Comment Responses

"I write comments on the internet. That means I'm right."

-Nostalgia Critic, thatguywiththeglasses.com.

In the comments section of the last edition of the Month In Review column I received some surprisingly negative feedback. To be honest, I really didn't expect this since I always try to be fair and even-handed when I write one of these columns. Also, I thought it was pretty much the general consensus in the fan community that the Knockout division is a shell of its former self right now, and IMHO, I didn't say a single thing in that particular column that wasn't true. So, me being the opinionated person that I am and loving a good debate, I thought I would take some time today to respond to my haters in the comments section.

And yes, smartasses, some of these responses are going to be copies of stuff I myself wrote there. Unfortunately, I find that the comments section often doesn't work for me. I'm doing this as a courtesy to others who may have the same problem.

"what a negative son of a b*tch! I really hate these posts, this person is a f*cking idiot!"

-bkgmsu73p.

I bow to the master wordsmith.

Seriously, man, feel free to email me and point out anything I wrote in the column you were referring to that you felt was even remotely untrue and I will be more than happy to explain why you're wrong.

"That is not exactly objective commenting on Becky Bayless.

Beside the facts that it is old footage and not recorded by a financially supported camera crew. If the douche paid attention he would have noted that it was the blonde who didn't sell the suplex right or get a good jump on the neckbreaker."

-jobesukulele83p.

This comment was in response to my criticism of the signing of independent female talent, Becky Bayless, and my decision to embed an old match between Bayless & Velvet Sky from several years ago to illustrate to my readers Bayless's lack of wrestling skill.

Was it Velvet's fault that match wasn't any good? Of course, but she wasn't alone in that ring. Velvet Sky is not a good wrestler. We all know this. It's not new information. That wasn't the point of showing the match -- the point was Bayless. It's not like Bayless elevated the match at all with her performance. They were both awful. Don't believe it? Here, watch the match again.

"The idiot said it himself that she was tried out as a valet, and she has been doing valet work and interviews in RoH since 07, so who is to say that she won't simply be a valet."

-jobesukulele83p.

Evidently, sir, you have not read the reports from the TV tapings that mentioned a tryout match Christina Von Eerie worked against Bayless which was described as being hilariously bad due to Bayless constantly botching spots. If Bayless is only going to be a valet/manager, then why are prospective new talents working against her in dark matches instead of someone, you know, good?

Bear in mind, people, this is the company that allows LACEY VON ERICH to wrestle. They once let JENNA MORASCA wrestle, for God's sake. If you think that they're not going to have Bayless get in the ring at some point and let her make a complete fool of herself then you need to think a little harder.

"It is all good to have an opinion. But when you're a reporter you can't be dead set on an opinion without weighing in on both sides of the argument. That's what our comments are for, not the staff's."

-jobesukulele83p.

And you would be right except for the fact that I am NOT a reporter and this column IS about me giving my opinions, and it has been since I was brought in to write it well over a year ago. I've said many glowing things about the Knockout division since then, but I'm not going to sugarcoat something if I don't like it. I may only be stating my opinions here, but I assure you, they are always HONEST opinions. If Velvet Sky has a stinker of a match, am I supposed to say it was great just to be nice? Sorry, but if that's the kind of kid gloves crap you're looking for, you're not going to find it here.

"While I'm not a Rosie Lottalove fan, I had no problem with the gimmick. She was just a women representing for plus size women which is not a bad demographic to target but TNA didn't follow up with the character. He sits there and calls her a a cartoon character but what is so cartoonish about being a plus size pin up lady? I saw nothing cartoonish about it."

-TROOF.

Let me be clear -- I see NOTHING wrong with being a plus size woman (FTR, I LOVED Awesome Kong). Regular readers of this column should know by now that I really don't care that much what the Knockouts look like as long as they know how to wrestle. However, from what I saw, Lottalove didn't seem to be very good in the ring.

Also, I really did not care at all for the name and character they gave her. Her being a 'big' girl doesn't bother me as long as her weight doesn't affect her in-ring performance, but when you dress her up like a burlesque dancer and have her play this completely over the top personality, that's a big turn off for me. I like gimmicks to be more down to earth and realistic as that's the way the wrestling business has been heading IMO.

I find silly, campy gimmicks really hard to take seriously and I said that gimmick belonged in Wrestlicious because Wrestlicious doesn't even try to take itself seriously. Characters like this just feel awkward and out of place in a mainstream company in 2010 and I just don't think they belong in TNA.

"He even goes on to say she injured Daffney but Daffney herself on her twitter said it was actually her fault while the injury happened. I'm just saying, if you're going to write an article, have all of your facts down."

-TROOF.

From what I heard, there was a miscommunication in the ring and they were both at fault. If that's not what happened, then I apologize. But the bottom line is that someone wound up in the hospital with a concussion, stinger and bruised sternum. When a wrestler's tryout match results in injuries like that for ANY reason, regardless of whose fault it was, that's someone you should think twice about signing. And lo and behold, it didn't take long for TNA to release her, citing the reason that they didn't think she was good enough in the ring. What does that tell you?

"Sara Del Ray is a good wrestler but give me a break. She's no monster. She looks to be about the same size as Tara."

-TROOF.

That's completely a matter of opinion. My point was that if TNA were looking for a woman who could fill the role Awesome Kong once had, they were ignoring the best and most obvious choice. Del Rey is a powerhouse and a total ass-kicker. Same size as Tara? Maybe, but she has about twice the muscle mass. Like Kong, Del Rey is also a tremendous wrestler, which Lottalove is not at this point in time.

IMHO, when Awesome Kong left the company, TNA management's first order of business should have been to get Del Rey on the phone as she is the woman best qualified to fill Kong's shoes. I think Alissa Flash could have done it just as well, but the TNA writers never bothered to give her a chance to do so. If you disagree, go right ahead.

"Also what does this guy have against Madison Rayne so much? Yes, I agree the KO division needs new wrestlers and maybe stop focusing on TBP so much but I didn't have much of a problem with Rayne as champ."

-TROOF.

The issue I had is that the writers spent months trying to push Madison Rayne to a level I simply don't think she can perform at. I've said this before many times -- Rayne is a beta; a top star needs to an alpha. She can be an acceptable midcarder, but she just doesn't have the tools to be a top star. When they have her constantly going over women that are clearly much more talented, more athletic and better workers than she is and she can't even make it look convincing, that's a big problem.

She never did a single thing to justify the push she got. Her matches didn't deliver, she never distinguished herself as a character, she didn't even get over unless the other members of TBP were standing next to her. And yet, inexplicably, her push just kept on going and going and going. They should have killed the push when it became obvious that it wasn't working, but they stubbornly refused for reasons I still can't figure out.

Didn't you find it odd that the entire crowd was dead when Velvet & Angelina had Madison surrounded in the ring on iMPACT recently and were teasing that she was finally going to get what she had coming to her? How about when the audience fell asleep during her match with Velvet at No Surrender? If Madison's push had been even remotely effective, she would be getting more of a reaction than this by now, but it wasn't and she's not. Ergo, her push was a failure.

"The KO division has taken a fall but I do not mind the story rivalry between Velvet, Tara, Angelina, and Madison. I think it's one of the consistent and better followed up angles in TNA or in the Knockouts division period."

-TROOF.

I didn't mind this storyline in the beginning either, and if you'll recall, I said in a previous column that I actually did think it was interesting at first. But it has gone on FOREVER. How can you possibly justify spending this much time focusing on the same group of women when there are several infinitely more talented women sitting on the bench doing nothing?

The Knockout division has been the Beautiful People Show for almost TEN MONTHS now and none of them have delivered a single match worth talking about in all that time except for the ones that were memorably and horrifically bad due to the human botch machine that is Lacey Von Erich. I mean, good God, how long is this freaking push going to last?

The writers have been shoving TBP down our throats for so long now that they've become ridiculously overexposed to the point that I just don't care about anything they do anymore. I'm absolutely sick of them. I don't care if they're heels, I don't care if they turn face. I just want them to go away so some of the other Knockouts can get some damn screen time and actually have a chance to put on a good match for once. Because in case you haven't noticed, we haven't been getting any good matches from TBP.

"Hamada can wrestle, Taylor can wrestle, Sarita can wrestle, evan Daffney & Tara can kinda wrestle, but I don't think thats what Hogan & Bischoff want. They seem to want eye candy rather than good wrestlers. That's what makes the WWE Diva's so bad, but it seems that creative have their heads up their asses on this one."

-Hangers.

Exactly my point. That's why I've been so critical of this division lately. The day it was announced that Bischoff & Hogan were coming to TNA, I said to myself, "Terrific... Dixie just killed the Knockout division." And that's what happened!

Bischoff has openly said in interviews that he doesn't care about women's wrestling and thinks it's stupid. Granted, he's been more tactful about that since he joined TNA, but it's clear his opinion hasn't changed. And Hogan? Hogan stated on live radio that Lacey Von Erich didn't even know how to lock up properly, and yet, since Hogan joined TNA, Lacey has received more match time and more screen time than ever when all reports said that she was on thin ice and the company was about to drop her before Hogan came in.

Add that to the fact that TBP have been the recipients of a never-ending push this year despite their matches being subpar at the best of times and completely wretched at the worst, and that tells you all you need to know about the state of the Knockouts these days. The current regime doesn't care about the women being wrestlers anymore; they just want eye candy. In other words, they want the Knockouts to be carbon copies of the WWE Divas and that's why this division sucks right now.

"I dont think this person is being negative. I think this person is truly passionate about the KO division, and has seen it go to hell. When i first started wathcing TNA about a year ago, i was SO excited to watch the KO division. Matter of fact, it was something that truly drug me into TNA! As months passed and the Hogan Bishoff era has started, it doesnt take a genious with a degree in mechanical engeneering who has worked for NASA for 10 years to see that the KO division has really tanked. For me now, its HARD to watch their matches.....I mean litteraly HARD. Most of the time i take a bathroom break or get some food when the KOs come out because its just so stale......"

-RealFiregod.

You just summed up my feelings perfectly. A lot of people think I'm being negative just for the sake of being negative or because I'm secretly a WWE fanboy or something. This could not be further from the truth. What I am is pissed off that something I loved about TNA, something I used to have such a high regard for, has turned to crap. There is a big difference.

"to FK9, good work. it's not easy to tell the truth, especially when your constantly ridiculed for it."

-godoftna.

No, it's not. I thank you, sir.

I love all my readers. Yes, even the haters. Keep right on hating, people, because I'm always going to be out there telling it like it is and I'm not going anywhere.

Peace.