Tara feud, in essence spoiling the one-on-one encounter that had been teased for months.
And now in the shows leading up to Turning Point it’s been the exact same thing. Instead of getting a feud of her own, the Knockouts champion is now piggybacking on the Sarita & Taylor vs. the Beautiful People rivalry, being added to another absolutely pointless match, which everyone knows the heels have zero chance of winning and will most likely be awful due to Lacey Von Erich’s inclusion.
So far, since ODB won the Knockouts championship, the only program the writers have written specifically for her was the Cody Deaner debacle. Since then they’ve had her meandering around, inserting her into other people’s feuds because they clearly didn’t have a plan for what to do with her.
Obviously, the choice to make ODB the Knockouts champion was not made for creative purposes. It was a business move, plain and simple. Management decided that they wanted to keep ODB in the company and quickly pushed her to the top, giving her the title in order to placate her when it was time for her contract renegotiations.
If any of you think I’m wrong about that, then I ask you, why give ODB the title in the first place when doing so was obviously throwing a monkey wrench into several feuds the writers were in the middle of? Why do that when said monkey wrench could have been easily avoided by keeping the title on Tara when she won it from Angelina?
I know ODB has her share of critics. Personally, I’m not one of them. I’m not a huge fan, admittedly, but I don’t have a major problem with her (just with the way she’s used a lot of the time). I recognize that she’s very over with casual fans and she’s obviously a draw for the company. Did she deserve to be the champion? Sure, she did.
But let’s be honest here -- the time to give ODB a title push was a year ago when the Knockouts were hurting from the loss of Gail Kim and really needing a credible top babyface. THAT was when ODB (along with Roxxi) should’ve been pushed to the top, but for reasons I don’t understand to this day, the writers thought Christy Hemme was a better choice.
ODB’s eventual title win was given very little build up. It came only after months of her being largely ignored and rarely seen, her crowd heat noticeably diminished and her character bordering on irrelevance. Simple common sense tells us that it should have come at a time when her character was really hot, had momentum and had the fans really clamoring for her to win the belt, but that’s not what happened.
With the exception of the Cody Deaner thing (which is best left forgotten), none of ODB’s storylines since winning the title have been about her -- they’ve been about other people with her just tagging along.
A few days ago TNA president, Dixie Carter, posted the message on her twitter page that you see at the top of this column indicating that she had signed ODB to a new multi-year contract.
Wow… I bet her being the Knockouts champion was pretty good motivation for her to stay with the company, wasn’t it? Awfully convenient the way that worked out…
I feel bad for ODB because her title reign could’ve meant so much more than it has, and now that she’s been locked in with a new deal the writers will probably be taking the belt off her as soon as they line up a decent challenger (TBP don’t count). But as unfortunate as this situation is, the real reason for this column is that ODB’s mishandled run with the title is indicative of a larger problem in the Knockout division -- one that I’ve examined before (KNOCKED OUT: the Price of Tunnel Vision).
The TNA writers have tunnel vision when it comes to the Knockouts. Plain and simple. By that I mean that they only focus on a few select women and all the others are virtually ignored.
ODB might have had a feud of her own for No Surrender if this absolutely INTERMINABLE push of TBP had not necessitated her being added to their feud with Sarita & Taylor.
TBP have been pushed endlessly this year. Even when they were being made to look like complete idiots in the Governor Palin skits, they were still all over the place. Angelina had a lengthy, but lackluster run with the Knockouts title, during which the faction enjoyed even more ample screen time. Even after Angelina (by far the most talented member of the group) was released from the company and replaced with a black hole of wrestling ability named Lacey Von Erich they were STILL not deemphasized in the slightest. These women have been pushed to the moon for the better part of a year at this point and this has happened despite the fact that they have not delivered a single match worth talking about in all that time.
Let’s just put all our cards on the table right now…
The Beautiful People suck.
Madison Rayne is a decent enough worker, but she’s never been given the opportunity to really display that in TNA. Velvet Sky is a good performer with good mic skills, but athletically the woman just cannot go in the ring -- she might as well have “MANAGER” tattooed across her forehead. And then there’s Lacey “Rhaka Blonde” Von Erich, who can’t even seem to lace up her own boots without botching something, who desperately needs to be taken off TV and sent back to wrestling school so she can, you know… learn how to wrestle.
Why do these women continue to get more screen time than all three of the champions? Why on God’s green earth are these women getting title shot after title shot? Why in the world have they been pushed so hard for so long? Why is ODB wasting her time in a pointless 6-woman tag match with Lacey Von Erich and Velvet Sky when she could be defending her title against someone who can actually wrestle and actually DESERVES a title shot? Even if Angelina were still there TBP would not warrant the amount of screen time they get when ultra-talents like Alissa Flash and Hamada are being completely ignored and wasted as enhancement workers.
This was a problem a year and a half ago and it’s still a problem now. The writers focus all their attention on a few select women and all the others get shafted. In this case, the chosen few are Awesome Kong, Tara and TBP. ODB, Sarita & Taylor are the champions, but these other women are the ones getting all the spotlight.
To Kong and Tara’s credit, at least they can wrestle, but what the hell have TBP done to deserve this much attention? They might still be over, they might sell merchandise (I’m assuming), but they just can’t back it up in the ring. And if they can’t deliver in the ring where it counts then pushing them so hard is a complete waste of time.
If you’re dead set on keeping this group going then relegate them to backstage skits, make them managers or valets -- they’re still on TV, they’re still in a position to draw for the company, but they’re not offending our eyeballs by delivering crappy matches all the time.
Give the ring time to the women who can actually deliver the goods in the ring. Give some of the other women an opportunity for a change. Put the spotlight on the champions and challengers that are actually worth getting interested in. Stop having Kong & Tara constantly monopolizing the top of the card.
It’s not that hard to make a new tag team that can get through a match without botching and doesn’t have to be carried by Sarita & Taylor.
It’s not that hard to come up with a good challenger for ODB.
ODB was given the title at the wrong time for the wrong reasons, but that doesn’t mean her title reign has to be a joke. The champion just needs a feud.
November 08, 2009
QCWradio episode 53
Episode 53 is now available for download.
This week's topics include:
-should John Cena turn heel? And if so, how?
-will Styles/Daniels/Joe 2 at Turning Point top the Unbreakable 3-way?
-do women have a place in pro wrestling?
-also, the week in wrestling, promo of the week and much, much more.
Special guests: Killa_Kev & Peter_H
This week's topics include:
-should John Cena turn heel? And if so, how?
-will Styles/Daniels/Joe 2 at Turning Point top the Unbreakable 3-way?
-do women have a place in pro wrestling?
-also, the week in wrestling, promo of the week and much, much more.
Special guests: Killa_Kev & Peter_H
November 07, 2009
November 05, 2009
the Month in Review 9/24/09-Bound for Glory
9/24/09 iMPACT
-For those of you keeping score, Sarita & Taylor vs. Kong & Saeed was the highest rated segment last week. If this continues we could be hearing about that Knockout spin-off show before too long.
-There's a new intro video at the start of the show. Sarita & Taylor are included in it now. Booyah.
SARITA & TAYLOR WILDE © vs. TARA & ODB ©
-Good, albeit too short match. I'm digging SariTaylor's double team moves. It looks like they're still ironing out the kinks in a few areas, but for them to be as good as they are together after just a few matches is pretty impressive.
-Did they really need to bring out Kong that soon? Couldn't they have let the match go for a few more minutes first? The champs' first title defense was just used as a backdrop for Tara/Kong/ODB and that's not the way it should be.
-So does this mean the Tara/Christy Hemme tag team is no more? Wow, they didn’t last too long, did they? Not surprising. At this point it seems like all the random makeshift teams created for the tournament are toast: Traci/Sharmell, Hamada/Bolt, Tara/Christy -- all done. I basically predicted that none of those teams would last beyond the tournament since they were obviously thrown together just for the sake of filling spots in said tournament and it looks like I was right on the money.
-I hope TNA will keep Alissa/Daffney together though. They were a good team and were certainly much better than Velvet Sky & Madison Rayne.
-My favorite part about Sarita & Taylor being the champs? They're getting more TV time, which means I get to keep seeing that entrance. ;)
-I have to say I’m really disappointed that there was no segment where Taylor & Sarita were officially presented with their new titles. Remember this?
TNA needed to do something like that to put over the new champs and the new titles to really make what happened at No Surrender seem monumental because lord knows they didn’t bother to do that on Sunday. So far, TNA have done a lousy job of making the Knockout tag team titles look important.
ALISSA FLASH INTERRUPTS HAMADA BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW
-Oh, man… An Alissa/Hamada feud? I'm salivating. I'm drooling on my keyboard as I'm typing this. The matches those two could have together... TNA, get them in the ring yesterday!
-This was awesome! Alissa is such a badass; she beat the piss out of Hamada! Kudos to Hamada as well for taking some stiff shots and bumping so well for her. This one segment was proof of why Alissa should be the one to replace Angelina as the new top heel on the women’s roster.
-Alissa linked to a video of this segment on her twitter page, citing it as the reason why she should be the Knockouts champion and it’s pretty hard to argue with her.
-I couldn't be more thrilled that the writers are finally doing something with Alissa instead of wasting her as enhancement talent. Plus, Hamada needed a damn feud already. No complaints from me.
-Something else I'm happy about is that even though the women now have a singles title AND tag team titles, we can still get a non-title feud like this, which was something I was afraid we’d seen the last of. I have no idea where TNA will find the TV time for it though.
-One thing I'm wondering about is how this is going to affect the teased Kong/Saeed break up angle. If Alissa is going to feud with Hamada then that could delay her potential feud with Kong. I'm happy she'll be wrestling Hamada soon, but I still want that Awesome Kong feud.
KEVIN NASH ©, DAFFNEY & DR. STEVIE BACKSTAGE SEGMENT
-I. Love. Daffney. For punking out Kevin Nash. Daffney is a goddess. End of story.
-I loved this. Not because it was a good segment necessarily, but because these skits of Nash seducing random women just felt so pointless and self-indulgent. I mean, is Nash a guy who really needs his ego stroked more? In a word: no. Seeing the Scream Queen make him look like an idiot made this whole thing worth while.
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10/01/09 iMPACT
DR. STEVIE & DAFFNEY BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW
-Daffney looks like an evil burlesque dancer this week. It’s so hot it’s scary.
DR. STEVIE (w/ DAFFNEY) vs. KEVIN NASH ©
-Kevin Nash is still getting pushed. Shoot me. Equally as frustrating, the Motor City Machine Guns were barely on the show this week. TNA still refuses to acknowledge the potential gold mine they have with the Guns, thus drawing the ire of wrestling fans everywhere.
-Once again, Daffney is given practically nothing to do and yet still makes herself stand out. She continues to be criminally underutilized which depresses me because she’s so talented, not to mention so sexy she should be illegal.
TRACI BROOKS vs. CHRISTY HEMME
-“Battle of the Playboy models”? What is this, TNA or WWE circa 2004?
-Were those bunny ears they were wearing really necessary? In a wrestling ring they just look stupid.
-It’s a pretty safe bet that jobbing to Christy Hemme means your push is over. Sorry, Traci.
-To Christy’s credit, that role up she used to get the pin was a new move from her and it didn’t look half bad.
-This match wasn’t good, but at least it was short. With Bound for Glory just a few weeks away a match like this just feels like an incredible waste of time, especially on a show when the writers were obviously struggling to cram in a lot more stuff than they realistically had time for.
AWESOME KONG (w/ RAISHA SAEED) vs. ODB ©. TARA SITS IN ON COMMENTARY
-Since ODB and Kong have fought on PPV several times before, this match really should’ve had some hype or at the very least a pre-match interview. And I can’t believe that the fact that ODB had never beaten Kong before until tonight was never even mentioned.
-This was way too short, especially considering the history between these two. Every match on this show felt rushed, with the exception of Traci vs. Christy, which couldn’t end fast enough for my taste.
-Though it wasn’t focused on or mentioned by the announcers this week, the tension between Kong/Saeed is still ongoing. That look Kong gave Saeed during their entrance pretty much said everything.
-I guess it’s more or less official now. ODB vs. Kong vs. Tara for the title at BFG. Seeing as how they’ve been teasing Kong/Tara for so long I can’t believe they’re going to have their first PPV encounter in a triple threat match. I know I’ve talked about not seeing much chemistry between them, but all that build up leading up to them in a triple threat with ODB just seems so pointless when the fans want to see them go at it one-on-one.
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE, SARITA & TAYLOR WILDE © IN-RING SEGMENT. LACEY VON ERICH DEBUTS
-Lacey Von Erich is so delicious and now TNA is wrestleicious!
-Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Anyway, I figured they’d be adding someone else to the Beautiful People after Angelina was released. I assumed it was going to be Trina Michaels since they’d been teasing her for a while, but whatever. To be honest, I’m not happy about this. Lacey Von Erich is third generation and comes from a great wrestling family, so there’s no reason why she shouldn’t be a good worker, but for all our sakes I really hope she’s improved a LOT since the last time I saw her in the ring. That’s all I’m going to say…
-I think Lacey needs to refrain from using the claw. I know it’s a signature of the Von Erich family, but it really doesn’t look good the way she does it. She was just holding onto Sarita’s head by her fingertips; there’s no way that would hurt. It didn’t even look like it hurt. To Sarita’s credit, she sold the claw like it killed her, but there’s only so much that covers up.
-What also didn’t look good was Lacey’s beatdown of the babyfaces -- there was nothing devastating about her offense whatsoever. Frankly, I was wondering why Taylor & Sarita didn’t just spring right back up.
-Instead of someone like Lacey, who is gorgeous but has in-ring skills that are questionable at best, I really wish they had gone with an enforcer type of character like Moose briefly played last year. That way they wouldn’t have to worry about finding someone who’s swimsuit model-pretty; just someone who can wrestle.
-On a completely unrelated topic (caugh), you know who would be just great in an enforcer/bodyguard type of role? Sara Del Rey.
-Why were Taylor & Sarita wearing their ring gear if they didn’t have a match tonight?
-Why are Velvet & Madison getting a rematch for the titles at BFG when they were beaten pretty quickly and easily at No Surrender?
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW
-Well, at least Lacey can talk decently. I’m not too sure about her acting though.
-No Alissa/Hamada follow up this week? Boooo!
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10/09/09 iMPACT
ABYSS, MICK FOLEY, DR. STEVIE & DAFFNEY IN-RING SEGMENT
-So Daffney might have something to do at BFG after all. I guess I’ll take what I can get at this point.
ELIMINATION MATCH: HAMADA, CHRISTY HEMME, SARITA & TAYLOR WILDE © vs. THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE, TRACI BROOKS & “FUTURE LEGEND” ALISSA FLASH. LACEY VON ERICH INTERFERES
-Pretty decent match, but probably not as good as it should’ve been considering Sarita, Taylor, Alissa and Hamada were in it. And it certainly didn’t help that two of the best workers in the match (Alissa & Hamada) were eliminated early on. The problem is the match was like practically everything else on this show -– way too rushed. What kind of 8-person elimination tag match can you have in less than 7 minutes? Not much of one. Rapid fire eliminations with no tension or build up, former singles champ, Taylor, getting pinned after one DDT; the end result is that no one in the match really looks good, no matter how it’s booked.
-Something really important that was missing here was that “oh $h!t” moment when they really sold that Sarita was screwed with all her partners gone and her being all alone, facing near impossible odds. They at least needed a close up shot of her as she just took that in. It sounds so simple, but things like that can really heighten the drama of a match. Yet another installment in a very long line of wasted opportunities by the production team.
-There was a weird spot early on where Traci hit Christy with a jaw breaker. I’m not sure what happened, but the way Christy sold it just looked really strange to me. Christy’s still a work in progress apparently.
-There goes Sarita’s undefeated streak. It’s really disappointing that it had to end so unceremoniously without the announcers even acknowledging it. There was a great potential storyline with the other Knockouts all trying to be the first one to beat Sarita and the writers could’ve really done something cool with that. To have her streak end like this just seems like a waste and IMO it really should’ve been Alissa who ended it. At least she was instrumental in ending it anyway.
-On the plus side, Madison Rayne finally gets her first win in TNA. I’m hoping this is a sign that the writers are going to have her be the workhorse for TBP. Now that Angelina’s gone, Madison is easily the best worker in the group.
-Sarita ends up in a three-on-one situation against Traci, Velvet & Madison, pins two of them by herself and only loses because of interference from Alissa and Lacey. Even though TBP went over, the writing is pretty much on the wall: Sarita > Velvet & Madison.
-I don’t like that Sarita took her first loss here, but it would’ve made the TBP look at least somewhat credible if Madison had pinned her cleanly. Sarita would still look strong by eliminating Traci and Velvet, but TBP wouldn’t have ended up looking like complete losers like they did here, despite the fact that they won the match.
-If Velvet & Madison with Traci’s help couldn’t even beat Sarita all by herself, no one’s going to think they have a chance in hell against Sarita & Taylor together at BFG, and let’s be honest, they really don’t. TBP aren’t winning any tag titles on October 18th, nor should they at this point.
-The production team had to edit out a spot where Lacey tripped and fell on her way to the ring. Unfortunately, they couldn’t edit out the pitiful love tap that was Lacey’s kick to Sarita’s back, which looked so weak that I’m not 100% sure if she even made contact. Her chokeslam was fine but, geez, Lacey really needs a lot of work.
-Diva-dirt.com reported today that Dixie Carter is a proponent of Lacey and basically hired her because she’s really hot. While I am greatly appreciative of Ms. Carter for all the positive changes she has made to TNA in recent months, I do feel the need to point out that being really hot doesn’t mean much if you can’t wrestle, and from what I know about her, Lacey isn’t even remotely ready for television. All due respect to Ms. Carter, but I think she will come to regret her decision to sign this woman.
TARA vs. ODB ©. AWESOME KONG INTEREFERES
-Decent enough for the 90 some odd seconds it lasted before Kong showed up, but just like the 8-woman tag, it was way too rushed to mean anything. The matches on iMPACT are just getting shorter and shorter and it really hurts the product. If every single match on the show ends before the audience can even get into it then what are we watching for and why should we order the PPVs? I know TNA have longer matches on PPV, but new viewers and casual viewers won’t know that and they’ll probably never bother to find out if this continues.
-The crowd was into the match at first, but they were dead by the time the finish came around. I’m taking that as the audience telling TNA that they want more clean finishes without all the constant interference.
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10/14/09 Webmatch
TRACI BROOKS vs. TAYLOR WILDE (w/ SARITA) ©
-A Knockouts webmatch and ODB isn’t in it; I must be seeing things. Now that ODB is the champion I wonder if Traci will be taking over her spot as the unofficial queen of the webmatches. I suppose it would make sense since her role in the Main Event Mafia has amounted to absolutely nothing. Besides, there’s no real point in continuing Traci’s “push” since she was bumped off the cover of Playboy so they could go with Marge Simpson instead. Yes, you read that right. Marge Simpson.
-Kind of strange that Taylor’s working a singles match tonight but she still comes out to Sarita’s music. I know Sarita accompanied her to the ring, but it still seems odd. I guess I’m still trying to comprehend the idea of Taylor being in a tag team where it’s not her, but actually her partner who is the “alpha”. Taylor’s always been pushed so strongly, so it’s a weird thing to get used to -- weird, but not bad. This puts Taylor in a new position for a change and could help keep her character fresh.
-Why was Sarita wearing her ring gear if she wasn’t wrestling tonight?
-Not bad at all as 2 minute matches go. It was fast paced and the crowd was into it. Even though Traci was so obviously outclassed, Taylor tends to bring out the best in her opponents.
-She’s always been a very hard worker in the ring, but Taylor seems to have stepped it up even more since she started teaming with Sarita. She’s been pulling out some moves lately that I haven’t seen from her before. It’s so impressive that, as good as Taylor is already, she’s still getting better.
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10/15/09 iMPACT
-The 8-woman tag elimination match was the highest rated segment of the show last week. Too bad the match was so damn short. Seriously, what was the point of giving that match a 20 minute time limit if the writers were only going to devote 6 minutes and change to it? For that matter, what is the point of instituting time limits on matches in the first place when pretty much every TV match TNA puts on is way too short as it is?
THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE vs. TARA, AWESOME KONG (w/ RAISHA SAEED) & ODB ©
-Not much of a match and a predictable finish. This was just about building tension between Kong/Tara/ODB and letting TBP get a win to give them some momentum before they lose at BFG. In that capacity it was fine, but when you have a 3 hour show there is absolutely no excuse to have a match this short.
-No Kong/Saeed break up tease this week. I hope they haven’t dropped that angle.
-Lacey makes her in-ring debut and does absolutely nothing. Looks like it didn’t take TNA management long to realize how bad she is in the ring. And it’s not helping her case that she’s completely out of sync with Velvet & Madison when they do their posing routine.
FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE MATCH: HAMADA vs. “FUTURE LEGEND” ALISSA FLASH
-The WWE Divas wish they were this badass.
-Great match while it lasted, but once again, it was just too damn short. I get that they didn’t want to devote too much time to it since neither of these women are on the BFG card, but still, this could’ve easily been a PPV caliber match if they had just given it another 5-10 minutes. Couldn’t they have saved this match for next week when they could’ve devoted more time to it? What’s with all the short matches tonight? They get an extra hour for iMPACT this week and so far none of the matches have been any longer than usual, and by that I mean that they’re not nearly as long as they need to be to really mean anything.
-Did they have to job out Alissa again here? I can tolerate it if this is just the start of a feud and Alissa gets over on Hamada later, but Alissa’s been jobbing so much, it’s ridiculous. All due respect to Velvet Sky, but the fact that 'Velvel' is being pushed as a title contender and Alissa is a glorified jobber is an absolute farce.
-This better not be the only match these two have because I want a rematch on PPV with more time. A LOT more time.
-Right now, Alissa is like the female version of the Motor City Machine Guns, meaning that she’s always able to get really over with the crowds no matter how the writers try to bury her and no matter how many times they job her out. You’d think the writers would’ve gotten the picture by now. Sigh…
-Tenay said that Alissa & Hamada were jockeying for position on the Knockout food chain and could be angling for a future title shot with a win here. TNA still seem to be pushing the fact that Alissa is a very tough and brutal competitor, but that’s going to become harder and harder if they don’t start giving her some actual wins. So far she’s lost every match she’s had except the one against Cody Deaner (which wasn’t even really a match) and that’s not the way it should be because she’s one of the most talented women in the industry and she should be in the title picture. The writers are just wasting Alissa as enhancement talent when she should be ruling the Knockout division and I’m really getting sick and tired of it.
DAFFNEY, DR. STEVIE, MICK FOLEY & ABYSS BACKSTAGE SEGMENT
-Predictable swerve that everyone but Abyss saw coming, but Daffney gets her requisite 60 seconds of screen time for the week. She’s probably the one woman in TNA that’s being wasted as much as Alissa right now. What happened to their tag team? That pairing had real possibilities and certainly had a lot more to offer as a heel faction than Velvet Sky, Madison Rayne and the ridiculously inexperienced Lacey Von Erich.
KNOCKOUTS TAG TITLE MATCH HYPE VIDEO
-I love that TNA made this. WWE would never bother to make a video like this for a Divas PPV match because they just don’t consider the Divas important enough to warrant such things. Often times WWE will leave the Divas off the PPVs entirely, but TNA has two Knockout matches on their biggest show of the year and has made an effort to make sure both matches actually mean something. I much prefer this to the asinine Miss Wrestlemania battle royal match (which was won by a man in drag) that assaulted my eyeballs at Wrestlemania 25. That was pretty much a huge slap in the face to the women. This, however, is not. Thank you, TNA.
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10/18/09 Bound for Glory
-Yesterday, ODB posted a message on her facebook page that would seem to indicate that she could be leaving TNA soon. It will be interesting to see how that affects her title match tonight.
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW
-If there’s one positive about Angelina being gone it’s that Madison Rayne is no longer being overshadowed in the group. She’s never gotten more mic time than she’s had since Angelina left.
SARITA & TAYLOR WILDE © BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW
-I like that Sarita cuts parts of her promos in Spanish. It doesn’t seem important, but little things like having wrestlers display their nationalities in a positive light (even though Sarita’s technically Canadian) really help show off the diversity of the TNA roster and, if you ask me, they’re a big part of why TNA has such a large fanbase internationally.
SARITA & TAYLOR WILDE © vs. VELVET SKY & MADISON RAYNE (w/ LACEY VON ERICH)
-Who knew Earl Hebner had such a way with the ladies? lol
-No swerves with Lacey sneaking back to ringside. They just kicked her out and that was it. It looks like TNA management has smartly decided that the less involved Lacey is the better a match is likely to be.
-This match was even shorter than their No Surrender match. I think we all expected it to be short, but not THAT short. I understand that management doesn’t want to expose TBP to too much ring time, but that does beg the question of why they were even in this spot to begin with.
-Not much heat for this, but that was to be expected. These women had the unenviable task of following the absolutely insane Ultimate-X match.
-I heard scattered “Beautiful People!” chants in the crowd. Those people were wasting their time with the chants because there was no way the heels were going over here. It’s painfully obvious that Velvet & Madison as a tag team really just aren’t that good.
-This was not as good as their No Surrender match. It was sloppy at certain points and it looked like Taylor got her bell rung at the end there. She seemed a little woozy afterward.
-For the record, Taylor is now 2-0 at BFG, retaining her championships two years in a row.
-With them taking their second decisive loss in as many months to Sarita & Taylor here, TBP have absolutely no grounds for another rematch and word is that management plans to scale them back and have them focus more on vignettes and backstage skits and less on wrestling. All things considered, that’s probably the right call. However, this creates a big problem because there are only two tag teams on the Knockout roster and now the champs have no one to feud with. This is exactly why I thought it was a bad idea for them to start a women's tag team division before they were ready to do it right. They’ve already exhausted the only feud they had to work with and now they’ve got nowhere else to go.
-The writers need to create some viable new tag teams and they need to do it now. Or failing that, they need to sign some new teams from the indies. There are plenty of great ones out there; take your pick. For the record, I still really want to see Portia Perez & Nicole Matthews (the Canadian Ninjas) get signed and be pushed as the new Team Canada. TNA staff, if any of you happen to read this column, feel free to steal that idea.
AWESOME KONG vs. TARA vs. ODB ©. RAISHA SAEED INTERFERES
-I was all set to call this Tara’s best match in TNA so far, but then they had to add in an angle where she got into a fight with Kim Couture in the crowd and got taken backstage for a minute. I get that TNA is trying to attract the MMA fans and Tara/Couture have had a war of words online in recent months, but this ended up hurting the match. The action was heating up, the fans were really behind Tara and then she left for a few minutes and the crowd kind of died.
-PWinsider is reporting that TNA staged the incident this way on purpose to sell it as a shoot. If that’s true then they did a really good job of it. I wasn’t sure if it was worked or not and Kong & ODB looked legit confused. The problem is that this completely killed the flow of what had been a really good title match up to that point and they never really got it back. I’m not saying involving Kim Couture was a bad idea, but the way this played out just didn’t work IMO.
-Having said all that, Tara’s got to be loving all the free publicity TNA’s giving her for that Kim Couture fight. Strikeforce needs to make that fight happen already. TNA is thisclose to having their second official two sport athlete and I’m actually more interested in seeing Tara vs. Kim Couture than I am in seeing Lashley’s next fight.
-It’s just too bad that Tara couldn’t go over here because the crowd definitely wanted her to win more than Kong or even ODB.
-The finish was the perfect setup for Kong to finally turn on Saeed and unmask her. I just wish she would’ve done it after this match. The unmasking of Saeed could’ve been a great BFG moment. At any rate, they haven’t dropped that angle and the unmasking has got to be coming soon, which makes me very happy.
DAFFNEY INTERFERES IN MONSTER’S BALL
-Poor Daffney. Her BFG spot amounts to nothing more than her handing a taser to Mick Foley and then getting chokeslammed from the ring apron, through a barbwire board to the floor with the camera completely missing the spot. They showed it on the replay, at least, but damn… Seriously, is Daffney ever going to get anything in return for taking all these sick bumps? I hate to see her doing this to her body for nothing.
-Apparently, Daffney suffered a bad concussion, a swollen arm and has numbness in her left hand from taking that bump so she’ll probably be on the shelf for a while. I’d like to think that her sacrificing her body for the company will be rewarded and she’ll be in for a push when she comes back, but I’m not holding out hope at this point.
-PWinsider is now reporting that someone hacked ODB’s facebook page and posted that fake message about her leaving TNA. That answers that.
-For those of you keeping score, Sarita & Taylor vs. Kong & Saeed was the highest rated segment last week. If this continues we could be hearing about that Knockout spin-off show before too long.
-There's a new intro video at the start of the show. Sarita & Taylor are included in it now. Booyah.
SARITA & TAYLOR WILDE © vs. TARA & ODB ©
-Good, albeit too short match. I'm digging SariTaylor's double team moves. It looks like they're still ironing out the kinks in a few areas, but for them to be as good as they are together after just a few matches is pretty impressive.
-Did they really need to bring out Kong that soon? Couldn't they have let the match go for a few more minutes first? The champs' first title defense was just used as a backdrop for Tara/Kong/ODB and that's not the way it should be.
-So does this mean the Tara/Christy Hemme tag team is no more? Wow, they didn’t last too long, did they? Not surprising. At this point it seems like all the random makeshift teams created for the tournament are toast: Traci/Sharmell, Hamada/Bolt, Tara/Christy -- all done. I basically predicted that none of those teams would last beyond the tournament since they were obviously thrown together just for the sake of filling spots in said tournament and it looks like I was right on the money.
-I hope TNA will keep Alissa/Daffney together though. They were a good team and were certainly much better than Velvet Sky & Madison Rayne.
-My favorite part about Sarita & Taylor being the champs? They're getting more TV time, which means I get to keep seeing that entrance. ;)
-I have to say I’m really disappointed that there was no segment where Taylor & Sarita were officially presented with their new titles. Remember this?
TNA needed to do something like that to put over the new champs and the new titles to really make what happened at No Surrender seem monumental because lord knows they didn’t bother to do that on Sunday. So far, TNA have done a lousy job of making the Knockout tag team titles look important.
ALISSA FLASH INTERRUPTS HAMADA BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW
-Oh, man… An Alissa/Hamada feud? I'm salivating. I'm drooling on my keyboard as I'm typing this. The matches those two could have together... TNA, get them in the ring yesterday!
-This was awesome! Alissa is such a badass; she beat the piss out of Hamada! Kudos to Hamada as well for taking some stiff shots and bumping so well for her. This one segment was proof of why Alissa should be the one to replace Angelina as the new top heel on the women’s roster.
-Alissa linked to a video of this segment on her twitter page, citing it as the reason why she should be the Knockouts champion and it’s pretty hard to argue with her.
-I couldn't be more thrilled that the writers are finally doing something with Alissa instead of wasting her as enhancement talent. Plus, Hamada needed a damn feud already. No complaints from me.
-Something else I'm happy about is that even though the women now have a singles title AND tag team titles, we can still get a non-title feud like this, which was something I was afraid we’d seen the last of. I have no idea where TNA will find the TV time for it though.
-One thing I'm wondering about is how this is going to affect the teased Kong/Saeed break up angle. If Alissa is going to feud with Hamada then that could delay her potential feud with Kong. I'm happy she'll be wrestling Hamada soon, but I still want that Awesome Kong feud.
KEVIN NASH ©, DAFFNEY & DR. STEVIE BACKSTAGE SEGMENT
-I. Love. Daffney. For punking out Kevin Nash. Daffney is a goddess. End of story.
-I loved this. Not because it was a good segment necessarily, but because these skits of Nash seducing random women just felt so pointless and self-indulgent. I mean, is Nash a guy who really needs his ego stroked more? In a word: no. Seeing the Scream Queen make him look like an idiot made this whole thing worth while.
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10/01/09 iMPACT
DR. STEVIE & DAFFNEY BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW
-Daffney looks like an evil burlesque dancer this week. It’s so hot it’s scary.
DR. STEVIE (w/ DAFFNEY) vs. KEVIN NASH ©
-Kevin Nash is still getting pushed. Shoot me. Equally as frustrating, the Motor City Machine Guns were barely on the show this week. TNA still refuses to acknowledge the potential gold mine they have with the Guns, thus drawing the ire of wrestling fans everywhere.
-Once again, Daffney is given practically nothing to do and yet still makes herself stand out. She continues to be criminally underutilized which depresses me because she’s so talented, not to mention so sexy she should be illegal.
TRACI BROOKS vs. CHRISTY HEMME
-“Battle of the Playboy models”? What is this, TNA or WWE circa 2004?
-Were those bunny ears they were wearing really necessary? In a wrestling ring they just look stupid.
-It’s a pretty safe bet that jobbing to Christy Hemme means your push is over. Sorry, Traci.
-To Christy’s credit, that role up she used to get the pin was a new move from her and it didn’t look half bad.
-This match wasn’t good, but at least it was short. With Bound for Glory just a few weeks away a match like this just feels like an incredible waste of time, especially on a show when the writers were obviously struggling to cram in a lot more stuff than they realistically had time for.
AWESOME KONG (w/ RAISHA SAEED) vs. ODB ©. TARA SITS IN ON COMMENTARY
-Since ODB and Kong have fought on PPV several times before, this match really should’ve had some hype or at the very least a pre-match interview. And I can’t believe that the fact that ODB had never beaten Kong before until tonight was never even mentioned.
-This was way too short, especially considering the history between these two. Every match on this show felt rushed, with the exception of Traci vs. Christy, which couldn’t end fast enough for my taste.
-Though it wasn’t focused on or mentioned by the announcers this week, the tension between Kong/Saeed is still ongoing. That look Kong gave Saeed during their entrance pretty much said everything.
-I guess it’s more or less official now. ODB vs. Kong vs. Tara for the title at BFG. Seeing as how they’ve been teasing Kong/Tara for so long I can’t believe they’re going to have their first PPV encounter in a triple threat match. I know I’ve talked about not seeing much chemistry between them, but all that build up leading up to them in a triple threat with ODB just seems so pointless when the fans want to see them go at it one-on-one.
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE, SARITA & TAYLOR WILDE © IN-RING SEGMENT. LACEY VON ERICH DEBUTS
-Lacey Von Erich is so delicious and now TNA is wrestleicious!
-Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Anyway, I figured they’d be adding someone else to the Beautiful People after Angelina was released. I assumed it was going to be Trina Michaels since they’d been teasing her for a while, but whatever. To be honest, I’m not happy about this. Lacey Von Erich is third generation and comes from a great wrestling family, so there’s no reason why she shouldn’t be a good worker, but for all our sakes I really hope she’s improved a LOT since the last time I saw her in the ring. That’s all I’m going to say…
-I think Lacey needs to refrain from using the claw. I know it’s a signature of the Von Erich family, but it really doesn’t look good the way she does it. She was just holding onto Sarita’s head by her fingertips; there’s no way that would hurt. It didn’t even look like it hurt. To Sarita’s credit, she sold the claw like it killed her, but there’s only so much that covers up.
-What also didn’t look good was Lacey’s beatdown of the babyfaces -- there was nothing devastating about her offense whatsoever. Frankly, I was wondering why Taylor & Sarita didn’t just spring right back up.
-Instead of someone like Lacey, who is gorgeous but has in-ring skills that are questionable at best, I really wish they had gone with an enforcer type of character like Moose briefly played last year. That way they wouldn’t have to worry about finding someone who’s swimsuit model-pretty; just someone who can wrestle.
-On a completely unrelated topic (caugh), you know who would be just great in an enforcer/bodyguard type of role? Sara Del Rey.
-Why were Taylor & Sarita wearing their ring gear if they didn’t have a match tonight?
-Why are Velvet & Madison getting a rematch for the titles at BFG when they were beaten pretty quickly and easily at No Surrender?
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW
-Well, at least Lacey can talk decently. I’m not too sure about her acting though.
-No Alissa/Hamada follow up this week? Boooo!
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10/09/09 iMPACT
ABYSS, MICK FOLEY, DR. STEVIE & DAFFNEY IN-RING SEGMENT
-So Daffney might have something to do at BFG after all. I guess I’ll take what I can get at this point.
ELIMINATION MATCH: HAMADA, CHRISTY HEMME, SARITA & TAYLOR WILDE © vs. THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE, TRACI BROOKS & “FUTURE LEGEND” ALISSA FLASH. LACEY VON ERICH INTERFERES
-Pretty decent match, but probably not as good as it should’ve been considering Sarita, Taylor, Alissa and Hamada were in it. And it certainly didn’t help that two of the best workers in the match (Alissa & Hamada) were eliminated early on. The problem is the match was like practically everything else on this show -– way too rushed. What kind of 8-person elimination tag match can you have in less than 7 minutes? Not much of one. Rapid fire eliminations with no tension or build up, former singles champ, Taylor, getting pinned after one DDT; the end result is that no one in the match really looks good, no matter how it’s booked.
-Something really important that was missing here was that “oh $h!t” moment when they really sold that Sarita was screwed with all her partners gone and her being all alone, facing near impossible odds. They at least needed a close up shot of her as she just took that in. It sounds so simple, but things like that can really heighten the drama of a match. Yet another installment in a very long line of wasted opportunities by the production team.
-There was a weird spot early on where Traci hit Christy with a jaw breaker. I’m not sure what happened, but the way Christy sold it just looked really strange to me. Christy’s still a work in progress apparently.
-There goes Sarita’s undefeated streak. It’s really disappointing that it had to end so unceremoniously without the announcers even acknowledging it. There was a great potential storyline with the other Knockouts all trying to be the first one to beat Sarita and the writers could’ve really done something cool with that. To have her streak end like this just seems like a waste and IMO it really should’ve been Alissa who ended it. At least she was instrumental in ending it anyway.
-On the plus side, Madison Rayne finally gets her first win in TNA. I’m hoping this is a sign that the writers are going to have her be the workhorse for TBP. Now that Angelina’s gone, Madison is easily the best worker in the group.
-Sarita ends up in a three-on-one situation against Traci, Velvet & Madison, pins two of them by herself and only loses because of interference from Alissa and Lacey. Even though TBP went over, the writing is pretty much on the wall: Sarita > Velvet & Madison.
-I don’t like that Sarita took her first loss here, but it would’ve made the TBP look at least somewhat credible if Madison had pinned her cleanly. Sarita would still look strong by eliminating Traci and Velvet, but TBP wouldn’t have ended up looking like complete losers like they did here, despite the fact that they won the match.
-If Velvet & Madison with Traci’s help couldn’t even beat Sarita all by herself, no one’s going to think they have a chance in hell against Sarita & Taylor together at BFG, and let’s be honest, they really don’t. TBP aren’t winning any tag titles on October 18th, nor should they at this point.
-The production team had to edit out a spot where Lacey tripped and fell on her way to the ring. Unfortunately, they couldn’t edit out the pitiful love tap that was Lacey’s kick to Sarita’s back, which looked so weak that I’m not 100% sure if she even made contact. Her chokeslam was fine but, geez, Lacey really needs a lot of work.
-Diva-dirt.com reported today that Dixie Carter is a proponent of Lacey and basically hired her because she’s really hot. While I am greatly appreciative of Ms. Carter for all the positive changes she has made to TNA in recent months, I do feel the need to point out that being really hot doesn’t mean much if you can’t wrestle, and from what I know about her, Lacey isn’t even remotely ready for television. All due respect to Ms. Carter, but I think she will come to regret her decision to sign this woman.
TARA vs. ODB ©. AWESOME KONG INTEREFERES
-Decent enough for the 90 some odd seconds it lasted before Kong showed up, but just like the 8-woman tag, it was way too rushed to mean anything. The matches on iMPACT are just getting shorter and shorter and it really hurts the product. If every single match on the show ends before the audience can even get into it then what are we watching for and why should we order the PPVs? I know TNA have longer matches on PPV, but new viewers and casual viewers won’t know that and they’ll probably never bother to find out if this continues.
-The crowd was into the match at first, but they were dead by the time the finish came around. I’m taking that as the audience telling TNA that they want more clean finishes without all the constant interference.
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10/14/09 Webmatch
TRACI BROOKS vs. TAYLOR WILDE (w/ SARITA) ©
-A Knockouts webmatch and ODB isn’t in it; I must be seeing things. Now that ODB is the champion I wonder if Traci will be taking over her spot as the unofficial queen of the webmatches. I suppose it would make sense since her role in the Main Event Mafia has amounted to absolutely nothing. Besides, there’s no real point in continuing Traci’s “push” since she was bumped off the cover of Playboy so they could go with Marge Simpson instead. Yes, you read that right. Marge Simpson.
-Kind of strange that Taylor’s working a singles match tonight but she still comes out to Sarita’s music. I know Sarita accompanied her to the ring, but it still seems odd. I guess I’m still trying to comprehend the idea of Taylor being in a tag team where it’s not her, but actually her partner who is the “alpha”. Taylor’s always been pushed so strongly, so it’s a weird thing to get used to -- weird, but not bad. This puts Taylor in a new position for a change and could help keep her character fresh.
-Why was Sarita wearing her ring gear if she wasn’t wrestling tonight?
-Not bad at all as 2 minute matches go. It was fast paced and the crowd was into it. Even though Traci was so obviously outclassed, Taylor tends to bring out the best in her opponents.
-She’s always been a very hard worker in the ring, but Taylor seems to have stepped it up even more since she started teaming with Sarita. She’s been pulling out some moves lately that I haven’t seen from her before. It’s so impressive that, as good as Taylor is already, she’s still getting better.
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10/15/09 iMPACT
-The 8-woman tag elimination match was the highest rated segment of the show last week. Too bad the match was so damn short. Seriously, what was the point of giving that match a 20 minute time limit if the writers were only going to devote 6 minutes and change to it? For that matter, what is the point of instituting time limits on matches in the first place when pretty much every TV match TNA puts on is way too short as it is?
THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE vs. TARA, AWESOME KONG (w/ RAISHA SAEED) & ODB ©
-Not much of a match and a predictable finish. This was just about building tension between Kong/Tara/ODB and letting TBP get a win to give them some momentum before they lose at BFG. In that capacity it was fine, but when you have a 3 hour show there is absolutely no excuse to have a match this short.
-No Kong/Saeed break up tease this week. I hope they haven’t dropped that angle.
-Lacey makes her in-ring debut and does absolutely nothing. Looks like it didn’t take TNA management long to realize how bad she is in the ring. And it’s not helping her case that she’s completely out of sync with Velvet & Madison when they do their posing routine.
FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE MATCH: HAMADA vs. “FUTURE LEGEND” ALISSA FLASH
-The WWE Divas wish they were this badass.
-Great match while it lasted, but once again, it was just too damn short. I get that they didn’t want to devote too much time to it since neither of these women are on the BFG card, but still, this could’ve easily been a PPV caliber match if they had just given it another 5-10 minutes. Couldn’t they have saved this match for next week when they could’ve devoted more time to it? What’s with all the short matches tonight? They get an extra hour for iMPACT this week and so far none of the matches have been any longer than usual, and by that I mean that they’re not nearly as long as they need to be to really mean anything.
-Did they have to job out Alissa again here? I can tolerate it if this is just the start of a feud and Alissa gets over on Hamada later, but Alissa’s been jobbing so much, it’s ridiculous. All due respect to Velvet Sky, but the fact that 'Velvel' is being pushed as a title contender and Alissa is a glorified jobber is an absolute farce.
-This better not be the only match these two have because I want a rematch on PPV with more time. A LOT more time.
-Right now, Alissa is like the female version of the Motor City Machine Guns, meaning that she’s always able to get really over with the crowds no matter how the writers try to bury her and no matter how many times they job her out. You’d think the writers would’ve gotten the picture by now. Sigh…
-Tenay said that Alissa & Hamada were jockeying for position on the Knockout food chain and could be angling for a future title shot with a win here. TNA still seem to be pushing the fact that Alissa is a very tough and brutal competitor, but that’s going to become harder and harder if they don’t start giving her some actual wins. So far she’s lost every match she’s had except the one against Cody Deaner (which wasn’t even really a match) and that’s not the way it should be because she’s one of the most talented women in the industry and she should be in the title picture. The writers are just wasting Alissa as enhancement talent when she should be ruling the Knockout division and I’m really getting sick and tired of it.
DAFFNEY, DR. STEVIE, MICK FOLEY & ABYSS BACKSTAGE SEGMENT
-Predictable swerve that everyone but Abyss saw coming, but Daffney gets her requisite 60 seconds of screen time for the week. She’s probably the one woman in TNA that’s being wasted as much as Alissa right now. What happened to their tag team? That pairing had real possibilities and certainly had a lot more to offer as a heel faction than Velvet Sky, Madison Rayne and the ridiculously inexperienced Lacey Von Erich.
KNOCKOUTS TAG TITLE MATCH HYPE VIDEO
-I love that TNA made this. WWE would never bother to make a video like this for a Divas PPV match because they just don’t consider the Divas important enough to warrant such things. Often times WWE will leave the Divas off the PPVs entirely, but TNA has two Knockout matches on their biggest show of the year and has made an effort to make sure both matches actually mean something. I much prefer this to the asinine Miss Wrestlemania battle royal match (which was won by a man in drag) that assaulted my eyeballs at Wrestlemania 25. That was pretty much a huge slap in the face to the women. This, however, is not. Thank you, TNA.
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10/18/09 Bound for Glory
-Yesterday, ODB posted a message on her facebook page that would seem to indicate that she could be leaving TNA soon. It will be interesting to see how that affects her title match tonight.
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW
-If there’s one positive about Angelina being gone it’s that Madison Rayne is no longer being overshadowed in the group. She’s never gotten more mic time than she’s had since Angelina left.
SARITA & TAYLOR WILDE © BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW
-I like that Sarita cuts parts of her promos in Spanish. It doesn’t seem important, but little things like having wrestlers display their nationalities in a positive light (even though Sarita’s technically Canadian) really help show off the diversity of the TNA roster and, if you ask me, they’re a big part of why TNA has such a large fanbase internationally.
SARITA & TAYLOR WILDE © vs. VELVET SKY & MADISON RAYNE (w/ LACEY VON ERICH)
-Who knew Earl Hebner had such a way with the ladies? lol
-No swerves with Lacey sneaking back to ringside. They just kicked her out and that was it. It looks like TNA management has smartly decided that the less involved Lacey is the better a match is likely to be.
-This match was even shorter than their No Surrender match. I think we all expected it to be short, but not THAT short. I understand that management doesn’t want to expose TBP to too much ring time, but that does beg the question of why they were even in this spot to begin with.
-Not much heat for this, but that was to be expected. These women had the unenviable task of following the absolutely insane Ultimate-X match.
-I heard scattered “Beautiful People!” chants in the crowd. Those people were wasting their time with the chants because there was no way the heels were going over here. It’s painfully obvious that Velvet & Madison as a tag team really just aren’t that good.
-This was not as good as their No Surrender match. It was sloppy at certain points and it looked like Taylor got her bell rung at the end there. She seemed a little woozy afterward.
-For the record, Taylor is now 2-0 at BFG, retaining her championships two years in a row.
-With them taking their second decisive loss in as many months to Sarita & Taylor here, TBP have absolutely no grounds for another rematch and word is that management plans to scale them back and have them focus more on vignettes and backstage skits and less on wrestling. All things considered, that’s probably the right call. However, this creates a big problem because there are only two tag teams on the Knockout roster and now the champs have no one to feud with. This is exactly why I thought it was a bad idea for them to start a women's tag team division before they were ready to do it right. They’ve already exhausted the only feud they had to work with and now they’ve got nowhere else to go.
-The writers need to create some viable new tag teams and they need to do it now. Or failing that, they need to sign some new teams from the indies. There are plenty of great ones out there; take your pick. For the record, I still really want to see Portia Perez & Nicole Matthews (the Canadian Ninjas) get signed and be pushed as the new Team Canada. TNA staff, if any of you happen to read this column, feel free to steal that idea.
AWESOME KONG vs. TARA vs. ODB ©. RAISHA SAEED INTERFERES
-I was all set to call this Tara’s best match in TNA so far, but then they had to add in an angle where she got into a fight with Kim Couture in the crowd and got taken backstage for a minute. I get that TNA is trying to attract the MMA fans and Tara/Couture have had a war of words online in recent months, but this ended up hurting the match. The action was heating up, the fans were really behind Tara and then she left for a few minutes and the crowd kind of died.
-PWinsider is reporting that TNA staged the incident this way on purpose to sell it as a shoot. If that’s true then they did a really good job of it. I wasn’t sure if it was worked or not and Kong & ODB looked legit confused. The problem is that this completely killed the flow of what had been a really good title match up to that point and they never really got it back. I’m not saying involving Kim Couture was a bad idea, but the way this played out just didn’t work IMO.
-Having said all that, Tara’s got to be loving all the free publicity TNA’s giving her for that Kim Couture fight. Strikeforce needs to make that fight happen already. TNA is thisclose to having their second official two sport athlete and I’m actually more interested in seeing Tara vs. Kim Couture than I am in seeing Lashley’s next fight.
-It’s just too bad that Tara couldn’t go over here because the crowd definitely wanted her to win more than Kong or even ODB.
-The finish was the perfect setup for Kong to finally turn on Saeed and unmask her. I just wish she would’ve done it after this match. The unmasking of Saeed could’ve been a great BFG moment. At any rate, they haven’t dropped that angle and the unmasking has got to be coming soon, which makes me very happy.
DAFFNEY INTERFERES IN MONSTER’S BALL
-Poor Daffney. Her BFG spot amounts to nothing more than her handing a taser to Mick Foley and then getting chokeslammed from the ring apron, through a barbwire board to the floor with the camera completely missing the spot. They showed it on the replay, at least, but damn… Seriously, is Daffney ever going to get anything in return for taking all these sick bumps? I hate to see her doing this to her body for nothing.
-Apparently, Daffney suffered a bad concussion, a swollen arm and has numbness in her left hand from taking that bump so she’ll probably be on the shelf for a while. I’d like to think that her sacrificing her body for the company will be rewarded and she’ll be in for a push when she comes back, but I’m not holding out hope at this point.
-PWinsider is now reporting that someone hacked ODB’s facebook page and posted that fake message about her leaving TNA. That answers that.
November 03, 2009
Fixing the Tag Teams
Creating Knockout tag team titles was a mistake. Plain and simple.
Let me clarify. I don’t mean that the championships themselves were a bad idea. I mean it was a mistake for TNA to create them when they were obviously not ready to do it right.
In a previous column (KNOCKED OUT: Knockout Tag Team Titles) I explained in detail why TNA creating a Knockout tag team division was not a wise decision right now as well as the potential problems that would hinder the concept if they went ahead with it. Among others, those problems consisted of TNA not having a deep enough roster of women and not having enough established tag teams to pull it off successfully.
Man, am I tired of being right all the time…
This tag team division has existed for a little over two months now. Its inception was announced during a completely random backstage interview, it began with a hastily thrown together tournament which received very little promotion and consisted mainly of randomly thrown together teams that had absolutely no chemistry whatsoever and broke up immediately after they were eliminated.
To TNA’s credit, the right team won the tournament. Unlike the other pairings, putting Sarita & Taylor Wilde together made all the sense in the world; in terms of chemistry and in-ring style they were a perfect match. TNA also made an effort to package them like a tag team, giving them new music, a new entrance and matching ring gear. That, coupled with their title win put them on the map as an established tag team.
That was the one and only thing TNA got right in this whole situation.
Now let’s look at what they got wrong…
The final match of the tournament, Sarita/Taylor vs. the Beautiful People, was held at No Surrender -- a show that is usually ignored for the most part because it’s only a month before Bound for Glory. The match was booked as the curtain jerker match. It was the only match on the card that did NOT have a video package promoting it. It didn’t get anything close to the amount of time it should’ve had.
Considering how TNA presented this, would you think that the Knockout tag team titles are important? Would you think they are a priority to the company? I would have to say no. If they were, this match would’ve taken place at BFG so that it would mean more, it wouldn’t have been the opening match on the card, it would’ve had more build up and promotion and it would’ve been given a lot more time than it got.
A rematch from the finals was booked for BFG despite the fact that #1) Velvet Sky & Madison Rayne were beaten quickly and easily at No Surrender and really didn’t have much of an argument for a rematch, and #2) without Angelina Love it was painfully obvious that TBP were just not championship material.
Their title match at BFG was a rematch from a ‘B’ PPV bout which wasn’t even that memorable in the first place. Granted, it did receive more hype this time, but it ended up being even shorter and not as good as the first match, and it was placed right after the Ultimate-X match on the card, which pretty much killed any chance it might have had of getting over.
I’m writing this on a Thursday night. iMPACT just ended a few minutes ago. On this show TBP appeared in a new reality show type segment called ‘the Meanest Girls’ in which they started a food fight with Sarita & Taylor at the craft service table and then laid them out. This was apparently the start of the group’s reported new direction in which they focus more on backstage vignettes and less on wrestling.
As you can imagine, the whole thing was an unbelievable waste of 71 seconds.
No one buys TBP as title contenders as it is abundantly clear that they just can’t keep up with Sarita & Taylor. Why do you think their matches have been so short? They were booked that way because the writers don’t want to expose them as inferior workers compared to the champs, which is exactly what would happen in a longer match. If Angelina were still there it might be a different story, but the departure of Angelina from TNA has left Velvet & Madison as two betas without an alpha and adding Lacey Von Erich to the group has really not helped the situation.
So then, if TBP have now had two shots at the tag team titles on two successive PPVs and have pretty much been embarrassed by the champs both times in lackluster matches that went under four minutes, if the writers have to make such an effort to hide their obvious weaknesses as a tag team that they plan on deemphasizing the time these women spend wrestling, then why, I ask you, does it appear that they are now getting a THIRD title shot despite having absolutely no grounds for one?
ANSWER: because TBP are the only other Knockout tag team in the company.
With Sarita & Taylor Wilde the TNA writers created a great babyface team to build the division around, but that’s all they did. Babyfaces are only as effective as the heels that oppose them. Clearly, the writers expected the feud with TBP to have legs because they made the same mistake they made with the Gail Kim/Awesome Kong rivalry -- they put all their eggs in one basket with this feud and didn’t put any thought into what they would do when it came to an end. It just so happens that Angelina getting released meant it came to an end much sooner than expected because without her you’re left with two women that have been booked like complete jobbers from day one except when they were standing next to their leader, who is now gone. And those women are apparently STILL the #1 contenders after two losses and counting.
But even if Angelina were still there, Taylor Wilde vs. TBP is nothing new. We’ve seen that feud many times and adding some new faces to the mix in Sarita and Lacey doesn’t do much to make it seem fresh.
Suppose for a minute that Angelina hadn’t been released and TBP won the tag team titles at BFG.
Okay… then what?
You’re still left with the same problem. TNA created tag team championships without bothering to build a tag team division for them and the only feud they had to work with ran out of gas after two months.
The TNA writers need to focus their attention on fixing this problem and they need to do it very quickly.
As always -- helpful guy that I am -- I’m going to explain how they can do this with a minimum of fuss.
The first thing they need is damage control. They have to figure out what solid tag team combinations can be put together from the current roster within the next few weeks. For the moment, let’s just assume that TBP are getting their last shot at the titles at Turning Point. That means they’ve got one month to come up with some new challengers for Sarita & Taylor. And these have to be good challengers – they can’t just be some totally random team like Traci Brooks & Sojourner Bolt, otherwise it’s going to fall flat on its face and you’re going to end up right back at square one as soon as the match is over.
Alissa Flash & Daffney would be my first choice, as they were the only makeshift team in the initial tournament that had any potential outside of Sarita & Taylor. Unfortunately, after her sick bump at BFG, Daffney is reportedly dealing with a severe concussion and numbness in her left hand, so it’s anyone’s guess when she’ll be healthy enough to wrestle. But even once she’s cleared to compete I doubt it will change anything since it’s become pretty obvious by now that the writers have no intention of using Daffney as anything other than the girl who takes sick bumps and stands next to Stevie Richards, so that team is off the table.
One good potential team that could be put together quickly is Awesome Kong & Hamada. TNA has already made it known on their website that these women have a long history from working against each other in Japan. Having seen one of their matches on youtube, I can attest that they would make just as amazing tag team partners as they make opponents.
Another potential team is Hamada & Alissa Flash. Yes, they’re feuding right now, but a tag team could be created out of that. Hamada won the first match, so have Alissa go over in their second match, have them go to a draw or a no contest in their third match and then do the babyface-and-heel-gain-a-mutual-respect-for-each-other-and-team-up angle. Alissa & Hamada’s styles work very well together. They would make a fine team that would not be constantly outshined by the champs because they are perfectly capable of matching Sarita & Taylor skill-wise, unlike Velvet & Madison.
A third possible team is Alissa Flash & Awesome Kong. This would also be quite easy to set up because the wheels are already in motion. Bring back the Raisha Saeed character for one more show, have her attack Kong and lay her out, and then have her unmask, revealing herself to be Alissa. They have a match that goes to a no contest because they both take each other out and are unable to continue and afterward they reconcile. The story could be that Kong turned on her because she felt Saeed was incompetent, but now realizes that losing the burqa was exactly what needed to happen because she’s a completely different wrestler as Alissa. The writers would, of course, have to explain why Alissa had pretended to be a Muslim for two years, but figuring out an explanation for that is easily done.
So right there they have three possible teams for Sarita & Taylor to face that would be credible and believable title contenders, that would make sense, and could be put together quickly, with very little hassle. That gives them more time to work with, but it’s still not enough. TNA had no less than four different tag teams feuding over the men’s tag titles for most of this year, but even that eventually got old, which is why new challengers (i.e. the MCMG) are now being cycled in.
Those are the best teams that can be put together from the current roster. To further bolster the tag team ranks management is going to have to look outside the women currently in the locker room. And you know what that means…
Sign. New. Talent.
I know I keep talking about this and I’m going to continue talking about it until it happens. Yes, the Knockout roster is more stacked than it’s ever been right now, and if they didn’t have tag team titles they wouldn’t need any more talent. But they do, which means the current roster just isn’t enough.
They need to sign more women. And I’m not talking about Lacey Von Erich and Crystal Lashley; I’m talking about signing women that are actually worth something. No offense to Lacey and Crystal, but neither of them are winning any tag team titles and we all know it.
I’m not suggesting that TNA refit the entire roster. As I just pointed out, this can be done quickly and easily as long as management is smart about it.
To fix this problem there are three women that I would sign.
The first two are Portia Perez & Nicole Matthews, the Canadian Ninjas. This is not out of the question as Portia had a tryout match around this time last year. They’re the current Shimmer tag team champions, so they’re proven as a team. Plus, with the right gimmick they would have a ready-made feud with Sarita & Taylor.
Here’s what I would do: sign Perez & Matthews and debut them as the new Team Canada. Give them Team Canada’s old music, keep them in their black & pink wrestling gear as an homage to Bret Hart, and to put them over the top, give them Scott D’Amore as a manager. Have them confront Sarita & Taylor in the ring with Portia taking a page from her feud with Allison Danger, berating the babyfaces for being “diet Canadians”. They point out that Sarita lives in Mexico and Taylor debuted in TNA wearing red, white & blue wrestling gear, and yet they both claim to be proud Canadians and it makes Perez & Matthews sick to their stomachs. The feud practically writes itself.
The third woman I would sign is Sara Del Rey. Again, this is not out of the realm of possibility. Del Rey is working a match at a TNA house show at the Wayne PAL in New Jersey on November 13th, so clearly she’s on TNA’s radar. When (not if, but when) she impresses people in management with her performance it’s certainly possible that she could get a contract offer out of it.
Here’s the best part. Del Rey and Awesome Kong have already worked together as a tag team in Shimmer and stylistically she would also make an ideal partner for Alissa Flash OR Hamada. So if TNA signed Del Rey they could pretty much throw her name into a hat along with Kong, Alissa and Hamada, pull out any two combinations of names and create two great tag teams instantly.
That would give TNA four rock solid female tag teams, any of which would be credible champions. And as the men just demonstrated, if booked correctly, four good teams can be good for close to a year’s worth of feuds before the need arises to cycle in new challengers.
This Knockout tag team division stumbled out of the gate due to a lack of any real title contenders outside of the champions, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Yes, there’s a big problem with it right now, but this problem is easy to fix as long as TNA management understand what needs to be done.
So get off your butts and fix it already.
Let me clarify. I don’t mean that the championships themselves were a bad idea. I mean it was a mistake for TNA to create them when they were obviously not ready to do it right.
In a previous column (KNOCKED OUT: Knockout Tag Team Titles) I explained in detail why TNA creating a Knockout tag team division was not a wise decision right now as well as the potential problems that would hinder the concept if they went ahead with it. Among others, those problems consisted of TNA not having a deep enough roster of women and not having enough established tag teams to pull it off successfully.
Man, am I tired of being right all the time…
This tag team division has existed for a little over two months now. Its inception was announced during a completely random backstage interview, it began with a hastily thrown together tournament which received very little promotion and consisted mainly of randomly thrown together teams that had absolutely no chemistry whatsoever and broke up immediately after they were eliminated.
To TNA’s credit, the right team won the tournament. Unlike the other pairings, putting Sarita & Taylor Wilde together made all the sense in the world; in terms of chemistry and in-ring style they were a perfect match. TNA also made an effort to package them like a tag team, giving them new music, a new entrance and matching ring gear. That, coupled with their title win put them on the map as an established tag team.
That was the one and only thing TNA got right in this whole situation.
Now let’s look at what they got wrong…
The final match of the tournament, Sarita/Taylor vs. the Beautiful People, was held at No Surrender -- a show that is usually ignored for the most part because it’s only a month before Bound for Glory. The match was booked as the curtain jerker match. It was the only match on the card that did NOT have a video package promoting it. It didn’t get anything close to the amount of time it should’ve had.
Considering how TNA presented this, would you think that the Knockout tag team titles are important? Would you think they are a priority to the company? I would have to say no. If they were, this match would’ve taken place at BFG so that it would mean more, it wouldn’t have been the opening match on the card, it would’ve had more build up and promotion and it would’ve been given a lot more time than it got.
A rematch from the finals was booked for BFG despite the fact that #1) Velvet Sky & Madison Rayne were beaten quickly and easily at No Surrender and really didn’t have much of an argument for a rematch, and #2) without Angelina Love it was painfully obvious that TBP were just not championship material.
Their title match at BFG was a rematch from a ‘B’ PPV bout which wasn’t even that memorable in the first place. Granted, it did receive more hype this time, but it ended up being even shorter and not as good as the first match, and it was placed right after the Ultimate-X match on the card, which pretty much killed any chance it might have had of getting over.
I’m writing this on a Thursday night. iMPACT just ended a few minutes ago. On this show TBP appeared in a new reality show type segment called ‘the Meanest Girls’ in which they started a food fight with Sarita & Taylor at the craft service table and then laid them out. This was apparently the start of the group’s reported new direction in which they focus more on backstage vignettes and less on wrestling.
As you can imagine, the whole thing was an unbelievable waste of 71 seconds.
No one buys TBP as title contenders as it is abundantly clear that they just can’t keep up with Sarita & Taylor. Why do you think their matches have been so short? They were booked that way because the writers don’t want to expose them as inferior workers compared to the champs, which is exactly what would happen in a longer match. If Angelina were still there it might be a different story, but the departure of Angelina from TNA has left Velvet & Madison as two betas without an alpha and adding Lacey Von Erich to the group has really not helped the situation.
So then, if TBP have now had two shots at the tag team titles on two successive PPVs and have pretty much been embarrassed by the champs both times in lackluster matches that went under four minutes, if the writers have to make such an effort to hide their obvious weaknesses as a tag team that they plan on deemphasizing the time these women spend wrestling, then why, I ask you, does it appear that they are now getting a THIRD title shot despite having absolutely no grounds for one?
ANSWER: because TBP are the only other Knockout tag team in the company.
With Sarita & Taylor Wilde the TNA writers created a great babyface team to build the division around, but that’s all they did. Babyfaces are only as effective as the heels that oppose them. Clearly, the writers expected the feud with TBP to have legs because they made the same mistake they made with the Gail Kim/Awesome Kong rivalry -- they put all their eggs in one basket with this feud and didn’t put any thought into what they would do when it came to an end. It just so happens that Angelina getting released meant it came to an end much sooner than expected because without her you’re left with two women that have been booked like complete jobbers from day one except when they were standing next to their leader, who is now gone. And those women are apparently STILL the #1 contenders after two losses and counting.
But even if Angelina were still there, Taylor Wilde vs. TBP is nothing new. We’ve seen that feud many times and adding some new faces to the mix in Sarita and Lacey doesn’t do much to make it seem fresh.
Suppose for a minute that Angelina hadn’t been released and TBP won the tag team titles at BFG.
Okay… then what?
You’re still left with the same problem. TNA created tag team championships without bothering to build a tag team division for them and the only feud they had to work with ran out of gas after two months.
The TNA writers need to focus their attention on fixing this problem and they need to do it very quickly.
As always -- helpful guy that I am -- I’m going to explain how they can do this with a minimum of fuss.
The first thing they need is damage control. They have to figure out what solid tag team combinations can be put together from the current roster within the next few weeks. For the moment, let’s just assume that TBP are getting their last shot at the titles at Turning Point. That means they’ve got one month to come up with some new challengers for Sarita & Taylor. And these have to be good challengers – they can’t just be some totally random team like Traci Brooks & Sojourner Bolt, otherwise it’s going to fall flat on its face and you’re going to end up right back at square one as soon as the match is over.
Alissa Flash & Daffney would be my first choice, as they were the only makeshift team in the initial tournament that had any potential outside of Sarita & Taylor. Unfortunately, after her sick bump at BFG, Daffney is reportedly dealing with a severe concussion and numbness in her left hand, so it’s anyone’s guess when she’ll be healthy enough to wrestle. But even once she’s cleared to compete I doubt it will change anything since it’s become pretty obvious by now that the writers have no intention of using Daffney as anything other than the girl who takes sick bumps and stands next to Stevie Richards, so that team is off the table.
One good potential team that could be put together quickly is Awesome Kong & Hamada. TNA has already made it known on their website that these women have a long history from working against each other in Japan. Having seen one of their matches on youtube, I can attest that they would make just as amazing tag team partners as they make opponents.
Another potential team is Hamada & Alissa Flash. Yes, they’re feuding right now, but a tag team could be created out of that. Hamada won the first match, so have Alissa go over in their second match, have them go to a draw or a no contest in their third match and then do the babyface-and-heel-gain-a-mutual-respect-for-each-other-and-team-up angle. Alissa & Hamada’s styles work very well together. They would make a fine team that would not be constantly outshined by the champs because they are perfectly capable of matching Sarita & Taylor skill-wise, unlike Velvet & Madison.
A third possible team is Alissa Flash & Awesome Kong. This would also be quite easy to set up because the wheels are already in motion. Bring back the Raisha Saeed character for one more show, have her attack Kong and lay her out, and then have her unmask, revealing herself to be Alissa. They have a match that goes to a no contest because they both take each other out and are unable to continue and afterward they reconcile. The story could be that Kong turned on her because she felt Saeed was incompetent, but now realizes that losing the burqa was exactly what needed to happen because she’s a completely different wrestler as Alissa. The writers would, of course, have to explain why Alissa had pretended to be a Muslim for two years, but figuring out an explanation for that is easily done.
So right there they have three possible teams for Sarita & Taylor to face that would be credible and believable title contenders, that would make sense, and could be put together quickly, with very little hassle. That gives them more time to work with, but it’s still not enough. TNA had no less than four different tag teams feuding over the men’s tag titles for most of this year, but even that eventually got old, which is why new challengers (i.e. the MCMG) are now being cycled in.
Those are the best teams that can be put together from the current roster. To further bolster the tag team ranks management is going to have to look outside the women currently in the locker room. And you know what that means…
Sign. New. Talent.
I know I keep talking about this and I’m going to continue talking about it until it happens. Yes, the Knockout roster is more stacked than it’s ever been right now, and if they didn’t have tag team titles they wouldn’t need any more talent. But they do, which means the current roster just isn’t enough.
They need to sign more women. And I’m not talking about Lacey Von Erich and Crystal Lashley; I’m talking about signing women that are actually worth something. No offense to Lacey and Crystal, but neither of them are winning any tag team titles and we all know it.
I’m not suggesting that TNA refit the entire roster. As I just pointed out, this can be done quickly and easily as long as management is smart about it.
To fix this problem there are three women that I would sign.
The first two are Portia Perez & Nicole Matthews, the Canadian Ninjas. This is not out of the question as Portia had a tryout match around this time last year. They’re the current Shimmer tag team champions, so they’re proven as a team. Plus, with the right gimmick they would have a ready-made feud with Sarita & Taylor.
Here’s what I would do: sign Perez & Matthews and debut them as the new Team Canada. Give them Team Canada’s old music, keep them in their black & pink wrestling gear as an homage to Bret Hart, and to put them over the top, give them Scott D’Amore as a manager. Have them confront Sarita & Taylor in the ring with Portia taking a page from her feud with Allison Danger, berating the babyfaces for being “diet Canadians”. They point out that Sarita lives in Mexico and Taylor debuted in TNA wearing red, white & blue wrestling gear, and yet they both claim to be proud Canadians and it makes Perez & Matthews sick to their stomachs. The feud practically writes itself.
The third woman I would sign is Sara Del Rey. Again, this is not out of the realm of possibility. Del Rey is working a match at a TNA house show at the Wayne PAL in New Jersey on November 13th, so clearly she’s on TNA’s radar. When (not if, but when) she impresses people in management with her performance it’s certainly possible that she could get a contract offer out of it.
Here’s the best part. Del Rey and Awesome Kong have already worked together as a tag team in Shimmer and stylistically she would also make an ideal partner for Alissa Flash OR Hamada. So if TNA signed Del Rey they could pretty much throw her name into a hat along with Kong, Alissa and Hamada, pull out any two combinations of names and create two great tag teams instantly.
That would give TNA four rock solid female tag teams, any of which would be credible champions. And as the men just demonstrated, if booked correctly, four good teams can be good for close to a year’s worth of feuds before the need arises to cycle in new challengers.
This Knockout tag team division stumbled out of the gate due to a lack of any real title contenders outside of the champions, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Yes, there’s a big problem with it right now, but this problem is easy to fix as long as TNA management understand what needs to be done.
So get off your butts and fix it already.
November 01, 2009
QCWradio episode 52
Episode 52 is now available for download.
This week's topics include:
-Hulk Hogan signing with TNA.
-what will Eric Bischoff's role in TNA be?
-TNA possibly creating a 2nd show to go head to head with Raw.
-Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 video game review.
-WWE Bragging Rights review.
-also, the week in wrestling, promo of the week and much, much more.
This week's topics include:
-Hulk Hogan signing with TNA.
-what will Eric Bischoff's role in TNA be?
-TNA possibly creating a 2nd show to go head to head with Raw.
-Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 video game review.
-WWE Bragging Rights review.
-also, the week in wrestling, promo of the week and much, much more.
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