Monday Nitro #215
Date: November 22, 1999
Location:
Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 11,449
Commentators: Bobby
Heenan, Tony Schiavone
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
We're past Mayhem now
and Bret Hart is the new WCW World Champion, actually winning the
title mostly clean over Chris Benoit in the Sharpshooter. The next
big night for the company is about a month away at Starrcade, meaning
it's time to see what Russo considers a big idea. This would be
different than a small match with only four run-ins, a ref bump and a
weapon being used. Let's get to it.
Jeff Jarrett is in the
back and ranting about how he's the chosen one.
Opening sequence.
Here's
Bret to open things up with a very shiny title. He's finally here
after a long two years but it was all worth it and this title is for
his father Stu. As for things around here, what happened to Goldberg
hasn't been cool so Bret thinks he should give Goldberg a title shot
at Starrcade. Cue the Outsiders with Hall mocking everything Bret
says, as you would expect him to.
Maybe Bret should take
some lessons from the Outsiders because they took WCW to where it is
today. That joke easily writes itself. They want a match against
Bret and Goldberg tonight and Bret says of course, but Jarrett sneaks
in and blasts Bret with the guitar. Like any good heel, he leaves
with the belt.
Curt Hennig is in the
back and says he can't wrestle, but he can say goodbye to everyone.
He turns around and sees the Maestro playing the piano. Nothing else
happens, and Maestro will be playing there all night long. Why?
Because that's what Maestro does I suppose.
Konnan
tells Kidman to stop worrying about his missing camera.
Tony
Marinara is with the Mamalukes, better known as Big Vito and Johnny
the Bull. Vito wants a cheese sandwich, and he says it so
convincingly that I want to buy him a sandwich. They plan on putting
a horse's head in someone's bed, then realize they don't know whose
bed it is. Marinara threatens to call his father the Don and reminds
them that it's Disco.
Luger is with the
Powers That Be and tells them that he can book Liz in matches due to
owning her contract. They agree, so tonight it's Liz vs. Meng. I do
enjoy them pretending that this is going to be a match instead of an
angle.
Liz is horrified. Me
too. What a stupid story.
Tag Team Titles:
Konnan/Kidman vs. Creative Control
Whoa!
A match! The twins are challenging. Kidman gets launched into the
air for two to start before the other twin plants him with a slam.
Gerald gets dropkicked down though and the hot tag brings in Konnan
to clean house. We cut to the screen to show Eddie and Torrie in the
locker room talking. Kidman freaks out and runs to the back, even
though they were just casually talking. The monsters don't really
need the help though as a spinning belly to back suplex gives them
the titles.
Rating:
D-.
Well so much for the Filthy Animals, as they've gone from Russo's
favorite toy to seemingly about to split in the span of about a
month. I can't say I'm complaining though as they were one of the
most annoying acts I've ever seen. The wrestling was fine but my
goodness their talking got old fast.
Kidman
goes after Eddie, but Heenan points out the correct observation: they
were just talking and laughing a bit. Nothing implied that something
was going on.
Goldberg and Hart
aren't sure how to deal with the Outsiders and Jarrett in the same
night. Goldberg says he'll fight the Outsiders on his own and Bret
can go after Jarrett. It won't necessarily be a handicap match
either.
Skye can't talk Spice
out of fighting Tygress tonight.
With the piano music
still playing, Hennig and Buff agree that there are no hard feelings
about the whole forcing Curt into retirement thing.
Here's
Hardcore Champion Norman Smiley. He's the REAL hardcore man around
here. When you look up the definition of hardcore in the dictionary,
you see his tough mug. This morning, he drank a glass of milk that
was TWO DAYS PAST EXPIRATION! It's open challenge time and here's
Fit Finlay to scare the milk out of Norman. He kicks Smiley low and
puts on his football helmet for a headbutt. The Regal Roll leaves
Smiley laying despite being the funniest guy in the company in a long
time.
The
announcers recap the show thus far.
Liz can't talk Luger
out of putting her in this match. Maestro is still playing and has
barely been acknowledged all night.
Hall thinks he's
figured out Goldberg's plan. He can't confirm it, but it might
involve spears and Jackhammers.
Chavo Guerrero is
selling the Mamalukes some gold chains when Disco comes in, freaks
out, and leaves.
Tenay tells Jarrett
that he has a match with Bret coming up tonight so Jarrett throws him
out. Well, he's got the jerk role down.
Evan Karagias vs.
Saturn
Non-title.
Evan stops to kiss Madusa at the start and gets suplexed out of his
shoes for his efforts. The Death Valley Driver is countered into a
sunset flip for two as we have a hippie coming over to commentary.
It's Brad Armstrong in yet another new gimmick called Buzzkill
(Heenan: “How do you do Mr. Kill?”) because he needs a
personality. Saturn throws Evan again and puts on the Rings of
Saturn for the quick win. Some champion.
Kidman
yells about Eddie going beyond Filthy Animal business and wants a
match with him later tonight. That could be good.
Eddie reads off a cue
card (some of the most obvious I've ever seen) about Kidman not
understanding what's going on and proving it in the ring tonight.
Vampiro vs. The Wall
Ferrara
and Williams come out for commentary. Well one of them anyway.
Vampiro slugs away to start and knocks Wall to the floor but the big
man kicks him in the ribs to take over. You can imagine what Ferrara
is talking about. The Misfits help their buddy out but Wall shrugs
it off and beats on Vampiro inside. Vampiro's kicks put him down but
Berlyn comes in with a chair for the DQ.
Wall
isn't pleased and the Germans come to blows, breaking up the long
standing partnership after all of two months. After they leave,
Williams beats up the Misfits but eats a spinning kick to the face
from Vampiro.
Liz jumps inside a
shark cage because they just have one around.
A limo arrives.
WCW World Title:
Jeff Jarrett vs. Bret Hart
Jeff
is wearing the title after stealing it earlier in the night. Of
course this main events the first hour instead of the entire show.
Bret slugs away to start and takes Jeff into the corner for right
hands and a boot choke. Outside now with Jeff going into the
barricade before they head inside where Bret gets crotched on the top
rope. Back to the floor again as they can't make up their mind.
Jeff slams him head first onto the announcers' table as this
wrestling thing just doesn't do it for either guy these days.
They get back inside
for a sleeper on the champ but he suplexes his way out to put both
guys down. The Five Moves get some near falls and Jeff gets the same
off a middle rope clothesline. Jeff kicks him to the floor and
Creative Control swarms Bret, drawing in Dustin Rhodes to clock
Jarrett with the title. Bret didn't see a thing and covers to
retain.
Rating:
D+.
I really wasn't feeling this one as they were all over the place out
there and brawling instead of wrestling like these two could do in
their sleep. But then again, why should either of them care at this
point? Bret's heart clearly isn't in it and they've wasted him this
long, so why should be believe it's going to get any better?
The
Mamalukes come up to the Maestro, who has the former Ryan Shamrock
next to him, and ask for some Sinatra. Karaoke is performed in one
of the only times all night that Maestro has been acknowledged.
Luger
is trying to get Liz to come out of the cage. This girls in cages
idea has to be some Russo fetish. She finally gives it up but Luger
says the match is still on. Eh points for making him even more evil.
On the other hand, points taken away for leaving her locked inside
the cage and saying he'll put it in the ring. After a break, Liz
tries to get Sting to help her but he says to lay in the cage she's
made.
Kidman vs. Eddie
Guerrero
Torrie
is in a blue swimsuit top and matching blue pants with her hair tied
back. You can imagine the reactions. Why she changed since we saw
her with Eddie earlier isn't clear. Konnan comes out with Eddie but
Kidman dives over the top to take Eddie down before the bell. They
head in for the first time with Eddie getting hammered in the corner.
That goes as far as it can so Guerrero suplexes Kidman over the top
and out to the floor in a big crash.
After
a whip to the barricade, Eddie takes him back inside for some knees
to the ribs. The camera keeps focusing on Torrie and throwing the
announcers off. I can cut them some slack on this one. Kidman gets
hit low trying a leapfrog and the match slows down quite a bit. The
Revolution comes out to jump Konnan to pick things up and because
that feud just won't die. The distraction lets Kidman come back with
right hands to Eddie, setting up the Shooting Star but Torrie asks
him for help, allowing Eddie to superplex him down and nail the Frog
Splash for the pin.
Rating:
C.
That wasn't bad but I could go for anything but the Revolution vs.
Filthy Animals going forward. Hopefully this leads to the Animals
breaking up though as I can't take much more of their stupid
catchphrases and slang that makes no sense. Or the whole being
thieves that I'm supposed to cheer.
Creative
Control is asked which is Patrick and both point to the other. Quick
one line jokes are Russo's strong suit. Their next assignments are
to find Duggan (“Big goof, one kidney”) and find out who is in
the limo.
Skye
asks Spice not to fight tonight but Spice has to do what a girl has
to do.
Meng
vs. Elizabeth
Liz,
still in the shark cage, is brought in on a forklift. Meng of course
attacks the cage but can't break through. Luger offers him the key
and gets put in the Tongan Death Grip as a result, drawing out Sting
with the bat to lay out the monster. He unlocks Liz and they leave
after a non-match. Or did Meng win by DQ?
Jim
Duggan asks Maestro to play Chopsticks.
Lash Leroux vs.
Disco Inferno
Disco
is so scared of the mob guys that he doesn't even dance and starts
the match quickly. They trade hammerlocks and armdrags to start as
Disco keeps looking over his shoulder. Cue the mob guys to scare
Disco even more, but Johnny accidentally trips Lash, allowing Disco
to take over. Disco stomps away but Lash pops back up with a sunset
flip and Whiplash for the pin.
The mob comes in to
stomp Disco, only to have Lash make the save. Marinara tries to come
in but gets put to sleep and thrown into a white body bag.
Creative
Control tries to see inside the limo to no avail. After a break, the
twins say they have nothing to do with the limo's car alarm going
off. It should be their limo though since they're the champs now.
The Powers yell at
Duggan for messing up the bathroom last week, so Russo has been
eating prunes all day. Duggan gets to clean the toilet with a
toothbrush.
Tygress vs. Spice
Let's
get this over with. Spice is dressed as a schoolgirl and Tygress is
in a leopard print body suit. Tygress easily takes her down and the
fans are dead. Back up and Spice hits a kind of running tackle and
we're in catfight mode. A snapmare puts Tygress down and the
announcers of course freak. Cue Skye (Stacy, in a leather skirt that
might be nine inches long) with a makeup bag to knock Spice out.
Skye and Tygress put
makeup on Spice. I can't imagine this story continuing.
We go to the back to
talk to.....MENG? As the Maestro keeps laying just because, Meng
speaks (!), saying he wants Sting in a No DQ match tonight with Sting
using the bat. So Meng is ok with someone hitting him in the head
with a bat. Why would you EVER take him up on that? I know Sting is
stupid but my goodness. Speaking of my goodness, MENG DOES NOT TALK.
This is just a step below WWE ECW having Sabu speak. You just don't
do it.
Here's
Hennig for his big farewell. After a hug to Heenan, Curt can barely
speak. He keeps trying but a PERFECT chant cuts him off and he
leaves with tears in his eyes.
We see the limo again.
Duggan finds Russo's
toothbrush and cleans the toilet with it. You know this is coming
back later.
Cue
Roddy Piper of all people for the first time in about four months.
He rips into writers, ranting about how they put in all these women
and T&A and having a bunch of stupid entrances. This is actually
exactly what you would expect him to say. The mic is quickly cut
off, so Piper grabs a camera guy and takes him to the back to meet
with the Powers That Be.
After kicking the door
in, Piper is stunned to see Russo (well, despite them flat out saying
it was Russo since he debuted, how could Piper know? Did he really
expect there to be a body there instead of just an arm?) and tells
the boss that he has a contract, guaranteeing that he appears on TV.
Russo says Piper has a bad hip and is almost 50 so he needs to go
join Ric and Hulk in Florida. Piper can be on TV though, but it's
going to be as a referee. Piper fumes about it, then walks to his
limo saying “Yes sir” over and over. Somehow, this fits him
perfectly.
Buff Bagwell vs.
Booker T.
Booker
gets taken down by a nice armdrag to start and it's time to dance.
They lock up and Creative Control is out before we can even get a
minute into the match. Buff clotheslines him down and they head to
the floor for....nothing. Ok then. Back in and Booker nails the
kicks and the Spinarooni, only to have to nail one of the twins
instead of covering. The distraction lets Buff nail a Blockbuster,
but the other twin distracts the referee so the first can stomp
Bagwell. Cue Hennig to talk to the twins....and then stomp Bagwell.
One of the twins covers Buff and the bell rings because of whatever
their reason is this week.
Rating:
D.
So Hennig spent weeks getting beaten up by whoever Russo threw at him
and then joined them anyway. I'm so glad we've moved past that NWO
era and are now getting the same thing from a yet to be named group
led by the Powers That Be. Is there any team Hennig hasn't joined
since he's been in WCW?
Midnight comes out for
the save.
The Powers welcome
Hennig to the team. If you can't beat em, join em you see, even
though he won several of the matches.
Liz offers to manage
Sting against Meng tonight.
Asya vs. Madusa
This
could be gloriously horrible. They're already fighting on the floor
before the bell finishes ringing. Asya drives her into the barricade
but Madusa gets in some kicks to the ribs. Back in (assuming they
were in there in the first place) with Madusa lifting her up in an
electric chair before firing off even more kicks. Asya slams her off
the top and puts on a leg choke for the submission while Saturn beats
up Karagias on general principle.
Malenko doesn't like
seeing Canadians fighting for an American prize. Tonight he's going
to show Benoit how much he cares about Canada with a blowtorch. The
anthem is changing from O Canada to BURN CANADA BURN. This is going
to hurt isn't it?
Chris Benoit vs.
Dean Malenko
Double
flag match, which is close enough to a pole match that I'm
considering it one. Benoit pulls Dean's hockey jersey over his face
hockey style, setting up some knees to the ribs. The fans of course
chant USA. I have no idea which flag they need to pull down and
Heenan is too busy making hockey jokes. Benoit heads outside and
grabs.....gasoline. Oh geez this isn't ending well is it?
Malenko saves himself
from being set on fire (just go with it) with a low blow but Benoit
chops him in the corner. Is that like a Canadian defense mechanism
or something? Benoit stops Dean from getting the Canadian flag and
puts him in the Tree of Woe for a good looking baseball slide. He
whips Malenko in but Dean drops to his knees to beg for mercy. Oh
come on now. Thankfully Benoit dropkicks him in the face, only to be
sent throat first into the bottom rope, allowing Malenko to get the
Canadian flag for the win. Tony makes it even worse by saying you
had to get your own flag but I really can't bring myself to care.
Rating:
D.
This wasn't much of a match but Benoit's dropkicks looked good. It's
just so depressing watching Malenko have to put up with this nonsense
which he clearly hates doing. At least it was fast though and it's a
sad day when you have to say that about a Malenko vs. Benoit match.
The
Revolution comes in with a barrel and throw in the Canadian flag.
That's not enough though as they throw in the American one as well,
but thankfully Bret runs in for the save. He hands Benoit the
Canadian flag and waves the American one because why not. See, this
is where the Revolution dies right in front of you. Russo seemed to
think they were paramilitary or something similar so that's what
we're getting: people who hate Canada and the US as well. I'm not
sure how we got here from guys tired of the older generation hogging
the main event and honestly, I'm not sure I want to know because it
might scare me.
The
Powers call Juventud Guerrera into their office to ask about an
expired work visa. Juvy offers the Powers some tequila and Russo
spits it out. He'd like his toothbrush please (you knew it was
coming), despite clearly just being an arm with a voicebox attached.
Meng vs. Sting
No
DQ and Sting is in a t-shirt again. Meng goes right after him to
start, possibly worried that the poly/cotton blend might chafe
Sting's toned chest. Liz comes out to watch as Sting finally gets
out of the jacket, revealing leather pants. Huh? Sting avoids an
elbow but turns down Liz's offer of the mace can. The Stinger Splash
has Meng in trouble but here's Luger. Sting grabs him, possibly to
ask for hair tips, setting up the Tongan Death Grip to give Meng the
win, which I'm sure is totally leading somewhere right?
Liz checks on Sting
post match.
Nash shouts for someone
to come on....but Hall is in the other direction. I don't see this
ending well.
Goldberg asks his
partner if he's ready.
David Flair FINALLY
breaks up Maestro's piano with the crowbar, probably turning into one
of the biggest faces in the promotion as a result. Well assuming the
fans can actually see these segments.
Outsiders vs.
Goldberg/???
Nash
gets to wear the TV Title, which you would think is way beneath him.
Somehow this is the first time Tony explains that Hall is the US and
TV Champion. You would think that would have been brought up earlier
in the night, but we had piano issues to discuss. Now the
stupid/shocking move here would be to go with Sid as Goldberg's
partner in an act of respect for all the hard fou.....oh of course
it's Sid so I'm not even bothering with the sarcasm here. They're
acting like best friends now of course and don't have the slightest
bit of animosity.
Hall
and Goldberg get things going but Scott throws the toothpick at Sid
to draw him in. The referee actually does his job for once and it's
off to Sid. Hall is casually shoved across the ring and Sid does it
again for good measure. Tony tries to pass this off as a big respect
thing but it's just not working.
The Outsiders have to
fight out of a double chokeslam attempt and it's off to Nash for some
big right hands. A running boot to the face drops Nash though and
it's time for the Starrcade rematch. Nash gets put with a superkick
and I can't believe this has held together so long. Some good old
fashioned cheating gives the Outsiders a breather but Goldberg just
plants Scott with a powerslam. Another cheap shot slows Goldberg
down so Sid hits one of his own (with the bandaged arm) on Hall to
even things out.
Nash comes in for the
standard corner offensive package and it's back to Hall for a front
facelock. Old school missed tag to Sid gets us nowhere so Goldberg
clotheslines both Outsiders at the same time. Sid comes in to clean
house and chokeslams Hall, followed by a big spear. The powerbomb
connects but Nash sneaks in while the referee is with Goldberg and
drops an elbow (just a regular elbow) on Sid to give Hall the fluke
pin.
Rating:
D+.
This was......shockingly watchable actually. The cheating end was as
tame an ending to a Russo main event as there has been yet and this
was a really by the book, standard tag formula power match. I mean,
it wasn't anything good but for a TV main event in this era to
actually be calm and follow the rules is stunning.
Goldberg and Nash fight
until security pulls them apart to end the show.
Overall
Rating: D.
It's a slightly better show this week with a few less things to get
annoyed at, but the Maestro thing got annoying in a hurry. I'm still
trying to get over that main event though as it was a totally calm
and rational match without a bunch of insanity throughout. It's nice
that they're focusing on Starrcade already but the stuff in the
middle is going to hurt them in the long run. I mean, do we need to
see the Revolution trying to burn flags or the Hennig nonsense? It's
also annoying that Luger and Sting have one of the most logical
stories on the roster while everyone else is a mess. Fix that and
the show will improve.
Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6
Also the price point is steep in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteOne thing they could do is have Thawne exit Wells' body and take up residence in Eddie's. So he'd get to be his own ancestor. Twisted, but at that point the show can lose Cavanaugh or face-turn him.
ReplyDeleteIf the NBA or MMA had a streaming channel then I might agree, but I draw a deep, dark line between wrestling and. TV shows.
ReplyDeleteAnd unfortunately lots of wieners too
ReplyDeleteSomewhere, Bobby Roode sheds another tear into the can of dog food he's eating, remembering that he reminded them to resign him.
ReplyDeleteNope, that was my comment (but not my email) that left you pretty bent out of shape for some reason.
ReplyDeleteI don't think WWE and HBO are direct competitors in that they are in different industries - HBO is solely in the TV programming business. However, given that WWE goes on and on about how much they want to entertain us, I'd argue their TV "entertainment" is in direct competition for my time and viewing hours.
My point was not that HBO and WWE are competition, but rather that I would rather watch The Wire than Winter 2015 episodes of Raw because I found The Wire more entertaining, interesting and engaging. I could have easily substituted HBO with March Madness, NBA basketball, etc.
Has Jarrett actually been a promoter? I thought he ran some booking aspects of TNA but his dad ran Memphis and TNA.
ReplyDeleteJarrett has no venue, no wrestlers, no proof.
I hate fantasy dragon stuff and love this show.
ReplyDeleteI'd say he's even odds to be TNA's Tommy Dreamer in the future.
ReplyDeleteUpvote for that last line. I fuckin' hate Eric Young; he looks like Eugene and Daniel Bryan's baby.
ReplyDeleteHis face...it's so punchable. I just fucking hate him so much.
ReplyDeleteIsn't he still being pushed as a TNA main eventer?
ReplyDeleteAnd that's why nobody should give any fucks about TNA staying in business. Eric Young is a no talent who basically only has a job because there's literally nobody else and TNA knows he'll show up on time and eat his ramen noodles.
Absolutely no one. But he will be the last loyal moron that becomes synonymous with the company. He might already be.
ReplyDeleteYes, he is being pushed as a marquee guy and in the top storylines. He's never been funny, he's never been talented, trying to watch him work a 5 minute match was a trainwreck and trying to watch him work a 20 minute match is even worse. Not to mention that he is so unathletic and unintimdating that it's impossible to believe that all these actual wrestler looking wrestlers he wrestles wouldn't rip his head off.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's terrible. And again, TNA absolutely deserves to not exist anymore.
ReplyDelete"What's stopping a "better company" from springing up right now?"
ReplyDeleteThat for a new company on TNA's level to spring up, they're gonna need some sort of name brand talent to convince a TV network and a money mark to give them a shot, but as of right now, all that talent works for TNA?
I think it's pretty much Roode vs Young battling for the title of last standing TNA retard
ReplyDeleteI used to pity Dixie since TNA was such a long-shot to succeed, or reach the level they thought they could at least, but after he condescending speech to the talent, which was televised for some reason, when Hogan came in I see her as the idiot they say she is.
ReplyDeleteI disagree that it's been a historically bad product - until Jeff Jarrett left for good the X-Division was some of the best stuff in the business, they brought back real tag team and women's wrestling, and found a way to get main event runs out of guys like Christian, Rhino, Sting, and Jeff Hardy when they couldn't get anywhere in WWE. Ever since Hogan/Bisch it's been trash. But there was a lot of cool stuff there for awhile.
ReplyDelete*claps*
ReplyDeleteSomeone had to say it.
The venue is the Orleans Arena
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lasvegas.com/event/global-force-wrestling/26152/
Please try to keep up
Actual quote from a retarded TNA fan (might have been Elvy or Crumlee actually) regarding the Taz situation: "Taz is being immature. Checks are late sometimes. Geez".
ReplyDeleteYeah, because it's not like Taz has a family or bills to pay or anything.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, TNA fans in a nutshell right there.
ReplyDeleteSay what you want about Vince McMahon, but his checks clear on time...
ReplyDelete:: facepalm ::
ReplyDeleteIsn't this around the time Hall puts the TV title in the trash?
ReplyDeleteThat would be like USA asking Vince to relinquish his role with the WWE. Worse, actually, because USA might know somebody who would they think would be able to take over for him, unlike DestUSA.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, that's not how business works in this kind of a relationship. DestUSA is just TNA's broadcast outlet. They're giving TNA airtime in exchange, theoretically, for new eyes on the channel. If DestUSA and TNA can't make that happen, DestUSA has no reason to continue the relationship. The end. They have no authority or right to start tinkering with TNA's corporate power structure. They don't sit on the Board of Directors.
So Taz expected to be paid for his work? What an asshole.
ReplyDeleteAs with most WCW shows at the Palace from '96 to '99, I was there - this was also the last one I ever went to.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Russo.
They did and I'm as surprised as anyone, but Joe's 36, has some serious indie clout to his name and it's pretty clear HHH either has a massive boner for big time "indie" names or wants those names to help prop up his pseudo-indie promotion, NXT, once it goes on the road full-time (or both).
ReplyDeleteRoode is 38 and has no indie clout. What he does have is the stink of TNA that wafts off him like a skunk.
Next week.
ReplyDeleteLove Joe and AJ's expressions during that speech. Their expressions just screamed "I can't believe I work for this idiot". And wasn't that the exact same taping where AJ and Russo got into an argument because Russo wanted him to do another dumb storyline that made no sense? They should have filmed that and put that on national TV too while they were at it.
ReplyDeleteBut the consensus here seems to be that TNA doesn't have talent worth having.
ReplyDeleteAnd honestly, there are plenty of name brand wrestlers not working for TNA. The only ones left are Angle and the Hardyz. Everyone else is gone.
WCW never bounced any checks either.
ReplyDeleteA lot of medieval-style political intrigue, almost zero black-and-white characters, cool fight scenes, some really great acting, unconventional storytelling. It doesn't follow the typical "bad guy hurts good guy, good guy exacts revenge" trope. Hell, there aren't really "good guys" and "bad guys" outside a select few.
ReplyDeleteHim and Eric Young.
ReplyDeleteSounds like it's time for TNA to move to Investigation Discovery.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a link to this speech?
ReplyDelete< grabs plenty of tissues for the sake of Arn Anderson and Lord Steven Regal.
ReplyDeleteActually, the consensus seems to be that while some of their talent has always been awful (like Eric Young) and while they have a penchant for signing washed up ex-WWEers (Angle), guys like Robbie E, The Wolves (I personally hate them, but people like them), Havok, etc. as well as countless other names TNA had and ruined or pissed away are names that could really be something or have been something in the hands of another, better, company.
ReplyDeleteEven if you disagree, the fact is that to secure that funding and TV deal, a company is gonna NEED the Angles and Hardys.
As a 13 year old I MARKED.THE.FUCK.OUT when Sid came out to be Goldberg's partner. I absolutely loved it.
ReplyDeletePeople have mentioned the "cancelling shows" thing, but the "Best of" shows simply moved to a different timeslot (3 AM on Saturdays).
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know...
GABBO is coming!
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/Wn13PwaRQ6s
ReplyDeleteWhat shows are being cancelled? Like tv tapings or house shows?
ReplyDeleteLet them eat cake!
ReplyDeleteI believe Jarrett was involved in all the setup work of TNA and ran a lot of the day to day stuff in the early days as Jerry Jarrett was still working with his construction company during the week and writing the shows after hours.
ReplyDeleteAll the wrestlers in TNA are little SOBs.
ReplyDeleteDidn't TNA fuck Roode up in a similar manner to Joe where they jobbed him to Angle when it was time to push him to the stratosphere?
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't much keep up with the indies anymore but does Joe working ROH have the same appeal it did before he went TNA exclusive in '06 or whenever that was?
Even the super hot Samoa Joe/Kurt Angle match supposedly only got them 50,000 buys on PPV (their highest ever) Compared to what they normally do it was great, but it still wasn't anything that would put them on WWE's level.
ReplyDeleteScott's referring to Destination America cancelling several reality shows recently, not so much about TNA (although the Mike Tenay version of Impact did get axed recently) but the channel cancelling cheap shows that hardly costed them any money is not a good sign for TNA's future.
ReplyDeleteGood lord..
ReplyDeleteLooks like a lot of them took the "go elsewhere" option.
ReplyDeleteWhen are The Larry Sanders Show, Tales From The Crypt, Dream On and Arliss going to be available on HBO GO? It angers me that HBO advertises the show lineup on HBO GO as "every HBO show is included in this package" and then I immediately notice those four shows are missing.
ReplyDeleteAlso Tommy Dreamer and a lot of those ECW guys got jobs with WWE in some fashion because of Heyman. I think Tommy got paid interest through that WWE hire.
ReplyDeleteFirst episode could crack the case of the missing paychecks.
ReplyDeleteI wish I saw that back in 2009. Holy shit, Dixie is the worst businesswoman ever.
ReplyDeleteJames Storm's also in that contest.
ReplyDeleteThe Dudleys are out there. Nash, presumably. Angle's great, but he
ReplyDeletehasn't moved the needle for TNA. I don't think it's a fact that a
company will need him to secure funding and a TV deal, so long as the
hypothetical company could get some free agents with relatively big
names. Alberto Del Rio is another guy who, presumably, could be had (I
don't know his ROH contract situation).
Also, Angle had tons of
great matches in TNA so I wouldn't call him washed up when he signed. I
also like Eric Young just fine, so I disagree with the hate for him.
He's done bad stuff, but he also worked some damn fine main event
matches with Roode and Lashley last year.
You are confusing Meltzer with Mike Johnson half of the time
ReplyDeleteAgreed, but the hyperbole train has already left the station.
ReplyDeleteI vividly remember turning on the TV, watching Shane Douglas scream out, "We didn't turn our back on America! America turned its back on us!" and wondering how the hell they got there. Thanks for filling in the blanks.
ReplyDeleteScrew Vince Russo.
The product is fine at the moment but they are on a station with limited viewership that already eliminated (I believe) the Saturday replay of the show and has noticeably lower production values.
ReplyDeleteHey HartKiller, if you don't believe in my vision of having a million interferences per show and a vision of reverse battle royales, you can start finding work elsewhere too.
ReplyDeleteStay away from my ice cream.
ReplyDeleteAt this point I just tune out anything he says about TNA. There's no fun in beating a decayed skeleton, even if some think it'll resurrect into Secretariat.
ReplyDeleteDestination America shows, not TNA shows.
ReplyDeleteJust about all of them can't afford it anyway.
ReplyDeleteThink about what they're all competing for though - the first screen of our phones and tablets. I believe sports/wrestling/shows all fall under the entertainment umbrella (meaning none are necessary and all are total luxury items). Sure there are die-hards of any product that will support it no matter what, but mostly the products you mention have a high degree of interchangability (I think I just made a word up).
ReplyDeleteTommy dreamer is an icon to millions and very important to wrestling history. At least that's what I get from every interview he does where he tells us how great he is
ReplyDeleteYou know what was worse (for a shorter time though) was that AWF crap from the 90's where they had rounds of wrestling like boxing. It aired for a while on cable and then died - b/c it was atrocious.
ReplyDeleteDixie and Steph are kindred spirits. At least Steph isn't the owner, i guess.
ReplyDeleteYet.
ReplyDeleteFuck man, I burst into tears just reading this
ReplyDeleteYou said there were no dates booked yet, but there are. You said Jeff Jarrett wasn't a promoter, but he is. You said he didn't have a venue, but he does.
ReplyDeleteIs the July 24 launch going to happen? I don't know considering no specific talent has been announced, though it's still 3 months away.
But at least know what you're talking about, guy.
Gee, when Meltzer was saying that some of the stuff about their financial trouble was flase, you had no problem backing him 100%. Now that he is reporting some troubles, it's back to "MELTZER'S ALWAYS WRONG."
ReplyDeleteWhen he was on Austin's podcast, he was saying how he's 5'10, and that when he weighed 245 it was too much. 230 is much better. At 5'10? I'm 5'9, 185 and I look fat! Young looks like toddler with a beard!
ReplyDeleteYou would think ECW would've served as a lesson to wrestlers about working for a company that stopped sending you checks.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the difference between this and HBO go?
ReplyDeleteOdd email. WWE added the Attitude era Raws because it's a free month for new subscribers.
ReplyDeleteThere's absolutely no reason why every Raw & Nitro are not available. Except that the people running the Network are really stupid.
Imagine if the Fox launched the Simpsons World portal without all the episodes. People would be like, wtf is this?
I don't like fantasy stuff either aside from a couple of the big ones (your Lords of the Ring and your Princesses Bride, etc) and I really don't care about the glut of period piece shows like Rome and Vikings, but I really dug Game of Thrones. It's a political drama where instead of a dude getting shot by someone in a suit and sunglasses in a dim parking garage his head gets scorched with melted gold. The violence is absolutely brutal, the nudity is plentiful, but for the most part it all is in service of a really good, sprawling story.
ReplyDeleteThat Mr. Hughes intro on Warriors Of Wrestling is never not funny.
ReplyDeletePeople saying Meltzer made it up lol.
ReplyDeleteSay what you like about Steph but she's def. not a money mark unlike Dixie and her family. The way she dumped her WWE stock makes that really clear.
ReplyDeleteAustin wasted a guest on Eric Young? UGH!
ReplyDeleteAngle doesn't move the needle for TNA because WWE changed the industry where wrestlers are perceived by what organization they compete in rather than organizations being perceived by what wrestlers compete in them. Just being in TNA makes him look small time.
ReplyDeleteWhat's funny is that Destination America's meddling makes a lot of sense. Tape in the USA? Should be cheaper, also fits their brand identity. Kurt Angle as champion? Biggest star they have. Honestly if they had taken over sooner TNA might have had a chance.
ReplyDelete"Tonight on The Murder Channel, a special look at how TNA murdered the career of Samoa Joe. With exclusive interviews from Vince Russo, Dixie Carter and Eric Bischoff."
ReplyDeleteSorry bro, not bent out of shape by your email. Was bent out of shape by the lunatic who said he would watch HBO over Mania. Wasn't sure if you were him.
ReplyDeleteIf HBOGo and the Network are the same then every single form of entertainment is the same, PBS, Food Channel, cock fighting. But it's not the same kind of the entertainment so it's not the same.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean by a lot? Because I've never personally known someone who likes wrestling but hates sports. And I'm 67 years olds.
ReplyDeleteIt did give us a great Bryan and Vinny story about the idiocy of Comcast though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLqp4kDzJdA
ReplyDeleteI just don't think theirs many people deciding on the Network or HBOGo/Netflix. The emailer in question is an aberration IMO.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they don't sit down thinking that - but ultimately let's say the WWE just folds - will their mass audience search far and wide just to find wrestling to watch? Or will they default to other forms of entertainment? I think the latter. I'm not a market expert by any stretch, but with so many entertainment options available today all of these avenues need to compete for our attention.
ReplyDeleteYep, and it was the worst one I ever heard. I'm honestly fascinated just listening to he and his wife bantering.
ReplyDeleteOh, you're preaching to the choir on that. In order to get Destination America I'd need to upgrade TWO tiers on my cable package. No thanks.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget Stunning Steve Austin
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Seems just like just yesterday the U.S president would make his celebratory first pitches and visits to Baltimore games. Clinton being in attendance/in the broadcast booth for Ripken's 2131 game especially.That's a thing of the past now.
ReplyDeleteThankfully the TV title would have one last champion during the Jimmy Hart booked Saturdsy night
ReplyDeleteI never understood by Jarrett was pushed to main events during this period of wcw.. He never ever drew a dime
ReplyDeleteHe had done well in the midcard stuff in WWF and was hot at the time. Then he got to WCW and was screwed up because WCW.
ReplyDeleteA couple of things that Scott didn't mention:
ReplyDeleteThe switch from Vince to JR is such a breath of fresh air. Vince isn't the worst announcer ever, but having been watching all these Raws along with Scott, he can get over bearing after awhile. Perfect and JR made a good team too. It's sad Curt was so obsessed with continuing to wrestle because he could have become the next Jesse. And maybe it would have kept him alive a little longer.
I think Scott under valued that Vader/Yoko match. I quite enjoyed it. I'd give it at least ***. It wasn't your regular punch punch kick kick match with two fat guys. It was hard hitting, and they hit all their big moves. Plus it was short and sweet.
It looks like Hebnar turns toward Vince at the announce desk and it seemed like he even said something like, "They won't go home." But Vince's demure never changes. At no point does Vince actually act they are supposed to go home. His voice very much sounds like it's the middle of the match.
Was Sting trying to update his look or something at this point? Wrestling in a T shirt and leather pants? Or was he just out of shape again?
ReplyDeleteI remember this era so well and my word what a mess it was.
I think he & Russo were legitimately good friends or something, and maybe Russo was pissed that Jarrett didn't get a big run in the WWF, and wanted to make up for it.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, it was a bad call. Jarrett was just not the guy- they practically had to build entire companies around him just to give him credibility.
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Yea I always like Jeff's character in wwf. He had ATTITUDE I guess u could say. Is was great in wcw too with the slap nuts deal, but it wasnt good enough to be world champ. If he hadn't won the world title I dont think ppl would be talking so bad about him today
ReplyDeleteStrength increases, decreases Calories
ReplyDeleteWhen your strength and muscle mass increases, your body also
will be using more calories efficiently. The comparison like this, Fewer
Calories burned sitting than standing, standing Fewer Calories burned than
walking, and walking burns calories Fewer than exercise or fitness expense. The
More muscle contractions that you do every radio, The Many Calories You Burn.
So if you have a small muscle mass, you'll need a More muscle contraction and
thus also Will your body burn more calories. So, when your strength increases
fitness Calories Will and Will is reduced.
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