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Post by Velkontés on Nov 24, 2013 17:44:54 GMT -5
Impact is definitely getting back on the right track.
They finally killed off Aces and Eights just in time for that PPV they taped in January, where Aces and Eights are a team. Have I mentioned recently that TNA is stupid? Eh, never mind, I'm just glad we got a resolution to this endless story.
Roode getting one over on Storm was great. I liked the ending. It made sense.
I think that lady that Gail Kim defeated should hang out with Dewey and Norm. She wasn't very good, is what I'm saying.
They even managed to make me give even the tiniest shit about Samuel Shaw. Huzzah for vignettes!
Also their new Impact Zone looks much better than the old Impact Zone.
Yeah, a fun show all told. I'm cautiously optimistic.
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Post by Velkontés on Dec 1, 2013 8:56:00 GMT -5
This week's show was far and away the most fun I've had watching Impact in months and months. Rockstar Spud has got an awesome Julian Assange douchebag look going on. DJ Xema Ion fits right in with the Bromans. Man, what a hilarously annoying triad they make. Anderson popping out of the... oh fuck it, here's a screenshot I took: ![](http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/9884/op9v.png) "An organisation responsible for many many, many many many... many many segments on the show" "Eric, I think they hurt your feet." "He's going that way, let's follow him". So many funny little moments this week. I did like Bully Ray showing up to the funeral. It would have been silly (although perhaps understandable) for him to just show up in a few weeks as though Aces & 8s never happened, so this was a pretty effective way to move things forward. I'm a sucker for an elimination match, and this one was pretty good. I'm assuming Magnus was faking the injury to throw Angle to the wolves, right? They seem to be positioning James Storm as the heel in his tiff with Gunner, which is interesting. Dixie blowing off her own company dinner was a tremendous bit of subtle heeling. This show highlighted the good and the bad of Heel Dixie. She had some really good moments, but there was way too much of her. You'd think they'd learn from Hogan, Bischoff and the Bikers that less is more. A wrestling thanksgiving dinner ending up in a food fight? Now I've seen everything!
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Post by Champ on Dec 4, 2013 21:24:08 GMT -5
I did appreciate the funeral. Skits like this just piss me off for other reasons though. Tna dropped the fucking ball for so long with Anderson. Every time they give him the spotlight he shines, more than he ever did in wwe. Then they just drop him.
TNA's biggest problem is they are like heroin addicts looking for the quick fix every 20 minutes. Maybe if they actually invested longterm into something, they'd actually see positive results someday. That shit doesn't happen overnight, and it sure as hell will NEVER happen if they drop a good act after 5 weeks because it doesn't draw wwe numbers. I hate this company. It's like business class 101 and they get an F every week
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Post by Velkontés on Dec 7, 2013 19:05:16 GMT -5
I think I need to correct you Champ. Maybe if they invested in something GOOD longterm they'd see positive effects. Because Aces & 8s was pretty much the definition of longterm.
And I dunno about Anderson. He can be hot and cold. The funeral was definitely a highlight for him.
"I'm Sting. I'm sure you've heard my albums." LOL
I'm liking these little vignettes they're weaving into the show, like Sam Shaw going all Psychotic Boyfriend on that waiter. And hey, Joseph Park being the pre-crazy incarnation of Abyss (rather than some persona he made up out of nothing) makes some logical sense. Actually it probably doesn't, but I'm not thinking too much about it.
I'm starting to not like how many Dixie segments we're getting. I mean, the Main Event of Impact was Dixie opening a box. Have I mentioned recently that TNA is stupid? Was it really necessary to drag out that whole parcel thing across the WHOLE SHOW (including in the middle of the Last Man Standing match)? Just have the box show up, go to a break, come back and Dixie opens it and pregnant doges out AJ. They have less than 90 minutes of show and they waste time with this nonsense.
Why do I also get the feeling that Suit-And-Tie AJ Styles is going to be the Face Of TNA, after beating Jeff in a unification match with Dixie, EC3 & Spud's help?
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Post by Velkontés on Dec 15, 2013 8:23:40 GMT -5
TNA announcing an intentionally ridiculous stipulation match, complete with OTT video package - and then having the participants making funny faces about it made me laugh. A lot. The fucking cheek of it. And given Dixie's comments about the winner (essentially) being Face Of The Company, they might as well have dubbed it a Poison Chalice match.
Does anyone think they're trying to do a double-turn with Roode and Angle? I am looking forward to the 2/3 match next week.
Magnus talked and talked and talked.
Madison Rayne has a weird skeleton face.
I enjoyed Sting's showdown with EC3. This is exactly how they should be using Sting. I don't really need to be seeing him in World Title matches any more. I also loved EC3 faking a dive and instead RUNNING towards the corner to grab a briefcase. Funny and smart.
I figured Bully Ray's little speech must have been cribbed from somewhere, but I wasn't expecting Google to tell me it was fucking Motley Crue.
Jeff showing up to Dixie's dinner at the end means Magnus is turning heel. It really is as simple as that.
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Post by MasterSnit on Dec 21, 2013 17:11:17 GMT -5
OK, I've been way behind recently but have slowly caught up with TNA. I've just got to see the one from this past Thursday.
I'm still really enjoying the Roode - Angle feud. Particularly for Roode. Not sure about a double turn.
I'm sure Bully Ray has quoted Guns n Roses before too, as well as his promo from last week. Maybe I'm just expecting the worst, but something tells me he's going to have some sort of new faction soon enough.
DJ Zema Ion is funny.
I have been enjoyed the last few shows more. Usually the BFG Series improves the weekly shows, but it just didn't happen this year.
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Post by Naitch on Dec 21, 2013 18:07:44 GMT -5
I've only seen two eps of Impact since September and DJ Zema Ion has been the hightlight of those two eps. He is one cool dude. There is (maybe was) a doc on Netflix about Indy wrestling that came out right before Ion went to TNA, that dude is a winner. He was working a couple of jobs before TNA to take care of his mother and just seemed like an awesome dude. Compared to others in that doc, he should have some people like Trent Acid came off as giant wastes of space.
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Post by Velkontés on Dec 22, 2013 13:08:50 GMT -5
I'm still really enjoying the Roode - Angle feud. Particularly for Roode. Not sure about a double turn. This feud has quietly become perhaps my favourite feud in a long time. Mostly because Roode is winning all the time. I'm also enjoying the Storm / Gunner rivalry. I think Gunner has the potential to be TNA's version of Batista. TNA blahed about this week's show being a "PPV quality" event, and they opened with 10 minutes of chatting and a 2/3 falls match that maybe lasted 10 minutes. Lame. In fact, there were only 3 matches this week, which just makes it worse. God, I laughed so much when Jeff took a dumbass Hardy bump off the ladder onto the stage. I mean, I was wondering how they were going to set up some stupid bump up there, and they just tip him off the ladder with a splat.
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Post by Champ on Jan 3, 2014 21:15:52 GMT -5
Tna is just so bad now. I still record it but it's like I can't even pay attention or something. I'm not even going to comment on the last episodes. I'll just do a basic run on the whole thing these days.
Rock star spud - better than I first assumed. He's the perfect little errand boy tool
Magnus - I feel like they just recycle the same old suit wearing face sellout champion storyline. There's nothing about Magnus as champion that interests me right this moment.
Dixie - I honestly thought she was going to "surprise" me and be a good heel. But she fucking sucks. She's annoying, and not even in a heel antagonist way.
Sabin - they've sparked a little interest with me over Sabin. I enjoyed his promo after velvet distracted Aries and he stole the title back last night. "There's only one person to thank, myself! Thank you Chris Sabin. You're welcome Chris Sabin!"
Bully ray - eh, it's an ok gimmick I suppose. It kind of makes sense that he was humiliated by the aces and eights angle and sort of just flipped out. I'm just glad the aces and eights are over though
EC3 - he's good but he's so unoriginally charismatic if that makes sense lol. Its like I get an oxymoron vibe from him meaning, he's a "generic blue chipper". The whole point of blue chippers are they are unique and not generic
Joseph park - I guess he ran his course as a big goofy lawyer. But I hope they don't fully make him go back to being abyss either
Madison rayne - I forgot that she's really hot. I used to not really think so. I think since I've been getting older I've been less picky and judgmental too. Considering she's a mom now too, she's a grade A milf
Bobby roode - the guy just does nothing for me, never did. He doesn't suck. I just don't care for him either way like, if he was gone I wouldn't be happy or sad
Jeff hardy - dude needs to go back to wwe. Talk about a career flatline. This is the same guy that was outselling cena in merch at one point and now jobbing to a fucking jobber named Magnus. I hope his "walkout" means he's really done like hogan
Gunner - I like gunner. He's one of those guys that has the presence and natural charisma by just standing there and looking at you. I hope they don't waste him.
Anderson - surprise surprise, Anderson is getting great again and they give him 2 min of airtime. I hate this company
Kurt angle - just fucking retire already
James storm - I think a heel turn actually makes a lot of sense for him. He almost deserves to have a chip on his shoulder. But it's ironic how he turned to bobby roode last night to help him let out that frustration. I actually thought that was good writing for a change
All in all, some of the quieter storylines are catching my interest but the main event is just complete SHIT right now
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Post by Naitch on Jan 3, 2014 23:40:40 GMT -5
Champ, I agree with you on the whole TNA is really hard to watch thing. In my head, here is why it is so hard to watch.
The We Built This City Guys: Roode, Storm, Styles, etc: They are good wrestlers, always dependable for a good match, but they are stale now. All of there matches are bleeding into each other. So, just because of longevity, they are boring.
The Old Timers: Sting, Angle, Bully Ray: Most of the time these guys appear to be there mostly for the paycheck.
Not Bound For Glory Series Season: The BFG Series is when 12 (or however many people are in it) really shine. Several awesome matches for months.
The New Guard: Samuel Shaw, Zima Ion, etc. You never know how long these guys will be along so it is almost pointless to get invested in them.
Short Term Booking Bleeding Into Long Term Booking: I don't know if you watched or read a review of tonights One Night Only PPV, but the booking from when they taped it made no sense tonight. The announcers saying Magnus had not future (he is the current champ), Aces and Eights running roughshod, talking about investing in the X-Division with stars we haven't seen in almost a year, Chavo being on the PPV. It really made no sense.
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Post by Velkontés on Jan 4, 2014 6:53:57 GMT -5
I disagree with both of you on Bobby Roode, give him a half-decent angle (tagging with Aries, EGO, owning Kurt) and he's gold. I do find myself agreeing with you on most of the rest though.
"The Built This City" guys - I think they realise they're stale, which is why they did a half-assed Lone Wolf angle with AJ and Storm seems to be joining the dark side. I mean, this is the first time I've been interested in Storm in ages. I really don't like it when they do "We Built This City" promos - which is depressingly frequent - because, really, who cares? So you've been bumming around in the 2nd biggest promotion for 10 years - is that really something you expect us to care THAT much about? Do we really have the same attachment to the TNA brand that people had to the Original ECW brand? No, we don't. But they seem to think we do. And that isn't a knock against Styles, Storm, Roode or the others. Just stop making a big deal out of nothing.
2 problems with Dixie. 1: she's better than the train wreck I was expecting. That is a problem because she isn't actually good, but she isn't entertainingly awful either. Now that the novelty has worn off, she's just another Heel GM. 2: they've been ramming her down our throats like they do with EVERY Heel authority angle. She's fucking everywhere. They never fucking learn. Less is more.
Vintage TNA
I've said before that TNA should go full on LOST. If you're not going to pretend to be a sport, and you really are just a "soap opera for men" (c) Eric Bischoff - then go all the way. Once you stop feigning realness and embrace fictiousness it opens a world of possiblities. So you can have a wacky flash-sideways where Magnus is a nobody and Aces and 8s are still running wild.
It's the next frontier for Pro Wrestling. Trust me.
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Post by MasterSnit on Jan 5, 2014 18:52:33 GMT -5
I think Bobby Roode is the best guy TNA have. If I could pick one guy from TNA to have a go in WWE it would be Roode. He's a brilliant slimeball.
Storm really does need a heel turn and they are playing it quite well with him and Gunner so far.
I've also totally had enough of Dixie. "OK. You know what? Now listen up people."
As for those One Night Only PPVs, they taped a load of them months ago with who they had at the time so nothing really makes much sense when they get around to releasing the PPV. They had one a few weeks back and the theme was a TNA World Cup. So they had international teams, four teams, consisting of Team USA, Team UK, Team International, and Team Aces and Eights. If anyone can show me Aces and Eights on a map I will apologise to my TV for the sustained look of scorn I gave it.
TNA didn't have a very good year last year though, from what I can remember of it. Yeah, the heel in a suit world champion and the evil dictator angle is so old. It doesn't matter how they spin it, they need to try something new. Pressing the reset button and starting afresh sounds like a decent idea.
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Post by Champ on Jan 14, 2014 19:15:00 GMT -5
I think V and Naitch hit on something huge that I kind of let fly under my radar. The "we built this city" guys theory. It's so god damn true. They are stale as fuck and their matches, good, great, or ok, are stale. The "holy shits" are stale.
Take Orton vs cena. It happened for the 78th time in December and it's happening for the 79th time at the rumble. Who wants to see this shit again? Now let's take the TNA originals and the guys the came before anyone knew what tna was. These guys have been doing a circle jerk for even longer than cena and Orton guys. It's like ok, we get it, you got very hard working talented guys on the roster. But wtf else you got except stale fossil/wwe guys and jobber x guys? This company has nothing right now. They need a complete reboot
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