"The man formerly known as Rikishi!"

[mysterydriver]

Why do that? No, really, why?

Does TNA believe that no one will recognize him?

It was the same thing when Test debuted, "Look! It's Andrew "Test" Martin!"

I actually liked Impact this week. It had a good match between Daniels/Lethal, a very good segment hyping the Sting/Angle match, A decent cage match, and Matt Morgan looking like a tough guy.

All around good stuff but TNA's consistant use of "Formerly known as..." is kind of irritating.

[comahan]

Haha. right when tenay said that I started waiting for the mysterydriver comment. You let me down by waiting so long!

But yea, I pretty much agree.

[Double Chickenwing w/ Bridge]

You have to remember one thing. The general public is stupid. Now, I agree with you, I'd prefer that they didn't say it, but I understand the reasoning.

[mysterydriver]

comahan said:

Haha. right when tenay said that I started waiting for the mysterydriver comment. You let me down by waiting so long!

But yea, I pretty much agree.

I just got to watch the show. I watched the WVU/Maryland game last night.

Sorry to keep you waiting ;D

[franchisedavis]

not to mention that it still said Rikishi on his jacket.

How stupid do they think we are?

Test actually changed his middle name to Test I think so saying Andrew Test Martin is his legal name.

[Sajoa Moe]

You're talking about the guy who says "Did you hear what he just said?" after every single promo. Tenay thinks we're all morons.

[Threadkiller [Classic]]

Well, does anyone produce Tenay and West? I mean, is anyone in the gorilla position telling them what to say? Or does Tenay just make the calls he thinks he should make? Because if so, maybe he really does feel the need to oversimplify things.

Of course, I doubt anyone was producing him in WCW. Dude just went on and on as though he were The History Channel for Lucha Libre and Puro. Made him look like a dork who didn't have a life outside of wrestling.

I DO like Tenay, though. He just overdoes a lot. I wouldn't be surprised if Tenay/West were a deciding factor in why TNA is hard for casual fans to get into. The commentary really is cartoonish at times.

[Super Nimieboo]

beast147 said:

Well, does anyone produce Tenay and West? I mean, is anyone in the gorilla position telling them what to say? Or does Tenay just make the calls he thinks he should make? Because if so, maybe he really does feel the need to oversimplify things.

Of course, I doubt anyone was producing him in WCW. Dude just went on and on as though he were The History Channel for Lucha Libre and Puro. Made him look like a dork who didn't have a life outside of wrestling.

I DO like Tenay, though. He just overdoes a lot. I wouldn't be surprised if Tenay/West were a deciding factor in why TNA is hard for casual fans to get into. The commentary really is cartoonish at times.

And there's too much talking at the same time. Really, I don't think they are a good team and I STILL think Don West should be a backstage interviewer. Replace West with someone else.

[Threadkiller [Classic]]

rastabilly said:

beast147 said:

Well, does anyone produce Tenay and West? I mean, is anyone in the gorilla position telling them what to say? Or does Tenay just make the calls he thinks he should make? Because if so, maybe he really does feel the need to oversimplify things.

Of course, I doubt anyone was producing him in WCW. Dude just went on and on as though he were The History Channel for Lucha Libre and Puro. Made him look like a dork who didn't have a life outside of wrestling.

I DO like Tenay, though. He just overdoes a lot. I wouldn't be surprised if Tenay/West were a deciding factor in why TNA is hard for casual fans to get into. The commentary really is cartoonish at times.

And there's too much talking at the same time. Really, I don't think they are a good team and I STILL think Don West should be a backstage interviewer. Replace West with someone else.

Hey, dorky backstage interview IS a great idea for West. Now that I think of it, if Shane Douglas and Don West had switched places way back when, everything would have been a thousand times better.

[Rube]

I was watching it with a very casual wrestling fan, and she honestly didn't recognize him until Tenay said that. So, Yeah.

[Mozenrath]

A better question is why the hell they picked the name "Junior Fatu".

[Rube]

kiddobradley said:

A better question is why the hell they picked the name "Junior Fatu".

Well his name is Solofa Fatu, Jr.

[Mozenrath]

Then just have him be Fatu, Solofa Fatu, or back to Kishi Fatu, like he usually uses in the indies.

Or just announce him as "Umaga's Brother". Heh.

[Ass Dan]

Well, do you want "Hey! The guy used to be known as So-and-So!" or "Hey! I've never seen this guy before in my life, and neither have you!"?

[Limey]

kiddobradley said:

Or just announce him as "Umaga's Brother". Heh.

Hey, it worked for Andrew off Buffy the Vampire Slayer...kinda. Not in the way TNA would want it...I'll shut up.

I would've prefered Kishi, the name he used in NWE, but I guess Junior Fatu isn't too bad.

Besides, it might get some Italian fans interested. In NWE, Kishi was the lead star for a while, then got kayfabe injured and acted as commissioner. They got a relative of his, "The Count of California" Black Pearl, for champion, and he seemed to be doing a grand job.

Just to let you know.

[The Great El' PANDA King]

For a second I thought he was The Rock, but then they had to confirm it to be the dancing guy Rikishi.

Damn.

[erisi236]

Off hand his music was pretty good.

[JMA]

"Junior Fatu"? Sounds like a Samoan mobster. That's NOT a bad thing, it's a good thing.

[Mongo & Pepe: Back in Black]

phenom said:

Well, do you want "Hey! The guy used to be known as So-and-So!" or "Hey! I've never seen this guy before in my life, and neither have you!"?

I'd rather they acknowledge the pasts of their wrestlers. What harm does it do really?

Back in the '80s when they were going national, everyone complained that the WWF didn't acknowledge that their wrestlers ever wrestled elsewhere. The biggest one I can remember is Harley Race, who they never referred to as a former world champion during his entire WWF run. It was like they wanted us to think that they pulled all these top notch wrestlers out of their magic hat.

[Kevwhatshisname]

phenom said:

Well, do you want "Hey! The guy used to be known as So-and-So!" or "Hey! I've never seen this guy before in my life, and neither have you!"?

Yeah I like that TNA refers to old wrestlers from WCW, WWE, and so on. I always felt WWF/E was insulting my intelligence by acting like they found their wrestlers on the street.