The week prior to this, Raven won the "Gauntlet for the Gold", earning this shot at then-TNA champ AJ Styles. Comments from some TNA followers on the blog have stated that TNA was on quite a roll around this time, and this match is a pretty good example of that statement.
i remember when raven debuted in tna by attacking jarrett. not only a massive pop in the asylum, but online damn near everyone was losing their shit over it
ReplyDeletehard to explain why, but it seemed like after having such a lackluster end to his 2nd wwe run, it seemed like raven was energized again. part of it was also hearing the announcers call the ddt the evenflow instead of the lame "raven effect"
so yeah, when you hear people praising the arrival of raven in tna, it really was made out to be a big deal online.
but then, ya know... b/c tna
I saw Raven at Wizard World around this time. Everyone was closing up for the day, I walked over and said I was a big fan, he thanked me. I asked, "When you gonna be back in TNA?" He looked annoyed and said he's been there every week. I awkwardly laughed it off and left. Raven had a suitcase with him, it contained several pill bottles and several packages of stink bombs. Also a newspaper. Very odd.
ReplyDeleteTNA was so good during this time it's ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteDuring this time period Russo and Jarrett were bringing back old wrestlers once a week and if I remember correctly this was the last guy to return. Online was going crazy because it was a crazy good angle.
ReplyDeleteRaven was one of the best booked wrestlers, period, around this time. This title chase and Raven's systematic destruction of the New Church were prime examples of how basic wrestling angles can be still be awesome to watch.
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