December 19, 2009

Previewing Final Resolution




CHALLENGE MATCH
Mick Foley & Abyss vs. Raven & Dr. Stevie

FK9:
Seriously? Good lord, why is this match even on the card? Can't we just put this storyline out of its misery already? With all the other stuff going on in TNA right now, what is the point of continuing to drag out The Feud That Would Not Die? Can they really not think of anything else to do with Abyss? Foley has been totally focused on Hogan's arrival and has barely even mentioned this match for the last month. If even the guy in the match doesn't care about it then the fans have no reason to care about it either. I don't think actually promoting the match is going to get the fans interested in it, but the fact that the writers haven't even bothered trying to promote it speaks volumes.

Who should win: Kurt Angle recently beat Raven & Dr. Stevie in a handicap match in about 3 minutes. After that, anything other than the babyfaces completely destroying the heels in a quick squash will make Foley & Abyss look like chumps.

chessarmy: This is another one of those feuds that should have ended a looooong time ago. If you think about it, Abyss has been feuding with Dr. Stevie since Slammiversary. That was 6 months ago! I think Dr. Stevie/Raven will end up getting the win, they'll run an angle where Foley is too distracted mentally by all this Hogan crap, that he'll end up costing Abyss the match and maybe turn heel in the process. If I was booking however, I'd do something simple -- Abyss/Foley win, they celebrate in the ring and the feud ENDS.

Who should win: Abyss/Foley

The Quintastic One: I love Raven, I like Dr. Stevie, I love Daffney, I like Abyss, I even like Mick Foley. I don't have a bad thing to say about any of these guys. But honestly, this feud has gone on for far too long. It's had far too many swerves and it's become Robert Roode vs. Eric Young. I mean, they've been feuding since before Slammiversary for crying out loud. Abyss has already beaten the crap out of Raven, Dr. Stevie and even Mick Foley 10 times 'til doomsday. What more can you possibly add to this feud?

Who should win: It's obvious, Mick Foley & Abyss are going to go over, yet again. Mick Foley is probably gonna do his 5,000th alignment turn of the year, attack Abyss post match and we'll get a 3-on-1 handicap match for Genesis that Abyss will STILL go over in. And lord knows this feud may never end.
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LAST MAN STANDING MATCH
Bobby Lashley vs. Scott Steiner

FK9:
Lashley takes his first loss in TNA to Steiner at Turning Point and then soon after wins a future world heavyweight title shot. That should tell you everything you need to know about how much this feud means. All it is is a way to keep Lashley occupied for a while. The problem is it's not really making Lashley any more interesting and it's certainly not making me want to see more of Steiner.

Who should win: Steiner won the first match, so Lashley should win this one, hopefully ending this awful feud. Afterward, the fans will continue not caring about Lashley that much and continue wondering why in the blue hell Scott Steiner is still on television.

chessarmy: Why is this feud still going on and on and on? Steiner sucks, plain and simple. I love his promos, but in the ring he's a broken down man who needs to think about retiring. I'm sure this has been said over a thousand times by many different people on the interwebz, so I guess there's no point in repeating it. Lashley should win and move on to bigger and better things.

Who should win: Bobby Lashley

The Quintastic One: Say what you will about Scott Steiner being an immobile dinosaur constantly in pain, but this guy can been consistently delivering in matches since Bound for Glory. I swear, he's done more suplexes and Frankensteiners than he's ever done in his career. I know that's not saying much but for a guy who was pretty much limited in his arsenal back in the NWO days, he's been impressive in both his physique and his ability in the ring. Lord knows he has to be if he's going to keep his job.

Who should win: That being said, I'm giving this one to Bobby Lashley. He's essentially the suplex machine that Scott Steiner is, except younger, in better shape and more marketable towards today's audience. It'll be interesting to see what they do with Bobby since he's signed a deal with Strikeforce, but I don't see that being a detriment to his chances to win tonight.
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8 MAN ELIMINATION
Team 3D, Rhino & Jesse Neal vs, "Pope" D'Angelo Dinero, "the Blueprint" Matt Morgan, Hernandez & Suicide

FK9:
Remember when the fans would chant "Next world champ!" when Morgan came out to the ring? They don't do that anymore. I'll give you 3 guesses why. How does this man go from having a MOTY candidate with Kurt Angle at Bound for Glory to being used as glorified enhancement talent to get Jesse @#$%ing Neal over? I'm sorry, but Jesse Neal hasn't shown me a thing yet -- I see no reason why he should be getting pushed ahead of Morgan, Pope, Supermex & Suicide and the same goes for Rhino and 3D. I see what the writers are trying to do here, but this feud is doing no favors to guys who TNA are billing as the future of the company. Morgan & Hernandez are future world champions and Pope has been an instant star in TNA; they should NOT be made to look so weak against a group of perennial midcarders.

Who should win: The heels won the last match so the faces need to go over here. The young guys need to get some momentum going if they're going to hold onto whatever heat they still have.

chessarmy: The heels have had waaay too much of an advantage so far in this feud. They've won almost every match, they've done everything to make the fans think the young stars just aren't in their league. Because of this, Morgan's team MUST get the victory at Final Resolution. If they don't, they'll look like a bunch of jobbers and they might even be buried. We suffered through this type of booking with the MEM storyline; please TNA, dont make us do it again.

Who should win: D'Angelo Dinero, Matt Morgan, Hernandez & Suicide

The Quintastic One: I'm going to make this one brief because this is going to legitimately piss me off if it doesn't happen. Morgan, Hernandez, Dinero & Suicide BETTER win this match. I will not tolerate this storyline being Main Event Mafia 2.0. Team 3D has had the upper hand in this feud the ENTIRE time. They need to put over the younger stars and they need to do it now. I don't care if they're booked to win the match. If they have any sense of decency they will barge into Russo's office and say "We're not Hogan, we're not Triple H, we're not the Undertaker, we put over new guys when they deserve it. We don't want to hog the spotlight." I'll go so far as to say if it doesn't happen, I'm watching RAW on January 4th over iMPACT.

Who should win: Morgan, Hernandez, Dinero & Suicide
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KNOCKOUTS TITLE MATCH
Tara vs. ODB (c)

FK9:
Tara's as over as she's ever been and coming off the biggest win of her career at Turning Point. ODB's title reign has gone nowhere and consisted mainly of her piggybacking on other people's feuds. Meanwhile, her character has grown stale and her recent heel turn (which, at the very least, is something different for her) hasn't really done much to change that. It's time for a fresh face at the top of the Knockout food chain and Tara deserves the belt. This one's a no brainer.

Who should win: Tara

chessarmy: With Roxxi returning on iMPACT it would be great to see her inserted into the Knockouts title picture, but I guess they need to build her up first. Until then, they should give the belt to Tara. ODB is a terrible champion, she's done nothing with the belt and I've been waiting for someone to beat her for it since she won the damn thing.

Who should win: Tara

The Quintastic One: This should be a good match. It's a shame that we don't have more Knockouts wrestling following up on this. But for what it is, it's going to be a hard hitting contest. I just hope Tara doesn't fall victim to the ODB "Victory Sequence" and actually picks up the win on this. She defeated Awesome Kong in a great steel cage match last month and she's earned this title.

Who should win: Tara
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TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH
Motor City Machine Guns vs. the British Invasion (c)

FK9:
It is about damn time that the writers got behind the Guns like this. They should've gotten this push 2 years ago, but what's done is done. Sabin & Shelley have had the British Invasion's number for the last 2 months and they are the clear top contenders for the tag team titles. Finally.

Unfortunately, the very fact that the Guns have been booked so strongly against the Brits is why I think the Brits need to retain the titles. For ONE more month. As much I want the MCMG to finally win those damn belts, Magnus & Williams need to get some heat in this feud before that happens or them dropping the titles to Sabin & Shelley won't really mean anything. The Machine Guns getting screwed out of the win at Final Resolution, only to come back and win them for the first time at Genesis would mean a lot more than them winning the titles at a 'B' PPV after having their way with the champions for weeks. But whatever happens, I just hope that the outcome of the match won't hinge on the actions of the British A1, Rob Terry.

Who should win: The British Invasion. BUT... Sabin & Shelly ABSOLUTELY MUST win the tag team titles at Genesis. It's their time, damn it!

chessarmy: Final Resolution should be the PPV where the Guns finally win the tag belts. It's been waaaaaay too long since they've been in the title picture, they've put on so many memorable matches, they are an amazing tag team that deserves at least one reign with the straps. The Brits have held the titles since Bound for Glory and it's time for a changing of the guard in the tag division. Give the belts to the Motor City Machine Guns, for the love of god! (hehehe, stole one from FK there)

[Editor's Note: Stop stealing my catchphrases, you jerkass!]

Who should win: The Motor City Machine Guns (I forgive you, Shelley, for asking for 5K for a @#$%ing interview!)

The Quintastic One: It's felt like forever since the British Invasion first won tag team gold. I know they had a different set of belts before this point, but still, they've been tag team champions on a consistent basis. They've had a good long reign, and now you've got a pair of young guns (no pun intended) who are ready to finally earn themselves tag title belts.

Who should win: It's a wish, it's a hope, it's a prediction and it's a borderline demand. Put the damn belts on Shelley & Sabin. Normally you could make the argument that the Brits need to retain in order to legitimize World Elite. But considering your leader of the stable jobbed to Hamada of all people 2 weeks ago, @#$% legitimizing them further. Give the belts to the Guns.
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FEAST OR FIRED MATCH
One TNA Superstar will be fired from the company

FK9:
Oh, so this match is on the PPV then? You wouldn't know it from watching iMPACT. In all the build up for Final Resolution, I don't think they've mentioned this match more than once or twice. Gosh, I wonder why TNA's PPV buyrates haven't shown any real growth in the last few years. It's a mystery for the ages...

Anyway, there is no global title shot at stake here, which just proves how little that belt means right now and Eric Young refusing to defend it is not helping matters any. It will be a joke if Samoa Joe DOESN'T get the world title shot. By that same token, and all due respect to Bashir & Kiyoshi, but Homicide is the only man in this match who should be getting an X-division title shot. Concurrently, Beer Money are the only ones here who should be getting a tag team title shot. Unfortunately, all that probably makes just a little too much sense for the TNA writers to be interested in doing it.

The pink slip is the easiest one. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY wants to see Kevin Nash winning a title shot of any kind, but he's still in the match for some reason. So what better reason than for him to get "fired" and be taken off TV for a while? It would great payback after he booked that unspeakably awful show last week.

Who should win: World title shot -- Samoa Joe. X-division title shot -- Homicide. Tag team title shot -- Beer Money. FIRED -- Kevin Nash (but if Bashir or Rob Terry get it instead, I won't complain).

chessarmy: This will be a cluster@#$%. There's like 24087 guys in the match. I hope they actually reveal what's in the cases at the PPV instead of making us wait for iMPACT. Isn't that why people pay 30 bucks for the damn show? To see the outcomes of storylines and feuds? We shouldn't have to wait for the free TV show to see what the cases contain. I cant make a prediction for this because I dont know who all the competitors will be. All I can say is I think either Kiyoshi or Homicide will end up with the Fired case. Beer Money will probably get the Tag Title shots, and Samoa Joe SHOULD get the world title shot.

Who should win: N/A

The Quintastic One: Ah yes, TNA's annual "Let's shove everyone in who doesn't currently have a decent program and see what happens" match. You've got The Jobber Elite in this match, accompanied by about 3 more jobbers, Samoa Joe, Beer Money and Kevin Nash. But as we know this match is not always as predictable as we'd like it to be, so here goes anyway.

Who should win: Beer Money are too obvious for the tag titles so I'm gonna say Sheik Abdul Bashir gets the tag title shot. Samoa Joe gets the X-division title shot. Kevin Nash gets the world title shot, and when Hogan comes in he's gonna book Nash to be the champion. And Eric Young gets the "You're fired" case.
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THREE DEGREES OF PAIN
Desmond Wolfe vs. Kurt Angle




FK9: Desmond Wolfe's push has been awesome so far, but he's reaching the point where he's going to lose credibility if he doesn't start getting some meaningful wins. The nice thing about this match is that it virtually guarantees him at least one victory over Angle, be it pinfall, submission or escaping the cage. Unfortunately, one victory won't mean that much if it's Angle who gets his hand raised at the end. I know TNA kind of telegraphed the finish of this match when they let the Genesis poster get leaked onto the net, but there's plenty of ways for Kurt to save face and still have Desmond go over.

Who should win: Desmond Wolfe. He needs the win more than Kurt Angle does. I say have him get the pin, give the submission to Angle and let Wolfe win the match by escaping the cage, thus evening the score 1-1. Then have the rubber match on iMPACT where they wrestle for the #1 contendership and have Angle win that one. Kurt Angle gets the main event of Genesis, but Desmond Wolfe still looks strong. Everybody wins.

chessarmy: This feud has been amazing from beginning to end, I honestly would rather see a normal match to end it, but the 3 Stages of Hell style match definitely won't disappoint. If I was booking, I'm not sure who I'd give the 'W' to. Considering Kurt Angle is getting a title shot next month, it would make perfect sense to give him the victory here. However, I really like Desmond Wolfe so it'll be a hard decision. In a way, the 3 Stages of Hell stipulation is going to work here, because if Angle wins in 3 matches, you could make the argument that Desmond Wolfe was skilled enough to at least pin the Olympic Gold Medalist once.

Who should win: Kurt Angle

The Quintastic One: So this is basically 3 Stages of Hell without the copyright infringement. Still, if the story we've seen from these guys is any indication, you know the match is gonna be good. I think they've strayed too far away from the feud in recent weeks. As Desmond has been more preoccupied with Styles and Daniels than he has been focused on taking out Kurt Angle. So either TNA is planning on having Desmond bypass Angle in a big way here or something's not right with the way this story has been handled.

Who should win: I see Desmond winning this, plain and simple. Desmond will gain the pinfall, Angle will make him tap, and when the cage lowers you're gonna see alot of crazy spots. But Wolfe will find a way to escape before Angle does.
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TNA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
Daniels vs "the Phenomenal" AJ Styles (c)

FK9:
Again, the leaked Genesis poster kind of spoiled the finish, not that it wasn't kind of obvious. I love that Daniels is finally getting a long-deserved main event push and he and AJ will deliver a fantastic match, but the former Fallen Angel is not winning the title at Final Resolution, nor should he. He hasn't been built up enough to be the world champion, for one. He hasn't had nearly enough screen time, for another. Also, it's just too early to take the belt off of AJ Styles. After Sting anointed AJ as his successor, it would completely cheapen that if he lost the title anytime soon. It's unfortunate, but Daniels' push has most likely been something to stall for time while the Kurt Angle match simmers in the background. Daniels will still get something out of this as long as he doesn't fall back to the midcard afterward and I do believe that he has it in him to be a world champion given the right push and the right promotion, but not this time.

Who should win: AJ Styles

chessarmy: The match itself has taken a back seat to all this Mick Foley/Jeff Jarret/Dixie Carter garbage. It's unfortunate but true, even though the match is for the world title, it lacks hype and I'm not sure how many people even know it's on the card. Either way, I think it could be a MOTY candidate. Both workers know each other so well, if TNA gives them the right amount of time, they could tear the house down.

Who should win: AJ Styles

The Quintastic One: This is an interesting one for me. On one hand, you have Bobby Lashley being presumably #1 contender, or at least in line for a title shot sometime in the near future. On the other hand you have Kurt Angle who presumably has some form of guaranteed agreement to be AJ's next opponent, or so I've heard. So this match is pretty much going to come down to who TNA plans on having the next opponent for the ensuing champion. Will AJ win and face Kurt Angle or will Daniels win and face Bobby Lashley?

Who should win: I don't see AJ Styles dropping the belt to Daniels. Which I agree with. I want Styles to have as long a reign as possible before he inevitably drops it to Desmond Wolfe (my opinion). The fact that he's retained over Sting and both Daniels & Joe thus far is a good indication that Styles is having a quality reign.

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