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The SmarK Rant for TNA Impact–07.26.12

 

The SmarK Rant for TNA Impact – 07.26.12

Live from Orlando, FL

Your hosts are Mike Tenay & Taz

Sting joins us to start, acting as GM tonight in Hogan’s place. And he’s calling Aces & Eights out! But first, Austin Aries answers, and he’s on Sting’s side. And so is Kurt Angle. Bobby Roode comes out as well, but it’s because he knows who’s behind the attacks: James Storm. He’s apparently jealous of Aries winning the title first, and he was scheduled to face Angle when the attack happened. Makes sense, actually. Storm of course comes out and beats the hell out of Roode for that kind of slanderous accusation, while the other guys just kind of let them go.

Meanwhile, some of the guys talk up Chavo Guerrero, who debuts TONIGHT.

Meanwhile, Bobby Roode defends his accusations against Jason Hervey’s probing questioning and leaves the arena in a huff.

Gail Kim & Madison Rayne v. Mickie James & Tara

The faces double-team Kim and Mickie gets two, and they trade armdrags before James gets a Thesz Press. Cheapshot turns the tide and we get some weak double-teaming in the heel corner, with Rayne getting a clothesline for two. Madison stops to flirt with Hebner and misses a charge, and it’s hot tag Tara. Sideslam gets two. The faces put her in a double crab, and then Kim gets put in one as Rayne keeps talking with Mickie and this thing breaks down in a hurry. Mickie rolls up Rayne with a bridge, but Earl counts the pin for Madison at 3:43 instead. HOW MUCH FOR THE PLASTIC SURGERY, MEAN GENE?! DUD

Meanwhile, Sting recruits A-Double to do some coaching of the X-Division geeks.

Meanwhile, Sam Shaw is ready for his Gut Check.

Gut Check Challenge: Sam Shaw v. Douglas Williams

Shaw looks like the usual tattooed MMA douchebag fighter, but with sweat pants and sneakers. Shawn backflips out of a backdrop and puts Williams down with elbows, then hits Orton’s backbreaker for two. He goes up and gets yanked down, while Joey Ryan gets chased off by security. What is with the 87% signs in the crowd? Suplex and Chaos Theory finishes at 2:33. Shaw showed good fire to start and then the match fell apart. *1/2

Meanwhile, Aries presides over the traditional reality show segment, trying to decide who gets the shot at Zema Ion. Rashad Cameron talks himself out of the shot.

Chavo Guerrero makes his debut, talking about how people in TNA are hungry and he’s going to be a champion. Kid Kash and Gunner come out with differing opinions on the matter, pointing out that Chavo doesn’t have his family with him. Because his dad’s too DRUNK. This prompts an attack by Chavo, but Hernandez makes the save to chase them off. Well I guess he needed a new partner anyway.

Meanwhile, Angle confronts James Storm.

Meanwhile, the Gut Check judges hotly contest the Sam Shaw match. Although Snow admits he didn’t actually watch the match because he was busy with Joey Ryan.

Bound For Glory Series: AJ Styles v. James Storm

Storm gets a quick backslide for two, while Claire Lynch FURROWS HER BROW at ringside. My 2 year old daughter gets a similar look when she’s mad and she’s probably a better actress, too. Storm goes to the chinlock and AJ slugs out, so Storm puts him down with a butterfly suplex for two. Storm blocks the dropkick with a facecrusher, but Styles hits it on a second try and gets two. They battle for the go-behind and AJ runs him into the corner. Storm makes the comeback and slugs away in the corner, then hotshots AJ into a flying forearm for two. AJ with a backdrop suplex for two. AJ misses the blind charge and they fight to the top, but Storm crotches him. Storm brings him down with the EYE OF THE STORM slam for two. Why doesn’t he do that move anymore? Corner clothesline and he sets up for a Diamond dust DDT, but AJ suplexes him into the turnbuckles for two. AJ springboards in with a clothesline for two. Styles Clash is reversed to a whiplash slam for two, and they fight to the apron. Storm hits him with an apron DDT for two. The crowd is going crazy for these near-falls. AJ hits the enzuigiri out of NOWHERE, but the Styles Clash is reversed AGAIN, into a codebreaker. Storm tries the superkick and AJ blocks with the Pele, but the Aces & Eights hit the ring for the no-contest at 10:00 or so. They do not, however, attack James Storm. Awesome match ruined by that finish. This had BETTER have a mind-blowing payoff considering the goodwill they’re burning through with it. ***1/2

Gut Check Decision: Snowman says NO, Rio Rogers says YES, and Lord Littlebrook says YES to give him the contract. They need to start changing this formula up a bit.

Meanwhile, Aries goes over the ethnicity of the remaining guys (“Was your dad Russian?” “Well, he was a sympathizer…”) and quizzes them on why they deserve the shot. Darsow points out that he’s not flashy and he’s not pretty, and Aries is like “Well, the X Division is about being flashy AND pretty” and cuts him. That’s pretty funny.

X Title: Zema Ion v. Kenny King

King slugs away in the corner and necksnaps Ion for two. Snap suplex gets two. He goes up and Ion pushes him to the floor, then follows with a somersault dive. Back in, Ion chokes him out to take over, then whips him into the corner and slugs him down. Holy cow is Ion boring on offense. King sunset flips him for two, but Ion hits the facecrusher for two. King comes back with a leg lariat and a nice spinning enzuigiri to set up a suplex, and Ion bails to the apron, allowing King to hit him with his own dive. However, Bobby Roode returns and runs King into the post, and Ion finishes with a moonsault at 6:00 to retain. Wonder what motivated that? Ion is not a terribly great worker. ** Aries runs out to beat on Roode, as Tenay clarifies that Roode was trying to fuck with Aries’ choice of challenger. Thanks, Mike!

Next week: Austin Aries & Kenny King v. Zema Ion & Bobby Roode. See, I can forgive the crappy finish because it’s leading to a match next week.

Bound For Glory Series: Bully Ray v. Kurt Angle

This is kind of an interesting matchup. Angle goes for an early anklelock, but Bully makes the ropes, and Angle works the arm instead. Bully with a piledriver for two, but Angle bails to escape and we take a break. Back with Bully dropping an elbow for two and working the count. Bully tries a lariat, but Angle blocks with his own clothesline and both are down. Angle makes the comeback with an overhead suplex for two, but Bully hits the Bubbabomb for two. Or Bullybomb, whatever. Angle comes back with the rolling germans and the straps are down. Anklelock, but Bully actually rolls out of it and hits a Rock Bottom for two. Angle Slam gets two. He goes up and misses the moonsault, and fans are getting behind Bully Ray! Angle blocks the Bubba Cutter, but Bully gets the big boot for two. Bully misses a blind charge and it’s Angle Slam for the pin at 11:44. And then another Aces & Eights beatdown for Angle as Bully runs away. But this time the babyfaces charge out and a huge brawl erupts, until James Storm comes out…and the masked men promptly drop everything and leave peacefully. Huh. ***1/2

The Pulse

First hour was kind of weak sauce for a while, but much John Cena, the show overcame the odds and delivered a HELL of a second hour, with two ***1/2 matches and the intriguing James Storm angle to save the day. Thumbs up!

Comments

  1. Christopher HirschJuly 26, 2012 at 10:40 PM

    Think the 87% signs are a Joey Ryan thing?

    Decent enough show, did the TV title get thrown in the trash and they just didn't tell us?

    Also, why does Bully Ray have to lose all of the time?

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  2. Ryan got 87% of the fan vote on should he get hired or not online.

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  3. The only thing they should reveal is who is behind it. If they reveal the masked guys too, it will come off as a huge letdown if it's just WWE rejects like Masters and Knox. 

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  4. I'm trying really hard to remember the last RAW that had two 10 minute+ matches that were this good? 

    Impact Wrestling, no doubt.

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  5.  That's a good point.  They can milk the angle a bit more by revealing the mastermind first.  If these guys were actual big names (are there any out there anymore?), they probably wouldn't have the masks this long.

    Here's hoping that JoMo is involved somehow.

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  6. Because he's a bully.  He talks big and then loses.  

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  7. What I love about TNA right now is their concept of a General Manager........opening segment, say a few words, set up a quick angle, then stay gone the rest of the night....WRESTLERS who are active WRESTLERS are getting the multiple tv spots, and almost all lead to angles or matches on that show or the next, not some quick shot that leads to nothing, or is never explained(i.e. the white coats Bryan talked to on Monday who then I guess went home to watch Masterchef) TNA still could use some tweaks, but they are showing WWE up right now.

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  8. If it was me, I do everything I could to poach Kevin Steen and either make him the guy behind it or at least make him the top guy among the masked ones.

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  9. Welcome to internet wrestling fandom, where everyone has to win and nobody can lose.

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  10. The Gut Check thing was set up weird. The one person who very clearly told us how he was voting during the backstage discussion was Tazz. The others were vague but Tazz was like a proud father, so why save his vote for last? Weird. Good show though, I'll watch next week. What was with the multiple "commercial break, return for 10 seconds, commercial break again" stuff though?

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  11. I can't decide if it'd be awesome of awful if the James Storm accusation led to him becoming Crow Sting, pissed that anyone would actually doubt him.  Maybe use El Mariachi as the movie rip-off instead of the Crow?

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  12. Considering the reverse Nexus vibe they're going for, I think it would make the most sense for Batista to be the leader. Him going to TNA would be a win-win for both sides.

    He lives in Florida, so he wouldn't have to leave home and they only run like 4 shows a month so that gives him plenty of off-time to train for MMA and on the flipside TNA would get a big name who isn't past his prime, doesn't have personal demons and still has name recognition from the casual fans they're trying to lure away from WWE.

    Compared to all the money they wasted on Ric Flair, this would be a great investment.

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  13.  nah, I think it just adds more fuel to the Roode-storm fued, and will make that match much more a "big time" match, which they haven't really had since Joe-Angle I

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  14.  it's called comeuppence.......talk smack, get smacked, retreat, talk more smack, get smacked again...the way wrestling should be

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  15.  The problem with that is with the massive TV time it's getting, anyone not well known to the casual fan being behind it will deflate it. Think back to 96 and the NWO, if Tommy Dreamer or Shane Douglas had left small ECW to lead it, the Horsemen would have squashed them, and the fans would have cared less. I agree the match quality would be better, but as far as being an angle to hook in new fans who are intrigued, a low level name would not help.

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  16. Not if they sell like "Oh shit this dude is gonna fuck everyone up." If a guy like Steen debuts like that, the 2nd most important person(Hell, maybe even the most) is Tenay because he has to tell the audience why they should give a shit. And if he can do that, it won't matter that he isn't a big name.

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  17.  Gut Check is a good idea in theory, because it gives the fans a chance to get behind a new wrestler, and maybe shave some of that initial "who is this nobody"? aspect that can plague alot of new guys. The problem I have with it is that One match, then we vote is kind of silly, when you would think two veteran judges would be like :everyone can have ONE good match, let's see a few more to judge consistant performance. Plus, they do it so often, and they just influxed a slew of guys in the X Division, they are gonna water down the roster and the concept.

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  18.  I like Batista as the guy, because he's got that scary vibe, but the internet would collapse under the weight of whiners saying TNA hired another WWE reject blah blah blah

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  19. I can't shake the feeling it's Jarrett or Bischoff behind the thing.

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  20. It would help if any of the people actually wrestled on the show after winning.

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  21.  Jarrett wouldn't be a bad idea, if they go with him  trying to destroy the company from within because he started it, and Dixie has basically pushed him aside. And Jarrett has been away long enough he would be fresh, and no matter how his skills in the ring measure up, he is charismatic, and has the veteren edge to be more spokesperson/leader than most.

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  22.  I thought that was called the John Cena Syndrome?

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  23. I almost feel like the Aces and 8s angle is leading into something akin to the Batman movies.   A Bane/Joker-like figure pulls in a bunch of rejects and outcasts to act as muscle for him to fuck things up.  If it's a new character, great.  If it's Jeff Jarrett, ugh.

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  24.  maybe they should just admit they have a development territory, and tweak the winning to earning a spot to train more to be a TNA wrestler, which I love hearing them called wrestlers, not entertainers or superstars, or Physical Stunt Re-enactor or whatever buzzword the E comes up with for the week

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  25. You know what I also love? That even the heels show respect to their competitors. If Bully Ray was cutting a promo on a match with Angle in the WWE, would he put over Angle as still the best wrestler in the world? No, especially considering Cole & King themselves bury talent. There's a sense of sport-like reverence that TNA has right now, where wins and losses have an effect in the scheme of things and there's mutual respect in the ring, that I'm really digging. Again, it's amazing how this show has become so damn good post-Russo.

    PS: I love Bully Ray's Twitter infatuation, by the way. It's way funnier and effective than how WWE does it.

    PPS: It's amazing how much hotter Christy Hemme got since her time in the WWE, once she stopped acting like she rode the short bus and start acting and sounding like a fucking adult.

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  26. That's why I'm able to tolerate Hogan during this TNA hot streak; he's not making the show about him, but he's right where he needs to be, parking his ass in the office and running the ship without dominating the show.

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  27. I think Bautista is definitely past his prime... He was in his late 30s/early 40s when he was with Devon Dudley when he was first called up from OVW...

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  28.  I have no problem with former wrestlers in an authority spot, because after all, who better to know how things should go then a twenty+ year guy who did it himself. what I have always had a problem with is the ones who are booked as if they still have the youth and drive to succeed above everyone else, when they have more surgery scars than the cast of Baywatch.

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  29. I think they need to start moving the Aces and Eights story along a bit more, like give us *some* idea of what they want, who they might be, etc, (I know there are spoilers/news reports out there as to who is a part of it, but I'm ignoring those b/c as most people here know I'm a stickler for spoilers).  The bit tonight with leaving Storm alone is movement, but the run-ins are starting to get a bit tired.

    Kash's promo was pretty brutal in delivery.  Ugh.

    Still think it was a pretty good show, though.

    With Velvet Sky being granted her release, I'm guessing Mickie's heel turn has been aborted since they're down a face Knockout.

    I still want to know how the Ryan angle came about; i.e., was it always planned this way, or after legit deciding not to hire him, on-line support for him convinced them to re-think their position.

    Hervey and Bischoff have quite the bromance, don't they?

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  30. Oh, and who thought in 2012 that when you find out that Bully Ray is in the main event - as a singles guy - that's a *good* thing?

    No Joseph Park, though. :(  He's listed as making an appearance for the Washington, PA show this Sat (which is right outside of Pittsburgh).

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  31. How many more Aces & Eights run-ins will it take before TNA tries a different approach with their security? I mean, good god, where does A&E hang out in-between their attacks? Do they hide in the restrooms?

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  32. Testify. Plus it at least makes sense for somebody like Sting or Hogan to lead TNA compared to AJ turning down a marriage to take a job that has such a short shelf life (True fact: The longest tenured RAW GM of the last 5 person was a laptop computer.) with no explanation whatsoever as to why Vince thought she was the best person for the job.

    Come to think of it, considering AJ, John Lauranitis (you know, the same guy who claimed Bobby Roode and Austin Aries didn't have the tools to make it big.), and the rotating lineup of guest hosts, Mike Adamle's run doesn't look so bad by comparison.

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  33. I don't know where your from, Bob, but if it is north America, do you have a domestic MasterChef there? It's non-stop in Australia: MasterChef Junior, MasterChef Professionals, MasterChef All-Stars, not to mention a new base series every year since 2009... Sorry to anyone subjected to that shite...

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  34.  Actually we do have a MasterChef, but it isn't the same concept as what the international programs are, which is more in line with our show Top Chef. And since I am a professional Chef myself, I see no issue with the shows.....And it's Robert or Rob please

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  35. where does A&E hang out in-between their attacks?

    Wait, wait, wait.

    A&E?

    *checks around Wiki*

    Spike TV: owned by Network Enterprises, Inc. (a subsidiary of MTV Networks, wholly owned by Viacom)

    A&E: owned by A&E Television Networks (Hearst Corporation (42.5%), Disney-ABC Television Group (42.5%), NBC Universal (15%)

    Um, NBC Universal...?

    *checks around Wiki*

    NBCUniversal Cable is the division of NBCUniversal that oversees the following cable television networks: (blah blah blah)  USA Network (blah blah blah)

    ...USA Network...

    Mother of God...

    http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/199693-mother-of-god

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  36. Losing doesn't hurt Bully Ray at all. He really is the Chris Jericho of TNA, both in terms of being able to completely reinvent himself and much like Jericho, he can lose all the matches in the world and still have his credibility and momentum intact.

    Although after watching tonight, I'm wondering if TNA is cash-strapped because quite a few top stars were MIA tonight.

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  37. Well, they can't be called "sports entertainers" anymore because WWE banned that term last year. I'm thinking the next description of them will be "Social Media Athletes". That's a very, very stupid term, which means WWE will likely start using it on RAW next week.

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  38. Well, they can't be called "sports entertainers" anymore because WWE banned that term last year. I'm thinking the next description of them will be "Social Media Athletes". That's a very, very stupid term, which means WWE will likely start using it on RAW next week.

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  39. What I like about this whole Aces and Eights thing is that it's good episodic television. Each week a new twist is added to the storyline, keeps you guessing and tuning in. Generally the payoffs for these things suck, but I'm willing to give TNA the benefit of the doubt here. It's been a long time since WWE did episodic TV like this.

    You know, I really wish this was the TNA we were getting on Monday nights.

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  40. But you can't go up against WWE without the Nasty Boys and The Band, brother!

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  41. I'd be ok with Jarrett for the reasons you listed, but at the end of the day I don't want to see Sting vs. Jarrett again.  It's been done WAY too many times already.

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  42. It's just weird to see Ramsey as the "good guy", inspirational "I believe in you" figure on MasterChef. I prefer him as the one calling everyone fucking donkeys...but at the same time, what a fucking pat on the back it must be when that dude is giving you positive motivation (as he also does with staffs that get shit on by their terrible bosses in Kitchen Nightmares)

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  43.  Sigh.

    Even though Cena, Punk, DBryan, Ziggler, Jericho, etc all frequently talk about how they are the best wrestler.  

    You guys blow this "WWE WRESTLING IS A FOUR LETTER WORD" thing way out of proportion.

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  44. Hey this was a good show!

    Raw and Smackdown are also good shows!

    Why is everyone here act like they are in Junior High?   Does a positive attribute of Impact Wrestling have to be directly correlated with half-baked observations about MONDAY NIGHT RAW not being exactly what you want it to be?

     Between NXT, Superstars, and Smackdown, WWE puts out DOZENS of televised 10+ minute matches every single week.  See for yourself!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbCNYB8Y-f4  (WWE Superstars)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqCYgCqRhPo (WWE NXT)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcuPle4jz3U (WWE Smackdown)

    The whining is getting so annoying.  

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  45.  I'm referring to them being called something other than wrestlers to avoid certain restrictions placed on sports through legislation that may have saved several lives over the years. Besides, how many years did we go having to be told they were "sports entertainers"? And if TNA, WCW, ECW ROH, or nay other promotion did this, I'd feel the same way, it's not bias against the WWE specifically, but they are the known offenders.

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  46.  I have met him one time, at a Food Convention in Las Vegas where he was a keynote speaker, and the drive and passion he has for the business is remarkable. I think he is more kind on Masterchef because these people aren't trying to be professional, they are just home-cooking folks.

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  47.  My problem isn't Pro-TNA anti-WWE.it's that if the WWE did not try to put on so much weekly television or web shows, they could avoid the issues of burnout in constant exposure. Yes, I know from a financial standpoint it's better for a traded company to add as much to the bottom line as possible, but they sometimes do it at the expense of quality. I favor TNA slightly at the moment because I don't feel tired of seeing the same people, angles and replays four or five times a week. Having just one show benefits TNA because it becomes an experience to wait one week for a continuation, and a treat that each week, something will be on that you look forward to. Think about your favorite TV show(not wrestling). I'll use mine, Two and a Half men. I looked forward to catching it once a week, but once it went into syndication, seeing it every day made me bored with it. Sometimes less really is more.

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  48. Less exposure?  Less ad sales?  Less revenue?

    No but seriously, I see your point.  I enjoy how Impact can have a great show without RVD, Jeff hardy, Aries, Roode even wrestling. 

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  49. "Raw and Smackdown are also good shows!"

    Like the douchebag at work I won't pretend to be friends with, I can't call either RAW or SD "good" if I'm not enjoying it and I haven't been enjoying either since around April. I want it to be good, because three shows being fun at the same time would be awesome, but I won't call it what I don't see it as in its current state. The only thing I'm really enjoying is AJ, and even she's burgeoning on being too much of a good thing for me. Maybe the Punk "heel turn", as weak as it was, and Lesnar/HHH will SHAKE THINGS UP, as Vince is wont to say.

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  50. I dont want that fat turd on my screen.

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  51. Hornswaggle. Get it right.

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  52.  Exactly. By not having so many hours to fill up, they can utilize a good roster by rotating out some wrestlers one week from competing to just angle advancement. With WWE right now, you have two tiers, the RAW/Smackdown guys who are in every match every week, then you have the Superstars/NXT guys who should be used more on the core shows, but can't get on except to be fed to Clay, or Ryback. TNA at least utilizes alot of guys, but at the moment, cause it hasn't always been this way, in different ways. One of my favorite wrestlers is Chris Daniels, and I love the fact some weeks he's just chillin with his tini, because I like the treat of when he wrestles, I want to watch cause I know he may not next week.

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  53. A little off-subject, but since some of us have been strongly praising TNA lately (and for good reason, they've turned a complete 180 compared to last year), on the flipside has anyone checked out TNAInsider.com lately and noticed that TNA's #1 troll...I mean defender Elvylanda a.k.a. Big Lou has become very anti-TNA in his rants? What's up with that?

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  54.  Not that I expect continuaty or anything, but should Cena get kinda upset with Hornswaggle next week, being he had to join Nexxus and fight all those win or fired matches due to him and his laptop?

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  55. I'll admit it I kind of miss Elvy (in small doses). 

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  56. this might of been mentioned earlier, but the joey ryan 87% thing is that on TNAs wensite 87% of the fans voted yes for Ryan on gutcheck... bottom line SIGN THIS MAN!

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  57. A good show, but they need to move forwards with Aces.  There's a fine line between good buildup of a surprise (NWO) and dragging it out (Glacier).


    Would they dare turn Storm heel?  Notice he didn't actually touch any of the Eights.

    They could always get an ROH invasion if the scraped together 50 bucks.

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  58. And if anyone actually cared about the ROH guys...

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  59.  I think they just call them "WWE Superstars" instead..and have done so for a while. 

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  60.  LOL. Two weeks ago Cena didn't mind being a tag-team partner with a guy who tried to murder his storyline best friend...I'm sure he's over those matches. 

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  61. I think Cena has used the word "wrestler" or "wrestling" maybe 2-3 times in 10 years. 

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  62.  That only can mean one thing..."The Con Man" Rob Conway is behind it all.

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  63. It would have to be closer to $100. Cornette doesn't like to fly and he'd need bus fare.

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  64. WHat about the red-head chick that they thought had cancer? Can't they bring her in to fill a slot?

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  65. The leader of the group would have to be SO big that it would cancel out the WWE-rejects (although it would help if they had some tie-in to TNA.)

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  66. I just thought of this: What if Joey Ryan is the leader of the new group and it is comprised of people that DIDN'T make it in Gut Check/wrestlers that left TNA/wrestlers that were denied contracts to TNA?

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  67. Why not turn Xplosion into a showcase for these Gut Check wrestlers? They're not doing anything with it anyway.

    You can have them wrestle other Gut Check winners and TNA midcarders. The TV title would be the main belt there. It would be like a "gateway" title" if they can hold onto the TV for a certain amount of time they can get on Impact.

    Think of it like "Punch Out" on Nintendo. The TV belt is a "Minor" title. You have to win it before you can go to Impact.

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  68. Christopher HirschJuly 27, 2012 at 8:34 AM

    Dolph Ziggler talks big and loses and most of you bitch.

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  69.  Yeah, but they can still have Eric Bischoff come out and play guitar for us.  So it's not a complete lost cause.

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  70. that's some quality investigative journalism

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  71. Maybe 87% and Aces are tied together, like Occupy 99%?

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  72. Dude, get used to it. It's going to be Jeff Jarrett and a bunch of ex-WWE midcard leftovers.  Just trying to save you from false hope.

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  73. Some of those "ex-WWE midcard leftovers" are good and deserve another chance -- Gallows, Masters, etc.

    And I'm fine with it being Jarrett if it is. But maybe it's not.

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  74. Hell of a show. Great matches, a good mystery angle and some really good promos/segments from Bully Ray, Aries, the X-Division and James Storm.

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  75. I am not against those guys getting work.  I support any wrestler who can find a spot with any company but to bring them all in mass?

    Jarrett is the best choice but it is also deflating.

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  76. really? hahah, that's funny.

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  77. "HOW MUCH FOR THE PLASTIC SURGERY, MEAN GENE?!"
    In that whole angle, wasn't Earl Hebner the "evil twin" and Dave was the one who had been the referee up to that point? If that's the case, how did it end up that Earl, the evil one, was the one that remained the referee and Dave just vanished into behind the scenes stuff?

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  78. although Christy always had the look (well, at least to me). she just wasn't used in the right role in many shows. prime example: TNA figured it's a waste to let her wrestle. and they're right. I don't want to watch Christy Hemme in a womens title match at WrestleMania.

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  79. I hate it when a wrestler of a certain ethnicity immediately gets paired up with another wrestler of the same ethnicity.  To pair up Chavo Guerrero with Hernandez just because they are both Mexican is just plain dumb and lack any vision that TNA has for Chavo right from the start.

    I really like Zema Ion and Goku hairstyle. 

    Joey Ryan...thank you for making me care about TNA again!  I am 87%

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  80. we are they "WWE Universe" so the workers might be the "Universities".

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  81. and it even makes a lot of sense from kayfabe standpoint. I mean, there are tons of former athletes in sports that now work in official roles.

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  82.  I like it's more of the fact ziggler rarely gets the necessary wins to at least give him credibility as a braggart, but that's been improving.

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  83. Well according to wrestling logic he can either team with Hernandez or feud with him. He'll probably do both. If they brought him in specifically to team with Hernandez as a Latin team, cool, but I'm sure it was more of a "Okay, we have Chavo coming in, where do we start him off? Let's put him with Hernandez, they're both Mexican!" sort of thing.

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  84. I think Jericho since his return this year is a better example. There were a LOT of people on this blog bitching about him not winning the Rumble or the Chamber match to set up his feud with Punk.

    Not saying you were one of those people, but I'm curious if Scott/cultstatus were.

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  85. If this were the WWE, the search for the leader of Aces&Eights 1) would be forgotten about in 2 weeks, would not be mentioned for at least 2 years and would be revealed to be Hornswaggle on a throwaway line on a very special episode of RAW, OR would be revealed in a week or two after the group originally arrived, the leader would be Johnny Ace, and be forgotten about after the next PPV.

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  86. Show in Dayton tonight is going to be sick!

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  87. It all depends on what the character and story is. Ziggler is supposed to be a Mr. Perfect-esque technician who also happens to be an asshole. He needs the wins, lest his declarations of "perfection" seem completely false. That's why him passing the title to Ryder was so successful: Ziggler seemed legitimately great, and Ryder had to rise to a higher level to beat him and put him in his place.

    Jericho's storyline has been flawed in its "Best in the World" element. Had the clear narrative (and they have hinted at this every once in a while) been Jericho as a jealous old guy trying to put down the new generation in order to feel better about his decaying skills, it might have worked. Instead, he calls himself the best, and is given a title shot (presumably because he is one of the best), yet loses every match against a non- Kofi Kingston opponent, so the story looks stupid.

    Bully Ray isn't fighting in title matches (which requires winning) and his character is just that, a bully. He punks people out, insults them, embarrasses them, cheats and assaults them, and then he gets his comeuppance. It works because bullies are regularly more talk than action, and are equally capable at brushing off setbacks or defeats with bravado. As long as TNA isn't trying to sell Ray as one of the best wrestlers in the world - though he clearly is pretty good - it works with the character perfectly. Not to mention, it is a better anti-bullying campaign (and a more realistic depiction of bullies) than WWE could ever do.

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  88. Wwe would fuck this up. Tna might too but so long as it's not jj I'll keep watching

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  89. If it's jarrett I'm out

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  90. Damn I had always hoped elvy was an overenthusiastic delusional tna fan but I guess he was just trolling in the truest form

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  91. The more he kept going, the more it sounded like an old Batman episode from the 1960s.

    Holy conspiracy, Adam West!

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  92. Like I did in person (I was at WM21). At least the LA crowd was kind enough to boo her out of the building before the match even started. 

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  93. That is true; big difference between struggling as a homebody chasing a dream and being a chef for a living and SENDING OUT THIS MEAT, WHICH IS FUCKING RAAAAAAW! IT'S MORE RAW THAN MONDAY NIGHTS, YOU WANT TO SERVE THIS TO PEOPLE?! GET OUT, GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE KITCHEN IF YOU CAN'T DO IT RIGHT!

    Ahem.

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  94. I also like the fact they can rotate their names every week (and they must enjoy that lighter workload after that grueling WWE schedule). Impact almost becomes Price Is Right, where you never know when your favorite wrestler/game will show up, and you get it excited when it does (they played Plinko at the taping I went to and I fucking marked out like a fat girl meeting Cena).

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  95. Raw sucked. Agreed that smackdown is good.

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  96. Needs MOAR story telling.

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  97. Is that the one where you get an extra chromosome?

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  98. Just thinking out loud. It wouldn't surprise me if it was Jarrett...but it would slightly depress me.

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  99. But 87 + 8 = 95...96 if you use blackjack rules.

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  100. Have you seen Cornette? I'm pretty sure he's hardcore and would take 'em both.

    I'm now picturing a 3-way kiss between Cornette, a Baconator, and a banana split.

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  101. You make the best point I've heard, but I still don't think Chris Jericho winning the Rumble (or the Chamber) would've improved the storyline (which wasn't bad, just a little underwhelming).

    IMO you can't manufacture epic, or create false narratives that people know aren't true (well, obviously *all* narratives in wrestling are false...). Punk/Jericho didn't work as a "Best in the World" feud cause at no point in his career has Chris Jericho ever been considered the BitW. The guy jobbed to Evan Bourne during his last run for pete's sake! He's not Mick Foley (yet) but on a card that featured Rock/Cena (which was partially built on the idea of Rock cementing himself as The Greatest) and HHH/Taker, it was ludicrous to sell the match with that angle.

    1 Rumble (or Chamber) win wasn't going to erase Jericho's entire career, which could be described as very good but not great (as in Rock, HBK, Taker, Flair, etc).

    Jericho's character is an egomaniac. He was calling himself the BitW (at everything I do!) even while he was jobbing to Bourne. He was the top Raw guy in the Rumble. He was never beaten in the Chamber match. He pinned Punk in a tag match. That was enough (along with his great promo skills) to make him worthy in the fans eyes of facing Punk. Or at least as worthy as he was gonna look.

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  102. I don't think Chavo with Hernandez is THAT annoying as you could say that there's a bit of history there. With LAX, one of Chavo's uncles was Hernandez's manager, wasn't he?

    It's not as strange as Kofi and R-Truth.

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  103. I love Christy Hemme.

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  104. John Morrison would be an AWESOME reveal.

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  105. Who's the leader of Aces and Eights?

    Guys that would turn me off watching:
    Jarrett
    Bischoff (either one)
    King Mo


    Guys that I'd accept:

    Pretty much any ex-TNA guy.
    Morrison
    Chris Harris - Would make sense he'd set up Storm
    Storm - A heel turn would be totally unexpected


    Guys that are a longshot but I'd mark the hell out for:

    Shane McMahon
    Jim Cornette
    Monty Brown
    Kevin Steen (not a huge fan, but he's ROH champ and it would blow up the nets)
    Chael Sonnen

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  106. Batista's not really in the best shape anymore, and from what I gather he's not really hot to return to wrestling. 

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  107.  You're right. It should be Jack Swagger instead.

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  108.  Are you the big Robert guy from Hell's Kitchen who didn't want to be called "Bobby"? That'd be awesome.

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  109. i LOVE redheads.

    But really the chicks who was before Christy Hemme was even more awesome.

    Crystal with the crinkly hair was hilarious and the one that always interviews Scott Steiners best interviews.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v834N9aTkJs&feature=related

    I just stumbled across this.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OMt_E_iAw0

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  110.  Beat me to it on the Shane McMahon thing. If there's ANYONE who would be a huge shock that would move the needle for TNA and give some degree of legitimacy to Aces & Eights being a group of WWE castoffs, it'd be Shane.

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  111. From a credibility point of view, he didn't need to. But I thought he should have won to give the feud a little more juice so they wouldn't have had to run through 4 monthsof angles in 2.

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  112. Not an attack on you, but I hate when people make this observation.  It's one of those things that's only brought up when it's true, and basically ignores the far more substantial instances when it's false.  Like, Kofi and R-Truth team and people are like, "Of course the two black guys have to team together."  This, of course, ignores the fact that R-Truth was previously with Miz, and Kofi was previously with Evan Bourne.

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  113. I love that promo. SHE LOOKS AT MY RESUME AND KAHN--KONG QUEST!

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  114. Has anyone brought up the possibility of Samoa Joe being the aces and eights guy?  He front loads his BFG efforts and then matches start getting interrupted.  The two World title guys get beat down by them, possibly to wear them down for BFG.  Then he has them act like they're helping Storm, his big BFG competitor to screw with him.  Iunno, makes a bit of sense to me.

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  115.  Aimless career stagnation knows no race!

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  116. Hemme suffered a career-ending injury. It was just cool they didn't cast her to the side and gave her a job.

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  117. In a perfect world? Ultimate Warrior. If he could keep his interviews under 45 minutes he'd be golden.

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  118. ...don't forget, he shows his calves.

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  119.  That would be so cool

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  120.  You forgot WWE's go-to...

    Reveal the head guy of A&E, but then he says he answers to a bigger leader...who we never meet.

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  121. Or do what Chris Nolan did, reveal that the leader is actually nothing more than a back story less henchman.

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  122. Thanks for reminding me that R-Truth was actually awesome for a brief period as one half of Awesome Truth. Man, that was an awesome tag team with an awesome entrance.

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  123. I actually totally agree with you. During the chamber match, Booker - interestingly enough - tried to sell the feud as Jericho refusing to let the young guys have their time. He portrayed it as an older star attempting to squash the new generation to improve his own ego - all hiding a fundamental lack of belief in his self (okay, I am adding my own reading to it as well).

    I think this would have been a much more interesting feud and much more to the strength of both wrestlers (Jericho as a bitter veteran and Punk as a rebel refusing to be put in his place). The feud wasn't the right one. I was simply pointing out that in order to get such a feud over, Jericho needed to be treated like a megastar and it just didn't happen.

    And thank you everyone for some positive feedback!

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  124. Hey, those calves put butts in seats!

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  125.  They both reffed for several years after that after they kinda dropped the angle (same way how Danny Davis became a straight ref again)... then Dave went to behind the scenes stuff and Earl remained a ref, then Montreal happened and cemented his name.

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  126. Given that they have been pretty good about inconsistencies... why was the Storm/Styles match thrown out?  Styles should've won by DQ since A&8's didn't touch Storm... in fact, I think that would've made it more interesting because it would've given another reason for Storm to be mad, that he was DQ'd for something that he didn't (allegedly) orchestrate.

    Would be interesting if next week one of the guys gets caught and unmasked... seems to be the next step to the progression.

    Also hoping that after the X match that they do a tag match of Aries/King vs. Roode/Ion... that would be a fun one.

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  127.  I used to love the one with the little guy in leiderhousen going up the mountain, and you had to keep him from falling off while yodeling played.

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  128.  I wish I could lie and say I am, but I couldn't be on that show.....15+years cooking, and I would just smack the bejeezus out of the first idiot who undercooked scllops.

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  129.  That's the one where less than ten years ago you put out a rap cd where you drop the F bomb in a song, well, with the F word in the title, then a few years later, your biggest insult sounds like Leslie Neilson in Naked Gun calling the guy PoopyPants.

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  130.  Much respect, because for whatever reason, even though I'm a reasonably intelligent guy with no problem comprehending simple measurements or instructions any other time, when I get in a kitchen it's all I can do not to poison myself.

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  131.  they announced that match for next week on the show

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  132.  I care about the ROH guys

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  133. Well, the leader would HAVE to be Johnny ACE, wouldn't it?

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  134. Sorry mate, that particular habit of mine does piss some off...

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  135. I can't believe I just got around to seeing these replies.

    Beautiful.

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