TNA Lockdown - March 10th

[Professor Paul's Bin]

Immortal

Fortune

The Corre

The Nexus (went to the shits after a few weeks).

Mexican America

The TNA Frontline

World Elite

Ravens little faction in 2006

The Un-Americans

The nWa stable (1997-1998 WWF)

The Union

The Truth Commision

King Bookers Court

[Mr Butternut Squash]

Immortal

Fortune

The Corre

The Nexus (went to the shits after a few weeks).

Mexican America

The TNA Frontline

World Elite

Ravens little faction in 2006

The Un-Americans

The nWa stable (1997-1998 WWF)

The Union

The Truth Commision

King Bookers Court

 

All stables that either featured actual Main Event talent or decent future prospects. And all the ones that didn't were never a prominent part of the tv programming, cos their shittiness was realised.

[neil's bitch]

To me personally at least Ace's & 8's just come across as "Generic heel super stable #17" in TNA at least, as they just keep pumping out large stables hoping something works.

 

Examples:

 

Immortal (and the Front-line)

The "Planet Jarret" Stable

World Elite

The Main Event Mafia

Sports Entertainment Extreme (and a similar front line faction)

 

They have good talent, but then again they all have had that. Its just boring watching about 18 people walk out every week, whilst the main one (who is always some sort of champion) talks shit about TNA. It's boring, and it was boring about half way through the nWo's run in WCW, which is what all of these groups seems to want to capture.

[Dirty Eddie]

Having Bully Ray and D-Lo makes them about a thousand times better now than they were a few weeks ago. They are still a faction made up mostly of people I don't give a shit about though. Knux has made no impression whatsoever, Devon is still just fucking Devon, Anderson is shite (but as least he barely talks now) and Bisch and Wes are still green as gooseshit. Doc is pretty good, but overall that's a pretty shitty faction really.

 

On the plus side, they have sweet music, Devon as least looks as cool as fuck, and now with Bully leading them they have a proper main event guy at last. There was a time not long ago when i wished they'd all just go away. They've managed to bring it back on point a bit thankfully, and the Bully turn was great.

[neil's bitch]

.....Devon is still just fucking Devon....

 

Now I know Bully Ray, in particular, and D-von have both been very in TNA, but my only issue with them both is that they both just still "Bubba and D-von" to me. Again I know Bully in particular has really put some effort in, but he is still the same old Bubba Ray Dudley when I look at him, and I just can't take him seriously as World Champion. Devon is the same as well.

 

It sound stupid, as any other tag team have never had this effect on me, and I love the singles stuff off of Edge, Christian, Matt/Jeff Hardy, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and many others for clearly broke out of that "tag team feel" and eventually pushed onto greatness.

 

I don't know if it's because I just don't value TNA or its ugly looking title as a "serious" world championship to hold, or if its because his first real singles title was the world championship, or most likely both. The worst part is I really like Bully and his whole thing, but he just doesn't seem to have evolved to me, at all.

[Oliver]

I think Aces and 8's are shit myself, but Bully's turn was tremendous. Mike Knox and Gallows are dreadful imo. They looked so bland and boring at the closing shot of Lockdown. But Bully and Devon looked the business. And I agree with a lot of people on here that Bully's turn was tremendous. I think Aces and Eights will definitely be better from now on.

[Loki]

.....Devon is still just fucking Devon....

 

Now I know Bully Ray, in particular, and D-von have both been very in TNA, but my only issue with them both is that they both just still "Bubba and D-von" to me.

 

 

I can't understand that at all. Bully Ray looks completely different - he's muscled, tough-looking with the different outfit, and his delivery is much more measured. Barring the shorts, he's a completely different character to old Bubba.

 

D'Von is transformed too - the new beard and leather makes him look like a badass. This is probably the best singles gimmick he's had.

[Scott Malbranque]

I can't understand that at all. Bully Ray looks completely different - he's muscled, tough-looking with the different outfit, and his delivery is much more measured. Barring the shorts, he's a completely different character to old Bubba.

 

I only actually noticed the other day how pumped his arms look. He even has the bicep vein and everything. Self made star pretty much, and evolved on his own accord, fair play to him as he's a joy to watch the last year or so.

[ColinBollocks]

I agree. It's like comparing Stunning Steve Austin to Stone Cold Steve Austin, both played by the same dude but with a different look and gimmick. Bully is now shitting main event quality stuff now, unlike when he was Bubba - stuttering about, being fat and going on about tables.

[neil's bitch]

I can't understand that at all. Bully Ray looks completely different - he's muscled, tough-looking with the different outfit, and his delivery is much more measured. Barring the shorts, he's a completely different character to old Bubba.

 

D'Von is transformed too - the new beard and leather makes him look like a badass. This is probably the best singles gimmick he's had.

 

It might be just because it's TNA then, but that's just my view on it.

 

As for bully himself, he's been cutting promos of this level for years, (at least when he was allowed to do so, E.g in the late end of ECW). The gear is different , and yeah, hes slimmed down and put some effort in, but he still acts practically the same as he always has been. Not that that's a bad thing by any stretch, but he's still Bubba Ray to me.

 

He's always been very good on the mic, and always very good in the ring, but regardless of what minor characteristic he's had, he's always been near on exactly the same.

 

I'm not saying he isn't good, or that he doesn't deserve it, but just that to me personally, I still see "tag team wrestler" Bubba Dudley, and as such it just strange that he's a world champion now.

 

Maybe it wouldn't so bad if he'd taken the longer route winning the TV title first, and working towards the TNA title that way.

[King Pitcos]

Some people just have weird mental blocks on things like that. I've seen a few people say similar about Jeff Hardy and Edge, despite them reaching the top of the real promotion. I reckon there were people who felt the same about Hart and Michaels, too. From what I've seen of Bully Ray, which isn't much (although I do intend on downloading last night's Impact to see the follow-up from Lockdown), he is very very similar to how he was as Bubba. But I always liked Bubba, even his solo run in 2002 on Raw. I wasn't watching much Raw then, but when I did see it, I think he was my favourite babyface on Raw besides Goldust and Booker T.

[Statto]

Just got done watching this, and I'd like to echo the love for the Bully Ray turn - that man sure knows how to get hated by people in a building.

 

I can't believe Bully as President was the plan from day 1 though - it could well have been from the point the Brooke romance began, but surely it was intended to be Bischoff up until then - he 100% definitely appeared on camera as the president, the biker-style had his fingerprints all over it, it made sense that he would run a "renegade" gang to get back at Hogan/TNA, & the Garrett reveal appeared to be leaning towards a reunion of father & son. I dunno, maybe it'll be swerve again & Easy E will be Super President or something...

 

Great as the actual turn was, however, I'm a little disappointed that they did what they did in the last couple of months leading up to it - for the first half of the angle, they were so good with the smoke & mirrors of Bully vs. Aces & Eights, with them running off the second he appeared, people always holding him back from getting to them etc. In the last couple of months, he's had matches against them, been beaten up at his wedding etc. Now I can kind of believe the latter - he took a shot from a plinth to make it look 'real', that sort of stuff probably happens in real life every day, somewhere (not with plinths, though...), but I find it hard to reconcile the matches.

 

I think it may be that I've lived through an era of wrestling where the kind of stuff in that year 2000 WCW recap video Butch posted a couple of weekends ago did happen every week - people "swerving" & "deviating from the script", but now I like to suspend my disbelief in a way that the matches are "real", not in a way where I can reconcile people "faking" matches for the purpose of "really" fooling co-workers. Ah, I'm nitpicking I guess, the angle was great fun.

 

Highlight of the PPV for me, though, was Austin Aries appearing to sell the "get a drop-toehold into my partner's groin" spot as if he'd been poked in the eye by Bobby's Roode parts on impact. If that was the intention, comedy genius. If it just looked like that, it raised a titter anyway.

[TheShowOff]

Bully is the president. Nothing to say there wont be a "higher power" so to speak, which could still be Easy E, hopefully with a head of glorious black hair.

[Loki]

Really good PPV overall, though the crowd didn't seem as hot as the Wembley one despite being larger.

 

Highlights for me were:

 

- Kenny King knocking himself squiffy within seconds of the start of the match and then gutting his way through the match. Well done lad.

- Joseph Parks' amazing run continues. His anti-wrestling is amazing, the way he does everything a little bit wrong. His armdrags are all backwards for instance. The fist off the 2nd rope is well over.

- Bobby Roode looking exactly like a man who's just made a LOT of money. He was glowing. Tag team match was great, although Chavo bores the shit out of me. Once again, Hernandez looks like he should get a singles run, but we all know he's not really capable of it.

 

Lowlights:

 

- Rob v Rob was a big disappointment. It just didn't click, Rob T looked like a sack of shit. What happened guys?

- Bully Ray v Hardy was actually not a particularly good match up until the ending.

 

Can we now talk about how rubbish Knox and DOC are? They may be big, but DOC in particular has been stinky awful in the ring since coming to TNA. Where the fuck is Chris Masters in all this? They could also have got in touch with Chuck Palumbo, he actually owns a bike shop.

[ColinBollocks]

- Rob v Rob was a big disappointment. It just didn't click, Rob T looked like a sack of shit. What happened guys?

The pacing of that match was all wrong, it should have been a quick squash. The stalling killed it.

 

<-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler

They have a much better match on Impact. It doesn't go on for too long and Robbie T looks decent, plus he does some terrible dancing post-match.

 

[close spoiler]

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