Impact wrestling thread - It's a Don West tribute thread now!

[pryko]

Hogan also said that the fight was "this week", when it clearly it is next week. I'm with Mr Tibbs. Yes, I am a fan of TNA, but yes, they do get a lot of things wrong, but throwing digs at them for this when it's clearly Hogan who has fucked it up is wrong

[Jas]

I know this is a bit far fetched but how much influence does Hogan & Bischoff have with Spike TV? If I was Dixie I'd be concerned if Sleazy E was woo-ing the tv execs there maybe hinting at purchasing TNA from the Carters etc and handing it to Eric. OR dropping TNA and starting a new company with Eric.

 

After all it's all about being on TV first and foremost isn't it and building from there?

 

Maybe Hogan does actually want to kill Carter TNA...

Edited August 30, 2013 by Jas

[garynysmon]

Maybe Hogan does actually want to kill Carter TNA...

 

Well, no Carter means no TNA. No way would Daddy Carter pump his millions into a company that's not ran by his daughter.

[JNLister]

Shitty shoot promos could be a coincidence. Shitty shoot promos and nonsensical tournaments could be a big coincidence. But shitty shoot promos, nonsensical tournaments AND factions getting strained names for the sale of an acronym (EGO) is surely a sign they've secretly hired Russo.

[Mr Tibbs]

Well, no Carter means no TNA. No way would Daddy Carter pump his millions into a company that's not ran by his daughter.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if the Carter's tried to sell this thing to Viacom. At the end of the day dispite all its' faults (and there are many) it still delivers a good rating that is well above the station average. The problem will be that they will probably give Eric the keys to the mansion!

[garynysmon]

Well, no Carter means no TNA. No way would Daddy Carter pump his millions into a company that's not ran by his daughter.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if the Carter's tried to sell this thing to Viacom. At the end of the day dispite all its' faults (and there are many) it still delivers a good rating that is well above the station average. The problem will be that they will probably give Eric the keys to the mansion!

 

I'm not sure whether Bischoff would be a disaster in the role. Much depends how much he learnt from WCW and how much cash he'd be given to spend.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Apparently this sort of Hogan mistake happens quite often.

 

Hogan also said that the fight was "this week", when it clearly it is next week. I'm with Mr Tibbs. Yes, I am a fan of TNA, but yes, they do get a lot of things wrong, but throwing digs at them for this when it's clearly Hogan who has fucked it up is wrong

 

Because the shows make absolutely no sense and he is given scripts more complex than Mr Nanny to learn and that's never been his act. Stop giving these wrestlers the transcript of a Mid Summer Nights Dream and they wont fuck up. You're a pair of nutters. Hogan is a special attraction act that you wheel out to get a pop. You dont have him tie up loose ends like he's Sherlock Holmes. TNA is the absolute worst at playing to someones strengths. AJ Styles and Hulk Hogan's promos were a massive example in why this company is terrible. Hogan and Styles were so out of their comfort zone.

Edited August 30, 2013 by IANdrewDiceClay

[d-d-d-dAz]

"I LIKE BEING THE GO-TO GUY...."

 

"I LIKE BEING THE GO-TO GUY...."

 

"I LIKE BEING THE GO-TO GUY...."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry, I just wanted to see if shouting it three times got me a genie or a blowjob from a supermodel, or something. Guess not. I just figured Janice Battersby shouted it so much that there must be something in it. Nevermind.

 

As you were.

[Vamp]

Fuck sake Ian, now I want a Hulk Hogan led Sherlock Holmes TV series.

[d-d-d-dAz]

I just think Hogan attempting to pronounce 'Moriarty' would be great.

[JNLister]

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.

[midlandsfirst]

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.

 

I thought next weeks was a knockouts PPV. Thats what they said on Impact...

[JNLister]

Oh yeah, it's actually November and December for those two shows.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Oh yeah, it's actually November and December for those two shows.

I wonder if they will promote Doc and Devons appearances as if its Shark Boy or Johnny Devine returning for one night.

 

Judging by the TV, the Aces of 8s aren't sticking around much longer. So surely those PPVs are going to be all cocked up.

Edited August 30, 2013 by IANdrewDiceClay

[JNLister]

And to pre-empt the "you're all a bunch of smarks who never say anything about what we do good", here's the intro and outro of a piece I did for FSM last year on tournaments:

 

When TNA announced it would run a three-month long tournament throughout the summer of 2011 to determine a world title challenger at the Bound for Glory pay-per-view, more cynical viewers questioned whether the promotion really had the ability to pull off such a complex creative task. And while winner Bobby Roode certainly benefitted from the experience, the cynics were largely proved correct.

 

Contrary to all sporting logic, different wrestlers had a different number of matches in which to rack up points: for example Gunner had 20 bouts, the same as Scott Steiner and Samoa Joe combined. Despite there being no schedule, injured wrestlers (both in reality and storyline) were automatically eliminated regardless of how many points they had already accrued and without addressing the possibility they might be healthy in time for the playoffs. And the scoring system, which only penalised disqualification losses, allowed Bully Ray and Gunner to reach the playoffs despite neither man having a winning record.

 

Whether it was a rare case of the company learning from its failures, or simply the result of a change of creative personnel, the 2012 Bound for Glory Series was a far more organised and credible tournament. This time round every wrestler fought every other wrestler once, with bonus matches (a 12 man gauntlet battle royale and three four-way stipulation matches) evenly distributed. In the kayfabe world, this time it was a truly fair contest.

 

The portrayal of the tournament was also drastically improved. Although there were fewer clips of house show bouts, every episode of Impact Wrestling had updates on the results, while on-screen graphics brought the latest standings each week. Mike Tenay and Taz made a point of addressing how different potential outcomes in the televised matches would affect each grappler's chances of making the final four. This stood in stark contrast to last year when viewers had to search independently run fan sites to keep track of the scores.

 

The result was that in storyline terms every bout mattered. Winners celebrated, losers looked dejected, and suddenly TNA had more than 60 house show and TV matches that served a purpose without the need for a specific feud or storyline, allowing the creative team to save the more outlandish angles for the rest of the card such as the emergence of Aces and Eights. TNA bookers even managed to keep intrigue right to the end by declaring that whoever topped the table would choose his playoff opponent, thus giving storyline incentive to win even if you had already mathematically secured a top-four slot.

 

(several pages of the history of round robin tournaments in wrestling)

 

Perhaps surprisingly given its creative history, TNA appears to have done a far better job [than NJPW in 2012 G1 Climax] of keeping those at the bottom of the rankings strong. Last placed Robbie E was the only wrestler portrayed as having an absolute shocker of a performance, but his character helped here: while there's little prospect of him headlining cards, fans are intended to be annoyed by his presence rather than concerned about him defeating babyfaces.

 

Fellow straggler Magnus performed poorly (in storyline that is) but the pacing of the tournament meant his biggest impact -- arguably costing Samoa Joe the number one slot by giving him an arm injury that caused his shocking tapout to Jeff Hardy -- will be the audience's final memory of his BFG run.

 

Meanwhile Christopher Daniels strong performances in both promos and matches during the Claire Lynch angle will assuredly have helped hide the fact he was generally on the losing end of tournament bouts. AJ Styles and Kurt Angle both kept in contention late in the tournament while Rob Van Dam was only eliminated in the final round-robin bout. That leaves only Mr Anderson of whom it could seriously be argued the tournament did more harm than good.

 

As for the top four in the tournament, it can certainly be argued that the results of the playoff bouts didn't bring maximum booking benefit: it appears Hardy took the win because he was the most popular performer with the audience, something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. There are certainly credible arguments that either Storm winning (with Robert Roode regaining the TNA title before Bound for Glory itself) or Bully Ray overcoming Hardy in the final and revealing himself as the force behind Aces & Eights might have made better use of the prestige that comes from winning a tournament.

 

Still, all four men gained in some way. The scoring system firmly re-established Joe's submission skills, Storm should theoretically have even more heat for his showdown with Roode, Bully Ray was portrayed as more than just a big mouth, and Hardy comes into the biggest match of TNA's year with far more momentum than if he'd simply won a battle royale or other throwaway match to become number one contender.

 

If nothing else then, the 2012 Bound For Glory series has given viewers confidence that the current creative team can stick with a story (even if the ending may have been tweaked) and put in the work to make sure even normally throwaway TV bouts serve a purpose and have an impact. If that helps regain the trust of fans that investing time and attention in the promotion's product is worthwhile, the tournament can only be judged a success.

Edited August 30, 2013 by JNLister