TNA Destination X 2012 discussion *SPOILERS*

[Prince Nana]

Now i agree that TNA could have cast a wider net and I also like the idea of bringing in Koslov I remember being disapointed they didn't keep him those few years back, the fact that people remeber him makes a strong point.

 

One thing I do disagree with however is the idea of dismissing Mason Andrew's from what i have seen of him the kid is good I tihnk people are being hasty in overlooking him. I have half the mind of looking to see if NWA hollywood still has those matches he had with Aries and post them. I have seen elements of personality with him too Cocky heel seems to be the the way to do with him, he started to do the cocky thing shortly afgter wining the (NWA Hollywood) T.V. title. but I sotped watching it shortly after that his Highschool hero gimick in WSX wasn't too bad either.

[Statto]

You can't justify, say, Gunner getting a title shot a No Surrender, after 12 men have fought for months trying to earn a title shot.

 

That was a big problem with TNA for a long time - big long tournaments for a title shot, things like Aries giving up his X-Division title for a World title shot (although obviously not that specifically in the past), people risking their whole CAREER for even a sniff of possibly maybe getting a shot at any old title (Feast or Fired), and then they just go and give Jeff Hardy or Ken Anderson a World Title shot on Impact in the middle of all of it for no real reason (and after they lost at the previous 2 PPVs).

 

I know there's the Open Fight Night concept where 1 of the titles has to be defended on Impact monthly, and I know TNA like to throw World Title defences out on Impact in the hope of popping a bit on the ratings (just as WWE used to when they had some competition), but I hope under the current regime they'll be sensible enough to keep the World Title shots to exactly what Ian suggested - an Aries/Roode rematch next month, then nothing until BFG.

 

I may go to hell for even suggesting this, but has anyone thought of even the slightest possibility that the Jesse Sorensen injury might just be an elaborate work? It's just so eerily similar to the Jason Street storyline in Friday Night Lights (hotshot Texan High School Quarterback looks set to live out his dream, then has it all snatched away by a botched contact and a broken neck) - surely it's not too much of a stretch to suggest they faked it, and kept the young, raw Sorensen off TV for a year to sharpen up on his in-ring?

[ItsClobberingTime]

Enjoyed the show on the whole. Wasn't a big fan of the 'second chance' guys at the beginning, as I had no connection to them, and I'm not one for random flippy matches.

 

Rest of the card was solid enough - Angle/Joe was ok, but missed something; AJ/Daniels always work well together and I liked the ending; and Aries/Roode was the best way they could've ended Roode's title reign.

[Prince Nana]

The problem with the "outsiders" was that to really have a conection to them you really had to have seem them somewhere else. Guy's like Mason andrews and lars Only I knew and to a lesser extent Jigsaw, but Rashad Cammeron and Flip Casanova not so much.

[Carbomb]

Rashad Cameron and Lars Only were rubbish in the ring, but had great characters - they'd be good X-jobbers at the moment. Liked Rubix, but his character means there's not really much to make his actual matches stand out - what is a Rubix/Jigsaw, and how does he wrestle? He's meant to be a sort of human puzzle, but he's not really unpredictable or "mysterious" enough to represent that, and surely a puzzle would wrestle in a very overtly technical style, almost like the British?

 

I thought Dutt has improved immensely, and he's really over. (BTW, I saw a competition on TNA's website to name his moonsault stomp, and I was quite proud of my submission: "The Himalaya Cascade" - moves like a waterfall, which kind of ties in to his "Eastern guru" gimmick.)

[1SinN6]

That move is super impressive. Here is me hoping for a title reign after Ion. That move could get red hot.

 

But first a year long reign for Ion, just to prove the smarkiest of smarks on the front row of the PPV wrong. Dicks.

[Sexy Dad]

But first a year long reign for Ion, just to prove the smarkiest of smarks on the front row of the PPV wrong. Dicks.

 

I watched the pay per view with a mate who has been the impact zone a fair few times and he commented on them guys at the start of the show but they seemed harmless enough....and then they started chanting 'Fruity pebbles' and 'transition' at Ion, I'm no Ion fan but 'fruity pebbles'? What the actual fuck. On the whole however, the Impact Zone hasn't seemed to bad in recent weeks leading up to that and the Austin Aries celebration was something that may have not had the same effect on the road.

[Kaz Hayashi]

In terms of the flip flop, rubix was over, looked quite smooth and at least looked different. The lad who spoke to Aries after his match back stage looked decent with personality, Dutt and Kash had decent outings too. Ion could end up being canny good, I want to hear him speak more and I enjoy the Martel esque gimmick. In fairness the rest of them looked pure shite.

 

I agree with the notion of looking further afield for talent. Obviously it depends on contracts but yes, Mexico, japan and even Europe have a good solid selection of wrestlers that would fit in well to the x division.

 

Considering they are looking at the X division title as a possible stepping stone, they should make this whole gut check thing x division specific and allow them to work their way up the ranks or whatever.

 

 

On a side note, I randomly flicked through mays copy of powerslam today, found an advert for the TNA 2013 Jan tour, and out of the selection of names it has advertised, Aries isn't mentioned at all.

I assume he was x div champ at the time? I would have also assumed he at the time was penciled in to be the world champ, the issue was only a month and a half ago.

[alanchiz]

On a side note, I randomly flicked through mays copy of powerslam today, found an advert for the TNA 2013 Jan tour, and out of the selection of names it has advertised, Aries isn't mentioned at all.

I assume he was x div champ at the time? I would have also assumed he at the time was penciled in to be the world champ, the issue was only a month and a half ago.

 

I wouldnt read too much into that - theres hardly anyone mentioned on the advert (Assuming its the same one as below):

 

No Bully Ray or Samoa Joe either, and they are basically dead certs.

Its also possible that the ad was put together while Aries was renogiating his contract

[Loki]

I thought it was a good PPV, a solid effort, but a lot of the early X div stuff really annoyed me. Why you'd have Kash and Williams job to some seriously ropey Indy talent is beyond me. I can see there's some potential in Kenny King, but the rest of them were of no interest.

 

And this is the 2nd wave of mediocre talent they've brought in for the division. Zema Ion has slowly improved to the point where he's just about above terrible, but he's hardly going to spearhead the next revival of the X div title.

 

Joe-Angle was fantastic, a real belter, with a great and simple story. The Angle Slam on Joe looked huge. Angle's looking a lot healthier than he has in recent years, and made Joe look a million bucks. I still think Joe needs to lose some more weight, but at least he's putting in effort now. Joe-Aries at BFG would be very acceptable to me.

 

Having absolutely no interest in ever seeing Styles-Daniels again, I have to admit it was really good, with an impressive looking big bump at the end that was actually pretty safe. Daniels is in the form of his life, and they need to take advantage of it and move him on to something else, take advantage of his decent heel persona.

 

Aries-Roode is my kind of wrestling match. Nothing too fancy or dangerous, but a great bout with lots of wrestling and counters and a decent amount of big spots. I wish Roode had lifted his shoulder after the 3 count, though. I don't know why wrestlers don't do that more often, emphasise the closeness of the contest by kicking out just AFTER the pin. Hogan did it with Warrior, it looked aces.

 

So, a good show, but as long as the X Division is so thin on talent, as a PPV concept it's always going to struggle a bit.

[Baz Windham]

Hogan's kicking out on Warrior is a thing of beauty. "Alright i've put you over you nutter now get the fuck off me, i'm Hulk Hogan dammit!"

[AndyUK]

Was another really good PPV. The amount of X-Division stuff at the start was a bit much but the matches were all decent. Joe/Angle was good and both Styles/Daniels and Aries/Roode were great. Aries winning the title was a great moment.

[Reznor]

Aries-Roode is my kind of wrestling match. Nothing too fancy or dangerous

Hell knows how Aries manages to do all his shit without being too dangerous as well. Everything he does looks so brutal and high-impact.

 

Re. the x-division and lack of talent, I read last week that the reason they can't bring in anyone from Mexico is because the AAA guys are all tied up by contracts with that LuchaLibreUSA group for US appearances, and I'd guess they can't very well turn to CMLL when they have a working relationship with AAA. So I guess that explains the lack of luchadors, as I think it would be a lock that Mexico would be one of the first ports of call for TNA talent scouts.

 

I don't see what the fuss is about with this Rubix character either. Between Impact and the PPV, he looked as poor as the rest imo. Everything about him screamed low rent indie to me.