Post by andrew8798 on Feb 7, 2007 3:18:59 GMT -5
From a number of sources, morale in the TNA locker room is horrible. As much as a small number of people like to argue that Russo’s approach is best for business and that he’s given a “character” to all the undercard talent, the reality is that the undercard talent is totally miserable. It’s not even so much that they’re all pushed as geeks on television, but also that all of them really love professional wrestling, and they’re getting exactly one opportunity per month to have wrestling matches in TNA, that being on the PPVs. During TV matches there have been people yelled at for trying to work psychology into matches, people yelled at for grabbing holds, people yelled at for working body parts, etc. Guys have no idea whether they’re supposed to be a babyface or a heel (even Angle stated in an interview last week that he didn’t know what he was supposed to be) and have noticed that because of it they get very little reaction unless they’re doing some crazy high-flying move. There is also the issue that the top names, Sting, Angle, etc., are now dressing in a separate locker room from everyone else, which further hammers into the heads of everyone else that they are geeks who the company could care less about. TNA management would obviously claim that this is not the intention, but intention or not, this is how it’s perceived by people who are actually there. Lance Storm recently wrote a big rant about why he’s not watching TNA anymore, which actually ended up being largely similar to the TNA TV report I wrote for this week’s issue, and I don’t know what kind of feedback he got but I can tell you that I got feedback about his column from guys in TNA that were so happy to read that someone else with a clue thought the same thing they did. In other words, don’t think that people burying TNA on a weekly basis are saying things that people in TNA aren’t quietly saying themselves. There have also been TNA names that have contacted WSX in the past two weeks.
Bob Backlund did an autograph signing for TNA and then walked back to the hotel, which was not exactly right across the street. People were pulling over and asking him if he needed a ride and he said no, walking was healthier.
PPV for this Sunday has Christian vs. Kurt Angle for the NWA Title with Samoa Joe as special enforcer, Lance Hoyt with David Eckstein vs. Dale Torborg with AJ Pierzynski in a BASEBRAWL~! match, Sting vs. Abyss in a prison yard match where I guess you brawl all over the place and then have to lock your opponent in the little cage that came down from the ceiling during Jim Mitchell’s latest promo on Impact, LAX vs. Team 3-D in a Little Italy Streetfight (nothing like two anything goes matches on the same show), Chris Sabin vs. Jerry Lynn for the X-Title, Petey Williams & Gail Kim vs. James Storm & Ms. Tennessee, and Christy Hemme vs. TBA, who I’ll bet TNA is hoping will end up being Lita. She is working for Hermie Sadler’s UWF promotion, which also uses TNA talent, and TNA wants her bad.
Over $8,000 has been raised for Konnan’s kidney so far.
The two-hour special this coming Monday night will feature five of the “greatest bouts in TNA history” featuring Angle, Sting, Christian, Jarrett, Abyss and Samoa Joe, a countdown of the top five moments in TNA history (remember when these all involved Jeff Jarrett?), and they’ll unveil the “newest concept match to debut at March PPV event”. I suspect it will involve a POLE.
There are 37 episodes of Impact available on Xbox 360, starting from the May 18th show. They’re all 480p (standard TV) and cost 160 MS points, or about $2 each. I believe the same shows are also available for download on Amazon.com for $1.99 each. None of the shows are in the top 50 downloads on Xbox, but two UFC shows are.
BG James in an interview with Chris Cash talked about the Christy Hemme segment at the TNA PPV (you know, the horrible one). He said he talked to her before the segment and she really believed what she was saying out there. “Yeah, she did feel that way and they [the TNA fans] crapped on her, so it had to feel really, really bad from her standpoint and it felt awkward from mine, you know. We did what we could and that’s that. You can’t take it back”. Regarding WWE not responding to the VKM skits: “At the risk of sounding anti-TNA, which I definitely am not, the first place team ain’t gonna look back at the second place team, they’re going to keep right on rolling. And to recognize us was only to egg us on more. They definitely knew what we were doing, they just didn’t respond via television [but] they definitely responded via lawyers’ letters”.
The Test, performed by Chris Jericho’s band Fozzy, will be the official theme for the Against All Odds PPV.
Charly Manson did an interview and said the time he fell of the ladder and hit his head and was nearly killed during a match (I saw this and it was horrifying), he never told his family about it and they found out after watching TV. He said his doctors told him he should thank God that he’s alive and quit doing lucha, but he’s still wrestling today. He said the injury still affected him to this day. He used to love to read but his head was messed up such that he can’t read anymore. He said his leg, which had a plate put in it, hurt constantly. He said he was worried that when they took the plate out this coming November that might end up being the end of his career. He said there was some hope that he’d be able to continue, but not much, and that he planned to LEAVE IT ALL IN THE RING before going in for surgery. That sounds scary.
Konnan Big is the new FILL World Super Heavyweight Champion (which in Mexico may be 200 pounds and above) over PANCHO TEQUILA~! Didn’t get a report on the match quality but both guys are said to be hideous workers, so it might have been a good one.
It is being reported that Universo 2000 is out of action for three weeks after sustaining a shoulder injury at the hands of Marco Corleone at the last TV taping. Shocker is working as his replacement. It’s believed this is all an angle, but there is legit heat between Universo and Corleone.
CMLL ran Arena Mexico on February 2nd before 14,400 (sellout is 18,000). Averno was pinned clean by Mr. Mexico in the trios match that went on third, so he’s out of the main event picture and will not be headlining any major shows against Mistico as had been the plan for awhile. Mistico worked semi-main teaming with Volador Jr. & La Mascara to beat Los Perros del Mal. The big news is that afterwards, Mistico and Perro were throwing out their challenges and actually agreed to do a hair vs. mask match. It is believed this show will headline the Homenaje a Dos Leyendas show on either the 16th or 30th of March to combat WWE (they have four Mexico shows booked in mid-March), and if ever there was a match to combat WWE, that’s it. Seems very rushed, though, which isn’t the sort of thing CMLL traditionally does. Main was Shocker (replacing Universo 2000) & Dr. Wagner Jr. & Rey Bucanero beating Marco Corleone & Atlantis & Ultimo Guerrero when Shocker pinned Marco with a foule behind the referee’s back. Shocker was said to look awesome, like the “Shocker of old” (meaning prior to jumping to AAA).
MIT is doing a comparative media studies course on American pro-wrestling starting February 7th, and among the required reading on the syllabus is “1998: Momentum is Money”, from Death of WCW.
WSX has Lacey, Sara Del Ray and Mickie Knuckles under contract and is planning on doing a women’s division in season II. Not sure about that idea. Women haven’t meant jack shit on wrestling shows in a long time now, and while these women will actually be doing SHIMMER-style matches, which has never been done in WWE, I’m still skeptical. I have also been told that while SHIMMER-style is the idea, “GLOW-like segments” have also been discussed. That really scares me.
The WSX ring was said to be stiff as hell.
The first-run WSX shows will be Fridays from now on, though the Tuesday show up against ECW is the “official” debut of each program. Kevin Kleinrock said on Wrestling Observer Live that MTV was looking at a number of different things, including the Tuesday night number and a combination of all the viewings added together. They’re claiming they drew over 2 million total viewers in week one.
There was an INCIDENT this weekend involving Jake Roberts. He was scheduled to work the FIP show in Melbourne, FL against Larry Sweeney, but was escorted out of the building before the match. Two different stories came out, one that Jake was so f***ed up that they had to get rid of him, and the other that he had a money dispute with the promoter (and he was f***ed up). Of course, since it’s Jake Roberts, the f***ed-up story was jumped all over, but it appears there actually was a money issue. He held them up, claiming his first appearance last month (an angle with Sweeney) was not taped for DVD (which was wrong since he also filmed promos for them), but this show would be, and thus he needed more cash. “Those of you who wish to believe the negative press releases out there concerning this particular show, and any others with the same Association, can kiss my ass,” Jake said in a statement, adding that he plans on seeking legal counsel regarding the claims, which he believes to be outrageous, that he was impaired.
Read a funny article about Romeo Roselli, formerly of the Heartbreakers in WWE, who claimed he won the NRW Title in Italy on December 10th. I thought Vampiro was the champion? I guess he beat him. Anyway, the point is that he said it was one of the great days of his life to win the title as an Italian in Italy. His only regret was that the belt was too big to fit into his luggage and he couldn’t bring it home. He then said, and I quote, “Now that I’m world champion of Italy, I want to be the greatest world champion of all time.” I love wrestling.
New Japan is in the middle of a 35th anniversary tour.
Kurt Angle said he’d love to win the NWA Title from Christian and then challenge Hiroshi Tanahashi to a champion vs. champion match. He also said he’ll team with Yuji Nagata in his first New Japan match, but would also like to wrestle him at some point.
Keiji Muto is studying to become a certified personal trainer.
All Japan on the 17th is headlined by Shuji Kondo vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima for the Junior Title, Toshiaki Kawada & Taiyo Kea vs. Suwama & RO’Z for the Tag Titles in a decision match, and Minoru Suzuki vs. Satoshi Kojima for the Triple Crown.
credit: F4W newsletter
Bob Backlund did an autograph signing for TNA and then walked back to the hotel, which was not exactly right across the street. People were pulling over and asking him if he needed a ride and he said no, walking was healthier.
PPV for this Sunday has Christian vs. Kurt Angle for the NWA Title with Samoa Joe as special enforcer, Lance Hoyt with David Eckstein vs. Dale Torborg with AJ Pierzynski in a BASEBRAWL~! match, Sting vs. Abyss in a prison yard match where I guess you brawl all over the place and then have to lock your opponent in the little cage that came down from the ceiling during Jim Mitchell’s latest promo on Impact, LAX vs. Team 3-D in a Little Italy Streetfight (nothing like two anything goes matches on the same show), Chris Sabin vs. Jerry Lynn for the X-Title, Petey Williams & Gail Kim vs. James Storm & Ms. Tennessee, and Christy Hemme vs. TBA, who I’ll bet TNA is hoping will end up being Lita. She is working for Hermie Sadler’s UWF promotion, which also uses TNA talent, and TNA wants her bad.
Over $8,000 has been raised for Konnan’s kidney so far.
The two-hour special this coming Monday night will feature five of the “greatest bouts in TNA history” featuring Angle, Sting, Christian, Jarrett, Abyss and Samoa Joe, a countdown of the top five moments in TNA history (remember when these all involved Jeff Jarrett?), and they’ll unveil the “newest concept match to debut at March PPV event”. I suspect it will involve a POLE.
There are 37 episodes of Impact available on Xbox 360, starting from the May 18th show. They’re all 480p (standard TV) and cost 160 MS points, or about $2 each. I believe the same shows are also available for download on Amazon.com for $1.99 each. None of the shows are in the top 50 downloads on Xbox, but two UFC shows are.
BG James in an interview with Chris Cash talked about the Christy Hemme segment at the TNA PPV (you know, the horrible one). He said he talked to her before the segment and she really believed what she was saying out there. “Yeah, she did feel that way and they [the TNA fans] crapped on her, so it had to feel really, really bad from her standpoint and it felt awkward from mine, you know. We did what we could and that’s that. You can’t take it back”. Regarding WWE not responding to the VKM skits: “At the risk of sounding anti-TNA, which I definitely am not, the first place team ain’t gonna look back at the second place team, they’re going to keep right on rolling. And to recognize us was only to egg us on more. They definitely knew what we were doing, they just didn’t respond via television [but] they definitely responded via lawyers’ letters”.
The Test, performed by Chris Jericho’s band Fozzy, will be the official theme for the Against All Odds PPV.
Charly Manson did an interview and said the time he fell of the ladder and hit his head and was nearly killed during a match (I saw this and it was horrifying), he never told his family about it and they found out after watching TV. He said his doctors told him he should thank God that he’s alive and quit doing lucha, but he’s still wrestling today. He said the injury still affected him to this day. He used to love to read but his head was messed up such that he can’t read anymore. He said his leg, which had a plate put in it, hurt constantly. He said he was worried that when they took the plate out this coming November that might end up being the end of his career. He said there was some hope that he’d be able to continue, but not much, and that he planned to LEAVE IT ALL IN THE RING before going in for surgery. That sounds scary.
Konnan Big is the new FILL World Super Heavyweight Champion (which in Mexico may be 200 pounds and above) over PANCHO TEQUILA~! Didn’t get a report on the match quality but both guys are said to be hideous workers, so it might have been a good one.
It is being reported that Universo 2000 is out of action for three weeks after sustaining a shoulder injury at the hands of Marco Corleone at the last TV taping. Shocker is working as his replacement. It’s believed this is all an angle, but there is legit heat between Universo and Corleone.
CMLL ran Arena Mexico on February 2nd before 14,400 (sellout is 18,000). Averno was pinned clean by Mr. Mexico in the trios match that went on third, so he’s out of the main event picture and will not be headlining any major shows against Mistico as had been the plan for awhile. Mistico worked semi-main teaming with Volador Jr. & La Mascara to beat Los Perros del Mal. The big news is that afterwards, Mistico and Perro were throwing out their challenges and actually agreed to do a hair vs. mask match. It is believed this show will headline the Homenaje a Dos Leyendas show on either the 16th or 30th of March to combat WWE (they have four Mexico shows booked in mid-March), and if ever there was a match to combat WWE, that’s it. Seems very rushed, though, which isn’t the sort of thing CMLL traditionally does. Main was Shocker (replacing Universo 2000) & Dr. Wagner Jr. & Rey Bucanero beating Marco Corleone & Atlantis & Ultimo Guerrero when Shocker pinned Marco with a foule behind the referee’s back. Shocker was said to look awesome, like the “Shocker of old” (meaning prior to jumping to AAA).
MIT is doing a comparative media studies course on American pro-wrestling starting February 7th, and among the required reading on the syllabus is “1998: Momentum is Money”, from Death of WCW.
WSX has Lacey, Sara Del Ray and Mickie Knuckles under contract and is planning on doing a women’s division in season II. Not sure about that idea. Women haven’t meant jack shit on wrestling shows in a long time now, and while these women will actually be doing SHIMMER-style matches, which has never been done in WWE, I’m still skeptical. I have also been told that while SHIMMER-style is the idea, “GLOW-like segments” have also been discussed. That really scares me.
The WSX ring was said to be stiff as hell.
The first-run WSX shows will be Fridays from now on, though the Tuesday show up against ECW is the “official” debut of each program. Kevin Kleinrock said on Wrestling Observer Live that MTV was looking at a number of different things, including the Tuesday night number and a combination of all the viewings added together. They’re claiming they drew over 2 million total viewers in week one.
There was an INCIDENT this weekend involving Jake Roberts. He was scheduled to work the FIP show in Melbourne, FL against Larry Sweeney, but was escorted out of the building before the match. Two different stories came out, one that Jake was so f***ed up that they had to get rid of him, and the other that he had a money dispute with the promoter (and he was f***ed up). Of course, since it’s Jake Roberts, the f***ed-up story was jumped all over, but it appears there actually was a money issue. He held them up, claiming his first appearance last month (an angle with Sweeney) was not taped for DVD (which was wrong since he also filmed promos for them), but this show would be, and thus he needed more cash. “Those of you who wish to believe the negative press releases out there concerning this particular show, and any others with the same Association, can kiss my ass,” Jake said in a statement, adding that he plans on seeking legal counsel regarding the claims, which he believes to be outrageous, that he was impaired.
Read a funny article about Romeo Roselli, formerly of the Heartbreakers in WWE, who claimed he won the NRW Title in Italy on December 10th. I thought Vampiro was the champion? I guess he beat him. Anyway, the point is that he said it was one of the great days of his life to win the title as an Italian in Italy. His only regret was that the belt was too big to fit into his luggage and he couldn’t bring it home. He then said, and I quote, “Now that I’m world champion of Italy, I want to be the greatest world champion of all time.” I love wrestling.
New Japan is in the middle of a 35th anniversary tour.
Kurt Angle said he’d love to win the NWA Title from Christian and then challenge Hiroshi Tanahashi to a champion vs. champion match. He also said he’ll team with Yuji Nagata in his first New Japan match, but would also like to wrestle him at some point.
Keiji Muto is studying to become a certified personal trainer.
All Japan on the 17th is headlined by Shuji Kondo vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima for the Junior Title, Toshiaki Kawada & Taiyo Kea vs. Suwama & RO’Z for the Tag Titles in a decision match, and Minoru Suzuki vs. Satoshi Kojima for the Triple Crown.
credit: F4W newsletter
