TNA Desination X - predictions and full card

- X-Division four-way match: Mason Andrews (Scorpio Sky) versus Rubix (Jigsaw) versus Lars Only (Johnny Yuma) versus Dakota Darsow. The winner will be entered into the X-Division title tournament. I predict Rubix will go through as he is an excellent wrestler.

- Four X-Division matches not yet announced featuring the winner of the four-way, plus Sonjay Dutt, Rashad Cameron (Jeez from CZW), Kid Kash, Doug Williams, Zema Ion, Kenny King and Flip Casanova (Flip Kendrick). I would like to see Doug Williams win the tournament, but predict Sonjay Dutt to be the winner.

- Samoa Joe versus Kurt Angle in the Bound for Glory series. I expect this to go to a time-limit draw.

- Ultimate X for the vacant X title. As noted above, I believe that Sonjay Dutt will win.

- A.J. Styles versus Christopher Daniels last man standing. I hope that AJ wins, just so they can blow off this Claire Lynch storyline. I predict Daniels will win, however, with interference from Kaz.

- Bobby Roode versus Austin Aries for the TNA title. Bobby Roode will win, no doubt through shenanigans.

Slammiversary podcast review

TNA Slammiversary X - predictions

Bobby Roode versus Sting for the TNA World Heavyweight championship.

- I predict that Bobby Roode will win this match through shenanigans. Their last few matches were very good, so this will be a great main event.

Christopher Daniels and Kazarian versus A.J. Styles and Kurt Angle for the tag titles.

- I’m not sure who will win this match. You’d expect that this match would be the time for Kazarian and Daniels to get their comeuppance. However, it feels as though the story isn’t at the point of climax yet, so I will go with Daniels and Kaz to win.



Jeff Hardy versus Rob Van Dam versus Mr. Anderson – Winner becomes numbers one contender.

- I feel like I have seen this match, or a version of it, a dozen times. Honestly, I don’t want to see any of these three in the number one contender position. Has the potential to be a train-wreck match. I predict Jeff Hardy will win.



Joseph Park versus Bully Ray

- This may be the most intriguing match on the card. I can’t wait to see how this plays out, especially as Abyss has vowed to return. It would be great if Abyss does in fact have a brother, and that it really is him in the ring with Ray. I can see a strange ‘split personality’ angle coming, which might be horrible. Otherwise, I can Park being taken out on a stretcher after losing the match, for Abyss to run out and take out Ray... It’s very difficult to predict a winner on this one, but I’m going to go with Bully Ray.

Gail Kim versus Miss Tessmacher for the Knockouts title

- With another Brooke on TV, it seems that Tessmacher has been forced to go back to being Miss again. I predict Gail Kim will win.

Austin Aries versus Samoa Joe

- This has the potential to be a hell of a match. It would have made more sense if the X Division title was on the line, but hey. As it’s a non-title match, I can see Joe winning.

Devon and Garrett Bischoff versus Robbie E and Robbie T

- I’m quite convinced that no matter how hard they try, Garrett Bischoff will never get over as a babyface. This match will probably be horrible. Devon is by far the best worker in this match, but he can’t possibly carry three people. I predict Devon and Garrett will win.

Crimson has issued an open challenge to anyone

- This could be interesting, perhaps we will see the return of Joey Ryan, the debut of Chris Masters, or Christian in action (though I doubt the latter). If it is Chris Masters, I can see Crimson getting his first loss, but against anyone else, Crimson will win.



Kid Kash vs. Hernandez

- I’m not really sure what to make of this, but I assume Hernadez will win.



The first inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame

At present, this should only be one of three people: Jeff Jarrett, A.J. Styles or Sting. Judging by the A.J storyline, I doubt very much that it will be him. So Sting or Jarrett. Personally, I’d like to see Jarrett back (ideally with his MMA gimmick!). However, a more likely thing will be that Christian will be the one honoured - a great way to make TNA look like a second-tier company.

Jon and Colin meet Maffew from Botchamania

Jon and Colin interview Maffew of Botchamania in his first ever face-to-face interview!

We talk about wrestling, video games, and Michael Barrymore.

In association with:

http://socksreview.blogspot.com
http://www.artfist.org
http://www.botchamania.com

Approx length: 1h45m, 128kbps mp3

Jon and Colin's Quintessentially English Wrestling Show

ere is Jon and Colin's Quintessentially English Wrestling Show.

It's a wrestling show with some comedy and stupidity from two English pro wrestling fans.
In the show:

Tribute to DPW
$5 Wrestling
TNA Live in UK reviews
TNA Against All Odds
WWE bullshit
Ring Ka King

TNA UK tour photos: Wembley

TNA UK tour photos: Nottingham

TNA: Against All Odds - predictions

TNA World Heavyweight Title Match
James Storm vs. Bully Ray vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Bobby Roode

This match feels like bad booking. This should be a three-way at most, TNA should hold off on Storm FFS.
I can see Roode holding on until Lockdown, will probably get a pin on Bully Ray. Some kind of ref bump will stop both Storm and Hardy from winning.


TNA Tag Team Title Match
Samoa Joe & Magnus vs. Matt Morgan & Crimson

The tag team division is on fire at the moment. It’s great to see the only teams in the tag division going against each other for about the 5th time in as many weeks. Based on the losses, I’d say Magnus and Joe to win. Probably with Magnus pinning Morgan. Just trying to think like Russo here.

TNA X Division Title Match
Alex Sheley vs. Austin Aries

This should be a great match, and there’s no obvious choice. I think Shelley should probably get the strap, but using Russo logic, he’s not had enough losses to get the title. I predict Aries will retain here, but then Shelley will get a rematch on TV and win the belt there.

TNA Knockouts Title Match
Tara vs. Gail Kim

This could be an okay match. I hate the way Tara always sets up for her moves too early, thus making it look staged (I know it is, but it should at least look like it’s fluid).
Kim will retain.

#1 Contender's Match
Zema Ion vs. Jesse Sorensen
The X-Division really is in a shit state these days. I’ll go with Sorensen, he’s decent in the ring, Zema Ion is a bit of spot-monkey.

Garret Bischoff with Hulk Hogan vs. Gunner with Eric Bischoff
Just give up already. Send Garret to OVW for a year and let him learn how to wrestle. I predict a short match with Garret doing a dozen hip tosses and then getting screwed in some way. Gunner is better than this.

Kazarian vs. AJ Styles
Pointless feud, match should be pretty decent. AJ versus Daniels would be better, AJ in the main event would be even better.
Kaz will win with interference from Daniels.

On the whole, not too much to get too excited about. The X Division title match should be good, apart from that, we’ll see.

iMPACT, Feb 9th, 2012

It turns out that the Blogger android app is a piece of shit, so I'm going to be using Twitter for my 'wrestling fan yelling at the TV' stuff, but I will make an effort to recap the shows here.

The show started out pretty well, Daniels and AJ was a pretty good way to start the show. The Kaz situation is a little silly, TNA seems to have a fondness for 'Oh, what is this big mystery all about? Find out in 3 months after we're done drip-feeding you enough information that you don't forget about it, but not enough that you actually care' storylines (Winter/Angelina, Garrett's trainer, etc.) but I don't think the fans really care. I certainly don't, all I know is AJ is being kept away from the title picture by a feud with Daniels again. I don't care what Kaz's deal is. I just want it over so we can see a storyline that actually matters.

Magnus gave a really good promo, better than anything I've seen him do before on TV (he did a great one in Dublin, but live is live and TV is TV), I really hope him and Joe get the belts at the PPV. I'm not sure they will though, TNA have made a rod for their own back with Crimson - they can't give him the belt because nobody gives a shit about him, and he can't be beaten because all he has going for him is his winning streak...so what do you do? Give him a belt that nobody cares about and forget about him, and hope people start to take notice. Problem is, they've lumbered him with Morgan who has also failed to win over the fans even after being with the company for several years. If they'd brought back Amazing Red to team with Crimson it would have been a different story, but it doesn't seem Morgan can get the job done.

Then we had Aries v Shelley v Doug in a great 3-way. It's good to see Doug back, he's one of the best in TNA. I don't really care who wins at the PPV, I'd prefer Aries but the X-Division is a shadow of its former self. It's still good, but it used to be amazing and groundbreaking...I'd love to see it come back to prominence again.

The second half of the show was pretty much what you'd expect from TNA, too much Hogan/Bischoff, too much talking, a screwjob in the main event. Velvet got a clean win over Mickie though, which I didn't see coming...although, since Kharma returned to WWE at the Rumble, the only womens wrestling I really want to see is her actual comeback.

I'd give my predictions for Against All Odds, but I can honestly only remember 2 or 3 matches so there's no point. Too much screen time for Hogan/Bischoff, not enough time building up matches. TNA in a nutshell.

iMPACT, Jan 19th 2012

It's amazing that Robert Roode and Daniel Bryan have the exact same angle, but with Bryan I can't wait to see what'll happen next and with Roode I just want to sleep through it.

Sting < Laurenaitas < Teddy Long

TNA are going to England and I won't be there T_T

Kaz is the worst heel

Magnus comes to the ring

Magnus gets pinned

Crimson is the least convincing monster I think I've ever seen

At least Joe's kicking some arse

Eric Young makes me laugh

Fire Garrett

Oh god, they actually did a Garrett montage so now he's good at wrestling what the fuck TNA that's not how real life works

Knockouts cage match...haven't seen one of these in a while

Actually pretty decent

MCMG music, thought Sabin was back and got all excited but it's just Shelly

He's actually a lot better on the mic than I remember

Eric Young v Angelina...pretty dumb since all the fans know they can't show male on female violence on Spike

As dumb as I thought it'd be, but anthing with Eric is worth watching

Main event...there will definitely be a screwjob, so fastforwarding

Yup, screwjob...surprised it's Bubba not Roode

Things are looking up!

A few months ago I made the conscious decision to stop writing about wrestling until TNA got better. I was pretty down on the product and didn’t want to turn into one of those ‘smart marks’ who pick apart and highlight all the problems that a wrestling show has, thereby sapping the joy out of something which is meant to be entertaining. TNA has been great over the past month or so, so as my first dip back into writing after a few months hiatus here are my 10 reasons why TNA is great.
1) Austin Aries. I could just leave it there. I’ve been a fan of Aries for a few years now and I cannot for the life of me figure out why WWE rejected him for Tough Enough. Aries has great presence, he carries himself like a star, he’s great on the mic and he’s capable of pulling a five star match out of his ass (Aries vs Angle feud = awesomeness).
2) Beer Money are now main eventers. It is high time that some TNA originals were put in the top spot again. They are young and fresh, and it’s great to see the exposure and push they are getting.
3) Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett is an amazing heel; I want to see him on TV more.
4) Abyss. Abyss hasn’t been on TV much of late, this is a good thing.
5) Karen Jarrett. Like Jeff, she is a great heel. I hope that the knockouts storylines move beyond ‘she thinks you are a whore/skank/bitch’, etc.
6) AJ vs Daniels. Daniels is one of the most under-rated guys in TNA. His matches with AJ have been great, even though the I quit match wasn’t.
7) Bully Ray. What a prick, what a horrible example of human... I love it! Bubba knows his character better than anyone on the roster. Obnoxious and cowardly, the perfect combination for a heel.
8) Ric Flair. It’s obvious that Garrett Bischoff is not ready for TV and is only being pushed because he’s Bischoff’s son. When Ric Flair laid into him backstage a few weeks back on Impact it was one of the best promos I’ve seen all year. It reminded me of when Flair laid into Carlito in about 2005. He might be a crazy old man, but he’s the best crazy old man in wrestling.
9) Filming on the road. TNA have been doing more tapings on the road. This is great. New crowds and new venues make it seem fresher and make the stars seem bigger.
10) Raw has been so God-awful of late that TNA is objectively a much stronger product. The roster is stronger and the storylines seem to be building nicely.

I feel quite optimistic about TNA at the moment. Let’s see how it pans out, or whether putting on a good wrestling show is actually a swerve...a

Mr Socko's Pro Wrestling Podcast - Episode 3

At long last, we bring you episode 3 of Mr Socko's Pro Wrestling Podcast. In this episode we look at recent goings on in TNA, WWE and have a laugh about Summerslam 91 and the underused back rake...

Direct download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?6bl38zwt8t56bx5

Take care, get hit with a chair

Mr Socko's Wrestling Show - Episode 2

With over 100 downloads of our last podcast, we have decided to continue on our quest to scrape the barrel with wrestling-related chat. Here we have episode two of the Mr Socko’s Pro Wrestling Review radio show with The Colin and the “Rumbling” Jonny Jay. In this episode we talk about Over the Limit, Raw, Smackdown and TNA. As well as a tongue-in-cheek look at the world of pro-wrestling there is music, laughter and lots of cups of tea...

Click the link to download, let us know what you think!

http://www.mediafire.com/?d9ln43d6k994d93

TNA Sacrfice predictions revisited

It's time to look at the results for TNA's latest PPV and see how I did in the predictions game:

TNA World Heavyweight Championship
Rob Van Dam vs. Sting

“Eugh, I remember how bad their last one-on-one match was. Sting and RVD are both ‘veterans’ which means they are both clunky in the ring. Their styles don’t work well together, and I predict that this match will suck. Sting to win.”

Sting won, thus I win. No one won really though, as this match was pretty dull. As noted above, both these guys are pretty limited in what they can do, so this saw RVD taking a few stupid bumps on the concrete floor and smash his leg off a steel barricade. During the match Anderson was on commentary and boy did he suck. He chewed gum loudly and whined like a bitch – he added nothing to this match. Next PPV we have Sting versus Anderson – I’m already feeling sleepy.

Match rating: *


TNA World Tag Team Championship
Matt Hardy & Chris Harris vs. Beer Money

“Not sure how this one’s going to pan out – Beer Money are awesome and both Hardy and Harris have been awesome... but that was a few years ago... so who knows? Beer Money should win.”

This match was average. Beer Money were great, but Harris was by no means in ring-shape. Hardy worked really hard at the start of the match, but the crowd weren’t into it. I think TNA went into this one assuming that the crowd would be all over the AMW/Beer Money angle; but without much of a build and due to the fact that most of the audience probably weren’t watching TNA when AMW were rocking the set, there was no heat - even ending the match with AMW’s finish failed to stir the crowd. Perhaps if this match had occurred 3 years ago it would have worked... at least Beer Money won, which means I’m 2-0 up.
Match rating: **


TNA Knockouts Championship
Madison Rayne vs. Mickie James

“The stip in this match makes little sense if, like I, you try and follow a storyline. Essentially, Tara was fired from TNA, she was working as a toilet cleaner (or something equally menial), so Madison Rayne employed her as a personal assistant/bodyguard. Months went by and Tara ended up costing Mickie James a title, which Tera then gave to Rayne in a finger poke of death style pin... Mickie James is now saying that if she beats Rayne, she will give Tera her old job back... how? Since when does Mickie have to power to hire people? And why would Mickie want to help Tera anyway? It just doesn’t make sense.... Mickie to win.”

It was weird to see that Tera had been replaced by a Jerry Springer transvestite in this one – she looked really bad. The match was what it was, bloody awful. The match has been built on the premise that Tera wants to be free at last, free at last... but, in the promo before that match, Tera was torn, seemingly just so Russo could write in a swerve. The match ended with Tera getting Madison’s loaded glove and standing in the ring after a second ref bump... for a long time... she was torn as to what to do, just in case you didn’t realise. For a moment it looked like she was going to hit Mickie... but bang! Swerve city, she turns and hits Madison. Mickie retained and Tera’s no longer a white slave. 3-0 to me!

Rating: *


TNA X-Division Championship
Max Buck vs. Kazarian

“Kaz to win and Bucks to reform... should be one hell of match.”
This was a decent enough match, lots of crazy spots and one of the stupidest moves I’ve ever seen. Kaz nearly killed Buck by doing a Sunset Flip Powerbomb from the apron to the floor. This move is dangerous enough at the best of times, but Max Buck’s head smacked off of the concrete. This looked really bad, and, fair play to him he kept working and even kicked out of a pin... just a few months after the concussion storyline, I might add... Kaz got the win and finished with the Shining Wizard, which is always a fun move. One the whole this was a pretty decent match, which felt a bit too choreographed at points. 4-0, I’m hating that I’m thinking like Russo.

Match rating: ***

Kurt Angle & Chyna vs. Jeff Jarrett & Karen Jarrett

“Who cares anymore? Chyna came out looking like Michael Jackson, Kurt Angle’s been beaten by Jarrett over and over since last year... I presume that Chyna get the pin on Karen for the victory. It will be a decent match whilst Kurt and Jarrett are in the ring, but then it will suck when the women tag in...”

I thought that the booking of this match was surprisingly good. Jeff and Kurt worked most of this one. Chyna looked like Michael Jackson and, luckily, her and Karen were only in the match for the finish. There was a bit of dumb moment in this match where Angle tagged Chyna, the announcers noted that it was a mixed tag match, so if one person tagged out, both sides had to switch. This didn’t happen. Chyna came in the ring, Karen didn’t and then Jeff and Kurt carried on. The announcers then explained that Jeff was the legal man, so that was fine... erm, no he wasn’t. The finish came with Chyna giving the worst slam I’ve ever seen to Jeff and then putting Karen in the ankle lock. Angle held Karen’s hand so she couldn’t tap, because in order to submit in a match now you have to physically tap (so stupid)... aside from some stupidity, this was a great mixed tag match. I even guessed who got the win. 5-0

Match rating: ***


AJ Styles vs. Tommy Dreamer

“This could be a decent enough match... I’m predicting a win by Dreamer, but due to interference from Bubba... that makes logical sense to me, so it’s very unlikely to happen.”

Yes and yes. I’m reaching Goldberg levels of streakery here. This match was pretty dull. AJ looked pretty good, but Dreamer kind of hobbled around a bit and finished with the worst looking Piledriver ever after Bubba interfered and hit AJ with a chain. Bubba’s promo before this match was truly awesome, Bubba is the best heel in mainstream wrestling bar none. 6-0

Match rating: **

Mexican America vs. Ink, Inc.

“This will probably be an okay match, I quite like some of the stuff Ink Inc do, but Shannon Moore is nothing without the rest of 3 Count. I presume that Mexicool, or whatever they’re called will get the win.”

This match sucked. Shannon Moore did some cool stuff in this, but it wasn’t enough. Mex-Pac isn’t ready to be on TV, and Hernadez is nothing without Homicide. But, I picked the winner... thus I win. 7-0
Match rating: ½


Abyss vs. Crimson

“Crimson’s going to kill you... if Crimson doesn’t fuck Abyss up... well...”
This would have been a great match if it went on for 3-4 minutes rather than 10. The match was pretty dull. The best part about this was actually Abyss’s (babyface) promo he gave before the match, really intense. 8-0... this is getting awkward now.

Match rating: *½

Robbie E. vs. Brian Kendrick

“Wow, this feud has been building up for months, I can’t wait to see these guys finally get in the ring together... okay, where has this match come from, and why should anybody PAY for this match? No build whatsoever... I’m sure Kendrick will do some pretty cool spots, but Robbie E is awful... I want Kendrick to win, but that’s very unlikely... screw it, Kendrick to win...”

Kendrick’s robe makes him look like he’s in the KKK. Robbie E = bad Zack Ryder. This match is a great example of a clash of styles. Kendrick was all over the top ropes, lots of high-flying moves; Robbie was doing his kick kick punch punch thing. What was strange about this match is the fact the Kendrick’s first strike was a dropkick, and so was his finisher. 9-0.
Match rating: *½

On the whole this was a sub-par PPV. There were a couple of half-decent matches punctuated by bad ones.
I predicted the results of all of these matches, which probably makes me some kind of psychic master. I have the ability to see through logic ... I am Vince Russo.*

*disclaimer - I am not Vince Russo.

TNA Sacrifice predictions

So, we’re in a new era; big changes in TNA... we’re now in an era ‘where wrestling matters’ and TNA is now called Impact Wrestling... let’s see how this pans out. Let’s have a look at my predictions for this year’s Sacrifice... and hope that TNA really start to improve thier game.

TNA World Heavyweight Championship
Rob Van Dam vs. Sting

Eugh, I remember how bad their last one-on-one match was. Sting and RVD are both ‘veterans’ which means they are both clunky in the ring. Their styles don’t work well together, and I predict that this match will suck. Sting to win.

TNA World Tag Team Championship
Matt Hardy & Chris Harris vs. Beer Money

Not sure how this one’s going to pan out – Beer Money are awesome and both Hardy and Harris have been awesome... but that was a few years ago... so who knows? Beer Money should win.

TNA Knockouts Championship
Madison Rayne vs. Mickie James

The stip in this match makes little sense if, like I, you try and follow a storyline. Essentially, Tara was fired from TNA, she was working as a toilet cleaner (or something equally menial), so Madison Rayne employed her as a personal assistant/bodyguard. Months went by and Tara ended up costing Mickie James a title, which Tera then gave to Rayne in a finger poke of death style pin... Mickie James is now saying that if she beats Rayne, she will give Tera her old job back... how? Since when does Mickie have to power to hire people? And why would Mickie want to help Tera anyway? It just doesn’t make sense.... Mickie to win.

TNA X-Division Championship
Max Buck vs. Kazarian

Kaz to win and Bucks to reform... should be one hell of match.

Kurt Angle & Chyna vs. Jeff Jarrett & Karen Jarrett

Who cares anymore? Chyna came out looking like Michael Jackson, Kurt Angle’s been beaten by Jarrett over and over since last year... I presume that Chyna get the pin on Karen for the victory. It will be a decent match whilst Kurt and Jarrett are in the ring, but then it will suck when the women tag in...

AJ Styles vs. Tommy Dreamer

This could be a decent enough match... I’m predicting a win by Dreamer, but due to interference from Bubba... that makes logical sense to me, so it’s very unlikely to happen.

Mexican America vs. Ink, Inc.

This will probably be an okay match, I quite like some of the stuff Ink Inc do, but Shannon Moore is nothing without the rest of 3 Count. I presume that Mexicool, or whatever they’re called will get the win.

Abyss vs. Crimson

Crimson’s going to kill you... if Crimson doesn’t fuck Abyss up... well...

Robbie E. vs. Brian Kendrick

Wow, this feud has been building up for months, I can’t wait to see these guys finally get in the ring together... okay, where has this match come from, and why should anybody PAY for this match? No build whatsoever... I’m sure Kendrick will do some pretty cool spots, but Robbie E is awful... I want Kendrick to win, but that’s very unlikely... screw it, Kendrick to win...

TNA predictions revisited

I've watched Lockdown, and it was a mixed bag, but overall quite enjoyable.
"
LOCKDOWN CAGE MATCH TNA WORLD TITLE
Mr. Anderson vs. champion "The Icon" Sting vs. RVD

Yawn, I don't want to see RVD and Anderson in the ring together ever again. This will be a shit match. Hope Sting retains."

Short and sweet, mediocre match. Sting retained. Most of the stuff in the this match seemed to be double finishers... double Mic Check... double Scorpion Death Drop... double Scorpion Death Lock (this was possibly the gayest looking move ever).


"LETHAL LOCKDOWN CAGE MATCH
Immortal vs. Fortune

The usual Wargames match, the feud has kind of fizzled out over the last month or so, and it will be the usual hot-spot cluster-fuck we get at every Lockdown. Fortune will win."

This was a decent Lethal Lockdown, really entertaining, AJ returned, all good.
Daniels did a crazy jump from the cage that was captured beautifully... Matt Hardy did the same just as the camera was cutting away. Let's hope he's not injured...


"LOCKDOWN CAGE MATCH
Jeff Jarrett vs. Kurt Angle

This is the match I'm looking forward to. It's the same stip as the Wolfe/Angle match... can't wait to see Angle kick Jarrett's ass."

Jarrett won, but it was great match. Angle is nuts, he took some crazy bumps in this and look like he nearly killed himself when getting powerbombed from the top rope and over rolling. Scary shit. Also, I'm pretty sure that Angle hit Jarrett with an RKO - probably because Orton did an Angle Slam at Mania.


"LOCKDOWN CAGE MATCH
Mickie James vs. champion Madison Rayne
(Mickie's Hair vs. Madison's Knockouts Title)

Who cares? Mickie will win"

The entrance music was longer than the match. Mickie won, but her arm looked pretty fucked.


"LOCKDOWN CAGE MATCH
Hernandez vs. Matt Morgan

Really? Is this feud still going on? I'm not even going to guess on this one I hate it so much."

Morgan won, and for a match between these two, it wasn't totally awful.


"LOCKDOWN CAGE MATCH
The Pope vs. Samoa Joe

Shit feud, potentially good match. Joe deserves better than he's been booked over the last couple of years. Joe to win."

Pretty decent match, loved seeing Pope getting a couple of muscle-busters... didn't like seeing Pope's bare ass... AND JOE WON CLEAN.


"LOCKDOWN CAGE MATCH
The X Division Xscape Match

This should be fun, Chris Sabin to win."

This was a pretty confusing match, lots of spots, Bucks look great, little Buck won.

"LOCKDOWN CAGE MATCH
Ink Inc vs. Crimson/Steiner vs. Jordan/Young vs. Magnus/Williams

Come on Brits!"

Steiner made this match pretty deent by a whole bunch of suplexes, apart from that, it was pretty forgettable. Ink Inc won.


This wasn't a bad PPV, a couple of matches stood out, but there was a real disconnect with the crowd, not sure whether is was poor acoustics or something, but they sounded dead.

That Clown from Outta Town - Lockdown 2011

It's late, but I'm gonna be fast forwarding at least 2 of the matches so I'm gonna give Lockdown a watch.

LET'S DO THIS

04:31 - Ultimate Escape match...this should be awesome. Shame there's nothing on the line...Kaz is champ and he's in Lethal Lockdown.
5:12 - Robbie fucking E
08:14 - Sabin or Red to win
08:28 - Wait, it's tag style, not just a massive brawl?
11:09 - Suicide eliminated by Robbie E, didn't even use his finisher...FFS TNA
11:47 - I'm not sure who Suicide is now...Daniels and Kaz are both wrestling as themselves...is one of them doing double shifts, or is there a new Suicide?
12:20 - A Sabin v Lethal feud would be fucking awesome
14:17 - Red out to Sabin...Sabin to win
15:49 - Max Buck eliminates Sabin...uh...either Buck to win
19:57 - Robbie E eliminated, biggest cheer of the night so far
21:59 - Good match, but I feel like it could have been so much better
23:56 - Fucking Bischoff...it's a fucking PPV FFS just fuck off
26:38 - I think Bischoff actually thinks the fans are booing him solely because he's a heel...and not because he's shit on the mic...and his name is synonymous with utter failure and terrible wrestling shows
27:55 - 'We want wrestling' chant...totally agree
28:42 - TNA is a fucking shambles...if Immortal not having the belt is such a big deal, strip Sting of the title and give it to whoever...for fucks sake, we put up with all that bullshit for them to take control, and now they have control they don't use it...WHAT WAS THE FUCKING POINT...a FUCKING LAPTOP in WWE has more power than these fucking clowns
31:44 - Tag time...Crimson and Steiner to win
34:43 - A cage match where you're not allowed to escape the cage...TN fucking A
37:39 - This commentary is terrible...2 old men making gay jokes directed at Orlando Jordan...it's a sad state of affairs when Michael Cole is preferable to anything
41:41 - Just realised OJ & Eric are wearing Jimmy Snuka pants...someone's coming off the top of the cage :)
43:45 - Young escaped but didn't win (I DO NOT UNDERSTAND), dressed as Jimmy Snuka but didn't jump off the top of cage...FFS TNA
47:02 - Knockouts
52:37 - over in less than a minute...I'm guessing they cut it short so they can add a whole bunch of bullshit to the main event
55:14 - JOE v POPE FUCK YEAH JOE EAT HIS BRAIN AND PUKE IT DOWN HIS THROAT
57:20 - FUCK YEAH JOE'S BACK AT PPV MOTHERFUCKERS ABOUT FUCKING TIME
66:43 - COME ON JOE FUCKING KILL HIM
67:10 - Pope hanging off the cage with his arse hanging out
68:42 - Joe gets the win...was a bit more even than I was hoping for, Joe should be dominating the pope with ease
70:15 - Hernandez v Morgan...fast forwarding
87:24 - Karen interview...is it Kurt time already?
91:33 - This should be the main event...I might cut my losses after the match and just stop watching
93:10 - How awesome would it be if Angle locked the cage from the inside, and beat the living shit out of Jarrett for real
95:25 - Just remembered it best of 3 falls :D
96:32 - 1st fall is submission only...referee does a pinfall when Kurt has his shoulders on the mat. Typical fucking TNA
99:36 - Angle just reversed an armbar into an ankle lock...fucking hell
99:47 - First fall already??
104:10 - Jarrett's kicking out of angle slams now? When the fuck did that happen?
108:43 - 5 consecutive German suplexes by Angle
111:21 - Holy shit that was a bad landing...looked like Angle was going for a top rope hurracarana, but Jarrett thought it was supposed to be a powerbomb...Kurt landed right on his head
112:15 - Phew, he's ok...top rope Angle slam :)
113:58 - Top of cage moonsault...wasn't even close
117:28 - Screwjob. Piece of shit...there were 2 matches on the whole card that looked any good, and this one was ruined. And it means the Angle Jarrett feud will continue.
123:51 - The title match isn't even the main event.
125:14 - Actually, I don't give a shit about this match, fast forwarding to the screwjob
138:04 - Sting retains, no thanks to a bullshit ending
144:36 - Don't give a fuck about Lethal Lockdown either, fastforwarding to the screwjob again
168:24 - AJ's back Fortune won, their name now makes no sense because there's 5 of them

That was shit. I might actually not even bother watching the PPVs. The last 3 matches were all screwjobs. WWE is so much better it's not even funny any more.

That Clown from Outta Town - 3 FUCKING iMPACTs

I’ve finished watching Derren now, so it’s time to catch up with iMPACT…3 iMPACTs in a row…fuck.

LETS DO THIS

01:26 - Starting with an Anderson promo…again
05:33 - Sting interrupting one of the dumbest starts to an iMPACT…possibly ever
06:35 - FUCK YEAH I FUCKING LOVE BRAWLING
07:11 - But wait, there’s more! Here comes RVD!
08:10 - Here come Hogan and Bisch…WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED THEY’D GET INVOLVED
09:50 - Guaranteed screw job for the main event…great fucking news, eh?
12:44 - Shannon v Steiner…FUCK HIM UP SCOTTY…LITERALLY RIP HIS FACE OFF
14:09 - TNA…Total Nonstop Promos
15:50 - Jarrett trying to get out of his Angle match like a fucking baby
16:23 - Eric Young and OJ on guest commentary…I’d rather they got a match tbh
18:37 - I wish they’d commentate the match instead of making gay innuendos
20:43 - I haven’t bothered mentioning this before because it’s so fucking obvious, but Shannon and Jesse are going to split up and feud because of Shannon’s ‘disrespect’.
22:14 - FRANKENSTEINER…not the greatest match, but the FRANKENSTEINER made up for it
23:21 - What the fuck is OJ wearing…I thought he’d toned down his gimmick a little, but that’s just…fucking weird
23:31 - Magnus and Williams are back together…does this mean Wolfe is getting a solo push? Probably not, he’d only show up the main eventers
24:33 - Anderson is a terrible comedian.
25:24 - This ‘The Jarretts’ soap opera they shoehorn into iMPACT is terrible
26:36 - Gen Me are gonna feud…THIS SHOULD BE FUCKING AWESOME
27:41 - Straight into a match…no buildup, no feud, no reason to care. FFS TNA
28:30 - Fucking nice so far
30:49 - This is awesome…this is old TNA…please put these guys in a cage at Lockdown
31:26 - Max wins with some kind of Diamond Dust variant…that was brilliant, the best iMPACT match in months…maybe the best TNA match
32:41 - Angelina and Winter in a hypnotism angle…in fucking 2011.
35:04 - Velvet v Winter…I’m actually gonna check this one out
40:08 - Actually a fairly decent match…the hypnotism thing is fucking stupid though
40:41 - ANOTHER FUCKING ANDERSON PROMO WTF TNA
41:38 - I wonder if the wrestlers in TNA watch WWE…do they know just how bad this show is compared to the competition?
42:55 - They have to be trolling. There is no fucking way anyone could think this would make for a decent show. There’s just no way.
44:41 - Total Nonstop Anderson
45:49 - Immortal have come out to batter Anderson and Sting…RVD’s gonna come out and make the save, guaran-fucking-teed
46:31 - I FUCKING TOLD YOU
48:25 - The Jarretts again…terrible
53:30 - Angle time :D I think he’s fighting Rob ‘Steroid Monster’ Terry
57:03 - Angle destroyed him in like 2-3 minutes…the only 3 minute match that actually makes sense
1:00:14 - Up next…a fucking screwjob…er, I mean, the main event!
1:00:53 - Main event with 25 minutes left? This is gonna be as stupid as last week, I can feel it in my bones
1:03:50 - The bullshit started before the match did
1:06:58 - Hogan’s coming out…because the match wasn’t fucked enough already
1:16:30 - DANIELS IS BACK FUCK YEAH
1:16:40 - And takes out all of Immortal from the top of the cage
1:22:04 - These post-main event reactions are a terrible idea…the point is to have a fucking cliffhanger…if you carry on from the cliffhanger it’s not a fucking cliffhanger

That was terrible. Gen Me put on an awesome match, the Knockouts match was pretty decent, everything else was fucking awful.

WHERE WAS JOE?

Ok, next one.

01:39 - Here comes Daniels :) He appears to be the leader of Fortune now, after being back 5 minutes...
09:29 - The Network can hire wrestlers now??
13:12 - Well, that was a waste of 13 minutes...that's about 3 matches on TNA
15:38 - Hernandez & Mex Pac on their way to the ring
16:52 - Dreamer & Devon are now a tag team, apparently
19:12 - That was roughly 2 minutes...what the fuck was the point?
21:48 - FUUUUUUUUUUCKKKKK YEAHHHHHHH SAMOA JOE
22:13 - Joe v Murphy? if Murphy wins, I'm gonna be pissed. Even if it's a screwjob
23:49 - That was less than a minute, I'm sure...I'm gonna go back and time it
23:52 - 49 seconds bell-to-bell. 49 seconds of Joe in 2 weeks is not enough
26:10 - Knockouts...looks like the hypnotism angle is still going on
29:09 - What is with all the short matches this week...3 matches, lasting roughly 5 minutes total...in the meantime, a promo got 13 minutes
35:07 - This is all Anderson...boring as fuck
47:59 - Six man X-division tag match...I didn't realise they still had the X-Division
53:59 - This is boring as fuck...lame show
57:53 - Daniels v Ray lumberjack match...I don't give a fuck about it
69:20 - Terrible Jarrett promo that makes no fucking sense whatsoever
71:15 - Angle just flew into the ring on a zipline, like an angry Batman...that was fucking awesome
72:49 - The main event will be nowhere near as good as the zipline
77:10 - Main event starting, less than 7 minutes left...including the obligatory post match bullshit/interviews
82:52 - Oh for fucks sake, Anderson in Immortal
84:03 - And he's out...

Boring as fuck. Only good bit was the zipline.

One more, and then I can rest...

01:59 - Starting with Immortal...FFS
06:39 - Fuck this is awful
07:52 - What in the fuck is a mammajamma
17:06 - Not the greatest 4-way I've ever seen...the in-ring action took second place to all the storyline bullshit on the outside
19:06 - Matt v Kaz...not hugely optimistic about this to be honest
26:51 - Decent length match...that's all it had going for it.
34:26 - FUCK YEAH SAMOA JOE FUCK EM UP JOE EAT THEIR FUCKING HEARTS
41:44 - Joe loses by screwjob...fucking TNA. Maybe I'll switch to Smackdown instead
43:31 - I'm so fucking sick of the Immortal music
50:30 - I'm pretty sure TNA are pumping in crowd sound effects...I can hear boos, but the crowd all look like this (click to enlarge):













Which is exactly how I feel watching it.
52:21 - WHAT THE FUCK DID THEY DO TO ABYSS' MUSIC FFS TNA THAT IS TERRIBLE AND THE OLD MUSIC WAS FUCKING BRILLIANT
58:29 - I've been watching the crowd and listening for a while, and I'm pretty sure they're pumping in crowd music...this'll probably be my last iMPACT just because of that. I'll still check out the PPV's, but I'll give Smackdown a try now...
61:15 - "...as of lately..."
61:47 - The hypnotism angle is terrible...why are they doing this in 2011? It would fit just fine in the late 80's early 90's...here, it just looks fucking stupid
66:12 - Fucking Anderson again

That was terrible.

Fuck.

TNA Lockdown - predictions

Hmm, I forgot about this one, even after watching the go home show on Impact.
Anyways, lets have look at my Lockdown predictions...

LOCKDOWN CAGE MATCH TNA WORLD TITLE
Mr. Anderson vs. champion "The Icon" Sting vs. RVD

Yawn, I don't want to see RVD and Anderson in the ring together ever again. This will be a shit match. Hope Sting retains.


LETHAL LOCKDOWN CAGE MATCH
Immortal vs. Fortune

The usual Wargames match, the feud has kind of fizzled out over the last month or so, and it will be the usual hot-spot cluster-fuck we get at every Lockdown. Fortune will win.


LOCKDOWN CAGE MATCH
Jeff Jarrett vs. Kurt Angle

This is the match I'm looking forward to. It's the same stip as the Wolfe/Angle match... can't wait to see Angle kick Jarrett's ass.


LOCKDOWN CAGE MATCH
Mickie James vs. champion Madison Rayne
(Mickie's Hair vs. Madison's Knockouts Title)

Who cares? Mickie will win


LOCKDOWN CAGE MATCH
Hernandez vs. Matt Morgan

Really? Is this feud still going on? I'm not even going to guess on this one I hate it so much.


LOCKDOWN CAGE MATCH
The Pope vs. Samoa Joe

Shit feud, potentially good match. Joe deserves better than he's been booked over the last couple of years. Joe to win.


LOCKDOWN CAGE MATCH
The X Division Xscape Match

This should be fun, Chris Sabin to win.

LOCKDOWN CAGE MATCH
Ink Inc vs. Crimson/Steiner vs. Jordan/Young vs. Magnus/Williams

Come on Brits!

Not pumped for this at all. I usually look forward to Lockdown, but the booking on TNa of late has been pretty terrible.

TNA's title picture

I was having a read of Clown’s pretty detailed run-down of the TNA roster and realised that TNA’s problems might (partially) be attributed to its titles. The world heavyweight belt has very few contenders, the tag titles are floundering, the TV title’s position as a belt is unclear, and the X-division is pretty much non-existent.

Here’s a quick run-down of where the roster is currently at in terms of champion ship contenders.

World championship title picture
Sting
Mr Anderson
Rob Van Dam
Bubba Ray
AJ Styles

TV title picture
Abyss
Gunner
Rob Terry
Murphy

Tag Team picture:
Beer Money
Gunner and Murphy
Ink Inc

X division picture
Kaz
Robbie E
Generation Me


Not in title picture:
Amazing Red
Anarquia
Brian Kendrick
Brother Devon
Crimson
D'Angelo Dinero
Desmond Wolfe
Douglas Williams
Eric Young
Gunner
Hernandez
Jay Lethal
Jeff Jarrett
Kurt Angle
Magnus
Matt Hardy
Matt Morgan
Mick Foley
Okada
Orlando Jordan
Ric Flair
Robbie E
Samoa Joe
Scott Steiner
Tommy Dreamer
Daniels

As you can see, there are a hell of a lot of wrestlers who are either in pointless feuds and angles, are not being used, or are out on injury.

So what needs to be done? Firstly, the heavyweight championship needs to be made into something everyone on the roster seems to aspire to. The TV title should be in the same position that the Intercontinental title was in the early 90s, or the ECW TV title - i.e. a credible mid-card belt, which acts as a stepping stone to the world title. The X-division title should have the same position that the X division title had in about 2005-07, i.e. a great title for fast paced, high-risk, cruiserweight style. If was booking TNA, this is how the title contendership should probably look:

World heavyweight picture:
Sting
AJ Styles
Samoa Joe
Daniels
Kurt Angle
Desmond Wolfe
Douglas Williams
Mr Anderson
D'Angelo Dinero


TV title picture
Abyss
Matt Hardy
Magnus
Crimson
Eric Young
Orlando Jordan
Hernandez
Gunner

Tag team picture:
Beer Money
Team 3D
MCMG
Generation Me
Ink Inc
British Invasion
(TNA need more tag teams)


X-division:
Kaz
Brian Kendrick
Jay Lethal
Amazing Red
Okado
(plus bring in lots of young indie and international wrestlers)


Fire:
Rob Van Dam
Tommy Dreamer
Mick Foley
Robbie E
Scott Steiner
Rob Terry

Bring in:
El Generico
Kevin Steen
Homicde (reform LAX)
Paul London
Shelton Benjamin
Thumbtack Jack
Kenta Kobashi
Chuck Taylor
Austin Aeries


The other guys on the roster would have to work as undercard wrestlers, working their way up through a kind of ranking system similar to UFC where wins and losses actually appear to matter. A guy should not get a whole bunch of rematches after losing a number one contenders’ match. If you lose your spot, you go to the back of the queue. Keep feuds, but have them related to the titles... Joe should be fucking with Pope as part of a psychological game to get the title. Most of the feuds could work in exactly the same way, but if they added the title as a backdrop to a feud, it would be stronger because progression could be made towards some pay-off... a screwjob at a PPV is not a pay-off, by the way.