Slammiversary podcast review

Edge - A tribute

Monday, April 11th 2011 was a very sad day for the WWE - Adam "Edge" Copeland has announced his retirement at the tender age of 37 due to a serious bone disease which basically means that his spine is growing narrower.

After an brief and unremarkable tenure in WCW, Edge made his WWE debut in 1998 as a singles star before becoming one half of one of the finest tag teams along with his friend Christian, they held the tag titles on numerous occasions and were pioneers in the now legendary TLC (Tables, Ladders and Chairs) matches where they won the titles twice.



As a singles competitor he won the singles titles on numerous occasions and is one of few grand slam winners. He also won the TLC match on his own several times.

One of the best matches I saw was versus Mick Foley in a hardcore match - brutal!


His wrestling accomplishments are vast, too many to list here so take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Copeland#Championships_and_accomplishments

Great rivalries include legends like Ric Flair, Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle.

I hope he continues with the WWE as the guy is a legend on the mic.

I have left out significant details of his career so that anyone who reads this might want to add their own memories of the Rated R Superstar.

Edge, I salute you.

Booking Review for TNA Impact 09-16-10

Chris Wilson here guys, been gone for a while due to the move back to California. Now I had been watching wrestling throughout the move, just could not find time to write about it. So my first booking review in almost a month begins here at the 09/16/10 Impact. As most may know there was no TNA Impact last week(I thought it was largely due to the Saints/Vikings game). TNA....even from a booking stand point should have known that the ever so “venomous” IWC would be wide-awake at work on spoilers. And they just came off of a pay-per-view so I don’t see why they could have just shown Impact anyway. Well enough about there being no show last week; by my booking review, you might be able to understand what I’m getting at. If you don’t remember how I rate here it is for you:


I'm rating from 1 to 5, 1 being boring , 2 being lackluster, 3 being average, 4 entertaining, and 5 being must watch.










(Angle/Hardy/Bischoff/ Dixie Carter Segment)

Alrighty, Mike Tenay and Taz welcome us to the show, and you can see Jeff Hardy and Kurt Angle are already standing in the ring.(I’m actually starting to dislike the show starting off this way, it seems rushed) Eric Bischoff and Miss Tessmacher come out. Bischoff congratulated Mr. Anderson for advancing . Eric congratulated both Angle and Hardy for their match at No Surrender. Bischoff said we would have a new TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Bound for Glory. Bischoff booked Anderson vs. Angle vs. Hardy in a three way dance.Dixie Carter came out to the stage and gave props to Angle and Hardy. Dixie then overturned Bischoff’s decision and booked Angle vs. Hardy with no time limit and the winner going onto Bound for Glory to face Mr. Anderson for the title. Interesting that Dixie come out and overrides Bischoff’s decision, that might have been a shot at the IWC and alot of others that thought Hogan overriding Dixie’s suspension of Ric Flair was stupid. It’s funny that TNA spent time putting over two guys WHO ARE ALREADY OVER. Decent segment, good to hear the BFG main event wasn’t a triple threat YET. I give the booking of this segment a 3 out of 5.

(Pope Backstage)

The Pope said he wanted to talk to Bischoff. He exchanged greetings with Kevin Nash and Sting along the way. Hmmm wonder what this is about, looks like the new WolfPac needs a third man. We will see where this goes in the coming weeks. Pope backstage segment gets a 3 out of 5.

(Tommy Dreamer getting gas)



Tommy Dreamer was getting gas when approached by a cameraman, who asked him where EV2.0 goes from here. Dreamer said they might just go home. Another thing I’ve noticed, these You-Tube style segments, I have kind of coined it as a Real-TV style. Although I’m a fan of Real-TV i’m not interested in seeing Tommy Dreamer get gas. This stuff honestly needs to be on ReAction or something. I give this a 1 out of 5.


(Samoa Joe (with Jeff Jarrett) vs. Kevin Nash (with Sting)

Joe overcame some early offense by Nash with a series of kicks. Things spilled to the floor. Sting and Joe paired off, as did Jarrett and Nash. The referee reached the count of ten but the brawl continued.The brawl continued and security tried, but pretty much failed, to break it up. Interesting booking here, It seems that Kevin Nash and Sting are the key to what I’m now calling the “Deception” storyline. The match seems un-entertaining on paper, but once they get to the brawl I start to see something. It seems like Jeff Jarrett is just using Samoa Joe as a soldier, you know because Nash and Sting know something that we all don’t know. I give the booking of this match a 3 out of 5.

(Lacey Von Erich/ Madison Rayne/Tara Backstage Segment)

Lacey Von Erich was in a towel backstage. Madison Rayne and Tara approached her, saying they (Madison and Lacey) had a tag team title shot tonight. Lacey said she wasn’t sure if she was going with Velvet or Madison. They told her not to hurt herself by thinking. Are we going to see the completing the reformation of the BP’s? When did Madison Rayne and Lacey qualify for a Knockouts Tag-Title Match? And speaking of the Knockouts Tag Team Champions(Taylor Wilde and Hamada), been anyway? All this(not all of it) will be answered later. But I give the booking of this segment a 3 out of 5.

(Kevin Nash and Sting Backstage Segment)

Nash and Sting said Jarrett and Joe would not even make it to “10-10-10.” Sting said the gloves were off and he was having fun now. I don’t know why but I can’t wait until we find out what is going on with these two. And what’s REALLY going on in TNA. I give this segment a 3 out of 5.

(Jay Lethal vs Douglas Williams(c) (X-Division Title Match)

Williams outwrestled Lethal early on and scored several two counts. Williams continued to school Lethal, working on the lower back.Williams went to the top rope, but Lethal countered with a dropkick. Williams came back and tried the rolling chaos, but Lethal countered with the lethal combination for a nearfall. Jay missed the Randy Savage elbow from the top. He was able to come back and hit the lethal injection for the win…Okay I don’t watch Xplosion so I had no idea where this match came from. I’m just going to assume that Williams dropped the belt to become more involved in the EV2.0/Fortune feud at BFG. Okay booking here, but another case of TNA not building up title matches credibly. I’ll give the booking of this match a 3 out of 5.
Lethal celebrated with confetti and in the crowd with the fans. I found this to be overkill.

(Abyss Backstage)

Abyss was backstage breathing really hard and loudly. He was also dragging someone around. Who was it???? I give this a 4 out of 5. I will tell you why later

(Kurt Angle Backstage Promo)

Angle cut a promo backstage saying Hardy was a great wrestler, but he was not a champion. Kurt is the champion. He is the best. He is TNA. He will win the World Heavyweight Championship at Bound for Glory. That is real. It is damn real. Angle is definitely one of the greatest ever, I like Hardy....but from a bookers standpoint everything Angle said is true. I give this promo a 4 out of 5.

(Taylor & Hamada(c) vs Madison Rayne and Lacey Von Erich)(Knockouts Tag Titles)

Madison Rayne, Tara, and Lacey Von Erich made their entrance. Tara slapped Madison on the ass and then they kissed. Tenay and Taz were quite pleased with that.elbow more effective.Taz talked about the primal screams of Madison and asked what it must be like to wake up next to her in the morning. He then took Lacey to task for not selling a jawbreaker. “You could see that was not going to work… For Lacey.” Lacey was promptly pinned.Madison jumped into the ring and screamed her head off at Lacey. Lacey pushed Madison down and received a beat down for her troubles. Velvet Sky and Angelina Love made the save. Lacey hugged Velvet as the heels took off. Decent match by and by, I knew Lacey would get pinned and Madison would turn on her. Looks like the Beautiful People has become full-fledged faces. Good to see Taylor Wilde and Hamada back and defending the belts. Good booking. a 3 out of 5.

(Jeff Hardy Backstage Promo)

Jeff Hardy said he was happy when it was a three way, but will do what he has to do to beat Angle tonight to move onto Bound for Glory. I was surprised by that since Angle didn’t look happy at the pay-per-view or on Impact about there not being a winner or the possibility of a three way dance. I give this promo a 3 out of 5.

(Tommy Dreamer/ Fourtune/ Brian Kendrick segment)(Warning really long as it was on TV)


Tommy Dreamer came out to the ring in a suit as footage of A.J. Styles sticking a fork in his eye at No Surrender. He said he was alone without EV2.0 and asked Fortune to come to the ring. All of them, except for Williams, came to the ring. Dreamer said he was sick of his friends being hurt and was calling a truce. “This is over.” Dreamer called Fortune the future of TNA, but he was just looking for a place to call home. He put over America’s Most Wanted and Beer Money. He said James Storm had more talent in one finger than Sandman did, and Sandman was one of his best friend. He continued to compare TNA to ECW when talking to Kazarian. He said he got Kaz a job in WWE, but Kaz left because he wasn’t happy. Dreamer said Kazarian would not have had a career or met his wife had he not come back to TNA.

He said Matt Morgan was supposed to be the next Undertaker or Kane in WWE. Now, the next big guy in WWE will be called “the next Matt Morgan.” He said he offered Robert Roode a contract in the WWE, but Roode turned it down to stay in TNA. Roode is truly a mixture of Curt Hennig and Rick Rude.He moved onto to Flair and began to tear up. He said “thank you” to Flair. He said Flair wasn’t into hardcore wrestling, but he was the most hardcore of all wrestlers. He called Flair the dirtiest player in the business but corrected himself and said Flair was the business. He said when Flair called it quits, it would be the saddest day.Dreamer said Styles made Dreamer say something he had never said before, because he was the best in ring performer in the business today. He wanted to shake A.J.’s hand. Styles asked for the mic instead. He said it was commendable for Dreamer to come out and say the things he said about Fortune.

Styles called Dreamer “all heart.” The crowd agreed and chanted for Dreamer. He put over ECW without mentioning it by name. He said Dreamer never asked for respect but always seemed to get it. Styles then shook Dreamer’s hand and said Dreamer earned his respect.Styles reminded Dreamer he was the only one to make him say “I quit.” He then said he did not need Dreamer’s respect or praise. He then attacked Dreamer. The rest of Fortune did not want to attack Dreamer, but they did when A.J. yelled at them to.Brian Kendrick came out to protect Dreamer, but he took a beating as well. He was disposed of to the floor and Styles continued the attack on Dreamer. Security came down but did not want to enter the ring. Styles then said Dreamer had his truce.Kendrick took the mic and challenged one member of Fortune to fight him right now. This segment was so long, I had no idea what Brian Kendrick was saying and Dreamer constantly mentioned the WWE and ECW. But he did a good job of putting Fourtune over, that’s all that matters.... a 4 out of 5.

(Matt Morgan vs. Brian Kendrick)

Back from the commercial, The match was already in progress. Morgan wrestled in his suit. Yes, that is a purple shirt. Morgan destroyed Kendrick and got cocky. He turned his back and Kendrick hit a kick for the surprise win. Afterward, Morgan said he wasn’t ready and wrestled in a $7,500 suit. He said he wanted the loss removed from the record books. He kept saying, “Kendrick.” He then put his head in his hands. I like the Fourtune/EV2.0 feud, but Brian Kendrick really?? I definitely dub this bad booking and having Morgan lose is even worse. I give the booking of this match a 1 out of 5.

(Pope Backstage 2)

Backstage, Pope finally made it Bischoff’s office. What, did he stop and take a nap on the way there? Bischoff wasn’t there but Miss Tessmacher was. True to form, Pope sexually harassed her.
Looks like the Pope’s going to turn heel again. I’m all for it.... a 3 out of 5.

(Abyss Backstage 2)

Abyss had two people hanging around in what looked like a dungeon. He had Janice, and introduced Bob, a branding iron with “10-10-10.” He branded one of the two guys. Oh god another weapon made by Abyss....hes gone totally monster heel for sure. For Abyss’s sake “THEY” better be someone meaningful.....I give the booking of this segment a 3 out of 5.

(Rob Van Dam Speaks Segment)

Tenay and Taz interviewed Rob Van Dam on the phone. RVD said he would be back and better than ever.RVD said he still considered himself the World Champion as did the fans of the “TNA Universe.” RVD said he would be in the Impact Zone next week. Umm.... so now RVD is going to be back before BFG....booooooo!!!!! a 3 out of 5.

(Generation ME Promo)

Generation Me came to the ring. They put over how they put Alex Shelley out of action. They were not there to pay dues. They called out Chris Sabin to hand over the TNA Tag Team Championships. Sabin beat the crap out of G-Me, but the two on one advantage was too much. They double DDTed Sabin while he was hanging from the top rope. Sabin held his neck. I’ve got to say Gen ME are pretty bad heels, they just aren’t edgy enough. Just because you attack people every week doesn’t make you a good heel....Those to are terrible on the mic. I give this promo a 2 out of 5.

(Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy/ Post Match Segment)

Slow pacing early on. Hardy had half of his face painted earlier in the show and all of it now. Taz said, “You don’t want Kurt Angle behind you because he will suplex the crap out of you.” Hardy’s focus was the right shoulder of Angle. He slammed it into the ring post. Angle also had dislocated ribs from the PPV. Angle whipped Hardy to the floor and then hit a slingshot high cross body. Mr. Anderson came out and headed to the announce table. Huge double closeline immediately coming back from the break. Angle scored a nearfall with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Hardy hit the Twist of Fate (sort of) for a two count. Angle came back and hit what can only be described as a moonsault high cross body for a two count.


Angle applied the ankle lock. Hardy missed a mule kick but ended up spinning onto his back to kick out of it.Hardy went for the Twist of Fate and it looked like Angle got his knees up, but Hardy still covered him for a two count. Hardy hit the Whisper in the Wind on the referee.
Angle hit an Angle slam and another referee counted to two. He hit a second one and Hardy kicked out again. The show went off the air, but picked up immediately on Reaction, which starts right now…Hardy scored a long two count with the delayed dropkick in the corner. Hardy beat on Angle on the floor for awhile. Angle got it back in the ring and hit many German suplexes. Hardy kicked out. Angle tried and missed a frog splash.Angle applied an ankle lock. We now have two referees. They locked in dueling ankle locks and laid on their backs. Both referees counted to three.Eric Bischoff headed out to the ring as Dixie Carter looked on from her ringside seat.

After a commercial, Bischoff and Dixie spoke at ringside. Eric took the mic in the center of the ring. He said neither man had anything more to prove. He booked Anderson vs. Angle vs. Hardy again. The match is set. Angle and Hardy hugged to end the show.. Okay the ending was pretty interesting, glad they found a way besides a double countout to have it end in a draw. Only problem that I have with the results is that the tournament that they hyped up seems useless now. Good booking...on another exciting match a 4 out of 5.
A decent Impact, for some reason I feel like TNA is rushing alot of things. We will see where all these Angles take us on the way to Bound For Glory.

Socko's TNA No Surrender predictions revisited

It's that time again, let's see how I did:

Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne

I predict Velvet will win. There will be some interference by Tara, but this will be stopped by Angelina, giving Velvet the win and reigniting the Tara/Angelina feud.

1/1 - On the money on this one. This wasn't a bad match for these two and I quite like Madison Rayne's new ring gear. Also good to see original BP back together, Velvet and Angelina are pretty witty when they're bouncing off each other in promos.

Rhino vs. Abyss

This has the postential to be a pretty nasty match. No DQ, falls count anywhere, could be messy. Abyss to win.

This match supassed my expectations. When it began, I found the backstage brawling to be a bit dull, but the rest of the match was pretty decent. I particularly enjoyed seeing Rhino run into a guard rail. Ouch!

Abyss won, that's 2/2

Douglas Williams (c) vs. Sabu

This match seems to have come from nowhere. I like Doug and Sabu in equal measures (actually, I prefer Sabu from about 13 years ago), but I think Sabu will win.

I got this one wrong, but I'm glad I was, Doug Williams is one of my favourites in TNA at the moment. This match was pretty good, some cool stuff with tables and chairs as you'd expect from Sabu, good to see this with Doug's style.

2/3

Sting and Kevin Nash vs. Jeff Jarrett and Samoa Joe

Who cares? I mean, what's going to happen? What's a stake? Who are the good guys and bad guys? What are they fighting about? Joe and Jarrett to win.

As expected, Joe and Jarrett won AND NOTHING WAS EXPLAINED OR ELABORATED UPON. Joe was on fire and stopped this one from being a stinker. Good one, Joe. My theory about this whole Sting/Jarrett feud is actually going to come to a head at Bound for Glory - I hope I'm wrong about what I think's going to happen. Hogan will come out, donning his black beard look and say that the nWo have taken over TNA, that it was all a big deception, blah blah. BFG is going to be at Dayyona Beach, the same place that Hogan turned heel and the nWo was born... I really hope I'm wrong.

3/4

A.J. Styles vs. Tommy Dreamer

Where has an I quit match come from? You don't do an I quit match on their first PPV, way to kill off a feud. The I quit match is like a last resort match after a feud has been running over a few PPVs, for fuck's sake. AJ to win, please.

Really enjoyed this match, didn't get the thing with the fork, but it was still decent. Tommy Dreamer actually seemed like a force to be reckoned with in this one and did some great submission moves with a steel chair.

AJ won, therefore 4/5

The Motor City Machine Guns (c) vs. London Brawling

Guns will probably win this, but I'd quite like to see London Brawling get the gold only for the Guns to get it back at Bound for Glory after a vicious and nasty feud over the next few weeks... this won't happen though, so I'll say Guns.

I couldn't have been more wrong. The match ended up being the Young Bucks versus MCMG. There were some crazy moves going on, and bodies were flying all over the place. My only criticism is that it wasn't as good as some of their matches in PWG.

4/6

Kurt Angle vs Jeff Hardy

Hmmm, I wonder...

This was a great match. They managed to give the match drama even though it was always going to be a squash match... or was it? In the long-run it will be, but the match was declared a no contest, me predicts some more matches over the next few week, hopefully a best of 3. I really don't want to see a 3-way for BFG.

This was the best match of the evening and should have been at the end.

This had the potential to be TNA's match of the year, quite easily, were it not for the retarded booking. Firstly, I don't recall them saying that there would be a 20 minute time limit at the start of this match. Secondly, if there NEEDS TO BE A WINNER THEN DON'T HAVE A FUCKING TIME LIMIT. After the first overtime, Bischoff adds another 5 mins (fucking pointless) then they got to the end of the time limit. Angle had been busted wide open, brother, and the medics declared that he was too injured to carry on. Bare in mind that only a few matches before a match wasn't stopped when AJ went Abdulla the Butcher on Dreamer with a fork. This is where it gets interesting. If Kurt Angle CAN'T GO ON, then in any other fighting sport (boxing/MMA/fuckning curling) Angle would lose. Fair enough, this isn't a real sport, so let's look at pro wrestling history, in Wrestlemania 4 (might be 5, one of the early ones) there was a no contest and BOTH competitors lost. Obviously you can't take away what Hardy and Angle were doing because it was awesome, but the booking was terrible. Rant over.

4/7

Mr. Anderson vs. D'Angelo Dinero

Anderson will win, just to get him versus Angle at BFG.

As predicted. The match wasn't bad, just didn't compare to the previous match. Again TNA blew its load too early.

5/8 - not bad. Fourtune swept the board.


PPV rating: ****

So, we're now on the road to Bound for Glory. I predict injuries preventing Hardy and Angle from competing for the final position, therefore, the main event will be Hardy/Anderson/Angle. This could be a smart move, here's why: Anderson could turn heel, fuck around with Angle/Hardy, say he was just being an asshole, blah blah. Then during the match, Anderson will get the pin on Hardy, but only by cheating. Angle getting the belt being the most obvious thing in the worl is swerved, and Kurt Angle wouldn't lose, he would just not win. Angle is so pissed by the screwjob/cheating that he doesn't retire. So we have Anderson getting the belt and a great feud reemerging between Angle and Anderson.

Socko's TNA No Surrender predictions

With one of the worst build-ups to a PPV in recent memory, I really don't care about any of these matches. But let's go over my predictions:

Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne

I predict Velvet will win. There will be some interference by Tara, but this will be stopped by Angelina, giving Velvet the win and reigniting the Tara/Angelina feud.

Rhino vs. Abyss

This has the postential to be a pretty nasty match. No DQ, falls count anywhere, could be messy. Abyss to win.

Douglas Williams (c) vs. Sabu

This match seems to have come from nowhere. I like Doug and Sabu in equal measures (actually, I prefer Sabu from about 13 years ago), but I think Sabu will win.

Sting and Kevin Nash vs. Jeff Jarrett and Samoa Joe

Who cares? I mean, what's going to happen? What's a stake? Who are the good guys and bad guys? What are they fighting about? Joe and Jarrett to win.

A.J. Styles vs. Tommy Dreamer

Where has an I quit match come from? You don't do an I quit match on their first PPV, way to kill off a feud. The I quit match is like a last resort match after a feud has been running over a few PPVs, for fuck's sake. AJ to win, please.

The Motor City Machine Guns (c) vs. London Brawling

Guns will probably win this, but I'd quite like to see London Brawling get the gold only for the Guns to get it back at Bound for Glory after a vicious and nasty feud over the next few weeks... this won't happen though, so I'll say Guns.


Mr. Anderson vs. D'Angelo Dinero

Anderson will win, just to get him versus Angle at BFG.


Kurt Angle vs Jeff Hardy

Hmmm, I wonder...

Greatest matches ever!: WWE Kurt Angle and Chris Benoi versus Edge and Rey Mysterio

No Mercy, 2002, had some pretty impressive matches. There was Brock Lesnar versus Undertaker in Hell in a Cell, and the match I want to share with you today for the, then new, WWE Tag Team Championship.

If this match proves anything, it is not only that all of these guys are tremendous talents, but also that Benoit's wrestling career is something that should be celebrated rather than brushed under the carpet because of the unfortunate circumstances surrounding his death.

Anyways, enjoy!





It's weird to hear Taz not talking about "yam bags" at every opportunity.

TNA nonsense watch: The World Title

The way TNA has been with the World Title has infuriated me of late. Not only did the hand the strap to RVD without any sort of build-up, but now they are doing a tournament for the title which has no value whatsoever.

I like tournaments in wrestling, you often get some good matches out of them, but they are weakened by a lack of feud or build-up between competitors. TNA has made some stupid fucking mistakes of late, and the current “tournament” is just an example of this.

Over the past few months, Kurt Angle has been working his way up the TNA rankings, taking on each competitor in the rankings before reaching the number one spot. This was a great angle, built around Kurt’s competitive spirit and a desire to prove he is the best. This alone would have been enough to do an angle which lasts about a year, perhaps with some bumps on the way to add some drama to the proceedings. After a few matches, Angle started to say that he couldn’t stand it if he lost, and would consider retiring if he did. Then, for no reason, all of Angle’s matches came with an attached career stipulation. Because Kurt is one of the biggest draws for TNA, and because he’s said in interviews that he’s going to be sticking around in TNA for at least a year, the angle has lost its drama. I’ve said it before: Kurt Angle matches are always good, but without a sense of drama or anything really being at stake no one gives a fuck.

With RVD’s kayfabe injury, and him being stripped of the title we are now left with a “tournament” to be the new champion. Kurt, it seems, has been made to look like a dick because of this. In keeping with the angle, it would have made more sense for Angle to bow out of the tournament, his reason being that he has not yet worked his way up through the rankings. So we can assume that the angle is over... well not quite: the career stip is still in place. This means that the tournament is pointless, and that the next champion will be Kurt Angle. So like some horny kid, TNA blow their load too soon and make Angle look: A) Like a pussy and B) like a hypocrite.

Of course, the flipside to this is that TNA may have realised that people weren’t buying into the career match angle, and are thus dropping it. Let’s hope that it is the case. But if this is case, why does Kurt need to have the career stip? It makes no sense to me.

We are all sophisticated enough to know how wrestling works for fuck’s sake. Let’s hope TNA never do an angle like this again.

Oh, and no Joe or AJ in the top 8? Nice to see Williams versus Angle though.

TNA: The whole F'ing Show - predictions revisited.

A few days ago I made my predictions for The Whole F’ing Show. Let’s see how I did:

Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles
“With the career stip, this match is pointless. I don’t care, this angle would have been much better had Angle worked through the ranks, had a few bumps along the way. I’ve said it before, they’re just a bunch of elaborate squash matches. Angle to win.”

I enjoyed this match, AJ and Angle always put on a great match together. But because of the career stip on all of Angle’s matches the result was obvious and therefore there was no drama. This could have been an awesome angle if they had done it right, idiots.
I’d give this match **** if it were not for the fact that all of these matches are positions for an Angle win, therefore: ***.
That’s 1/1 on the predictions...

Madison Rayne vs Angelina Love Knockout's Title
“If it’s not Angelina I’ll be pissed. Rayne is shit. I assume that TNA will swerve revealing the mysterious biker, though I’m pretty convinced it’s either Tara or Alyssa Flash (I would prefer the latter, that bitch is mean).”

Talk about being on the money. We got Angelina for the win and TNA swerved revealing the biker (though the crowd were chanting ‘Tara’ when she arrived).
**½, not a bad match, but the biker angle is starting to wear a bit thin.
2/2

Mr. Anderson vs Matt Morgan vs The Pope
“Pope really needs the win here, but this is TNA so I’m gonna go with Matt Morgan.”

Pope really needed this win, but because it’s TNA the winner was fan *ahem* favourite, Matt Morgan. The build-up to this match sucked, the match was pretty poor and the winner just struck me as retarded.
**
3/3 woop woop!

Jeff Hardy's Open Challenge
“I think that this will probably be either the debut of an ex-WWEer such as Shelton Benjamin, or more likely (this is TNA remember) they’ll get some crap undercard guy, maybe Shannon Moore or Suicide. Either way, Jeff to win.”

For fuck’s sake, I was joking about Shannon Moore. That was my nomination for worst case scenario. Let’s step back and look at this. I’m going to cut and paste the roster from Wikipedia and leave the ones who could have done this instead of Moore.


Amazing Red
Brian Kendrick
Desmond Wolfe
Douglas illiams
Eric Young
Hernandez
Homicide
y Lethal
Jeremy Buck
Jesse Neal
Kazarian
Kevin Nash
Magnus
Max Buck
Orlando Jordan
Rob Terry
Samoa Joe
Shark Boy
Sting
Suicide


Looking at the list, the only people who I’d rather see Shannon Moore versus Hardy more than is Rob Terroid, Kevin Nash and maybe Orlando Jordan... No wonder they didn’t reveal it beforehand, no one would have watched it.
Piss poor match, loads of their spots looked really contrived, they were out of time, and they just weren’t very convincing. Still, at least I was right about Jeff Hardy winning.
*
4/4

MCMG versus Beer Money
“Guns have got to win this and I think it will be one of the best matches of the night, if not the year.”

I was right, this was an excellent match and the the Guns retained the strap. This match proved why the Briscoes and the Kings of Wrestling need to go to TNA: TNA do tag-team better than anyone else at the moment.
****½
5/5 – holy shitting Christ, almost a full house... let’s see how I do in the main event.


Rob Van Dam vs Abyss Stairway To Janice Match for the TNA Heavyweight Title
“This match will be shit and RVD will hold on to the strap.”
Wow, TNA perhaps made the most obviously booked PPV (though not really a PPV) ever! This match was shit and RVD kept the strap and there was absolutely no point in Bischoff being ref...
**
6/6 – bang bang! I am Vince Russo!

The ending to The Whole F’ing Show looked pretty promising, with what can only be described as a reverse-invasion angle. Fortune plus Doug Williams and Morgan came in the ring and went to town on the old ECW guys. When I was watching the promo with Dreamer, my mate was saying, “switch it off, this is shit, or at least fast forward” – then the lights went out... “Sting? Sandman?” I’ll admit, this took me by surprise and was pretty entertaining. Hopefully RVD’s injuries are so serious that he will never be in TNA again, hopefully Sabu will stick around and kick some ass (though I didn’t like the fact he ‘broke character’ to do a promo).

Overall, this was an entertaining show. The Angle/AJ and Beer Money/MCMG stopped it from being shit.

*** overall

Next: Summerslam....

That Clown from Outta Town - August 5th iMPACT

Another week, another iMPACT.

I'm looking forward to the MCMG v Beer Money match. Kinda curious about the Jay Lethal v Ric Flair street fight too. Let's hope they actually start with wrestling today. Also, announcing the matches for Hardcore Justice would be nice.

2:49 - Dreamer's on his way to the ring...but dressed to chat, not wrestle. Please don't cry again, Tommy.
6:14 - Best Raven promo ever.
7:19 - FOLEY FOLEY FOLEY
7:44 - Special ref? He's not going to wrestle :'(
9:21 - Knockouts, fast forwarding
10:58 - Oh wait, Hamada...watching.
15:46 - Ref bump...ffs TNA stop with the ref bumps
16:24 - Not the greatest match - Lacey is improving, but she's still too green for TV. Still, new champs so we'll be seeing more of Hamada - the best Knockout.
17:17 - AJ v Rob Terry again - after Rob destroyed Kaz last week in under 30 seconds, we might be seeing two championship changes in as many matches...
18:13 - And as soon as I hear AJ's music, anything seems possible. I love that tune. I was Audiosurf world champion for AJ's theme tune - true story. AJ to retain.
22:42 - AJ got battered, but pulled it out in the end. I love that 450 splash.
24:35 - Angle v AJ - Can't fucking wait
26:02 - Woop woop, Ultimate X coming up :D
27:35 - FFS, TNA - you say Ultimate X is up next, then cut to the Beautiful People scrapping backstage...NOBODY CARES
27:44 - "Trust my ass"...great promo, Velvet.
28:13 - IT'S TIME
32:26 - Bell finally rings...
39:57 - 2nd best huricarana ever.
41:36 - Sliced Bread on the apron...fucking hell
42:26 - Awesome, awesome match. TNA can really pull it out when they want to.
43:00 - What better way to follow that great match than a Bischoff promo? FFS
45:20 - Wow, Hogan looks tired
46:05 - Oh FFS, Bischoff is special ref in the Janice on a pole match
46:41 - Looks like Hard justice is just going to be the special iMPACT next week...so I'm guessing no TNA matches whatsoever at Hardcore Justice :D
51:30 - Sting and Nash kicking ass...finally, the one guy who was kicking the shit out of Bischoff on a regular basis is back :D
53:52 - Pope v Jordan...this could be good.
55:53 - What the fuck.
62:38 - Streetfight time :)
64:24 - It's weird how the Angle angle has gone from Angle saying 'If I lose, it may be my last match' to 'If Angle loses, he MUST RETIRE'...
70:56 - Ridiculous match - it ended up with Flair wearing one sock, one shoe and pants...nothing else. He even got his arse out. FFS. Aside from that, not a bad match though.
73:24 - RVD v Jerry Lynn is the Hardcore Justice main event :D
76:33 - So...you've got RVD, Tommy Dreamer, Raven and Abyss in one match...and they don't book it as a hardcore match. FFS TNA.
81:36 - FUCK YEAH SANDMAN

Awesome iMPACT, main event was a bit shit but apart for that great. MCMG v Beer Money was the highlight, for the 4th week running. Can't wait for PPV.

They only announced 2 matches for Hardcore Justice, I think most of the people showing up are going to be a surprise...I'd love to see Tajiri v Super Crazy, but that's probably the least likely match possible. This is going to be awesome.

That Clown from Outta Town - July 15th 2010 iMPACT

I'm looking forward to this one - the PPV was, for me, a complete overachiever and much more fun than it looked on paper. I'm actually interested in the fallout from some of the matches this month.

Looking forward to finding out what happens next, primarily with the Lethal/Flair situation as well as the 3D angle. Lethal v Flair was much better than I expected (I was expecting it to be about as good as Orlando Jordan v Ultimate Warrior...). I'm also looking forward to the new rankings, since they actually have an impact on the next PPV - at least, they have an impact on the main event. I'm expecting either Joe or Abyss to be #1 contender, but TNA likes throwing curveballs so who knows.

As always, I hope they start with wrestling. But if they start with the rankings, I'll let them off.

00:30 - They mentioned the Joe/Wolfe thing...a feud looks slightly more likely now than 30 secs ago :)
1:25 - Settle the controversy over the tag titles? What controversy, MCMG clearly won, despite the ridiculous finish and restart which really didn't improve the match one bit...unless that's the controversy. But did anyone actually want Beer Money to beat MCMG? I'd be surprised to find out they did.
1:28 - Ladies streetfight - I won't be fast forwarding that one.
1:55 - Rankings
2:30 - Yup, Abyss at #1...the only real surprises are that Joe is only at #4, Lethal has made it up to #5, and Rob Terry is back in the top 10. I don't get why Angle goes up one place per match, while the rest of the roster fly up and down the ladder seemingly at random. Probably best not to think about it (which is the TNA fan's mantra, as we all know)
2:48 - Haha, Abyss is about to beat up a leg of beef...I'd love to see the meeting where they came up with that one
4:58 - Abyss has named his 'girl' Janice
5:39 - Hahaha, Abyss was hitting the beef and snapped Janice in half...hahaha
6:43 - Abyss is now making out with the beef...
7:07 - Looks like the streetfight's just gonna be a backstage brawl
7:57 - How come they know there's a fight going on, they managed to get a cameraman there to film it, but didn't get any security or anything to break it up? Probably best not to think about it.
10:50 - MCMG and Beer Money are going to have a best of 5 series?? Christ...TNA needs more tag teams.
12:58 - This streetfight is bad, and I want it to end.
13:17 - Cool, it's over...
14:31 - God, Bischoff's secretary...Bischoff can't be far away...
14:55 - Everyone cheering when Nash came in makes it look like a fucking sitcom
15:57 - Non-title I Quit match...so Kendrick's gonna win, obviously.
19:38 - Never seen that Monkey-Flip-into-Boston-Crab before...fucking awesome.
22:25 - Good match while Doug had momentum, but a terrible ending - how come Kendrick is suddenly able to submit Doug in like 30 seconds?
24:54 - Jarret's stopping a beatdown D: Fucking Jarrett
25:14 - Or maybe he'll batter Jarrett instead.
28:37 - Chelsea still exists :(
28:50 - Christ, now Wolfe gets to job to Rob Terry...they must really hate him backstage to lumber him with this shit and ignore his obvious talent
29:25 - FUCK YEAH SAMOA JOE - I guess it's a 3-way?
29:38 - KILL THEM BOTH JOE THEN START ON THE AUDIENCE - KILL EVERYTHING THAT MOVES
30:34 - Wow, Brutus Magnus is back...maybe to team with Wolfe? I hope not, I want Wolfe v Joe at the PPV
31:37 - Is it me, or has Magnus stolen Christian's look?
34:04 - That kick by Terry wasn't even close
34:11 - Joe's kick landed though :D
34:20 - AND JOE FUCKING WINS FUCK YEAH
35:29 - Ladder match up next...maybe this best of 5 thing might turn out ok.
35:59 - I'm 90% sure Flair is going to try and recruit Lethal as the first member of Fortune.
43:03 - Sabin just failed to run up a ladder...that'll be on Botchamania
43:10 - Holy shit, what an awesome clothesline
45:55 - This match is awesome
47:34 - That was actually a pretty decent screwjob...
48:21 - Abyss has a new Janice...
48:36 - Matt Morgan v Pope. Who knows if it'll be any good or not?
52:28 - Angle v Hernandez? I hope they Wolfe it and don't take it to PPV...
51:29 - Pope beats Morgan in under 3 minutes...what the fuck. I've seen highlight reels which were longer than that match.
53:17 - Anderson coming in for the save on Pope...that's a pretty smart way of having the two make up, didn't see that coming...and explains why the match was so short.
56:21 - Warning, Knockout on the mic...
57:52 - Madison is threatening to sue TNA if she doesn't get her belt back...I hope she sues, I'd rather watch a long, boring and complicated court case than another Madison Rayne match.
63:27 - There's too many mystery people in TNA...the mystery biker (looks like it could be Alyssa Flash), and Abyss' 'Them'...one is enough.
64:59 - Lethal v Hardy, should be good :)
65:13 - Lethal's still wearing his 'I love Hogan' red and yellow outfit...looks more ridiculous that the Black Machismo outfits, except this time it's not on purpose.
66:02 - Admittedly, it looks better without the robe...I guess it's just the robe I don't like.
68:28 - Fans chanting ECW again...sigh
70:50 - MCMG v Beer Money in a street fight next week :)
71:12 - Cool, Hernandez v Angle on iMPACT...they're gonna Wolfe it :D
71:34 - An ok match, nothing hugely inspiring...shame Jay didn't get the win.
72:16 - Fortune announcement...AJ and Kaz first members...but here comes Wolfe
73:31 - And here comes Abyss...the last ten minutes are going to be a clusterfuck, apparently.
79:40 - FUCK YEAH FOLEY IS BACK
79:57 - ECW INVASION :D
82:18 - This is mental
83:54 - Dixie invited the ECW guys...that makes no sense, if she's in charge why didn't she tell anyone so that this exact thing didn't happen? Probably best not to think about it.

This was a pretty ok iMPACT, they seemed to forget about all of the plot threads they left hanging at the PPV but there were some pretty decent matches. MCMG v Beer Money stole the show, I'm glad to see Foley back (and I'm sure Socko is too), Joe won (after losing 2 matches in a row...that's a long streak of losses for Joe), Abyss beating up a cow's leg was funny as fuck...nothing else hugely significant happened.

Most of the matches were a decent length for once (or at least seemed to be), which was nice to see. TNA really needs to work on storytelling though - their angles just aren't captivating at all right now. If they get the storytelling right, they have easily enough talent to be fucking awesome. A lot of the problem is inconsistency - they'll leave an angle on a cliffhanger, then not mention it for a few weeks by which point nobody cares any more. If they followed up straight away, then people would be more interested. But still, a definite improvement on the last few weeks.

Socko's TNA Victory Road predictions

Here are my predictions for the next TNA PPV 'Victory Road' which I will review, and no doubt eat my words, next week.

TNA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Mr. Anderson vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Abyss vs. (c) Rob Van Dam

I'm hoping that Anderson will get the chapionship, however, I can see RVD retaining the title until Kurt Angle has worked his way up through the rankings. I've never liked four-way matches. Three-ways or tag matches are great, but any more than that and things just get confusing. Isn't odd that the last WWE PPV was called Fatal Four Way, and now TNA are doing one. Will they do a Money in the Bank ladder match at their next PPV?

CHALLENGE MATCH
Ric Flair vs. Jay Lethal

I can predict a Flair win, but this will be with a lot of interference from his stable. :ethal will probably get a pin, but the ref will be out or distracted or something equally lame. This match will be a stinker

CONTENDERS BATTLE
#10 Kurt Angle VS #8 “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero

No boubt that this will be at least a four-star match. Pope's great in the ring and on the mic, but I really can't see Kurt Angle losing any matches whilst working up the rankings

STEEL CAGE MATCH
Matt Morgan vs. Hernandez

I'm a bit bored of this storyline now, and if Morgan and Hernandez have proved anything, it is that they are inconsistant in the ring. This could be an awesome match, or it could be a stinker. I can see Morgan winning.


ULTIMATE X MATCH FOR THE X CHAMPIONSHIP
(Win by either Submission or claiming the Ultimate X)
Kendrick vs. (c) Douglas Williams.

I really like this angle, I really like Brian Kendrick and I really like Doug Williams. This has the potential to be an awesome match. I can see a ref bump with Williams getting put into a cobra clutch, Williams taps, but the ref is out. I then see Williams doing some kind of high-risk move of Kendrick then retaining the belt by climbing the ultimate x.

TNA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Beer Money vs. The Motor City Machineguns
Hail Sabin, Motor City have to win this, it's just retarded if they don't... Oh wait, we've gor Russo and Bischoff in creative, damn it, I'll have to go with Beer Money then... but I really want the Guns to win, Alex Shelley is underrated as hell.

TNA KNOCKOUTS CHAMPIONSHIP
Angelina Love vs. (c) Madison Rayne

Wonder if it will be a career match, but then Angelina wins. I hope she does because at least she can wrestle. Not that there are any decent female wrestlers left in the KO division apart from Sarita and Taylor Wilde. This match will be piss-poor.

EDIT: Ray vs Devon vs Jesse
I'm guessing that Devon will get the pin on Jesse... TNA can't split up 3D, it's stupid if they do.

AJ and Kaz vs Mystery tag team.
Well the build up to this between AJ/Kaz and the mystery tag team make this worth watching, gonna guess the AJ/Kaz will (flips a coin) lose.



AND STILL NO JOE :(

That Clown from Outta Town - May 27th iMPACT

iMPACT time again. Hopefully Sting will attack wrestlers I don't like all night again. Plus, I want to see what happens to The Band following Scott Hall's arrest (although that may have happened after the show was taped - not sure), and I hope to see Angle vs Kaz - I want to get to Angle vs Joe ASAP! Please start with wrestling not talking this week TNA!

1:35 - Ooh, Band vs 3D vs Ink Inc :)
1:49 - Kaz vs Lethal - awesome :)
2:48 - Jeff, please be coming to fight, not to flap your lips.
3:51 - Ugh, talking :(
7:12 - Here comes AJ :D Hope this turns into a 3-way...
9:54 - Why does AJ look like a waxwork of himself?
11:11 - FUCK YEAH RING THE BELL
14:20 - Let's go Jesse! Show no mercy! Love TNA fans :)
18:48 - Cool, Jesse vs Bubba...hope it's no DQ!
20:29 - Whoa, RVD mentioning his opponent - is that a first?
21:04 - Kaz v Lethal :D Can't wait, this could easily be match of the night.
21:51 - Just noticed Lethal has new entrance music - guess Black Machismo is over :'(
29:43 - Cool match, slightly ruined by the postmatch drama, but at least Lethal slapped the shit out of Flair so it's all good :)
30:46 - Looks like Orlando Jordan laid out Shannon? He did that card thing before iirc...
32:15 - Here comes OJ...with Abyss stickers on his nipples? What?
32:53 - Abyss vs OJ - bit out of the blue. I'm sure Wolfe will be along shortly.
38:48 - Whoomp, there it is - haha, 'Get up, bubblegum'
39:47 - Freakbuster? Looks like a chokeslam to me...
40:38 - Here comes RVD - FUCK HIM UP STINGER
47:47 - They're promoting midget wrestling on TNA now...way to raise your profile.
49:33 - I was actually going to watch this match - Wilde and Sarita are pretty good - but they've got the midget wrestling guy on commentary. Fuck that. Fast forwarding.
56:28 - WOLFE V HARDY - This is either gonna be great, or a huge letdown. Don't fuck it up, TNA.
57:18 - FUCK YEAH ANGLE - Tell 'em, Kurt!
57:50 - Oh, he's commentating.
58:20 - Just realised, Kurt vs the top ten means Kurt vs Wolfe again as well as the Joe match - this is fucking awesome. I love this angle. Can't fucking wait for the Joe match though. Hope they have another red hot feud to hype it up, there was a time when I thought those two were going to kill each other.
61:00 - This match looks to be pretty good so far...please don't fuck it up with a run-in Abyss/Anderson/AJ/whoever
66:30 - Neat match, shame about the copout ending - I'd be happy to see these two go at it at PPV though
67:03 - Morgan's back :) FUCK HIM UP JOE
68:56 - Morgan issuing an open challenge for a tag partner - I'd love to hear Hernandez's music right about now :)
69:16 - Anderson calling out Angle? Is he mad?
71:24 - FUCK YEAH JOE FUCK EM UP JOE
72:18 - Joe and Angle eye to eye...you can cut the tension with a knife...Joe v Angle is going to be fucking awesome
73:24 - Cool, AJ vs Anderson...I'd usually write off an Anderson match before the bell rings but it's AJ...I'll give it a shot ;)
84:26 - Neat match, the post match drama wasn't much to write home about but I guess it continues the Hardy/Anderson love-in...

Pretty good iMPACT this week :) Joe vs Morgan seems to be brewing, Joe v Angle is going to be awesome, Jesse v Bubba is getting pretty hot...Sting v RVD is kinda going off the boil a little, Wolfe v Hardy will be great if it escalates into a feud - their match was pretty good until the ref bump. No Hogan, no Bischoff and minimal RVD makes for a great iMPACT, it seems.

Some suggestions for TNA should any of them actually read this:

1. Put Red back on TV! He's awesome! The fans love him!
2. Bring back Pope! Or at least update us on his condition! The fans love him!
3. BRING BACK SHARK BOY! THE FANS LOVE HIM!

Greatest Matches Ever! TNA: Samoa Joe vs Kurt Angle (Genesis, 2006)

To my reckoning, there have been five notable matches between Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle; this one was the first, and in my opinion the best. The match had it all: great drama, great build-up, great moves. Coming into the match the result wasn't obvious. On Impact a few weeks before, Angle had just made his TNA debut and went straight for Joe. At that point Joe had been undefeated for 18 months; he was the top guy and Angle went for him. The energy going into this match is insane and Joe and Angle put on one of the greatest matches of their careers.

New wrestlers could learn a lot from this. How to structure a match, how to sell, how to be a face - it's all here. This is fucking awesome:



It's about time Joe and Angle get back into the ring together and TNA stop pissing about.

Greatest promos ever! "Milkamania is running wild..."

Go on any internet wrestling forum and there will be some fanboys banging on about how great the Attitude era was, how great it was when Steve Austin would come to the ring in various modes of transport. "Oh look, mummy, the bad man's in a beer truck", they write, without any sense of guilt or shame. Personally, I thought Austin was a one trick pony, which I why I've chosen this promo to share. As a parody of Austin's beer truck shananigans, Kurt Angle brings out a milk truck and covers Austin and his pals with some milky goodness.
I think what makes this clip particular awesome is JR's commentary; no one calls it like JR.



- Socko

TNA Lockdown - Mr Anderson vs Kurt Angle

What a match! Possibly one of the bes matches I've seen since Angle went against Wolfe last year. Seriously, this match was truly spectactular and made the match between AJ and Pope look pretty flat in comparison. I'm not going to spoil the Lethal Lockdown match, but that was also pretty awesome.
The fact is that Angle seriously outdid himself on this one. The drama of this match was up there with some of the greatest matches of all time, all the way through there was no clear winner, and when Angle through the cage key into the crowd it was unclear whether there could even be a winner. What was the highling of the match? Was it the German suplex from the top rope? What about when Angle used his warrior medal to choke Kennedy out? Was it when Kennedy used the tape from his wrists to choke angle? No, it was when Angle climbed to the top of the steel cage and moonsaulted onto Kennedy and hit it, bam! Replay. Bam! My jaw literally hanging down to my knees. Now the cage in Lockdown was a lot higher than the WWE cages and was about the height of a hell in the cell, unbelievable.
I'm not going to spoil the result, but this makes the PPV worth watching.
After I'd finished watching Lockdown I reflected for a while and realised that the Angle/Kennedy feud is exactly the reason why I've prefered TNA to WWE over the last year: when TNA do a feud well, they do it right. A feud needs to build up and simmer until it gets bigger than the characters, I think TNA have done this time and time again. They completely pissed over any of the recent feuds in WWE (I still don't quite get the point of the Punk/Mysterio feud). There's been some great matches throughout the feud and some real innovative stuff going on that I'd not really seen before. Like when Kennedy used Angle's warrior medal to almost hang him to win the ladder match, that was some pretty dark stuff.
Kennedy is easily the best heel TNA have got, the only wrestler who even comes close is Desmond Wolfe, but not even Wolfe has turned round and called the US army a bunch of high-school drop-outs. Slag off America and you're foriegn, that kind of goes with the territory; but to do that from within America makes it that little bit hard to throw a chant of USA and expect to have the same withering effect as water on the Wicked Witch of the West.
With Angle announcing a hiatus after the match, one wonders where now for Kennedy?



UPDATE! Here is the complete match, enjoy!