diamond_dust

Well first of all you said he "never took risks" which implied you're talking about over his career which is why I said about the past.

In 2004 he probably felt his position in TNA wasn't worth throwing away to take the chance of starting from scratch in WWE but thats just my guess. You'd have to ask him what his reasons were. At any later opportunities he might have felt at risk of being the next Braden Walker.

Alberto Del Rio is a different case. He was a star in Mexico. If CMLL were pissed with him for leaving and his WWE run bombed then he could go to AAA with his name value & family value. If AJ jumps and TNA decide to black ball him his options aren't as good.

Ability is subjective. For me in 2004 his promo's weren't consistent enough and that hasn't changed yet. He does come off at times like he's whining but there are times when he is a great talker too. Maybe it's just because he's jaded but there are a few examples of his promo's not being up to WWE standard. I still say if he had signed back then he wouldn't have made it, but again it's only a guess there's no way anyone can say that for certain.

& finally, yes TNA have come close to going under but in theory they have been presented a blank cheque book with Panda, a highly supportive network in Spike & had the biggest name in wrestling sign up bringing with him a man who should have learnt from his mistakes made with WCW. When each of those things were announced backstage it would be easy for someone to think "this could be the turning point for us now" and if someone at the top thinks that the company is going to bet stronger and his wage is going to get bigger why would he leave that when he's in on the ground floor?

All I'm saying is I can see why he never left when he's stated that he turned down WWE to provide for his family and he's doing that and become a star as well. If his priority was to get the Austin level of fame then he would've tried that back in 2001. As for bashing people who have been to WWE I think he can have some right to do that since in the context he's trying to portray loyalty to a company he built. As you've said WWE wanted him numerous times and he has stayed loyal so it's not like he hasn't had the chance to WWE and is just ranting against people because he's bitter. That's besides the fact he's bashing them because he was told to in a kayfabe promo so it's not like he's been blasting them in a shoot either.

Ian said about AJ never taking a risk but I have to give the guy credit for that. He turned down a developmental deal in 2001 because he could take better care of his family with what he earned on the indies. It doesn't matter how long you've been in TNA if you jump to WWE today they still only offer you a developmental deal and if he was earning more for the odd indy show back then you have to believe that he's earning a hell of a lot more for being a big fish in TNA.

And now he finds himself in a position late on his career where he has to sign a three month extension because the company cant afford his low six figure deal, and has no negotiating power. When he was on TV, Tyson Kidd will have made more money from an international tour and action figure money than AJ Styles makes. AJ Styles rakes in a downside guarantee and that is all. The likes of Punk and Bryan are set for life. And AJ had as much potential as both of them when he was in his 20s. Styles wasn't a Lance Hoyt or a Sonjay Dutt. He was a dynamic performer who blew everyone away at one stage. The way they have treated him over his contract negotiations is shocking. Its sad that all the work he has put in and at age 36 his standing in the business is pretty fucked, and TNA can use his loyalty as a means to not even sign him to a long term deal. It comes to that question of why is he even in the business? TNA's a good gig, but its never going to last forever. If he didn't want to do the WWE schedule, then pinning your hopes on TNA continuing to pay you decent money just isn't a smart move. So many people in WCW had the same attitude and you never saw them again.

The question wasn't where he is now was it? Your comment was about him not taking risks in the past and for the last few years it would've been whats best for him and his family. He couldn't have expected things to fuck up so badly because with all the tools TNA have had handed to them at various points it took something really special to put them where they are now. Add to that when he was offered the deal AJ was a kid who would've been lost in the shuffle of WCW rejects down in development and would probably have been released along with Kaz Hayashi or called up for the roles Shannon Moore had at best. It's OK saying how Punk/Bryan turned out but both have much better promo skills and waited much longer than AJ would've done if he'd signed the contract back then.

I don't think the whole angle is as bad as people are making it out to be. AJ didn't really say the company is shit, more that they just dropped the ball with talented wrestlers to make room for ones with name value. While it could be taken as a real life shot at people like Kevin Nash & Christian there has always been story lines in wrestling where the big names feud against the homegrown talent who either want to prove they are ready for the spot or feel they have been pushed out of the spot so the only difference here is instead of feuding with the wrestler AJ is going after the one who brought them in.

Dixie isn't a TV character and did OK for the angle but at the moment there isn't anyone else you can put in the role so its the best of a bad situation.

Ian said about AJ never taking a risk but I have to give the guy credit for that. He turned down a developmental deal in 2001 because he could take better care of his family with what he earned on the indies. It doesn't matter how long you've been in TNA if you jump to WWE today they still only offer you a developmental deal and if he was earning more for the odd indy show back then you have to believe that he's earning a hell of a lot more for being a big fish in TNA. Of course if that is just an excuse and it was all an ego issue then everything Ian said is true but with AJ he seems the type who'll come out and bitch to everyone who will listen that he's too good for development.

There may be hope for TNA yet.

PWInsider.com is reporting sources inside TNA are questioning whether or not Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan will survive in TNA if reports of the company taking Impact Wrestling off the road are in fact true.

 

Bischoff and Hogan lobbied to air Impact on Monday nights, which failed, then they lobbied to spend more money to make more money, which failed, and finally they were behind taking Impact out of Orlando and that too has failed.

 

The report notes that both Bischoff and Hogan's contracts are under evaluation just like everyone else in TNA, so it remains to be seen whether or not the two will be released if Impact is pulled from the road. Additionally, Hogan's current contract with TNA is set to expire in a few weeks, which could make things interesting.

Get rid of the high earner who doesn't have any value now the nostalgia pop has worn off and take his brainwashed mate with him.

Do TNA really have any decision makers backstage or does Dixie just read UKFF and go with whatevers said on here? Go on the road, stop the touring, bring back Jarrett.....

Hi Dixie. As you read this I know you can't see me but I'm waving to you.

I'd love to see JR with something to prove get brought into a rebooted promotion. We might get decent commentary rather than the shit he spouted towards the end of his TV WWE run & Taz needs to fuck off. As much shit as Don West deservedly got back then Taz has really made me miss the guy.

My cheap Hogan had a red singlet. I think theres one in someones sig on here actually. Can't think who it is.

TNA's future - AJ vs Bully - Dixie costs AJ & is revealed as Aces & Eights leader which was her plan to get rid of Hogan - They drive Hogan out (contract expires) - Anderson returns because who else will have him - wins title - 1st defense is a rematch. Mid match because it's TNA and they have to steal everything from someone, Spike executives stop the match, pull the ring and set up down and kick everyone out. TNA dies. Anderson as champion is the final nail in the coffin.

Saying that there might be too much logic there for TNA to go that route.

& the latest TNA signing from WWE is.......

star who thinks he is mis used plans to win the title and leave with the belt. That's right TNA are now pushing the storylines recently seen on WWE straight to main event.

Personally I thought the best time in TNA history was the weekly PPV era, not so much the TWC ones but the first year and a bit. I still go back and watch them because it was kind of like an indy WCW. You never knew who was going to turn up each week because guys like Jason Cross & The Briscoe's were brought it for filler sports for a few weeks and had the short term storyline then if they impressed they found something for them and extended the contract eventually leading to long term deals (Sabin & Kazarian etc) or they went back to the indies. These days you have Rob Terry sat at home for 4 months, brought back to fill a decent spot and you don't care because if they've seem him as useless all this time why should a fan see them any different?

The thing is I'm not sure if you could do that in 2013. There's no fresh big name stars from WCW & ECW. The Indy scene has died down too. RoH is a shell of itself and CZW while entertaining isn't getting the attention it did back then. Where it was great to see Vampiro & Sting turn up mixed with some up and comers back then these days it would be just a case of waiting for WWE to release Curt Hawkins and Mason Ryan & isn't that just what TNA do these days anyway? It's easy to say TNA should've had their core guys like they did back then in AJ, AMW, Daniels and the rest, kept cycling in & out the other talent like they did and keeping and building to ones that got the best responses at the expense of the legends who were on the way out but at this point there's no Raven's out there who can elevate a home grown guy to the level AJ Styles/CM Punk were & that means no major money making dream matches when a big name does leave WWE. Would Sabin vs Big Show be a huge draw for TNA? Probably not. Could they get anything out of Cena vs Daniels after the initial buzz? I doubt it. They had the chance to fill the gap in the market WCW left but they had to build for it right from day 1. When they didn't and WWE had complete control they changed the market and it's hard to see anyone competing on that level again. TNA need to accept that they can only ever be an Indy with a prime time tv slot & better production that the others & not anything more.

The only thing I'd disagree with there is Shamrock. I still like him and would love to see him make a comeback for the odd match (once the current batch of MMA leeches have gone away and been forgotten about but by that time he might be too old even for a one shot) but its the 500th Impact not the 500th TNA show. Shamrocks title win was 2 years before Impact and he was long gone before the show was ever thought up so he isn't part of Impacts history.

There's not really much you could do to save TNA these days. Once you bring in the biggest name in wrestling history and he can't save the product what else can you do? Austin wouldn't save them if Hogan couldn't. As great as Austin is as a character if he can't wrestle every so often he gets stale very quickly. Maybe The Rock? Mainstream crossover might save them for a while but you need to do something once The Rocks appeal wears off and/or he goes back to Hollywood. Is there anyone on the roster you can build to be that mega star to keep you interesting? The only other possibility would be John Cena but that's the same problem. You need at least 2 people in a match so who do you put him with? Eventually he has to lose and when he does it's to someone no one gives a fuck about and eventually he ends up like Kurt Angle.

I was never a fan of heel Sabin during the early days of TNA though I did get behind him when he turned face. I do think Sabin is a little stale now but I don't think a heel turn will do a lot for him.

All the modern ones seem to be the lower card guys. Shawn Stasiak is blacklisted for secretly recording wrestler conversations and then there's the Mike Sanders/Raven/Kanyon court case. Obviously Kanyon's not gonna be able to kiss and make up anymore. The only other one that looked close to a breakthrough was Savage before he died so I don't think there are any "major" names out there.

Just noticed the line-up for some upcoming taped PPVs. The show that starts airing next week has a tag tournament with Bully Ray and Devon. The show airing in November has Team Aces & 8s, including team member DOC.

At the time when those spoilers came out I said that it either meant those shows would have matches that didn't make sense or fuck all of importance was going to happen between the taping and air date. Turns out in some cases both were right.

Imagine next year when they tape PPV's in January and Knux or someone else pops it only to rise from the dead 6 months later to team with Bully Ray against Sting/Kurt Angle despite Kurt joining Aces & Eights to feud with Bully who's been kicked out. Actually that's more logical than what they do now anyway.

Its more likely to be called the Crowes Nest, before he's re-packaged as the long lost pirate cousin of Paul Birchall.

 

That's his faction, surely?

I hope not. 2013 Doesn't need a Raven's Flock reboot.

Thanks for the info. What about guys like DDP who was active during the angle? did he sign separately or was part of the deal?

I'm not basing it on anything other than what I thought at the time but I always figured the stalker gimmick was started planning to reveal someone already on the roster and when the buy out happened they thought something along the lines of "well we only have Booker T & DDP from their main eventers, we're bringing Booker in as champion but if we don't do something big with DDP and he's just another guy this is going to be really shit."

I've always been of the opinion that the guy is a massive turd, but having seen THIS I'm beginning to have some sympathy with him.

I'd be willing to bet she's been in his house without him knowing at least 10 times.

If there is talent about, WWE are snapping it up. John Cena, Brock Lesnar and Batista never wrestled before signing with WWE either, but they still signed Benoit, Jericho, Regal and Guerrero around the same time.

He wrestled for around a year in UPW and a couple of other places in that area before being signed.

Since Undertaker is hardly there any more, who's taken the reins as locker room leader?

Probably JBL. There were always 2 sets of stories about him going around when he was active. One where he was a respected member of the locker room (& I think he might have been instrumental in banning Miz from the locker room IIRC) & the others that said he was a prick that gave a lot of enjoyment when Joey Styles made him his bitch. No idea on house shows or any time JBL isn't doing commentary.

If anyone's seen the ad for Law & Order:UK can they tell if the background music is the Ascension's NXT theme? It's been bugging me and every time its on the musics too quiet to be sure.

Ha jokes on you. I ordered paperback.

I only remember that with British Uprising 1. I never saw any others released as part one & part two, though doing it once was enough of a con and I assume it backfired on them and they never tried it again.Back on Greg's book, I ordered it on Amazon because of his shill in this thread. Been meaning to pick up for a while and almost got it when he shilled it at PCW but was low on cash and now seems a good time to read it but I probably would've forgotten to order it and blown my money on something else if it wasn't for his reminder. Besides since he "shilled rather than contributing anything of value to the conversation" what do you expect him to say? Something he's already covered in his book on a free forum? Any other successful business tips?

Here's a question for everyone, who was the most underrated wrestler in the FWA? Someone who should of gone further but is now not even working in the business?My pick - Guy Thunder, he had the look and for a big man could move, he lacked charisma but in the right role could of done really well. I also think Jorge Castano and Scotty Rock were under used, they tore the house down with the likes of Jodie and Jonny. I also think the New Breed were a hell of a team who frequently tore the house down.It sucks but politics kept a lot of these guys out of the FWA.

I loved the FWA at the time. I just picked up a copy of Noah Limits 2 off here which I've been trying to track down for 7 years and I'll have to check but I think that completes my FWA collection now.I found the FWA through the Talksport show which a mate had told me about and up until that point my only experience of any indy wrestling was the names on Promotion Wars/EWR. I was always gutted that I never made it to an FWA show at it's peak but I did manage to get to a few at the end with Blackpool Rock in 2005 being my first ever British show (and only my 2nd ever live wrestling show) I met Stixx/Nikita/Simply Luscious outside the venue which was cool and I even got to hear Jonny Storms proper theme before he had to switch to the Milo one.Anyone know what happened to Dan Head? At one point wasn't he being groomed to be the biggest babyface in the country then when the FWA went he didn't seen to have anyone behind him with the same support. Did he just give up right away? Would've thought he'd have had at least a bit of name value being the top prospect in the academy of the biggest company in the country.*Edit - The New FWA was OK but it got off to a bad start in honesty.They tried to do a one show transition which didn't work. It was good seeing Jody Fleisch back in a headline act role for the comeback (where he belonged in the FWA) despite him being a midcard level guy everywhere else but then he disappeared completely. I thought the transition should've lasted a couple more shows so it actually felt like the FWA was back but thats just me. The other thing was Martin Stone, the man who killed the FWA after months of bashing it started as a face with no explanation, then did the same thing he did everywhere else. He turned. I don't think I've ever seen him work more than 2 shows in one place without turning. He's worse than Kane and it killed him for me by about the 6th time.

About time Ohno got ready for the call up. A lot of people seem to think he's still too "indy" but no one has worked as hard as he had in wrestling for as long as he has so he deserves it. It's a shame WWE decided not to follow through with the promising tag division revival though as I'd have loved his team with Kruger to carry on a bit longer.

I don't usually bother with TNA since I'm normally up at 4:30 Monday mornings for work but I'll have to record next weeks. Magno is impressive, doesn't get anywhere near the exposure he should so looking forward to his match with Pearce.