Showing posts with label #ImpactWrestling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #ImpactWrestling. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

TNA Bound For Glory Review!



Better late than Never!

I would've had this up sooner, but I didn't have the time and had some things to take care of. But TNA Bound For Glory is in the books! What did I think of it? Well, there were plenty of things I didn't like about it, but then there were plenty of things I loved about it. So, let's get right to it. 


Pre Show:

Bound For Glory's Pre Show started highlighting all the matches for the show, plus showing the arrival of Jeff Hardy, Gail Kim, Magnus, and Bully Ray.

Ethan Carter III is backstage doing a photoshoot.

Highlights from Kurt Angle's Hall of Fame Dinner was showed.


Tag Team Gauntlet #1 Contender's Match:

Bad Influence came out first and faced Chavo & Hernandez. The ending saw Daniels rolling up the Chavo for the pin eliminating them. Park & EY are out next. There's good action back and forth. The ending of this match sees Park hitting a fall away slam on Daniels, while Young covers for the win. Bad Influence, apparently mad after losing, attack Park & EY. They ram Park into the Ultimate X structure on the outside and Kaz drops Young on his head. The refs come down to help Park to the back and get rid of Kaz & Daniels. The BroMans come down having a 2 on 1 opportunity. They were with this Mr. Olympia guy. Young shows some resilience and fights back, but the BroMans eventually regain control and connect with the Hart Attack on him for the win to gain the title shot later on at Bound For Glory.


Later in the show, after the match, Young is seen checking on Park. He opens the door and backs up in fright. He tells the camera man to get back. There is a bloody hand print seen on the wall. 


After a video package highlighting the feud between Styles and Bully Ray, Bully Ray comes out to cut a promo. He says tonight is a night for birth and resurrection AJ Styles is Bound For Embarrassment, Bully Ray is Bound For Greatness, and The Aces and 8's are Bound For Glory.

Bully Ray heads to the back and runs into Dixie Carter, she asks him if this will be AJ Styles last night in the company. Bully smiles and walks off as the program ends. 


My Thoughts: The Pre show had a nice feel to it. It felt like an old school Sunday Night Heat from back in the day. They highlighted all the matches, showed superstars arriving to the arena, played some video packages highlighting the importance to each match, and even ended with the top heel cutting a nice promo leading us off the show. This was a great way to sell the show and drop some cliffhangers to get people to order the show.


TNA Bound For Glory:

The show opened with a great video package highlighting AJ Styles and his career in TNA, and shows Bully Ray's rise to the top and TNA and what this match means to both of them. Great video package. The music was even a nice touch.


Ultimate X Match:

- So, the show starts off with the Ultimate X Match with Manik defending against Joe, Aries, Hardy, and Sabin. I liked the early pacing of the match. They weren't overloading with spots at first, it was at a good pace with everybody showing off their moves and getting the going. Joe was great as always with this quick punches and Pele kick in the corner and his exchanges with Aries looked good. Speaking of Aries, he looked good with his dropkicks in the corner that looked great and hit a diving cross body to the floor. Manik seemed to be an afterthought in this match. The one cool spot he had was a double hurricanrana from the Ultimate X on Sabin and Hardy, I believe. Other than that and a few moves, he seemed to just vanish throughout the match. Sabin took a sick looking Twist of Fate from Hardy as well.

The ending saw Sabin telling Velvet Sky to get in the ring to distract Hardy. He finally just threw her into the ring. While Hardy was busy with her, Sabin climbs the ladder that Jeff Hardy brought in, and grabs the X-Division Championship.

Here is my gripe. I don't mind that Sabin won. Sabin as a heel carrying the X-Division Championship will work, and I'm pretty sure his first feud will be with Manik as Hardy, Aries, and Joe will move on. My gripe is that the match was WAY too short. In these kinds of matches, the pacing starts off slow, quickens, and then you have a bunch of spots at the end leading to a dramatic conclusion. The match should've gone like 20-25 minutes, but it felt like it was barely even past 15 minutes. I was expecting a lot more spots at the end to get the crowd excited, but I feel like this match was underwhelming. I feel like it could've so much better if they had more time. These 5 guys, and they have like 15 minutes or so. They could've brought the house down. It was a good match, but it could've been so much better. Again, I don't mind that Sabin won, I just wish it was longer with more spots. 



Abyss Returns

So Bad Influence comes out and says how they should be put into the Tag Team Championship match. Eric Young comes out and reminds them of what they did to Joseph Park. Park has this thing that when he bleeds and sees his own blood, he transforms into his alter ego, The Monster Abyss. So, Abyss comes out with his old theme music, which was always my favorite. He comes out and just dismantles Kaz and Daniels.

I liked the segment for time filler and enjoyed Abyss coming out there and doing what he did. I wonder if they'll ever drop the Joseph Park character and just run with Abyss again. I like the whole "Transformation" gimmick he has when he sees his own blood, but they can only do it so many times, in my opinion. 



TNA Tag Team Championship Match:


- Before this match Gunner and Storm were backstage talking about their match against BroMans. Gunner's promo was so strong. He started saying BroMans earned their shot tonight, but told them not to worry about their tan, the gym, their hair, or the girls. He says, they call themselves the BroMans, but he sees people who aren't ready. Storm wraps it up with his catchphrase, "Sorry about your damn luck!" They walk off and we head to the match. 

- The match started so fast with Gunner and Storm dominating the BroMans on offense. The Champs just showed how dominant they were with consistent power moves and high octane offense. Gunner and Storm were on fire in the early going. But the BroMans then got the advantage over Gunner working him over. After the fast start, we got into a traditional tag team match where the BroMans worked over Gunner for most of the match cutting him off from his partner. Gunner finally starts to get it going and hits a great looking fall away slam from the top rope. It almost looked like he wouldn't hit it, but he recovered and still made it look good. Gunner get the hot tag to Storm and he comes in and cleans house on The BroMans. 

The pace now got to where it was in the beginning of the match. We got great exchanges between both teams. I thought we were gonna get a Tower of Doom spot in the corner, but Gunner took Robbie E away and hit and Electric Chair slam. Storm then suplexes Jessie onto Robbie. Storm hits the Eye of the Storm on Jessie, but he kicks out. The BroMans didn't die even when Storm and Gunner hit their double team finisher which was broken up by Jessie. The ending saw Robbie throwing the tag title belt in the ring, distracting the referee. Gunner is tossed out of the ring, Jessie attacks Storm from behind and The BroMans hit a Hart Attack like finisher and win the tag team titles!

- Now, I really enjoyed this match. This was how a Tag Team Championship match should be. The match started with great pacing with both teams just beating the hell out of each other the Champs gaining the upper hand. The heels gain the advantage back and work over the faces team, then once the hot tag happens, all hell breaks loose for a while. The finish was good, and little old school. They went with the "this guy isn't the legal man" and he gives his team the advantage to get the win. I would go back and watch this match. I really enjoyed it. The BroMans winning the titles freshens up the scene. They're gonna feud with Gunner & Storm more while Park & EY are gonna deal with Bad Influence after what happened to them with Abyss. Nicely done. 



Kurt Angle Inducted into TNA Hall of Fame:

- So Sting comes out in a suit with no pain and brings Kurt Angle out. He pretty much says he's getting lonely in the Hall of Fame and wants Kurt to join him. He hands him the ceremonial Hall of Fame watch. The fans were amazing here for Angle and he started to choke up a bit. But then Angle went onto say that he had to respectfully decline the offer. He felt like he didn't deserve it, hasn't lived up to his potential, and accomplished everything he needed to accomplish and once he did, then he would join him in the Hall of Fame. "When he's worthy" he says.

- I didn't expect that to be honest. I thought it would be a great moment where Angle accepted the Hall of Fame Induction and he gets a standing ovation. I don't quite understand why he didn't. They have a dinner banquet for the man and they run with an Angle where he doesn't accept it and says he wants to set a new standard. It didn't rub me any kind of way, it was just a little confusing to me. But I guess it's a first. Never seen somebody turn down the Hall of Fame before. 




Triple Threat Knockouts Championship Match:

- This match was severely overlooked heading into this match, but these three went in there and put on a great match. ODB dominated the early parts of the match hitting some power moves on Gail and Brooke. I don't know what happened to Gail for most of the match. There was a spot where Gail was tossed into the corner and was on the floor on the while while Brooke and ODB went at it for a little bit. The match seemed to lull for a little bit here. I enjoyed the exchange between ODB and Brooke for the time being. I liked how ODB wasn't overpowering her the whole time and Brooke got in some good offense. Gail gets back into the match with a figure four on Brooke around the ring post. Later in the match, we almost got another cool spot where Brooke and Gail were fighting on the top rope and ODB went to join them and I thought she was gonna hit a double suplex on them both but instead she was knocked off. We settled for a fireman's carry slam on Gail and Brooke tries to roll her up to no avail.

- Now, ODB sends Brooke into the corner and goes to splash her, but the ref gets hit instead. Gail follows it up with a dropkick which ODB dodges and the ref gets hit again! Nice spot that woke the crowd up. With the ref out, Lei'D Tapa's music hits and she makes her way out. ODB figures she's here for her so she walks out to greet and gets dropped with a big time clothesline. Brooke's turn now. She tries to fight her, but Lei'D Tapa lifts her up and powerbombs her from the stage back into the ring! Great Spot! Gail takes advantage of the chaos and pins Brooke to win the Knockouts Championship! I called it! After the match, Lei'D Tapa grabs the Knockouts Championship, poses with it, then hands to Gail as the two celebrate with each other! So, it turns out Gail and Lei'D Tapa were working together all along. That was pretty cool. Nicely done little twist that caught me off guard. 

- Great Knockouts match, in my opinion. These women were given enough time to put on a great match and we got a New Champion and a little twist at the end. It's nice to see Gail with the belt. She is the best female wrestler in TNA right now and she's gonna be a great heel Champion. And with Lei'D Tapa as her bodyguard, it'll be interesting to see the booking going forward. I just wonder what role she'll play. Tapa and ODB are gonna go at it down the road. I hope Taryn Terrell gets back soon so her and Gail can tear the house down again. But what other face Knockout is there? Maybe Velvet Sky gets put back into the mix. With Mickie and Tara gone, and ODB likely going after Tapa, Velvet can challenge for the Knockouts Title again. We'll have to wait and see what happens. 




Kurt Angle vs Bobby Roode:

- And now we get the meat of the show, Angle vs Roode. This match had a nice feel to it. The match started nice and slow with a feeling out process with some chain wrestling. The crowd was mostly behind Angle, but there were some Roode fans out there. The match picks up with great exchanges between both men. Angle hitting suplexes and Roode with some sweet reversals. Both men would lock in submission holds and they'd get out of them. What I really enjoyed is that neither man got the advantage on one for long. The match had a consistent pace with fantastic wrestling in between. Towards the end of the match, Angle had Roode in the Ankle Lock and grapevined the leg to hold in place. Roode was crawling towards the ropes almost there, and passed out. The ref lifted his hand up and Roode got to the ropes. It looked like the ref purposely put Roode's hand on the rope. Both got up and traded right hands back and forth. The ending saw Angle and Roode on the top rope. Angle hits an Angle Slam from the top rope! Both men are down and Angle isn't moving. The ref's count gets all the way to 7 and neither man has moved. The ref gets to 8 and Roode begins to move. The ref gets to 9 and Roode gets to his feet and falls on Angle. The ref counts the three for the win. 

- It looked as if Angle legit hurt himself off that top rope Angle Slam and couldn't recover to finish the match. The medics came down with a stretcher loading Angle on top of it. I knew there was something fishy about that ending. It didn't seem like the ending they were going with. Angle gets loaded on the stretcher, but gets off, removes his neckbrace and refuses to leave that way and walks out on his own power. Roode gets the win, but Angle gets a standing ovation. 

- Overall, this was an amazing match. A nice wrestling match that had a good pace, a few good spots, back and forth exchanges and reversals and counters. The finish caught me by surprise. I thought for sure Angle would win, but it looked like he was legit hurt when he came off the top rope with the Angle Slam. Either way, great match between both men and a great win for Roode. 




Ethan Carter III Debuts:

- Ethan Carter gets this rousing debut. The dude looks to be in phenomenal shape. They really tried to put him over with this entrance. His opponent was this really skinny guy named Norv Fernum. This guy literally looked like a twig. They tried to put him over with some offense but EC3 dominated him and finished the match with a DDT similar to the finishing DDT that Dean Ambrose uses. I liked the cockiness, he looks like a great athlete and looking forward to see what they do with him. I also wonder if they're gonna continue putting him against skinny jobbers.




Magnus vs Sting:

- So now we get to Magnus and Sting. The match started slow like with Angle and Roode. Both guys trade blows back and forth. Sting locks in the Scorpion Deathlock early, but Magnus gets out of it. Sting strikes Magnus, he mocks Old School Sting and Old School Sting Pose. Then he starts striking him like Sting and hits the Stinger Splash. Later on in the match, the roles are reversed and Sting does the Old School and starts mounting some offense. Towards the ending, Sting goes for a Scorpion Death Drop, but Magnus counters and locks in the Cloverleaf. Sting tries to fight it, Magnus applies more force and lowers down into the hold forcing Sting to tap out. At the end, Sting extends his hand and Magnus nonchalantly shakes it and walks off. Good job of making Magnus look like a douche. He makes Sting tap out and blows him off. Magnus heel turn? I see it coming.

- But I was not a fan of this match. It failed to establish any kind of rhythm, good pace, or an epic feel to it. It seemed sloppy and a little rushed. Not to mention it was short. I know Sting isn't in his prime anymore, but he's more than capable of working a longer match than that. It was a solid match, but just the Ultimate X Match, it could've been better if they were given enough time and more to work with. They went out there and just put on an ok match. So, just another gripe I have with the show. I have no problem Magnus winning, I don't feel like the match delivered the way it should've. 




TNA World Heavyweight Championship: AJ Styles vs Bully Ray:

- Throughout the night, TNA was showing AJ's best moments in his TNA career. Before the match, Bully Ray cuts a promo saying he wants AJ to live with the fact that he lost and the fact that he let his family down. He ends by saying, "Welcome to my Jungle." Styles comes out first and Bully Ray comes out to the lyrical version of the Aces and 8's theme. After the intro for both men, they lock up and we have a feeling out process. Bully overpowers Styles, then Styles comes back and overpowers Bully Ray. Bully then did what he did in his match with Sabin and continuously chops the chest of AJ until it changes colors, but AJ gets more and more angry and takes Bully down. Knux and Bischoff get involved, but just for a few moments. Bully tries to use the hammer, but AJ hits an Enziguiri.

On the outside, AJ puts Bully on a table and attempts a Springboard 450 Splash to the table outside but Bully Ray moves! What a spot! Taz then hands Bully a knife and he cuts the ropes revealing the wood under the mat. Bully calls to the back, but nobody comes. Dixie Carter instead comes out and gets somebody to hand Bully Ray a chair. Styles comes back with a springboard flying forearm into the chair into Bully's face. He then connects with the Springboard 450 splash. Hebner goes to count the fall but Dixie gets involved. The end of the match sees Styles smashing the chair over Bully's head and connects with the Spiral Tap for the win! AJ Styles is the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion!

- For a Main Event, this was a 4.5 out of 5. This match had everything. It told a story, had a feeling out process, some great spots by AJ, Bully showing his aggressiveness, and even Dixie gets involved. I thought Anderson would cost Bully the title, but AJ wins the match clean. I feel like they could've done a little more with it, but I'm definitely satisfied with how it ended. It was predictable, but the match was so good and AJ celebrating with the crowd made it such a great moment that I didn't care that it was predictable because we all wanted to see how it would go down.


There are probably gonna be people complaining about the show and saying it wasn't good. I thought the only low points of the show were the Ultimate X (go figure) and Sting vs Magnus. I believe Slammiversary was a better overall show, but Bound For Glory was more satisfying. We had title changes, the door opening for new feuds, and a new World Champion to lead TNA into the future. If Sting and Magnus was longer and Ultimate X had more spots, this show would've been better, but I'll give it a 7.5 out of 10. It was still a great show. For the people saying, "TNA is going nowhere" this show was better than anything WWE has done as of late.

Again, my apologies for this taking so long to get posted. I didn't have much time to write this up. I'll try and do a review for Hell in a Cell this Sunday as well. That show by itself is a mess, but I digress.


Read. Comment. Share.


By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete



Saturday, October 19, 2013

TNA Bound For Glory Preview!



It's time to do my TNA Bound For Glory Predictions!

I wanna say, I haven't given up on watching WWE. It's like I said before, WWE has been doing some ridiculous things lately, but I remember how good that company used to be and I keep watching, hoping it will get better. But right now, I'm enjoying the product TNA has. They have familiar faces, new, fresh faces, better wrestling, and better feuds. I believe WWE has an overall better roster, but the difference is booking. TNA's booking is better. They give the title to the guy who's hot, and they give their fans what they want. 

But if you guys, however you do it, watch Bound For Glory this Sunday, you won't be disappointed. Even if you're a first time viewer, if you like good pacing in wrestling matches and high flying matches, you will love this pay-per-view. Maybe I have high expectations, but this is TNA's WrestleMania, and the card they put together is fantastic. 

For the WWE Fans out there, if you wanna catch up and be interested in these matches and the stories behind them, you still have time. There's still full TNA shows on YouTube you can watch where you can catch up on it. I suggest starting from October 3rd and on. It's only 3 shows. The Go-Home show for Bound For Glory was very well done. 

For the TNA fans out there, I'm gonna go through each match and give my predictions. 




Pre-Show Tag Team Gauntlet #1 Contenders Match
The BroMans vs Eric Young & Joseph Park vs Bad Influence vs Chavo & Hernandez

This match will be on the TNA Pre-Show on Spike TV at 7pm. The BroMans will enter the gauntlet last and the winning team will face James Storm & Gunner on the Bound For Glory pay-per-view. I believe The BroMans take this one for a few reasons. 

First, as much as I would like to see Bad Influence win and put on a great match with Storm & Gunner, they've held the belts a few times. It doesn't really do anything for them anymore because they're already an established tag team. I don't think the belts do anything for Chavo & Hernandez either. I don't think Park & EY will be together that long, but I don't think they need the belts anyway. If they wanna establish The BroMans and push them to the next level, which I think they should, they should win this watch. They're a traditional tag team that haven't held the belts yet and a Tag Team Title match
would put them over.

Prediction: The BroMans win the Gauntlet match and get a Tag Title Shot



Kurt Angle gets inducted into TNA Hall of Fame

Also, on the preshow, Kurt Angle will the first inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame. Kurt Angle has done so much for this company over the last 7 years. He deserves it. 



And NOW, we move on to the Main Show. I think the match order is KEY on this pay-per-view. There's so many good matches, you have to place them just right. So, I'm gonna go through the matches in the order I think they might happen.




Ultimate X Match for the X-Division Championship
Austin Aries vs Manik (c) vs Chris Sabin vs Jeff Hardy vs Samoa Joe

The X-Division is pretty much the cruiserweight division, but their motto was always, "No Limits" and pretty much anybody can compete. These X-Division matches are always so fast pace and full of high flying and when you these 5 guys in a match of this caliber, then you have a match that's gonna bring the people out of their seats. This will be an amazing way to open up the show. 

The Ultimate X Match has been known for it's fair share of "HOLY S**T!" moments. Guys like Aries, Sabin, Samoa Joe, and Manik have been in this match. This is Jeff Hardy's first Ultimate X Match. For the fans that have followed TNA, they know how good Ultimate X matches can be with the right people. These 5 guys can put on an epic match. Joe is big, but can move so good, you wouldn't know it. Aries is a phenomenal wrestler and balance high-flying and mat wrestling and make it like a work of art. That man is too good. Sabin is also a great worker. The WWE fans know how crazy Jeff Hardy is in high-risk matches so you know he's gonna do something crazy. And then you Manik who is so athletic and can pull of great high flying moves, like a luchador. Sorta like a Rey Mysterio in his prime.

As far as my prediction, I either give it to Manik, or Sabin. Austin Aries is a main event talent. I believe he's in this match because he has nothing else to do at the show. The X-Division is below him, in my opinion, but he's there to add star power and add a layer to this match. Same with Joe. I don't think Joe needs the title. Jeff Hardy has never been X-Division Champion, but I don't think he needs it either. He's above that division as well. He's more of a main eventer. I think Manik is gonna retain here. I believe TNA is ready to push Manik as a great talent. I don't think Sabin needs the belt at this moment. Having Manik go over Sabin, Joe, Hardy & Aries would establish him as a great X-Division Champion and make that title look so much more prestigious. 

These 5 guys are gonna open the show and tear the F'n house down. 

Prediction: Manik retains the X-Division Championship




The Debut of Ethan Carter III

Quickly, here's a promo video of Ethan.




For a few weeks now, they've been showing these vignetter saying "Ethan Is Coming" constantly and now they're saving his debut for Bound For Glory. The guy is Derrick Bateman, a former WWE talent. I think he's being booked as having a relation to TNA owner Dixie Carter. Bateman is good, funny on the mic with some good charisma, and he's solid in the ring. Look up some of his stuff in NXT. I'm not so sure who he'll face, or how he'll enter of whatever, but I see some potential in him. I'm not too sure of his gimmick, like a Movie Star, or something? Either way, I say his debut goes on second, get it out of the way quick and let's see what we can do.




Magnus vs Sting

I'm pretty sure wrestling fans know who Sting is. But this Magnus guy, he's pretty damn good. He's built, athletic, doesn't botch a lot, executes moves good and he just flows in the ring. He's a Manchester, England native and you can hear it in his mic work, in which he is great. His mic delivery is great. Getting into the match, the story is a classic "passing of the torch" moment. Magnus wants to prove himself by beating one of the greatest in the business, Sting. 

Even at his age, Sting can still put on some good matches. I believe Magnus and Sting are good enough to go out there and put on a great match. I believe there's gonna be some good storytelling in this match with solid in-ring work. The win should go to Magnus here. I believe TNA is ready to push Magnus to that upper echelon main event level. He's got the look, mic work, and wrestling ability to be the face of TNA and this is just the beginning. Sting should put Magnus over clean and pass the torch. I don't think they'll turn Magnus heel at the end, but a handshake, or show of respect at the end would work too.

Prediction: Magnus defeats Sting




Triple Threat Match for the TNA Knockouts Championship
ODB (c) vs Gail Kim vs Brooke Tessmacher

You see, unlike WWE, TNA actually gives a crap about their female wrestling division. You've got three great female wrestlers competing for the Championship. Gail Kim, most of you might remember from WWE, is far and away the best female wrestler right now. Her in-ring work is on another level. Brooke and ODB are equally as good in the ring. ODB won the belt from Mickie James last month and Gail Kim and Brooke had to win matches to earn a shot at the title. I think these females will get, at most, 10 minutes, or more to go out there and put on a good female wrestling match. Gail and Brooke are technical and ODB is more a mix of that and a powerhouse.

If it was up to me, I say ODB drops the belt to Gail Kim. Gail has put over a lot of women and it's time she wins the Knockouts Championship. I don't think Brooke needs the belt right now anyway and ODB hasn't really done much with the belt. The only way I see TNA having ODB keep the belt is if they want her to face off with Lei'D Tapa, that giant Amazon looking woman who's been attacking the knockouts as of late.

I think the Knockouts Championship should change hands and it should go to Gail Kim. But I can see them having ODB leave with the belt still in her possession. 

Prediction: Gail Kim wins the TNA Knockouts Championship




Kurt Angle vs Bobby Roode

When you think of matches with the potential to steal the show, you go back to WrestleMania 21 where Kurt Angle stole the show with Shawn Michaels. This is going to be the best wrestling match on the card. Kurt Angle is still at a level where he can put on fantastic matches, and Bobby Roode is such a great talent in the ring. It's hard to really pinpoint everything because he's so damn good in the ring. The way he carries himself, the way he tells a story in the ring, ring psychology, etc. Like his gimmick says, he truly is The "It Factor" of professional wrestling. His in-ring work is amazing.

But the story behind this match is how Roode thinks he should be in the TNA Hall of Fame over Kurt Angle. Their promo exchange last Thursday, and even the week before sold me on this match. We already know how great these two are in the ring, but they sold the match even more with their mic work. If they give these guys 25-30 minutes in the ring, they can go out there and put on phenomenal match. These two can tell a story, work the crowd, keep a good pace, and have fluid exchanges. If these two work a long match, it can be a potential Match of the Year Candidate. 

I see Angle winning. He gets inducted into the Hall of Fame on the pre-show and after his return, it's hard to see him losing. But of course, there are ways to make Angle win and still have Bobby Roode look strong. Just like they did with Angle and HBK at Mania 21 and like HBK/Y2J at Mania 19, for example. If the Ultimate X Match doesn't steal the show, then this definitely will.

Prediction: Kurt Angle defeats Bobby Roode




TNA Tag Team Championship Match
Gunner & James Storm vs Preshow Gauntlet Winners

I already gave my prediction for the Gauntlet Match and had The BroMans winning so it'll be Gunner & Storm vs The BroMans for the tag titles. Gunner & Storm are a badass looking duo with the wrestling ability to back it up, especially Gunner. Storm is good in the ring, but Gunner has a cool factor to him.

But the way they've been booking The Tag Titles recently, it's time Gunner and Storm dropped them. They don't looked like they're getting a push. The titles, at this point, would do more for The BroMans than for Gunner & Storm. But I think some fishy will go down. BroMans gotta win in heel fashion due to an interference by another of some sort. Maybe Bad Influence come down and screw Storm & Gunner out of the tag titles. BroMans win the belts and move on to Park & EY as they've been feuding recently. 

Prediction: The BroMans win the TNA Tag Team Championship





No Disqualification Match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
AJ Styles vs Bully Ray (c)

It all leads to this. AJ Styles challenges Bully Ray for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. AJ Styles won the Bound For Glory Series, is going through a side feud with TNA Owner Dixie Carter, and now has to face Bully Ray. Bully Ray has been the best heel in the wrestling business. Whenever he gets on the mic, he is GOLD. He's able to get himself over as a heel, the way he carries himself, his violent actions, and overall charisma, energy and delivery on the mic makes the best heel in the business. He's not watered down and was booked as a dominant heel Champion. The way he is makes him look like nobody would mess with him.

And the you have AJ Styles. In my opinion, he's the best wrestler in TNA. His moveset is out of this world. He used to be all about high-flying spots and phenomenal moves, giving him his name, "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles. Now, his current "I Stand Alone" gimmick, made him more aggressive in the ring, mixing mat wrestling and his Phenomenal moveset. Styles is my favorite wrestler in the company and has come a long way. This is a true redemption storyline. His life was in shambles, he left for a while, and came back as a different person and now he's battled back to fight The World Heavyweight Champion.

Bully Ray is great at execution, ring psychology, and takes solid bumps. But because of his character, he thrives in a match where anything goes, hence why this match has a No DQ stipulation. The way they've built this match will make the storytelling in the ring something to see. I expect these guys to go all out. I expect AJ to pull out all the stops and I expect Bully Ray to put on the best match of his career with this guy. But who wins?

The TNA Bound For Glory Series winner has won the last 2 years, but it has been far too obvious that they're gonna go for a 3-peat. I feel like something fishy will happen. Dixie might get involved, the rest of the Aces an 8's might get involved, but I don't think after all this that Bully will walk out with the title. I wanna call this now; Mr. Anderson will return and cost Bully ray the title. If they don't wanna have AJ go over clean, then I think this is the route to go. After Anderson got piledriven on the stage, that scenario popped in my head. So, if they want AJ to go over clean, let him go over clean. If not, I want to see that scenario happen.

Either way, this is AJ's Time.

Prediction: AJ Styles wins the TNA World Heavyweight Championship


I normally don't do blog posts about TNA, but ever since this past Summer, I've gotten back into watching TNA after not watching it for 4 years before hand. THIS is the show you're gonna want to see. I know I'm gonna watch it this Sunday because I expect TNA to put on a 5 Star Show. For those, that are looking for something different than WWE, I promise you won't be disappointed by this show. TNA knows what time it is and this their chance to make some noise if they haven't already. 

For those who are gonna order it, Enjoy the show!


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By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete


Friday, October 11, 2013

Why I prefer TNA over WWE



You may have heard of this company. If not, you might know them by another logo:



TNA: Total Nonstop Action. Before I get into why TNA has a better product than WWE at the moment, I'll give you a quick history lesson on how I got started watching TNA.


TNA was founded in May 2002 by Jeff Jarrett and his people. I started watching it around 2004 when it was FSN. It later switched to Spike TV around 2006. I even remember watching their debut show on Spike because they had AJ Styles as the first person they wanted people to see. He came out first and his match was first.

TNA was so innovative. They had a six-sided ring, that had so many different match types like the King of the Mountain match, which is a reverse Ladder match where the winner hangs the belt on the hook. They have the Ultimate X match which looks something like this:


TNA just had so many amazing matches over the course of their 11 years in existence. They're allowed to do so much more and the matches are so much more crisper and the moves just flow. There's no lull in the action, and barely even sloppiness.

The only thing WWE has over TNA is the money. WWE's been around a lot longer and they've got a lot more money to work with leading to better production values and bigger venues for their events.

I stopped watching wrestling altogether around 2009. In fact, right after the CM Punk/Jeff Hardy feud in the Summer of 2009. I would always tune in for WrestleMania season though. I got back into WWE after CM Punk's pipe bomb promo. I got back into TNA after Lockdown in 2011 when Bully Ray turned heel and joined the Aces and 8's.

Here are some things TNA gets right to me:

6) Better Storylines.

- TNA's storylines aren't ridiculous and out of nowhere. The wrestlers can go out and there and sell their match on the mic and get the people invested into it. They do a good job of building up a match week by week, keeping the fan interested no matter how minor the progression is. And when a title is involved, it's about THE TITLE. The Champion and his title aren't an afterthought. The storylines make sense, they get you invested with the promos and you can't wait to see the culmination of it in the endgame match.



5) Better Matches.

- TNA puts on better matches than WWE. WWE's wrestling today doesn't compare to the great wrestling matches they had in the Ruthless Aggression Era and Attitude Era. WWE's wrestling is slow, sloppy, and boring. You have great workers like Bryan, The Shield, Bray Wyatt, Punk, Cody Rhodes, Sandow, Ziggler, etc. and you'll occasionally get some great matches.

- But with TNA, the pace their matches have is so good. It's quick, crisp moves, great wrestling and it's not sloppy. It may be slow at some spots, but the matches still keep a consistent pace. Not everyone in TNA are great wrestlers, but they have some great workers. Guys like Austin Aries, AJ Styles, Bobby Roode, Kurt Angle (yes, he's there), Jeff Hardy (yes, he's there too), Magnus and Samoa Joe. Just more exciting wrestlers.

Here are a list of some of my favorite TNA matches during the time I've watched and even some that I currently went back and rewatched. If you can find them, make sure you check them out.

TNA Unbreakable 2005: AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe vs Christopher Daniels

TNA No Surrender 2006: AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels vs LAX

TNA Bound For Glory 2011: James Storm vs Bobby Roode

TNA Destination X 2012: Austin Aries vs Bobby Roode

TNA Genesis 2006: Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe

TNA Victory Road 2010: Beer Money vs Motor City Machine Guns

Do some Homework and check out some of the great matches TNA has to offer. This is just my list and there's plenty more where this came from.



4) The Women wrestle too.

- Gone are the days where women had interesting storylines on television and the endgame would be a great match. Gone are the days where we had good female wrestlers like Trish, Lita, Molly, Victoria, Jazz, Ivory, Chyna, etc. Also, gone are the days where the women got TIME TO WRESTLE. WWE Divas get, what, 30 seconds to 1 minute on RAW? The Divas Division are full of models and somewhere in there, you have a couple of good, not great, wrestlers.

- TNA has a great pool of female wrestlers: Gail Kim, Taryn Terrell, Mickie James, ODB, Brooke Tessmacher, and Velvet Sky. Mickie James left TNA, but you see my point. The women get 5-10 minutes to wrestle a match and when they do, 9 times out of 10, they put on a good match. And they turn it up a few notches at the pay-per-views.

- The females in the WWE are treated like crap and are just there to look good, come out with corny pop entrance themes, and are more theatrical in the ring. TNA women wrestlers look sexy, have entrance themes that actually suit them, and put on great matches. I'll give you an example. This is probably the best Divas match I've seen in YEARS.






I dare you to point out a better divas match that WWE has put out recently. Don't go back to 2006-2007. I mean, recently. Don't worry, I'll wait.



3) The faces aren't cheesy, and the heels are badasses.

- Notice how in WWE, almost ALL the faces act exactly the same. They pander to the crowd, they're cheesy and corny, don't have a cool factor, or tough side. The only exception to that is CM Punk. Everybody else is too....nice and generic. Like Stone Cold, The Rock, and Undertaker were good guys, but they were "bad boys" for lack of a better term. The fans loved them because they were so cool. The way they carried themselves and how they talked on the mic was what made them loved. You can't say the same about today's current good guys. CM Punk is slowly leaning towards that category as well. I would hate to see him go out like that. He's clearly not the same Punk like in 2011. 

- The heels are such an important part of wrestling because you need that obstacle for your good guy to overcome. In WWE, the heels don't do anything. There is no dominant heel that the people love to hate, or is dangerous, calculating, vicious, or just a plain monster. WWE doesn't have that. They had it in Mark Henry, but look where he is now. WWE has too many faces and not enough heels. TNA clearly has their dominant heel in Bully Ray, or some may know him as Bubba Ray Dudley. He's badass, he's got a cool look, absolute dynamite on the mic, can get himself over and does heelish things. The most important thing about a heel is for them to do things where they put other wrestlers on notice to not mess with them. Bully Ray does it, and does it well.

I guess my problem, in short, is the faces are so made out to be so dominant that it's impossible for a heel to emerge as dominant. The power should be balanced through faces and heels. There shouldn't be a single dominant face in the company. Hogan had Andre, Bret had HBK, Austin had McMahon, Rock had HHH, Undertaker had Kane, Angle had Lesnar, etc. 



2) TNA is not marketed towards kids.

- People don't understand that you can market a product towards kids without having to insult the intelligence of older wrestling fans. The Attitude Era had LOADS of kids that were into. They didn't have to change the way they were doing things. They kept the violence, blood, half naked women, and cuss words. You could even see kids in the crowd during a lot of Attitude Era shows. 

- Nowadays, everything WWE does is towards little kids. The characters, the promos, the music they use, all generated towards this generation of kids. I guess it could be a cause of this generation being so soft. The least bit of violence will have parents rioting and marching to the doors of WWE HQ. I understand the company has to evolve. I understand there's no way the Attitude Era can be recreated. I'm not asking for that. All I want is an entertaining product that I can enjoy. TNA is a more mature product that doesn't insult the viewer's intelligence, but at the same time is good for all age groups. WWE can still market towards kids and put on a good product that everybody can love and enjoy, but I guess that's not the way they wanna do things. 



1) TNA isn't centered around ONE person. WWE is.

- No matter what happens in WWE, it all comes back to John Cena. WWE poorly builds up their mid card, and doesn't give anybody else the chance to rise to the top. CM Punk was the WWE Champion for 1 year and wasn't given that main event push. He wasn't given the chance. When Cena is around, nobody else is given the chance to thrive. WWE just pushes him and him alone. 

- TNA does a masterful of job of building the entire roster so that anybody, when their time has arrived, can run with the top spot. When it was Bobby Roode's time, he became the Champion. When his time was up, it was Austin Aries. When his time was up, it was Jeff Hardy, and when his time was up it was Bully Ray's. The TNA World Title picture stays fresh with new faces, new feuds, and new matches. There is not ONE guy in EVERY main event feud in EVERY main event of the ppv. When it's somebody's time, they get a chance to run with the belt. If they succeed, it stays on them, if people don't like them, the belt comes off. The important thing is that they were given the chance and it either worked out, or didn't work out. 

- TNA trusts their roster more because they are built up properly and relevant enough to carry the company's top championship, or carry 2 hours of a broadcast. Of course they won't hit a home run every time, but when they do something, it usually works out. All superstars get an equal share of the spotlight. WWE, it's one guy. It's been that way for the past 8 years. 



In short, WWE, as a product, is stale. It's almost as if they're scared to move in a different direction. They have the roster and the pieces to be SO much better than they are now, but they don't want to pull that trigger. Especially when they keep clinging to John Cena. 

TNA is not perfect by any means. They do some stupid things too. But they have better feuds, better wrestling, and a better overall product. They effectively use 2 hours and make it mean something. WWE is better at marketing and better production values. 

I'll tell you this, TNA Bound For Glory is next Sunday and the card looks extremely stacked and looks like a must order. And unlike WWE, the outcome of some matches are unpredictable. 

If you're looking for a change from the norm, turn to Spike TV, Thursdays at 9.



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By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete